Airlines
Restart of IA flights undecided -- India-Nepal air fares to go up 10 pc
AIR fares on the India-Nepal sector are to go up by close to 10 per cent from March 15 even as the Indian Government is still to make up its mind on allowing Indian Airlines to restart operation to Kathmandu.
Banking and Finance
BOB branch in Mauritius
THE Bank of Baroda has opened its seventh branch in Mauritius. The branch was inaugurated by Mrs. Vasundhara Raje, Union Minister of State for Small-Scale Industries and Agro Industries.
Coal
Western coalfields set for record output
WESTERN Coalfields Ltd., a subsidiary of Coal India Ltd. (CIL) is poised to achieve the highest ever production of 33.5 million tonnes this financial year (1999-2000), as against a target of 32.5 million tonnes.
Corporate
Stop-transfer pleas -- HSE smells a rat, alerts supercat
THE Hyderabad Stock Exchange (HSE) has sounded the alarm bells after awaking last week to an incident that it feels could become a serious menace in the country's secondary market. It has urged the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to amend t
he good and bad delivery norms and also the listing agreement on a war-footing.
Commissions according to norms: Coke
COCA-COLA India has clarified that the commissions and incentives to distribution agents were as per industry norms.
BIFR directs SOL Pharma to submit report by March 23
THE Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) has directed SOL Pharmaceuticals Ltd to hold discussions with the involved agencies in order to convince them about its revival proposal. The company has been asked to convey the outcome of the
discussions to the operating agency (OA), IDBI, by March 23 along with a modified proposal, if considered necessary.
DCR India watching merger move abroad
DUFF & Phelps Credit Rating India is biding time before it gets to know for certain how things are shaping up abroad following the Duff & Phelps decision to merge with Fitch IBCA.
Courts
HC notice to ICAI on remuneration issue
THE Karnataka High Court has ordered the issue of emergent notice to the President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and the Chairman of its Bangalore Branch of the Southern India Regional Council (SIRC) on a writ petition filed by Mr. P
. Nagappaiya Malya challenging the refusal of SIRC to remunerate the petitioner's services rendered to the Institute.
Economy
Elastic measure shows good tax compliance
DESPITE the estimated shortfall of Rs. 6,000 crores in Central tax revenues in the current fiscal, the Finance Minister, Mr. Yashwant Sinha, has every reason to be satisfied. There are clear indications that the overall tax compliance has drastically imp
roved during the year.
Foreign Trade
Ministry paper for radical export strategy
THE country must perforce put in place a radical strategy for its merchandise exports for 2000 and onwards to cash in on India's natural comparative advantages through requisite fiscal fillips and a medley of policy prescriptions to sustain a high export
momentum.
Miscellaneous
Eco education meet this week
THE C.P.R. Environmental Education Centre will organise a national conference on environmental education between March 15 and 18.
New law in offing for Credit Info Bureau
THE Ministry of Finance is drafting an umbrella legislation to facilitate the setting up of the Credit Information Bureau (CIB), an institutional arrangement for the sharing of credit-related information by lending institutions.
Policy
ESOP tax incidence likely to be deferred
THE Centre may consider according some relaxations to the existing tax treatment of the employees' stock option plan (ESOP) by permitting deferment of the incidence of taxation arising at the time of allotment of shares by a stipulated period or allowing
employees to meet their tax liability by staggering payments.
Used car imports -- Higher duty alone not enough, says CII
THE Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has cautioned the Government to take into account the concerns of the domestic industry while framing a policy in respect of the import of second hand vehicles, as well as `many more such items', under the `free
category'.
States
AP lagging on tax recovery: CAG
SINCE 1995-96, the tax revenue in Andhra Pradesh has shot up by 131 per cent. However, on the recovery front, it seems to be lagging behind. According to the report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) of India, the total revenue arrears in the S
tate has gone up to Rs. 1,302.37 crores.
CMC seeks to replicate AP model in other States
CMC Ltd, which had undertaken Andhra Pradesh Secretariat Campus Area Network (APSCAN) and the Integrated Citizen Services Network Project (TWINS), has taken up the consultancy for replication of the projects in other parts of the country and the city res
pectively.
UAE's Etisalat launches roaming facility in TN
EMIRATES Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat), the UAE's telecommunications company, has launched commercial international roaming service with cities in Tamil Nadu, with effect from March 8. This follows finalisation of all necessary technical arra
ngements required to avail of this service in Tamil Nadu, Etisalat said.
TN mulls 3 cogeneration projects in co-op sector
THE Tamil Nadu Government is exploring the possibility of setting up three joint venture projects for putting up cogeneration facilities in the co-operative sugar mills. However, first it will have to convince the farmers in the command areas that the pr
oposed joint ventures are not a precursor to privatisation of the co-operative sector sugar mills, according to sources.
Technology
`Teeming dotcoms sign of value creation'
IS the proliferation of dotcoms and their high-octane valuations a bubble that would soon burst? Is a shake-out around the corner? Are there ``too many dotcoms or too less'' in cyber-space?
