‘Long-term capital gains tax will target shell firms’
All eyes on the weather at harvest time
Trying to allay fears of private equity companies, Revenue Secretary HASMUKH ADHIA, in an interview with Arup
Roychoudhury and Indivjal Dhasmana, said the Budget provision of 10 per cent longterm capital gains tax (LTCG) on those who had not paid securities transaction tax (STT) was not aimed at genuine investors but shell companies.
under rabi crops in 2013, which was the last normal monsoon year, was 64.4 million hectares, 0.15 per cent less than this year’s acreage. This year, said the report, wheat has been sown on 31.78 million hectares, 2.1 million hectares more than 201516, but 0.25 million hectares more than the last normal monsoon year of 2013. The acreage is 1.46 million hectares more than the average acreage covered in the past five years.
“Wheat and pulses have registered record sowing in terms of area,” an official statement said.
In pulses, the total area covered till Friday was around 15.97 million hectares, which was 1.60 million hectares more than last year and 1.20 million hectares more than the average area covered under the year-ago period in the past five years.
However, compared to the last normal monsoon year of 2013, the area covered under pulses was 0.16 million hectares more. The acreage under rabi rice was estimated to be 3.39 per cent less this year against the corresponding period last year. However, rabi is not the main season for rice cultivation and, moreover, sowing for this continues for longer.
Agriculture ministry data showed that coarse cereals has been planted on 5.76 million hectares, 3.44 per cent less than the year-ago period.
The condition of rabi crop which till sometime ago was under stress due to warmerthan-usual winters, seems to have improved in the last few days due to good rains over parts of North and Central India.
The weather is expected to remain benign the next few days, with another round of rains forecast over the plains of North India till Monday. All eyes would now be on the weather in the remaining part of February and also particularly during the time of harvest.