The Hindu Business Line : Friday, July 08, 2005

Marathwada, Telangana regions to witness rainfall over the weekend
THE monsoon trough is in tact and is tracking a southeast-northwest alignment, with the western disturbance and the overland low-pressure area moving away from each other to a safe distance after their interaction on Thursday. As if on cue, ... More

Pregnant clouds
Monsoon clouds over the backwaters of Kochi. Vigorous monsoon in the last 15 days brought down the national rainfall deficit from 59 per cent to 15 per cent by June 30, according to the Met ... More

ECONOMY

Kerala Govt to clear part dues to contractors
THE Kerala Government has set apart Rs 247 crore to partly clear the arrears due to public works and irrigation contractors. The Finance Minister, Mr Vakkom Purushothaman, told the Assembly on Thursday that the Government had cleared the ... More

FERTILISERS

MFL seeks regulated phosphoric acid supply
MADRAS Fertilizers Ltd (MFL) has urged the Union Fertiliser Ministry to regulate distribution of phosphoric acid among fertiliser manufacturers. According to reliable sources, production of complex fertilisers has been hit at MFL due to low ... More

FOREIGN TRADE

Chamber chalks out agenda for Indo-US talks
A five-point agenda has been evolved by the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) for commercial interaction with the US Administration during the Prime Minister's forthcoming visit to the US. The agenda addresses issues such as the ... More

HEALTH

ESIC hikes medical reimbursement limit
THE governing body of the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) on Thursday decided to increase the ceiling on reimbursement of medical care to State Governments from the current Rs 750 to Rs 900 per insured person or family per annum ... More

Stand-alone health insurance — Apollo Hospitals, US co show interest
TWO parties, including one from the US, have shown interest in setting up stand-alone health insurance companies. According to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) sources, the corporate hospital group, Apollo, and the ... More

Bill to regulate clinical establishments planned
A uniform law to ensure minimum health standards is being proposed. More

Maharashtra may tie up with S. Korean company for hi-tech medical bank
THE Maharashtra Government is likely to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Friday with Histostem, a South Korean biotech company, to set up a Rs 86-crore cord-blood and stem cell bank near Mumbai. Histostem develops human cell-based ... More

PSU

CAG report picks holes in KMML operations
THE State-owned Kerala Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML) has suffered production loss to the tune of Rs 358.59 crore due to lower efficiency of the titanium dioxide pigment plant, according to report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India ... More

PETROLEUM

Govt open to refining existing exploration licensing policy: Aiyar
THE Petroleum Minister, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, on Thursday, indicated that the Government was open to suggestions for fine-tuning the existing exploration licensing policy or adopting a new policy. Addressing presspersons after a CEOs conclave ... More

ONGC-Cairn, HPCL, IOC bid for Rajasthan refinery
THE Union Government has received three bids for the proposed refinery in Rajasthan. The Government will now have to choose from the ONGC-Cairn combine, Indian Oil Corporation and HPCL to set up a refinery in Rajasthan with an annual crude ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS

Pharma kids
The scions of flourishing pharma companies bring with them a youthful zest and optimism. Meet generation next in this industry. More

A drink to health
It was a taste for Bubbles, a popular Taiwanese drink, that got 22-year-old Zahabiya and her friend Arshad Mirza to start Tapioca Bar. Tucked away at Khar West, in north Mumbai, the alternate café has on its menu the imported non-alcoholic, ... More

POWER

BHEL to commission 3,712 MW capacity in 2005-06
BHARAT Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has commissioned 3,548 MW of generation capacity during 2004-05 and plans to add another 3,712 MW of capacity during the current fiscal, a company release said here today. BHEL has achieved 110 per cent of ... More

Dabhol SPV registered as Ratnagiri Gas
THE Special Purpose Vehicle floated by GAIL (India) Ltd and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to revive the 2,184-MW Dabhol power plant has been named `Ratnagiri Gas and Power Pvt Ltd.' The Registrar of Companies has allotted the name ... More

Kanara Chamber seeks early implementation of thermal power plant
THE Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has sought the early implementation of thermal power plant, promoted by Nagarjuna Power Corporation Ltd, at Padubidri in Udupi district. Implementation of the project will help in meeting the ... More

