The Hindu Business Line : Monday, February 19, 2007

Unveil your dream budget
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INDUSTRY & ECONOMY

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY
Oil marketing cos blame State Govts for stalling ethanol programme
High taxes, curbs on inter-State movement remain bugbears More

BUDGET
Levy taxes but give us stability, fairness and peace
Story so far: At a nearby pharmacy, I meet an elderly couple I am familiar with. The grandpa rues that his interest income is not enough these days, and the grandma complains that expenses keep increasing, even to meet the bare minimum ... More

Allow duty-free import of renewable energy equipment
When developed countries with abundant resources are encouraging the renewable energy sector, particularly wind energy, why is India not actively promoting this sector. This is what Mr Ramesh Kymal, Managing Director, Vestas India, a leading wind ... More

Karnataka budget to be presented on March 16
Priority to implementation of Nanjundappa panel proposals More

Reduce tax rate from 33%
Reduce income-tax rate from 33 per cent for corporates and individuals to a flat 5 per cent. Apply TDS at all payouts and widen tax net and compliance. Disinvest in all Government companies. Persons above 60 years should be provided with ... More

On a high
FRESH COAT: A worker gives a facelift to Finance Ministry at North Block as the Budget session of Parliament is nearing.

Continue weighted deduction for research & development
With increased tax compliance and tax collection, the Government should consider rationalising the tax rates further. It should consider withdrawing surcharge, which is being levied from the assessment year 2000-01. More

Look beyond the corporates
There has been a record collection of income-tax this fiscal, and the lion's share of it— no prizes for guessing right - has come from the Indian corporate sector on the back of the 9 per cent growth rate the economy has registered as ... More

ECONOMY
`Bengal has potential to attract Rs 1 lakh cr investment'
Assocham identifies 6 potential areas, forms Look East Development Council More

Backlash of globalisation?
Mention of the word Sweden to any of us probably brings to mind a collage of stunning blondes, amazingly athletic, record-breaking tennis players, long dark winters, and a very liberated sex life. A forwarded ... More

Manufacturing sector clocks 13% growth: Survey
Spurred by growth rates of over 20 per cent in 65 segments, the manufacturing sector has clocked a growth of 13 per cent in the first nine months of the current fiscal 2006-07, according to a survey conducted by industry chamber ... More

ENVIRONMENT
TN's industrial policy to stress on eco-friendly tech
Clearance time to be reduced to less than 3 months More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS
Duty rejig on petrol, diesel likely in Budget
Customs, ad valorem excise duties may be cut More

FOREIGN TRADE
EU highlights defects in US trade policy
More

`South Asia is least-integrated region'
Many barriers hamper the growth of trade: Graeme Wheeler More

SAARC conclave adopts policy reform agenda
The second SAARC business leaders conclave has adopted a 13-point policy reform agenda to achieve intra-regional trade of $20 billion by 2010. Among the reforms mentioned are implementation of SAFTA, reduction of sensitive lists, removal of ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE
Transport infrastructure — The emerging financing options
Now that we enjoy investment grade rating, we could look at accessing the 30-year, fixed rate bond market offshore in the dollar, the euro or the yen, depending on the timing. — MR S. BALACHANDRAN, FORMER MD, INDIAN RAILWAY FINANCE CORPORATION More

PSU
NTPC, SAIL, Rlys to invest in Kerala PSUs
The State Government intends to keep 51 per cent stake in TELK, while the rest would be given to NTPC as its investment in modernisation and expansion of the unit. More

POWER
`Indian cos keen to tap Nepal's hydel potential'
Nepal seeks a revival for the sector More

Coal Ministry wants Rlys to bear losses in moving coal
Proposal part of tripartite agreement being worked out More

TAXATION
TN extends date for closing stock input tax credit
The Tamil Nadu Government has extended the last date for traders to file their stock inventory statement to avail themselves of input tax credit for goods purchased last year. According to an order, GO (MS) No 51, issued on Thursday, traders ... More

EDUCATION
Still educating Kerala
As long as the State can hold on to its standards in primary education and continue to push for universal primary education for its citizens, Kerala can hope to further solidify its firmaments for a sound developmental future. More

`Innovative strategy crucial for facing challenges'
Innovative business strategies are essential to face the challenges in the globalised economy, the Vice-President-Marketing, Sally Thermo Plastic India Ltd, Mr S. Jeyachandran, has said. He was delivering the keynote address at the two-day ... More

Training school for rural digital knowledge connectivity launched
To disseminate demand-driven information More

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS
Wockhardt community hospital
Wockhardt Hospitals has launched its first 50-bed regional hospital in Bangalore. The Wockhardt Hospital ICU and Community Care Centre at Rajajinagar in West Bangalore includes a 12-bed ICU. "Similar hospitals are being set up ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Parsvnath to invest in Gujarat
Real estate player Parsvnath Developers Ltd (PDL) will invest Rs 1,600 crore in Gujarat to develop various projects in the next two to three years. The company plans to develop townships, group housing, commercial complexes and ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
BioAsia innovation award
Dr N. Madhusudan Reddy, scientist with the Hyderabad-based Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics, has bagged the `BioAsia Innovation Award 2007 for Young Scientists' for novelty and market potential of his research in the ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Financial inclusion: Corporation Bank targets 300 villages
Experts from the banking industry analysed various issues ranging from financial inclusion and human resource management to consolidation, at a symposium on `Whither reforms in banking?', organised by the Corporation Bank Officers' Organisation ... More

HUMAN RESOURCES
BUDGET EXPECTATIONS
Wages of disparity
In terms of wages, even in the organised sector, India has a long way to go to catch up with even the so-called "sweat-shops" of China. And less said the better about the millions of workers in unorganised rural India, where the situation is invariab ly worse. More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Onion exports likely to go up 2 lakh tonnes by March
Strong demand from Pakistan and Bangladesh More

Rubber exports set to resume
`Board to be vigilant against sharp fall in prices' More

TOURISM
Risky allure
TOURISTS THRONG the picturesque Ramakrishna beach in Visakhapatnam on a sunny Sunday afternoon, notwithstanding the fact that a holy dip by a port employee turned fatal on Saturday when a tidal wave swept him away. ... More

ECONOMIC OFFENCES
Strong response to corruption needed: Volcker
"There is greater sensitivity to corruption these days," but still more needs to be done, said Mr Paul Volcker, former US Federal Reserve Chairman and author of the Volcker committee report on the United Nations Oil-for-food programme. "South ... More