Vajpayee
leaves for Japan
New
Delhi: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee left for a four-day
visit to Japan on Friday. Japan and India are expected to sign an
agreement in Tokyo to form a joint working group to look at ways
to fight terrorism.
Vajpayee, on the first visit by an Indian premier to Japan since
1992, will begin his trip with a stopover in Osaka, where he is
scheduled to meet top officials of several Japanese business
houses including Matsushita, Sumitomo and Hitachi.
Economic ties between India and Japan will also be a major item on
the agenda of talks between Vajpayee and Japanese Prime Minister
Junichiro Koizumi in Tokyo on Sunday.
India-Japan relations plunged to an all-time low afte New Delhi
conducted nuclear tests in May 1998, after which Tokyo cut
financial aid to the country.
Bilateral ties were brought out of the deep freeze in August 2000
with a visit by then Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and
Tokyo resumed aid this year after New Delhi joined the US-led
coalition against terrorism.
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ADB approves $350
mn loan for MP
Manila:
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved two loans totaling
$350 million to restructure the power sector in Madhya Pradesh.
A $150 million policy loan and a $200 million investment loan
would support the first phase of reforms, the ADB said in a
statement from its Manila headquarters.
The loans would restructure the Madhya Pradesh State Electricity
Board and improve the policy environment in the power sector, it
added.
The policy loan is payable over 15 years with a three-year grace
period, while the investment loan will be repayable in 20 years
with a five-year grace period.
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India testing four
GM seeds
New Delhi:
Government has begun testing for four more genetically modified
crops including rice and maize on the lines of those being
undertaken for the controversial BT cotton.
While initial trials for rice, maize, tomato and cauliflower have
just begun, the BT cotton seeds are undergoing final round of
testing.
The genetically modified cotton could be permitted for cultivation
in some regions if the final trials also confirm that it has no
harmful impact on Indian environment, bio-diversity and animal and
human health.
The testing process for rice, maize, tomato and cauliflower have
also started to ascertain their impact on Indian environment.
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Bollywood stars owe
over Rs 100 cr I-T
New Delhi:
A total of 132 film personalities, including Amitabh Bachchan,
Jaya Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Subhash Ghai, Ram Gopal Verma and
Yash Johar, owe the government income tax totalling more than Rs
105 crore. While Amitabh Bachchan's ABCL owes the highest due of
Rs 1776.93 lakh, the mega star himself has not paid income tax
worth Rs 1067.16 lakh and his wife Jaya owes Rs 199.52 lakh,
minister of state for finance Balasaheb Vikhe Patil said in a
written statement in Parliament.
Sujatha films owes Rs 624.92 lakh, Jayaprada has to pay Rs 624.92
lakh.
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Harshad remanded to
judicial custody
Mumbai: A
special court on Friday rejected the bail plea of Harshad Mehta
and his brothers Sudhir and Ashwin and remanded them to judicial
custody till December 21 in a case of misappropriation of funds
worth about Rs 250 crore from 27 lakh missing shares of 90 blue
chip companies.
The court allowed the accused reading and writing material in the
jail but did not allow their plea to have a laptop in the cell.
However, the judge gave liberty to the defence lawyer Mahesh
Jethmalani to move the court on December 10 for permission to use
laptop in the prison.
The accused were arrested on November 9 and remanded to police
custody on two occasions.
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Govt to raise FDI
in aviation sector to 49%
New Delhi:
India is considering raising foreign direct investment in the
civil aviation sector to 49 per cent from 26 per cent, civil
aviation secretary A H Jang told reporters on Friday.
"The proposal was discussed at the meeting convened to
expedite India's draft aviation policy," he said. "The
final proposal will be sent to the cabinet for consideration by
next month."
India's attempts to reduce state equity in both domestic Indian
Airlines and the international carrier, Air-India, have run into
trouble, with bidders pulling out saying the privatisation process
was taking too long and lacked transparency.
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Govt restructures
sizes of branded water bottles
New Delhi:
A government notification has restructured the sub-5 litre bottle
sizes of branded (packaged) water.
The sizes which will be phased out within three years are 130ml,
330ml, 600ml and 1.2 litre.
The main sufferer will be Parle Bisleri Ltd, which sells Bisleri
in a 1.2 litre bottle. Parle has priced this bottle at par with
its one litre offering.
Another affected player will be Parle Agro, which sells a 330ml
bottle under Bailey brand.
Two players Coke (Kinley) and Pepsi (Aquafina) are not affected as
they are not present in these sizes.
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