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NEW DELHI India’s government said on Tuesday it was prepared to launch an inquiry into lobbying by Wal-Mart Stores Inc., buckling under an opposition campaign to discredit a flagship economic policy that allows foreign supermarkets to trade in Asia’s third largest economy. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has pressed ahead with the policy despite fierce political opposition, arguing that foreign capital and expertise is needed to revive the flagging economy and modernize India’s food supply chain. Opposition uproar over the issue has repeatedly caused parliament to be adjourned in recent weeks and derailed efforts to pass more reforms to bring investment [...]

The probe into possible violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits bribery outside of the USThe suspensions are related to the US retailer’s probe into allegations that employees bribed government officialsOn Friday, Walmart said its Indian joint venture with Bharti Enterprises had suspended “a few associates”Walmart and its partner Bharti Enterprises have been working together since 2007(Financial Times) — Walmart has suspended several employees in India as the world’s biggest retailer by sales pursues an internal investigation into whether its local joint venture in the promising Asian market violated US anti-corruption laws.The suspensions are related to the [...]

NEW DELHI Indian authorities are investigating claims that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. violated foreign exchange rules when it invested $ 100 million in a domestic unit owned by its wholesale joint-venture partner, a law enforcement official said. An Indian lawmaker first raised the allegations in a letter to the prime minister in early September, and the complaint was subsequently passed from one government department to another without action being taken. Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer, has denied any wrongdoing. The allegations relate to the company’s complex investment through debentures — which could later be converted to an equity stake — at [...]

Dear Tax Talk, I migrated to the U.S. in 2004 at age 50. Now I am a U.S. citizen. Prior to coming to the U.S., I used to live in my house in India that I built in 1984. I lived in this house for more than 15 years. Since my arrival here, my house is sometimes rented (when rented, I pay tax in the U.S.), sometimes not. Now I intend to sell this house in India. My question is: To calculate capital gains, how do we calculate cost basis? Is the cost basis based on an inflation index, or [...]

LONDON/MUMBAI Goldman Sachs’ reputation for hard-nosed efficiency faces a test in the chaos of Indian building standards, according to architects hired by the Wall Street bank. Construction is due to start soon on a Bangalore campus for some 4,000 back-office Goldman Sachs staff, but a report by Toronto-based architect Adamson Associates seen by Reuters said the project faces a string of obstacles including shoddy construction, corruption, poor sanitation and an on-site tomb. “India’s industry standards of construction quality for commercial office space have not yet reached international standards, much less GS standards,” the report said. It recommended developers “provide extra [...]

LONDON/MUMBAI Goldman Sachs’ reputation for hard-nosed efficiency faces a test in the chaos of Indian building standards, according to architects hired by the Wall Street bank. Construction is due to start soon on a Bangalore campus for some 4,000 back-office Goldman Sachs staff, but a report by Toronto-based architect Adamson Associates seen by Reuters said the project faces a string of obstacles including shoddy construction, corruption, poor sanitation and an on-site tomb. “India’s industry standards of construction quality for commercial office space have not yet reached international standards, much less GS standards,” the report said. It recommended developers “provide extra [...]

LONDON/MUMBAI Goldman Sachs’ reputation for hard-nosed efficiency faces a test in the chaos of Indian building standards, according to architects hired by the Wall Street bank. Construction is due to start soon on a Bangalore campus for some 4,000 back-office Goldman Sachs staff, but a report by Toronto-based architect Adamson Associates seen by Reuters said the project faces a string of obstacles including shoddy construction, corruption, poor sanitation and an on-site tomb. “India’s industry standards of construction quality for commercial office space have not yet reached international standards, much less GS standards,” the report said. It recommended developers “provide extra [...]

NEW DELHI Kingfisher Airline’s licence was suspended on Saturday after it failed to address the Indian regulator’s concerns about its operations, forcing the debt-laden carrier to stop taking bookings. Controlled by Vijay Mallya – the self-styled “King of Good Times” – and seven months behind on salary payments among other missed bills, Kingfisher’s fleet has been grounded since the start of the month when a staff protest turned violent. The airline, which has never made a profit since being founded in 2004 and reeling under $ 1.4 billion of debt, will have its licence reinstated if it provides a plan [...]

NEW DELHI Kingfisher Airline’s license to operate was suspended on Saturday after the debt-laden carrier failed to satisfy the aviation regulator’s concerns about its operations. Struggling to pay bills, Kingfisher is seven months behind on salary payments, and its fleet has been grounded since the start of the month after a staff protest turned violent. It has been suspended until further notice, Arun Mishra, director general of Civil Aviation told Reuters. The regulator had asked the carrier why its license to fly should not be canceled for failing to provide a “safe, efficient and reliable service”. (Reporting by Anurag Kotoky; Editing by Dan Lalor)

NARAYANGAON As Wal-Mart Stores Inc ramps up its operations in India, it needs to find more farmers like Yogesh Todkari. His acre of cauliflowers is big, leafy, and a deep shade of green, thanks to modern irrigation and quality nutrients and seeds – all provided by the world’s largest retailer. Most farmers in India, though, don’t meet Wal-Mart’s standards. “They train us and assist us right from when the crop is sown to when it’s harvested. They give us a higher price than the market for better quality,” said Todkari, 29, who works the field in western India with his [...]