The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, February 07, 2009

INDUSTRY & ECONOMY

ECONOMY: What recession? Pietersen, Flintoff hit $1.55-m jackpot
Lalit Modi says slowdown will not have impact on IPL season. Mumbai Feb. 6 Former England cricket captains Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Flintoff hit recession for a six in Goa ...

FOREIGN TRADE: Now, imports too in the negative
Down 16% in Jan at $18.9 b; trade deficit tops $100 b in Apr-Jan. New Delhi, Feb. 6 Imports in January this year fell by 16 per cent over the same month the previous year, in line with the 22 per cent decline in exports during the month, ...

ECONOMIC OFFENCES: Satyam probe: More entities under SFIO lens
Authority to look into diversion of funds. New Delhi, Feb. 6 Price Waterhouse (Bangalore) and over 350 entities linked to Satyam Computer Services Ltd have now come under Serious Fraud Investigations Office (SFIO) scrutiny. The Minister for ...

TAXATION: Can a vote on account alter tax rates?
New Delhi, Feb. 6 Can the Government change the rates of taxation in a request for a vote on account? The question has arisen following the statement made by Mr P. Chidambaram, former Finance Minister, that there is no constitutional bar to ...

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES: HC tells FMC to hear NCDEX plea in 2 weeks
‘Judicial intervention on transaction fee not fair’. Mumbai, Feb 6 The Bombay High Court has directed the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX) to settle its issue over reducing transaction fee with the commodity ...

PAPER, BOARD & NEWSPRINT: Paper mills may be allowed to develop wasteland
Technology upgradation fund also on the cards. Chennai, Feb. 6 The Union Government is exploring the possibility of allowing paper mills to develop wastelands to cultivate pulpwood and approve the technology upgradation fund to modernise ...

FOREIGN TRADE: India, Finland see potential to widen economic ties
To explore new areas for bilateral trade. New Delhi, Feb. 6 India and Finland will encourage businesses to explore new areas and sectors so as to widen and deepen the trade basket. This was agreed at a bilateral meeting between the Commerce and ...

PAINTS: Paint industry optimistic of growth
Chennai, Feb. 6 The paint industry is optimistic on growth, particularly in the residential real estate segment, where the rural markets are ...

AWARDS & HONOURS: Award for ICAI Coimbatore branch
The Coimbatore branch of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has bagged the ‘Performance Award’ for 2008, under the category of big branches in India. According to the Chairman of the ICAI Coimbatore branch, Mr ...

EVENTS: Vignana Jyothi’s mgmt meet today
Vignana Jyothi Institute of Management is organising its annual management meet ‘Chrysalis’ at its Bachupally campus on today. The event, which is being held to showcase the organisational and management skills of the students, ...

TEXTILES: Karur home textile units see 35% drop in US exports
Coimbatore, Feb. 6 The textile and clothing industry is in a paradoxical situation today. Said to be the worst victim of the global economic crisis, the industry, which registered huge investments of over Rs 1-lakh-crore over the last ...

POWER: Rlys told to give priority to power-grade coal
Move to boost handling at Paradip. Kolkata, Feb. 6 The Union Government’s decision asking the Railways to give top priority to rake allotment for transportation of power-grade coal has come as a boon to Orissa’s major port, Paradip, ...

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION: Local planning authority in TN gets power to sanction building plan approvals
Real estate developers welcome move but question effectiveness. Chennai, Feb. 6 The Tamil Nadu Ministry for Housing and Urban Development has delegated powers to the Local Planning Authority (LPA) under the Department of Town and Country ...

ECONOMY: ‘Savings, investment rates may drop 3-4% this fiscal’
Kolkata, Feb. 6 The country’s savings and investment rates may drop by 3 to 4 per cent during the financial year ending 2009, investment advisory services of Anglo-Indian investment bank Noble has estimated in a ...

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS: Apollo to invest Rs 80 cr to buy cancer treatment system
Chennai, Feb.6 Apollo Hospitals expects to invest about Rs 80 crore in acquiring two CyberKnife – a robotic radio surgery ...

AUTOMOBILES: Indo-German panel signs pact to boost ties in auto sector
Focus on efficient tech, alternative fuels. New Delhi, Feb. 6 The Indo-German Joint Working Group on Automotive Sector has signed a declaration of intent to deepen ties between the two countries in the ...

HOTELS: ‘Le Royal Meridien not for sale, expansion on’
Chennai, Feb. 6 Terming the widespread speculation that hotel Le Royal Meridien in Chennai is put on the market as “untrue and totally baseless”, Mr Palani G. Periasamy, Chairman, Appu Hotels Ltd, that owns the property, ...

WATER: Naandi, Winrock, Coke join hands for drinking water initiative
Hyderabad, Feb. 6 Naandi Foundation, Winrock International and Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Foundation, will collaborate to launch an 18 month multiple-use water services demonstration initiative in ...

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION: Cybercity, Ashoka to develop integrated township project
Hyderabad, Feb. 6 Cybercity Builders & Developers and Ashoka Developers on Friday announced a Rs 550-crore integrated township project, Rainbow Vistas, planned to come up at Kukatpally ...

EVENTS: Commonwealth to focus on deliverables
New Delhi, Feb. 6 Even as the Commonwealth was willing to discuss the idea of non-sovereign sources of funding for upscaling partnerships among the 53 member countries for inclusive growth and social good, it has set for itself a ...

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION: Golden Gate Properties plans more affordable homes in South
Kochi, Feb. 6 Golden Gate Properties, which had launched affordable housing — Commune — at Rs 19 lakh in Bangalore, has plans to set up similar projects across six more cities in South India in the next two years. The cities ...

ECONOMY: Services sector contributes 50% of AP’s GSDP
Hyderabad, Feb. 6 The services sector continues to be the biggest contributor to Andhra Pradesh Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) accounting for about 49.05 per cent followed by industries (26.30 per cent) and agriculture (24.65 ...

EXPORTS & IMPORTS: 25,000 t raw sugar shipment to arrive next week
The first-ever raw sugar consignment following the recent relaxation in import rules by the Centre is scheduled to arrive in the country within the next 5-6 ...

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION: Raju family pledged 15.14% shares held in Maytas Infra
Hyderabad, Feb. 6 Mr B. Ramalinga Raju, former Chairman of Satyam Computer and Maytas firms, his wife Ms Nandini Raju and second son Mr Rama Raju Jr., have pledged about 89.12 lakh shares with financial institutions, working to about 15.14 ...

EDUCATION: R.R. Krishna, Head, People, FL Smidth Ltd; Sree Vidyanikethan College, Tirupathy
Chennai, Feb. 6 “Students graduating from colleges are going to face a challenge getting involved in gainful economic activity,” said Mr R.R. Krishna, Head, People, FL Smidth ...

Columnists: • B Venkatesh • C Gopinath • Bhanoji Rao • P.V. Indiresan