Airlines
Silkair to increase flights
KOCHI: Silkair, the regional wing of the Singapore Airlines, is to enhance its frequency to three flights a week effective from December 6 from the Kochi international airport at nearby Nedumbassery.

UN body meet on aviation security in Feb
THE United Nations International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has decided to convene a high-level Ministerial conference on aviation security next year.

Automobiles
Reva to enter AP market
HYDERABAD: The Bangalore-based Reva Electric Car Company (RECC) has announced foray of its pollution-free Reva car into the Andhra Pradesh market.

Bajaj sales up
NEW DELHI: Bajaj Auto has sold 121,436 vehicles in November, which is 13.43 per cent higher than 107,061 vehicles sold during the same month last year. It sold 108,938 motorcycles in November as against 95,367 sold in November 2000. Three-wheeler sales w ere 12,498 units, up from 11,694 sold in November 2000. Total sales, including three-wheelers, were 130,705 in October.

Mopeds slow TVS vehicle sales in Nov
TVS Motor Co Ltd, until recently TVS-Suzuki Ltd, on Saturday said its vehicle sales grew a marginal 5 per cent year on year in November, dampened mainly by the fall in moped sales.

Auto sector pleads for lower excise duty
THE automobile industry has sought a cut in the excise duty on cars and utility vehicles and a higher import duty on new and used commercial vehicles to make it on a par with the duty on other vehicles, the industry's association said.

Qualis to be costlier
TOYOTA Kirloskar Motor Co, which plans to launch the petrol version of the Qualis in the Auto Expo, is planning to raise the price of the diesel version.

Banking and Finance
IFCI: Borrowing to pay interest?
THE financial performance of IFCI in the second quarter is notable for a very simple fact. For the first time in recent history, its interest income is lower than the interest paid. Interest income for the second quarter was Rs 440.27 crore while interes t expended was Rs 599.83 crore. In effect, IFCI would have had to borrow to pay interest on existing borrowings.

Enron issue turns FIs cautious
DOMESTIC financial institutions will be cautious before investing funds in the over 20 power projects currently under review, thanks to the Enron fiasco, a senior IDBI official today said.

Chemicals
Dumping probe on pentaerithritol
THE Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry has initiated anti-dumping investigations into the existence, degree and effect of alleged dumping of pentaerithritol from Taiwan, Japan and Canada.

Commodities
Dull trend continues in leather
Trading in the leather market continued to be dull, particularly, in sheep nappa. While Delhi based leading garment manufacturer-exporters have completely slowed down their purchases, small manufacturers catering to domestic demands were reported to have been on a buying spree.

Corporate
Transgene Biotek tie-up with US co
HYDERABAD: Transgene Biotek Ltd. (TBL), the Hyderabad-based biotech company, has tied up with JN International, based in Nebraska State for the joint development of third generation hepatitis C vaccine.

Bata to launch top-end fashion shoe line
BATA India Ltd has drawn up plans to improve its shoe line, especially at the upper end of the market, in keeping with changing fashions, while still retaining its leadership position in the volume-driven segment, like school shoes.

Boards clearing buyback made more accountable
FOR the boards of Indian companies, buyback will come with a responsibility. After authorising the buyback, the board of directors should confirm that the company is in a position to discharge all its debt obligations.

Sumitomo to start cash and carry wholesale trading
SUMITOMO Corporation of Japan, one of the largest trading houses in the world, has been permitted by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to undertake cash and carry wholesale trading in India.

Indian companies should liberalise internally
INDIAN industries should start thinking globally and need to focus on technologies, Mr N. Kumar, former President of the Confederation of Indian Industry and Vice-Chairman, Sanmar group, said today.

Entertainment cos bitten by film bug
EVEN as banks and financial institutions are wary of funding films, entertainment companies seem to be rather eager to dip their fingers into this risky pie.

Economy
Labour panel report
NEW DELHI: A study group constituted by the National Labour Commission on Umbrella legislation for the workers in the unorganised sector has recommended an average minimum wage equivalent to the initial salary drawn by a Group D employee of the Central G overnment.

