The government is willing to open a dialogue with the industry over the the implications of World Trade Organisation's (WTO) agreements, the commerce minister BB Ramaiah said. Stating that the government was keen to study in greater detail the implications of the 28 agreements under the WTO, Ramaiah said the industry's suggestions on critical areas like tax, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and intellectual property rights were `essential'.

Marketing on phone: Telemarketing or selling over the phone has come to stay and is all set to capture a quarter of the advertising budgets by the turn of the century for the speed and economy it offers. Besides being economical, it is the fastest way of penetrating the market, says managing director, telemarketing and consultancy services Payal Kharbanda. No other media, be it TV or newspapers is so fast.

Sri Lanka lures Indians: As strife-torn Sri Lanka strives to improve its tourism industry with a $ 2.5 million budget, it's eyeing India's great middle class tourists with high hopes. Sri Lanka thus is aggressively marketing itself to attract tourists from India, keeping in mind the large disposable income of this class of people bitten by the travel bug.

Switzerland offers sops: The state of Vaud in Switzerland is engaged in a hardselling exercise to attract direct foreign investments by offering `competitive incentives' to add to the advantages the European country provides. The incentives offered include tax exemptions up to 10 years, guaranteed loans and subsidies for personnel training and research, the deputy director of Vaud's council for economic development Pierre A Avoyer told a meeting hosted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Thursday.

Arunachal's potential for handloom: With an `excellent' human resource base, Arunachal Pradesh has a tremendous potential for developing its handloom and handicrafts, the state chief minister Gegong Apang has said. Traditional art forms, he said, were facing a threat after the advent of modernity and people were becoming indifferent about this unique heritage. But, in recent years it has taken the right course and the age-old handloom and handicrafts are being revived, the chief minister said.

Naval dockyard anniversary: The winds of liberalisation have imparted a new thrust to the operations of the Naval Dockyard in Mumbai, Asia's oldest ship building and repair yard which would celebrate its 262nd anniversary on Saturday. In a statement on the anniversary eve, the admiral superintendent of the dockyard, rear admiral P Jaitly noted `this premier shipyard of the Indian Navy has generated a revenue of Rs 48 lakh in the very first year (1996-97).y

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.