The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, December 18, 2008

INDUSTRY & ECONOMY

ECONOMY: Small savings collections rise 5.85% in April-Oct
New Delhi, Dec. 17 The declining trend in gross small savings collections since 2006-07 appears to have been reversed going by the latest official data. During April-October 2008, gross small savings collections grew 5.85 per cent over the ...

ECONOMY: Slowdown dents advance tax payments
Mumbai, Dec. 17 The sharp fall in advance tax paid by the manufacturing sector has sent a strong signal on the impact of global recession on the Indian economy. High input costs and tapering demand have dented the expectations of ...

TAXATION: Stamp duty on new apartments to be exempted in AP
Approval, permit fees also waived off on flats up to 1,200 sq ft. Hyderabad, Dec. 17 The Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to exempt stamp duty on new apartments up to 1,200 sq ft from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2010, in efforts to ...

RADIO/TV: Is the picture dimming?
Advertising on TV may be hit due to the slowdown but the FMCG sector could well be its insurance.. As the slowdown takes its toll on most industries, it is now going to be the turn of the broadcasting industry to face the blues. The ad ...

EDUCATION: Alumni to descend in droves for Pan-IIT event
Organisers pull out all stops for show. Chennai, Dec. 17 It’s 2 p.m. and organisers of the Pan IIT 2008, a global conference of IIT alumni, are getting together for a late lunch at the alumni office in IIT-Madras’ sylvan campus. ...

ECONOMY: More aggressive monetary policy approach advocated
Not enough has been done, says Virmani. New Delhi, Dec. 17 The Chief Economic Advisor in the Finance Ministry, Dr Arvind Virmani, is of the view that the Reserve Bank of India has not yet done enough to loosen the monetary ...

EXPORTS & IMPORTS: Raw sugar imports: Balancing short, long term interests
Centre under pressure to ease existing regime. For a Government headed for general elections 3-4 months from now, the issue of whether or not to liberalise raw sugar imports presents a tough ...

POWER: Industry seeks compensation for high cost of captive power
‘Expedite clearances for third-party sale of power’. Chennai, Dec. 17 Industry representatives are urging the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) to revive the proposal for compensating them for the cost of using captive power and ...

EDUCATION: Edexcel in talks with State Govts for skill development programme
New Delhi, Dec. 17 Edexcel, a part of the Pearson Group, is engaged in talks with several State Governments in India for rolling out a cost-effective skill development programme both at school and ...

ECONOMY: Jury is still out on extent of slowdown
Bangalore, Dec. 17 Even as the index of industrial production went into negative territory in October, there are varying views on the extent of the ...

ECONOMIC OFFENCES: Disenchanted with disgorgement
It is now realised more than ever before that for white collar crimes assuming scandalous and scam proportions, disgorgement is the perfect remedy and poetic justice. For, it is the financial equivalent of eye for ...

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS: FICCI asks for more measures to revive demand
New Delhi, Dec. 17 In its meeting with the Cabinet Secretary on Wednesday, industry representatives from the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) sought a series of measures to revive demand in the housing, ...

EXPORTS & IMPORTS: Fish export from Kerala declines
There has been a decline in export of fish from Kerala following the global economic recession, according to the State Minister for Fisheries, Mr ...

EDUCATION: NIIT’s ‘smart science station’
NIIT Ltd, in partnership with Fourier Systems, today announced the launch of ‘NIIT eGuru Smart Science Station’, which enables a range of technology-aided science experiments covering topics such as heat, electricity, sound ...

EVENTS: TN chamber trade fair
The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry will be holding its 12th Chamber Trade Fair from December 19 to January 5 at Tamukkam grounds on the theme of ‘Industrial Linkage Empowers Agriculture’. Despite being an ...

HEALTH: ‘Meltdown will boost medical tourism’
Chennai, Dec. 17 The current economic crises of the US and Western Europe may be beneficial to the Indian healthcare industry, in terms of higher number of medical ...

