Syrian Culture Minister Lubanah Mshaweh and Russian Ambassador Alexander Yefimov met to discuss the ongoing project to rebuild the war-damaged Arch of Triumph in Palmyra, according to state media.

Mshaweh stressed the project’s importance for both Syria and Russia, urging swift progress and praising the existing scientific and technical cooperation between the two countries, Xinhua news agency reported.

Yefimov echoed the significance of the project, highlighting its cultural and political value.

He emphasised Russia’s commitment to preserving the historical landmark, pledging to utilise the latest methods and scientific approaches for its restoration.

Both officials agreed on a joint meeting with Syrian and Russian archaeological experts to determine the work methodology and timeline for the next phase of the project.

The Arch of Triumph, an ancient Roman structure dating back to the third century A.D., was built to honour Emperor Septimius Severus’ victories. It suffered severe damage during the Islamic State’s seizure of Palmyra in 2015. AGENCIES

 Japan’s Defence Ministry has announced that the two Maritime Self-Defence Force (MSDF) helicopters that crashed over the Pacific Ocean in April were found on the seabed.

MSDF officials announced on Monday that they had located the two SH-60K patrol helicopters in the Pacific and confirmed their identity based on registration numbers and their appearance on the seabed below the accident site, Xinhua news agency reported.

With the cooperation of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, the defence ministry has carried out its probe using an unmanned deep-sea vehicle capable of searching to a depth of 6,000 meters since July 15.

The waters around the site are about 5,500 meters deep, the MSDF said, adding it will consider the possibility of salvaging the helicopter wreckage to further the investigation.

On April 20, the two choppers, each carrying four MSDF members, collided during training off the shores of Torishima Island in the Izu Islands, south of Tokyo. One of the eight crew members was confirmed dead shortly after the accident.

In June, the MSDF declared the seven missing crewmen dead, while continuing its search efforts for their bodies. AGENCIES

 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for reform of the international financial system which he described as “outdated, dysfunctional and unfair”.

In a video message to the first meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, which started in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on Monday, Guterres said the upcoming conference provides a unique opportunity to tackle financing challenges “head-on” as reported by Xinhua news agency.

The conference, scheduled to take place in Spain from June 30 to July 3, 2025, “opens the door for world leaders to adopt ambitious reforms to deliver affordable long-term financing at scale, and deliver the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) Stimulus,” said the UN Chief.

“It presents a unique opportunity to reform an international financial system that is outdated, dysfunctional and unfair — from the tax and debt architecture to the system of public development banks, to trade and investment rules, to the financial safety net and global governance,” he added.

Since world leaders met in Addis Ababa nine years ago and agreed on a transformative agenda committing public and private actors to align investment and policies with sustainable development, progress has been made, but many commitments remain unfulfilled, Guterres said.

The world is facing “seismic shocks” that make financing challenges harder to solve, and geopolitical divisions that undermine collective action, he stressed.

“Faced with sky-high debt burdens and costs of capital, developing countries have limited prospects of financing the Sustainable Development Goals.”

“I count on all of you to move forward with a determination to rescue the 2030 Agenda. And together, we can deliver not only a financial system, but a world, that is more just, equitable and sustainable,” Guterres concluded. AGENCIES

 The United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said that it will reduce its workforce in Lebanon by eliminating some jobs due to budget constraints, the media reported.

“These changes will be implemented as of April 2025 as a result of the decrease in funding, which has been affecting the commission’s work since 2016 and is expected to continue at a time when Lebanon’s needs are still high,” said the UNHCR on Monday.

The announcement followed an article released by the Elnashra news website earlier on Monday stating that the UNHCR last year decided to reduce the number of its employees in Lebanon by 10 per cent.

The UNHCR said it only received 24 per cent of the total necessary funding by June, noting that UN agencies and NGOs in Lebanon also face funding challenges, Xinhua news agency reported.

It added that in line with its global mandate, it is committed to supporting host governments in their response to refugee crises. AGENCIES

 Two people on board a plane were killed after their aircraft crashed in a farm field near the site of an air show in the US state of Wisconsin, authorities said.

Sheriff’s deputies and firefighters responded to the crash in the eastern Wisconsin town of Nekimi on Monday afternoon, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office.

The names of the people who were killed were not released pending notification of relatives.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

The plane crashed about 2 miles (3 kilometres) south of the site of the EAA AirVenture air show at Oshkosh’s Wittman Regional Airport.

Monday was the first day of the weeklong event, the Oshkosh Northwestern reported. AGENCIES

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, presenting her seventh-consecutive Budget and her first in Modi 3.0, spotlighted nine priority areas for generating ample opportunities for all.

