The Hindu Business Line : Friday, January 02, 2004

ANTI-DUMPING
Dumping suit against Indian shrimp export to US — China, Thailand & Vietnam also face problems
A COALITION of US shrimp farmers has filed a trade complaint seeking to curb $2.4 billion of annual shrimp imports from India, Thailand, China, Brazil, Vietnam, and Ecuador. The SSA, which represents the interests of eight shrimp producing US ... More

AUTOMOBILES
CAR to help domestic auto sector
IN efforts to provide key technology support to Indian automobile manufacturers, CAR (Core Advisory Group of Research), an industry-academia initiative has been firmed up, the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Prime Minister, Dr R. ... More

ECONOMY
Why interest rates should go up
If, as policymakers claim, India is moving towards a market driven interest regime, then rates should be determined by demand and supply. Lower interest rates cannot be achieved through administrative diktats but by increasing the availability of cap ital in relation to demand, says A. V. Vedpuriswar. More

Naidu's `Vision Document' promises a welfare State
EXHORTING people to strive harder as stakeholders in the development of the State, the Chief Minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Thursday presented a `Vision Document' that promises to uplift about 25 lakh people below poverty line, provide 100 ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
Vietnam keen on greater trade ties with India
Participating in an interactive session organised by the Merchants Chamber of Commerce, Mr Ton Sinh Thanh, said there was an urgent need to correct trade imbalance through greater co-operation, under which more Vietnamese products could be exported to India. More

HEALTH
Rise in chronic allergy cases in Bangalore
"The kind of allergies I have seen in patients in Bangalore, are not seen anywhere else in the world," says Dr Mukesh Batra, Chairman and Managing Director, Dr Batra's Positive Health Clinic. "And we are conscious of the fact that the number ... More

HOTELS
Ringing in a palatable year
WITH the stock markets at an all-time high, it is time to ring in the New Year on a high note. And for those not in the mood to shake a leg during the year-end festivity, the hospitality industry is laying out its best platter to woo the ... More

PSU
Fiscal arrears of PSUs hurting Kerala finances
POOR financial performance of the public sector units in Kerala appears to be one of the reasons for the State's fiscal crisis. The State Budget is paying a very high price for maintaining its PSUs and co-operatives at their present state of ... More

POWER
Electricity regulator moots risk-based returns on projects
IN a sector plagued by lack of creditworthy consumers, Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) today mooted different rates of returns for power projects depending on the extent of market risk faced by the project. In its draft ... More

Kerala State Electricity Board told to improve collection efficiency
THE Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission (KSERC) has strongly recommended that the State Electricity Board (KSEB) act decisively to improve collection efficiency from 94.8 per cent (April-July, 2003) to 98-99 per cent. Addressing ... More

RPG group proposes third party sale of power
THE RPG group plans to begin third party power sales. This is proposed to be done through group company Phillips Carbons Black Ltd. The company has already begun talks with the State governments in this respect. Phillips Carbons, which is ... More

TEXTILES
ERP tool for textile mills
SHOLINGUR Textiles Ltd Software Division (STLSD), a part of the Chennai-based Sholingur Textiles Ltd, has come out with an integrated enterprise software solution for all the key branches of textile industry - spinning, weaving and knitting. ... More

NCD transfer in textile accounts — Panel not for interest subsidy to investors
The committee has made it clear that the nodal agencies must ensure that the NCDs transferred to other investors in the market should not be given the benefit of the 5 per cent concessional interest reimbursement granted under the TUFS. More

TYRES
Tyre imports from China to enjoy duty sops
DOMESTIC tyre manufacturers will have to contend with tyre imports from China at much lower protection levels from January 1. The Finance Ministry has formally included China in the list of countries (Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and South Korea) that ... More

WATER
Norms `fail to plug' loopholes in packaged drinking water norms
AS the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare's notification on PFA norms for packaged drinking water come into effect beginning January 1, the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has amended the Indian Standards of packaged drinking water in order ... More

