Advertising & Marketing
Get the address, Post-haste
DO you want to know which is the preferred shopping destination of people in Chennai? Or, for that matter, the favourite holiday haunt of Bengalis? The eating habits of people living in a remote village in Sikkim? How many households in Mumbai's western
suburb of Kandivili cook their dinner at home on weekdays? The answers to these questions, and many more, could soon be available with, hold your breath, the Department of Posts!
Airlines
IA fleet expansion with Rs 325 cr may take off
THREE years after the Cabinet first approved the proposal to inject Rs 325 crore as equity to Indian Airlines (IA), the Finance Ministry has finally indicated that it is willing to provide this amount as margin money for fleet expansion.
Delhi-Toronto direct flight launched
CANADIAN airline Canada 3000 launched its direct Toronto-New Delhi flight on Tuesday. However, it has decided to hold back the proposed non-stop flight from Delhi to Vancouver due to fall in passenger traffic, Mr Colin G. Tubb, Vice-President, Canada 300
0 Airlines Ltd, told a press conference here today.
Automobiles
Maruti workers seek stay on VRS
THE workers' union of Maruti Udyog Ltd. have moved court seeking a stay on the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS). It has also alleged that the company was forcing employees to embrace its maiden early retirement package, the lawyer for the union has said
.
Banking and Finance
Of banks' bottomlines and buffer stocks
HOW safe is the money lent by the public sector banks to the Food Corporation of India (FCI) towards procurement of foodgrains for the public distribution system (PDS) in the country?
Corporate
HLL plans bonus debenture issue, hike in FII limit
FMCG major Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) proposes to issue bonus debentures to its equity shareholders, by drawing upon the company's general reserves to the tune of Rs 1,455 crore.
Promoters taken off ESOP ambit
THE Government today excluded promoters or directors of companies and unlisted foreign companies from the ambit of the Employees Stock Option Plan (ESOP) guidelines issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, thus denying them the benefit of preferentia
l tax treatment.
Industry may take a heavy pounding
THE strikes on Afghanistan is likely to hit the Indian industry hard with almost all sectors, be it old economy or new economy companies, expecting a slowdown.
KCB acquires Kothari Coffee Curing Works
KARNATAKA Coffee Brokers (KCB) on Tuesday announced the takeover of the Kothari Coffee Curing Works (KCCW) situated at Hassan from the Kothari Industrial Corporation Ltd (KICL), Chennai.
Tatas sell 6 pc in Forbes Gokak to Pallonjis
THE Tata Group today divested 6.77 per cent equity stake in Forbes Gokak Ltd at a price of Rs 80 per share on spot transaction basis to Sterling Investment Corporation Private Ltd, which is a part of the Pallonji Mistry Group.
Economy
Definitive dumping duty on zinc oxide from China
THE Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry has recommended imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty on imported zinc oxide from China.
Attack will hit economy: Assocham
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) said on Monday that the US attack on Afghanistan will adversely impact the Indian economy.
Scrap Govt relief bonds: Reddy panel
THE Y.V. Reddy Committee has recommended the elimination of the Government of India Relief bonds which now carry a coupon rate of 8.5 per cent and benchmarking of the interest rates on Public Provident Fund (PPF), Government Provident Fund (GPF) and Empl
oyees Provident Fund (EPF) to the average secondary market yield on Government securities.
`Future FDI flows will hinge on US recovery'
THE long-term outlook for foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows from the US into India and the Asian region will be conditioned by the state of the US economy, according to Mr Paul Laudicina, Vice-President and Managing Director, A.T. Kearney's Global
Business Policy Council.
OECD to host global forum on competition
THE Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is holding a two-day meeting of its First Global Forum on Competition in Paris from October 17 to develop the appropriate framework for encouraging efficient competition while deterring ab
uses.
Govt monitoring Afghan situation
THE Government will re-assess its strategy to counter the potential fallout on the economy in case the conflict in Afghanistan prolongs, said top government officials.
Trade disruption feared
NEW DELHI: The continuing air strikes in Afghanistan and the uncertainty over the duration of such retaliatory attacks is bound to result in more `trade disruption' between India and its major trading partners such as the US and the European Union, accor
ding to Mr R.P. Rudy, the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry.
Expenditure panel recommendations -- Secys meeting to resolve differences over proposals
THE crucial exercise of resolving differences over some of the recommendations of the Expenditure Reforms Commission (ERC) on downsizing in various Ministries is set to be kicked off, with the Committee of Secretaries (CoS) holding its first meeting this
week.
Foreign Trade
Dubai team pleased with trip to India
A 10-member business delegation sponsored by the Government of Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) that conducted a series of roadshows in four Indian cities has observed keen interest among Indian entrepreneurs in using Dubai as
a regional business base.
Dumping probe on caustic soda from Qatar
THE Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry has initiated anti-dumping investigations into the existence, degree and effect of alleged dumping of sodium hydroxide, commonly known as caustic soda, from Qatar.