She also said that these nine priorities of Union Budget 2024 will form the foundation for future Budgets of the Modi government.

The nine priority areas include: Productivity and resilience in agriculture; employment and skilling; improved human resources; social justice; manufacturing and services; urban development; energy security; infrastructure; innovation; research and development and next-generation reforms.

Education, job generation, employment, skilling, MSMEs and the middle class are among the key thrust areas of this Budget.

It also presented a road map for accomplishing the Prime Minister’s package of five schemes for employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a five-year period with a central outlay of ₹2 lakh crore.

This year, a provision of ₹1.48 lakh crore has been made for education, employment and skilling.

Below are the key focus and thrust of nine priorities, as outlined in FM Sitharaman’s Budget speech:

Priority 1: Productivity and resilience in agriculture. A provision of ₹1.52 lakh crore for agriculture and allied sector; new 109 high-yielding and climate-resilient varieties of 32 field and horticulture crops for cultivation by farmers; one crore farmers to be initiated into natural farming over next two years; 10,000 need-based bio-input resource centres will be established; large scale clusters for vegetable production will be developed closer to major consumption centres; government to facilitate implementation of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in agriculture for coverage of farmers and their lands in three years.

Priority 2: Employment & Skilling. The Government will implement schemes for Employment Linked Incentive as part of Prime Minister’s package Scheme A: First Timers.

This scheme will provide one-month’s wage to all persons newly entering the workforce in all formal sectors.

The Direct Benefit Transfer of one-month’s salary in three instalments to first-time employees, as registered in the EPFO, will be up to ₹ 15,000. The eligibility limit will be a salary of ₹1 lakh per month. The scheme is expected to benefit 210 lakh youth.

Scheme B: Job creation in manufacturing. This scheme will incentivise additional employment in the manufacturing sector, linked to the employment of first-time workers.

An incentive will be provided at specified scale directly both to the employee and the employer with respect to their EPFO contribution in the first four years of employment.

The scheme is expected to benefit 30 lakh youth entering the workforce, and their employers.

Scheme C: Support to employers. This employer-focussed scheme will cover additional employment in all sectors. All additional employment within a salary of ₹1 lakh per month will be counted. The government will reimburse to employers up to ₹3,000 per month for two years towards their EPFO contribution for each additional employee.

The scheme is expected to incentivise additional employment of 50 lakh people. Over 20 lakh youth will be skilled over a five-year period. For skilling in collaboration with state governments and industry, 1,000 Industrial Training Institutes will be upgraded in hub-and-spoke arrangements with outcome orientation.

Government will launch a comprehensive scheme for providing internship opportunities in 500 top companies to one crore youth in five years. Interns will gain exposure for 12 months to real-life business environment, varied professions and employment opportunities.

An internship allowance of ₹5,000 per month along with one-time assistance of ₹6,000 will be provided.

Model Skill Loan Scheme will be revised to facilitate loans up to ₹7.5 lakh with a guarantee from a government promoted fund. This measure is expected to help 25,000 students every year. For helping youth who have not benefitted under any government initiatives, financial support for loans upto ₹10 lakh for higher education in domestic institutions is planned. E-vouchers for this purpose will be given directly to one lakh students every year for annual interest subvention of three per cent of the loan amount.

Priority 3: Inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice. States in the Eastern part of the country are rich in endowments and have strong cultural traditions. The government will formulate a plan, Purvodaya, for the all-round development of the eastern region of the country covering Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. Government will also support development of road connectivity projects, namely (1) Patna-Purnea Expressway, (2) Buxar-Bhagalpur Expressway, (3) Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Vaishali and Darbhanga spurs, and (4) additional two-lane bridge over Ganga River at Buxar at a total cost of ₹26,000 crore.

Power projects, including setting up of a new 2,400 MW power plant at Pirpainti, will be taken up at a cost of ₹21,400 crore.

New airports, medical colleges and sports infrastructure in Bihar will be constructed.

Recognising Andhra Pradesh’s need for a capital, the government will facilitate special financial support through multilateral development agencies. In the current financial year ₹15,000 crore will be arranged.

Three crore additional houses under the PM Awas Yojana in rural and urban areas in the country have been announced, for which the necessary allocations are being made.

For promoting women-led development, the budget carries an allocation of more than ₹3 lakh crore for schemes benefitting women and girls.

For improving the socio-economic condition of tribal communities, the government will launch the PM Janjatiya Unnat Gram Abhiyan by adopting saturation coverage in tribal-majority villages and aspirational districts. This will cover 63,000 villages benefitting five crore tribal people.

More than 100 branches of India Post Payment Bank will be set up in the North East region to expand banking services. This year, a provision of ₹2.66 lakh crore for rural development including rural infrastructure has been made.

