Rescue underway for around 1,000 climbers stranded on Tibetan side of Mt Everest after blizzard
Beijing (PTI): Rescue efforts were underway on Sunday in the remote Tibetan slopes of Mount Everest where a blizzard has trapped nearly 1,000 people in campsites on the eastern side of the world's tallest mountain.
Hundreds of local villagers and rescue teams have been deployed to clear out snow blocking access to the area which sits at an altitude of more than 4,900 metres.
Some tourists have already been rescued, BBC reported, quoting local media.
Heavy snowfall began on Friday evening and has intensified on the eastern slopes of Mount Everest in Tibet, which is an area popular with climbers and hikers.
Neighbouring Nepal too has been battered by heavy rains which triggered landslides and flash floods resulting in the death of 52 people.
Mt Everest, called Mt Qomolangma in China, is the world's highest peak at over 8,849 metres.
Meanwhile, Typhoon Matmo, the 21st named storm of the 2025 Pacific typhoon season, made landfall along the eastern coast of Xuwen County, Zhanjiang City in south China's Guangdong Province on Sunday.
The local governments evacuated about 347,000 people from the southern provinces of Guangdong and Hainan ahead of the approaching typhoon which had maximum speeds of 151 kmph.
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What is Tax Holiday announced for foreign cloud firms till 2047 in Union Budget
New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday announced a major tax incentive aimed at attracting global cloud service providers to set up and expand their operations in India. Under the Union Budget proposals, foreign companies that offer cloud services worldwide by using data centres located in India will be granted a tax holiday until 2047.
Announcing the measure, Sitharaman said the move is intended to draw global investment into India’s digital infrastructure, generate employment and strengthen the country’s role in the global digital economy.
A tax holiday is a policy tool used by governments to encourage investment. It involves a temporary reduction or complete exemption from certain taxes, usually corporate or income tax, for a defined period. Such incentives are often offered to promote specific sectors, boost economic activity and create jobs.
Under the new proposal, foreign cloud service providers will be allowed to operate globally using data centres based in India, but services to Indian customers must be routed through an Indian reseller entity. This structure is meant to ensure local participation and regulatory oversight while still allowing global companies to base their infrastructure in India.
Indian companies that provide data centre services to these foreign firms will receive a safe harbour tax rate of 15 per cent. Safe harbour provisions offer certainty on tax liability by fixing profit margins in advance, reducing disputes and making it easier for businesses to plan their operations.
The Budget also includes measures linked to electronic manufacturing. Non-resident companies will be allowed to use bonded warehouses in India to store components. These entities will be taxed on a profit margin of just 2 per cent of the invoice value, translating to an effective tax rate of around 0.7 per cent. The government says this rate is significantly lower than what is offered by many competing countries.
Explaining the rationale behind the move, Sitharaman said the policy would encourage large-scale investment in data centres and related infrastructure, create local jobs and help India emerge as a global hub for digital and cloud services.
