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Budget may lend impetus to
Air Sahara opens $ 20-m aviation hub
US supermarts to sell Verka ghee
Investing
your money in wife’s name is illegal |
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Substandard facilities at international airports
Graphic:
Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers
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Budget may lend impetus to irrigation sector
New Delhi, February 5 Sources said that public investments are likely to be stepped up particularly in those projects, which would result in creation of potential in a relatively shorter period of time. More funds would also be made available for command area development aimed at reducing the gap between potential created and potential utilised of irrigation projects. This would be in line with the priorities outlined by the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) where irrigation has been identified as a major investment priority. According to the sources, the government is concerned with the rising scarcity of water for irrigation. The ultimate irrigation potential of the country is currently assessed at 139.88 million hectares. Of this 58.46 million hectares are from major and medium projects and 81.42 million hectares from minor irrigation projects. Presently, almost 37 per cent (21.4 million hectares) of the available irrigation potential from major and medium irrigation projects still remains to be exploited. The sources said decline in public investment and the rather thin spread of resources over a large number of projects are responsible for the delay in the completion of projects. Currently, 158 major and 225 medium irrigation projects are the in pipeline and at various stages of completion. Indications are that the Budget may contain proposals to increase assistance to states for completion of these projects as “lack of resources with state governments is responsible not only for slow pace of completion of on-going schemes but neglect of maintenance of existing schemes.” In addition, the poor performance of the central sector scheme ‘on farm water management for increasing crop production in Eastern India’, is likely to be relooked. The scheme was designed to exploit abundant ground water/ surface water for enhancing productivity, promoting diversification and agricultural opportunities in a single attractive package. “The scheme may be reformulated and we are examining the reasons for its laggard progress,” the sources said. Inadequate public investment, particularly in irrigation and water resource management in rural areas, has been pointed out as one of the major reasons for the fall in gross capital formation in the rural economy. In fact, the share of agriculture in total gross capital formation has fallen from 15.4 per cent in 1980-81 to about 8 per cent presently. In addition, severe water stress has begun to show in the existing irrigated areas. This is because both reservoirs and ground water sources seem to be depleting in several regions of the country. “This has resulted in a situation where farm output from irrigated areas are also becoming vulnerable to vagaries of weather,” the sources said.
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Air Sahara opens $ 20-m aviation hub
Hyderabad, February 5 With the opening of the hub, domestic travellers can now experience the convenience of reduced travel time and increased connectivity, Air Sahara Chief Executive Officer Rono Dutta said. The hub is a new concept in the Indian air travel, aimed at facilitating improved air connectivity and reduced tariffs. Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, who inaugurated the service, with the first flight leaving for Visakhapatnam, said the Hyderabad International Airport was likely to be ready in two years. The UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will lay the foundation stone for the prestigious project in a couple of months, he revealed. Mr Datta said in the first phase, the airline would operate 126 flights connecting 14 destinations, including Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Cochin, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Coimbatore and Lucknow while in the second phase Kathmandu and Colombo would be connected. He said Air Sahara had sought permission to fly 21 flights to Singapore every week, including seven from Hyderabad. The airlines officials said that besides the city's central location, the state government's offer of concession on Aviation Turbine Fuel made the city a favourite for the hub. The company said that Hyderabad would gain at least Rs 1,000 crore from the hub operations. The airline will dedicate 10 aircraft flying to Hyderabad and recruit 500 persons to work at the hub. "This initiative will create a highway in the sky connecting 25 small and big cities across the country," Mr Dutta added. He said Hyderabad is a dynamic growing city that has an advantage of geography. It is a gateway to south India and lies in between the north-south and east-west flows.
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US supermarts to sell Verka ghee
Chandigarh, February 5 Talking to TNS, the Managing Director of Milkfed, Mr Vikas Pratap Singh, today said trials had proved the love of Punjabis for ghee. The first consignment of 15,000 kg would be sent shortly and more would follow once it gains acceptability there. The ghee, known for its purity and good quality, has found favour with the Americans as it meets the stringent phytosanitary conditions under the WTO agreement, he added. “With competition in the national market zooming, the future profits of the Rs 700-crore Milkfed lie in exports,” the MD said. Having established its ghee market in West Asia and the UAE, it exports Rs 12 crore worth of ghee and milk powder, mainly to the Gulf countries. Business inquiries were also being made by China and some European countries for ghee, he said. Verka had recently exported its ‘lassi’ to the Japanese market. Skimmed milk powder (SMP) is being exported to countries like the Phillipines, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. While a consignment of 25,000 kg was sent recently, an order for another 50,000 kg is in the pipeline. Verka Malt Plus ( Malted Milkfood) has also been exported to Bangladesh. Mr Vikas Pratap said to check the sale of counterfeit Verka products in the market, a specially designed 3-D Verka hologram will be affixed on the ghee tins particularly for domestic sales. Complaints had been pouring in from Moga in Punjab, Rajouri in Jammu and Kashmir and Paonta Sahib in Himachal Pradesh about the sale of fake ghee under the brand name of Verka, he said. About future plans he said, “We will experiment with products like feta cheese and chocolate flavoured milk drinks for children. Innovations will also be made in the packaging and marketing of products like UHT (ultra heat treated) milk, ice creams and lassi. The slim tetra-pack packaging is also being considered for some of these products.
