Hyderabad, June 25
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is preparing a draft paper on cloud computing policy and will submit it to the government next month.

Disclosing this here yesterday, the CEO and MD of Infosys, Kris Gopalakrishnan, said cloud computing offered huge opportunities in a country like India to provide effective citizen services.

Pointing out that there was a need for a policy framework, he said, “We can accelerate the citizen services if we have the right regulatory framework.” He was speaking to the media on the sidelines of a lecture on “Growing penetration of information system and relevance of cloud computing for inclusive growth in India” at the College of Defence Management here.

Cloud computing refers to the use of multiple server-based computational resources through a digital network. In cloud computing, applications are provided and managed by the cloud server and data is also stored remotely in the cloud configuration. Users do not download and install applications on their own device or computer; all processing and storage is maintained by the cloud server. The online services may be offered from a cloud provider or by a private organisation. It operates on a pay-per-use model, helping companies to cut costs as they do not have to invest heavily in infrastructure.

Citing healthcare as an example where cloud services could come in handy, he said a national depository of health records could be created. The health data could be accessed by the hospitals or health practitioners through authentication. They could also update the records in future and these could be linked to insurance companies to process claims.

“There is a need for a service level definition of cloud- based services. It should not be a case where all data is on the cloud and the cloud could not be accessed due to technical reasons,” he said.

The CEO also favoured centralised computer resources for effective security management. “It may be easy to protect a central system where all the resources can be put together. If you distribute the resource, you also distribute the risks. It becomes difficult to secure all of them,” he said.

Replying to a question, he said cloud services currently accounted for about 3 per cent of Infosys' overall income and more than 10 per cent if cloud products were also included.

The recent Paris Air Show was the biggest and the best so far held. More than 2,000 exhibitors were present and about 400,000 visitors visited the show. According to reports, the exhibition space was fully occupied and, according to organisers, this had happened for the first time.

The deals signed for aircraft for both civil and military were unprecedented. World's two leading manufacturers, Airbus and Boeing, inked combined contracts worth about $17 billion. Analysts said, for once, they had a prospective competitor by the name of Boeing and Aviation Industry Corporation of China (BAICC), which announced its plans for wide-range expansion.

India will receive first batch of six helicopters for transportation of the Prime Minister and President before the end of 2012. The remaining six will join the family before the end of 2013.

According to manufacturers, India's order was prestigious and “we would cash on it to gain further share of market in the country, which is on the firm road to expansion.”

Analysts say that the latest version is exceedingly 'pucca' in every aspect, including flying in difficult weather conditions. The aircraft is fitted with sophisticated gadgets and safety parameters are more than most of the helicopters flying worldwide.

The concept nowadays is that helicopters should be either two-engine or three-engine. The one-engine aircraft is unsafe and prone to accidents in difficult weather and low visibility.

According to reports, Airbus secured more orders than Boeing. The European manufacturer got the biggest order from the New York-based airline JetBlue Airways (40 A320neo aircraft).

The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has shockingly disconnected the electricity supply to the Indian Railways counter (Terminal-III) of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). This has caused inconvenience to the arriving passengers and prevented them from making bookings on arrival.

There have been conflicting reports. The Indian Railways officials say, "The DIAL has wilfully done it because it has allotted the counter to a private firm for its own gains".

The DIAL officials say: "The Indian Railways has been defaulting in paying rental and, despite several reminders, it has not acted".

Investigations reveal that the DIAL's action is uncalled for .The passengers, Indian and foreigners, have been unnecessary subjected to inconvenience.

The government should step in and sort out this problem so that the Indian Railways counter continues to function, as it used to before.

Q. Can an investor claim exemption u/s 54 by investing long- term capital gains (not the entire sale proceeds) to purchase a residential house, if he already owns a residential house in his name in a different city in India.

2. Can an investor claim exemption u/s 54 by investing long- term capital gains (not the entire sale proceeds) towards repayment of borrowed capital for the purpose of residential house. (The case here is: a flat was purchased in March 2009 with loan from HDFC. As per one of your past columns, the capital gain should be invested 1 year before or 2 years after the date of the sale of the old property. However, in this case the loan was availed 1 year 9 months before the sale of the old property. In this case is it okay to repay the borrowed capital to save tax?

— Dr. E.Venkata Rao

A : 1. Sec. 54 is applicable to capital gains arising from transfer of a residential house and requires the amount of capital gains to be reinvested whereas Sec. 54F is applicable for other assets and requires the net sale proceeds (after the related expenses) to be reinvested. In both the cases, the assessee can claim exemption by purchasing a residential house within 1 year before or 2 years after the date of sale of the old house. Alternatively, he may construct a residential house within 3 years after the date. In the case of exemption u/s 54F, the assessee should not own more than one house on the date of earning the capital gains. Sec. 54 has no such stipulation and therefore, the assessee can hold any number of houses in his name.

2. Repayment of borrowed capital does not offer exemption from capital gains either u/s 54 or 54F, but allows deductions u/s 80C from the gross income chargeable to tax. The interest paid on borrowed capital attracts deduction u/s 24. Both the deductions u/s 80C and 24 are allowed only when the income from house property becomes chargeable to tax.