The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, July 11, 2006

SOCIAL SECURITY
Provident fund computerisation by '08
The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) would complete the process of business process re-engineering (BPR) in its offices in 2007-08, according to Mr A. Viswanathan, Central PF Commissioner and Chief Executive of EPFO. The BPR project ... More

ECONOMY
Gujarat clocks 12.6 pc agri growth in two years
No farmer suicides reported, says Nabard More

FOREIGN TRADE
`India, China to achieve $20-b trade target ahead of schedule'
The target of reaching trade volumes of $20 billion between India and China by 2008 will be achieved ahead of time, said Mr Zheng Quingdian, Minister Counsellor, Embassy of the People's Republic of China, at a meeting organised by the Federation ... More

CII to submit inputs for signing FTAs
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has said that its committee on World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other Trade Agreements was finalising a list of recommendations for signing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and would submit it to the ... More

PSU
No move to privatise State PSEs, says AP CM
`Revamp aimed at making them competitive' More

PETROLEUM
ONGC expects marginal rise in onshore crude output
ONGC is expecting a marginal increase in on-shore crude oil production, from 8.1 million tonnes in 2005-06 to 8.33 million tonnes in 2006-07. On shore natural gas production is expected to remain same at 5.5 billion cubic metres. As part of ... More

`Ethanol-blended petrol sale subject to availability'
Sale of ethanol-blended petrol will become mandatory for oil marketing companies (OMCs) only if there is sufficient availability of this alternative fuel at an acceptable price, the Petroleum Secretary, Mr M.S. Srinivasan, said. The Government ... More

MCX launches futures trading in natural gas
Opportunity to trade in rupee-denominated deals More

PHARMACEUTICALS
Gujarat pharma sector fears SME exodus to tax haven States
Centre urged to rationalise tax policy; reduce excise duty on pharmaceutical products More

TAXATION
New audit norms for central excise, service tax assessees
The Finance Ministry has changed the criterion of selection of central excise assessees for the purpose of audit. It has also revised the threshold norms for frequency of audit of central excise and service tax assessees. With payment of duty ... More

TEXTILES
`Keep tech update scheme going'
For meeting targeted investment in textiles More

WATER
Toyota Kirloskar launches rural water project
Ramanagaram is beneficiary town More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Changing landscape fetching good biz for demolition cos
Profit comes from reusable materials More

READYMADE GARMENTS
Kohl's to step up sourcing from Celebrity Fashions
Celebrity's new shirt-making facility opened near Chennai More

HANDLOOM
Move to close HEPC office in Kochi flayed
The Cochin Custom House Agents Association has expressed concern over the move of the Handloom Export Promotion Council, Chennai, to close down its office at Willingdon Island here from July 31. The CHA President, Mr C.P. Xavier, said HEPC ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
GSLV crashes into Bay
Minor setback, won't affect space programme: ISRO chief More

A big jolt to India's launch programmes
The GSLV-F02's failure on Monday, after what seemed as a `text book' take off, not just means the loss of the INSAT-4C, but, also a minor `rollback' in its efforts to build a self-reliant programme. More

`Little impact on telecom'
The failure of INSAT 4C satellite may not have any significant impact on commercial telecom usage. The Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) operators, who are the primary users of satellite-based technology, said that capacity on the INSAT 4C ... More

Agony revisits ISRO after 1997
Ever since the space age dawned in 1957, no spacefaring country has been spared the agony of a failed launch, as a quick Web search would show. The US shuttle tragedies of Challenger and Columbia are still fresh in memory. India too has had ... More

WTO
World Bank chief appeals for agreement in Doha trade talks
The World Bank President, Mr Paul Wolfowitz, has urged the G-8 (group of industrial countries) plus Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa to reach an agreement in the Doha trade talks when they meet in St. Petersburg, Moscow on July ... More

REGULATORY BODIES & RULINGS
TRAI to revisit iPTV paper on convergence
`Need to do more work on convergence of content and delivery' More

TRADE & LABOUR UNIONS
AITUC to back Vizag steel plant capacity expansion
The All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) has pledged its support to the capacity expansion project of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and promised to strive for securing captive iron ore mines for the plant. The promise was made by Mr Gurdas ... More

INCOME TAX
Chamber wants expert panel set up to study all I-T sops
`Most exemptions critical to national economy' More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Sunil Agro in talks with global cos to import wheat
Move follows Govt decision to cut import duty from 50 pc to 5 pc More