Dumping duty on CR coils likely
THE designated authority in the Commerce Ministry has recommended imposition of anti-dumping duty on imported cold-rolled flat products of stainless steel from the 15-member European Union (EU), Japan, Canada and the US.

Food processing sector growth put at 7.3 pc
THE food processing sector is projected to grow 7.3 per cent in the Tenth Plan period, said the Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing, Mr D P Tripathi, quoting an NCAER study. Investments of Rs 93,000 crore are expected to come into this sector.

Nabard funds
NEW DELHI: Nabard has sanctioned Rs 257.28 crore for rural infrastructure under RIDF-VII in nine States including Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Event on carbon neutral
CONFERENCE organisers, take note. The countrys first carbon neutral event will be held here shortly, thanks to an initiative launched by the Centre for Social Markets (CSM), a UK-based NGO.

RBI loans to Govt dip
LOANS and advances provided by the RBI to the Central Government has declined by Rs 9,205 crore to Rs 3,225 crore for the week ended November 23, as against Rs 12,430 crore in the previous week.

Education
PM to open new business school centre
AFTER about five months of commencing course for its first batch of students, the industry-driven initiative - the Indian School of Business (ISB) - has moved on to a decisive phase foraying into customised corporate solutions space, consulting and is es tablishing a Centre for Entrepreneurial Development.

Environment
Shot in the arm for Indian ecosystem
THE World Wildlife Fund (WWF), in its current television campaign for India, depicts a boat and a man perched high and dry on top of a hill waiting for the deluge to arrive. The message of the campaign is of course to arouse concern for the damage that i s being done to the fragile Indian ecosystem and to drum up support for protectionist measures.

Foreign Trade
Export downturn continues in Oct
THE export downturn is continuing with the export performance for the first seven months of the current fiscal registering a declining trend at $24,382.54 million against $25,104.56 million in the corresponding months of 2000, showing a 2.88 per cent neg ative growth.

Forex
Forex reserves up $162 m
THE forex reserves of the country have increased by $162 million to $46.631 billion for the week ended November 23, 2001 as compared to $46.469 billion in the previous week, as per the Weekly Statistical Supplement of the Reserve Bank.

Information Technology
SWIFTly taking to computers
IF Dr Radhakrishnan and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru have given the nation's teachers and children cause to celebrate, the computer education specialist NIIT has planned something special for IT novices as its 20th birthday offer.

Insurance
United India bags PPN Power deal
UNITED India Insurance Company Ltd (UIICL) has emerged as the lead insurer for the independent power producer, Pillaiperumalnallur Power Generation Company (PPN Power).

Lifestyle
Focus on Gifting -- Making the most of that present
IT'S that time of the year again. Come December and you begin to think about Christmas, Santa Claus, fun and, of course, gifts.

On the shelves... and off it!
THE best part of the sojourn in Al Khobar, a small town in Saudi Arabia, was the visit to the 5-riyal and the 10-riyal shops. These shops offered a variety of items, which would make wonderful gifts back home, all for just 5 or 10 riyals.

A time to remember
"BIRTHDAYS or wedding anniversaries are occasions when people think of buying a watch,'' says Mr Ashok Doshi of Helvetica Swiss watch and lifestyle boutique.

Pharmaceuticals
More M&As seen in small pharma segments
THE pharmaceuticals industry is likely to see more mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the medium and small segments, than amongst the top 10 industry majors, according to Mr Praneet Singh, engagement manager, McKinsey & Co.

Stocks
Pick a Winner Stock Contest
THE Trigyn Technologies scrip posted the highest gain of 167.22 per cent among the entries received for November 2001. The share moved up from Rs 30.20 to Rs 80.70 during this period. Totally 20 winning entries were received (inclusive of multiple entrie s). The winners are: P.M. Krishnan (Tirunelveli), K. Annapurna (Hyderabad), Mena C. Shah, P. Suresh and R. Saraswathi (Chennai), R. Saroja (Bhavani), N.K. Venkataraman (Pudukkottai), Guru Preasad Bhat (Atur), Sarita Agarwal (Dehradun), R. Vishwanathan, V . Karthikeyan, K. Jayakumar, Premavati, J. Shalini, J. Jaiganesh and V. Lakshmi (Coimbatore).

Source:Business Line