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Paswan threatens to fix steel prices
Faster growth brings inflation: Lord Paul
Inflation needs immediate attention: IMF
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Aviation Notes
Investor Guidance
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Paswan threatens to fix steel prices
New Delhi, April 12
“We have recommended a ban on exports of finished steel products completely. This recommendation has gone from my ministry to the government,” Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said here today. Other recommendations of the ministry sent to the CCP include cut in excise duty on the alloy from 14 to 8 per cent, abolishing import duty as well as the Countervailing Duty on steel products besides imposing 15 per cent duty on export of iron ore, he said. The Finance Ministry has also sent a detailed note to the CCP listing options for containing inflation, which has touched a three-year high and has become a major political challenge for the government. The CCP, to be chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is likely to meet on Tuesday or early, depending on the return of Finance Minister P Chidambaram from abroad. Paswan pointed out that at a time when global steel prices are high, the domestic manufacturers tend to focus on exports to cash in on the opportunity at the cost of domestic consumers. He also warned that even after these measures, if steel producers do not rein in exports and reduce prices, then the government will resort to bringing steel under the Essential Commodities Act. “But we do not want to go to such an extent. We hope the industry will act responsibly,” Paswan said. The government has already banned export of various items like non-basmati rice, cement, wheat and pulses. — PTI
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India to import more cement from Pak
New Delhi, April 12 “We have already imported 21 lakh (2.1 million) tonnes of cement from Pakistan and we plan to import about 4,000 tonnes every day starting May 1,” said the official. “In total, we plan to import about seven million tonnes of cement by this year, that’s the surplus that they have. However, there are some infrastructure constraints which we need to address,” the official added. This move would be taken by the government to tame the surging inflation. Meanwhile, a day after the government announced a ban on cement export to arrest prices, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said Saturday that it is not applicable to special economic zones (SEZs). “India has put a ban on cement exports. However, this will not apply to the SEZs,” Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said here at a CII seminar on the Foreign Trade Policy. Nath said the Directorate General of Foreign Trade has issued the notification banning export of cement. There was confusion whether the sale of cement from the ‘Domestic Tariff Area’ to SEZs would attract the ban. — Agencies
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Faster growth brings inflation: Lord Paul
Kolkata, April 12 Citing the example of Britain, Lord Paul told PTI in an interview, “At the moment British inflation remains at 2 per cent. The idea is that growth should not be at the cost of (high) inflation because if growth comes, mostly the well-off gain. If inflation is high, the poor man loses more. You cannot afford to do that. The entire country, other than the poor, was speaking about growth and everybody was celebrating it. One should know that faster growth leads to inflation. If you run fast, you will get tired more. The inflation rate from 4 to 7.41 per cent in six months is something we should be worried about,” he said.— PTI |
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Inflation needs immediate attention: IMF
Washington, April 12 Referring to the recent IMF reports on global and regional economy, which said inflation was on the higher side and requires immediate attention, senior advisor in the IMF Asia and Pacific Department Kalpana Kochhar said, “at 7.5 per cent (inflation rate in India) it may not seem very high but politically it is a hot issue”. Kochhar said, “It was mainly due to food, fuel and some metals. Activities have come off a fast pace but are still pretty strong.” It was critical to deal with the issue of inflation before it becomes entrenched and spills over, she added. The annual rate of inflation in India, which was below 4 per cent in January soared to 7.41 per cent towards the end of March and is expected to move up further before beginning to cool down. Rising prices forced the government to take host of steps including banning export of non-basmati rice, pulses, edible oil and cement to contain inflation. Referring to economic performance, Kochhar said: “Fiscal situation remains an issue... some progress has been made but much more needs to be done”. “There is hardly anything to derail the economic progress of India, as the underlying fundamentals of growth would not come off even if managing bumps along the way turns out to be challenging,” Kochhar said. “To my mind, it is hard to see something that is significantly going to derail the progress. There are going to be bumps along the road and managing those bumps are going to be quite challenging,” she said.— PTI |
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Move to reduce distance between aircraft: Mishap in making?
by K.R. Wadhwaney
In view of fast increasing traffic, it is a laudable move to reduce the horizontal distance between two aircraft from 5-7 nautical miles to 3 nautical miles. The reduction will increase the hourly capacity to about 60 movements from existing 35.
