India News: February 2006

Union Budget aim at 10% economic growth: FM
Tuesday, February 28, 2006 | MP

Finance Minister P. Chidambaram presenting the Union Budget for 2006-07 in Parliament stated that the government is determined to take the country to a 10% economic growth. The GDP was projected likely to be 8.1% for 2006-07. The GDP growth for 2005-06 was 7.5%. Savings marked up 21.9% of GDP. The growth for manufacturing sector is at 9.4% and agriculture bounced back to 2.6%. Barring mining, all other sectors were said to be performing satisfactorily. The Budget proposed that 96% of Golden Quadrilateral to be completed by June and larger budgetary support for Bharat Nirman project.

High security ahead of Bush’s India visit
Monday, February 27, 2006 | MP

Ahead of the US President George W. Bush’s visit to India, security has been tightened at the national capital and the VIP areas. The US President will be on a 3 day visit to India starting from Wednesday. The President and his delegation will be staying at the Maurya Sheraton Hotel which is electronically wired with hi-tech gadgets with a team of US secret service agents taking charge of the three floors of the hotel. Officials from the US Homeland Security Department along with those from Special Protection Group and National Security Guards will be keeping a close watch of the security scenario during Bush’s visit to Delhi.

Roundtable meet address on autonomy and self rule in J&K
Sunday, February 26, 2006 | MP

Primeminister Manmohan Singh focussed on issues of autonomy and self-rule in the state of Jammu and Kashmir during the round table conference that was initiated by the government. "I recognise that there are many differing views and perception on this issue. There is a need to evolve a common understanding on the issue of autonomy and self-rule for the state of Jammu and Kashmir,” said Mr Singh. The meet was attended by leaders of various political parties, NGO and intellectuals from Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh but some separatist groups including Hurriyat stayed away from the meet. But the Hurriyat expressed its readiness to attend the next round table conference that would be held in Srinagar in May.

Rail Budget: 55 new trains,AC Garib Raths soon
Saturday, February 25, 2006 | MP

The Railway Buget for 2006-07 presented by Union Railways Minister Lalu Prasda Yadav promised a passenger friendly budget with reduced fares of AC I by 18% and AC II by 10% while lower class fares were left untouched. Besides the Rail Minister announced 55 new trains and extension of 37 trains. He also announced 50% discount for farmers traveling in sleeper classes. Another major announcement was the introduction of fully air conditioned Garib Rath trains whose fares will be 25% lower than the AC III tier trains. These trains will be run initially on a pilot basis that will cover Delhi, Patna, Chennai and Saharsa.

Major rise in India's Forex tourism income
Friday, February 24, 2006 | MP

India's Forex tourism income earnings has seen a sharp rise with the year 2005 witnessing a 20% rise compared to its previous years. However foreign exchange earnings spend by the outbound travel Indians are seen much higher than its earnings from the inbound tourism. Among the international tourists visiting India, those from US,UK are seen as the biggest spenders followed by the France, Australia and Germany.Among the cardholder spendings by the forigners, retail goods like those spend on jwellery, watches, garments etc. ranked the highest (34%). This is followed by sectors like accommodation (27%), transport (9%), home construction and furnishing (2%) and healthcare (1%).

India should place civil N-plan under IAEA: Bush
Thursday, February 23, 2006 | MP

Days ahead of his India visit, US president George W Bush said that India should seek separation of civilian and nuclear military programmes and bring the civilian ones under the IAEA norms. While admitting that it was a difficult decision to make, he said that it would take time and patience to implement the plan. While addressing the Asia society in Washington, he also greeted Indian government's efforts to open its markets to foreign trade, but called on them to "continue to lift its cap on foreign investment, but make its rules and regulations more transparent and to continue to lower its tariffs and open its markets to American agricultural products, industrial goods and services".