Priority 4: Manufacturing & Services. For facilitating term loans to MSMEs for purchase of machinery and equipment without collateral or third-party guarantee, a credit guarantee scheme will be introduced which will operate on pooling of credit risks of such MSMEs. A separately constituted self-financing guarantee fund will provide, to each applicant, guarantee cover up to ₹100 crore.

The limit of Mudra loans will be enhanced to ₹20 lakh from the current ₹10 lakh for those entrepreneurs who have availed and successfully repaid previous loans under the ‘Tarun’ category.

For facilitating MSMEs to unlock their working capital by converting their trade receivables into cash, the turnover threshold of buyers for mandatory onboarding on the TReDS platform will be reduced from ₹500 crore to ₹250 crore.

The government will facilitate development of investment-ready ‘plug and play’ industrial parks with complete infrastructure in or near 100 cities.

As many as 12 industrial parks under the National Industrial Corridor Development Programme also will be sanctioned.

Priority 5: Urban Development. Government will facilitate development of ‘Cities as Growth Hubs’. This will be achieved through economic and transit planning, and orderly development of peri-urban areas utilising town planning schemes.

Transit Oriented Development plans for 14 large cities with a population above 30 lakh will be formulated.

Under the PM Awas Yojana Urban 2.0, housing needs of one crore urban poor and middle-class families will be addressed with an investment of ₹10 lakh crore. This will include the central assistance of ₹2.2 lakh crore in the next five years.

A provision of interest subsidy to facilitate loans at affordable rates is also envisaged.

Priority 6: Energy Security Nuclear energy is expected to form a very significant part of the energy mix for Viksit Bharat. Towards that pursuit, the government will partner with the private sector for setting up Bharat Small Reactors; Research & Development (R&D) of Bharat Small Modular Reactor and R&D of newer technologies for nuclear energy.

The R&D funding announced in the interim budget will be made available for this sector.

A joint venture between NTPC and BHEL will set up a full scale 800 MW commercial plant using AUSC technology. The government will provide the required fiscal support.

Priority 7: Infrastructure Phase IV of PMGSY will be launched to provide all-weather connectivity to 25,000 rural habitations which have become eligible in view of their population increase.

A provision of ₹1.5 lakh crore for long-term interest free loans has been made this year also to support the states in their resource allocation.

Priority 8: Innovation, R&D. The government will operationalise the Anusandhan National Research Fund for basic research and prototype development.

Further, the government will set up a mechanism for spurring private sector-driven research and innovation at commercial scale with a financing pool of ₹1 lakh crore in line with the announcement in the interim budget.

With our continued emphasis on expanding the space economy by five times in the next 10 years, a venture capital fund of ₹1,000 crore will be set up.

Priority 9: Next Generation Reforms. States will be incentivised for land-related reforms and actions within the next three years through appropriate fiscal support. Land-related reforms and actions in rural areas to cover land administration and planning. In urban areas, it will cover urban planning, usage and building bylaws. Rural land related actions will include ULPIN or Bhu-Aadhaar for all lands, digitisation of cadastral maps, survey of map sub-divisions as per current ownership, establishment of land registry, and linking to the farmers registry.

These actions will facilitate credit flow and other agri services. Land records in urban areas will be digitised with GIS mapping. An IT-based system for property record and tax administration will be established. It will improve the financial position of Urban Local Bodies. AGENCIES

 The Union Budget for 2024-25 has proposed provisions to simplify the provisions for reopening and reassessment.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that an assessment hereinafter can be reopened beyond three years from the end of the assessment year only if the escaped income is Rs 50 lakh or more, up to a maximum period of five years from the end of the assessment year.

Even in search cases, a time limit of six years before the year of search, as against the existing time limit of ten years, is proposed. This will reduce tax uncertainty and disputes, she said.

“While our concerted efforts to reduce pendency of appeals at various appellate fora are beginning to show good results, it will continue to engage our highest attention,” the Finance Minister said.

She said that to dispose of the backlog of first appeals, I plan to deploy more officers to hear and decide such appeals, especially those with large tax effects.

“For the resolution of certain income tax disputes pending in appeal, I am also proposing Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2024,” the Finance Minister said.

“Further, I propose to increase monetary limits for filing appeals related to direct taxes, excise and service tax in the Tax Tribunals, High Courts and Supreme Court to Rs 60 lakh, Rs 2 crore and Rs 5 crore respectively,” she said.

“To reduce litigation and provide certainty in international taxation, we will expand the scope of safe harbour rules and make them more attractive. We will also streamline the transfer pricing assessment procedure,” she added. AGENCIES

 In order to take the Indian space sectors to a higher orbit, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the government will set up a Rs 1,000 crore venture capital (VC) fund.

