The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, July 15, 2006

CLIMATE & WEATHER
Kerala launches deficit rain insurance cover
A scheme to extend insurance cover to paddy farmers, who suffer shortfall in crop yield on account of deficit rain, has been launched in Kerala. The scheme, Varsha Bima-2006, launched by the Agriculture Insurance Company of India Ltd in ... More

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY
TNEB sets up task force on evacuation of wind power
Minister assures all necessary steps to encourage the segment More

SOCIAL SECURITY
Old-age pension raised to Rs 200
The Cabinet on Thursday revised the pension under the National Old Age Pension Scheme to Rs 200 from Rs 75 per beneficiary per month. Effective from April 1, 2006, the scheme will benefit destitute of the age of 65 and above. ... More

AWARDS & HONOURS
Pricol, Indian Bank, LIBA win MMA awards
Pricol Ltd, Indian Bank and Loyola Institute of Business Administration have bagged the managerial excellence awards of the Madras Management Association in manufacturing, services and education categories respectively. The awards, the fifth ... More

French honour
ON NATIONAL DAY: (From right) Prof M. S. Swaminathan, Ms Ela Bhatt, Father Cedric Prakash and Dr R.K. Pachauri, with the French Ambassador, Mr Dominique Girard, and his wife during the award ceremony at the French Embassy in the Capital on ... More

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES
Madras HC admits plea against bogus ration cards issue
The Planning Commission `had underlined that the public distribution system was the key element' of the Government's food security system. More

ECONOMY
Exports rise 40.17 pc in June
Q1 exports log 32.40% growth over comparable level of last fiscal's first quarter. More

`Review on oil prices only next month'
International crude prices at around $78 a barrel More

Why investment-linked sops make better economic sense
This approach has worked in UP in the sugar sector More

No change in our stance on inflation: RBI
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday said that there was no change in its stance on inflation, which it has projected to be between 5 per cent and 5.5 per cent this fiscal. "There is no change in our stance on inflation from what we had stated ... More

Inflation up on costlier manufactured items
Wholesale price index of all commodities at 203.3 points More

HEALTH
`Implement HIV/ AIDS policies at workplace'
Employers should take serious and immediate steps to introduce HIV/AIDS policies at the workplace, especially for women employees, urged participants at a workshop on HIV/AIDS here on Friday. Organised by the US Embassy and the NGO "Women, Work ... More

Apollo to serve Ethiopian patients
Apollo Hospitals will provide advance healthcare services to Ethiopian patients through periodic outpatient consultations in Addis Ababa, according to a press release from Apollo. The arrangement follows a healthcare ... More

PETROLEUM
`Crude may top $80 in short term'
The Senior Vice-President of Purvin & Gertz, Mr Victor Shum, believes that crude is likely to touch $80/barrel in the short-term. He also says the West Asia tension will keep crude prices high, along with hurricanes in the Gulf of ... More

Energy policy on backburner
If oil prices continue to go up at this rate, we are looking at significant trade deficits in the coming years. More

POWER
`6-hour power supply for rural areas'
A minimum of six hours uninterrupted power supply would be provided to rural India, said Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister for Panchayati Raj. While inaugurating an Assocham National Summit on e-governance on Friday, the Minister said that Rural ... More

TAXATION
`GST promises to have a positive impact on all stakeholders'
It is fair to suggest that India will be in a position to implement the GST on a national basis by April 2010. Indeed, given the present state of readiness, it would have been possible to target an even earlier introduction of the GST. — Mr S. Madhavan, Executive Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers Pvt Ltd More

Chidambaram, VAT panel chief discuss compensation package
State Finance Ministers meet today to review collections More

AP to examine VAT rate on tea
The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, on Thursday assured industry that he would examine the issues relating to levy of 12.5 per cent value added tax (VAT) on tea. Industry has pointed out that certain neighbouring ... More

TEXTILES
NTC close to assuming single corporate entity
Move will enable textile monolith trim top-heavy structure More

TERRORISM
Govt will crack down on terrorists
Prime Minister says Mumbai blasts were carried out with help from across the border More

RADIO/TV
India Vision to launch second channel in Nov
The Malayalam news channel India Vision, which has completed three year of operations, is all set to launch its second channel - Yes India Vision - from November 5. The new channel will mainly concentrate on youth, entertainment and ... More

EDUCATION
Luxor acquires stake in prep school
Writing instruments company Luxor has acquired 60 per cent stake in Playhouse, a preparatory school in New Delhi. The school is currently running in Tughlaq Lane and New Friends Colony. The company has plans to expand and open ... More

