The Hindu Business Line : Friday, June 25, 2004

FARM CREDIT
Banks to double farm credit in Kerala
BANKS will double agricultural credit disbursements in Kerala within the next three years. As a first step, the agricultural lending will be raised by 30 per cent during the current financial year. To work out the exact modalities of the ... More

Banks told to implement farm credit package
THE Reserve Bank of India has directed all commercial banks to abide by the recent measures announced by the Finance Minister for improving the flow of credit to agriculture. In a circular issued to the chiefs of all commercial banks, the apex ... More

RBI announces new NPA norms for crop loans
IN order to align the repayment dates with harvesting of crops, the RBI has decided that with effect from September 30, 2004 the recently announced revised NPA recognition norms will be applicable to all direct agricultural advances. As per the ... More

CULTIVATION
Gujarat farmers betting on cotton, groundnut
The Department of Agriculture, Gujarat has set a sowing target of 88 lakh hectares for the current kharif season as against 86 lakh hectares over previous season, up by 2 lakh hectares. Sowing for various kharif crops in the State such as ... More

PLANTATIONS
Diversification of crops — TN plantation sector seeks land reforms Act change
THE plantation sector is seeking an amendment to the Tamil Nadu Land Reforms (Fixation of Ceiling on Land) Act, 1961 to facilitate diversification of plantation crops to a certain extent and thereby avert any deeper financial crisis in existing ... More

RUBBER
Core panel to look into rubber sector issues
A CORE group comprising representatives of rubber consuming industries, producers and processors has been set up to resolve current issues prevailing in the rubber sector. This 15-member committee was formed at a meeting organised by the ... More

Sales put pressure on sheet rubber
SPOT rubber prices showed a mixed trend on Thursday. Selling from traders and growers put pressure on sheet rubber prices, which lost 50 paise to close at Rs 66 as against Rs 66.50 on Wednesday. Covering groups and purchase agents kept a low ... More

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Gold may head higher
GOLD prices were unchanged on Wednesday with the trading range moving slightly higher amid uncertainty over the US Fed's expected monetary tightening initiative at the end of the month, which coincides with half-year end. The dollar is not ... More

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Tata Tea posts Rs 91.53-cr PAT
TATA Tea Ltd (TTL) today reported a profit after tax of Rs 91.53 crore for the year ended March 31, 2004 as against the previous corresponding Rs 70.60 crore. Income from operations was Rs 782.68 crore (Rs 755.60 crore for the year ago ... More

COTTON
Now, a cotton that can grow in spring
CULTIVATION of spring-summer cotton varieties may soon be a reality in the country, with the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) successfully testing out genotypes that yield up to two tonnes of kapas (seed cotton) per hectare sans any ... More

COFFEE
Continental Coffee to set up freeze-dried plant in Guntur
CONTINENTAL Coffee Products (India) Ltd will set up a freeze-dried coffee plant at Duggirala in Guntur district at a cost of Rs 125 crore. Mr C. Rajendra Prasad, Managing Director of the company, who led a delegation from Denmark and the UK, ... More

POULTRY
Godrej Agro to set up poultry biz in Bangladesh
GODREJ Agrovet Ltd has entered into a 50:50 joint venture with Advanced Chemical Industries Ltd, Bangladesh, to set up animal feed and poultry businesses in Bangladesh. The joint venture has been named ACI Godrej Agrovet Pvt Ltd. It will set ... More

B.V. Rao in poultry hall of fame
HYDERABAD: The World's Poultry Science Association (WPSA) has posthumously honoured Dr. B. V. Rao, the founder of Venkateshwara Hatcheries group, by electing him to the International Poultry Hall of Fame at the recently concluded XXII ... More

SPICES & CONDIMENTS
Cloves from Pakistan detained; Spices Board finds tax evasion
SOME of India's neighbours are of late exporting several commodities to the country despite being net importers of the items. For instance, Pakistan now exports cloves of which it is a net importer, as it is not grown in that country at ... More