INFRASTRUCTURE
`Bangalore airport project must clear 2 major hurdles'
THE Bangalore international airport project may hit a major air pocket if it does not clear two crucial milestones this month and complete the financial and other agreements by New Year. If all the pending six agreements are not tied up and the ... More

PSU

PETROLEUM
Pricing of gas key issue for Kochi LNG terminal
EVEN as the promoters of Petronet LNG Ltd (PLL) are preparing to meet later this month to discuss the Kochi LNG terminal and take a final decision on it, one of the major hurdles that has been holding up the project for so long is understood to ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS
As drugs go off patent protection — Pharma sector turning to product lifecycle management
PRODUCT Lifecycle Management (PLM) is fast gaining recognition among the global pharma companies to bridge the gap between high costs and falling revenues as drugs fall out of patent protection. More than 90 per cent of senior executives ... More

POWER
CII summit to focus on energy conservation, management
THE sixth edition of Energy Summit, a biennial event organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, will have a strong emphasis on energy conservation and management, as it comes in the backdrop of rising prices of fuel and power and a growth ... More

TAXATION
Direct tax collections up 35.4 per cent in first half
THE Centre's net direct tax collections have registered a 35.4 per cent increase in the first six months of the current fiscal to Rs 44,800 crore on the back of an impressive performance on the personal income tax front. The collection ... More

Tax reforms key to realising $300-b export potential: McKinsey
INDIA'S indirect taxes regime remains a spoilsport even though there exists a $300-billion manufacturing export potential by 2015, according to a report by McKinsey & Co. The report, which was unveiled at CII's Manufacturing Summit on Friday, ... More

Kanara Chamber flays Special Entry Tax
THE Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has urged the Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister, Mr Siddaramaiah, to withdraw Special Entry Tax. The State Government introduced this tax on October 1. In a press release here on ... More

SSI
`Benefit from special SSI scheme'
MADURAI: The synthetic gem manufacturing units in Tiruchi district should take advantage of the implementation of a special scheme by the National Small Industries Corporation for the small-scale sector for participation in international ... More

RADIO/TV
`Viewers now spend more time on Headlines Today'
HEADLINES Today, the English news channel from the TV Today stable, seems to be catching up with competition. The company, quoting data from research agency TAM India, which tracked viewership patterns in six metros, said that for the week ... More

GEMS & JEWELLERY
`India must move on to export value-added jewellery'
FOR a country that cuts and polishes nearly 95 per cent of the world's diamonds, India is not widely known for these skills. It should move on to exporting value-added jewellery, says Mr Umesh Ganjam, Joint Managing Director, Ganjam Nagappa & Son More

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS

LEATHER
Kolkata Leather fair fetches Rs 13.8-cr biz
A total of 31 buyers visited the fair from 19 countries, including Australia, Belgium, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Hungary, Israel, Turkey, Sweden, Germany and Spain. More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
`Science institutes in Kerala not doing well'
SCIENCE and technology institutions in Kerala have not performed very well over the last three decades, Dr M.S. Valiathan, Executive Vice-President, Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, has said. Delivering a lecture on ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
AP bid to modernise municipal management
THE Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, on Friday released 11 modules developed by the Andhra Pradesh Urban Services for the Poor (APUSP) for modernising municipal management. At a workshop organised here to explain the ... More

EVENTS

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Import norms eased for vanaspati from Nepal — STC allowed to appoint associates
IN yet another step to curb inflationary pressures during the coming festival season, the Government has eased norms for duty-free imports of vanaspati from Nepal. The State Trading Corporation (STC), which is the sole agency authorised to ... More

FIEO concerned over delay in notifying export schemes
THE Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has expressed concern over the delay on the part of the Finance Ministry in operationalising the various facilities announced in the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09. In a statement, the FIEO ... More

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINES
Body for developing indigenous medical systems urged
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has mooted the proposal for creation of a national board for development of indigenous medicinal systems to offer a basket of medical services in areas such as yoga, meditation ... More

TOURISM
Boat show begins at Kochi
THE boats that set sail from different lands anchored in Kochi on Friday for the 3-day India International Boat Show 2004 organised by the Kerala Tourism Department. As many as 15 foreign firms from countries such as US, the UK, UAE, Thailand, ... More

PEOPLE