Economy to grow by 7.7 per cent in 2006 says ICRA
New Delhi: Credit rating agency ICRA has projected economic growth at 7.7 per cent for 2006-07 which is lower than Government's estimate of 8.1 per cent. ICRA in its report, Money & Finance said, "our own estimates are that in 2005-06, the economy will grow by about 7.7 per cent, with agriculture and allied services expanding by 2 per cent and non-agricultural sector by 9.1 per cent,".

Economic think-tank NCAER has projected 7.8 per cent growth for this fiscal which is also lower than 8.1 per cent estimated by the Central Statistical Organisation. The Reserve Bank of India has projected 7.5-8 pe r cent growth rate for 2005-06.

ICRA had projected 6.9-7.5 per cent growth last year, and has now revised the projection on account of better than expected performance of industry and services sectors. ICRA said manufacturing is set to grow by an impressive 9.2 per cent and will push up overall industrial growth to 7.7 per cent, while services sector is slated to grow by 9.9 per cent.
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India, France sign multiple agreements
New Delhi: India and France have signed a number of agreements, totalling nine in all including a declaration on nuclear energy and a pact on defence cooperation following discussions between Indian prime minister, Manmohan Singh and French president, Jacques Chirac, who is on a visit to India.

The Atomic Energy Commission chairman, Anil Kakodkar and the French foreign minister, Philippe Douste Blazy in the presence of Dr Singh and Jaques Chirac, signed the declaration on the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
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Nepal, Pakistan put a ban on poultry imports from India
Kathmandu: Nepal and Pakistan have banned import of poultry and poultry products from India and activated all quarantine posts along the country's borders. This is after India declared outbreak of bird flu.

The governments of the countries have asked importers not to import live birds and poultry products. The decision would remain in force till international institutions certify that the epidemic no more exists in India.

Nepal has also banned import of poultry products from Thailand, Germany and Indonesia. Nepal mainly imports chicken from Andhra Pradesh for commercial production.
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Government puts telephone subscriber base at 5.4 million
New Delhi: The number of telephone subscribers in the country stood at 5.4 million in the first week of January this year, the Minister for communication and information technology, Dayanidhi Maran told the Rajya Sabha.

He said the level of new subscribers in India have surpassed even those in China.

The number of telephone subscribers in the country rose from 1.24 million two years ago to 4.7 million last year and over five million in January this year, he said. Responding to a query, he said that service providers have flexibility to offer any tariff, subject to certain regulatory principles including inter-connection usage charges compliance for mobile phones.
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SC dismisses airport officers' plea
New Delhi: The Supreme Court dismissed an appeal against an earlier Delhi High Court verdict that dismissed a petition challenging the government's decision to allow 74 per cent private equity in joint ventures for the modernisation of airports.

The SC was not satisfied by an appeal by the Airports Authority of India Officers' Association as some provisions of the Airports Authority of India Act 1994 were in conflict with each other. The Court observed that the provisions of the Act had to be construed harmoniously and that it was a policy matter to be decided by the government.
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India joins TAP pipeline project
New Delhi: Just before the visit of US President George Bush, India has decided to join the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan pipeline which is backed by the US. The project seeks to import natural gas to meet the fuel needs of its growing economy.

New Delhi, earlier this month participated for the first time as an "observer" in the 9th meeting of the steering committee of the TAP project and has since decided to join the 3.5-billion dollar project.

Officials said the pipeline from Turkmenistan would be easier to implement than the Iran-Pakistan-India line as it has the backing of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
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