Category: Business

Business

RBI ‘Cuts’ cash flow to J&K, likely to affect businesses

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Banking regulator Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has begun to restrict the flow of fresh currency notes to banks operating in Jammu and Kashmir which in now taking a toll on trade and businesses, highly placed banking executives said on Tuesday. Automated Teller Machines ( ATM) transactions have started getting affected as RBI has reduced the flow of high denomination currency notes to “border states such as J&K”, the executive said while requesting anonymity. He said cash flow from RBI to the state is down by 70 percent. “The state…

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Kashmir boogies to winter’s warmth

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A State initiative offers heritage walks, ethnic food festivals and music shows It’s chilly around the Dal lake on Saturday afternoon, but a cruise-houseboat with an open-air theatre sets off to generate warmth with live music and enthusiastic youngsters. In a bid to reclaim lost social spaces and nose-diving tourism, the Jammu & Kashmir tourism department has started ‘Valley Weekends’, an initiative to infuse new life into the otherwise dull weekends in the conflict-ridden Valley. “The open-air houseboat will be like an open-air theatre. People will perform every weekend. The…

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Tourism sector going from Bad to Worse

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Stating that tourism sector is gone from bad to worse, Jammu and Kashmir Hoteliers Club today said that there is less than 5 percent occupancy in Kashmir hotels which is a cause of concern for the hospitality sector. A press statement issued by the JKHC reads that the executive committee meeting was held under the chairmanship of Mushtaq Ahmad Chaya in which all the members of J&K Hoteliers Club along with its Chapter Presidents and Secretaries from Sonmarg, Gulmarg and Pahalgam were present. The members showed great concern over the…

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Golden Chinar leaves welcome tourists in Kashmir

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The mighty chinars at Naseem Bagh, the University of Kashmir, hold beauty in all seasons, but their grace increases manifolds in autumn when their leaves spread like a crimson blanket all over the campus. “Such scenic beauty is unique to this university and we keep waiting for the autumn for this purpose. The feeling of the university is incomplete without autumn,” says Saba Bhat, 23, who is pursuing post graduation in English. Not only students, but hundreds of visitors also come to the Naseem Bagh campus to see the autumn…

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Centre gives nod for three new airports in J&K

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Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha today said three new airports would come up in Jammu and Kashmir soon to increase air traffic. “We are looking at the probability of setting up one airport each in north and south Kashmir,” Sinha said at the ‘Ideas Summit’ organised by the Foundation for Resource Development and Education. The event was attended by hundreds of entrepreneurs and established businesses in the hospitality sector of the Valley. He said the night-landing facility at Srinagar International Airport would also start soon to ensure…

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Night landing facility at Srinagar airport soon: Union minister Jayant Sinha

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Union minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha on Thursday assured that the Srinagar airport would be equipped with night-landing facility “within a few months,” even as he ruled out having a full-fledged civilian airport in Kashmir. Addressing ‘Idea Summit 2017’ here, the minister said that international flights to countries like Malaysia would be made operational from Srinagar by the start of next tourist season in Kashmir. “We are going working very hard to get the night-landing facility for the Srinagar airport as soon as possible so that we…

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Govt unable to sell Baglihar power due to lack of buyers: Altaf Bukhari

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Education Minister, Syed Altaf Bukhari, Tuesday said the state government wasn’t able to sell power of 450 megawatt (Mw) Baglihar-II project due to non-availability of buyers. Altaf said that the per unit generation cost of the hydropower was very high due to which the power of the project was sold at Rs 8.5 per unit which was higher by Rs 2.5 to solar power cost. “Our Ganderbal project couldn’t start as a Mumbai based company informed that hydropower wasn’t a viable option given the cheap rate of the solar power,”…

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Market closure order conspiracy to kill business activities: Traders Federation

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Kashmir Traders and Manufacturers Federation on Sunday said the government of Jammu and Kashmir was “playing with fire by provoking the trader community” by asking shops and establishments in various areas of Srinagar to remain closed once a week. The government’s Labour and Employment Department issued an order earlier this month to fix what it called “close days”. The order, signed by Commissioner/Secretary to the government, Kifayat Hussain Rizvi, stated that the order was issued in exercise of the powers conferred under the Jammu and Kashmir Shops and Establishments Act.…

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Govt may reconsider market closure roster

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Buckling under pressure from traders, the government is mulling to keep in abeyance the reverently issued weekly market closure roster. As per the roster, the authorities had fixed different week days as “close days” for traders operating in Srinagar. The roster was issued by the government under SRO-472 on November 16 through the Labour and Employment Department. Before it was implemented, prominent trade and business bodies of Srinagar opposed it on the ground that the “business fraternity” of the city was not taken on board while issuing the new holiday…

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GST on carpet will be slashed from 12% to 5%: Haseeb Drabu

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Admitting that the carpet industry is passing through difficult times, the minister for finance, Dr Haseeb Drabu assured that Goods and Services tax charged on carpets will be slashed from 12 to 5 percent in coming days to give a breather to people affiliated with this indigenous craft. “State government has fulfilled all the commitments it had made after implementation of GST except one that is carpet industry. Every segment of trade is in distress, but carpet artisans and dealers are more worried, although it has nothing to do with…

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