Mines ministry rejects Nalco divestment
New Delhi: The Ministry of Mines has rejected the Finance Ministry's proposal to off-load five per cent shares in National Aluminium Company.

The Finance Ministry had written to the Ministry of Mines seeking its view on how Nalco would benefit if five per cent of the government holding in the company was off-loaded in the market.
The Ministry resisting the offer said shares of Nalco should be listed abroad as the company has embarked on plans to expand outside India.

The ministry says the listing abroad would give the company an international profile that would be of help when it looks outside India for funds to expand.

The sale of five per cent shares in Nalco would have fetched the government around Rs 700 crore and reduced its stake in the company to 82.15 per cent.

For building up the corpus of the National Investment Fund, the Finance Ministry had also written to the Coal Ministry seeking its views on selling 15 per cent of the shares held by the Government in Neyveli Lignite Corporation. The Coal Ministry, has not yet taken a view on the matter.

The government holds 93.56 per cent in Neyveli Lignite and its 15 per cent stake will fetch it around Rs 1,800 crore.
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Foreign tourist arrivals rise 13 per cent
New Delhi: Foreign tourist arrivals rose 13.5 per cent between January and December, resulting in a 20 per cent rise in foreign exchange earnings.

During the period around 3.35 million tourists visited the country while the number during the corresponding period of last year was 2.59 million, the tourism ministry said Wednesday.

Similarly, during the 11-month period, foreign exchange earnings through tourist traffic rose 20 per cent to reach Rs.22958 cr ($5.1 billion) as against Rs.17039 cr ($3.7 billion) over the corresponding period last year.

The tourism ministry has launched several schemes like 'Atithi Devo Bhava', 'Priyadarshini' (women guides and taxi operators) and 'Rural Tourism', to give an impetus to the industry.
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FM invites big firms to file tax under one roof
New Delhi: Finance Minister, P Chidambaram has invited 582 of India's top corporates to avail of a single-window tax payment facility and has promised to set up a national tax tribunal next year to cut disputes and improve collections.

The FM said he did not believe in blunt measures such as search and seizures and preferred using blunt instruments. Corporates can confirm their participation in LTUs before January 10, so that the tax departments could assess the taxes from next fiscal.

He said "LTUs will give an opportunity to taxpayers and collectors to discharge obligation in a hassle-free and dispute-free manner. The cost of compliance will also come down," Chidambaram said.
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Haryana approves draft policy on renewable energy generation
Chandigarh: Giving an impetus to power generation from renewable sources, the Haryana government has approved a draft policy to achieve 10 percent of its power from renewable energy sources by 2012.

The State cabinet has approved the draft policy. The present draft policy aims at creating conditions for public and private sector participation in power projects based on renewable energy sources.

The measures to be adopted include promotion of setting up small hydro, wind and solar projects and power projects based on urban, municipal and industrial wastes. The draft policy has identified thrust areas of renewable power generation.

The State has a potential to generate 1,400 MW of power through biomass and could go for an estimated 100 to 150 MW power co-generation in cooperative and private sector sugar mills.
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India, Iran, Pakistan pipeline talks in March
New Delhi: India and Iran will hold the first trilateral ministerial talks in March to reach a consensus on $7 billion gas pipeline project that also involves Pakistan.

The current talks are part of the ongoing bilateral secretary level talks between India-Iran, India-Pakistan and Pakistan-Iran aimed at reaching a consensus on the technical, legal and commercial aspects of the ambitious gas pipeline project.

India is looking at the pipeline project to secure 60-90 million standard cubic metres per day (MSCMD), while Pakistan is seeking 30-50 MSCMD of gas supplies to bridge the expected shortfall in domestic production.

The issue of gas price was discussed in relation to the regional and global situation. The matter is to be further discussed at the level of the major energy companies of both countries - National Iranian Gas Export Company, GAIL (India) Ltd and Indian Oil Corporation.
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HP govt starts constructing roads
Dalhousie: The Himachal Pradesh government has started the Himachal Partnership programme for road constructions' with equity participation of Rs 300 crore by the state government in a tie up with the private sector.

Under the programme, the excavation of a tunnel from Chamba to Chowari that would reduce a distance of about 90 km had been proposed apart from construction of multiple roads on the banks of the river Ravi to ease traffic congestion.

The government also plans to hold an interactive meet to work out a new policy for providing financial assistance in order to improve the fiscal health of the Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIS) and urban bodies in the state. At least five per cent of the total representatives elected from over 3,000 PRIS and urban bodies would attend the meeting.
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PMO sets up panel on the ICE sector
New Delhi: To provide an impetus to the Indian media and entertainment industry, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has set up a high-powered Committee on Information, Communication and Entertainment (ICE).

The committee would be headed by the principal secretary to the Prime Minister, and would identify new opportunities in the areas of information, communication and entertainment where the government is expected to play a pro-active role to promote Indian media and entertainment industry, PM's Media Adviser Sanjaya Baru said.

The Committee would also examine various representations made by the Film and Television Producers Guild of India to the Prime Minister, pertaining to commercial, legal, fiscal and other aspects of the status of the media and entertainment industry in the country.
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