Indian Economy : News,Discussions & Updates

Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio’s plan to take on Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hotstar has to wait

Apparently, the article quotes Mukesh Ambani as saying that the average Jio user spends as much as 4.5 hrs a day streaming videos from Jio.

We are breeding a next generation of dullards. Thanks to Jio for rock bottom internet fares, we also have the lowest of the lowest common denominator with neither intelligence, nor opinion nor knowledge nor articulation jump into any discussion and voice their opinion, however absurd, online as typified out here by nuisance value members like @Guynextdoor


That he's also a shareholder of RIL, while accusing them of corruption and abusing Modi for promoting them, while encashing dividends and profits from share trading , laughing all the way to the bank isn't ironical. It's just he being himhimself.
 
1561458900042.png


Source :- TRAI

If the rate of adoption continues at its current pace, then Broadband users will reach the current Mobile Internet user levels within 3 years.
 
  • Informative
Reactions: BlackOpsIndia and Sathya
India plans incentives to lure companies moving out of China amid US trade war
By: Bloomberg | Published: June 25, 2019 10:08:54 AM

Financial incentives such as preferential tax rates and the tax holiday provided by Vietnam to lure companies are among measures being considered.
us-china.jpg


India is weighing offering incentives to attract companies moving out of China amid its trade war with the U.S., a person familiar with the development said. Financial incentives such as preferential tax rates and the tax holiday provided by Vietnam to lure companies are among measures being considered, the person said, asking not to be identified as the discussion is still private. Industries identified for incentives include electronics, consumer appliances, electric vehicles, footwear and toys, according to a trade ministry document seen by Bloomberg.

Economies, including Vietnam and Malaysia, have benefited from businesses trying to sidestep tariffs, while India has largely missed out on any investment gains. The trade ministry’s effort is part of a larger plan to cut reliance on imports, while boosting exports, and needs Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s approval. The trade ministry didn’t immediately respond to an email and a call seeking comment.

Other measures include setting up affordable industrial zones across India’s coastline and giving preference to local manufacturers in government procurement as an incentive to win over companies looking for an alternative production base, according to the trade ministry document circulated to stakeholders. The plan will help grow India’s manufacturing base and will aid Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship ‘Make in India’ initiative, which aims to boost manufacturing to 25% of the economy by 2020. Doing that will help India narrow its huge trade deficit with China, its largest commercial partner.

A sector-wise analysis by the industry department, which oversees the foreign direct investment policy, shows investments by Chinese companies can flow into smartphones and components manufacturing, consumer appliances, electric vehicles and parts, and daily use items like bed linen and kitchenware, 95% of which are currently imported from China.

There is also an effort to step up exports in sectors vacated by the U.S. due to the trade standoff. The government has identified more than 150 items where it feels exporters can increase business with China. Some of these are prepared or preserved potatoes, synthetic staple fibers of polyesters and t-shirts, hydraulic power engines, and supercharger for motors.

India plans incentives to lure companies moving out of China amid US trade war
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlackOpsIndia
Black money stashed outside India is estimated at $216-490 bn, say studies

MPs' panel: There's huge variation in estimates of black money circulation from 7% to 120% of GDP

by Dilasha Seth | New Delhi, Last Updated at June 24, 2019 23:52 IST
1561400533-7141.jpg


Various studies and estimates have pegged black money circulation in India anywhere between 7 per cent and 120 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009-10 and 2010-11.

This was revealed by the standing committee on finance, quoting various studies and estimates. It highlighted the lack of a reliable estimation of unaccounted income and wealth.

Given that the GDP stood at Rs 64.5 trillion in FY10 and Rs 76.7 trillion in FY11 (in old series), black money could amount to Rs 4.5-77.4 trillion in FY10 and Rs 5.3-92.08 trillion in the following year.

These estimates were given by the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), and the National Institute of Finance Management (NIFM). The previous UPA government had commissioned studies by these institutions.

The report, submitted to Parliament on Monday, also quoted these studies, estimating that the black money stashed away by Indians abroad was in the range of $216.48 billion to $490 billion between 1980 and 2010.

