`A good start to realise CMP'
IT is after several years that the Union Budget is addressing agriculture and social sectors comprehensively. The Budget for 2004-05 has made a good beginning to realise the components of the NCMP. Out of the seven objectives mentioned by the ... More

At last, a Budget with a social conscience?
FAMILIES that have members with disabilities or children with cerebral palsy, for instance, may find some comfort in this year's Budget. According to people working with the disability sector, for the first time in years the country's economic ... More

Thrust on farm, rural growth hailed
TRADE associations here have welcomed the Union Budget, which has placed greater thrust on agriculture, rural development, education and healthcare. Mr N. Krishna Samaraj, Chairman, CII (Southern Region), Coimbatore, said the Budget ... More

`Cenvat abolition will attract more investments'
DISCONTINUANCE of the Cenvat duty on textiles has brought relief tor the entire textile manufacturing chain and the move would also lead to increased investment and generate higher productivity in the sector. The Finance Minister, Mr P. ... More

Paswan wants rollback of duty hike on steel
THE Union Steel Minister, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, on Friday said that he would request the Finance Minister to consider a rollback in the decision to raise excise duty on steel from 8 per cent to 12 per cent. Speaking after a workshop on ... More

Fillip to textiles: SIMA
COIMBATORE: THE Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) has said that the abolition of mandatory Cenvat chain and introduction of the optional excise duty regime for the cotton textile sector would offer a level-playing field and will ... More

Dredging cos upset over exclusion from tonnage tax
THE Budget announcement on the introduction of a tonnage-based tax scheme for the shipping industry along with the withdrawal of the tax benefits accorded under Section 33 AC of the Income-Tax act spells bad news for the domestic dredging firms ... More

Assistance to poor countries raised to Rs 1,723.53 cr
THE Union Budget has made a higher provision of Rs 1,723.52 crore as grants to foreign Governments, mostly to the small and poor countries whose economies are perceived to be weaker than the Indian economy as compared to last year's Rs 1,583 ... More

Excise exemption to readymades hailed
THE West Bengal Garment Manufacturers and Dealers Association has welcomed the Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, for his proposal to exempt readymade garment industry from the purview of excise duty. The association's President said ... More

Mixed reactions to budget
THE Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) termed it "unfortunate" the extension of regional concessions to Sikkim, Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh till 2007. "The Finance Minister has sent a right signal to ... More

ECONOMY
Inflation at 19-week high; tops 6 per cent
THE annual rate of inflation jumped to a 19-week high of 6.09 per cent for the week ending June 26, with the Government factoring in the spurt in coking and non-coking coal prices that was effected on June 16. According to data released by the ... More

RBI official concern over liberalisation
THE Chief General Manager, Foreign Exchange Division, Reserve Bank of India, Mumbai, Mr F.R. Joseph, has said that liberalisation process should not result either in "dollarisation" of Indian economy or in internationalisation of Indian rupee. ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
Thailand fair in Chennai
MORE than 70 Thai companies in 16 product categories have showcased their products at the Thailand Exhibition 2004 at the Chennai Trade Centre. The participants are looking for tie-ups with importers, distributors and retailers in India who will ... More

PETROLEUM
Fuel, feedstock prices to go up from today
STEEL companies, power producers and even airlines are among the many users who will have to pay more for buying fuel and feedstock from Saturday. Naphtha, furnace oil, bitumen, aviation turbine fuel ... in fact all products except petrol, ... More

TAXATION
Kerala assembly opposes move to tax interest on NRI deposits
THE State Assembly has made known its collective dissent against the Union Finance Minister's move to tax, from September this year, interest earned on foreign currency accounts maintained by expatriate Indians. The House on Friday urged the ... More

TN: Plea to remove `turnover tax'
COMPANIES located in Tamil Nadu have reiterated their demand that the State Government do away with the `turnover tax', which they say, is putting them in a disadvantage vis-à-vis their competitors from other States. TVS Motor Company, for ... More

WATER
Renewed focus on urban, rural water supply
A REVAMP of irrigation infrastructure, restoration of water bodies and a renewed focus on urban and rural water supply were the key initiatives announced by the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, in his Budget . Mr Chidambaram described ... More

RADIO/TV
DD tests DTH, plans free-to-air service
Doordarshan has begun test transmission of its direct-to-home (DTH) operations, a mode wherein television content is delivered to home via satellites, and will officially launch it in a short while, said Mr R. K. Gupta, Engineer-in-Chief of ... More

EDUCATION
Badruka offers American MBA
HYDERABAD: Badruka Institute of Foreign Education (BIFE), which has been providing overseas education in Hyderabad, has announced that it has entered into a strategic alliance to provide a pre-MBA programme for the students who aspire to ... More

BIO-TECH & GENETICS
Bangalore Bio keen to take `tech to market'
THE fourth issue of Bangalore Bio gets under way here on July 11. The Karnataka Government is looking at building international bridges to increase exchanges in biotechnology during the three-day event. It has lined up at least one tie-up with ... More

Budget a damp squib, says biotech sector
THE budding biotechnology industry says it really does not have much to smile about. There are no policy measures to create investments. Another year's extension till March 2005 to claim tax holiday and a small duty sop for all hepatitis ... More

WTO
Kamal Nath to attend Paris, Mauritius meet on WTO talks
IN the run-up to the general council meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) scheduled in the third week of this month in Geneva to break the logjam on the negotiating modalities of talks on various agreements under the Doha Development ... More

SOCIAL WELFARE
I-T dept may get powers to proceed against erring trusts
COME October 1, income-tax authorities may get powers to wield the stick on erring charitable trusts and institutions. The Finance Bill 2004 introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday seeks to specifically empower a Commissioner of Income-Tax to ... More

EVENTS
`Raise productivity for higher growth'
"IMPROVEMENT in productivity is the only answer to the problems that is plaguing the industry," says Mr B. Ramachandra Rao, Executive Director of BHEL. "It is the only path to national prosperity," he said while delivering the keynote address ... More

TOURISM
UN body to aid India in tourism promotion
THE World Tourism Organisation, an arm of the United Nations, has assured India of all help in promotion and marketing its tourism destinations across the world. Addressing the inaugural of 73rd Executive Council meeting of World Tourism ... More