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ogNew Delhi: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government plans to do away with the limit of one subsidized cooking gas cylinder per household.

 

The move comes before assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Jharkhand slated to happen later this year.

 

The issue is expected to be taken up soon by the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA).

 

To reduce its subsidy bill and cut the fiscal deficit, the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had restricted the number of subsidized domestic cylinders per household to six every year in September 2012, revising it to nine the following January. The cap was revised in January 2014 to 12 cylinders pe

inNEW DELHI: Rebutting the department of industrial policy and promotion’s (DIPP) contention that import surges due to bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) harmed India’s manufacturing sector, the commerce department, part of the ministry to which the DIPP belongs, has said India needs to persist with the strategy of embracing such pacts to integrate itself more seamlessly to the world trade order.

 

In a letter to DIPP secretary Amitabh Kant, who has been vocal against FTAs and comprehensive economic partnership agreements (CEPAs), Rajeev Kher, his counterpart in the commerce department, said that instead of attacking (past) FTAs without any factual basis, it is better for the government to look ahead and use such partnerships for

ogMUMBAI: The state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) plan to revive branded petrol such as IndianOil’s XtraPremium and Bharat Petroleum’s Speed, backed by aggressive marketing, to make the most of a significant excise duty cut announced in the budget.

 

Sales of branded petrol, which contain additives that enhance automobile’s performance, had plummeted in recent years as they became Rs 7-10 per litre more expensive than the regular fuel, forcing companies such as Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) to pull out such products from most outlets. But with finance minister Arun Jaitley announcing a cut in central excise duty on branded petrol to Rs

inMUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India has said that up to six banks will be designated as systemically important, or SIBs, for the domestic financial market and will need to have higher capital than their peers to prevent the financial system from collapsing if there is a crisis.

 

The central bank said it would now go about identifying these banks which are too big to fail and would release a list of names in August 2015, according to a report uploaded on its website on Tuesday evening.

 

State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank may be among the six, according to consultants and analysts. Banks falling in this category will have to set aside more capital per l

United Arab Emirates, June 2014 – GL Events exhibitions, the organizer of Piscine Middle East exhibition has confirmed the attendance of  2 800 visitors during the second edition of Piscine Middle East held in Abu Dhabi from the 22-24th of April. Most part of these visitors was architects, developers and key buyers specialized in pool and spa industry. The event hosted visitors from 50 different countries. 88% […]

ABU DHABI // Residents will have more relief from the recent sweltering heat this weekend, with Thursday’s cooler conditions forecast to continue. The weather bureau says the drop of up to 7°C in many parts of the country is set to continue on Friday and Saturday as the north-westerly Shamal wind makes a welcome return, with cloudy, windy and hazy conditions. “It will be slightly hazy on […]

DUBAI // A Pakistani drug mule said he was promised 200,000 rupees (Dh7,444) for bringing 850 grams of heroin into the country in his stomach. However, AS, 26, was apprehended after an official at Dubai International Airport noticed his agitated state. Emirati inspector JA, 30, noticed the man at the airport on February 12. “I requested to see the defendant’s passport and asked him if he had […]

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The firm aims to redefine the art of ‘Corporate Storytelling’ in the Middle East Dubai, May 28th, 2014: White Water PR, a Dubai based Public Relations agency, has launched its new website in the region to redefine the art of ‘corporate storytelling’. The website, ‘whitewaterpr.com’ is more pictorial in nature and the initial thoughts were inspired by the globally renowned ‘Snowfall’ format which was made popular by […]

ABU DHABI // More than 1,000 cases of employers accused of breaking labour laws by ill-treating their workers were referred to prosecutors in the past year, a new report reveals. The prosecutions came amid a massive enforcement campaign by the Ministry of Labour, whose staff conducted 138,801 general inspections, 11,807 visits to workers’ accommodation and 80,571 visits to construction sites to ensure labourers were not working during […]

Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty moved to the United Arab Emirates from India nearly 40 years ago and made his fortune by building a hospital chain and money exchange group from scratch. Last week, he bought Travelex, the foreign exchange operator, for an undisclosed sum but what is likely the biggest investment of his career. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Shetty said he plans to […]

ABU DHABI // Taxi drivers are considered the most dangerous drivers on the road, the survey reveals. Of the 1,208 residents polled, 32 per cent said they considered cabbies to be the most dangerous, followed by young drivers (26 per cent) and lorry drivers (22 per cent). Sameer Afridi, 27, a Pakistani driver who works for Al Ghazal Taxi, one of the six franchise-holding companies in Abu […]

