Few officers can’t take decision of smart city in Bhopal: BJP minister
State higher education minister and BJP MLA from Bhopal (south west) Umashankar Gupta has said that there was no blueprint for the smart city project in Shivaji Nagar. Talking to TOI, Gupta said, “Some officers cannot take decisions of cutting trees and displacing people. The final decision will be taken by people’s representatives.” A major portion of his constituency will be disturbed in the proposed smart city plan. He said, “The blueprint for the smart city is not yet ready. Few officers of the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) cannot decide how many trees are to be uprooted and how many houses are to be demolished.” Gupta said the only thing that has been finalised is that the smart city will be developed at Shivaji Nagar. “We have clarified that nobody would be removed without rehabilitation. We have asked the officials to bring their plan. We want them to come up with the details,” he said. Gupta said the chief minister has also spoken on the similar lines. The CM also wants the people to comment on it. “I am MLA of the area. Smart city will not be built for gloom. It will be built for happiness.” Political pundits attribute Gupta’s utterances to the fact that in the present state of affairs, his constituency will be affected badly and he may have to face voters’ ire in the next elections. Jermey Parnell Authentic Jersey
Start-ups formed under limited liability partnerships to get three-year tax holiday
The Modi-led Government has given a boost to the start-up ecosystem in the country by allowing start-ups, set up as limited liability partnerships (LLPs), to be eligible for a three-year tax holiday. This forms part of the 55 amendments moved by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to the Finance Bill 2016, which was passed by the Lok Sabha on Thursday. With this, the three-stage Budget passage process has been completed in the Lower House. Prior to this amendment covering LLPS, only start-ups set up as a company were eligible for the three-year tax holiday. Allowing a LLP structure would mean that start-ups could enjoy the flexibility of a partnership entity in terms of lesser compliance and at the same time not be required to fork out dividend distribution tax, say tax experts. The other significant amendments include clarification that additional dividend tax of 10 per cent would get triggered once taxpayers’ dividend income (received from domestic company or companies) crosses the ?10-lakh threshold. Hitherto, there was ambiguity whether this additional dividend tax provision applies on the total dividends received by a tax payer or whether this provision is to applied in relation to dividends received from each company per se, said Vikas Vasal, Partner Tax, KPMG in India. According to the Budget proposal, the additional tax on dividends will have to be forked out by individuals, Hindu Undivided Families and firms receiving dividends in excess of ?10 lakh. Meanwhile, the Centre has through the amendments to the Finance Bill put into effect the withdrawal of provident fund related budget announcements. It has also set right an anomaly around capital gains on shares of unlisted companies. Jaitley had, in his Budget speech, mentioned that the holding period for determining long-term capital gains has been reduced to 24 months from 36 months. This has been done by introducing a specific provision in the Finance Bill. “Now long term capital gains arising in case of unlisted shares will enjoy concessional tax treatment, if such shares are held for twenty four months or more. This is a welcome move and will help in transactions relating to transfer of shares of unlisted companies,” Vasal told BusinessLine. Agriculture tax Earlier, replying to the discussions on the Bill in the Lok Sabha, Jaitley said that the Centre has no intent to impose income tax on agricultural income. Under the Constitution, the Centre has no powers to levy tax on agricultural income, Jaitley said. Jaitley also advised States to refrain from imposing any taxes on agriculture incomes although the latter had the power to do so. “Given the situation of our agriculture, it would be advisable not to levy any new taxes,” Jaitley told the Lower House during his reply that lasted for over an hour. Derek Sanderson Womens Jersey
Retailers’ lobby seeks meeting with finance ministry on e-commerce
India’s top retailers’ lobby plans to move the finance ministry to force e-commerce firms to comply with recent rules on online marketplaces. The Retailers’ Association of India (RAI), which recently met officials at the department of industry policy and promotion (DIPP), has now requested a meeting with finance ministry officials, the association’s chief executive officer Kumar Rajagopalan said. While DIPP which announced the new e-commerce policy on 29 March comes under the commerce ministry, the Enforcement Directorate which can make etailers comply comes under the finance ministry. “The Enforcement Directorate needs to take action against everyone who is flouting the online marketplace law,” Rajagopalan said. “The DIPP does not encourage back door entry into retail and has provided the clarifications for marketplace, but its enforcement and execution responsibility falls under the finance ministry,” said Rajagopalan, adding he hopes to meet finance ministry