An advocacy group backed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has slammed US presidential aspirant Donald Trump for his proposed immigration policy, which would make it tougher for US companies to hire people on H-1B visas, hugely popular with Indian IT professionals. In a blog post on Thursday (20 August), FWD.US president Todd Shulte, said Trump's immigration policy on H-1B visas would have a direct impact on America's leadership in innovation and entrepreneurship, and it would also cost a whopping $400-500 billion to report all the 11.5 million illegal immigrants. FWD.US is a leading US advocacy group founded and backed by Zuckerberg and other likeminded info-tech companies pushing for massive immigration that would make it easier for Indian IT professionals to come to the US. Almost 86 per cent of the H-1B visas that the US granted last year for computer jobs had gone to Indian workers, a Computerworld analysis of government data showed last week. "The idea we should radically restrict pathways for highly-skilled immigrants to come and stay here is again just wrong," Shulte wrote in his blog, days after Republican candidate Trump singled out the Facebook founder by name as he announced his immigration policy, wherein he proposed to raise the minimum wage for the popular H-1B visas, which at present is mandated to 65,000 per annum. Mark Zuckerberg's personal Senator, Marco Rubio, has a bill to triple H-1B that would decimate women and minorities," Trump had said. In his blog, Shulte said sectors with high percentages of H1-Bs not only have unemployment rates substantially lower than the national average, but those geographic areas with more H1-Bs have higher economic growth. Nearly, 40 per cent of Fortune 500 companies have been founded by immigrants or the children of immigrants. "For every 100 H-1B workers, an additional 183 jobs among US native-born workers are created. Immigrants are nearly twice as likely to start their own business as native-born Americans," he added. "We need to fix our nation's badly broken immigration system so that more highly-skilled immigrants can create jobs here in the US and that we can continue to be a magnet for the best and the brightest from all over the world; our global competitors aren't waiting while we waste time," he wrote. That means creating a Startup Visa to help entrepreneurs create the next generation of innovation here in the US; it means clearing the green card backlog to allow those who qualify and want to stay here to build their lives and grow our economy, and it means increasing the numbers of H-1B visas and reforming the program so that we don't run out of spots in the current yearly allotment for this critical program within only a few days every year, he added. (PTI)
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In a wide-ranging interview with BW|Businessworld’s Suman K Jha, Union Minister for Labour and Employment, Bandaru Dattatreya, says that labour reforms will benefit the labour too. He cites the support of a number of non-BJP states, and claims that other states too sooner or later will have to fall in line.
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The state government is planning to launch a TV commercial later this year to promote tourism, reports Arshad Khan Chhattisgarh has witnessed a steady increase in number of foreign tourists visiting the state despite Naxal violence. The Raman Singh-led BJP government is leaving no stone unturned to develop the state into an ideal tourist destination. State tourism minister Dayal Das Bhagel said, "We are working to change the perception that tourists face security concerns in the state. The state along with the central government has been successful in tackling extremism in the Naxal belts by deploying sufficient security concerns and also by bringing development in the region." The state government was planning to set up a five star hotel in Raipur to attract more foreign as well as domestic tourists, the minister added. "At present we have 48 convenient hotels and motels. We are planning to set-up a five star hotel for foreign tourists in Raipur," Bhagel said. In 2014, the state attracted 7,700 international tourists. The state government has allocated Rs 52 crore form its annual budget for tourism development. Chhattisgarh will also receive Rs 90-100 crore from Union Minister of State for Tourism Mahesh Sharma under the Swadesh Darshan Yojana to develop tourism in tribal circuit. Asked about how tourism in the state developed after bifurcation from Madhya Pradesh, Bhagel said, "MP's tourism was more confined to central region. We are working very hard to position Chhattisgarh on the global map." The state government is planning to launch a TV commercial later this year and has been promoting state tourism in Railways and other major tourist destinations. Carved out from MP in 2000, the state has abundance of attractions. Chitrakoot Falls which is often referred as the Niagara Falls of India for its similar horse-shoe shape is the largest waterfalls in the country. The tribal belt of Bastar and Dantewada provides an experience of a lifetime for travellers to interact with people residing in one of the remotest place on earth. The state government has set aside Rs 5,183 crore for road sector and a massive Rs 11,000 for infrastructure sector. The government is sure that the huge allocations will act as a catalyst to boost tourism. Chhattisgarh is planning to organise the famous Shirpur Mela which attracts a lot of tourists and devotees to showcase the real ethnicity of the state.
