Although LTC is exempted under Section 10(5) of the Income Tax Act, however, this exemption cannot be claimed by an employee for travel outside India – Supreme Court.
Although LTC is exempted under Section 10(5) of the Income Tax Act, however, this exemption cannot be claimed by an employee for travel outside India – Supreme Court.
Looking to improve the quality and pace of infrastructure development in the country by encouraging private sector participation in the sector, the Department of Economic Affairs, under the Ministry of Finance, has notified the Scheme for Financial Support for Project Development Expenses of PPP Projects – India Infrastructure Project Development Fund Scheme (IIPDF Scheme).
The Scheme will aid the development of quality PPP projects by providing necessary funding support to the project sponsoring authorities, both in the Central and State Governments, for creating a shelf of bankable, viable PPP projects. As per the Government, funding under IIPDF Scheme is in addition to the already operational Scheme for Financial Support to PPPs in Infrastructure (VGF Scheme), through which infrastructure projects are undertaken through PPP mode that is economically justified, but commercially unviable are supported.
The Infrastructure Finance Secretariat (IFS), DEA, has undertaken several initiatives for boosting the PPP ecosystem in the country covering the entire gamut of the PPP lifecycle. A key step in structuring quality PPP projects is to provide quality advisory/consultancy services to the Project Sponsoring Authorities (PSAs). To address the issue of delay in the onboarding of the appropriate Transaction Advisers (TAs) or non-optimal structuring of PPP projects, the Department of Economic Affairs also notified a panel of pre-qualified TAs on 01.07.2022 and developed a Manual for utilisation of this panel.
Exports of agricultural and processed food products rose by 25 percent within six months of the current Financial Year 2022-23 (April-September) in comparison to the corresponding period of FY 2021-22. According to the provisional data released by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S), the overall export of agricultural and processed food products has witnessed a growth of 25 Percent in USD during April-September 2022.
The overall export of Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) products increased to USD 13771 million in April-September 2022 from USD 11056 million over the same period of the last fiscal year.
As per the Government, the initiatives taken by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry through APEDA have helped the country achieve 58 percent of its total export target for the year 2022-23 within six months of the current fiscal.
For the year 2022-23, an export target of USD 23.56 billion has been fixed by APEDA for the agricultural and processed food products basket and an export of USD 13.77 billion has already been achieved in these six months of the current fiscal.
As per the provisional data, processed fruits and vegetables recorded a significant growth of 42.42 percent (April-September 2022), while fresh fruits registered 4 percent growth as opposed to corresponding months of the previous year.
Processed food products like cereals and miscellaneous processed items reported a growth of 29.36 percent compared to the first six months of the previous year.
In April-September, 2021, fresh fruits were exported to the tune of USD 301 million which increased to USD 313 million in the corresponding months of the current fiscal. Exports of processed F&V jumped to USD 1024 million in six months of the current fiscal from USD 719 million in the corresponding months of the previous year.
The export of pulses has witnessed an increase of 144 percent in Q2 of the current fiscal in comparison to the corresponding months of the last fiscal as the export of lentils increased from USD 135 million (April-September 2021-22) to USD 330 million (April-September 2022-23).
Basmati Rice exports witnessed a growth of 37.36 percent in six months of FY 2022-23 as its export increased from USD 1660 million (April-September 2021) to USD 2280 million (April-September 2022), while the export of non-Basmati rice registered a growth of 8 percent in Q2 of current fiscal. Its exports increased to USD 3207 million in six months of the current fiscal from USD 2969 million in the corresponding months of the previous year.
The export of meat, dairy & poultry products increased by 10.29 percent and the export of other cereals recorded a growth of 12.29 percent in six months of the current fiscal. The poultry products alone registered a growth of 83 percent as its export rose to USD 57 million within the half-year bracket of the current fiscal from USD 31 million recorded for the corresponding months of the previous year.
Similarly, dairy products recorded a growth of 58 percent as its export rose to USD 342 million in Q2 of the current fiscal from USD 216 million in Q2 of the previous year.
Wheat exports registered an increase of 136 percent in Q2 of the current fiscal. Wheat exports rose to USD 1487 million in April-September 2022 from USD 630 million in April-September 2021.
