The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, July 09, 2009

INDUSTRY & ECONOMY

INCOME TAX: Govt to widen tax net for property transactions
Certain deals to be taxable in the hands of recipients. New Delhi, July 8 Tax planning around gifting of immovable and movable properties will soon turn out to be a difficult task for taxpayers if a Budget proposal gets Parliamentary ...

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION: NHB hunts for foreign investors for mortgage guarantee company
Bank to be majority stakeholder in firm. Mumbai, July 8 National Housing Bank (NHB) is scouting for international investors for its much-delayed mortgage ...

ENVIRONMENT: Plastics not a problem, waste disposal is
GO BIODEGRADABLE. New Delhi, July 8 To ban or not to ban the plastic bag is going to be the centre of debate once again. Contrary to wide belief, the Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Mr Jairam Ramesh, stated in Parliament on Wednesday ...

ECONOMY: India’s rating under pressure, says S&P
India’s high fiscal deficit is not sustainable in the medium term and there is a risk that the country’s sovereign credit ratings may be lowered if fiscal consolidation is delayed, said international rating agency Standard ...

PSU: PSU refiners may post Rs 5,000-cr loss on fuel sales
Crude price surge helps gross refining margins. Mumbai, July 8 IndianOil, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation are likely to record combined losses of about Rs 5,000 crore on sale of diesel, petrol, cooking-gas and ...

BUDGET: For a rural boost
Rural markets hold the key.. On his extensive travels across rural India as founder of MART, a rural marketing and research consultancy, Pradeep Kashyap has seen several instances of the kind of micro level development prescribed by policy ...

BUDGET: Pranab strikes balance between aggressive growth and equity
The emphasis in past Budgets was on stimulating investments in the capital market and foreign investment. At least that was their most visible face, with exemptions galore for dividends and much more for capital ...

BUDGET: News channels draw more eyeballs on Budget day
New Delhi, July 8 Audiences preferred to watch the Finance Minister’s Budget presentation on general news channels over business news ones, according to data from the TV audience rating agency, ...

EDUCATION: Manipal goes to school
Having established a name for itself in the field of higher education, the Manipal Group now trains its guns on school education.. It’s the perfect combination of education and experience. The Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG) ...

BUDGET: Central assistance to State Plans up Rs 7,000 cr
Slash in Central support to hit health, renewable energy programmes. Bangalore, July 8 The Budget allocations towards agriculture and social sector programmes implemented in States are such as to benefit irrigation, urban infrastructure and ...

TAXATION: TN to amend VAT Act to redress exporters’ concern
Input tax credit claim within 180 days of date of sale. Chennai, July 8 The Tamil Nadu Government plans to amend the VAT (Value Added Tax) Act to enable clarity for exporters claiming input ...

PETROLEUM: Oil cos’ shares rise on falling crude prices
BPCL, HPCL, IOC gain though oil and gas index falls. Mumbai, July 8 Shares of Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) rose on Wednesday as crude oil prices fell below $62 a barrel, the lowest it has reached in a month. Although the BSE Oil and Gas index ...

URBAN DEVELOPMENT: Storm water drainage project cost likely to go up 10%
Mumbai, July 8 The Brihan Mumbai Storm Water Drainage Project, which was allocated an additional Rs 300 crore from the Budget, could now see a ten per cent increase in cost from the originally estimated Rs 1,200 ...

TAXATION: Tax treatment for LLP on lines of partnership firms
Amendments to be made effective from April 1, 2010. New Delhi, July 8 A limited liability partnership (LLP) will be taxed on the same lines as partnership firms — this would mean taxation of profit in the hands of the entity; the partners ...

WATER: Delay-hit desalination project wants to buy sea water from CPCL
Chennai, July 8 Hit by delays in executing its desalination project, Chennai Water Desalination Ltd (CWDL) has requested Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd to supply sea water to it, it is ...

