SSI
`SSIs need exclusive policy for survival and development'
THE Madurai District Tiny and Small-Scale Industries Association (Maditssia) has urged the Union and State Governments to frame an exclusive policy for SSIs to enable them to survive in a changing industrial scenario. It also called for simple ... More

WATER
Little progress in Ganga clean-up scheme: PAC
The Committee pointed out that GAP-I was scheduled to be completed by 1990 but was declared complete only in 2000, while GAP-II, which was scheduled to be completed by 2001 has been extended till December 2008. More

TN: Digging deeper for water
WATER suppliers are a concerned lot. Not just the Government agency, Metrowater, but also the private tanker operators catering to a large part of Chennai. Business is bound to be good. But where does one go to get the water? Ground water is ... More

Pune summit to highlight India's expertise in water management
IN a bid to highlight India's experience and expertise in water management and irrigation systems and how other developing countries can benefit from them, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Department of ... More

MANAGEMENT
IIM-C students launch consulting consortium
THE Consulting Club of the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta launched an International Consulting Consortium (ICC) here on Monday, which will be in partnership with consulting clubs of 14 business schools across the world. The ... More

RADIO/TV
CAS: Area monopoly worrying stakeholders
EVEN as there is uncertainty regarding the full implementation of Conditional Access System (CAS), the issue of `area monopoly' that is emerging among cable operators is worrying the stakeholders, including the indigenous consumer electronics ... More

EDUCATION
IIM-B weighing options to make good the loss
NOW that the IIMs have more or less ruled out a legal recourse against the HRD Ministry's directive to impose a fee cut in their PGP (Post-Graduate Programmes) courses, the country's premier business schools are busy considering various options ... More

Life sciences project gets 30-acre site
IN a move towards the creation of the Indian Institute of Life Sciences, a centre of excellence for research and development and training for the life sciences sector, the Andhra Pradesh Government has endorsed the project, allotted a 30-acre ... More

Govt `price control' comes under fire
SHOULD the Government be regulating the fee structure for Indian Institute of Managements and other B-schools in India? The Government's penchant for `price control' at the management studies level has come in for criticism from the All-India ... More

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS
Private hospitals join hands to reach out to patients
ELEVEN private hospitals and healthcare institutes, operating in city, have come together in their search for more patients — domestic and overseas. The hospitals have created a platform called Association of Hospitals of Eastern India ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

TEXTILE MACHINERY
Task force report on textile machinery may be delayed
THE report of the special task force formed by the Centre under the Textile Commissioner to suggest measures to strengthen the domestic textile machinery-manufacturing sector may be delayed. The report, originally expected to be ready by this ... More

DISINVESTMENT
SC puts off hearing in sell-off cases
THE Supreme Court on Monday stayed further proceedings in a writ petition pending before the Jodhpur Bench of the Rajasthan High Court challenging disinvestment in Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL). A three-judge Bench, comprising Chief Justice Mr V.N. ... More

WTO
In India's future trade wars...
Democracy is the spear and shield
Trade and real wars will appear winnable when American lawmakers are convinced that keeping jobs onshore is critical to their own political success. They will not be upset if New Delhi did what it takes to keep jobs onshore. India can show off what a great democracy it is in its own election year. It can use the power of self-proclamation and then use democracy as a weapon, say More

EVENTS
Workshop on safe food at Kochi
AS a continuum of its study of enhancing competitiveness of processed food sector in Kerala, CII is organising a workshop on safe food here on February 13. The objective of the workshop is to disseminate information on the various aspects of ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Foreign flag ships chartering — Exporters unaware of cancellation of pre-approval norms
DOMESTIC charterers (exporters/importers) and shipping companies have been caught napping. They have been flocking to the Director General of Shipping seeking permission for in-chartering of foreign vessels and for making dollar remittances ... More

Weekend Valentine's wilts rose exports — But ducks Dutch auctions to bloom `direct' on foreign shelves
A WEEKEND Valentine's Day has taken the sheen off Indian rose exports as sales plummeted by as much as 34 per cent even as local firms have managed to beach-head directly into top retail chains, such as Sainsbury, Tesco and Wal-Mart subsidiary ... More

US merchandise exports up 21 pc — `Growing trade gap needs rectification'
MR George N. Sibley, US Consul General in Kolkata, has said that in the first nine months of 2003-04, US merchandise exports to India were up 20.8 per cent over the same period a year earlier. After being stuck in the $3.4 billion-$3.7 billion ... More

BEARINGS, CASTINGS & FORGINGS
`Diversify exports of castings to US, Canada'
"We are not even America's largest trading partner in terms of turnover, as we are 20th in the pecking order." More

PEOPLE
M.P. High Court CJ appointed SAT presiding officer
THE Finance Ministry has appointed Mr Justice Kumar Rajaratnam, Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, as Presiding Officer of the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT). Anyone aggrieved over an order passed by the Securities and ... More

TRENDS
`Consolidation likely in cement, telecom, power sectors'
CEMENT, telecom and power sectors are expected to witness a number of merger and acquisition deals in the near future. These sectors are in for further consolidation and will reach a mature stage with seven to eight large players in each sector, ... More