VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. Expenditure Expert Staff to the Finance Minister Kunta Wibawa Dasa Nugraha affirmed that the vaccination program being conducted for 181.5 million Indonesians will be able to boost the nation’s economic growth for the better.

Nugraha noted that the vaccination of 181.5 million Indonesians was aimed at achieving herd immunity to enable swifter recovery of activities and spur the nation’s economy to grow again.

"The vaccination program is a national program to encourage the economy to grow better. Hence, support from all levels of society is important," he remarked at the Spectaxcular talkshow in Jakarta on Monday.

Nugraha noted that the government had allocated a budget of Rp158.18 trillion, especially for vaccinations during 2021, to be conducted for 181.5 million people by administering two vaccine doses, for which the government requires around 360 million doses.

He said the budget was financed by this year's tax that was targeted to reach Rp1,229.6 trillion of the total state expenditure requirement of Rp2,750 trillion.

"More vaccinations are required to be conducted later in 2022, but it will be financed through this year's state budget totaling Rp1,200 trillion," he stated.

Nugraha noted that the tax revenue had continued to increase, especially for the March and April period, when taxpayers report their annual tax returns (SPT).

The ministry stated that the tax revenue in January 2021 had reached Rp68.5 trillion comprising oil and gas income tax (PPh) of Rp2.3 trillion and non-oil and gas tax of Rp66.1 trillion.

"Taxes have increased, but SPT submission of the taxpayer reports in March and April is expected to increase the tax revenue again," Nugraha explained.

He advised taxpayers to immediately report their tax returns to support the vaccination program, so that Indonesia can surmount over the pandemic situation and usher in economic growth.

"Ministries and agencies, as a whole, and taxpayers are expected to work together to solve the problems and emerge out of this pandemic and also encourage our economy to grow again," he reiterated.

Meanwhile, spokesperson for the Health Ministry’s Vaccination Siti Nadia Tarmizi also urged people to be ready to be vaccinated to protect themselves, their families, and those around them.

Tarmizi affirmed that herd immunity could increase through vaccination to help Indonesia come out of the pandemic crisis and to facilitate economic recovery.

"Of course, this belief and support from taxpayers is what we hope for," Tarmizi stated. (Antaranews)

Jakarta. India plans to offer fresh incentives to companies making electric vehicles (EVs) as part of a broad auto sector scheme it expects to attract $14 billion of investment over five years, according to industry sources and a document seen by Reuters.

The country’s efforts to promote EVs to reduce its oil dependence and cut pollution have been stymied so far by a lack of investment and weak demand, as well as the patchwork nature of existing incentives that vary from state to state.

The new automotive sector scheme, however, has been under discussion since mid-2020 to provide a more focused approach, industry sources close to the matter told Reuters. The plans envisage $8 billion of incentives for carmakers and suppliers over a five-year period to drive large investment in the sector.

Final details of the scheme are expected within a month, but companies will be able to apply for incentives from April 1, the sources said.

Companies will receive 4-7% government cashbacks on the eligible sale and export value of vehicles and components, but for EVs and their components there is an additional 2% as a “growth incentive” to promote electric mobility, according to the draft policy document seen by Reuters.

Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc is already gearing up to enter India while rivals including Ford, Volkswagen and India’s Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra also have plans to invest billions of dollars in EVs to meet stricter global emissions regulations.

Automotive component manufacturers in India must be ready to pivot their product offerings to cater for the shift towards EVs, the document said.

MADE IN INDIA

The automotive incentive scheme is part of India’s broader $27 billion programme to attract manufacturers from the likes of China and Vietnam to capture a bigger share of the global supply chain and exports.

But for new companies entering India, as well as existing automakers, challenges abound.

Steep interest rates and power tariffs, as well as poor infrastructure and high logistics costs, make it costlier for companies to operate in India compared with rivals such as Thailand or Vietnam.

“The (new) scheme proposes financial incentives to help overcome these disabilities and make India more competitive,” the draft policy document said, referring to inefficiencies that it said can lead to 5-8% higher costs for manufacturers in India.

The government expects the scheme to bring additional investment of $14 billion, create 5.8 million new jobs and rake in more than $4 billion in total tax revenue over five years.

To benefit from the scheme automakers must meet conditions including minimum global revenue of $1.4 billion. For auto parts makers it is $69 million. The companies must grow by at least 8% each year to qualify for the incentives, which are also linked to the distance between the factory and point of sale.

