The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, April 03, 2003

Trade feels VAT rubs salt on wound
GANDHI'S salt satyagraha may soon be enacted by the Indian Salt Manufacturers' Association (ISMA) against the implementation of value-added tax (VAT) in its sector. The organised and branded salt manufacturing industry is upset over salt being ... More

ECONOMY

Pact signed for Rs 4,450-cr Japanese line-of-credit
JAPAN would extend a line of credit of 111.239 billion yen (about Rs 4,450 crore) on soft term for seven projects in India for economic development, poverty reduction and environmental conservation sectors. An agreement to this effect was ... More

`Leveraging expertise key to beat China in manufacturing sector'
THE very name `China' sometimes sends shivers across the industry. They seem to be omnipresent doing a lot better than the Indian counterparts. This situation has come to a pass since the Indian economy has not taken enough care about its ... More

AP: Uncollected revenues pile up to Rs 2,230 cr
The increase in receipts from the Union Government during 2001-2002 over that of the previous year was 19 per cent as against an increase of 15 per cent in 200-2001 over the previous year's share. More

FOREIGN TRADE

BMP launches simplified trade licence procedure

HEALTH

New health scheme for ex-servicemen
The present medical scheme has a restriction of Rs 2.1 lakh each for every ex-serviceman and his spouse. More

PETROLEUM

TN distillers unlikely to meet demand — Oil cos may float 2nd tender for anhydrous alcohol
THE oil companies are likely to come out with a second tender next week calling for anhydrous alcohol supply to commence the gasohol programme in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, according to oil company sources. According to the ... More

POWER

Power Finance Corpn IPO plan awaits Finance Ministry nod
POWER Finance Corporation (PFC), the wholly Government-owned Development Financial Institution (DFI), is expecting to enter the market with an Initial Public Offer (IPO) of around 10 per cent of its equity later this year. "We are awaiting the ... More

PPN defaults on debt repayment
PPN Power Generating Co Ltd, which runs a 330 MW combined cycle power plant at Pillaiperumalnallur in Tamil Nadu, has defaulted on repaying an instalment of debt, which is due for the quarter ending March 31. The Tamil Nadu Electricity Board ... More

Eastern region pegs 33 pc jump in power exports
THE eastern region, which exported 9.6 billion units of power to other regions in 2002-03 (against 9.3 in 2001-02), is looking at a 33 per cent jump in exports this fiscal. Power sector sources said this would mean an export of 40 million units ... More

KPTCL project for rural supply

Karnataka power utilities cut deposit

TAXATION

Maharashtra not to levy VAT on textile, sugar
IN yet another indication of the States' reluctance to antagonise entrenched trade and industry interests in the implementation of the Value Added Tax (VAT) regime, the Maharashtra Government has decided not to levy VAT/sales tax on textile and ... More

VAT may be put in place from April 9
MR C.M. BACHHAWAT, West Bengal Commissioner of Commercial Taxes, indicated here today that the value-added tax (VAT) could be implemented uniformly throughout the country from April 9. Interacting with members of the Bengal National Chamber of ... More

Awake when VAT is asleep
NOW that VAT has gone into hibernation, there is a sudden loss of steam in the VAT-baiting lobby. But there are those lay people on the sidewalk who want to catch up with what has happened, and why what has not happened has not happened. They are ... More

TEXTILES

`Completed Cenvat chain must for textile industry'
THE Government should not bow to the pressures of a section of the textile industry, which is not keen on having a completed Cenvat chain. A broken Cenvat chain will be disastrous for the growth prospects of the textile industry as such a ... More

`Textile package must be saved from vested interests'
"The Cenvat chain completion would bring the vested interests (traders— master weavers) under the tax net. That is why they are resisting compliance with the new excise framework," Mr Parikh said. More

SIMA happy with DEPB, EPCG retention
THE reintroduction of annual advance licence facility for status holders would benefit the textile industry as they could use this to source raw material to cover annual requirement. The retention of the DEPB and the EPCG announced in the Exim ... More

TYRES

Rubber stocks dip on higher offtake — 30,000-tonne imports likely by tyre makers before August
AN unexpected 16 per cent rise in rubber consumption by tyre manufacturers leading to a sharp fall in stocks is seen as the prime force behind the commodity's price touching a seven-year high. According to a note circulated by the Automotive ... More

EXIM POLICY

TN chamber hails Exim policy
THE Exim Policy for 2003-04 is a proactive one with many features to accelerate export efforts, according to The Tamilnadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In a statement here, Mr S. Rethinavelu, President of the Chamber, has said that the ... More

BREWERIES

Karnataka move to curb IMFL duty evasion
IN a bid to curb tax evasion, the Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, has announced the setting up of a Beverages Corporation to handle trade relating to imported liquor and Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and a proposal to reduce excise ... More

RADIO/TV

Turf war intensifies between Chennai cable MSOs
LESS than a week after the Star group of channels went off SCV in Chennai, a battle for the city's cable distribution turf is being fought between the two multi-service operators (MSOs) - the Sun group-controlled SCV and Hathway Cable, in ... More

