The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, October 19, 2004

OUTSOURCING
`US, European cos look more at China than India for outsourcing'
AMERICAN and European manufacturers are looking more at China than India as a major outsourcing destination. The Indian industry, including automotive, is losing out to its Chinese counterpart due to lack of brand ... More

Toeing Ohio line on outsourcing
IN the midst of all that serious and angry exchanges on Iraq, the war on terror and the draft, the Democratic presidential candidate, Mr John Kerry, continues to pound away at economic issues during the final stages of ... More

Career Launcher bets big on EPO
With the concept of education process outsourcing or EPO catching up, US-based tutorial or test prep companies have started experimenting with the idea of outsourcing their jobs to India. "EPO is the next big thing, ... More

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES
Making a case for training for judges
THE focus of comprehensive judicial training necessarily has to be on "judgecraft", rather than on teaching of substantive law. Making a presentation on `Ju dicial training: Experiences from the United Kingdom' at an interactive session ... More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS
Tuticorin Customs H1 revenue up 31%
THE Tuticorin Customs House has registered a revenue increase of 31 per cent during the first half of 2004-05, compared to the corresponding period last year. According to the Customs Commissioner, Mr M. Veeraiyan, the department has earned a ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
Cell to address FTA misuse
THE Government is planning to set up a trade agreement cell in the Ministry of Commerce to look into complaints of misuse of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). "The trade agreement cell will be set up in the Ministry of Commerce that will look into ... More

`Need to know Japan's culture to further ties'
IN order to do business with Japan, it is imperative to understand its culture and people so as to build an enduring relationship based on mutual trust and cooperation, according to India Japan Initiative (IJI). This was the theme at a ... More

HEALTH
Apollo Hospitals plans e-magazine
APOLLO Hospitals is launching a major e-mail campaign next week, giving information on health-related issues to thousands of people. Through the upcoming Touching Lives campaign, Apollo would send monthly electronic magazines to people. The ... More

Doubts over Cox-2 anti-inflammatory drugs loom large
IF you have been popping the painkiller and arthritis drug rofecoxib till it was recently withdrawn, do you have reasons to worry? If your doctor has replaced the locally produced version of rofecoxib in your prescription with another medicine ... More

Vizag to get super-speciality hospital
THE State Government has taken a decision to set up a super-speciality hospital at Adarshnagar here on the lines of the Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS). This was announced by the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, here on ... More

PETROLEUM
UAE not to hike petrol price now
ABU DHABI: The UAE Ministry of Petroleum has put on hold the demands by petrol retailing companies to hike the prices of petrol to minimise losses in the wake of a huge hike in oil prices. But local diesel prices have been increased, the ... More

POWER
CII meet on captive power tomorrow
THE Confederation of Indian Industry will be organising a National Conference on Captive Power Plants in Mumbai on October 20. The conference will be addressed by Mr Tom Casten, Chairman, World Alliance for Distributed Energy, Scotland and Mr ... More

STEEL
Review of duty on steel-making input likely
THE Planning Commission is likely to undertake a review of the import duties of various inputs used in making steel as it is found that there are certain anomalies when compared to the import duty of finished steel. While import duty on ... More

`Posco's Orissa project plan hinges on infrastructure'
RISING steel consumption in Asia and a raw material scenario strained by that fast growth may be authoring a race to access India's iron ore deposits. On Monday, Mr Jeong, Tae-Hyun, General Manager (Director) Posco, told Metal ... More

TAXATION
Revised treaty with Malaysia widens tax ambit
PAYMENTS made from India as consideration for managerial, technical or consultancy services provided by technical or other personnel from Malaysia may no longer escape the tax net of the Indian authorities. The double taxation avoidance ... More

TECHNOLOGY
Whither the technological development Plan?
The Tenth Plan (2002-07) does not look at the role of government in the upgradation of technological capabilities or in addressing the technological challenges ahead. More

TEXTILES
EU readies 7-point action plan to enter post-quota regime
According to a EU communiqué, the seven actions are the Commission's responses to the requests and issues raised by the High Level Group. More

SSI
SSIs seek more support to take part in global fairs
INDIAN small-scale export-oriented firms are dissatisfied with the support extend by the Export Promotion Council and the Indian authorities to enable them to participate more often in international exhibitions to promote their businesses ... More

TYRES
`Dip in Chinese rubber consumption may benefit Indian tyre cos'
A SLOWDOWN in China's rubber consumption growth may ease the pressure on input costs experienced last year by Indian tyre manufacturers. "We understand there is a slight slump in Chinese markets. It's not growing as fast as last year," said TVS ... More

COAL
Panel to study plans for coal linkages with industries
CIL's production plan is directed towards minimising consumers' dependence on high cost imported coal. More

