Chamber Voice – January 2020

2019 has been a year when the Indian economy went through various crises resulting in a steep cut in the economic growth forecasts for the coming year. At this juncture, we are now once again awaiting the announcement of the Union Budget hoping that the Government will use this opportunity to unleash reforms to restore economic growth and to set a clear roadmap for achieving the ambitious $5 trillion economy target by 2025. We hope that the Budget will have a plan of action to combat the economic slowdown and put India on a path of prosperity.

As is the practice each year, this year too, the Chamber will be organizing the ‘Annual Post Budget Lecture 2020-21’ on Thursday the 6th of February 2020 at the Avenue Centre, Panambilly Nagar, Ernakulam. Mr. Homi P Ranina, Senior Tax Consultant has once again graciously agreed to deliver the Annual Lecture, as in previous years. I trust that all our members will be present on this occasion to listen to Mr. Ranina’s views on the Union Budget.

The Kerala State Budget too is around the corner and the Research Wing of the Chamber has prepared a comprehensive ‘Pre Budget Memorandum – Kerala Budget 2020-21’ for submission to the Government. With this, the Chamber hopes to supplement the Government of Kerala’s Nava Keralam efforts towards a mission mode of development. The Research Report suggests sectoral reforms relating to innovation, ease of doing business, education, health, tourism, governance, etc.

We kicked off the year’s programmes with the first CEO Forum Breakfast Meeting of the 5th edition of the CEO Forum series. The new edition of the Breakfast Meetings was inaugurated by Dr. V Venu IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Revenue and Disaster Management, Government of Kerala who also delivered the first talk. Dr. Venu, who, in addition to his responsibilities as Revenue Secretary is also the CEO of the Rebuild Kerala Initiative, spoke on the Government’s vision behind the ‘Rebuild Kerala Initiative.’

The next CEO Forum will be held on Monday, 3^rd of February 2020, at Taj Gateway, Ernakulam. The Speakers at the session are from PwC, the Chamber’s ‘Knowledge Partner’ who will present a ‘Post Budget Analysis 2020-21’. I trust you will make use of this opportunity and attend the Session.

On 10^th of January 2020, I had the privilege of representing the Chamber at the Ascend Kerala 2020 Meeting organized by the State Government. ASCEND Kerala 2020 is a Government of Kerala’s flagship Global Investors Meet to facilitate a platform for Global, National, and State-level investors to understand the investment potential that the State has to offer and to showcase various initiatives undertaken by the Government as part of the ‘Ease of Doing Business’ reforms. The Chamber made a presentation at the meeting and also submitted a representation containing our suggestions.

On 23^rd January 2020, the Chamber in association with the Bhavan’s Royal Institute of Management conducted an Awareness Session on Cyber Security for the students of the Institution. Mr. Steve Philips, Cyber Security Communications and Awareness, ITV, United Kingdom was the Speaker for the session.The purpose of the session was to create awareness among students regarding cybersecurity, the potential impact a cyber-attack will have and the steps required to reduce the risks and prevent cyber-crime from infiltrating their online workspace.

Starting January 2020, the Chamber will be bringing out the print version of the Chamber Voice, a bimonthly newsletter of the Chamber. The first issue was released by Dr.Venu IAS at the time of the CEO Breakfast Meeting. I am sure that you will have received a copy of the first issue by now. Do share your views/comments on the same with us.

The Chamber is widely active on almost all social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. As we continue to grow, we are constantly exploring ways to connect with our members and provide them with quick information. Hence we have come up with the Cochin Chamber app where you can stay updated with our events and activities. The app is available on Google Play Store and App Store.

As we start the New Year it appears that the Chamber has a very exciting year ahead. We have several activities planned for the coming months and work on the same is on in full swing. Looking forward to your continued support and cooperation…

V Venugopal

Introduction:

The Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019 (“Bill”) was tabled in the Lok Sabha on December 11, 2019 and is now being reviewed by the Joint Select Committee (“JSC”). The JSC is due to submit its report to the Lok Sabha before the 2020 Budget Session of Parliament, which, although dates have not yet been set, usually runs from February to March. At that point, the Government is likely to table the Bill for discussion in Parliament either in the Budget Session or during the Monsoon session (July and September).

