The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, February 21, 2006

BHEL sets up solar-diesel power plant in Lakshadweep
THE Bangalore-based Electronics Division of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd has said it has commissioned the country's largest solar-diesel hybrid power plant at Lakshadweep's tourist island of Bangaram. This will considerably reduce the ... More

BUDGET

Focus only on irrigation, says Naidu
WHILE the Leader of Opposition, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, said the Budget document does not give adequate allocations to about 80 per cent of the population, since the emphasis is mainly on irrigation, the State Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. ... More

AP Budget thrust on farm sector; Rs 1,545 crore for welfare
HIGHLIGHTING the Budget estimates, Mr Rosaiah said that for 2006-07, the State programmed expenditure of Rs 40,624.24 crore under non-plan and Rs 22,903.50 crore under plan. While this will result in revenue deficit of Rs 995.84 crore, the ... More

ECONOMY

MNCs stepping up investments in India — Buoyant economy, growing domestic consumption
MNCs had been slowing down investment between 1996 and 2003 while the scenario began to change from 2003.
Analysts said that share prices of MNCs are being `re-rated'
More

FOREIGN TRADE

India, France sign pacts to boost trade, nuclear energy cooperation
On the trade front, the two countries have decided to increase it by two-fold, which would mean an annual growth rate of 7-8 per cent. More

HEALTH

Centre may not allow sale of Tamiflu in retail market — `Drug has adverse side-effects, not safe for children too'
The Government will procure the drug and supply it through its own health agencies; it will float tenders for procurement on Tuesday. More

Culling continues in Navapur
IN the Navapur taluka of Nandurbar district in Maharashtra, where it all began, more than seven lakh chicken have been culled since Saturday and the remaining 1.5 lakh would be culled by Tuesday, said a Maharashtra Government official while ... More

... and no chicken hearts in Chennai, Bangalore
OVER the weekend, it was business as usual for two popular `chicken restaurants' in Chennai. Mr Vinod Manikkath, General Manager of the Marrybrown chain of restaurants, says he hasn't felt the impact at shop level yet, but has had to field ... More

HOTELS

Mumbai restaurants see customers chickening out
WHILE most restaurants in Mumbai have witnessed virtually zero sales of chicken dishes, even party organisers in the city are feeling the pangs of the bird flu. Mr Raj Singh, Owner, Contact Plus Events, said that many of his clients have been ... More

Pune hotels rejig menu; eggs go off recipes — `Customers well-informed'
THE hotel and restaurant industry here has been quick to respond to the bird-flu crisis, prempting loss of business with some quick thinking and rejigging the menu, among other things. At the Taj group's five-star Blue Diamond, for instance, ... More

PETROLEUM

ONGC to go it alone in Tripura power project

SPV with IL&FS and Assam Government will not be required.

ONGC to further explore the option of power generation in remote or far-flung areas.

Final decision on power project to be taken by the board at its next meeting on March 3. More

Pak rules out LNG spot price as yardstick for Iran gas project
PAKISTAN has indicated that it is not willing to accept Iran's proposal for linking gas price with the spot market price for liquefied natural gas (LNG) for the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline. Mr Mukhtar Ahmed, advisor to the Pakistan Prime ... More

Petro-products pricing: Deora to meet PM, Chidambaram
The Petroleum Minister said the Government was fully alive to the challenge and had devised a multi-pronged strategy to increase gas availability from domestic sources as well as through imports. ... More

POWER

`LNG plant near Dabhol to be completed by Sept'
GAIL (India) Ltd has said that it would complete the remaining portion of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant adjacent to the Dabhol power project by the end of September. The company is also in talks with Qatar, Oman, Malaysia, Australia, ... More

STEEL

PM takes up Mittal's Arcelor bid with Chirac
French President says no future plan has been submitted
INDIA today took up at the highest level the controversial bid by steel tycoon Mr L.N. Mittal for acquiring the second largest global steel company Arcelor, with the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, raising the issue with the visiting French ... More

TAXATION

Shortfall likely in direct tax collection this fiscal
THE Government has conceded that the current trend in collection of direct taxes issuggestive of a shortfall vis-à-vis the Budget estimates for 2005-06, which had been pegged at about Rs 1,80,000 crore. The direct tax collections up to January ... More

Survey finds VAT refunds at slow pace
THE Department of Revenue has so far refunded value-added tax claims only for April and May of last year, respondents from 100 per cent export-oriented units said in a survey carried out by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and ... More

SSI

SAP eyes SME space; plans more offices
IN a bid to tap growing opportunities in the small and medium enterprise (SME) space, global business software solution company SAP is considering setting up new offices in various locations in India, including Chennai. "India is currently ... More

WATER

Kerala Govt forms Dam Safety Authority
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government has constituted a Kerala State Dam Safety Authority with a mandate to look after the security, inspection and maintenance aspects pertaining to dams and reservoirs in the State. Former High Court ... More

RADIO/TV

FM stations to zoom in on regional ads in small towns
FM radio is set to sweep the airwaves from Akola to Aizwal and from Srinagar to Tuticorin providing an ideal platform for advertisers. Besides offering varied programming to people living in the hinterland, the smaller cities and towns are ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

5-acre prime land sold for Rs 335 cr in Hyderabad
IN a big-ticket realty transaction in the country, a Hyderabad-based consortium has successfully outbid 20 others for a five-acre site at Rs 335.25 crore. At an auction wherein 21 bidders from across the country took part, the consortium of ... More

DISINVESTMENT

VSNL employees seek allotment of 3 pc equity when Govt exits
THE Government may have to give an additional 3 per cent stake in Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd to the company employees before divesting the residual stake of 26 per cent. According to the agreement struck with the VSNL employees federation at the ... More

LABOUR REFORMS

Minimum wages announced in Kerala
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government has fixed the minimum wages applicable for labour in the plantation sector covering tea, rubber, coffee and cardamom. Accordingly, the minimum basic wages payable for a labourer putting in the ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

Exporters seek `disease-free' zone status for South
A BAN slapped on poultry products from India by Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and countries in the Gulf has left exporters from Tamil Nadu crestfallen. Agency reports said all these countries had banned Indian poultry products following the ... More

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