Blog

After passing the decree of eviction the tenancy terminates and from the said date the landlord is entitled for mesne profits or compensation depriving him from the use of the premises – Supreme Court.

Board of Control for Cricket in India is covered within the meaning of ‘shop’ as per notification dated 18th September 1978 issued by the Government of Maharashtra under the provisions of Section 1(5) of the Employees State Insurance Act. as its activities are commercial in nature.

Copy of the judgment

Gujarat and Karnataka have been awarded best performers among the category of states, while Meghalaya has been ranked number one among Union Territories and North Eastern states in the third edition of the States Startup India Ranking 2021.

Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa and Telangana emerged as top performers among states, while Jammu and Kashmir was the top performer among UTs and North-East states

For the ranking, states are divided into five categories: Best Performers, Top Performers, Leaders, Aspiring Leaders and Emerging Start-up Ecosystems. This is the third consecutive year that Gujarat has been ranked the number one state in providing an enabling ecosystem for startups.

The results were announced by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industries at the third edition of the States’ Startup Ranking 2021, released by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIT).

Goyal said that initiatives such as Fund of Funds, Seed Fund Scheme, Income Tax exemption for three years, and resolving the issue of Angel Tax, have helped startups while adding that India should aim to be the number one ecosystem for startups. India is currently the third-largest ecosystem.

The RBI has given its ‘no objection’ to the merger of HDFC with HDFC Bank, subject to certain market conditions. Once merged, the entity will be twice the size of ICICI Bank, currently the second-largest private bank in the country, and will be among the 10 most valued banks in the world. The proposed merger had earlier obtained approvals from BSE and NSE.

The proposals are subject to various statutory and regulatory approvals. This includes the Competition Commission of India (CCI), National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), other applicable authorities and respective shareholders and creditors of the company. Once the approvals are in place, HDFC Bank will become a 100% public-owned entity.

Following the merger, the combined balance sheet will be Rs 17.87 lakh crore, with a net worth of Rs 3.3 lakh crore, as of December 2021 balance sheet. The merger is expected to be completed by the third quarter of FY 24, subject to approvals.

The Government plans to table the Development of Enterprise and Service Hubs (DESH) Bill during the upcoming monsoon session of the Parliament, likely to commence on July 18th. The Bill, which will overhaul the existing Special Economic Zone law of 2005, aims to revive interest in SEZs and develop more inclusive economic hubs.

As per the draft bill, SEZs will be revamped and renamed as Development hubs and will be free from a number of the laws that currently restrict them. These hubs will facilitate both export-oriented and domestic investment, playing the dual role of domestic tariff area and SEZ. To boost ease of doing business, the draft DESH Bill also provides for the establishment and maintenance of an online portal within six months from the date of commencement of the Act.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has also started the process of denotifying empty spaces above 100 million sq ft built-up area, worth around Rs 30,000 crore across the 260 plus SEZs in the country so that areas that have no demand can be used for industrial or other purposes. This addresses the long-standing demand for partial denotification for IT, services units.

The Australia-India Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (AI-ECTA) would improve our relationship with one of our most significant Indo-Pacific partners and offer new markets for exporters and service providers across various industries. The India-Australia ECTA represents India’s first trade deal with a developed nation in more than ten years. India’s top trading partner is Australia, which ranks as its ninth-largest trading partner in the current fiscal year. In 2021, bilateral commerce in both products and services between India and Australia was valued at US$ 27.5 billion.

In 31 sectors and subsectors, including higher education, business services, tax, medical ,dental, architectural, urban planning, communication, construction and engineering, insurance and banking, hospitals, audiovisual, tourism and travel, India guarantees that Australian service providers will receive the best treatment possible.

India will grant single-brand retailing and franchising access to its market and make pledges on wholesale distribution services. The foreign equity limit of 74% for commercial presence will give Australian internet service providers in India greater chances to diversify their company.

Preferential tariffs for Australian goods exports to India:

• Sheep meat : elimination of tariffs on entry into force (EIF).
• Wool : elimination of tariffs on EIF.
• Resources : elimination of tariffs on entry into force for coal, alumina, metallic ores such as copper, manganese and zirconium, titanium dioxide and certain non-ferrous metals. Tariffs on LNG will also be bound at 0 per cent on EIF.
• Seafood : elimination of tariffs on entry into force for fresh rock lobster and elimination of tariffs over 7 years for other fresh, frozen and processed seafood products.
• Infant formula : elimination of tariffs over 7 years.
• Barley, oats and lentils : locked-in duty-free entry for barley and oats and immediate 50% reduction for in- quota exports of lentils.
• Nuts : elimination of tariffs over 7 years on cashews, macadamias, shelled pistachios and hazelnuts. For almonds, immediate 50% tariff reduction on in-quota exports.
• Fruit and vegetables : elimination of tariffs over 7 years for avocados, onions, cherries and berries. Reduction of tariffs over 7 years for apricots and strawberries. For oranges, mandarins and pears, immediate 50% tariff reduction for in-quota exports.
• Wine : tariff reductions over 10 years for bottles over import prices of US$5 and US$15 and guaranteed best market access by India in any future FTA.

The AI-ECTA comprises mobility outcomes that will promote intercultural interaction, trade and business, and people-to-people connections between Australia and India.

In order to facilitate future mutual recognition of qualifications, licensing, and registration processes across professional services bodies, the AI-ECTA will support the formation of a Professional Services Working Group.

The Post-study work visa outcome for Indian students will apply upon completion of a diploma or trade qualification (stays of up to 18 months); a bachelor degree (stays of up to two years); a masters degree (stays of up to three years); and a doctoral degree (stays of up to four years).

