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Saturday, February 19, 2005

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INDUSTRY & ECONOMY

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY


Austria, AP sign MoU
HYDERABAD: A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Kakinada Special Economic Zone (KSEZ) and Natural Bio-energy, bio-diesel venture with Australian collaboration for setting up a bio-diesel unit in Kakinada on ... More

AUTOMOBILES


Auto ind looking for measures in Budget to maintain GDP growth
AS IT gets drawn more and more into a volume-based play, broad measures to maintain GDP growth is what the automobile industry would like to see in the main, in the upcoming Union Budget. Alongside, industry officials are also seeking a few ... More

BUDGET


AP Oppn dubs it jugglery, CM says best ever
THE Opposition parties have dubbed the Andhra Pradesh Budget for 2005-06 as a mere jugglery of figures even while the Chief Minister, Dr Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, described it as the "best budget" that has ever been presented in the ... More

Electricity duty cut in Gujarat budget
THE Gujarat Government has sought an assurance from the Centre that the value-added tax (VAT) will be implemented simultaneously by all States from April 1. Presenting the annual Budget of the State, the Finance Minister, Mr Vajubhai Vala, said ... More

AP Chambers welcome Budget proposals
THE Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has welcomed the State Budget 2005-06, presented by the Finance Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, here on Friday. According to CII, the budgetary allocation of Rs 15,450 crore, an increase by 17.75 per cent ... More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS


Consolidated IT system for customs, excise, service taxes
THE Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Thursday approved the creation of a consolidated computing infrastructure for customs, central excise and service tax applications with an expenditure of Rs 167.05 crore. The scheme envisages ... More

FOREIGN TRADE


Dutch Govt keen to boost trade ties
THE Netherlands has recently initiated several new programmes to promote bilateral trade with India , said Ms Desiree Bonis, Deputy Chief of Mission, Royal Netherlands Embassy, New Delhi. Speaking at an interactive session on "Doing business ... More

UK will take liberal view on visas to Indians: Straw
THE British Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, today said that the UK would take a liberal view on granting visas to Indians. Speaking to MPs and business leaders under the auspices of the Indo-British Parliamentary Forum of the FICCI, he said: ... More

India, Slovenia sign pact to avoid double taxation
INDIA and Slovenia have signed a double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA). The signing of the DTAA is likely to give a fillip to bilateral trade. An official release said that the DTAA would come into force with immediate effect and would ... More

HEALTH


Hyderabad centre to train nurses for US jobs
UCH Heritage Health Care Learning Centre, a joint venture between United Church Homes, the US-based not for profit healthcare organisation, and the Heritage Hospital, here, was launched today. The centre would train nurses to qualify for jobs ... More

Kamineni Hospital unveils Genesis for women, kids
KAMINENI Hospitals Group has unveiled a dedicated tertiary care hospital to cater to the healthcare requirements of women and children here at Basheerbagh. The hospital, Genesis, would offer holistic care for women and children including yoga ... More

PETROLEUM


India keen on stake in 4 oil fields in Kazakhstan
INDIA has evinced interest in buying stakes in four oil-and-gas properties in Kazakhstan, as part of its plan to secure long-term oil supplies. Its interest in these properties was expressed by the Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Mr . More

Crude production from Mumbai High at 5-year high
AFTER a five-year gap, crude oil production from the Mumbai High field has touched 2,70,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD), ONGC Ltd said in a statement issued here on Friday. The Mumbai High Oil field, one of the most-prolific producers of ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS


Plea to keep drug prices affordable in Budget
IT will be a fine balance that the forthcoming Budget will seek to strike between keeping medicine prices affordable, even as the pharmaceutical industry is spurred to become more competitive. Echoing the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) ... More

POWER


KSEB officials `surprised'
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) Officers Association has expressed surprise over the remarks made by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, about the public utility being a `stumbling block' to the State's ... More

STEEL


Unshredded metal scrap imports at Nagpur ICD too
UNSHREDDED metallic scrap could now be imported through Inland Container Depot (ICD) Nagpur, making this the 18th port eligible for such imports. The Government had last year revamped the import policy on metallic scrap and specified 15 ports ... More