World class theme parks to come up in Delhi
Wednesday, February 22, 2006 | MP

Indian children too can enjoy the benefits of world class theme parks as the likes of Disneyland with major international firms all set to build two amusement parks in Delhi. The two popular entertainment channels, Cartoon Network and Pogo channel characters will be brought alive in these theme parks including favourite characters, like Tom and Jerry, Johny Bravo, Powerpuff Girls etc. The Planet Pogo theme park will come up at the Rohini premises spread over 3.5 acres will be open by end of 2006 while the 6.8 acres Cartoon Network Townsville theme park will be set up at Noida which is expected to open by mid 2007.Turner International, is investing Rs 5.5 billion for the project jointly with International Recreation Parks Private Ltd and Unitech Amusement Parks Ltd. The theme parks that will maintain the European Safety Standards is expected to draw a large number of domestic and foreign tourists apart from children.

India, France sign for civilian nuclear deal
Tuesday, February 21, 2006 | MP

France in a joint declaration with India has signed for civilian nuclear deal on the ‘development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes’. "France and India will ensure that cooperation pursuant to the future agreement shall be exclusively for peaceful purposes and covered where applicable by appropriate safeguards with the IAEA," the declaration said. French President Chirac said that the cooperation was based on its position that India should have access to international technology and material for development of its civil nuclear sector to overcome its rising energy requirements.

No human bird flu cases: Center
Monday, February 20, 2006 | MP

With bird flu affecting the polutry birds of Maharastra and Gujarat region in the country, precautionary steps are underway to prevent the outbreak of the avian influenza. The Center Government had said that there were no cases of humans affected by the bird flu so far and the government had said it has enough drugs to contain the bird flu outbreak. Meanwhile massive culling operations has been launched in the poultry farms of Maharashtra and Gujarat and all other states had been asked to strengthen surveillance.

India, China to hold talks on defence exchanges
Saturday, February 18, 2006 | MP

India and China will hold talks on bilateral defence exchanges early next week as Indian official GOC-in-C Eastern Command, Lt Gen Arvind Sharma, will be visiting China from February 20-25 . The visit is expected to improve the bilateral ties and enhance trust and mutual relations between the two great nations. On his official visit Gen. Sharma will be holding talks with the People's Liberation Army officials and would visit Beijing,Shanghai,military regions of Chengdu etc.

Domestic outsourcing in India witness 70% growth
Friday, February 17, 2006 | MP

The domestic outsourcing business in Indian market is seeing a huge growth in this sector over the recent years. The industry has witnessed over 70% growth in its domestic BPO market which is presently worth Rs 2400 crore. As against the usual trend of foreign companies outsourcing business to an Indian company, domestic BPO indicates Indian companies outsourcing work to a third party which could be either an Indian company or an overseas company. There has been a rise in the domestic outsourcing market in the fields of banking, telecommunications etc.

Budget Session: Kalam announces Govt initiatives
Thursday, February 16, 2006 | MP

Addressing the Budget session President A P J Abdul Kalam announced the various Government initiatives that included a new civil aviation policy, rail freight corridor, attractive FDI regime and common market for agriculture etc. He also focused on improving the rural infrastructure. Mr. Kalam said that major proposals are on the move for growth in investment, trade and technology transfers and an outline for defence cooperation with the US.

Marriage registrations compulsory: SC
Wednesday, February 15, 2006 | MP

Supreme Court had ordered the Center and state governments to amend the rules and procedures to make registration of marriages compulsory. The court has given one months time to look into public objections on this issue. The new rules will have provisions for consequences for non registration of marriages. The court verdict came after the National Commission for Women had raised concern over the subject asking for a change in the existing marriage laws. The state governments are given three months time to amend the rules in this regard.

Its all about confidence, says Dhoni
Tuesday, February 14, 2006 | MP

The Indian wicket keeper M S Dhoni whose unbeaten 72 knock out of 46 balls was the mastermind of the Indian’s win in the third ODI against Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Dhoni who was named the Man of the Match said that playing at the international level was all about confidence. “I am really happy that we won the match and I had a role to play in the victory”, said delighted Dhoni. With this 5 wicket win, India take a 2-1 lead in the five-match one-day series.

CPI-M to work on building Third Front
Monday, February 13, 2006 | MP

CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat stated that that his party would work out on forming a third Front as an alternative to the Congress and BJP. For the meanwhile the party would like the UPA government to continue with its support from outside, he said. “We want to make it clear that the Left parties along with other democratic and secular parties would definitely bring to reality a third alternative to the Congress and BJP”, said Karat in a rally at Guwahati.

