Poll India: 2004
Srinagar Higher turnout and peaceful polling
Srinagar: With a voter turnout of 21 per cent, which is much higher than in the previous election, Srinagar witnessed peaceful polling in the second phase of the general election.
In rural areas, particularly, people defied militant threats, and 24 hours of violence, to come out in large numbers to vote. The constituency will decide on the fate of National Conference President Omar Abdullah.

Thackeray gets the black spot after eight years
Mumbai: Banned from exercising his franchise in the late '90s Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray exercised his franchise today after a gap of nearly eight years.

Thackeray had been found to be "indulging in corrupt practice by seeking votes in the name of religion".
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Govt announces package for textile units
New Delhi: The Union government has announced a new fiscal package for the processing units in the textile industry. The government assistance will be in the nature of interest subsidy on loans that the processing units take from banks and other financial institutions.
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BIS quality certificate for DGFT
New Delhi: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has granted the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) the quality systems certification licence for ISO 9001-2000.

ISO 9001 postulates requirements for a quality management system where an organisation ought to demonstrate its ability to provide products that fulfil customer and applicable regulatory requirements and aims to enhance customer satisfaction. The licence was granted to DGFT after the mandatory audit conducted by an expert team of auditors from BIS, according to an official release.
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AEPC urges acceptance of EU offer
New Delhi: The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has counselled the Government to accept the European Union's (EU) offer for additional quota to Indian exporters with immediate effect to compensate the dwindling profit margins plaguing the exporters in the light of rupee's appreciation against the dollar.
In a letter to the Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Arun Jaitley, the AEPC Chairman, A. Sakthivel, has drawn attention to the European Union's recent offer to augment the quota limits to India against New Delhi binding the tariffs at 20 per cent.
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IIM-C faculty moves HC on validity of board meeting
Kolkata: The faculty council of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) has decided to move the Calcutta High Court challenging the validity of the 164th meeting of the board of governors, which took place on March 26, 2004.

According to the spokesperson of the faculty council, the validity of the said meeting was being called into question since four members had been replaced or substituted just before the crucial meeting to decide on the fee cut issue.
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`Enlarged EU will provide opportunity, challenge'
New Delhi: Addressing a meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here, the Ambassador of the Delegation of the European Union, Francisco de Camara Gomes, emphasised that the expansion of the EU would be "beneficial" for India. The 15-member EU is to be enlarged when 10 more countries, including Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Malta and Poland, among others, joining the group on May 1.

Officials from the Ministry of External Affairs said that third countries would receive enhanced levels of IPR protection in the new member-States due to the adoption of EU regulation upon accession. Similarly, in the case of subsidies, third countries could benefit as a result of imposition of stricter subsidy standards than those currently applied by the new member-States. In the long term, as income levels in the new member- States rise towards the EU average, there would be greater opportunities for exports from third countries to grow, the official felt.
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