6.6 pc hike in Delhi power tariff
THE Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has initiated the task of rationalising the inherent cross-subsidies in the retail power tariffs in the Capital. The state regulator on Thursday announced a 6.6 per cent average increase in ... More

TAXATION

VAT a step towards common taxation system: CII
THE Confederation of Indian Industry believes that the value-added tax (VAT) system that most States have switched over to is only an intermediate stage and the ultimate objective should be to have a single, common, harmonised system of taxation ... More

Direct tax collections up 32 pc in Q1: CBDT chief
DIRECT tax collections have increased by 32 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal to about Rs 16,000 crore, a top Finance Ministry official has said. "This increase has come even after a more than 7 per cent drop in the personal ... More

`VAT compensation to be much below Rs 10,000 cr'
GOING by the indications in the first three months after the introduction of the value-added tax from April 1, the compensation to States on revenue-loss, if any, arising from VAT implementation, is likely to be much below the expected Rs 10,000 ... More

TEXTILES

Concern over bid to remove specific duty on textile imports from Pakistan
THE bonhomie between India and Pakistan appears to have left the domestic textile industry aggrieved because of the pressures exerted by Islamabad on New Delhi to remove the specific import duty on textiles and clothing. As both India and ... More

RADIO/TV

WorldSpace set to expand — Earmarks $10 m for promotions
SATELLITE radio broadcaster WorldSpace India is getting aggressive in the domestic market and has earmarked $10 million as advertising and promotional spend for the current year. Speaking to newspersons, Mr Deepak Varma, Managing Director, ... More

EDUCATION

ICFAI admission test
HYDERABAD: ICFAI University has announced that it would conduct a common admission test - ICFAI Business Studies Aptitude Test (IBSAT) 2005 - for the management programmes being offered by it. In a release on Thursday, the ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Rating system for green buildings
A RATING system for green buildings based on the US LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) is being drawn up, according to Mr C.N. Raghavendran, Partner, C.R. Narayana Rao Architects and Engineers and Co-Chairman of the LEED India ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

Kalam help sought to get Coimbatore on the fast track
THE Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Coimbatore, has sought the intervention of the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, to improve the infrastructure facilities in the city that has emerged as a major outsourcing hub for textiles ... More

READYMADE GARMENTS

A stitch in time
A view of a stall at the Zak Garmentech International 2005 exhibition in the Capital on Thursday.

SOCIAL WELFARE

The effort shows
After schools hours, many classrooms in Faridabad open their doors to fulfill the dreams of children from disadvantaged families. More

EVENTS

`Good governance key to economic development'
GOOD governance contributes to sustainable economic development and growth, said Ms Jenny Shipley, former Prime Minister of New Zealand. Speaking at a workshop on `governance of public service providers and state-owned enterprises' held in the ... More

INCOME TAX

Gujarat assessees given more time to file returns
CONSIDERING the flood situation in Gujarat, the Central Board of Direct Taxes has extended the due date for filing of returns/statements by taxpayers in that State. All returns/statements required to be furnished by taxpayers in Gujarat by ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

Oilmeal exports down 34 pc during April-June
OILMEAL exports declined by 34 per cent to 7,18,275 tonnes during the first quarter (April-June) of the current financial year compared with 10,83,900 tonnes in the same period a year ago, according to figures complied by the Solvent ... More

Board of Trade working groups constituted to study export issues
THE Commerce and Industry Ministry has constituted five working groups and three special study groups on specific areas of exports to boost the country's exports. The move to constitute these groups was a fallout of the meeting of the Board ... More

Export enquiries prop up tobacco sales, prices
TOBACCO auctions in Andhra Pradesh will come to an end on July 15. The average price realised by the end of auctions on Tuesday was higher by Rs 1.14 than last year and 139.14 million kg have been sold with sales recovering from a mid-season ... More

CSEZ announces export excellence awards
KOCHI: The Cochin Special Economic Zone (CSEZ) has announced awards for export excellence for export-oriented units and special economic zone schemes in Kerala. In all, 30 awards are being given for export performance and a special ... More