New Delhi

Air India Considers 15-Day Flight Suspension Due to Protests

Sept. 29 – State-owned Air India may consider suspending airline operations for 15 days after protests over pay issues reached a standstill.

The Economic Times reported that about 40 Air India flights were canceled on Saturday when scores of executive pilots reported sick in protest of the airline’s decision to cut performance incentives by 50 percent for those receiving incentives of Rs 200,000 or more a month.

For pilots receiving bonuses of up to Rs 10,000 a month, incentives will be cut by 25 percent as part of the airlines measures to drastically lower costs and apply for a government bailout. Continue reading →

Posted in Aviation, Culture and History, Economy and Politics, New Delhi | Leave a comment

New Survey Ranks India’s Ten Most Affluent Cities

Sept. 4 – The Nielsen Company in India has just released the results of the first ever Nielsen Upper Middle and Rich (UMAR) survey that sought to decode the behavior of India’s well-heeled.

The UMAR polled more than 18,250 wealthy individuals across 35 Indian cities on their lifestyle and mass and emerging media consumption. The definition of affluence was based on the standards of defining socio economic class and other Nielsen variables.

“The primary reason for conducting Nielsen UMAR was to obtain first of all a realistic estimate of this segment, and secondly, to profile their media and consumption habits. There is no study today in India which provides an accurate estimate of this target group; large scale surveys like the NRS and IRS grossly underestimate this segment as their sampling procedures are directed towards a mass audience and not specifically to this segment,” said Partha Rakshit, Managing Director, South Asia, The Nielsen Company, said in a statement.

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Posted in Chennai, Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Retail | 1 Comment

FDI Law May be Revised to Block Investment in Sensitive Sectors

Aug. 19 – The National Security Council has submitted a secret report suggesting revisions on the current FDI guidelines to allow the government to stop foreign mergers or takeovers of Indian companies that are considered damaging to national interest, reports The Economic Times.

Under the proposed National Security Exception Act foreign investment in sensitive sectors and locations in the country originating from ‘‘countries and origins of concern’’ are subject to special security screening at the time of approval and period of operation.

This will apply to funds coming through both automatic and FIPB routes, as well as the fast track council projects. The new proposal follows fears in India that terror funds may be finding its way into the country and comes fraught with security risks. Specifically, dubious investments coming from tax havens like Mauritius, Cyprus and Cayman Islands as well as foreign criminal organizations.

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Posted in Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade, IT & Telecom, Legal and Regulatory, Location, New Delhi | Leave a comment

Bank Employees Begin Strike Today

Aug. 6 – Employees of India’s private, overseas and state banks numbering more than 900,000 will begin their two-day strike today.

An estimated 26 state-run banks, 10 private banks and eight foreign banks will be affected when its workers join the strike organized by the United Forum of Bank Unions (UFBU). “We seek expedition of wage revisions,” C H Venkatachalam, convener of the UFBU,was quoted by Bloomberg. “There is no question of calling off the strike now.”

The banking workers are demanding at least a 17.5 percent salary hike, pension benefits and that family members of those who die in service be employed.

Posted in Bangalore, Chennai, Economy and Politics, Haryana, Kolkata, Legal and Regulatory, Mumbai, New Delhi | 1 Comment

India to Host Doha Round in September

Jul. 30 – India’s capital, New Delhi, is set to host the Doha Development Round from September 3 to 4 that will gather ministers from the G20 countries.

Since 2001, the trade-negotiation round of the World Trade Organization (WTO) has aimed to increase and liberalize global trade and more importantly allow developing countries to export more by negotiating to lower trade barriers.

Regular global meetings have so far been hampered by unresolved issues between developing and rich countries when it came to the topic of agricultural and industrial products. India has been fiercely guarding issues that could affect the food and livelihood of its marginalized farmers but is hopeful that the September meeting will lead to a final deal since it was already close to formalizing one last year.

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Posted in Business, Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade, New Delhi | Leave a comment

U.K’s British Council to Outsource Jobs to India

Jul. 29 – The British Council has announced that it would outsource 100 IT and finance jobs to New Delhi and other parts of India in an effort to streamline costs.

The British Council will cut its staff by 500 in the coming months to save £45 million of taxpayer’s money. The announcement has created a furor within the government and union groups.

The civil servant group, the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), panned the decision saying it was against Brown’s principle of “British jobs for British people,” reports Indian business publication, Live Mint.

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Posted in Culture and History, Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade, New Delhi | Leave a comment

Indian M&A Trends Report Out Now

May 25 – Cross-border business development agency, Dynamic Orbits, has released their April M&A Trends Overview for India.

According to the report, the Indian economy is faring better than expected and appears to have largely absorbed the negative aspects of the global financial crisis, partially because exports account for just 18 percent of its GDP.

The World Bank also has revised India’s expected 2009 GDP performance at around 7 percent.

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Posted in Economy and Politics, FDI and Foreign Trade, Location, New Delhi | Leave a comment

India Cuts Tax Relief on Commercial Rentals

Apr. 24 – The Delhi High Court has announced that it would abolish service tax on commercial rentals, cutting central government earnings by Rs 8,000 crore annually.

The regulation will help realtors, specially companies like retailers and call centers. Ernst & Young associate director Bipin Sapra told The Economic Times: “The high court order is a welcome one for the business and shall reduce the input costs in these tough times.”

The court says that renting of immovable property for use in the course or expansion of business is not regarded as a service, thus cannot be taxed in the first place.

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Posted in Economy and Politics, Finance, Tax and Accounting, New Delhi | Leave a comment

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