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No rollback of excise duty on jewellery, says CBEC
Bullion traders’ protest enters 3rd day
Bharat Dynamics to set up missile unit
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NIIT to open ‘playground kiosks’ in Bhutan
Aviation Notes
IMF discusses eurozone crisis with Pranab
SEBI lifts ban on Welspun Group
Vodafone brings Worldspace Radio on mobile
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No rollback of excise duty on jewellery, says CBEC
New Delhi, March 19 “We will soon issue clarifications and there should be no apprehension in this regard,” said CBEC chairman SK Goel while addressing a post-Budget seminar organised by Assocham. He said the effective excise duty on jewellery could be in the range of Rs 90 per 10 grams. Small artisans who design and create jewellery for goldsmiths will not have to face the hassle of registration for duty payment. Bullion traders are unhappy over the extension of 1 per cent excise duty to unbranded precious metal jewellery and have threatened to go on indefinite strike. The government has also doubled import duty on gold to 4 per cent. India, the world's largest consumer of gold, imported 967 tonnes of the precious metal in 2011. To reduce the quantum of cash transaction in bullion and jewellery sector and for curbing the flow of unaccounted money in the trade, the government has proposed that a jeweller should collect 1 per cent tax from every buyer if sale consideration exceeds Rs 2
lakh. |
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Bullion traders’ protest enters 3rd day
New Delhi, March 19 Traders in several parts of the country, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai, kept their shops closed for the third day, All-India Sarafa Association president Sheel Chand Jain said. Jain said the association has written a letter to Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee last week demanding withdrawal of these proposals. "The budgetary proposals doubling the customs duty on gold to 4 per cent and levying of a 1 per cent excise duty on unbranded jewellery would affect business and wipe off the existence of nearly 95 per cent of small jewellers in the country", he said. Jain said the proposal to hike import duty on gold will encourage smuggling of the precious metal as well. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had yesterday said the pressure tactics of bullion dealers, "will simply not work". "I did it deliberately," he said in an interview when asked about the three-day strike by bullion dealers across the country to protest the levies.
— PTI |
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Bharat Dynamics to set up missile unit
Hyderabad, March 19 The BDL is a public sector unit for the manufacture of guided missiles. The new project is coming up at Ibrahimpatnam on the city outskirts, spread over 630 acres of land. “Once completed, an estimated 6,000 missiles are expected to be produced at the unit,” Minister of State for Defence M Pallam Raju said after laying the foundation stone for the unit. The funds required for the project would be allocated during the 12th and 13th plan periods. The BDL's turnover would go up from Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore once production begins at the Ibrahimpatnam unit. The proposed manufacturing centre is expected to create employment for more than 700 persons directly and over 2,000 indirectly. The facility, which will produce sophisticated medium-range missiles, will be operational in
four years. BDL Chairman and Managing Director Maj Gen Ravi Khetarpal (retd) said the proposed project would be the company's fourth manufacturing unit in Andhra Pradesh and the fifth in the country. “The project will kick off with an initial investment of Rs 2,500 crore,” he said. “We are likely to tie up with two foreign countries and once that is done, the production will start. It will not only spur ancillary industries, but also create employment for local people,” Pallam Raju said. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar said his government was planning to earmark 6,000 to 7,000 acres of land for various defence projects in and around the city, including three each by BDL and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), two for Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) and one for Mishra Dhatu Nigam (Midhani). These projects would together generate employment
for over 10,000 people, he said. Recently, the BDL had set up a facility to manufacture underwater torpedoes - self-propelled projectiles which can be launched from a submarine, aircraft or a ship - conceived by the Naval Science and Technological Laboratory in Visakhapatnam for the Indian Navy. The facility is likely to commence operations within the next
three months. |
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NIIT to open ‘playground kiosks’ in Bhutan
