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MP, Maha & Gujarat Big In India-UAE Food Security Plan  ON THE PLATE As part of the proposed pact, special food zones in India will store and export excess agriculture produce to the UAE market India and the UAE are hoping to put in place a food security partnership that envisages storage farms in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to store excess agriculture produce for supply to markets in the Arab state during the visit of UAE’s foreign minister.  Talks on the agreement likely to figure in the UAE foreign minister’s ongoing India visit India and the United Arab Emirates are hoping to put in place a food security partnership that envisages storage farms in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to store excess agriculture produce for supply to markets in the Arab state during foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s visit.  The plan comes in the backdrop of the UAE looking to address India’s energy security needs as both countries extend ...

Tax Breather for Ecomm Cos for 3 More Months Rollout of tax collection at source was deferred to July 1; implementation after systems fully ready India proposes to defer the implementation of tax collection at source (TCS), a move that will give a breather to Amazon, Flipkart and other ecommerce service providers. “It has been decided to defer it for three months,” said a senior government official aware of the development. Online platforms have to collect the tax from those selling goods on their sites while making payments for goods sold. The tax, designed as a measure to improve compliance by helping to track such transactions, was to come into effect on July 1. Ecommerce platforms, which have multiple sellers with small turnovers, have been wary of the provision, fearing an increase in the compliance burden. Their lobbying had already led to the tax being deferred by a year, just days before the goods and services tax (GST) rollout on July 1 last year. Exper...

EPFO Nod Likely Soon for Minimum Rs. 2k EPS Pension Move to hike allowance to benefit 40 lakh subscribers and cost Centre at least  Rs.  3,000 crore a year The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) is expected to soon give its go-ahead to the proposal of doubling monthly pension for EPS subscribers to  Rs. 2,000.  This would benefit at least 40 lakh subscribers and cost the Centre a minimum  Rs.  3,000 crore per annum.  The issue, though not listed on the agenda for the upcoming central board of trustees’ meeting of EPFO on June 26, is likely to be tabled after permission from the labour minister, who is the chairman of the board. The Union Cabinet had in 2014 approved a minimum pension of  Rs.  1,000 a month for a year and later extended it till perpetuity in 2015. The differential cost of  Rs.  813 crore per annum to pay the minimum pension is borne by the Centre and going forward this could more than double if the...

Political shadow on GST Council decisions as election season takes over Reaching a consensus might get tougher, as already seen with issues like inclusion of natural gas in GST and imposition of a sugar cess, both central proposals being resisted A year after the levy’s rollout, decision making on the goods and services tax (GST) could get overshadowed by politics as the election season takes over.  Already, the frequency of meetings has come down from an average of over two a month till May to one in a gap of two and a half months. In fact, the meeting in early May was held through video conferencing. The next one is now slated for July 19.  Reaching a consensus might also get tougher, as already seen with issues like inclusion of natural gas in GST and imposition of a sugar cess, both central proposals being resisted.  While the Centre has argued for natural gas’ inclusion, this is being opposed by Andhra Pradesh. The Centre’s proposal for a sugar cess to compen...