ENGINEERING
German mining machinery sector likely to extend supplier's credit
THE German mining machinery and equipment manufacturers have pleaded their inability to extend direct financial support to help implement coal mining projects in India. At the best, they may consider extending suppliers' credit on selective ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
`Jt ventures, FDI needed to boost trade with S. America'
FOREIGN direct investment (FDI) and joint ventures are the need of the hour for giving a boost to the flat level of trade growth between India and Latin American Countries (LAC), according to the Commerce Secretary, Mr S.N. Menon. "Unless we ... More

SAFTA treaty to boost Indo-Pak trade: FICCI
THE India-Pakistan bilateral trade is likely to rise manifold with the signing of the framework treaty on South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA). The treaty, a major confidence-building measure for easing tension, would enable the South Asian ... More

Malaysia meet to focus on increasing trade with India
In the last decade and a half Malaysia has become China's principle trade partner among the ASEAN countries, according to Mr Dato Chua Jui Meng, Chairman, National SMI Consultative Centre, Malaysia. Addressing journalists and entrepreneurs here ... More

HEALTH

INFRASTRUCTURE
51 Central projects completed in first half
THE Minister for Statistics and Programme Implementation, Mr Oscar Fernandes, on Thursday announced that in all, a total of 51 Central sector projects costing Rs 23,910 crore were completed in the first half of the current fiscal. Giving the ... More

PETROLEUM
Govt to offer 20 oil, gas blocks for bidding
THE Government will shortly offer 20 oil and gas exploration blocks in the fifth round of bidding under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP-V) to bring more areas under exploration and production of oil and gas expeditiously. The ... More

POWER
Miles to go for `power on demand' concept to be a reality: Sayeed
TRANSLATING the `power on demand' concept into reality would entail an additional installed capacity of one lakh MW by the year 2012. Inaugurating the 13th Public power utilities and State Electricity Board chiefs' meet in Kochi, the Union ... More

Nod for Rs 700-cr rural electrification project in Kerala
THOUGH Kerala is far ahead in the fields of education, health, sanitation and population control, the State could not achieve the same standard in respect of rural electrification, the Power Minister, Mr Aryadan Muhammed, said. The Census ... More

Reservoir levels will last till May: KSEB
COPIOUS monsoon rains in the State this year have placed the Kerala State Electricity Board in a comfortable position with good storage of water in all the reservoirs of its hydel projects, which would be sufficient till May next. With the ... More

TAXATION
Plea to exempt exports from VAT
EXPORTS should be fully exempted from the proposed value-added tax (VAT) that would replace the sales tax system of the country, according to the Chairman of CAPEXIL, Mr A.M.S.G. Ashokan. In his address at the 46th annual general meeting of ... More

TEXTILES
Textile cos fear dumping of cheap Thai goods under FTA
DOMESTIC textile manufacturers here, in which a few garment producers too were present, have voiced apprehension on liberalising raw material exports either with tariff concession or zero duty level under the proposed Indo-Thai free trade ... More

CORE of textile industry to be in Coimbatore
THE Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) of the Department of Science and Technology has chosen the city-based Kumaraguru College of Technology (KCT) to locate a centre of relevance and excellence (CORE) in textile ... More

WATER
Cartoons expo on water conservation
FOCUSSING on the worsening water crisis across the globe, scores of cartoonists from 60 countries would be displaying their cartoons at the first International Cartoons Expo on Water Conservation to be held here next month. "We have received ... More

BREWERIES
UB, SABMiller on bottle buying binge
INDIAN brewers have injected about 250 million new returnable glass bottles into the beer market during the last nine months to beat down prices of recycled bottles. The soaring prices of recycled bottles, which went over Rs 7 per bottle as ... More

EDUCATION
`Bush re-election good for Indian IT industry'
THE US President, Mr George W. Bush's return to the White House for a second term will auger well for the Indian IT industry, for the incumbent US President was not against outsourcing of jobs to India, according to Mr Vinod Gupta, Founder and ... More

