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INDIA

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Indian Economy On ‘Very Solid Track’: IMF Chief Lagarde
INDIA

Indian Economy On ‘Very Solid Track’: IMF Chief Lagarde

IMF chief Christine Lagarde has said the Indian economy is on a "very solid track" in the mid-term, days after the International Monetary Fund lowered its growth forecast for the current and the next year. Describing the two major recent reforms in India - demonetisation and Goods and Services Tax (GST) - as a monumental effort, Lagarde said it is hardly surprising that there "is a little bit of a short-term slowdown" as a result. The IMF last week lowered India's growth projection to 6.7 per cent in 2017, 0.5 percentage points less than its previous two forecasts in April and July, attributing it to demonetisation and introduction of the GST. RELATED Indian Government Makes Changes in GST, Relief to SMEs and Exporters It also lowered the country's growth for 2018 to 7....
Indian Govt Weighing Up Apple’s Proposal To Set Up Manufacturing Unit
INDIA

Indian Govt Weighing Up Apple’s Proposal To Set Up Manufacturing Unit

The government is considering iphone maker Apples proposal for setting up manufacturing unit in India, Union Minister Alphons Kannanthanam said today. Cupertino-based iPhone and iPad manufacturer Apple has sought certain concessions for setting up manufacturing unit in the country. "We would like Apple to come in India (for setting up manufacturing unit) and we are examining Apple's proposal," said the Minister of State for Electronics and IT on the sidelines of an event organised by industry body CII. The company had sought concessions, including duty exemption on manufacturing and repair units, components, capital equipment and consumables for smartphone manufacturing and service/repair for a period of 15 years. The technology major had also asked for relaxation in the mandated 3...
Indian Government Makes Changes in GST, Relief to SMEs and Exporters
INDIA

Indian Government Makes Changes in GST, Relief to SMEs and Exporters

Three months after the rollout of the new indirect tax regime, the GST Council today made sweeping changes to give relief to small and medium businesses on filing and payment of taxes, eased rules for exporters and cut tax rates on more than two dozen items. Businesses with annual turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore, which constitute 90 per cent of the taxpayer base but pay only 5-6 per cent of total tax, have been allowed to file quarterly income returns and pay tax instead of the current provision of monthly filings. Also, the turnover threshold for businesses to avail of the composition scheme that allows them to pay 1-5 per cent tax without going through tedious formalities, was raised to Rs 1 crore from current Rs 75 lakh. "GST Council has considered the implementation experience of t...
M&M Says Price Quoted By Tata For Electric Cars Is ‘Hard To Comprehend’
INDIA

M&M Says Price Quoted By Tata For Electric Cars Is ‘Hard To Comprehend’

Mahindra & Mahindra, the sole maker of electric cars says the bid by rival Tata Motors which it bid in the contract with Energy Efficiency Services (EESL) is too low. “We find the price (quoted by Tata Motors) hard to comprehend,” Mahindra managing director Pawan Goenka said. Last week, Tata Motors offered to supply the electric vehicles at Rs 11.2 lakh each, inclusive of the GST and a five-year warranty. Mahindra quoted more than Rs 13 lakh and subsequently agreed to match the bid by Tata Motors to win part of the order. The tender was for 10,000 vehicles. Tata Motors earlier was supposed to supply the electric vehicles (EVs) in two phases– 500 e-cars in the first phase in November 2017 and the remaining 9,500 EVs in the second phase. But now, since M&M has qualified, it will...
Indian Government Considers Exemptions Sought By Apple
INDIA

Indian Government Considers Exemptions Sought By Apple

The Indian government is considering exemptions sought by Apple Inc for setting up a unit to assemble iPhones, Ramesh Abhishek, the top bureaucrat in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), said on Thursday. The department is a part of India’s commerce and industry ministry. Apple has asked federal government officials for a range of tax and policy changes to help build out its iPhone assembly work in India. ALSO READ After Tata, Mahindra & Mahindra Bagged The Electric Car Contract From Indian Government It is seeking permission to open its own retail stores in India where it currently sells iPhones through resellers. India has given Chinese smartphone maker Oppo the go-ahead to open its own single-brand retail stores, boding well for rivals li...
Tata Motors Bags Rs 1120 Crore Order For Procuring Electric Cars To Government
INDIA

Tata Motors Bags Rs 1120 Crore Order For Procuring Electric Cars To Government

Tata Motors raises Rs 1120 crore order from Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) for procuring 10,000 electric cars, which will replace diesel and petrol cars used by government and its departments, an effort to cut fuel consumption and reduce pollution. Tata Motors will supply the electric vehicles (EVs) in two phases-- 500 e-cars in the first phase in November 2017 and the remaining 9,500 EVs in the second phase, EESL said in a statement. The bidding around also saw participation from Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Japanese carmaker Nissan. Mahindra & Mahindra, the other contender, can win part of the order if it matches the bid by Tata Motors. "The vehicle will be provided for Rs 11.2 lakh, which will be inclusive of GST and comprehensive 5-year warranty which is 25 p...
Smartphones Made in India? Manufacturing Ambition Hits Hurdles
INDIA

Smartphones Made in India? Manufacturing Ambition Hits Hurdles

India’s ambitions to become a smartphone-making powerhouse are foundering over a lack of skilled labour and part suppliers along with a complex tax regime, industry executives say. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has championed a manufacturing drive, under the slogan ‘Make in India’, to boost the sluggish economy and create millions of jobs. Among the headline-grabbing details was a plan to eventually make Apple iPhones in India. Three years on, as executives and bureaucrats crowded into a Delhi convention centre for an inaugural mobile congress last week, India has managed only to assemble phones from imported components. While contract manufacturers such as iPhone-maker Foxconn Technology Co and Flextronics Corp have set up base in India, one of the world’s fastest-growing smartpho...
Highlights Of iPhone 8 On Jio Launch Event
INDIA

Highlights Of iPhone 8 On Jio Launch Event

Jio today unveiled the latest offering from Apple Inc. – the iconic iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus on Jio- at its sprawling campus at the Reliance Corporate Park, Navi Mumbai – with an unprecedented package to enable many more Indians across the country to enjoy the iconic devices on Jio’s most advanced and superior 4G network. (more…)
Indian Unicorn Startups To Launch Nasscom Like Lobby Group- Indiatech.org
INDIA

Indian Unicorn Startups To Launch Nasscom Like Lobby Group- Indiatech.org

India’s Unicorn Internet startups Flipkart and Ola are grouping together with peers including travel portal MakeMyTrip to launch a Nasscom like industry body that will be representing their interests and aim to deal with deep pocketed rivals, and sustain their existence in one of the world’s most prized markets for digital commerce. The lobby group will be called Indiatech.org — and will be led by Sachin Bansal, as its President and Chairman; appointing a former IAS officer as its CEO, said four people aware of the matter. The former bureaucrat is expected to join in 2-3 weeks. The other founding members include online classifieds company Quikr and messaging platform Hike. “The group wants to become the Nasscom for the startup space,” said two of the people cited above. The formati...
RIL Becomes World’s 3rd Largest Energy Firm
INDIA

RIL Becomes World’s 3rd Largest Energy Firm

Reliance Industries ltd has jumped five places to rank as the world's third-biggest energy company behind Russian gas firm Gazprom and German utility E.ON, according to Platts Top 250 Global Energy Company Rankings. (more…)