ENTREPRENEURSHIP: Turning business ideas into viable enterprises
Uyyala Ramu is winner of YBI award; his company recycles old plastic bags. Hyderabad, Dec. 17 Not all successful people have achieved their distinction by possessing new talent, but many of them did it by just developing the opportunity that ...

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS: Electric vehicle makers seek more Govt sops
Mumbai, Dec. 17 The Society of Indian Electric Vehicle Manufacturers (SIEVM) has drawn up a wish list for the Centre and various State Governments which includes infrastructure for common charging stations in cities and towns, subsidies ...

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION: Tanaji Malusare launches phase II of Karjat project
Pune, Dec. 17 Tanaji Malusare City has announced the launch of its Phase II of the project in ...

INFRASTRUCTURE: Nabard sanctions Rs 3,622 cr for infrastructure projects
Mumbai, Dec. 17 The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has sanctioned Rs 3,622 crore from its Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) to 22 State governments for implementing infrastructure projects in rural ...

EXPORTS & IMPORTS: Export credit at lower rates
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PETROLEUM: Hopes on finding ‘middle ground’ on aviation fuel status issue
New Delhi, Dec. 17 The Ministry of Civil Aviation is hopeful of finding some “middle ground” on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) being given Declared Good status so that the interests of both the States and aviation industry are ...

POWER: Krishnapatnam project: AP Genco signs up for Rs 1,700-cr KFW loan
Secures environmental clearance for Kakatiya project. Hyderabad, Dec. 17 Andhra Pradesh Generation Corporation Ltd (AP Genco) has signed up for a Rs 1,700 crore loan from KFW of Germany for executing 2x800 MW Sri Damodaram Sanjeeviah Thermal ...

EDUCATION: Manipal K-12 Education venture to provide learning solutions
Bangalore, Dec. 17 The Manipal Education & Medical Group and online tutoring company TutorVista.com will provide education solutions to schools, starting from Kindergarten to Class ...

TOURISM: Back to business
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ENTREPRENEURSHIP: Gujarat is preferred destination, says study
Bangalore, Dec. 17 Gujarat has emerged as the most preferred destination for entrepreneurs nationwide, according to a perception survey ‘Entrepreneurial India’ done jointly by consultancy firm KPMG and The Indus ...

FERTILISERS: Special bonds buoys fertiliser stocks
Kolkata, Dec. 17 Fertiliser stocks on Wednesday wilted as market sentiment turned negative but scored decent gains over a week period on the back of special bonds announced by the ...

EVENTS: ‘Scrap subsidies given to biz in tier-I cities’
Chennai, Dec. 17 Subsidies provided for the setting up of businesses in tier-I cities should be removed so that industry realises the true price of land and labour in the cities, Dr T.V. Somanathan, Secretary to the Chief Minister of Tamil ...

NRIS: PM likely to announce steps to attract NRI investments
Chennai, Dec. 17 The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, who is to inaugurate the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conference — an annual event of the Indian diaspora — is expected to announce some initiatives aimed at opening up ...

TOURISM: Malaysia Tourism unveils incentive scheme for agents
Chennai, Dec. 17 To enhance tourism yields from the Indian market, the tourism board of Malaysia has announced a ‘special incentive scheme’ for the travel trade in ...

EDUCATION: M. R. Venkatesh, Partner, GSV Associates, Chartered Accountants, and Mr K. Vaitheeswaran, advocate and tax consultant; Meenakshi College of Engineering, Chennai
Chennai, Dec. 17 Taxes touch us in different facets of our life. There are a variety of taxes that we have to pay for from time to time, for example VAT, property tax, wealth tax, gift tax, customs duty and so on. Apart from these, we also ...

RURAL DEVELOPMENT: Nitte rural development projects
The Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr B.S. Yeddyurappa, will inaugurate rural development projects of Nitte Education Trust at Nitte on December 29. Addressing presspersons at Nitte in Udupi district on Wednesday, Mr N. Vinay Hegde, President of ...

EDUCATION: Award for University of Hyderabad
The Ministry of Science and Technology has declared University of Hyderabad as the second best university in the country. A release from the university said that the recognition comes with an award known as Promotion of University Research ...