The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, April 05, 2007

MODERNISATION
3 estates get aid for infrastructure update
The Tamil Nadu Government has sanctioned Rs 1.5 crore as matching grant for the upgradation of infrastructure facilities in three industrial estates — Kurichi near Coimbatore, Virudhunagar and at Kappalur near Madurai. The project work, ... More

SOCIAL SECURITY
Panel moots Bills, fund for welfare of informal sector
The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector on Wednesday proposed two Bills for protection of livelihood and improving the working conditions of people engaged in the unorganised sector and creation of a National Fund for ... More

ECONOMY
`RBI measures won't impact inflation much'
Mr Haseeb Drabu, Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Bank, states that they do not see any major impact of RBI measures on inflation. They do not anticipate another rate hike in the next few months. Mr Drabu comments that the impact of RBI's moves ... More

`9% GDP growth uncertain in long run'
The 9 per cent GDP growth in the country seems uncertain in the long run, according to the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "While the economy may achieve plus 8 per cent this year, largely on account of the notable performance expected ... More

Revised direct taxes target likely to be met
The Centre is well on course to achieve the revised direct tax collection target of Rs 2,29,272 crore. Official sources said that the net direct taxes touched a level of Rs 2,21,458 crore (for challans entered and validated by NSDL up to April ... More

Rupee breaches 43-level
Climbs down from intra-day high to close tad lower More

CII to follow PM's call for `inclusive growth': Mittal
The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) is going to follow the call given by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, for "inclusive growth and sustainable development", its new President, Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal, said here on Tuesday. Mr ... More

Textiles, manufacturing sectors doing well: CII
`Buoyant trend in industrial development' More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS
Central excise collections go up in Vizag
The central excise, customs and service tax collections in Visakhapatnam zone during 2006-07 surpassed the target and registered 16 per cent growth over the previous year, according to a press release issued by the Chief Commissioner, Mr P.N. ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
`SAARC nations will address people's basic needs'
We will work with agencies to implement cross-border regional projects: PM More

HEALTH
Global Hospitals plans `health city' in Chennai
Global Hospitals, which won the bid for the Chennai-based Sankara Hospital for Rs 257 crore, is planning to establish a Rs 1,000-crore `health city' on the 46-acre hospital site. Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Dr K. ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE
Salim Group ready for shifting to alternative site for SEZ
Proposed chemical hub may come up at Haldia More

PSU
SAIL, Vizag Steel await Govt signal before another price hike
Pvt players announce tentative hike; volumes slow down on uncertainty More

PETROLEUM
Reliance gas find: DGH told to appoint consultant
For assessing hydrocarbon reserves and field development plan More

POWER
Competitive tariffs in power generation mooted
Working group also suggests upgradation of technology More

TAXATION
Single GST: Centre will share revenue with States
New system for exchange of information on tax structure planned More

TEXTILES
Textile exports may touch $25 b: Assocham
Textile exports from the country will touch $25 billion in 2007-08, up from $20 billion expected in the fiscal just ended (2006-07), according to Assocham. The country's textile exports were estimated at $17 billion in 2005-06. Growth in ... More

Rising cotton prices worry small spinners
The South India Small Spinners Association (Sisspa) has said the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) decision to hike cotton prices would only encourage the private trade to further jack up their rates which would upset the small textile mills' raw ... More

SITRA tech conference this week
South India Textile Research Association (SITRA) will host the 48th joint technological conference on April 7. The two-day conference will be attended by over 500 delegates representing the textile industry, educational ... More

SSI
`Go for joint ventures with German SMEs'
In view of the inherent strengths in manufacturing it will be a good business proposition for Indian small and medium sector enterprises (SMEs) to form joint ventures with SMEs in Germany, according to Dr Michael Fuchs, Member of Parliament, ... More

TRAVEL & PLACES
H-1B visa petitions reach limit
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services on Wednesday said that it had reached the limit for H-1B visa petitions for 2008 in a single day and that it would not accept any more applications. The agency, which had begun accepting petitions for ... More

WATER
Drinking water turns scarce in Kerala
Experts blame environmental degradation for crisis More

COAL
Bharat Coking profit plunges in '06-07 fiscal
`Unmanageable' production cost cited as reason More

RADIO/TV
Big Bazaar stores to air BIG 92.7 FM radio
Adlabs Films' FM initiative, BIG 92.7, has tied up with Future Group for radio play out in its retail outlets. As per the tie-up, Future Group's Big Bazaar outlets in cities such as Delhi (4 stores), Mumbai (5 stores), Kolkata (2 stores), ... More

TRAI meet on CAS today
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will be meeting with stakeholders of the Conditional Access System (CAS) on Thursday to discuss further roll out of the CAS in the metros. CAS, which had been implemented in Chennai since ... More

EDUCATION
Uranium Chair instituted
A Uranium Chair has been instituted at ISM University, Dhanbad, for which the Department of Atomic Energy has contributed Rs 1 crore. Besides imparting education and training to undergraduate and postgraduate students and ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Hind Motors to keep out of realty projects in Bengal
Receives non-compete fee from Shriram Properties More

Hirco investing Rs 1,066 cr in Chennai township
Awaiting Centre's approval for IT/ITES special economic zone More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
Change of guard at CII
Mr Pradeep Dhobale, Divisional Chief Executive of ITC Ltd (Paperboards and Specialty Papers), has taken over as Chairman of CII Andhra Pradesh. He replaced Mr G. Vivekanand, Managing Director of Visakha Industries, as CII AP's Chairman. Mr ... More

KNITWEAR & HOSIERY
`Hike in interest rate will hit Tirupur knitwear exporters'
Tirupur knitwear exporters said the surge in bank lending rates — following last week's RBI hikes on repo rates and cash reserve ratio (CRR) — will adversely impact exports, especially garment shipments. The increased rate on ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
PSLV C-8 launch on April 23
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle C-8 (PSLV C-8) will be launched from the Satish Dhavan Space Centre, Sriharikota, at 3 p.m. on April 23. According to Dr B.N. Suresh, Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), preparations are in full ... More

CSIR renames 5 Regional Research Labs
The Governing Body of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has renamed all its five Regional Research Laboratories (RRLs) to enable them to reflect a futuristic outlook. The changed profiles of the laboratories with respect ... More

ENTREPRENEURSHIP
CII programme for entrepreneurs
To provide training and support to future entrepreneurs, an MoU was signed between the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI), Ahmedabad. A 12-week training programme covering a ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Cement producers not worried about imports
The cement industry is hurt by the Centre's attitude in encouraging cement imports at the cost of the domestic producers. Reacting to the move to do away with the countervailing duty and the additional import duty on cement imports, ... More

CII handbook on exports
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has released a handbook on exports that gives complete information on export procedures right from registration to processing of shipping bill, system appraisal of shipping bill, drawing ... More

TOURISM
Tales of a traveller
Kerala Tourism's award-winning new ad campaign recounts memorable holiday stories of visitors to the State. More