Jewellers stir: AIBJSF to hand over shop keys to FM
Source: PTI Jewellery industry body AIBJSF on Friday decided to continue their strike for an indefinite period against imposition of 1% excise duty on non-silver jewellery and announced plans to hand over keys of their shops to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. All India Bullion, Jewellers, Swarankar Federation (AIBJSF), which had organised a big rally at Ramlila maidan in the national capital on March 17, is continuing their strike, though three major associations -- GJF, ABJA and GJEPC -- had called off strike last Saturday after government's assurance that there would be no 'Inspector Raj'. AIBJSF and other local associations, particularly those in Delhi- NCR, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, were against calling off the strike. "Nothing less than a ...
Government to form a 3-member committee to address the jewellers woes; 70% jewellers remain defiant
On Sunday, the government issued a circular, following its meeting with jewellery associations, and said there will be no Inspector Raj and no excise official will harass them Deepak kumar |The Dollar Business Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, in his Union Budget 2016, had announced an imposition of 1% excise duty on non-silver jewellery articles Even as the gems & jewellery industry agreed to end their 18-day long strike following the governments recent proposal, about 70% of the jewellery traders continue to remain closed, demanding the government to be quick and transparent in its decision to roll back the excise duty. Majority of the people want the duty to be completely taken off. Strike is continuing, and more than 70% of jewellery traders are ...
Railways to import crude oil, install solar power plants to reduce operating costs
Indian railways consume more than 2.8 billion litres of diesel per year with an approximate cost of Rs.18,000 crore, while the transporter purchases about 17.5 billion units of electricity and spends nearly Rs.12,300 crore. The DollarBusiness Bureau The Railways are toying with the idea of harnessing solar energy to meet its power needs. The government intends to bring down its railway operating costs by importing crude oil and obtaining refining capacity from oil marketing companies over the next five years. This initiative, as the railways senior officials call it, would ensure cost optimisation. Cutting down on diesel inventories has already resulted in the railways saving about Rs.2,000 crore and is likely to add to the savings generated from direct purchase of ...
Budget 2016 negative for public-sector banks: Moodys
The Dollar Business Bureau India’s recently announced Union Budget for the financial year 2016-17 is positive for most of its sectors, but negative for public-sector banks, Moody’s said in its report on Thursday. “Commitment to fiscal consolidation is positive for the sovereign, but deficit reduction will remain challenging. The budget is modestly credit positive for the sovereign, since it indicates a continued commitment to gradual fiscal consolidation by bringing down fiscal deficits to 3% over the next two years,” Moody’s said in its Credit Outlook report. “The proposals did not contain significant measures to address structural fiscal challenges, such as the government’s low tax revenue base and the vulnerability of government finances to economic shocks,” it said. Last month, Finance Minister ...
Budget 2016: Infrastructure gets anticipated push, focus on public investments
The government is planning to introduce the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIIF) to ensure an annual flow of Rs.20,000 crore The Dollar Business Bureau The government is intending to develop ports both in the Eastern and Western coasts to increase their proficiency with an allocation of Rs.800 crore Sticking closely to the expected script, the recently-concluded Union Budget 2016 indicated the governments renewed thrust on the countrys infrastructure sector, as Finance Minister Arun Jaitely picked road, railways and ports to accelerate public investments. In his budget speech on Monday, the Finance Minister announced a total budget allocation of Rs.2.21 lakh crore for the countrys infrastructure segment. The road sector alone received a package of Rs.97,000 crore an allocation of Rs.55,000 crore for ...
New budget to bolster economy, push exports: Industry
The major takeaway from the Narendra Modi-led governments third Union Budget was its focus on strengthening the rural economy and agriculture besides ushering tax relief for the countrys salaried class The Dollar Business Bureau The government has widened duty drawback scheme to include more products and countries besides minimising the transaction costs of EXIM trade, as additional measures to support the countrys dwindling exports After Finance Minister Arun Jaitely laid out a roadmap about how the Indian economy will shape up during the financial year 2016-17 in his third Union Budget speech earlier this week, several industry analysts praised the budget as pragmatic and progressive and said the announcement will put the Indian economy in a better place besides opening myriad opportunities ...
Budget 2016: Revised customs and excise duty boost domestic industry
Some defence-related materials used for maintenance, repair and overhaul [MRO] of aircraft and ship, for which excise duty was earlier applicable has now been reduced to nil The Dollar Business Bureau Excise duty on equipment such as electric motors, chambers and washers was reduced to 6% from its earlier 12.5%, whereas duty on industrial solar water heaters was increased from 7.5% to 10% In an effort to stimulate the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Make in India initiative and improve ease of doing business in the country, the government on Monday proposed revised customs and excise duty rates on certain raw material, goods and components to reduce cost and bring competitiveness in the domestic industry. Customs and excise duty structure plays an important role ...
Union Budget 2016: Pulse(s) of the matter
The Union Budget 2016 announced on Monday had a renewed focus on the agricultural sector with increased funding to pulse production, crop insurance, irrigation schemes and e-market for farm produce Shivani Vig | The Dollar Business The Union Budget 2016 announced on Monday had a renewed focus on the agricultural sector with increased funding to pulse production, crop insurance, irrigation schemes and e-market for farm produce. Among the major budget announcements giving major push for agriculture was allocation of Rs 500 crore for enhancement of pulse production to cover 622 districts under the National Food Security Mission. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also made the announcement of the government approving creation of buffer stock of pulses through procurement at Minimum Support Price (MSP) and ...