Currently, the usage and transfer of personal data of citizens is regulated by the Information Technology Rules, 2011 (“Rules”), under the Information Technology Act, 2000 (“Act”).  The rules iterate that the companies using an individual’s data are liable for compensating such individual, in case of any negligence in maintaining security standards while dealing with said data.

The normative foundation of the Bill is the judgement of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India (“SC”) in Justice K. S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) & Anr. v. Union of India & Ors. (W.P. (Civil) No. 494 of 2012), upholding the ‘right to privacy’ as a fundamental right under the Constitution of India and the Draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 (“draft”) issued by the Expert Committee under the Chairmanship of Justice B.N. Srikrishna (Retd.) [“Expert Committee”].

The Expert Committee observed in its report that while the Rules were a novel attempt at data protection at the time they were introduced, the pace of development of digital economy, has shown its shortcomings.

The current Bill therefore, is a significant development in the evolution of general data protection and its legislative frame-work in India. It provides for an individual’s privacy, the manner in which their data can be processed with consent, and the obligations of data processors.

The Bill however retains the core structure of the draft, which closely adheres to the model provided by the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) in the European Union. However, some noteworthy changes in this Bill include data localization requirements and provisions carrying criminal penalties. The Bill also includes requirements that did not feature in the draft, such as an enhanced right to erasure, obligations that attach to “anonymous data,” and specific requirements for “social media intermediaries.” A new body for rulemaking in the form of Data Protection Authority (“DPA”), could provide additional opportunities for public consultation.

This article seeks to provide and trace the history and objects of the Bill and its initial implications. The article is a first of a detailed analysis of the Bill, which will follow in subsequent issues.

The evolution of “Right to Privacy” in India is detailed hereinbelow:

B) The Bill applies to the processing of personal data that has been collected, disclosed, shared or otherwise processed in India, or to the processing by the State or State bodies, Indian corporate entities and Indian citizens. The Bill also applies to the processing of any personal data by entities located outside India, if the personal data is processed with respect to any business or activity that involves offering goods or services to individuals located in India or the profiling of data principals within India. The Bill however does not apply to the processing of anonymised data; It is important to note that anonymised data is defined as means data which has undergone the process of anonymisation (irreversible process of transforming or converting personal data to a form in which a data principal cannot be identified, which meets the standards of irreversibility specified by the Authority).

C) The Bill categorises organisations as Data Fiduciaries and Significant Data Fiduciaries and imposes obligations such as appointment of Data Protection Officers,  Data Protection Assessments, record keeping, contractual requirement with data processors, privacy by design, maintenance of transparency and accountability, timely notifications of personal data breaches, data audits, provide mechanisms for grievance redressal and proof of consent, etc.;

D) Section 26 of the Bill defines Social Media Intermediaries as a new and separate category of Data Fiduciaries. These are entities which primarily or solely connect users enabling them to create, modify, upload, share, disseminate or access information. Search engines, e-commerce entities, internet service providers, email and storage services, and online encyclopaedias are expressly excluded from this definition. Social Media Intermediaries which have more than a specified number of users, and whose actions are likely to impact electoral democracy, security of the state, public order, sovereignty or integrity of India will be notified by the Central Government as SDF.

E) Grounds for processing sensitive personal data include explicit consent, functions of state, compliance with law or order of court/tribunal, for prompt action in case of emergencies for passwords, health data, financial data, official identifies, genetic data and biometric data.

J) The Bill imposes heavy penalties on individuals/organisations found to be non-complaint with the rules made under the Bill. Following is a summary of the violations and its corresponding penalty attracted under the Bill:

PwC comments: The Tribunal held that intangibles in the form of goodwill acquired and non-compete fee paid under a BTA are eligible for claim of deprecation.

Validity of OCI Card under miscellaneous services guidelines

The Consulate General of India at New York, USA on 19 November 2019 has issued a press release giving a travel advisory on validity of Overseas Citizenship of India Card (OCI card) for persons of Indian origin travelling to India. This advisory was released after the consular office received information that some of the OCI card holders faced issues with the airline authorities who refrained persons to travel to India as the passport number in OCI card was not matching with that of the passport.