Other cereals’ exports increased from USD 467 million in April-September 2021 to USD 525 million in April-September 2022 and the export of livestock products increased from USD 1903 million in April-September 2021 to USD 2099 million in April-September 2022.
Reserve Bank has launched the first pilot project for the Digital Rupee (e₹) for specific use cases. The first pilot in the Digital Rupee – Wholesale segment (e₹-W) commenced on November 1, 2022.
As per the RBI, the use case for this pilot is settlement of secondary market transactions in government securities. Use of e₹-W is expected to make the inter-bank market more efficient. Settlement in central bank money would reduce transaction costs by pre-empting the need for settlement guarantee infrastructure or for collateral to mitigate settlement risk. Going forward, other wholesale transactions, and cross-border payments will be the focus of future pilots, based on the learnings from this pilot.
Nine banks, namely State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Yes Bank, IDFC First Bank and HSBC have been identified for participation in the pilot.
The first pilot in Digital Rupee – Retail segment (e₹-R) is planned for launch within a month in select locations in closed user groups comprising customers and merchants. The details regarding operationalisation of e₹-R pilot shall be communicated in due course.
As per a release from the Ministry of Finance, the gross GST revenue collected in the month of October 2022 was ₹ 1,51,718 crore, which is the second highest till date, next only to the collection in April 2022. It is also the second time the gross GST collection has crossed Rs. 1.50 lakh crore mark. The government said that it has settled ₹ 37,626 crore to CGST and ₹ 32,883 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement.
In addition, Centre has also settled Rs 22,000 crore on adhoc basis in the ratio of 50:50 between Centre and States. The total revenue of Centre and the States after regular as well as adhoc settlements in the month of October 2022 is ₹74,665 crore for CGST and ₹ 77,279 crore for the SGST.
The month of October also saw the second highest collection from domestic transactions, next only to April 2022. During the month of September 2022, 8.3 crore e-way bills were generated, which was significantly higher than 7.7 crore e-way bills generated in August 2022.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the C-295 transport aircraft manufacturing facility – the country’s first in the private sector – in Vadodara. The facility will manufacture C-295 aircraft for the Indian Air Force through a collaboration between Tata Advanced Systems and Airbus Defence and Space S.A, Spain. This is the first project of its kind in which a military aircraft will be manufactured in India by a private company. The total cost of the project is Rs 21,935 crore. The aircraft can be used for civilian purposes as well. Further, more than 100 MSMEs are associated with the project.
Commenting on the fast-evolving aviation sector of India, PM Modi said that the country is about to enter among the top three countries in the world concerning air traffic. The UDAN scheme has helped in turning many commuters into air travellers, he said. Highlighting the increased demand for passenger and cargo aircraft, the Prime Minister stated that India will need more than 2,000 aircraft in the next 15 years.
As per the Government, the first 16 aircraft will be delivered in flyaway condition, scheduled to be received between September 2023 and August 2025. The remaining 40 will be manufactured at the Vadodara manufacturing facility. The first Made in India aircraft is expected in September 2026.
Also, 96% of the total man-hour work per aircraft that Airbus employs at its manufacturing facility in Spain will be undertaken in India by the TATA Consortium. Manufacturing of over 13,400 Detail Parts, 4,600 sub-assemblies and all the seven Major Component Assemblies will be undertaken in India, along with tools, jigs and testers. Various systems such as engines, landing gear, avionics, EW suite etc. will be provided by Airbus Defence & Space and integrated into the aircraft by the TATA Consortium. The aircraft will be tested as an integrated system by the TATA Consortium.
All 56 aircraft will be fitted with an indigenous Electronic Warfare suite manufactured by Indian DPSUs – Bharat Electronics and Bharat Dynamics. After completion of the delivery of 56 aircraft to IAF, Airbus Defence & Space will be allowed to sell the aircraft manufactured in India to civil operators and export to countries which are cleared by the Government of India.
