The US secretary of defence, Robert Gates, arrives in the Indian capital, New Delhi, next week to promote a $10bn jet fighter contract, underlining the country's emergence as one of the world's biggest military markets. To update its Soviet-era arsenal India says it will need to spend $45bn in the next five years, and it has been courted by western states that are barred by arms embargoes from selling to China, the other expanding Asian military power.

Read this amazing interview that Gautam Kumara, director of McKinsey Quarterly, Delhi, had with the chairman of GMR, Mr. G. M. Rao.

Some extracts:

...Active in airports, roads, and power, India’s GMR, led by founder and chairman G. M. Rao, is right in the middle of the country’s efforts to build up a weak infrastructure. While Rao expects the economy to remain vibrant, he worries that it can’t be developed fast enough to support current economic-growth rates…

Rohm and Haas, the largest specialty material manufacturers in the world, are planning to invest US$100 million in India to develop manufacturing and research and development facilities.

Current mandatory norms require Indian airline companies to operate in the domestic market for a minimum of five years before they can take on international routes. Only Air India, Indian Airlines and Jet Airways currently meet the minimum eligibility criteria. 

The Indian income tax department has petitioned the Supreme Court against the ruling by a quasi-judicial body which held that foreign firms are not liable to pay tax on assignment amount charged from their Indian subsidiaries if contracts are signed outside the country.  

India Briefing shares an impressive article in Economic Times "The 8 visions that changed the face of India", by Narayana Murthy, Chief Mentor, Infosys Technologies Limited, India.

President of India, Mrs. Pratibha Patil, addressed the nation yesterday, on the eve of Independence Day. India Briefing shares with you her first speech as the President of India :-

On July 10, 2007, India's stock market regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), amended Clause 41 of the Listing Agreement and directed all stock exchanges to replace the existing clause with a revised one.

This article is designed to discuss and highlight broadly some of the tax implications and issues arising in determining the tax liability of expatriates in India.

To understand what India means by SEZs, we need to appreciate that they are internationally defined as being "Specified, delineated and duty free geographical region that has different economic laws from those of the country in which it is situated."