Budget to have compressed tariff structure:

Revenue secretary Javed Choudhry on Wednesday assured the industry that a much compressed excise tariff structure is in the offing for the budget and thus a much reduced interface between the assessee and the administration will take place. Choudhry, who was speaking at the 26th All India Conference of Corporate Managers and Tax Executives organised by FICCI, said that the projections of increase in buoyancy of revenue in the next year would have to be lower than the assumption of a 20 per cent rise.

State amends policy:

The Maharashtra government has amended the Industrial Location Policy, 1993, to allow new units and additional investments in diversification, modernisation or renovation of mega projects in the automobile sector in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. Investments up to Rs 1,500 crore or above will be allowed after clearance from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board.

G Parthasarthy is new high commissioner to Pakistan:

GParthasarathy, the country' high commissioner in Australia, has been appointed as the new high commissioner to Pakistan. Parthasarathy, who has served in the Indian mission in Pakistan earlier, succeeds Satish Chandra who has taken over as chief of the joint intelligence committee of the newly established National Security Council headed by the Prime Minister.

GM sets a modest target:

General Motors India Limited has set a modest target of selling a little over 4,000 cars in calendar 1999. This is 15 per cent more than the sales recorded in 1998. Hit by the recession in luxury car segment, the company closed 1998 with sales of 3,500 Astra, lower than the target of 4,500 units. Company officials, however, said that it increased its market share in the mid-size segment.

Lupin Labs nets 24% profit:

Lupin Laboratories has registered a 24 per cent increase in net profits for the six months ended December 31, 1998 at Rs 18.87 crore compared to Rs 15.21 crore during the corresponding period ofthe previous year. Sales rose by 15.82 per cent to Rs 368.70 crore compared to Rs 318.33 crore in the previous year. According to a company press release, the main contributors to the jump in sales were domestic formulations and the active pharmaceutical ingredients businesses.

Punwire plans restructuring:

Punjab Wireless System is working on a model to hive off each of these businesses as separate marketing joint ventures which, in turn, would sub-contract manufacturing from the parent, Punwire. The highly diversified company has also asked international consultants, KPMG to do a business valuation. An ERP installation exercise is also on the cards.

Exide Q3 net profit up:

Exide Industries reported a phenomenal 137 per cent rise in net profit to Rs 11.19 crore for the third quarter of 1998-99. It made a net profit of Rs 4.72 crore in the same period previous fiscal. The results of October-December 1998 include that from the operations of the manufacturing facilities acquired from TheStandard Batteries Ltd with effect from February 16, 1998. Gross profit before depreciation and taxes has been reported at Rs 21.91 crore (Rs 10.02 crore) on net sales of Rs 173.09 crore (Rs 107.01 crore).

Sonata Software ties up with Scala:

Sonata Software has entered into a joint venture with the $88.4 million Scala Business Solutions NV of Sweden to form Abisko Development Ltd. Having an equity capital of $7.5 lakh the joint venture company will be based in Cyprus. While Sonata has an equity holding of 80 per cent in Abisko, Scala will hold the remaining stake.

BHEL bags export award:

Bhel has bagged the national export award for outstanding performance during 1997-98. The award, instituted by the ministry of commerce, will be presented to Bhel by the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday. Bhel's export turnover during 1997-98, including deemed exports touched an all time high of Rs 1784 crore, up by nearly 38 per cent over the previous year.

Sops for FIs lending tohousing mooted:

The urban development ministry has suggested that the government extend the benefit of Sections 80 (1) A and 10(23) G of the Income Tax Act to financial institutions lending to the sector. A proposal seeking fiscal concessions for housing has been submitted to the finance ministry which has assured a positive response.

CAG pulls up NBCC:

The Comptroller & Auditor General has pulled up the ailing public sector unit, National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd, for not providing penal interests of Rs 46.87 crore in its unsecured loans, and foreseeable losses of Rs 12.86 crore in its current liabilities in the accounts for 1997-98. The government accepted a six-point restructuring plan for the revival of NBCC at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on November 9 last year.

Jalan hints at stricter regulatory norms:

RBI governor Bimal Jalan on Wednesday hinted at a stronger regulatory framework for the financial markets and banking sector. Speakingat the Global India conference organised here by the All India Association of Industries, Jalan said that greater coordination between various market regulators and operators is required to bring about the transparency and accountability of international standards.

`Vanished' companies:

ICSI plans to offer services of its practising members to the Department of Company Affairs to trackdown the `vanished' companies. ICSI says it can help DCA to update its records at the registrar of companies' (RoC) offices all over the country which would enable tracking down of these companies.

"There are lakhs of forms pending at the RoC offices all over the country. We will be able to update the records in two months," stated the institute's newly elected president Virender Ganda.

Railways freight revenue:

Indian Railways may register their highest-ever freight earnings this year, thanks to some initiatives, especially the decision to cut freight rates by 10 per cent on core sector products.Corporates in Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh such as ACC, Gujarat Ambuja and Shreeji Cement have started booking higher freight volumes with the railways, some of them shifting over from road operators.

IPPs in a fix:

Confusion reins supreme amongst the Independent Power Producers (IPPs) over the last date on achieving financial closure for their liquid fuel based power projects. Whereas, the official notification of the power ministry has put January, 31, 1999 as the last date for achieving financial closure, the Union minister of power, PR Kumaramangalam has, earlier, gone on record saying that the IPPs have been given extension till March, 31, 1999.

Microsoft Q2 profit soars 75%

Microsoft Corp's second-quarter earnings soared 75 per cent over the year-earlier period, the software giant said, as strong personal computer sales helped it blow past even the highest Wall Street estimates. Microsoft said it earned $1.98 billion, or 73 cents per diluted share, in its fiscal second quarter, upfrom $1.13 billion dollar, or 42 cents, a year earlier.

Sony, Philips, Sun join in entertainment network:

Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp, American software major Sun Microsystems and Royal Philips Electornics NV of Netherlands have revealed plans to jointly develop an interactive system to connect digital electronic appliances to the Internet. The companies would use Sun's 'jini' technology with home audio-video interoperability developed by eight major consumer electronics firms, enabling appliances at home to be accessed via Internet, the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported.