HOTELS
Occupancy rates better for North Mumbai hotels
THOUGH the hotels in South Mumbai, in particular the Taj Mahal Hotel and the Hilton Towers, enjoy a strong brand image, the bunch of new hotels that have sprung up in the North of the island city continue to register better occupancy rates and ... More

PETROLEUM
Oil industry suffers Rs 500-crore loss in January-April
THE oil industry in the country suffered a loss of Rs 500 crore during January-April 2004 as petroleum companies were unable to hike the selling price of petrol and diesel in tandem with increase in crude prices. The loss does not include the ... More

Costly ride
A petrol bunk worker fills the tank of a two-wheeler in Kochi on Wednesday. Despite the high cost of petrol, consumption increased by 9 per cent in the State last fiscal. The prices of petroleum products are likely to be raised after a new ... More

PLASTICS
Plastic cos to lobby against cheap imports
EVEN as the new Government at the Centre begins to take shape, the plastics lobby is planning to harness the enhanced strength of the Left MPs in the Lok Sabha to press for some of their pending issues. According to sources, one of the first ... More

POWER
Tata Power buys from MSEB to restore supply to Mumbai
SEVERAL parts of Mumbai experienced a major power failure and suburban train services were disrupted last night after Tata Power's Trombay generation unit tripped following "stormy weather and lightning". Train services were disrupted along the ... More

TAXATION
`SC ruling points to service tax on finance cos'
FINANCE companies may be liable to pay service tax on their business because a recent Supreme Court judgment on the subject opened the door to such an eventuality, said Mr N. Prasad, an advocate, today. Mr Prasad addressed members of the South ... More

SSI
Madurai hosting buyer-seller meet on June 3, 4
THE Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association is organising a buyer-seller meet here at Maditssia hall on June 3 and 4. Around 25 leading undertakings from both public and private sectors will take part in the meet along with ... More

WATER
Depth of despair
A borewell being drilled in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Unregulated drilling of borewells is contributing to the depletion of groundwater reserves.

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BREWERIES
`Wet summer' in South may dampen the spirit of beer
BEER majors expect peak summer consumption to slow down on account of widespread pre-monsoon showers in peninsular India during recent weeks. According to industry information, retail sales of beer slackened in the initial weeks of May as ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
India Inc hails Manmohan's appointment as PM
INDIA Inc. today welcomed the appointment of Dr Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister. While respecting and applauding the decision made by Mrs Sonia Gandhi to step aside, the Director General (Designate) of the Confederation of Indian Industry ... More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
Kerala rules out FDI in coffee, rubber sectors
THE State Government has decided against allowing foreign investment in coffee and rubber plantations in the State. Speaking to newspersons on the decisions taken at a meeting of the Cabinet of the Council of Ministers, the Chief Minister, Mr ... More

EVENTS

ENTREPRENEURSHIP
SBI seeks help in training business loan beneficiaries
STATE Bank of India (SBI) has sought the cooperation of the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) and the Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of Andhra Pradesh (ALEAP) for sanctioning loans and giving training to entrepreneurs, particularly ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Manufactured goods prop up exports
THE 14.01 per cent growth the country's exports logged during the first ten months of the 2003-04 fiscal (April 2003 to January 2004) was largely driven by manufactured goods - chemicals and related products, gems and jewellery, engineering ... More

CO-OPERATIVES
Politicisation cripples co-operative sector in Kerala
UNBRIDLED politicisation, too much reliance on government funds and a gradual shift in emphasis to being other types of developmental agencies have been found to limit the scope for growth of the co-operative sector in Kerala. These go to ... More

TOURISM
Hyderabad to get `tourism friendly'
IF tourism is the buzzword for all and sundry, can the `paan-chewing, rugged' Hyderabadi autowallah be left behind? Soon, you will see an army of auto drivers sporting a smile on their faces and `Tourism-friendly auto driver' badges on their ... More

New package from Tourism Malaysia
TOURISM Malaysia, the nodal agency to promote tourism to Malaysia, has announced the launch of a six-day five-night package covering Malaysia and Myanmar. In a statement, Tourism Malaysia has said that a passenger will have to pay Rs 19,999 for ... More