The Hindu Business Line : Friday, March 26, 2004

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY
Biomass power promoters in AP pull the plug
Most units are dependent on rice husk and its prices have increased several folds in the last three years from Rs 200 per tonne to Rs 1,500 per tonne. More

ANTI-DUMPING
Ministry for removing dumping duty on ball bearings
THE Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry has recommended the withdrawal of provisional anti-dumping duty imposed by it on imported ball bearings from China, Poland, Russia and Romania on grounds that "though subject goods have been ... More

ECONOMY
Demand-supply position driving rupee up
DR Y.V. Reddy said today that the rupee's sharp rise this week was driven by demand and supply conditions in the market. He stated that this was not due to any attempt by the central bank move to contain inflation. During the last four ... More

CII circulates minimum economic agenda for AP
IN view of the ensuing elections, the Confederation of Indian Industry (AP) has drafted a minimum economic agenda for the State and presented it to the representatives of the Telugu Desam Party, Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party. The ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
Rising rupee: Tougher times for exporters?
IT has not been the best of times for exporters; but is the worst of times around the corner? Exporters, who thought they could switch to invoicing in euro or pound sterling in the wake of a weak dollar, will now feel the pinch, regardless. ... More

Higher value addition must to increase exports, says DGFT
THE Indian economy has to grow at 12 per cent per annum in dollar terms, if the country has to achieve its target of cornering one per cent of the world trade by 2007, according to Mr L. Mansingh, Director General of Foreign Trade. Addressing ... More

India, Bangladesh agree on common text on trade pact
INDIA and Bangladesh have agreed on a common text on the revised trade agreement, which was hanging fire for almost a year and the revised agreement would be signed at a high-level at a mutually convenient date. This emerged at the second ... More

PETROLEUM
ONGC eyes staff from other oil retailing cos
EMPLOYEES jumping on to a rival bandwagon is an old bane, more familiar to fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), banking and mutual fund companies. Even State-owned oil companies have seen their well-trained talent jump ship to private sector ... More

Buyers insist on firm base price for gas from Kochi LNG terminal
THE current stalemate in setting up the LNG terminal in Kochi by Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) could be broken if PLL comes out with a firm base price for the gas it would be supplying from the proposed Kochi terminal. According to some of the ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS
Pharma sector to make presentations on data protection
THE Government has asked the various pharmaceutical industry bodies to make presentations on the issue of data protection on April 12 when the inter-ministerial panel will meet again. Informed sources said that the decision to hear out the ... More

SSI
TN: Limestone-based units' plea
MADURAI: The Perambalur district administration has forwarded a proposal to the State Government for the inclusion of limestone-based units in the New Anna Marumalarchi Thittam (NAMT). According to Mr S. Asokan, General Manager, ... More

Palmyra workers' boycott threat in TN
MADURAI: Palmyra workers in the State would boycott the ensuing Lok Sabha elections if their demand for permission to tap palmyra sap was not granted, according to Mr G. Karikalraj, General Secretary, Nadar Mahajana Sangam, here. ... More

TYRES
Production, sale of aero tyres — MRTPC disposes of complaint against Dunlop India
DUNLOP India Ltd (DIL) can now heave a sigh of relief. The Monopolies & Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) has disposed of a complaint against the company indulging in monopolistic and restrictive trade practices in the production and More

WATER
TVS Motor's initiative ensures clean drinking water for Hosur
HOSUR, a sprawling industrial township near Bangalore, which has been deprived of clean drinking water supply despite a dam built for the purpose, will no more face the problem thanks to an initiative taken by TVS Motor Company. For six years ... More

Water level declines
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Water level at the three major water reservoirs in the State - Idukki, Kallada and Idamalayar - declined when compared with that recorded a week before. According to the figures released by the Central Water ... More

Summer rings in
A worker at a cement unit at Desam in Aluva checking cement rings. Demand for such rings, used in construction of wells, is on the rise in the State. Wells are deepened by inserting these rings to tide over the water shortage. ... More

