One of our SEZ projects, which envisaged 4 million square feet processing area, ITES development and further 1 million square feet non-processing area retail mall, has been deferred for 10 months. The contractor to whom we had awarded the concrete structure is proceeding with the work. We want to know whether the SEZ notification will be revoked if we do not complete the mall (where office space is to be commissioned) and whether the contractor will get the benefits. We also want to know whether tax on design and management consultancy service will be waived.

There is no legal provision to de-notify an SEZ

Business Standard

The recent winter in Europe has brought good news to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the traditional leather clusters of Tamil Nadu. Representatives from these clusters in Chennai, Ranipet and Ambur said they had earlier expected the global economic downturn to reduce orders by 30-40 per cent, but now believe they would be down by a &ldquo;more manageable&rdquo; 15-20 per cent, owing to a severe and prolonged winter.

Tamil Nadu leather exporters expect to bounce back

Vishwajeet Chakraborty, a small entrepreneur, increased the wage of his labourers by 10 per cent this year. And yet, half of his work force did not turn up to work.

With subsidised rice, workers prefer to sit at home

Reeling under the impact of delayed payments from buyers, the Faridabad Small Industries Association (FSIA) has sought more time from banks for discounting invoice bills.

SMEs seek timely payments

The Rs 100 crore hosiery and textile park coming up at Howrah district, six km from the Kona Expressway on the Delhi Road, developed by the special purpose vehicle (SPV), West Bengal Hosiery Park Infrastructure Limited (WBHPIL), is expected to generate more than 20,000 direct and indirect jobs, besides promising state-of-the art training and manufacturing facilities to more than 250 small and medium units.

Kolkata hosiery park to create 20,000 jobs, benefit 250 SMEs

The pharmaceuticals business in Uttarakhand is gradually losing its sheen, thanks to the recent four percentage point cut in excise duty by the Centre.

Pharma industry loses sheen in Uttarakhand

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs, or companies with up to 999 employees) in India will invest about $860 million in buying packaged software this year, up almost 15 per cent over 2008. The estimated growth level is down during this current economic slowdown, but is still much better than in other geographies, pointed out a recent AMI Partners survey.

SMEs to spend 15% more on packaged software in 2009

The agricultural implements cluster at Karnal in Haryana, the largest in India, has overcome the heat of the economic meltdown. A 50-year-old cluster, with over 100 medium, small and micro units, it has not only survived the downturn but has flourished for various reasons.

Karnal farm tools cluster bucks the slowdown

Selco Solar has illuminated the lives of many poor with over 95,000 solar installations.

Kundapura: India&#39;s new &#39;town of the sun&#39;

We are receiving commission against marketing and sourcing service provided in India to foreigners.

To claim SFIS, Rs 10 lakh forex earning is a must

Marble handicraft units here are preparing an appeal to the state&rsquo;s commercial tax tribunal against the imposition of value-added tax (VAT) on their products, as a sequel to their recent one-day strike on the issue.

VAT hurting marble units

In the recent Interim Foreign Trade Policy, the government has decided to give Duty Entitlement Passbook (DEPB) on the basis of Free On Board (FOB) value declared on the shipping bill. We declare FOB value after taking into account, the estimated (and not the actual) amount of freight and insurance premium.

Transferable DEPB can be issued on the basis of shipping bill only

Small units have been hit harder than the bigger units by the economic slowdown on all fronts &mdash; profitability, credit availability and longer payment cycles. This is the crux of a survey by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on the impact of the current economic crisis on the northern region. The downturn has also adversely impacted job creation.

CII comes out with vision document for Uttarakhand@2022

The Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh will be commissioned in 2010. The state government is looking for help to make use of the right-to-first refusal that it has for the use of Naptha, a by-product of the refinery. After receiving a lukewarm response from fertiliser and power companies to set up a petrochemical complex, the government plans to set up an SME-based petrochemical complex near the refinery.

MP govt for SME cluster near Bina refinery

Manufacturers of Chikan embroidery in Lucknow are pressing for a ban on Chinese import, saying it is imperative to rescue the traditional industry.

Chikan makers for ban on Chinese import

The steel units of Mandi Gobindgarh have been adversely affected since the last quarter from the delays in execution various proposed housing and infrastructure projects during the present slowdown.

Steel cluster hopes to gain from sops

The Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Orissa, reeling from the impact of recession, have sought 15 per cent of the net credit of banks to be earmarked for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector in the state. The SMEs feel that the move will ensure a higher credit flow to the sector which is facing a liquidity crunch due to the global meltdown.

Orissa SMEs seek 15% bank credit

To help the foundry and steel processing units in the state to survive the economic downturn which had seen over 60 units to down their shutters, the Howrah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) and West Bengal Small Industries Development Corporation (WBSIDC) have floated a special purpose vehicle (SPV) to set up a 1,000-acre steel processing cluster park.

Howrah park to help steel SMEs

To tide over the present global slowdown and the crisis in the , small and medium enterprises of the world predominantly from south east asian and African nations have started focussing on outsourcing raw material from Madhya Pradesh. They say, the state has the potential to export raw material for agro processing industry, chemical and medicines, herbal products and handicraft items.

Asian, African firms turn to MP for raw material

The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) will start a vocational education and training centre in Orissa&rsquo;s Kandhamal district, recently hit by communal riots.

IGNOU to start training in Kandhamal

Press Trust of India

For global hardware major, Dell, small and medium-enterprises (SMEs) comprise one of the top five focus areas in India. To reach this audience, besides the channel (distributor) route, it has announced the launch in India of its Global Small Business Excellence Award. India will be participating in these awards for the first time.

Dell offers prize to lure Indian SMEs

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