The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, July 22, 2004

BUDGET
Transaction tax stays with differential rates — Chidambaram exempts bond trades
THE Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, today brought cheer to market players by announcing that the 0.15 per cent securities transaction tax (STT) proposed in his Budget would be confined to only delivery-based trade in equities, even while ... More

Markets cheer partial relief
THE relief on transaction tax announced by the Finance Minister was greeted with cheers by both debt and equity markets. Stock prices, which were rangebound all morning, shot up immediately following the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram's ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE
ELCOT in tie-up for Mahindra City
MAHINDRA Industrial Park Ltd has entered into an agreement with Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT) to promote Mahindra City, an industrial park, as a destination for investors in information technology and information ... More

ADB talks forcibly stopped in Kerala
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A team of visiting Asian Development Bank (ADB) consultants was forced to wind up discussions on various projects at the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Office following protests from a section of employees on Tuesday. ... More

Industrial park proposed near Krishnapatnam port in Nellore dist
HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) proposes to establish a mega industrial park in and around Krishnapatnam port in Nellore district of the State in an extent of 1329.43 acres, the State Minister ... More

PETROLEUM
LNG pricing issue to be referred to tariff panel
THE Inter-Ministerial Group on liquefied natural gas (LNG) pricing headed by the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, in its first meeting held here on Wednesday, decided to refer the issue of pricing of imported LNG to the Tariff Commission. ... More

SSI
Now, small entrepreneurs can bank on micro-credit
WITH development financial institutions by and large bypassing small entrepreneurs, micro-finance institutions (MFIs) have now come to their rescue. The sway of MFIs in the development debate touched a new high last ... More

COAL
Coal throughput declines at Paradip port
PARADIP port's thermal coal throughput is showing a downward trend. The port has targeted to handle one million tonnes of thermal coal every month on an average. The average was maintained in April and May. From June, the throughput has been ... More

TERRORISM
AP Govt not to renew PW ban
HYDERABAD: Removing a major roadblock in the proposed talks with CPI (ML) (People's War), the Andhra Pradesh Government has decided not to renew the ban on the Naxalite party and its six front organisations. The ban, which was first ... More

EDUCATION
REPCO Bank loan scheme for schools
CHENNAI: REPCO Bank on Tuesday announced a loan scheme at a concessional interest rate for schools that wished to replace their thatched roofs with tiled/asbestos/concrete ones. The upper limit of a loan under the scheme is Rs 5 lakh, ... More

Kerala Govt directive on school structures
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Chief Minister, Mr A.K. Antony, has directed officials to expedite repair and maintenance of schools and anganwadis and ensure safety of the pupils. The Chief Minister issued the directive at a conference ... More

BEVERAGES
Who will mandate norms — BIS or CCFS, cola cos ask
THE draft guidelines on the pesticide residue limit circulated by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) may not cut much ice as soft drink manufacturers are likely to seek refuge in the multiplicity of Government departments prescribing norms on ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Three-day property expo from tomorrow in Kochi
THE Kerala Builders' Forum, the fraternity of residential developers in the State, is organising a three-day Property Expo here from Friday at Hotel Avenue Centre. As many as 19 premier builders and 12 housing finance institutions will be ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
FICCI awarded for boosting trade links with Israel
ISRAEL'S Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labour has recognised the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), along with 16 other organisations, for their outstanding contribution in strengthening ... More

CREDIT RATING
ICRA signs MoU with Bulgarian agency
MARKING the entry of the first Indian credit rating agency into the European market, ICRA Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bulgarian Credit Rating Agency (BCRA). As per the MoU, according to an ICRA statement here, ... More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
Left parties in no mood to relent on FDI hike
THE Left parties appear be in no mood to relent on their demand for a rollback on the Budget announcement of hike in FDI in insurance, telecom and aviation, despite the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, expressing the hope of being able to ... More

EVENTS
ASCI hosts programme on urban management
THE Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI), Hyderabad in collaboration with the World Bank Institute has for the first time in Asia launched a three-week certification programme in urban management. The programme was inaugurated on ... More

Chidambaram to meet I-T chiefs
THE Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, will address Chief Commissioners of Income-Tax (CCIT) at a conference to be held in the Capital on July 26. Informed sources said that the Minister would address Chief Commissioners of Customs and Excise ... More

Bio fuel workshops
HYDERABAD: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) in coordination with the Environment Protection Training and Research Institute is holding workshops for spreading awareness among farmers regarding cultivation of ... More

In Hyderabad today

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Differential duty may lead to misuse of oil import sops
COMPLEXITIES in the duty structure of the vegetable oils industry, and objections arising there from, seem to be never ending. Differences in customs duty, quality of imported material and in the integrity of players all make decision-making ... More

Exports in June post 34 pc growth
CRUISING on the crest of a pickup in global economy in general and international trade in particular, India's exports during June 2004 notched up a higher growth of 34.32 per cent compared to the corresponding month in 2003. First quarter export ... More

ECONOMIC OFFENCES
Chidambaram hints at harsh measures against tax evaders
IN his own subtle way, the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, on Wednesday made it very clear that the Government will have no alternative but be harsh with those taxpayers who do not voluntarily own up what is due to the Central ... More