[ IN BRIEF ]

CABINET OKAYS CUSTOMS ACT CHANGE,

50% QUOTA FOR WOMEN IN PANCHAYAT
The Cabinet on Thursday approved amendments to the
Customs Act enabling it to override any voiding of
showcause notices by courts on technical grounds. This
would help the government recover customs duty worth
several thousands of crores. The Cabinet also approved a
proposal to increase reservation for women in panchayats
from the current 33 per cent to 50 per cent. BS REPORTER

CoS to meet today on multi-brand retail FDI

A panel of secretaries is likely to approve on Friday a
final blueprint for allowing FDI in India's multi-brand
retail sector, but with tough riders. These could include
preconditions like a minimum investment of $100 million
and earmarking a sizeable portion of the funds for back-
end supply chains. PTI

Board of Approval on SEZs to meet today

The government will consider proposals from six SEZ
developers, including Parsvnath Group, to shelve their
projects on Friday, besides several requests for more
time to develop special economic zones on account of the
difficult business environment. As many as 45 SEZ
developers, including Raheja and Navi Mumbai, have
sought more time to execute their projects. PTI

India at 10th rank in services export

India achieved 10th rank in export of services worldwide,
while emerged as the 20th biggest merchandise exporter
in 2010, according to a latest WTO report. In 2009, the
country stood at the 12th and 22nd position globally in
services and goods exports, respectively. In value terms
last year, India exported services and merchandise worth
$110 billion and $216 billion respectively, the ‘World
Trade Report 2011’ said. PTI

Trai issues consultation paper on VAS

Trai has issued a consultation paper on regulating mobile
value added services (VAS) such as music, news and
mobile internet services. “Trai has initiated this
consultation paper suo-moto, focusing on future looking
regulatory framework for provisioning of VAS to bring
out all the aspects of the relevant issues and to provide a
suitable platform for discussion,” Trai said. BS REPORTER

CWG scam: CVC to give fresh graft cases

The Central Vigilance Commission will give some more
fresh cases to CBI to probe alleged criminal conspiracy
and graft by certain government employees in carrying
out Commonwealth Games-related projects. Sources in
the country's anti-corruption body said its Chief
Technical Examination wing had zeroed in on at least
three-four cases where large scale financial and
administrative irregularities have been noticed. PTI

Coal India to spend `30k-cr on expansion

State-run mining giant Coal India (CIL) on Thursday said
it planned to invest about `30,000 crore to augment its
capacity over the next five years and the funds would be
spent on new mining projects, washeries, machinery and
equipment. “We are in the process of earmarking about
`30,000 crore for capacity expansion during the 12th
Five-Year Plan (2012-17) period,” Coal India Chairman
and Managing Director N C Jha said. PTI

Recruitment in small towns on upswing

A positive trend of recruitment was witnessed in smaller
towns and mini-metros during the April-June period of
2011 on the back of increased hiring in sectors such as
engineering and manufacturing, says a survey. According
to a study by MyHiringClub.Com, 41 per cent of the
companies surveyed said they recruited 23 per cent more
personnel in tier-II cities like Pune and Hyderabad. PTI

Mining cos leave Goa govt in the lurch

The Goa government is finding itself in a piquant
situation after the ambitious mining corridor projects
have failed to garner much support from mining firms,
expected to share the cost. Chief Minister Digambar
Kamat, in the budget, had earmarked `500 crore for the
corridors, which would by-pass the truck transport from
thickly inhabited areas of the mining belt. PTI