Industry ministry seeks Rs.956 crore for manufacturing plan
New Delhi: The industry ministry led by Minister of State for Industry Ashwani Kumar has asked for Rs956 crore over a period of five years for implementing the national manufacturing initiative. The funds will be used for 10 areas identified as priority action areas by the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC).

Kumar has also written to Planning Commission Deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia asking him to allocate a portion — Rs150 crore — of the entire amount in the ministry's annual plan for 2006-07.

The Planning Commission has indicated its willingness to consider the matter once it receives the formal proposal. The recent Budget had no allocation on this head.

Kumar said the implementation of the programme would enhance the competitiveness of the industry and would assure gainful employment to the unemployed.

It is likely that the allocation will be made in the coming month, once the finance ministry and the Planning Commission take a final view on the matter.

The ten priority areas include a national programme on application of lean manufacturing, technical upgradation support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurial and management support to SMEs, a national campaign for an intellectual property rights regime and promotion of information & communication technology.
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Government plans to proceed with job quota in pvt sector
Kolkata: The UPA government is planning to proceed with reservation of jobs for backward classes in the private sector, and would introduce a bill in this regard Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Meira Kumar said yesterday.

The group of ministers, formed to look into the reservation of jobs in the private sector, had already prepared a report in consultation with FICCI, CII, Assocham and leading private corporate bodies and the government was studying the possibility of introducing a bill in this regard, she said.

The minister added that enterpreneurs like N R Narayana Murthy of Infosys and Kumar Mmangalam Birla of the Aditya Birla Group were in support of resevation of jobs in the private sector.
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