Monday, 7 February 2005, 1400 hrs

TOP STORIES
Delhi turns up heat: Nepal
king meets Indian envoy
Gyanendra’s promised action against Maoist insurgents, seeking to overthrow his rule, could take a hit because military supplies from India are unable to reach the Valley. India may also reconsider its military aid proposals

BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Budget may fix excise at
16 pc, hike service tax
Items falling in the 24 per cent and 8 per cent slabs should be covered under the Cenvat rate of 16 per cent. The finance ministry is also considering hiking service tax from 10 to 12 per cent

Times of India
India may have to deal with
Gyanendra’s China card option 
The announcement in the Nepali media last week that a bus service will soon be launched between Kathmandu and Lhasa was not news to South Block. An agreement was signed between Nepal and China last November, but it assumes greater significance in the light of the recent coup

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Tribune
Trouble in the neighbourhood
There is trouble in India’s neighbourhood and Dr Manmohan Singh and his government may have to spend time and effort to decide what exactly to do in the evolving solution which is certainly not to its liking. By H K DUA

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Asia Times
Right royal headache for India 
New Delhi has described the seizure of power by King Gyanendra in Nepal as a "serious setback" to the cause of democracy and said it "cannot but be a cause of grave concern to India". Grave indeed, for India's strategic and security aspirations, in the short term at least. - SULTAN SHAHIN
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The Hindu
No western monopoly on modernity
American dominance is bound to wither as Asia's confidence grows. By MARTIN JACQUES

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Indian Express
Must secondary ADRs avoid capital gains? 
Companies planning a secondary American Depository Receipt issue have raised an interesting demand that investors offering their shares in the ADR should be exempt from capital gains tax and be allowed to pay the tiny Securities Transaction Tax levied on secondary market transactions instead. By SUCHETA DALAL

EDITORIAL PICKS

Bhutan smoking out the weed (The Hindu)
Controlling Mr Bush (The Hindu)
CJ goes to Guwahati (Tribune)
Power policy (Tribune)
Modi retreats (Tribune)