New Delhi: S.S.N. Moorthy was appointed chairman of the central board of direct taxes (CBDT) on 31 January, making him the first official to head the direct taxes arm of the Union government after service rules were amended in December to make sure a prospective chairman had at least one year of service left. Moorthy is due to retire in December 2010, giving him almost two years at the helm of CBDT.
In 2008, CBDT, had four chairmen, with one of them, P.K. Misra, heading the board for just one month.
Direct tax collections in 2007-08 grew by36% to reach Rs3.12 trillion. Currently, direct taxes are the single largest source of government revenue.
—Sanjiv Shankaran
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Shiv Gupta named RBS private clients biz head
Mumbai: Foreign lender Royal Bank of Scotland on Monday announced the appointment of Shiv Gupta as head of its private clients business in India, that was acquired by the bank at the time of the ABN Amro acquisition.
Previously, Gupta was responsible for RBS’ private banking business in Thailand and the non-resident South Asian business in South-East and the North Asia.
—PTI
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Dresdner drops plans to enter Indian market
Frankfurt: Dresdner Bank AG has abandoned plans to enter the Indian consumer market after being acquired by Commerzbank AG, in what may signal a retreat from overseas markets.
The Frankfurt-based bank has returned its Indian banking licence, Dresdner spokesman Martin Halusa said on Monday. A unit in India would not contribute to the new overall strategy of Dresdner Bank in the future, he added.
Commerzbank completed the €5.1 billion (Rs31,824 crore) purchase of Dresdner from insurer Allianz SE last month.
—Bloomberg
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Maharashtra to shift Dow site after protests
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government has ordered a Dow Chemical Co. research centre be built at a new location following protests over pollution concerns, ‘The Indian Express’ said on Monday. However, Dow said it had not received a directive from the state so far. Construction of the unit of Dow Chemical was suspended in September.
—REUTERS
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State-owned oil firms to spend more on CSR
New Delhi: State-owned oil companies on Monday agreed for a nearly threefold increase in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending to 2% of their profits. The resolve to have more focused approach on social responsibilities came at a meeting called by Union petroleum minister Murli Deora to review the contribution of oil Public Sector Units to CSR activities.
—PTI
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Slowdown hurting biz, says Aditya Birla Group
Mumbai: Diversified conglomerate Aditya Birla Group said on Monday its various businesses, including mutual fund, life insurance, garments and BPO operations, have been hit by the global slowdown in the third quarter of the current fiscal.