US nuclear pact only for power generation: PM
Mumbai: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said India assess its own nuclear weapon programme and that would remain the cardinal principle of the country's nuclear policy.

The PM said the primary aim of nuclear energy is to generate power.

Oil prices may even cross $100/barrel...We have to widen energy choices. Nuclear option will give us better energy security and is most 'cost effective' for India. The nuclear order must change for India's energy needs, the PM said.
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Wheat prices shoot up
Chennai: Wheat prices have shot up again and a majority of the traders do not seem to have a clue as to what is happening in the market.

Spot prices for wheat (Dara) in New Delhi were quoted at Rs966 a quintal, a little lower than the rate of Rs985 registered on February 4 just after the Centre decided to import wheat.

Futures contract prices, too, have moved in tandem and rates for November and December topped Rs1,000 a quintal on Thursday. Wheat for September delivery is quoting at Rs972 on NCDEX, while November and December deliveries are ruling at Rs 1,006 and Rs 1,019 respectively.

The rise in prices is despite imports gathering steam and the Centre striking deals to bring more wheat into the country.
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Drug prices may fall by more than 50 pc
New Delhi: The prices of more than half of all drugs in the market is likely to come down by around 50 per cent from October 2 as the government has introduced fixed margins on generic drugs for wholesalers and retailers, said the minister for chemicals, petrochemicals, fertilisers and steel, Ram Vilas Paswan.

The Ministry plans to fix the wholesalers' margin at 35 per cent of the manufacturers' selling price and retailers' margin at 15 per cent of the manufacturers' selling price. He said this would not reduce the manufacturers' profits but can cut down the cost of medical institutions that procure generic drugs.

Paswan also said that the industry and the ministry have agreed that the upper limit price for drugs would be kept outside price control at Rs3 a tablet. Drugs priced more than Rs3 per tablet would come under price control.

Differences have come to the fore between the Government and the industry on the issue of price control. Malvinder Mohan Singh, managing director and CEO of Ranbaxy Laboratories, said that the focus should be not on cost-based price control but monitoring.

Singh said if the price goes up by more than 20 per cent, then the regulator can look into it and ask why it is happening.
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TVS group to expand MyTVS chain
Hyderabad: TV Sundaram Iyengar & Sons, the parent company of TVS Group, has launched MyTVS, a multi-brand car service-cum-sales centre in Hyderabad. The company plans to set up a chain of about 450 centres across the country with an investment of Rs225 crore.

Of these 100 would be owned by the TVS group while the rest would be set up through a franchisee route. The company plans to expand both in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka initially, following its success in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Initially the company is looking at a pan-South India presence and would gradually cover various States in the country by 2009. The company expects to set up a warehouse chain to store spares for various car manufacturers and also make use of its logistics arm to meet the supply chain issues. MyTVS expects to double its revenues this year to Rs100 crore. Of this, about 60 per cent would come from sale of pre-owned cars. The market for after-sales services in India is estimated at about Rs7,000 crore and this is poised for growth as the automotive industry itself is witness to rapid growth.
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Japan proposes new free trade group
Kuala Lumpur: The Japanese government officials have proposed a sprawling 16-nation free-trade grouping with China, South Korea, Australia, India, New Zealand and the 10-nation Southeast Asian bloc. The 16 companies had last year formed the East Asia Summit - seen as a precursor of a giant free-trade community embracing half the world's population.

This is the first time Japan has raised the proposal to Asean and its dialogue partners China, Japan and South Korea - known as Asean Plus 3 - who gathered here on Thursday.

An Asean official indicated there was a cautious response to the ambitious idea, saying it was met with silence in the closed-door meetings.

India, Japan and Australia are hoping that the East Asia Summit will be the first step towards a free-trade East Asia Community but even the concept's proponents say it is decades from reality.
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Andhra, UP, Rajasthan favourite haunts of domestic tourists
New Delhi: Tourism & Culture minister Ambika Soni said Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Rajasthan are the top five states that got the largest number of domestic tourists in 2005 while Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan were adjudged as the top five states attracting the largest number of foreign tourists.

The minister said that the development of tourist places in states is primarily the responsibility of respective state governments.
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SEZs may get full service tax exemption
New Delhi: The commerce & industry ministry may exempt special economic zone (SEZ) units and developers from service tax on all activities related to authorised operations in SEZs. Right now, exemption is granted only for services rendered within SEZs.

The finance ministry however, is opposing the move and says that while it is not totally averse to providing the exemption to developers, it is unwilling to extend it to SEZ units. It is apprehensive that the provision could be misused by units leading to a financial drain on the government.

Following the enactment of the SEZ Act and Rules earlier this year, there has been a lot of dispute between the commerce and finance ministries on their interpretation and implementation.

Recently, the commerce ministry came out with an official instruction stating that the harassment being faced by SEZ units in availing of excise exemption for sale in domestic tariff area as mentioned in the SEZ Act should be stopped.
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Apartment prices seen falling in metros
New Delhi: Residential property rates are seen falling in the metros of Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore by 20-25 per cent and more so in the mid-market segment. Brokers in Mumbai said flats in Andheri and Goregaon that were selling at Rs7,000 per sq ft and Rs5,000 sq ft, respectively two months ago are fetching lower prices by 20 per cent. Mumbai is witnessing a decline in prices in Navi Mumbai and other suburban areas in general, while Delhi is seeing prices go down in Gurgaon, Noida and Greater Noida.

Analysts said in Bangalore also, residential property prices have been showing a downward trend across all middle market areas.

After the stock market crash in May this year brokers and consultants began reporting fewer land transactions and after the recent hikes in interest rates real estate prices may come down by another 15-20 per cent in these markets as there are expected to be fewer buyers.
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