The government on Saturday said it has not come out with any Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS) by proposing changes in the Income Tax Act, which experts believe are some sort of concessions to tap black money.

No relaxation in voluntary disclosure scheme: FinMin

Press Trust of India

Unfazed at the flak received for its proposal to amend Income Tax (I-T) Act with retrospective effect of 1962 to bring Vodafone-Hutchison deal among other transactions under the tax net, the finance ministry on Saturday said if India will be willing to let go its taxing right only because the investor chooses to create multiple structures to hide the real transaction.

'Corporates hide behind multi-layered structures'

Business Standard

The defence budget for 2012-13, presented in Parliament on Friday, confirms the Indian Army&rsquo;s degeneration into a low technology, manpower-intensive force that spends most of its money on day-to-day running. While the Navy and Air Force are built up into modern, space-age forces.

Army modernisation slow Navy & Air Force push ahead

As the prices of the Indian crude oil basket hover around $122-$125 a barrel, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said the UPA government would consult all political parties to build a consensus over petroleum reforms, once the Budget session concluded.

Will try for consensus on oil reforms after Budget session: FM

Due to political compulsions and the current slowdown in the economy, the finance minister had very limited options to meet the expectations of the industry and manage the growing subsidies burden.

Major relief still eludes industry: Rajkumar Dhoot

The next time Amitabh Bachchan hosts Kaun Bangea Crorepati or Sachin Tendulkar hits a ton in an Indian Premier League match, the taxmen may come knocking on their doors.

Reality show hosts, IPL players in tax net

The government, Finance Secretary R S Gujral said, has identified about a dozen companies including like NBCC, RINL, BHEL, HAL and HCL for share sale in the next financial year. &quot;The target is very much achievable. The Cabinet has already approved disinvestment proposal in some companies.

Will follow normal procedures like IPO, FPO: Govt

July, 2011: Minister of State in Railway, Mukul Roy openly defied Prime Minister&rsquo;s directive to visit a train accident site in Assam, and instead chose to accompany his party chief, Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee to Jangalmahal.

Newsmaker: Mukul Roy

India has replaced China as the world&rsquo;s largest arms buyer, accounting for 10 per cent of all arms purchases during the past five years, a Swedish research group said.

Why has India become the world's top arms buyer?

Indulekha Aravind spends three days in Koodankulam and nearby villages early this week and sees firsthand how the area has become a battleground between the government pushing nuclear power and the people who fear its impact.

Power to the people

According to National Housing Bank (NHB)'s latest residential index (Residex), housing prices have risen the fastest in Surat at 9.4 per cent for the quarter October-December of 2011 as compared to the previous quarter.

Surat's housing prices rise fastest in Oct-Dec 2011

It is common for taxpayers to arrange their affairs in a way that will  give them tax benefits, which are through genuine and legitimate  actions. It has been long that the discussion on the DTC (Direct tax  code) has been going on, but the applicability has not happen yet. This  budget saw government going one step towards it by announcing the  application of GAAR concept.

A K Prabhakar: GAAR and Liquidity

From late 2009, fears of a sovereign debt crisis developed among investors concerning rising government debt levels across the globe together with a wave of downgrading of government debt of certain European states. Concerns intensified early 2010 and thereafter making it difficult or impossible for Greece, Ireland and Portugal to re-finance their debts. On 9 May 2010, Europe's finance ministers approved a rescue package worth &euro;750 billion aimed at ensuring financial stability across Europe by creating the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF). In October 2011 eurozone leaders agreed on another package of measures designed to prevent the collapse of member economies. This included an agreement with banks to accept a 50% write-off of Greek debt owed to private creditors, increasing the EFSF to about &euro;1 trillion, and requiring European banks to achieve 9% capitalisation.

Looking back, 2011 was a year to remember and forget as well

Forget the current bout of economic stress; India is blessed with growth drivers that won&rsquo;t go away in a hurry.

The India story: Three cheers for 2012, and beyond!

The Ministry of Agriculture, in March 2011, released guidelines for spending Rs 300 crore in implementing an urban Vegetable Initiative aimed at providing India&rsquo;s middle classes more locally grown vegetables.

Key agri-initiative runs short of funds 

Desperate to make money in an increasingly unviable industry, farmers have begun allowing crop prices, yields and margins to solely dictate growing patterns.

Gluts abound as farmers go crop-hopping

A few months ago, when asked if he had given unofficial legal advice to Chief of Army Staff, General VK Singh on his date of birth, top lawyer Ram Jethmalani replied in the affirmative. When asked what his advice had been, he said: &ldquo;I told him that the legal date is the first one&rdquo;.

Newsmaker: VK Singh

Anna Hazare is silent on the root of the corruption problem.

Do-gooder economics and the Lokpal

The first ever airport-city project in which Singapore&rsquo;s Changi airport holds a 26 per cent stake was expected to be the pride of West Bengal. Instead, a steady stream of pitfalls&mdash;from land acquisition problems to allegations of corruption amongst promoters&mdash;has taken the sheen off the project.

Pioneering airport-city project struggles to stay aloft

A backlash against rising inequality -- evident from the Occupy movement to the Arab Spring -- risks derailing the advance of globalisation and represents a key threat to economies worldwide, according to the World Economic Forum.

Growing wealth divide puts globalisation at risk

Reuters 

Crowding the busy Mini Bazaar street on the Varachha road in Surat, small time diamond traders have a new topic to gossip about&mdash;the Land of the Dragon. The hot news centres around the 12 or so Indian diamond traders who were arrested and then recently released from a detention centre in Shenzhen, China.

Asia puts the sparkle back in diamonds

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