INDUSTRY & ECONOMY
NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY
ISMA flays oil firms for slow progress in `gasohol' programme
THE Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) has accused the public sector oil companies of "dragging their feet" over implementation of the `gasohol' programme, which envisages countrywide coverage of 5 per cent ethanol-doped petrol by the end of ...
More
LOTTERY
Karnataka: Plea to lift ban on online lottery
THE Online Lottery Retailers' Forum has urged Mr Basavaraj S. Horatti, Minister of Small Savings and State Lottery, to lift the ban on online lottery. In a memorandum submitted to the Minister on Monday, the Forum said that the ban on online ...
More
INTERIORS & HOMES
`Nitraa' furniture finds demand from star hotels
THANKS to "aggressive" brand promotion and good demand from the upcoming star hotels, Sivasakthi Wood Works expects its turnover to double to Rs 40 crore in 2005-06. The company produces ready-to-assemble (RTA) furniture made of medium density ...
More
BUDGET
Assocham wants CST phased out
IN its pre-Budget recommendation to the Government, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has advocated a five-pronged strategy including bringing transparency in direct and indirect taxation, making the system more ...
More
ECONOMY
FICCI outlines measures to boost GDP growth
TO sustain and enhance 8 per cent GDP growth rate, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has called for conducive policy for manufacturing sectors. A nine-member high-level FICCI delegation led by President, Mr ...
More
ENGINEERING
EEPC for full-blown VAT as alternative to DEPB scheme Seeks broad-based drawback in interim
CONFIDENT of doubling engineering exports from the 2003-04 level of $10 billion to $20 billion in the next five years, the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC) has suggested to the Government that its members, as an alternative to the DEPB ...
More
FOREIGN TRADE
`Future of multilateral trading may hinge on national sovereignty'
THE future of the multilateral trading system, enabled by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreements, may hinge on the issue of national sovereignty, said Mr D. Sampath Kumar, Associate Editor, The Hindu Business Line, addressing a ...
More
INFRASTRUCTURE
Infrastructure growth dips to 5% in Nov
THE official six-industry infrastructure index has registered a 5.8 per cent year-on-year growth during April-November this year, against 5.4 per cent during the corresponding eight-month period of 2003. The higher growth has been mainly led ...
More
Bidding for projects in other countries Malaysian PM keen on tie-up with India
MALAYSIA is keen on forging an alliance with India to bid for projects in other countries in the technology and services sector. It is also interested in taking a look at the prospects in India, particularly in business process outsourcing, ...
More
PETROLEUM
New kerosene sharing formula for oil PSUs
THE Government has reallocated the market share of kerosene sold by public sector oil marketing companies and in the process provided 4.7 per cent of the market to private operators. Under the new sharing formula, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) ...
More
IOC-IBP merger swap ratio at 125:100
INDIAN Oil Corporation (IOC) today approved a share swap ratio for merging its subsidiary IBP Company Ltd with itself. "Our board of directors has approved a swap ratio of 125:100, that is 125 equity shares of IOC would be offered for every ...
More
POWER
Reliance spat: KPC gas supply bids face uncertainty
THE intensifying sibling spat in the Reliance group has sent alarm bells ringing for the State-owned Karnataka Power Corporation (KPC), which is promoting the 1,400-MW gas-based power station. KPC's worries emanate from the fact that RIL is one ...
More
ADB approves $400-m loan to upgrade power transmission grid
THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) will finance the upgrading of the national power transmission grid through a loan of $400 million approved today. The project will strengthen and expand the capacity of the national transmission grid, comprising ...
More
TAXATION
VAT implementation on track: Finance Minister
THE Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, said on Wednesday that 27 States are ready with the relevant laws relating to implementation of value added tax (VAT) from April 1, 2005. ``All States are on board. 27 States have passed the laws. Many ...
More
SOPA seeks cut in M.P. mandi tax
DOMESTIC soyabean trade, facing sluggish prices and severe under utilisation of capacity, has also been impacted by the ITC Ltd's e-choupal system which has been increasing direct purchases from farmers, according to the Soyabean Processors' ...
More
TEXTILES
CCEA clears 20 lakh cotton bales for export
THE Government on Wednesday approved export of up to 20 lakh bales of cotton by the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) during the 2004-05 season. The proposal approved by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) provides cost ...
More
Mills call for cut in customs duty on synthetic yarn
THE domestic mills sector has called for a lowering of customs duty on synthetic yarn to check exploitative pricing by domestic suppliers. The Chairman of Indian Cotton Mills' Federation (ICMF), Mr V.K. Ladia, said the country's synthetic yarn ...
More
WATER
Kerala: Water levels decline
COAL
Singareni Day
A group of miners of the 115-year old Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) coming out of a mine in Kothagudem in Khammam district of Andhra Pradesh. December 23 is celebrated as `Singareni Day', to symbolise mining activity that started this ...
More
INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
Mangalore cashew body to expand horizon
THE Mangalore Cashew Manufacturers' Association (MCMA), which will celebrate its golden jubilee in 2005, is all set to convert itself into a State-level body. From December 30, MCMA will be known as Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers' Association ...
More
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Cabinet nod for spacecraft project
THE Union Cabinet has given its nod for undertaking the GSAT-5/INSAT- 4D spacecraft project at a total cost of Rs 123.75 crore. The total cost includes a foreign exchange component of Rs 83.25 crore. ``This will help telecom and TV operators to ...
More
CERAMICS
Vizianagaram to get ceramic park
THE Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) is planning to set up the first ceramic park in the State at Kothavalasa in Vizianagaram district. "It will take less than a year for us to develop the infrastructure so that ...
More
CONTRACEPTIVES & PROTECTIVES
Win-Medicare unveils emergency contraceptive pills
THE UK Modi-promoted Win-Medicare has launched Norlevo, an emergency contraceptive tablet as a gynaecare product in the market. With a very convenient dosage schedule of two tablets only, the women can look forward to an option to prevent ...
More
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Capart to speed up funding in Kerala
ALTERNATIVE MEDICINES
AEPZ for medicinal plants at Tuticorin
TOURISM
Govt initiates steps to improve tourism sector
THE Government has initiated a major exercise to improve tourism infrastructure in coordination with the concerned Ministries, the Minister for Tourism, Ms Renuka Chowdhury, said here on Wednesday. Addressing the Consultative Committee meeting ...
More
ECONOMIC OFFENCES
HLL seeks States' help to tackle counterfeiting
HINDUSTAN Lever Ltd, impacted by the counterfeiting of its brands, has sought the intervention of State Governments in checking production of bogus goods. The Rs 10,138-crore fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) major, which has incurred a loss ...
More
Comments & Letters to the Editor to: bleditor@thehindu.co.in
Subscribe to: Business Line
|