The Hindu Business Line : Friday, April 11, 2008

EMPLOYMENT
AP to add over 1 lakh more to employment pool this year
The Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to undertake a massive upscaling of its technical manpower, with the addition of one lakh engineering graduates and over 50,000 polytechnic students from academic year 2008-09.At present, the ... More

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES
OBC quota law held valid
Exclude creamy layer, review list after 5 years, rules Supreme Court More

IIMs may have to rework selection process
Bangalore, April 10 The Supreme Court judgment upholding 27 per cent reservation for OBCs in central institutes of higher learning could reverse the entire student selection process at the six Indian Institutes of Management, perhaps even ... More

ECONOMY
Blind controls to check inflation will hurt: PM
Even while expressing concern over rising commodity and food prices, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh indicated it would be undesirable to react to such a situation by “returning to an era of blind controls”. Admitting ... More

‘Futures trading being made scapegoat for price rise in commodities’
Mumbai, April 10 Mr B.C. Khatua, Chairman, Forward Markets Commission, has said “futures trading has become a newfound scapegoat for price rise in commodities.” Reacting to the manufacturers demand for a ban on steel futures ... More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS
Kolkata firm launches Budget-compliant excise software for SMEs
Coral Soff’wares Ltd, specialising in packaged Central Excise Software (X-ise) for SMEs, has released a new version of its ‘X-ise’ software, incorporating the changes in Central Excise Rules, which became operational from the ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
German delegation explores scope for biz co-operation in Bengal
A 16-member German business delegation from North Rhein Westfalia, Germany, visited Kolkata on Thursday to explore opportunities for business co-operation in diverse sectors such as machine building, construction, energy, environment and food ... More

HEALTH
Life, health and the right cover
In the last month or so, there have been many new health insurance plans offered by life insurance companies such as LIC, Max New York Life, IDBI Fortis, Reliance Life, and so on. Though health insurance has its own values, this article ... More

Dramatic results
Drama therapy can do wonders for autistic children. More

INFRASTRUCTURE
Mangalore SEZ gets green clearance for first phase
Mangalore, April 10 Mangalore SEZ Ltd (MSEZL) has received environmental clearance for the first phase of the project from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, according to Mr I.S.N. Prasad, the company’s Managing Director and ... More

TIDCO signs pact with AMRL for Nanguneri SEZ
Special purpose vehicle floated; work expected to start soon More

POWER
IMFA Group setting up power plant at Orissa facility
Kolkata, April 10 Ferro alloys and ferro chrome producer IMFA Group has firmed up plans to invest Rs 170 crore in setting up a 30 MW power plant and a new 30 MVA furnace at its manufacturing facility located at Choudwar, Orissa. The proposed ... More

STEEL
IMPACT
Smaller construction cos may be worst hit
Infrastructure cos protected by escalation clauses More

TEXTILES
Will TN mills’ euphoria on African cotton import last long?
Coimbatore, April 10 For the raw cotton-starved textile mills in Tamil Nadu, the timing of the Prime Minister’s initiation on a duty-free tariff preference scheme (DFTP) of imports from African countries could not have come any sooner. ... More

COAL
Forward auction may save Coal India Rs 500-700 cr
PSU loses Rs 3,000 cr annually on underground operations More

RADIO/TV
INX Network takes news channel to DTH
New Delhi, April 10 NewsX, the news and current affairs channel from INX Network, has tied up with both Dish TV and Tata Sky to reach out to Direct-to-Home consumers. The channel will be available on the Dish TV and Tata Sky platforms ... More

EDUCATION
IIM-L launches programme for working executives
New Delhi, April 10 Indian Institute of Management Lucknow has introduced a year-long residential executive programme at its Noida campus. The International Programme in Management for Executives (IPMX) has 46 students in the first ... More

IIM-A admission process may be delayed
More

SBI scheme for students in rural schools
Mumbai, April 10 State Bank of India is offering a cash award of Rs 1,001, along with an education loan, to 1 lakh HSC students in 10,000 rural schools across the country, under its ‘SBI Talent Awards’ scheme. The students who will ... More

CARS
Mercedes-Benz India Q1 sales grow 59%
Mumbai, April 10 Mercedes-Benz India said that the company sold 1,094 units in the first quarter of 2008, posting 59 per cent growth in volumes over the same period last year. “We have outperformed our expectations,” said Dr ... More

ELECTRICAL GOODS
Domestic manufacturing norm for Chinese cos likely
Contract for power equipment supplies; PM’s approval expected shortly More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
‘Global real estate investment volumes likely to decline’
Mumbai, April 10 Real estate management and services firm Jones Lang LaSalle expects global investment volumes to be down by over 30 per cent in 2008, after a record year in 2007 when volumes were up eight per cent year-on-year to $759 ... More

‘Workers’ exodus, cost escalation may dent real estate biz in Pune’
Pune April 10 Mass exodus of labourers from the construction sites, increasing prices of steel and cement, increasing premiums to be paid to the Pune Municipal Corporation is all set to put a hole in the pockets of the buyers waiting to take ... More

MINERALS
Export duty on iron ore may be hiked
New Delhi, April 10 In order to moderate iron ore prices and thereby control steel prices and curb inflation, the Government is toying with the idea of revising the iron ore export duty structure and bring in a mix of fixed and ad-valorem ... More

EVENTS
‘Good oral, written communication will enhance confidence’
Tiruchi, April 10 Besides subject expertise, good oral and written communication enhances confidence of students to rise up in career, according to Mr P. Vasudevan, General Manager – HR, Tamil Nadu Papers Ltd, Karur.At the time of ... More

Different species
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Meet on patents regime in Bangalore
Bangalore, April 10 A two-day symposium on India’s patent regime is being organised by the National Law School of India Review, the law journal of The National Law School, Bangalore from April 13. The subject for the symposium has been ... More

INCOME TAX
Bengal zone I-T collections for 2007-08 exceed target
Kolkata, April 10 The West Bengal zone, for 2007-08, has achieved a best-ever income-tax collection (both personal income-tax and corporate tax) at Rs 12,019 crore, against the targeted Rs 11,638 crore. This is in spite of higher refunds being ... More

PEOPLE
Nilekani elected NCAER President
New Delhi, April 10 The National Council of Applied Economic Research has a new President in Mr Nandan Nilekani, who is at present Co-Chairman of Infosys Technologies Ltd. Mr Nilekani will take over from Dr Bimal Jalan on April 15, according ... More