|
|
|
|
India to enter into economic pact with Japan on Feb 16
Corporate Results
Bank loans in India grew an annual 24.4 per cent till end-December, according to central bank data |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ashok Leyland net down 59%
Investor
Guidance
Gandhi Shilp Bazaar to be held annually in Amritsar
Amritsar to be linked to National Gas Grid
Aviation
Notes
|
|
India to enter into economic pact with Japan on Feb 16
New Delhi, January 22 The accord was widely expected to be inked during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Tokyo in October last year. However, it could be not signed since the draft of the accord was yet to be scrutinised by the Japanese Cabinet Legal Bureau. The omnibus CEPA with Japan goes far beyond a free trade agreement (FTA) whose usual components are investment, goods and services. Apart from these components, the accord covers facilitation of business environment and the rules of origin, which are used to determine the country of origin of a product for international trade. Japan is India’s seventh largest source of foreign direct investment. In 2009-10, investment from Japan tripled to $1.2 billion from $405 million a year ago. About 1,000 Japanese firms operate in India. Apart from Japan, India will soon sign free trade pacts with Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and other countries in the region as part of its ‘Look East’ policy. The deal with Malaysia, also likely to be signed in February, is expected to double bilateral trade by 2015. Malaysia is India’s 19th largest trading partner with exports and imports totalling about $8 billion in 2009-2010, while India is Malaysia’s 12th largest trading partner. |
||
|
SBI net up 14% on credit surge
Mumbai, January 22 The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is widely expected to raise key rates by 25 basis points on Tuesday to cool accelerating inflation. It would be the seventh increase in the past one year. It had raised its main lending rate by 150 basis points in 2010. State Bank posted a net profit of Rs 2,828 crore ($620 million) in the fiscal third quarter ended December, versus Rs 2,479 crore a year earlier. The bank’s net non-performing asset ratio fell to 1.61 per cent in the quarter from 1.88 per cent a year ago as improved consumer and business sentiment resulted in slowdown in bad loans pile up. Bank loans in India grew an annual 24.4 per cent as at end-December, according to central bank data, compared with 11.3 per cent a year earlier and 16.7 per cent at end-March last year. The RBI sees non-food credit growth of banks at 20 per cent in 2010-11, still below growth rates of above 30 per cent in the pre-crisis period. Shares of State Bank of India, valued at $35 billion, rose nearly 24 per cent in 2010, compared with a 17 per cent rise in the main market and 33 per cent gain in the banking sector index. — Reuters
|
||
|
Anil Ambani monitors work at AP power plant
New Delhi, January 22 The visit incidentally followed repeated mention of the Samalkot Plant in a speech given by US President Barack Obama yesterday night in New York. The group chairman addressed the Reliance Power team stations at the site, where construction of the gas-based project is progressing rapidly, the official said. The plant is expected to start operations by 2011 end. US-based General Electric’s India unit would manufacture advance turbines for a power plant in Samalkot, Andhra Pradesh, that would create some 1,600 jobs, Obama said. On a visit to a GE Factory in Schenectady in New York, Obama said that the GE deal was a result of his India visit in November last year. “Part of the reason I wanted to come to this plant is because this plant is what that (India) trip was all about,” he said at the factory. “As part of the deal we struck in India, GE is going to sell advanced turbines - the ones you guys make - to generate power at a plant in Samalkot, India,” Obama said. He told the audience that he is sure that most of them might not have heard the name of this Indian town, which is now creating jobs for them. “Most of you hadn’t heard of Samalkot,” he said. “But now you need to know about it, because you're going to be selling to Samalkot, India,” he said. “And that new business halfway around the world is going to help support more than 1,200 manufacturing jobs and more than 400 engineering jobs right here in this community - because of that sale,” Obama said. — PTI
|
||
|
New Delhi, January 22 The net sales of the company, however, increased by 22.55 per cent to Rs 2,227.25 crore from Rs 1,817.49 crore in the corresponding period previous year, it added. During the quarter under review, the commercial vehicle maker sold 18,437 units compared to 16,129 units, up 14.31 per cent, the statement said. “As I had forewarned, after the robustness of the second quarter of this fiscal, the third quarter has been bit of a dampener attributable to the time taken by the market to accept the new emission norms and critical supply issues,” Ashok Leyland MD R Seshasayee said. Ashok Leyland attributed the increase in expenses for the setting and ramping up of the Pantnagar manufacturing facility, increased focus on R&D and the high-decibel launch of the new, innovative U-Truck platform. Besides, financial expenses were also up by nearly three-fold at Rs 47.48 crore compared to Rs 16.21 crore due to an increase in working capital. — PTI
|
||
|
PF withdrawal before 5 years of service taxable
by AN Shanbhag Q. I have worked in a private organization from Aug-09 to Sep-10. My basic salary was Rs 16,000 per month from Aug 09 to July 10 and Rs 16,838 per month for Aug-10 and Sep-10. The company was deducting 12% provident fund (PF) from my basic salary, but when I have withdrawn the same the total amount was Rs 48,060 out of which Rs 28,021 was my share and Rs. 20,039 was the company’s share. Moreover, income tax of Rs. 4,803 was deducted at source. Please let me know why there was difference in both shares of employee and employer and why have they deducted income tax on my PF withdrawn? — Sunil Chugh A. Only your employer (company) will be able to specify the exact working of the figures and the break up thereof. You have a right to ask this query to the employer. Normally, the employer will not make a mistake since the penalty is heavy. As far as the tax is concerned, the withdrawal of the provident fund amount before completion of five years of service is taxable, hence the tax deduction at source. Rebate on loan Q.
