UPA: The first 100 Days: Disinvestment Ministry scrapped
At last…the CMP balloon goes up
New Delhi: Announcing the Common Minimum Programme, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has promised stable tax rates, and far reaching tax reforms.

He said the Congress-led coalition government would carry forward the era of reforms and lay special emphasis on agriculture, infrastructure and SSI sectors with the objective of pushing employment-oriented growth.

He also said that the new government would encourage FDI in infrastructure, hi-tech sectors and exports. Singh also said that no profit-making PSU will "normally" be divested, and scrapped the Disinvestment Ministry by merging the department with the Finance Ministry.
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Govt likely to review Electricity Bill
New Delhi: Through the CMP, the government has announced its decision to review the Electricity Act, 2003 and deferred the mandatory date for unbundling and replacing of the state electricity boards. The Common Minimum Programme, said the Electricity Act, 2003 will be reviewed as several states had expressed concern over it.

Reflecting the government's focus on infrastructure development in the country with special emphasis on the Railways, the CMP said massive investment would be made for modernisation, track renewal and safety. The government will also pay special attention to modernising and expanding rural infrastructure. According to the CMP, all existing irrigation projects will be completed within three to four years besides finishing household electrification in five years.

Govt rules out hiking petrol, diesel prices
New Delhi: The government ruled out hiking petrol and diesel prices from June 1 despite spurt in global oil prices. It said that it would like to wait for the outcome of a meeting of OPEC on June 3 for giving shape to a new pricing policy that would have a "human face".

Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar indicated that the huge burden accumulated due to freeze on LPG and kerosene prices for the last two years and petrol and diesel prices since January despite rise in cost of raw material, will be shared by all stakeholders including government and the public sector oil companies. In effect, this would mean, a marginal increase in prices of fuels, Government cutting duties and oil companies bearing a part of the burden.
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India and Bangladesh form JWG on trade
Dhaka: India and Bangladesh have launched a Joint Working Group (JWG) to identify obstacles and opportunities in bilateral trade and hoped it would enhance business and investment activities between the two neighbours. Bangladesh's Commerce minister Air Vice Marshal Altaf Hossain Chowdhury launched the JWG, formed by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Indian High Commission here. The JWG tasks include easing customs clearance, visa procedures, settling trade disputes and recognition to quality standards, among others.
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NASSCOM: Communications off shoring is the new trend
Hyderabad: A NASSCOM research finding has shown that off shoring of processes is becoming a significant business trend within the global communications industry. There are pointers that the communications operators are expected to save around $14.5 billion from off shoring by 2008. This is being driven by key operators setting up captive operations in countries such as India and China to take advantage of the cost reductions and skilled and high quality manpower availability offered by the offshore destinations.

A Deloitte Research study on offshoring practices among global communications operators in the segments such as fixed, mobile and cable, pioneering companies in this vertical are offshoring their routine business processes to overseas geographies and achieving savings of the order of 20-30 per cent. The survey indicates that 53 per cent of surveyed companies (43 operators) stated cost reduction as the key motivator for offshoring and expected cost reductions of around 20 per cent labour costs accounted for the largest chunk of savings, with wage rates in developing countries as low as one-tenth the rate of an equivalent resource back home. Areas such as contact functions, operations, data processing and administration and project management are expected to be the next line of growth for communications operators.
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