Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's innings in 2015: Solid start, sedate end

Like a vast majority of Indians, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is an avid cricket follower; so it may not be out of place to describe how 2015 panned out for the finance minister through a cricket analogy. Many say it was like the Indian cricket team's batting line-up of the late 90s -- a solid start by the openers would fizzle out because of indifferent performance by the middle and lower order.

While policy watchers and the markets are more rational in their judgement than the average emotional cricket fan, there is a sense of disappointment over the performance of the government's nodal ministry led by a person who is also the Modi government’s trouble-shooter.

प्रधानमंत्री ने भारत-जापान बिजनेस लीडर्स फोरम को संबोधित किया

प्रधानमंत्री श्री नरेन्द्र मोदी और जापान के प्रधानमंत्री श्री शिंज़ो अबे ने आज नई दिल्ली में भारत-जापान बिजनेस लीडर्स फोरम को संबोधित किया। 

इस मौके पर प्रधानमंत्री ने जोर देकर कहा कि वह चाहते हैं कि भारत और जापान साथ-साथ आगे बढ़ें। दोनों देश न सिर्फ हाई स्पीड ट्रेन के क्षेत्र में आगे बढ़ें बल्कि वे हाई स्पीड ग्रोथ (उच्च विकास दर) के लिए एक साथ कदम उठाएं। 

प्रधानमंत्री ने पिछले साल की अपनी जापान यात्रा को याद किया और जापान की ओर से भारत में 35 अरब डॉलर के निवेश प्रतिबद्धता की भी याद दिलाई। उन्होंने कहा कि उस समय निवेश की इतनी बड़ी राशि ने सभी ने चौंकाया था। लेकिन आज बहुत ही कम समय में इस दिशा में अकल्पनीय प्रगति हुई है और जापान के निवेश की रूप-रेखा धरातल पर दिखने लगी है। 

श्री नरेन्द्र मोदी ने कहा कि मेक इन इंडिया मिशन मोड में चलने वाली प्रक्रिया है। यह कार्यक्रम सिर्फ भारत में बल्कि जापान में भी इसी मोड में चल रहा है। उन्होंने कहा कि पिछले साल नीतिगत प्रयोग के तौर पर शुरू हुआ जापान प्लस अभियान भी काफी अच्छा चल रहा है। 

प्रधानमंत्री ने हाल में भारत और जापान के कुछ आर्थिक संकेतकों का जिक्र किया और कहा कि ये काफी प्रोत्साहित करने वाले हैं। खास कर ऐसे समय में जब वैश्विक अर्थव्यवस्था अच्छा प्रदर्शन नहीं कर रही हो। प्रधानमंत्री ने कहा कि इसमें कोई शक नहीं है कि भारत संभावनाओं की धरती है। उन्होंने याद दिलाया कि जापान भारत के कई आर्थिक मोड़ों का हिस्सा रहा है। उन्होंने इस संबंध में मारुति कार और डीएफसी (डेडिकेटेड फ्रेट कॉरिडोर) का जिक्र किया।

Government Approves Seven (07) Proposals of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Amounting to Rs. 5240.35 Crore Approximately

            Based on the recommendations of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in its 227^th meeting held on 9^th November 2015, the Government has approved Seven (07) proposals of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) amounting to Rs. 5240.35 crore. 

The following Seven (07) proposals have been approved:

S. No.	Item No	Name of the applicant	Gist of the proposal	Sector	FDI (in Rs. Crore)
1	2	M/s India Advantage S4 I	M/s India Advantage Fund S4 I, a SEBI registered AIF, has sought approval to (i) accept contributions up to a limit of ` 2,950 crores from offshore investors into the Fund subject to AIF Regulations under the FDI route and to issue class B units and class E units and such other relevant units in the Fund to offshore investors, (ii) permit the Fund to make investments in securities of the Indian companies in which FDI is permitted, (iii) permit the Fund to distribute income realized on its investment to the offshore investors under the automatic route	AIF	2950
2	8	M/s Menterra Venture Advisors Private Limited	Approval has been sought by M/s Menterra Venture Advisors Private Limited for 100% foreign investment in Menterra Social Impact Fund (or such other name as SEBI may approve) which is a contributory and determinate trust organized under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882 and in the process of being registered with SEBI as a Category I Alternative Investment Fund - Social Venture Fund	AIF	21.2
3	10	M/s Agio Image Limited	Approval has been sought by Agio Image Ltd., Mauritius, for acquisition of equity shares of Dr. Naresh Trehan and Associates Health Services Private Limited (NTAHS) from RJ Corp, an Indian owned and controlled company	Core Investment Company	75
4	12	M/s L&T Finance Holdings Limited	Approval has been sought by BC Investments VI Limited and BC Asia Growth Investments in L&T Finance Holdings Limited (LTFH), by way of (i) BC Investments VI Limited subscribing to 3,18,36,971 equity shares, constituting 1.75% of the post issue equity share capital of LTFH on a fully diluted basis and (ii) BC Asia Growth Investments subscribing to 6,38,20,990 warrants, with each convertible into one equity share within a period of 18 months from the date of allotment of warrants, constituting 3.51% of the post issue equity share capital of LTFH on a fully diluted basis	Financial Services	707
5	13	M/s Paragon Partners Growth Fund	Approval has been sought by M/s Paragon Partners Growth Fund for accepting contributions amounting to 80% of the Fund corpus from non-resident investors in Paragon Partners Growth Fund, a Category II Alternate Investment Fund.	AIF	985
6	14	M/s Strugence Debt Fund	Approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board for accepting contributions up to INR 99 crores from Non Residents, Non-Resident Indians, Non Resident Entities and Foreign owned entities over a period of time in Class A units of Strugence Debt Fund I which is a scheme of Strugence Debt Fund, a Category II Alternate Investment Fund registered with Securities and Exchange Board of India. The Strugence Debt Fund 1 is targeting to raise a corpus of INR 200 crores	Financial Services	99
7	16	M/s Extramarks Education India Private Limited	Approval for investing in its 100% subsidiary Indian company Extramarks Education India Private Limited for undertaking digital publishing of education content and distribution to schools and students through smart classes, test centres and digital medium such as internet subscription, SD cards, Tablets etc.	Publication	403.15

            The following Four (04) proposals have been deferred:

S. No.	Item No.	Name of the applicant	Gist of the proposal	Sector
1	4	M/s Sharekhan Limited	Acquisition of up to 100% of the share capital of Sharekhan Limited other than the shares held in Sharekhan Limited by Human Value Developers Private Limited by BNP Paribas SA France and/or one or more of BNPs French subsidiaries. II. Acquisition of 100% capital of Human Value Developers Private Limited by BNP and/ or one or more of BNPs French subsidiaries.	NBFC
2	5	M/s P C Ghadiali and Co LLP	P C Ghadiali and Co LLP, a CA firm has been appointed by Mazav Management LLC, USA to apply on their behalf to FIPB for the acquisition of 24% shareholding in Nexus Flight Operation Services India Pvt. Ltd, held by Sovika Aviation Services Private Limited.	Ground Handling Services
3	9	M/s SunE Solar BV	Approval is sought by SunE Solar B.V. to set up a LLP in India along with SunEdison Energy India Private Limited and SunEdison Solar Power India Private Limited	LLP
4	15	M/s Software is Correct, Inc	Approval sought for infusing fresh funds of upto US$ 15 million in its wholly owned Indian subsidiary	IT/ITES

            The following Five (05) proposals have been rejected:

S. No.	Item No.	Name of the applicant	Gist of the proposal	Sector
1	3	M/s Images Franchising Management Pvt Ltd	Images Franchising Management Private Limited, a WoS of Images Multimedia Private Limited has sought approval to convert into a LLP.	LLP
2	6	M/s Marvel Data Services LLP	Approval has been sought for receiving USD 1,00,000 from Marvel Data Tech LLC, for 15% profit share.	LLP
3	7	M/s Limpkin Telecom Pvt Ltd	Approval for issuing fresh investment for 100% equity by Ms. Jorden Elizabeth, a UK citizen for an aggregate consideration of Rs. 3.00  crore	Telecom
4	11	M/s Euronet Services India Pvt Ltd	Approval for amendment of the approval granted whereby it was stated that the activity of operating a payment system by issuance of Prepaid Payment Instrument falls within the 18 activities listed for NBFC and hence, approval from FIPB is not required as the same falls within the automatic route. Accordingly, Euronet India needs to comply with the minimum capitalisation requirement of USD 50 Million.	NBFC
5	17	M/s Rocktec Sands LLP	Approval has been sought for receiving foreign investment from foreign partners of the LLP	LLP

            The following one (01) proposal does not lie before FIPB:

