The newspaper and magazine publishing industry has reason to smile as Union Government has announced to provide custom duty exemption on newsprint with immediate effect.

Uncoated paper, used for printing of newspapers, and light weight coated paper, used for printing magazines, has also been exempted from duty.

Mumbai, Feb 12: The board of directors of Satyam Computer Services will meet here today to discuss the company''s operational issues.

The newly elected Satyam Chairman Kiran Karnik will chair the board meeting.

After receiving a Rs. 600 crore loan from banks, the company directors are aiming to restore the investor''s confidence.

The meeting is also likely to discuss issues relating to companies manifesting interest in acquiring a controlling stake in Satyam.

India's No. 2 motorcycle maker, Bajaj Auto plans to increase its stake from 25% to 30% in KTM Power Sports, Europe`s second-largest sports bike manufacturer.

During a press conference, Rajiv Bajaj, Managing director of Bajaj Auto, disclosed that the company is tightening its grip on KTM Power Sports and the stake hike would be concluded in six to eight weeks.

New Delhi, Feb 10: Commerce Secretaries of SAARC nations met here on Tuesday to find ways to remove trade barriers and boost business within the region.

Commerce Secretaries from eight member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation''s (SAARC) -- India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan Sri Lanka and Afghanistan participated in the meeting.

Pakistan''s Commerce Secretary Suleman Ghani also attended the meeting, the first official visit by a Pakistani official after the Mumbai attacks.

Ghani said, his country had been a vocal supporter of boosting free trade in the region and was committed to helping the lesser developed countries.

To guarantee level playing field for themselves, the new mobile operators have urged the telecom regulatory body, TRAI to lessen the mobile termination charges.

But on the other hand, the subsisting telecom operators are asking for the highest rates possible.

Presently, the three major pan-India telecom operators such as Bharti Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular charge a termination fee of 30 paise per minute from an operator on whose network the call ends.

As demand fell due to economic uncertainty and tight credit, there was a fall by 3.2 percent in January in the sales of cars in India, which marked the sixth drop in seven months.  

On Monday, data from the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) displayed that 110,212 units in the month were sold by car makers, down from 113,894 sold a year earlier.