Vajpayee says India can expect bold reforms
New Delhi: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has said that economic reforms are on course and his government will take some bold steps in future. In an interview to a newsmagazine, Vajpayee said: "Our robust economy is changing the way the world looks at us. Making economic reforms work for the benefit of the people was one of the achievements of his government."

On whether individualism had slowed down the pace of disinvestment, Vajpayee said: "Individuals have differences. This is democracy." Vajpayee said he was "fit and ready" for elections, but nothing had been decided on who would lead the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls. "Let us see what happens. The timing will be decided after taking our coalition partners into confidence. We will also discuss it at our party's national executive meeting on 11 January in Hyderabad," he said.
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BPO income: MNCs to get tax break
New Delhi: The finance ministry has decided to exempt multinationals with business process outsourcing (BPO) subsidiaries in India from paying tax. The ministry is expected to issue a notification this week saying foreign firms whose call centres in India only take orders for buying and selling goods and services, will not have to pay tax for such operations.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had appointed a task force on non-resident taxation to clear the uncertainty over Section 9 (1) of the Income Tax Act, introduced in the Budget for 2003-04, which held that while receiving calls per se was not taxable, selling products through tele-marketing was.
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