The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, March 15, 2007

INVESTMENTS
Investment norms for insurance cos may be eased
Insurance companies may soon have more flexibility investing in corporate bonds and mortgage-based securities. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority is likely to issue guidelines by the end of the month. "We are trying to give ... More

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES
`Bill to amend Competition Law soon'
The Government plans to bring a Bill to amend the Competition Law during the second half of the ongoing Budget session of Parliament, the Minister for Company Affairs, Mr Prem Chand Gupta, said on Wednesday. "We plan to take the Bill to amend the ... More

ECONOMY
Infrastructure industries output up 8.4% in April-Jan
Cement, finished steel, coal see slowdown in production growth rates More

`No let-up in urban poverty'
Despite economic indicators suggesting a growth of nine per cent per annum for India, "we constitute 40 per cent of the world's poor," the Director of Mumbai-based Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Prof. R. Radhakrishna, said. ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
Workshop on Australian opportunities
The Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce is organising a workshop on `Australian Visa Procedures and Business Opportunities' on March 16, according to a release. The workshop will see presentations by Mr Manfred Bertram, Managing ... More

PSU
Kerala lagging in Central investments: Minister
`PFA Act to be strictly enforced' More

Net loss of Kerala PSUs declines
The state-level public sector undertakings in Kerala have performed better, albeit collectively, in 2005-06 with a significant reduction in net loss as compared to the previous year. The net loss during the year was Rs 114.18 crore as against a ... More

PETROLEUM
ONGC to develop 3 offshore marginal gas fields
ONGC is planning to develop its three B-series offshore marginal gas fields at an estimated cost of Rs 2,000 crore. Located closer to Mumbai High North oil field, the three reserves are expected to produce roughly 1.75 million standard cubic ... More

POWER
Siemens-BHEL bags PowerGrid order
Siemens Power Transmission and Distribution (PTD) and its consortium partner BHEL have been awarded an order by the Power Grid Corporation of India to construct 2,500 MW High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) terminal stations for a 780-km long HVDC ... More

TEXTILES
Sisspa seeks duty-free cotton imports
South India Small Spinners Association (Sisspa) has expressed concern over spurt in raw cotton prices and blamed it on middlemen and cotton trade who, it alleged, had resorted to stocking to cause the `artificial' shortage of the natural ... More

COAL
`Coal India's profits for 2006-07 may dip'
Increase in material, equipment costs More

CCL plans to celebrate 2006-07 as welfare year
The Ranchi-based Central Coalfields Ltd (CCL), which is confident of maintaining overall development in the current fiscal, plans to celebrate 2006-07 as `Welfare, community, development and environmental conservation year.' The programme has ... More

EDUCATION
Karnataka institute plans disaster management centre
The institute will also start a centre for energy and environment and a centre for material development. More

Lalu to visit US B-schools
The Railway Minister, Mr Lalu Prasad, will visit US business schools including Stanford University and Harvard, in April to share the success story of Indian Railways. Mr Prasad will also visit Silicon Valley while students of the Massachusetts ... More

HOME APPLIANCES
Growth under pressure
Confronted with slow growth, TTK Prestige looked beyond pressure cookers to make itself over as a `total kitchen solutions' brand. More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Australian construction cos make beeline for India
The boom in the Indian infrastructure sector is luring companies from across continents. Nearly half a dozen companies from the manufacturing heartland of Australia - Victoria - have come to India to explore a possible role in the growth ... More

KNITWEAR & HOSIERY
Tirupur knitwear units revise job-work rates
`Production cost likely to go up' More

MINERALS
`Rising iron ore exports could hit steel sector'
Expressing serious concern over increasing iron ore exports from India, Mr R.S. Pandey, Secretary, Ministry of Steel, told newspersons today that it would pose a threat and impact the growth of the domestic steel industry. Mr Pandey was in the ... More

TRADING
Traders meet Kamal Nath
A delegation of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) met the Union Commerce Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, and demanded an immediate restriction on entry of multinationals and big corporate retailers into retail trade. In a statement, CAIT said ... More

SMALL SAVINGS
`Fiscal incentives may not go to augment total savings'
To increase savings, postal insurance can be a potent instrument, feels the author. Studies have found that whenever banks showed some degree of instability, households shifted their savings from banks to postal savings. More