The Hindu Business Line : Friday, April 30, 2004

PENSION PLANS
EPFO pilot project makes a good start
THE pilot project of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), "Re-inventing EPF India", which was launched four years ago in six of its offices, seems to have made a good start by issuing national social security number (NSSN) cards to ... More

ECONOMY
GDP may rise to 7.1 per cent this fiscal, says NCAER
THE National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) on Thursday revised its recent GDP projection for the current fiscal from 6.7 per cent to 7.1 per cent now "as the year has begun on a strong platform for growth" though it tinged the ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
EU enlargement `will be boon for India'
THE European Union (EU) relations with India would get further reinforced on all fronts following the EU's enlargement when 10 countries from central, eastern and southern Europe formally join the 15-member bloc on May 1. Addressing a news ... More

HOTELS
WelcomHeritage poised for expansion
WELCOMHERITAGE is all set to expand, having signed in two 150-year-old properties, Sheikhpura Kothi at Hansi near Rohtak and Lal Niwas at Phaludi in Haryana. WelcomHeritage, a joint venture between ITC Hotels Ltd and Marudhar Hotels Private ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE
IFC in talks with MahaMumbai SEZ
THE International Finance Corporation (IFC) said on Thursday that it is in talks with the promoter of the MahaMumbai Special Economic Zone (MMSEZ) for taking an exposure in the project. The SEZ would be located adjacent to the Jawaharlal Nehru ... More

PETROLEUM
Bite into a Big Mac at IOC bunks soon
PETROL bunks around the country are changing. At some you can drink your frappe or cappuccinos, and at others pick up bread and eggs. Soon you can order a Big Mac with mustard sauce and French fries. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) is in talks ... More

POWER
ONGC keen on power generation
ONGC is keen on entering the power generation sector by setting up power plants close to its gas fields. "We are planning to move further downstream and take up power generation on a commercial basis. But, we are not interested in transmission ... More

COAL
CIL posts Rs 3,700-cr gross profit
DESPITE two of its seven production subsidiaries incurring huge losses, Coal India Ltd (CIL) has ended the 2003-04 fiscal with a gross profit (provisional) of about Rs 3,700 crore when it produced about 306 million tonnes of coal against the ... More

RADIO/TV
FM cos silent on licence fee payment
PRIVATE FM radio companies may be celebrating their completion of one year of operations in the Capital, but the Government had really no reason to smile. For, none of these companies coughed up the licence fee on Thursday, demanding a deferment ... More

NumTV to offer S. Indian channels online to NRIs
PENTAMEDIA'S NumTV has tied up with Samachar.com, a portal of Sify, to target the NRI community with a string of South Indian channels that will be made available online. The alliance, worked out on the basis of a revenue-sharing agreement, is ... More

EDUCATION
IIMB thinking hard to fill the coffer
WHAT the outcome of the fee cut issue will be is anybody's guess. Meanwhile, the pros and cons of a host of other resource issues are being debated. How can the IIMs patch up the gaping hole created by the HRD Ministry? Can they turn to the ... More

London varsity opens office in Chennai
THE London Metropolitan University (LMU) has opened an office in Chennai, the second in the country after Delhi. The Chennai office will cater to the southern region, which sends the maximum number of students from India. Out of the 250 ... More

PAPER, BOARD & NEWSPRINT
India, China to lead Asian paper industry growth
THE Asian paper industry is all set for an explosive growth. And this growth, according to Mr Gautam Thapar, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, Ballarpur Industries Ltd (BILT), will be predominantly led by India and China. In his keynote ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
FICCI for low-key response to outsourcing backlash
IT'S a misperception that Indian Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) players are being branded as `villains' in the US, feel the captains of Indian industry. According to Mr Y.K. Modi, President, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and ... More

HUMAN RESOURCES
Opportunities for nurses rise as US reports shortage
Nurses are growing older and the supply of new nurses is not enough to fill positions left by retirees. More

EVENTS

AP engagements

PEOPLE
`Dhatu Ratna' title conferred on Nanalal Parikh
THE president and board of directors of Bombay Metal Exchange and the Vice-Chairman and board of trustees of the Bombay Metal Exchange Charitable Trust conferred the `Dhatu Ratna' title on Mr Surendrabhai Nanalal Parikh. This was in ... More