Delhi traders call for strike: losses seen at Rs1,500-cr
New Delhi: The Confederation of All India Traders, which is supported by various other trade associations have called for a three-day strike in the National Capital Region from October 30 to November 1. Nearly 7 lakh shops and allied establishments in the national capital will be shut in the three day resulting in a loss of around Rs1,500 crore.

The losses of the Delhi government are estimated at around Rs15 crore per day that it normally collects as value added tax, excluding the revenue from petrol and diesel sales, on account of the strike. Delhi's monthly VAT collection stands at around Rs600 crore, including the Rs130 crore collected from the sale of petrol and diesel.

The strike is being organised to oppose the sealing of commercial establishments functioning in residential areas and is likely to affect the city in a big way.

Delhi has 10 lakh commercial units, of which around 7 lakh shops which are under threat of being sealed would be closed during the strike. Even chemists have decided to join the strike since many of their shops were located in residential areas and building basements.
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Urban India to be largest contributor to GDP by 2011
New Delhi: A paper titled 'Urban India: Growth, Opportunities and Difficulties' released by industry body Assocham has said, "Urban India will contribute 70 per cent to the national GDP by 2011."

The paper said almost 300 million Indians living in major metros and cities would push India's GDP growth by 10 per cent by 2011.

Urban India will emerge as a major epicentre for both domestic economic activities and overseas businesses which will pave the way for a higher urban per capita income of Rs36,000 per annum by 2011, a Rs10,000 jump from the current estimates of Rs26,000 per annum.

According to Assocham, "Job opportunities for job seekers and qualified professionals in areas like IT and IT-enabled services, manufacturing and biotechnology will be offered in metros and smaller cities like Pune, Hyderabad, Kochi, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Dehradun and Jaipur."

The urban population grew to 27 per cent in 2001 from 25 per cent in 1991 due to migration of labourers from villages to cities for financial security and better standards of living. Towns in India grew by 16 per cent to 4,368 in 2001 from 3,768 towns in 1991 and are expected to touch the 5,000-mark by 2011.
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Maharashtra proposes another airport
Mumbai: The Maharashtra state government's proposed to build an airport at Kalyan 55 km from the city is being considered by the civil aviation ministry.

The state has identified the land. The existing airport at Sahar here, the country's busiest aviation hub, is being expanded and upgraded by a joint venture between the GVK-SA consortium and Airports Authority of India to cater to 40 million passengers and one million tonnes of cargo annually.

In the satellite city of Navi Mumbai, another airport has been conceptualised and received clearance from the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
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