The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Economic Survey proposes reforms in tax system
Pegs growth rate at 8.1 per cent; cites crude prices as a risk factor
If the Economic Survey 2005-06, tabled in Parliament on Monday by the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, is an indication of things to come, Indian industry can look forward to some relief on the taxation front. Specifically mentioning that the ... More

Will Budget dilute FBT provisions, usher in EET?
Lower level of peak customs duty, rationalisation of duties for petroleum industry likely
Insurance FDI hike?
Mr Chidambaram may also reiterate the Government's resolve to hike FDI in insurance to 49 per cent. More

IPO scam: HDFC Bank, 2 others fined
The Reserve Bank of India on Monday fined HDFC Bank, IDBI and ING Vysya Bank for violation of Know Your Customer norms and other irregularities in relation to the recent IPO scam. HDFC Bank has been slapped with the highest penalty of Rs 25 ... More

Sensex up 81 on Budget eve; but market has `no big hopes'
Economic growth forecast helps sentiment
Budget boost
Foreign investors continued to pump in funds into the domestic equity markets.
But mutual funds net sellers of Rs 522 crore in February. More

Chicken, eggs back on Railway menu
Indian Railways today said it has allowed serving of eggs and chicken provided they have been handled as per the guidelines issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO). However, it has prohibited serving of half-boiled egg, fried eggs, omelette ... More

Govt sure of reining in inflation at 5 pc
The Government is optimistic of ending this fiscal at a 5 per cent inflation level, despite the volatile global petroleum prices. However, cautioning against the possibility of high and volatile global petroleum prices imparting "uncertainty" in ... More

Urban infrastructure: Call for user-charge approach
Smaller cities find the going tough due to financial crunch
Fresh approach
User-financed charges by institutions will lead to better access to capital markets.
Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission is a key step forward.
Detailed planning is crucial to successful implementation. More

Concern over power sector
Painting a gloomy picture of the country's beleaguered power sector, the Economic Survey estimates the overall losses to the economy on account of the sector at a massive Rs 3,00,000 crore. Faster reform initiatives, ensuring adequate fuel ... More

Tatas blame Birlas on Idea issue
Write to Telecom Dept again
The war of letters between the Tata Group and Aditya Birla Group over Idea Cellular continued today with the former shooting off another one to the Department of Telecom blaming the Birlas of breaching a waiver agreement between the two sides ... More

Survey moots changes in IPO pricing system — Suggests shift to a `pure auction' method
Analysts fear Pure auction could result in bad deal Denial of quota to retail investors will hit capital market growth Logistics of pure auction system not clear More

Pharma industry clocks healthy growth
Leverage strengths in organic synthesis, process engineering
The prescription
Task force set up to make life-saving drugs affordable.
Plan outlay for the Central Health Sector Schemes in 2005-06 is Rs 2,908 crore.
National Council on AIDS set up for combating spread of HIV/AIDS. More

Survey for holistic growth plan for sector
`Slow hardware development leads to under-investment in capital'
Vast growth
Total spend on products and services rose from $5 b in 1997-98 to $20 b in 2003-04.
Hands-off approach behind software success. More

HCL Tech chief wants I-T tax breaks beyond 2009
`If something works fine, you should not tamper with it'
The Chairman of HCL Technologies, Mr Shiv Nadar, today said that he would welcome tax breaks - given now to the IT industry - to go beyond 2009. The year 2009 is when tax all breaks to the Indian IT software industry would come to an ... More

IT cos seek tax reliefs
MAIT wants excise anamolies removed
THE IT industry is hoping that the key sectoral issues pertaining to Fringe Benefit Tax, BPO taxation and the current CENVAT overflow arising out of nil excise duty on finished hardware products are addressed in the Union Budget on Tuesday. ... More

Broadband is the next frontier
The Economic Survey 2005-06 said that the telecom sector would need to address and harness the challenges being posed by the Internet and convergence. Even as the Survey said that the government and telecom players are doing well registering a ... More