Besides, the committee, chaired by former law minister Veerappa Moily, pressed for the earliest introduction of the direct taxes code (DTC) in order to simplify and rationalise direct tax laws in the country.

Moily told Business Standard that the Income Tax Act, due to its various amendments, had become a ‘fountain of black money generation’, and hence the entire Act needs to be simplified instead of making adhoc amendments.

The committee on direct taxes code, under the ministry of finance to overahaul the Income Tax Act and led by Akhilesh Ranjan, is slated to submit its report on July 31, after two postponements.

“The reforms in direct taxes are still pending and are not in tandem with reforms in indirect taxes such as goods and services tax (GST). Any amendment in the installment is not going to help,” said Moily.

The studies found that sectors with the highest unaccounted income included real estate, mining, pharmaceuticals, pan masala, gutkka and tobacco, bullion and commodity markets, film industry, educational institutes and professionals. Other sectors, namely securities market and manufacturing, also showed high incidence of unaccounted income.

While NIPFP gave a range for the quantum of black money from 10 per cent to 72 per cent, NIFM said it was 7 per cent-42 per cent, and NCAER estimates put it at 55 per cent to 120 per cent of the economy. Different methodologies were used for calculating the quantum of black money.
“There are no reliable estimates of black money generation or accumulation and neither is there an accurate well-accepted methodology for making such estimation. Among the estimates made so far, there is no uniformity or consensus about the best methodology or approach to be used for this purpose,” the report pointed out.

In fact, the report said that the chief economic adviser felt there is no scope for arriving at a common estimate of unaccounted income by combining estimates from the three reports. “There has been no action in the last five years on black money. The Modi government has not taken any step to implement recommendations made by either the Justice MB Shah-headed special investigation team (SIT) on black money or from these three studies,” Moily told this newspaper.

The SIT, led by Shah, had recommended a cap on cash holding limit to Rs 1 crore instead of its earlier suggestion of Rs 20 lakh. It had also recommended that the entire amount found in seizures crossing that limit should go to the government treasury.

On the directions of the Supreme Court , the government, in May 2014, had constituted the SIT, which has so far submitted at least five reports.

Black money stashed outside India is estimated at $216-490 bn, say studies
 
  • Informative
Reactions: BlackOpsIndia
India considers mass rollout of smart meters to revive utilities
1 min read . Updated: 28 Jun 2019, 08:58 AM IST Bloomberg
  • Plan under consideration would require 300 million smart meters over three years
  • Widespread use of smart meters could be a gamechanger for ailing Indian distribution utilities
powerline--621x414_1561692224799.JPG

Federal power ministry has begun discussions with manufacturers on supplying the meters. (Photo: Priyanka Parashar/Mint)

New Delhi: India is considering a plan to install smart meters in every home and business as part of its ongoing effort to turn around the country’s ailing power sector, according to officials with knowledge of the situation.

The plan under consideration would require 300 million smart meters over three years, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information isn’t public. The federal power ministry has begun discussions with manufacturers on supplying the meters, which improve efficiency by monitoring and transmitting power use data.

As part of the plan, the federal government is mulling providing subsidies to partially cover the costs, one of the officials said. Preliminary estimates by the government put the cost for the meters at about ₹2,000 ($29) apiece, or $8.7 billion in total, according to one of the officials. That’s partly based on an expectation that prices would be lower than a smaller government tender for 5 million smart meters in 2017 at ₹2,503.

The power ministry wasn’t immediately able to respond to requests for comment.

Widespread use of smart meters could be a gamechanger for ailing Indian distribution utilities. These distributors lose nearly one-fifth of their revenue through various technical and commercial reasons including power theft or inefficient billing and collecting, according to the power ministry.

Their poor financial health prevents them from supplying uninterrupted power countrywide, which is needed to fulfill Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s power-for-all goal. Other efforts to revive the distributors and spread access to power include promoting energy-efficient LED lighting, solar-power irrigation pumps and using insulated wiring to prevent theft.

Some efforts to help have been slow achieving intended results. For instance, the combined losses of state distributors participating in a federal aid plan jumped 62% to about 240 billion rupees in the first nine months of the fiscal year to March.

