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Paswan plans to restore powers of pharma pricing authority
Close-ended schemes gain popularity
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Argos, Raheja pact likely
Assocham not for hasty FTA
Aviation Notes
Aviation Notes
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Paswan plans to restore powers of pharma pricing authority
New Delhi, January 13 The pharma policy's most crucial part relates to raising the number of drugs under price control from 74 to 260 essential medicines and formulations. This would also enlarge the span of control from about 20 per cent to over 50 per cent of the domestic make. “We are in the process of restoring the Para 10 (b) of the drug price control order, which would give powers to the NPPA to autonomously control prices of drugs again,” the minister told reporters here. Mr Paswan said the ministry would issue an order next week enabling the NPPA to check drug prices in cases of extreme fluctuations or anything that may be in the general interest of the public and consumers. The ministry's plans to restore the powers of NPPA comes on the heels of the Cabinet referring the draft pharmaceutical policy to a group of ministers after it was opposed strongly by the industry to bring drugs under price control. Domestic drug majors, under the banner of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), have urged the government to present their views on the new pharmaceutical policy. The appeal, signed by Ranbaxy CEO Malvinder Singh and Nicholas Piramal Chairman Ajay Piramal, states that industry’s recommendations to the 14-member review committee for the pharma policy “had been totally ignored by the ministry.” “There is no need to increase the span of drugs under price control. A short-term freeze on the price of controlled products and an efficient price monitoring regime thereafter would ensure the availability of affordable healthcare,” it stated. FICCI President Habil Khorakiwala in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue, said the chamber is “apprehensive that industry may be forced to curtail the production of drugs because of non-remunerative prices. This will result in inaccessibility of medicines for many consumers.” Mr Khorikawala, the Chairman of Wockhardt Ltd, said the proposed policy would reinstitute the licence raj by introducing controls over the production, distribution and supply of drugs, even those not under price control. “We had made the Cabinet note based on common minimum programme of the UPA government and the Supreme Court order to bring all essential drugs under price control... But the industry lobby misled the MPs and ministers,” Mr Paswan said. He, however, emphasised that the government would not yield to any lobby of the major pharmaceutical players and was committed to consumers' interests. To a question on what circumstances could NPPA resort to price control, the minister said the details were being finalised. Once the power is restored, then NPPA can control the prices of both scheduled and non-scheduled drugs as it deems fit, he added. Mr Paswan accused the industry of “lying” and misleading the public, saying that the proposed pharma policy would have brought only an additional 12 per cent of the drugs in the market under price control. The industry has been saying that under the proposed pharma policy about 60 per cent of the market could come under price control and would retard the growth.
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Close-ended schemes gain popularity
Chandigarh, January 13 Financial experts in Chandigarh for attending CNBC-TV18 Mutual Fund Investor Forum held here today asserted that such schemes were becoming favourites as they tend to keep funds invested over longer periods by offering gains through long-term appreciation. The Tribune was the media sponsor of the forum. Addressing a gathering at the forum, the speakers asserted that mutual funds provided stability in in volatile markets and were helping in taking the investment culture to a large number of people - more so by the systematic investment plans. Laying stress on the tax advantages that could be availed by investing in mutual funds, they added that select funds qualified as "eligible investment" under Section 80C for tax deduction. These essentially included equity linked saving schemes (ELSS), unit linked schemes and pension plans. Professional advice on ways and means of saving taxes and creating long term wealth through mutual funds was provided by industry experts including SBI MF's Chief Investment Officer N. Sethuram Iyer and Managing Director of Bajaj Capital Rajiv Bajaj. Partnered by SBI Mutual Fund, the CNBC-TV 18 Mutual Fund Investor Forum is the country's first dedicated initiative. It provides an ideal platform for the investors to learn about ways to invest in mutual funds.
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London, January 13 The memorandum of understanding could eventually see the Argos format used in India, according to Retail Week, the trade magazine and the deal may be finalised within weeks. — PTI
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Assocham not for hasty FTA
New Delhi, January 13 “The agreement should not be finalised in a hurry, as it would hurt the interests of Indian farmers,” said Assocham President Anil K Agarwal. |
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When designers got free tickets as payments
by K.R. Wadhwaney Aviation corridors around important airports at Mumbai, Nagpur and Delhi have been considerably widened. The congestion in Indian skies is currently negligible. But shockingly, instances of near-misses have shown enormous rise in 2005 and 2006. It is sheer providence that no mishap has taken place in these two years. The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation has been faithfully compiling instances. Many of the air woes will die if political big-wigs do not interfere in the affairs of the Civil Aviation. According to statistics collected from different courses, pilots of private airlines have been involved in violations more than the pilots of national carriers. Some of the private airline commanders have taken command even when not physically fit. Such lapses can be suicidal. According to aviation experts, Airborne Collision Avoidance System installed on modern aircraft is instrumental in avoiding mid-air collisions. Much after the talk of merger between Air India and Indian started, the Air India chairman and Managing Director V. Thulasidas invited proposals for new attire for cabin crew. The renowned designers incurred heavy expenses and held presentations in which senior national carrier officials were present. When designers demanded payment for samples made by them, AI expressed its inability to settle the bills running into several lakhs. Worried about getting another round of negative publicity, the CMD quietly agreed to provide first/business class tickets from India to any destination. This is the kind of payment made as TAC (travel against contract). Some designers are said to have demanded cash in addition to transportation. Maybe, some payments will be made because most of the designers are ‘politically well-connected”. Most of the private airlines have been sustaining heavy losses but they continue to fly high on their sustaining ability.
