Airlines
AI panel favours 60-tonne freighter for wet leasing
THE committee set up by Air India to study the feasibility of wet leasing two freighters for cargo operations, has assessed the needs of the airline and the market conditions and has narrowed down the options to a 50-60 tonner on the lines of DC 8 (stret
ched version), according to its Deputy Commercial Director - Cargo, Mr. Y.D. Mathur.
Auditing
Insurance, pension funds will prop market: Sinha
EQUITY markets can now look forward to entry of many new players such as insurance and pension funds. The Finance Minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, today said more and more insurance and pension funds would enter the secondary markets soon ``which would give
the kind of support needed'' by the market.
Automobiles
Maruti plans renewed push for Wagon-R
MARUTI Udyog Ltd (MUL) is proposing a renewed marketing push for the Wagon-R, the compact car launched earlier this year by the company.
Commodities
Views may be sought on HLL entry into agarbathis
THE Union Textiles Ministry is contemplating seeking legal opinion from the Law Ministry and consult the Finance and the Industry Ministries over Hindustan Levers Ltd's (HLL) decision to enter into the traditional agarbathi segment, Mr. Kashiram Rana, Te
xtiles Minister, has said.
Corporate
Govt to stop FI funding of takeovers by foreign cos
THE Government has decided to step in to stop funding by domestic financial institutions for takeovers of Indian companies by foreign firms.
Himatsingka Siede Q1 net, sales rise
BANGALORE: Himatsingka Siede, a manufacturer and exporter of silk fabrics, has registered a growth of eight per cent in net profits and 7.3 per cent in net sales for the first quarter ended June 30, 2000, over the corresponding
period previous year.
Health
Breathe insulin, get over diabetes
A PUFF a day could well keep diabetes away. Isn't it music to the ears of millions of diabetics the world over?. Though at present the subject of intense research with multinational drug giants such as Eli Lilly, NovoNordisk and Pfizer, promises are that
it would become real by 2004.
Infrastructure
Pact on Russia corridor by September
AGREEMENT on the North-South transport corridor linking India with Russia via Iran and Oman using land and sea routes will be finalised between the four Governments by September this year.
Miscellaneous
IBRD aid to fight AIDS in Africa
THE World Bank has strengthened its commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS in Africa. With the dreaded disease threatening the future of millions in Africa, the World Bank is likely to approve a new $500-million comprehensive AIDS programme for the large contin
ent.
Website on child issues launched
FREE the Children -- India, a non-profit organisation dedicated to highlighting child rights violations across the Indian sub-continent, has attempted to provide a common e-platform for activist groups in the region. The idea is to brin
g together activist groups with a view to highlighting instances and creating awareness of child rights violations.
PSU
PSU sell-off: Mehta moots book-building
THE shares of all public sector undertakings (PSUs) which are going for disinvestment should be dematerialised, the SEBI Chairman, D.R. Mehta, said at the BSE's 125th anniversary celebrations here today.
Petroleum
SISMA plea to mix surplus alcohol with petrol -- `Will result in substantial forex savings'
TO put the 400-million litres of surplus alcohol to beneficial use, the South Indian Sugar Mills Association (SISMA) has requested the Government to consider its long pending demand -- admixturing petrol with anhydrous alcohol in varying proportions.
Policy
Strategy for WTO talks with EU ready
THE Udyog Bhavan recently firmed its strategy for the forthcoming WTO Trade Policy Review (TPR) of the European Union (2000) in Geneva. India is to take up issues pertaining to the EU's exclusive textile Free Trade Agreements with select countries, alloc
ation of quotas (particularly for agricultural items), free trade arrangements with/concessions to LDCs and other trade defence measures such as anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigations.
Power
Enron offers Dhabol power to Karnataka at Rs 2.62
ENRON has quoted a first-year tariff of Rs. 2.62 per KW hour unit to the State-owned Karnataka State Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL) beginning this year onwards for a five-year firm supply of power. The tariff is for selling power from the
Dhabol Power Company in Maharashtra.
States
North Malabar Gramin Bank posts Rs 15.55 cr net
TIGHT control on expenditure and efficiency in the recovery of non-performing assets have helped the Kannur-based North Malabar Gramin Bank (NMGB), one of the best-performing regional rural banks (RRBs) in the country, post a profit of Rs. 15.55 crores d
uring 1999-2000 against Rs. 12.04 crores of the previous year.
BPL Mobile brings TN, Kerala under one network
BPL Mobile has launched a revolutionary concept in mobile telephony -- Samyuktha Network Shakti -- by linking Kerala and Tamil Nadu together to provide one network for its customers.
Rise in SIDBI advances in Kerala
THE Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has disbursed Rs. 439 crores during the last fiscal in Kerala raising its total advances to Rs 2,074 crores in a decade of its operations in the State.
Jus' Kidding opened in Chennai
KIDS Mart India (P) Ltd , a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mangal Tirth Estate Ltd, has launched a kids store in Chennai called Jus' Kidding.
TN farmers' markets to gain from cold storages
THE recent announcement of a capital investment subsidy scheme by the National Horticulture Board (NHB) for construction, expansion and modernisation of cold storage and storage facilities for horticultural produce in Madurai and the adjoining districts
has come as a boon for farmers.
Stocks
PM tells SEBI, RBI to strengthen regulation
THE Prime Minister, Mr. A.B. Vajpayee, today said there is an urgent need for SEBI and the RBI to further strengthen the regulatory environment.
Rathi seeks task group for capital markets
THE Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) President, Mr. Anand Rathi, today urged the Government to set up a task group -- on the lines of the task force for information technology and telecommunications -- for the capital markets. Mr. Rathi sug
gested that the task group formulate comprehensive suggestions for faster and structured development of the country's capital markets in the next three to five years.
Taxation
New rules for excise valuation of goods notified
THE Central Board of Excise and Customs has notified the new rules for valuation of goods for the Central excise duty levy on an ad valorem basis based on the provisions of the new Section 4 of Central Excise Act, 1944, which comes into force from July 1
, 2000.
Telecommunications
`IBRD loan not linked to DoT corporatisation'
CONTRARY to apprehensions, the recently approved $62-million loan by the World Bank to the Indian telecom sector addresses the macro issue of overall policy reform and regulatory milieu and is in no way linked to the controversial corporatisation of DoT
or contentious licensing of basic service providers.
Textiles
New textiles policy before monsoon session, says Rana
THE Union Government will announce a new comprehensive textiles policy before the commencement of the monsoon session of Parliament, the Textiles Minister, Mr. Kashiram Rana, has said.
Meet convened to resolve spun silk industry crisis
THE Union Textiles Ministry has finally decided to resolve the crisis faced by the spun silk industry due to the flight of silkwaste, the basic raw material, from the country.
