Rajkot-based pump makers are planning to bring uniformity in the design of submersible pumps made here. With the help of the Rajkot Engineering Association, the pump industry is setting up a common facility centre (CFC), where pump testing and R&amp;D work will be done. According to pump industry players, the initiative will make small pump manufactures stronger and help them grow faster.

Rajkot's pumps to get uniform designs

Business Standard

Approved by the Government of India in 2009, a project to develop a foundry and machine tool cluster at Batala in Punjab is yet to receive assistance from the Centre. As a result, the cluster is yet to see the light of day and the existing units are struggling.

Batala machine tool cluster yet to receive Central aid 

There is good news for the MSME sector in Uttarakhand. The State Bank of India (SBI), India&rsquo;s largest bank, will open an MSME branch at the Selaqui industrial area, near here.

Banks to open SME branches in industrial areas of Uttarakhand

To give a boost to products manufactured by women&rsquo;s Self Help Group (SHGs) in Tamil Nadu, the state government plans to give them a unique brand identity with a logo and monogram. It also plans to develop the concept of &ldquo;one village-one product&rdquo;, as well as new clusters.

TN to give boost to products made by women's SHGs

The Customs want to reject our import invoice price on the basis of PLATT&rsquo;s Price Report.

'Export of services will now be governed by new provisions'

Buoyed by the success of its basic cluster programme for suppliers in Ballabhgarh (Haryana), construction equipment manufacturer JCB India has kicked off an advanced cluster programme for its vendors.

JCB looks to gain from cluster approach  

Gujarat&rsquo;s Rajkot region is poised to lose the tag of being home to a diesel engine manufacturing cluster. Most of Rajkot&rsquo;s diesel engine manufacturers are switching to products such as submersible pumps and auto parts.

Rajkot diesel engine makers switch to other products

In the new regime which taxes all services, except those that are in the negative list, are artists exempted? I do bit roles in films (we are called extras) and television.

'Performing artists in folk or classical art forms need not pay service tax'

Faquir Chand of village Machrauli near Panipat in Haryana is hunting for a job that could match his skill-set. &ldquo;I lost my job after working for 15 years in the handloom industry owing to the scaling down of manufacturing activity in this cluster due to dissipating demand,&rdquo; he said.

SMEs turn unviable, enter real estate

If the import itself is not contrary to any law and the supplier still holds the title to the goods, he can ask for re-export of the goods to any party in any country. This issue is covered in the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Union of India vs.

'Foreign suppliers can ask for re-export of imported goods if they are not paid for'

With huge investments lined up in urban infrastructure development, estimated at Rs 39.2 lakh crore over the next 20 years, as well as in the power, pipeline and oil and gas sectors, valve manufacturers in the country are riding on a new high.

Small valve manufacturers gear up for explosive demand growth

We have to initiate exports of certain items under ITC HS code 84128030 and, according to fixed Duty Drawback schedule, are entitled to 1.1 per cent. For the exports of entire equipment or parts thereof&rsquo; we imported certain items under Advance Licence Scheme. The exports are to be effected in about two weeks&rsquo; time. Please advise if we can claim Duty Drawback on likely exports. We imported certain components for incorporation in the equipment we have to export, partly we manufactured and partly we procured certain items locally within India for completing the equipment. It would be our first commercial export consignment and we are not yet registered under Excise.

'Drawback rates do not apply to goods produced in discharge of export obligation'

Pathankot, located 200 km north of Chandigarh in Punjab, may soon be regarded as a place of distinction on the industrial map of India. Handicrafts produced by women artisans of the region have caught the fancy of the district administration as well as a non-government organisation, and this may lead to the formation of a cluster.

Crafting a change

While automakers have gone ahead and increased prices to offset the hike in excise duties proposed in the budget, the auto component industry is in a bind over passing on the burden &ndash; especially in the aftermarket or replacement market &ndash; owing to intense competition from both unorganised players and imports.

Auto parts makers in a bind over passing on excise hike

The brass parts industry based out of Jamnagar is yet again trying to survive the global recession. In a bid to tackle the current economic crisis, the industry has cut output by almost 30-40 per cent.

Jamnagar brass industry cuts output

I run an e-commerce company, located at Bangalore. Upon receiving an order from a customer living in India, I wish to package and ship goods directly from my supplier located at Dehradun, to customers anywhere in India. What kind of taxes, VAT, Octroi, CST, etc.

'CST payable on sales if goods move from one state to another'

In a move to boost the micro, small and medium enterprise (MSME) sector in Tamil Nadu, the state&rsquo;s government has come forward to address three major constraints &ndash; finance, infrastructure and marketing &ndash; of entrepreneurs.

Tamil Nadu govt to hand-hold small entrepreneurs

Credit growth for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in Gujarat has reported a decline during the December quarter of 2011-12, compared to the September quarter, a report from the State Level Bankers&rsquo; Committee (SLBC)-Gujarat has noted.

Credit growth to Gujarat small units shrinks 

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has launched a cluster development programme for Godrej Interio and its six vendors in the industrial town of Bhagwanpur in Haridwar district of Uttarakhand. The aim of the programme is to increase business output and improve quality.

CII launches cluster development for Godrej Interio, vendors

The increasing adoption of information technology solutions by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across all sectors is fuelling the growth of Bangalore-based business solutions software provider Tally Solutions (P) Ltd.

Tally Solutions to aggressively target smaller businesses 

With vast amounts of medical data generated each year, many small and medium-sized healthcare enterprises are opting for cloud technology to store, access and share data, to reduce operational costs and increase efficiency.

Healthcare SMEs use cloud services to reduce cost

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.

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