Page 15 - Banking Finance September 2022

ROUNDUP

Saved Rs. 50,000-crore crore were availed by 1,345 such trusts in value terms it accounted for only
based in Delhi, followed by around 35 per cent of the total of Rs
forex by blending ethanol:
Maharashtra where 3,745 trusts were 4.3 trillion as per the base price.
PM allowed exemption of Rs 2,500 crore,
over 2,100 trusts in UP availed Rs 1,800
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the New SEZ law to focus on
crore tax free income, while 299 trusts
country saved Rs 50,000 crore in for- job creation, not forex
in Chandigarh for Rs 1,600 crore.
eign exchange by blending ethanol
The proposed bill for governing of the
with petrol in the last seven-eight Madhya Pradesh had more than 770
special economic zones (SEZs) will
years. such trusts availing exemption of over
transform SEZs into 'Development of
Rs 1,595 crore and over Rs 1,000 crore
Dedicating the second-generation Enterprise and Service Hubs' (DESH),
exemptions each claimed by trusts
ethanol plant of India Oil Corporation where the focus would be on all as-
under similar conditions in Gujarat,
to the nation in Panipat, Haryana, PM pects of growth, rather than evaluat-
Andhra and Karnataka. Interestingly,
Modi said that the same amount of Rs ing success on the basis of net foreign
the auditor, in its report tabled in Par-
50,000 crore has gone to farmers. exchange alone.
liament, found at least 347 trusts re-
PM Modi, said the ethanol plant worth ceived foreign contributions despite With the new norms, the performance
Rs 900 crore will provide a permanent not even having foreign contribution of the units will be measured on broad
solution to the problem of stubble regulation act (FCRA) registration. parameters like promotion of invest-
burning in farms. Besides, stubble will ment, employment generation, re-
become a source of income for farm- 5G auction ends; RIL shells search and development (R&D), as
ers, Modi said, adding that ethanol well as other economic activities. This
out lion's share at Rs.
production has increased from 40 crore overhaul of SEZ Act, 2015, will issue
litres to 400 crore litres in eight years. 88000 crore norms that are in line with the World
He said that the second-generation After seven days of bidding through 40 Trade Organization's (WTO) guidelines.
rounds, 5G spectrum auction has gen-
ethanol plant at Panipat will help re- The norms will ensure separate frame-
erated revenues of over Rs 1.5 trillion
duce pollution in Haryana and Delhi. works for manufacturing and services
(Rs 150,173 crore). While 5G was the
Second-generation ethanol plant uses units. Besides this, it is likely that the
centrepiece of the auction, the govern-
non-food biomass as feedstock for the state government will be an important
ment had put up 72.09 GHz of spectrum
production of biofuel. The project will stakeholder. Besides this, modern in-
across 10 frequency bands on sale.
utilise two lakh tonnes of rice straw to dustrial parks will be built, which will
generate around three crore litres of The first day of the auction saw telcos focus on research and additional eco-
ethanol annually. It will also result in a buying 5G spectrum along with highly- nomic activities.
reduction in the emission of green- priced 700 MHz airwaves for more
This way the Net Foreign Exchange
house gases. than Rs 1.45 trillion. In the remaining (NFE) might not be the measurement
six days, the tally inched up marginally
criteria for the performance of the
21000 unregistered trusts as companies got into the 4G play in units. Current laws mandate that the
some circles. On the final day of auc-
got tax breaks: CAG units show positive NFE, and those who
tions, the government managed to
did, received benefits from the govern-
A comptroller and auditor general earn only Rs 43 crore in three rounds
ment. These benefits were given as
(CAG) report on the income tax depart- of bidding.
subsidies and tax exemptions. The
ment has revealed that more than
The total figure of Rs 1.5 trillion stands WTO has often criticized these laws
21,000 charitable trusts, which had not
out as the highest earning since mobile and termed them unfair.
been registered for exemption, were
auctions began in 2010 with 3G. The
granted tax breaks of Rs 18,800 crore
quantum of spectrum on offer was also
between assessment year (AY) 2014- July GST collection at Rs.
the highest. While the government
15 to 2017-18. 1.49-lakh crore
was able to sell 71 per cent of the
The highest exemptions of Rs 4,245 spectrum on offer in terms of quantity, The gross GST revenue collected in the
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