 "Top headlines: WTO ICT levy dispute, Micron's semiconductor plant & more")
Govt set to approve Micron Technology's $1-billion semiconductor plant
The government is close to approving a proposal by Micron Technology to set up an assembly, testing, marking and packaging (ATMP) facility in the country involving an investment of about $1 billion. The world’s fifth largest semiconductor company, based in Idaho, USA, will use the facility to process some of its own wafers, manufactured across the globe.
“Yes, we are close to approving the proposal,” a top government official told Business Standard, confirming that the planned investment figure was indeed around $1 billion. Read more...
ICT levy dispute at WTO: EU may opt for retaliatory tariffs on Indian goods
In what could potentially create trade tensions between India and the European Union (EU), Brussels has threatened to impose retaliatory tariffs on Indian goods if New Delhi doesn’t abide by the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling against its customs duties on electronic items like smartphones.
In a written reply to a questionnaire sent by Business Standard, an EU spokesperson said: “In the event there is an appeal to the non-functioning WTO Appellate Body (i.e. an ‘appeal into the void’), the EU has in place legislation (the Enforcement Regulation) that allows it to enforce its rights by imposing customs duties or other restrictions in response to an appeal into the void, should the EU decide to do so.” Read more...
India's unabated tryst with Russian crude oil is slowly coming to an end
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India’s unabated tryst with Russian crude oil is slowly coming to an end. The time has come for Indian refiners to navigate, creatively, the choppy waters of the post-honeymoon period, and for Indian policymakers to take cognisance of the broader impact on India from the spillover of the Russian crisis — after Washington's warning to transgressors last week.
Shipments from Russia to India have averaged over 1.8 million barrels a day since February, according to data from Paris-based market analytics firm Kpler. But much of the crude shipped to India was non-sanctioned because it traded below a price cap set by the US led G-7 nations in December. Read more...
Free 5G services: Trai officials indicate that Vi charges may not hold
A preliminary assessment of Vodafone Idea's (Vi's) latest complaint claiming free, unlimited 5G being provided by Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel shows it does not hold up to scrutiny, so far, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) officials said. They further said Trai continues to investigate the legal and technical aspects of the complaint and evaluate the statements on the issue made by all parties. Vi recently approached Trai with a complaint that Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, which it called significant market players (SMP), are indulging in predatory pricing with their respective unlimited 5G offers. Vi is yet to start its own 5G rollout. Read more...
IT campus hires may be at 70% of pre-Covid levels, say analysts
Campus placements by Indian information technology (IT) services firms will be about 70 per cent of what the industry hired in 2018-19 (FY19), say analysts. Human resource (HR) experts say that hiring targets of companies will now go back to pre-pandemic levels after an aberration of demand flux over the past three years.
The announcement by India’s top IT players is already hinting at this trend. Read more...