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Central GST authorities have detected a tax evasion of over Rs 830 crore by an illegal pan-masala manufacturing unit here and arrested a person for his involvement, according to an official statement.

The firm was evading the payment of Goods and Services Tax (GST) by manufacturing and clandestinely supplying gutkha/pan masala/tobacco products without any registration and payment of duty, it said.

On the basis of the search at the premises of the manufacturer, it was found that illegal manufacturing of gutkha/pan masala/tobacco product was going on, evidenced by a godown, machines, raw materials and manufactured products at the premises, the office of Commissioner central tax (Delhi West) said in a statement Saturday.

Around 65 labourers were found working at the illegal factory, it said.

The searches resulted in the seizure of finished gutkha and raw materials such as chuna, sada kattha, tobacco leaves etc, valued at Rs. 4.14 cr approximately, the statement said.

On the basis of evidence gathered, stocks seized and confessional statements recorded the total duty evasion is estimated to be approx Rs 831.72 crores. Further investigation is in progress, it said.

With COVID-19 making the year 2020 a year of learning and turbulence, the textile and apparel sector is confident of achieving the much needed growth in 2021.

The sector can make 2021 a year of progress by focusing on USA for apparels, as the textile industry had benefited from the volumes in the market in the first 10 months of 2020, Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF) convenor Prabhu Dhamodharan said on Saturday.

“Now, its time to step up the efforts to repeat the same success in the US market for our apparel products,” he said.

Vietnams Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union would intensify competition for India, and at the same time a level-playing field with top competing nations for the US market in terms of duty combined with quick economic recovery make a compelling case for Indian apparel sector for immediate growth, he said.

“We need to intensify efforts and focus on all levels, including those at the government, cluster and companies to grab our share in the US markets,” he said.

Stressing on value addition with new capex, he said using the

Pushed by the plummeting temperatures, Delhi’s peak power demand soared to the highest this winter at 5021 MW on Friday, discom officials said.

This is the first time this winter that Delhi’s peak power demand has crossed the 5000 MW mark. Delhi’s peak demand at5021 MW on January 1 is the highest this winter, said a BSES spokesperson.

“Delhi’s peak power demand has increased by 7 percent in 2-days since December 30. It has increased by 43 percent since December 1 and by 60 percent since November 1,” he said.

Last year, the peak power demand on January 1, 2020 was 5226 MW.

The highest peak power demand in December 2020 was 4671 MW on December 30, 2020. In just two days, it increased by over 7 percenr to 5021 MW, he said.

On December 16, 2020, Delhi’s peak power demand crossed 4000 MW for the first time this winter. Delhi’s peak power demand in December 2020 had surpassed the peak power demand of December 2019 on 10 corresponding days.

“It is expected to increase further in the coming days if the winter

Foreign direct investment (FDI) equity inflows into India grew 21 per cent to USD 35.33 billion during April-October period of the current financial year, according to an official data.

In the year-ago period, FDI equity inflows stood at USD 29.31 billion, as per the data of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

During the first seven months of the current fiscal, total FDI (including re-invested earnings) increased 11 per cent to USD 46.82 billion from USD 42.06 billion in April-October 2019, it said.

“FDI equity inflow increased by 21 per cent to USD 35.33 billion (April 2020 to October 2020) from USD 29.31 billion reported in the same period of previous financial year,” the department said in a statement while listing out itshighlights during 2020.

Sectors which attracted maximum foreign inflows included computer software and hardware, services, trading, chemicals and automobile.

The country attracts maximum funds from Singapore, the US, Mauritius, the Netherlands, the UK, France and Japan.

In the last one year, the government has eased FDI policy in several sectors including insurance intermediaries and defence.

The country’s exports may reach USD 290 billion by the end of this fiscal as the outbound shipments were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic during the first half of the year, FIEO said on Wednesday.

Federation of Indian Exports Organisations (FIEO) President Sharad Kumar Saraf also said that 2021 would bring a ray of hope and optimism for the exporting community.

“We are confident that a V- shaped recovery will be witnessed in world trade and we will recover much more from what we lost in 2020. Since the first and second quarter have been pretty bad, we may end the financial year 2020-21 with exports of around USD 290 billion,” he said in a statement.

However, looking into the good order booking position for food including processed food, pharma, medical and diagnostic products, technical textiles, chemical, plastics, electronics and networking products, “we should endeavor to take exports to USD 350 billion in 2021-22,” he added.

He suggested that the government should focus on sectors where major imports are happening and boost traditional sectors, which are important for exports as well as employment.

During

With an epic battle of billionaires for supremacy in one of the world’s most prolific markets and a pandemic-propelled surge in online shopping in the background, India’s nearly trillion-dollar retail market is hoping to touch 85 per cent of the pre-COVID business in the first half of the new year.

In a year when the COVID-19 carnage ripped apart the retail business, circa 2020 will best go down for the unravelling of the war between Jeff Bezos, the world’s wealthiest man, and richest Indian Mukesh Ambani for pre-eminence in the booming market that is estimated to reach USD 1.3 trillion by 2025.

It all started with Ambani’s Reliance Industries agreeing in August to buy assets of the nation’s second-largest retailer for Rs 24,713 crore, just a year after Bezos’ Amazon purchased an indirect stake in the indebted Future Retail. Amazon opposed the deal, claiming it violates Future Group’s investment agreement with it.

Since then, the story has been playing out in Singapore and Indian courts, and the outcome may shape India’s retail landscape for years to come.

Amazon’s success will slow Reliance’s plans to expand its e-commerce