The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, June 25, 2009

INDUSTRY & ECONOMY

CLIMATE & WEATHER: ‘Below normal’ monsoon may delay kharif sowing
54% deficit rainfall so far; July, August offer hope. New Delhi, June 24 The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has downgraded its South-West monsoon rainfall forecast for the country to “below normal” from the earlier “near ...

PSU: Govt set to bail out Air India
Airline to submit restructuring proposal in a month. New Delhi, June 24 The Government will bail out the loss-making state owned carrier Air India but has set certain conditions for providing the ...

TECHNOLOGY: Maran stitches up 100-day agenda for textiles
New Delhi, June 24 The Government on Wednesday announced a slew of initiatives such as widening the coverage of Technology Upgradation Fund (TUFS) Scheme, additional allocation of Rs 1,660 crore to the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) ...

TOURISM: A holiday windfall for travellers
Value is the name of the game as tourists seek the best offers in the market.. This year’s summer holiday season has seen a late start in terms of the consumer travel queries picking up, unlike the last year when advance travel bookings ...

EXPORTS & IMPORTS: Karnataka’s exports rise marginally last fiscal
Slowdown hits electronics, computer software segment. Bangalore, June 24 Exports from Karnataka increased 2.3 per cent in 2008-09, or from Rs 1.32 lakh crore in 2007-08 to Rs 1.35 lakh crore in the period under review. This is against a rise of ...

BUSINESS MODELS: Make LLPs a viable format
Until now, three forms of organisation have predominantly dominated the Indian business scene — companies, partnerships firms and sole proprietorships. The inherent restrictive characteristics of the existing forms created a definite need ...

EVENTS: Banks need to relook at branch structure
Better use of rural network key to growth. Mangalore, June 24 The better use of rural branch network of banks in the country is essential for the growth of the nation at a time when the banking industry is talking about merger of banks, ...

WATER: Survey on for new Mullaperiyar dam
Minister reiterates need for a new dam. The river survey being carried out by the Kerala Government for construction of a new dam at Mullaperiyar will be completed this year, according to the Minister for Water Resources, Mr ...

BUDGET: Invest in education to get ‘directly employable’ people
Over the years, the Budget has become much more than an instrument of recording the nation’s revenues and expenses. The expectations this year are high as a new government is in place and everyone is interested in seeing how it responds ...

COAL: ACC Mineral to explore four coal blocks in Madhya Pradesh
Mumbai, June 24 ACC Mineral Resources Ltd (AMRL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ACC, has entered into an arrangement with the Madhya Pradesh State Mining Corporation (MPSMC) for joint exploration, development and mining of four coal blocks in ...

BUDGET: Revamp the education sector
The education sector should be revamped to give momentum to its incipient growth. India being a major global supplier of the highly skilled, the time has come to look at stopping the decay of education. My dream Budget would be to design ...

BUDGET: Increase domestic consumption, investments
The top priorities for the Government are, first, to revive the growth momentum of the economy, stunted by the global financial crisis. This can happen through increased public consumption and investments. The second, is to bridge the ...

BUDGET: Provide tax sops to software product cos
The Government should support domestic software product companies in the same manner that it empowered their IT services counterparts. The Government should provide certain tax incentives to domestic software product companies for making them ...

BUDGET: Give people the purchasing power
The two stimulus packages were largely intended to ease the supply side. Now, let the Government ease the demand side by putting more purchasing power in the hands of the people. The basic income-tax limit may be raised to Rs 2 lakh, Rs 2.5 lakh ...

BUDGET: Bring banking for all
Financial inclusion is gaining in importance. It is the Government’s duty to help poor and vulnerable sections enjoy the benefits of reforms. Banks should help poor people open ‘savings’ and ‘no frill’ accounts ...

BUDGET: Route farm loans via post-offices
It is well recognised that the Postal Department is doing an enormous service to the nation. In this age of computerisation, all out efforts should be to bring the performance of Postal Department at par with banks to stimulate overall growth in ...

BUDGET: Investments in rural India must continue
In the current volatile economic scenario, industry is looking forward to the Government playing a vital role. Infrastructure needs increased investments. This will help keep the economy going. The JNNURM initiative was welcome for the ...

BUDGET: Remove excise on construction steel
Government hospitals across the country should be restructured with modern facilities so that the poor can get medical treatment at affordable cost. A pilot project should be done with tier-2 cities with the help of State ...