The TATA Consortium has identified more than 125 in-country MSME suppliers spread over seven states. This will act as a catalyst in employment generation in the aerospace ecosystem of the country and is expected to generate 600 highly skilled jobs directly, over 3,000 indirect jobs and an additional 3,000 medium-skill employment opportunities with more than 42.5 lakh man-hours of work within the aerospace and defence sector of India. Nearly 240 engineers will be trained at the Airbus facility in Spain.
Speaking at a virtual meeting with members of Export Promotion Councils, and other textile associations, Mr Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Textiles, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Commerce & Industry, said that textile manufacturers should secure Cotton to meet their demands. Further, the industry should discuss strategies to ensure traceability of cotton and better value of cotton products.
The Minister said that a two-day meeting should be convened to discuss new ideas on strengthening the textile sector, where at least 50% participants should be youngsters, with the involvement of Quality Control of India (QCI), Commerce, DPIIT, Finance, Banking Export Insurance for holistic engagement, to ensure overarching themes may be discussed.
According to Mr Goyal, last year, textile exports were approximately 42 billion USD and the target is to achieve 100 billion USD in the next 5-6 years. The Minister said that if achieved, the economic value of the sector will be 250 billion USD collectively for domestic and international.
He added that funds are available under the Textile Mission and should be utilised for new projects and that the potential of the Textile sector may be showcased in G-20.
The Reserve Bank of India had, in February 2022, announced in the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies, released with the bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement that guidelines relating to Information Technology Governance and Controls, Business Continuity Management and Information Systems Audit require to be updated and consolidated.
Accordingly, as part of consolidation and updation of extant instructions, the RBI has placed on its website ‘Draft Master Direction – Information Technology Governance, Risk, Controls and Assurance Practices’ for comments of stakeholders and members of the public.
The RBI further has said that comments /feedback from Regulated Entities (RE) and other stakeholders may be submitted by November 20, 2022 through email with the subject line ‘Feedback on Master Direction – Information Technology Governance, Risk, Controls and Assurance Practices.’
Read the Draft Master Direction.
In a move that will further Ease of Doing Business for the MSME segment, the Ministry of MSME has notified that in case of an upward change in terms of investment in plant and machinery or equipment or turnover or both, and consequent re-classification, an enterprise can continue to avail of all non-tax benefits of the category it was in before the reclassification, for a period of three years from the date of such upward change.
As per the notification, the decision was taken after due deliberations with MSME stakeholders and in line with the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. Non-tax benefits include benefits of various schemes of the Government, including Public Procurement Policy, Delayed Payments, etc.
Data shared by the Government shows that 93,048 micro enterprises had become small enterprises in the period July 2020 and July 2022, while 10,141 small businesses had grown to become medium businesses in the same period.
To ensure remunerative prices for growers, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all mandated Rabi Crops for Marketing Season 2023-24. Lentil (Masur) has seen the highest increase in MSP at Rs.500/- per quintal, followed by rapeseed and mustard at Rs.400/- per quintal. For safflower, an increase of Rs.209/- per quintal has been approved, while for wheat, gram and barley, an increase of Rs.110/- per quintal, Rs.100 per quintal, respectively, has been approved.
The increase in MSP for Rabi Crops is in line with the Union Budget 2018-19 announcement of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times the all-India weighted average Cost of Production, aiming at reasonably fair remuneration for the farmers. The maximum rate of return is 104 percent for rapeseed & mustard, followed by 100 percent for wheat, 85 per cent for lentil; 66 per cent for gram; 60 per cent for barley; and 50 per cent for safflower.
According to the Government, the focus is on increasing the production of oilseeds and pulses, with strategies to increase production through area expansion, productivity through High Yielding Varieties (HYVs), MSP support and procurement. The Government is also promoting smart farming methods, through the use of technology and innovation, implementing a Digital Agriculture Mission (DAM), which includes India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA), Farmers Database, Unified Farmers Service Interface (UFSI), Revamping Mahalanobis National Crop Forecast Centre (MNCFC), soil health, fertility and profile mapping.
Under the NeGPA programme, the Centre is providing funding to State Governments for Digital Agriculture projects using emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML), Internet of Things (IOT), Block chain etc. Adoption of drone technologies is being done. To promote smart farming, the Government is also promoting Startups in the Agriculture sector and nurtures agri-entrepreneurs.
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