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Patel rules out immediate IPO for Air-India
NHPC lags behind in meeting power generation targets
DoT mulls cess on R&D for telecom cos
Trade centre at Gurgaon
Jet posts Rs 45 cr loss
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Fund mooted to evolve IT in rural market
AVIATION NOTES
INVESTOR GUIDANCE
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Patel rules out immediate IPO for Air-India
Kolkata July 29 ''The IPO can come later. This is not the best time to enter the market,'' Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said after the inauguration of the country's first multi-modal transport system at Netaji Subhas International Airport here. Mr Patel said his ministry's first priority was the merger of Air-India and Indian (Airlines). ''This is because we need bigger and stronger carriers. Over the past two years, there has been 50 per cent increase in traffic than that over the past 50 years.'' Stating that the merger would enable the two strong carriers to leverage their strengths, he said the synergie would provide a strong entity for Air-India. ''We need a strong entity before we can go to the market.'' In reply to a question, Mr Patel said his ministry had adopted the public-private partnership model for the modernisation of airports. Funds for the modernisation would be raised by the Airports Authority of India through debt markets and bonds. ''There is no need to go elsewhere right now. Our internal accruals are good.'' Meanwhile, Air-India Cargo and Canada's Cargojet have entered into a strategic marketing and operational alliance for the Canadian market. Effective from August 1, the alliance will enhance the movement of cargo between Canada and India, especially to the interior parts, A-I's Canada Manager R.B. Chopra said today. "With Air-India's vast domestic network within India, complimented by Cargojet's strong presence in Canada serving 13 cities, this arrangement will ease the flow of cargo to interior points in both countries," he said. The customers of both companies would now receive seamless air cargo service from anywhere in the world to all destinations into and out of Canada, Mr Chopra added.
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NHPC lags behind in meeting power generation targets
New Delhi, July 29 “As per the investment approval by the government, the NHPC was given a target of adding 2480 MW power capacity during 10th Plan (2002-07). However, the capacity addition achieved till date is 1580 MW, including 1000 MW from the Indira Sagar Hydroelectric Project - a joint venture of NHPC and the Government of Madhya Pradesh,” said sources in the Power Ministry. During the past two years, the corporation has commissioned 280 MW Dhauliganga project in Uttaranchal and Indira Sagar project and 300 MW Chamera-II in Himachal Pradesh, but projects in J&K have been delayed by years leading to fall in generation targets and huge financial losses. The 390 MW Dul Hasti project in J&K, which was expected to be commissioned by March 2001 as per the revised target, has been delayed due to law and order problem, local labour problems and adverse geological conditions. The work on another project in the state, 120 MW Sewa-II, was scheduled to be commissioned by September 2007, is also running behind schedule. Official sources said the project had slipped due to delay in obtaining various approvals and clearances and delay in headrace tunnel works due to adverse geological conditions. A senior official in the corporation disclosed that the Ministry has also not appointed any full-time Chairman and Managing Director for the past one year, and Mr S.K. Garg, Director (Finance), is officiating as CMD for the time being. Since there is no full-time head, the management has not been able to take certain decisions in time and work aggressively to meet targets. The NHPC has already lost some prestigious hydel power projects in Sikkim to the private companies, including Reliance, despite completing all feasibility reports and other investigation work. Admitting delay in projects, Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde in reply to a question raised by Haryana MP Kuldeep Bishnoi in the Lok Sabha said, “Steps are being taken by the government to ensure time-bound completion of projects by the NHPC”. The corporation has presently 11 hydel projects under construction with total capacity of 5623 MW, including Parbati-II (800 MW) and Parbati-III ( 520MW) in Himachal Pradesh scheduled for completion in 2009 and 2010, respectively. The ministry has now asked the corporation to identify the bottlenecks in different projects that needed coordination with other ministries like environment and forests, besides the state governments.
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DoT mulls cess on R&D for telecom cos
New Delhi, July 29 The move, DoT says, is to promote design and manufacture of mobile handsets and infrastructure systems by Indian companies. The cess on turnover of telecom service providers will help the government mop up over Rs 1,500 crore. This move will also help grant and interest-free loans for companies which take up manufacturing in India. Subscribers today pay Rs 12.24 as service tax and education cess on every Rs 100 of their bills. According to the DoT proposal, the cess money from the R and D can be used to provide Rs 25 crore in grants and up to Rs 50 crore in seven-year interest-free loans to any six Indian companies that venture into manufacture and design. — UNI
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Trade centre at Gurgaon
Chandigarh, July 29 This was disclosed at the governing body meeting of Trade Fair Authority of Haryana (TFAH) held here today under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, Mr Prem Prashant. Mr Prashant asked the Industries and Commerce Department to take steps for the early implementation of the project.
