The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, October 07, 2004

EMPLOYMENT
PM for voluntary job quota in pvt sector — Mechanism `in place' to check oil price hike
On the proposed RBI regulation to cap the equity holding, including FDI, in private banks, Dr Singh said the RBI policy was only a draft. More

CLIMATE & WEATHER
Move to revamp weather forecast system
THE Department of Science and Technology has proposed a national programme of Extended Range of Monsoon Prediction (ERMP) for more accuracy in long-term monsoon prediction as well as to fine-tune the weather forecasting system. The department ... More

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY
Srei loan schemes for solar systems in Bengal
SREI Renewable Energy Unit Ltd (SREU), promoted by Srei Infrastructure Finance (formerly Srei International Finance), has launched easy financing schemes for solar home lighting systems in four districts of West Bengal. The schemes start with ... More

CEMENT
Cement prices make recovery in some markets
BUOYED by increasing demand from rural areas, cement prices are staging a recovery in the northern and western markets, but continue to remain stagnant with lower than average price hikes in the South. According to industry players, the ... More

ECONOMY
American investors confident about reforms: Chidambaram
THE Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, has said that he does not get the impression that American investors lack confidence in the Indian economy and that while there may have been some concerns during the election cycle, confidence has ... More

World Bank keen on `knowledge partnership' with TN
POLITICAL consensus, openness and transparency are among the key contributors of policy reforms, say World Bank officials. Addressing a World Bank workshop on `Accelerating growth with equity in Tamil Nadu,' Mr Shantayanan Devarajan, Chief ... More

ENVIRONMENT
Govt to firm up national environ policy by Dec
THE Union Government is likely to finalise the national Environment Policy in this calendar year. The new policy will do away with mandatory Central clearance for industrial investment proposals worth over Rs 50 crore. Talking to Business ... More

`Arsenic problem in UP dist'
THE Centre of Science and Environment (CSE), based on its laboratory tests, has said that arsenic contamination is affecting remote villages in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district. However, the State Government has denied the claims and has issued ... More

India reiterates commitment to Kyoto protocol
INDIA and the UK today reiterated their mutual commitment to making the world a cleaner place. Speaking at the inaugural session of the `UK-India Climate Change Business Seminar' organised by FICCI and the Climate Change Projects Office of the ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
Indo-German trade target at $10 b
INDIA and Germany have resolved to enhance their annual bilateral trade to $10 billion in the medium-term from the current level of $5.4 billion achieved in 2003-04. This bilateral trade target was mentioned by the Commerce and Industry ... More

Documents examining service
CHENNAI: The International Chamber of Trade Expertise on Wednesday called upon businessmen to avail themselves of its export, import documentation examination service. Speaking at a Management Development Programme here sponsored by the ... More

HEALTH
Kerala Cabinet okays policy for drugs procurement
THE State Cabinet has approved a policy for the procurement of drugs and supplies by the Health and Family Welfare Department. The policy broadly aims at putting in place a strategy for ensuring the availability of quality drugs and supplies of ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE
Convention centre to be set up in Gurgaon
A CONVENTION Centre of international standards would be set up over an area of 70 acres at Gurgaon on the pattern of the Delhi-based India Habitat Centre, according to the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala. He was addressing a ... More

We have plans to make Mumbai a world-class city, says PM
THE Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, said on Wednesday, that his Government has plans to transform Mumbai into a world-class city. "In the next five years, we want to make Mumbai the number one city people talk about when it comes to ... More

PSU
Sam Pitroda favours greater autonomy for MTNL, BSNL
TELECOM icon and member of National Advisory Council Mr Sam Pitroda, today favoured greater autonomy for state-owned telecom firms MTNL and BSNL either "individually or collectively" and said the ultimate goal should be to reduce Government ... More

PETROLEUM
HPCL, BPCL may finalise crude import contract with SCI soon
AT least two public sector oil companies, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), are likely to import higher volumes of crude under the contract of affreightment (COA). The import by each oil ... More

POWER
Power tariff for industry `on higher side' in TN
HIGH power tariff for industries reduces the international competitiveness of Tamil Nadu, according to a senior World Bank official. Reliability of supply and consistent quality are major issues, according to the official. Ms Lili Liu, Lead ... More

