Govt slashes price control on drugs
New Delhi: The government announced the Pharmaceutical Policy 2002, bringing down the number of bulk drugs under price control to 38 from 74.

The government has laid down three criteria for inclusion or exclusion of a bulk drug under price control. For one, a single drug having an annual turnover of above Rs 25 crore (as on 31 March 2001)and its formulations market share at 50 per cent or abovewill be included in price control. The drug will be excluded from price control if the formulations market share is below 50 per cent. Second, a bulk drug with annual turnover between Rs 10 crore to Rs 25 crore will be included if its formulation has a marketshare of 90 per cent or higher. Finally, a bulk drug with a turnover of less than Rs 10 crore will be excluded from price control.
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Govt to remove all controls on sugar
New Delhi: The government has decided to fully deregulate the sugar industry after forward trading in the commodity starts in the financial year beginning April.

India, sitting on an 11-million-tonne sugar stockpile, began easing controls on its sugar industry last year to boost exports.

It reduced the sugar quota supplied as levy by mills to the government at controlled rates to 15 percent from 30 percent.

The government also allowed futures trading in sugar, ended quantitative restrictions on exports and scrapped rules requiring exporters to register with the designated state-run authority.
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VRS for govt employees
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet has approved a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for "surplus" employees.

As per the scheme, permanent government employees rendered surplus will be eligible for the VRS and will be offered an ex-gratia amount equivalent to emoluments (basic pay plus dearness allowance) of 35 days for each completed year of service and 25 days for each year of the balance service left until superannuation.

The government has also decided to give income-tax rebate on a portion of ex-gratia for which necessary amendments will be made to the Central Secretariat Services (CCS) Pension Rules, 1972.

According to the scheme, surplus employees who do not opt for VRS will be retrained and redeployed.
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ADB mulls $2 bn aid to India
New Delhi: The Asian Development Bank is considering hiking annual assistance to India by more than 50 per cent to $2.0 billion.

According to official estimates, India needs $5.0 billion from multilateral agencies in the coming years to ensure a higher growth rate. The government has sought $2.0 billion from ADB, of the total $5.0 billion.

ADB has provided a total $10.3 billion for 52 projects since 1986. Currently loans totalling $5.4 billion are being utilised in 24 projects.

The Manila-based bank, in which India is the fourth largest shareholder, has also provided $285 million to the private sector and about $71.3 million worth of technical assistance to Indian corporates.
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GDP growth pegged at 5.4%
New Delhi: Preliminary estimates of economic growth for 2001-02 forecast the gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 5.4 per cent as against 4 per cent in the previous fiscal.

According to the Central Statistical Organisation, the GDP and national income have grown despite a substantial fall in the growth rates of manufacturing, mining and power sectors.

This growth was attributed mainly to increases in agriculture, trade, transport, communication, financing and services sectors, which have recorded an average growth of over five per cent.

The manufacturing, mining and power indices grew by merely 1.2 per cent, 2.3 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively during April-November 2001, representing a substantial fall from the April-November 2000 growth rates of 6.4, 4.4 and 4.9 per cent.

Indias per capita income during 2001-02 is estimated to be Rs 17,789 at current prices. In the previous fiscal, it stood at Rs 16,487.
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Sale of 3 ITDC, HCI assets okayed
New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on disinvestment has cleared the sale of three hotel properties belonging to the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) and Hotel Corporation of India's (HCI) Centaur property at Mumbai airport for a total consideration of Rs 202.41 crore.

A.L. Batra, who owns Delhi's Radisson Hotel, won the deal for acquiring HCI's hotel for Rs 83 crore as against a reserve price of Rs 78 crore fixed by the Government. ITDC's Lodhi Hotel and Qutab Hotel properties in New Delhi have been sold to Silverlink Holdings, Singapore and the Sushil Gupta consortium belonging to the Hyatt Group for Rs 76.22 crore and Rs 35.67 crore respectively.
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