BUDGET: Corporates hail removal of FBT
Abolition of Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) has been welcomed by most in corporate India, which was widely perceived as more of an irritant for ...

BUDGET: Mixed reaction to Budget
The Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants Association (TFMA) has welcomed many of the announcements in the Union Budget. In a statement, Mr P. Subashchandrabose, said the abolition of fringe benefit tax, commodity transaction tax, increase in ...

STEEL: Govt measures to help steel consumption grow 6-8% this fiscal: Virbhadra
No need to impose higher import duty. New Delhi, July 8 The Indian steel industry, with its resilience and benefiting from the stimulus measures, was the third largest producer after China and Japan in the first five months of the year, said the ...

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: NRI scientists to help draft plan for sustainable development
Pune, July 8 Eminent scientists in India have announced plans to hold the first ever Global Indian Scientists and Technocrats (GIST) convention to help chalk out a plan where technology can be the basis for sustainable, inclusive ...

ENVIRONMENT: Sikkim embarks on ‘green drive’
Gangtok, July 8 Reinforcing its projection as a Green State, the Sikkim Government is set to add another chapter in its environmental security measures by launching a unique initiative called ‘Ten minutes to Greenery’ in Sikkim ...

EXPORTS & IMPORTS: SEZ units push up software exports from TN 29%
Govt keen to develop Tier II cities. Chennai, July 8 A steep increase in exports by information technology and IT-enabled Services (ITeS) units located at Special Economic Zones (SEZs) enabled Tamil Nadu to register a 29 per cent growth in ...

BUDGET: ‘Nothing in the Budget for Goa to cheer about’
Panaji, July 8 Mr Cesar Menezes, President of Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), on Monday, complimented the Union Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, for coming out with a Budget that will stimulate ...

BUDGET: A patch-up effort
The personal and corporate tax payers had incredible Budget expectations from the UPA Government. But the actual tax sops to the entire assessees fraternity were not much significant and was more of an effort on tinkering the old provisions to ...

TOURISM: ‘Domestic focus helped offset slowdown effect’
Login.Kerala initiative launched. A concerted effort to market Kerala to domestic tourists has helped the State’s tourism industry cope with the effects of the global economic slowdown, said the State Home and Tourism Minister, Mr Kodiyeri ...

TOURISM: Southern States plan forum to boost regional tourism
Bangalore, July 8 The southern States are exploring ways to boost tourism potential in the region by creating a platform and common programmes to promote ...

INCOME TAX: New tax code to be a simpler version: CBDT chairman
To make the law more understandable for an ordinary taxpayer. The proposed income-tax code is likely to consolidate all existing tax exemptions and concessions at one place, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman, Mr S.S.N. Moorthy, ...

BUDGET: Not a ‘green’ Budget
There is not much in the Budget for the energy and environment sector, except for increased allocation to Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme. There were just two major announcements for the energy sector ...

SOCIAL WELFARE: Only marginal relief to taxpayers
The proposal for Food Security scheme is a welcome step. By allocating more funds to National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the Budget has focussed on rural economy and it is to be appreciated. It contains nothing for the ...

LABOUR REFORMS: Kerala raises daily minimum wage to Rs 160
The Kerala Government has raised the minimum wages from Rs. 125 to Rs 160 a day. The Minister for Labour, Mr P.K. Gurudasan, said in reply to questions in the State Assembly on Wednesday that a decision had already been taken in this regard ...

RURAL DEVELOPMENT: Funds for rural development laudable
On an overall analysis, this is a completely satisfactory Budget. It is neither too tasty nor can be labelled as ‘insipid’! It is more ‘skewed’ towards recovery from recession as the need of the hour rather than look ...

POWER: Govt to foster competition in power sector
New Delhi, July 8 The Power Minister, Mr Sushilkumar Shinde, said on Wednesday that his Ministry’s policy initiatives will focus fostering competition and promoting investments in the ...

