ECONOMY
Govt aims for zero revenue deficit by 2005: Jaswant
THE Government has set itself a target to bring down the revenue deficit to zero levels by 2005, two years ahead of the deadline mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act, according to the Union Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant ... More

FICCI unveils agenda to achieve 10% GDP growth
THE Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Thursday released a 12-point economic agenda for the nation to achieve 10 per cent annual GDP growth over the next five years on a sustained basis. Briefing newspersons here ... More

`State pension payout grows faster than revenue'
PENSION payments of State Governments are growing at 23.6 per cent annually, while their revenues are growing only at around 14 per cent. This is from the report of a study group appointed by the Reserve Bank of India to look into the growing ... More

ENGINEERING
EEPC plans to tap CIS markets
THE Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) has formulated an "Integrated Market Access Plan" (IMAP) to tap the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent) States, which came into being after the disintegration of the USSR in 1991. The plan, ... More

PSU
Net worth in 98 PSUs negative: CAG
EVEN as the disinvestment of public sector enterprises (PSUs) in the country remained mired in controversy and dilatory tactics, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has said that the aggregate net worth of as many as 98 companies ... More

PETROLEUM
`Feel-good factor' spills over to sugar industry — Surcharge sop on ethanol for petrol extended
IN yet another `feel-good factor' measure, this time aimed at the ailing sugar industry, the Finance Ministry has extended the 30-paise per litre surcharge concession on petrol used for blending with ethanol for a period of four months up to June ... More

High on gas
A customer leaves his empty LPG cylinder at a wayside collection centre in Thrissur. Domestic LPG consumption in the State has gone up 66 per cent in three years, since it became available in the open market. As against 2.17 lakh tonnes in ... More

POWER
NTPC public issue gets clearance
THE Cabinet has cleared a proposal for National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to float an initial public offering (IPO) for up to 10 per cent of its equity. According to the Power Secretary, Mr R.V. Shahi, a 10 per cent float will raise around ... More

Finance Ministry against payment security to pvt power generators
THE Finance Ministry has strongly opposed the Power Ministry's proposal to secure payment for power sold by new private power projects to bankrupt State electricity boards. According to the proposal, the power produced by the private players ... More

STEEL
Steel prices go up; third time since Dec
STEEL prices are up yet again, the third time since December. Although steel prices have not been officially increased, the effective prices of the commodity have gone up this week by around 10 per cent with the primary producers charging more ... More

Panel for further cut in steel import duty to 10% — Calls for measures to meet small units' needs
THE Parliamentary Standing Committee on Industry has recommended a further cut in import duty on steel from the existing 20 per cent to 10 per cent and urged the Ministry of Steel to put in place a "triggered price mechanism" as a short-term ... More

SSI
SIDBI asks Centre to `redefine' SMEs
THE Small Industries Development Bank of India has recommended to the Government a definition of `medium enterprise' and a revised definition of `small enterprise', the SIDBI Chairman and Managing Director, Mr V.K. Chopra, told Business ... More

WATER
Scheme to augment drinking water supply in Bangalore city
BWSSB is also going ahead this year with its major capacity building plan, the JBIC-funded phase 2 of the Cauvery Water Supply Scheme-IV. More

EDUCATION
Govt slashes IIM course fees to Rs 30,000
THE Government on Thursday drastically cut the fees for Post-Graduate programmes at the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) to Rs 30,000 per annum from over Rs 1.5 lakh per annum. "It has been decided that the fees for the Post-Graduate ... More

BEVERAGES
`Soft drink companies must offer non-caffeine option'
THE Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) once again drew attention to the issue of caffeine content in soft drinks sold in India. Mountain Dew, PepsiCo's neon-lime aerated beverage, for example, has been found to contain high caffeine ... More

Kerala waiting for JPC report to act against cola majors
THE State Government will not shirk its responsibility of moving decidedly against the cola majors if the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report confirming the presence of pesticides in soft drink samples warrants it. Clarifying the ... More

