The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, February 27, 2002

Cut deficit, lift growth: Survey
THE Economic Survey for 2001-02 has suggested policy initiatives and deepening of reforms in agriculture, industry and infrastructure to unleash competitive forces and stimulate economic growth. The survey, tabled in the Lok Sabha by the ... More

Economic Survey 2001-02
The following are excerpts from the General Review of the Economic Survey 2001-02 tabled in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday: Macro-economic overview THE Indian economy is passing through a difficult phase caused by several unfavourable ... More

A strong case for revamp of tax administration
The survey highlights the paradox that though considerable progress has been made over the past 10 years in the reform of the Indian tax system in all its aspects, tax revenue receipts have remained below 10 per cent of GDP throughout this period. More

Shift in agri policy recommended
The large accumulation of rice and wheat stocks, along with a distinct shift in consumption pattern from cereals to non-cereals, calls for radical policy changes in the agriculture sector in favour of commercial crops, says the Survey. More

Will Sinha's fifth reverse the slide?
INDUSTRY hopes that the key issues of public investment and industrial reforms raised in the Economic Survey will be answered when the Union Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, unveils his fifth Budget on February 28. In the meanwhile, in ... More

Bank funding for cos may dry up
THE corporate sector is in for a double blow. Companies are not only going to find fresh funding from banks and institutions hard to access, they might also have to give up hopes of softer rates for whatever little is made available to ... More

Interest rate on small savings may be cut
`The adjustment of the administered interest rates has not yet been commensurate with the greater fall in inflation.' More

A silver lining for tourism sector
DESPITE the gloom scenario painted by the Survey, the travel industry feels that the Government can arrest the decline in international tourist arrivals and the resultant fall in foreign exchange earnings. This, it suggests, can be done by ... More

Govt in no hurry to relax capital controls
THE advocates of liberalisation of the capital account, whose numbers have been dwindling, have more reasons to feel dejected. First it was the apex bank, which sent out signals that liberalisation of the capital account was a process and not a ... More

Survey clear about core concerns
WITH barely a day for the Union Budget 2002-03 to be presented, the Pre-Budget Economic Survey has thrown up enough hints as to how the fiscal proposals and policy announcements to pep up the economic growth to a desirable level should be ... More

10 PSUs to be divested by March
WITH about half of the annual disinvestment target of Rs 12,000 crore already in its kitty, the Union Government has lined up 18 more public enterprises for privatisation during the coming months. These include Air India, Indian Airlines, ... More

Concern over recession
THE Bharat Chamber of Commerce has expressed concern over the Economic Survey painting a gloomy picture. In a statement issued here, the President of BCC, Mr H.M. Bangur, said that a lower GDP growth of 5.4 per cent, higher fiscal deficit of ... More

ANTI-DUMPING

Anti-dumping duty on pentaerythritol imports
THE Designated Authority in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has recommended the imposition of provisional anti-dumping duty on the import of pentaerythritol from Canada, Japan and Taiwan. Pentaerythritol finds application in the ... More

BUDGET

Budget paying only lip service to the poor: Experts
For many planners, poverty is an "abstract kind of thing''. Some are born in villages and still go back now and then, but others have become really cosmopolitan and fly more often to the West than stay in villages. More

Economist to present alternative Budget
ECONOMIST and management consultant, Mr Arindam Chaudhuri, will be presenting his version of an alternative Union Budget 2002 a day before the real thing. Mr Chaudhuri, author of the bestseller Count your chickens before they hatch, ... More

CEMENT

Cement prices may stay firm
THE domestic construction industry and retail consumers of cement may well have to reconcile to prices staying firm, although the haulage of cement over distances will be reduced marginally by the Railways. Cement manufacturers have indicated ... More

ENVIRONMENT

WTC scrap not toxic, says study
THE investigations carried out by SGS India Pvt Ltd on the samples of steel scrap from the World Trade Center (WTC) wreckage show no toxic contamination. According to a copy of the report, made available to Business Line by scrap ... More

POWER

SEBs will have to shell out more for fuel
THE State electricity boards, which are struggling to stay afloat, will now have to bear the burden of an additional fuel bill of close to Rs 250 crore in the 2002-03 fiscal due to the rise in coal freight costs by 0.83 per cent. This estimate ... More

STEEL

Steel industry hit by hike in key input costs
THE Railway Budget provisions are being seen as a mixed bag for the steel industry, which is already in trouble. While the increase in freight tariff for major inputs like iron ore, coal and limestone proposed in the Budget has hit the steel ... More

Mixed reaction from steel cos
THE hike in transport costs for key inputs used in steel manufacture, courtesy the Railway Budget, will have varied impact on leading steel companies. "This budget continues to use the administrative mechanism to push up the cost of steel ... More

WATER MANAGEMENT

India, France to join hands for cyber varsity
COLLABORATION between France and India has come a long way especially in groundwater research and the two Governments have agreed to set up laboratories, one real and another virtual, to promote research and exchange information through various ... More

COAL

Coal cos fear loss of long-distance consumers
THE state-owned coal companies and bulk coal consumers in the core and non-core sectors are upset with the Railway Minister's proposal to increase the coal freight by 0.83 per cent over the existing rates up to a distance of 700 km. The ... More

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS

Now, rating for hospitals
MUMBAI: The Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd (Crisil) has rated three hospitals in the country as Grade A in the first ever attempt to grade healthcare institutions. The rating agency said that the healthcare institution ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

Nitish gets thumbs-up from industry captains
INDUSTRY has welcomed the move towards rationalisation of railway tariffs and other measures announced in the Railway Budget 2002-03. The President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Mr Sanjiv Goenka, stated that the move ... More

Sinha to address CII meet on March 4

DISINVESTMENT

Cabinet committee meet on HPCL, BPCL sell-off today
THE Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment (CCD) is expected to meet on Wednesday to consider proposals for privatisation of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) through the strategic sale route. The ... More

INCOME TAX

Tax portal to help filing of I-T returns
THE income-tax portal "incometaxinfo.com'', alongwith Union Budget coverage, has also planned to help individual taxpayers submit their return for a modest fee of Rs 200 through online and offline facilities of the portal. According to the ... More

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Cabinet committee meet on HPCL, BPCL sell-off today

10 PSUs to be divested by March

Cut deficit, lift growth: Survey

Push for goods, shove for passengers

Rlys focus shifting from bulk transporter to logistics aide

In Depth
Inside Kashmir

Guide to derivatives

US-64

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Feb. 17-Feb. 23
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