The Hindu Business Line : Monday, September 26, 2005

Rain belt shifting from northwest
THE dominant western disturbance has assumed complete sway over the prevailing but rapidly weakening `low', lugging it to the eastern and northeastern parts of the country. On Saturday, the `low' was located to northeast Rajasthan and ... More

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY

Tiruchi windmill units on expansion spree
MORE often than not, it is only with a frown of impatience that Mr K. Premanathan surveys his company's `paint shop', which does not look like one. Massive pipes — into whose mouths you can stand a man and his 12-year-old son one atop the ... More

D1 Oils' Chennai refinery to go on stream next year
THE UK-based D1 Oils Plc is planning to commission its first refinery in Chennai early next year. Disclosing this at a press conference, the company's CEO (Global Operations), Mr Philip Wood, said the plant has been intended for production of ... More

ENVIRONMENT

Fuelling demand, foretelling ecological disaster
THE global economy, increasingly fuelled by cheap non-renewable energy, has grown six fold in the past 50 years. In developed countries, about 85 per cent of the energy consumed comes from non-renewable fossil fuel — oil, natural gas, and ... More

Sethusamudram won't affect ecology, says DCI chief
THE Sethusamudram project would not have any negative impact on the ecology of the region or fisheries. There can be no room for any such fears, said Mr N.K Guptha, the Chairman and Managing Director of the Dredging Corporation of ... More

FOREIGN TRADE

Why agro-trade is the key to agriculture
LATELY, there has been a lot of discussion on agro-trade. The next round of the Agreement on Agriculture (AoA) is scheduled for December, in Hong Kong. What are the implications of agro-trade for the Indian economy? Agro-trade can benefit ... More

Session with US Counsel at Kerala Chambers
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Chamber of Commerce, Thiruvananthapuram, will host Mr Mark Russell, Commercial Counsel for South India, American Counsel General Office, Chennai, for an interactive session here on Monday. Mr Thanu Pillai, ... More

EU body to create alumni of project partners
THE European Union-India Economic Cross Cultural Programme (EU-ECCP), which works for building civil society partnerships between the EU and India, will form an alumni, making a pool of the 60 projects it supported in India in the last few ... More

HEALTH

A public health challenge ahead
SEPTEMBER 21 was World Alzheimer's Day and the whole of last week was observed as National Dementia Awareness Week. For Kerala, the observance was sombre and somewhat poignant for very good reason: Kerala has the greatest number of elderly among ... More

Wockhardt Hospital's healthy heart week in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: Wockhardt Hospitals on Sunday launched a Healthy heart week coinciding with the World Heart Day. The Healthy Heart Day was inaugurated by the city mayor, Mr T. Krishna Reddy, at the hospital premises. The week-long initiative ... More

Centre plans to popularise illness assistance fund
AFTER the assurance on rural employment, the Centre is set to take up its promise on making healthcare more accessible by popularising the National Illness Assistance Fund (NIAF). State Governments dip into the fund to reimburse the medical ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE

Kanara chamber pitches for better infrastructure
THE Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has called for expediting infrastructure-related work in Dakshina Kannada. The chamber said that the district would witness huge growth as public sectors undertakings and private companies ... More

PETROLEUM

ONGC inks pact with NLC for underground coal gasification
ONGC has signed an MoU with Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd (NLC) for initiating one of the underground coal gasification (UCG) pilots in shallower lignite. According to an ONGC release, the company is progressing on fast track to tap ... More

BPCL in talks with NCDEX for futures trading in furnace oil
BPCL is working on an agreement about physical delivery of the product, which will be crucial for participation in such contracts. More

Diesel cost at highs
Already at record level, the cost of diesel fuel in 2005 is predicted to exceed last year's cost by nearly 40 per cent. The new emission norms have also negatively impacted the fuel economy, leading industry leaders to look for new solutions ... More

SSI

`SMEs must upgrade tech to become Defence suppliers'
REGULAR technology upgradation of the SME units is essential for them to be a supplier to the Defence sector, according to Mr Pranab Mukherjee, Union Defence Minister. He was addressing members of the CII on Sunday at the First CII Defence SME ... More

RADIO/TV

`Use AIR as vehicle in educating people'
THE CEO of Prasar Bharati, Mr K.S. Sarma, has called for use of All India Radio (AIR) as a vehicle to reach out to the masses with educative messages. Addressing a gathering before presenting Prasar Bharati Unicef Awards for films as change ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

MBD group plans foray into realty
THE Rs 150-crore MBD group, a Delhi-based publishing house, plans to enter real estate with the construction and management of a Rs 100-crore project in Ludhiana-MBD Neopolis. The project would have a shopping mall, a multiplex, and a five-star ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

`East must take advantage of natural resources'
THE States of eastern India, including West Bengal, "have to carve out a space for themselves in manufacturing by making full use of their natural advantages like abundant availability of natural resources and skilled labour," said Mr Harsh K. ... More

MINERALS

It's destination China for Indian raw materials
India overtakes Brazil and Australia to emerge as the largest supplier of ores, slag and ash to China. Plastics and polymers exports up 224 per cent in five years. More

DISINVESTMENT

Insurance staff to join stir against privatisation
THE All-India Insurance Employees' Association has given a call to its members to join the nationwide strike on September 29 against disinvestment and privatisation. The Left unions have given the call for the strike. At a press conference here ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

World Bank's pat for AP women SHGs
THE success story of women self-help groups (SHGs) in Andhra Pradesh has caught the attention of the world with the World Bank highlighting their achievements in transforming the lives of womenfolk in the rural areas. The report entitled `World ... More

`Villagers must be involved in planning development'
PARTICIPATION of villagers in the planning process of the developmental needs is necessary for the overall development of villages, according to Mr Hariprakash Shetty, General Manager of Vijaya Bank. Presiding over the 14th annual general ... More

EVENTS

Agenda for the week

INCOME TAX

Policy proposes tax breaks for renting out new properties
TO give a fillip to the rental housing market, including service apartments, the draft National Housing and Habitat Policy, 2005, has proposed income-tax sops on renting out new properties to a flat 10 per cent during the first five years. "For ... More

Insurers see `life' beyond Fringe Benefit Tax
LIC would give its 10,000 corporate clients, who are already purchasing the conventional group gratuity product, the choice to switch to the unit-linked version. More