ITI Ltd., Genus Power Infrastructures Ltd. and state-owned Karnataka State Electronics Development Corp. have won bids to supply smart meters in previous tenders. Other companies that make smart meters include Schneider Electric SE and Siemens AG.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.

India considers mass rollout of smart meters to revive utilities
 
Govt’s 100-day plan aims to re-energize India's power sector
2 min read . Updated: 12 Jun 2019, 12:25 AM IST, by Utpal Bhaskar
  • A power sector council has been proposed to address issues between the centre and state governments
  • The power ministry plans to set up a pan-India distributor
4ZV4606E_1560279072944_1560279194168.jpg

The Modi administration’s plan to provide uninterrupted power supply to households in its second term was articulated by power minister Raj Kumar Singh after he assumed office (Photo: Ramesh Pathania/Mint)


New Delhi: The Union power ministry has proposed a “power sector council" to address issues between the Union and state governments as part of the ministry’s 100-day action plan for the second term of the Narendra Modi government.

With power being on the concurrent list of the Constitution, many sectoral issues get stuck due to differences between the Union and the state governments. The council will help the Union and the state governments work on a common agenda and ensure round-the-clock power to all, a government official, who is part of the exercise, said on condition of anonymity.

“The need for coordination between the centre and states in the power sector has never been more critical. And this must be done in line with the GST Council, involving the finance ministers of states and the centre," said Debasish Mishra, partner at Deloitte India.

According to information reviewed by Mint, the proposed council will comprise ministers and bureaucrats at various levels and will be a forum for collective decision-making.

Other proposals by the power ministry include separation of the wire and electricity supply business, setting up of a pan-India power distributor and building renewable energy management centres (REMCs) across India.

The power ministry has also proposed limiting Power Finance Corp.’s and REC Ltd’s lending to state electricity distribution companies (discoms) except for capital expenditure projects, setting up public charging stations for electric vehicles and seeking the approval of the cabinet committee on economic affairs for pre-construction activities for the strategically important Dibang hydropower project in Arunachal Pradesh.

India and China have a dispute over the diversion of the Brahmaputra river, which originates in Tibet. Even as India explores a diplomatic option, accelerating hydroelectric projects such as Dibang would give it user rights.

The proposed power council will be headed by the Union power minister and have the Union finance minister and power ministers of all states as members. It will be assisted by a standing committee headed by the Union power secretary, with finance secretaries, principal secretaries (energy) and principal secretaries (finance) of all states as its members.

The Modi administration’s plan to provide uninterrupted power supply to households in its second term was articulated by power minister Raj Kumar Singh after he assumed office. With electricity being on the concurrent list, it is for states to ensure reliable and affordable electricity to consumers.

To be sure, the decision-making of the so-called power sector council would preclude legislative and regulatory domains of the centre and states.

“The separation of carriage and content will be akin to the telecom revolution in India," said the government official cited earlier.

The previous National Democratic Alliance government had promoted the separation of the carriage and content operations of existing discoms. Carriage refers to the distribution aspect and content to power. The separation will allow consumers in India to buy electricity from a company of their choice.

The ministry’s 100-day plan also includes setting up a national electricity distribution company, proposed as an equal joint venture (JV) between state-run NTPC Ltd and Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd. The proposed firm may enter into JVs with the state discoms and help bridge market and credit risks at a time when state-owned discoms are struggling with their finances on account of losses and borrowings.

Queries emailed to a power ministry spokesperson on 6 June remained unanswered.

Interestingly, of India’s installed capacity of 349 gigawatts (GW), the peak demand is only 177GW. Peak electricity demand has been low due to precarious finances of some discoms, which prevents them from procuring the required power.


