The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, March 01, 2008

FARM CREDIT
Loan waiver is win-win for all: S.K. Goel
Kolkata, Feb. 29 The CMDs of three Kolkata-based public sector banks welcomed the waiver of farm loans, as announced by the Union Finance Minister in his budget speech on Friday. “It is a win-win for all i.e. for the government, ... More

BUDGET
Loan waiver: Bankers await the fine print
Govt to take care of banks’ liquidity; bank stocks recoup early losses More

Opening the gates for irrigation
Budget 2008 has no surprises for the Infrastructure sector. While the irrigation and road segments will continue to receive favours, not many incentives were dispensed to the power sector. Similarly, no special support was evident to ... More

Hesitant repayment of debt of gratitude
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Overdue focus on agriculture
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4 cr farmers to benefit from debt waiver scheme
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‘Budget for next general election, not next generation’
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‘Focus is on agricultural growth’
The Finance Minister delivered the budget for 2008-09 to Parliament on Friday, February 29, 2008. Citing concerns on the rise in commodity prices worldwide and the risk of inflation as a result of higher commodity prices, the Minister ... More

Less-than friendly to commodity derivatives
Contrary to expectation, the Union Budget 2008-2009 has turned out to be less-than friendly to the commodity derivatives sector. Henceforth, all commodity trade transactions on futures exchanges will attract a commodity turnover tax ... More

Cardamom, pepper to benefit
Special attention given to pepper and cardamom may have positive impact on these plantation crops. Replanting of the existing low yielding plantations with high yielding varieties could lead to increased productivity per hectare. However, its ... More

Sugar, edible oil sectors feel let down by Budget
Proposals silent on relisting of wheat, rice futures More

Loan waiver for small, marginal farmers
While I am confident that the schemes and measures that I have listed will give a boost to the agriculture sector, the question that still looms large is what we should do about the indebtedness of farmers. Honourable members will recall that ... More

New institution to fund irrigation projects
Notwithstanding some shortcomings, the growth of agricultural credit has been impressive and for this I have to thank our scheduled commercial banks and Regional Rural Banks. Between them, they account for about 75-79 per cent of agricultural ... More

Widening the field
Proposals in the 2008 Union Budget may fuel strong demand and open up new business opportunities for fertiliser makers, in the form of greater flexibility and differentiation possibilities for their products. For one, the Budget has taken a ... More

‘Commodity transaction tax to hit price discovery’
The Budget for the year 2008-09 is a mixed bag. It is a populist and pragmatic one, conducive to growth. The Finance Minister is clearly focusing on balanced growth while addressing primary concerns of the slowdown in GDP and inflation, ... More

All smiles
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Commodity trading to turn a costly affair
Mumbai, Feb 29 Introduction of commodity transaction tax (CTT) similar to that of securities transaction tax (STT) seems to have not gone well with the exchanges and broking firms alike.Apart from the 12 per cent service tax, the Union ... More

Plantation sector happy with allocations
Coimbatore, Feb. 29 The plantation sector has welcomed the announcements on rescheduling loans, loan waiver to small and marginal farmers and allocations made for replantation and rejuvenation of plantation crops.The UPASI President, Mr ... More

‘Loan waivers, a courageous move’
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Flowing benefits
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Prompt payers may feel cheated: Experts
Mangalore, Feb. 29 “Farmers do not need loan waiver. Rather, the Finance Minister should improve the pricing structure of agriculture commodities,” was what the reaction of Mr Sunny D’Souza, Secretary of the ... More

Budget may boost irrigation demand
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‘Treat poultry farming at par with agriculture’
Loan, interest waiver to small, marginal farmers sought More

Mixed reactions from edible oil industry
Hyderabad, Feb. 29 The edible oil industry is divided over the proposals made in the Budget. While the Central Organisation for Oil Industry and Trade (COOIT) feels the move to not cut Customs duty on edible oil is a welcome feature, ... More

Need renewed focus on productivity, R&D
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Spin-off effect likely from loan waiver
The Rs 60,000 crore debt waiver should set off a tremendous spin-off. This should instil confidence in the farmers and help them to concentrate in sowing and tilling instead of worrying over paying back loans or getting fresh loans for ... More

PLANTATIONS
BCCT withdrawal: Good for planters
Coimbatore, Feb. 29 The withdrawal of the Banking Cash Transaction Tax (BCTT) from April 1, 2009, planters say “is a positive signal for the plantation sector.”Commenting on the BCTT withdrawal, Mr. D. P. Maheshwari, ... More

RUBBER
Spot rubber prices improve
Kottayam, Feb. 29 Spot market showed a positive trend on Friday. Sheet rubber firmed up by 50 paise to Rs 101 a kg at Kottayam while the grade closed steady at the same level in Kochi. The market responded positively to the Union Budget and ... More

TEA
Welcome move: Rs 20 cr for tea research
Kolkata, Feb.29 The tea industry, in general, has welcomed the Union Budget for 2008-09, pointing out that the allocation of Rs 20 crore to Tea Research Association at Tocklai in Jorhat will boost research in tea, thus indirectly benefiting ... More

Record price for Karibetta Estate tea
A top quality speciality tea from Kairbetta Estate Syndicate in Nilgiris fetched the top price of Rs 910 per kg at a sale in Kochi. The tea was sold by private treaty by J. Thomas & Co to JFK International Kochi for their principals in ... More

SPICES & CONDIMENTS
Pepper futures continue upward run
Kochi, Feb. 29 Pepper futures market continued its upward run on Friday on high speculation based on the sharp rise in Vietnam pepper. Investors were active selling futures and buying exchange delivered pepper. Indian parity touched ... More