Banking and Finance
IRFC to cut down on market borrowings
THE Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC) is set to curtail its market borrowings to around Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 crore during the current fiscal against the budgeted target of Rs 3,000 crore. The scaling down of market borrowings follows the Railway
Ministry's move to slash wagon purchase orders.
Credit Policy
Credit policy: Will the RBI have it easy ?
``The art of policy-making really lies in the eclectic selection of policy interventions'' -- Dr C. Rangarajan, former Governor, Reserve Bank of India.
Infrastructure
NHAI to award Rs 8,000-cr contracts in two months
THE National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will award contracts worth Rs 8,000 crore within the next two months, according to the Union Minister of State for Roads and Highways, Maj. Gen (Retd) B.C. Khanduri. At present, NHAI was handling 129 contrac
ts worth about Rs 17,800 crore. The majority of the contracts (86 of 129), had been given to Indian firms, another 33 to joint ventures in which Indian firms were partners and only 10 to foreign firms.
Insurance
With premium rates stretching the purse... -- Cos rethink on all-risk covers
THE package policy providing comprehensive risk cover for mega projects is becoming one of the major casualties of the turmoil being witnessed in the global insurance market, with steep hike in premium rates insisted upon by reinsurers forcing large comm
ercial entities to seek alternative covers.
Petroleum
Finance Minisry no to price cap on petro-goods
THE Finance Ministry is not in favour of imposing price cap on petro-products in the post-APM regime as it is of the view that the market will be able to avert profiteering.
Pharmaceuticals
Anthrax drug: Indian cos face patent hurdle
EVEN as Bayer AG is set to take up with the Canadian Government the latter's decision to augment stockpiles of ciprofloxacin through supplies from a generic company, Indian pharma companies, gripped by a ``me-too'' syndrome, may not be able to rejoice,
at least not just yet.
Politics
Naxals blast Coke unit
NAXALITES of the Peoples War Group attacked and blew up a portion of the bottling unit of the Coca Cola company at Atmakuru village in Guntur district in the early hours of Sunday. The village is situated on the Mangalagiri-Tenali route. There were no c
asualties.
States
Tata Tea gesture to plasma physics centre
TATA Tea Ltd formally handed over a newly constructed building on Saturday to the Centre for Plasma Physics (CPP), an autonomous institution under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Assam.
Kerala must tighten fiscal management: Manmohan
THE World Trade Organisation (WTO) cannot be blamed for all the ills of the country's economy, especially in the area of commodities, according to the former Finance Minister, Dr. Manmohan singh.
AIMO awards for excellence in industrial growth
THE State unit of All India Manufacturers Organisation (AIMO) has selected the following organisations and individuals for its annual awards given for excellence in promoting industrial growth.
IBRD may insist on insurance cover for Karnataka power plants
THE World Bank is expected to introduce new conditions pertaining to insurance cover for power plants as part of the fiscal adjustment loan, including power sector reforms, to Karnataka.
Telemedicine facility in rural AP
THE Andhra Pradesh Vydya Vidhana Parishad (APVVP) has paved the way for the availability of high tech medicare at its district headquarters hospital in the backward Mahbubnagar area through the Sanjeeva Telemedicine project.
TN small units body to tour China, HK
A DELEGATION of entrepreneurs under the auspices of the Tamil Nadu Small and Tiny Industrialists Association (Tanstia) is to undertake a tour of China, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore from October 22.
Fresh bid to locate NPC project in West Bengal
THE Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC), together with the West Bengal Government, has mounted a fresh effort to locate a power plant in the State.
Water filling in branded cans at Marina
Youngsters filling up branded cans with water dug up from the Marina Beach in Chennai.
Taxation
GDR tax tab to be lighter -- Drug, IT, media, biotech cos staff to gain
INDIAN employees of pharma, biotechnology, information technology and entertainment companies based in the country as well as their subsidiaries abroad will finally qualify for tax-breaks on income from global depository receipts (GDRs) and capital gains
arising out of their transfer.
CII caution on amendments in customs valuation rule
THE Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has sounded a note of caution on the recent amendments in valuation rules, and said that it is likely to result in a spurt of valuation disputes.
Telecommunications
MTNL feels `switch'ed off by TRAI technology norms
MAHANAGAR Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has joined hands with the private basic operators in resisting the attempts by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to put in force ``outdated'' technology specifications for its WLL (wireless in local loo
p) limited mobility services.
Textiles
`Textile sector needs rejuvenation plan' -- Report of the Working Group for 10th Plan
THE Report on the Working Group on Textiles and Jute Industry for the Tenth Plan (2002-07) has called for a ``reform and rejuvenation plan'' for the textile industry to prepare it to face the post-multi-fibre arrangement (MFA) period from January 1, 2005
.