As per the press release, the Consulate General of India has reiterated the following points:

• For every OCI cardholder who is 20 years of age or younger, the OCI card must be renewed each time a new passport is issued.
• The OCI card is not required to be renewed for those between 21 and 49 years of age.
• For an OCI cardholder who attains the age of 50 years or more, the OCI card must be renewed only once after the issuance of a new passport.
• If the OCI card is issued for the first time after the age of 50 years, it is not mandatory to update the OCI card in case a new passport is obtained.

As per the advisory, travelers (except indicated in point 1 above), will be permitted to enter into India/ exit from India on the strength of OCI card even if it contains the old passport number of the card holder. However, it is recommended that the travelers carry their old passport along with the new one to ensure they are not stopped from traveling.

PwC comments: The above rules forming a part of the ‘OCI Miscellaneous Services guidelines’ issued by the Bureau of Immigration governing the validity of the OCI card have been in existence for a long time. However, recent vigilance for implementing these rules has been higher, especially for travelers to India on various airlines from United States, Singapore and New Zealand.

Visa on Arrival in India facility extended to UAE nationals

The Government of India, with effect from 16 November 2019, has extended the Visa-on-Arrival (VOA) facility to nationals of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) travelling to India.

This facility is currently available at six designated international airports, namely, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai.

Below are the key highlights of the extension of VOA facility to UAE nationals:

• VOA would be valid for a period of 60 days or for two visits to India within a 60-day period upon getting a double entry VOA.
• VOA facility can be availed if UAE nationals are travelling to India for business, tourism, attending conference and for medical purposes.
• Only those UAE nationals who have previously obtained either an Indian e-visa or a regular visa to travel to India are eligible to avail the VOA facility. UAE nationals who are visiting India for the first time are required to apply for either an e-visa or a regular visa.
• UAE nationals who are of Pakistani origin will not be eligible for the VOA facility.
• There is no restriction on the number of times that a UAE national can avail this VOA facility.

A traveller is required to submit the requisite form at the Indian airport along with the disembarkation form and pay a fee of INR 2,000 to obtain the VOA.

PwC comments: UAE becomes the third country (after Japan and South Korea) to whom India has made the VOA facility available.

Threshold for filing the insolvency petition

• In case of real estate companies, where a home buyer/ allottee makes the insolvency petition in a real estate project, the application has to be filed jointly by not less than 100 allottees of the same real estate project or 10% of the total allottees under that project, whichever is lower.
• Similarly, in other cases, with bondholders, etc., intending to file the insolvency petition, such petition has to be filed jointly by not less than 100 such creditors in the same class of 10% of the total number of such creditors in the same class, whichever being less.
• These thresholds would help in controlling the floodgates of insolvency, which could have otherwise been opened by a petition filed by even a single such creditor. It would also provide some reprieve, especially to real estate companies that have long been demanding that the default threshold amount of INR 100,000 should be increased. By introducing a minimum threshold for filing the insolvency application, the Government has tried to cater to this demand.

Existing licenses, permits, etc.

• A non-obstante clause has been introduced by the Bill, prescribing that a licence, permit, registration, quota, concession, clearances or a similar grant or right given by the central, state or local authority, sectoral regulator or any other authority, shall not be suspended, terminated on the grounds of insolvency, subject to the condition that there is no default in dues arising for the use or continuation of the said licence, permits, etc., during the moratorium period.
• The amendment prescribes that the company shall continue to enjoy the benefits of existing licences, registrations, rights, etc., unless the dues for such rights, licences, permits, etc., are duly paid without any default during the insolvency period.

Liability for prior offences, etc.

• Another non-obstante clause has been introduced by the Bill, whereby blanket immunity is provided to the insolvent company and all its properties for all the past offences, if pursuant to the approval of the resolution plan, the insolvent company has been acquired by new promoters/ management.
• This amendment further proposes that the insolvent company and its assets are free from any proceedings, attachment, seizure, confiscation, etc.; however, the promoters of such companies shall continue to be liable to be prosecuted under applicable laws and the property of any such person shall also be subject to applicable proceedings.

