JANUARY 20248TOP STORIESTATA MOTORS URGES GOVERNMENT NOT TO REDUCE TAXES ON HYBRID VEHICLESAccording to three sources and a company letter, India's largest electric vehicle manufacturer, Tata Motors, is urging the government not to reduce taxes on hybrid vehicles because they are more polluting than pure electric vehicles, despite Toyota's calls for lower levies.India is promoting electric vehicles (EVs) as part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pollution-reduction drive, taxing them at only 5 percent, while hybrids are taxed at up to 43 percent, just below the 48 percent imposed on petrol cars.That has upset the likes of Japanese automaker Toyota, which popularised hybrids with the Prius, and has since last year been urging India to cut taxes on them, saying they reduce carbon emissions compared to gasoline cars. Backing its position, India's trade department last month in an internal note urged a rationalisation of taxes on hybrid cars.Tata has met with officials and written to India's trade department, stating that the country is facing an urban air quality crisis with health implications, and that hybrids should not be incentivized because they are already taxed less than petrol cars, according to three sources familiar with the discussions."Any further incentivisation of hybrids will be detrimental to the climate goals and the nation's economy," Tata wrote in a confidential letter to the department, which Reuters obtained. GODREJ CAPITAL TO EMPOWER MSMES BY PROVIDING CLOUD HR SERVICESgreytHR, a leading cloud-based HR & Payroll software provider, has announced its strategic alliance with Godrej Capital's Nirmaan, a comprehensive business solution designed to facilitate and empower Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). Through this initiative, greytHR aims to help MSMEs automate processes and enhance productivity in the HR function."This alliance goes beyond just technology; it is a strategic initiative to promote growth and efficiency. Together, we aim to provide cost-efficient and customized HRMS solutions to over 5 million MSMEs across the country", said Girish Rowjee, Co-founder and CEO of greytHR. Featured in the `Boost Employee Productivity' category of the Nirmaan platform, greytHR will provide state-of-the-art HR tech solutions, exclusive offers, and timely support to MSMEs in partnership with Godrej Capital Nirmaan.Speaking about the partnership, Nalin Jain, Chief Marketing Officer at Godrej Capital said, "Aligned with the Godrej Group's philosophy of nation-building, we hope to play a pivotal role in the advancement of MSMEs. We have faith that the collective commitment of our esteemed partners will significantly contribute to achieving India's target of becoming a 5 trillion-dollar economy. We are enthusiastic about fortifying our partner ecosystem, and the addition of greytHR is poised to empower MSMEs with a comprehensive array of value-added services designed to elevate employee productivity".Currently, greytHR is offering Nirmaan members a 14-day trial and a one-month free usage provision on the annual subscription. Nirmaan members can also benefit from greytHR's customer-centric service suite, which comprises a community, training academy, compliance website, resources section, expert webinar, and podcast series.
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