officials after the conclusion of the ongoing parliament session. Retailers have taken up the matter since not much has changed in the operating model of etailers since the policy was announced. According to Rajagopalan, etailers are still offering discounts, they are not making the disclosures regarding sellers on their ecommerce portals, many have private brands and a majority of their revenues comes from one vendor, none of which is not allowed under the marketplace policy. Under the marketplace model, ecommerce companies are simply a platform connecting buyers and sellers. Moreover, no one company can contribute to more than 25% of the business for a marketplace. They are also barred from influencing prices directly or indirectly. The FDI policy covers a wide range of internet companies including online travel agencies, cab-hailing services, hotel start-ups, home services providers, food ordering and grocery delivery apps. In November last year, The Delhi High Court ordered the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to look into 21 ecommerce companies including etailers like Flipkart, Snapdeal, Amazon and Jabong to see if they have flouted the country’s FDI rules, in response to a petition filed by the All India Footwear Manufacturers & Retailers Association’s against the Union government in August. However, the ED never submitted the report and at its latest hearing on Thursday, the government told the Delhi high court that following its clarifications on online marketplaces on 29 March, the petition filed by the All India Footwear Manufacturers and Retailers Association became infructuous, additional solicitor general Sanjay Jain said. The case is expected to come up for hearing on 23 May as the footwear association has asked for time to file its grievances regarding the press note. Ironically, brick-and-mortar retailers have been asking the government to allow FDI in multi-brand retail for over five years. In 2012, the then Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government allowed 51% FDI investment in physical retailers that sell more than one brand or multi-brand retail in some cities, subject to the approval of the state governments and some conditions regarding sourcing. While FDI is restricted in multi-brand brick and mortar retail companies, ecommerce companies like Flipkart and Snapdeal have attracted more than $9 billion in investments from venture capitalists in the past two years, boosting their growth. The exponential growth in the past year had led to predictions that the share of e-commerce in the overall retail market will increase from 2% in 2014 to 11% in 2019, while the share of organized brick-and-mortar retail is expected to fall from 17% to 13%, according to a February 2015 report by property consultant Knight Frank India Pvt. Ltd and RAI. However, in the past six months, etailers have been struggling to raise fresh rounds of funds as investors turn cautious over unproven business models, besides a mix of global macroeconomic factors such as a slowdown in China. In the past three months, three investors including Morgan Stanley Institutional Fund Trust have slashed the value of their holdings in Flipkart. “We will see consolidation taking place online. The valuations and discounts is not sustainable,” said Govind Shrikhande, managing director, Shoppers Stop Ltd, which runs the department store chain by the same name while sharing that etailers have to change their models as per the new law but they haven’t yet done so. D.J. Reader Womens Jersey
Show us law which bans crude export: Delhi high court to govt
The Delhi high court asked the union government to show any statutory source or policy document which barred export of crude in India. Justice Manmohan, hearing a case filed by Cairn India Ltd, a Vedanta group company, asked the government to back up its claim that crude exports are not permitted. “After all, you’re restricting someone’s right to sell (crude). It has to be found in law or some contract,” Manmohan said. “Let me see the policy. When did you frame it?” The court will hear the case next on 18 May, when a response from the government can be expected. Cairn India moved the high court against the Director General of Foreign Trade seeking permission to be permitted to export excess crude it generated from the Barmer oil fields in Rajasthan. Additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta told the court crude oil per se was not allowed to be exported. He said that India had a total refining capacity of 223 million tonnes. However, at present only 38 million tonnes of crude oil is available. It would not be in the interest of the country to export crude, he argued. He stressed that the issue of export of crude was entirely in the realm of policy. Lawyer C.A. Sundaram, representing Cairn, said that they were agreeable to offering the domestic players in the country the first option to buy the crude, but at international prices. He said that neither the government, nor its nominees or public sector refineries were ready to purchase its crude and it was forced to sell to two private refineries—Reliance and Essar. Sundaram said that Cairn had brought $10 billion as investment on promises. But it was being forced to sell at less than standard prices and was not allowed to export either. Cairn India argued in earlier hearings that the foreign trade policy doesn’t bar export of crude. However, Mehta said that the DGFT didn’t permit this export. Justin Gilbert Authentic Jersey
