 |
|
|
Chhatwal plans 2 hotels
Jet Airways flies into Gulf |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Poultry industry seeks ban on maize exports
Goa’s Feni to get patent
Aviation Notes
Investor Guidance
|
|
Chhatwal plans 2 hotels
Chandigarh, January 5 Asked that he made a similar statement 10 years ago, Sant Singh said he was ready to invest then also but no one took him seriously. “As the Punjab government did not respond, I invested in southern states. I plan to set up 25 hotels in Southern cities, including Hyderbad, Cochin, Bangalore and others. First hotel in the south would be inaugurated on January 10 and another in April. “I feel that Mohali is now ready for setting up a seven-star hotel and other cities like Ludhiana and Jalandhar are ready for five-star hotels. However, first I will opt to set up a heritage hotel at Amritsar. I am prepared to take Gobindgarh Fort at Amritsar for setting up the hotel,” he added. “I have talked to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today in this regard and if he clears the proposal, I would go ahead with it soon,” he said, adding that he had a plan to invest Rs 5,000 crore in next four years in India in hotel industry. Asked whether the setting up of the heritage hotel will be a profitable for him, he said though every business invested money to earn profit but he would not mind losing money if he was allowed to set up the hotel at Amritsar. Sant Singh, who belongs to Faridkot, said for the past seven years, he had been visiting the Golden Temple on New Year without fail. “Even when I got my corporate plane, I came to the Golden Temple to perform ardas,” he said. |
|
Jet Airways flies into Gulf
New Delhi, January 5 The lucrative Gulf sector was served all this while only by national carriers. The Jet flight to Kuwait from the Indira Gandhi International Airport this morning left with 69 passengers on board. It was flagged off by director general civil aviation Kanu Gohain. Jet Airways vice-president (international relations and industry affairs) P K Sinha said: “We have introduced our world class services keeping in mind the unmet demand for more flights to the gulf region.” The services will be at par with with Jet’s premier services to the western destination. Jet is also proposing to launch two new flights to Mascut and Doha from Calicut from January 23. Sinha said the Gulf was now growing as a tourist destination and more Indians preferred to travel to these countries for holidays. There is a huge demand for better connectivity. Simultaneously, the airline launched three other daily direct flights: Kochi-Kuwait, Kochi-Bahrain and Mumbai-Kuwait. Jet’s commercial executive vice-president Sudheer Raghavan said with a large number of Indians in the Gulf, flights to these sectors constantly register high load factors. He added that with the launch of the Kochi-Kuwait and Kochi-Bahrain flights, Jet Airways also made its first international foray out of Kerala. The airline currently operates 355 flights daily to 55 domestic and international destinations, including New York, Toronto, Brussels, London, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Bangkok, Kathmandu and Dhaka. |
|
Poultry industry seeks ban on maize exports
New Delhi, January 5 The NECC says this would put an end to hoarding in the name of exports and speculation in the forward markets while at the same time not hurt genuine export. The poultry industry is facing a deep crisis due to an precedent increase in the price of essential feed ingredients like maize and soya meal, it adds. A statement issued by the committee states that last year, responding to their appeal, the government had banned the export of maize by private parties. It said: “This had an impact and price of maize decreased. However, the government has once again allowed export by private parties. It is free for all now and this is what has triggered a sudden increase in the price”.
|
|
Goa’s Feni to get patent
Mumbai, January 5 Last week, a team from the Geographical Indication Registry (GIR) visited Goa at the invitation of the All Goa Feni Bottlers and Distillers Association (AGFBDA) and the state government to ascertain their claims for a patent. The team visited several traditional and modern breweries to get a first-hand account of the feni-brewing process. Last year, the AGFBDA moved an application seeking to obtain a geological indication registration for feni following an awareness drive by the Centre to patent indigenous knowledge forms under a WTO process. Once the registration comes through, Goan brewers would be registered under the WTO. According to the AGFBDA, about 4,000 small scale industries are engaged in cultivating cashew and brewing feni. The industry is also demanding that the brew be reclassified as Indian made Goan liquor.
