FOREIGN TRADE
Kamal Nath to attend bilateral meetings during Europe tour
THE Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, is undertaking a week-long trip to Europe as part of attending bilateral meetings in Paris, London and the India-European Union meeting in the Hague from October 7-14. Sources in the ... More

EU regulation on trade preference likely in Oct
THE European Union is likely to bring out a regulation implementing the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) in October for the next three years. The EU adopted a communication in July setting principles that will guide the EU system of ... More

Non-oil trade with UAE touches $7.14 b
INDO-UAE non-oil trade witnessed a jump of 66.6 per cent to $7.14 billion in the 2003-2004 fiscal, with Indian exports to the UAE alone accounting for a 53 per cent rise to $5.08 billion, according to a senior Indian mission official. Mr ... More

HEALTH

PETROLEUM
Unease in Gulf, Nigeria makes oil, financial markets jittery
THERE is eerie nervousness in oil and financial markets amid fears over oil supply as prices are edging towards $50 (around Rs 2,298) a barrel mark. The current security threats in Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Iraq, seem to be compounding the ... More

Shell Hazira opposed to LNG imports under f.o.b.
SHELL Hazira Gas Pvt Ltd has protested to the Government against the proposed move to make liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports mandatory on free-on-board (f.o.b) basis, as it would make the Rs 3,000-crore LNG-receiving terminal at Hazira ... More

Scarce commodity
A woman carries home a cooking gas cylinder at Adimaly. LPG cylinders are often in short supply in the State.

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POWER
Regulator asks MSEB, State Govt to settle dues
THE Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has asked the State Government and the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) to settle their differences over the amount they owe each other, before this quarter's `zero energy' bills ... More

NTPC hopes to finish TN project study by Dec
The surplus power sold either to other States or to any other bulk buyer, taking advantage of the flexibility provided by the Electricity Act, 2003. More

Price bids for Bidadi to open next month
UNDETERRED by the volatile international oil markets, Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd (KPCL) has decided to go ahead with the price bids for fuel supply to the 1400-MW Bidadi gas station. According to sources, the price bids would open in ... More

TRAVEL & PLACES
CM to open Kerala Travel Mart at Kochi
With the Tourism Departments of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka sharing eight stalls, the KTM will have an ethnic South Indian flavour this time. More

TERRORISM
AP panel to monitor talks with Naxalites
THE Andhra Pradesh Government has appointed a 20-member monitoring committee to supervise the talks between the Government and CPI (ML) (People's War). The committee comprises civil rights activists, senior journalists, academicians and ... More

RADIO/TV
Zee Tele gets nod to launch sports channel
ZEE Telefilms Ltd (ZTL) has received necessary regulatory approvals to launch a sports channel, Mr Subhash Chandra, Chairman and Managing Director , said. "We have received uplinking approvals. The test signals should be available in a day or ... More

Zee has not met eligibility criteria: ESPN-Star
ESPN-Star Sports (ESS) has once again contended that Zee Telefilms does not satisfy the eligibility criteria for acquiring the telecast rights for the matches organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). ESS has claimed before ... More

TELEVISION SETS
`Thai trade pact no threat to CTV sector'
DESPITE the Thailand-India free trade agreement (FTA) in place, the domestic colour television (CTV) industry need not fear any immediate threat due to imports from Thailand, say industry insiders. Even multinational companies in India that have ... More

BEVERAGES
`Withdraw special excise duty on soft drinks'
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has demanded the withdrawal of special excise duty (SED) of 8 per cent on carbonated soft drinks to help the beverage industry grow further. In a representation submitted to ... More

HANDLOOM
AP Govt moves to revive handloom sector
IN a bid to revive the handloom sector, the Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to explore a variety of options, ranging from tapping corporates and the Railways to preparing a calendar of expos for selling handloom. The State Finance ... More

MINING & QUARRYING
`Mining hits women hard'
MINING often undermines the rights of women and they are worse hit than men in the aftermath of indiscriminate exploitation of the mineral resources by the industry, Ms. K. Bhanumathi, of mines, minerals and PEOPLE (m, m&P), has said. m,m&P i More

CINEMA
Telugu film industry to set up monitoring cells to curb piracy
RHETORIC and clichéd concerns over the problem of piracy, at last, finally give way to some scope for real action from the Telugu film industry to put off the problem. After being bogged down by huge losses to the tune of Rs 300 crore annually ... More

SMALL SAVINGS
Post offices give swanky banks a run for their money
THE humble post offices, fighting a valiant battle against the swanky, technology-driven new age banks, have more than held their ground. "Our savings bank and postal deposits have continued to surge, well into the present decade," the Post ... More

SOCIAL WELFARE
Half-a-day's pay, but a big change for the children
IN its one year of existence, the Bangalore-based Parikrma Humanity Foundation has impacted three groups (if not more) of people at different levels: About 500 school dropouts, employees of 20 corporates and the team at Parikrma itself. The ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Rate slab fixed for SGSY loans
THE Government has asked the Reserve Bank of India and Nabard to ensure that the loans extended to self-help groups under Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY) is made available within a slab of 4 to 6 per cent interest. "We are facing ... More

LABOUR REFORMS
Chidambaram for flexibility in labour markets
THE Finance Minister, Mr P Chidambaram, on Tuesday voiced support for introducing "flexibility" in the labour markets, stating that employers needed this tool to manage downturns in business cycles. Inaugurating India's first temporary staffing ... More

E-COMMERCE & E-BUSINESS
C1 India goes live with e-tendering platform
NEW DELHI: E-Procurement solutions provider C1 India, said it has gone live with the e-procurement platform of Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D). "The platform will allow DGS&D to raise public tenders and streamline ... More

EVENTS

TOURISM