The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, July 24, 2004

CLIMATE & WEATHER
First salvo
Cessna 340 aircraft hired for cloud-seeding operations in the State testfires a flare of silver iodide and sodium chloride in the presence of Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. R Reddy, at Old Airport in Hyderabad recently. ... More
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Southern Railway Employees Sangh observed Wednesday as `Demand Day' to press for a slew of demands. A spokesman said here that the sangh had demanded the appointment of the Sixth Pay Commission and an ... More

BUDGET
TN hopeful of covering Rs 590-cr budgetary deficit
THE State Government is relying on increased allocation from the share of Central taxes, better revenue from commercial taxes and cost conservation to make ends meet in 2004-05. Through these steps the Government is expecting to not only cover ... More

ECONOMY
Turnaround unlikely in monsoon this month
THE country has recorded 21 per cent deficient rains so far during the current month, making it almost as bad a July as in 2002. As per the latest information available from the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the total area-weighted ... More

Inflation continues to rise, touches 6.52 pc
CONTINUING its rising trend, inflation touched its highest level in nearly five months, with wholesale price index (WPI) at 6.52 per cent for the week ended July 10. The index rose in spite of primary items such as vegetables and fruits and ... More

Unfolding scenario a setback to kharif crop
IT may not be a disaster as yet, but the unfolding scenario is fraught with serious negative implications for the country's farm sector. Large parts of western and central India are reeling under acute moisture stress following prolonged lull ... More

`Focus on public goods'
AS part of its broad strategy for expenditure reforms, the Kelkar Taskforce on Fiscal Responsibility and Budgetary Management has underscored the need for greater focus on public goods outcomes as against the traditional focus on ... More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS
Penal provisions in Customs Act to be tightened
IMPORTERS may no longer find it easy to avoid payment of penalties on any mis-declaration or any other offence relating to evasion of anti-dumping duty on the grounds that the Customs Tariff Act does not specifically provide for the levy of a ... More

3-rate customs duty structure mooted
The Kelkar Task Force on Fiscal Responsibility and Budgetary Management Act (FRBM) has proposed a shift to a three-rate structure on customs duties consisting of 5 per cent, 8 per cent and 10 per cent. Admitting that the proposed three-rate ... More

HOTELS
Sinar Jernih to expand Indian operations
THE domestic hotel industry seems to be ready to increase its dependence on outsourcing as Sinar Jernih, a Malaysian company in the business, plans to expand its range of services. Engineering maintenance services are to follow its current ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS
Pharmacology award for Prakash V. Diwan
HYDERABAD: Dr Prakash V. Diwan, Deputy Director & Head, Pharmacology Division, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), here has been awarded the Professor B.N. Ghosh Oration Award instituted by the Indian Pharmacological Society ... More

POWER
Load shedding due to short supply: APTransco
The Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (APTransco) has indicated that it was forced to resort to load shedding, as there was a shortage of 874 MW in thermal power generation by the State and Central power stations. In a press release ... More

TAXATION
Kelkar panel favours lower, fewer tax rates
IN what could be a departure from the existing approach to tackle the Government's fiscal problems, the Kelkar Taskforce has recommended that fiscal consolidation should henceforth be `revenue-led' rather than based on reduction in ... More

`Grand bargain' with States on goods and services tax
AS part of a `grand bargain' proposal, the Kelkar Task Force on Fiscal Responsibility and Budgetary Management Act, 2003 (FRBM) has mooted a dual- goods and services tax (GST) system - Central GST and State GST - that is likely to lead to ... More

TN Chamber plumps for changes in VAT
THE Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TNCCI), while hailing the implementation of the value-added tax (VAT) from April 1, 2005, has, however, insisted on incorporation of certain changes before implementing the same. Mr S. ... More

`Essential commodities to be costlier'
NEW DELHI: Delhi will witness a rise in price of essential commodities, including fruits and vegetables, following the increase in sales tax on diesel from 12 to 20 per cent. The cost of BPO industry will also go up by around 7 per cent, ... More

EDUCATION
Now, IVRS in college
TAKING cue from the interactive voice information and request system activated by the Railways and the new generation banks in the private sector, educational institutions see great potential in introducing the IVRS (interactive voice response ... More