Presidential Fleet Review: Navy displays its maritime might
Sunday, February 12, 2006 | MP

The nation displayed its maritime might as the 9th Presidential Fleet Review (PFR) took off at Vishakapatnam today. President A P J Kalam took the salute and gaurd of honour at the Visakhapatnam harbour. As many as 60 ships and 40 aircrafts including carrier, missile destroyers, submarines, stealth frigates, naval sea fighters and helicopters took part in the PFR. This is the first time the county is hosting the PFR on the country's eastern coast.

BSNL & MTNL launch OneIndia Plan
Saturday, February 11, 2006 | MP

Telecom Public sector providers BSNL and MTNL launched the ‘OneIndia’ Plan which allows a uniform charging of Re 1 per minute for all long distance calls made to anywhere in the country. With its reduced STD rates, the telecom providers expect a huge rise in its number of subscribers. The new scheme would come into effect from March 1. Local calls under BSNL/ MTNL network to landline phones will be Re 1 for three minutes to under the new tariff package. All other calls like fixed to mobile on own or other networks will be charged at Re 1/mt. Meanwhile BSNL and MTNL said all existing tariff plans would continue to be in operation, including the lower rentals scheme in the rural areas, and ‘OneIndia’ tariff plan would be optional.

10 new biotechnology parks by 2010
Friday, February 10, 2006 | MP

Apart from the existing biotech parks in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune, the country will add 10 new biotechnology parks by 2010. This will include setting up bitechnology parks that would focus on agriculture, pharma,healthcare sectors and would promote clinical trials and research in these fields. The parks will be put up in states like Gujarat, Uttaranchal, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Delhi. This was announced by the Secretary of the Department of biotechnology during an international bio business meet.

IRS can identify quake vulnerable zones globally
Thursday, February 9, 2006 | MP

A leading Indian scientist have stated that the Indian remote sensing satellite (IRS) has shown the capability for mapping the stress field of the earth's crust, therby could help in evaluating the most earthquake vulnerable zones across the globe. This was stated by the Indian professor in the journal,"Geophysical Research Letter" published by the American Geological Society. The team of Indian experts came with these findings after analysing a test case study of the 2001 Bhuj quake in Gujarat based on the data collected from the satellite before and after the major quake."The present results show the use of lineaments derived from remote sensing data in the evaluation of seismic hazards of any region and will be useful in updating world stress map," they said.

Center projects 8.1% GDP growth
Wednesday, February 8, 2006 | MP

With the Sensex touching new highs crossing 10000 mark, the Center government projected a higher economic growth in GDP at 8.1% for the current financial year for 2005-06. This will be driven by the manufacturing sector at 9.4% and the services sector at over 8% growth. The estimate by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) indicate that the higher GDP groth could inturn lead to an increased income of an average Indian by 5.9%. The agricultural sector is also expected to make the GDP growth better with with the good mansoons this year.

Sensex crosses historic 10000-mark
Tuesday, February 7, 2006 | MP

India's Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex made a historic milestone by crossing the 10,000 points mark for the first time in the history on Monday.The heavy all round buying of shares had lead to the crossing of the 10000 mark which registered 10,002 as the new high for the market but soon shed 20 points by the close of the trading.The major support for the Sensex came from RIL, ONGC, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI, Tata Steel, L&T, Bajaj Auto, HLL, TCS Ltd, Infosys Tech etc.

Online tax filing facility likely
Monday, February 6, 2006 | MP

Tax payers of the country can now probably look forward for some easy way to get their income tax filed. The Union government in the upcoming Budget presentation is likely to propose an online tax filing system to file the income tax returns via internet. This ‘anywhere, anytime’ facility is aimed at easing the tax filing procedure for the people as well as the tax administration. The Income Tax Department as a part of the initiative is setting up a database of the country’s taxpayers which would connect the 742 income tax offices spread across over 500 cities in India. With the web based interface, applicants can avail the services based on the PAN numbers like online tax filing and keeping track of their application status etc.

