The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, January 24, 2007

POLLUTION
Civil courts told not to take up pollution cases
The Madras High Court has directed the civil courts in Tamil Nadu to refrain from entertaining suits against the Pollution Control Board and other authorities dealing with Water Act, Air Act and Environment Act to save the people from the hazards ... More

CEMENT
Customs duty cut may hit revenues by Rs 3,000 cr
Move aimed to check rising inflation, says Chidambaram More

Move to scrap cement import duty may not impact retail price
`High logistics cost makes it unviable' More

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES
India-WI match on DD, at 7-min delay
Doordarshan has dispatched its outdoor broadcast vans to Barabati stadium in Cuttack, ready to telecast the second One-Day International between India and West Indies on Wednesday. The cricket action on DD International will, however, be at a ... More

ECONOMY
Centre bans futures trading in tur, urad
The Centre on Tuesday night banned futures trading in tur and urad until further notice. When contacted, the Forward Markets Commission Chairman, Mr S. Sundareshan, told Business Line: "No comments". Commodity exchange sources said they ... More

ENGINEERING
40 pc growth in engg exports likely
The country's engineering exports were set to grow to $24 billion in the current year, clocking a growth of 40 per cent on top of the export earnings of $20 billion achieved in 2005-06, the Union Commerce and Industry Minister, ... More

ENVIRONMENT
Delhi airport expansion gets environment clearance
Mumbai handles record monthly passenger traffic More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS
CPI(M) terms duty cuts improper
The move to cut customs duty on steel, cement, aluminium, zinc and others, as announced by the Government on Monday, will not help curb inflation while it would affect Government revenues, the CPI(M) said on Tuesday. The party also criticised ... More

Deora pitches for removal of excise duty on diesel
Infrastructure status for oil and gas exploration biz, pipelines sought More

Nil import duty hits cement shares
Stocks of cement companies plunged on the bourses following the Government scrapping import duty on cement. Analysts felt the decline in stock prices was a knee-jerk reaction to the announcement. Domestic cement companies will not be affected ... More

Short-term response to price situation: CII
The customs duty cut on various capital goods announced by the Government on Monday would "largely be absorbed by the competitive Indian industry", according to the Confederation of Indian Industry. Some of these reductions are in line with the ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
30-member cashew team in Vietnam
A 30-member delegation of Indian cashew exporters is on a 4-day visit to Vietnam during January 22 - 25 for holding discussions with Vietnam Cashew Association (VINACAS). The delegation comprising 28 exporters from six States will hold ... More

European Bank sounds Indian cos on investments in Russian gas fields
Also seeks involvement of investors in financial sector More

INFRASTRUCTURE
Centre awaiting land acquisition rehab package details from States
The Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Mr Kamal Nath, on Tuesday said that the UnionGovernment was awaiting the land acquisition rehabilitation package from the State Governments for farmers whose land is acquired for creation of SEZs. He ... More

Development projects to dissect the Panna
Panna Tiger Reserve or National Park is an incidental attraction for most tourists, as most land at Khajuraho and make a detour to the park, if they have time. Leave aside one or two hotels and the area around the reserve remains uncluttered, ... More

Ministry clarifies on SEZs
The Commerce Ministry on Tuesday clarified that the new approvals and notifications for Special Economic Zones (SEZs) have been temporarily held in abeyance, pending decisions by the Empowered Group of Ministers on SEZs. In a ... More

PSU
Kerala looking to tie up State entities with Central PSUs
Industries Minister likely to visit Delhi next week More

PETROLEUM
India, Iran, Pak talks on gas pricing today
The contentious issue of gas pricing is to be deliberated upon at the official level meeting of Iran-Pakistan-Iran on the proposed $7-billon pipeline project. A senior Petroleum Ministry official said: "We have to first decide on the price of ... More

`Create enabling environment for use of LNG in Bangalore market'
High-level meeting on gas-handling facility urged More

PHARMACEUTICALS
Drug IPR: Where India must not `trip'
Lack of clarity in the intellectual property regime as well as in drug pricing can affect development of innovation, new drug discovery, as well as new investments in Research and Development. If India is to become a major participant in developing i nnovative pharmaceutical products, it must bring its patent practices into conformity with the TRIPS Agreement, says S. NARAYAN. More

POWER
Study on carbon emissions from power project mooted
Maharashtra's Revenue Minister, Mr Narayan Rane, has asked the Konkan Agriculture University at Dapoli to undertake a study of the possible adverse impact of carbon emissions from the upcoming ultra mega power project at Girye on the local mango ... More