Analysts are predicting a pre-Ramadan correction on the Dubai Financial Market. They say this has happened twice before: in early 2006 after the near doubling of the market in 2005; and in 1999 when the Emaar-IPO bubble burst. It will happen again. The price-to-earnings ratio has swung from an under-valued 10 to an extremely over-sold 21. Emerging markets in the MSCI Index, whose highly prized inclusion of […]

Dubai is set to become a smart city in the next three years, which would see a thousand government services going smart along with other changes that will make daily life of the residents smoother. There will be service booths in public places like malls equipped with video conferencing, document scanning and printing services so that people can complete almost all paperwork without visiting any of the […]

Dubai-based hotel operator Jumeirah Group will invest 8 billion dirhams ($2.19 billion) to expand projects in 11 countries over the next three years, the official state news agency WAM reported on Friday. The group is part of Dubai Holding, a conglomerate owned by the emirate’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. The expansion will see an addition of 4,300 hotels rooms over the next three years, WAM […]

As Dubai freight-forwarding firm Able Logistics Group began preparing early this year to go public, it conducted a leveraged recapitalisation, taking on fresh bank debt so it could pay a cash dividend to shareholders. By the standards of developed Western markets, the transaction was routine. But for the Middle East it was an unusually creative deal, a sign that the region’s private equity industry is finally building […]

Mubadala Development Co rejected bids from GDF Suez SA and Veolia Environnement SA (VIE) for its cooling business in favor of talks with National Central Cooling Co. (TABREED), three people with knowledge of the matter said. The Abu Dhabi state-owned fund, which owns a 15 percent stake and convertible bonds in National Central, may complete a sale for about $300 million, the people said, asking not to […]

The Guardian newspaper has issued an apology to the ruler Dubai for the publishing of allegations that his office had advertised for a number of female assistants to help with a shopping trip in Europe. Last week, the Guardian reported that the Gulf country’s leader, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Makhtoum, had placed the ad with an Italian fashion agency. The article was published on April 7 and was amended a day later. The […]

 For decades the Cleveland Clinic has provided healthcare to the upper echelons of Middle Eastern society who fly halfway across the world for treatment at the Ohio-based private medical center. Soon, they can skip the trip. Early next year the Cleveland Clinic plans to open an ultra-modern, 364-bed specialty hospital on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi, one of the most ambitious forays into the oil-rich country […]

With a youthful, well-educated population, strong relationships with both neighbours and world powers, and a strategic location on the Gulf, major oil producer Kuwait should be as dynamic a hub for the region as Dubai or Doha. But while others in the Gulf have powered ahead, attracting foreign investment and developing infrastructure, Kuwait has stagnated, frustrating the people of a country once seen as a Middle East […]

|By K Raveendran| The agreement for the roll-over of $20 billion debt between Abu Dhabi and Dubai is expected to help Dubai refinance some of the other upcoming debt maturities with confidence, which depended a lot on the successful resolution of repayments owed to Abu Dhabi government and the UAE central bank, and continue to spend heavily on the ongoing infrastructure development. Dubai has already approached creditors […]

A diplomatic split between Qatar and its wealthy Gulf neighbors may disrupt billions of dollars of investment in the region and slow efforts to make economies more efficient through trade and transport reforms. Qatar’s vast natural gas wealth means the tiny country, with a population of about 2.1 million, could probably continue operating indefinitely despite the displeasure of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. But […]

Saudi Arabia and India have formed a new joint venture to build a rice distribution hub in Dubai to link Indian production to consumers in Middle East, Arab News reported. Prince Mishaal bin Abdullah bin Turki and global private investor V Raman Kumar have formed the joint venture with India’s rice producer, LEAF India (Lakshmi Energy and Foods), to create West Asia and North Africa region’s largest […]

Qatar has the highest per capita investment in Dubai realty in 2013 (AED6.71 million), followed by Oman (AED5.77 million), the UAE (AED4.56 million), Saudi Arabia (AED3.71 million), Germany (AED2.37 million), India (AED2.22 million) and Britain (AED2.11 million). These figures were released in connection with the International Property Show (IPS), which will be held from April 8-10, supported by the Dubai Land Department (DLD). According to the same […]

DUBAI is poised to roll over a vital $10 billion debt facility with the central bank of the United Arab Emirates at a lower rate of interest, UK’s Telegraph newspaper revealed. Rolling over the debt, which is due at the end of this week, will soothe lingering concerns over the emirate’s ability to service its immediate debts as it prepares to embark on another burst of infrastructure […]

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