The Hindu Business Line : Friday, April 25, 2003

Core sector posts 5.2 pc growth
THE country's six core infrastructure industries have registered a 5.2 per cent growth during 2002-03, compared to 3.5 per cent in the previous year. The higher growth has been mainly powered by cement and finished steel, with their production ... More

Depths of deprivation
An adolescent Chenchu girl wearing wet clothes as she does not have spare clothes to change after taking bath in a stream in the Nallamala forests of Andhra Pradesh. Impoverished Chenchus lack adequate food, clothing and other basic amenities. ... More

HEALTH

Govt pens SARS prescription
DESPITE no new reports of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in the country over the last two days — significant decisions were taken today by the Government in an effort to both prevent the entry of SARS into India and control its ... More

SARS: `Joint steps needed from Asian countries'
TO combat the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has suggested the adoption of a concerted approach without duplicating efforts by the Asian economies. It is ... More

PETROLEUM

`Brand building key to market share'
WITH the demand for petro-products growing at a robust 7 per cent per annum, petro-retailing companies will require to focus on brand-building exercise, according to the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) Chairman and Managing Director, Mr ... More

`Iraq war cost oil PSUs Rs 600 crore'
THE Iraq war is now beginning to tell on the health of the domestic oil companies. The public sector oil companies have lost Rs 600 crore due to depreciation in the value of the higher inventory levels of petro-products maintained since late last ... More

Decision soon on gas pricing policy: Naik
THE Lok Sabha was informed today that the Group of Ministers reviewing the natural gas pricing policy has submitted its proposals to the Government early this month and a decision would be taken shortly. Responding to a question, the Union ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS

4 pc VAT rate: Will it mean cheaper drugs?
IF anyone, it is the consumers who should be heaving a sigh of relief on the decision to impose a four per cent VAT on all medicines. Its earlier suggestion of 12.5 per cent had raised the hackles of the pharma industry — though it would ... More

TAXATION

`Incentive' for States to join VAT regime
THE Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on Value Added Tax (VAT) is to work out a "built-in incentive" which would help those States that are not moving towards VAT from June 1 to join the bandwagon as early as possible. At least 16 ... More

TEXTILES

Garment units seek cut in duty
A GROUP of "like-minded" garment manufacturers on Thursday sought a reduction in excise duty on readymade garments from the current level of 10 per cent to 4 per cent. They have also made a case for enhancement in abatement levels from the ... More

TN spinners hit by low yield of summer cotton
Textile industry here considers the import of cotton would work out favourably for the mills going by the prevailing high prices for indigenous cotton. More

CBEC simplifies registration form for powerloom sector
POWERLOOM weavers and other segments of the textile sector that had voiced concern over the complexity of the excise registration process and the scope for harassment in such a process have cause for cheer. The Central Board of Excise and Customs ... More

SSI

Vizag SSIs allege official harassment
SMALL-scale entrepreneurs and industrialists in Visakhapatnam district have urged the Commissioner of Industries to take stringent action against the General Manager, District Industries Centre (DIC), for his alleged harassment of the ... More

RADIO/TV

Blackout
Cable TV channels in Bangalore went off air on Thursday with the operators launching a protest demanding a rollback of entertainment tax hike imposed by the State Government. ... More

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS

Omaxe to build 300-bed hospital
NEW DELHI: Real estate firm Omaxe Construction Ltd has been awarded a contract to build a 300-bed super-speciality wing of the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital in the Capital. The Rs 36-crore project has been awarded to the private ... More

TEXTILE MACHINERY

Concessional funding for wind energy equipment — Norms relaxed for TUF schemes
THE Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee (IMSC) on textile technology upgradation fund (TUF) scheme has allowed coverage of the second-hand imported non-woven machinery of 10-year vintage having 10-year residual life for the TUFS funding. The ... More

BIO-TECH & GENETICS

Biotech meet on May 3

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Insat-3A reaches destination
BANGALORE: Insat-3A, ISRO's latest multipurpose satellite launched on April 10, has reached its designated orbital slot. It may take about three more weeks before the satellite is commissioned and its transponder capacity is allocated ... More

TRADING

Traders group to protest against VAT in May
WHOLESALE traders in Maharashtra have threatened to boycott products of manufacturers who are supporting VAT, Federation of Associations of Maharashtra said on Thursday. The federation has decided to begin their agitation against ... More

DISINVESTMENT

Divestment issue rocks Parliament
THE issue of disinvestment of Government equity in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) rocked Parliament today, forcing the Lok Sabha Speaker, Mr Manohar Joshi, to prematurely adjourn the House ... More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

Hiking FDI cap: Why the Cabinet fought shy
IT was perhaps the fear of the forthcoming elections and the fall-out on the ruling party that forced the Union Cabinet to defer a decision on increasing the FDI caps in various sectors, including telecom and domestic civil aviation. While ... More

FDI in telecom — Raising limit may not ring in foreign capital
According to a senior Bharti officials, while the hike in FDI limit is necessary, it is not a sufficient condition for growth of the telecom sector which continues to be bogged down by regulatory and policy uncertainties. More

WTO

Experts urge shift to multi-lateral tax treaties
THE only way to remain globally competitive under the World Trade Organisation regime was to shift from bilateral tax treaties to multi-lateral arrangements, tax experts have said. Indian traders should also explore advance pricing agreements ... More

INTERVIEW

`If Cancun meet fails, so will WTO'
EVEN as the move to evolve the modalities on important negotiations in the WTO such as agriculture, public health and TRIPs, industrial tariffs remained deadlocked, Britain and other members of the European Union are "trying hard to identify ... More

EVENTS

GIM projects get caught in political turmoil
`I do not want to disclose the names of those who have second thoughts on investing in the State, because I still entertain hopes that they can be brought around to reconsider their options.' More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

Coir product exports up
EXPORTS of coir and coir products have increased both in terms of volume and value during the last fiscal compared to the previous year. During 2002-03, 82,634 tonnes of coir and coir products valued at Rs 345.13 crore were exported as against ... More

TN plans Agri export zones for cashew, banana
The development mission for horticulture crops would include those for mangoes, banana, vegetables, cashew, flowers and medicinal plants. More

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