Govt’s 100-day plan aims to re-energize India's power sector
 
Taking India’s exports to $1 trillion in 3 years: Here’s how to do it, suggests exporters’ body

By: PTI | Published: June 25, 2019 7:04:33 PM

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ganesh Kumar Gupta said India has huge potential to boost it's exports of goods and services from the current USD 535 billion.
export-2.jpg

Reduction of logistics cost by 10 per cent will help boost the country’s exports by about 5-8 per cent

The government’s focus to improve logistics, ease of doing business and modern trade infrastructure will help exports to touch USD one trillion in the next three years, exporters body FIEO said Tuesday. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ganesh Kumar Gupta said India has huge potential to boost it’s exports of goods and services from the current USD 535 billion. “With steps like special focus on cutting logistics cost and time, further improvement in ease of doing business, proper implementation of government policies for exporters and timely refund of taxes will helps us touch USD one trillion exports in the next three years,” Gupta said. He said the logistics time, cost and inadequate trade related infrastructure are impacting the exports.

Reduction of logistics cost by 10 per cent will help boost the country’s exports by about 5-8 per cent, Gupta added. He also said that to develop logistics sector in an integrated way, it is important to focus on new technology, improved investment, skilling, removing bottlenecks, improving inter modal transportation, automation, single window system for giving clearances, and simplifying processes. Gupta also that timely refund of taxes such as goods and services tax will help exporters deal with the liquidity crunch problem.
There is also a need to focus on export of GI products and the government should give adequate funds for marketing of these goods to push their shipments, he added.

A Geographical Indication (GI) is primarily an agricultural, natural or a manufactured product (handicrafts and industrial goods) originating from a definite geographical territory. Typically, such a name conveys an assurance of quality and distinctiveness, which is essentially attributable to the place of its origin.

Taking India’s exports to $1 trillion in 3 years: Here’s how to do it, suggests exporters’ body
 
  • Informative
Reactions: Nilgiri
How Modi govt is planning to provide clean drinking water to 1 lakh villages

By: Rishi Ranjan Kala | Published: June 26, 2019 4:33:50 AM

CSC has inked an MoU with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for installing water filtration plants in villages.
water-4.jpg

The pilot project will probably be launched by next month. After this, installation of water filtration plants in 50,000 villages will start in phases

The government’s rural e-governance initiative — Common Service Centres (CSCs) — will now launch a pilot project to provide clean and safe drinking water in 50 villages, following which it will rope in village-level entrepreneurs (VLEs) to set up water filtration plants in 1 lakh villages in the country.

This will be the government’s first such initiative after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 16 announced setting up a target to provide clean drinking water to all by 2024.

CSC has inked an MoU with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) for installing water filtration plants in villages. BARC has indigenously developed various water filtration techniques. Now, CSCs through their VLEs will set up these filtration plants in rural areas.

“We will begin with a pilot project for 50 villages. After this, CSC will work with VLEs to set up plants in around 50,000 villages. Another 50,000 villages will be added later. The first tranche is from the villages where BARC has to provide the filtration plants. Rest will come from other stakeholder ministries,” CEO of the CSC SPV, Dinesh Kumar Tyagi, told FE. Through their rural entrepreneurs CSC will set up these plans in villages depending upon the mineral contamination profile. The full plant set-up costs around `4 lakh, he added.

The agency has developed various technologies to filter water and make it safe for drinking. For instance, preparation of composite polyamide RO membrane for brackish water desalination, ultra-filtration (UF) membrane assisted device for removal of iron, solar power driven portable domestic brackish water reverse osmosis (RO) technology, domestic water purification device based on photo-catalysis using solar light and fluoride detection kit for ground water.

“CSCs will be on the front of driving the fight for clean water. The idea is that since the government is committed to providing safe drinking water, CSC with assistance from institutions like BARC will leverage indigenous technologies to offer water at very economical prices in villages. This will not just fulfil the government’s social responsibilities, but will also help in expanding the business profile and services of rural entrepreneurs,” Tyagi said.

The pilot project will probably be launched by next month. After this, installation of water filtration plants in 50,000 villages will start in phases, he added.

CSCs were formed as part of the government’s National e-Governance Plan (NeGP). They are ICT-enabled front-end service delivery points for villages providing the government, financial, social and private sector services in agriculture, health, education, entertainment, FMCG products, banking, insurance, pension, utility payments, etc.

