The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, December 03, 2005

Chennai rains play spoilsport; disappointment greater for Zee
THE weather as expected played spoilsport in Chennai washing out the first day's play of the India-Sri Lanka test match, much to the displeasure of cricket lovers. But for Zee Sports, it has been a greater disappointment as the channel could not ... More

Invading westerlies lop the top off `Baaz', weaken storm
TROPICAL Cyclone Baaz underwent at least three rounds of deterioration over the Bay of Bengal waters to become a well marked `low' by Friday night, ensuring that it would have scaled down to barely tropical storm strength at the time of landfall. ... More

NRIS

PM to launch overseas citizen scheme at Pravasi meet
THE Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, will launch the Overseas Citizen Scheme during the inaugural session of the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas 2006 (PBD) slated for January 7-9, by handing over the first PIO (Person of India Origin) ... More

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY

Oil cos ask biodiesel producers to submit expressions of interest
But since the bio fuel projects themselves are at a nascent stage the oil companies are first assessing the quantity of bio fuel that can be sourced. More

CEMENT

Cement majors report increase in Nov sales
CEMENT majors, The Associated Cement Companies (ACC) and Gujarat Ambuja Cements have reported increased despatches, year-on-year, for November 2005. ACC has reported a 7.4 per cent increase in sales of cement for the month. The company sold ... More

ECONOMY

Mizoram Plan size for 2006-07 pegged at Rs 758 crore
THE Annual Plan for Mizoram for 2006-07 has been fixed at Rs 758 crore, against Rs 685 crore for the current fiscal at a meeting between the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and the Chief Minister of Mizoram, Mr ... More

Inflation rises on costlier chemicals
THE annual wholesale price index-based inflation rose 4.32 per cent during the week ended November 19, up from the previous week's annual rise of 4.20 per cent. The increase in the year-on-year inflation rate was largely on account of higher ... More

ENVIRONMENT

Greens see red
A party flag hoisted over a heap of mud unloaded for filling a paddy field in Angamali near Kochi on Friday. Widespread reclamation of paddy fields for construction of buildings has evoked strong protests from the Left parties who sometimes ... More

PETROLEUM

Dual pricing for kerosene under study
`The timing is appropriate to discuss issues like taking out above poverty line cardholders from the purview of subsidised kerosene and controlling leakage' More

BG India, ONGC to operate 3 offshore deepwater blocks
BG Exploration and Production India Ltd (BGEPIL) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Friday announced that they have reached an agreement to jointly operate three offshore deepwater exploration blocks on the east coast of the country. ... More

GAIL, BPCL to sign pact soon for LNG marketing jt venture
BHARAT Petroleum Corporation Ltd and GAIL (India) would soon sign an MoU for setting up a joint venture company for the marketing of LNG for automobiles and piped gas to domestic users in Kerala and Karnataka. The signing of the MoU, which ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS

`Exploit opportunities in clinical trials, contract research'
THE President of Indian Pharmaceutical Congress, Mr V.C. Nannapaneni, has said India should gear up to exploit the emerging opportunities in contract research and clinical trials. Addressing the 57th IPC meet here on Friday, he said many global ... More

YSR offers support for pharma varsity
RESPONDING positively to the plea of the pharmaceutical industry, the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, has announced that the Government is ready to provide all the infrastructure facilities, including land of up to 100 acres, for ... More

POWER

`Power T&D loss in India among the highest'
THE country's power sector, infamous for its distribution sector inefficiencies, shares the top slot in the company of countries such as Nigeria and Nicaragua when it comes to overall transmission and distribution (T&D) loss levels. Countries .. More

`CERC taking steps to harmonise power distribution'
THE Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) is making all out efforts to harmonise power distribution in the country in coordination with the electricity regulatory commissions of different States, the Chairman of the organisation, Mr ... More

Maharashtra PWD observes power safety week
THE Public Works Department (PWD) of the Maharashtra Government, in association with the International Copper Promotion Council (India) (ICPCI) is observing Electrical Safety Week, from December 1. The department has been observing Electrical ... More

Swasti Power hopes to execute hydel project at Uttaranchal before time
SWASTI Power Engineering Ltd, a Hyderabad-based independent power producer (IPP), expects to complete the Rs 118-crore 22.5 MW hydel station in Uttaranchal ahead of schedule by December 2007. The Managing Director of Swasti Power, Mr Y.S. ... More

Damodar Valley Corpn's Bengal, Jharkhand power plant proposals hit snag
DAMODAR Valley Corporation's (DVC) plans for setting up two mega thermal power plants of 1,000 MW each at Durgapur in West Bengal and Kodarma in Jharkhand have been hit. In Durgapur, despite all support from the State Government, the DVC has ... More

