Government likely to give tax holiday for airport revamp
Mumbai: In the run up to the budget proposals expected this year it seems likely that the Ggovernment will extend a 10-year tax holiday meant for infrastructure projects to the Delhi and Mumbai airports modernisation projects and upgrading of port terminals, mainly because the amount of investment for modernising airports and port terminals will be huge.

As per the proposals greenfield airports, ports, inland ports, industrial parks and power projects can avail of a 10-year tax holiday during the projects first 15 years.

The government has awarded the contract for modernising the Delhi airport to the GMR-Fraport consortium and the Mumbai airport to the GVK group and both the groups are uncertain of the applicability of tax holiday to the airport modernisation projects.

The GMR-Fraport consortium had emerged the second highest bidder in the financial evaluation for the Delhi airport, but was the only one to qualify on technical parameters.
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Tax holiday likely for power sector till 2012
New Delhi: The government may extend the income-tax holiday for the power sector up to 2012. Apart from this, the financing norms for ultra mega power projects may also get a huge policy push. Private sector power companies are likely to get some big incentives to invest in 4,000 MW ultra mega power projects. Among the likely incentives is a higher external credit borrowing (ECB) limit and increased sectoral and group capping on debt financing.

At present, power projects are exempt from paying income tax on profit earned for 10 years. The waiver can be availed by developers for any 10 years in a fifteen-year period. Thus, the income-tax holiday doesn't have to be availed of by the developer from the very year that the plant starts production. Developers can choose the block of 10 years for which they don't want to pay tax; this helps bring down the cost of the project.
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Railways to tap carbon credit revenues stream
New Delhi: The Indian Railways is looking to tap carbon credits as an alternate revenue stream. To start with, it has identified five projects that will result in lower carbon emissions.

The ministry expects a revenue of Rs16-17 crore per year initially, a figure that may go up as more projects are taken up. The Railways plans to appoint consultants to advise it on the issue. Management consultant Ernst & Young has already been invited to make a presentation.

Officials said there was huge potential as the Railways has undertaken large-scale electrification, which results in lower emissions than when trains are run on diesel. Also the Railways use 14 per cent bio-diesel mixed with diesel in Southern Railways, which results in reduced carbon emissions. Apart from this the ministry also plans to revive two electrification projects on Delhi-Gurgaon and Ghaziabad-Meerut-Saharanpur route.

The Railways has taken a leaf out of the German vendor Siemens' book. The company proposes to use railways' projects it is executing in Mumbai to earn revenues from carbon credits.

Railways and Siemens are expected to share the revenues equally. The project involves regeneration of energy for running trains.

The concept of carbon credits is significant due to reduction of carbon emission obligations set by Kyoto Protocol on developed countries, effective from February 2005. According to the protocol if a country is unable to attain its emission targets, it can buy carbon credits to meet its obligations.

Carbon credits are tradeable commodities that can be sold to countries with high emissions.After getting carbon credits ratified by designated authorities, they can be sold to any country or company interested in buying them.
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Bihar government pegs annual Plan size at Rs.8,250-cr
New Delhi: The annual Plan size for Bihar for 2006-07 has been put at Rs8,250 crore, including the additional Central assistance of Rs50 crore for priority schemes. The outlays were decided after a meeting between chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar, and the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

Bihar's annual Plan size for 2005-06 stood at Rs5,400 crore.

Ahluwalia said that the prime minister was keen on expediting development of Bihar and had directed the Planning Commission to put in special efforts. He said that a team of experts from the Planning Commission would be visiting the State shortly to have an on-the-spot assessment of problems and evolve means for speedily addressing them.
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