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY: Power cut woes
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CLIMATE & WEATHER: Monsoon patterns
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CLIMATE & WEATHER: Water woes
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COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES: HC vacates stay over e-auction of tea at Kochi
Kochi, July 8 The Kerala High Court has vacated the stay on e-auction of tea at Kochi Centre and expressed the hope that the Tea Board would see that the auction was conducted in a manner beneficial to all ...

EDUCATION: Pharma institute to come up near Madurai
Madurai, July 8 Under the direction of the Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers, Mr M.K. Azhagiri, a team of experts from the Department of Pharmaceuticals, under the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, inspected two sites ...

FOREIGN TRADE: CII’s standards portal to simplify Indo-US trade
New Delhi, July 8 The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Tuesday launched the ‘Standards Portal’ offering information on standards in 10 key sectors, including automotive, electronics, gem and jewellery and ...

EDUCATION: Australian delegation rules out racism in student attacks
Mumbai, July 8 “Australia is not a racist country. These are instances of opportunist crime,” is the message coming from a high-level Australian delegation now in India to dwell on measures taken to protect Indian ...

ECONOMY: ‘Thrust on rural economy is good for banks’
Mangalore, July 8 The Budget is good because ultimately it is supporting infrastructure, agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprises, according to Mr J.M. Garg, Chairman and Managing Director of Corporation Bank, If rural economy ...

URBAN DEVELOPMENT: Sustainable development needs to be inclusive: Selja
New Delhi, July 8 Delivering the inaugural address at the launch of the Habitat Business Forum on Tuesday, the Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Ms Kumari Selja, said that the current model of urbanisation provides less space ...

POWER: Power Minister to meet independent developers
New Delhi, July 8 The Power Minister, Mr Sushilkumar Shinde, will hold meetings with independent power developers and manufacturers to give impetus to the ongoing capacity addition ...

BUDGET: Higher fiscal deficit, only worrying factor
The Budget is clearly for upliftment of the living conditions of rural population who have been a maginalised lot so far. The only worrying factor is the huge fiscal deficit at 6.8 per cent of GDP and is in all likelihood poised to ...

BUDGET: A growth-oriented Budget
This is a growth-oriented Budget. In FY09, if we had seen an economic growth of 6.7 per cent, one of the major contributors to this growth was the Government expenditure and the stimulus packages by the Government. Since the Budget provides ...

EVENTS: Seminar on e-governance
Thiruvananthapuram: Public sector undertakings in the State should finalise their IT strategies and implementation plans at the earliest, said the State Industry Minister, Mr Elamaram Kareem. Speaking at a seminar ...

POWER: ‘Nuclear power generation will touch 6,700 MW by 2011’
Pune, July 8 Nuclear power generation in the country will touch 6,700 MW by early-2011 with increase in installed capacity as well as an improvement in the nuclear fuel situation, Dr Anil Kakodkar, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission of ...

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS: ICC plans investment meets in Singapore, Indonesia
Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC)plans to organise investment summits in Singapore and Indonesia this year to attract investments from South-East Asian countries as also to create awareness among Indian investors about investment opportunities ...

COAL: 29 coal projects await eco nod
New Delhi, July 8 A total of 29 coal projects meant for power generation in the country are awaiting environmental clearance, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday. “Coal India has requested the Environment Ministry to expedite ...

BUDGET: High fiscal deficit not good for markets: Experts
A fiscal deficit of 6.8 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and disappointment of industry with budgetary proposals resulted in the market crash on the day of budget announcements, said Prof Mubeen Rafat, Area Chairperson, Money, ...

EVENTS: Coimbatore cos sweep INTEC awards
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BUDGET: Jharkhand Budget presented in LS
The Jharkhand Budget for 2009-10, which has left a revenue surplus of Rs 2,293.37 crore and a fiscal deficit of Rs 2,459.30 crore, was presented in the Lok Sabha today. It was presented by the Minister of State for Finance, Mr Namo Narain Meena. ...

ENVIRONMENT: Sikkim to have climate cell
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