-Business Standard Exemptions granted on agri income and subsidies provided by the Centre and states are being cornered by big farmers and corporates The Comptroller and auditor general’s proposed audit of exemptions granted to big corporates, companies and even farmers under the head of agriculture incomes has once again rekindled the debate as to whether farm incomes derived from big companies and large farmers should be taxed. According to an analysis done by...

-Hindustan Times Patiala: The banned practice of crop-residue burning continues in the district, as farmers are in a hurry to clear their fields for the next crop. On Monday, police booked an offending farmer, Bahadur Singh of Fathepur village on Sangrur road, under Section 188 of the Indian Penal Code (defying the order promulgated by a public servant). “There were more farmers on the spot but Bahadur Singh owned the field on fire,”...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The government may soon require all NGOs registered or granted prior permission to receive foreign funds under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010, to allow the Centre to access details of their FCRA accounts in real time. According to amendments proposed by the Union home ministry to the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules (FCRR), 2011, the NGOs may give the consent in writing at the time of...

-The Hindu While Monsanto and Indian seed companies spar, more worrying is the confused lawmaking underpinning regulation of patents Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) breed controversy like no other. Little wonder then that Monsanto’s much-maligned Bt cotton has spawned the mother of all intellectual property (IP) disputes in India, involving at least 15 different proceedings in various courts, government agencies and tribunals at last count. Most proceedings appear to have come at the behest...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: The comptroller and auditor general has initiated an audit of entities claiming tax exemption on agricultural income amid suggestions from some political parties and income tax authorities that a blanket exemption be done away with and tax be levied after a threshold. The auditor has written to the finance ministry seeking details of entities which have declared agricultural income and the amount of tax exemption...