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Left to
oppose Bill on FDI hike in insurance
Sebi to
submit May 17 crash report soon
Nissan
X-Trail enters India Zero
customs duty on LPG, kerosene sought Tata
centenary celebrations from August 24 |
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Declaring assets abroad in Indian
IT return helps
Graphic: Weekly stock movement
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Left to oppose Bill on FDI hike in insurance New Delhi, August 21 However, the CPM leader did not indicate whether the party would move a cut motion in Parliament. If such a motion is mooted, mandatory voting has to take place and the government could be voted out if it fails to secure majority. Although the Left has been critical of the hike in FDI cap in telecom and civil aviation sector, yet it cannot do much as the government can hike the FDI cap by Cabinet approval. However, for the insurance sector, the government has to bring in a bill to amend the Insurance and Regulatory Development Act (IRDA) to hike the cap from 26 to 49 per cent. CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechuri told a meeting of the National Federation of Insurance Field Workers of India, the party would oppose the government’s move in this sector. He said the Left would also oppose the imposition of service tax on the Insurance Risk Premium as it amounts to a tax on social security. Mr Yechuri spoke about the negative impact of privatisation of the insurance sector and the manner in which it was opposed by the Left in Parliament and outside. “By manipulating various political combinations, the Bill on opening up of the private sector was passed. However, the privatisation of the LIC was prevented,” Mr Yechuri said. “Today the attempt of the government to increase the FDI cap and imposition of service tax was another step in the direction of weakening the public sector and allowing foreign companies to invade the insurance market and reap the profits,” Mr Yechuri said. He said the purpose of allowing foreign companies was intended to bring in foreign capital, upgrade technology and improve insurance products. The three- and-a-half- years of performance of the private insurers establishes that these objectives had not been met. These foreign companies are themselves in financial crisis in their own countries and under scrutiny. A majority of these companies are also having solvency problems. In contrast, Mr Yechuri said the LIC’s performance over the years has been excellent., most important being the claim settlement performance to the extent of 99.8 per cent. “The LIC has contributed in a big way to the development of infrastructure, rural development and industrial growth. Besides it has cross-subsidised insurance to the rural sector,” he said.
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Sebi to submit May 17 crash report soon Kolkata, August 21 Chairman of Sebi G N Bajpai told PTI today that “the report would be submitted to the government soon.” He did not give a time-frame. Asked if SEBI would fix responsibility on market intermediaries, which had caused the crash, Mr Bajpai said: “Of course we would do that”. Earlier, speaking at ‘CNBC TV-18 Investor Camp’ here, Mr Bajpai said barring the stock market crash on May 17, Indian indices had shown much lesser volatility in recent times than they did in previous years. Mr Bajpai said statistical research had shown that the correlation between Nifty and S&P was as low as 0.29, which showed that foreign investors were placing greater reliance on Indian equity portfolio. Mr Bajpai said foreign investors like CalPERs of the US had also shown keen interest in the Indian securities market, which had become a more attractive place for overseas funds to invest in than the Chinese market. Sebi is also trying to eliminate the differences arising out of overlap in the regulatory framework with the Ministry of Company Affairs (MCA). “There are no two views about the regulatory overlap, which can at best be removed by Sebi becoming the primary regulator for companies listed and to be listed on stock exchanges under the Indian Companies and Securities Laws,” head of listing of Sebi Neelam Bharadwaj said while speaking at a seminar organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) in New Delhi yesterday. The Sebi would have the jurisdiction to regulate the activities of shareholders that usually affect the rights of the shareholders, including those pertaining to financial reporting, continuous disclosures, corporate governance, and other associated transactions. On the other hand, MCA would have jurisdiction over matters such as fundamental company affairs like company formation, external administration etc.
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Nissan X-Trail enters India
New Delhi, August 21 The rugged sports utility vehicle X-Trail comes in two versions — the Comfort costing Rs 19,78,211 (ex-showroom) and Elegance costing Rs 22,64,660. It has a 2.2-litre turbo diesel engine with a six-speed manual transmission and a four-wheel drive that can take off in any terrain. The Nissan X-Trail will be imported from Japan into India as a Completely Built Unit (CBU) form and sold through dealers in major cities. “We are entering India with our best-selling sports utility vehicle. We have plans to diversify into the passenger car and light commercial vehicle segments,” Nissan Motor Senior Vice-President Toshiyuki Shiga told reporters here. Besides X-Trail, the Japanese auto major has models such as Cube, Cube Cubic and March in the B-segment, which are possible entrants to the Indian market. Mr Shiga said the company has plans to set up an assembly plant in India. However, he did not rule out the possibility of building the units in India. “All this depends on the customer response and sales of the X-Trail,” he added.
