The Hindu Business Line : Friday, January 20, 2006

Rains may have ended, but there can be surprises
THE northeast monsoon may have officially drawn to a close but that does not mean the rain activity in the southern peninsula will come to a complete stop. "You will still have to contend with rogue easterly waves travelling straight west from ... More

NRIS

GoM to examine if PIOs can invest in domestic aviation
THE divisions within the Union Cabinet on allowing Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) to invest in the domestic aviation sector has prompted the Government to refer the matter to a Group of Ministers (GoM). Briefing newspersons after the Cabinet ... More

ECONOMY

Orissa annual Plan fixed at Rs 3,500 cr
THE annual Plan of Orissa for the next fiscal has been pegged at Rs 3,500 crore, inclusive of additional Central assistance of Rs 68 crore for projects of special priority to the State, at a meeting here between the Planning Commission Deputy ... More

ELECTRONICS

German team to visit India to further tech ties
TO further foster ties in the Indo-German technology relationship, a German delegation would participate in the forthcoming Electronics India 2006 to be held in the Capital. The delegation, organised by the International Technology Cooperation ... More

ENVIRONMENT

`Govt will examine Clemenceau and submit report to SC'
THE Government will examine the French ship Clemenceau, whose entry into Indian shores is being opposed by environmentalists, for presence of any toxic matter and submit a report to the Supreme Court, the Environment Minister, Mr A. Raja, said ... More

FOREIGN TRADE

Emirates' air links to boost tourism, trade in Thiruvananthapuram
EMIRATES' eight flights a week between Dubai and Thiruvananthapuram from February 1 will provide a major boost to the economic activity in Thiruvananthapuram. Also, Kerala's key industries, including leisure and medical tourism, and ... More

FIEO, Irish exporters body sign `charter of best practice'
THE Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) and the Irish Exporters' Association (IEA) have signed a `charter of best practice', focusing on credit risk management, debt recovery and terms of trade. A press release by Mr Walter ... More

HEALTH

Health Ministry to push for ban on smoking scenes
THE cloud around the ban of smoking scenes in cinema and television is getting dense. While Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister, Mr P.R. Dasmunsi, had maintained that enforcing the ban is difficult, the Health Minister, Dr A. Ramadoss, . More

Medical implants likely to attract 4 pc VAT in AP
THE Andhra Pradesh Government is planning to bring hospital activities under the value-added tax (VAT) bracket. Implants such as stents and pacemakers that come under the purview of `sale of goods' would attract VAT. Sources in the ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE

IL&FS, Orix to launch $100-m pan-Asia fund
THE Mumbai-based IL&FS and Orix Corporation of Japan are jointly launching a $100-million Pan-Asia Project Development Fund. A joint venture agreement to this effect has been signed in Tokyo by Mr Y. Miyauchi, Chairman and CEO of Orix, which is . More

AP Govt clears Aero Park plan
THE Andhra Pradesh Government on Thursday cleared a proposal to locate an Aero Park and decided to invite expression of interest (EoI) for construction of a super mall and developing a leather park at Krishnapatnam. The Chief Minister, Dr ... More

PETROLEUM

Subsidy may hit ONGC's Q3 profit
THANKS to a heavy subsidy burden, ONGC is set to record a drop in operating profit in the third quarter of this fiscal compared to thenet profit of Rs 3,493 crore recorded in the third quarter of 2004-05. The company expects a greater impact on ... More

No hike in petro products prices for now: Aiyar
THE Petroleum Minister, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, today emphatically said there was no proposal to raise domestic cooking gas (LPG) and kerosene prices in the immediate future. Responding to a question on whether his Ministry has moved a proposal ... More

POWER

A BUSINESS LINE FEATURE ON POWER SOLUTION & ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENTS

Reforms to narrow demand-supply gap
THE power sector, a crucial component of the country's infrastructure sector and a key element in enabling the Indian economic growth story unfold, is going through a crucial process of churning. Having inherited a little over 1,300 MW at the ... More

Carving out a niche in global arena
CLOSE on the heels of the success of the Indian ITES and textile sectors, which have made a big impression in the international markets, the domestic electronics industry could be the next to carve out a niche for itself in the global arena. On ... More

Energy conservation, the new mantra
IF the wheel owes its existence to man's necessity for faster logistics tools, initiatives in the improved energy efficiency performance in India owe their existence to growing energy security concerns. With India's peak power requirement said ... More

TAXATION

Cabinet nod for signing tax treaty with Saudi Arabia
THE Union Cabinet on Thursday gave its nod for signing a convention with Saudi Arabia for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of tax evasion with respect to taxes on income. Briefing newspersons after the Cabinet meeting, the ... More

RADIO/TV

AIR to air running commentary of Indo-Pak series
THE national broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, has finally managed to enter into a deal with the Dubai-based ARY Digital for the radio rights to the ongoing India-Pakistan series. All India Radio (AIR) will broadcast live commentary of the remaining ... More

EDUCATION

IIMB board to decide next course of action today
IT'S ironic that while IIMB students are applauded for receiving attractive overseas job offers, the alma mater is being punished for expressing ambitions to cross the borders. Last week, the HRD Ministry clipped IIMB's wings when it quashed ... More

Advance degree H-1B visas for 2006 exhausted
IT professionals planning to apply for H-1B visa in coming months are likely to be in for disappointment. The advance degree H-1B visas have reached the stipulated 20,000 cap for the fiscal year 2006. According to the update from the US ... More

MINING & QUARRYING

Govt working on simplifying mining policy, says official
MR Ajay Dua, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, said here on Thursday that the Government was now working on measures to make the mining policy simpler. Speaking at a business luncheon on the subject of `India as a ... More

GENDER

`May I help you?'
Women look set to storm the tourism sector - in roles ranging from guides, hotel workers and even cabbies - under a government-led initiative. More

WTO

RTAs can build upon WTO rules, says UK Trade Minister
FREE trade agreements (FTAs) can build upon WTO rules and can enable partners to go further and faster than is sometimes possible at the multilateral level. But the core issue for the future will be how to recognise the existence of regional ... More

For a win-win situation...
Manner of trade negotiations in services has to change: Kamal Nath
STRESSING on the need to change the manner of negotiations in services trade under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) for a win-win situation, the Union Minister of Commerce, Mr Kamal Nath, said here on Thursday that India favoured a plurilateral ... More

EVENTS

CII-ITC Centre of Excellence to come up in Kolkata
ITC Ltd has announced the setting up of another CII-ITC Centre of Excellence at Salt Lake City in Kolkata by the year-end, and land for this has been provided by the West Bengal Government. Revealing this at the CII Partnership Summit 2006, ... More

TOURISM

Road-river cruise from Vizag
VISAKHAPATNAM: The Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation is organising a road-river cruise every Saturday from here to Pattiseema, Polavaram, Papi Kondalu and Perantalapalli in the two Godavari districts. The first package tour ... More

ECONOMIC OFFENCES

More powers for CCI to evaluate mergers/takeovers
MERGERS, demergers and takeovers that have intent to capture larger market share in any area of economic activity, with ulterior motives attached to such moves, will shortly be critically scrutinised by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) ... More

BOOKS

Cover to cover!
Amidst a crush of new titles, authors, mind-boggling advances and media hype, what makes for a memorable book launch? More

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