FDI in shipping low due to tax structure NEW DELHI: Absence of tax-free climate has affected inflows of foreign investment in the shipping sector,reducing its competitiveness,the government informed Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The Indian flag suffers from certain barriers in terms of tax and duty structures which may have impeded the growth of foreign direct investment (FDI), shipping minister G K Vasan said. Govt examining 11-digit mobile numbers NEW DELHI: With the explosive growth in the mobile telephony,the government is understood to have begun the exercise to amend the numbering plan to migrate to 11-digit cellular number from the current 10-digit in order to accommodate more users. A senior Department of Telecom (DoT) official said the proposal is there and a committee had suggested this. But he added that nothing has been finalised yet,therefore,no direction has been sent to the operators. Credit offtake growth slows to 9.8 pc NEW DELHI: The government on Tueday said credit growth from banks has slowed down to 9.8 per cent till November 6 in the current fiscal against 27.7 per cent in the corresponding period a year ago. According to information available up to November 6,2009,credit offtake from banks on year-on-year basis increased by 9.8 per cent as compared to 27.7 per cent during the corresponding period last year, minister of state for finance Namo Narain Meena said. Alstoms 33.3 pc stake in NPCIL-BHEL JV MUMBAI: Nuclear Power Corporation of India on Tuesday said French power equipment maker Alstom will be the third partner and hold 33.3 per cent stake in the proposed joint venture with Bharat Heavy Electricals. We have identified Alstom as our third partner in the venture,which will fabricate nuclear turbines. All three partners will have equal stake in the venture, NPCIL chairman and managing director S K Jain said. 70% provisions for NPAs: RBI to banks MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank on Tuesday instructed the commercial banks to increase their provisioning against bad assets to at least 70 per cent by September 2010,a move seen as a step towards enhancing the resilience of the banking system. Banks should augment their provisioning cushions and ensure that their total provisioning coverage ratio,including floating provisions,is not less than 70 per cent, the RBI said. RIL stops gas by-product sales to Iran NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries has since April stopped selling gasoline and gas oil to Iran in an apparent bid to escape sanctions by the US,where it is eyeing an acquisition. RIL till last year sold mostly gasoline to Iran but has since April this year completely stopped shipments from its twin refineries at Jamnagar in Gujarat,sources in the know said.