PETROLEUM: Plea to raise crude output
The Sattur Chamber of Commerce and Industries has stressed the need to raise production of crude oil in the country.In a letter addressed to the Union Petroleum Minister, Mr Murli Deora, Chamber Secretary, Mr P.T.K.A. Balasubramanian, ...

EDUCATION: Banks mull special counselling for students
Banks in Thiruvananthapuram district are gearing up for special counselling of student-loan applicants in view of new guidelines from the Indian Banks’ Association ...

TOURISM: Indian tourist traffic to Dubai rises 7% in Q1
Dubai still enjoys the ‘value-for-money’ destination tag in India, and this is evident in the fact that the destination has enjoyed a 20 per cent growth in 2008, compared to the previous ...

POWER: Power plans
The Union Power Ministry has set itself the target of adding 5,653 MW of electricity generating capacity in the first 100 days of the Government. It would be as much of an accomplishment as yesterday’s train arriving on time. These ...

AWARDS & HONOURS: 6 from Kerala chosen as Fulbright Fellows
Six young scholars from Kerala drawn from diverse professional fields have been selected to receive the prestigious Fulbright-Nehru Fellowships in ...

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION: Crisil sees house market recovery in 2010
Mumbai, June 24 Demand in the Indian residential market is expected to turn positive in 2010 due to improvement in affordability, steady economic growth and greater liquidity, says a Crisil research report on the real estate ...

DISINVESTMENT: Colloquium on PSUs and disinvestment
National Confederation of Officers Associations of Central Public Sector Undertakings (NCOA) – Kerala Zone is organising a colloquium on Central Public Sector Undertakings and Disinvestment on Thursday at FACT Udyogamandal ...

TOURISM: Sikkim draws blueprint to celebrate 2010 as Year of Tourism
A tentative blueprint has been charted by the Sikkim Tourism Department to have year-round activities for its most ambitious project, `2010 - Year of ...

KNITWEAR & HOSIERY: Tirupur stitching units down shutters for a day
Coimbatore, June 24 Around 2,000 stitching units affiliated to the Tirupur Banian Power Table Owners’ Association (TBPTOA) downed shutters for 24 hours starting 8 a.m. on Wednesday demanding an interim hike in sewing charges ...

FOREIGN TRADE: CIMA study centre at BIFT
The UK-based Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) is setting up a study support centre at Badruka Institute of Foreign Trade (BIFT) ...

INVESTMENTS: High-level panel okays Rs 10,998-cr proposals
Bangalore, June 24 The High Level Clearance Committee, presided over by the Chief Minister, Mr B.S.Yeddyurappa, today approved investment proposals worth Rs 10,998 crore involving 24 projects, which included iron and steel units, ...

PHARMACEUTICALS: Glenmark’s diabetes drug to enter Phase III trials
Mumbai, June 24 Glenmark Pharmaceuticals’ prospective drug to treat diabetes Melogliptin (GRC 8200) is set to enter its third phase of trials on humans later this year, pending regulatory ...

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS: M.P. Birla Group plans 2 new hospitals in Rajasthan
The Belle Vue Clinic, belonging to the M.P. Birla Group, is planning to set up two new hospitals in Rajasthan, according to Mr H.V. Lodha, its Trustee and Member of the ...

ECONOMY: Recovery signs in 2nd half this year: Rangarajan
There will be signs of recovery from the current economic recession in the second half of current financial year, according to Dr C. Rangarajan, member of Rajya Sabha and former Governor ...

ANTI-DUMPING: Safeguard duty on aluminium product imports
New Delhi, June 24 The Finance Ministry has imposed definitive safeguard duty on imports of aluminium flat rolled products (FRPs) and aluminium ...

INTERVIEW: FTA will triple trade, says Israeli ambassador
Just civilian exports have reached $4.2 b. Hyderabad, June 24 The Israeli Ambassador to India, Mr Mark Sofer, has said that India-Israeli trade ties are poised for the next major phase of growth, both in civilian areas and ...

BUDGET: Life insurers seek special treatment under Section 80C
Mumbai, June 24 Life insurance companies are seeking creation of a separate category of savings under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, for tax exemption on investments in life insurance ...

TEXTILES: Coimbatore hosts TEXFAIR 2009
The fifth edition of TEXFAIR 2009 is on at the Codissia Trade Fair Complex here from Wednesday. The event, being organised by the Southern India Mills Association, closes on June 27 and coincides with the Platinum Jubilee function of SIMA on ...