Business

New Delhi, April 14: The European Union has exuded confidence that negotiations for the proposed free trade agreement between the 27-nation block and India would be concluded by the end of this year.

European Union’s Ambassador to India Dani?le Smadja has said that the negotiations for the proposed Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) are on track.

“What is clear is that there is a will on both sides to finish the negotiations this year. My impression is that they are on track,” Smadja told EurActiv, an European website, in an interview.

Agra, April 13: Taj city Agra Wednesday became probably the first city in the country to have two roads named after Mahatma Gandhi.

The second road named after the father of the nation was inaugurated in the evening by divisional commissioner Amrit Abhijat at the collectorate. The new road will be called Mahatma Gandhi Road-Two.

Abhijat said the traffic pressure on the existing MG Road, the life line of the city, would be considerably eased, as vehicles heading for Delhi from Uttar Pradesh’s Taj city would now be using the alternative MG Road-two.

Kolkata, April 13: The central government and the states have failed to reach a consensus on the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) despite a four-year dialogue, a top union finance ministry official said Wednesday.

‘For the GST, we have been talking to the states for the last four years. In 2007, the first discussion started. Our demand was that there will be only one rate. The states said no, there has to be dual rate,’ revenue secretary Sunil Mitra said at a programme organised by the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce.

Kolkata, April 13: Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) is imposed in the special economic zones (SEZs) to stop distortion in direct taxes for the better interest of the country, a top finance ministry official said here Wednesday.

‘MAT is provided in the direct tax code for the SEZs to stop the distortion in the direct taxes for the better interest of the country,’ central Revenue Secretary Sunil Mitra said.

He was taking part in an interactive session on ‘Taxation Policy Initiatives and Economic Growth’, organised by the Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce (MCC) here.

Ahmedabad, April 13: Titan Industries Ltd will open 100 outlets across India in the next three years for its exclusive ‘Helios’ brand that will market about 30 top global brands of premium luxury watches, the company said Wednesday.

The company’s Chief Operating Officer Harish Bhat, who was here for the formal opening of the sixth Helios outlet in the country, said that about 40 Helios outlets would go operational by this year.

Kolkata, April 13: The government’s target for tax revenues during the current financial year (2011-2012) is Rs.9 lakh crore, a top finance ministry official said Wednesday.

‘I am confident that we will end the last fiscal (2010-2011) with a total revenue of Rs.7,92,000 crore, which is Rs.10,000 crore more than our revised figure. Our revised figure was Rs.7,82,000 crore of which 4,46,000 crore was from direct taxes and Rs.3,26,000 crore from indirect tax,’ Sunil Mitra, the finance ministry’s revenue secretary, said on the sidelines of an event.

New Delhi, April 13: Indian travellers were the sixth largest spenders in hotels overseas in 2010, ahead of countries such as the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Singapore, according to a study by a leading hotel booking website.

On an average, Indians spent Rs.6,722 (about $152) per night while travelling overseas in 2010, compared to Rs.4,136 while travelling within the country, as per the hotel price index compiled by Hotels.com.

New Delhi, April 13: Global consumer durables and electronics major Samsung Wednesday showcased its product portfolio for 2011 across categories like television, smartphones, notebooks and home appliances and said that it expected India’s contribution in its global sales to rise.

New Delhi, April 13: Luxury hospitality group that runs Oberoi Hotels is actively looking to expand in Europe and intends to open three out of its next five hotels outside India even as it continues to see opportunities in the domestic market.

“There are several trophy hotels available in markets like Europe but it is the question of the right price,” Arjun Oberoi, joint managing director and chief planning officer of Oberoi Group , said on Tuesday.

He said the group is going to increasingly expand through management contracts as well as a mix of equity investments.

Tehran, April 13: Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says a dispute with India over payments for Iranian crude oil has been resolved, stressing there is no legal problem in this regard.

“There is no legal problem regarding oil trade [with India]. Even the illegal sanction of the United Nations Security Council does not include Iran’s trade transactions of oil and gas,” Mehmanparast said Tuesday.

London, April 13: A Rolls-Royce with gull-wing doors owned by an Indian Maharajah has gone on sale for a hopping 850,000 pounds, a media report said Tuesday.

The super car, with the number plate ‘Cexi’, was customised from a 2005 Rolls-Royce. The four-seater Phantom DC Concept was designed by its wealthy owner, the Daily Mail reported on its website. The car can reach speeds of 130 mph – over 200 km per hour.

The Maharajah was not named.

Mumbai, April 13: Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex continued its decline for the sixth day today, opening 161 points down on sustained selling in line with weak global trends and sober domestic market sentiment on the back of low industrial output.

The 30-share barometer, which had lost 440 points in the last five sessions, slumped by another 160.91 points, or 0.83 per cent to 19,101.63 level during the first few minutes of trade today, with realty, consumer durables and metal stocks remaining under pressure.