|
|
Aviation Notes If much-hyped and much publicised civil aviation has hit a turbulent block, general aviation is suffering from indifferent maintenance while the Aviation Research Centre (ARC) is flying serenely. Civil aviation’s woes emerge from haphazard growth of infrastructure and acute shortage of commanders, general aviation is being run unprofessionally more by the state governments and corporate chiefs than technical persons. The ARC (RAW-Research and Analysis Wing), under the control of the cabinet secretariat, is running with meticulous care and precision. The six aircraft are kept in an excellent health while pilots, both the Air Force and civilian, are proficient in their flying. Subjected to rigorous medical tests from time to time, the ARC transports high government dignitaries and politicians from one centre to another. Both civil and general aviations are victims of man-made problems. They will emerge out of their woes if the directorate-general of civil aviation (DGCA) is strenthened, reinforced and re-organised on professional lines. It should be made supreme unit not on paper but in action without any interference from politicians and others. Its chief, the director-general, should be empowered to be the trouble-shooter in every aspect. It has quite a few competent and efficient officers but unfortunately they are not being effectively utilised. The general aviation needs ‘reforms’. Many important lives, like that of Madhavorao Scindia, have been lost due to callousnes. The aircraft should be maintained and should be flown only when weather permits and the commander is in a fit condition to command the aircraft. The statistics show that quite often these rules are not adhered and thereby, the aircraft has crash-landed. The Punjab government’s King Air (C-90) stayed grounded for years for repairs. One does not know why it took so long to repair the aircraft? It has now been declared fit to fly. Trained and experienced pilots are difficult to get. But strict rules of aviation must be observed so that no accident takes place, as it happened some years ago when Punjab Governor perished with his family members. That accident was more because of human fallibility than technical reasons. The King-Air is a very sturdy aircraft. It can accommodate six persons in addition to two cock-pit crew and carry 2,000 pounds. The rules of persons and weight of baggage and cargo must be adhered to. If there is any violation, it can be dangerous. The commander undertaking flight and his co-pilot must be subjected to medical test. There have been numerous instances when commanders in `high spirits' have taken the command. Some have been grounded but some with political connections have gone scot free. Two sets of rules should not be allowed to operate in the vital aviation sector. As congestion on ground in cities like Mumbai and Delhi is increasing at rattling speed, it will be advisable if helicopter services are increased, according to aviation officials.
|
|
Investor Guidance Q: As per the current regulation made by SEBI, investor in mutual fund has to submit a copy of PAN card. Therefore, a person under the category of non-taxable income has also to get the card. Is it necessary for such a person to submit the returns? And what if somebody wants to invest in the name of a minor? — Vinit A: An apparently wrong notion is prevailing that if a person obtains a PAN, he must statutorily file a return of income. There is no such requirement. In the case of minors, it is necessary for both the minor and his guardian to have PAN. IAF Pension Q: I am 78-years-old and retired from the Indian Air Force after 37 years of service. I am getting pension. Will I continue getting my pension if I become an American citizen? — Rattan Lal A: Your change of citizenship has no impact on your right to get the pension, unless the rules governing your employment specifically bars foreign citizens from getting pension. Income tax Q: I am working in a PSU and received the following claims as a nominee of my husband, who was also an employee in the same PSU, during this financial year after his death: a) PPF, b) gratuity, c) amount under group saving-linked insurance scheme d) amount under PSU’s benevolent fund scheme, e) GIS in lieu of EDLI f) family pension at the rate of Rs 2,000 per month, g) family pension at the rate of Rs 500 per month to my two minor wards and the receiving amount is being used for their welfare by me. I got certain amount of payments during the current financial year against the above mentioned heads. Kindly advice me regarding the likely IT liability and exemptions therefore. — Ratanjit Kaur A: Income tax is payable only on income and not on capital receipts. In the list given by you, it appears that all the heads mentioned by you are not taxable, unless the amount payable under the heads is higher than the specified limits. If it is so, the employers would have deducted tax at source and given you the net of tax amount. For instance, any death-cum-retirement gratuity received under the pension rules (or any similar scheme) by employees of the central or state government, any local authority or defence and civil services, is wholly exempt. Gratuity received under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, is exempt up to a limit of gratuity paid at the rate of 15 days of last drawn salary per year of completed service or part thereof in excess of six months or Rs 3,50,000, whichever is less, provided the employee has been in continuous service for five years. In the case of employees of other statutory corporations and employees in the private sector to whom the Payment of Gratuity Act is not applicable, the exempt amount would be the least of the following : a) actual amount of gratuity. b) half month’s salary for number of years of service calculated on the basis of average salary for the last 10 months. c) Rs 3,50,000. This exemption is also available to the widow, children and dependents if it is paid after the death of the employee. We wish you had given full form of the acronyms, GIS and EDIL used by you. We also wonder why you have not mentioned the company provident fund? However, the family pension received by you is taxable. Again, since the income of the minors is clubbable in your hands with an exemption of Rs 1,500 per child, you will have to pay tax thereon. Fortunately, Section 57(iia) grants deduction of 33-1/3 per cent with a ceiling of Rs 15,000 on family pensions. Therefore, in your case, the income from family pension exigible to tax in your hands will be: On your own account Rs 24,000On account of the two children Rs 12,000Less: exemption under Section 10(32) Rs 3,000Rs 9,000 Total Rs 33,000 Less : 33-1/3% = 11,000 or Rs 15,000, whichever is lower Rs 11,000 Family pension exigible to tax Rs 22,000 The authors may be contacted at wonderlandconsultants@yahoo.com
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Sant Singh Chhatwal, one of the leading hotelier of the USA, here today said he was ready to spend Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2,000 crore in hotel industry in Punjab provided he was not made to wait along the corridors of bureaucrats. “I have a cheque book in my pocket and prepared to invest right now but the government should provide a right atmosphere for the same,” he said.
Video
