INDUSTRY & ECONOMY
NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY
Canara Bank loan for solar lighting
TO promote the use of solar energy further, Canara Bank along with the United Nations Environment Programme has launched a new loan scheme for financing solar home lighting systems. The scheme is cost effective and is aimed at individuals, ...
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BUDGET
Chidambaram open for transaction tax review
THE Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, today vociferously defended the Budget proposal to levy a 0.15 per cent tax on all securities transacted on stock exchanges, while maintaining that a review, if at all, would be only on the extent of tax ...
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Transaction tax impasse shrinks trading volumes
THE trading volumes in the equity market shrunk sharply as traders refrained from trading in protest against the transaction tax. The volumes may shrink further as a section of traders have decided stop trading on Tuesday, said a stock market ...
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`Left will vote against amending IRDA Act'
THE Left parties will vote against the Government if there is any move to amend the Insurance Regulation and Development Act (IRDA) seeking to increase foreign equity in the insurance sector, the Secretary of the United Trade Union Congress ...
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Budget makes farm-linked businesses smile
IN the first few hours after the Union Budget, the thin line between a grin and a groan seemed a business link to agriculture. From within the automobile sector, Tata Motors offered a guarded view while Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), which has th
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Delhi exporters' body unhappy with Budget proposals
THE Delhi Exporters' Association (DEA) has expressed disappointment over the Budget proposals of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government. It It stated that there are no concrete measures in the Budget to accelerate export ...
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Speed is the key to post-Budget publications
WALK into one of those bookshops that cater to accountants and lawyers these days and what you find are publications about Budget that was presented only a couple of days ago. At C.Sitaraman & Co in the city, one encounters an array of these ...
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ECONOMY
Industrial growth dips to 6.2 pc in May
INDUSTRIAL output posted a marginal slowdown in growth at 6.2 per cent in May, down from 6.4 per cent growth recorded during the corresponding month last year. The overall growth during the first two months of the current fiscal (April-May ) ...
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Second only to China
Students of the Indian Institute of Planning and Management conducting a street play in Mumbai on the World Population Day to convey the message of population control and the need for a balance in the sex ratio. ...
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EXCISE AND CUSTOMS
PC excise duty exemption anomaly to be rectified soon
THE Government on Monday assured the IT hardware industry that the anomaly relating to Budget announcement of a full excise exemption on personal computers (PCs) would be rectified soon. Addressing captains of the industry here, the Finance ...
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FOREIGN TRADE
DGFT invites suggestions for new trade policy
THE United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government has said a new foreign trade policy for the country would be announced in August. The Directorate-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has now invited suggestions for the new policy. The suggestions ...
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EC to make graduation out of GSP process transparent
THE European Commission's new Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), offering duty concession on products of export interest to developing countries for the next 10 years, is structured to target the countries that ...
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HEALTH
No plan yet to bring down AIDS drug prices
The Finance Ministry is of the view that there could be multiple end-uses for the raw materials used to manufacture anti-AIDS drugs.
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LV Prasad Eye Institute sets record in cornea transplants
IN times when getting organs is still difficult, the Hyderabad-based, L.V. Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), has created a record of sorts, when it managed to obtain over a thousand corneas and successfully transplanted them into 1,031 persons, ...
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Hindustan Bio gets nod for importing anaemia drug
HINDUSTAN Bio Sciences Ltd (HBSL) has announced that it has obtained approvals from the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) of the Government of India for importing and marketing recombinant human erythropoietin - bioengineered ...
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PSU
PSEs will not be closed in AP, says Minister
THE State Government will not close down any public enterprise and will ensure that reforms in the public enterprises will be carried forward with a human face, the Minister for Commercial Taxes, Mr K. Ramakrishna, has said. Even with respect ...
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PETROLEUM
GAIL to invest Rs 10,450 cr in Kerala; signs pact
Three major projects on the anvil are a naphtha-based petrochemicals complex, an LNG regassification terminal and a pipeline network as an extension of the national gas grid.
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POWER
CCEA clears Vindhyachal project transmission system
THE Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the scheme for transmission system associated with Vindhyachal-III STPS at a total estimated cost of Rs 596.47 crore. The cost would include interest during construction (IDC) ...