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Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is stepping up pressure on the RBI to cut rates as the economy struggles and price rises slow, with some bureaucrats working behind the scenes to argue for an immediate cut of as much as 50 basis points. After another weak quarter of corporate earnings and July inflation that undershot the central bank's medium-term target, Jaitley has made direct, public calls for faster easing, clashing with far more cautious comments from a conservative Reserve Bank of India governor, Raghuram Rajan. Officials in Jaitley's ministry, meanwhile, are encouraging economists and newspapers to lobby directly for further easing, senior government officials said. The public stand-off between the finance ministry and the RBI comes at a time when the two sides are already at odds over key changes to the way India takes monetary policy decisions and the government's say in such matters. "Hopefully, the impact of inflation being under control is a factor which ... the central bank, with all its wisdom, will take note of," Jaitley told a gathering of bankers and executives in Mumbai earlier this week. While India's economic growth is outpacing China's on paper, the picture is different on the ground, where government spending has been sluggish, consumption is weak and corporate executives fret a recovery is unlikely before 2016-17. The government is also emerging from a bruising monsoon session in parliament, which delayed tax and land reforms seen as critical to accelerating growth. It now worries that growth could slip below its target of 8 to 8.5 percent for the year to March, and sees the RBI's caution as worsening the situation. Moody's earlier this week lowered its growth forecast to 7 percent, from 7.5 percent. "Going by the (consumer price) inflation numbers, and the global economic environment, the RBI should have cut interest rates by 200 basis points (this year) by December," said one ministry official who works with Jaitley on this issue. "It has done too little and too late." The RBI has cut 75 basis points since January. Another government official said the central bank was seen by the ministry to have scope to immediately cut at least 50 basis points off rates, now at 7.25 per cent. MONSOON WORRIESThe RBI, however, has remained far more cautious, specifically on the outlook for the monsoon season, which has roughly another month to run and has a huge influence on food prices in the country. Government officials have been upbeat in their assessment of the monsoon, with the rain shortfall currently estimated at around 9 per cent, but Rajan has been more circumspect. His tight rein on inflation has benefited the government; rising prices are a major concern for Indian voters, and inflation was in double digits when the former International Monetary Fund chief economist took over in 2013. But that is now irking a government whose officials complain they do not get sufficient insight into the dashboard of data that contribute to RBI decision-making. Though lauded by the government, July's inflation below 4 per cent has yet to satisfy the bank, which, sources with knowledge of RBI policymaking say, frets that core inflation, which excludes food and fuel, remains too high. The bank is even more nervous about food prices. Onions, the mainstay of many Indian dishes, have more than tripled in price since June 1 to almost two-year highs. "It is to be seen if CPI persistently undershoots the RBI's projections," a source familiar with the RBI's thinking said. The monsoon shortfall prediction, he said, made a rate cut before the next scheduled policy review on Sept. 29 "very difficult".(Reuters)
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To check black money generation, the government on Thursday (20 August) approved signing and ratification of the agreement between India and Seychelles for exchange of information with respect to taxes. The agreement will stimulate the information exchange between India and Seychelles for tax purposes, which will help curb tax evasion and avoidance, an official statement said. The decision was taken in the Cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The agreement will enable the competent authorities of India and Seychelles to provide assistance through the exchange of information that is foreseeably relevant to the administration and enforcement of the domestic laws of two countries concerning taxes, it said. Information received under the agreement shall be treated as confidential and may be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including courts or administrative bodies) concerned with assessment, collection, enforcement, prosecution or determination of appeals, in relation to taxes covered under the agreement, it said. Information may be disclosed to any other person or entity or authority or jurisdiction with the prior written consent of the country sending the information, it added. The agreement also provides for a Mutual Agreement Procedure for resolving any difference or for agreeing on procedures. As such, it said, the agreement does not have any financial implications. "Only in the event of extraordinary costs exceeding $500, the Government of India will bear the same, as per Article 9 of the agreement. India has similar provisions in other such tax information exchange agreements," it said.(PTI)