At present, there are over three lakh CSCs in the country with over 2.5 lakh in villages. These centres work under the CSC e-governance Services India, a special purpose vehicle set up by the IT ministry.

How Modi govt is planning to provide clean drinking water to 1 lakh villages
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nilgiri, Bali78, LoneWolfSandeep and 1 other person
India beats U.S. at WTO in renewable energy case

PTI, New Delhi,June 27, 2019 21:17 IST, Updated:June 27, 2019 21:17 IST
WTO

The World Trade Organisation’s logo is pictured outside the trade body’s headquarters in Geneva. Photo Credit: REUTERS

In September 2016, India dragged the U.S. to WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism over America’s domestic content requirements and subsidies provided by eight states in the renewable energy sector.

A WTO dispute resolution panel has ruled in favour of India in a case against the U.S. saying that America’s domestic content requirements and subsidies provided by eight of its states in the renewable energy sector are violative of global trade norms.

The panel concluded in its ruling that “the measures” of the US “are inconsistent” with certain provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the World Trade Organisation (WTO) said in a statement on June 27. It said the U.S. has “nullified or impaired benefits accruing to India under that agreement”. GATT aims to promote trade by reducing or eliminating trade barriers like customs duties.

The ruling stated that 10 measures implemented by the U.S. pertaining to renewable energy sector are inconsistent with its obligations under GATT 1994.

In September 2016, India dragged the U.S. to WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism over America’s domestic content requirements and subsidies provided by eight states in the renewable energy sector. Washington, California, Montana, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware and Minnesota were the eight States providing subsidies.

India had stated that the measures are inconsistent with global trade norms because they provide less favourable treatment to imported products than to like domestic products, and because the subsidies are contingent on the use of domestic over imported goods.

The ruling of dispute panel can be challenged in WTO’s appellate body which is part of the dispute settlement mechanism of the Geneva-based multilateral body. The ruling comes at a time when there are trade tensions between the two countries.

The U.S. has rolled back export incentives from India under its GSP programme and New Delhi has imposed higher customs duties on 28 American products.

The two countries are also at loggerheads on a number of other disputes at the WTO. The U.S. has challenged certain export promotion schemes of India, while India has challenged U.S.’s unilateral hike on customs duties on certain steel and aluminium products.

India beats U.S. at WTO in renewable energy case
 
  • Like
Reactions: madmax613, LoneWolfSandeep, Bali78 and 1 other person
Data storage rules out of e-commerce policy

3 min read . Updated: 26 Jun 2019, 12:43 AM IST Asit Ranjan Mishra
  • The contentious data protection issue will now be handled by IT ministry
  • Commerce minister Piyush Goyal said the govt’s aim would be to bring a convergence of interests between e-tailers and small retailers
Goyal1_1561489779459.JPG

A file photo of Commerce minister Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: In a major change from the e-commerce policy draft, commerce minister Piyush Goyal has decided to keep data localization norms out of the final policy, leaving the proposed data protection legislation to deal with the matter.

In a meeting with 25 major e-commerce players, including Amazon and Flipkart, on Monday evening, Goyal said data protection would now be handled by the nodal ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY), which is working on a data protection bill, two industry representatives who attended the meeting said on condition of anonymity.

“This is a positive development. There were conflicting provisions in the draft e-commerce policy and the Personal Data Protection Bill. To have one point of reference for data-related issues is always welcome," said one of the participants cited above.

Separately, Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, who was one of the participants, said in a statement: “We appreciate the initiative of commerce minister Mr Piyush Goyal to engage in a candid, positive and progressive discussion aimed at creating a vibrant e-commerce market and Digital India. We look forward to working with the ministry and many other stakeholders to realize this growth dream."

A 10-member expert group headed by former Supreme Court judge B.N. Srikrishna, which submitted the draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018, to MeitY in July, recommended setting up a data protection authority and placing restrictions on cross-border data flows. The bill mandates storing one serving copy of all personal data within India. It empowers the central government to classify any sensitive personal data as critical personal data and mandates its storage and processing exclusively in India.

