INDIA INTELLIGENCE REPORT

 

Economy & Business   

Excise duty on textiles likely
to go in next budget


What is India News Service, August 06, 2004, 2000 hrs IST


Finance Minister P Chidambaram has hinted that the existing tax structure on man-made fibres would be abolished in the next budget (2005-06) to give a fillip to this segment of the domestic textile industry.

Doing away with excise duty on pure cotton, wool and silk (whether fibre, yarn, fabric or garment) in this year's budget, he had announced it would still be applicable on all man-made staple fibre, polyester filament yarn and man-made filament yarn.

OVL-Gail eye 50 per cent stake in Daewoo: ONGC Videsh-Gail India consortium, which holds 30 per cent interest in gas field in offshore Myanmar, is eyeing 50 per cent stake of South Korean Daewoo International in an adjacent gas block. 

Afforestation gets separate fund
: The government may take a re-look at allowing the private sector to use wastelands for tree plantations. The Ministry of Environment and Forests has created a separate pool, called the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF), to ensure that funds received for afforestation are used for the purposes intended.

Company Law undergoes revision: The fresh attempt to revamp and simplify Company Law has been well-received by company secretary professionals. 

TCS IPO oversubscribed six times: Tata Consultancy Services' initial public offer has been oversubscribed six times, according to merchant bankers. This figure is likely to go up as uploading of applications is still underway. 

MNCs reworking India strategy: Even though the finer implications of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Thailand are yet to become clear, multinational players have begun reworking the economics of operating from India. 

'Broadband policy will be consumer-friendly': The Communications and IT Minister, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, said that his broadband policy, to be unveiled next week, will be consumer-friendly. The policy would be aimed at increasing Internet usage through tax concessions and incentives.

Maharashtra sets up panel on farmers' suicides: The state government has decided to appoint a committee to analyse and recommend steps to curb suicides by agriculturists. A fund with an initial corpus of Rs 10 crore is likely to be set up to enable the government to provide financial assistance for the next of kin of farmers who have committed suicide. 

GAIL's KUPL pipeline: Gail has claimed that natural gas consumers in the supply constrained market of western India would clearly benefit from the competitive tariff offered by the company for its proposed 956 km Kakinada-Uran pipeline (KUPL). 

Coal scarcity artificial, rues brick-kiln industry: The recent hike in coal prices by 16.7 per cent and scarcity in the market have adversely hit the brick kiln industry across the country. Consequently, brick prices have gone up by about 25 per cent. 

Sony eyes Rs 1200-cr turnover: Sony India announced it would adopt an aggressive growth strategy for Indian markets. The company plans to double its sales by 2006. 

P&G inks pact with CSIR: US-based Procter and Gamble has tied up with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to support acceleration of its \91Connect and Develop\92 (C+D) strategy for collaborative research in India. 

Samsung rolls out Olympic series mobiles: Targeting 22 per cent growth in handset sales, Samsung has launched three slide phones as its Olympic series. The company is the global wireless communications sponsor at the Athens Olympics, beginning August 13, 2004. 

MTNL keen on overseas mergers & acquisitions: Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has earmarked Rs 1,000 crore and instructed its merchant bankers to look out for mergers and acquisitions opportunities in overseas markets. 

WTO ruling on sugar brings cheer to India: As a result of the WTO ruling, Brussels would have to eliminate trade-distorting subsidies in a short period. 

TN woos Bangalore\92s IT cos: Tamil Nadu made a good sales pitch for Chennai to attract IT and BPO companies, citing good infrastructure, availability of quality workforce and more importantly continuity of its policies on IT.

Car crash tests to be mandatory: The Government is set to make crash tests mandatory for all new vehicles in the country in another two years as part of its safety road map. 

Beware of education frauds: Students who fall prey to unethical agents promising seats abroad are mainly from the villages.

Sensex rises by 84 pts: It recovered smartly on all-round buying, and after wiping out all its losses of the past two days, closed at 5,253, showing a sharp 84 point gain over the previous close. 


Overall:


Excise duty on textiles may go next year: The finance minister said the existing tax structure on man-made fibres would be altered in the next budget.

Government sets up funds for afforestation: Called the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF), it seeks to ensure that the funds received for afforestation are not diverted elsewhere.

Broadband policy will be consumer-friendly: IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran said his policy, scheduled for unveiling next week, would make broadband access cheaper.