The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, December 20, 2003

Fog effect in North
Passengers waiting for their flights to take off at the Delhi airport. Dense fog played havoc with flight schedules in the Capital on Friday. It descended shortly after midnight reducing the runway visibility range to 200 metres. Four ... More

LOTTERY

Kerala HC allows sale of online, paper lotteries of other States
A DIVISION Bench of the Kerala High Court today restrained the State Government and Director of Lotteries from enforcing the provisions of the Rule 24(3) of the Kerala State Lotteries and Online Lotteries (Regulations) Rules 2003 requiring the ... More

CEMENT

Cement prices to stabilise, says India Cements MD
CEMENT prices are likely to stabilise soon and the industry is likely to put behind the volatility witnessed during the past two-three months. This augurs well for both the industry and the consumers, according to Mr N. Srinivasan, Vice-Chairman ... More

ECONOMY

`Need for scientific ideas in policy making'
THE need for propagation of scientific ideas in the policy sphere to have an impact on the decision-making process was highlighted at a global conference on biodiversity and quality of life which began here on Thursday. Making this ... More

Naidu to unveil AP vision document on Jan 1
THE Telugu Desam President and the caretaker Chief Minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Friday announced that he would unveil a State vision document on January 1, that will lay down the strategy for future growth while highlighting his ... More

ENVIRONMENT

Experts panel to study charges against coke plant
A DIVISION Bench of the Kerala High Court has appointed the Director of the Kozhikode based Centre for Water Resource Development and Management (CWRDM) as convener and coordinator of an expert committee to be constituted to go into allegations ... More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS

Cabinet okays adoption of 8-digit classification code for Central excise
IN a bid to simplify procedures and avoid classification disputes, the Government plans to amend the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985, to introduce 8-digit commodity classification code based on the Harmonised System of Nomenclature (HSN). The ... More

FOREIGN TRADE

`Bengal well set to do biz with SE Asian nations'
THE 17th industrial India trade fair opened here on Friday with a call to all SAARC and other South-East Asian countries to close ranks so that each country in this part of the globe can achieve business competitiveness vis-à-vis the developed ... More

HEALTH

Trials on AIDS vaccine to begin by July
THE phase one trials on a preventive AIDS vaccine in India are expected to commence in mid 2004, according to an official of International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI). "Currently, the process of identifying volunteers for these trials are ... More

Training centre for doctors in Madurai

PETROLEUM

IOC plans domestic, GDR route for cross-holding sales
INDIAN Oil Corporation plans to sell its cross holdings in ONGC and Gail in the Indian stock markets as well as through GDRs. The company will sell its stake only after consulting ONGC, Gail and the Petroleum Ministry, depending on IOC's need for ... More

IOC plans to start hedging purchases next month
INDIAN Oil Corporation plans to begin hedging oil purchases through futures trading next month. The company is preparing for trading in futures through its first commodity derivative transaction. "We may do a transaction next month. We are ... More

Oil cos: Cabinet nod for sale of cross-holding
THE Cabinet on Thursday allowed GAIL (India) Ltd, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to sell their stakes in each other. This is a technical requirement for the public sector oil companies that had ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS

Will death penalty deter fake drug makers?
WOULD the death penalty for manufacturers of spurious drugs actually work as an effective deterrent or will the issue simply fritter away, since it would be difficult for regulatory, pharma industry and legal representatives to establish intent ... More

POWER

Banks begin provisioning exercise for Dabhol phase II
EVEN as some lenders have been hauled up for not provisioning phase I of the 2,184-MW Dabhol Power Company, some other Indian banks are going ahead to provision for phase II, which is technically not a non-performing asset (NPA) since it is still ... More

Reliance proposal on NTPC plant flayed
THE proposal of Reliance Industries seeking relocation of National Thermal Power Corporation's (NTPC) 1,950 MW capacity addition at its Kayamkulam plant in Kerala to Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh has surprised the industry sector here. Any ... More

Corporatisation of WBSEB on cards; rural outfit to be wound up
THE West Bengal Rural Energy Development Corporation is proposed to be wound up as per the recommendations of the committee set up on the restructuring of the West Bengal State Electricity Board. The committee, which submitted its report to the ... More

TAXATION

Net direct tax collections up 23.5%
NET collection of direct taxes for April 1-December 15, 2003 has increased by Rs 9,178 crore on a year-on-year basis. This represents a 23.5 per cent increase to the net direct taxes collected during April 1-December 15, 2002. While the increase ... More