Siticable gets nod for CAS distribution
ZEE Telefilms' wholly owned subsidiary — Siticable Network Ltd — has been given permission by the Information & Broadcasting Ministry to launch its Digital Headend In The Sky (HITS) for distributing pay TV signals in a conditional ... More

CARS

Global goes local
Foreign car makers think taking the Eastern route in advertising will work, while their Indian counterparts aspire to give a global look and feel to their products. Catalyst examines the pros and cons of both approaches. More

AIR-CONDITIONERS & REFRIGERATORS

MRTPC directs fridge majors to state nature of capacity
COMPETITIVE tactics aside, it is the interest of the consumer which has been upheld. The Monopolies & Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC), in a case regarding capacity of refrigerators, has ordered enquiries against all three players, ... More

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS

Global Hospitals' gesture
HYDERABAD: Global Hospitals, the corporate hospital major, has decided to offer medical and surgical services at subsidised rates to the people falling under the lower income socio-economic groups at its Global Banjara centre from ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Realtors upbeat on `affordable' housing projects in Bangalore
"With housing finance becoming easier and the interest rates falling, the market has also seen serious and focussed players with reassurance about their credibility in completing the project at a reasonable time-frame and cost." More

Omaxe to invest Rs 400 crore in `NRI City'
LEADING North India-based construction company, Omaxe, is investing Rs 400 crore towards constructing `NRI City', a residential project in Greater Noida, located close to the Capital. According to Mr Rohtas Goel, Managing Director, Omaxe, the ... More

LEATHER

Mixed reaction from CLE to Exim Policy
THE Council for Leather Exports (CLE) has welcomed the Central Government's decision to maintain status quo in duty drawback rates for almost all leather products, but simultaneously expressed disappointment that attempts to persuade the Centre ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

CII pushes for world-class aviation hub for growth
Members of the committee stressed that a world-class hub is required to be developed in India within a decade as otherwise the country would lose its competitive edge. More

Plea to set up Volkswagen plant in Tuticorin
TUTICORIN should be considered as a site for setting up the Volkswagen unit, said The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry at Tuticorin. In a memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, recently at Chennai, ... More

New CII Karnataka chief

READYMADE GARMENTS

Garment smuggling hits local units
As per rough estimates, around Rs 1,500-crore business transactions are going on in the State on yearly basis in garments sale. Of this, the share of Kerala units is estimated to be at less than 25 per cent. More

KNITWEAR & HOSIERY

Knitwear units upset at drawback rate cut
THE Finance Ministry's move to bring down the duty drawback rate for the exporters of cotton knitwear from aggregate 12 per cent to 10 per cent has upset knitwear exporters in Tirupur. According to sources in the Tirupur Exporters Association ... More

LABOUR REFORMS

`Globalisation wrecks economic fabric'
WHILE disputes in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) may result in banning the export of Indian beedis because thousands of children earn a livelihood rolling beedis, it is globalisation itself that devastates the economic fabric of societies and ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

Edible oil imports surge 20 pc
Imports mainly comprised 1.84 lakh tonnes of crude palm oil; 1.26 lakh tonnes of crude olein and 1.25 lakh tonnes of degummed soyabean oil. More

Export target to be finalised soon
ENCOURAGED by the consistently salutary export performance for most of the just-ended 2002-03 fiscal, the Commerce Ministry proposes to finalise the export target for the current fiscal by the end of this month or early month, after weighing ... More

S. Korea may buy potatoes from Bengal
SOUTH Korea, one of the world's largest importers of potatoes, is interested in buying from West Bengal, which enjoys huge surplus in production. This was announced by Mr Rajive Kaul, Honorary Consulate-General of South Korea, at a press ... More

`No duty-free import of spices'
THE Spices Board has clarified that imports of cardamom and turmeric are not duty-free consequent to the Exim Policy announcement. As per the previous policy, seeds of selected spices viz, cardamom, celery, fenugreek, dill, ajwain , cassia ... More

NATURAL CALAMITIES

Quake manual keeps AP in a state of readiness
THOUGH Andhra Pradesh is classed with the States relatively less prone to earthquakes, it is among the first States to prepare a comprehensive Earthquake Contingency Plan, with not just dos and don'ts but also preparedness to reduce potential ... More

Karnataka sanctions Rs 100 cr for drought relief

TOURISM

`Complete Kerala' from Le Meridien
KOCHI: The Le Meridien Cochin has formed a consortium with two upmarket properties, the Kumarakom Lake Resort and Kovalam Hotels, to jointly market a complete Kerala tour package for the national and international tourists. The ... More

PEOPLE

Dr M.R. Das passes away
EMINENT molecular biologist and founder-director of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB), Dr M.R. Das, died of cardiac arrest here on Tuesday evening. He was 65, and is survived by wife and two daughters. Dr Das's team at the RGCB ... More

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