India defends its stand on Iran vote
Sunday, February 5, 2006 | MP

India joining with 26 other nations who voted in favour of an IAEA resolution on reporting Iran's nuclear issue to UN Security Council defended its stand on the vote saying that the resolution was "well balanced" and maintained that it should not interrupt its friendly relations with Iran. At the same time India continued on Iran's right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy. "Our vote in favour of the resolution should not be interpreted as in any way detracting from the traditionally close and friendly relations we enjoy with Iran," said External Affairs spokesperson.

New luxury train, Heritage on Wheels from Feb 17
Saturday, February 4, 2006 | MP

Indian Railways and Rajastan Tourism Development Corporation (RTDC) in a joint venture is launching the new luxury train Heritage on Wheels planned on the lines of the popular Palace on Wheels which will be hitting the track from February 17th. The new train would operate twice a week, on every Tuesday and Friday running from Jaipur to Bikaner. The trip would cover the the colourful Shekhawati, Ramgarh, Mandawa, Nawalgarh regions of Rajastan.

India adopts biotech crop
Friday, February 3, 2006 | AA

India has emerged as one of the fastest adopters of biotech crop, occupying the seventh slot among 21 nations that have so far planted such crop varieties since their introduction a decade ago, said a latest study by a global agency engaged in technology transfer of biotech crops. "India experienced the greatest proportion growth for any biotech crop globally in 2005, with biotech cotton production soaring by 160 per cent," said International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) in its latest report titled ''Global Status on Commercial Biotech/Genetically Modified Crops: 2005''.

Russia proposes new air-defense system for India
Friday, February 3, 2006 | AA

Russia has proposed building a new air-defense system for India, a Russian news agency reported. Mikhail Sukhachev, a spokesman for Russia's main arms trader, Rosoboronexport, told a New Delhi news conference that the system would be based on the Russian S-300 system, the RIA-Novosti news

International schools coming in big numbers to India
Friday, February 3, 2006 | AA

Emaar Properties the Dubai based public joint stock company, on Tuesday announced plans to invest in the education business in India. The latest initiative will involve the establishment of international schools in India which will offer premium quality education and an integrated curriculum for students, a company release said here. Education is one of the largest businesses in the world. People, especially in India, are increasingly starting to recognise the importance of having good education, hence driving up demand for service providers in this sector, the release added.

Left propose on taxing the rich
Friday, February 3, 2006 | MP

With the upcoming budget season, the UPA ally, Left parties has proposed to the Finance Minister to put elevated taxes on the rich sections of the society by extending the extent of service tax, corporate tax and wealth tax, and increasing the tax on luxury vehicles and luxury consumption. The left also called on introducting inheritance tax and restoration of long term capital gains tax. Left party leaders also discussed with Chidambaram on policies for generating additional revenues for financing social sector schemes and infrastructure projects.

Govt nod airport privatisation,protest continues
Thursday, February 2, 2006 | MP

With government giving clearance to the airport modernisation projects, Airports Authority of India workers on fear of loosing jobs continued their strong protest against privatisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports disrupting air services in many parts. Though most flights operated normally, the Left party ruled Kolkota faced the maximum strikes with the workers blocking most of the flight traffic even after the Government indicating at invoking ESMA if the strike continued for a longer period. The protests came in the wake of the government approving the two multinationals - GMR-Fraport and GVK-South African Airports for the airport revamp job.

Pakistan clinch series
Wednesday, February 1, 2006 | AA

India had their biggest defeats allowed Pakistan to clinch the three-match Test series 1-0 today despite a valiant 122 by Yuvraj Singh. Yuvraj stood bravely amidst the ruins with his second Test ton to crash to a 341-run defeat, their second biggest defeat in terms of runs. The Indians batsmen were dismissed in just 58.4 overs, which reflected their poor application. It was Pakistan's first series victory over India since 1987. Mohammad Asif (3/48) was the bowling hero for the hosts, taking the prized wickets of Virender Sehwag (4), VVS Laxman (21) and Sachin Tendulkar (26) while Abdul Razzak (4/88) snapped up four wickets.