The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, September 18, 2004

LOTTERY
`No change in lotteries policy'
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Finance Minister, Mr Vakkom Purushothaman, has made it clear that the State Government would stand firm on its policy with respect to dealing with private lottery operators. Speaking to newspersons here, Mr ... More

ECONOMY
Cabinet clears DA hike for Govt staff
THE Cabinet today approved a three-percentage point increase of dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief to Central Government employees and pensioners respectively. Thus the rate of DA from July 11 will be 14 per cent, up from the existing ... More

Manufacturing competitiveness council okayed
THE Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved the setting up of a National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) to energise and sustain the growth of the manufacturing sector. This is part of the proposals put forward in ... More

Inflation declines on cheaper oilseeds, poultry
THE annual wholesale price-based inflation rate eased to 7.81 per cent for the week ended September 4, from a four-year high of 8.33 per cent during the previous week, largely due to a higher base effect. According to the data released by the ... More

ENVIRONMENT
`Man-made chemicals are major cause for ozone depletion'
THE one-day workshop on `Protection of the ozone layer,' organised by the CII-Kerala and the Kerala State Council for Science Technology and Environment (KSCSTE), has called for a holistic approach needed for ozone preservation. Mr R. ... More

Sea scourge drifts southward; puts coastal residents in a tizzy
THE `red tide bloom' of toxic plankton that feeds on sewage, fertiliser and pet waste dumped into the sea invaded the Thiruvananthapuram shoreline on Friday, triggering a public health scare along the coastline. More than 100 children from ... More

It's an eco-friendly Ganesh Chathurthi this time in Karnataka
THIS year's Ganesh Chaturthi may be the right day for Bangaloreans to start showing they care for their lakes and wells. An eco-drive of all hues has been in top gear and topping them all is an initiative to make the city's dying water bodies ... More

Recycled beauty
A view of the artificial lake in the verdant Tata Motors' facility at Pimpri-Chinchwad in Pune. Tata Motors' facility spans more than 1,000 acres and the lake, which was developed in the 1970s, is replenished by recycled waste-water from the ... More

Directive on houseboats in Kerala
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Lok Ayukta has directed the State Pollution Control Board, Alappuzha, that clearance certificates be provided to houseboats operating in the Punnamada backwaters only after ensuring that they would not discharge ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
British envoy sees scope for IT, tourism ties with Kerala
KERALA and the UK can work together in a number of areas including information technology (IT), education and tourism, said Sir Michael Arthur, the British High Commissioner to India. In tourism, for instance, approximately 400,000 people from ... More

Thailand trade expo begins in Hyderabad
Thailand has started a three-day trade fair here on Friday. The exhibition, organised by the Thai Trade Centre, a representative department of export promotion (DEP) of Thailand, was inaugurated by the Andhra Pradesh Governor, Mr Surjit Singh ... More

HEALTH
Hyderabad emerging global centre for orthopaedics too
HYDERABAD has successfully attracted the global attention for its medical capabilities in the areas of complex heart and liver surgeries. It is slowly gearing up to achieve similar distinctions in the area of critical orthopaedic surgeries, ... More

`Govt likely to come out with law on AIDS control'
THE Union Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation, Mr Oscar Fernandes, said the Union Government is likely to come out with a legislation on AIDS control in a year. Addressing newspersons in Udupi on Friday, he said the ... More

Novartis launches Otrivin-O spray
MUMBAI: Novartis Consumer Health Sector, part of Novartis' operations in India, has introduced Otrivin-O, a nasal decongestant in a direct acting spray format. Otrivin-O will be available over-the-counter (OTC) at chemist stores, a ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE
Trans-Asian rail: BIMSTEC Members' meet on Monday
WORK is in progress on the Trans-Asian Railway project, which aims at establishing a rail link between European and Asian countries, including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Iran, Cambodia, Thailand, China and Bulgaria. Some of these countries, ... More

Kerala: More industrial parks in offing
AS part of its one-year action plan, the State Government will look at setting up industrial parks in districts that currently do not have such units, the Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, said. The Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development ... More

AP assurance on fab facility
HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh Government's efforts to establish a fab foundry to support the semiconductor industry, took another step forward, with the interactions of a Korean entrepreneur, Dr June Min with the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. ... More

PSU
`ERC prescription to be debated'
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Industries Minister, Mr P. K. Kunhalikkutty, has clarified that the Opposition and the trade unions would be taken into confidence before committing any decision on the recommendations made by the Enterprise Reforms ... More

PETROLEUM
Ministry advises ONGC against MoUs with States
THE Petroleum Ministry has advised the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation against entering into a memorandum of understanding with State Governments and "raising their expectations." In a recent letter to the ONGC Chairman and Managing Director, ... More

That long wait
Consumers queuing up to get LPG refills in front of an outlet in Mahalakshmi Puram in Bangalore on the eve of Ganesh Chaturthi. A change in government policy has resulted in shortage of gas cylinders across the country, which in turn has seen ... More

POWER
KSEB awaits Centre's nod for new projects
THE Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) is awaiting Central clearance for a host of new hydel projects with a total installed capacity of 403 MW. The projects awaiting either environmental or forest clearance, or both, from the Union ... More

