Other Briefings
India Joins Other Countries in Testing Postal GMS Service
Aug. 10 – This week, India and 20 other countries have begun using the UN Universal Postal Union’s new Global Monitoring System (GMS) to monitor the quality of their letter-post service using Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. The GMS is a global system using RFID technology that will be accessible to both industrialized and developing countries, […]
Income Tax Department Wants Hong Kong Included in Tax Pact with China
Aug. 10 – India’s Income Tax Department wants its tax agreement with China to include Hong Kong SAR, to pursue a pending tax plea on Hutchison Telecommunications International (HTIL) when it sold its Indian conglomerate Hutchison-Essar to Vodafone for US$11.1 billion in 2007. The government department is demanding US$1.7 billion tax on the deal. “HTIL […]
India to File WTO Complaint on European Union
Aug. 7 – India is planning to file a World Trade Organization complaint that accuses the European Union of allowing multinational pharmaceutical companies to use the bloc’s strict patent laws to detain Indian generic drugs in transit to developing countries, reports the Wall Street Journal. Since last year, customs officials in the Netherlands and Germany […]
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 […]
Airport Authority of India to be Converted into a Public Company
Aug. 5 – The Civil Aviation Ministry of India plans to convert the Airport Authority of Indian (AAI) into a public company as a way of raising funds. The ministry will amend the laws contained in Airport Authority of India Act, the principal act governing various airports in India. By converting the AAI into a […]
No Changes in Media FDI Limits
Aug. 4 – The Indian government will not be changing the limit on foreign direct investment in the banking and media sectors, reports the Wall Street Journal. Indian law only allows for 74 percent foreign direct investment in private banks and 20 percent in state-run banks. In the media industry, businesses like newspapers and periodicals […]
India Will Not Accept Binding Greenhouse Gas Emission Cuts
Aug. 3 – With less than 5 months until the anticipated Climate Conference in Copenhagen scheduled for December, India announced its steadfast position that it cannot accept any “legally binding” greenhouse gas emission reductions but assured that its carbon footprint would never exceed that of developed nations. In a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary […]
Japan Invests US$1.6 Billion in Indian Economic Zones
Jul. 31 – Japan has agreed to invest in US$1.6 billion worth of projects in India’s power, steel, construction and engineering special economic zones, reports the Business Standard. The deals are set to be formalized soon and were part of India’s Assocham week-long trip to Japan to drum up interest for its special economic zones. […]
