New Delhi: India's largest steelmaker Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Japan's Kobe Steel have signed an agreement to set up half a million tonne iron nugget plant using the Japanese steelmaker's patented technology.
A ministry delegation led by Beni Prasad Verma, the minister of steel, senior officials of the ministry and SAIL are currently in Tokyo to sign the agreement. The plant will come up on SAIL's alloy steels plant in Durgapur, West Bengal.
Steel Authority of India Limited and Kobe Steel will share production equally from the plant for captive use. "The ITmK3 technology will also utilise dump iron ore fines, disposal of which is an environmental issue," said Verma.
Kobe is one of the largest suppliers of alloy steels to Japanese automobile companies.
Besides ITmK3, Kobe has also developed new technologies such as Midrex, which uses gaseous fuel.
While SAIL will contribute land, iron ore and other engineering services for the project, Kobe Steel will provide the technology for setting up the plant and its operation.
The government PSU has been exploring similar joint ventures for such patented technologies to ease costs pressures from coking coal which India has to import.
SAIL is yet to further its MoU with Posco for a Finex plant. Discussions are stuck on shareholding with the South Korean company reluctant to allow Steel Authority of India Limited majority stake.
Posco has claimed it cannot allow anyone else's control in a joint venture centred around its proprietary technology developed with government funding.
Success in my Habit
Thursday, July 12, 2012
MCX-SX receives green signal for equity trading
Mumbai: A third national-level equity exchange is set to go live in the next few weeks, with the Multi Commodity Stock Exchange (MCX-SX) securing regulatory permission to operate as a full-fledged stock exchange. This comes after a four-year wait and an intense legal battle between the stock exchange aspirant and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).
MCX-SX will be the first national-level equity exchange to be launched since 1998. While the BSE is 150 years old, the NSE had gained recognition in April 1993. The government had allowed the Inter-connected Stock Exchange to launch operations in 1997, but the bourse was a failure.
The Sebi on Tuesday allowed MCX-SX to offer trading in equity, interest-rate and wholesale debt segments. Currently, the exchange hosts only currency derivative trading on its platform. The regulator, however, has set a condition that the promoters of MCX-SX would have to reduce stake to five per cent in 18 months.
“Both promoters will reduce their entitlement to equity or rights over equity in excess of the shareholding as specified in the revised SECC (Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporation) regulations within a period of three years from the date of notification of the SECC regulations,” said a late evening release from MCX-SX.
Financial Technologies and MCX together hold nearly 70 per cent stake in MCX-SX, including warrants. Both promoters would have to cut their combined stake to five per cent. Jignesh Shah, vice-chairman, MCX-SX, said the new regulations provided a level playing field. Joseph Massey, MD & CEO, MCX-SX, said the exchange would cater to the growing needs of investors for suitable investment avenues, to the corporate sector for raising risk and debt capital, and for a variety of instruments used by the industry for risk mitigation.
MCX-SX will be the first national-level equity exchange to be launched since 1998. While the BSE is 150 years old, the NSE had gained recognition in April 1993. The government had allowed the Inter-connected Stock Exchange to launch operations in 1997, but the bourse was a failure.
The Sebi on Tuesday allowed MCX-SX to offer trading in equity, interest-rate and wholesale debt segments. Currently, the exchange hosts only currency derivative trading on its platform. The regulator, however, has set a condition that the promoters of MCX-SX would have to reduce stake to five per cent in 18 months.
“Both promoters will reduce their entitlement to equity or rights over equity in excess of the shareholding as specified in the revised SECC (Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporation) regulations within a period of three years from the date of notification of the SECC regulations,” said a late evening release from MCX-SX.
Financial Technologies and MCX together hold nearly 70 per cent stake in MCX-SX, including warrants. Both promoters would have to cut their combined stake to five per cent. Jignesh Shah, vice-chairman, MCX-SX, said the new regulations provided a level playing field. Joseph Massey, MD & CEO, MCX-SX, said the exchange would cater to the growing needs of investors for suitable investment avenues, to the corporate sector for raising risk and debt capital, and for a variety of instruments used by the industry for risk mitigation.