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New Delhi, July 29 Jet said its overall financial performance was impacted by factors including “continued yield pressure in our domestic and international operations and an increase in fuel and other input costs”. However, the private carrier reported pre-tax profit on domestic operations of Rs 11.8 crore. — PTI
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Fund mooted to evolve IT in rural market
New Delhi, July 29 “We are confident that this will generate a new generation of local IT entrepreneurs who will build localised and customised solutions for rural communities,” Mr Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India said. The fund, set up in partnership with IDRC’s telecentre.org initiative at the 3rd annual meeting of the M.S. Swaminathan-led Mission 2007, will initially focus on verticals like telemedicine, education and agriculture, areas which are of maximum interest to the rural communities. |
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Travellers’ comfort nobody’s
concern
by K.R. Wadhwaney The international flying has become totally impersonal. Passengers are now nobody’s concern. The recent incident of Indian passengers getting maltreatment from Air France officials on flight (AF 134) from Paris to Mumbai on July 15 is shocking. The stranded passengers were denied water, snacks, accommodation and other facilities for several hours as snags in aircraft were being rectified. To treat 130 passengers shabbily was bad. When some passengers protested, a lady officer retorted: “If you don’t understand, you better learn French.” This multiplied passengers’ woes as they were standing in queue for hours. Officials of Air France and several other foreign carriers even at Delhi airport are stiff-necked. Several ugly incidents have taken place, but they have got away with them because of weakling attitude of the powers that be at the airport. One ugly incident that took place in the summer of 1972 at Delhi airport needs narration here. An Indian passenger was refused a seat on the flight although he was holding a confirmed ticket. In the heated argument, the station manager, a French, shouted: “You Indian bastard”. The incident was reported in a national daily. Questions were raised in Parliament. The Air France management denied the allegation. But, the airline immediately went into a ‘damagecontrol exercise”. It issued dozens of tickets for several international destinations to journalists, politicians and bureaucrats. During the peak season every year, flights are heavily over booked and passengers are off loaded. There are shoutings, brawls; the departure concourse then wears a tag of “fish market”. Here again, Indian passengers suffer as foreigners are given preference by several foreign carriers. The civil aviation boom in the country continues. More and more foreign carriers are seeking permission to fly through India. International airports are getting a facelift. Traffic is growing at a rapid speed. This is a healthy sign. The in-depth survey shows that foreign carriers’ officials do not abide by the rules. Some of the top officials are stationed in this country, but they show themselves on short-term assignments (in transit). For this, they possess two passports and they travel home and back often. They indulge in this practice so that they do not have to pay taxes. There are several other violations. Some of them get as much immunity as diplomats are entitled to. It is almost six years when an Indian Airlines’ flight from Kathmandu was hijacked to Kandahar. Some of India’s safety and security problems will be reduced if the Indian government makes it mandatory for passengers to carry their passports. This is essential because Nepal’s border is porous. It is the easiest escape route for entry and exit for any undesirable element.
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HRA exemption with HBL benefit can be claimed
by A.N. Shanbhag
Q: I have a house in UP for which I have taken loan from HDFC and making monthly repayment. Recently, I have shifted to Mumbai but my family members are still in UP and staying in my house. — Anand A: 1. Yes. You are entitled to claim benefit u/s 24 for interest payable for the housing loan against “income from house property” and setoff the loss, if any, against your salary income. HRA exemption
Q: On account of my job, I stay in Delhi in rented premises. However, my family (parents, wife and children) stays in Mumbai. They too live in a rented flat. Can I claim HRA exemption in respect of both rents that I am paying? — Narvijay A: We are afraid the answer is in the negative. As per Sec 10 (13A) read with Rule 2A, HRA exemption is only available in respect of the period in which the assessee occupies the rented house. The employee does not occupy the rented house that the family is occupying and therefore, rent paid in respect of that house will not be eligible to account for the HRA deduction. II Q: I am employed in a private company and drawing salary Rs 2.4 lakh per annum. I live in Delhi and paying Rs 2,700 per month as rent and my family live in a small town of eastern UP and there also I am paying rent Rs. 3,000. My question is that can I avail exemption under house rent for both rents and how. — Jayant A: The only condition to be satisfied for claiming this exemption is that the employee should not be living in his own house or in any house for which he does not pay any rent. He is free to own any number of houses, self-occupied or otherwise, anywhere in India. Tax rules for NRI Q: I am working for an IT MNC in Mumbai. I am currently in Germany on an onsite assignment. I landed in Germany on 17th May 2006, and will be here for a year (less than 60 days in 06-07 in India). — Kedar A: 1 & 5. The rules governing taxation of the allowance paid abroad to deputees have changed drastically. The forex per diem allowance is considered as a fringe benefit and taxed in the hands of the employer. The savings arising out of this allowance is tax-free in the hands of the employee. Share trading Q: Is it necessary to fill and attach details of STT paid on selling of shares and redemption of mutual fund schemes in Form-10C and 10D as notified last year while claiming/declaring capital gains in IT return this year. — Atharva A: If you are treating the capital gains as your business income and are claiming rebate u/s 88E, then it is necessary to file Form-10DB and 10DC (not 10C and 10D). However, if you want to take advantage of nil long-term capital gains tax and 10 per cent short-term tax, then STT cannot be accounted for. Gift tax Q: For an Indian who is a US citizen with PIO or OCI status (person of Indian origin or overseas citizen of India/dual citizenship), who has an NRI account, are there restrictions on amounts of bank remittances/gifts to (a) relatives, (b) friends, and (c) charities? Do the recipients have to pay gift or other taxes to the Government of India? — Satpathy A: Where any sum of money exceeding Rs 25,000 is received without consideration by an individual or an HUF from any person on or after 1st day of September 2004 (Rs. 50,000 from 1.4.06), the whole of such sum will be charged to income tax of the recipient under the head, Income from Other Sources. The authors may be contacted at wonderlandconsultants@yahoo.com
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