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Gail to pump in Rs 500 crore in Dabhol project
Mumbai, February 5 Gail and NTPC would pick up equal stakes in the defunct Dabhol project by pumping in Rs 500 crore each through a special purpose vehicle, GAIL Chairman and Managing Director Prashanto Banerjee said here. This is, however, subject to resolution of outstanding issues between the Indian and foreign lenders and other concerned parties, he said. While NTPC would operate the plant, Gail would look after the LNG terminal and sourcing of LNG.
— PTI
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by A.N. Shanbhag Investing your money in wife’s name is illegal
Q: I have following query
I am
working in a public sector undertaking and my wife is a housewife. I
have deposited Rs 1.5 lakh in her name in POMIS. Please explain in
detail the tax implications of this amount and its interest for both of
us. (Do any of us need to pay any tax? How much?) I also purchase
infrastructure bonds every year and its interest is around Rs 6,000. My
annual income is above Rs 3 lakh. My wife has no other source of
income. — Hitendra Patle A: If your wife
invests the annual interest of Rs 12,000 in her name every year, the
interests earned on these investments will be taxable in her hands
only. Since she has no other income, the earnings will be
tax-free.
Tax on MFs
Q: My question is related to tax on Mutual
Fund units. The details are as follows: Date of purchase of units:
January 1, 2004 (2604.845 units, Rs 1 lakh). Dividend paid out two
times so far: On March 12, 2004 (Rs. 19,536.34) and October 19, 2004
(Rs.7,814.54) I would be thankful if you could please let me know
regarding tax implication and short/long term capital loss advantage,
if any, for adjustment with long-term capital gain made before October
1, 2004 on sale of shares/ short term capital gain made after October
1, 2004 on sale of shares: a) If I switch the units (2604.845, value
on 08/12/2004 Rs. 89,893.20) before completion of one year. b) If I
switch the units after 01/01/2005, i.e. after one year of purchase. —
Prashant A: The switch will attract the provisions of the
capital gains. Since the scheme is equity based, the short term
capital gains will be chargeable to tax @ 10 per cent (if sold before
one year is over. The short-term loss will be available for setoff
against long term or short-term capital gains. If the units are
switched or sold after one year, the long-term capital gains are
exempt from tax; so are the long-term capital losses.
PPF
account
Q: I joined in Chennai Petroleum Corp. last year. I opened
PPF account hurriedly and invested Rs 500 only. Can I increase the
amount? Please suggest. —- Vinod S. Gajbhiye
A: PPF
allows varying contribution from year to year to accommodate financial
ups and downs. The minimum annual contribution is Rs 500 (raised from
Rs 100 by Notification GSR768(E) dt 15.11.02) and the maximum, as
observed earlier, is Rs. 70,000. Subscription shall be in multiples of
Rs 5, paid in one lump sum or in instalments not exceeding 12 in a
year. This does not mean that one cannot make two or more
contributions during the same month. The subscriptions are eligible
for interest even before the aggregate reaches Rs 500. A few investors
like to have some form of compulsory monthly savings whereas others
desire liquidity and contribute at the fag-end of the year. This
facility caters to both types.
NRI investment
Q: My son was a
student in the USA and now he has started working. He has an NRE. We
have read somewhere that the tax on NRE interest is being postponed to
April 2006. Is this true? Secondly, even if the tax is imposed,
since Rs 1 lakh is tax-free for an individual, would not the interest
up to Rs 1 lakh be free of tax? — Parviz Dastoor A:
Please note that the
tax rebate of an equivalent amount for tax payable on taxable income
up to Rs. 1 lakh is not available to NRI. If the shares in your son’s
name have been held for more than 12 months and sold on a recognised
stock exchange and the Securities Transaction Tax has been paid
thereon, the long-term capital gains would be exempt from tax.
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by K.R. Wadhwaney Substandard facilities at international airports
Rajasansi
Airport at Amritsar wears the label of international since 1980. But the latest reports portray a dismal picture saying ‘there is nothing
international about it’. It proves that Indian Civil Aviation is still languishing at bottom even after 57 years of Independence.
According to reports, facilities are substandards. The arrival and departure concourses are not fitted with airconditioners and it is really hell for passengers to land and take-off during summer months. What is most shocking is that airport is devoid of several vital gadgets rendering it difficult for pilots to operate flights when visibility is not too poor. The security at the airport is only namesake as any unauthorised person is able to walk into the ‘forbidden area’. Who is to blame for this sorry state of affairs. Analysts say it is entirely the fault of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) which is not urgently upgrading the terminal building. Official sources say the new terminal building will be operational before the end of August 2005, but pilots and engineers say that it will not be fully functional the end of 2005. Recently, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Mr Praful Patel, announced that the Srinagar airport would soon be international. What is the point of labelling airports international if they are devoid of the required facilities? In most countries, including those which are no more economically sound than India, international airports are sleepless townships, equipped with ultra-modern facilities. The functioning of the airport is as complicated as running any city. The airport is an odd complexity of over-lapping authority. But sadly, Indian airports have become cesspool of corruption. This is because AAI’s over-all control is feeble.
Private airlines Soon, Jet and Sahara will be operating flights to the United Kingdom. According to reports, Jet would operate seven flights a week to the UK and Sahara two. Both these aggressive private operators are negotiating with the British authorities for convenient time of operation. Maybe, they will succeed in posing more problems to the national carrier, Air-India, which has not yet finalised landing slots with the UK government. With private operators going ‘truly international’, there would indeed be more flights. Maybe, the competition will improve efficiency.
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Forex reserves PNB credit card Wep at Baddi Safety workshop |
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