Saudis Arabia raises oil pricing for Asia by most since April last year
Saudi Arabia raised its pricing for June oil sales to Asia by the most since April 2015, a sign that the world’s biggest crude exporter expects demand to recover as the global market rebalances. State-owned Saudi Arabian Oil Co. increased its official selling price for Arab Light crude to Asia by $1.10 a barrel to 25 cents more than regional benchmarks Oman and Dubai, according to a statement. The company, known as Saudi Aramco, was predicted to raise the grade by 65 cents a barrel, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of five refiners and traders. The Middle East producer is boosting the cost of its oil to the largest consuming region as unplanned supply outages and disruptions help to curb a global glut and signs of higher demand emerge. Benchmark prices have rallied more than 60% since mid-February, rebounding from the biggest crash in a generation on expectation that the surplus will shrink as US production declines. Arab Light’s price to Asia for June is the highest since September. It’s only the third time the grade is being sold at a premium to the benchmarks since Saudi Arabia spearheaded the strategy of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to keep pumping out crude in November 2014. The group’s decision to maintain output as prices cratered forced a curtailment of higher-cost production elsewhere. Higher demand “Refinery demand is expected to recover,” said Ehsan Ul-Haq, a senior analyst at industry consultant KBC Energy Economics in London. “Cargoes loaded in June will arrive in Asia in July, when demand will return after the seasonal turnaround period. Saudi Arabia may also use more crude at home in the summer, when electricity usage typically rises.” Aramco will sell Arab Medium for June to Asia at $1.30 a barrel below benchmark prices, and Arab Heavy at a discount of $2.75 a barrel. The company raised the premium for Arab Super Light crude to Asia by $1 a barrel to $3.95 a barrel over benchmarks, and Arab Extra Light by 80 cents a barrel to $2.60 a barrel. The differential for Arab Light sold to the US was kept unchanged at a premium of 35 cents a barrel to the ASCI benchmark. Other grades for the US were all lowered by 20 cents month-on-month, resulting in a $2.40 premium for Extra Light, a $1.25 discount for Medium and a $1.75 discount for Heavy. Europe, Mediterranean Light crude to Northwest Europe was raised by 15 cents to a discount of $4.45 versus the benchmark. Other grades were also increased except Extra Light. Light crude to the Mediterranean was raised by 25 cents to a discount of $3.95 versus the benchmark. Opec, of which Saudi Arabia is the largest producer, abandoned its production ceiling at its most recent meeting in December. The group has pumped more than the previous 30 million-barrel-a-day target since June 2014. Saudi Arabia produced 10.27 million barrels a day in April.Opec is scheduled to meet 2 June in Vienna Karl Mecklenburg Womens Jersey
Flipkart, Snapdeal slash hiring in bid to cut costs
India’s largest e-commerce companies Flipkart Ltd and Snapdeal, which are struggling to raise fresh funds, have slashed hiring, along with spending on discounts and advertising, as they seek to cut losses amid a sharp slowdown in sales growth. Apart from hiring a few senior leaders, both companies have reduced hiring to a trickle over the past two months in order to cut costs, four people familiar with the matter said. Flipkart chief executive Binny Bansal has asked new human resources head Nitin Sethi to directly look at all hires at mid and senior levels, the people cited above said. Sethi is asking all business unit heads to justify hiring more people and is only allowing recruits that are judged to be “absolutely necessary”. Flipkart has put on hold hiring for many roles, including vice-presidents, that it had previously opened up in its supply chain, product and advertising teams, the people cited above said. Snapdeal, on the other hand, has upped performance targets for employees and wants to cull the bottom 10-15% of its staff, one of the four people cited above said, adding that the firm doesn’t plan to replace them. A Flipkart spokesperson said by email, “Your information is incorrect. Hiring at Flipkart has always been a function of business requirement and quality talent. Our hiring plans are in line with the business goals and we are continuing to hire rich talent in our areas of focus. Over the past years, we have built a team of outstanding global professionals. This year, we are also emphasizing focus on internal development of the rich talent we have already acquired.” A Snapdeal spokesperson didn’t respond to an email and a call seeking comment. In the 18 months to the end of last year, Flipkart’s workforce expanded to more than 35,000 people from roughly 14,000. More than half of these people work in the company’s logistics business eKart, delivering products to customers across India. Snapdeal, too, at least doubled its staff to 7,000-9,000 people in that period. (There are far fewer people on Snapdeal’s books compared with Flipkart, primarily because it doesn’t have full ownership of a logistics unit.) Last year, however, Flipkart and Snapdeal lost