Norway, India can now share banking information
New Delhi: The new India-Norway tax treaty that allows exchange of banking-related information for taxation purposes has come into force.
The earlier double taxation avoidance agreement signed in December 1986 did not provide for a specific mechanism for exchange of banking-related information between the two countries.
That agreement has now been terminated.
The new treaty, signed in February this year, will apply for income earned or capital owned on or after April 1, 2012 in the case of India.
For Norway, the new tax treaty will apply for income earned or capital owned on or after January 1 this year.
'Limitation of benefit'
Among the new features in the latest treaty is the introduction of a ‘limitation of benefit’ clause, which will ensure that corporate structures are not created primarily to get benefits available under this treaty. This will discourage ‘treaty shopping’, say tax experts. The withholding tax on dividends in the source State has also been reduced to 10 per cent.
Earlier, dividends with a shareholding of 25 per cent or more attracted tax of 15 per cent and a 25 per cent rate in other cases.
Also, the rate of tax on interest in the source State has been reduced from 15 per cent to 10 per cent.
The rate of tax on royalties and technical services arising in the source State has been specified as 10 per cent.
Natural resources
The earlier treaty considered installations or structures used in such exploration ‘permanent establishment’, implying that their incomes could be taxed. Interestingly, the new treaty has no such specific inclusion.
“This would imply that both the jurisdictions want to provide relief to foreign investors involved in exploration of natural resources in the other contracting state”, said Mr Amit Singhania, Principal Associate in law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas.
The new tax treaty also provides for significant changes to the taxation of shipping and air transport activities.
The earlier double taxation avoidance agreement signed in December 1986 did not provide for a specific mechanism for exchange of banking-related information between the two countries.
That agreement has now been terminated.
The new treaty, signed in February this year, will apply for income earned or capital owned on or after April 1, 2012 in the case of India.
For Norway, the new tax treaty will apply for income earned or capital owned on or after January 1 this year.
'Limitation of benefit'
Among the new features in the latest treaty is the introduction of a ‘limitation of benefit’ clause, which will ensure that corporate structures are not created primarily to get benefits available under this treaty. This will discourage ‘treaty shopping’, say tax experts. The withholding tax on dividends in the source State has also been reduced to 10 per cent.
Earlier, dividends with a shareholding of 25 per cent or more attracted tax of 15 per cent and a 25 per cent rate in other cases.
Also, the rate of tax on interest in the source State has been reduced from 15 per cent to 10 per cent.
The rate of tax on royalties and technical services arising in the source State has been specified as 10 per cent.
Natural resources
The earlier treaty considered installations or structures used in such exploration ‘permanent establishment’, implying that their incomes could be taxed. Interestingly, the new treaty has no such specific inclusion.
“This would imply that both the jurisdictions want to provide relief to foreign investors involved in exploration of natural resources in the other contracting state”, said Mr Amit Singhania, Principal Associate in law firm Amarchand & Mangaldas.
The new tax treaty also provides for significant changes to the taxation of shipping and air transport activities.
Philips Lighting signs MoU with IIID
Pune: Lighting company Philips Lighting, and Institute of Indian Interior Designers (IIID), the nodal body of interior designers in India, have formed an academic partnership to offer a professional certificate course in light and lighting (technology & application) for architects and interior designers.
Pune is the first city to offer this three-day certificate course for the members of the IIID Pune Regional Chapter. Philips will conduct this course in different IIID chapters across India and will provide the course curriculum, content, faculty support, product samples and other teaching aids.
Mr Sumit Joshi, Senior Director, Marketing, Philips Lighting India, said, “Light today is no longer purely functional, something to switch on and off as required. Today, light is being used in all sorts of ways to create the desired backdrop to our lives, whether to relax and unwind, to play, or to work, lighting can be used to create the right mood and ambience. With this MoU, we hope to enhance the interior designers’ and architects’ ability to bring together both art and science of lighting and give the perfect finishing touch to their work.”