PwC Comments: The proposed amendment to the Code aims to streamline the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP). The thresholds introduced for certain financial creditors would prevent frivolous triggering of CIRP. The Bill also ensures that the substratum of the business of corporate debtor is not lost, and it can continue as a going concern by clarifying that the licenses, permits, concessions, clearances, etc., cannot be terminated or suspended or not renewed during the moratorium period. Most importantly, the proposal to ring fence the corporate debtor and its assets ensure that successful bidders hold a clean and assured title on the assets bought under CIRP and the liability for prior offences rests with erstwhile promoters, management, etc.

B2B supplies

• A registered person whose aggregate turnover in a financial year (FY) exceeds INR 1bn will be required to prepare an “e-invoice” after obtaining a unique Invoice Reference Number (IRN) from the specified GST portal. For this purpose, Form GST INV- 01 containing various particulars will need to be uploaded to generate the IRN needed for invoices on supply(ies) of goods and/ or services to a registered person.
• Invoices issued without an IRN generated will be treated as invalid.
• This process now eliminates the requirement to issue duplicate/ triplicate invoice copies.
• A list of 10 websites that can be accessed for the generation of the IRN (collectively called the “Common Goods and Service Tax Electronic Portal”) has been provided.

B2C supplies

• An invoice issued by a registered person whose aggregate turnover in a FY exceeds INR 5bn for the supply of goods and services to an unregistered person is required to have a QR Code.
• Where such registered person is paid via the application of a Dynamic QR Code made available to the recipient through a digital display, such invoice containing cross reference of the payment via the Dynamic QR code shall be deemed to meet the criteria.

PwC comments: The Government has continued in its stated endeavor to achieve digitization of the economy and tax compliance by making e-invoices compulsory for B2B transactions for taxpayers having a yearly turnover exceeding INR 1bn. This will need an investment in readying systems and personnel due to the short runway of three months which has been prescribed. The Government has also surprised businesses by making QR codes compulsory for taxpayers with a yearly turnover exceeding INR 5bn for B2C transactions. Potentially, this will impact the organised retail sector, food and beverage chains and residential real estate, merchants on e-commerce platforms in addition to businesses that concurrently serve B2B and B2C categories such as hospitality, airlines, courier and online travel agents. Various operational and experiential aspects of this system are expected to be further clarified by the Government in the near future

Additional amendment in SEZ Rules – notified

As part of promoting growth in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) in India, the Ministry of Commerce has come out with additional amendments in the form of Special Economic Zones (Third Amendment) Rules, 2019 (SEZ Rules). The highlights of the amendments are summarized below.

Relating to establishment of SEZ

• All the existing SEZs that are notified shall be deemed to be “multi-sector SEZs.” Hence, an SEZ can house more than one sector where units may be set-up for manufacture of goods or services of different sectors in any combination thereof, including trading and warehousing. In other words, the sectoral concept of SEZs has been dispensed with.
• The minimum area requirement for most SEZs will be contiguous area of 50 hectares with certain exceptions. For example, for North East states, it is 25 hectares.
• No minimum land area requirement for setting up an SEZ for Information Technology or Information Technology enabled Services (IT or ITeS), Biotech or Health (other than hospital) services. However, a minimum built up processing area requirement for different category of cities/ locations shall apply.
• The minimum processing area in an SEZ has to be at least 50%.
• Under the category of IT or ITeS, broad banding with other services such as financial services, consultancy services, design services, architect services, commercial training or coaching services will be permissible subject to letter issued by the Approval Committee for services.
• The SEZ Rules require a developer to undertake minimum construction/ stipulated development of zone within a period of 10 years from being notified. However, based on merits/ exigencies of the developer, the Board of Approval may consider an annual extension of this time period with a cap of 10 such extensions.

PwC comments: The proposed amendments seems to be in line with the overall objective of trade facilitation. These amendments will further enable optimal utilization of vacant land in SEZs and flexibility of operating in SEZs without any significant sectoral restrictions. 

E-Invoicing System – GSTN releases API Specs and FAQs

Proposed e-invoicing system – Key documents released by GSTN

The Government had recently issued notifications notifying 1 April 2020 as the date of implementation of e-invoicing system for B2B transactions for businesses with aggregate turnover exceeding INR 1bn.

