The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, March 05, 2005

Fringe at the core
IN A SPEECH that ran to 184 paragraphs, the discussion of the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) lay at the fringes. But the issue of FBT has been at the centre of most analyses since, compelling Mr P. Chidambaram to the defensive stance of promising to ... More

BUDGET

Giving India Inc the edge
The Budget proposals will give a fillip to investments in industry and spur economic growth. The competitive edge of the manufacturing sector will undoubtedly be sharpened. India Inc can no longer be ignored by global players, says H. P. Ranina, discussing some of the salient proposals. More

CMP elements in sharp focus
THE Finance Minister has achieved the fine balance between political and economic compulsions. The Budget did not have any big-bang announcements. Nor did it have any major negatives. To start with, the focus was on ... More

Budget: Helping mutual funds unlock value
THE Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, in his Budget 2005, has attempted to gear all the engines of the economy to assume full speed. Given that the economy is already in a robust growth phase, the Finance Minister ... More

FOREIGN TRADE

Central Asian States — II: India has a lot of catching up to do
India should not be shy of proposing and launching bold measures to ameliorate the lot of the Central Asian states and arguing their case before regional and international fora. India too will stand to benefit considerably from the symbiotic and syne rgistic partnership. More

TAXATION

Bouquets and brickbats over Budget proposals
Budget 2005 shows some rigidity in reforms relating to electronic administration of tax deduction at source. The Finance (No. 2) Act, 2004 gave a thrust on TDS provisions, particularly by denying deduction for failing to complying with the ... More

Good without the amendment load
T. C. A. Ramanujam on how the Budget makes the corporate tax structure holistic More

They also serve who remove doubts
THERE is an Explanation that Finance Bill, 2005 introduces in the service tax law. And it reads thus: "For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that where any service provided or to be provided by a person, ... More