Pune is the first city to offer this three-day certificate course for the members of the IIID Pune Regional Chapter. Philips will conduct this course in different IIID chapters across India and will provide the course curriculum, content, faculty support, product samples and other teaching aids.
Mr Sumit Joshi, Senior Director, Marketing, Philips Lighting India, said, “Light today is no longer purely functional, something to switch on and off as required. Today, light is being used in all sorts of ways to create the desired backdrop to our lives, whether to relax and unwind, to play, or to work, lighting can be used to create the right mood and ambience. With this MoU, we hope to enhance the interior designers’ and architects’ ability to bring together both art and science of lighting and give the perfect finishing touch to their work.”
Venus Remedies launches new cancer formulation
Mumbai: Venus Remedies Ltd has brought in a nanotechnology based ‘ready-to-use’ single vial Docetaxel in the domestic market.
The medicine is a single vial formulation available in three strengths and will be another tool in the Rs 1,500-crore cancer drug industry.
“`The one-vial formulation has the advantage of a single dilution step prior to administration. This offers a cost-effective solution to patients,’’ said Mr Mufti Suhail Sayeed, Vice-President, Venus Remedies Ltd.
He added that the novel technology would offer significant therapeutic advantage over all available similar and competing products.
Docetaxel is considered as one of the most effective and successful oncology products, which is used mainly for the treatment of breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, prostate cancer, gastric adenocarcinoma, head and neck cancer and ovarian cancer.
According to the company, the nano-scale size of the formulation results in improved penetration, higher efficacy, improved safety and lesser side effects.
The company is marketing the drug in Africa, CIS and Latin America. The grant of European Market Authorisation for Portugal has further opened up new grounds for Venus Remedies to cater to the EU market.
The medicine is a single vial formulation available in three strengths and will be another tool in the Rs 1,500-crore cancer drug industry.
“`The one-vial formulation has the advantage of a single dilution step prior to administration. This offers a cost-effective solution to patients,’’ said Mr Mufti Suhail Sayeed, Vice-President, Venus Remedies Ltd.
He added that the novel technology would offer significant therapeutic advantage over all available similar and competing products.
Docetaxel is considered as one of the most effective and successful oncology products, which is used mainly for the treatment of breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, prostate cancer, gastric adenocarcinoma, head and neck cancer and ovarian cancer.
According to the company, the nano-scale size of the formulation results in improved penetration, higher efficacy, improved safety and lesser side effects.
The company is marketing the drug in Africa, CIS and Latin America. The grant of European Market Authorisation for Portugal has further opened up new grounds for Venus Remedies to cater to the EU market.
Ruchi Soya signs MoU with Thermax for one MW Biomass Power generation
Ahmedabad: Edible Oil manufacturer, Ruchi Soya Industries Limited and leader in energy and environment solutions, Thermax Limited have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to set up 1 MW fluidised bed biomass gasification plant, laying the foundation for large-scale commercialisation of biomass power in the country.
V.K Jain, director (commercial), Ruchi Soya Industries Limited and Dr R.R Sonde, executive vice president, Thermax Limited signed the MoU in New Delhi.
"This project will not only help us in utilization of biomass at the Ruchi Soya crushing plant at Washim but also generate additional income for local community. Biomass, which is not useful as animal feed can be used in this power generation project," said Dinesh Shahra, MD, Ruchi Soya .
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy with assistance from the United Nations development Program and the Global Environment Fund runs program aimed at accelerating adoption of environmentally sustainable biomass power technologies by removing the barriers identified. The one MW fluidized bed biomass gasification plant to be set up by Ruchi Soya at its Washim unit in Maharashtra will act as a model investment project. The plant will be executed by Pune based Thermax on the technology acquired from the Energy Research Centre and Dahlman, Netherlands.
