The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, January 01, 2005

Contempt of Courts amendment Bill referred to panel
GOVERNMENT said on Friday that the Contempt of Courts (Amendment) Bill 2004, introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 1, has been referred to the Department Related Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice. The panel ... More

ECONOMY

Current account slips into deficit
INDIA'S current account slipped into a deficit of $6.4 billion in the second quarter ended September 30, 2004, due to higher oil import bills and a marginal fall in net invisible earnings, according to data released by the Reserve Bank of ... More

GDP growth slows in Q2
THE economic growth slowed to 6.6 per cent during the second quarter ended September from 7.4 per cent in the previous quarter, due to a negative growth in the agriculture sector. The agricultural slowdown was so pronounced that even the robust ... More

Dollar debt stock declines to 43.5 pc
INDIA'S external debt in US dollars would have increased by less than $100 million if the US dollar had not appreciated against other currencies during the quarter ended September 2004, according to the Finance Ministry. In its report on the ... More

External debt rises marginally to $113.6 b — Short-term debt up by 3.9 pc to $6.485 b in September quarter
THE country's total external debt registered a marginal increase to $113.6 billion as at the end of September 2004 from a level of $113.2 billion at end-June 2004. While the long-term debt outstanding showed no significant change over the ... More

PETROLEUM

ONGC charts plan to hike output at Bombay High
ONGC is planning to step up production at Bombay High to 18 million tonnes through a specially designed re-development plan. The plan, which includes building of more wells, enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and adequate reservoir management ... More

Oil PSUs lead in donations for tsunami relief
TAKING the lead among companies that have decided to make donations for helping tsunami victims, oil public sector companies today announced Rs 55 crore contribution to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund. An official statement said that while ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS

Post-product patent, R&D is way forward for pharma cos
WITH the Government putting in place a product patent regime from January 1, 2005, domestic pharmaceutical companies are focusing their research and development (R&D) efforts on various therapeutic segments ranging from metabolic disorders, ... More

POWER

Raichur thermal station facing coal stock depletion
COAL stock levels at the Raichur thermal station of Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd have already reached critical levels. Coal stocks, as of December 29, would last only for 7 days at current generation levels, according to data available from ... More

TAXATION

KCCI protests service tax on road transport of goods
THE Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has opposed the decision of the Centre to levy service tax on road transport of goods. In a letter to the Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, copies of which were released to the press ... More

TEXTILES

`Potential gains from free trade in textiles meagre'
EVEN as exceeding expectations centre around the end of the quota regime in global trade in textiles and clothing from January 1, the country's benefits would only be in a few cases while it is not so in most since domestic policies had not ... More

DEPB rates hiked for textiles
AS the global textile trade bids adieu to quota restrictions from January 1, the domestic textile industry's enthusiasm for increased exports to quota-less markets has been somewhat dampened by the Government's move to revise the duty entitlement ... More

Textile retailers need to negotiate savings: AT Kearney
TOMORROW textile players worldwide will blow a farewell kiss to almost 40 years of what was seen as an unfair tariff regime. However, there are many questions about how all the players in the textile value chain should approach the new ... More

`Reforms, modernisation must to drive textile sector'
CHINA and Pakistan may completely capture the country's global textile market share of 4 per cent following the phasing out of the multi-fibre agreement (MFA) from January 1, if India fails to take precautionary measures in initiating massive ... More

RADIO/TV

Separate register for MSO/broadcaster interconnect pacts
THE Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has decided to set up a separate Register of Interconnect Agreements (Broadcasting and Cable Services) for registering any interconnect agreements between broadcasters and the cable service ... More

EDUCATION

Residential school in Mysore gets Hudco funding
THE promoters of Jnanasarovara international residential school near Mysore have roped in HUDCO to partly fund their school project worth Rs 40 crore. The school's chairman, Mr Sudhakar S. Shetty, said Rs 20 crore has already been invested in ... More

AUTOMOBILE COMPONENTS

Auto components make robust strides
NOTWITHSTANDING the looming threat from competition due to inking of free trade agreements, the past year has seen the domestic auto components industry take robust strides to emerge as a global force. According to estimates of the Automotive ... More

BEVERAGES

2004 not a great year for cola majors
THE year gone by would not be one that the carbonated soft drink (CSD) industry will forget in a hurry. It has impacted the cola majors in more ways than one. Even as the pesticide controversy continued to persist in hurting product sales of ... More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

GoM discusses FDI in print media
THE Group of Ministers (GoM) set up to look into the print media on Friday discussed possible amendments to the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act, 1867, and FDI levels in print media. Chaired by the Home Minister, Mr Shivraj Patil, the ... More

FDI inflows up 54 pc in 2004
INDIA continued to remain an attractive destination for investment during 2004 with foreign direct investment inflows (FDI) growing by 54 per cent. According to data furnished by the Commerce and Industry Ministry, during January to September ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

Tea exports from South rise on more Iraq buying
OPENING up of markets in Iraq and some other countries has pushed up exports of South Indian tea during January - October 2004, when exports from the North declined. Exports to Iraq during January - October 2004 have gone up ... More

