Sonia sanctions Rupees one crore for Kumbakonam victims
Kumbakonam: UPA chairman and Congress President Sonia Gandhi has announced a Rs one crore special package for the victims of the school tragedy at Kumbakonam, on behalf of UPA government.

An additional amount of Rs 25 lakh would be sanctioned from the National Children Relief fund for replacing all thatched noon meal centres into pucca ones, she said. Gandhi said that of the Rs one crore sanctioned by the centre, Rs 50,000 each would be given to the families of each of the victims and also those injured. The balance amount of Rs 50 lakh would be utilised for a pilot project, under which the thatched sheds in schools in and around Kumbakonam would be replaced, she said.
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McKinsey survey: India preferred over China as global R&D hub
New Delhi: According to a McKinsey Global Survey of Business Executives, July 2004, worldwide corporate heads — top executives from firms with over $1 billion revenues — find India more attractive as an R&D destination than China. According to the survey,thirty-one per cent of the overall respondents from companies with over $1 billion revenue said they would be investing in R&D in India, 27 per cent said they would invest in China.

The survey was conducted across 5,500 chief executives and other senior corporate leaders worldwide in May this year.
Going by regions, while 32 per cent of European business heads say they will invest in India for R&D, a lower 25 per cent say they will do so in China. The trend is no different for North America and the developing countries. Twenty nine per cent of North American business leaders are headed for India with their research investments compared to 24 per cent headed for China. Similarly, 37 per cent corporate bigwigs from developing countries would be parking their R&D funds in India against 24 per cent in China.

The only exception in this trend are head honchos from companies in the Asia-Pacific region, 43 per cent of whom prefer to invest in China as compared to a lower 38 per cent in India. However, even among the Asia-Pacific (APAC) economies, there are those who, having operated in both the countries, are "particularly keen on India". In the APAC region, "especially the big companies that are first movers in offshore investment and so are most familiar with the labour landscape in India and China are particularly keen on India," says the McKinsey report.

In fact 71 per cent of APAC respondents see India as an important source of talent, whereas worldwide 58 per cent of respondents echo it. As for the composition of respondents in the survey, 11 per cent were from the developed countries of APAC (Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan), 31 per cent from Europe, 41 per cent from North America, and 18 per cent from developing markets.
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India to review double taxation pact with Lanka
New Delhi: India is likely to review its double taxation avoidance agreement with Sri Lanka, besides looking at providing a line of credit to the island nation. The Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, indicated this after a meeting with the visiting Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa. Besides discussing ways for enhancing economic co-operation between the two nations, the leaders also exchanged views on the existing free trade agreement between India and Sri Lanka. Future areas of co-operation could include milk and dairy processing, fruits, horticulture and road infrastructure, the Finance Minister said. The Food and Agriculture Minister, Sharad Pawar, also called on the Sri Lankan Premier.
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Electronics hardware exports shoot up 37 per cent
New Delhi: Electronics hardware exports have registered a record growth of over 37 per cent in rupee terms and 44.6 per cent in dollar terms during 2003-04 to touch Rs 7,700 crore compared to Rs 5,600 crore the previous year, the IT export promotion body, Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) has said.

The ESC study revealed that the computer hardware segment fueled solid growth in exports. Export in this segment has grown at 162 per cent in rupee terms and 175 per cent in dollar terms.
Export of consumer electronics showed a growth of 10 per cent , to Rs 825 crore ($179 million) against Rs 750 crore ($155 million).
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