stimulus package

The government is likely to extend the 2 per cent interest subsidy given to exporters on rupee export credit from March 31 to December 2010. The announcement is expected in the upcoming Budget. Although India's exports have started growing again after several months of decline, commerce ministry sources told that the extension is being considered to sustain growth and stabilise it at 15 to 20 per cent. Full Article

The government will make electronic filing of service tax mandatory within a couple of months, said a senior official of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). "Electronic filing of service tax will be made compulsory in the next two months," CBEC member Y G Parande told reporters on the sidelines of a PHD chamber seminar. Full Article

It may now be easier for exporters to borrow money at a cheaper rate under the discount scheme offered by the government in select sectors. RBI, the country’s apex financial institution, is planning to do away with the mandatory requirement of submitting audit certificates from chartered accountants establishing the product being exported to avail the [...] Full Article

The recent notification of the Central Government to reduce service tax and excise duty by two per cent is not expected to come to the rescue of the hospitality industry in the current time of despair. The Government directive will only be applicable to the hotel rooms and the banquet and convention facilities. Full Article

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Reserve Bank of India Governor D Subbarao and Finance Secretary Arun Ramanathan in New Delhi on Saturday to discuss the macroeconomic situation. The meeting comes ahead of a fresh stimulus package aimed at sectors not covered in the earlier measures announced by the central bank and the government. Full Article

Government has focussed its attention on countering the impact of the global recession on India's economic growth. On the monetary side, the RBI has sought to pump sufficient liquidity into the banking system to enable bank credit to meet the expanded requirements of the economy keeping in mind the contraction in credit from non-bank sources. Banks have been provided adequate liquidity through a series of reductions in the CRR and additional flexibility in meeting the SL.. Full Article

Under withering criticism for its handling of the country's economic slowdown and Mumbai's terrorist attacks, the Indian government fought back over the weekend, announcing a coordinated, two-flanked stimulus plan that could top $8 billion. India's moribund stock market momentarily cheered, rising almost 4 per cent by midday (Monday). But it then deflated, closing up just 1.5 per cent, on a day when other Asian markets soared on optimism about economic recovery plans in .. Full Article