Hegde unveils sops to boost exports
Union commerce minister Ramakrishna Hegde has announced a fresh package of incentives to boost exports in the context of a world environment which is not conducive to export growth. The package ranges from duty-free imports for electronic hardware inputs for hardware exporters to extending the period for defaulting firms to meet their export obligations.

Grasim to buy Indian Rayon cement unit
In a major restructuring move aimed at consolidating various businesses in the Aditya Birla group, Grasim Industries Ltd has decided to buy the cement division of Indian Rayon and Industries Ltd. The boards of both the companies will meet later this month to consider plans to restructure their cement businesses into a single division within Grasim.

RBI chief hints at tough norms
Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan has asked the banks to be prepared for a "tougher regulatory regime". He added that the apex bank plans to frame "extremely tough" prudential norms over the next few months. This is the first instance of Jalan throwing stones at the glass houses of bankers ever since he took over as the RBI governor in November last year.

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