EDUCATION
XLRI Jamshedpur to forge ties with Oman
XLRI Jamshedpur, which has been actively looking at international markets to widen its network, has zeroed in on a strategic tie-up in Oman. It is also set to organise roadshows in the SAARC nations. The institute hopes to kick off the ... More

Centre's pat for SIET
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has commended the performance of the State Institute of Educational Technology (SIET) and granted a Certificate of Excellence to it. An official SIET spokesman said ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Govt revises limit on house building advance
THE Government has revised the existing limit on house building advance (HBA) following the merger of dearness allowance with basic pay. "Maximum limit for grant of HBA is revised to 34 months' basic pay and dearness pay taken together in place ... More

Construction expo in Jan

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
Nasscom to go aggressive on Japanese market
The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) and tech companies plan to step up their initiative to persuade Japan to open up its outsourcing market to India. Though some headway had been made in the past, the low volume ... More

READYMADE GARMENTS
Apparel exports up 16% in first half
READYMADE garment (RMG) exports from the country to quota-restricted countries registered a 16 per cent growth in value terms and 10 per cent in volume terms during the first half of the current fiscal, spurring hope that the year will see export ... More

GENDER
Rough ride
A college bus carrying engineering students going past women doing road repair work in Velachery near Chennai. The percentage of women getting professional education in Tamil Nadu is negligible while the vast majority of women of the same age are ... More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
No bias against FDI plans: Buddhadeb
THE West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, has said, "Business climate in the city is changing fast for the better. Whatever misconceptions still left about the State Government's intention to attract fresh investment will be ... More

Traders oppose FDI in retail
EXPRESSING concern over the growing dominance of multinational companies in the country's Rs 60,000-crore retail business, traders have warned that any move to increase foreign direct investment in the retail sector would ruin the business of ... More

SOCIAL WELFARE
Food-for-work rice misused by previous Govt, says Rosaiah
THE five-month-old Congress Government has alleged that two lakh tonnes of rice that the State received from the Centre under the `food for work' scheme was found unaccounted and illegally diverted for paying transportation charges and sales ... More

Travel concession for youth
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Southern Railway has clarified here that unemployed youth of up to 35 years of age are eligible for 50 per cent concession in second/sleeper class in express trains while travelling to attend interviews for jobs in ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
PM sets up panel on rural infrastructure
THE Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has constituted a National Committee on Rural Infrastructure (NCRI), along the lines of the existing National Committee on Infrastructure (NCI), to focus on rural development projects. The NCRI will ... More

Mass poverty can be removed only if S&T reaches villages: PM
THE Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Monday inaugurated the Village Resource Centre (VRC) project, a joint effort of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) to use satellite ... More

EVENTS
`Glitter'ati
The Minister for Commerce and Industry, Mr Kamal Nath, with Bollywood actress, Ms Diya Mirza, at the `Festival of Gold 2004-Exhibition-cum-sale' organised by MMTC in the Capital on Monday. ... More

AP pavilion allotment
HYDERABAD: The Commissionerate of Industries, commerce and export wing, has called for applicants for allotment of space in the Andhra Pradesh pavilion, at the upcoming International Trade Fair 2004, scheduled to be held at Pragati Maidan ... More

`Simergence 2004' tomorrow

INCOME TAX
CBDT clarifies on provisional attachment of property
THE Finance Ministry on Monday clarified that it has instructed income-tax assessing officers to resort to provisional attachment of property in those cases "where during assessment proceeding itself it is obvious that recovery of the demand ... More

Ministry plans to approach Special Court for Harshad tax dues
THE Finance Ministry has decided to approach the Special Court on Securities Transactions for directions to the Custodian to allow the Income-Tax Department to appropriate Rs 1,000 crore in part settlement of tax dues from Harshad Mehta. The ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Finance Ministry clarifies on palm oil imports — Consignments not meeting carotenoids norm to attract 75 pc duty
THE Finance Ministry has clarified that imported crude palm oil (CPO) or crude palmolein consignments not meeting the stipulated minimum 500 mg per kg total carotenoids specification would attract 75 per cent basic customs duty. The ... More

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINES
Ayurveda majors in jt venture for common brand
A JOINT venture project, aimed at promoting the State as a global destination for sourcing Ayurvedic products and services, has been launched in Kerala. The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) and the Kerala Industrial ... More

PEOPLE
Ministry appoints Nandwani as new ED for Capexil
THE Commerce Ministry has appointed Mr Sanjeev Nandwani as the new Executive Director of the Chemical and Allied Product Export Promotion Council (Capexil), following allegation of irregularities in the running of the council as it processes ... More