SEZs to contribute Rs44K-cr to exchequer: Commerce min.
New Delhi: The Commerce Ministry said that the large number of SEZs that are coming up would contribute Rs44,000 crore to national exchequer. This was in response to the finance ministry's assertion that the country would lose revenue from the SEZs.

The Commerce ministry said that the economic activity generated by the SEZs would be incremental and the government never had this revenue. However, the new economic activity would result in an income of Rs44,000 crore in the next ten years for the government.

According to a study by the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, the loss of tax revenue on account of SEZs on the indirect tax front would be around Rs90,000 crore and on the direct tax front, the loss would be Rs28,000 crore.

According to Commerce Ministry estimates, if the loss to the exchequer is Rs90,000 crore, then the export profit of units in the 150 SEZs that have already been cleared should be around Rs4 lakh crore.

Assuming that the units have 20 per cent profits then their combined economic activity would be close to Rs20 lakh crore. This economic activity would create individual incomes that would not be exempt from tax, sources said.
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60 MHz of spectrum to be released for 3G by 2007
New Delhi: The department of telecommunications requires the defence ministry to vacate 25 MHz by the end of December 2006, and another 35 MHz by 2007-end.

3G mobile services permit high-speed internet access using different wavelengths, and allow operators to offer mobile broadband services like video-and audio-streaming, among other things.

The road map, if implemented, would mean there being not enough 3G spectrum for the eight pan-Indian mobile telecom operators by the end of this year. Telcos require a minimum of 5 MHz each to run 3G operations.

This implies that only five of the eight mobile operators across the country can operate 3G services by the year-end. The main mobile operators include Bharti, Hutchison-Essar, Idea Cellular, BSNL, Reliance Communications, Tatas, Spice Telecom, and Aircel-Maxis (both of whom are going, or will go for an all-India licence).

In the second year, however, there will be enough spectrum for all the existing telcos, and it might be possible to give them even 10 MHz each to run 3G services.
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Steel prices stabilise
Kolkata: The northward trend in steel prices in the domestic market has stopped with trade discount going up by around Rs500-1,000 per tonne.

Steel majors are likely to take a call on the revision of prices within a few days. Sources said either the companies would stick to the discounts or revise the listed price downwards. In any case, a clear picture will emerge by the month-end.

The softening over the fortnight in the domestic market is across flat and long products and in line with the international trend. European prices of hot rolled coil (HRC) had dropped from $600 per tonne to around $540 per tonne.

In the first six months, China exported around 17 million tonne of steel while European markets were dull with the onset of summer holidays. If this trend countines then prices can come under pressure, the sources said.
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Knowledge City coming up near Bangalore
Bangalore: The Karnataka government has decided to build a 5,000 acre knowledge city between Bangalore and Mysore and also a bio-IT park. Chief minister Karnataka H D Kumaraswamy said that of the five sector-specific cities proposed to be set up around Bangalore, he would like to dedicate one exclusively for the knowledge sector.

Mysore city is also fast emerging as IT hub. Hence the Knowledge City was likely to be set up between Bangalore and Mysore covering over 5,000 acres of land. BMRDA (Bangalore Metropolitan Region Development Authority) would soon come out with details of this he said.
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India exports 34 per cent more tea to Pak
Kolkata: India's tea export to Pakistan in the first six months of 2006 increased 34 per cent to 5.74 million kg, Indian Tea Association, the apex body of tea producers in India, said in a report.

Despite higher exports to Pakistan, India's total tea export during the period was down around 2 per cent at 79.07 million kg from 80.58 million kg in the same period of 2005, it said.

Exports were down not only to traditional destinations in Commonwealth of Independent States but also to Europe, North America, Australia, and Japan.

Pakistan, with annual imports of around 140 millon kg, is the largest importer of tea in the world, but up to 80 per cent of its requirement is met by Kenya.

The value of tea export to Pakistan from India was, however, up only 4.6 per cent, the report said.

Apart from Pakistan, tea exports to Iraq, Kenya, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Egypt also registered a marginal rise.
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India to import 20 lakh tonnes wheat for PDS
New Delhi: The government has allowed import of an additional 20 lakh tonnes of wheat, at zero customs duty, as part of measures to meet the shortfall in procurement of the commodity for Public Distribution System (PDS). The imports will be made by state-run Food Corporation of India by February 28, 2007.

The imports will be allowed only through Chennai, Tuticorin, Cochin and Vishakhapatanam ports, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notice. DGFT said the public notice is being issued in accordance with the ad-hoc order issued by Finance Ministry on August 14 for exemption of customs duty on import of wheat.

This 20 lakh tonne of wheat is in addition to the 38.30 lakh tonne of the commodity that public sector company, State Trading Corporation, is importing at zero-duty. State-owned firms MMTC and PEC are also importing 40,000 tonne of wheat each for private traders at five per cent customs duty.
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Government puts 12-year lock-in clause for ultra mega projects
New Delhi: The government has inserted a "lock-in" clause for promoters of the proposed ultra mega power projects. According to this a promoter will not be able to divest more than 49 per cent of the equity until two years after the project starts commercial production, and will have to retain at least 26 per cent for another 10 years.

The restrictions have been incorporated in the proposal document for the 4,000-Mw Sasan project in Madhya Pradesh, set to be the first of the ultra mega projects to get off the ground.

The aggregate equity shareholding of the selected bidder in the issued and paid-up equity share capital of Sasan Power shall be according to these conditions.

In the event of the selected bidder being a consortium, the conditions will apply to only its lead member, and not all the promoters or stakeholders in the project entity.
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