The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, October 13, 2005

What's causing the pollution
The seawater around the Gateway of India is polluted resulting in the death of about 300 fish. A team of officials from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and scientists from the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute and ... More

CLIMATE & WEATHER

Twin-engined reverse monsoon in top gear
THE northeast monsoon has undergone a dramatic transformation with the east-west shear zone, the hotbed of monsoon turbulence in the Southern peninsula, getting elongated and held point-to-point by active low-pressure systems on either flank. ... More

Gorgeous scene
With rain clouds in the background, the rays of the setting sun paint Cyberabad crimson on Wednesday.

ECONOMY

Low tax-GDP ratio daunts India's quest to join developed world
INDIA is keen on joining the league of developed countries by 2020 as per the stated objective of the Government a couple of years ago. But with targets of the gross tax/GDP ratio (combined Centre and States) not reaching the 17 per cent the ... More

China's growth projection to boost commodities
CHINA'S commodities bull story which has held everyone's attention in recent years, is far from over. In the near future, the Asian giant's growth could be even stronger than the scorching rate so far. Support for this extremely optimistic view ... More

FOREIGN TRADE

Bilateral trade with China up 40 pc in Q1
INDIA'S merchandise trade with China jumped by nearly 40 per cent in the first three months of the current fiscal to touch $3.21 billion against the $2.30 billion recorded in the same period last year. According to the data compiled by the ... More

HEALTH

Rising health claims force insurers' rethink on TPAs
BARELY three years after third party administrators (TPAs) came into the health insurance sector, insurance companies are of the opinion that the experiment may be backfiring with health claims showing steep and unprecedented annual increase ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE

Rooms with a view
The deluxe five-star luxury Leela Hotel of the Mumbai-based Leela group, under construction near the Adyar estuary in Chennai. The Rs 320-crore hotel, with 280 rooms in phase I, is scheduled to open by 2008-end. ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS

UK court restricts launch of Ranbaxy's cholesterol drug — Pfizer says ruling will protect UK turf from generic competition
THE United Kingdom High Court of Justice today restricted Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd from launching early its generic version of Pfizer's cholesterol reducing drug, Lipitor, in the UK. The court upheld the exclusivity of the main patent covering ... More

TAXATION

New tonnage tax regime — Shipping Ministry takes hard stand on fleet acquisition clause
AFTER putting the new tonnage tax regime in place for the Indian shipping industry, it now seems to be payback time for the Ministry of Shipping. Industry sources say the Ministry has adopted a hard stand on the implementation of the clause in ... More

Draft circular on advertising services — Ad agencies may have to fork out more service tax
The implementation of the latest draft circular is likely to result in larger payout of service tax to the exchequer, say tax experts. More

TEXTILES

`Textile mills' operating profits rise due to drop in input costs'
THE South India Textile Research Association's (SITRA) study of textiles mills for the April-June 2005 showed that the raw material cost dropped 6.4 percentage points in relation to the yarn selling price compared to the previous six ... More

SSI

Burning issue
The rise in crude oil prices is having an impact on the prices of paraffin wax used for making candles. The increase is Rs 14,000 per tonne in three months, the recent one being a Rs 4,500 increase last week, causing a turmoil in the candle ... More

RADIO/TV

Discovery's India
Catalyst charts the course of Discovery's voyage in India. More

CARS

38 pc consider multiple brands before vehicle purchase: J.D. Power
SOME two out of five (38 per cent) new vehicle buyers consider at least one other model before making the purchase, according to the J.D. Power Asia Pacific 2005 India Escaped Shopper Study SM released on Wednesday. The inaugural study analyses ... More

LEATHER

Leather design centre to be set up at NIFT
A DESIGN and production centre for leather goods and garments will be set up at the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT). A memorandum of understanding to this effect was signed between NIFT, the Indian Leather Garments Association ... More

PAPER, BOARD & NEWSPRINT

Corrugated box industry mulls hiking prices
THE Federation of Corrugated Box Manufacturers of India is planning an upward revision of prices of corrugated boxes to remain in the business. According to the federation, certain developments in the recent past have jeopardised the viability ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

Nasscom in pact with Canada peer
THE National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Information Technology Association of Canada (ITAC) to encourage information exchangeon IT industry issues. "A joint ... More

BIO-TECH & GENETICS

CCMB to make nano-biotech foray
INFECTIOUS diseases and nano-biotechnology will be two new areas of focus for the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). The institute is foraying into nano-biotechnology with a separate facility and trained manpower. With the ... More

PAINTS

Demand makes paint sector buck input costs pressure
A STRONG growth in demand for paints is helping the industry mitigate the impact of rising input costs. Prices of most inputs have remained firm, barring vegetable oil, putting pressure on the profit margins for the paint industry, company ... More

PACKAGING

Bilcare unveils clinical services facility in Pune
PHARMA packaging research and solutions company Bilcare has unveiled its clinical services facility here. Dr Christoph Moeschli, Head, Clinical Packaging of Novartis Pharma AG Switzerland, inaugurated the new facility. Talking to ... More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

Retail: The next big thing?
Given the market potential, retail is all set to boom. More

FICCI seeks more FDI in DTH, cable biz
THE Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has asked the Government to increase the FDI (foreign direct investment) cap in direct-to-home and cable business to 74 per cent, similar to the telecom sector. The chamber has ... More

Volkswagen team coming today
A TWO-MEMBER legal team, led by Mr Alfred Strohlein, from the German car major Volkswagen (VW) is arriving here on Thursday to discuss and possibly finalise a pact with regard to setting up a manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh. Official ... More

EVENTS

Franchise Expo in Delhi
ABOUT 6,000-7,000 visitors are expected to visit Franchise India 2005, a fair to showcase investment opportunities in franchisees in various industries. The fair, to be hosted by Franchise Holdings Ltd, will have three main events - The ... More

In Hyderabad today

INCOME TAX

`FBT not in tune with spirit of liberalisation'
WHEN the international community is looking afresh at India as an emerging economy, the Government needs to do positive things to make sure that nothing is done to affect investments flows. Participating in a workshop on fringe benefit tax ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

Kamal Nath to meet chiefs of export promotion councils
THE Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, will hold a meeting with chiefs of various export promotion councils (EPCs) and commodity boards on October 18 to review the country's export performance during 2004-05 and analyse the emerging ... More

Comments & Letters to the Editor to: bleditor@thehindu.co.in
Subscribe to: Business Line