The Hindu Business Line : Friday, March 04, 2005

Little in Budget to cheer small tea growers
SMALL tea growers in the Nilgiris have expressed their disappointment over the Union Budget. "There is nothing in the Budget that can answer our woes," Mr M. Bhojarajan, President of the Nilgiris Small Tea Growers Association, told Business ... More

Cash withdrawal tax may turn into nightmare for banks
THE taxman's noose that is chasing customers who withdraw large sums of cash from their bank accounts, is sending shivers through another set of people who feel that they might eventually turn out to be major victims of the new tax — the ... More

Union Budget: `Concessional duty withdrawal will hit metal processors'
THE Coimbatore-based small-scale metal processing units using steel have said that they are badly hit by the Union Budget 2005-06, which has withdrawn concessional excise duty for units showing turnover above Rs 1 crore but below Rs 3 ... More

`Scrapping excise on edible oil good move'
Complimenting the Union Finance Minister for presenting a "far sighted, wholesome and growth-oriented dream Budget, benefiting all sections of people," the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has thanked the Centre for removing the excise ... More

ECONOMY

Footprints of a community
Faced with dwindling numbers the Chitrapur Saraswat community, which boasts of talent ranging from Guru Dutt to Nandan Nilekani, gets together to record its illustrious history. More

Maharashtra annual Plan fixed at Rs 11,000 cr
THE annual Plan of Maharashtra for the next fiscal has been determined at Rs 11,000 crore, inclusive of additional Central assistance of Rs 160 crore for completion of important irrigation projects. This has been decided here at a meeting ... More

Crisil sees 7 pc growth in economy
Hotels will register growth both in room rates as well as occupancy rates. More

`Mid-term appraisal document to be ready soon'
THE Planning Commission intends to convene a full meeting of its members presided over by the Prime Minister, who is its Chairman, during the Parliament recess early next month to consider the Mid-Term Appraisal (MTA) document, according to the ... More

ENVIRONMENT

CII seeks solid waste disposal sites in Coimbatore
THE CII has asked the Tamil Nadu Government to establish solid waste disposal sites for industry at Melaikottyur and Gummidipoondi here. In a statement, Mr N. Krishna Samaraj, Chairman, CII, Coimbatore Zone, said while he welcomed the ... More

FOREIGN TRADE

Indo-EU parliamentary forum to be launched
WITH Indo-European relations poised for a giant leap, an Indo-European Union Parliamentary Forum (IEUPF) is to be launched shortly under the auspices of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The Chairman of the ... More

Hyderabad inks trade pact with Korean city
THE State Government has invited Korean IT, electronics and telecom majors such as Samsung and SK Telecom to invest in the State and has assured them of necessary support. A delegation from Suwon City, South Korea called upon the State Chief ... More

HEALTH

Despite failing to spend allocation ...
Health Ministry may ask for more
THE Health Ministry may be seeking a hike in budgetary allocation but it has managed to utilise less than half of the funds allocated for this year. This despite the fact that the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) having stated ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE

Mumbai suburbs undergoing makeover
THE face of greater Mumbai is changing with massive infrastructure projects involving road or flyover constructions being implemented on a regular basis. Over Rs 5,000 crore is being spent on these projects that will be completed by 2007. ... More

Bengal plans makeover for Howrah city
THE West Bengal Government is planning to rejuvenate Howrah city, which used to be known in the olden days as the Ruhr Valley of India for its famed forging and casting units. The project will be taken up in collaboration with the Department of ... More

PETROLEUM

Kerosene demand going up in AP
THE demand for free trade kerosene (FTK) has spiralled, following the rationalisation in the distribution of kerosene through the public distribution system , in the State. Consequently, supply orders from more than 100 consumers totalling ... More

Cess on petrol, diesel will cancel out gains on refining margins: Crisil
INDIAN crude oil refiners are expected to make an average $6 (Rs 260) on every barrel processed during 2005-06, according to ratings agency Crisil. High refining margins will, however, be offset by a loss of close to Rs 2,900 crore on higher ... More

ONGC close to striking gas in K-G 1 block
OIL and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd is said to be on the verge of striking gas at a field in the Krishna-Godavari basin off the country's eastern coast that could hold reserves of up to 8 trillion cubic feet (226.5 billion cu metres). But, the ... More

TAXATION

TN trade, industry bodies want quick shift to VAT
TRADE and industry associations in Tamil Nadu have demanded that the State Government shift to value added tax (VAT) system without delay. Reacting to the Finance Minister, Mr C. Ponnaiyan's budget announcement that the Government would ... More

VAT Bill introduced in AP
The Bill provides for imposition of 4 per cent value added sales tax on 91 items and exemption of 47 from tax purview. More

Service tax exemption on forex payments to go
COME March 15, the existing service tax exemption on taxable services for which payments are received in convertible foreign exchange will stand withdrawn. The Finance Ministry has also issued export of services rules, which seek to spell out the ... More

AP drug traders' body seeks exemption from VAT
THE Federation of Drug Traders of Andhra Pradesh has urged the State Government to follow the example of West Bengal and a few other States and exempt the drug trade from the VAT Act coming into force from April, "as otherwise the implementation ... More

Tally launches VAT software
FINANCIAL accounting software company Tally Solutions on Thursday launched a Value Added Tax (VAT) complaint business accounting solution - Tally 7.2 - as the country gears up for VAT regime from April 1. Aimed at the over eight ... More