My annual income is Rs 2.10 lakh. I have taken a joint house loan along with my father. My father is neither paying the monthly installments nor claiming any house loan rebates from the income tax department. He is ready and willing to furnish an affidavit to this effect. I am paying the monthly instalment of Rs 6,000 a month, which includes Rs 4,000 as interest and remaining Rs 2,000 against principal amount. Now the question is that whether I can take advantage of the complete amount of Rs 6,000 for relaxation in income tax against my income especially when my father is not taking the rebate? — Sandeep Sektu A.
In the case of joint holding, if one of the holders has paid 100% of the purchase consideration and the other joint holder is included only for abundant precaution, the person who has paid the entire consideration is treated as the holder of the house for tax purposes. The same rule can be applied in respect of housing loans. On the other hand, where a house is jointly owned by more than one person and the share of each one can be separately ascertained, each co-owner is to be separately assessed in respect of the portion of the income from the house. Each owner can claim the benefit u/s 24 for interest on loans and u/s 80C for capital repayment against the loans taken individually. In the case of joint loans, it is necessary that the share in the loan of each one is separately ascertainable and the exemption is available in the ratio of the liability in the loan. Where a capital asset is jointly owned by more than one person and the share of each one can be separately ascertained, each co-owner is to be separately assessed in respect of the portion of the capital gains arising from the transfer of asset (CG Ghanshamdas v CIT (1979) 116ITR212 (Mad.). The same rule can be applied in respect of deductions u/s 24 for interest on loans and u/s 80C for capital repayment. The authors may be contacted at wonderlandconsultants@yahoo.com |
||
|
Gandhi Shilp Bazaar to be held annually in Amritsar
Amritsar, January 22 He added total volume of trade in that fair was Rs 1 crore. He anticipated the volume of trade in the ongoing Bazaar, which ends on January 30, at Rs 2 crore. Office of the Development Commissioner (Handicrafts), a unit of the Ministry of Textiles, is located at Hoshiarpur. The office takes care of Punjab. Aimed at bringing artisans directly in touch with customers - minus traders and middlemen, the event has been a big hit. Hand-made flowers from North Eastern states attracted the most visitors. Elika from Nagaland said these artificial flowers were economical as a piece cost as low as Rs 10 to as much as Rs 30. Rose, lily, tulip and many more flowers are available.
|
||
|
Amritsar to be linked to National Gas Grid
Amritsar, January 22 Mansingh added the Board plans to to bring the non-pollutant eco-friendly fuel people across the region. He said GAIL has offered to lay a special pipeline to the holy shrine to meet its fuel requirements. GAIL MD Parbhat Singh said they had prepared a feasibility report on gas requirement in Punjab and found huge demand in the industrial and other segments. He said the company has started the process of envicing expression of interest from prospective bidders in Jalandhar and Ludhiana to lay pipelines. |
||
|
New minister V Ravi expected
to revive national carriers
by KR Wadhwaney Praful Patel’s kick-up from minister of state to the Cabinet rank is being seen as a blessing in disguise for civil aviation in general and the national carriers, Indian Airlines (IA) and Air India (AI), in particular. Vayalar Ravi, 73, from the Congress Party, 20 years senior to Patel, gets an opportunity to initiate some bold and calculated moves to stabilise the vital aviation sector - passing through a critical phase. The outgoing regime virtually disowned its own 'babies' and promoted 'private operators' to such an extent that three privately-owned airlines are ahead of Air India. Fully aware that the merger between Air India and Indian Airlines has failed and that there is considerable unrest in the aviation sector, Vayalar Ravi, should show his wisdom and vision by going for de-merger. In the merger, Indian Airlines was swept away from the domestic aviation sector. Its staff had been rendered ‘homeless’. The route structure on domestic sectors as also on international sector has been so faulty that private airlines have started by-passing Air India. A number of planes are sitting on ground instead of being air-borne. Complains against AI, once known for its efficiency and punctuality, are rising. Disabled passengers are not even provided wheel-chairs when they have made requisitions at the time of making their bookings. The staff of the two national carriers has not blended. Indian Airlines has to be given its rightful place in Indian skies. The IA staff has to return to its home in Delhi's Airlines headquarters, while AI has to be stationed at Nariman Point, as was the case before the merger. “Give us our skies and let us operate our flights on domestic sectors, as was the case before merger," is the unanimous view of directors, commanders, cabin crew etc. They add: “We have competent officers and we do not need foreigners.” As there has been a change in the political set-up after seven years, there is hope that happy days may once again return for national carriers.
|
||
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
New Delhi, January 22
Mumbai, January 22