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS
Diagnostic laboratories sprouting all over AP
IF there is a boom in corporate hospitals, can sophisticated diagnostic laboratories be far behind? In Hyderabad, the answer to this question seems to be a yes, there's a boom in hospitals and slowly, standalone testing labs are also ... More

New dialysis centre coming up in Tumkur
MANIPAL Tumkur Hospital (MTH), earlier known as H&W Heart Hospital, will soon be opening the first dialysis centre in Tumkur.The centre will cater to patients in Tumkur and surrounding districts such as Chitradurga, Chikmagalur, Hassan, Mandya . More

Devaki to seek kidney transplant licence again
DEVAKI Hospital will ask the Tamil Nadu health authorities to re-issue permission to carry out kidney transplants there as a measure to solve its financial problems. At present, a part of the hospital's property has been taken over by ... More

MINERALS
Diamond source found in AP
A DIAMOND indicator — Kimberlite body has been discovered by Geologists of the National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) in Kalyandurg taluk of Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. The public sector unit NMDC has been granted ... More

EGL sets up lab in Delhi
EUROPEAN Gemological Laboratory (EGL), which imparts globally recognised certification and education in diamond grading, has announced the setting up of its laboratory in India. According to a press release, the infrastructure at the lab in ... More

CINEMA
Bollywood testing latest technologies in filmmaking
BOLLYWOOD may be a bit slow on evolving its content but is open to new technological changes in the process of filmmaking. The Indian film industry, especially the Hindi film segment, has been looking at new technologies in the production and ... More

PRINTING
Expo on printing tech
HYDERABAD: A large number of players in various printing technologies and allied services will showcase their products at the four-day `Print Today', a national expo slated to be held in the city from February 26. According to Mr Venu V. ... More

DISINVESTMENT
Divestment panel for strategic sale of Andrew Yule
THE Disinvestment Commission has recommended privatisation of the Kolkata-based loss-making public sector undertaking Andrew Yule and Co Ltd (AYCL) to a strategic partner and sale of 40 per cent Government stake in Indian Vaccine Corporation Ltd ... More

Ministry seeks details from TCIL on IPO
THE Disinvestment Ministry has asked for details from Telecommunication Consultants India Ltd (TCIL) on its proposed initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to hit the markets in the next couple of months. According to Mr G.D. Gaiha, ... More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
Michelin proposal among 40 FDI plans cleared
THE proposal of Campagnie Michelin to set up a joint venture tyre company with Apollo Tyres as well as picking up a 14.9 per cent stake in the latter involving foreign direct investment (FDI) worth Rs 323.42 crore was among the various FDI ... More

LABOUR REFORMS
ILO offers `feasible' funding to eliminate child labour
AN ILO study on the cost-benefit analysis of eliminating child labour has found that the net benefits far outweigh the net costs over a large period of time, with the net financial benefits, worldwide being estimated at $4132.5 billion over a ... More

EVENTS
Foundry Congress, fairs begin today
AIMED at focusing on the developments in the Indian foundry and steel industries that play a key role in shaping the country's economy, the Institute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF) is organising the 52nd Indian Foundry Congress under the title ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Chemexcil targets Rs 61,000-cr exports by 2006-07
THE Basic Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics Export Council (Chemexcil) has said that going by the current trend, the country's exports of these products would touch approximately Rs 61,000 crore in the next three to four years. The ... More

Training on `exports'
HYDERABAD: The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) in association with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) is organising a three-day training programme on `exports' beginning February ... More

PEOPLE
ICAI to form advisory panel — Sunil Goyal takes over as President
THE Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has a new President in Mr Sunil Goyal. The change of guard comes at a time when the professional body is faced with the twin challenges of globalisation and the Central Government's ... More

Global green building body Vice-Chairman
THE Chairman of the Indian Green Building Council, Mr R. Parasuraman, has been nominated the Vice-Chairman of the World Green Building Council at the US Green Building Annual Conference at Pittsburgh, USA. He will oversee and encourage green ... More