Inflation rate dips further to 7.10 per cent
New Delhi: The weekly inflation rate fell slightly to 7.10 per cent due to a drop in prices of food and manufactured goods, official figures showed Friday.

Inflation for the week ended October 9 was down from 7.20 per cent in the previous week.

The Government has been desperately trying to keep inflation under control in the face of rising global oil prices, a crucial issue for the country, which imports about 70 per cent of its energy requirements.

It has eased tariffs on various goods and oil products in an attempt to dampen imported inflation while tightening credit at the banks.
The moves appear to be having some effect as inflation has come off a 42-month high of 8.33 per cent recorded in late August.
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Last date for filing of Income Tax returns is Nov.1
New Delhi: The last date for filing of income tax returns has been extended to November 1, 2004. The date has been extended because the original deadline (October 31) is a Sunday, official sources said. The last date for filing of I-T returns had earlier been extended from July 31 to October 31 through a notification.

As per the provisions of Income Tax Act, the last date gets automatically extended by a day in the event of it being a holiday.
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IMF: India must open up
New Delhi: The International Monetary Fund wants India to assume a larger economic role in Asia and the global economy, which would entail greater trade liberalisation and easing the path to full capital account liberalisation.

In a recent address to the Reserve Bank of India, Dr David Burton, International Monetary Fund Director (Asia Pacific) department has said that, "Further progress with trade liberalisation would allow the economy to benefit from the dynamism of emerging Asia, while integrating more fully into the global economy.''

According to Burton stepping up development would include putting public finances on a more solid footing, including reducing the borrowing needs of the government which would free resources for the private sector, safeguarding price stability, improving the financial intermediation and paving the way for full capital account liberalisation.
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CII and Mc Kinsey study: Exports to US at $300 bn by 2015
New Delhi: "'Made in India' is all set to become the next big manufacturing export story after services, according to a joint study on manufacturing by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and McKinsey.

India's exports of manufactured products to the United States may touch $300 billion by 2015, an annual growth of 17 per cent as against the "historic growth" of 11 percent, claims the study released on Saturday.

According to the latest figures available, India's manufacturing exports to the US are languishing at $40 billion. If India manages to raise its exports to the US to $300 billion by 2015, it will be commanding a share of nearly 3.5 per cent in the world manufacturing trade.

In addition, it will create 25-30 million jobs in manufacturing by 2015 and two to three times this number in the allied sectors like construction, education and entertainment due to the multiplier effect.

The study noted that the global trend to manufacture and source products from low-cost countries (LCCs) is likely to gather steam over the next 10 years, particularly in skill intensive industries, where India has a significant edge.
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