The proposed gasification system will have higher conversion efficiency (more than 95%) as compared to 80-85% of the existing gasification systems. An advanced gas cleanup system will overcome the existing barriers such as non availability of proven single module of gasifier and gas clean up unit of capacity one MW or above. It will generate operating data required for standardization and act as input for determination of separate tariff and demonstration of tri -generation. This plant will also help in demonstrating biomass gasification technology for generation of grid quality power.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, has a wide range of programs for harnessing energy as well as grid interactive and off grid power from biomass which is renewable in nature and carbon neutral. A cumulative generation capacity of over 3,700 MW through biomass power including bagasse cogeneration has been so far established in India.
V.K Jain, director (commercial), Ruchi Soya Industries Limited and Dr R.R Sonde, executive vice president, Thermax Limited signed the MoU in New Delhi.
"This project will not only help us in utilization of biomass at the Ruchi Soya crushing plant at Washim but also generate additional income for local community. Biomass, which is not useful as animal feed can be used in this power generation project," said Dinesh Shahra, MD, Ruchi Soya .
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy with assistance from the United Nations development Program and the Global Environment Fund runs program aimed at accelerating adoption of environmentally sustainable biomass power technologies by removing the barriers identified. The one MW fluidized bed biomass gasification plant to be set up by Ruchi Soya at its Washim unit in Maharashtra will act as a model investment project. The plant will be executed by Pune based Thermax on the technology acquired from the Energy Research Centre and Dahlman, Netherlands.
The proposed gasification system will have higher conversion efficiency (more than 95%) as compared to 80-85% of the existing gasification systems. An advanced gas cleanup system will overcome the existing barriers such as non availability of proven single module of gasifier and gas clean up unit of capacity one MW or above. It will generate operating data required for standardization and act as input for determination of separate tariff and demonstration of tri -generation. This plant will also help in demonstrating biomass gasification technology for generation of grid quality power.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, has a wide range of programs for harnessing energy as well as grid interactive and off grid power from biomass which is renewable in nature and carbon neutral. A cumulative generation capacity of over 3,700 MW through biomass power including bagasse cogeneration has been so far established in India.
India, Bangla sign pact to renew inland water trade
Kolkata: At the end of two-day meeting in Dhaka recently, India and Bangladesh signed an agreement renewing the bilateral protocol on inland water transit and trade.
The tenure of the last protocol expired on March 31. Following renewal, the protocol will remain valid till March 31, 2014.
India was in favour of at least a three-year tenure of the protocol but Bangladesh was opposed to it. It might be noted that the first protocol on inland water transit and trade between the two countries was signed as early as 1972.
The eight-member Indian delegation was led by Mr P.K. Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Shipping, and the 18-member Bangladesh team by Mr Abdul Mannan Hawaldar, Secretary, Ministry of Shipping, Government of Bangladesh.
India has acceded to Bangladesh’s request for enhancement of fee for maintenance of the river routes incorporated in the protocol.
India so far paid Tk 5.25 annually towards the cost of maintenance; the amount has been raised to Tk 10 crore annually following last week’s meeting.
It will cover not only the cost of maintaining the navigability of the routes but also pilotage fee, canal and berthing charges.
No decisions
However, no decisions could be reached on several other issues raised by the two sides, such as India’s demands for long term validation of the river transit and trade and extension of transhipment facility at Ashuganj port in Bangladesh to facilitate transportation of goods to India’s North-East via Akhaura and the Bangladesh’s demands for extension of the present protocol also to cover coastal services between the two countries and the payment of Customs facilitation fee by India at the rate of $8 a tonne.
These issues, it is learnt, will be examined by committees to be constituted with representatives from both the countries.
The tenure of the last protocol expired on March 31. Following renewal, the protocol will remain valid till March 31, 2014.
India was in favour of at least a three-year tenure of the protocol but Bangladesh was opposed to it. It might be noted that the first protocol on inland water transit and trade between the two countries was signed as early as 1972.
