The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, April 03, 2008

ECONOMY
Montek lauds anti-inflation measures as ‘bold’
The Planning Commission’s Deputy Chairman, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, on Wednesday described the anti-inflation measures of bringing down import duty to zero on crude edible oils and other steps such as banning export of non-basmati rice ... More

India’s GDP growth to slow down to 8%: ADB
India’s economic growth will slow down in fiscal 2008-09 to 8 per cent as the Reserve Bank of India keeps monetary policy tight and the Government takes slew of measures to rein in inflation ahead of Parliamentary elections next year, ... More

Kerala local bodies spend 87.37% of Plan funds
Thiruvananthapuram, April 2 The local bodies in Kerala have spent 87.37 per cent of the Plan funds in 2007-08 under the Eleventh Plan people’s planning programme.The Minister for Local Administration, Mr Paloli Mohammed Kutty, ... More

ENVIRONMENT
NCDEX to launch futures for carbon credits
Mumbai, April 2 National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Ltd will launch futures trading in Certified Emission Reduction (CERs) on April 10.NCDEX is the first exchange in any of the developing countries of the world to launch a ... More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS
Record tax mop up in Vizag zone
More

FOREIGN TRADE
India, Myanmar sign pact on Kaladan project
Route lessens dependence on Bangladesh for North-East access More

Bridging the gap
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‘India, Australia trade cooperation will enhance Asian integration’
East Asia needs a coalition to deal with problems, says Australian expert More

Kamal Nath led team for Singapore
A high-powered delegation of Indian political and business leaders led by the Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, will visit Singapore from April 4-7 as part of the Incredible!India @60 event, organised jointly by the Government and ... More

HEALTH
‘Raise public spending on healthcare’
Dr C. Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, has called for an increase in public expenditure on healthcare, which today stands at a low level of 0.9 per cent of GDP. It is “as much a comment on the ... More

PSU
Midhani records Rs 256-cr sales
Hyderabad, April 2 The Hyderabad-based Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd (Midhani), has recorded an all-time high sales turnover of Rs 256 crore and a profit before tax of Rs 27 crore for the financial year 2007-08. Rs 192-cr ... More

PETROLEUM
CUTS wary over lack of ‘neutral competition’ in auto fuel retail
CUTS International has expressed concern over the lack of “competitive neutrality” in enabling the private sector to sell petroleum goods in the market. The Government and the regulator need to create a level-playing field for ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS
New drug to help hypertensives
Are you hypertensive? If yes, you can perhaps hope to lower your worries or tension by one notch soon. A promising new drug ‘Telmisartan’, has emerged as a potent help to the growing number of people with this condition, according ... More

Sharp rise in Pen-G import price hits antibiotics makers
Hyderabad, April 2 A sharp increase in the import price of Penicillin-G, a building block for many key antibiotics, has become an issue of serious concern for drug manufacturers in the country. The price of Pen-G, which is being ... More

POWER
IT cos in Pune to be exempt from power cuts
Pune, April 2 IT companies in Pune can heave a sigh of relief as they will not be falling under the purview of power cuts in the city. The IT companies in Hinjewadi which comprises the maximum number would be given exemption from power cuts, ... More

STEEL
Builders protest hike in steel prices; seek Govt intervention
Reeling under the impact of surging steel prices, the apex bodies of construction industry under the aegis of Builders’ Association of India (BAI) on Wednesday sought Government intervention to rein-in steel price hike and warned that ... More

TEXTILES
‘TN textile industry hit by rising input costs’
Coimbatore, April 2 The widening input cost differentials between the textile mills based in Tamil Nadu, which relied on raw material from far-off States, and those textile units located in cotton producing centres such as Andhra Pradesh, ... More

Buddhadeb urged to take up raw cotton export issue with PM
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WATER
Meet stresses need to address food security, water crisis
Hyderabad, April 2 International Water Management Institute (IWMI) has said it would be tough for the world if it fails to address the ongoing crises of food security and water. Addressing the inaugural of the partners meeting of ... More

RADIO/TV
Broadcasting sector divided over foreign investment norms review
TRAI receives comments from 13 stakeholders More

Sahara One picks NDTV Media
Sahara One Media & Entertainment Ltd has appointed NDTV Media Ltd as its exclusive advertising sales partner in India. As part of the agreement, NDTV Media Ltd would be responsible for selling airtime for Sahara One’s bouquet of ... More

EDUCATION
Hyderabad varsity gets `A' grade
More

MEDICAL & SURGICAL EQUIPMENTS
Texas Instruments, IIT-Kharagpur collaborate for cancer research
Kolkata, April 2 Texas Instruments on Tuesday signed a collaborative research agreement with the School of Medical Science and Technology (SMST), Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT-KGP), to develop semiconductor technologies that ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Dream projects push up land values to exorbitant rates
Depriving the poor of owning land; affecting ecological system More

Now a channel dedicated to realty
Real Estate Television, the 24x7 channel dedicated to real estate and infrastructure, is now available in all metros and major cities across the country. It has signed agreements with Hathway and Amogh in Bangalore, Hathway and SCV in Chennai, ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
Industry has responded to PM’s call for inclusive growth: CII
New Delhi, April 2 The Indian industry has responded to the call of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to create more inclusive growth and set out areas of interventions, said Dr Jamshed J. Irani, Chairman, Council for Affirmative Action, ... More

CII, Andhra Pradesh office-bearers
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MINING & QUARRYING
Testing the limits of market economy
The primary economy ought to be bridled with some price or other controls that would take the benefits of natural resources to the people who ‘own’ them. More

MINERALS
BEML hitches ride on the mining boom
Hopes on 2-3 blocks coming to its joint venture More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Raw material import quarantine hits TN leather units
Certification for semi-processed leather questioned More

Indian missiles get export enquiries: DRDO official
Hyderabad, April 2 India developed missiles Akash and Nag have started getting enquiries for exports from several countries, according to Dr Prahlada, Chief Controller (R&D), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). ... More

We’ll import as much as we export: Secondary steel makers
Move aims to increase availability resulting in low domestic prices More

BoM signs agency pact with ECGC
Mangalore, April 2 Bank of Maharashtra and the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India (ECGC) Ltd have entered into an arrangement for distribution of export credit insurance of ECGC by bank as its corporate agent. A bank release ... More

BEARINGS, CASTINGS & FORGINGS
Forging industry faults domestic steel companies for pushing up prices
Chennai, April 2 In his recent Budget speech, the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, observed that steel producers showed a tendency of being “oligopolistic”. Industries that use steel as raw material, such as forgings, castings ... More

TOURISM
Kerala Tourism, Kochi port launch Web site for ocean race
Kerala Tourism and the Cochin Port Trust (CPT) have launched a Web site on the India stopover of the Volvo Ocean Race 2008-09, to be held in Kochi in December. The site, More

Karnataka gets Rs 6 cr for beach tourism development
Malpe (Udupi district), April 2 The Union Government has sanctioned Rs 6.4 crore for the development of beach tourism circuit along coastal Karnataka, according to Mr C. Somashekhara, Director, Department of Tourism, Karnataka. Speaking ... More