Page 14 - Banking Finance October 2024

ROUNDUP

ceutical Producers of India, empha- vious four years. Experts note that in Cabinet Approves Unified
sized that such exemptions would sig- some cases, the department is re-
nificantly improve healthcare out- questing records going back as far as Pension Plan for 23 Lakh
comes across the country, allowing 40 years, placing the burden of proof Central Employees
more patients to receive timely and on the individuals. The government has announced a new
affordable treatment.
Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) for Cen-
Income Tax Department tral government employees, which is
NRIs Face Summons on
Issues 10,000 Reopening set to benefit around 23 lakh workers.
Foreign Assets and Resi- The scheme, effective from April 1,
Notices
dency Status The Income Tax Department has is- 2025, will replace the current National
Pension Scheme (NPS) for government
Non-resident Indians (NRIs) are receiv- sued 10,000 reopening notices to com- employees and will be available on an
ing summons from India's Income Tax panies and individuals across major In- optional basis for State government
Department, which is investigating dian cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, workers as well.
their involvement with foreign financial Bengaluru, and Chennai, for discrepan-
entities. These summonses demand cies in reported income related to the Under the UPS, the government's con-
detailed information on foreign ac- 2018-19 assessment year. These cases, tribution will increase from 14% to
counts, including the year of account suspected of involving Rs. 15,000 crore 18.5%, with additional features such as
opening, residential status during the in undisclosed income, must be re- assured pensions, family pensions, mini-
account's existence, and copies of pass- solved before the August 31 deadline mum pensions, inflation indexation,
ports. The inquiries are based on data for reopening. and lump-sum payments upon retire-
received from foreign jurisdictions, and The notices are primarily focused on ment. Employees who retired under
individuals are required to demon- bogus charitable donations claimed the NPS will be eligible for the UPS, and
strate their non-resident status by pro- under Section 80G of the Income Tax arrears will be paid with interest at
viding records of their time spent in Act and high-value overseas transac- Public Provident Fund (PPF) rates.
and out of India.
tions, such as property acquisitions.
NRIs are classified as residents for tax Officials have stated that the exact fig- India’s biggest oil, gas bid
purposes if they spend 182 or more ures may change as the process round gets 4 bidders
days in India in a year or 60 days in a progresses and responses to the notices
year along with 365 days over the pre- are received. India's biggest oil and gas bid round
attracted four bidders that included
state-owned ONGC and OIL and pri-
vate sector Vedanta Ltd, with most
Cabinet Approves 12 Industrial Smart Cities with Rs. blocks getting just two bids, according
28,602 Crore Outlay to Directorate General of Hydrocar-
The Union Cabinet has approved the establishment of 12 industrial smart cit- bons (DGH).
ies across 10 states with an estimated investment of Rs. 28,602 crore. These The OALP-IX bid round, where 28
cities, which include locations like Khurpia in Uttarakhand, Rajpura-Patiala in blocks or areas spread over 1.36 lakh
Punjab, and Agra and Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, are part of a plan to boost square kilometre were offered for find-
domestic manufacturing and attract foreign direct investment (FDI). Com- ing and producing oil and gas, for the
merce Minister Piyush Goyal stated that these cities will create a "necklace first time saw Reliance Industries Ltd-
of industrial cities" along the Golden Quadrilateral, offering 'plug-and-play' bp plc combine bidding together with
infrastructure, such as 24-hour electricity and potable water. ONGC for one block in Gujarat off-
Designed to foster a robust industrial ecosystem, the cities aim to support shore.
both large anchor industries and micro, small, and medium enterprises Reliance and its supermajor partner bp
(MSMEs), targeting investments from global players, including those from plc had bid in just two of the past eight
Singapore and Switzerland.
oil and gas bid rounds since 2017.

BANKING FINANCE | OCTOBER | 2024 | 13