The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Govt unveils steps to cut transaction cost in exports Sanjeev Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 8 The government today unveiled an action plan to cut transaction cost and time in exports, which is expected to reduce costs by Rs 2,100 crore, make exports more competitive and benefit small and medium exporters who find the procedures difficult to manage. The report of task force on transaction cost in exports was released here today by the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee along with Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and his deputy, Jyotiraditya Scindia. The task force chaired by Scindia was constituted in October 2009 to identify and suggest ways to achieve significant improvement in the functioning of export processes and reduce time and money spent in export transactions, with a view to enhance the competitiveness of Indian exports. While releasing the report, the Finance Minister said that reducing transaction cost and time in foreign trade requires support of all concerned ministries as the value chain of the foreign trade transaction cuts across various inter-connected processes. Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said the average cost to an exporter on account of transaction costs has been estimated at a level of $ 945 per container as compared to $460 in China, $450 in Malaysia and $625 in Vietnam. He added that the key benefits of these measures will especially accrue to the small and medium enterprises, who lack resources and infrastructure to deal with various aspects of regulatory framework. “In a way, the benefit of reduction of transaction cost will primarily benefit the small entrepreneurs. Information technology has a crucial role to play in enhancing trade efficiencies and in this context, the electronic data interchange is an important initiative for reducing transaction cost”, he said. Scindia said implementation of 23 measures identified by the task force issues is likely to mitigate the transaction cost by approximately Rs 2,100 crore. Permanent reduction of transaction cost through these initiatives will have a long-term positive impact on the competitiveness of India’s exports, he said. Reacting to the report of the task force, Chandrajit Banerjee, director-general, CII, said reducing transaction cost is the key to export development as global competitiveness today depends on being able to be a low-cost producer and at the same time a reliable supplier. “What is particularly encouraging is that this was just not an exercise in report writing. This was an actionable report, and 23 areas of transaction costs have already been addressed”, he said. Welcoming the report, Amit Mitra, secretary general, FICCI, said, “This will make India’s exports more competitive and help us in mitigating transaction costs to the tune of Rs 2,100 crore. Given the budgetary and revenue constraints, it is encouraging to see that adequate emphasis has been given on timely refund of credit balance in the Cenvat account, trade facilitation through an efficient EDI system, 24x7 Customs clearance system, streamlining of various forms of levies and taxes and reduction in freight costs and port charges, and simplification of various export/import procedures.”
	Sensex plunges to 7-month low Mumbai, February 8 Stock markets dipped to 7-month lows today, with the BSE benchmark Sensex closing below 18,000, declining 261 points or 1.45 per cent, as investors sold heavily on concerns over rising inflation and interest rates. Selling was seen across the board with all sectoral indices settling down between 3.81 per cent and 0.10 per cent. Consumer durables, realty, auto and banking segments set the pace for decline. The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share index opened firm at 18,141.51 but could not maintain the level and turned negative on all-round sell-off. It settled at 7-month low of 17,775.70, a sharp dip of 261.49 points or 1.45 per cent from the previous close. Similarly, the 50-issue Nifty of the National Stock Exchange plunged by 83.45 points or 1.55 per cent to end at 7-month low of 5,312.55. Sensex and Nifty had closed at 17,651.73 and 5,296.85 respectively on July 8, 2010. Marketmen said investors feared dip in corporate earnings in the coming quarters on rising inflation, further hike in interest rates and trade imbalances. Unrest in Egypt, which is likely to have negative impact on domestic oil prices, also worried investors. — PTI
	Pre-Budget Exercise CII seeks fiscal sops to boost investment Sanjeev Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, February 8 Industry body CII has advocated certain fiscal measures in the forthcoming Union Budget to accelerate the investment momentum. According to CII, even as the economy has recovered well from the impact of the global financial crisis, there is a need to accelerate the investment momentum. Recent data shows that the rate of investment has declined from 38.1 per cent in 2007-08 to 36.5 per cent in 2009-10. CII expects the Union Budget 2011-12 to help reverse the trend by introducing certain innovative fiscal measures. “The Budget would have to explore many options to see that growth of the economy remains robust next year and beyond. Emerging challenges such as rising input costs and interest rates amid still subdued global demand will have to be dealt with,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general, CII. The urgent need, it says, is to boost investment in agriculture, infrastructure and industrial sectors. As regards agriculture, CII has recommended encouraging private sector participation through various tax measures, including 150 per cent tax exemption on expenses incurred on new technology and inputs, best crop raising practices, mobile vans exclusively devoted for conducting awareness programs, soil testing, residue analysis and diagnostics. To boost investment in infrastructure, CII seeks to do away with the levy of MAT on infrastructure companies as it has diluted the incentives provided under Section 80-IA to the sector. It also favours widening the definition of infrastructure under Section 80-IA to include rural-based initiatives like water harvesting, IT products, solar panels. Further, the tax holiday u/s 80IA (4) is sought to be extended to the third party developers of infrastructure projects. Currently, the benefit is restricted to the developer or the company that operates and maintains an infrastructure facility. Towards addressing the issue of funds for infrastructure sector, CII has pitched for reintroduction of Section 10 (23G) of the Income Tax Act, which provided tax exemption of interest and Long Term Capital Gains in the hands of infrastructure capital companies. The provision was removed in the announcement of the Budget 2007-08 on the ground that tax rates and interest rates on borrowing had come down significantly. However, given the fact that interest rates are on a persistent upward march and the fund requirements of the infrastructure sector are large (to the extent of $1 trillion over the next five years), reinsertion of 10(23G) could be helpful, stated the CII press release. Changes in some of the provisions of direct tax are also suggested to be applied to induce investment in the industrial sector. Among other initiatives in this direction, CII has suggested increasing the depreciation rates on plant & machinery from 15 per cent to 25 per cent and extending R&D incentives available u/s 35 (2AB) (that allows 150 per cent weighted deduction on expenses incurred on in-house scientific research to select sectors) to all sectors.