• Considering that the voluntary system would commence from 1 January 2020, the GSTN has also released the following documents in public domain.
• Presentations made by GSTN team in various workshops across India.
• Additional and updated FAQs on the e-invoice concept, flow and schema.
• List of application program interfaces (APIs) and the proposed methodology of interaction with the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP).
• General JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) sample of e-invoice payload sent to IRP.
• JSON schema for e-invoice.

Key highlights

Below are the key highlights of the documents shared by the GSTN:

• API Specs released: National Informatics Centre (NIC) has stated that there would be 6 different APIs. It has currently released specs for critical APIs (such as Generation). These are relevant to understand technically what all information will be required to be shared with IRP as well as the response expected to be received from IRP. Basis the review, it appears that there is further refinement in the mandatory fields required to be sent to IRP for generation of Invoice Reference Number (IRN).
• IRN Requirement: In addition to the tax invoice, IRN required for credit note, debit note, exports, Input Service Distributor (ISD) invoice, ISD credit note. This appears in contradiction to the notification recently issued, where IRN requirement was prescribed only for tax invoice.
• Document type for which IRN is not required: Documents which don’t have tax component i.e. Bill of Supply and Delivery Challan.
• IRN for B2C transactions: Not required – It has been provided that this may be allowed in long run. Hence, it appears that such option may not be available to start with. Even the API specs don’t currently include B2C transactions as transaction type, but they do include B2G (Business to Government transaction). Earlier, it was stated that generation of IRN for B2C would be optional but that doesn’t seem to be the case now.
• Printing of IRN on invoice: There are contradictory comments on whether IRN or the QR code generated by IRP is required to be printed on the invoice. This is a critical issue and currently on reading the notification it appears that IRN needs to be printed on the invoice. It is important that this aspect is explicitly clarified as it could have an impact on the IT related changes which the companies may have to undertake.
• Printing of invoice: Its being evaluated whether printing of invoice has been done away with even for the purpose of movement of goods.
• Signing of invoice by supplier: Present status remains.
• Generation of IRN: Only by IRP. There would be multiple IRPs from April 2020. Earlier the concept note provided that even a seller could generate an IRN.
• Length of IRN and parameters: It needs to be a 64 digits string based on SHA256 algorithm. It needs to be generated basis the document type (which was earlier not included), document number, seller GSTIN and financial year.
• Number of line items allowed on an invoice: An increase to 10,000 per invoice from earlier proposed 250 lines.
• Checks to be undertaken by IRP: It will undertake GSTIN validity check of seller and buyer as well as de-duplication check of invoice. Earlier only duplication check was provided.
• Email of JSON by IRP: IRP will not email any JSON e-invoice to seller or buyer directly. Earlier this was only proposed.
• Integration with IRP: In addition to GSP route, GSTN would provide an option to taxpayers to directly integrate with IRP subject to certain conditions
• Provision for e-commerce platform: Government could consider allowing e-commerce platform to undertake the e-invoice compliance on behalf of the vendors supplying goods from their platform. This could go a long way in facilitating compliances for small vendors undertaking business through such platforms.

PwC comments: The documents shared were the need of the hour especially the API specs as these are the basic documents required for undertaking any IT development to prepare for e-invoicing system. Also, FAQs do provide clarification on quite a few aspects. There have been changes since the clarification, basis the industry feedback. All the stakeholders including the Government, GSTN, NIC are working on a tight deadline, hence things would continue to evolve as we move along. It is imperative for businesses to analyze such FAQs and undertake an impact analysis on how such e-invoicing system would impact transactions, IT systems as well as processes. Another key decision which needs to be taken is the manner of integration/ changes required in ERP systems for such change. This development reiterates the Government’s endeavor to introduce mandatory e-invoicing system from 1 April 2020 onwards. Being a major business change, industry should start preparing on immediate basis to be ready in-time to meet the 1 April 2020 deadline.

Supreme Court upholds sales tax on Time Charter arrangement

Issue

The issue involved whether a Time Charter agreement (agreement) entered with a port trust authority would attract sales tax under the provisions of the Karnataka Sales Tax Act, 1957 (the KST Act).