significant market share to rival Amazon India. At the same time, margins at the firms didn’t improve. Flipkart entities reported net loss of Rs.2,000 crore for the year ended March 2015 and Snapdeal posted a loss of Rs.1,328 crore for the same year. In the last financial year, losses at both firms are likely to have risen, according to analysts and investors. Mint reported on 14 April that Flipkart and Snapdeal have held funding talks with several investors over the past six months, all of whom have refused to invest in the firms at their preferred valuations of $15 billion and $6.5 billion, respectively. Mint also reported then that Flipkart’s sales haven’t grown month-over-month since November, while Snapdeal’s monthly revenues have declined since then. With sales growth slowing and investors souring on e-commerce, Flipkart and Snapdeal have been forced to conserve cash over the past few months. They have already cut spending on discounts since late last year and are trying to persuade their sellers to fund a larger part of the discounts on their sites. Apart from discounts and advertising, employee costs happen to be the largest expense for e-commerce companies. “Both companies hired so many people thinking that their GMV (gross merchandise value) would be at a certain level. But clearly, that hasn’t panned out. Now, there is a very sharp focus on cutting costs and conserving cash,” one of the four people cited above said. Last year, Flipkart and Snapdeal were at times hiring people first and finding work for them later, another of the four persons said. “This kind of frenzy has totally stopped in the last three months. Roles are now being clearly defined and so is the exact purpose of hiring,” he said. Stephen Vogt Womens Jersey
India, Iran agree to clear $6.4 billion in oil payments via European banks
The central banks of India and Iran have reached an arrangement to use European banks to process pending oil payments to Tehran, India’s oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan told Reuters, unlocking $6.4 billion in stalled funds. Buyers of Iranian oil were prevented from using global banking channels to clear their transactions after sanctions were imposed on Iran in 2011 over its nuclear programme. With the end of those sanctions in January, after an agreement to curb the programme, Iran is finally gaining needed access to the funds. Iran hopes the money will revive its moribund economy and raise Iranian living standards as well as help to integrate the country into the global economic system. Indian refiners have been holding 55% of its oil payments to Iran after a route to make payments through Turkey’s Halkbank was stopped in 2013, although payment of some of those funds was allowed after an initial temporary deal to lift the sanctions. “There is an agreement between (India and Iran’s) central banks. European banks will be the clearing agent. They will be dealing with Iranian banks and we have to pay those European banks,” Pradhan told Reuters in an interview. He did not elaborate further, saying the finance ministry was dealing with the issue. Also because of the previous sanctions, Indian refiners have been depositing 45% of their oil payments to Iran in rupees with India’s UCO Bank. Tehran has been using the funds, currently about Rs.13,000 crore ($1.95 billion) to import non-sanctioned goods from India. Indian government sources said during Pradhan’s visit to Tehran last month Iran had asked India to consider clearing the oil payments through Europaeisch-Iranische Handelsbank (EIH) of Germany, Central Bank of Italy and Halkbank of Turkey. One of the sources said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has ruled out channelling funds through Halkbank. “Halkbank’s Iran-related foreign trade activities with Iran have been carried out since 2004 … Halkbank will continue its operations in accordance with international law,” a senior Halkbank official told Reuters. No immediate comment was available from EIH and Central Bank of Italy. The government sources said Indian refiners will remit funds to Iran through state-owned UCO Bank. UCO Bank’s chairman did not respond to calls from Reuters to his mobile phone. Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan said on 5 April India will make payments to Iran in a staggered manner. “Oil companies are working out the banking arrangements in coordination with Iranian counterparts and payments will be made by them presumably over time with minimal impact on the market,” an RBI spokesperson said on Thursday. Despite the sanctions, India continued its engagement with Iran and was among a handful of countries that sourced oil from Tehran. Iran was India’s second-biggest oil supplier before the sanctions hampered its trade relations. The country is set to import at least 400,000 barrels per day of Iranian oil in the year from 1 April. Darrell Green Authentic Jersey
India to gradually move to gas-based economy: Dharmendra Pradhan
