Prime Minister

The Coalgate logjam in the Parliament is causing much heartburn to the Indian business community. The much anticipated Companies Bill 2011 was expected to be passed in the current monsoon session of the 15th Lok Sabha but given that India's political leaders could only manage 23 hours - it just didn't happen.

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) welcomed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's initiative to review tax laws pertaining to the IT industry, especially MNCs, which have set up captive development centres across the country.

The Samajwadi Party and the Left have urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to let FDI in multi-brand retail sector, saying that this will virtually destroy India's retail sector. "The entry of MNC supermarket and hypermarket chains would cause severe displacement of small and unorganized shopkeepers and traders," a joint open letter to the prime minister said. "The entry of the giant Wal-Mart supermarket chain would have a disastrous impact," it stated.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has set up an experts' committee to review and rework the controversial General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) tax provision. The four-member committee to be headed by Parthasarathi Shome, Director and Chief Executive of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), has been asked to submit its report to the government by September 30, 2012, according to a statement released by the Prime Minister's Office.

While the world economy was facing challenging times, India's growth story was still intact, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said, while promising action on several fronts, to restore investor confidence, including clarity on tax matters.