NATURAL CALAMITIES

`Tsunami impact on marine sector brief'
THE impact of the tsunami on the seafood industry has not been very significant and will be of a temporary nature, Mr G. Mohan Kumar, Chairman of the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), has said. While the industry as a whole ... More

World Bank to contribute $250 m for tsunami-hit nations
THE World Bank has announced that it would make available $250 million as its initial contribution for emergency reconstruction in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami disaster. This amount will cover the next six months while further ... More

Tata AIG sets up disaster hotline
TATA AIG's life and general insurance companies have jointly set up a task force to provide service to its tsunami-hit customers in South India. It has installed an emergency 24-hour toll-free number 1600 11 99 66 to process claims and ... More

Vizag Port Trust donates Rs 3 cr to relief fund
THE Visakhapatnam Port Trust has donated Rs 3 crore to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund to help tsunami victims. Mr K. Ratna Kishore, Chairman, has sent a cheque for Rs 3 crore to the Indian Ports' Association for onward submission to ... More

Navy's `floating hospital' to set sail with medical relief
HOSPITAL Ship Brahmaputra, docked in relatively calmer waters in the western coast, will spend this new-year's eve preparing to set sail to coastal areas in India or it's neighbouring countries recently ravaged by the killer-waves. Armed with ... More

The politics of `national calamity'
IN the post-tsunami scenario, when there is a repeated clamour on one side to declare `national calamity', and hesitation on the other side to yield to such a demand, one is curious to know a little more about the calamity business. It was ... More

Tsunami: Beta group chief sees no major economic fall-out
THE damage caused by the cataclysmic tsunami in the coastal areas of a number of countries in South-East Asia, Sri Lanka and India is not going to have a "major economic fall-out" in terms of production-disruption. On the other hand, the disaster ... More

`India no stranger to tsunamis'
IS India a stranger to tsunamis? Despite the popular perception emerging in the past few days, the answer could be a no, going by the available historical records. Though infrequent, at least, 10 tsunamis, have hit the Indian coasts in the past ... More

Central team to assess tsunami damage in Kerala
A TEAM of officials from the Central Government is scheduled to visit Kerala next week to assess the damage and loss caused by the tsunami that hit the coastline on Sunday. This was announced during the visit of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan ... More

Seafood is safe: CIFT
FOLLOWING reports that it is unsafe to eat seafood after the tsunami struck the Indian coastline, the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) has come out with a categorical statement that "the fish is as safe as it used to be and we can ... More

LIC sets up help desks for tsunami-hit policyholders
THE Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has set up help desks at all the 12 divisional offices and 261 branch offices in the southern zone to respond to enquiries and assist in settlement of claims of the policyholders affected by tsunami ... More

PM to convene all-party meet to mobilise help for tsunami victims
TERMING the devastation caused by tsunami last week as national calamity, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has decided to convene an all-party meeting in two days to mobilise help for the victims. Announcing this at a press conference ... More

AP Govt order to facilitate official involvement of NGOs
THE Andhra Pradesh Government has issued a Government Order (G.O.), facilitating the official involvement of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), in relief operations. The G.O. was handed over to a group of NGOs by Mr A.K. Goel, Principal ... More

Travel industry sees 25 pc drop in business
THE travel industry, which till the other day was grappling with a problem of plenty, today stands rattled yet again. While the industry is divided on the extent to which the tsunami will affect business over the next couple of weeks, a number of ... More

Corporates chip in for tsunami relief in TN
WITH relief and rehabilitation work to help those affected by the tsunami is on in full swing, companies, industry bodies and non-governmental organisations have chipped in to contribute their mite. Indian Overseas Bank, the Chennai ... More

SLBC approves Rs 1.25-cr credit plan for victims in Guntur dt
A special credit plan worth Rs 1.25 crore has been approved by the State Level Bankers Committee (SLBC) to help people in Guntur district affected by the tsunami. The loans will be provided towards housing and purchase of fishing nets and ... More

Amul donates Rs 1 crore
AHMEDABAD: The Amul Relief Trust has donated Rs 1 crore to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund to help the tsunami-affected people. "The milk producers of Gujarat have always taken a lead in rushing assistance to people affected by such ... More

Contributions to The Hindu Relief Fund

TOURISM

`No major cancellations to SE Asia'
THE tsunami effect has not made an impact on the South East Asia-bound tourism business in southern and eastern India. Flights ex-Kolkata and ex-Chennai to destinations such as Bangkok, Yangon, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are registering ... More

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Pick a Winner Stock Market Contest

Charges of violations — SEBI yet to complete Reliance probe

`Tsunami impact on marine sector brief'

`No major cancellations to SE Asia'

Treasury profits decline for banks, FIs, insurers — Dividend receipts may take a hit

External debt rises marginally to $113.6 b — Short-term debt up by 3.9 pc to $6.485 b in September quarter

Auto components make robust strides

Govt nod for over 5 lakh additional seats on foreign airlines during open sky policy

Air India to re-enter freight market

In Focus

BHEL Disinvestment