Posts tagged ‘India’

19/04/2015

India issues fresh tax notice to Vodafone – report | Reuters

Tax authorities have issued a fresh notice to Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L) seeking re-assessment of tax returns for assessment year 2009-2010, news channel ET Now reported on Saturday citing sources familiar with the development.

A man checks his mobile phone as he walks past a shop displaying the Vodafone logo on its shutter in Mumbai January 15, 2014. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/Files

The government in January said it would not appeal a regional court ruling in favour of Vodafone in a long-running dispute under which the taxmen had accused a unit of the British telecoms firm of under-pricing shares in a rights issue.

Vodafone has 30 days to respond to the fresh notice, the news channel’s report said. (bit.ly/1JUMvap)

However, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in comments carried by Business Standard newspaper, said: “Barring a case that is pending under that law (Income Tax Act) or another case that has arisen now, I think we’ve put most issues to rest, as far as retrospective legislation is concerned.” (bit.ly/1EZM9Q7)

via India issues fresh tax notice to Vodafone – report | Reuters.

16/04/2015

The Statesman: Roadmap for India-Canada free trade pact by Sept: Modi

India and Canada on Wednesday expressed commitment to have a free trade pact, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying a roadmap will be laid for the market opening agreement by September.

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Modi said the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) will also be concluded soon.

“I am confident that we can conclude the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement very soon.

“We will also implement the roadmap to conclude the Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement by September 2015,” he said at a joint press conference with his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper.

He said Canada has the potential to partner India’s economic transformation and “it exists in a new environment in India which is open, predictable, stable and easy to do business in”.

Prime Minister Harper and I are absolutely committed to establishing a new framework for economic partnership. I am pleased that we have made rapid progress on long-pending agreements,” Modi said.

On the free trade pact, Harper said there are many issues in this to be resolved, but “we are committed to see it through”.

Harper further said there was no reason why Canada should not have a free trade pact with India which “is a vibrant democracy. Nothing precludes that”.

The Canadian Prime Minister said while the trade between the two countries has increased, “it is still not as much as it should be”.

He expressed confidence that nuclear agreement signed today with India will raise the bilateral trade volume further.

The bilateral trade increased to USD 5.18 billion in 2013-14 from USD 4.83 billion in previous year.

via The Statesman: Roadmap for India-Canada free trade pact by Sept: Modi.

14/04/2015

The Statesman: Let’s make India Ambedkar dreamt of: Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday paid tributes to to BR Ambedkar on his 124th birth anniversary, and said, “Let us pledge to dedicate ourselves to creating India that Ambedkar dreamt of…an India that will make him proud”.

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“I bow to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar on his birth anniversary – Jai Bhim,” the prime minister said in a message.

“Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar is a yug purush (man of the era) who lives in the hearts and minds of crores of Indians. His life is characterised by unmatched determination and a firm commitment towards social justice. He made a mark as a bright lawyer, scholar, writer and intellectual who always spoke his mind,” Modi said.

He added: “Who can forget Dr. Ambedkar’s contribution in the making of our Constitution? He served the nation and the people tirelessly and selflessly.”

“Let us pledge to dedicate ourselves to creating the India that Dr. Ambedkar dreamt of…an India that will make him proud.”

via The Statesman: Let’s make India Ambedkar dreamt of: Modi.

14/04/2015

India will set Climate Change conference agenda: Modi – The Hindu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has slammed developed nations for questioning India over global warming despite it having the lowest per capita emission of gases and asserted that India will set the agenda for the Climate Change conference to be held in France in September.

Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser (centre) smiles as a trainee hands over a small Berlin TV Tower to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a visit to the Siemens company in Berlin on Monday.

“I am surprised that the world is scolding us even though our per capita gas emission is the lowest…,” he said while addressing a reception for the Indian community here last night.

Underlining that preservation of nature was in the customs and tradition of Indians which they have done for ages, Mr. Modi said, “The whole world is posing questions to us. Those who have destroyed climate are asking questions to us. If anybody has served the nature, it is Indians.”

He asserted that India is “not answerable to the world” and will tell them that “you destroyed nature.”

Underlining that India should lead the way to deal with climate change, the Prime Minister said, “India will set the agenda for the upcoming Conference of Parties (COP)” meeting to be held in Paris in September.

Referring to India’s traditional practices and traditions, Mr. Modi said it is the only country which has served the nature the most as Indians even treat even river as mother and worship trees.

“Treating the nature well comes naturally for Indians and they (developed nations) are teaching us,” he said.

The Prime Minster said the solutions to the “crisis” on account of global warming are in India’s traditions and customs.

“We should go out with confidence,” he said, asking the Indian diaspora to contribute in this regard.

At the same time, he said India also wants solutions to the global problem of climate change. In this regard, he spoke about his government’s initiatives to tap clean and renewable energy for generating 175 Gigawatts of electricity from it.

One Gigawatt is equal to 1,000 MW.

“Earlier, we did not go beyond Megawatts but in 10 months, we have at least started thinking of Gigawatts,” he said.

via India will set Climate Change conference agenda: Modi – The Hindu.

14/04/2015

Narendra Modi: India Has Changed – India Real Time – WSJ

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought to convince German industry that India is a reliable place to do business on his first visit to Europe’s largest economy as India’s leader.

View image on Twitter

“I am here to assure German companies that India is now a changed country — transparent, responsive and stable,” Mr. Modi told a delegation of Indian and German business leaders on Monday.

The Indian leader insisted that he was committed to introducing a “predictable” business environment in his country, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomed him for the start of the Hannover Messe trade fair.

As the official partner country of the Messe—the world’s largest industrial trade fair—India is promoting its industrial and technological assets as Mr. Modi seeks to draw German industrial investment to his country.