TEXTILES

IIGF 2004 seen to generate business worth $24 m
FALLING unit value realisation and appreciating rupee against the US dollar notwithstanding, the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) expects the Autumn Winter edition of India International Garment Fair (IIGF'04) to generate business worth at ... More

WATER

Fully grown trees transplanted at Tirupur water project site
THE infrastructure company New Tirupur Area Development Corporation (NTADC) has successfully uprooted all the 19 trees of five species and transplanted them in nearby areas. This was done to lay stress on eco-protection in its project area, ... More

Rs 344-cr master plan for Musi river project
THE river Musi, once a lifeline for Hyderabad and areas around the State capital for hundreds of years, and now a drainage nala could in the near future have fresh water flowing through the river bed. The Rs 344-crore master plan, designed by ... More

RADIO/TV

No shortage of set-top boxes, says Ministry officials
OFFICIALS from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry have started inspecting the availability of set-top boxes (STBs) and other infrastructure facilities required for the implementation of conditional access system (CAS). And prima facie, ... More

EDUCATION

ICFAI firm on university centre in Kerala
The choice for hosting the proposed university centre in Kerala was narrowing down to Kochi, which is geographically placed to serve the interests of the northern and southern districts. More

FOODS & FOOD PROCESSING

CIFT sets up hi-tech unit to screen seafood quality
THE Veraval Research Centre of the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology has established a sophisticated seafood quality monitoring facility - LC MS MS (liquid chromatograph - Mass spectrometer) for the benefit of fisheries and food ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

A tough nut to crack
Compared to investing in a commercial property, the risks associated with residential properties are relatively lower. But your returns will be lower too. More

PRECIOUS METALS

More security, less investment
When an average Indian buys gold today, he/she does it with the thought that it is a saving and a security, more than an investment. A comforting thought, nevertheless, when one is spending a big sum on the purchase. More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

FAPI meet in Rajahmundry
VISAKHAPATNAM: The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Industries (FAPI) is holding a meet on December 25 at Rajahmundry to discuss the industrial situation in the State, according to Mr B.V. Rama Rao, president. He said at press meet here on ... More

READYMADE GARMENTS

Apparel brands bullish on free trade regime
DOMESTIC apparel brands are bullish on the emerging free-trade regime for the textile and clothing sector by 2005; some of them have really geared up their retail-market networking to reduce lead-time. "We keep strengthening our retail ... More

BIO-TECH & GENETICS

AP bags biotech award
HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh has emerged as the BioState of the year and Dr Krishna M. Ella, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Biotech International Ltd, Hyderabad has been chosen the Entrepreneur of the Year 2003. Further, the ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Designing products: A trouble worth taking
DR Darlie O. Koshy, Executive Director, National Institute of Design (NID), drove the point home at the recent CII-NID Design Summit 2003, contrasting India's eight million engineers to its approximately 2600 designers. "Do we want to become the ... More

MINERALS

`Procedural delays mar growth' — Ministry to simplify norms for mineral-based projects
THE Union Ministry of Mines has decided to further simplify the official procedures to ensure quick implementation of mineral-based projects, according to its Secretary, Mr C.D. Arha. The Ministry plans to accord top priority to the ... More

RESORTS & AMUSEMENT PARKS

Karnataka `stumped' on Gokarnam resort
IT was a request that caught the Karnataka Government unawares. As a prelude to the Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, laying the foundation stone for Gokarnam Beach resort, off the Karwar coast, the State Government had asked the ... More

DISINVESTMENT

SCI: A case of missed business opportunity
STATE-owned Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) mirrors a classic case of missed business opportunity due to weak-kneed political will of the Government to push through the disinvestment process and bureaucratic tangles. While most shipping ... More

IPR

`Refer Patents Bill to Parliamentary panel'
THE Indian Drug Manufacturer's Association on Friday wrote to the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and other bureaucrats urging them to ensure that the Patents (Third Amendment) Bill was referred to a specially-constituted Parliamentary ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Monday market at Sivaganga for SHG products
THE Sivaganga District Administration, near here, has come up with a novel plan - `Monday market'— to promote the sale of products of self-help groups (SHGs). According to District Collector, Dr J. Radhakrishnan, the Monday market ... More

EVENTS

Krishna to inaugurate Coastal Investors Meet today
THE Chief Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, will inaugurate the Costal Investors Meet in Karwar on Saturday. The State Government is organising the meet to woo investors to the coastal districts of Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada. On the ... More

ECONOMIC OFFENCES

Meet soon on demat of stamp papers
THE Finance Secretary, Mr D.C. Gupta, will soon convene a meeting of officials from all the State governments concerned to work out modalities for evolving a system for dematerialisation of stamp papers. According to official sources, the ... More

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