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McKinsey's
8-point reform agenda for India
Washington:
Global management consultants McKinsey & Co has
released an 8-point reform agenda for India in politically
difficult areas like labour, privatisation and opening
up of the retail sector to achieve an 8-10 per cent economic
growth.
McKinsey
has identified three major steps to stimulate domestic
demand, which is crucial for high growth. These include
keeping interest rates regionally competitive, introduction
of VAT in all states and reducing burgeoning fiscal deficits
of states.
It
said that the relatively easier reforms having been completed
since economic liberalisation started in 1991, it was
time the government resolved to deregulate politically
sensitive sectors like retailing, banking, the news media
and defence.
It
said opening its retailing sector to world-class scale,
skills, technology and capital would not lead to greater
unemployment as feared and instead would lead to more
jobs besides benefiting consumers from better quality,
it said.
The
government was giving priority to attract investments
in infrastructure to upgrade ports, telecommunications
and highways, but several important areas like power,
water and sewerage, railways, and airports remain troublesome
partly because 'intransigent' state governments were blocking
progress.
On
labour reforms, it said that to increase exports of manufactured
goods rapidly, the government must permit the free use
of contract labour for all work and repeal a law forcing
companies with more than 100 workers to obtain state approval
before cutting jobs.
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Centre
to extend more autonomy to ports
Mumbai:
The government is planning to extend more autonomy
including relaxing the capital expenditure limits for
better and speedy execution of the development projects
at major ports.
More autonomy to major ports would mean that chairmen
of ports can take decisions on capital investment between
Rs100 crore to Rs500 crore at their ports without the
permission of government.
Currently port trusts have to take prior permission of
government for spending over Rs100 crore.
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LPG
imports to rise by 200,000 tonnes
Mumbai: The oil ministry has ordered
state-run oil firms to import 200,000 tonnes more of liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG) immediately to cope with a cooking
gas shortfall.
State-run
oil firms have already made arrangements to import 565,000
tonnes of LPG from the Gulf region to make up for a shortfall
in supplies in October and November. They have been advised
to arrange imports of an additional 0.2-million tonnes
of LPG immediately as the dislocation in distribution
is disproportionately high indicating inept handling of
the situation by the industry according to the oil mnistry.
The
industry has been planning a freeze on new LPG connections
until December while existing customers will not be allowed
to refill cylinders for 21 to 30 days, a ministry official
said.
Oil
companies attribute the LPG shortfall to factors like
the partial shutdown of Reliance Industries 660,000-barrel-per-day
refinery, fewer supplies from Oil and Natural Gas Corp
Mumbai High field, where a fire destroyed a platform in
July, and refinery upgrades to comply with Euro III fuel
emission standards.
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Hike
in DA for government employees
New Delhi: The government of India has approved
an increase in the cost of living allowance for central
government employees and pensioners, which will cost the
exchequer an additional Rs2138 crore a year.
The
government revises dearness allowance twice a year. The
revision is calculated on the basis of the percentage
rise in the 12-month average of the consumer price index.
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Gold
consumption expected to rise
New
Delhi: Gold consumption in India is expected to go
up by nearly 33 per cent in 2005 to 850 tonnes because
of higher incomes and good farm output, according to the
World Gold Council.
Consumption,
excluding recycled gold, rose 57 per cent to 508 tonnes
in the first half of the year, from 322 tonnes during
the year-ago period. Consumption in the second half of
the year is higher in the country because of the festive
season.
Officials
of the Gold Council said the demand would depend on gold
prices and demand would be robust if prices of gold settle
at lower levels.
Spot
gold prices, which hit a near-18-year high of $475 an
ounce last month, were at $466.95 / 467.45 an ounce at
0631 GMT.
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India
New Delhi: The tourism ministry is planning
to relax its rules for patients travelling to the country
for medical treatment.
The
duration of stay for patients will be relaxed from the
present three months to one year for the convenience of
such patients, ministry officials said.
As
the number of people coming to India is rising the ministry
is thinking of developing a database of identifying these
visitors. Medical tourists might be granted an M-visa,
which they would not have to renew every three months.
It will increase their stay till a year after they have
completed the required treatment.
Currently,
there are no rules governing hospitals on servicing foreign
patients.
The
ministry would implement two to three new rules. In the
first phase, the tourism ministry will propagate some
basic hospitals in generic terms, which will identify
some of the better hospitals in the country. Next, the
Health Accreditation Boards will be formed to accredit
hospitals according to international standards for the
benefit of patients.
A
study by global consultancy McKinsey said, the healthcare
management sector could generate additional revenue of
$2.0 billion by 2012, as medical costs in the country
were a fraction of those in the United States and Britain.
India's
healthcare industry is growing at 30 per cent annually
and one of its premier private institutions, the Apollo
group, alone has so far treated 95,000 international patients.
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Das
said that Jharkhand was hesitating to implement VAT from
April 1 as there was no clear-cut compensation formula
from the centre for the CST phase out.
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For
smaller towns and rural areas the new rate will be Rs10
per connection, announced chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh
after the weekly cabinet meet. The decision is expected
to attract corporate houses into the DTH segment.
As
of now, the state collects Rs180 crore from entertainment
tax of which, Rs57 crore comes from the cable TV industry
which the government feels is unacceptable.
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According
to him the cartel comprising Bharti, Videsh Sanchar Nigam
and Reliance Infocomm and the ILD operators in India,
does not want competition to come in because it will lower
the cost for the end consumer. Hence, it was against the
government's proposal to bring down the entry fee for
ILD operators and are demanding compensation.
He
also targeted telecom equipment manufacturers like Nokia,
saying that they have not focused on entry-level customers,
which the Indian equipment manufacturers can take up as
a challenge.
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The
also said China could have estimated accumulated losses
of $558 billion between 2005-15 while the Russian Federation
could have accumulated losses of $303 billion.
The
report said a 2-per cent reduction in deaths annually
due to chronic diseases at the national level would also
result in an economic gain of $16 billion over the next
10 years.
Currently
chronic diseases are by far the leading cause of death
in the world and their impact is steadily growing, the
WHO report said.
The
report said 54 per cent of all deaths in the South-aast
Asian Region, are due to chronic diseases and 69 million
people in South-east Asia are likely to die of such a
disease in the next 10 years.
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