S. No.	Item No.	Name of the applicant	Gist of the proposal	Sector
1	1	Verifone India Pvt Ltd	Approval has been sought for conversion of outstanding interest due on ECB loan 1(USD 60,554) and ECB Loan 2(USD 365,606) into equity shares to be issued to VeriFone Inc, USA, parent company.	IT/ITES

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Bharat Fund

The Bharat Fund is a public-private-academia partnership set up by Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE). The objective of the fund, inter-alia, is to support and provide funding (grants, seed capital, venture capital) and business support to innovation-driven start-ups that solve real problems faced by the masses of India through technology-enabled and rapidly scalable solutions and will focus on – healthcare and life-sciences (including biotech, medical devises), sustainability (energy, agriculture, environment, water), and digital technologies (especially in manufacturing, design). 

The Bharat Fund shall be managed and coordinated by CIIE at the IIM, Ahmedabad. 

As informed by IIM, Ahmedabad, the process involved shall include problem identification and crowd-sourcing of solutions, Expert Screening and Independent Investment Committee and Active Mentoring and Business Support for selection of beneficiaries. Bharat Fund will also organize accelerator and grant challenge program to source ideas for specific problems that may need new effective solutions to be created. 

This was stated by Shri Jayant Sinha, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha

Banks cannot attach pension account to recover loan dues: Madras HC

While allowing a Writ Petition filed by Mrs. A. Muthuiruvakkal of Nagercoil in Kanyakumari district the Madras High Court Madurai Bench of Justice K. Ravichandrabaabu held that a Savings Bank Account maintained primarily for the purpose of depositing monthly pension amount could not be attached by a bank just because the account holder had defaulted repayment of a loan availed from them. The petitioner had challenged an order passed by the State Bank of India on August 13 preventing her from operating the pension account for recovering the outstanding loan amount.

Auction for Sale (re-issue) of Government Stock Dated 16th November, 2015

PRESS COMMUNIQUE

 Government of India have announced the Sale (re-issue) of (i) “7.35 per cent Government Stock 2024” for a notified amount of ` 2,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction, (ii) “7.88 per cent Government Stock 2030” for a notified amount of ` 7,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction, (iii) “8.24 per cent Government Stock 2033” for a notified amount of ` 3,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction, and (iv) “8.13 per cent Government Stock 2045” for a notified amount of ` 3,000 crore (nominal) through price based auction. The auctions will be conducted using multiple price method. The auctions will be conducted by the Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai Office, Fort, Mumbai on November 20, 2015 (Friday). 

2. Up to 5% of the notified amount of the sale of the stocks will be allotted to eligible individuals and Institutions as per the Scheme for Non-Competitive Bidding Facility in the Auction of Government Securities. 

3. Both competitive and non-competitive bids for the auction should be submitted in electronic format on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber) system on November 20, 2015. The non-competitive bids should be submitted between 10.30 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. and the competitive bids should be submitted between 10.30 a.m. and 12.00 noon. 

4. The result of the auctions will be announced on November 20, 2015 and payment by successful bidders will be November 23, 2015 (Monday). 

5. The Stocks will be eligible for “When Issued” trading in accordance with the guidelines on ‘When Issued transactions in Central Government Securities’ issued by the Reserve Bank of India vide circular No. RBI/2006-07/178 dated November 16, 2006 as amended from time to time. 

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA 

MINISTRY OF FINANCE 

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS 

BUDGET DIVISION 

NORTH BLOCK, 

NEW DELHI-110001 

सरकार ने विभि‍न्‍न उत्‍पादों के निर्यात को अब और ज्‍यादा सहारा देने की घोषणा की है, भारत से वस्‍तु निर्यात की योजना (एमईआईएस) के जरिए कुछ और उत्‍पादों को कवर किया गया

वैश्‍वि‍क अर्थव्‍यवस्‍था में छाई सुस्‍ती के चलते भारतीय निर्यातकों के सामने मौजूद चुनौतियों को ध्‍यान में रखते हुए वाणिज्‍य विभाग ने आज विभि‍न्‍न उत्‍पादों के निर्यात को अब और ज्‍यादा सहारा देने की घोषणा की। यही नहीं, वाणिज्‍य विभाग ने भारत से वस्‍तु निर्यात की योजना (एमईआईएस) में कुछ और उत्‍पादों को शामिल कर लिया है। विदेश व्‍यापार महानिदेशालय द्वारा 29 अक्‍टूबर, 2015 को जारी सार्वजनिक नोटिस 44 के जरिए ये नए कदम उठाए गए हैं।

