Automobiles
Maruti employees ask Joshi to end stalemate
THE dissenting employees of Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) today held a sit-in dharna at the Udyog Bhawan here, which houses the offices of the Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises.
Banking and Finance
Stiff `Bill' for finance cos
THE Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, today introduced the Financial Companies Regulation Bill, 2000, seeking to usher in legislation to regulate financial companies and provide stringent measures to protect the interests of depositors.
Corporate
1 pc hike in calamity surcharge on companies
DOMESTIC companies will have to cough up a surcharge of 11 per cent on income-tax from the assessment year 2001-2 as against 10 per cent in the current fiscal.
M&M shareholders to get stake in MBT IPO
MAHINDRA-BRITISH Telecom Ltd (MBT) today said that its IPO is proposed to be of 53,18,633 equity shares with a face value of Rs 2 each, at a price to be determined in accordance with SEBI guidelines for the fully book-built route.
Sonata to acquire shares in US co
SONATA Software has announced plans to acquire 16.67 million preferential fully-convertible shares (PECS) in the US company, SpinAway eBusiness Solutions Inc, for $5 million.
Courts
HC ruling set aside in salary arrears case
THE claim of Chief Welfare Officer `C' is in addition to and over and above the claim of the workmen in the sum of Rs 1.60 crore. The liability of the arrears of salary payable to `C' was not taken over by the Ballarpur Industries Ltd even though under t
he Rehabilitation Scheme, the State of Orissa had taken over the liability to pay all dues of the employees up to the date of the sanction of the scheme by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (`BIFR').
Economy
Supplementary demand for Rs 1,572 cr grants in LS
THE Government today introduced in Lok Sabha the Second Batch of Supplementary Demand for Grants entailing a net cash outgo of Rs 1,571.79 crore during the current fiscal.
FICCI annual meet to focus on globalisation
THE Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, will be inaugurating the 73rd Annual Session of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) here on December 16.
Foreign Trade
QR removal: Govt calls industry meet
THE Government has convened a meeting on Thursday to elicit the views of various industry organisations on the impact of the removal of import curbs or quantitative restrictions (QR) on 714 tariff lines and its repercussion on the domestic industry.
Information Technology
Tidel Park phase II at two locations
THE second and larger software park, modelled on the lines of the Tidel Software Park, is expected to cover about two million sq ft. The second phase will be spread out over two locations.
Mutual Funds
US-64 does well, sales at Rs 4,594 cr -- MIPs' mobilisation declines sharply
THE Unit Scheme-1964 (US-64), the biggest scheme of Unit Trust of India (UTI), recorded a turnaround with positive net sales during the year ended June 2000 when sales under its popular schemes -- the monthly income plans (MIPs) declined.
Return from tech funds negative in June-Nov
THE average return on investment in technology funds has been a negative 15.16 per cent in the last six months (June-November 2000), an analysis conducted by Value Research, a New Delhi-based mutual funds research agency, shows.
Petroleum
Oil import burden: Govt seeks sops from OPEC
IN a bid to mitigate the burden of the burgeoning oil import bill, the Petroleum Ministry has sent a formal proposal to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) seeking easier terms of payment and soft loans for purchase of crude.
IOC lifting Iraqi crude
INDIAN Oil Corporation on Wednesday began lifting crude oil from Iraq following a resolution over the price to be paid for the purchase of crude under the `food for oil' programme.
Power
$ 350-m ADB loan for Gujarat power sector
THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Wednesday approved two loans aggregating $350 million for Gujarat which would enable the State to take up reforms in the power sector.
States
Nabard earmarks Rs 870 cr for Bengal
THE National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has earmarked Rs 870 crore for West Bengal during 2000-01 through different schemes and projects, including Rs 450 crore for the flood victims.
Kerala thrust on hydel power projects
HUGE generation costs associated with thermal power and their debilitating effect on the finances of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) have necessitated a rethink in the State Government favouring a redrafting of its power policy with a pronounce
d bias on hydel projects.
SER to run two special trains
CALCUTTA: South Eastern Railway (SER), with a view to meet the long standing demands of the business community, has decided to introduce two weekly parcel express trains between Shalimar-Mumbai and Shalimar-Chennai.
Stocks
Reuters, RiteChoice offer e-broking service in Asia
REUTERS and RiteChoice Technologies have launched their e-brokering service in Asia at stockmarkit.com, the financial services trading Web site of Apeejay Surrendra group.
Taxation
`I-T Dept's span of control being strengthened'
OUTLINING the thrust areas of the Income Tax Department's on-going restructuring plan to emerge assessee-friendly, Mr Satrajit Chaudhuri, Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Calcutta-1, said that the key technological inputs were being provided to separate
and strengthen the department's span of control over basic functions such as collection, assessment, recovery and management of records.
Technology
Tap high-power lasers for missile defence: President
THE President, Mr K.R. Narayanan, has suggested a national-level programme for exploiting the potential of high-power lasers for missile defence to strengthen the country's deterrence capabilities.
Textiles
SIMA seeks amendment of Gratuity Act
THE Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) has petitioned to the Second National Commission on Labour (NCL) seeking amendments to the Payment of Gratuity Act so that the entitlement of gratuity to a worker is linked to the wages earned by him, as provid
ed under the Provident Fund (PF) Act.
Travel & Places
Bhutan in E Himalayas tourism package
THREE Indian States and Bhutan are aspirants for a slice of the Himalayan heights in tourism. The External Affairs Ministry has given its nod to a proposal of West Bengal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh to rope in Bhutan in their efforts to brand and marke
t an `Eastern Himalayas' package for international travellers.
Water Management
Pvt water projects in Bengal will take time: UK team
IT will be a long time before projects involving public-private partnerships (PPP) in the water sector takes off in West Bengal, according to Mr Mark Lane, partner of Masons, a infrastructure law firm in the UK.
