Category: Business

Business

AAI Serves termination notice to local shopkeepers at Srinagar airport, Owners protest, Allege bias

Editor

Shopkeepers at the Srinagar airport today staged a protest here after they were asked to vacate the premises by the authorities. The protesters, who gathered at the Press Enclave, alleged that there were being discriminated against as a large number of shopkeepers and salesmen would be rendered jobless. “Some time ago, a tender was floated for leasing out the entire space at the airport to a master concessionaire, who would in turn run it as per his convenience. The qualification for tendering were fixed in such a way that hardly…

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Budget 2018 – Key Highlights

Editor

* Arun Jaitley says that the government does not propose any changes in tax slabs this year. * FM proposes a fiscal deficit of 3.3% of GDP for 2018-19. * Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposes revising emoluments as per the following structure: — Rs 5 lakh for the President of India — Rs 4 lakh for the Vice President — Rs 3.5 lakh for the Governors * Jaitley also proposes automatic revision of emoluments of Parliamentarians every five years, indexed to inflation. * We have already exceeded our disinvestment target,…

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KCCI objects to proposed land transfer to police dept

Editor

Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) president Javid Ahmad Tenga has expressed resentment over the proposed transfer of HMT Watch Factory industrial land to the police department. “It is unfortunate that the state government is contemplating to transfer industrial land retrieved from the HMT Watch Factory, Zainakot, to the police department for a housing colony,” Tenga said in a statement. “The KCCI had recommended that the chunk of land along with infrastructure created by the erstwhile HMT factory be converted into a gem and jewellery park. The proposal has…

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WGFI & IISM celebrated World Snow Day at Gulmarg

Editor

The Winter Games Federation of India in association with the Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering (IISM) celebrated World Snow Day in Gulmarg on Sunday. A statement issued by the institute said the day was celebrated all over the world to ‘bring children to snow and promote snow sports among our future generations’. It said 90 children from Kashmir and many from other statesparticipated in the celebrations. JS Dhillon, Director, IISM, said many children were interested to pursue snow sports but there was a huge gap in the knowledge on…

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Tourism in doldrums, footfall down in last 6 years

Editor

The government’s claim of creating tourism infrastructure in the state has fallen flat as the number of tourists arrivals in the state is decreasing with each passing year. Except the Vaishno Devi shrine and the Amarnath cave, almost all other tourist destinations in the state have witnessed a dip in tourists in the last six years. The Tourism Department last year spent a huge amount by participating in two international events at Berlin and Thailand, but it failed to attract foreign tourists. The state also organised 22 national travel marts…

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‘Gul Makai’ Malala biopic shoot creates buzz in Sonamarg

Editor

A biopic based on Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai is currently being shot in Sonamarg on the Kashmir-Ladakh axis after the makers discovered that the area resembled the Swat valley known as the ‘Switzerland of Pakistan’. The film shooting has created a buzz in the area in the winter months as more than 700 locals have been engaged in its production in sub-zero temperatures. Even as well-known teenaged actor Reem Shaikh is playing the role of Malala, who had shot to fame after surviving a Taliban attack, more than…

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US asks its citizens not to travel to JK, Advisory will affect Kashmir Tourism

Editor

The United States Administration of President Donald Trump has warned Americans to exercise maximum caution while travelling to India due to a spurt in crime and terrorism. The advisory has been issued by the US State Department, which asked the American citizens to avoid going to Jammu and Kashmir except for the Buddhist-dominated region of Ladakh. The State Department had on Wednesday launched improvements on sharing information with US travelers to provide clear, timely and reliable safety and security information. “Exercise increased caution in India due to crime and terrorism.…

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‘Negative’ media coverage of Kashmir affected tourism: Congress

Editor

The Congress today expressed concern over the “negative” portrayal of Kashmir in prime-time television debates, saying it has hurt the state’s tourism sector. “There is a concern over the negative portrayal of Kashmir in prime-time (TV) debates and it has badly affected the tourism of the state,” the leader of Congress Legislative Party, Nawang Rigzin Jora said, during a discussion on the budget in the Assembly today. Jora made a strong pitch for corrective measures in this regard. He questioned the absence of the mention of agriculture growth in the…

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Electricity, Petroleum, Real estate and Alcohol could come under GST

Editor

Finance Minister Haseeb Ahmad Drabu Thursday said power, petroleum, real estate and liquor could be soon brought under the ambit of Goods and Services Tax (GST). Presenting the J&K Budget 2018-19 in the Legislative Assembly, the finance minister said a committee of officers and professionals in the area of taxation and industry had been constituted to work out the framework for brining real estate, electricity, alcohol and petroleum under J&K GST. He said the reason of brining electricity under the ambit of GST was that under the GST Input Tax…

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GST not viable for J&K’s economy: KCCI

Editor

The implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has not gone down well with the businessmen in Kashmir who are seeking its roll back in the present form. They complained that their concerns were never considered by the state and the central government before its extension to JK which, they said, has affected their already fledgling business. Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industries (KCCI) president, Javed Tenga said GST implementation in Jammu and Kashmir was not a “well-thought-out” and not good for state’s economy. “It was implemented here in…

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