    विदेश व्‍यापार नीति (एफटीपी) 2015-20 के जरिए 1 अप्रैल, 2015 को शुरू की गई एमईआईएस एक प्रमुख निर्यात संवर्धन योजना है, जिसे वाणिज्‍य एवं उद्येाग मंत्रालय द्वारा क्रियान्वित किया गया है। एमईआईएस में 4914 वस्‍तुओं (टैरिफ लाइंस) के लिए उत्‍पाद एवं बाजार पर फोकस करते हुए प्रोत्‍साहन दिए गए हैं। एमईआईएस के तहत ईनाम कवर किए किए निर्यात के हासिल एफओबी मूल्‍य के प्रतिशत के रूप में देय होते हैं। यह एमईआईएस ड्यूटी क्रेडिट स्‍क्रि‍प के जरिए देय होता है, जिसे हस्‍तांतरित किया जा सकता है और बुनियादी सीमा शुल्‍क समेत विभि‍न्‍न तरह के शुल्‍कों की अदायगी के लिए इसका इस्‍तेमाल किया जा सकता है।

    वर्तमान संशोधन में 110 नई टैरिफ लाइंस को शामिल किया गया है और इसके तहत मौजूदा 2228 टैरिफ लाइंस के लिए दरों अथवा देश संबंधी कवरेज अथवा दोनों को ही बढ़ाया गया है। 29 अक्‍टूबर, 2015 को जारी सार्वजनिक नोटिस 44 में अतिरिक्‍त कवरेज के सार के बारे में विस्‍तार से बताया गया है।, जो निम्‍नलिखि‍त है :

I – निम्‍नलिखि‍त श्रेणियों को वैश्‍वि‍क सहारा प्रदान किया गया है :

·        वस्‍त्र आइटम (चैप्‍टर 50-60)

·        दवाइयां, शल्य चिकित्सा, हर्बल्स

·        परियोजना वस्तुओं का निर्यात

·        ऑटो कलपुर्जे

·        दूरसंचार, कंप्यूटर, इलेक्ट्रिकल और इलेक्ट्रॉनिक्स उत्पाद

·        रेलवे, परिवहन उपकरण और कलपुर्जे

II - उत्‍पादों की निम्‍नलिखि‍त श्रेणियों, जिनमें से ज्‍यादातर का निर्माण एमएसएमई द्वारा किया जाता है, को ज्‍यादा सहारा प्रदान किया गया है :

·        औद्योगिक मशीनरी, आईसी इंजन, मशीन के उपकरण, डेयरी, कृषि, खाद्य प्रसंस्करण, कपड़ा, कागज के लिए कलपुर्जे एवं मशीनरी

·        कृषि/बागवानी/वानिकी, सुरक्षा रेजर, ब्‍लेड में इस्तेमाल किए जाने वाले हस्‍त औजार

·        सभी प्रकार के ताले, सुदृढ़ तिजोरी, मजबूत बक्से और दरवाजे, सुरक्षित जमा (सेफ डिपॉजिट लॉकर)

·        फ्लेक्सिबल (लचीली) टयूबिंग, पैकेजिंग के लिए पिल्फर प्रूफ कैप्स

·        साइकिल के कलपुर्जे

III – चुनिंदा चमड़ा उत्पादों, लोहा, इस्पात और मूल धातुओं, उत्पादों के लिए अतिरिक्त देशों को कवर किया गया है।

IV - काजू, सिले-सिलाये वस्‍त्रों, कागज की लुगदी वाले उत्पादों और हाथ से तैयार ऊनी शॉल को अब कहीं ज्‍यादा सहारा देने की इजाजत दी गई है।

V - निम्नलिखित नए उत्पादों को जोड़ा गया है:

·        मानव निर्मित वस्त्र सामग्री के लचीले मध्यवर्ती थोक कंटेनर

·        चिकित्सा उपकरण

·        खेल-कूद के सामान

·        प्राकृतिक रबड़, रसायन और प्लास्टिक के मूल्‍य वर्द्धि‍त/प्रसंस्कृत उत्पाद

5. उत्पादों, दरों और देश संबंधी कवरेज की पूरी सूची डीजीएफटी की इस वेबसाइट पर उपलब्ध है :http://dgft.gov.in/Exim/2000/PN/PN15/pn4416.pdf