The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, September 28, 2004

CLIMATE & WEATHER
Monsoon seen ending 12 pc below normal
THE wagging tail of monsoon is creating quite a splash in the peninsula — but just not enough to cover the crucial July deficit, forcing the India Meteorological Department (IMD) to scale down the end-season performance to around 12 per ... More

CEMENT
Experts call for ban on asbestos
TOP international environment consultants have called upon the Union Government to act fast on restricting, if not imposing a total ban on the use of asbestos and its products, which have been proved to be highly carcinogenic, leading to ... More

ECONOMY
GDP expected to grow by 6-7 pc, says Lahiri
THE gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by between 6-7 per cent in the current fiscal (2004-05), a top Finance Ministry official has said. The country's GDP expanded by 8.2 per cent last fiscal. Speaking at a panel discussion on ... More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS
Jayasimha Babu is new CESTAT President
THE Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) is to have a new President in Mr Justice R. Jayasimha Babu. Mr Justice Babu, a former Judge of the Madras High Court, would come in the place of Ms Justice K.K. Usha, who retired ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
`Indian Inc keen on investing in France'
DOES India Inc prefer France as an investment destination? According to a French Government-sponsored study, Indian pharma, IT and automobile firms have shown interest in investing in France. The study conducted by the Mumbai-based Mega Ace ... More

Malaysia in talks with India on FTA
MALAYSIA is leading the on-going negotiations with India on the ASEAN-India Free Trade Area, which is expected to cover trade in goods, services and investment, according to Mr Datuk Merlyn Kasimir, Chief Executive, Matrade (Malaysia External ... More

`Wholesale, retail biz will be new areas for investment in China'
INDUSTRY bodies should highlight areas in which they have competitive strength to export to China. The absence of variety and value addition in Indian exports to China is of concern, according to Mr Vinay Kwatra, Counsellor (Economics and ... More

`BSF stand hampering exports to Bangladesh'
THE country's exports to Bangladesh through the Hili land border in North Bengal, which now average around Rs 270 crore annually, are now seriously threatened by the problems exporters are facing through "overzealous" BSF personnel at Hili, says ... More

Kerala: Official delegation for Italy
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A four-member State Government delegation, led by the Industries Minister, Mr P.K. Kunhalikkutty, has left Kozhikode for Italy to discuss business with leading cluster industrialists in the textile-furniture sector ... More

HEALTH
Network for nurses in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: A network for nurses, to promote specialised training has been established, with active support from Share Health Care & MediCiti Health Care Services Pvt Ltd, here. Called `Neon Nursing Network Pvt Ltd' (NNPL), the network ... More

PETROLEUM
`No OPEC decision yet on crude output hike'
THE Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has not yet taken a decision to further increase output to bring down skyrocketing oil prices which an OPEC member state official says is purely market driven due to speculation in the oil ... More

MRPL to invest Rs 200 cr for Euro IV facilities
"The project target is 2007. MRPL is supposed to be the first refinery in the country to meet Euro IV standards." More

PHARMACEUTICALS
EIA sought for each unit in pharma city
`There was every reason to fear that the Bay of Bengal will be used as a dumping ground for toxic substances by the bulk drug industry.' More

POWER
NTPC advice to investors: Read risk factors
Since NTPC does not have significant experience in the new businesses, it is not in a position to assure prospective investors as to the timing and amount of any return or benefits that may be received from the new businesses and any other new busine sses the corporation may enter into. More

STEEL
ISA asks Govt for `reasonable protection'
THE Indian Steel Alliance (ISA) has urged the Government to ensure availability of quality raw materials such as iron ore and coke for the steel manufacturers, as well as protect the domestic industry from foreign competition. The ISA has said ... More

VSP certification extended
VISAKHAPATNAM: The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant has been recertified to ISO-14001 (environmental management systems) for another three years. Originally, the plant was given the certification in 2001. The certificate was presented by Mr ... More

TAXATION
Invoke Article 307 to facilitate authority for VAT: Assocham
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has suggested invocation of Article 307 of the Constitution for setting up of an independent constitutional authority for enforcing the concept of `common market' and ... More

