The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Karnataka Bank hikes NRE term deposit rates
KARNATAKA Bank Ltd has hiked the interest rate on its NRE term deposit scheme with effect from April 1. The interest rate on NRE savings deposits has been revised from 2.80 per cent per annum to 3.40 per cent per annum with effect from April ... More

ICICI Bank hikes NRE deposit rates
ICICI Bank has hiked interest rates on NRE savings accounts, fixed deposits and FCNR deposits with effect from April 1.

AWARDS & HONOURS

Young Scientist award
HYDERABAD: Dr S. Chandrasekhar of the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) here has bagged the Young Scientist Award of the A.V. Rama Rao Research Foundation for the year 2004, for his contributions in the field of organic ... More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS

Kolkata Customs tops revenue target
THE revenue collections of Kolkata Customs for 2004-05 have exceeded the target of Rs 3,851 crore by Rs 99.84 crore (or three per cent) to Rs 3,950.84 crore. The increase is significant when viewed against the shortfall during 2003-04 of Rs 77.2 ... More

FOREIGN TRADE

DGFT directive on export obligation default cases
FOREIGN trade licensing authorities have been advised to comply with the decisions of the Settlement Commission in respect of export obligation (EO) default regularisation cases. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has given a ... More

HEALTH

ESI super-speciality hospital proposed
THERE is a proposal to set up an ESI super-speciality hospital in Hyderabad, the first of its kind in South India, to cater to the needs of workers in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, according to the State Labour Minister, Mr G. Vinod. ... More

No polio cases in one year
HYDERABAD: Andhra Pradesh has recorded one year of zero polio cases. Asking the people to continue the performance, UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund) officials said three years of zero cases would make the State polio free. The ... More

PETROLEUM

Mumbai port in talks with oil PSUs for Rs 150-cr berth
MUMBAI port is in talks with PSU oil companies for investing in its proposed Rs 150-crore oil berth and a single buoy mooring (SBM) facility at the port. "We are having a dialogue (with oil companies), but nothing is finalised as yet. We are ... More

Rising crude ignites oil drilling stocks
WITH international crude price crossing the $58-mark per barrel, oil drilling companies such as ONGC and Hindustan Oil Exploration Company Ltd (HOECL) are in demand at the stock markets even asthere is a concern over rising oil prices in ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS

Globalisation should not deprive poor of medicines: Cipla chief
DR Y.K. Hamied, Chairman and Managing Director of Cipla Ltd, has said that globalisation of healthcare does not mean that the sick and needy are denied access to drugs at affordable prices. "One of the greatest predictable tragedies the world ... More

Pharma MNCs likely to tighten hold on patents
WITH fewer innovations in the pipeline, multinational pharmaceutical companies may become more aggressive in protecting their patent rights, making it tougher for generic companies to manufacture cheaper versions of drugs. According to ... More

POWER

PM for rational pricing, distribution policies in power
THE Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, today said that the country needs to have "rational pricing and distribution policies" to attract investments into the power sector. Calling upon political parties to shun differences over the issue of ... More

Maharashtra inks pact with 8 power cos
THE Maharashtra Government today signed agreements with eight leading power companies for new generation projects totalling 12,500 mega watts at close to Rs 50,000 crore investments, to be set up over the next five years. Reliance Energy, Tata ... More

NHPC to generate 13 b units
NEW DELHI: National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) plans to generate 12.96 billion units of power during 2005-06, as against the 11.2 billion units generated in 2004-05. An MoU to this effect was signed by the NHPC with the ... More

TAXATION

States working on HSN classification code for VAT
WITH the VAT system in operation, States have started gearing themselves towards a harmonised system of nomenclature (HSN) basis of classification of goods for VAT purposes. An 8-digit HSN code system has already been adopted in the country ... More

COAL

CIL targets 341 mt output
NEW DELHI: Coal India Ltd (CIL) has set a production target of 341.05 million tonnes for fiscal 2005-06 against 323.18 million tonnes in 2004-05, according to an official release. Of this, Eastern Coalfields Ltd is expected to produce ... More

BREWERIES

IMFL prices not fixed by Govt, says KSBC chief
THE State Government and the Kerala State Beverages Corporation Ltd (KSBC) do not fix the price of various brands of India-made foreign liquor (IMFL) sold in the State, said Mr T. Balakrishnan, Chairman, KSBC, and Excise Commissioner, Government ... More

RADIO/TV

I&B Ministry favours revenue sharing model for FM radio
THE FM Radio industry's woes finally appear to have got the Government's attention. Mr S. Jaipal Reddy, Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, today said that the Ministry was in favour of revenue sharing model for FM radio. In his ... More