SUGAR


Corporate battle for sugarcane intensifies
In the event of these new capacities materialising, there is bound to be tremendous competition for cane supplies among all factories in the area. More

TAXATION


TN Chamber plea on service tax
MADURAI: The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has suggested levy of service tax on those goods transport agents who are registered under the Companies Act, if the Government was particular of the levy on the agents, at a meeting ... More

Bengal trade body backs all-India bandh on Feb 21
DESCRIBING the White Paper on State-level VAT as a "Black Paper", the Federation of West Bengal Trade Associations, affiliated to national bodies such as Confederation of All India Trade Organisations, Bharatiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal and Federation ... More

SSI


Plea to raise investment limit in SSIs to Rs 3 cr
THE Kerala State Small Industries Association (KSSIA) has urged the Union Government to enhance the present investment limit for small-scale industries from Rs 1 crore to Rs 3 crore. It has also demanded that this benefit be extended to SSI ... More

TYRES


Truck, bus tyre output rebounds in Dec 2004
TRUCK and bus tyre production staged a smart recovery in December 2004 to touch 9.68 lakh tyres as compared to a production of 9.04 lakh units in the previous month. The production in December 2004 was the best performance so far for the tyre ... More

COAL


Centre's loans to Coal India arm to be converted as equity
THE Central Government's loans to Eastern Coalfields Ltd (ECL) and Bharat Coking Coal Ltd (BCCL) will be converted into equity, paving the way for the revival of the two loss-making Coal India subsidiaries. The Finance Ministry has approved ... More

EDUCATION


Warped view of education
S. Murlidharan on the anomaly in Section 80E on tax benefit for educational loan More

Microsoft plans 3 IT academies in Maharashtra
MICROSOFT has chosen Pune, Nagpur and Aurangabad to kick-start its Partners-in-Learning programme in Maharashtra. Pune and Nagpur would have one centre each and Aurangabad is also tentatively scheduled to have one centre, said Mr Ravi ... More

IT practical test begins in Kerala
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The IT practical test for students appearing for the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination next month began at 1,929 of the 2,652 school centres and at 68 special IT examination centres in different ... More

CONSULTING


Thanks to SEBI's revised listing norms — Consulting firms flooded with risk management assignments
Come April 1 and company boards would have to grapple with the new risk management norms stipulated in the revised Clause 49 of SEBI's Listing Agreement, which requires firms to put in place a virtual check-point for identifying and mitigating ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION


Liberalised FDI policy will boost construction: Azad
THE Government today said that liberalised foreign investment policy would spur house construction while also improving the quality of construction. Liberalisation of the FDI policy should help in raising flow of foreign investment for setting ... More

PAPER, BOARD & NEWSPRINT


Paper industry seeks excise duty rationalisation
THE Rs 15,000-crore domestic paper industry has sought rationalisation of excise duty and its reduction to 8 per cent, so as to remain competitive. Till recently, the industry was taxed at a flat excise duty rate of 16 per cent, regardless of ... More

Paper stocks move up on price rise expectation
THE paper stocks moved up on Friday on the expectation of an imminent price rise in writing and printing paper. JK Paper stock gained most in terms of price (up 10.67 per cent), while BILT stock attracted very heavy trading volume at 45.40 lakh ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY


New Director for RGCB
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Noted cancer researcher and biomedical scientist, Dr M. Radhakrishna Pillai, has been appointed Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB), here. Dr Pillai is currently Head of Molecular Medicine, ... More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT


Bausch & Lomb, Colgate among 24 FDI proposals approved
BAUSCH & Lomb Eyecare (India) Private Ltd's plan to set up a community cataract surgical centre involving foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow worth Rs 50 crore was among the various FDI proposals approved by the Government today. A total of .. More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT


Drive to help women SHGs become plantation owners in Nilgiris
TWELVE women SHGs (Self Help Groups) in the Nilgiris are to become proud owners of 25 acres of tea plantations within the next fortnight. The Rural Development Organisation (RDO) Trust Executive Director, Mr N.K. Perumal, told Business ... More

