Asish K Bhattacharyya

In the new regime, the controlling shareholder has to build a strong relationship of trust with minority shareholders

Related party transactions - scepticism all around

Business Standard

The Supreme Court has clarified that a diagnostic centre, clinic or maternity home functioning in the premises of a hospital is also eligible for claiming exemption in customs duty for import of medical equipment provided it fulfils all the conditions envisaged in a 1988 notification. The conditions include free treatment to 40 per cent of outpatients and in-house treatment to those whose income is below Rs 500 a month. The medical equipment importer has to get a certificate from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) to claim exemption. There was some doubt about the position of diagnostic centre, because of a judgment in the Mediwell Hospital case. In that 1997 case, a two-judge bench had stated that  a diagnostic centre "run by a private individual purely on commercial basis" may not be entitled to the exemption. However, that view was doubted by a later set of judges who referred the question to a larger bench. A three-judge bench now, in the case, Bharat Diagnostic Cent

Customs relief for hospital equipment

Japan was going to be the first country he planned to visit as premier but Prime Minister Narendra Modi postponed the trip by a month in the hope that the extra time would allow New Delhi and Tokyo to firm up various deals in the pipeline and cross one big hurdle that had so far proved utterly elusive: A nuclear cooperation agreement.Although Japan does not manufacture nuclear reactors, Japanese companies like Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Japan Steel Works fabricate crucial components such as reactor vessels for the kind of American and French reactors India has agreed to install. Unless New Delhi and Tokyo sign a nuclear agreement, Areva, Westinghouse and GE will be unable to include Japanese equipment in the reactors they wish to supply to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd.Despite the Modi government's heavy lifting in the past month, a nuclear agreement with Japan continues to remain beyond reach. Indeed, unless the Shinzo Abe government relents on three key sticking poi

Calibrating India's terms for engagement with Japan

The GDP growth estimate for the first quarter (Q1) has come higher than expectation at 5.7 per cent. Evidently, the economy has come out of the low growth phase in the past two years and it does appear the economy will continue to remain in the plus-five per cent range. The only negative factor is the sub-normal monsoon, which will affect farm output. The government has taken several steps to revive investment, through better clearances and removal of administrative roadblocks. Hopefully, this should translate to higher investment. The Q1 number indicates  capital formation has increased only marginally or been unchanged, depending on whether we look at it in constant terms or market prices. Evidently, the second and third quarters will hold the clue to sustenance of growth in these areas, as the spending season starts from August and lasts till December. In the past two years, consumer demand has been low, affecting industrial growth.However, this optimism should be bordered with caut

Low-growth phase seems over

A senior minister in the Narendra Modi ministry was advised not to rehabilitate the former's 'Man Friday' in his personal staff, given his alleged dubious reputation. In another instance, the son of senior minister was instructed to stop influencing postings and transfers of officials in his father's ministry.In its first 100 days, the Modi-led Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has gone into such details as vetting for ministers their private secretaries. It has also initiated a process to purge or block appointments of anybody whether a private secretary, or in one instance tothe panel of Supreme Court judges, if they had affinity to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.Some of the appointments, like that of the principal secretary to PM, former Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) chief Nripendra Misra, ran into legal trouble nearly immediately. The Trai Act barred its former chairpersons from taking up government positions, but not a private sector job, until at leas

New appointments & purging old ones

Multitude of tweets and announcements on Facebook but informal gag order on ministers and officials

Govt redefines rules to deal with media

The prime minister has said his government won't only focus on ties with western nations but also on India's neighbours

Foreign policy reflects pragmatism

Friendlier government policies, greater demand and better supply of coal have fuelled investor interest

Power sector picks up the pieces after slump

As the Centre overhauls labour laws, it's vital to ensure businesses and workers do not take each other for granted

In search of a fine balance

In a dispute in which arbitration proceedings had not commenced for two decades, the Supreme Court has ruled that the court has the power to appoint an arbitrator against the terms of the contract. In this case, North-Eastern Railway vs Tripple Engineering Works, the railway terminated the contract in 1994 and a panel of arbitrators was appointed in 1996 to decide on the disputes. But little had happened since then. When the contractor company moved the Patna high court, it appointed a retired chief justice of the Sikkim high court as arbitrator.This was challenged by the railway in the Supreme Court, arguing that according to the General Conditions of Contract, a judge could not be an arbitrator. The Supreme Court rejected the contention and upheld the high court's action in view of the peculiar facts of the case. "In a situation where the procedure and process under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act has been rendered futile, the power of the court to depart from the agreed terms

SC restarts 20-year-old arbitration

At the state level, it will be an amalgamation of sales tax and some existing state taxes

Time to move forward with a new GST model

Bihar managed to attract investment proposals worth Rs 20,000 crore in 2012-13. The next financial year saw a dramatic fall in fresh proposals to Rs 2,900 crore. It is now reduced to a trickle at Rs 657 crore in the first four months of 2014-15.The state, once touted as among India's most promising emerging growth centres that had bettered other states in terms of growth in recent years, has fallen off the investor's radar once again."The changing political dynamics has ensured that whichever party wins elections, the state will suffer, at least in the short term," said a Patna-based political activist. He did not wish to be named as he is associated with the ruling coalition in the state.The new ruling coalition consists of disparate parties like Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (United), Lalu Prasad's Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Congress. Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad shared the dais for the first time after two decades to campaign for the coalition in the just concluded elections for 10 as

Bihar starts to slide downhill

Lower crude prices, higher prices and falling subsidies make OMC an attractive bet

Why OMCs are the best play in markets right now

Is the trend in the composition of household savings, observed over the past few years, on the cusp of reversing? Or will elevated household inflation expectations lead to an even greater preference for physical assets?

When will we shift from gold and real estate to financial assets?

New Delhi, 18 AugustThe phased diesel price decontrol, initiated in January 2013, has started showing results, with underrecoveries on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales expected to exceed those on diesel this financial year.In 2012-13, subsidised LPG accounted for 24 per cent (Rs 39,558 crore) of oil marketing companies' total underrecoveries of Rs 1,61,000 crore on the sale of diesel, LPG and kerosene. The share rose to 33 per cent in 2013-14 and is likely to further increase to 47 per cent of total estimated underrecoveries of Rs 1,04,500 crore this financial year. The rise is attributed to steady retail LPG prices, the recent rise in the cap on subsidised cylinders to 12 a year and the delay in rolling out the Direct Benefits Transfer programme in LPG distribution.The fact that LPG underrecoveries have become a concern in petroleum subsidy reforms masks the benefits accruing from the fall in underrecoveries on the sale of subsidised diesel, owing to sustained monthly price increas

LPG: The new diesel?

Senior officials say the government might come up with an incentive package for the SEZs following the release of Foreign Trade Policy

Is the Modi government really keen on reviving SEZ ?

"We should manufacture goods with zero effect that they should not have a negative impact on the environment" - Narendra Modi on August 15. The single line in the Prime Minister's speech on Independence Day led some to suggest how Narendra Modi had used his unique mantra to balance the needs of environment with growth.

Narendra Modi's zero-impact manufacturing plan is hogwash

Yojana Bhawan

With changed financial priorities and new political imperatives, the Planning Commission has become irrelevant over the years

Planning decommissioned

The country's aggregate financing was just $44.4 bn in July - the lowest monthly reading since late 2008

Has China lost its magic wand?

Bloomberg

Modi could not have reported on the past because he has had the job for just 81 days so far.  But he presented what I call a moral balance sheet

PM's moral balance sheet

How healthy are India's economic indicators at 67

"A tryst with destiny"

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