• This case pertained to an agreement entered into between a shipping company and a port trust. As per the agreement, the services of a towing vessel (tug) was made exclusively available to the port trust for defined purposes along with the ship master and operating personnel for 6 months.
• The appellant repudiated the claim of the tax office demanding imposition of sales tax on this transaction, on the basis that there was no transfer of right to use of the tug provided to the port trust, as the possession and custody of the tug always remained with it. It also contended that the KST Act does not extend to territorial waters of India situated adjacent to the landmass of the State of Karnataka. Upon commencement of proceedings under the KST Act, the appellant filed a writ before the High Court, which ruled in favour of the tax office.
• Aggrieved by the High Court’s decision, the appellant approached the Supreme Court with a prayer to quash the High Court’s order of rejection.

Supreme Court’s decision

The Supreme Court examined a plethora of domestic and international commentaries and judgements, mainly on:

• The concepts and features of various categories of charters such as time and voyage charters, and the distinguishing characteristics which result in an arrangement to be treated as a Time Charter.
• The judicial analysis of the criteria for a transaction to result in transfer of right to use which creates an interest in the underlying goods, as compared to the right to use goods which is a license.
• The Supreme Court’s earlier decisions on the subject in the cases of BSNL v. Union of India and Twentieth Century Finance Corporation Limited v. State of Maharashtra were relied on and revalidated.

Based on its analysis, the Supreme Court decided against the appellant on account of the following reasons:

• On reading the terms of the agreement, it was seen that the effective control and possession for the entire contract period had been given to the charterers.
• To constitute a transaction of transfer of right to use goods, it is essential that goods must be available for delivery. In the instant case, the vessel was made available and subsequently delivered. Also, during the contract period, the contractor had no right to give the vessel for use to anyone else.
• Applying the substance of the contract and the nominal nature test, the vessel was found to be available when the agreement was executed. The continued operation of the vessel by the captain and staff of the charteree was of limited implication as they remained under the control and instruction of the charterer.
• For the realisation of tax imposed under Article 366(29A)(d) of the Constitution of India, 1949, it was not material where the goods are passed, but the situs of the agreement which is determinative. It was the passing of the property within the State that was material for the purpose of determining whether the sale was “inside” or “outside” the State. On this basis, it held that the State of Karnataka enjoyed sufficient jurisdiction to tax this transaction.

PwC Comments: While upholding the levy of sales tax on a Time Charter agreement, the Supreme Court has placed substantial reliance on a detailed review of the terms and conditions of the contract, and effectively held that mere use of common terms or conditions does not decipher the true character of the agreement for the purpose of tax laws. In doing so, it has held that there is no general or automatic rule that an agreement shall be treated as service (or otherwise) based on commercial parlance. This ruling potentially alters certain historical practices on Time Charter agreements, mainly that such an arrangement qualified as a service and appropriately attracted service tax. Also, the “assumption” that there is no transfer of possession and control of the vessel should not now be treated to be absolute. It may be prudent to examine whether this ruling has implications on the GST treatment of similar transactions, since certain rate categories are dependent on qualifying as a transfer of right to use or right in goods.

Contact the Chamber Secretariat to purchase any of these publications.

0484-2668650; 2668349

[email protected]; [email protected]

The Second Breakfast Meeting of the 5th Edition of the CEO FORUM will be held on MONDAY the 3RD  of FEBRUARY, 2020 at Taj Gateway Hotel, Marine Drive, Ernakulam from 8.00 a.m to 10.00 a.m. The meeting will be followed by a Networking Breakfast.

The session will be a “Post Budget Analysis 2020-2021”. The Speakers at the session are from PwC, India, the Chamber’s Knowledge Partner.

Click Here to register

The Cochin Chamber will be organising its Annual Post Budget Analysis Session on the 6th of February, 2020 at Hotel Avenue Center, Panampilly Nagar, Ernakulam.

Mr. Homi P. Ranina, eminent Lawyer and Tax Consultant from Mumbai will be the Speaker on that day.

