Govt to remove multi-level TDS on software from July

 In a big relief to the software industry, the government today said it will do away with the complex multi-level system of Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) for the sector from July 1.

"... no deduction of tax shall be made on... payment by a person (transferee) for acquisition of software from another person (transferor), being a resident," the Finance Ministry said in a notification.

The provisions will come into force from July 1, 2012, it said.

Under the current structure, TDS of 10 per cent is levied at every level of software distribution chain -- right from master distributor to retailer and then to the final consumer.

Responding to the long-standing demand of the software sector, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had last week said that Section 194J of the Income Tax Act, 1961, would be amended so as to avoid multi-level TDS on information technology sector.

Section 194(J) of the IT Act deals with fees for professional and technical services and covers royalty and non-compete fees.

The exemption from multi-level TDS would be applicable in case where the software is acquired in a subsequent transfer, without any modification.

Besides, the exemption will also be provided in cases where tax has been deducted under 194J on payment for any previous transfer of such software or under Section 195 on payment for any previous transfer of such software from a non-resident.

Further, it will also apply in those cases wherever the transferor had paid the taxes.

Software industry body Nasscom had been demanding removal of the multi-level TDS on software arguing that such a decision would improve finances of the IT sector.

The TDS model, it had argued, "was leading to an unsustainable model for software distributorswho operate on very low margins."

PM Sets up Mechanism to Fast Track Project Implementation

New Delhi: Amid declining growth rate and the need to arrest economic slowdown, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh approved setting up of an Investment Tracking System to ensure speedy implementation of mega projects envisaging outlay of over 1,000 crore.

The proposed mechanism is aimed at addressing delays in implementation of projects, said a statement from Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

While implementation of public sector projects of over Rs 1,000 crore will be tracked by the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council, those in the private sector would be monitored by the Department of Financial Services in the Ministry of Finance.

The decision to fast track investments would provide fresh impetus to the economy, which is grappling with slowdown. The economic growth rate during 2011-12 slipped to a nine-year low of 6.5% mainly because of slowdown in manufacturing and poor investment.

Several mega projects, including Posco's proposed $12-billion steel plant in Orissa, has been hanging fire because of regulatory clearances and land acquisition issues.

The decision to set up Investment Tracking System, the statement said, is in "the context of delays faced by projects on multiple fronts - security clearances, environmental clearances, other clearances, land related matters, etc."

Issues concerning delay in implementation of projects was raised by India Inc at the last meeting of Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry in December

Google, Microsoft, Infosys among ‘ideal‘ workplaces for IT grads: Survey

 Indian students are veering towards public sector jobs and domestic firms to find a cushion against an uncertain economy, which clocked its lowest quarterly growth rate in nine years at 5.3%. This trend, visible globally as well, reflects on how youngsters are looking at job security as one of the most important parameters while choosing their future employers.

While the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) andState Bank of India (SBI) emerged as the most preferred employer for under-graduate business students in the country, engineering and MBAstudents chose technology giant—Google as their ideal employer in a survey conducted among 8,356 students across Indian colleges by Universum, a global consulting firm that helps companies improve their attractiveness to prospective jobseekers.

The rankings also show that Indian business students (under-graduate) associate banks with greater level of responsibility, secure employment and high future earnings. Also, more women find banks to be an attractive workplace compared to men while in most other markets it is the opposite, said the survey.

"In a flight to safety we see globally as well as in India that students want to work with domestic employers, so for instance, in Germany a lot of young students are opting to work for the automotive sector which is one of the biggest industries in the country. We see a clear trend that banks and professional services are more attractive as employers among business students in India," said Joakim Strom, Universum's APAC managing director.

While security is a big factor driving students to opt for a job in the public sector as well as in Indian firms, a chance to grow their careers is another reason why youngsters get attracted to these companies. "The career advancement that one can manage in the Navratnas, the best PSUs in the country, is great for young employees. Whether it is a BHEL or an ONGC these are great learning grounds and they hire in big numbers as well," said Nishchae Suri, MD, Mercer India, a global HR consulting firm.

Among engineering and IT students, technology firms dominated the top rankings withMicrosoft and IT bellwether Infosys taking second and third place, respectively.

The average expected monthly salary for undergraduate students was Rs 49,729, while it was Rs 51,161 for management students.

What stood out significantly was that there was a gap in salary expectations of anywhere between Rs 7,000-13,000 (monthly) for women compared to men at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels, according to the survey.

"The IT companies have been popular for many years now and we are not surprised to see that a newcomer, Facebook, takes the fifth place on the engineering/IT ranking this year," said Raghu Krishna, Universum's country manager for India. MNC firm Hindustan Unilever stood out as the only FMCG employer in the top ten choices for Indian students.