Business, Finance & Stock Market updates for February 29, 2008

Minorities front welcomes people friendly budget
All India Minorities Front president S. M. Asif has hailed the Budgetary provisions for Minorities at point No. 47 of the Budget speech especially the proposal to recruit members of minority communities in the Centralaramilitary Forces and also opening of New Branches of Banks in the areas of their density. ANI

Budget will further fuel Indias growth: Chidambaram
Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram today said that there is an investment boom in the economy and that the budget aimed at further fuelling the countrys growth story. ANI

Growth and inclusiveness, Budget provides right balance: CII
Finance Minister P Chidambaran has presented a comprehensive, balanced and growth-oriented budget, said Sunil Mittal, President of Confederation of Indian Industries. ANI

Governments proposal of Rs 900 crore for combating AIDS
Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram has announced a proposal of Rs.993 crore to the National Aids Control Programme. ANI

Chidambaram gives tax benefit to all
Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday gave tax benefits to almost all section of society. ANI

Farmers loan waiver a revolutionary step: Sonia Gandhi
UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi today termed the waiver of 40 million poor farmers loans as a historic and revolutionary step. ANI

Manmohan Singh hails Chidambarans budget as growth-oriented
Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today hailed the Union Budget proposals for 2008-09 as pro-agriculture, pro-investment and growth-oriented, saying that the measures announced by Finance Minister P.Chidambaram would address critical problems of the farm sector and would lead to the overall development of the economy. ANI

Duty on crude sulphur reduced to support fertiliser production
Union Finance Minister P.Chidambaram has proposed a reduction in the custom duty on crude and unrefined sulphur from five percent to two percent in order to support domestic fertilizer production. ANI

Chidambaram waives off farm loan, announces 600 billion rupees package for farmers
To give a boost to the agricultural sector, Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram today announced a loan waiver for about forty million farmers while presenting his Budget proposals for fiscal 2008-09. This relief is expected to help the government deal with its current agrarian crisis. ANI

Industry lauds Chidambarams Budget
Finance Minister P Chidambaram Union Budget proposals for 2008-09 has got the thumbs up from the industry and investment bankers, who described it as a fantastic job. ANI

Chidamabaram can no do right, feels opposition
Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram should be pleased with the initial reactions to his populist budget proposals for fiscal 2008-09, as he has in the run-up to next years general elections, probably provided solutions or balm for every demand or complaint in each sector. ANI

Chidambaram proposes Rs. 14,000 crore for rural infrastructure development
In an attempt to bridge the chasm between the rural and urban areas, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday proposed Rs. 14,000 crore for the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF). ANI

Chidambaram gives 644 crores for agriculture insurance scheme
Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday announced Rs. 644 crores for the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS). ANI

North Eastern department to get Rs. 1,445 crore: Chidambaram.
Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said that Rs. 1,445 crore will be allocated to the Development of North Eastern Region (DONER) department. ANI

Chidambaram announces remuneration for Anganwadi workers
Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday announced a package of remuneration for Anganwadi workers. ANI

Chidambaram raises allocation to defence sector by 10 %
Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said that the allocation for the defence sector would be raised by 10 per cent from Rs. 96,000 crore to Rs. 105,600 crore. ANI

Highlights of General Budget 2008-08
Following are the key points of Union Budget 2008-09 tabled by P Chidambaram ANI

Chidambaram raises IT exemption limit to 1.5 lakh rupees
Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said that during next fiscal the IT exemption limit will be raised to 1.5 lakh rupees for men, for women it would be 1.8 lakh rupees and for senior citizens it would be 2.25 lakh rupees. ANI

4 crore farmers to reap benefit from loan waiver: Chidambaram
Announcing one of the major relief to those affected by the prevailing agrarian debt crisis, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday told the Lok Sabha that the Central Government proposal to waive off farm loans of small and migrant farmers will benefit around 4 crore farmers. ANI

General Budget: Farm loan waived off, Arunachal gets 500 crore rupees
Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday announced a complete waiver of loan granted to small farmers saying that all loans granted upto March last year would get the benefit of waiver and the Centre will have to bear a burden of 50, 000 crore rupees due to waiver. ANI

Sensex falls ahead off Union Budget

Mumbai, February 29: The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex fell by 189 points in early trade on Friday as funds and general investors reduced their holdings ahead of the Budget 2008-09. ANI

Chidambaram confident of maintaining 8 % GDP growth
Stating that the United Progressive Alliance Governments prime focus is to curb inflation rate, Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Friday told Lok Sabha that he is confident that India would be able to maintain a Gross Domestic Growth (GDP) of 8 per cent. ANI

Chidambaram to present Budget 2008-09
Union Finance Minister P.Chidambaram will present the General Budget for the fiscal 2008-09 in the Lok Sabha today and will also address a Post-Budget press conference here. ANI

Reebok is Bipasha's Fitness Mantra
Business Wire India

Rockwell Automation to Acquire CEDES' Safety and Automation Business, a Leading European Safety Light Curtain and Optoelectronic Sensor Supplier
Business Wire India

Netezza Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Fiscal Year 2008 Financial Results
Business Wire India

Shaw to Provide Deep Catalytic Cracking Technology for Grassroots Refinery in India
Business Wire India

Devon IT to Launch in India
Business Wire India

Welch Allyn Ranked Among ''50 Best Companies to Work for in Ireland''
Business Wire India

New Mobile Services from Clear Channel Interact will Transform Outdoor Advertising
Business Wire India

Citizen Purchases Moore Microprocessor Patent(TM) Portfolio License
Business Wire India

YPO-WPO Presents its 2008 Global Leadership Award to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe
Business Wire India

Globe7 Announces Partnership with Sinchew
Business Wire India

ITB Berlin is Setting Records and is Fully Booked: 11,147 Exhibiting Companies from 186 Countries
Business Wire India

Lessons from the Mortgage Market Meltdown: U.S. Monetary Policy Forum Releases 2008 Report
Business Wire India

Highlights of Indian Budget 2008
Finance Minister Chidambaram rose to present the Indian Budget 2008 in the Indian Parliament at 11:00 AM this morning. The first few minutes of his speech dealt with the success of schemes that the Government has already launched. Agricultural loans waiver plans for various types of farmers announced. Income Tax Slabs increased allowing more relief. Corporate Tax and Surcharge remain untouched. CentralExciseIndia

Indian Budget - its impact on stock markets
The Indian stock markets reacted sharply as the Finance Minister is presenting his speech. Here are some highlights of the market reactions GetPaidIndia

Indian stock markets open in red ahead of Indian Union Budget
A big day for the stock markets. The Indian Finance Minister will be presenting his Budget speech shortly. Meanwhile the Indian stock markets opened marginally in the red. Fertilizers, Seeds and Paper stocks are in the green considering the budget will give some thrust to agriculture. GetPaidIndia