PiyushGoyal_1561489262504.png


The bill is yet to be cleared by the cabinet but is listed to be tabled in Parliament during the ongoing budget session.

The government seems to be treading cautiously on the matter given US opposition to the proposed data localization norms. The contentious issue is expected to figure in the discussions between visiting US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Wednesday.

The draft national e-commerce policy released in February this year also dealt with data protection. “In light of the increasing importance of data protection and privacy, the National E-commerce Policy aims to regulate cross-border data flow, while enabling sharing of anonymized community data (data collected by Internet of Things devices installed in public spaces like traffic signals or automated entry gates)," said the draft document.

The draft policy barred sharing of sensitive data with third-party entities, even with customer consent. “Violation of conditions of this Policy will be made accountable to prescribed consequences (as formulated by the Government of India)," it said.

However, the draft policy exempted certain categories of data from restrictions on cross-border data flow. “Data not collected in India, B2B data shared between business entities under a commercial contract, data flows through software and cloud computing services (having no personal or community implications), data (excluding data generated by users in India from sources like e-commerce platforms, social media activities, search engines) shared internally by multinational companies are exempted from restrictions on cross-border data flows."

In a statement, the commerce ministry said that during Monday’s interaction, Goyal said the e-commerce policy is a work in progress and assured that enough time would be given to all stakeholders to adapt to any changes.

“More importantly, the changes will be prospective and nothing will be implemented with retrospective effect. He urged e-commerce companies to always honour the spirit as well as letter of the law," it added.

Goyal said the government’s effort would be to bring convergence of interests of e-commerce platforms and small retailers.

In a separate meeting of brick-and-mortar retailers on Tuesday, industry secretary Ramesh Abhishek said a draft national retail policy would be released soon, seeking comments from the trading fraternity.

Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of the Confederation of All India Traders said that under the proposed retail policy, all laws, acts and rules governing domestic trade should be reviewed and redundant laws scrapped. “There should be one licence instead of more than 28 licences for conducting business and their yearly renewal should be abolished as it causes great harassment and corruption," he added.

Data storage rules out of e-commerce policy
 
  • Informative
Reactions: LoneWolfSandeep and BlackOpsIndia
India grows as hub for medical tourism, foreign visitors increase 111% in 3 years
Medical tourism in India has seen an exponential growth of 111 per cent in the last three years from 2015 to 2017. According to information provided by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 4.95 lakh foreign tourists visited India for medical purposes in 2017, a significant uptick from 2.33 lakh in 2015. In 2016, a total of 4.27 lakh foreign tourists visited India for medical purposes.

Seizing the opportunity, the Ministry of Tourism has also taken various steps to boost medical tourism in the country, including expanding the scope of e-visas for medical visits. The government launched e-tourist visas in 2014 to ease the visa regime in the country, following which Medical and Medical Attendant Visa was introduced for medical tourists.

Additionally, under the Incredible India campaign, the ministry launched multiple campaigns for the international markets. Additionally, road shows and 'Know India Seminars' were also conducted to spread awareness.
Moreover, brochures, CDs, films and other publicity materials were used by the ministry along with its social media promotions across multiple platforms. The Department of Commerce and Services Export Promotion Council also launched a healthcare portal that provides comprehensive information to foreign travellers about the top healthcare institutions in the country in various languages.

Not only visitors, the government has formulated guidelines for medical tourism stakeholders in the country. In the statement, the tourism ministry said that was developing and promoting Wellness and Medical Tourism as a niche product.

The ministry said that it is offering 50:50 financial assistance to parties to up to Rs 10 lakh for participating in fairs and events approved by the tourism ministry in overseas markets under the Marketing Development Assistance (MDA) scheme. The ministry also offers financial assistance of up to Rs 25 lakh for stakeholders participating in tourism promotion shows. It additionally also offers financial support for training courses on skill providing, skill upgradation and skill certification for individuals engaged in Wellness and Medical Tourism.
India grows as hub for medical tourism, foreign visitors increase 111% in 3 years
 
  • Informative
  • Like
Reactions: Pundrick, LoneWolfSandeep, Nilgiri and 2 others
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom