The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Rains hit operations at Paradip port
Both ship movement and loading and unloading of cargo have been affected, according to sources from the Paradip Port Trust There has been no cyclone warning so far. Only the number three signal was flashed, prohibiting fishermen to venture ... More

Heavy rain over west coast, Gujarat for two more days
THERE will be little respite for the rain-battered regions of Gujarat, north Konkan, and Goa for the next 48 hours, as the weakening `deep depression' over Central India will take that much time to move over and fizzle out. Compounding the ... More

ECONOMY

President's prescription
AS most of the country's citizens know by now, the President, Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, is a visionary. As he writes in a poem titled `Soaring Dream', posted on his own website (More

Fiscal deficit up 30.79 pc in Q1
THE Central Government's fiscal deficit for the first quarter ended June 30 surged 30.79 per cent to touch Rs 54,517 crore against Rs 41,683 crore recorded in the same period last year. The fiscal deficit for June 2005 stood at Rs 6,914 crore, ... More

Rs 1,025-cr Plan outlay for Goa
THE annual Plan of Goa for the current fiscal has been determined at Rs 1,025 crore at a meeting here between the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and the Goa Chief Minister, Mr Pratapsinh Rane. The Plan outlay ... More

VSEZ achieves Rs 180-cr export turnover in Q1
THE Visakhapatnam Special Economic Zone (VSEZ), which has achieved Rs 180-crore export turnover in the first quarter, is set to scale new heights as several units are coming up shortly or are under implementation, according to Mr Ramesh Kumar, ... More

ENGINEERING

Engg goods supply hit by rains in Maharashtra
CONTINUOUS rains in Maharashtra and Gujarat have cast a shadow over despatches of light engineering goods from Coimbatore. The squally weather in these States has also caused dislocation in the movement of goods turned out from Coimbatore ... More

FOREIGN TRADE

India, Korea working towards economic partnership agreement
THE final round of consultations of the India-Korea Joint Study Group is to be held soon to finalise its report on the formulation of a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries, said Mr Ban Ki-Moon, Korean ... More

Seychelles keen on trade pact with India
INDIA and Seychelles are discussing possibilities for signing a comprehensive trade agreement on the lines of which India has with Singapore and Mauritius to promote bilateral trade between the two countries, according to President of the ... More

South Korea to consider India's proposal for strategic gas swap
THE Union Petroleum Minister, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, said on Monday that South Korea has agreed to consider India's proposal for strategic gas swap arrangements. This could include LNG and energy fuel produced from Russia's Sakhalin-1 block, ... More

HEALTH

Owaisi Hospital, Nichi-In sign pact for stem cell research
NICHI-IN Biosciences, a Chennai-based Indo-Japan joint venture company, has joined hands with the Hyderabad-based Owaisi Hospital to undertake a research project to find treatment for acute and chronic liver failure. Mebiol Inc, a Japanese ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE

Chhattisgarh road projects work to begin soon, says CM
THE Chhattisgarh Government proposes to start shortly work on road projects worth about Rs 3,000 crore, according to the Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh. "We have decided to accord top priority to connectivity as a means of development," Dr ... More

PETROLEUM

Oil PSUs get in-principle nod to offload cross holdings
INDIAN Oil Corporation, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and GAIL (India) Ltd today moved a step closer towards offloading their cross-holdings in each other. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has given an in-principle approval to the ... More

No decision yet on petro-product prices revision: Aiyar
THE Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, on Monday said that while there has been no decision on the revision of petroleum product prices, the Government was aware of some of the oil public sector undertakings suffering ... More

POWER

2 BARC reactors in `safe shutdown' mode
BHABHA Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has put two of its three reactors in a "safe shutdown" mode. The reactors, Dhruva and Cirus, were shut-down last Tuesday, when Mumbai received heavy rainfall. The oldest and third reactor, Apsara has been in ... More

TAXATION

Three States make claims for revenue loss due to VAT
THE Centre has so far received compensation claims from three States for revenue loss due to implementation of value-added tax (VAT). Maharashtra, Bihar and Tripura have made compensation claims, official sources said. As per the ... More

Losses may hit corporate tax inflow from oil cos
OIL companies' contribution of corporate tax to the Centre's kitty may take a hit in the current fiscal if one were to go by the first quarter losses recorded by some of the oil behemoths, say oil industry insiders. Industry sources said that ... More

WATER

Idukki dam takes in Mullaperiyar overflow
VIGOROUS rainfall in Kerala during the week, especially in the high ranges, have raised the water level in the reservoirs of all the hydroelectric projects in the State. The Mullaperiyar dam, from which water is taken out to Tamil Nadu through ... More

PERSONAL PRODUCTS

FMCG cos' ad budget goes up
AS the demand for consumer goods picks up after a long lull, FMCG companies are stepping up their adspends to make sure their brands capture a bigger share of the consumer's wallet. Advertising and promotion spends are up sharply for leading ... More

RADIO/TV

GoM meets on downlinking, uplinking policy for TV channels
THE Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Defence Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, met for the first time to look into the uplinking and downlinking policy for television channels. The meeting, however, was inconclusive due to the absence of a few ... More

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS

National clinical research body launched
AIMED at improving the standards of clinical research and its ethical practices with focus on patients' safety, the Indian Society for Clinical Research (ISCR) has been launched here on Monday. "It is a broad-based association where clinical ... More

MINING & QUARRYING

Death-trap
A policeman emerging out of a tunnel, dug by illegal miners, after carrying out a search on Monday following reports of an accident on Sunday night claiming several lives at Karaka hills in Golugonda mandal in Visakhapatnam district. Illegal ... More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

Volkswagen still keen on India project, says emissary
THE German automotive major Volkswagen AG, through its emissary, has said that it is keen to pursue its India project and has invited a team from the Andhra Pradesh Government to hold further discussions. This development follows talks ... More

WTO

Stalemate on farm issues stalling liberalisation of global trade
AS agriculture continues to be at the core of the Doha Development Round of multilateral trade talks, the continued stalemate in resolving the differences between developed and developing countries on farm issue risks is stalling the ushering-in ... More

SOCIAL WELFARE

No move to introduce legislation on SC/ST quota in pvt sector
THE Government on Monday said that there was no proposal to introduce legislation in Parliament on the issue of reservation to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the private sector. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today, the ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Nabard promises additional funds to AP
FOLLOWING a request by the State Government for additional funds for rural projects, the Nabard Chairperson, Ms Ranjana Kumar, has promised support. At a meeting with the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, issues relating to Nabard ... More

EVENTS

The Hindu Metroplus theatre fest from Aug 5
FOR an 11-day stretch, beginning August 5, theatre lovers in the city are in for a jam-packed schedule of ten public performances of nine different plays, courtesy The Hindu Metroplus Madras Theatre Festival. Kicking off the inaugural ... More

`For an entrepreneur, knowledge is what matters most'
THE need for entrepreneurs to have knowledge of all subjects was stressed by Mr B.V. Ramanan, Chairman and Managing director, Livia Polymer Bottles Ltd, here today. Inaugurating the Business Line club, at Shanmugha Arts Science ... More

Kalam to visit Hyderabad
THE President, Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, will arrive in Hyderabad on August 4 as part of a two-day visit. The next day he will inaugurate the premises of the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Development at Gandipet. He will later interact with ... More

IQRA meet
HYDERABAD: The Economist of Confederation of Indian Industry, Mr Amirulla Khan, said "happy days are here again for engineering graduates. With about 3.5 lakh engineers coming out of about 1500 colleges across the country, and the GDP ... More

CED to host training programme in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: The Centre for Entrepreneurship development, an association of Lady Entrepreneurs of Andhra Pradesh, is hosting a three-day training programme on "How to start and export business" on August 2-3 at CED campus in ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

Pakistan may resume sugar imports from India — 3-4 lakh tonnes export likely
A MOVE by Pakistan to allow sugar imports from India after a gap of four years is likely to result in exports of 3-4 four lakh tonnes of the commodity to the neighbouring country. A Reuters report, quoting a Pakistani official, said the ban ... More

Q1 spice exports drop by Rs 62 crore
A SHARP fall in shipments of spices such as chilli, coriander and cumin has pushed down exports by Rs 62.66 crore during April -June this fiscal.. Total exports during the first quarter of the current fiscal stood at 90,278 tonnes valued at Rs ... More

NATURAL CALAMITIES

In commercial capital, essential items become scarce
WHEN boards are put up in shops saying that only two bottles of water will be sold per person, it is evident that food supplies are yet to be normalised in rain-drenched Mumbai. Consumers were allowed to buy only two (one-litre) bottles of ... More

No rain respite
An outstation bus on a waterlogged road in Mumbai on Monday. Heavy rains have lashed the city and other parts of Maharashtra with the death toll rising to 932. ... More

Hyundai offer for rain damaged vehicles in Mumbai
HYUNDAI Motor India has announced a 50 per cent discount on spare parts and labour charges and has offered several free services to its customers in Mumbai , whose vehicles have been damaged by the heavy rains. According to a company press ... More

Maharashtra Govt to set up panel to examine cause of floods
THE Government of Maharashtra plans to set up a technical committee to investigate the reasons behind the floods in Mumbai city, the Chief Minster, Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh, told presspersons at the Secretariat on Monday. He was, however, ... More

Ad world crippled by Mumbai deluge
THE torrential rain in Mumbai has affected advertising to some extent but the losses are being felt more in terms of loss of man-hours and work delays. A quick survey of various advertising agencies by Business Line revealed that most ... More

Mumbai residents stoically brave the rain
BENEATH a dark and overcast sky, this city held tenuously together through the pouring rain. Although reduced to a shade of its regular bustle, courtesy the Government's instruction that people undertake only essential travel, there seemed some ... More

Huge motor claims may test solvency of pvt insurers — Fresh capitalisation may be needed
WITH mounting claims in the aftermath of the floods in Maharashtra and Gujarat, private sector general insurers may face severe solvency pressures during the current financial year. Sources said that the claims are expected to lead to a red ... More

Mumbai airport back to normal: Praful Patel
WHILE assuring that the situation at Mumbai airport was back to normal, the Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr Praful Patel, today asked passengers to undertake only essential trips to the city. "The airport is back to normal and the main runway ... More

JNPT, NSICT terminals facing threat of congestion — Rains, floods disrupt rail links
JN Port - NSICT terminals are facing a threat of another major congestion with rains and floods disrupting rail links between the port and inland container depots (ICDs). Container Corporation of India, which runs the rail service between the ... More

It's raining troubles for Pune's automobile players
The auto industry's prospects for the next quarter is also being hit by the slowdown in customs clearance. More

Kerala urges Centre to send team to assess damage by floods
THE State Government has urged the Centre to send a team to assess the damage caused by floods in different parts of the State. The Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, told the State Assembly on Monday that the Government had promptly apprised ... More

Centre help in restoring power
NEW DELHI: The Power Minister, Mr P.M. Sayeed, today took stock of the power situation in Mumbai and assured the Maharashtra administration of all support from the Centre to restore normalcy of electricity supply in the city. Mr Sayeed ... More

TOURISM

Call for professionalism in tourism development
MR C. Anjaneya Reddy, Chairman of Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation, has called for efforts to bring in professionalism to help the country convert the huge potential in tourism and allied sectors into an opportunity. Mr Reddy, who ... More

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Fiscal deficit up 30.79 pc in Q1

Pakistan may resume sugar imports from India — 3-4 lakh tonnes export likely

Huge motor claims may test solvency of pvt insurers — Fresh capitalisation may be needed

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