Left with an disappointingly small area of farmland he inherited after family partition, Kishan Singh Marawi of this tribal village near Kanha national park sensed no option but to join a farm cooperative. For, he knew that averting a government initiative floated for the benefit of people like him would leave him landless in a few years.

Co-ops sow hope in farmers

Business Standard

Urbanisation has pushed an age-old routine like using stone hand-mill to grind grains to flour a thing of past. One thought it had got confined to India&rsquo;s villages. And none rated it as a viable practice to promote industrialisation. In short, chakki atta &mdash; as it is called in villages upcountry &mdash; has turned out be a rare sight at homes.

Hand mill-ground atta brings money to tribals

After a long silence, Infosys on Monday said it would set up an information technology-specific special economic zone in Indore. The company ruled out setting up a BPO unit at the location as pronounced by state government earlier, but it said it would open a software unit with an investment of nearly Rs 600 crore in phased manner.

Infosys to set up IT SEZ in MP

Succumbing to pressure from corporate houses, the Madhya Pradesh government is changing its Industry Policy 2010 mid-way its implementation. A closed-door meeting it convened with industry advisory council earlier this week saw the participation by rather low-rank executives, even as the administration is learnt to have decided to amend the existing policy in parts.

Amendments on anvil

After initial failures to ensure land to micro, small and micro enterprises, the state government has mooted private industrial areas where large industries have surplus but non-utilised land. A few large industries have demanded declaration of their industries private industrial area so as to attract investment from micro, small and medium industries.

Govt moots private industrial areas

Releasing a bundle of largesse, the Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday chipped in Rs 66 crore in the form of share capital to ailing Nepa Mills, and said it would waive off interests on the principal amount that the public-sector undertaking owes to the state for long.

Govt gives Rs 66 cr to ailing Nepa

Industries, traders and businessmen in Madhya Pradesh have demanded an &ldquo;immediate rationalisation&rdquo; of the pertinent tax structure in the forthcoming state budget, reiterating that the present structure of levy on various commodities and trade-related activity has rendered &ldquo;heavy losses&rdquo; to the industry in the state.

MP traders want 'rationalised' tax

Industrial growth is expected at 7.6 per cent during 2010-11 vis-&agrave;-vis 2009-10, according to an economic survey done by the state government.

Survey pegs 7.6% as FY11 industry growth

Organisations working in interest of the survivors of the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal on Monday said they would launch an indefinite dharna (sit-in) from January 3 to press for their demands of putting correct figures of deaths and injuries in the tragedy that took place years ago.

Bhopal gas survivors launch sit-in strike 

&lsquo;List of services attracting levy of service tax is wide and most of them are already under the state tax domain&rsquo;.

MP to challenge GST concept

Madhya Pradesh government has decided to set up Micro and Small Enterprises department before Makar Sankranti (winter solstice) this year. Small industries association, however, has already dismissed the idea by saying that government must create a separate ministry for the sector. &ldquo;A Cabinet decision approved creation of the separate department for MSMEs,&rdquo; Narottam Mishra, Parliament affairs minister and government spokesperson said here.

MP to create MSME department

Despite the rising likelihood of crop-killing frost conditions round the corner, the state government&rsquo;s agriculture department says it has no way of confirming this. And, officials at the district-level say they&rsquo;ve idea of what to tell farmers for prevention.

MP farmers left to guesswork on frost

11 finance ministers are reportedly in parleys to lobby strongly against Centre &lsquo;encroaching&rsquo; various sectors &mdash; all with a view to levy service tax.

States to discuss service tax issue with Centre

It was a slowdown last year in Madhya Pradesh as well. Even so, when vaste swathes of the world were apprehensive about a looming economic crisis, the tax authorities of the central Indian state are expecting to muster the highest-ever revenue growth this year.

MP to toast robust tax figures amid slowdown

To ensure regular water supply in critical areas of the state where smaller towns become parched during summer, the state government has planned to embark upon a Rs 200-crore project. The project will be named as Mukhya Mantri Payjal Yojna or the Chief Minister Drinking Water Project. The project will ensure regular water supply through civic bodies at least at the district headquarters where water supply schemes are virtually primitive. The new plan will be implemented at least in 40 towns of the state. &ldquo;We will go solo on the project without any financial support from the Centre, a budgetary allocation will be made for the purpose,&rdquo; a senior official said.

Shashikant Trivedi