The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, October 22, 2005

Consumer durables sector sees pick-up in sales
AFTER a subdued six months, the consumer durables sector seems to be springing back to life again. Major consumer durable manufacturers said that with the festive season kicking off across the country, there has been a pick up in sales across ... More

ECONOMY

Mining sector pulls down IIP to 7.4 pc in Aug
NEGATIVE growth in the mining sector during August has pulled down the overall growth in industrial production to 7.4 per cent against 8.6 per cent in August 2004, according to an official release. On a cumulative basis, however, the Index of ... More

Inflation up on costlier manufactured goods
INFLATION rose to 4.62 per cent during the week ended October 8 from 4.24 per cent a week ago, mainly due to hike in prices of essential food items and manufactured products. Seasonal factors may have led to rise in inflation to 4.62 per ... More

WestBridge sees growth in hotel, branded healthcare sectors
WESTBRIDGE Capital Partners, the $350-million India-focussed venture fund, sees rapid growth in branded healthcare, consumer Internet, and wireless telecommunication applications. The domestic market for retail and travel and tourism is also set ... More

ENVIRONMENT

Most rubber estates may not get carbon credit
EVEN as the natural rubber industry prepares itself to pitch for trading in carbon reduction under the Kyoto Protocol, most of the existing rubber plantations in the country are unlikely to qualify for trading in certified emission reduction ... More

Kalpataru Power, first Indian co to get carbon credit
KALPATARU Power Transmission Ltd's (KPTL) Rajasthan project, where it generates electricity generation from mustard crop residues, on Friday became the first Indian project and the third project worldwide to which the UN panel issued carbon ... More

DEG earmarks euro 50 m to assist SMEs for carbon trading
DEUTSCHE Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft GmbH (DEG), one of Europe's largest development financial institutions, and a member of the euro 3.29-billion KfW Bankengruppe of Germany, has earmarked euro 50 million for financing (both ... More

HEALTH

`Partnership essential to control micronutrient deficiencies'
THE Micronutrient Initiative, an international non-profit organisation, has called for the launch of a time-bound public-private civic partnership programme for controlling vitamin and mineral deficiencies (VMD) in India. The programme is ... More

HOTELS

International hotel meet in Delhi
THE proprietors and managing directors of some of the biggest hotel chains of the world would be gathering in Delhi for the annual convention ofThe Leading Hotels Of the World, Ltd. The theme of this year's convention, which begins on October ... More

PETROLEUM

Govt chalking out plan for joint overseas bidding by oil PSUs
WITH energy security becoming the buzzword, the Petroleum Ministry is formulating a strategy to enable domestic public sector oil companies to join hands to compete for buying equity abroad. The Ministry was looking at creating a package that ... More

POWER

CCEA clears Parbati hydel project
THE Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved the setting up of the Parbati Hydro Electric Power Project Stage III in Himachal Pradesh at an estimated cost of Rs 2,304.56 crore. It has also approved the restructuring of Praaga ... More

TAXATION

Fuel surcharge issue — Travel agents, global airlines may lock horns again
TRAVEL agents across the country may lock horns with international airlines again even as they consider a move to stop collecting fuel surcharge from passengers on behalf of the airlines. A formal decision, on the move, will be taken once the ... More

SSI

Madurai SSI body caution on bio-diesel policy norms
THE Madurai District Tiny And Small Scale Industries Association (Maditssia), while welcoming the new bio-diesel policy announced by the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, has observed that as the source of its immediate supply in great ... More

EDUCATION

New hospitality management institute in Noida
THE Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Association of India (FHRAI) has set up the FHRAI Institute of Hospitality Management in Greater Noida near Delhi. The institute has been set up with consulting support and academic certification from Ecole . More

CARS

Operating cost of new vehicles goes up with fuel prices: J.D. Power
THE rising price of fuel is taking its toll on car owners with a study finding that the operating costs of new vehicles have gone up significantly this year. The operating costs of new vehicles have risen by 11 and 15 per cent for petrol and ... More

CONSULTING

4 US consultants in fray for designing Abu Dhabi airport's mega terminal
ABU Dhabi is planning a mega terminal to handle 20 million passengers a year upon completion. The design of the Abu Dhabi International Airport's (ADIA) multi-billion dirham mega Midfield Terminal Complex will be unveiled in December, ... More

LEATHER

CLE hopes to get upgradation fund notified soon
THE leather industry hopes to get the Rs 290-crore technology upgradation fund notified within a fortnight. According to Mr Rafeeque Ahmed, Chairman, Council for Leather Exports (CLE), the notification is likely in about 10 days. The fund, ... More

PRECIOUS METALS

Gold susceptible to downside risk
GOLD has run into an aggressive stale long liquidation, reversing its rebound above $470 an ounce made earlier this week. By now, the yellow metal has lost almost $10/oz. In the early trade today, it was ruling at $462.35/oz. Experts said fund ... More

METALS

Crude, metals to remain firm in Q4
THE world may be amidst an unusual commodity boom. The broad-based strength in the commodity markets with crude, natural gas and copper hitting all-time highs in the past few months, as also energy and farm commodity prices surging to fresh ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

CII leadership series in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is organising the second edition of `Leadership series on manufacturing excellence (MAN'EXE - 2005) here on October 26. The meet would focus on importance and benefits of Six Sigma, ... More

Chidambaram for more depth in capital market — `More cos must be listed on SEs'
THE Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, today called for greater depth in the capital market by suggesting that more public and private companies should be listed on the country's stock exchanges to enable their performance to be judged by the ... More

Anil Agarwal to head Assocham
MR Anil K. Agarwal, President, Cosmos Group, was today elected as the President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) at the 85th annual general meeting of the chamber. Mr Venugopal Nandlal Dhoot, Chairman and ... More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

`Draft paper soon on opening retail sector for FDI'
THE Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, on Fridaysaid that the Planning Commission is considering the implications of opening the retail sector for foreign direct investments, and a draft paper on the same ... More

INCOME TAX

Two streams of assessments
R. Anand on disputes over disallowance of personal expenses impacting fringe benefit tax More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

DEPB substitute to be more scientific
THE proposed new alternative scheme tentatively titled "Cumulative NonVATable Duty Neutralisation Scheme," for the existing Duty Exemption Pass Book (DEPB) scheme, which has to be wholly WTO compatible, is now under discussion between the ... More

Chinese trip makes tea sector confident of exploring potential in global markets
RETURNING home after visiting China, a tea delegation not only appears more confident to target markets abroad, but has also realised the need for exploring the potential in markets such as the Russian Federation (led by Kazhakstan and Ukraine), ... More