The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, April 28, 2004

EMPLOYMENT
Dr Reddy's LABS set up in Vietnam
DR Reddy's Foundation, the social arm of the pharmaceutical major Dr Reddy's Laboratories, has started a Livelihood Advancement Business School (LABS) centre in Hanoi, Vietnam, in partnership with Plan International. This is the first LABS centre ... More

CLIMATE & WEATHER
Summer rains return for varied spells in Kerala
Summer showers shifted gears to emerge out of a lull and pour it down selectively at many places in Kerala on April 22, a few places on the 24th and at isolated places on the 23rd and the 25th. According to the ... More

ENVIRONMENT
Mumbai waste management project yet to gather pace
A COMBINATION of judicial orders, initiatives by the Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board and changing attitude from the local industries, has raised a glimmer of hope for India's first total integrated waste management facility in Mumbai to ... More

Reliance Dahanu plant to operate only for a year
RELIANCE Energy's (formerly BSES) five-year consent to operate its 500 MW thermal power plant in Dahanu, has been restricted to one year by the Dahanu Taluka Environment Protection Authority (DTEPA). The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board ... More

Move to curb Pamba river pollution
REDUCING the level of pollution in rivers and preventing further pollution of these water bodies are among the major challenges confronting the State, according to Mr K.J. Mathew, Principal Secretary, Water Resources Department, Government of ... More

HEALTH
Microbicides: HIV killers in the making
Though the Government has announced its policy of providing anti-retro viral drugs free to the affected, the incidence of HIV is on the rise, especially among women, calling for more affordable alternatives such as microbicides. More

`Lung cancer tops in cancer-related deaths'
A CENTURY of smoking has made lung cancer the commonest cancer, says a leading oncologist. "Hundred years ago it was not a common cancer. A century of smoking has changed it all, making lung cancer a common cancer," Dr T. Raja, a consultant ... More

PETROLEUM
BPCL chief does not foresee petro price hike
AT a time when consumers are apprehensive of a steep hike in petroleum prices after the elections, the chief of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), the country's second largest oil marketing company, has indicated that the better refining ... More

GAIL gas cut to hit Regency Ceramics
GAIL (India) Ltd's decision to substantially reduce natural gas supplies is expected to adversely affect the performance of the Rs 183-crore ceramic tiles major Regency Ceramics Ltd (RCL). The decision, said to have been forced by shortage of ... More

TAXATION
Chamber feels there's no need to cut TDS on dealer rebates
THE PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) has taken a position that manufacturers should not be required to deduct tax at source on the rebates or discounts offered by them to their dealers and distributors. The chamber said that the ... More

SSI
Credit rating for SMEs soon
"The idea is to ensure timely and affordable credit to the SMEs." More

TYRES
Scrapping of subsidy on natural rubber export urged
DOMESTIC tyre manufacturers have urged the Central Government to immediately discontinue the subsidy on natural rubber exports. The Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association (ATMA) has held that the move to continue with such a subsidy is one of ... More

RADIO/TV
Finance Ministry views sought on FM radio licence fee deferment
THE Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has sought the views of the Finance Ministry on whether to defer the payment of the annual licence fee by the private FM radio companies. Senior Government sources said that the I&B Minister, Mr More

CARS
Luxury car sales surge in Kerala
MERCS, Camrys, Accords, Vectras and other luxury cars and ritzy utility vehicles crowd Kochi's narrow roads, displaying new lifestyle, spending habits and wealth of Keralites and belaying the plight of their state's economy. Sales of luxury ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
FIEO to take up rupee upswing with RBI soon
A HIGH-LEVEL Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) team, headed by its President, Mr Rafeeque Ahmed, is meeting the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Dr Y.V. Reddy, in Mumbai later this week to seek urgent corrective steps to ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Watershed project to be expanded to more villages of Rajasthan, M.P.
THE watershed development project in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, supported by Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, will now be ... More

EVENTS
Meet on downsizing tech at Surathkal
MANGALORE: The National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK), Surathkal, will hold a two-day workshop on `Downsizing technologies for rural and coastal area development' from April 28. Mr Anuj Sinha, Head, Science and Society ... More

Thiruvananthapuram engagements

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Prospects bleak for grain exports this fiscal
AFTER shipping out around 33 million tonnes (mt) of foodgrains since December 2000, large-scale exports seem a remote possibility in the current fiscal. An indication of this is the relatively low profile of the private trade in procurement of ... More

TOURISM
APTDC to organise 5-day summer fete
Entertainment groups like Asma, Gaysil Noroha, Goan Carnival, Aqua Flow, Bombay Vikings and Euphoria Band would be major attractions. More