STEEL
CR, HR steel makers squabble over pricing
A disagreement between the cold rolled (CR) steel manufacturers and hot rolled (HR) steel makers over recent price changes has surfaced within the industry. The Cold Rolled Steel Manufacturers Association of India (CORSMA) said that some of the ... More

TAXATION
FIEO wants service tax waiver to continue on services paid in forex
THE Federation of Indian Export Organisations has urged the Finance Ministry to retain the existing service tax exemption on taxable services for which payments are received in convertible foreign exchange. In its submission on the draft rules ... More

TEXTILES
TUF enhanced to Rs 60,000 cr
BUILDING up India's brand equity in handloom textiles and the Rs 60,000 crore Technology Upgradation Fund (TUF) for investment in the garment and textile sector are some of the steps taken by the Government for the post-quota period. Mr ... More

PERSONAL PRODUCTS
FMCG sector may witness price hikes
COULD it be the storm after a lull? A few months after downward price revisions, there is a likelihood of the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry gearing up for price hikes across some products. While industry leader Hindustan Lever Ltd ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
FICCI urges PM for continuation of Press Note 18
THE Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has urged the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, for continuation of Press Note 18 stating that such a provision is necessary for Indian investments to be safe. Press Note 18 ... More

BIO-TECH & GENETICS
Bengal steps into bio-tech park arena
WEST Bengal is moving ahead to set up a bio-technology park in collaboration with the Bose Institute and Biotech Consortium of India Ltd. This was stated by the State's Commerce and Industries Minister, Mr Nirupam Sen, on Wednesday after the ... More

Biotech parks soon in Punjab, UP
PUNJAB is setting up the country's fourth bio-technology park at a cost of around Rs 80 crore. Dr S.R. Nair, Managing Director of Biotech Consortium India Ltd (BCIL), told Business Line here on Wednesday that Uttar Pradesh had also ... More

MINERALS
KMML H1 turnover up by Rs 7.35 cr
KERALA Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML), the grey-gold company in the State public sector, at Chavara in Kollam district has achieved a total sales turnover of Rs 148.21 crore (provisional) in the H1 of the current fiscal as against Rs 140.86 crore ... More

PHOTOGRAPHIC & ALLIED PRODUCTS

Fujifilm photo expo in Hyderabad

DISINVESTMENT
AS Steel Traders highest bidder for Orichem
AS Steel Traders Ltd of Visakhapatnam has put in the highest financial bid of Rs 9.12 crore for purchase of Orichem Ltd, a closed subsidiary of Industrial Development Corporation of Orissa Ltd (IDCOL). The company has emerged as the highest ... More

SOCIAL WELFARE
A `software' touch to heal little hearts
THE Hyderabad Software Exporters Association (HYSEA) and Care Foundation-Little Hearts entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Wednesday, under which software professionals will aid in providing succour to poor children with heart ... More

LABOUR REFORMS
New draft Bill for unorganised labour by month-end
THE new draft of the proposed Unorganised Sector Labour Bill will be finalised before the month-end and will be circulated to the Ministries concerned, including Finance, for their opinion. Government sources told Business Line that the ... More

TRADE & LABOUR UNIONS
A new role for trade unions hereafter
`STUDY circles', `working groups', `welfare associations': tomorrow's workers' unions may have to couch themselves in such jargon to mask their identity if the proposed labour statutes amendments take off as promised. So say,a section of the ... More

E-COMMERCE & E-BUSINESS
Spices Board to e-market vanilla, pepper, cardamom
IDBI will handle the financial transactions of the e-marketing . More

EVENTS
Meet to focus on knowledge outsourcing, retail sector
BL Club, a forum for industry-academia interface in management schools, will organise two events in city institutions on Thursday. These events will focus on knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) and the retail sector. Mr Chandu Nair, ... More

SOCIETY & DEVELOPMENT
UK Minister shows interest in Naandi education initiative
MR David Miliband, British Minister for School Standards, on Wednesday wished that three-month-old Nandini of Dr Ambedkar Nagar in the city would become a teacher when she grew up. Residents of this colony that adjoined the posh Jubilee Hills ... More