Automobiles
No plan to subsidise ATF for jet planes
THE Government has no plans to extend the facility of providing aviation turbine fuel (ATF) at confessional rates, to jet planes being operated by the domestic carriers.
Banking and Finance
Banks, Govt differ over IPO pricing
THE intense bear pressure on public sector bank shares is forcing difference of opinion between the Government and the bank managements on the pricing of some of the bank initial public offerings (IPOs) lined up for the current fiscal.
IDF to meet in Paris after 3-years
AFTER a three-year interregnum following the imposition of sanctions by major donor agencies in response to the Pokharan nuclear tests in May 1998, the India Development Forum (IDF) is scheduled to convene in Paris on May 23-24.
DFHI net up 71 pc
THE Discount and Finance House of India,(DFHI) a leading primary dealer in government securities, has reported a post-tax earnings of Rs. 99.94 crores for 1999-2000. This represents a 71-per cent growth over its profits in the previous year. The gross p
rofit of the company (profit before depreciation and taxation) rose by 80.62 per cent to Rs.163.55 crores in 1999-2000.
CanFin Homes' sanctions up 50% at Rs 258 cr
HOUSING loan sanctions from CanFin Homes have touched Rs. 258 crores during 1999-2000 which represents a growth of 50 per cent over Rs. 172 crores of the previous year.
Corporate
S.P. Godrej dead
THE leading industrialist and Chairman of the Godrej group of companies, Mr. Sorab Pirojsha Godrej, died in London today. He was 88.
FICCI-Govt joint team for France
THE Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Department of Industrial Promotion, Ministry of Commerce, will send a Government-cum-business delegation to France from May 21 to 25 for the destination India event.
Economy
Concern over shrinking job opportunities
THE employers and the employed are inter-dependent and should work towards finding a common ground. This is a paradigm that any review of the labour laws should take into account, according to Mr. Ravindra Varma, the Chairman of the Second National Commi
ssion on Labour.
Excise and customs law
`Excise dept now a trust-based body'
THE Chief Commissioner of Central Excise, Chennai, Mr. K.P. Sridhara Raman, has said that the changes brought in the excise law and procedures during the last few years have changed the department from a ``draconian organisation'' collecting excise payme
nt, to a ``trust-based revenue collecting organisation''.
Miscellaneous
Competition law panel to submit report today
THE much-awaited report on competition law, which is set to be submitted to the Prime Minister on Monday by the S.V.S. Raghavan Committee, has recommended the setting up of a ``Competition Law Regulatory Authority''.
ASPAT fair in Delhi from Nov 14-20
THE United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) is actively associating with the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) to organise ASPAT 2000, during the forthcoming India International Trade Fair scheduled to be
held in Delhi in November this year.
Assocham, FICCI spat over JBCs
IN what is being seen a mere affirmation of the discontent brewing over the past few months between the two apex chambers over their respective role in the functioning of joint business councils (JBCs), Assocham and FICCI have decided to wash their dirty
linen in public by accusing each other of infringing on their respective obligations towards the partnership.
Petroleum
Disinvestment policy -- Petroleum Ministry seeks `strategic' status
THE Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoP&NG) has sought `strategic' sector status with regard to the disinvestment policy. If agreed to, no divestment can take place in the oil sector PSUs.
Policy
Indian cos can invest up to Rs 120 cr in Nepal, Bhutan
THE Reserve Bank of India and the Government have raised the direct investment ceiling for Indian companies investing in Nepal and Bhutan from Rs. 60 crores to Rs. 120 crores.
Shipping
Mumbai port gears up to take on JNP
IN a strange twist of fate, the Jawharlal Nehru Port (JNP), Navi Mumbai which was commissioned as a `satellite' port to ease the congestion in Mumbai port is proving to be its strongest threat.
States
`Accountability vital for SEBs'
ELECTRICITY boards should ideally go in for commercialisation followed by corporatisation and eventually privatisation, said Dr. Pramod Deo, Principal Secretary, Energy and Environment, Government of Maharashtra.
KPTCL opts for price floor model for DisCo divestment
THE State-owned Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) has opted for the price floor model for divestment of distribution circles. Sources said that the price floor model allowed the State Government to earn maximum value.
Bitter facts about AP sugar industry
THE sugar industry in Andhra Pradesh is undergoing rough weather and is not in a position to service its loans following heavy sugar imports, the consequent excess of supply over demand and the absence of tax incentives which have been extended by most o
f the States, including Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
CMs to press revamp of NEC
THE North-Eastern Chief Ministers' Forum, which came into being at the first meeting of the Chief Ministers of the north-eastern States in Shillong on May 12, has decided to submit a joint memorandum to the Prime Minister in June demanding reconstitution
of the North Eastern Council (NEC) to enable it to play a fully development-oriented role instead of its present advisory role.
Bangalore to offer bioinformatics course
THE country's first biotechnology school, the Institute of Biotechnology soon to be set up in Bangalore, will offer a post-graduate course in bioinformatics starting this year.
`Gold hallmarking gaining momentum'
KOCHI: The gold hallmarking scheme introduced by the Union Government recently is gaining momentum in the State as more and more jewellers are coming forward from the State to participate in this voluntary scheme.
Steel
Drive for steel-intensive construction launched
THE Steel Ministry, as part of its R & D Mission, has initiated an awareness programme, estimated to cost Rs.one crore, to step up the use of steel in construction.
Taxation
NTPC tops in Delhi region advance tax
NTPC heads the list of advance tax payments made by top 100 corporate assessees during 1999-2000 in the Delhi region, followed by MTNL and BHEL.
Textiles
Textile exports on recovery track, up 6 pc
AFTER a disastrous slide of 1.8 per cent growth in dollar terms in 1998-99, the country's overall textile exports looked up during 1999-2000, notching up a growth rate of 6.1 per cent at $13,324.8 millions, as compared to $ 12,555.8 millions in the previ
ous year.
Travel & Places
Nepal drive to win back Indian tourists
IN a bid to regain the ground lost due to the hijacking of the Indian Airlines flight from Kathmandu last December, the Nepal Tourism Board has launched a massive three-month media campaign in India