Australia and India have agreed to make sure that any non-tariff measures are applied transparently and that they don’t unnecessarily obstruct trade. To make it simpler for Australian companies conducting business in India, the AI-ECTA incorporates pledges from both nations to make their laws, regulations, judgements, and rulings regarding the Trade in Goods chapter publicly available.

India will profit from Australia’s offer of preferential market access on all of its tariff lines. This covers all the industries with a high labor component that India is interested in exporting, including gems and jewelry, textiles, leather, footwear, furniture, food and agricultural products, engineering products, medical devices, and vehicles.

In contrast, India will grant Australia preferential access to more than 70% of its tariff lines, including those that are relevant to Australia’s export of raw materials and intermediaries like coal, mineral ores, and wines.

The trilateral Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI), which aims to improve the resilience of supply networks in the Indo-Pacific Region, includes Japan, India, and Australia as partners. India and Australia are also members of the recently established Quad, which also includes the US and Japan. The goal of the Quad is to deepen collaboration and partnership development across a number of areas of shared interest.

The India-Australia ECTA will significantly improve bilateral trade in goods and services, create new employment opportunities, raise living standards, and enhance the overall welfare of the two peoples. It will also further solidify the already close, strategic, and deep relationships between the two nations.

India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (INDAUS ECTA) between The Government of the Republic of India and The Government of Australia :

India’s merchandise exports during the first Quarter of 2022-23 jump 22.2% to USD 116.7 billion, recording the highest ever exports during the first Quarter.

Non-Petroleum exports rise by 11.9% to USD 92.5 billion in the first Quarter. Petroleum products, Electronic goods and Readymade Garments recorded major increase in exports for the first Quarter of 2022-23.

Value of non-petroleum exports in June 2022 was 30.12 USD billion, registering a positive growth of 5.53% over non-petroleum exports of USD 28.54 billion in June 2021. Value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in June 2022 was USD 26.75 billion, registering a positive growth of 4.0% over non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 25.72 billion in June 2021.

Petroleum products (98.01%), Electronic goods (50.66%) and RMG of all Textiles (44.67%) led the way in high increase in exports during June 2022.

The trade deficit in June 2022 was USD 25.63 billion, while it was 70.25 billion USD during April -June 2022-23.

Delhi Labour Welfare Board introduces online portal for compliances under the Labour Welfare Act.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Digital India Week 2022 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat today. The Digital India Week 2022, with the theme Catalyzing New India’s TechEd, will see the Prime Minister launching several digital initiatives aimed at enhancing the accessibility of technology, streamlining service delivery to ensure ease of living and giving a boost to startups.

Among the initiatives that PM Modi will be launching are:

• Digital India Bhashini: To enable easy access to the internet and digital services in Indian languages, including voice-based access, and help the creation of content in Indian languages.

• Indiastack.global: A global repository of key projects implemented under India Stack like Aadhaar, UPI, Digilocker, Cowin Vaccination Platform, Government e MarketPlace, DIKSHA Platform and Ayushman Bharat Digital Health Mission. With India getting the Presidency of G20 and set to host the G20 Summit in 2023, a major aim for this is to share India’s leadership in Digital Technologies and its experience in implementing Digital Transformation projects at population scale, at a global level.

• Digital India GENESIS: A National Deep-tech Startup Platform, to discover, support, grow and make successful startups in Tier-II and Tier-III cities of India.  A total outlay of 750 crore rupees has been envisaged for the scheme.

• MyScheme: A service discovery platform facilitating access to Government Schemes. It aims to offer a one-stop search and discovery portal where users can find schemes that they are eligible for.

• Meri Pehchaan: National Single Sign On for One Citizen Login. National Single Sign-On is a user authentication service in which a single set of credentials provide access to multiple online applications or services.

PM Modi will also announce the first set of 30 Institutions to be supported under the Chips to Startup Programme. The C2S Programme aims to train specialized manpower in the area of design of semiconductor chips at Bachelors, Masters and Research level.

The Digital India Programme was launched on July 1, 2015 by PM Modi with the aim to transform the nation into a digitally empowered and knowledge-driven society.

The Indian pharmaceuticals industry needs to move from ‘volume’ to ‘value’ leadership to capture global market, Union minister for Chemicals & Fertilizers, Mansukh Mandaviya said during an interactive session with Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance. Mandaviya also said that the government will strengthen the sector through streamlining policies and effective schemes such as the PLI which support cutting edge research.”

At the interaction, the Minister asked homegrown firms to learn from global best practices and develop own models to meet domestic demand while increasing international footprint. He said, “It is time to accumulate knowledge from global best practices in research, manufacturing and innovation and develop our own models focused on accelerating production to meet the domestic demand while increasing our global footprint.”

The minister also pushed for making the pharmaceutical sector leapfrog in its growth trajectory in the upcoming years. “We already have the required ‘man power and brand power’ and Indian companies today are at an inflexion point to capture top global positions,” he said.

Stating that India has been acknowledged as “pharmacy of the world” based on its generic medicines production and the volume share in global market, Mandaviya said it is time to move ahead and capture the top global positions based on the value too.
“Let us learn from global best practices, and develop our own models for meeting domestic demand while increasing global footprint,” he added.

Reiterating the importance of long-term policies which provide stability to the industry, the minister emphasised that the government is committed to supporting the pharma companies with industry-friendly policies and investor promoting ecosystem.

“This government believes in taking a holistic approach. Our policies are based on extensive and comprehensive stakeholder consultation which provide the basis for comprehensive, long -term and vibrant policy ecosystem, he asserted.
The meeting was held at Delhi to discuss India’s Pharma Vision 2047 and the roadmap for the Indian pharma sector.