Other Briefings
New Construction Services Tax to Increase Real Estate Prices
Mar. 9 – A proposal to implement a construction tax under the new services tax will invariably hike prices for real estate projects still under construction or pending approval from authorities. The tax would apply to the construction of complex service or commercial or industrial construction services as well as services offering premium prices based […]
New Delhi Best City for Living
Mar. 9 – The Confederation of Indian Industries has ranked New Delhi as having the best quality of life for its residents among all cities in the India based on their latest “Liveability Index.” After New Delhi, the next best cities to live in are Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore. The survey looked at 37 Indian […]
India Earmarks US$400 million for Rural Broadband
Mar. 4 – The Indian Government is to spend US$400 million over the next three years to enable broadband to reach more than 265,000 rural Indian villages, making the country one of the most densely interconnected populations on the planet. The formation of a Group of Ministers (GoM) to monitor and review the implementation of […]
Air India Gets Government Refinancing
Feb. 19 – The Indian government approved an equity infusion of US$177million in two equal monthly installments to the National Aviation Company of India Ltd, the holding company for Air India. NACIL is currently facing severe financial losses. Costly legacy assets, a weakening revenue stream and high cost structure are resulting in rising liabilities. The […]
Pre-Merger Consultation to be Available Soon
Feb. 18 – The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is considering a new scheme that will provide pre-merger consultation for companies mulling over potential mergers and acquisition. This will allow companies the opportunity to seek competition regulator’s views prior to filing proposals and cut down on approval times and delay that sometimes can take as […]
Business Visa Norms May be Revised for IT Industry
Feb. 5 – Business visa rules that prohibit foreigners from working in the country may be relaxed to adjust to the needs of the IT industry. Indian visa rules became stricter last year to clamp down on the thousands high and low-skilled Chinese workers illegally working in the country on power and steel projects using […]
New Hotels to be Given 5 Year Tax Holiday
Jan. 27 – To encourage more hotels to open prior to the Commonwealth Games, India is giving a five-year tax holiday for new hotels completed in the national capital region before March 31. The rule will apply to 2, 3 and 4 star hotels and exclude 5 star hotels. An estimated 100,000 tourists are expected […]
Road Project to Upgrade Highways in 5 States
Jan. 12 – India has approved road projects worth a total of US$ 1.36 billion to upgrade highways in five states. The projects cover the six-laning of 435 kilometers in Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Gujarat and the four/six laning of 122.87 kilometer stretch on Maharashtra-Goa and Goa-Karnataka border.
