TN bandh may affect industrial production: CII
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu State Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry has said that the bandh announced for tomorrow by the M Karunanidhi government would cripple commercial and industrial activity in the state.

Gopal Srinivasan, chairman, CII - Tamil Nadu State Council in a press release urged the state government to resolve the issue through legal and constitutional options. The loss to the state gross domestic product (SGDP) at current prices per day is estimated at Rs750 crore approximately, Srinivasan said.

Tamil Nadu was in the forefront of economic development and stalling the industrial and commercial activity through bandhs would have an adverse impact on investors. Moreover, industries were committed to meeting their productivity targets at the end of the financial year, Srinivasan said.
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India-EU dispute over wine, spirits escalates
New Delhi: The European Union is escalating a dispute with India at the World Trade Organisation, over what it sees as unfair trade barriers for its wine and spirits. According to an EU Commission report last year a combination of import duties and taxes reached as high as 550 per cent on imported spirits and 264 per cent on imported wines.

Indian trade minister Kamal Nath however trying to pacify the situation said India knows its import duties on wines and spirits are high and would correct the situation.

French Trade Minister Christine Lagarde, who also attended the conference in New Delhi, said France would like to see the duties come down.

Indian authorities have said they expect to resolve the dispute with a change in legislation on duties. The United States has also requested WTO consultations with India over what it calls "excessive duties" on wine and distilled spirits.
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India tea exports up 23.3 pc in January
Kolkata: Tea exports from India rose 23.3 per cent in January from a year earlier to 13.77 million kg, the state-run Tea Board said on Friday. Officials said rising overseas demand should keep sales high over the next few months, even as leading competitor Kenya overcomes a drought that hit their output and exports last year.

Tea Board officials said Indian tea production in January fell 12.3 percent from a year earlier to 21 million kg mainly due to unfavourable weather conditions, especially with a drought-like situation prevailing in northern India. Exports reached 203.8 million kg in 2006, topping 200 million kg for the first time since 2002 mainly due to Kenya's drought and India's tapping of emerging markets, officials said. In 2006, India exported 8.52 million kg of tea to Kenya, up from 1.54 million kg a year earlier.

The bulk of India's exports in 2006 went to Iraq, Russia and the United Arab Emirates, officials said. Tea production rose by 3 per cent to 955.9 million kg in 2006 from 2005 as good weather lifted production in the north, officials said.
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WB industrialization to continue despite Nandigram
Kolkata: Veteran CPM leader Jyoti Basu said that the industrialisation process would continue in West Bengal despite the Nandigram incident which had nation-wide reactions.

At least 14 persons were killed and over 160 people injured in the police action at Nandigram on March 14. Basu said that there should be a better compensation package and improved rehabilitation policies for those whose land would be taken for industrial projects.
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