Cement prices likely to rise on increasing demand
Mumbai: Cement prices are rising due to a tight demand-supply mismatch despite massive investments going into capacity build-up by companies.

Prices in Mumbai have risen by Rs5-10 to Rs235-240 per 50 kg bag and are expected to go up further by Rs15-20 to Rs260 per bag.

Analysts said the demand for cement will further rise by 10 per cent per annum for the next three years as realisations of capacity additions will be felt only in the last quarter of the financial year 2008.

Many cement companies are planning major expansions. Two leading cement companies — ACC and Gujarat Ambuja Cement — alone are investing over Rs3,000 crore in setting up greenfield plants and ramping up capacities.

The AV Birla group companies Grasim Industries and Ultra Tech Cement will be investing close to Rs3,900 crore in capacity additions.

Demand for the commodity during the fourth quarter of the financial year 2007 is seen at around 44 million tonnes against a supply of 42 million tonnes.
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Hyderabad to finally get an IIT
Hyderabad: An IIT in Andhra Pradesh is finally going to become a reality mainly due to the OBC reservations row, which led the Centre to announce the setting up of three more IITs during the Eleventh Plan period.

The government is planning to provide over 500 acres of land as requisitioned by the Union ministry free of cost at Isnapur near Patancheru, 35 km from Hyderabad, even while considering other alternative locations to allow the central official committee to choose the best place.

Andhra Pradesh seems to have been the obvious choice as the state with around 300 colleges and a capacity of about 95,000 seats now stands at the top in producing engineering graduates, compared with any other state in the country.
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FM to meet agriculturists, economists for pre-Budget discussions
New Delhi: Finance minister P Chidambaram will meet agriculturists and trade union leaders on 29 December as part of the traditional pre-Budget consultations.

This will be followed by similar consultations with economists, a day later followed by a meeting with industrialists on January 9.

The agriculturists include Ajit Kumar Singh, MP and chairman, NAFED, Sharad Joshi, MP, Siva Kumar, CEO, ITC agri division, and JK Thomas, president, United Planters Association of India.

The leaders of the trade unions attending the meeting include Girish Awasthi of the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh and G Sanjeeva Reddy of the Indian National Trade Union Congress among others.

The economists slated to attend the Saturday meeting include Saumitra Choudhuri, economic adviser, ICRA Ltd, Rajiv Kumar, director and CEO, ICRIER, Subir Gokarn, Crisil Ltd, and Partho Mukhopadhyay of the Centre for Policy research among others.
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Centre may levy SC upliftment tax on India Inc
Mumbai: The Union government is considering levying one more cess on incomes of corporate India to help them discharge their duties towards the people belonging to the scheduled casts (SC) and the scheduled tribes (ST).

But, instead of paying cess to the government, the corporate houses will pay directly to deserving SC and ST students as scholarships or soft loans, or give funds directly to the educational institutes to create better infrastructure for SC and ST students.

Indicating that it may not be part of union budget for 2007-08, sources said," the concept is in infancy and we need to go miles before it sees the light of the day, and before taking any step government wants to take all prominent business chambers and business houses in confidence".

The corporate sector has till now opposed any reservations in the private sector but has assured affirmative action by providing SCs and STs qualitative education which will allow them to compete with other candidates for jobs in private sector.
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Special purpose tea fund to be set up
New Delhi: To hike the yield, lower the cost of production and improving the quality of tea to get higher prices, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved a special purpose tea fund under the Tea Board.

The scheme is expected to generate additional employment for 22 million people per year. A government release said the fund would help increase collections of tea cess, sales tax or value added tax, income tax and more.

The CCEA also gave its approval for providing budgetary support towards outstanding statutory dues, salary and wages in respect of defaulting central public sector enterprises under the department of heavy industry.

This decision will mitigate the hardships of the employees by motivating them for better output, and preparing them to achieve the goal of revival for the company.
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