Budget
The Budget may hardly surprise
THAT THE 2001-02 Budget has already generated enough hoopla what with the economy perceptibly slowing down on the back of a no-growth in agriculture, an insipid performance growth by both industry and services sector is by now widely known. T
he Economic Survey only corroborated the constraints of the economy even as the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was talking in terms of pushing the growth rate to the dream 9 per cent. But given the ground realities in the econom
y the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, may not have too many surprises in terms of fiscal measures on February 28.
A tale of six Budgets
ON WEDNESDAY, the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, will rise to present his fourth full Union Budget and, as usual, expectations are running high. After all, this is the moment players in the stock markets have been waiting for. Some of them
will make a pile while others will suffer heavy losses based on whether their expectations of what the FM will announce turn out to be right or wrong. Some industrialists will be ecstatic if Mr Sinha reduces duties on their products and input
s thereby making their goods cheap in the market, which could hopefully lead to higher sales and profits. Others will be down in the dumps if the FM shows them his thumb in the national interest, of course. Companies and direct taxpayers wil
l be hoping for relief although the point must be made that the noises which the Government has already made over the tough financial imperative forced on it by the Gujarat earthquake does not hold out too much hope for them.
Economy
Vision 2020 -- Challenge and opportunity for Mr Sinha
The Finance Minister is in a predicament. If he falters on the path to liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation, the new economic gurus will scalp him. But if he comes out with a Budget dressed in the latest mode, the devotees of swadeshi will
disown him.
Dr Jalan's policy stance
THE RBI Governor, Dr Bimal Jalan, hit the spotlight by announcing changes in the bank rate and in the CRR ahead of schedule. One would normally have expected the Governor's slack season policy to indicate these important changes. He was perhaps persuaded
to do this earlier because he wanted to set the stage for Mr Yashwant Sinha's expected actions on rates of interest on small savings.
Editorial
What's in the post?
WHO IS THE biggest retailer in the country today? The quick answer would be Shoppers' Stop, FoodWorld or Subhiksha, the latter two Chennai-headquartered retailers. But the answer to that seeming sitter of a question would be the post-office.
Before retail became as fashionable as it is today, for years the Department of Posts has been selling a variety of stationery and savings products through its over 1.5 lakh post-offices. Only, it was not cloaked in the right jargon.
Health
Tobacco ad ban: The issues and health aspects
THE proposed Bill seeking a ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship, expected to be introduced in the Budget session of Parliament, has had different reactions from every quarter. The tobacco companies, its chief target, are indignant and want self-re
gulation. Advertising agencies, anticipating substantial revenue loss, are keeping their fingers crossed. Health professionals and anti-tobacco groups are jubilant.
Miscellaneous
Consumer rage
CONSUMERS round the globe are being driven to hysterical fits of rage by the utter insensitivity of suppliers of goods and services to their complaints about poor quality, indifference to safety considerations and false claims in advertisements. Consumer
rage is fast overtaking road rage as the most unnerving feature of business landscape.
Transport
Optimism on the Budget -- Shipowners hope tonnage tax will be introduced
FOR a change, shipowners are quite optimistic about the Budget this year. They believe there will be something in the Budget that will give them a level playing field. Their hopes were raised by the statement of Minister of State for Shipping, Mr Hukum D
eo Narayan Yadav, in the Lok Sabha last week that the Government was considering introduction of tonnage tax for shipping companies.