Ministry finds gaps in Tata-Murdoch DTH shareholders pact
THE stars are yet to shine on the direct-to-home (DTH) venture between Tata Sons and the Rupert Murdoch-promoted Network Digital Distribution Services (NDDS). The Ministry of Company Affairs is of the opinion that the current shareholders ... More

`Encourage industry to evolve content regulation code'
THE Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) and Amarchand Mangaldas, a law firm, have recommended that the proposed structure for content regulation be modified to include a mechanism for regulation of content. It has ... More

Zee plans global news channel
THE Zee Telefilms Chairman, Mr Subhash Chandra, on Monday announced plans for a global news channel on the lines of CNN and BBC, but with an Asian perspective. "Zee has taken an initiative with a few Asian companies to launch a global news ... More

EDUCATION

JNTU convocation
THE Director of Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology , Dr Lalji Singh, has called for the launch of a national innovation movement to make India a `Knowledge Superpower' and leader in science and technology. Delivering the 21st convocation ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Rising steel, cement prices cause worries to builders
THE State Unit of the Builders Association of India (BAI) has appealed to the Central and State Governments to take effective steps to arrest the rising cost of construction materials, especially steel and cement. According to the State ... More

BDA to construct `high-tech' residential layout
BANGALORE will get a brand new layout from BDA (Bangalore Development Authority) consisting of about 50,000 housing sites and which will have its own railway station, a helipad, colleges and hospitals. "It will be a high-tech layout, using the ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

FICCI seeks withdrawal of banking cash transaction tax
THE Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry has called for withdrawal of the proposed banking cash transaction tax (BCTT). The Budget proposes to levy a BCTT at the rate of 0.1 per cent on the value of transactions as specified ... More

READYMADE GARMENTS

Women Apparel Park inaugurated at Kalamassery
THE State Industries Minister, Mr V.K. Ibrahim Kunju, inaugurated the Women Apparel Park Ltd (WAPL) set up by the Industries Department at the nearby Kalamassery Industrial Estate. The Rs 3-crore project will be completed in two phases, with ... More

CINEMA

Fresh GO on entertainment tax in AP
TO revive the Telugu film industry and curb video piracy, the State Government has issued a new Government Order (GO) for the collection of entertainment tax from cinema theatres, while repealing the existing slab system for entertainment tax ... More

GENDER

Protection sought for women working on late night shifts
Local protection committees could be set in up in any workplace where 10 or more are employed. More

WTO

Matter of policy
Activists of the Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh demonstrating in the Capital on Monday against WTO and other Government policies.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Central nod for Rs 337-cr rural electrification project
THE Union Government has approved in principle the Rs 337-crore rural electrification project of the Kerala Government. The project, under the Rajiv Gandhi Rural Electrification Programme, envisages supply of power to 879 villages in the State, ... More

EVENTS

e-Com meet to be held in Panipat
APIIT, a provider of engineering and IT education, is organising a two-day conference on `Challenges in networking and future of eCommerce' at Panipat. The conference, to be held on Saturday, would discuss issues such as e-services, ... More

Mumbai to host hotel investment meet
THE global outlook for the hotel sector, the finance opportunities available for it, and flexibility, if any, in management contracts are among the topics that will be covered at an hotel investment conference to be organised by HVS International ... More

Rally against slum demolitions in Mumbai
MUMBAI: The National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) is going to organise a protest rally in the city, asking for succour for victims of the recent slum demolitions in the city. The State Government had embarked on a slum ... More

Power meet in Madurai
MADURAI: The Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association (Maditssia) is organising a seminar on `Management of power system by improvement of power factor' on Thursday. According to the President of Maditssia, Mr S. ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

Traditional items propel exports in April-December
THE 27 per cent export growth in dollar terms during the first-three quarters of the 2004-05 fiscal year is largely due to the salutary performance of engineering goods, gem and jewellery, petroleum products and chemicals and related products ... More

50% value addition must on tea exports by EOUs, SEZs
THE Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has clamped a minimum 50 per cent value addition norm on tea exported by EOUs (export-oriented units) and units in the special economic zones (SEZs). This move forms part of a host of procedural ... More

Scrap `import for exports' scheme, urges tea industry
THE South Indian tea industry sees no respite until the `import for export scheme' by the export oriented units is scrapped. The industry has been pleading with the Tea Board and Commerce Ministry for abolishing the scheme as it has had an ... More

CO-OPERATIVES

AP secures maximum co-op development aid
FOR the first time in history, Andhra Pradesh has topped the list of States in the country in securing the maximum assistance of Rs 185 crore during the year 2004-05 for cooperative development in the State from the National Cooperative ... More

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