The eight-member Indian delegation was led by Mr P.K. Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Shipping, and the 18-member Bangladesh team by Mr Abdul Mannan Hawaldar, Secretary, Ministry of Shipping, Government of Bangladesh.
India has acceded to Bangladesh’s request for enhancement of fee for maintenance of the river routes incorporated in the protocol.
India so far paid Tk 5.25 annually towards the cost of maintenance; the amount has been raised to Tk 10 crore annually following last week’s meeting.
It will cover not only the cost of maintaining the navigability of the routes but also pilotage fee, canal and berthing charges.
No decisions
However, no decisions could be reached on several other issues raised by the two sides, such as India’s demands for long term validation of the river transit and trade and extension of transhipment facility at Ashuganj port in Bangladesh to facilitate transportation of goods to India’s North-East via Akhaura and the Bangladesh’s demands for extension of the present protocol also to cover coastal services between the two countries and the payment of Customs facilitation fee by India at the rate of $8 a tonne.
These issues, it is learnt, will be examined by committees to be constituted with representatives from both the countries.
India will be Asia's fastest growing exporter and importer in five years: HSBC report
Mumbai: Over the next five years, India will serve as Asia's fastest growing exporter and importer with annualised growth averaging 5% and 7% respectively, said HSBC Global Connections report. The trade relationship between China and India will strengthen over the same time period, with HSBC forecasting Chinese imports into India to grow at 11% annually, while exports to China from India are forecast to expand at 8% annually to 2016,'' said.
The forecast is consistent with a developing global shift where traditionally export-driven emerging markets will become global trade hubs and important facilitators of international economic growth. Trade in Asia is expected to grow 5.4% annually to 2016, substantially higher than the global forecast of 4.7%,'' said the report.
India's trade corridors within Asia continue to strengthen with exports to Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia all expected to grow at around 11% over the next five years. The fastest growth markets in terms of imports include Oman at a forecast rate of 15.7% and Brazil at 14%, said HSBC.
The reports states that there is a blend of traditional trade route and emerging corridors
India has a number of well established trading partnerships across the developed world, with the US and UK. However, its most significant partnership is with the UAE, and trade with Saudi Arabia is also building in volume and importance. Routes into Asia-Pacific continue to develop, with China appearing as India's largest source of imports, and third largest export market.
The forecast is consistent with a developing global shift where traditionally export-driven emerging markets will become global trade hubs and important facilitators of international economic growth. Trade in Asia is expected to grow 5.4% annually to 2016, substantially higher than the global forecast of 4.7%,'' said the report.
India's trade corridors within Asia continue to strengthen with exports to Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia all expected to grow at around 11% over the next five years. The fastest growth markets in terms of imports include Oman at a forecast rate of 15.7% and Brazil at 14%, said HSBC.
The reports states that there is a blend of traditional trade route and emerging corridors
India has a number of well established trading partnerships across the developed world, with the US and UK. However, its most significant partnership is with the UAE, and trade with Saudi Arabia is also building in volume and importance. Routes into Asia-Pacific continue to develop, with China appearing as India's largest source of imports, and third largest export market.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Companies look to tap demand in tier II & III cities
Mumbai: With the growth slowing down in tier I cities, consumer facing industries such as branded furniture, ceramic tiles, bath fittings and durables, which are directly impacted by prospects of the housing sector, are chalking out expansion plans in tier II towns which continue to grow at a steady pace.
At a time when sectors like automobiles are cutting down production due to fall in demand, H&R Johnson, Godrej Interio and Sony India are among those investing in enhancing their networks in tier II cities like Jalandhar, Hubli, Bharuch, Rourkela, Rajkot, Kolhapur, Bellary, Warangal, Sambalpur and suburbs of large metros, such as Virar and Dombivali near Mumbai and Faridabad near New Delhi, which are said to be bubbling with activity.
