The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Merchandise exports rise 24.71 pc
The country's merchandise exports rose more than 24.71 per cent in dollar terms at $100.6 billion during April-March 2005-06 against the same period during the previous year. During March this year, exports were up more than 20.6 per cent ... More

URBAN DEVELOPMENT

`Quality of life in Indian cities set to improve'
Increased investments from multinationals and foreign institutional investors could lead to further improvement in the quality of living standards in Indian cities over the next four to five years, according to a survey conducted by HR ... More

CLIMATE & WEATHER

Heat wave abating in North
The prevailing western disturbance over Northwest India has started moving eastward with the band of rain clouds in tow, breathing cooler air into the plains left barren by the oppressive heat of the past few days. The dry but cool winds from ... More

Heat is on
COOL WATER: A man cools off at a roadside water spot in Kolkata on Tuesday. The mercury level is on the rise across the country.

NRIS

IOB's insurance scheme for NRIs
Indian Overseas Bank on Tuesday launched a scheme for non-resident Indians, which aims at providing "all conceivable insurance cover required by NRIs when on a visit to India." The scheme is being launched in association with ... More

ECONOMY

Domestic firms worried as global oil prices test $70 levels
The surge in international crude prices has become a cause for concern for the domestic oil companies, which are already reeling under pressure. The international crude prices were seen surging towards $70 a barrel, with the London Brent ... More

`Tertiary sector drives growth in Kerala'
The share of the tertiary sector in income increased from 40 per cent in 1983 to 55 per cent in 2000. More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS

Tata Chem to contest Central Excise order
Tata Chemicals Ltd (TCL) today informed the BSE that it would be contesting an order from the Central Excise demanding duty of Rs 278.35 crore along with penalty of an equal amount. The order was issued by the Commissioner, Central Excise ... More

FOREIGN TRADE

Karzai woos Indian cos to Kabul
The visiting Afghanistan Premier, Mr Hamid Karzai, has invited Indian corporates to invest in joint ventures in the country's capital Kabul and extended full support from his Government. Mr Karzai, who is leading a delegation from on ... More

HEALTH

Mandatory psychometric screening for seafarers
To gauge pre-sea officers' mental make-up before they set sail More

`Chikun Gunya' outbreak in AP
The Andhra Pradesh Health Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, on Tuesday confirmed the incidence of Chikun Gunya outbreak in a few districts of the State, including Hyderabad, and promised that the Government has initiated steps to curb it. ... More

Cogent EMR bets on radiation solutions
The New Delhi-based Cogent EMR Solutions Pvt Ltd, which offers remedies to tackle radiation, has charted an aggressive expansion plan that includes achieving a turnover of Rs 350 crore in the next five years. The company plans to manufacture ... More

Rare cardiac surgery
Doctors at Wockhardt Hospitals have performed a rare cardiac surgery on a 98-year-old patient, suffering from a complete heart block, complete renal failure and infection. Wockhardt set up a cardiac facility at the Kamineni ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE

Pampa projects hit roadblock
TDB chief accuses State Govt, Forest Dept of non-cooperation More

Mangalore SEZ: 18 cos keen to invest in multi-product component
Most companies yet to divulge volume of investments planned More

PSU

Govt yet to decide on single IPO for Air India, IA
The Government is yet to take a decision on whether Air India and Indian Airlines should have a simultaneous initial public offering (IPO). "The merchant bankers working on the IPO for the two airlines have sent various interim reports to the ... More

PETROLEUM

Oil majors keen on new exploration blocks
Show interest in acquiring data packages of sedimentary basins More

Petroleum regulator to be in place by September
Deora to meet Chidambaram to discuss Rangarajan Committee report More

Oil import bill swells to $40 b
Due to high international crude prices, India's oil import bill went up to $40 billion in the first 11 months (April-February) of 2005-06. As per the latest data available with the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, about 90.34 million tonnes ... More

ONGC in no hurry to offload its stake in GAIL
To take a fresh view on the issue during the current fiscal More

PHARMACEUTICALS

`Wockhardt has complied'
Wockhardt Ltd today said its Waluj plant in Aurangabad, Maharashtra, manufacturing sterile cephalosporin injectables, is yet to commercialise production for the US market. Responding to a report that the US Food and Drug Administration has ... More

POWER

Bechtel inks Dabhol pact with BHEL
But restart of project may be pushed beyond May 1 More

TAXATION

Tax revenues of VAT States rise 15.35 pc in April-Feb
The tax revenues of VAT (value-added tax) implementing States have risen 15.35 per cent during the first eleven months of fiscal 2005-06 to touch Rs 67,834 crore against Rs 58,807 crore recorded in the same period the previous ... More

TN commercial tax collections surpass target
Buoyed by a general economic growth, Tamil Nadu's commercial taxes — Sales Tax and its share of Central Sales Tax — grew by nearly a fifth during 2005-06 over the previous year, surpassing the internal target for the year. According ... More

Tea price likely to rise by Rs 10-20 in Maharashtra
Notification restoring old VAT rate of 4 per cent not issued yet More

TEXTILES

TN textiles all set to become $40-b industry by 2015
Potential to generate 50 lakh new jobs, says CII study More

EDUCATION

IITs, IIMs have systems to help non-merit students
QUOTA PROPOSAL More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Build Expo may see Rs 100-cr biz
Third edition from January 29 in Coimbatore More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

Foreign cos enter traditional wholesaling domain
Wholesale trading in India is changing in character. Since pre-Independence, it has been dominated by the traditional caste-specific trading community. However, today, foreign investors seem to be making a beeline for this traditional trade. The ... More

Singapore business chamber keen on SEZ route
For investments into Bengal post-CECA More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

AP Govt offer to resolve port row
Fishermen given three options More

HUMAN RESOURCES

CVC rejects Ministry's request to review control over PSB officials
Finance Ministry had suggested keeping officers of scale-V out of CVC purview More

EVENTS

Productivity meet from April 20
The Indian Machine Tools Manufacturers Association will conduct Productivity Summit, a three-day summit on "Unleashing the power of productivity in metal working" in Chennai from April 20-22. According to an association release, ... More

ECONOMIC OFFENCES

`Spirit'ual haul
A LORRY TANKER carrying rectified spirit illegally from Hyderabad to Kochi was confiscated by Excise officials at Ongole on Tuesday. They seized 11,000 litres of spirit worth Rs 5 lakh from the tanker and arrested its ... More