Industries with a focus on consumers predictably had reasons to cheer after the finance minister decided not to roll back the excise duty by two per cent as expected.

Untouched excise brings relief

Business Standard

INDIRECT TAX: Proposals related to excise and Customs would result in a net revenue gain of Rs 7,300 crore.

Eye on GST, govt prunes exemption list

SPENDING: Extra tax on airfare, hotel room and drinking at an air-conditioned restaurant.

Good life will come at a higher price

If there is a single issue which has proved to be an over-riding factor in the formation of this year&rsquo;s budget, it is inflation. Almost everything that the finance minister has done, and not done, can be explained by that one issue. Consider the following.

T N Ninan: An anti-inflation Budget

The government would provide an additional Rs 6,000 crore capital to state-owned banks in financial year 2011-12 to help them maintain at least eight per cent capital adequacy ratio in Tier-I level, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Monday while presenting the Union Budget for 2011-12 (April-March) at the lower house of the Parliament.

Govt to infuse Rs 6,000 cr into PSU banks

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed amendments to the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in his Budget speech on Monday. The government has decided to table the Bill during the Budget session of Parliament.

Banking Bill to be tabled this session

Increasing cost of raw materials, declining wages for weavers and the consequent steep fall in their number are posing a threat to the century-old legacy of Pochampally Ikat.

Pochampally Ikat hit by triple whammy

The home furnishings and home decor accessories industry is back on its feet, with the effects of the economic slowdown waning slowly, according to the findings of a survey of SMEs in the industry, conducted by IndiaMART Knowledge Services (IKS).

SMEs in home decor sector back on their feet

In the recent Budget, the Cenvat Credit Rules have been amended, disallowing credit on service tax paid for construction of factory buildings. We already have a contract for construction of a factory that is going on, and we are making payments on the basis of milestone achievements.

'Pathological labs to pay service tax after Finance Bill is passed'

A new tool now makes it easier to find and register &lsquo;Indianised&rsquo; Internet addresses. It has been developed by Verisign and launched by Tradeindia.com, an online B2B marketplace in India, which provides users with suggestions for Indianised domain names, as well as names based on popular lucky numbers.

New tool to help MSMEs register Indianised Net addresses

Rise in prices of steel and aluminium alloy by about 40-50 per cent contributes to the industry&rsquo;s depleting margins.

Smaller auto parts units hit by soaring input costs

Efkon Group India is a provider of electronics and engineering-based solutions that aim to improve the quality, safety and security of transportation of people and goods. Pravda Godbole spoke to Venugopal Rangarajan, director, Efkon Group India, about the company&rsquo;s newest venture &mdash; green toll plazas.

Q&A: Venugopal Rangarajan, Director, Efkon Group India

Symantec Corporation&rsquo;s 2011 disaster preparedness survey for small and medium enterprises, which measured the attitudes and practices of SMEs and their customers towards disaster preparedness, reveal that though SMEs in India are at risk, they are still not making disaster preparedness a priority until they experience a disaster or data loss.

Indian SMEs not prepared for disasters: Symantec

Founded in February 2009 after a detailed market aptitude survey, Cocoberry launched a range of frozen yogurts, recognising substantial potential in the Indian health and wellness foods segment. G S Bhalla, founder and CEO of Cocoberry, spoke to Pravda Godbole about the companyâ€™s future plans.

Q&A: G S Bhalla, Founder & CEO, Cocoberry

When Uttarakhand Chief Secretary Alok Kumar Jain travels to the remote Nogaon area of Uttarakhand this week, he will flag off a refrigerated apple van, a vital link of the cold chain that has been developed for the first time in the hill state.Jain will also study an inclusive business model of small and marginal farmers in the apple value addition business chain.Initiated by Stichting Het Groene Woutd (SHGW), a Dutch family foundation and social investor, and NGO Sri Jagdamba Samiti (SJS), this model has helped create employment, income, technical skill and capacity among the apple growers of Uttarakhand.Mahavir Singh of Nogaon, for example, sold eight metric tons of apples to the Pisaon collection centre in 2011-12 at Rs 48 per kg. Earlier, he would sell to the market through intermediaries at a price of not more than Rs 36 per kg â€” this also included the cost of packing, commission and transportation, bringing down the net realisation to Rs 30 p

Uttarakhand gets its first apple cold chain

Parts suppliers hit by vehicle manufacturersâ€™ production cut, raw material shortage

Ambattur MSMEs' poor run likely to continue in 2013

Orissa has basic infrastructure and resources needed for any kind of start-up business, be it agro-based or manufacturing, but its people need to make the most of these opportunities by taking the help of various government incentives on offer, said K L Rao, director of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Institute, Cuttack.

Orissa offers opportunity for start up business, SME: expert

Vinod Kumar, a horitculturist in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh, is pleased with the 40 sq mt polyhouse on his farm. He believes the polyhouse has provided him with the option of diversifying into agricultural crops â€” he is growing capsicum inside the polyhouse.

Farmers take to polyhouses

Twenty-three clusters in Haryana are poised to get a new lease of life. The Haryana government, in collaboration with the Union ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), has decided to provide them with common facility centres (CFCs).

Haryana govt to revive 23 MSME clusters

Launched in March 2007 with the aim of accelerating the entry of innovative Indian technologies in global markets and bridging the existing gap between &ldquo;the mind and the market&rdquo;, the India Innovation Growth Programme (IIGP) has caught the fancy of innovators, including researchers, inventors, scientists, start-ups and small and medium enterprises, working across diverse sectors throughout India.

Innovation scheme catches fancy of start-ups, inventors

Several large companies, such as Tata Motors, Mahindra &amp; Mahindra, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd and Delphi-TVS, are looking for more vendors in Uttarakhand, a hub of small and medium enterprises.

Big firms seek more vendors in Uttarakhand

SME: Find all the latest news on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in India. Explore more for the top headlines about SME sector on Business Standard.

Page 75 - SME