— UNI
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Zero customs duty on LPG, kerosene sought New Delhi, August 21 The government had two days ago reduced customs duties on both products by 5 per cent. Now LPG and kerosene attract duty at the rate of 5 per cent. Presenting its report in the Lok Sabha today, Standing Committee on Petroleum and Natural Gas Chairman N. Janardhana Reddy noted that reduction in custom duties on LPG and kerosene would not involve any financial burden on oil companies and the government would not lose much revenue because no import of kerosene was taking place and only 15 per cent of LPG requirement was imported. The committees suggested that the loss in revenue on account of LPG could be made by the cess collected on crude oil. The committee also felt that it was an anomaly to charge excise duty on subsidised products. The standing committee wanted continuation of subsidy on domestic LPG and PDS kerosene. It noted that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas urged the Finance Minister to increase the period of subsidy from three to five years. The committee noted with concern that consumers were hit hard because of higher import duty, excise duty and sales tax as the fuel prices increased globally.
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Tata centenary celebrations from August 24 New Delhi, August 21 Assocham president M.K. Sanghi said that more than 600 corporate houses, business leaders and policy makers would participate in the event. Prominent among those who will address the Indian industry during the event include Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia and ONGC Chairman and Managing Director Subir Raha . In a statement, he recalled that the late Tata was closely associated with the chamber and contributed a great deal to its growth.
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by A.N. Shanbhag Declaring assets abroad in Indian IT return helps Q:
I had filed
the first year’s return as status ‘resident-RNOR’ though I had not
mentioned anything about the overseas asset or details of date of
leaving the country or return (except advising Indian banks and DP about
my return date to convert NRI status to resident, in the deposits/RFC
a/c, as of that date). If you confirm that it is of use, I will put the
note detailing the foreign asset value as of the date of my second year
completion after return and state that it is held abroad as of that
date, when I file the second year's IT return. After this step, I will
arrange for its remittance through banking channel for my Indian
use/investment. I hope that would avoid any potential issues about
source of ‘income’/fund, in future and a possible threat of losing
RNOR privilege of tax exemption for the first two years’ earnings. I
would appreciate your additional clarification if the above step will
redeem the situation for the future. — E Ahmed A:
Leave
salary
Q: — C M Balsara, Mumbai A:
In respect of leave encashment, CIT v Malhotra 142CTR325
(Bom) has observed: "On acceptance of resignation the employee
stands retired from service. The word ‘retirement’ has not been
used in the restricted sense to mean ‘retirement on superannuation’.
On the other hand it is clear that it has been used in the widest
possible terms to mean and include all cases of retirement, whether on
superannuation or otherwise. What is relevant is ‘retirement’. How
it took place is immaterial for the purpose of the clause. It is
therefore clear that on retirement, even on resignation, the employee
will be entitled to the benefit of the exemption."
Gilt
scheme
Q: Further, many MFs have come up with monthly income plans that invest 85 per cent in debts and 15 per cent in equities. Which allocation has the potential to give higher returns than income schemes. May I have your valuable opinion on these MIPs? — N.S. Money Mahesh A:
The Gilt schemes are theoretically safer
than income schemes but I hope that you realise that in practice the
difference is miniscule. Since income schemes have a broader playing
field, it has the propensity of earning higher rewards. However, at
this particular juncture, both these are volatile and it is advisable
to wait and watch. MIPs are essentially income schemes with around
20-30 per cent exposure to equities. Yes, their performance in the
rising equity market has proved to be better than income (leave alone
Gilts), thanks to the market being bullish. However, note that when
the market falls (as it is now) the NAV will also plummet. So invest
knowing the downside.
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Excise raids Forex reserves Rakhi Express SembCorp Steel duty Gold prices Allahabad Bank |
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