Months after his election last May, Mr. Modi, of the conservative Bharatiya Janata Party, launched a “Make in India” campaign to promote the country as an investment destination and manufacturing center. His goal is to market India as an industrial hub for foreign players eager to take advantage of the country’s large workforce, raw materials and infrastructure.

via Narendra Modi: India Has Changed – India Real Time – WSJ.

12/04/2015

Drugs for malaria, osteoporosis, diabetes: Harsh Vardhan – The Hindu

‘The “candidate drugs” for malaria, osteoporosis and diabetes were currently undergoing clinical trials’

The “candidate drugs” for malaria, osteoporosis and diabetes were currently undergoing clinical trials. Photo: V.V.Krishnan

The Indian pharmaceutical sector would soon be showcasing ‘candidate drugs’ for malaria, osteoporosis and diabetes, Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Harsh Vardhan said on Saturday.

With further R&D, important breakthroughs could be on the horizon for these diseases, he said following a visit to the Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI), Lucknow, a wing of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Addressing scientists, he said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was committed to making India one of the world’s leading destinations for end-to-end drug discovery and innovation by 2020.

“I am confident that the drug laboratories under the CSIR are capable of backing up the Swasth Swachh Bharat Mission. Our scientists are focussing on both infectious and lifestyle diseases. We are developing next generation drugs, biologics, biosimilars, gene therapeutics, stem cell therapeutics, personalised medicine and multifunctional nanomedicine,” said Dr. Vardhan.

Indian R&D efforts in government laboratories like CSIR-CDRI, CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT, Hyderabad) and CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (CSIR-IICB, Kolkata) have a track record in making drugs for kala azar, filaria, leprosy and tuberculosis available at affordable rates to the common man, he said.

via Drugs for malaria, osteoporosis, diabetes: Harsh Vardhan – The Hindu.

12/04/2015

Modi’s ‘Make in India’ Gets $2 Billion Vote of Confidence From Airbus – India Real Time – WSJ

On Saturday, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to Airbus Group ‘sEADSY +0.49% facilities in Toulouse, France.

He was greeted with a vote of support, from the aerospace company’s CEO, for his Make in India initiative to build up manufacturing in the South Asian country.

Airbus is “ready to manufacture in India, for India and the world,” said Airbus chief Tom Enders. “India already takes a center-stage role in our international activities and we want to even increase its contribution to our products.”

Airbus Group aims to increase its sourcing of aerospace parts from Indian companies to $2 billion in the next five years, the company informed Mr. Modi, as it seeks to diversify its supplier base and tap low-cost suppliers worldwide.

The company’s strategy to ramp up outsourcing from India comes as it competes to secure billions of dollars in deals for military hardware from the country.

India has yet to decide on a joint bid by Airbus and India’s Tata Group to make Airbus’s C295 aircraft, in a contract estimated at about $3 billion. The company is also pursuing separate deals for hundreds of helicopters from the Indian military.

India has already selected Airbus to supply six A330 multirole tanker-transport planes for an estimated $2 billion.

In a presentation to the Indian prime minister on Saturday, the company said it would work with partners in India in areas such as engineering, customer services and pilot training, and to establish centers for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of planes, according to Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin.

In a statement, Airbus said it aims to produce helicopters, military planes, sensors as well as satellites in India, in partnerships with local firms. The company predicted India would India would require 1,291 new planes over the next two decades. It forecast the Indian air travel market to grow 11% each year through 2025.

via Modi’s ‘Make in India’ Gets $2 Billion Vote of Confidence From Airbus – India Real Time – WSJ.

09/04/2015

Demands for Bribes and Other Barriers Get in Way of Modi’s Banking Push for the Poor – India Real Time – WSJ

Firozaben, a nurse at an upscale clinic here, opened an account at the state-owned Bank of Baroda Ltd. in December, attracted by the promise of an overdraft provision and accident- and life-insurance policies—all for no fee, courtesy of a government program to bring India’s masses into the banking system.

The same month, Mohammad Assalam Ansari, a tailor, traveled to an account-opening “boot camp” run by the bank. He says he had to pay 100 rupees before a clerk would give him an application form. Despite this, he says his application was rejected; he isn’t sure why.

Their stories reflect both the promise and the weakness of an ambitious program by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to widen access to financial services to the country’s poor. The goal is to make India less cash dependent, shrink the black economy, reduce corruption and boost growth.

via Demands for Bribes and Other Barriers Get in Way of Modi’s Banking Push for the Poor – India Real Time – WSJ.

09/04/2015

India’s Credit Outlook Gets Boost From Moody’s – India Real Time – WSJ

India has inched farther away from junk-bond status.

Moody’s Investors Service MCO +0.71% on Thursday changed its ratings outlook on Asia’s No. 3 economy to positive from stable, citing the “increasing probability that actions by policy makers will enhance the country’s economic strength.” But it maintained its Baa3 rating, one level above junk, saying the Indian economy is still heavily exposed to external and financial shocks. Moody’s has rated India at Baa3 since 2004.

The move is a vote of investor confidence in the economic management of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Reserve Bank of India Gov. Raghuram Rajan. Standard & Poor’s raised its India outlook to stable last fall. Fitch Ratings has had a stable outlook on India since 2013.

All three of the big agencies currently assign Indian debt their lowest investment-grade ratings. They cite similar reasons. Inflation is high. The public sector—the federal government plus the states—is highly indebted. Infrastructure is sorely deficient. The banking system is burdened with bad assets.

“While policies are beginning to address each of these factors, the extent of likely improvements is as yet unclear,” Moody’s said Thursday.

via India’s Credit Outlook Gets Boost From Moody’s – India Real Time – WSJ.

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