TAXATION
Centre, States agree on CST compensation package
Asim Dasgupta meets Chidambaram More

Stamp duty on transfers from holding company
Transfer of property between parent company and subsidiary company is no longer exempted from stamp duty in Tamil Nadu. The exemption dates back to a notification dated June 17, 1964. Item 38 in that notification spoke about exempting from duty ... More

Tally unveils new VAT tool
Accounting and inventory software provider Tally Solutions has released a new Value Added Tax (VAT) compliant software for the Tamil Nadu market. Called `Tally 9', the new software encompasses modules on point of sale accounting, pay roll and ... More

SSI
`SMEs have bigger role to play in economy'
Indian economy is on a high growth trajectory and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have a pivotal role to play in contributing to its growth, according to Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal, Union Minister of State for Finance. A Corporation Bank ... More

RADIO/TV
Best legislator and the award goes to...
The Essel Group and Zee Kannada have selected Mr Shivanand Patil, Cong MLA from Basavana-Bagewadi, as Karnataka's Best Legislator. Mr Patil secured the highest number of votes of nearly 100 nominations received. Other finalists chosen ... More

TRAI to review revenue sharing in CAS areas
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued a consultation paper to review the revenue sharing between multi-system operators (MSOs) and cable operators in conditional access system (CAS) areas. The move follows an order from ... More

Balfour to invest in Kumudham's FM
The US-based Balfour Capital LLC has received approval from Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to invest Rs 1.7 crore in Noble Broadcasting Corporation; the FM radio-arm of the Chennai based Kumudham Publications. The ... More

EDUCATION
Oil & gas campus for K-G basin
The State Animal Husbandry Minister, Mr Gollapalli Surya Rao, today declared open the oil and gas campus of University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES). The campus will come up in the Rajahmundry-Kakinada region. The ... More

IFMR B-school fest
Students must develop a mindset for life-long learning to succeed in today's competitive work environment, according to Mr J.N. Amrolia, Executive Director, Ashok Leyland Ltd. According to a press release, he addressed students ... More

`Present HR challenge is to retain talent'
Price reduction is the general trend in every industry. In marketing, it is suicidal in the long run. Instead, a marketer has to look at how to add value to the product. Only through value addition, a company can increase its revenues and bottom ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Trampling farmers' right to property
The judiciary does not take suo motu notice of any situation, howsoever in violation of the Constitution that may be. It can pronounce its position only when a specific case comes before it. On January 11, the Supreme Court, while ... More

ISB to broaden research on realty sector
The Indian School of Business in association with consultants Ernst & Young recently conducted an interactive meet on `Real Estate in India - the Research Imperative' as part of the Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (WCED) and has More

Kerala builders oppose curbs on floor area ratio
Various organisations in the construction industry have protested against the new floor area ratio (FAR) restrictions imposed by the State Government in Kochi. According to Mr George E. George, Secretary, Kerala Builders Forum, these new ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
New President of employer body
Mr K.G. Baalakrishnan, Chairman, KG Denim Ltd, Coimbatore, has been elected President of the All India Organisation of Employers (AIOE), New Delhi. ... More

MINING & QUARRYING
Mining industry seeks easy licence regime
The mining industry, in its pre-Budget presentation to the Finance Ministry, has sought easy grant of mining licences and their transferability at a premium. While 100 per cent foreign direct investment is allowed in mining, a complex licence ... More

BEML gets nod for jt mining venture
The Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) board on Friday approved the formation of a 45:55 joint venture contract mining company with a combine of Midwest Granite Ltd, Hyderabad and SMJ Indonesia. The company will have an authorised capital of Rs 100 ... More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
Reliance Comm plan among 23 FDI proposals cleared
The Government today approved 23 foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals worth Rs 5,910.66 crore. The largest proposal cleared by the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, is Reliance Communications' plans to raise up to Rs 5,400 crore ($1.2 ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Nabard sanctions Rs 332.72 cr for AP infrastructure
The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has sanctioned Rs 332.72 crore to Andhra Pradesh for taking up 1,549 rural infrastructure projects. The project sanctioning committee of the bank had approved the projects under ... More

ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Entrepreneurship training
Maditssia Business Information Centre (BIC) is organising an `Entrepreneurship training programme for unemployed youths' on January 27 at Maditssia Hall in the city. The programme will provide information on potential ... More