India plans to shift to a gas-based economy by boosting domestic production and buying cheap liquefied natural gas (LNG) as the world’s third-biggest oil importer seeks to curb its greenhouse emissions, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. New Delhi has promised to shave a third off its emissions rate by 2030, partly by boosting the use of cleaner burning fuels. “Gradually we are shifting towards a sustainable gas economy,” Pradha said. Gas accounts for about 8 percent of India’s energy mix, while oil accounts for more than a quarter. India’s gas supply deficit is expected to widen from 78 million cubic metres a day (mscmd) this fiscal year to 117 mscmd in 2021-22, according to a government estimate. India recently negotiated better terms for a long-term LNG deal with Qatar and importer Petronet LNG is in talks with Exxon to renegotiate pricing for gas from Australia’s Gorgon project. “The price should be affordable to us. We respect long-term contracts but everybody has to appreciate the changing scenario,” said Pradhan. “In a bigger canvas … India has the potential of a huge market base”. Pradhan last month visited Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Iran to deepen ties with its main oil suppliers. “We want to move beyond a buyer-seller relationship,” he said, adding that India was offering them stakes in its pipelines, petrochemical complexes and refineries. India is also in talks with Abu Dhabi National Oil Co and Saudi Aramco to lease strategic oil storage. GAS GIANT Pradhan said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Iran later this month would “certainly” deliver concrete results. Iran has set aside its Farzad B gas field for development by Indian firms, a move that could result in the building of an LNG plant as India consumes or markets its production share, he said. Over two years Asian LNG prices have slumped by three quarters to $4.65 per million British thermal units (mmBtu). Pradhan expects hefty LNG investments worldwide to ensure affordable long-term prices, a trend that “will suit India as a consuming country.” GAS CONNECTIVITY India is building import terminals on its eastern and western coasts and pipelines to boost industrial use of gas. In the fiscal year to March, India’s gas production declined by about 4.2 percent, while imports rose around 15 percent. India recently offered better gas pricing to boost domestic output, but its most recent investment in an LNG terminal in the southern state of Kerala has been underutilised since it lacks pipelines to connect to demand centres after farmer opposition caused land acquisition problems. Pradhan said the government was talking to the states and hoped obstacles to a pipeline connecting Kochi to Mangalore would be resolved after state elections in Kerala. Clay Matthews Womens Jersey
IT tools monitoring 900 highway projects worth Rs 6 lakh crore: Nitin Gadkari
To expedite pace of infrastructure building in the country, the Centre is using IT applications on a large scale to monitor 900 highways projects worth Rs 6 lakh crore, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today said. “We have decided to use IT applications on a large scale. We are monitoring 900 projects worth Rs 6 lakh crore. We can see the progress. By monitoring, we can increase efficiency,” Road Transport and Highways Minister Gadkari said addressing an event, IT For Parivahan. The minister said the government has managed to roll out majority of the 403 projects worth Rs 3.8 lakh crore that were stuck when the current NDA government took over. “Some problems are related to 21 projects that are valued at Rs 30,000 crore, but we will very soon resolve these,” Gadkari said. He said some innovative initiatives by the ministry, like the launch of a portal for making available cement and steel had resulted in availability of 250 lakh tonnes of cement for infrastructure projects at affordable rates. Likewise e-tolling on 380 plazas across the nation would result in saving precious time and money he said pointing out to a study by IIM Kolkata which calculated that delays at toll plazas resulted in Rs 60,000 crore loss annually. Gadkari said steps were on to augment the length of National Highways to two lakh km. The minister said when the BJP government took over, the length of national highways was barely 96,000 km of the 52 lakh km of total road length and 2 per cent of the National Highways bore 40 per cent of the traffic. He said efforts were also on to reduce the logistics cost from the present 18 per cent to at least 8 per cent and that is bound to boost exports 1.5 times. NHIDCL Director Sanjay Jaju said various efforts were on to integrate IT applications with ministry’s functioning. IT-Task Force Member Vineet Goenka said information technology should be used as a decision support system in strengthening, maintaining and upgrading national transport system. Wayne Gallman Authentic Jersey
Jewar Airport Under Consideration
Government of India (GoI), Ministry of Civil Aviation has received a proposal from Government of Uttar Pradesh (GoUP) in April, 2016 for grant of Site Clearance for proposed Noida International Airport near Jewar, Dist. Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. GoI has notified a Greenfield Airport Policy, 2008 to provide guidelines for setting up of new airports in the country. As per the Greenfield Airport Policy, the proposal has been sent to Airports Authority of India (AAI), Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Ministry of Defence (MoD) for their comments/observations on the site identified for setting up of International Airport near Jewar, Uttar Pradesh. The proposals are considered by Steering Committee set up in Greenfield Airport Policy in consultation with AAI, DGCA and MoD. Adam Lind Jersey