The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, September 03, 2005

Whither crop diversification?
IT IS DISAPPOINTING that the alarming deceleration in farm growth over the last eight years has not evoked any strong response from the policymakers, beyond pious statements. It should be a matter of national concern that after registering a 4.7 ... More

ECONOMY

Unctad's Trade Development Report, 2005: SWOT analysis of developing nations
THE United Nations Conference on Trade and Development has a new Secretary-General — Dr Supachai Pantichpakdi. For Dr Supachai, the physical shifting of office — from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to Unctad — in Geneva may ... More

POLITICS

A clash of ideas
"Seek people's mandate", "think big" and build the "self-confidence to deal with new opportunities" is some recent key advice from the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh. But one section thinks there is no need to alter long-held beliefs. Far from bei ng a negative, though, such differences are what make life worth it. More

TAXATION

Discernible change in drafting
T. C. A. Ramanujam on the revisions to the India-Malaysia DTAA More

One cannot dissect or bisect the process of manufacture of the final product to check for `power'
YOU would agree that bed sheets and pillow cases are most used when there is no light. But these very items needed much legal light to be thrown on them in a recent Supreme Court case. More so, because Impression Prints, the company that made the ... More

INCOME TAX

Circular on FBT deeming provision — Not quite true to legal fiction principle
In the light of the principles of interpretation pertaining to a legal fiction, some of the clarifications on the fringe benefit tax provided in a recent Circular fly in the face of the statutory provision, and subvert the purpose and object of the l evy. Undoubtedly, the Circular needs to be re-drafted to bring it in conformity with the letter and spirit of the law, says H. P. Ranina. More

Nuts and bolts of fringe valuation
FBT is here to stay, says R. Anand More

On the frequently asked questions about FBT
Mohan R. Lavi discusses the recent Circular on FBT More