The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, July 14, 2004

CLIMATE & WEATHER
Low-pressure holds key to monsoon revival
A `feeble low' taking shape over the Bay of Bengal on Tuesday holds key to the revival of the southwest monsoon, which has been following an erratic course in the northern parts of the country during the past two weeks. The evolving ... More

Grasim to cut output on monsoon delay
ALARM bells have begun tinkling if not ringing as rains stay away from a large tract of central India for the second week into what should have been a drenched July. Grasim Industries on Tuesday informed the stock exchanges that delay in the ... More

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY
Bio-diesel plantation in RangaReddy dist
HYDERBAD: RangaReddy district has been selected for bio-diesel plantation. At the initial stage, plantations on 10,000 hectares of government land will be taken up on trial basis to instill confidence among the farmers. The Minister for ... More

AUTOMOBILES
Car sales up 25 pc in June
WITH sales of the top three carmakers — Maruti, Hyundai and Tata Motors — in top gear last month, total car sales jumped 25 per cent in June 2004 over the same month last year. A total of 65,046 units were sold in the review month ... More

BUDGET
Brokers propose income-based transaction tax
REPRESENTATIVES of the broking community on Tuesday shared their cup of woes on the proposed 0.15 per cent securities transaction tax with the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, and suggested that the burden of taxation on the different players ... More

Response to day traders' strike call lukewarm
THE trading volume was affected marginally on stock exchanges on Tuesday as a section of day traders refrained from active trading. The response to the strike call was lukewarm as several traders returned to the market, brokers said. Brokers ... More

Service tax on commodity futures — Govt may get Rs 120 cr from broking fees
THE Government is likely to mobilise no less than Rs 120 crore per annum by way of service tax on the amount of broking fees to be charged from commodity brokers. The commodity brokers who deal in futures trading through various commodity ... More

Budget proposal to help value-added chicken units
THE lowering of excise duty from 16 per cent to 8 per cent for poultry announced in the Union Budget for 2004-05 may not directly benefit either the poultry farmers or the commercial layer/broiler producers unless they are into the production of ... More

Rumblings in shipping sector over tonnage tax clause
A section of the industry is of the view that the `plough-back' clause should have been obligatory, not mandatory. More

Hyderabad Goods transporters oppose service tax
THE Hyderabad Goods Transport Association has criticised the Union Government's move to impose Service Tax on goods booking agents. Terming the move unjustifiable and unwarranted, the association said it was a backdoor entry that might lead to ... More

ECONOMY
`Indians have optimistic attitude towards retirement'
INDIANS are in many ways an exceptional lot when it comes to planning for retirement, an international review of financial well-being by Principal Financial, the US-based retirement and investment services specialists, has indicated. Most ... More

ENVIRONMENT
Kalam to inaugurate Green Business Centre today
THE President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, will formally inaugurate the Rs 10-crore CII-Sohrabji Green Business Centre here on Wednesday. Set up jointly by the State Government, the house of Godrej, CII and USAID, the GBC promotes green building ... More

Paving the way for dust-free Ahmedabad
A UNIQUE project being envisaged by the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC), in association with a non-government organisation, has set its eyes on turning the most polluted city in the country into a `minimum dust zone.' The AMC has roped ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
Bilateral trade with China may touch $10 b this year
INDIA-China bilateral trade is expected to touch $10 billion by this year-end, from $7.9 billion achieved in 2003, and tremendous opportunities exist in not just enhancing bilateral trade, but also for exploring investment opportunities, joint ... More

Victorian team holds talks with Industry Minister
A VESTING delegation of the Victorian Employers' Chamber of Commerce (VECC) led by the Province's Minister for Agriculture, Mr Bob Cameron, held talks with the Karnataka Industry Minister, Mr P.G.R. Sindhia, and industry representatives here to ... More

HEALTH
Kick-start for rural hospitals a non-starter?
WILL corporate hospitals bite the Union Finance Minister, Mr P.Chidambaram's tax-bait and set up more hospitals in rural areas? Or does the bait come wrapped in some hard facts? Despite lauding Budget 2004-05's vision to set up more hospitals ... More

Rare immuno therapy for bone marrow
CITY-based Global Hospitals has conducted a rare immuno therapy on a youth suffering from bone marrow failure, considered to be a life-threatening condition. Dr Nalini Kant Pati, hemato-oncologist of the hospital, administered ATG (anti ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE
Aid for convention centre in Kerala
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Union Minister of State for Tourism, Ms Renuka Chowdhury, has said that the State Government's proposal for financial assistance for construction of a "modest convention centre" can be considered under the scheme of ... More