Information Technology
`KITVEN does not fancy immature dotcom deals'
THE Rs 15-crore IT fund, KITVEN, is showing a healthy portfolio as a result of cautious investments over the last year and a half.
Insurance
War-risk premium to fatten Govt purse
A WAR-LIKE situation could be the best time for the Government to mop up some additional revenues to dip into during emergencies and the Finance Ministry has done this by levying an additional war-risk premium of 0.05 per cent of the value of the ship fr
om domestic-flag vessels sailing into areas declared as war-risk zones.
Management
IIM organises 2-day seminar in Kerala
THE Indian Institute of Management - Kozhikode (IIM K) is organising its second annual management seminar `Horizons - Exploring the Frontiers of Management' between October 20 and 21 at Kozhikode.
PSU
Cabinet modifies PSU staff VRS
THE Union Cabinet on Tuesday modified the existing voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for public sector undertakings to enable a 50-100 per cent hike in ex-gratia payment to employees of undertakings where the pay scales have remained stagnant on account
of non-implementation of pay revision packages.
Policy
Captive mining to be discouraged
THE Union Ministry of Mines and Minerals will henceforth discourage companies producing non-ferrous metals from taking up captive mining as part of their plans to have backward integration of exsisting manufacturing operations. This was indicated here on
Tuesday by Mr Dipak Chatterjee, Secretary, Department of Mines, in the Union Ministry of Mines and Minerals.
Power
AP spot billing services by Dec
HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh Government and APTransco are working towards launching spot billing services for the latter's power consumers by the end of this year, according to the State Power Minister, Mr K. Subbarayudu.
MSEB owes us 950 cr: DPC
THE Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) owes Enron's Dabhol Power Company (DPC) a sum ``well in excess of'' Rs 950 crore, the company has said in its affidavit filed with the Supreme Court.
Hindujas' power project in AP hits roadblock
THERE seems to be no meeting point for the Andhra Pradesh Government and the promoters of the Hinduja National Power Project except addressing the irksome issue of higher project cost.
Radio/TV
FM channel in Lucknow -- Music Broadcast to hire AIR's resources
IN what is being tipped as the first public-private participation, All-India Radio (AIR) on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd (MBPL) for usage of infrastructure and other resources in Lucknow.
DD Metro in new avatar by year-end
THE new-look DD Metro is likely to be up and running by the year-end. The channel has received about 92 proposals for the various prime time and non-prime time slots, of which around 49 proposals have been selected by an expert committee.
Shipping
War: Govt may issue directives for shipping lines
THE Government will issue directives, if necessary, to shipping lines on precautions to be taken in the wake of the US attack on Afghanistan. It is currently discussing the issue with ship monitoring agencies of the Indian Navy.
US stevedoring co to quit ISPL consortium
STEVEDORING Services of America (SSA), the US-based independent marine terminal operator and stevedoring company, intends to withdraw from the Singapore-based International Seaports Pte. Ltd consortium.
States
TN plan to train 5 lakh women entrepreneurs
AROUND 1,16,000 women are to be trained every year to acquire skills in entrepreneurship in Tamil Nadu, said Dr R. Jeyaraman, Member-Secretary, Centre for Entrepreneurship Development Tamil Nadu (CED-TN).
AP gets more rice from Centre
THE Central Government has released further 3 lakh tonnes of rice under the Food for Work programme for Andhra Pradesh. This is in addition to 3 lakh tonnes of rice already released.
Stocks
JPC closing in on CSE `manipulators'
THE Joint Parliamentary Committee investigating the securities scam is on the verge of a breakthrough regarding ``manipulations'' that were indulged in at the Calcutta Stock Exchange.
Taxation
Excise collections up 4 pc in H1
THE current economic slowdown is taking its toll on indirect tax collections.
New tax criteria fetch dividends
THE Government's move to extend the ``one-by-six criteria'' for filing income tax (IT) returns to nearly 5,000 towns appears to be showing results.
Tea
`Joint action must to check tea price volatility'
A JOINT action plan by the tea producing countries is necessary to overcome the challenges of over-supply and resultant price volatility in the tea markets, according to Mr Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry.
Telecommunications
TRAI move to improve dial-up Internet access
THE Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has now trained its eyes on the inferior quality of dial-up Internet access services being offered by Internet service providers (ISPs) and has sought to establish some sort of accountability in the system
.
`TRAI suggestions on USO need review'
THE Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has sought a reexamination of the TRAI recommendations on universal service obligations (USO) to ensure availability of telecom services in rural areas.
Textiles
GoM clearance for NTC revival package
THE much-awaited turnaround strategy of the National Textile Corporation (NTC) which was hanging fire for more than seven years, has been approved by the Group of Ministers
TN textile units resort to lay-off
THE continued depressed market for textile goods and the resultant strain on the finances have set off fresh wave of capital erosion for majority of textile mills in Tamil Nadu, says the South India Small Spinners Association (Sisspa).