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`No plan to hike power tariff in Kerala'
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Electricity Minister, Mr Kadavoor Sivadasan, has said that the State Government has no plans of for hiking existing tariff just yet. Replying to questions in this connection, he announced in the State Assembly on ...
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No free power to domestic users, says AP Minister
THE State Finance Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, categorically stated on Monday that there was no proposal with the Government to supply free power to domestic consumers to a certain determined consumption level. There was also no proposal to give ...
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STEEL
Chidambaram to meet steel majors this week on excise hike issue
THE Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, will convene a meeting of steel majors later this week to hear out their Budget-related woes. The industry has been crying foul over the Budget proposal to hike the excise duty on steel from 8 per cent ...
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TAXATION
ICAI may approach CBDT on long-term capital loss
THE Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) may soon approach the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) over the issue of `set-off' of the `long-term capital loss' arising on securities transactions entered in stock exchanges against ...
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Ministry to frame rules on service tax rebate
THE Government will finalise the Cenvat and Service Tax Rules detailing the procedures for claiming rebate on service tax against their excise liability and vice-versa before the passage of the Finance Bill. Addressing the National Council of ...
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Proposal to tax gifts may not include loans
INDIVIDUALS and Hindu undivided family (HUFs) may have cause for cheer, with a Finance Ministry official clarifying that loans are "not intended" to be covered in the clause in the Finance Bill 2004 that seeks to tax purported gifts from ...
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TEXTILES
`Budget will spur textile sector'
MADURAI: The Madurai Spinners' Association has said the Union Budget would spur the textile industry's growth. In a statement, Mr C.S. Rajendran, Secretary of the association, said that while the proposals would give an impetus to the ...
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TYRES
Cenvat credit amendment — Tyre cos may have to repay Govt Rs 180 crore
DOMESTIC tyre companies may collectively be required to repay about Rs 180 crore to the Central Government on account of the latter's proposed move to amend the rules on utilisation of credit of additional excise duty (AED) paid on inputs for the ...
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RADIO/TV
TV channels worry over dues as media accounts switch hands
A NUMBER of high-profile media accounts have switched hands in recent months, and this has become a cause for concern for broadcasters who are worried about the timely recovery of their advertising dues. For instance, the media buying account ...
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EDUCATION
Ministry to review Shiksha fund issue
AFTER putting the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) fee-controversy at rest, one of the next issues which will come up for review by the Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD), Mr Arjun Singh, is the Bharat Shiksha Kosh (BSK) ...
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FOODS & FOOD PROCESSING
`Kerala Govt will ensure safety, quality of food products'
THE State Government is committed to ensuring safety and quality of basic and processed foods marketed in the State and the Health Department is working towards ensuring no contamination in the food, Mr K. Ramamoorthy, Principal Secretary (Health ...
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GEMS & JEWELLERY
EOUs in jewellery sector, SEZs can import gold
EXPORT-ORIENTED Units (EOUs) in the gem and jewellery sector and such units in special economic zones (SEZs) have now been permitted to import gold directly. Earlier, authorised dealers had been advised by the Reserve Bank of India that letters ...
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LEATHER
India turns to R&D to take on China in leather exports
NOT to be undone by cheaper Chinese leather products, Indian leather exporters have decided to take on the dragon on the price front. To negate the cost competitiveness of Chinese leather products, exporters have turned to research and ...
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Leather export body disappointed with Budget
THE Council for Leather Exports (CLE), the leather industry's apex export promotion body, sponsored by the Union Commerce Ministry, is disappointed that many of its essential proposals were not considered in the Budget. After the initial ...
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INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
PHDCCI calls for national internal trade policy
IN a submission to the Finance Minister, the PHDCCI has called upon the Government to formulate a national internal trade policy. Such a policy should act as a guiding principle to initiate short-term changes and help in achieving long-term ...
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Captains all
Mr Y.C. Deveshwar, Mr Rajan Nanda and Mr Carlo M. Donati at the CII National Council meeting in the Capital on Monday.
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