Tourism sector gets Rs.1,070 crore

October 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Minister of State for Tourism, Sultan Ahmed, who is currently on a four day official visit to Saudi Arabia, discussed matters of bilateral cooperation in the tourism and hospitality sector and issues of mutual interest particularly with regard to ways and means of increasing tourism in both the countries. Ahmed held a meeting with Dr.

October 5th, 2009 HYDERABAD - The worst floods in over a century have left a trail of destruction estimated at Rs.12,225 crore, the Andhra Pradesh government has said while asking New Delhi for immediate assistance of Rs.6,000 crore. In a memorandum to United Progressive Alliance chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Chief Minister K.

September 22nd, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - With Kerala's tourist season round the corner, the state's tourism department, in association with industry stakeholders, has kicked off an international road show in Brussels to promote its tourism potential, officials said here. Tourism Secretary V.

August 3rd, 2009 NEW DELHI - State-run telecom operator Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited's (MTNL) net profit nose-dived 63 percent in 2008-09 to Rs.211.7 crore from Rs.586.8 crore the previous fiscal. The public sector undertaking's turnover also fell 1.4 percent to Rs.5,250 crore in the period under review from Rs.5,329.9 crore the year before.

July 25th, 2009 CHENNAI - City-based engineering and infrastructure firm BGR Energy Systems has posted a net profit of Rs.20.23 crore for the quarter ended June 30 as against Rs.17.23 crore reported in the like period last year, a growth of 17 percent. The company's turnover during the period stood at Rs.311 crore as compared to Rs.306 crore in the April-June quarter last fiscal, BGR said in a statement.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Tourism has not found much favour with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee who gave only a token Rs.20 crore increase in allocation for the ministry in the union budget presented Monday, with almost a third of the Rs.1,070 crore for promotion of the "Incredible India" campaign overseas. In a spur to adventure tourism in the country, Mukherjee announced custom duty exemption for water and snow equipment used in adventure tourism.

June 28th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government can raise about Rs.80,000 crore ($16.6 billion) by divesting stake in public sector units, says an industry lobby report. "Dilution of stake in leading public sector units alone could fetch at least Rs.80,000 crore," the report by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) said, adding that this amount could be used to bring down the fiscal deficit burden.

June 26th, 2009 CHANDIGARH - The 2009-10 annual plan outlay for Punjab has been pegged at Rs.8,625 crore, an increase of 39 percent over last year. The details of the state's annual plan were finalised Friday in New Delhi at a meeting between Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and senior officials.

June 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Delhi Government on Monday revealed through its budget that it would primarily focus its attention on transport sector, urban development and water and sanitation in the year ahead. The highest share in the budget 2009-10 has been earmarked for transport sector which was given Rs 3,069 crore (about 31 per cent) followed by Urban Development with Rs 1,524 crore (15 per cent) and Water and Sanitation with Rs 1,366 crore (14 per cent).

June 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Medical tourism can fetch India up to Rs.8,000 crore in foreign exchange by 2012, nearly double than current figures, according to an industry lobby. "Currently, the earnings accrued through medical tourism annually are estimated to be around Rs.4,500 crore," said Sajjan Jindal, president of Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) in a statement Thursday.

May 27th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Rajasthan attracted investments worth Rs.69,052 crore, the highest among northern states, during 2008-09, a business chamber report released here Wednesday said. The report, 'Investment Prospects in Indian Economy 2008-09' by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham), said Haryana, which attracted investments worth Rs.52,852 crore, came second, followed by Uttarakhand with Rs.36,059 crore.

May 1st, 2009 MUMBAI - Realty major DLF Friday said its net profit dipped over 41 percent for the year ended March 31 to Rs.4,629 crore (Rs.46.29 billion/$938 million) from Rs.7,821 crore (Rs.78.21 billion/$1.6 billion) earned the previous year. The company's total consolidated income for the period under review was Rs.10,541 crore - a decrease of a little over 28 percent from the previous fiscal's Rs.14,684 crore.

April 25th, 2009 THIRUVANANTHAPURAM - Banks in Kerala have posted a marginal growth of 6.3 percent in advances from Rs.80,131 crore in June 2008 to Rs.85,174 crore as on Dec 31, according to the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC). The SLBC in a meeting here said loans given to the education sector reported the biggest jump when it went up from Rs.2,920 crore in June to Rs.4,049 crore in December.

April 20th, 2009 JAIPUR - The government has approved 28 mega infrastructure projects to boost tourism, and is on the verge of granting it infrastructure sector status, Tourism Secretary Sujit Banerjee announced here Monday. 'These 28 mega projects will put a lot of money in the hands of the states for upgrading tourism infrastructure, which will be a major boost for the sector,' Banerjee said while inaugurating an international tourism conference, the Great Indian Travel Bazaar 2009.

January 13th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Sri Lanka Wednesday sought India's help in strengthening tourism to meet the challenges posed by the global meltdown. The issue was discussed in a meeting between Tourism Minister Ambika Soni and her Sri Lankan counterpart Milinda Moragoda, who also expressed keenness to participate in the travel marts organised by India, including the Great Indian Travel Bazar to be held in April.