TRADE & LABOUR UNIONS


Exempted from strike
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The joint action council of service organisations in the State has exempted hospital employees on ward duty and those in charge of power and water supply from the indefinite strike slated to begin on Tuesday next. A ... More

EVENTS


Boom in global steel sector may boost CIDEX trade fairs
CIDEX Trade Fairs Pvt Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of the Germany-based Koelnmesse International and Messe Duesseldorf, is bullish on the success of its trade fairs on tube and welding industries currently being organised at the HITEX Fairgrounds ... More

INCOME TAX


IDBI Bank's online tax payment facility
Individuals and corporates can make their tax payments (income tax, corporation tax, gift tax) through the Internet. The assessee is required to log on to the Website of the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL), click the tax-payment ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS


Tea exports up a tad
THE Indian tea industry has managed to register a nominal growth in exports during 2004 compared to 2003, but net exports have fallen sharply. According to figures release by the Tea Board, exports during 2004 were 177 million kg against 173 ... More

ISEC buys raw sugar at $244/t
INDIAN Sugar Exim Corporation Ltd (ISEC) has managed to contract two large raw sugar import consignments aggregating about 1,07,750 tonnes on behalf of northern mills at $243-244 per tonne (Mundra port delivery), which is $13-14 per tonne below ... More

Exporters protest denial of 80 HHC benefits
MORE than 1,000 exporters protested in front of the Income-Tax Department's offices in Mumbai against the denial of benefits under Section 80 HHC of the Income Tax Act. According to an All India Exporters' Grievances Forum (AIEGF)press ... More

Imports from Guatemala keep cardamom depressed despite thin arrivals
CARDAMOM prices remained depressed despite thin arrivals for want of buying support at auctions in Kerala and Tamil Nadu during this week. Upcountry buyers were inactive, while exporters kept away. Availability of cardamom imported from ... More

Kamal Nath's help sought on pepper imports
THE State Government has sought the intervention of the Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, on the issue of pepper imports from Sri Lanka under the Free Trade Agreement. At a meeting with Mr Kamal Nath here on Thursday evening, the ... More

NATURAL CALAMITIES


S. Asia fisheries sector loss at $520 m: FAO
THE Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) latest estimate for direct losses in the fisheries sector in the South Asian region as a result of the tsunami is around $520 million (Rs 2,200 crore). According to FAO's latest information 111,073 ... More

The `iron lady' of BSNL
AT Port Blair airport, the BSNL board welcoming visitors to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands read "Connecting India." But it was impossible to even buy a BSNL mobile phone starter pack, and Andaman and Nicobar has only one cellular service ... More

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    TOURISM


    Kerala plans 250 highway motels to woo tourists
    THE Kerala Government has launched `Vazhioram', a scheme to develop 250 highway motels all over the State, Mr E.K. Bharat Bhushan, Principal Secretary - Tourism, Government of Kerala, said. He said that the Government wants people who own ... More

    ECONOMIC OFFENCES


    `Enact law to wipe out corruption'
    THE Karnataka Lokayukta, Mr Justice N. Venkatachala, has said the Government should initiate action to bring down corruption among public servants. Delivering the Founders' Day Lecture at the corporate office of Karnataka Bank Ltd here on ... More


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    Top Stories
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    In Depth

    Gender Justice
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    Looking back
    Feb. 6-Feb. 12
    `Give priority to drug affordability'

    Marketing can be done without a patent: Madras HC

    Imported edible oils — Revenue considerations behind move not to slash tariff values?

    Hundred movies in one DVD?

    Hike in R&D spends eats into pharma cos' profits

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    VAT panel seeks removal of CST waiver on inter-State purchases

    Auto majors see rise in Q3 input costs

    Southern mills way ahead in raw sugar imports

    Govt hopeful of meeting export targets

    Policy on FDI in retail, realty soon: Kamal Nath

    Seafood exports may dip 10 pc

    Market for savings second only to food

    Chidambaram's 5-point agenda for India to drive global economy

    Industrial output up 7.9 pc in Dec


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