The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, September 12, 2006

EMPLOYMENT
Panel submits report on job scheme
Under the Chairmanship of Dr Jayant Patil, ex- Member Planning Commission, recommendations have been tabled in for bringing in transparency to the employment guarantee scheme (EGS). The report had been brought in March 2005. About 40 ... More

AUTOMOBILES
Car sales up 16% in August; bikes sales slow down
Maruti, Tata Motors sales buoyant; Hero Honda slips More

ECONOMY
External debt marginally up at $125 b in 2005-06
Rise in non-resident deposits, contraction in commercial borrowings More

Investment climate upbeat in Bihar
Mr Sushil Kumar Modi, Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, has said investment climate in his State has improved significantly, with investments to the tune of Rs 11,000 crore flowing into the State in the last few months. "About 125 ... More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS
New Customs chief for Hyderabad
Ms Jasdeep V. Singh has assumed charge as the Chief Commissioner of Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax (Hyderabad Zone) early this month. Ms Singh, an IRS officer of 1975 batch, has become the first woman Chief ... More

HOTELS
Unison Hotels to diversify into South
Unison Hotels, that owns the Grand Hotel here, is to diversify into South India with five star hotels planned in Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai, the Group Managing Director, Mr Umesh Saraf, has said. "The company has recently acquired ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE
New foundry complexes to bring fresh investment
Units to benefit from modernisation, better marketing opportunities More

Reddy unhappy over slow pace of Brandix project
Instructs company officials to accelerate implementation More

PSU
Hind Latex awarded `mini ratna'
Hindustan Latex Ltd, a Central Enterprise under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, has been conferred the `mini ratna' status. This was done after evaluating the company's performance over the past few years in the area ... More

PETROLEUM
Crude continues to slide on slowing economy
The Indian crude basket has also reflected a declining trend with the softening of international crude prices. The Indian basket stood at $63.77 on September 10. It represents the average crude price paid by the Indian refiners and is ... More

OMC stocks turn active as crude price dips to 5-month low
Analysts feel no immediate cut in domestic fuel prices More

OVL inks pact to operate 2 Cuban blocks
ONGC's overseas investment arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), has entered into production sharing contracts (PSCs) with CUPET, the State oil company of Cuba, for two offshore exploration blocks, N-34 and N-35. According to a statement, the blocks are ... More

British consultant to advise on natural gas price from Iran
Gaffney, Cline & Associates, UK-based consultants, have been appointed to advise on the natural gas price to be supplied to India and Pakistan from Iran through the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline. Last month, in order to break . More

POWER
PFC to award two ultra mega power projects by Dec
Power Finance Corporation (PFC) today announced that two of the proposed ultra mega power projects coming up at Sasan and Mundra would be awarded by the end of December. The boards of these two 4,000-MW projects have also been reconstituted ... More

`India needs more special metals'
Mr S.A. Bharadwaj, Director (Technical) of Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd, has said that India would require large quantities of hi-tech special metals and alloys to achieve ambitious goals for a quantum jump in power ... More

APTransco to buy 350 MW from PTC
The Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh Ltd (APTransco) has decided to buy 350 MW of power through Power Trading Company (PTC) at Rs 5 a unit. The decision followed a shortfall due to the tripping 500-MW unit at Simhadri ... More

SSI
8 0' Clock Club is back in action
The 8 0'Clock Club is back in action in Hyderabad. "The one-year sabbatical is over and we will be more energetic in organising discussions, meetings and events that concern the industry and some exciting trends,'' says Mr R.K. Mehta, one of the ... More

Handicrafts sector for Rs 1,000-cr corpus fund to tap exports
The handicrafts sector seeks creation of a corpus of Rs 1,000-crore fund for focused export foray of its products for augmenting its share in world market from the extant two per cent to four per cent in the short to medium-term. In a recent ... More

WATER
Water Expo from Sept 14-16
Water Expo 2006, a three-day seminar on water and wastewater management, will be held from September 14 -16 at Chennai Trade Centre. The event will have four aspects - an exhibition showcasing water management-related ... More

COAL
NTPC coal imports: Haldia, Paradip ports worried
Ports fear handling problems as company yet to begin importing on regular basis More

RADIO/TV
TV18 groups all channels under CNBC Universe
TV18 has grouped all its channels and portals under an umbrella brand called CNBC Universe. Speaking to Business Line, Mr Ajay Chacko, Head-Marketing, CNBC TV18 and CNBC Awaaz, said it would be an integrated business platform for ... More

EDUCATION
NIIT awards to 45 teachers
NIIT, in association with the Directorate of School Education, has presented eGuru awards to 45 teachers who won an online contest conducted by it. Of the 5,000 entries, three teachers from 15 districts were selected for the ... More

HUMAN RESOURCES
Adecco eyeing tier-II cities for growth
To phase out Peopleone name More

TRADE & LABOUR UNIONS
PSU officers' strike withdrawn
The Joint Forum of Officers' Associations of NTPC, Coal India, Steel Authority of India, Power Finance Corporation and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation has decided to cancel the one-day token strike to be held on September 12. The ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Soyameal export up 80 pc; Vietnam main buyer
Prices may not rise this year as US is seen heading for a bumper crop More

Cashew industry plans to tap expats in UAE
To promote `Made in India' brand More

Sensitive items imports up by 11 pc in April-May
Sensitive items being monitored by the Commerce Ministry due to their adverse effect on local prices registered a high growth of 11 per cent growth during the first two months of the current fiscal at Rs 2,792 crore, against Rs 2,524 crore n ... More

TOURISM
Evaluation system to assess hotels on tourism norms
Blue Yonder plans networking scheme More

Finnish Tourism Board woos Bollywood with new locales
Plans to take select team of producers, directors to Finland; arrange for familiarisation programme More