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Despite slowdown, agri corporates bullish
$75 fair price for oil, says Saudi king
ATF price cut again
‘Economic, social development correlated’
Aviation Notes
Investor Guidance |
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Despite slowdown, agri corporates bullish
Chandigarh, November 29 From gherkins, jalapenos, capers to bananas, strawberries and plums — the entry of agri corporates has started bringing in change in farming practices and in the cash food crops. With the processed food business in India just being a miniscule five per cent of the total food production, as against 50 per cent in the developed world, these companies see a huge growth opportunity and are thus busy expanding their operations. Talking to TNS on the sidelines of a seminar on food production, organised during Agro Tech 2008, Guy Goves, CEO of Khet Se Agri Produce India, a Tata Group venture, says that the food sector is showing a robust growth. “We have set up a distribution centre and a banana ripening centre at Malerkotla, wherein we get banana all the way from Jalgaon, and then distribute and retail it in North India. Seeing a good market for the high quality fruits and vegetables we are now planning to expand our retail outlets across North India by the end of this year. We already have two stores in Ludhiana, and propose to open four stores in Punjab and also start our distribution centre in Mumbai, which will be used for exports,” he said. Seeing a huge potential for growth in the domestic market, Global Green Company, a part of the Avantha Group, too, is planning to enter the domestic market. “We are primarily into exports of gherkins, capers, jalapenos and processed cucumbers. But seeing the potential here, we are now bringing in new processed food products, that suit the Indian palate, for the domestic market. New products like saucepinos, relishes, preserves and processed fruits will be launched here. Though our food business is worth Rs 600 crore, we do sales worth only Rs 2 crore in India. With new products, we hope to scale our domestic food business to Rs 50 crore by 2013,” said M R Chandra Mouli, vice-president of the company. Adani Agri Fresh, which has set up state-of-the-art temperature controlled storages in Himachal Pradesh for storing apples procured by them, too, hopes to increase its procurement by 20 per cent next year. A Srinivasa Ramanujam, vice-president of the company, says that they have helped in farmers getting a better price for a better quality of their produce. “We are also looking at procuring other high-value fruits which have a better shelf life,” he said.
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$75 fair price for oil, says Saudi king
Cairo, November 29 Saudi oil minister Ali Naimi said that OPEC will "do what needs to be done" to shore up falling oil prices when the cartel meets next month in Algeria, even as his king told a Kuwaiti newspaper that $75 a barrel was a fair price for oil. Naimi did not entirely rule out the chance that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would slash output at the hastily convened meeting today, but he did say the bloc needed to wait until the meeting in Oran, Algeria on December 17 to assess the impact of two previous rounds of cuts. His comments came after Saudi King Abdullah told the Kuwaiti daily Al-Seyassah that oil should be priced at $75 a barrel, far above its current rate. — AP
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ATF price cut again
New Delhi, November 29 |
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‘Economic, social development correlated’
New Delhi, November 29 “There are two ways to achieve growth in the economy. First, let growth trickle down to the various strata of society. Secondly, focus directly on health, sanitation and providing clean drinking water to the rural and economically backward population,” said Dr Ranjarajan while delivering a lecture on ‘Economic growth and social development’. India’s growth rate has been around 9 per cent, though it may be hit for a while due to the present economic slowdown. As regards social development, a significant progress is seen in medical facilities and in the material well being of the people. “The current economic crisis has raised questions on the future of social development goals that can be achieved with social justice,” said Dr Rangarajan reflecting on the situation in the world of economic doom and gloom. “Accelerated economic growth is important to achieve social upliftment as only an efficient economy can produce surplus to meet the needs. Going further, we need high economic growth, high public expenditure and efficient public spending to ensure sustainable and stable economic growth of all social classes,” he said.