PETROLEUM
Petroleum products sales flat in June
PETROLEUM products' sales showed a flat growth rate of 1 per cent in June 2004 compared to a 6.2 pr cent growth in the same period last year. According to officials of oil PSUs, the dip in sales may have been the result of an increase in prices ... More

Oil cos asked to work out subsidised diesel scheme for farmers
THE Petroleum Minister, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, has asked the public sector oil marketing companies to study the possibility of providing diesel to farmers using diesel-fuelled pump sets and fishermen using boats powered by diesel motors. In a ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS
Ranbaxy tops in image recall: Study
PHARMA companies may have been left out in the cold by Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram's recent Budget. But they certainly have a good recall in the minds of consumers, of the medical and non-medical variety, according to a ... More

POWER
Rs 200-cr monsoon bonanza for KSEB
As the monsoon has weakened in July, there is some anxiety. All the small hydel projects are operated round the clock now to avoid spillage from the reservoirs. More

Bidadi gas supply bidders told to match NTPC stations' terms
GAS supply bidders for the 1,400-MW Bidadi gas power station have been asked to match the supply terms extended to the Gandhar and Kawas stations of National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. Sources said the Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd ... More

STEEL
DEPB benefits restored for steel items
THE Government has revoked the Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) scheme for steel items that was suspended in late February by the erstwhile NDA Government aiming at controlling spiralling steel prices. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade ... More

TEXTILES
India, Bangladesh to boost ties in textile sector
INDIA and Bangladesh have explored the idea of forming strategic alliances in the textile sector as to fully realise the potential in the post-MFA (multifibre arrangement) scenario from January 1, 2005. This was hinted at a meeting between Mr ... More

WATER
Punjab issue: PM calls CMs for meet on water dispute
Both Haryana and Rajasthan have announced they would take legal recourse against Punjab's action. More

CIGARETTES
Govt defends leaving cigarette customs duty unchanged
THE Finance Ministry has justified its decision to retain basic customs duty on cigarettes at the current level of 30 per cent, stating that any upward revision in the duty would not have been in the interest of the domestic industry. In the ... More

PERSONAL PRODUCTS
Budget brings relief to cosmetics, shampoo cos
MR P. Chidambaram has brought immense cheer to manufacturers of cosmetics, shampoo, toothpaste and pharmaceuticals by sharply reducing customs duty on certain raw material and setting right an anomaly. Customs duty on non-edible grade ... More

RADIO/TV
FM transmitters for Kerala
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a Chennai-based company, Silicon Valley Corporation, for installing a string of FM radio transmitters to broadcast educational programmes based on ... More

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS
Metropolis ropes in hospitals to tap global clinical trials business
METROPOLIS Health Services, a chain of diagnostic centres, has reached a formal understanding with two hospitals in Chennai and Bangalore to jointly hunt for overseas clinical trials business. The understanding is meant to pool infrastructure to ... More

SMALL SAVINGS
Decision on EPF interest rate deferred again
THE crucial meeting of the Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) held here on Tuesday to finalise the rate of interest payable on EPF deposits for the current financial year ended inconclusive with ... More

IPR
Govt urged to sort out ambiguities in patents Bill
AS the new Government prepares to introduce the Patents Third Amendment Bill in Parliament - a report from the Peoples' Commission on Patent Laws has urged the Government to sort out ambiguities present in the Bill, in its present form. ... More

EVENTS
Global Malayalee meet in Bahrain from Aug 18-21
KOTTAYAM: The global conference of the World Malayalee Council will be held at the `Bahrain Conference Centre' in Bahrain from 18 to 21 August, 2004. About 1,000 delegates from different parts of the world are expected to take part in the ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
TCS retains top slot in software, service exports
MAINTAINING its lead over other IT players, Tata Consultancy Services emerged as the top software and service exporter from India in 2003-04 with an export revenue of Rs 5,503 crore, followed by Infosys Technologies and Wipro, according to ... More

ECONOMIC OFFENCES
Fake document scam busted in Kadapa
STATE Police in Kadapa district have seized 19 vehicles of different make worth over Rs 2 crore and arrested a gang, which was involved in producing fake documents and obtaining loans from banks and financial institutions. Stating that 9 ... More