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Minister tells Suman K Jha reforms should not be made hostage to political differences and prejudicesTrade unions of all hues and the Opposition parties may have dubbed the labour reforms measures unleased by the Centre as “anti-people”, “and anti-labour”, but the Union Labour and Employment Minister, Bandaru Dattatreya, feels that the reforms process is getting a big push even by Opposition-ruled states like Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Assam. In an exclusive interview with BW Businessworld, Dattatreya, who has recently held regional labour conferences in various parts of the country, said that labour reforms process were initiated by the Congress at the Centre even though they appear to be developing second thoughts about it now. Asked why only BJP states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh were taking the lead in labour reforms, Dattatreya said that he had seen “a number of positive movements on labour reforms from several non-BJP states”. “Tamil Nadu wants to undertake several labour reforms, and it’s not a BJP ruled state,” he said. The state is ruled by the AIADMK. On the Congress opposition, he said that some Congress-ruled states like Assam have been found in sync with the Centre on labour reforms. “While I went to Assam, they (the state government) were very cordial and positive. They are appreciating many labour laws, and want to undertake new reforms too. If states like Karnataka want to oppose, they can have their own laws”. One of Dattatreya’s predecessors, Congress’s Mallikarjun Kharge, now Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha, is from Karnataka. State’s Labour minister T Parameshwara Naik told Businessworld that for the state government, the interests of the labour were supreme. Dattatreya said that the indications from Uttar Pradesh too were encouraging. “When I went to Uttar Pradesh, I found that UP too was in a mood to reform the labour laws,” he said. Insisting that labour reforms were long overdue, and much-required for the creation of jobs and enterprises, the Minister said that the reforms should not be made hostage to political differences and prejudices. “Telangana and Andhra Pradesh may have a rivalry but both the states have come out with a new industrial policy that gives incentives to industry. The process must be encouraged,” he said. The Union government may be claiming the support of even non-BJP states on labour reforms, but the trade unions are far from impressed. AITUC’s Gurudas Dasgupta told Businessworld that the labour reforms being pursued by the Union government “were pernicious” and against the interests of the labourers. In fact, a group of 11 central trade unions is going ahead with their nationwide strike call on September 2. The group includes the BMS, part of the BJP’s wider RSS family. Asked about the reservations of the trade unions and the government’s response to their concerns, Dattatreya said: “Out of their 12 demands, the government is positive on six or seven. We are here only for the last one year. The trade unions had decided their charter of demands in 2014 when the UPA was in power”. Asked if the government was working on the trade unions recalling their strike call, the minister said: “I cannot say that. But we are solving their demands”. (Full text of interview with Union Labour and Employment Minister, Bandaru Dattatreya, will be published on BW website tomorrow, on Aug 21, 2015).
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Exuding confidence about the upcoming summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC), Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the meet will strengthen India's bonds with the 14 resource-rich nations. "I welcome all the leaders and delegates who are coming to India for the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation," he tweeted ahead of the mega summit. "I am very optimistic about FIPIC Summit. Am sure it will strengthen India's bond with the Pacific island nations," he added. The August 21 summit will be held in Jaipur, and the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government has earmarked a series of projects through which it plans to deepen India's economic footprint in these islands. Leaders of the Solomon Islands, Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Nauru, Palau, Niue, Kiribati, Cook Islands, Samoa, Tonga, Micronesia and Fiji will attend the summit. These 14 nations, along with Australia and New Zealand, constitute a regional grouping — the Pacific Islands Forum — which other key powers, like the US and China, have been keen to join. Eleven of the 14 nations will be represented by heads of state or government, and the remaining three by foreign ministers. At the summit, India will seek to expand its footprint in the strategically-important South Pacific region by pushing for deeper engagement with these nations in a range of key areas including trade and investment. The aim is to chart a new course in relationship with the countries of Pacific region, where China has been trying to step up its influence. Modi will offer cooperation in agriculture and fisheries, training for small and medium-sized enterprises, hand-holding of educational institutions, and enhancing opportunities for government officials and diplomats from these countries to learn their craft in India. India also hopes to nudge these nations to allow Indian navy ships to dock in the western Pacific Ocean and enable New Delhi to build a unique satellite monitoring hub. Such a satellite monitoring centre would help India overcome a current blind spot whenever its satellites pass over the Pacific — a shortcoming that forces New Delhi to depend on Australia or the US, limiting strategic applications. According to media reports, these countries are crucial for two other reasons — climate change, where they are expected to side with India because they are most at risk from challenges of climate change; and the reorganisation of the United Nations, where 12 of the 14 have these voting rights. Of them, 11 support India's elevation as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. The sectors that India will look for deeper cooperation with the island nations include oil and natural gas, mining, IT, health care, fishing and marine research.