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Lower the tracking error, better the index fund
by A.N. Shanbhag Q: Recently, I have read in the papers about index funds. I assume these funds have been recently launched. Are these better than investing in regular equity funds .Can you throw some light on this subject? — Chaitanya A: Index funds are passive equity funds that invest in a basket of securities that comprise the index, say the Sensex or the Nifty etc., in the same proportion as they are contained in the index. Therefore, at any given point in time, the performance of an index fund should mirror the performance of the underlying index. However, practically this may not happen as some funds have to be kept in cash to fund repurchase. Then there are transaction costs that the fund has to bear that the index as such doesn’t. This difference in the performance of the index fund vis-à-vis the underlying index that it is based on is known as tracking error. Lower the tracking error, better the performance of the fund. Index funds are really not a new concept in the Indian market. These have been available for several years now. However, of late, equity funds that used to perform extremely well have been underperforming the index. This is especially true for calendar year 05-06. A section of the investment community believes that after a point, as the market gets more and more efficient, it is not possible for actively managed funds to continuously beat the index and as such it makes more sense to invest in index funds such that at least the investor will get the index returns. A type of index fund that contains no tracking error at all is called Exchange Traded Funds. Space constraints preclude a detailed discussion on the subject, however, if you wish to invest in index funds, do choose the exchange traded variety over normal index funds. Mutual Fund options — Ankit A: When you switch from one scheme to another of the same MF, essentially (though notionally), you are selling the units of one scheme at its prevalent repurchase price and purchasing units of another scheme at its sale price. The time and wastage involved in receiving a cheque, crediting it to your bank account and issuing a cheque for purchase of new units is eliminated but that does not mean that a constructive transfer has not taken place. The same rule applies even when you switch from one option to another option (dividend to growth or vice versa) within the same scheme. Therefore, if you switch between options after one year of purchasing the units, the gains would be long-term and not taxable, else there will be short-term tax. However, switching between ‘dividend’ and ‘dividend reinvestment’ options cannot be considered as a transfer. Deduction on ULIP Q: I am given to understand that some avenues under Section 80C offer deduction in respect of investments made in the name of one’s child also. However, some others don’t. Can you please point out which avenues allow the deduction and which don’t? — Rakesh A: Contributions made to ULIP and Dhanaraksha of LIC MF in the name of spouse and children, major or minor, married or not are eligible for the Sec. 80C deduction. So is contribution to PPF. Unfortunately, NSC-VIII, ELSS etc still continue to get step-motherly treatment. In these cases, the deduction is available only on contributions in the name of self. PPF for NRIs Q: I am NRI since 1989. The following are details of my PPF account. 1) Opened on March 6, 1981. 2) Account was extended for next five years on April 1, 1996, and similar extension was requested from April 1, 2001. 3) Notification No. G.S.R. 585(E), dated July 25, 2003, prohibits NRIs from opening fresh accounts or extend them after maturity. Since my PPF matured on March 31, 1996, I feel that the new rule is not applicable to me and therefore, I should be allowed to continue the account for another block of five years starting from April 1, 2006. — Pramod A: The maturity of your extended account falls on March 31, 2006 and, therefore, you cannot extend the same any longer. Medical cards Q: My company (in which I work) has already given me the facility of medical cards for me and dependent parents, with which cashless hospitalisation benefit / reimbursable hospitalisation expenditures are taken care of. But this has got upper limits of reimbursement. Can I invest in Mediclaim (up to 10,000 tax benefit given by different companies), so that I can get tax benefit, as well as reimbursable support, if hospitalisation expenses, exceeds my company facility limit? If yes, then how can I produce originals to both to my company as well as the mediclaim company, say National Insurance, so that I can get full amount reimbursable. Exmple, hospitalisation expenses in one incidence 90,000 say upper limit of my company 50,000 say, then can I get Rs. 40,000 (rest of the amount) from National Insurance? What would be the supporting documents required by my company to pass a bill of Rs 50,000? And what would be the requirements of National Insurance to pass Rs 40,000? — Chary A: Under section 192(2B), where an employee receives income under any other head, he may give the particulars, inclusive of TDS thereon in a simple statement, properly verified. Around December every year, the CBDT issues a circular guiding the employers in applying TDS for the year. Circular 11/2006 dated 16.11.06 for FY 06-07 covers only the following Sections under Chapter VI-A for the employer to take cognisance of : 1. 80C 2. 80CCC 3. 80CCD 4. 80D 5. 80DD 6. 80E 7. 80G (donations not to all covered by the Section but only to a few specified bodies) 8. 80GG and 9. 80U. The employer may adjust such incomes and TDS subject to the condition that the TDS should not be less than the normal TDS on salaries. In the case of hospitalisation, the reimbursement by the employer is exempt u/s 17 up to specified limits. Your employer will apply TDS taking into consideration the reimbursement and the details will be available in the certificate given to you. Yes, you are supposed to attach the original bill with your returns only in the case of treatment taken from hospitals approved by the Chief Commissioner in respect of prescribed diseases (Rule 3A(2)). In such cases, the employer surely will have to give the original back to you after reimbursing a part of the amount. In the case of mediclaim, the insurance company will give a certificate along with part reimbursement. If the employer reimburses the balance, either in part or full, your TDS certificate of the employer will contain the details. The authors may be contacted at wonderlandconsultants@yahoo.com |
Gold zooms Tatas buy Ritz |
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