The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, January 31, 2007

CEMENT
Cement unions want cos to share profits with workers
Cement workers' unions have approached the national cement manufacturers' association with a demand for profit-sharing by the units with their workmen in view of the surge in their profits propelled by the boom in construction industry across the ... More

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES
No book fair on the Maidan, a big blow to Kolkata
The Calcutta High Court not allowing the Book Fair on the Maidan is a blow to Kolkata that had been projected on the international fair circuit from the late 1970s thanks to the book exhibition. More

ECONOMY
Improved capital flows seen
The S&P rating upgrade is seen by some economists as a belated acknowledgement of the visible growth of the Indian economy. Markets have, however, tended to move ahead, going by the interest in Indian paper floated abroad. So will the new ... More

Actual inflation may be higher than provisional figures
While increasing inflationary pressure could well be the big worry for the Reserve Bank of India ahead of its quarterly policy, more alarming though could be the possibility of actual inflation being higher than the provisional figures being ... More

HEALTH
Health organisations urge Novartis to drop patent case
Health organisations from across the world have came forth in support of the Indian Government in its ongoing legal case against drug manufacturer Novartis and urged the Swiss company to drop its patent case in India. Novartis had filed an ... More

PSU
APSRTC makes Rs 103-cr profit
After passing through a bad patch for years, the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) has registered a profit of Rs 103 crore during the nine-month period ended December 31, 2006 as against a loss of Rs 43 crore in 2005-06. ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS
Will Indian pharma bite the bitter non-generic pill?
Last week, Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, announced that it would cut 10,000 jobs, because generic drugs were hurting its sales. The slicing off, of nearly a tenth of the company's global workforce, is expected to save Pfizer $500 ... More

Up against a `non-tariff barrier'
Orchid Chemicals' plans to launch Tazobactum Piperacillin in the US have been killed by a `non-tariff barrier'— an action of the US-based innovator Wyeth. Tazobactum Piperacillin was to go off-patent next month, and because Orchid has ... More

SSI
Trend Micro Web security tool for SMBs
Trend Micro has rolled out its latest version of Worry-Free Security Solutions for small and medium businesses. The solution, led by Client Server Messaging Security 3.5, is expected to provide integrated protection against Web threats including ... More

EDUCATION
Salary offers go up 20% for IIFT class of 2007
Delhi-based Indian Institute of Foreign Trade recorded an increase of 20 per cent in average salary offered by the corporate world to its 2007 batch of MBA (International Business), compared to last year. The highest domestic salary and ... More

Thiagarajar College's golden jubilee
The demand for having Anna University in Madurai would receive due consideration from the Chief Minister, the Minister for Higher Education, Mr K. Ponmudi, said here on Monday. Announcing this while addressing the golden jubilee celebrations of ... More

IIMB to raise fees for all courses from June
The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore on Tuesday announced a hike in fee across all courses with effect from June 2007. "We've decided to raise this year's PGP fee to Rs 2 lakh per annum from Rs 1.75 lakh per annum," the IIMB ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Actis to set up $300-m realty fund
The UK-based private equity firm Actis has drawn out plans to ramp up its investments in India. The private equity firm is in the process of setting up a separate $200-300 million real estate fund, Mr Donald Peck, Managing Partner, Actis, said. ... More

Fears of realty crash in Hyderabad allayed
Market may slow down, say developers More

LEATHER
Leather sector chalks out plan for expansion, infrastructure
The leather industry has presented a plan to the Centre seeking its support for capacity expansion and infrastructure development for export growth, according to Mr Mukhtarul Amin, Chairman, Council for Leather Exports (CLE). Addressing a press ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Microcredit — Legal framework, need of the hour: Yunus
More

HUMAN RESOURCES
Scope Intl launches `campus initiative'
Scope International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Standard Chartered Bank Group, UK, has launched a `campus initiative' to reinforce the skills of college graduates, especially soft skills and communication. As a first step, the group's Chief ... More