About 12 global companies are curious to shift base from China to India, benefiting from the tax rate of 15 per cent, according to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who last week said that she is certain to report some progress on that front. India in September reduced company tax rate by nearly 10 proportion factors to boost sagging financial system.

Base company tax for present firms has been reduced to 22 per cent from 30 per cent, and for new manufacturing corporations integrated after October 1 this year and beginning operation before March 31, 2023, it was slashed to 15 per cent from 25 per cent.

The government can announce the front-loading of at the least 10 main initiatives before December 15, she said in Mumbai.

The finance ministry in September arrange an activity pressure headed by financial affairs secretary to arrange a highway map for the ‘nationwide infrastructure pipeline’ from 2019-20 to 2024-25 beneath a Rs. 100 lakh crore infrastructure plan. The duty pressure anticipated to cowl Greenfield and brownfield initiatives costing above Rs. 100 crore. On rationalising taxation, she said dialogue is under way with all states on the issue.

On the need for coming up with an Ordinance and not waiting for the Budget to announce the corporate tax rate cuts, Sitharaman said that the situation demanded a quick move from the government and this was warranted especially when several foreign countries, especially those in Asia, had gone about effecting a corporate tax rate cut.

Sitharaman said that ample steps have been taken to strengthen micro, small and medium enterprises and it would be wrong to say that the government was “indifferent” to this sector.