The Supreme Court dismissed the government’s review petition in the Vodafone tax case on Tuesday, affirming its January ruling that put overseas transfers of shares outside the Indian tax net. The review petition and last week’s budget proposals seeking retrospective changes have revived the uncertainty over tax laws, according to government officials, the Planning Commission and businesses. If Parliament passes the budget in its current form, the judgement in the Vodafone case...

-The Economic Times   The Supreme Court has declined to reconsider its ruling that the tax authorities had no jurisdiction to tax Vodafone's offshore acquisition of its Indian mobile unit, handing what could be a pyrrhic victory to the telecom major. The tax demand, government officials familiar with the case said, could be revived once the provisions in the Union Budget seeking to tax overseas deals are approved by Parliament later this...

West Bengal is likely to simplify restrictive laws on land ownership, making it easier for industrial estates to sell surplus land. The state’s land ceiling laws cap private ownership of land at 24 acres, and there were restrictions on transfer of land held under exemption from the threshold. The new policy, which is expected to be ratified by the state cabinet on Friday, would allow companies to transfer even leasehold land given...

The apex decision-making body of the communications ministry has cleared the proposal to grant more powers to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and enable the watchdog to act like a civil court.  This puts TRAI on par with the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the Competition Commission of India and permits the telecom regulator to 'summon persons, examine them on oath, demand documents and evidence on affidavits...

-WFS   Pamela Philipose meets three tribal women who changed the course of their lives through sheer grit and determination, despite their circumstances Kaushal Markam’s experiences are not unusual. When she managed to get a job card entitling her to work on one of the government-run worksites under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), she was delighted.  Money was always in short supply, and this 35-year-old Baiga tribal woman of Dongaria...