Veiled attack
Members of Delhi Gram Vikas Panchayat demonstrating in the Capital on Thursday against house tax on commercial complexes in urban and rural villages in the National Capital Region. ... More

TEXTILES

Textile industry for more I-T sops
THE textile industry, which has been provided with a host of concessions in the Budget, wants the Government to provide it with income-tax sops since it has been recognised as an engine of economic growth in the next few years. It also wants ... More

SSI

Allocation for small sector `meagre'
THE Madurai District Tiny And Small Scale Industries Association (Maditssia) has welcomed the various development schemes in the Union Budget for 2005-2006, including the long-awaited Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) development bill. However, ... More

TYRES

Govt not inclined to relook at tyre import duties
THE Finance Ministry does not seem inclined to accept the request of certain tyre makers for a relook at what some called a Budget-induced inverted import duty structure on the tyre industry. Budget 2005-06 had reduced the basic Customs duty ... More

WATER

`Own your water connection' scheme on cards in Kerala
THE State Government proposes to introduce Own Your Water Supply Connections in the lines of the Own Your Electric Connection (OYEC) for expedited sanction of new supply lines. Announcing this, the State Water Resources Minister, Mr ... More

Drinking water plant
HYDERABAD: Byrraju Foundation in partnership with the Twin City Rotary Clubs and Ashram Charitable Trust has donated a drinking water plant located at Kondlakoyya in Ranga Reddy district. This plant, according to a release here, was ... More

GEMS & JEWELLERY

Budget reaction
Jewellery shops in Hyderabad remained closed on Thursday in protest against the Union Budget proposal to impose 2 per cent excise duty on branded jewellery.

TN jewellers down shutters in protest against Central levy
IN protest against the 2 per cent Central excise duty on branded jewellery announced in the Union Budget, jewellers in Tamil Nadu are shutting shops for two days, starting from 4 p.m. on Thursday. Three associations, the Tamil Nadu Jewellers ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

Sanghi to serve 2nd term as Assocham President
NEW DELHI: With the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry seeing a literal reversal in its fortunes over the past year, its current President, Mr M. K. Sanghi, is all set to serve a second term. Mr Sanghi would be the first ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

DST mulls sending cyclone warnings through cell phones
CELLULAR users in the country's coastal regions could start getting cyclone warning signals well in advance. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) will be meeting various cellular operators in order to explore the possibility of using ... More

Kerala looks to NRI funds for nanotech centre
THE Norka-Roots Development Initiative of the Department of Non-Resident Keralite Affairs (Norka) will promote the proposed nanotechnology centre, claimed to be the first such in the country, being set up here. Announcing this here, Mr M.M. ... More

GENDER

An acre of her own
As men migrate to urban areas in search of paid labour, women are increasingly donning the tiller's mantle. A Women's Day feature on the feminisation of agriculture. More

SOCIAL WELFARE

Learning anew
Do schools measure children's failures rather than success? Can we create a curriculum where the child matters, not the subject? Questions that haunted a recent meet on children and schooling. More

Flying high
When Captain Indraani Singh is not flying, she helps children of daily wage earners become productive and responsible citizens. More

Enabling act
`Rehabilitation counsellors can facilitate the movement of disabled people into the world of work.' More

EVENTS

EEPC to hold Indiatech Fair in Jakarta from March 9
ENGINEERING exports, accounting for 16 per cent share of the country's total exports, and in a position to scale this up to 18 per cent by the end of this fiscal, has launched a major exercise to explore the Asean markets, particularly Indonesia ... More

Dentist Day on Sunday
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala chapter of the Indian Dental Association (IDA) will celebrate `dentist day' on March 6. Announcing this at a press conference in the city on Thursday, Dr Alias Thomas, President of the IDA's Kerala ... More

Talk on VAT
MANGALORE: The Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) will hold a talk on `value-added tax' (VAT) in Mangalore on March 5. A KCCI release said here on Thursday that the former Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr M. Veerappa Moily, ... More

Suminfra from July 28
HYDERABAD: The third edition of Suminfra, or Summit on Sustainable Public-Private Partnerships in Infrastructure, is being jointly organised by CII and the Andhra Pradesh Government. The two-day summit, starting on July 28, will focus on ... More

Student fair begins in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: The Global Training and Education Exhibition (GETEX), an extension of GETEX-Dubai, a student recruitment exhibition, was inaugurated here on Thursday. The three-day event is jointly organised by International Conference and ... More

In Hyderabad today

INCOME TAX

The logic of tax on fringe benefits, savings
The Budget has taken giant strides in bringing transparency to the tax regime. More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

TN zone export units' turnover to cross Rs 5,000 cr
EXPORTS from 100 per cent export oriented units (EOUs) in the Tamil Nadu zone, which covers Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Andaman and Nicobar islands, are likely to be Rs 5,000 crore for fiscal ending March 31, 2005 against Rs 4,704 crore last ... More

TRENDS

Wakf lands `encroached' in AP
HYDERABAD: Large extents of the Wakf lands spread across Andhra Pradesh have been encroached. According to the Minister for Minorities Welfare, Mr Mohd Fariduddin, an extent of 81,595 acres of land out of 1.45 lakh acres belonging to ... More

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TN zone export units' turnover to cross Rs 5,000 cr

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