AIDS drugs may get tax breaks
New Delhi: A number of cancer and AIDS drugs may be exempted from customs and excise duty and the chemicals ministry is said to be finalising a list of drugs to be exempted.

The list of medicines submitted by institutions like the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and the National Aids Control Organisation to the chemicals ministry include products from Cipla, GlaxoSmithKline, Emcure, Citadel Aurobindo, Pfizer, Dr Reddy's and Fulford India among others.

Sources said twelve first generation AIDS drugs, which figure in the national list of essential medicines (NLEM), and another ten new generation ones will be recommended for duty cuts.

Medicines attract a 16 per cent excise duty and a 15 per cent peak customs duty.
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Freight corridor to be highlight of the rail budget
New Delhi: The launch of the ambitious Rs60,000 crore "Dedicated Freight Corridor Project" is expected to be one of the highlights of the 2006-07 railway budget to be presented by rail minister Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Public Sector Undertaking RITES, which was asked to conduct the feasibility study of the project has given its draft report on the dedicated corridor on which the railway board has given its opinion. The much-awaited project is likely to be included in the budget 2006-07, government sources said.

Japan last year agreed to invest Rs20,000 crore in the first phase of the Corridor -- the 2,800 km Delhi-Kolkata and Delhi-Mumbai section.
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Automotive testing plant to be set up at Gurgaon
Chandigarh: The centre plans to set up an automotive testing facility at IMT Manesar in Gurgaon with an investment of Rs400 crore. The Haryana government has offered 40 acres for the project.

An official government spokesman said Gurgaon has emerged as a preferred investment destination for both Information Technology and IT-enabled services and BPO companies. There was a plan to set up a hi-tech Habitat Centre in Electronic City, Gurgaon to provide world-class facilities for nurturing the companies in the IT industry, he said.
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Sibal: Educational institutions must be given autonomy
New Delhi: Science and technology minister Kapil Sibal has said educational institutions must be freed from controls and given relative autonomy to function effectively and efficiently.

His remarks came soon after the HRD ministry struck down a proposal of IIM-Bangalore to open a branch abroad. Sibal said in an interview that educational institutions should strive for excellence. "In the world of excellence, education must meet global standards, but there should also be equity for people," he said.

When specifically asked whether HRD ministry's denial of permission to IIM-B to set up a branch in Singapore was justified, Sibal said it was for the HRD ministry to decide on that subject.
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ISRO to commercialise launch vehicle technology
Mumbai: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to enter into the launch vehicle business and aiming at a 10 per cent market share over the next five years.
ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair said the organization would carry a European satellite on board of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) this year, which will give it a turnover of US$10mn.

ISRO recently announced the country's first fully commercial satellite launch in April or May, which will carry an Italian satellite Agile on top of a PSLV C-3. Industry estimates value the global launch vehicle technology market at about US$2bn.
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Airport upgrade: lobbying starts afresh
New Delhi: Fresh lobbying has started for another round of bidding by pre-qualified bidders for the revamp of Mumbai and Delhi airports. The empowered group of ministers (eGOM) headed by defence minister Pranab Mu-kherjee is planning to meet during the last week of this month to sort out all issues related to technical evaluation of bids for the modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports.

Companies which lost out in the initial technical evaluation of bids are now pushing for a fresh start. Some of them are understood to be weighing the option of looking at collaborations with stronger airport partners in case another round of bids is called.

While some players like the Bharti Group and the Piramals had to pull out since their partners did not agree with the norms laid down by the government, some pre-qualified bidders would also stand to get another chance if the government opts for another round of bids.
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OneIndia to be launched by Jan 26
Mumbai: Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL), Tata Teleservices, Hutch and Airtel are gearing up for the rollout of 'OneIndia' plan which means offering a single tariff structure across various circles in the country, by January 26. The only exception is Idea Cellular, which has no intentions of joining the bandwagon.

The rollouts will take place around January 26 a telecom industry analyst said.

IT and Telecom minister Dayanidhi Maran had earlier announced launching a 'OneIndia' plan in January this year.

A 'One India' plan would result in erosion of average revenue per user as the players would be offering services at lower prices, but they expect to make good the losses with increase in volume over a longer period of time.
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