Assembly sources, however, said they were yet to receive a formal communication from the government in this regard.

Air-India board, which met in Mumbai on Friday, deferred a decision on acquisition of short capacity, short range or SCSR aircraft, according to an A-I spokesperson.

Throw in the nightmare of chemical or biological warfare, rebuilding the country and sticking around for the next 10 years to encourage Middle East stability, and some see an astronomical bill of $1.6 trillion for US taxpayers.

CII director general Tarun Das said, "It has outlined new strategies for growth with reduction of excise duty."

Budget to be presented on Friday is expected to carry out a "clean up" operation of tax administration besides measures to spur growth.

Finance Minister Jaswant Singh will walk a fine line between economic and political priorities next week when he unveils a Budget that could begin urgently needed tax reforms in Asia's third-largest economy.

IDBI found itself in favour on reports that a parliamentary committee will meet the RBI governor to consider converting the financial institution into a universal bank.

The Rajnath Singh Committee on Kelkar recommendations on direct and indirect taxes on Monday submitted its report to Bharatiya Janata Party President M Venkaiah Naidu in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani.

The text of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's speech at the inaugural session of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, January 9, 2003

Parliament Tuesday approved the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2002 with Rajya Sabha returning it after Finance Minister Jaswant Singh assured that a comprehensive legislation on the subject would be introduced in the budget session of the Parliament.