The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, April 20, 2004

CLIMATE & WEATHER
IMD to `change face of weather forecasting'
THE drought year 2002 that failed the meteorologist's predictions by a huge margin with devastating implications for the country's economy is triggering a churn in the weather forecasting system. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has ... More

AUTOMOBILES
Plan panel okays Rs 1,600-cr auto testing facilities
THE Planning Commission has cleared a project to set up two new automobile testing facilities in the country at an estimated cost of over Rs 1,600 crore. As of now, the proposal is with the Ministry of Finance, which is likely to clear it ... More

ECONOMY
NCAER foresees 6.7 pc GDP growth this fiscal
THE National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) has forecast the country's gross domestic product (GDP) growth during the current fiscal at 6.7 per cent against 8.13 per cent in fiscal 2003-04. In its latest monthly bulletin, Macro ... More

`Channelising funds for poverty reduction will be a challenge'
THE North and the South stand to gain from the recovery currently underway in the global economy which has coincided with a "rebound" in financial flows to the developing countries; but the critical question to policymakers is how to channel ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE
Kerala plan for `industries resource locator'
THE Industries Department of Kerala has formulated a proposal to create an "industries resource locator" system under the Directorate of Industries and Commerce. The objective of the proposed system is to establish a Web-based utility that will ... More

PETROLEUM
Cut in kerosene allocation for Kerala
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Civil Supplies Minister, Mr G. Karthikeyan, has expressed strong resentment over the Centre's decision to effect a cut in the kerosene quota for the State. An official spokesman quoted the Minister as ... More

POWER
Dabhol lenders to discuss debt options for revival
BANKS and financial institutions that have given loans to Dabhol Power Company (DPC) will meet in Singapore early next week to discuss restructuring the company's finances, including the extent to which they might have to forego interest to ... More

TYRES
Truck, bus tyre output slips in Feb
TRUCK and bus tyre production slipped in February 2004 to 8.80 lakh tyres against a production level of 9.34 lakh tyres recorded in January. Production during February 2004 was, however, much higher than 8.22 lakh tyres recorded in the ... More

TERRORISM
Yerran Naidu hurt in Naxal mine blast
THE leader of the Telugu Desam parliamentary party in the dissolved Lok Sabha, Mr K. Yerran Naidu and five others travelling in his car were wounded in a landmine blast triggered allegedly by Naxalites on the outskirts of Srikakulam town on ... More

RADIO/TV
ESPN secures Wimbledon rights
ESPN Star Sports has secured cable and satellite rights of the Lawn Tennis Championships at Wimbledon until 2008. This year, the 2004 Wimbledon Championships are to be held from June 21 to July 4. Wimbledon remains the most widely watched ... More

EDUCATION
Prof Rammohan Rao to be new ISB dean
THE Indian School of Business (ISB) has announced the appointment of Professor M. Rammohan Rao as the new Dean from July 1, 2004. He will take over from Professor Vijay Mahajan who is serving as the Dean since 2002. Prof. Mahajan held a dual ... More

AUTOMOBILE COMPONENTS
Auto components exports cross $1 b
LOOKS like touching the $1-billion mark seems to be what the Indian industry is aiming for. First it was Infosys in the software industry and then close on its heels came Wipro. Now it is the turn of the automobile component manufacturers in the ... More

PAPER, BOARD & NEWSPRINT
Paper: What lies ahead?
THE year has started on a sombre note for the paper industry, and the mood is glum as they outline what the rest of the year holds. But most of the big mills have concluded 2003-04 on a positive note, better than what they can hope for in the ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
Kamineni is CII South chairperson
HYDERABAD: Ms Shobana Kamineni, KEI Group - Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd has been elected as Chairperson of the CII-Southern Region for the year 2004-05. Ms Kamineni has the distinction of being the first Woman CEO to head the apex ... More

MINING & QUARRYING
Illegal mining
As water level in many rivers goes down in summer, illegal sand mining from river beds such as this one near Kolkata, has become rampant.

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
No need for bond, guarantee for filing import manifest
THE Finance Ministry has simplified the procedures for filing advance import general manifest (IGM) under the Customs Act, 1962. IGM is a statutory declaration that has to be delivered to the Customs department before the arrival of an aircraft ... More

Exporters prefer dollar invoicing: Report
EVEN as exporters cry hoarse over the appreciation of the rupee againstthe dollar that is bound to blunt their competitiveness if left uncorrected for long, this phenomenon has not really changed the invoicing pattern of Indian exports during ... More

TOURISM
Australia sees rise in Indian tourists
REGISTERING a 38 per cent increase in tourist traffic in the first two months this year, the Australian Tourism Commission expects a growth of about 13 per cent in tourist traffic in 2004 as opposed to a mere 1 per cent growth last year and a ... More