Presenting her seventh budget for the country, she said the Union government will set up a Rs 1,000 crore venture capital fund to finance the space economy.

Reacting to the announcement, Vishesh Rajaram, Managing Partner, Speciale Invest said: “We strongly believe that an INR1000 crore fund for space startups and space economy will catalyse India’s dominance in the global space market!”

“We believe the trust and focus from the government combined with the FDI policy announced earlier this year will lead to more investment participation in the sector from India and internationally,” Rajaram added.

Speciale Invest is an early investor and has been one of the most active investors in this domain since 2018. Its portfolio includes investments in rocket maker Agnikul Comos, satellite manufacturing & earth observation companies Galaxeye Space, Kawa Space, communication player Astrogate Labs, and in-orbit economy InspeCity.

Welcoming the Union Finance Minister’s announcement, Lt. Gen. (Retd) AK Bhatt, Indian Space Association (ISpA) Director General, said: “The Union Budget’s vision to grow India’s space economy by fivefold in the next decade demonstrates the government’s strong commitment to this sector.”

He also stated that establishing 12 industrial parks across India would substantially boost the space and satellite manufacturing industry, which has long called for creation of space parks. He said these measures are crucial for the growth and development of India’s space ecosystem. AGENCIES

 External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Tuesday congratulated Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for presenting a Budget that “advances the goal of a Viksit Bharat” and responds to the aspirations of the people who have given the NDA government a third successive mandate.

“The 9 priorities highlighted by the Finance Minister will contribute to India’s Comprehensive National Power. It will enhance our profile at the international stage,” said EAM Jaishankar.

In her Budget speech, the Finance Minister said that, for pursuit of ‘Viksit Bharat’, the Budget envisages sustained efforts on nine priorities for generating ample opportunities for all.

This included productivity and resilience in agriculture; employment and skilling; inclusive human resource development and social justice; manufacturing and services; urban development; energy security; infrastructure; innovation, research and development; and, next-generation reforms.

“The Budget provides MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) resources to execute key policies including Neighbourhood First, Act East, Global South and facilities for Indians travelling abroad,” he added. AGENCIES

 In a bid to foster a more stable and mature investment environment, the government on Tuesday announced an increase in security transactions tax (STT) on futures and options trading, which is in line with the suggestions made by the Economic Survey 2023-2024.

Presenting the Union Budget 2024-2025, the Finance Minister announced a couple of proposals for deepening the tax base.

“First, Security Transactions Tax on futures and options of securities is proposed to be increased to 0.02 per cent and 0.1 per cent,” said the finance minister while adding that income received on buy back of shares will be taxed in the hands of the recipient.

In the derivatives segment, STT on the sale of options is 0.0625 per cent, which is paid by the seller.

On the sale of options in which the option is exercised, it is 0.125 per cent which is payable by the buyer. On the sale of futures, it is 0.0125 per cent, which is payable by the seller.

However, the new rate will come into effect from October 1 as per the Finance Bill.

“It is proposed to increase the rates of STT on the sale of an option in securities from 0.0625 per cent to 0.1 per cent of the option premium, and on sale of a futures in securities from 0.0125 per cent to 0.02 per cent of the price at which such futures are traded,” the finance minister said.

The Economic Survey said India needs to have an orderly and gradual evolution of the financial market.

“While derivatives are hedging instruments, they are mostly used as speculative instruments by investors worldwide. India is likely no exception,” it warned, adding that derivatives trading holds the potential for outsized gains and caters to “humans’ gambling instincts and can augment income if profitable”.

A significant stock correction could see losses that are more considerable for retail investors participating in capital markets through derivatives.

According to Shripal Shah, MD and CEO, Kotak Securities, the Union Budget sets a clear vision for India’s economic future, prioritizing both growth and fiscal responsibility.

“The increase in STT on futures and options is aimed at moderating currently heightened activity levels and fostering a more sustainable pace of growth in the stock market,” said Shah.

“We anticipate a small period of adjustment as the market adapts to these new tax measures, but this will ultimately contribute to a sustainable investment landscape with balanced and orderly growth of the capital market,” Shah added.

Vaibhav Porwal, Co-founder, Dezerv, said they encourage investors to look beyond immediate market reactions and consider the long-term benefits of a tax structure that promotes patient capital.

The finance minister also increased the long-term capital gains tax from the current 10 per cent to 12.5 per cent while increasing the short-term capital gains tax from the current 15 per cent to 20 per cent. These increased tax rates will be implemented with immediate effect. AGENCIES