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Passengers entering India will now have to declare Indian currency exceeding Rs 25,000 and LCD, LED or Plasma televisions being brought by them in the new customs declaration forms. According to the new rules, the duty free allowance on cigarettes, cigars and tobacco has been reduced by 50 per cent. Also, passengers of Indian origin and foreigners of over 10 years of age residing in India and coming from any country other than China, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar can bring goods worth Rs 45,000 along with them. Earlier, this limit was Rs 35,000. All flyers coming to India will need to declare Indian currency exceeding Rs 25,000, said the Customs Baggage Declaration (Amendment) Regulations, 2015, notified yesterday by the Finance Ministry. Earlier, they were supposed to declare any amount exceeding Rs 10,000 being brought by them. An additional field has also been inserted in the 'Indian Customs Declaration Form', which needs to be mandatorily filled by all passengers entering India, to declare any flat panel (LCD, LED or Plasma) televisions being brought by them. The form presently has fields for declaration of dutiable and prohibited goods, gold jewellery and bullion (over free allowance), satellite phone and foreign currency notes exceeding USD 5,000 or equivalent. The passengers also need to mention about meat, meat products, fish, dairy and poultry products, seeds, plants, fruits, flowers, other planting material and aggregate value of foreign exchange including currency exceeding USD 10,000 or equivalent in the existing customs form. Further, they had to report to 'Red Channel' for payment of duty if they were carrying any such items. The new rules have also reduced by 50 per cent the duty free allowance of cigarettes to 100 sticks, 25 cigars and 150 gms of tobacco being brought by the flyers. At present, a passenger can bring 200 number of cigarettes, 50 cigars and 250 gms of tobacco. The passengers of Indian origin and foreigners of over 10 years of age residing in India and coming from China, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar can bring in duty-free goods worth Rs 6,000 only. However, they get duty free allowance of Rs 35,000 if they are coming from other than these four countries. This limit has been increased to Rs 45,000, the new rules said. As per the modified immigration and customs rules, an Indian citizen needs to fill up the immigration form only when he or she goes out of the country. They do not need to fill in immigration form while returning from abroad. Whereas, all passengers coming to India need to fill up a separate Indian Customs Declaration Form. A passenger also requires to give details of the countries being visited by him or her in the past six days and mention the passport number on the customs form. India has 21 international airports - in Srinagar, Jaipur, Amritsar, Delhi, Lucknow, Varanasi, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Goa, Nagpur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Calicut, Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Thiruvananthapuram and Port Blair.(PTI)
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India is ready to assist Chinese firms in every possible way to invest in India, reports Arshad Khan Trade between New Delhi and Beijing has increased rapidly over the years, but flow of investment from China is still a matter of concern for the government of India, Amitabh Kant, secretary at department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP), said on Wednesday (August 19). The secretary further added that India will assist Chinese companies in every possible way to invest in India. Bilateral trade has surged from $3 billion in 2000 to nearly $74 billion in 2015, but India has received only $1.2 billion as direct investments from China in the last 15 years. Investment from China accounts below 1 per cent of the total FDI made in India. Kant said that the government is grateful that China has taken keen interest to participate in the Make in India initiative. He said, "India has started Invest India programme to assist Chinese investors. By opening FDI in defence, railways, pharma and so on, we have made India one of the most open economy in the world. We are very hopeful of big investment coming from China in near future." China has been one of the biggest economies when it comes to foreign investment. According to data from United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, China was the third biggest source of foreign direct investment last year, having invested more than $100 billion in other countries. Chinese companies have a huge market presence in India, but when it comes to investment they are surprisingly unwilling. China has invested less in India than Poland and Malaysia. Though Prime Minister Narendra Modi's China visit was full of promises, a bilateral deal of $24 billion, China is yet to spur investment in India. The only big thing which resulted from Chinese President Xi Xinping's visit to India and Modi's visit to China is the two industrial parks in Pune and Gujarat which will be built by Hubei province of China. It will be also interesting to see how the two China-based biggies, Alibaba and Xiaomi will make their investment. Growing annually at 7.5 per cent, consultancy firm E&Y has projected India will remain the most attractive investment destination in the years to come. China, the second biggest economy may not touch present government's huge expectation as the country is on a verge of a stock market crash.
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The National Green Tribunal's (NGT) decision to reduce the no construction radius from 10 kms to 1.27 kms brings cheer to thousands of families. Hurry to give possession certificates should not damage quality of life, says Sunil Dhawan A major government ruling comes as a big sigh of relief for more than 60,000 families who had booked their apartments in Noida. National Green Tribunal, (NGT) had disallowed any construction activity in a radius of 10 kms of the Okhla Bird Sanctuary which had led to delay in possession of flats to the buyers. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has announced that the Centre has approved the eco-sensitive zone around the Okhla Bird Sanctuary by limiting it to 1 km. The notification to this effect will however be out in few weeks. The new ruling has brought down the restricted area to 100 meters to 1.27 kms thus bringing legitimacy to all the newly constructed residential and commercial units outside this limit. Commercial projects includes one of India’s largest mall from DLF and Unitech Gardens Galleria, which were struck up due to the earlier rule. Jaypee, Supetech, Amrapali and other developers across the NOIDA Expressway too gets a relief and could soon start offering possession certificates to buyers. The possession certificate would be issued by the relevant authority which in this case is the NOIDA authority. Buyers who have already waited so long for possession of their home may still face some surprises even after getting possession certificate. At times, the house could be in bad condition, with fixtures and fittings not in place or there could be change in layout of the property itself. The construction material used could be sub-standard and even the access to the locality with lighting, roads etc may not yet be there. These are some issue buyer may have to face but as of now, moving into one’s home dream home is looking real.
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