AP okays Vedic varsity draft
The State Government has okayed the draft ordnance for the establishment of Sri Venkateswara Vedic University, under the aegis of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) at Tirupati. A high-powered committee looked into the ... More

IPE announces admission
The Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE) has announced admissions to its Full time Doctoral (Ph.D) research programme in Management and allied areas for the year 2006-07. The programme is designed to equip students and teachers ... More

MAHE plans more tie-ups with overseas universities
MAHE is planning to introduce online entrance examinations and admission process for all its courses from the next academic year Innovative courses in various streams on drawing board More

CARS
India ranked 11th in OICA global car output for 2005
Japan retains lead with 3 pc growth followed by Germany & the US More

Lamborghini debuts with 2 models
Priced at Rs 1.65 cr and Rs 3 cr; ties up with Exclusive Motors for dealership More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
HDFC property fair in Madurai
Destination Madurai - a three-day property fair organised by Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) opened here on Friday. In the last five years, Madurai has witnessed tremendous growth in infrastructure and ... More

Cambridge, Cushman &Wakefield tie up
Cambridge Solutions has announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with real estate firm Cushman &Wakefield and its application service provider subsidiary BIGeREALESTATE Inc. Under the terms of the MoU, BigE, ... More

KNITWEAR & HOSIERY
Plea for higher duty drawback rate for cotton knitted garments
Knitwear exporters feel that the upward revision made in the duty drawback rate by the Centre for cotton knitted garments falls short of expected increase considering the higher transaction cost involved in exporting garments. The Tirupur ... More

DISINVESTMENT
Panel to monitor divestment of WMDC stake in MSL
A high power committee, comprising the Chief Secretary and Secretaries Finance and Industries, has been formed to monitor the sale of 27 per cent stake of Western Maharashtra Development Corporation (WMDC) in Maharashtra Scooters Ltd. "It has ... More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
FIPB clears 68 pc FDI in Hutchison Essar
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has given clearance to Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecommunications to increase its stake in the Indian cellular company Hutchison Essar to 68 per cent. It is however not yet clear whether the ... More

Stringent monitoring of foreign investments mooted
In a bid to address the security concerns arising out of foreign investments coming into the country, the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCN) has suggested to put in place mechanism to bar acquisitions, mergers or takeovers of Indian ... More

SOCIAL WELFARE
Renascent ties up with Hope Trust
Renascent, a Canadian rehabilitation and research centre for drug addicts, has joined hands with Hope Trust, the Hyderabad-based rehabilitation centre, for collaboration in research and exchange of best practices, ideas and staff. Announcing ... More

REGULATORY BODIES & RULINGS
Star told to share channels with Dish TV in 15 days
TDSAT asks Star to fix Rs 27/subscriber More

EVENTS
G-8 Summit: Lots of issues to ponder over
PM likely to play proactive role in ensuring energy security More

Mack Brooks, Inter Ads tie up for airport expos
The UK-based company Mack Brooks Group specialising in trade shows and exhibitions, and Inter Ads Ltd, Delhi-based exhibition company, have announced a joint venture for exhibiting airport and railway equipment on Wednesday here. The new entity ... More

INCOME TAX
Tax officer as business manager
The CBDT should think twice before directing the Department to exercise the power to appoint receivers to manage the business of the defaulter. More

Taxation Laws Bill amended
The President, Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has given his assent to the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill 2006. This law, which has become operational from Friday, seeks to, among other things, streamline the approval and monitoring ... More

NATURAL CALAMITIES
Kerala hopes to get disaster relief soon
The Kerala Government is expecting emergency assistance from the Centre to compensate for the damages caused by monsoon rains. This follows the discussions the Chief Minister, Mr V.S. Achuthanandan, other Ministers and Government officials had ... More

Floods hit rail traffic between Kolkata port, Amingaon ICD
Mail, passenger trains on this route cancelled More

ADB to give $5-m grant to Kerala, TN
Tsunami-hit fishing communities, others to benefit More

Why does the wire go haywire during a jam?
Bomb blasts, natural calamities jam networks due to heavy traffic More

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINES
`Export council must for medicinal herbs'
The Sattur Chamber of Commerce and Industries has urged the Union Ministry of Commerce to set up a special export promotion council to give a boost to export of medicinal herbs to foreign countries. In a letter addressed to the Union Minister ... More