The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, June 17, 2004

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY
Focus on biomass conversion in Kerla
WITH abundant availability of biomass in the State, its increased utilisation for thermal and power applications in a more organised way is one of the priority areas for the planners in Kerala. The immediate thrust is for popularising ... More

BUDGET
Tax sops for broadband cos sought
TELECOM industry has demanded that companies offering broadband services should be exempt from income tax for a period of 10 years in line with the policy being followed for other infrastructure facilities. The Associated Chambers of Commerce ... More

No new taxes: Rosaiah
THE State Government has reiterated that it will not levy any new taxes in the upcoming Budget, notwithstanding the poor financial situation. Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, the Finance Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, said the ... More

ECONOMY
Montek appointed Deputy Chairman of Plan panel
THE Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has reconstituted the Planning Commission with Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia as the Deputy Chairman, an official statement said here today. Other members of the Commission are Dr Kirit Parekh, former Director ... More

Riches concentrated among 61,000 high net worth individuals: Study
THE distribution of wealth in the country is heavily imbalanced. A major part of it is concentrated in the hands of a few ten thousand elite. There are 61,000 high net worth individuals (HNI) in India with total wealth as high as $267 billion or ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
Shifting of service operations abroad — India, favourite spot for European cos
ACCORDING to the latest survey published by the Geneva-based United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCAD), more European companies are following their US counterparts in shifting service operations abroad. The survey has been ... More

`Bureaucratic hassles, big problem for global investors'
"INDIA should try to make life easier for the businessmen." Not major policy issues but bureaucratic hassles were a problem for international investors, according to Mr Jacques Derron, of the Swiss Embassy. In his regular interactions with ... More

`US cos facing hurdles in doing business with India'
THE US Consul General in Kolkata, Mr George N. Sibley, has enumerated the impediments faced by US companies and agencies when they seek to do business with their Indian counterparts. Speaking at the Export Summit organised here by the ... More

Pak team signs MoU with Chemexcil
A DELEGATION of businessmen from Pakistan is here to scout for business opportunities with Indian companies and has just signed a memorandum of understanding with Chemexcil (Basic Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals & Cosmetics Export Promotion Council). More

PETROLEUM
Kerala Chambers voice conern over hike in fuel prices
THE petrol and diesel price hike will severely impact Kerala as the transportation cost of essential items and raw material for industries will go up, leading business chambers here have said. "Due to frequent power failures, which sometimes ... More

POWER
CEA report favours REL, says Tata Power
TATA Power Company has alleged that the Central Electricity Authority report, based on which the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) rejected its claim that Reliance Energy Ltd (REL) should equally share standby charges with it, ... More

Satluj Jal Vidyut set to expand capacity
SATLUJ Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd (SJVN), a joint venture between the Centre and the Himachal Pradesh Government, is looking at setting up 2,500 MW capacity in the next five years. Addressing a press conference here today, the Chairman and Managing ... More

Reinsurance premiums may turn soft for power sector
INSURANCE renewals for the energy sector are expected to become cheaper with the retreat in reinsurance premiums worldwide. Sources said here that reinsurance rates for the energy sector was down by at least 25 per cent. Currently, premiums ... More

STEEL
Steel regulatory authority — It's consumers' proposal, says Paswan
THE Union Steel Minister, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, has clarified that he has not conceived of the proposed steel regulatory authority, but that the idea has been mooted by the consumers and his Ministry is only acting on the proposal mooted by ... More

Coal price hike to hit steel industry: ISA
THE Indian Steel Alliance (ISA) said the upward revision in coal prices by Coal India Ltd would have an adverse impact on the steel industry as a whole. ``The prices of raw material, which goes into making of steel, specially coking coal and ... More

TAXATION
VAT compensation kitty for States may be tightened
THE Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, is likely to drive a hard bargain with States on the issue of compensating them for any possible revenue loss arising from their transition to the proposed value added tax (VAT) regime. The Centre is, ... More

TYRES
Tyre exports by ATMA members rise 8.59%
TYRE exports by member companies of the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association (ATMA) registered an 8.59-per cent increase in value terms during 2003-04 to Rs 1,176 crore compared with Rs 1,082 crore recorded in the previous year. The ... More

PERSONAL PRODUCTS
`Unrealistic pricing cause for FMCG sector woes'
AFTER a massive slowdown in the FMCG sector last year, the Dabur India Chairman, Mr V.C. Burman, hopes that second consecutive good monsoon forecast for this year will change the industry's fortunes. He says two consecutive years of good rains ... More

RADIO/TV
ESPN-Star bags global rights to telecast Asia Cup
ASIAN Cricket Council (ACC), the apex body for management of cricket in Asia has awarded the worldwide rights for telecasting the eighth Asia Cup to ESPN-Star Sports. The rights include global exclusive television broadcast of the ... More

EDUCATION
NIEM centre opened in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: National Institute of Event Management (NIEM) has opened a centre in Hyderabad. It will offer courses to train qualified workforce for the event management and entertainment industry. Dr Hoshi Bhiwandiwalla, Dean of NIEM, said ... More

HCV/LCV/TRACTORS
`Multi axle CVs, tractor trailers gaining ground'
INDIA is now the fifth largest market in the world for multi axle commercial vehicles and tractor-trailers. In its 2003-04 annual report, Tata Motors said, "The shift that had been noticed towards multi axle vehicles (MAVs) and tractor-trailers ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
DRDL to develop Astra missile
INDIAN defence scientists have embarked on a Rs 1,000-crore national project to develop Astra — the beyond visual range (BVR) class of missile that would be capable of beating radar eyes and hitting enemy targets located at ranges up to 80 ... More

EVENTS

In Hyderabad today

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Grain trade moots China approach on exports
TO export or not. Currently, this is the dilemma faced by foodgrain exporters. But a section of the trade feels that it would be better to adopt the Chinese policy. ``China has a foodgrain policy that cannot be termed a bad idea. Export ... More