New, Quicker Visa Process For Chinese Nationals Gets Underway; Panagariya Wants More Reforms

SEBI likely to bar participatory notes from the derivatives market. Railway Minister says 20,000 locomotives to get latest Kavach anti-collision system this year. In other news, the Department of Telecommunication said 7.3 million connections obtained with fake ID and address documents have been disconnected, and insurance firms get Rs 2,000 crore GST notice.

Centre Fast-Tracks Visa Approvals For Chinese Nationals In Manufacturing Push

The Union government has introduced a streamlined, time-bound process for granting business visas to Chinese technicians involved in manufacturing projects, Business Standard reported.

The new guidelines from the Ministry of Home Affairs, effective from August 1, aim to expedite visa approvals for nationals from China and other countries sharing land borders with India. Once a company applies for an e-visa, the application will be forwarded to relevant government departments, including the Ministry of External Affairs and security agencies, for approval. “The responses (whether approval or rejection) will have to be sent to the home ministry within 28 days,” an official said, noting the visa will have a validity of six months. Read more 

Panagariya Says India Needs to Open Economy Further, Privatise Banks

16th Finance Commission chairman Arvind Panagariya has said India needs to open its economy further, privatise banks and introduce factor market reforms to lift its growth beyond 6.5-7 per cent levels, the Economic Times reported.

He said the main reform needed was the privatisation of banks, noting growth spurts whenever the government had addressed bank NPAs. Further, Panagariya said reform related to land was the most difficult to implement, but land acquisition has to be made easier in the country. He said the four labour codes also need to be implemented for rapid growth. He said even if 4-5 states implemented these it would accelerate the growth of the Indian economy. More here

SEBI Set To Ban Participatory Notes From Using Derivatives Market

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is looking to further tighten the noose around participatory notes (p-notes) or offshore derivatives instruments (ODIs) by imposing a complete ban from using the derivatives market, Business Standard reported.

Currently, p-notes can use the derivatives market only for hedging purposes. Further, the market regulator has proposed mandating p-notes — and also foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) with segregated portfolios — to provide granular disclosures around their ultimate beneficial owners (BOs), which currently only FPIs have to provide. The move is to plug the regulatory arbitrage that exists between those taking the p-note and segregated portfolio route vis-à-vis the regulator FPI route. More here

20,000 Locomotives To Get Latest Kavach System This Year, Says Rail Minister

The Railway Ministry is looking to expedite the rollout of the latest version of the indigenous anti-collision system Kavach during this year by issuing tenders for Kavach 4.0 installation in 20,000 locomotives, Business Standard reported quoting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

“Two bulk tenders of 10,000 locomotives each would be issued soon. We aim to close one tender by October this year,” he said. Tenders have been issued for Delhi-Chennai and Mumbai-Chennai sections ranging 3,300 rail km and important automatic sections covering 5,000 rail km. The Kavach system was not available at the spot of the Kanchenjunga train accident in June this year, which claimed 11 lives, as well as the triple-train crash at Balasore, Odisha in June 2023, which claimed 293 lives. More here

7.3 Million Mobile Connections Obtained With Fake ID Disconnected: DoT

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has said 7.3 million mobile connections, obtained on fake identity or address documents, have been disconnected by telecom operators, Business Standard reported.

The department told Parliament that it has developed a system to detect fraudulent mobile connections taken on fake proof of identity or proof of address documents and such connections are flagged to the telecom service providers for re-verification. Till date, DoT has identified about 8.1 million such suspected mobile connections, the details of which have been forwarded to TSPs for re-verification, the DoT said. It has also investigated about 19.2 million mobile connections held by about 1.6 million subscribers exceeding the prescribed limit of mobile connections which an individual can hold. More here

Insurance Companies Get Rs 2,000 Crore GST Notices On SEZ Services

Goods and services tax authorities have sent notices to more than 20 general insurance companies with operations in special economic zones (SEZs), demanding about Rs 2,000 crore in unpaid GST over services provided to employees of industrial units at SEZs and their families, the Economic Times reported.

HDFC Ergo General Insurance Co, Star Health & Allied Insurance, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Co, New India Assurance Co and United India Insurance Co are among the companies that received show-cause notices (SCNs) over Integrated GST from the Directorate of GST Intelligence (DGGI), officials said. No tax is levied on exports and supplies to SEZs under Section 16 of the Integrated GST (IGST) Act. More here