RADIO/TV
Interim regulator for broadcasting sector on cards
EVEN as the chaos surrounding the implementation of the Conditional Access System (CAS) persists, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry is considering the setting up of an interim regulator for the broadcasting sector. The Ministry is of ... More

Star News gets uplinking licence
AFTER months of using temporary permission to uplink from India, Star News channel has finally received its permanent uplinking licence that will be valid for the next 10 years. Sources in the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry said, ... More

EDUCATION
TN assures support for B-school
THE Tamil Nadu Government has assured support for the establishment of a world-class business school at Chennai. According to an official press release, at a meeting with the J.L. Kellogg Distinguished Professor of Management of the US-based ... More

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS

Cardiology college president

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
India Inc not in favour of private limited cos balance sheet disclosure
INDIA Inc is not in favour of public disclosure of the annual report and balance sheet of private limited companies. "Otherwise the basic objective of such companies would be defeated," industry players said. In fact, the Federation of Indian ... More

JUTE
Jute mills' strike feared to hit packaging orders
"The rabi season is nearing completion. There is a huge demand for jute bags. And with the jute industry lying closed for over four days, there is every possibility that it will fail to supply the jute bags. We cannot allow the foodgrains to rot in t he fields," an official of Jute Commissioner's Office told Business Line. More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Exiting lease pacts with foreign satellites — India overcomes dearth of transponders
PROBABLY for the first time in several years, the Department of Space has turned satellite capacity-positive in the C-band. It has vacated the entire transponder capacity it had leased from Thai provider Shin Satellite. The capacity of seven ... More

`Industry must take up challenges in nuclear programmes'
WITH India putting in place the world's largest nuclear power development programme with the ongoing construction of nine reactors, the time is ripe for the Indian industry to take up both the challenges and the risks, the nuclear expert, Dr R. ... More

GENDER
Where women have the time of their lives
YOUNG Hetal carefully puts the watch drive into the mould and screws it in. The drive or the movement has come from Germany and the mould and the screws from nearby towns in Gujarat. Her friend does more or less the same with a wall clock that is ... More

SOCIAL WELFARE
`Private institutions' role must in social welfare programmes'
THE Chairman and Managing Director of Corporation Bank, Mr K. Cherian Varghese, has stressed the need for private institutions' participation in the social welfare programmes of the Government. Speaking after handing over 100 pressure cookers ... More

EVENTS
Moment of animation
The Prime Minister, Mr A.B. Vajpayee, greeting the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, on the New Year Day at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in the Capital on Thursday.

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Exports post 14 pc growth in Nov; import surge continues
THE country's exports gained renewed momentum with export growth notching up a two-digit growth of close to 14 per cent in dollar terms in November 2003, even as the aggregate export growth during the first eight months of the current fiscal is ... More

Edible oil imports slow down in Dec
THERE was a considerable decline in the volume of edible oil imported last month following improved availability of indigenous oils. According to preliminary arrival data furnished to Business Line by the industry portal Oilmandi.com, ... More

EU visit on contamination of chilli shipments — Spices Board to hold talks with State farm depts
THE Spices Board, as part of its efforts to evolve a strategy to produce aflatoxin-free chilli and to arrest the presence of red dye Sudan-1 in export consignments, plans to hold a meeting of senior officials of horticulture/agriculture ... More

CO-OPERATIVES
TUCS: A pioneer once, losing out now
TUCS Ltd, the cooperative society that runs a chain of provision stores, public distribution shops and petrol bunks, will be 100 years old this April. But how much longer can it last is the question on the employees' mind as its businesses take a ... More

TOURISM
Kailasagiri ropeway work in full swing
IN the new year, Visakhapatnam will have an additional attraction for tourists, as the work on the ropeway at Kailasagiri is proceeding briskly and is scheduled to be completed this year. The work is being executed by a Kolkata-based company, ... More