INFRASTRUCTURE
MPs tell Centre to set up proposed convention centre in Thiruvananthapuram
MEMBERS of Parliament (MPs) representing the State have urged the Centre to select Thiruvananthapuram for basing one of the two international convention centres promised by the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, during an earlier visit, at ... More

PETROLEUM
BPCL to hedge oil imports this year
BHARAT Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has appointed advisors for formulating its risk management policy on forward trading in oil imports. The company hopes to begin hedging transactions before the second quarter of the coming financial year, ... More

POWER
Facility for zero-duty import by IPPs — Power generating gear makers seek redress
The new policy will impact the domestic capital goods industry as a whole through the cascading effect. Sources in the power equipment generating industry said that duty concessions might be given where domestic manufacturers cannot supply the equipm ent. More

APTransco to cut T&D losses, to invest Rs 1,454 cr next fiscal
ENTHUSED with the positive performance in power sector relating to the reduction of losses, the Andhra Pradesh power utilities have announced the finalisation of an action plan to further reduce transmission and distribution (T&D) losses. In a .. More

Suryachakra's power project in Andamans to be dedicated to nation tomorrow
SURYACHAKRA Power Corporation Pvt Ltd has announced that its 20-MW diesel-based power project at Bambooflat in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands is scheduled to be dedicated to the nation on Tuesday. The company is a joint venture between the ... More

TAXATION
If only we could divert rivers for a shining India
JESUS said, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." You may wonder if this is something you can do with your taxman, when he deducts tax from your income but doesn't pay tax on his revenues. Or with the chef when he gives you a burnt ... More

SSI
Sri Lanka invites Indian investments in SMEs
THE Sri Lankan Government is seeking investments by Indians in small and medium enterprises (SME) sector of that country. Participating in the interactive meeting with entrepreneurs of Mangalore, organised by the Kanara Small Industries ... More

MoU to assist SHGs market products
THE District Supply and Marketing Society at Pudukottai, near here, has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tamilnadu Small and Tiny Industries Association, Chennai and Friedrich - Naumann Foundation (Germany) Service Centre (TFSC) ... More

WATER
Kerala, TN to sign pact on river waters in March
THE Chief Ministers of Kerala and Tamil Nadu will meet in March to sign a revised Parambikkulam-Aliyar inter-State river water sharing agreement, as per the understanding reached at the end of `successful' ministerial-level talks held here on ... More

RADIO/TV
Lack of transparency mars CAS: Report
A field report submitted by the Delhi Government on the implementation of conditional access system (CAS) has said that lack of transparency and information had led to confusion and anxiety among consumers living in South Delhi. The Delhi Chief ... More

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS
Ernakulam Govt hospital with a clean difference
UNLIKE any other Government-run general hospitals in the State, the Ernakulam General Hospital here has emerged as a model in providing quality health care to the poor in the district. The new block of the hospital built with Central and State ... More

TRADE & LABOUR UNIONS
Unions' battle for supremacy — Seamen all at sea
Seamen are helpless, as they individually have no say in the matter. Unions that are supposed to negotiate the seamen's wages have been waging a battle of their own for supremacy, leaving aside the crucial issue of wage talks. More

EVENTS
Special session for Gulf NRIs at Pravasi meet
GULF NRIs are hoping to press through with a host of demands including special ID cards for NRIs, overseas voting rights and better investment and educational facilities, at the forthcoming Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, which opens in Delhi on January ... More

INCOME TAX
`Celebrity tax' puts cos, ad agencies in a bind
THE Government's decision of levying an 8 per cent service tax on celebrity brand ambassadors is causing ripples in the corporate and ad worlds. At stake is endorsement fee that ranges between Rs 5 crore and Rs 10 crore per celebrity per ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
India in $100-b forex club sans export boom!
WITH disaggregated balance of payments data available up to September, a clear picture has now emerged as to how India has managed to pile up a $100 billion plus foreign exchange reserves kitty. Between end-March 1991 and September 2003, total ... More

The perils of private food export
IT appears that the liberalisation and globalisation process is reaching a stage where it can do the most damage to the disadvantaged and under privileged in so vital a sector as food. What else can explain the decision ... More

TOURISM
On the way to a high-cost destination?
FOR tourists, visitors and plain old merry-makers, finding a room with a view in God's Own Country this Christmas and New Year season was a mighty difficult task - unless, of course, you were a Priyanka Gandhi or a Robert Vadhera. All the ... More

Feel-good factors
With flowers in bloom and a pleasant weather complementing the setting, it is the right time for tourists to visit Hyderabad. Concerted efforts of the Tourism Department to woo tourists to the city appear to be paying ... More

PEOPLE