Chandigarh, March 19 Vijay Thandani, CEO, NIIT, says the new concept is aimed at creating an IT-enabled society that supports its sustainable economy. It is aimed at getting youth to use computers, train teachers and other citizens. Initially, the project is aimed at reaching out to one lakh students, IT professionals, schools and enterprises in Bhutan. Talking about the project on the sidelines of Punjab and Chandigarh annual session of CII recently, Thandani, who is also the Northern region chairman of CII, said they propose to set up 130 touch-screen playground kiosks in different parts of Bhutan. These kiosks or computer learning points, will have a satellite dish, powered by a solar panel. Anybody can just go to these kiosks, log in and get connected to the net and begin surfing. “We expect this will be yet another pioneering experience like the hole in the wall concept, which has been successfully launched in many countries like Egypt, Cambodia, Africa and Latin American countries. This will be yet another initiative in Bhutan to promote IT literacy. Earlier, we have been promoting IT literacy there among the Council of Ministers by making them hold Cabinet meetings using Webex on iPads. The bureaucrats and top brass of the military, too, is being trained to use IT, while we are also training teachers and students in over 160 schools to become IT literate,” he said. Talking about the company’s initiatives in this part of the country, Thandani said they were now moving to develop skills among youth through Yuva Jyoti Kendras. “We have set up four of these in Haryana, where computers are being used to improve the communication skills of youth in the rural and semi-rural areas. In the coming year, we propose to open 50 of these in Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, besides more centres in Haryana,” he added. |
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Aviation Notes The aviation industry in India will stay “civil” only if it is allowed to function professionally, commercially and independently. Already on ‘oxygen’, it will drown if the proposed new apex body, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), is managed by officials other than professionally qualified persons and aircraft are purchased on ‘considerations’ other than flying viability. Just as medical science stays with doctors and engineering with engineers, the civil aviation should also remain in the hands of professionally competent persons instead of being handed over to bureaucracy. Similarly, wide-bodied aircraft for short, medium and long-haul routes should be purchased on the basis of fuel consumption, efficiency, durability, maintenance facilities and easy availability of spare parts and not on the basis in which country they are produced. Also, the compensation paid for the delayed delivery of aircraft should not be made to look like a ‘kick-back’ strategy. The compensation is given as a fine and it should not be linked with ‘future buy’. Reports reveal that the world’s leading manufacturers have drifted away on different platforms and have started issuing statements against each other not realising that they are affecting their own reputation instead of selling their products to Indian carriers. There was time when the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) was a sought-after industry in the country. It has degenerated into a chaotic mode only because it is being run as ‘personal jagir’ instead of conducting it as government’s parent body in the sphere of civil aviation. History has time and again pointed that those, who have been at the helm of affairs, have been responsible for fudging documents, issuance of fake flying certificates and also granting illegal licences to flaying clubs. What is cause for concern is that there are two rules in operation - one for favourites and another for others. Pilots with major irregularities go scot free while others with minor incidents are punished. Regardless of who heads the new Civil Aviation Authority, a judicious decision has been taken that air accident investigations will be entrusted to an independent board. It is a wise decision but its utility will be achieved only if the reports filed by the competent authority are heeded and acted upon instead of being buried in the Rajiv Bhawan.
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IMF discusses eurozone crisis with Pranab
New Delhi, March 19 "We particularly discussed the euro area situation and we also discussed the role of IMF and importance that emerging market economies have to play within organisation," Lagarde told reporters after meeting Mukherjee here. Lagarde said she had elaborate discussions on the general economic situation. The IMF Managing Director's two-day visit to India comes at a time when the European debt turmoil poses risk to the fragile global economic recovery. The multilateral agency is also looking to bolster its financial resources, especially with contributions from emerging majors such as China and
India. — PTI |
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SEBI lifts ban on Welspun Group
Mumbai, March 19 Following this, the interim directions issued vide order dated December 2, 2010 are revoked, considering the proposed adjudication proceedings and also the fact that the entities have already undergone debarment for a period of 15 months, it said. The SEBI had barred Welspun Corp from trading on the stock exchanges for allegedly indulging in fraudulent and unfair trade practices. "This is a landmark judgement which has exonerated Welspun Group promoters, and reaffirms highest standard of corporate governance and ethical practices within Welspun Group," Welspun Group chief BK Goenka said.
— PTI |
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Vodafone brings Worldspace Radio on mobile
New Delhi, March 19 Worldspace Radio service would be available live in Uttar Pradesh East and West, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Mumbai, Bihar, Kerala, Rest of Bengal, Assam, North East, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Orissa, Delhi, Tamil Nadu and Chennai. The subscribers would be able to avail this service at a price of Rs 30 per month along with 300 minutes of free usage. |
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