HOTELS
BCCI, Asian Hotels open Palladian Lounge
THE Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCI), in association with Asian Hotels Ltd, on Wednesday unveiled the Palladian Lounge within the precincts of the BCCI heritage building. The initiative, it is hoped, will help augment the ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE
Dubai company to set up `Smart City' in Kochi
AFTER scouting for various locations in South India, Dubai Internet City has decided to set up its proposed `Smart City' in Kochi. The Dubai-based company conveyed its decision to the State Government on Wednesday, according to Mr P.K. ... More

`Development framework must be in line with urban realities'
TO build a house in Singapore, Paris or Istanbul it takes two months only. But any guesses, how long it takes to construct your own sweet home in Indian cities? The answer is a long 24 months. That's the average time it could take to get all ... More

PETROCHEMICALS
21st century is era of polymers: Nobel laureate
IF the previous century was called the age of the silicons, the 21st century should aptly be called the era of polymers, according to the Chemistry Nobel laureate (2000) Dr Alan G. Macdiarmid of the University of Pennsylvania. He was ... More

PETROLEUM
IOC to buy 50% stake in Iranian gas block
INDIAN Oil Corporation Ltd has said that it has committed a $1-billion investment to buy 50 per cent equity stake in a 9-million tonne Iranian liquefied natural gas (LNG) block. IOC, which will ally with Oil India Ltd for investing in the ... More

`Prospects for Iran-India gas pipeline look good'
PROSPECTS for the proposed $4.16-billion Iran-India gas pipeline has brightened following the recent goodwill generated between the two neighbouring countries, a top Iranian Government official said here on Wednesday. "The pipeline project ... More

Iran to comply with OPEC quotas
IRAN will comply with the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) decision to curb excess output and pump crude oil at its official quota, an Iranian official said on Wednesday. "OPEC decides and all member countries comply and ... More

HPCL, Chevron sign ship fuelling agreement
HINDUSTAN Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Chevron Texaco's Fuel and Marine Marketing LLC have signed a preliminary agreement for fuelling of the latter's ships at Indian ports. According to a senior HPCL official, the agreement signed on ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS
Imtech, BioMantra launch software for vaccine design
THE Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), in collaboration with bioinformatics company BioMantra, has launched a software tool suited for vaccine design called `VaxiPred.' IMTECH is a Chandigarh-based, Council of Scientific and Industrial ... More

POWER
`Conservation is key to meeting energy needs'
CONSERVATION will prove to be an effective strategy to meet the imposing demand for energy in the coming years, according to the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry. At a seminar here on Tuesday, Mr O.P. Goenka, the ... More

DVC to seek pollution control board nod for thermal power project
ENCOURAGED by measures initiated by the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB), the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has decided to make a fresh petition to the Central Pollution Control Board for its proposed 1,000-MW thermal power plant at ... More

Bellary thermal plant lenders a worried lot
PROJECT lenders for the 500-MW Bellary Thermal Power Station (BTPS) promoted by the State Government-owned Karnataka Power Corporation (KPCL) are on tenterhooks. KPCL has so far failed to fulfil one of the major conditions precedent in the ... More

TAXATION
State Finance Ministers meet on VAT next month
STATE Finance Ministers may meet in the first week of January to "endorse" the White Paper on the proposed Value Added Tax (VAT) regime that is to replace the sales tax system from April 1, 2005. Informed sources said that a draft version of ... More

TEXTILES
Vision 2010 for textiles sees 12 m new jobs
A VISION 2010 for textiles by the Government envisages growth in Indian textile industry from current $37 billion to $85 billion by 2010 and employment of 12 million new jobs, besides modernisation and consolidation for crating a globally ... More

SSI
Small match units facing stiff competition from corporates
IMPROVED quality standards and introduction of better business practices have been brought into many semi-mechanised and fully handmade safety match units in Tamil Nadu, throwing up new equations in the tussle going on between big and small in ... More

MANAGEMENT

RADIO/TV
Prasar Bharati's DTH telecast from today
THE Prasar Bharati-proposed direct-to-home (DTH) venture will finally commence operations from Thursday. For starters 33 television channels and 12 radio channels will be on offer. Speaking to newspersons after the board meeting, Mr K.S. Sarma, ... More

Zee-Turner plans new bouquet, to revise subscription rate
IN order to consolidate its position as a distribution platform, Zee-Turner has decided to launch of a new bouquet and revise its subscription rate for its existing bouquet. From January 1, the new bouquet will comprise of five channels — ... More

Disney channels to go on air from tomorrow
INDIA is a priority market and central to the emerging markets strategy of Walt Disney. Therefore, Walt Disney has embarked on localisation of content from day one, officials of the media and entertainment company said today at the launch of two ... More

EDUCATION
XLRI ties up with global institutes
XLRI, Jamshedpur, has worked out alliances with a few international institutes, including the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) based in the Philippines, for facilitating student exchange programmes. The programmes, which will be relevant in ... More

CARS
Owner delight with new models has improved: J.D. Power
OWNER delight with new vehicles in India improved for the sixth consecutive year, according to the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2004 India Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) StudySM released today. The industry improved 15 index ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
ITE India to set up `Expocities'
ITE India Private Ltd, a Rs 150-crore expo company, plans to establish `Expocities' in Hyderabad, Jaipur, Noida, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Delhi, Guwahati and Visakhapatnam. The first Expocity will be ready by April on the Lower Tank Bund in ... More

NEWSPAPERS & PUBLISHING
The Hindu launches online image library
THE Hindu Group of Publications launched an online image library, www.thehinduimages.com in Chennai today. The Web site contains more than 40,000 images from The Hindu Group's vast ... More

`TV channels spend most on newspaper advertising'
WHEN it comes to promoting themselves or their programmes through other media, television channels spend more on newspapers than radio and magazines. A study for July-September 2004 done by Radio AdEx, a division of TAM Media Research, shows ... More

REGULATORY BODIES & RULINGS

EVENTS