EDUCATION
IBRD selects college
HYDERABAD: The JNTU College of Engineering, Hyderabad, has been selected as the Lead Institute for the World Bank-aided project under the Technical Education Quality Improvement (TEQIP), according to the Principal, Dr K. Lal ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
Long-term funds must to help revive DFIs, says FICCI
DFIs should also be given tax concessions with respect to their bond issues and be exempted from tax on their profits. More

`Cast your vote' campaign
HYDERABAD: The Chairman of CII AP, Mr K. Satish Reddy, said that the organisation would be taking various initiatives this time to motivate the "die-hard non-voters", mostly belonging to the affluent and educated sections of society, to ... More

CINEMA
Quality of content has its say on film industry
NEARLY 1,000 cinema houses across Maharashtra may have stopped screening films to protest against entertainment tax but a larger issue that confronts this industry is the quality of the content, in this case films. Never mind the ... More

DISINVESTMENT
BILT among suitors for Hindustan Paper
UTI Bank, an advisor on the disinvestment of 74 per cent of the Union government's total equity share in Hindustan Paper Corporation (HPC), is understood to have received good response from private sector investors from within the country and ... More

SOCIAL WELFARE

SBH donation

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
`Micro-finance entities will not be allowed to accept public deposits'
MICRO-finance institutions will not be allowed to accept public deposits as it puts public money at risk... the Reserve Bank of India cannot allow such entities to accept public deposits, the RBI Governor, Dr Y.V. Reddy, has said. This is ... More

HUMAN RESOURCES
Nurses look to greener pastures
THERE is a different brain-drain happening in the country and this one is not as high profile as when young engineers or management professionals leave the country. But the reality is, there is a shortage of nurses in India and hospitals here are ... More

EVENTS
Healthcare expo next month
MEDICARE India 2004, the healthcare industry exposition to be held between April 6 and 8, is likely to attract foreign participation from about 21 countries including US, Canada, UK, Germany and France. The healthcare industry is estimated to ... More

Meet on IPRs in Mangalore
MANGALORE: Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College of Business Management, Mangalore, will conduct a two-day national seminar on `Intellectual property rights' from March 26. Dr N.S. Shetty, Senior Consultant of Food and Agricultural ... More

Meet on printing, media tech
MANGALORE: Indian printers should know the cost of production to compete in the global market, according to the Managing Director of Heidelberg (I) Ltd, Mr Ole S. Rasmussen. He was the chief guest at "Vectra - 2004", an international ... More

Training in chemical safety
HYDERABAD: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests are jointly organising an advanced training programme on prevention and management of chemical accidents on ... More

Maruti auto fair in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: Maruti Udyog Ltd is organising a two-day auto fair at the Hitex Exhibition Grounds beginning on March 27. It will display 10 vehicles, including two from its parent company Suzuki Motor ... More

In Hyderabad today

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Exports register 35% growth in February
EXCEEDING all expectations, India's foreign trade appears to be on a roll with both exports and imports registering the highest growth in the current fiscal at 35 per cent and 26 per cent in dollar terms, respectively in February 2004, with the ... More

Sensitive items' import up 31% in April-Dec
IMPORT of 300 sensitive tariff lines, which the Commerce Ministry is monitoring in the wake of removal of quantitative restrictions or import curbs two years ago, has shown a spurt of 31 per cent during the first three quarters of the current ... More

Capexil plea to convert Petrapole LCS into port
CAPEXIL, whose members account for substantial exports to Bangladesh, has suggested that Petrapole Land Custom Station (LCS), which accounts for 60 per cent of the total Indian exports to that country, be converted into a land port with proper ... More

Campco exports 20 t of cocoa butter
CENTRAL Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Ltd (Campco) exported 20 tonnes of cocoa butter to Rockart Enterprises, Monaco, on Wednesday. A press release said here that the container was shipped to Felixstowe Port in England ... More