	Sharp increase in prices of moong, tuhar Ruchika M. Khanna/TNS Chandigarh, February 8 Speculation by certain traders of pulses and high international prices have resulted in a sharp increase in prices of all varieties of moong and tuhar dal. In the past few days, the price of these pulses has gone up by Rs 8-10 per kg. The price of moong dal have zoomed from Rs 66-Rs 70 per kg (for dhuli, sabut and chilka varieties) last month to Rs 74-Rs 80 per kg now. Similarly, the price of arhar (tuhar) have gone up from Rs 65 per kg to Rs 75 per kg in the past three weeks. This, in spite of the fact that this year the area under cultivation for both these pulses has gone up over last year. Official sources in the Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur, a premier institute of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, informed TNS that the prices of the two pulses have been manipulated by the traders. “There was some report about the production of tuhar being affected because of the crop getting spoilt by frost. But though some areas did witness frost, it is unlikely to affect the production of this dal. But some unscrupulous elements have misused this to hoard tuhar and create a shortfall in demand, leading to the sudden hike in its price,” said a top scientist of the institute, requesting anonymity. He said the price of moong had gone up temporarily and once the kharif crop arrives in the market, the price would cool down. He added that the area under tuhar cultivation was 3.5 million hectares while the area under moong cultivation was 2.8 million hectares. It is also learnt that the international prices of pulses, too, have gone up sharply. This has prompted the pulse importers from importing too much quantity of pulses. In fact, in December, a number of importers had halted the bulk booking of pulses because of dwindling margins.
	Now, get info on PF claim online, cellphone New Delhi, February 8 Over 4.72 crore subscribers of EPFO will soon be able to track status of their claim settlement and account transfer online and also get updates on their mobile phones. This will be possible as the entire data of the retirement fund manager EPFO will be digitalised by March-end. "We have already completed the digitalisation of data at our 113 offices and the work in the remaining seven offices would be completed by the end of next month," Central Provident Fund Commissioner Samirendra Chatterjee said. "Once the digitalisation process is completed, the account transfer and money withdrawal claims' status could be done and tracked online by Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) subscribers on the mobile phone," he said. Besides, the subscribers would be intimated via short mobile messages (SMS) about the status of their request for account transfer and claim settlement. In case of account transfer, the subscribers would get two messages on his or her mobile - first stating that the account is closed followed by one about the amount of money transferred from old to new one, an EPFO official involved in the project said. Similarly, in claim settlement requests, first SMS message would be for intimating that the EPFO has received their application. When the claim is settled, applicant would get another message stating the amount is credited in the specified bank account. However, the official said, this facility could only be possible when the subscribers provide their mobile phone numbers in their application forms. Asked about applying online for account transfer and claim settlement, he replied, "That would be possible in the next phase. But through digitalisation we would try to adhere to the norm of settlement of claims and account transfer in a month's time". — PTI
	Hyundai to roll out six models in 3 yrs New Delhi, February 8 Hyundai Motor India today said it will launch at least six new models in the next three years as it looks to enhance its position in the domestic car market. The company will also be spending Rs 200 crore in the next five years on advertising and promotions. "Starting from this year, we are looking at launching two new models every year in the next three years," Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) director marketing and sales Arvind Saxena told reporters here. This year the company will launch two new models, he said without specifying details. The company is the second biggest car maker by volume in India after Maruti Suzuki. Besides launching new models, Saxena said the company will be intensifying campaign and promotions, specially around the ICC World Cup, which is scheduled to be played in the sub-continent. "In the next five years we will spend roughly Rs 200 crore on campaigns across the board, including the partnership with ICC," he said. — PTI