Godrej Interio, the home and office furniture retail business of Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co, for instance, has lined up a capital expenditure of around Rs 80 crore on expansion plans this year. H&R Johnson, which is the largest tile maker, has invested around Rs 250 crore in adding capacities, while Sony India is increasing its network of sales channels, including brand shops, national chain stores and distributors from around 10,000 to 12,200 in the current fiscal year.
"There is a downturn, but it is more so in the tier I cities. It's not so much in the tier II cities. We realized it is time we must not sit back on our expansion plans," said Anil Mathur, COO, Godrej Interio, which recently opened a franchisee store in Virar, where it believes construction activity is on in full swing.
Godrej Interio has opened 23 suburban stores in the last 6 months and will add approximately 20 more in the coming six to eight months. "Earlier, growth in tier I cities was at 21% and in tier II, it was 17%. Now, the indicator is showing tier I growth coming down to 12%, whereas tier II remains at 17-18%," said Mathur.
H&R Johnson, which admits that economic slowdown has hurt demand for home purchases in tier I, is having a re-look at its business and marketing strategy to capitalize on the potential growth in tier II cities. The company is set to start marketing operations in 16 new locations to increase penetration in tier II & tier III centres. "The spending power in the customers' hands in tier II & tier III geographies has also increased over the last 5-6 years which offers a great potential to tap for a large size of their wallet," said R Kurup, chief marketing officer, H&R Johnson.
Wherever consumers buy new homes, they would also be expected to consider purchase of new consumer durables. "Tier II/III markets can be the future growth drivers for consumer durables given the growing disposable incomes, rising aspirations of people to own quality products and improved infrastructure support that the government is providing with respect to the development of these cities," said Sunil Nayyar, senior general manager, sales, Sony India. The company gets a higher contribution of 56.50% from tier II and tier III cities compared to 40.80% from tier I cities and the company expects to maintain it at the same level in the near future as well.
At a time when sectors like automobiles are cutting down production due to fall in demand, H&R Johnson, Godrej Interio and Sony India are among those investing in enhancing their networks in tier II cities like Jalandhar, Hubli, Bharuch, Rourkela, Rajkot, Kolhapur, Bellary, Warangal, Sambalpur and suburbs of large metros, such as Virar and Dombivali near Mumbai and Faridabad near New Delhi, which are said to be bubbling with activity.
Godrej Interio, the home and office furniture retail business of Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co, for instance, has lined up a capital expenditure of around Rs 80 crore on expansion plans this year. H&R Johnson, which is the largest tile maker, has invested around Rs 250 crore in adding capacities, while Sony India is increasing its network of sales channels, including brand shops, national chain stores and distributors from around 10,000 to 12,200 in the current fiscal year.
"There is a downturn, but it is more so in the tier I cities. It's not so much in the tier II cities. We realized it is time we must not sit back on our expansion plans," said Anil Mathur, COO, Godrej Interio, which recently opened a franchisee store in Virar, where it believes construction activity is on in full swing.
Godrej Interio has opened 23 suburban stores in the last 6 months and will add approximately 20 more in the coming six to eight months. "Earlier, growth in tier I cities was at 21% and in tier II, it was 17%. Now, the indicator is showing tier I growth coming down to 12%, whereas tier II remains at 17-18%," said Mathur.
H&R Johnson, which admits that economic slowdown has hurt demand for home purchases in tier I, is having a re-look at its business and marketing strategy to capitalize on the potential growth in tier II cities. The company is set to start marketing operations in 16 new locations to increase penetration in tier II & tier III centres. "The spending power in the customers' hands in tier II & tier III geographies has also increased over the last 5-6 years which offers a great potential to tap for a large size of their wallet," said R Kurup, chief marketing officer, H&R Johnson.