FOODS & FOOD PROCESSING
Bill on integrated food law to be introduced in Budget session
THE Union Ministry of Food Processing is planning to introduce an integrated food law with a view to implementing "one law and one regulatory authority" in the country, Mr Subodh Kant Sahai, Union Minister for Food Processing and Industries, has ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Drive for greater use of fly ash
FLY ash should be made freely available to FaL-G units to encourage greater use of FaL-G bricks instead of the conventional clay ones, Mr N. Kalidas, the president of the Fly Ash Building Material Manufacturers' Association (FABMAS), has ... More

LEATHER
Leather development scheme awaits Cabinet clearance
THE Union Commerce Ministry has placed a revised proposal for the Integrated Programme for Development of the Leather Industry for approval of the Cabinet committee in the second week of December. The Council for the Leather Exports Chairman, ... More

BIO-TECH & GENETICS
CCMB to set up biomedical facility
MAKING a move in biomedical and pharmaceutical research, the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has proposed to set up a modern biomedical magnetic resonance micro-imaging and spectroscopy facility here. The facility would help ... More

JUTE
Joint venture partners being sought to revive jute mills
Plan panel has given in-principle approval to the Jute Technology Mission (JTM) with an outlay of Rs 458.34 crore, the Union Minister of Textiles, Mr Shankersinh Vaghela, said. More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
FDI in retail: Industry cautiously optimistic
RETAIL industry players have welcome the move by Government of India to allow FDI in retail of specific brand of products. Following this, foreign companies in certain categories, can sell products through their own retail shops in the ... More

SOCIAL WELFARE
Now, kids being readied for corporate social responsibility
IF the initiative takes off, children in six selected schools in the city will go beyond moral science classes to experience social responsibility on a first-hand basis. Called the `Intervention Programme', the project aims to instil social ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Chidambaram to launch self-help groups in Dakshina Kannada
THE Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, will launch 1,503 self-help groups - promoted by the Sri Kshetra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP) and Corporation Bank — at Kinnigoli in Dakshina Kannada district on November ... More

EVENTS
Print-n-Pack expo opens in Madurai
THE fifth printing and packaging fair `Print-n-Pack 2004', organised by the Madurai District and Small-Scale Industries Association (Maditssia), was inaugurated by the District Collector, Mr D. Raajendiran, here today. The exhibition, held ... More

Inter B-school fest at ISB
THE Indian School of Business (ISB) is organising a two-day `Poseidon' - an inter B-school festival beginning November 27, with over 150 participants from 20 of the top business schools across the country. The event is being organised ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
ECGC may soon offer products to cover ITES exports
THE Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd (ECGC) may soon offer products to cover risks in exports of IT enabled services (ITES), according to its Chairman and Managing Director, Mr P.K. Dash. "We have so far had products for ... More

NATURAL CALAMITIES
Funds for floods control in N-E
THE Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has sanctioned Rs 150 crore as the share of the Central Government (90 per cent grant and 10 per cent loan) for taking up critical flood control and anti-erosion schemes in Brahmaputra and Barak ... More

TOURISM
Medical tourism can be the next goldmine for India: CII
INDIA can turn medical tourism into its next goldmine, if it rightly projects its competences and improves the healthcare standards, said speakers at the CII-sponsored two-day quality summit on health tourism. During the current season between ... More

States asked to enact laws on tourism trade
THE Centre has asked State Governments to enact legislations on tourism trade to take strict action against unscrupulous elements and harassment of tourists. Addressing members of the Consultative Committee attached to her ministry, the ... More

Race for wellness tourism gets underway in Karnataka
IT'S the new buzzword and everyone in the medical tourism party is trying to get the act right and touch the post first. If the Karnataka Tourism Department is talking of forming a society to promote wellness tourism and showcase itself at the ... More