Economic Survey 2003-04 to be presented today
New Delhi: A day after the railway budget, the Economic Survey 2003-2004 will be presented in the Parliament today.

The economic survey will present an overall review of the macroeconomic performance as well as a review of developments in other important sectors like industry and agriculture.
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Sampark Kranti: 32 new trains to link states to Delhi
New Delhi: The Railways propose to introduce 32 new trains including 17 Sampark Kranti Expresses linking several state capitals and different parts of the country with New Delhi. Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav announced this while presenting the Railway Budget for 2004-05 in the Lok Sabha.

The seventeen Sampark Kranti Express trains will link New Delhi to Guwahati, Secunderabad, Darbhanga, Durg, Ahmedabad, Ranchi, Trivandrum, Mumbai (Bandra), Jabalpur, Bhubaneshwar, Jodhpur, Madurai, Chitrakoot, Kathgodam, Kolkata (Sealdah), Madgaon, Udhampur. The frequency of Sampark Kranti trains will be decided depending on their patronage, the minister said.

The other proposed new trains are:

• Muzaffarpur-Ahmedbad Jansadharan Express (weekly)
• Chennai Central-Nagercoil Express (weekly)
• Muzaffarpur-Lokmanya Tilak Terminius Jansadharan Express (weekly)
• Ramnagar-Moradabad passenger (daily)
• Bangalore City-Bangarapet Express (daily)
• Saharsa-Mansi passenger (daily)
• Chararu-Takrala-Ambala Cantt DMU service (daily)
• Chennai Egmore-Kumbakmonam Exp (daily)
• Mysore-Dharwar Express (daily)
• Chennai Central-Hubli Exp (daily)
• Chennai Egmore-Tenkasi-Sengottai Exp (after gauge conversion)
• Jaipur-Agra Fort Exp (after gauge conversion)
• Delhi-Faizabad Exp
• Indore-Patna Expres via Faizabad (weekly)
• Guwahati-Jhajha Exp via Jasidih (weekly).

The Railway also proposed to extend the destinations of the following trains:

• 9411/8412 Bhubaneshwar-Srikakulam Exp up to Vishakhapatnam
• 8303/8304 Sambhalpur-Bhubaneshwar Exp up to Puri
• 1 BSL /339 Bikaner-Bathinda passenger up to Abohar
• 199/200 Jaipur-Bikaner passneger up to Suratgarh
• 7029/7030 Hyderabad-Ernakulam Sabri Exp to Kochuveli
• 2069/2070 Raigarh-Dongargarh Janshatabi up to Gondia
• 5711/5712 New Jalpaiguri-Asansol Exp up to Alipurduar on one hand and Ranchi on the other.
• 9049/9050 Rajendra Nagar-Valsad Exp to Bandra terminus
• Two pairs of Mankapur-Katra passenger trains to Faizabad

It was also proposed to increase the frequency of the following trains:

• 1067/1068 Lokmanya Tilak Terminus-Faizabad Saket Exp from weekly to bi-weekly
• 2313/2314 N Delhi -Sealdah Rajdhani Exp from five to daily.
• 6507/6508 Jodhpur-Bangalore Exp from weekly to bi-weekly
• 1017/1018 Bangalore-Mumbai Chalukya Exp from tri-weekly to six days a week by cancelling 1049/1050 Dadar-Yashwantpur Exp (bi-weekly).
• 3149/3150 Sealdah-Alipurduar Kanchankanya Exp from tri-weekly to four days a week.

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MAIT sees computer sales rising 27 pc
New Delhi: Buoyed by price cuts and increased demand from households and businesses, personal computer sales touched 3.03 million units in 2003-04, a growth of 32 per cent over the previous year. With sound macroeconomic condition and strong buying sentiment in the market, PC sales are expected to cross 3.8 million units in 2004-05, representing a growth of about 27 per cent, according to the industry performance review by Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT).

However, the growth of 32 per cent recorded in 2003-04, is lower than 37 per cent growth witnessed in 2002-03. According to MAIT, the number of active Internet subscriber entities (both households and companies) increased to 2.36 million in March, while the figure was 1.43 million in March 2003, while dial-up connectivity remained the most commonly used means of accessing the internet. The penetration of Internet among businesses was 48 per cent while that in households was 11 per cent. The assembled PC segment market share increased to 53 per cent in 2003-04 from 46 per cent in previous year. Sales of the assembled PC segment grew 52 per cent. Market research firm Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB) conducted MAIT's industry performance review.
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