Click Here to register

The Last Mile (TLM) is a Certificate Programme meant exclusively for students who are on the threshold of a career. Conceptualised by the Cochin Chamber of Commerce & Industry the first edition of the event was held in February 2019 and was attended by 100 students representing 24 institutions.  This programme is aimed at preparing students for the work place and the challenges that they are bound to face there. We hope to enable students from all streams hone their skills to work towards becoming exemplary employees, consider entrepreneurship opportunities etc. In short, we wish to offer the participants at TLM 2020 a chance to dream big and work towards achieving that dream! We are undertaking this endeavour to ensure that the Chamber contributes to the effort addressing the needs of our youngsters and industry and to bridge the skill gap that exists today.

TLM 2020 is designed to be an entirely different experience. TLM 2020 and will focus primarily on inspiring students to do what they love to do and also to help them find, develop, nurture and become successful with their inherent talents. TLM 2020 will showcase people who are success stories today because they believed in themselves.

The goal of this Workshop is to enlighten the students as to how the corporate world actually works and to give them an understanding of what is expected of them.

The Mentoring Sessions at the Workshop will be led by a team from Mr. Mark Sequeira, CEO, Maestro Human Resources Private Limited, Bangalore. and his team of trainers.

We will also have some young achievers in their respective fields to address, encourage, inspire and motivate the participants.

Registration Fee ₹ 1200 per participant (A  group of 10 or more students from the same institution can avail a discount of 10% on the participation fee)

The fee includes all taxes, food & refreshments on both days.

Last date to register for this Workshop will be the 10th of February, 2020

Certificates will be issued only to the students who participate on both days.

Click Here to register

CRUDE OIL AND NON-OIL IMPORTS

Oil imports in December 2019 were USD10.69 billion (Rs. 76,136.69 crore), which was 0.83 percent lower in Dollar terms (0.18 percent lower in Rupee terms), compared to USD10.78 billion (Rs. 76,275.54 crore) in December2018. Oil imports in April-December 2019-20 were USD95.69 billion (Rs. 6,73,447.56 crore) which was 11.78 per cent lower in Dollar terms (11.13 percent lower in Rupee terms) compared to USD108.47 billion (Rs. 7,57,772.55crore), over the same period last year.

In this connection it is mentioned that the global Brent price ($/bbl) has increased by 16.63% in December 2019 vis-à-vis December 2018 as per data available from World Bank.

Non-oil imports in December 2019 were estimated at USD27.92billion (Rs. 1,98,746.95 crore) which was 11.56 per cent lower in Dollar terms (10.99 percent lower in Rupee terms), compared to USD31.57billion (Rs. 2,23,277.86 crore) in December 2018. Non-oil imports in April-December 2019-20 were USD261.70 billion (Rs. 18,41,336.26 crore) which was 7.80 per cent lower in Dollar terms (6.97 percent lower in Rupee terms), compared to USD283.84 billion (Rs. 19,79,319.46 crore) in April-December2018-19.

Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports wereUSD25.45 billion in December 2019, recording a negative growth of (-)12.24 per cent, as compared to Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports of USD 29.00 billion in December 2018. Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports wereUSD238.64 billion in April-December 2019-20, recording a negative growth of (-)7.90 per cent, as compared to Non-Oil and Non-Gold imports USD 259.11 billion in April-December 2018-19.

1. Wealth Creation: The Invisible Hand Supported by the Hand of Trust
2. Entrepreneurship and Wealth Creation at the Grassroots
3. Pro-business versus Pro-markets
4. Undermining Markets: When Government Intervention Hurts More Than It Helps
5. Creating Jobs and Growth by Specializing in Network Products
6. Targeting Ease of Doing Business in India
7. Golden jubilee of bank nationalisation: Taking stock
8. Financial Fragility in the NBFC Sector
9. Privatization and Wealth Creation
10. Is India’s GDP Growth Overstated? No!
11. Thalinomics: The Economics of a Plate of Food in India
12. India’s Economic Performance in 2019-20
13. Fiscal Developments
14. External Sector.
15. Monetary Management and Financial Intermediation
16. Prices and Inflation
17. Sustainable Development and Climate Change
18. Agriculture and Food Management
19. Industry and Infrastructure
20. Services Sector
21. Social Infrastructure, Employment and Human Development
    

Click Here to view in full