Mumbai, April 13: Tata group chief Ratan Tata has said that his only regret was not being 20 years younger in age, but he does not crave to stay on at the top of the country’s biggest corporate empire.

“I just feel it’s been an exciting time. My only regret is that I am not 20 years younger, because I think India is going through a very exciting period in its history,” Tata said in an interview to media.

New Delhi, April 13: Its very own survey may have revealed that smoking has increased among youth due to easy availability and low prices of cigarettes, but this has not made ASSOCHAM, the premier business chamber, sensitive enough to seek a higher tax on the tobacco item to protect the younger generation from its health hazards like cancer.

Instead, ASSOCHAM has recently written to all the State Governments to ensure a uniform VAT of as low as 12.5 per cent on the tobacco item arguing that divergence in the rates would spurt illegal activities, tax evasion and smuggling of the product.

Thanjavur (TN), April 12: The global financial crisis had worked to the advantage of India due to its slow and steady development and in the near future for every 10 persons who take up jobs globally, six would be Indians, IT major Tata Consultancy Services Limited today said.

The Indian economy had shown signs of improvement and along with it, there were indications that “a lot of technological innovation” was going to happen in the country, TCS CEO and Managing Director N Chandrasekaran said, while delivering the eighth Nani Palkivala Endowment Lecture at SASTRA university here.

Mumbai, April 12: The runaway rally in silver got halted at the bullion market here today on emergence of heavy unwinding by speculators and traders.

Gold also fell further on reduced local buying interest at its existing higher levels amidst bearish global market.

“The industrial metal, silver was sprinting for the past six consecutive days simultaneously breaking records purely on global bullishness, as valuation looks stretched at the moment. So profit-taking is bound to be expected,” traders said.

New Delhi, April 12: Dell, the world’s third largest personal computer maker, today said it has launched a programme to provide financing option to small and medium businesses, large commercial customers and public sector in India for its products.

Dell has entered into an agreement with financial services provider Macquarie to provide easy financing options for its products.

New Delhi, April 12: State-owned trading firm PEC has invited bids for the sale of 2,000 tonnes of yellow peas in the domestic market.

The last date of submission of the bids is April 18 and a decision on awarding the contract will be taken on the same day, the company said on its website.

The offered whole yellow peas have been sourced from Canada and are of the 2010 crop year, it added.

At present, the pulses are stored at a godown in Kolkata, PEC said.

The minimum bidding quantity is 2,000 tonnes, it added.

Sanya (China), April 12: India and Russia will discuss ways to push ahead their relations, particularly in the field of trade and economy, when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets President Dmitry Medvedev here on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit.

This will be the second meeting between the two leaders since December when Medvedev visited Delhi.

The focus of the talks between Singh and Medvedev is expected to be on enhancing trade relations as these are seen as being below potential.

On Board PM’s Aircraft, April 12: In a first-of- its-kind step, Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) will be signing an agreement on Thursday under which they would be able to give credit and grants to each other in their own currency instead of dollars.

The Summit, to be attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Chinese resort city of Sanya, will discuss a whole range of issues related to global financial and economic situation besides matters related to energy security, food security and challenges posed by terrorism.

New Delhi, April 12: The Oberoi group will pursue expansion plans, officials of the hotel chain said Tuesday, while opening a luxury hotel in Gurgaon in Haryana.

‘We are very asset heavy as a group. We already have four hotels where we will operate on management contracts and with partial equity,’ said Arjun Oberoi, chief planning officer, The Oberoi Group.

Of the four hotels under the group’s brand, two hotels will come up in Hyderabad (320 rooms and 200 rooms), a resort hotel in Marrakesh, Morocco (84 rooms) and one in Oman (70 rooms).

Panaji, April 12: Maintenance work being carried out by naval authorities has forced Goa’s Dabolim international airport to cut down both the length and hours of use of its runway, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said Tuesday.

Dabolim airport director D. Paul Manickam said the shortened runway also meant that navigational gear was rendered unoperational for aircraft landing at the airport during the period.

Panaji, April 12: Maintenance work being carried out by naval authorities has forced Goa’s Dabolim international airport to cut down its runway length for five hours a day, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official said Tuesday.

Dabolim airport director D. Paul Manickam said the shortened runway also meant that navigational gear was rendered unoperational for aircrafts landing at the airport during the period.

Shimla, April 12: Like the Naina Devi and Chamunda Devi shrines, many Himachal Pradesh temples are flush with gold worth crores of rupees. And some of it could soon be yours for a price.

The state government has come out with a provision that allows temple trusts to melt tonnes of gold and silver lying in their coffers and convert them into coins and mementoes for sale.

New Delhi, April 12: GMR Infrastructure Tuesday said it had completed the divestment of 50 percent stake in power generation firm InterGen to China’s Huaneng Group for over $1.2 billion.

“The transaction is completed after obtaining various regulatory approvals in each of the jurisdictions where InterGen has operations as well as approval of the government of people’s republic of China,” the company said in a regulatory filing.