Bussines News

Mumbai, March 1 (IANS) Following the reduction in excise duties in the union budget, automobile major Tata Motors has slashed the prices of its Indica and SUV models. However, the company Saturday said it was undecided about lowering the price of its forthcoming model Nano, already considered the world's cheapest car at Rs.100,000 ($2,500).

Lucknow, March 1 (IANS) Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's massive loan waiver plan has failed to impress Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, who said the move would not provide any long-term relief to the poverty-ridden farmers.

Hyderabad, March 1 (IANS) Many farmers in Andhra Pradesh feel relieved as Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's budget announcement of farm loan waiver will remove a 'big burden' from their shoulders.

Bangalore, March 1 (IANS) Farmers in Karnataka Saturday termed the union government's decision to waive loans of small and marginal farmers as 'discriminatory'.

New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Farmers from Uttar Pradesh's poverty-ridden Bundelkhand region are not much enthused by the Rs.600 billion farm loan waiver announced by Finance Minister P. Chidambaram in the annual budget as they doubt its benefits will ever reach them.

New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Former finance minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha Saturday termed the union budget 2008-09 as 'a recipe for long-term economic disaster'.

Chennai, March 1 (IANS) Global credit rating agency Standard and Poor's Ratings Services (S&P) warned Saturday that India's credit rating, currently at BBB-/Stable/A-3, may be revised lower after the Sixth Pay Commission's report.

Chennai, March 1 (IANS) Eminent farm scientist M.S. Swaminathan has called the 2008-09 budget 'forward looking' and hoped that the Rs.600 billion loan waiver would 'mark the beginning of the end of the era of farmer suicides'.

Bangalore, Feb 29 (IANS) Honchos of Indian IT industry Friday slammed the union budget for not extending tax holiday and increasing excise duty on packaged software and levying service tax on customised software.

Chennai, Feb 29 (IANS) Though the union budget has announced a number of initiatives favouring farmers, including the loan waiver of Rs.600 billion ($15 billion), the fertiliser industry, one of the links in the agriculture chain, has remained unimpressed over budget proposals.

Chennai, Feb 29 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu business community has expressed its satisfaction at the national budget 2008-09 Finance Minister P. Chidambaram presented in parliament Friday.

Mumbai/New Delhi, Feb 29(IANS) Even as the tourism and hospitality sector said it has been largely ignored by the national budget for 2008-09 that Finance Minister P. Chidambaram presented Friday, it welcomed the concessions to build hotels at India's world heritage sites.

London, Feb 29 (IANS) Lord Swraj Paul, founder chairman of the Caparo Group of Industries, praised Friday's budget as 'very good' but said the need to deliver to the farmer was even more important than the promised loan waiver.

Guwahati, Feb 29 (IANS) The mega tea industry in Assam Friday expressed satisfaction over the allocations in the union budget for tea research and boosting production.

Mumbai, Feb 29 (IANS) Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh Friday said the union budget was a 'historic and revolutionary pro-rural budget', hailing the loan waiver to farmers and increased allocation to educational institutions in the state.

Hyderabad, Feb 29 (IANS) The healthcare industry has welcomed the union budget presented Friday, saying it provides an incentive to take quality healthcare to semi-urban and rural areas.

New Delhi, Feb 29 (IANS) Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani has criticised the union budget presented Friday for its 'heavy communal overtones'.

New Delhi, Feb 29 (IANS) The Indian real estate sector has welcomed the overall impact of budget while saying that it could have done more for the industry.

Ahmedabad, Feb 29 (IANS) The Gujarat Chambers of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Friday said the state was 'missing' from the 2008-09 union budget, although it has outlined many good proposals.

New Delhi, Feb 29 (IANS) Finance Minister P. Chidambaram's announcement in his budget speech Friday that the government would soon set up a 'permanent institutional mechanism' to coordinate the fight against climate change drew mixed reactions from India's NGO community.