Sky Bus inauguration slated for Oct. 15
Goa: Railway Minister Lalu Prasad will formally inaugurate the Sky Bus, on October 15 marking the celebrations of Foundation Day of Konkan Railway.

B Rajaram, Managing Director of the Konkan Railway, who invented the Sky Bus, will hand over the 'Assignment Deed' of patent right of the bus to the Minister on that day.

The Sky Bus was tested yesterday on 1.1 kms test track in Madgaon at a high speed of 50 kms per hour. The Run on the full 1.6 kms test track will be conducted at the end of this month.

Sky Bus is considered the most economical and eco-friendly solution to transportation problems of cities like Mumbai, Delhi and other metros and mini-metros without taking any urban space.

Konkan Railway has submitted a Sky Bus proposal for various cities as the new millennium technology of India, the release said. The Sky Bus intends to deliver the same capacity as underground and elevated heavy metro systems, while being safer and costing less than half to quarter of foreign technologies.
Back to News Review index page  

US concerned over India's $10 billion trade surplus
Mumbai: India's trade surplus with the US is likely to top $10 billion in the current fiscal. The country' exports to US is expected to reach $15 billion (last year $13 billion) while imports from the US is likely to languish in the $3-4 billion band.

According to Alan Larson, US Under Secretary for economic, business and agricultural affairs, the US Government and industry continued to be apprehensive about India's commitment to ensure a level playing field between the two countries.

Raising concerns over slow pace of trade liberalisation in India, Larson said the imbalance in the trading relationship continues to expand and India's trade surplus with US has more than tripled in the last decade.

Countering the US view, the Union Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan said the country was committed to reforms including FDI and it had honoured all international commitments and would continue to do so.

India also has concerns about certain US policies, including free movement of persons, restrictions on high technology exports and pharmaceuticals, he said.
Back to News Review index page  

Kazakhstan opens doors for IT and defence sectors
New Delhi: The visiting Industry and Commerce Minister of Kazakhstan, A.R. Zhaksybekov, said that unprecedented concessions would be given to those Indian investors willing to invest in the IT and defence sectors. He added that the Kazakh Government was building large IT parks on the lines of those in Bangalore, as per a Confederation of Indian Industry statement.
He also announced that he had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Ministry of Communications and IT for cooperation in this sector on Wednesday.

The Minister also said that Kazakhstan was "ready to offer credit lines for purchase of defence equipment to India."
Back to News Review index page  

Hyundai: Thai FTA will discourage manufacturing
Kochi: Hyundai Motor India has said that the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Thailand would discourage manufacturing in India and pave the way for dumping of automobiles into the country.

"The FTA will help create employment in Thailand, not in India," said the Hyundai Motor India President, B.V.R. Subbu, here at a press conference.

Subbu said companies such as Toyota and Honda, who have facilities in Thailand, will now dump automobiles into India rather than increasing their manufacturing activities in the country.
As compared to this, Hyundai has set up a full-fledged manufacturing unit in India, investing thousands of crore of rupees, he pointed out.

He said Hyundai India would sell 2.20 lakh vehicles in the current fiscal, which includes exports of 70,000 units. The company also plans to have 1,000 service stations/points by 2005.
Back to News Review index page  

Schroeder to visit India next month
New Delhi: The German Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, will pay a visit to India next month. This will be the first official visit to India for Schroeder as Germany's Chancellor after he relinquished the post of Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund to assume the Presidency of Germany.

About 45 German IT companies are represented in India.
Back to News Review index page  

SAB TV files intervention application
Mumbai: SAB TV, a general entertainment channel, has filed an intervention application in the ESPN-Star Sports petition against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in the Bombay High Court today.

Senior advocate and former Union Minister, Ram Jethmalani, appearing for SAB TV pointed out that ESPN-Star Sports was a joint venture of subsidiaries of two foreign firms and has not been paying taxes in India.

He also said that ESPN-Star Sports did not satisfy the consortium criteria as stated in the tender bids sought by BCCI for granting telecast rights to cricket matches to be played in India between October 2004 and September 2008.

ESPN-Star Sports's counsel Iqbal Chagla argued that Zee TV has not produced a single live telecast. As for ESPN-Star Sports, it takes production equipment on hire as these equipment travels all over the world. He apprised the court on the nature of production work involved in telecasting a live cricket match.
Back to News Review index page  

844 bank branches in Mumbai to accept I-T dues
Mumbai: The Income-Tax Department has authorised 844 computerised branches of public and private sector banks in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai to accept payment of I-T dues, said a RBI release.

The RBI has advised I-T assesses in these two cities to take advantage of paying their I-T dues at any of the designated bank branches and avoid last minute rush to deposit tax dues.

Of the designated branches, 790 are public sector bank branches, 23 branches are of HDFC Bank, 9 branches are each of ICICI Bank and IDBI Bank and 13 branches are of UTI Bank.
Back to News Review index page