Inflation at annual high; Govt assures steps to check rise
New Delhi: Inflation touched 5.24 per cent for the week ended June 10 the highest level recorded in the last 12 months.

Under attack from various sections of consumers Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, said the Government would take further steps if needed to dampen inflationary expectations. He said the recent measures on the monetary, fiscal and import fronts would moderate inflation in the economy.

He said that price rise was due to the pass-through of fuel price hike implemented on June 5.

Inflation for the week ended June 10 spurted to 5.24 per cent from 4.72 per cent a week earlier on the back of higher energy and food article prices. It surpassed the 5.20 per cent level that was recorded in the last week of May 2005.

The latest inflation data and the spurt in yields of 10-year Government paper have heightened expectations of an all-round increase in interest rates in the economy. Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of India increased its short-term interest rates. As part of a multi-pronged strategy to dampen inflationary expectations, the Government on Thursday allowed duty-free import of wheat by private parties and halted all exports of pulses with immediate effect.

The Finance Minister had also urged the State Governments to look into the issue of hoarding of food stocks and take appropriate action to correct any such situations.
Back to News Review index page  

Delhi govt to sell tomatoes at Rs20/kg
New Delhi: The Delhi government has decided to sell tomatoes at a special price of Rs20 per kilo from tomorrow and would set up special stalls, outside the main wholesale vegetable markets in the capital for the purpose.

The special stalls will be set up outside the Azadpur, Okhla, Ghazipur and Keshavpur markets.

The price of tomatoes in the retail markets varies between Rs40-45 per kg.

The government has also instructed officials to conduct regular inspections of the wholesale markets to prevent hoarding.
Back to News Review index page  

Japan will import Indian mangoes
Chennai: The Japanese government has lifted its 20-year-old ban on the import of Indian mangoes. This comes after a gap of two decades.

An official statement of the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said, "Japan has formally lifted the ban on import of Indian mangoes in Japan on June 23, 2006 on the basis of the request by the Indian side, after confirming that there is no risk of infiltration of diseases and pests through previous scientific and technical examinations; and also getting acceptance through procedures like public hearing, public comment etc," it said.

The Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Kamal Nath on his visit to Japan last week raised the issue there with the Japanese authorities during his visit. A Japanese technical team, which visited India earlier this year, had satisfied itself with the safety aspects of Indian mangoes. The varieties that can now be imported by Japan are: Alphonso, Banganapalli, Kesar, Langra, Chausa and Malika. These are grown in pre-identified areas of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, according to the communication from Japan.

Japan had banned Indian mangoes in 1986 on suspected pest infestation by fruit flies.
Back to News Review index page  

Finance Ministry clarifies on TDS on senior citizens' income
New Delhi: The Finance Ministry has said if senior citizens furnish certain declarations to the bank or post office, no deduction of tax shall be made from their fixed deposits.

For individual residents in India aged 65 and above, a declaration is required in Form 15H to the bank or post office if the tax on his estimated income for the financial year is nil, said an official release. For citizens below 65, a declaration in Form 15G can be furnished by a depositor if the tax on his estimated total income for the financial year is nil and the aggregate amount of interest credited or paid (or likely to be credited or paid) during the financial year is not more than the maximum amount, which is not chargeable to tax (Rs1 lakh for male taxpayers and Rs1.35 lakh for a women), it added. It noted that both the above conditions are required to be fulfilled.

The information relating to deposits under the Senior Citizens Savings Scheme, 2004 may be given by the depositors in Schedule III of Form 15-G.

The release said that in suitable cases a certificate for lower deduction or no deduction of tax at source under section 197(1) may also be obtained by the depositors from their assessing officers.
Back to News Review index page  

WB govt cuts stamp duty on real estate
Kolkata: Asim Dasgupta, finance minister of West Bengal in the state budget for 2006-07 has reduced stamp duty from 8 per cent to 6 per cent in the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) area and from 6 per cent to 5 per cent outside its domain.

Henceforth property transfers in rural areas will attract a stamp duty of 5 per cent against the 6 per cent payable till now, a reduction of 1 percentage point. Dasgupta said he expected the cut in stamp duty to yield more revenue as the level of compliance would rise.

The reduction in stamp duty is expected to boost demand for housing further and accelerate development of the sector in Bengal.

Industry sources said, the reduction in stamp duty would have a two-fold impact on the sector.

First, it would bring more and more transparency into the system. It would simultaneously reduce the end cost of the home buyer and drive demand further.

For Kolkata proper, it would result in a 4 per cent savings, which was expected to compensate for the rising interest rates in home loans.

Moreover, this provision was one of the conditions for the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission Scheme, which replaced the mega city scheme.

Besides, the additional stamp duty of two per cent now being levied under the Calcutta Improvement Act and Howrah Improvement Act would be eliminated.

Besides reducing stamp duty on property dealings, Dasgupta exempted the state's ailing tea and jute industries from income tax in the Rs42,000-crore maiden budget of the seventh Left Front government. The estimated deficit was Rs6 crore.

The finance minister described the budget as one aimed at generating employment. It targeted employment generation of 700,000 in one year from the small scale sector and agriculture.

According to Dasgupta, bed sheets, bed covers, pillow covers, towels, incense sticks, ghee, tea and adhesive would be cheaper after the budget, as the duty was brought down from 4 per cent to zero per cent.

In contrast, foreign liquor would be taxed at 20 per cent from the earlier 17.5 per cent, while imported cigarettes and imported sugar would be taxed at 12.5 per cent from the present 4 per cent.
Back to News Review index page  

Micro SME Development Bill gets passed
New Delhi: The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bill, aimed at promotion and development of SME's, has been passed. The act seeks to empower the Central Government to notify programmes, guidelines or instructions for facilitating the growth of SMEs, an official release said here on Friday.

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Act would ensure timely and smooth flow of credit to SMEs, it said.

The act would also empower state governments to keep SMEs, employing upto 50 people, out of the purview of labour laws, the release said adding that the move would help small enterprises to graduate to medium enterprises.
Back to News Review index page