But since most of the air traffic controllers (ATCs) are under staffed plus due to haphazard renovation work at two near-choked international airports at Delhi and Mumbai, the time is not yet ripe to introduce the change. According to oft-repeated reports, the ATCs are under-staffed and under-paid. At Delhi airport, for example, only 200 ATCs are working instead of the stipulated 500. Many of them are not fully qualified. On an average, each ATC handles five flights at a time when he should be negotiating not more than two. This is not all. Every ATC is called upon to work beyond duty and time-limit rules (as stipulated by the DGCA and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Because of paucity of ATCs , Delhi last year recorded 10 near air-misses out of 27 incidents. Apart from these incidents, majority of aircraft have to circle around the Delhi airport from 15 minutes to half-an-hour before getting landing clearance. This circling around causes needless consumption of fuel and airlines are already sustaining heavy losses. In addition to it, this circling around also attracts bird hits. The statistics show that 30 bird-hit incidents were reported at the Delhi airport last year. The new norm of reduction of distance to near-half though essential, is a tough calling,. It offers little room for lapse or lack of concentration. It should be implemented only when all gadgets are in top working condition, aircraft adequately fitted with ultra-modern equipment, pilots trained and the ATCs fully staffed and trained. Worldwide, the ATCs are an important factor behind the safe landing and taking-offs. Sadly, in India, they are not getting the importance they deserve. |
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No rebate on house loan taken abroad
by A.N. Shanbhag Q: I am a NRI having Indian citizenship living in US. I have recently (January 2007) purchased a property in India for about 30 lakh by taking a loan here in US. The property is a house with a ground floor. I plan to take another loan here in US and construct either another 2 floors on top of the ground floor or get down the ground floor and construct 3 floors from the scratch and put those apartments on rent. I am expecting around Rs. 5.5 lakh of rent per year from these apartments. I have no other income from India, except may be another Rs. 30,000 from mutual fund and equity investments. a. If I rent out these apartments are they obliged to deduct TDS when paying rent to me? b. Under DTAA between India and US, can I claim any relief on paying TDS or income tax on my rental income from India? c. If no, what is the realistic TDS which would apply to my rental income? I am aware that there is a flat 30% TDS for NRI, which can be reduced based on a certificate from the Tax Authorities. d. What kind of tax slab will apply on my income (including rental) from India? e. Can I avail any tax benefit on the interest on loan or loan capital itself I have taken for purchasing and/or constructing this property in India? f. I have had a PAN card since last FY ('07 - '08) but no income as such from India or income less than 1 lakh (i.e. tax free amount as per the slab). Am I still obliged to file a tax return for last FY? g. The house I have bought in January 2001 has been empty and not let out since. Even though I have had no income in '07 - '08 FY, is it still advisable to file a tax return for FY '07 - '08 in order to avail some kind of benefit / depreciation / credits (on account of it being vacant or interest being paid on the loan or capital being paid back on the loan) which could be passed on to the next financial year (i.e. '08 - '09)? h. While filing a tax return in India, do I have to disclose my salary or any other income I am earning here in US? — Merwani A. a) Yes, TDS on rent is required to be applied @30%, plus surcharge @10%, if any, and the educational cess @3%. The total tax rate would hence work out to 33.99%. b) Under the DTAA, though there is no relief from TDS available per se, you may claim credit of the amount of taxes paid in India on the rental income from the tax payable in US on this rental income. However, note that as DTAA provisions are subjective and open to interpretation, as a policy we do not advise on DTAA provisions in this forum. d) The rental income will be added to your normal taxable income for determining the slab. The tax slabs for FY 08-09 are as under :
e) As per Sec. 25 of the Income Tax Act, no relief is available as far as India tax is concerned, on interest paid or payable abroad for loan taken to acquire / construct house property. f) Unless your Indian income exceeds Rs. 1,50,000 (For FY 08-09), there is no legal obligation to file a tax return in India. However, for the sake of maintaining continuity, it is advisable to file a tax return nonetheless. g) Since so far you haven't been renting the property, the vacancy deduction etc. is meaningless. Also, as discussed elsewhere, the interest deduction is not available in respect of loans availed of abroad. h) As an NRI, your foreign income is free of India tax. Hence, you need not disclose your US income when filing a tax return in India. The authors may be contacted at wonderlandconsultants@yahoo.com
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