ECONOMIC & LEGAL NEWS

BANGALORE FIRST TO GET NRI CITY: Bangalore has pipped Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi to the post to get the country's first special NRI city

DRT RULES IN BORROWER'S FAVOUR, ASKS BANK TO PAY DAMAGES: The debt recovery tribunal (DRT) has ruled in favour of the borrower under the new recovery law, and has even directed the lender to pay damages for the number of days the property was attached.

FOREIGN TRADE POLICY '05 TO DISCONTINUE DEPB: Foreign trade policy '04-05 will officially bring the curtains down on the duty entitlement passbook (DEPB) scheme - a controversial instrument for export promotion though reckoned to be the most useful one by exporters

SERVICE TAX TO COVER EXISTING LIFE INSURANCE POLICIES TOO: Service tax will be applied even on the premium instalments of existing policies. This is contrary to the expectations of life insurers that they would not have to revisit old contracts.

KELKAR COMMITTEE ADVOCATES UNIFORM VAT, CUT IN CUSTOMS DUTIES: The Kelkar Committee on Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management has taken a huge leap of faith in suggesting a radical tax system that....

RBI PUTS GTB UNDER MORATORIUM: The government notified a moratorium on the operations of Global Trust Bank for three months following advice from Reserve Bank of India after ...

DRT ALLOWS ICICI BANK TO ACT AGAINST MARDIA CHEM: The Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT), Ahmedabad has vacated the stay against ICICI Bank to proceed against the city-based Mardia Chemicals under the provisions of the Securitisation Act. ...

FIRMS GET ICAI LEEWAY WHILE ACCOUNTING FOR FX COVER : Finally, there is some clarity, pending finalisation of a proper accounting standard, on how to deal with forward covers on transactions that are not completed in the accounting period.

OBC PLANS TO UPGRADE SYSTEMS TO GTB'S LEVEL : Merging the operations of a new-age private sector bank with that of an old public sector undertaking is similar to retrofitting a taxi with spares retrieved from a Ferrari.

THERE'S NO PART-TIME COMFORT FOR SALARIED : New Delhi doing some part-time business to make that extra buck. If amendments in the Finance Bill are passed by the Parliament, these tax payers will not have the cushion of setting off business losses against income from salary.

PC PRICES BACK TO PRE-BUDGET LEVEL: PC has fixed this error. In a move that would take the price of personal computers (PCs) back to the pre-budget level, the finance ministry today announced an additional duty of 7% on the import of a finished computer ...

SAMURAIS WALK OUT ON INDIA, INC.: If you are still trying to figure out what's wrong with the world's second-largest consumer electronics maker, Sony - which has decided to review manufacturing in India at a time when ...

BUSINESS NEWS

PACT FOR BANGALORE AIRPORT SIGNED: The government of India signed the concession agreement with the Bangalore International Airport Limited. ...

ASEAN SKIES OPEN UP, JET, SAHARA ELIGIBLE: The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has cleared the proposal to let domestic private airlines like Jet Airways and Air Sahara fly to Asean destinations such as Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur

TEXTILE MINISTRY BANS TRANSFER OF TEXTILES QUOTAS: The Union textile ministry has set a cat among the pigeons. Its latest circular issued to apparel exporters bans the transfer of quotas, citing misuse.

AIR SAHARA SLASHES APEX FARES BY 30% FOR METROS: After Indian Airlines announced an attractive package on non-metro fares last week, Air Sahara today slashed its apex fares by around 30% for metro cities bringing them at par with AC II tier railway fares.

PC RESOLVES THE BPO TAX TANGLE: Finance minister P Chidambaram has finally resolved the controversy over the taxation of business process outsourcing (BPO) units in India .

BRITANNIA TO BOTTLE UP MILKMAN BRAND FOR GOOD : Britannia has pulled down the curtain on its 'Milkman' brand of fresh milk. The company has decided to exit from the milk business as profits are not in line with its expectations.

NEW DEVELOPMENTS AND JOINT VENTURES

GE ARM TO INVEST RS 1,000 CR IN INDIA: GE Commercial Finance, the business-to-business financial services unit of General Electric, is looking at investing up to Rs 1,000 crore ($222m) in the mid-market segment in India.

SCOTCH MAKERS KEEN TO CAPITALIZE ON INDIAN MARKET : With India emerging the largest global market for whisky, registering sales of more than 80 million cases per annum, Scotch whisky producers are fighting hard to make a dent in the Indian market...

DD-DIRECT TO HIT HOMES ON AUG 15: Come August 15 and the average TV viewer in the country can really declare independence - from cablewallahs and subscription channels. launched less than a month from now.

SHIPPING COMPANIES ALLOWED 5% DISCOUNT ON RISK COVER : In what could bring down shipping costs, the insurance regulator, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), ...

SIFY SNAPS UP EAP GLOBAL: Sify, the leading internet, networking and eCommerce company, has acquired the Chennai-based EAP Global ...