The Hindu Business Line : Friday, March 16, 2007

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY
Icrisat mulls pacts to form `sweet sorghum for ethanol' consortia
ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics), in association with the Hyderabad-based Rusni Distilleries, is contemplating agreements with private companies in Africa to form `sweet sorghum for ethanol' consortia in ... More

BUDGET
Budget: Not in sync with times
Pointless and reform-hurting tinkering with tax rates and a lack of appreciation of the importance of manufacturing are illogical aspects of the Budget. While rejuvenating agriculture is urgent, no transformation of the sector is possible without rap id growth of industry. And the Budget contains no measures to unleash the market forces that assure the farmer a better price for his produce, says S. D. NAIK. More

CEMENT
SAIL, J.P. Associates to form venture for cement plant
Plant to come up in Bhilai; SAIL to hold 26% More

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES
Common interest
How mediation can make a difference... in resolving disputes. More

`Govt servants facing charges can't approach HC at every stage of enquiry'
Government servants, facing charge of misconduct, cannot approach the High Court on every stage of enquiry to correct action of authorities if they went wrong at any stage, the Madras High Court has ruled. Such employees would be given all ... More

ECONOMY
Salt-pans of the South
Tuticorin's salt industry is an old hand in this business but poor infrastructure hampers growth. More

Meet on `Gandhi and globalisation'
Gayatri Vidya Parishad is organising a four-day national seminar from Friday on Gandhian philosophy and development issues, globalisation in particular, according to Prof P. Somaraju, Secretary, Prof P.V Sarma, Director of the ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
Dutch team eyes biz ventures in Bengal
The Netherlands is looking for business opportunities in West Bengal, a large producer of fruits and vegetables in the country, particularly in areas like food-processing. Cooperation is sought in areas such as food-processing, cold chain and ... More

Efficient delivery of Japanese soft loans on the cards
`No plan to cutback any economic assistance' More

HOTELS
Pune makes room for budget hotel boom
Demand triggered by 2008 Commonwealth Games More

INFRASTRUCTURE
Big city dreams
The small, dusty town belies its throbbing industrial heart More

Chakan: From outback to auto hub
METAMORPHOSIS More

POWER
NTPC, Coal India tie-up for power plants
National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC) has entered into an agreement with Coal India Ltd (CIL) to develop and run coal blocks and integrated coal based power plants. As per the MoU, both companies will leverage each ... More

STEEL
Land acquisition a major hurdle for POSCO project in Orissa
With the Korean steel major POSCO expressing concern over the delay in implementation of its 12-million tonne mega steel project in Orissa's Jagatsinghpur district, the State Government is now working overtime to facilitate the work. The ... More

TEXTILES
TN move to bring textile workers under Minimum Wages Act hits snag
Mills' association obtains interim stay from Madras HC More

Cotton economy reviving on output growth, demand
Prices expected to rise as surplus stocks are depleting More

WATER
Water industry attracts global interest
Desalination units, industrial wastewater recycling More

RADIO/TV
The DTH disconnect
With the direct-to-home (DTH) TV market getting competitive, private players are understandably trying to push their products in a big way. But one private company lost an opportunity to make its case with a senior Cabinet Minister in the ... More

EDUCATION
`To convert your dreams into reality, be yourself'
India is shining, illustriously. An Indian company taking over a global player whose turnover is many times higher, is remarkable. It's really great to see that a lot of Indians are occupying top positions in global companies and one must ... More

MACFAST facility inauguration
Mar Athanasios College for Advanced Studies, Tiruvalla (MACFAST) is setting up a food science and technology pilot plant and incubation centre. The new facility will be inaugurated on Saturday by Mr Subodh Kant Sahai, Union ... More

FOODS & FOOD PROCESSING
ISACert to help India preserve quality in food
The need for standardising the food value-chain is essential for the country to take advantage of the huge demand the world over. Insists on hygienic handling of fruits, vegetables More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
CII's Coimbatore head to focus on industrial growth
After assuming office as CII Coimbatore Zone Chairman, Mr K. Thangaraj, has avowed to accelerate the industrial growth pace in this region. "There is scope for leveraging competencies, brand equity and capital base to catapult the companies ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
SIFL in pact with ISRO
The State-owned Steel and Industrial Forgings Ltd (SIFL) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for the manufacture and supply of components for various aerospace projects. The ... More

MINERALS
`Flying' at each other
The `war' between private iron ore exporters and the steel industry is escalating Private exporters are touchy at any reference to Bellary having the largest number of private airplanes registered. "The steel manufacturers are trying to project ... More

NEWSPAPERS & PUBLISHING
Silent spokesperson
Some media persons in the capital are confused about the practice followed by a top corporate house while dealing with the press. Periodically, news reports emerge about possible developments in the company, but invariably with the disclaimer ... More

SMALL SAVINGS
No bank loans for small savings instruments
The Reserve Bank of India has asked banks not to sanction loans for acquisition of or investments in small savings instruments, including Kisan Vikas Patras (KVP), as these loans do not confirm to the objectives of small savings scheme. "The ... More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
Tobacco growers to seek FDI
Delegation to meet Manmohan, voice demands More

HUMAN RESOURCES
Cabinet nod for additional DA, pension relief
The Union Cabinet today gave its approval to release of additional instalment of dearness allowance to Central Government employees and dearness relief to pensioners as due from January 1 this year in cash at the rate of 6 per cent over the ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
First shipment of arecanut lands after canalisation
Barely a month after the Directorate-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued a notification allowing arecanut to be imported only through the New Mangalore port, the first consignment of four containers of arecanut has landed in Mangalore. Port ... More

TOURISM
Ports to develop cruise shipping facilities
With more and more people opting for cruise tourism, the Government is working on a cruise shipping policy to promote tourism that includes developing facilities at ports for cruise shipping in a phased manner. This was stated by the Union ... More

The aftermath
TOURISM ACTIVITIES in Thattekad have come to a standstill following the recent boat mishap.