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Aviation Notes The Indian civil aviation and tourism are facing unprecedented crises. The 'terror attacks' in Mumbai have left the country bleeding profusely. Many group bookings have already been cancelled. The advisories have been issued not to travel to India, particularly to Mumbai. The 'blues' of airlines, travel agents and hotel managements seem unending for at least couple of months. The blame game, as is wont of politicians, for 'terror attacks' has already begun. The debates are on. But the exact facts will never be known. Regardless who is to blame, the truth is that this is third serious body blow to the civil aviation. The previous two reasons for downturn were rise in fuel prices and then economic slowdown. Analysts fear that decline in traffic on domestic sectors will be at least 20 per cent. According to airline officials, the decline of traffic on international routes will be even higher judging from the panic that has spread worldwide. Many non-resident Indians (NRIs) have already revised their plans to travel elsewhere instead of returning home. Similarly, tourists have changed their destinations from India and Thailand (unrest in the country has led to closure of Bangkok airport) to other countries. Judging from the present environment, the government and other agencies should reduce taxes so that fares take a 'dip'. The analysts insist that the airport fees should be drastically cut instead of increasing, as suggested by two builders. "This is the time to rebuild confidence and faith of passengers instead of bothering about their financial belly", said three airline officials, adding: "In industry there is turmoil, which should be arrested without any delay". Foggy season
The technical snags persist at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) before 'foggy season' descend in the region. Diversions have taken place. The civil aviation ministry has rightly issued directives and warnings to the concerned authorities to gear up so that disruptions because of fog are as low as possible. The ministry has directed the authorities to keep runways in high working order round the clock. The ministry has also fixed deadline of December 10 for CAT III system fully operational on the third runway. The ministry has issued different sets of dos and don'ts to the authorities of the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) The analysts are of the firm view that most of the problems will be sorted out if the AAI plays a positive role in working along with the DIAL. Hyderabad air show
The recent first show in Hyderabad on the lines of the show in Paris was not organised as meticulously, as the occasion demanded. The arrangements for participants , aircraft manufacturers and visitors left much room for improvement. The organisers ran short of tickets on the final day. More people turned up than the organisers envisaged. As the confusion persisted, the latest 'hit' Airbus A-380 aircraft flew away before spectators could steal its glimpses. |
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Investor Guidance Q : I intend to make a gift of Rs 2 lakh to my nephew. In this regard, my questions are 1) What will be the tax treatment of this gift on me as well as my nephew? 1) What is the procedure to be followed while giving gifts to the relatives? 2) Is any gift deed needs to be prepared? If yes, what is the stamp duty applicable? 3) Is the gift deed required to be registered? If yes, with which authorities? — Vijay Mogare A : There will be no tax incidence of the transaction on either you or your nephew. This is in view of the provisions of Sec. 56 of the Income Tax Act that exempts gifts given to a relative. As per the definition provided in the said section, your nephew will qualify to be your relative and hence any amount gifted to him will be free of income tax. As regards the procedure, generally, it is better to prepare a gift deed and get it registered (with related stamp duty) but such a precaution is normally needed in the case of high-value gifts, particularly those of real estate. For our purposes, all that is required is an offer by the donor and acceptance thereof by the recipient carried out in black and white. In other words, the donor can offer the gift and the recipient should accept the same in writing (maybe through a thank you note). Only then it would be considered as a gift in India. It is preferable to mention the relationship between the donor and the recipient and both parties concerned should keep this document on file for ready reference whenever needed.
Tax-saving FDs
Q : Recently I read about tax saving Fixed Deposits of banks. My question is that in the case of a cumulative deposit, since the interest is reinvested, does it qualify for a tax deduction? — Lokesh Khandelwal. A :
Bank fixed deposits that offer tax deduction under Sec. 80C are very similar in structure to National Savings Certificate (NSC VIII). In case of NSC VIII the interest accumulates and is not paid to the investor every year. The interest that accumulates is treated as invested in NSC VIII. Hence it qualifies for an exemption under Section 80C for the first five years. In the last year, the interest is handed over to the investor and does not qualify for a deduction and therefore is taxable. Tax experts are of the view that if the investor opts for a reinvestment of interest option in case of fixed deposits, the accumulated interest since it is deemed reinvested in Sec. 80C would also be eligible for a tax deduction under Section 80C as it is in case of NSC VIII. Capital gains
Q : If capital gain (taxable) is say Rs 1 lakh, can I invest this amount in REC/NABARD bonds? I have no other substantial income except some interest from bank deposits. If capital gain tax is to be paid can I adjust it against the short fall in the basic exemption? — V.S. Shetty A :
For a Resident individual or an HUF, where the total income as reduced by short-term or long-term capital gains on which tax is payable falls below the minimum tax threshold, the gains would be reduced by the amount by which the total income so reduced falls short of the threshold and the balance of the gains would be taxed at the rates applicable. In short, where the tax liability arises only because of inclusion of such capital gains in the total income, tax is levied on the excess over the minimum taxable limit. In your case, if your total income including the amount of capital gain is less than Rs. 1.50 lakh, you do not have to pay any capital gains tax, nor do you have to file a tax return. The authors may be contacted at
wonderlandconsultants@yahoo.com |
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CPI-IW up 2 points Espirit to expand RIL, 3 power discoms in pact Apollo to invest Rs 1,400 cr
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