The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Ominous scene
The forlorn trees of Narshapur forest in Medak district appear to be awaiting the rains. The drought-prone districts are already facing severe water scarcity.

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY

Ethanol-blending to resume; ISMA made nodal agency
THE Government has reassured ethanol producers its long-term commitment to the gasohol-blending programme. The Government's move to promote ethanol as a mixed fuel follows the instructions issued by the Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural ... More

OUTSOURCING

CII views Coimbatore as `outsourcing hotspot'
THE Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Coimbatore has set out an agenda to turn the city into an "outsourcing hotspot" by refocusing on the region's six strong industries - textiles, auto-components, engineering, education, healthcare and IT ... More

AWARDS & HONOURS

Assocham Management awards
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India , Thrissur, has announced the Assocham Excellence in Management Award and Assocham Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr V.P. Nandakumar, Chairman and Managing ... More

AUTOMOBILES

Mumbai port emerging auto exports hub
`HUDSON Leader' - the car carrier of NYK Line is scheduled to load around 2,500 vehicles at Mumbai Port on March 31, the last day of the current fiscal. The sailing of the Japanese vessel with this export cargo will mark a turnaround for the ... More

BUDGET

Bengal budget focuses on employment generation
DR Asim Dasgupta, West Bengal Finance Minister, on Monday placed a Rs 5-crore deficit budget with the focus on employment generation. The budget makes an effort to bring the State out of its acute financial crisis. According to the budget ... More

Maharashtra State to have Rs 265-cr surplus budget
The coming financial year will see a revenue surplus of Rs 265 crore, according to the State Finance Minister, Mr Jayant Patil, making his budget presentation for 2005-06 here on Monday. The size of the budget plan is fixed at Rs 11,000 ... More

ECONOMY

GDP may grow 7-8 pc next fiscal: PM
THE Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, said on Monday that India is poised to achieve a 7-8 per cent GDP growth in the next fiscal. ``We are now at a point in time where we need to accelerate our growth rate into the 7-8 per cent band. We have ... More

ENVIRONMENT

FEDO to help set up waste treatment facility in Kochi
THE FACT Engineering and Design Organisation (FEDO) has been appointed consultant by the State Government for setting up a waste treatment facility to comply with the directives of the Apex court on the management of hazardous wastes. The ... More

Greenpeace to hold rally for clean water
GREENPEACE, a non-profit organisation dealing with environment-related issues, and representatives of six communities of the country have joined hands to organise a rally to push for clean water, clean air, clean - food and a toxic-free ... More

FOREIGN TRADE

FIEO for transport subsidy to units in inland States
THE Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has suggested that inland freight may be reimbursed to units in inland States that are at least 500 kilometres away from the major ports. Currently, the practice of granting transport ... More

HEALTH

New technique to remove cancerous breast tumours
THE Manipal Comprehensive Cancer Centre and the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Manipal Hospital have introduced an innovative technique called ROLL (Radioisotope Occult Lesion Localisation) that will benefit people with breast lumps and early ... More

World Bank-aided health project launched
THE World Bank assisted Tamil Nadu Health Systems Project was inaugurated on Monday. According to an official press release, the Rs 597.15-crore project aimed at upgrading public health facilities and infrastructure in the State will be ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE

Jamshedpur chosen for UN compact cities programme
JAMSHEDPUR, developed and managed by Tata Steel, is among the six cities in the world selected for the United Nations Global Compact Cities Pilot programme. The other cities that are part of the programme are Melbourne (Australia), Porto Alegre ... More

PETROLEUM

Retail diesel sales down in Feb
RETAIL diesel consumption witnessed negative growth during February 2005 against the year-ago period, though the aggregate sale during the first 11 months of the fiscal reflected a positive trend. The negative growth came as PSU sales during ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS

150 pharma units in AP may shift base to duty-free States
HYDERABAD may soon have to forego its coveted title of pharmaceutical capital of India. More than 150 pharmaceutical formulation units in Andhra Pradesh are expected to shift operations to the tax-exempted States such as Himachal Pradesh, ... More

TAXATION

Maharashtra to slash stamp duty on commodity market transactions, G-secs
THE Maharashtra Budget, having identified the need to retain leadership position enjoyed by Mumbai as the hub of financial and capital markets in the country, has decided to rationalise stamp duty on futures and forward trading. The State Finance ... More

Trade bodies not too keen on VAT launch
The chambers of commerce have stated that "if other States are reluctant to implement VAT simultaneously, trade and industry in the State will be in a disadvantageous position." However, trade bodies like the Hooghly Chamber of Commerce and ... More

Industry continues to hope on switching over to VAT
INDUSTRY continues to nurse hopes of switching over to value-added tax (VAT) system on April 1 while expressing concern over the uncertainty prevailing just days ahead of the deadline. At an interactive workshop, "VAT's Happening," here on ... More

Kerala ready for VAT regime, says Minister
THE State Government has taken all necessary steps to introduce the value-added tax (VAT) system from April 1, the Finance Minister, Mr Vakkom Purushothaman, said on Monday. However, if the majority of other States decided against its ... More

BREWERIES

Frothy business
Toddy tappers measure toddy for supply to toddy shops at the backwaters of Kochi. As per the excise policy announced for the next financial year, the State government has increased the licence fee for toddy shops. The fee for toddy shops ... More

LEATHER

`India cannot be competitor to China'
THE mood in the leather industry is upbeat as the focus of international markets turns to India. Mr Rafeeque Ahmed, Chairman, Council for Leather Exports, talks to Business Line on some of the trends, issues and concerns. Exports up to ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Kerala: Hike likely for Rural development allocation
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Union Minister for Rural Development, Dr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, has said the Central allocation for rural development in the State will be raised with effect from the next year. The Minister said this while ... More

EVENTS

Students to take part in post-Budget panel discussion
THE BL Club, a forum for industry-academia interface in management schools, in association with St Joseph's College of Engineering, Department of Management, will host a post-Budget panel discussion on Tuesday for students of various ... More

Women in Engineering meet
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Women In Engineering (WIE) Affinity Group of the Kerala Section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is organising a WIE technical event here on Tuesday. The event is being held in ... More

IEI(Kerala) to conduct summer programme
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Institution of Engineers (India) (IEI), Kerala State Centre, will conduct a summer programme on `Project training on electrical electronics' for high-school students as well as for those who have appeared for the ... More

`World Water Day'
NEW DELHI: The Water Resources Minister, Mr Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, will inaugurate a national function to mark the World Water Day on March 22. The function has technical sessions including presentations by various experts on the idea ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

Coffee exporters, buyers grapple for stocks
IS coffee on a bull run or leading to a bull "trap"? That is the question which is foremost in the minds of those in the trade, as growers and buyers grapple with the current situation where coffee prices are hovering around five-year ... More

PIRACY

Bill to curb video piracy tabled in AP
A BILL seeking to amend the Andhra Pradesh Exhibition of Films on Television Screen through Video Cassette Recorders (Regulation) Act, 1993 so as to curb video piracy effectively was introduced in the Legislative Assembly on Monday. The Bill ... More

TOURISM

Cherai Beach Resorts plans to focus on health tourism
TOURISM in Kerala is taking a new slant opening up opportunities for non-traditional investors like medical professionals for investment opportunity. Unlike Bangalore and other metros, where modern speciality hospitals are giving a fillip to ... More

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