Monday, September 14
A US decision to double tariffs on Indian goods as punishment for ongoing purchases of Russian crude leaves the world’s third-largest oil consumer in a tight spot and its refiners in disarray, but the move is unlikely to prompt a radical rethink in New Delhi.For Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it’s a dilemma that has cast the spotlight on an uncomfortably large oil import bill — as well as the dangers of walking a geopolitical tightrope in an age of exceptional volatility.If New Delhi yields to the threat, it could jeopardize a long-standing relationship with Moscow that extends beyond energy, and it would give up a strategic advantage that provided vital fiscal space. If Modi allows refiners to keep buying, as his defiant response and domestic pressure would suggest, he instead courts
Indians returning home, cheesed off by a harsher US stance on immigration and the new UK tax regime, may run into an old controversy that has been raked up. It's about when they become 'residents' after they land here.Till now, the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) has been interpreted beneficially to treat such persons as residents soon after arrival. However, a tribunal has thrown a serious challenge to this.For those coming back for good to take up a job, or start a business in India, or simply settle here, the tag of a resident is crucial. It determines what they do next and how -buying property, acquiring shares, and holding bank accounts.A Reserve Bank of India rule requires returning NRIs to convert their NRI bank accounts to local accounts soon after they arrive. Given this di
