Page 10 - BANKING FINANCE JULY 2016

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INDUSTRY

NEWS

5 UAE companies to invest $3.68 billion for infrastruc- Blue Star optimistic about
ture in UP
Uttar Pradesh AC market
Five leading Indian owned businesses in UAE have committed to invest over Rs
25,090 crore ($3.68 billion) towards infrastructure and in- Around 50% Blue Star room AC sales
dustrial development initiatives launched by Uttar Pradesh come from
at the UP Investment Summit held in Dubai. smaller towns as
consumers in
The Uttar Pradesh government led by chief minister these pockets are
Akhilesh Yadav had launched an ambitious programme to 'aspirational'. Air
boost all-round development of the state by attracting NRI investments from
across the globe. conditioning (AC) major Blue Star has
launched its new range of energy ef-
These UAE-based companies have signed a MoU with the high-level delegation ficient and 'eco-friendly' ACs in the
of UP state officials visiting the UAE, pledging to invest in the state's upcoming Uttar Pradesh market.
manufacturing, utilities and healthcare initiatives.
Around 50% of Blue Star room AC
EPFO to provide life insurance to retired employees sales emerge from smaller towns
since consumers in these pockets are
Retirement fund body EPFO is likely to consider and ap- 'aspirational' and prefer premium
prove in June a proposal to provide life insurance cover brands, Blue Star Joint Managing Di-
to its subscribers for three years after cessation of em- rector B Thiagarajan said.
ployment. The proposal provides for voluntary retention
of the Employees' Deposit Linked Scheme membership "We intend to continue our aggres-
to subscribers at a reduced rate of contribution for three sive thrust in the room AC market
years after losing/quitting a job. and target to gain a market share of
12% during 2016-17 in terms of
Income Tax Dept launches ATM based validation for e- value," he informed.
ITRs
Thiagarajan said the brand had con-
The income tax department has launched an ATM-based validation system for tinued to be a strong player in the
filing e-ITRs by taxpayers as part of its measure to enhance the paperless re- corporate and commercial segment
gime of filing the annual I-T returns. which comprised 25% of the overall
size. The market for room AC is ex-
Double no. of taxpayers to 10 cr: Modi pected to grow by 15% during 2016-
17. Meanwhile, the company plans
PM Modi urged tax officials to raise the number of taxpayers from 5 crore to 10 to invest Rs 30 crore on new prod-
crore while bridging the trust deficit with taxpayers, reports. uct development and research and
design initiatives this fiscal.

10 | 2016 | JULY | BANKING FINANCE

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