Petrol and diesel prices get a marginal hike
New Delhi: The Government of India has hiked the price of petrol and diesel as part of its effort to relieve a "stressful situation" of under-recoveries faced by retail oil companies due to surging international crude prices. The last price revision was made in September 2005. Petrol and diesel will now cost an extra Rs4 and Rs2 per litre (plus local taxes) respectively from midnight.

While leaving kerosene sold under public distribution system (PDS) and domestic liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) untouched, the Cabinet has decided on a integrated package involving a price increase in petrol and diesel, issuance of oil bonds worth Rs28,000 crore, customs duty reduction from 10 per cent to 7.5 per cent on petrol and diesel, restricting PDS kerosene supply to below poverty line families, and moving to a trade parity pricing mechanism for petrol and diesel to resolve the situation.

According to the petroleum secretary, M.S. Srinivasan, the oil marketing companies are likely to incur under-recoveries of Rs73,500 crore in the current fiscal. However, after the latest hike, the gap would only be less than Rs3,000 crore.
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Ministry invites EoIs for Bengal deep-sea port
Kolkata: The shipping ministry has invited an expression of interest (EoIs) from consultants from all over the world for the development of a deep-sea port on the coastline of West Bengal. The draft targeted for the proposed port will be not less than 16.5 metres.

As per the Government's recent notification in this regard, the selected consultant or the consortium as the case may be, will be associated with the project right from the beginning, i.e. from the selection of the location, preparation of the detailed project report till the commissioning of the port.
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CAIT asks for withdrawal of new tax returns forms
New Delhi: The Confederation of All-India Traders (CAIT) has demanded immediate withdrawal of the new four-page income-tax return form prescribed by the Revenue Department for certain categories of individual/Hindu undivided family asessees.

A release issued by CAIT claimed that the new Form 2F had the potential of unleashing an inspector raj.

Salaried tax assessees are aggrieved over the new form as it requires them to provide a cash-flow statement (involving opening and closing bank and cash balances, income, expenditure, capital receipts and payments) as part of the returns.

The cash flow statement is optional for the assessment year 2006-07, but is likely to become mandatory from assessment year 2007-08.
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MSEDCL to provide uninterrupted power supply
Pune: The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) is undertaking a Rs700-crore initiative to separate its feeders to various sectors with a view to providing uninterrupted power supply to consumers.

MSEDCL is following the direction taken by neighbouring Gujarat State which separated its feeders and has met with positive results. Power feeders will soon be separated for various sectors such as industry, domestic consumers and agriculture so that technical snags or faults in the feeders would not affect all the sectors. Separation of feeders would also mean that the State would be in a position to control and monitor power supply to individual sectors.

Pune, meanwhile, became the first city in the country to forge a public and private sector partnership to come out on top of a situation where load shedding had become a reality of life for its denizens. The project, initiated by the CII, will see more than three dozen captive power plants generating power to do away with the planned load shedding that has plagued industry and citizens at large over two years now.
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