`Jharkhand, Bihar, Bengal power plants worst performers'
POWER plants in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and those run by the National Thermal Power Corporation have emerged as among the best performing generating stations during 2003-04, according to a study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and ... More

STEEL
Rlys urges SAIL to speed up coking coal evacuation from east coast ports
The Railways, it is learnt, is prepared to offer even an additional 140 rakes or so during the remainder of the month. More

TAXATION
`Simplified tax laws must to boost investments, capital'
To achieve greater clarity with respect to legislation affecting the international practices, the FICCI is holding a conference in November. More

AIMTC boycotts meeting of Ministry appointed panel
THE committee appointed by the Finance Ministry to suggest a mechanism for collection and payment of service tax on goods transport agencies met for the first time here on Friday even as the representatives of the protesting All-India Motor ... More

TEXTILES
Venkataswamy re-elected SIMA Chairman
MR Vijay Venkataswamy has been re-elected Chairman of the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) for the year 2004-05. A committee member of the Indian Cotton Mills Federation and Texprocil, Mr Venkataswamy is the Managing Director of Van Tex ... More

SIMA gears up for textile processing park
THE predominantly spinners apex textile body, the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) here, seems to have finally decided to drape a new garb and add colour and range to the product-mix of its members-mills. The nearly five-decade old SIMA ... More

RADIO/TV
No broadcaster meets BCCI's criteria: HC
THE Bombay High Court on Friday observed that neither Zee Telefilms nor ESPN-Star Sports would qualify to bag the telecast rights they are contending for, if the conditions of the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) tender were ... More

Radio Mirchi to charge advertisers at 1-second pulse rate
FM station Radio Mirchi announced that henceforth, it would charge advertisers on a one-second-rate pulse against the "industry norm of five-second pulse, with a minimum duration of 10 seconds." Mirchi's press release says the current norm ... More

EDUCATION
CII meet on engg colleges in Bangalore
BANGALORE: The Confederation of Indian Industry - Institute of Quality, Bangalore in association with Visveswaraiah Technological University, Belgaum is organising a two-day programme on `Building competitiveness in engineering ... More

Mother Teresa varsity to offer textile management course
THE Mother Teresa University is to launch an advanced three-month course in textile management for women MBA graduates soon. According to the Vice-Chancellor, Dr Anandavalli Mahadevan, the course will be imparted in association with the Textile ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
DDA offers residential plots for NRIs, PIOs
NEW DELHI: In line with guidelines approved by the Reserve Bank of India under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has announced that Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Persons of Indian Origins ... More

LEATHER
Calcutta Leather Complex power supply snapped
THE delay in commencing operations at the Calcutta Leather Complex is leading to all sorts of problems, one of them being the snapping of power supply to the build-operate-transfer agent, ML Dalmiya and Co.The company has declined to foot the ... More

KNITWEAR & HOSIERY
Tirupur knit fair to open on Oct. 6
THE knitwear fair for the autumn/winter/mid-summer collection 2005, the 19th edition under the India Knit Fair banner, will open on October 6. The three-day international fair will be inaugurated by the Secretary, Union Ministry of Textiles, ... More

MINING & QUARRYING
Global majors to take part in mining summit
In view of the fact that proper development of the minerals and mining sector plays a crucial role in promoting the country's economic growth, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has decided to make an all-out effort to make the 7th ... More

MINERALS
CCEA okays higher rates of royalty on minerals — States to benefit
THE Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Friday approved the revised rates of royalty on minerals as also the rates of dead rent. As a result, total royalty accruing to the 22 major mineral bearing States is slated to go up by over 11 per ... More

SOCIAL WELFARE
Rationing out
The scene at a PDS (public distribution system) outlet in Thrissur city. The PDS in Kerala is on the verge of closure, with the Central allotment of rice for the below-poverty-line sections gradually being withdrawn. Ration dealers allege that ... More

EVENTS
Tatas to sponsor `Confluence' fest
THE Tata group has committed to be the chief sponsor of Confluence 2004, the annual festival of business schools being organised by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, next month. Starting from humble beginnings in 1999, ... More

Seminar on development in Thrissur
A TWO-DAY national seminar on `Planning and development' will be inaugurated in Thrissur on October 2 by Mr K R Narayanan, former President of India. The former Governor of Reserve Bank of India, Dr Bimal Jalan, and the Director of London ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Tariff rate cut: Relief to vegoil importers
The revision in base price has come a little too late as kharif oilseed arrivals have already begun. More

Exports rise 28 pc in Aug at $562 m
CONTINUING its buoyant trend of the past months, the country's exports logged a growth of 28.13 per cent in dollar terms at $562.53 million in August, with the cumulative export growth running at 26.08 per cent during the first five months of ... More

TOURISM
India ranked 6 in top 10 destinations
THE Conde Nast Traveller UK magazine has ranked India number six among the top ten destinations in its Annual Readers' Travel Awards 2004. The country's ranking moved up three slots from number nine last year. Mediascope Publicitas represents ... More