Kerala imposes luxury tax on houseboats
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government has issued a notification bringing houseboats under the luxury tax regime. The notification stipulated that all houseboats offering stay and luxury cruise facilities should register themselves ... More

TEXTILES
`Textile industry may regain glory soon'
THE cotton textile sector is poised to improve its performance in the coming months, thanks to the integration of the global textile trade into the GATT regime and also measures taken by the Government like removal of the excise duty structure, ... More

Trade union power wearing thin — Deunionisation at textile mills
DEUNIONISATION that has set in the traditional textile belt of Coimbatore in recent years has proved to be a formidable challenge for established workers trade unions in making their voice heard on issues of collective bargaining with mill ... More

Expediting bonus process
A DISTRICT level joint action committee of the major textile workers (JAC) is meeting here on September 29 when the issue of framing the demand on payment of bonus for the mill workers for the 2003-04 would be discussed, the trade unions sources ... More

Karur textile exporters upset with DEPB cut
THE cotton textile exporters of Karur have said that the lowering of duty entitlement pass book (DEPB) scheme rates announced by the Centre may cause a ripple effect, leading to the shrinkage of textile exports. Textile exporters quote their ... More

Office-bearers re-elected for AP Spinning Mills Association
HYDERABAD: Mr R.K. Agarwal, Managing Director, Suryajyoti Spinning Mills, has been re-elected as the Chairman of the Andhra Pradesh Spinning Mills Association, at the annual general meeting held at Guntur on September 25. Mr N. Raghava ... More

WATER
Dutch firm develops eco-friendly water purification system
WITH access to safe drinking water becoming a critical issue in countries such as India, a Holland-based company has developed what could be an affordable and environment-friendly solution. Solar Dew BV, part of the Akzo Nobel group, has ... More

BREWERIES
Kerala likely to review turnover tax on IMFL
THE Kerala Government is likely to review the 10 per cent turnover tax on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) to provide relief to the industry, which is reeling under cost pressure due to unprecedented rise in the prices of rectified spirit (RS) ... More

PERSONAL PRODUCTS
Gillette says fake products seized in New Delhi
GILLETTE India said counterfeit goods worth Rs 10 lakh were seized from a city operator on Sunday evening after a raid conducted by the Delhi Police. The company said in a statement "The illicit trade of counterfeit, refilled and grey ... More

RADIO/TV
Zee, ESPN eye Australian series
BOTH Zee Telefilms and ESPN Software are trying to bag the telecast rights of the Australian tour of India commencing on October 6 and have made separate proposals to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Zee Telefilms, in a letter ... More

CINEMA
TN announces sops for film industry
Low budget films with "good themes useful for social mobilisation and propagating good values" will qualify for entertainment tax exemption. More

SOCIAL WELFARE
PMRY cut-off deadline extended
THE Government extended the cut-off date for the completion of the disbursement programme under the Prime Minister Rozgar Yojna to November 15. The current cut-off date of September 30 has been extended due to a large number of cases remaining ... More

INTERVIEW
`We do not want foreign funds to take us over'
THE Left parties have occupied centrestage during the past four months since the United Progressive Alliance Government came to power. Not a day passes by without the markets and (a few industrialists) trembling at one more pronouncement from ... More

EVENTS
Summit on biometric tech in Singapore
BIOMETRIC technologies, where biological properties are used to identify individuals, will be discussed at `Global Entrepolis @ Singapore 2004.' Touted to be the first-ever summit in Asia featuring the world's leading biometric technologies, ... More

In Hyderabad today

TOURISM
Eveready Industries plans tourism foray
"Nothing has been finalised, but we have surplus property in those regions which have a good potential for becoming tourism spots." More

Kerala Tourism offers `Heritage walk'
KERALA Tourism has introduced `Fortunes of Travancore', a heritage walk through Thiruvananthapuram's `Fort' area. The tour was formally launched today as part of the World Tourism Day celebrations, by Mr K.C. Venugopal, Minister for Tourism ... More

`TN must be projected as all-season tourist spot'
THE inherent potential of Tamil Nadu to be an all-season tourism destination for foreigners is well realised and this needs to be showcased and aggressively marketed, said the Commissioner for Tourism and the Managing Director of Tamil Nadu ... More