Wherever consumers buy new homes, they would also be expected to consider purchase of new consumer durables. "Tier II/III markets can be the future growth drivers for consumer durables given the growing disposable incomes, rising aspirations of people to own quality products and improved infrastructure support that the government is providing with respect to the development of these cities," said Sunil Nayyar, senior general manager, sales, Sony India. The company gets a higher contribution of 56.50% from tier II and tier III cities compared to 40.80% from tier I cities and the company expects to maintain it at the same level in the near future as well.
Foreign film production houses may soon get one-stop approval for shoots
New Delhi: International production houses may soon find it easier to get permission to shoot films in India.
In a bid to make India a filming destination, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is looking at setting up a Film Commission that will initially act as a single-window clearance agency to issue permits for shooting. At present, international producers need to seek multiple approvals. While they require script approvals from the I&B Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs, cast and crew approvals are required from Ministry of Home Affairs. Based on the kind of shots and location, they need approvals from Customs Department, the Archaeological Survey of India besides several other local and State authorities.
Shooting Destination
Just as Hindi film producer, Mr Yash Chopra’s movies have put Switzerland on the Indian honeymooners to-do-list and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara put Spain in the spotlight, the Commission may gradually expand its activities to put India firmly on the tourism map, besides marketing India as a shooting destination.
“The Commission will work on marketing and promoting the expertise and skills of our local talent for shooting and production. It will also look into what kind of an incentive package can be offered to attract foreign productions and help international production houses to scout for locations and other support services,” an official said.
According to estimates, the Film Commission would require annual investments worth Rs 5 crore.
Incentive Package
The incentive package will be formulated in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, which will also closely work with the I&B Ministry, to design activities to promote film tourism. In several consultations between the Ministry and the film industry, it was suggested that the Film Commission could be modelled on cities such as New York and Berlin, besides countries such as Canada, Germany and Australia.
The number of international production houses seeking permission to not only shoot movies, but also television series and advertisements has been growing. Besides Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol, several movies, including the upcoming Dark Knight Rises, have been shot in India. But the procedural hassles led the producers of the James Bond sequel, Skyfall, to reportedly cancel their plans to shoot in India.
With more than 300 Film Commissions around the world, there are various incentive schemes to promote countries as a filming destinations. For instance, Hong Kong and Indonesia do not tax international production houses, and Korea, Ireland and South Africa offer tax rebates.
In a bid to make India a filming destination, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is looking at setting up a Film Commission that will initially act as a single-window clearance agency to issue permits for shooting. At present, international producers need to seek multiple approvals. While they require script approvals from the I&B Ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs, cast and crew approvals are required from Ministry of Home Affairs. Based on the kind of shots and location, they need approvals from Customs Department, the Archaeological Survey of India besides several other local and State authorities.
Shooting Destination
Just as Hindi film producer, Mr Yash Chopra’s movies have put Switzerland on the Indian honeymooners to-do-list and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara put Spain in the spotlight, the Commission may gradually expand its activities to put India firmly on the tourism map, besides marketing India as a shooting destination.
“The Commission will work on marketing and promoting the expertise and skills of our local talent for shooting and production. It will also look into what kind of an incentive package can be offered to attract foreign productions and help international production houses to scout for locations and other support services,” an official said.
According to estimates, the Film Commission would require annual investments worth Rs 5 crore.
Incentive Package
The incentive package will be formulated in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, which will also closely work with the I&B Ministry, to design activities to promote film tourism. In several consultations between the Ministry and the film industry, it was suggested that the Film Commission could be modelled on cities such as New York and Berlin, besides countries such as Canada, Germany and Australia.
The number of international production houses seeking permission to not only shoot movies, but also television series and advertisements has been growing. Besides Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol, several movies, including the upcoming Dark Knight Rises, have been shot in India. But the procedural hassles led the producers of the James Bond sequel, Skyfall, to reportedly cancel their plans to shoot in India.
With more than 300 Film Commissions around the world, there are various incentive schemes to promote countries as a filming destinations. For instance, Hong Kong and Indonesia do not tax international production houses, and Korea, Ireland and South Africa offer tax rebates.
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