TEXTILES

ETL Infrastructure joins hands with IL&FS for textile park in Coimbatore
THE Chennai-based ETL Infrastructure Services Ltd, which has proposed to develop a home textiles park in Coimbatore, is to pair with Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) for the project implementation. ETL is in the process . More

WATER

Water preservation drive in Kerala
THE Kerala Government is launching a water preservation campaign aimed at educating people on the need to protect water resources and prevent over-exploitation of ground water. The campaign, which will be kicked off on December 8, willalso ... More

EDUCATION

DoT-funded project under way — Open source to be part of engg curriculum soon
C-DAC expects to bring out in 18 months a software that will offer all 22 official languages. More

Silver jubilee of SSM Institute at Komarapalayam
COIMBATORE: The Silver Jubilee celebrations of S.S.M. Institute of Textile Technology & Polytechnic College in Komarapalayam will be held from December 3 to 5. Mr Jeppiaar, Chancellor, Sathya Bama Deemed University, Chennai, will ... More

Fiscal management course
HYDERABAD: Dr S. Prakash Tiwari, Director of NAARM (National Academy of Agricultural Research Management), has inaugurated a weeklong course in improving administrative efficacy of financial management at the academy. Inaugurating the ... More

PGDBM admissions
HYDERABAD: The Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE) has announced that the last date for submitting filled in applications for the Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Management (PGDBM) for 2006-08 is December 9. Candidates appearing at ... More

PAPER, BOARD & NEWSPRINT

Paper industry for fund on TUFS lines
The main highlights of the memorandum pertain to requisite changes in customs and excise duties. More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

Assocham offers to bring investments
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) has decided to work with the southern States to attract fresh investments in food processing, health and medical tourism, IT, biotechnology, BPO, agriculture specially plantation and ... More

TN chamber office-bearers
MADURAI: Mr S. Rethinavelu has been unanimously elected as the President of the Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the year 2005-06, for the 13th consecutive year, at its 81st annual general meeting, held on Tuesday. Mr S.P. ... More

MCCI creates database
CHENNAI: The Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) has created a database of independent directors consisting of representatives from the industry, tax professionals, advocates, software experts and consultants so that any listed ... More

MINERALS

Rlys fears higher classification for iron ore may hit earnings
Many railway stations act as the gateways to port. Some iron ore exporters, so far booking their consignments right up to the ports, may now do the booking up to the gateway stations to avoid higher freight. More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Bamboo push
The bamboo growers of South Tripura district are busy transporting their produce through the river Muhuri to a nearby market. The rich and diverse natural bamboo resources in the State boast nearly 13 varieties. According to a state government ... More

Bajaj Allianz cos to offer composite micro-insurance products
PRIVATE insurance companies have started designing composite micro-insurance products combining life and general insurance covers. One of the first insurers to announce the plan for the new product, to be filed under the new IRDA regulations ... More

Indian Bank plans new model to improve rural penetration — 'Better connectivity, not more branches'
INDIAN Bank has envisioned a project for taking the banking technology to the rural areas. It is a dream project for its Chairman and Managing Director, Dr K. C. Chakrabarty, who is intent on making Indian Bank `a common man's bank'. "We are ... More

EVENTS

GLIM management fest on Dec 11, 12
GREAT Lakes Institute of Management (GLIM) is organising its maiden annual B-school fest L'Attitude 13º05 (signifying the geographical coordinates of Chennai) on December 11 and 12. The festival begins with a conclave of eminent business ... More

INCOME TAX

An alternative idea
The regime of disallowance would have the same chastening effect on employers as FBT, says S. Murlidharan More

Unwarranted hurry to amend law
Changes to the I-T Act through presidential Ordinance should be made only if unavoidable, says T. N. Pandey More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

`India to gain from foreign cos setting up export base'
WITH the low costs helping in reduction in overheads, exports from India could be cheaper and would help the international companies based out of the country. Addressing a conference on outsourcing organised by the Confederation of Indian ... More

Kerala exporters threaten stir over delay in input tax refund
EXPORTERS in Kerala have threatened to stop exports from the New Year if the State Government did not refund the input tax collected from them immediately. The representatives of the All India Spices Exporters' Forum, Cochin Hill Produce ... More

ECONOMIC OFFENCES

Natwar Singh was in the know, says envoy — Govt will dig out the truth: Manmohan
`The Enforcement Directorate has assured the Government that investigations are proceeding on the right track and they would be able to establish the facts expeditiously.' More

Oil cos seek review of new marketing discipline norms
TROUBLED by the recent incident of the murder of a young Indian Oil Corporation sales officer, the marketing heads of the public sector oil marketing companies (OMCs) are pressing for the review of new Marketing Discipline Guidelines (MDGs).The ... More