Govt ups duty on gold to 10 pc, plans import curb

August 14, 2013

Govt_ups_dutyNew Delhi, Aug 14: Acting for the third time since January, the government on Tuesday raised import duty on gold to 10 per cent to stem import of the yellow metal, a key contributor to India's exorbitantly high current account deficit (CAD) and the consequent currency depreciation.

But concerns remained that a 10 per cent duty difference in gold prices in India and outside may lead to increase in smuggling.

Duty on the precious metal was hiked in June, when its import rose to $2.9 billion.

The government expects to garner an additional Rs 4,830 crore through hikes in duties on two other precious metals, platinum and silver.

The move comes after Finance Minister P Chidambaram said on Monday that the government would soon take measures to compress luxury and non-essential imports.

Gold is the biggest luxury import in India which does not contribute to economic growth in a significant way but is shipped into the country to meet the domestic consumption demand.

Soon after the announcement, the rupee recovered to 61.12 to the dollar from 61.66, but analysts said more structural reforms were needed to stem the fall in the India currency, which has lost more than 10 per cent against the dollar this year.

Revenue Secretary Sumit Bose said the government was working on the proposed hike in import duties on non-essential goods, but sources in the ministry say that import duty could be hiked on items such as high-end cars and LCD and LED TV sets.

The government raised the customs duty on gold from 4 per cent to 6 per cent in January, too, and thereafter to 8 per cent in June. Despite that, there was an 87 per cent increase in gold import in the four-month period from April to July. Gold import went up to 383 tonnes in the April-July period this year, as against 205 tonnes in the same period last year.

Bullion traders said that after the latest measure, gold prices could go up by Rs 600 per 10 grams.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Finance J D Seelam said there have been apprehensions that a duty hike could lead to an increase in smuggling of gold or gold jewellery. In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, he said customs and other departments have been alerted to keep a vigil against smuggling.

During April-July, a total of 294 kg of gold, valued at Rs 75 crore, have been seized by the Customs Department.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
May 12,2020

Mangaluru, May 12: The first repatriation flight to Mangaluru from Dubai with nearly 180 passengers landed at the international airport here. 

The total passengers, including 88 men, 84 women, five children and two infants arrived by the Air India Express flight IX 384 late Tuesday night, airport sources said.

There were 12 medical emergency cases and 38 pregnant women among them, they said. The district administration had made arrangements for receiving the passengers, who were provided with sanitizers and masks. They were advised to maintain social distancing as per the health protocol.

All the foreign returnees were screened as per the standard operating procedure to ensure that they were asymptomatic.

The passengers were taken to their chosen place of accommodation in KSRTC buses. They will be undergoing a 14-day quarantine in the places, which will be monitored by doctors assigned by the health department. More than 17 hotels and 12 hostels have been arranged for the accommodation of the returnees.

Passengers were also asked to download the mandatory 'Aroygya Sethu' app for contact tracing. Rahul Shinde IAS who is in charge of arranging quarantine facilities, airport director V V Rao and district health officer Ramachandra Bairy were present at the airport.

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News Network
May 9,2020

Bengaluru, May 9: With 41 new cases of COVID-19 reported on Saturday, the total number of positive cases in Karnataka has reached 794, said the state Health Department.

Out of the total number, 386 are discharged and 30 patients have passed away. The total number of active cases now in Karnataka is 377.

The total number of positive coronavirus cases across the country is 59,662, including 39,834 active cases.

Till now, 17,846 patients have been cured and discharged and 1,981 deaths have been recorded in the country, as per the data provided by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 

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News Network
April 25,2020

Mangaluru, Apr 25: The Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) has extended vital assistance to hundreds of migrant workers, destitute and needy families during the COVID-19 crisis through its CSR fund.

The lockdown has left thousands of people including migrant workers and destitute in the district, in the lurch. MRPL, using its corporate social responsibility fund through the Dakshina Kannada district administration, has sponsored 50,000 kg rice for the benefit of these needy citizens, a company release here said.

MRPL also donated grocery kits comprising boiled rice, dal, rava, sugar and tea to the needy families in the district, it said.

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