TELEVISION SETS
CETMA hopeful of selling 90 lakh CTVs
A BUOYANT market has kept colour televisions (CTV) sales ticking in 2004-05 so far. While sales in June touched 6 lakh units, which was a reasonable consumer response, July sales reportedly have been lacklustre. According to industry ... More

MANPOWER
Committee to go into contractual appointments in AP
THE Andhra Pradesh Government will soon appoint a three-member committee to examine contractual appointments in the State. The members of the committee will be drawn from the Centre for Good Governance, according to the State Revenue Minister, ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
Arun Nanda is new EU Chambers' President
MUMBAI: Mr Arun Nanda, Executive Director, Mahindra & Mahindra, took over as President of The Council of European Union Chambers of Commerce in India. As its president, he will continue EU Chambers' thrust on fostering commercial ... More

READYMADE GARMENTS
Garment exporters rerouting delivery via quota countries
INNOVATION is the key for the Indian garment exporter. Sample these two cases. Due to non-availability of quotas, a mid-sized Bhiwani-based apparel exporter is forced to send his finished consignment of readymade ladies shirts to Dubai, instead ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
President opens Edusat conference in Bangalore
THE President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, on Friday opened a high-level conference of 250 vice-chancellors that will discuss the usage and management of EDUSAT. The upcoming communications satellite to be flown in September is expected to usher in ... More

SMALL SAVINGS
Benchmark savings scheme returns to bonds: Rakesh Mohan
THE Rakesh Mohan Committee, constituted by the Government in January this year to advise on administered interest rates and rationalisation of saving instruments offered by the Government, has recommended continuance of the average yields on ... More

EVENTS

In Hyderabd today

ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Seminar on awareness for AP entrepreneurs
A PROGRAMME on `Entrepreneurs Awareness & Business Development Campaign,' taken up by the Andhra Pradesh State Financial Corporation (APSFC) will begin on July 26 here. The objective of the seminar is to appraise prospective/potential/existing . More

INCOME TAX
Kelkar panel for 2-rate structure for I-T
THE Kelkar Task Force has suggested a shift to a two-rate structure for personal income tax. The panel has proposed that annual income below Rs 1,00,000 would be exempt from taxation, while income between Rs 1,00,001 and Rs 4,00,000 should ... More

Kelkar panel favours fewer, lower tax rates against ad-hoc rates
IF the Dr Vijay Kelkar led task force has its way, consumers might soon be able to take their eyes off the taxation moves made in the Ministry of Finance before taking financial decisions. "The goal of a rational tax system is to empower ... More

Kelkar panel aims to remove tax-induced distortions
THE fiscal reform measures proposed by the Kelkar Task Force focus on achieving the twin aims of reducing the cost of compliance and removing tax-induced distortions, thereby promising to widen the tax base and curb evasion. Targeting a ... More

Date for filing I-T returns extended
NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended the last date for filing of returns of income for the assessment year 2004-05 in respect of salaried and other non-corporate assessees, whose accounts are not required to be ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Coir Board seeks 20,000 t fibre import from Lanka
There is a shortage of fibre as the industry is able to use only 35 per cent of the 13,000 million coconut husks produced in a year. More

AP fishermen told to take the lead in fisheries export
ANDHRA PRADESH, ranking first in aquaculture in the country, should make further strides in the sector and enable the country's fisheries exports to touch the Rs 10,000-crore mark, said Dr K. Davidson, the Director of Central Institute of ... More

More restrictions on penicillin imports
IMPORT of penicillin and its salts through the advance licence route has become more stringent, with the Government placing more restrictions on imports under this route. The Government had in July 2003 allowed imports of approved and ... More

TOURISM
Australia voted most popular holiday spot — India ranked `most optimistic market in Asia'
AUSTRALIA and its cities have ranked number one in another round of international surveys. The AC Nielsen Asia Pacific Consumer Confidence Survey places Australia among the region's most popular holiday destinations, followed by the US and ... More

ECONOMIC OFFENCES
Countrywide I-T raids on steel group yield over Rs 1.7 cr
A MAJOR search seizure operation conducted by the income-tax (I-T) department at 14 places in Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai and Durgapur on July 21-22, on a business group engaged in manufacture and trading of steel products, has resulted in seizure of ... More