The document added that existing programmes focus on a large number of companies that lack scale and “are constrained in their ability to invest and undertake the risk required for rapid growth”.

“A change in strategy is needed to focus on promoting firms that have the scale, competitive ability and management capabilities to be automotive champions,” it said. (Reuters)

Jakarta. Saudi Arabia presented a new peace initiative on Monday to end the war in Yemen, including a nationwide ceasefire and the reopening of air and sea links, but its Houthi enemies said the offer did not appear to go far enough to lift a blockade.

The initiative, announced by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, would include the reopening of Sanaa airport, and would allow fuel and food imports through Hodeidah port, both of which are controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthis.

Political negotiations between the Saudi-backed government and the Houthis would be restarted, said the prince, adding that it would take effect as soon as the Yemeni sides agreed to it.

The offer was welcomed by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government in a statement from the foreign ministry based in the southern port of Aden.

But the Houthis said the initiative provided “nothing new”, as it still fell short of their demand for a complete lifting of the blockade on Sanaa airport and Hodeidah port.

“We expected that Saudi Arabia would announce an end to the blockade of ports and airports and an initiative to allow in 14 ships that are held by the coalition,” the group’s chief negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters.

“Opening the airports and seaports is a humanitarian right and should not be used as a pressure tool,” he said.

Saudi Arabia has been under increasing pressure to put an end to the six-year Yemen conflict since new U.S. President Joe Biden signalled Washington would no longer support Riyadh’s intervention. The conflict, widely seen as a proxy war between Saudi Arabi and Iran, has been stalemated for years while millions of people are on the verge of starvation.

Abdulsalam said the Houthis would continue to talk with the Saudis as well as the United States and mediator Oman to try to reach a peace agreement.

The Houthis have demanded the lifting of an air and sea blockade, which they blame for what the United Nations describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The Saudi-led coalition has said the port and airport must be restricted to prevent weapons from reaching the Houthis who control the capital and most populous areas.

Monday’s Saudi peace proposal announcement did not specify which routes would be permitted for aircraft flying to Sanaa, or whether food or fuel imports through Hodeidah port would be subject to additional pre-authorisations.

The United Nations has already set up a mechanism in Djibouti to inspect ships before they dock at Hodeidah port, but Saudi-led coalition warships hold up most vessels despite U.N. clearance.

Prince Faisal said tax revenues from the port would go to a joint bank account in Hodeidah’s branch of Yemen’s central bank. That was agreed by both Yemeni sides in Stockholm in 2018, although the Saudi-led coalition had not yet fully endorsed it. (Reuters)

Jakarta. India and Pakistan are to hold the first meeting in three years on Tuesday of a commission on water rights from the Indus River in a further sign of rapprochement in relations frozen since 2019 during disputes over Kashmir.

The Permanent Indus Commission, set up in 1960, will meet for two days in New Delhi, according to two Indian officials involved with water issues and Pakistan’s foreign ministry.

Pakistan will raise objections to the technical designs of India’s planned Pakal Dul and Lower Kalnai hydroelectric plants, Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri said.

The Indus River, one of the world’s largest, and its tributaries feed 80 percent of Pakistan’s irrigated agriculture.

The talks are the latest in both nations’ tentative efforts to re-engage after a 2019 suicide bomb in Indian Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based guerrillas and India’s move later that year to strip Kashmir’s constitutional autonomy.

UAE INVOLVED?

Both nations are now focussed on coping with unprecedented economic downturns due to COVID-19.

Bloomberg news agency and Foreign Policy magazine have reported that the United Arab Emirates, with whom both India and Pakistan have close ties, may have played a role in secret efforts to achieve a detente.

Last month, India and Pakistan announced a rare agreement to stop firing on the bitterly-contested Kashmir border, which Bloomberg said was also the result of UAE-brokered talks.

There was no immediate comment from India, Pakistan or the UAE to the Bloomberg report out on Monday.

At the water-sharing talks, both sides are expected to try and narrow differences over the hydro-projects, Indian officials said.

One of the Indian officials, who asked to remain unidentified, said the Pakal Dul and Lower Kalnai projects along with a couple of others - which Pakistan is concerned would hurt the flow of water downstream - were in line with the provisions of the treaty.

“We will discuss to allay those objections, we believe in an amicable resolution,” the official said. (Reuters)