Agriculture
Ministry seeks green light for irrigation reforms
IN deference to the suggestion by the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Mr K.C. Pant, that Central funding in the irrigation sector be used as a vehicle to usher in reforms, the Ministry of Water Resources (MoWR) has forwarded a modified proposal for
relaxation in criteria for economic reforms in irrigation sector insofar as Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) goes.
Airlines
Airlines allowed to fly more passengers
THE Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is to be liberal in granting permission to international airlines to change the equipment that they are operating at present, in an effort to ensure that international air passenger are not denied seats du
ring the forthcoming festival season.
Polar flights to US mulled
AIR INDIA (AI) is examining the possibility of launching a non-stop flight through the polar route to North America as part of an operational revamp exercise to revitalise the airline.
Jet Airways to operate services on 2 new routes
JET Airways is to offer a daily service between Chennai and Mangalore and a twice-daily service between Chennai and Madurai from December 15.
Banking and Finance
New online messaging system for banks
THE Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT) is scheduled to launch structured financial messaging system (SFMS) here on Friday to provide a reliable and robust platform for the domestic financial messaging.
Moody's may upgrade SBI deposit rating
THE international rating agency Moody's may upgrade the deposits rating of State Bank of India (SBI) from the current rating of Ba1/Not Prime.
Cartoon
Cartoon
``No, don't switch it on -- daddy wants to watch the TV peacefully!''
Coal
States lax in checking out coal mafia
Only six out of the 13 States, who were asked for verification of linked coal customers by the coal producing companies at the behest of the Coal Ministry, have send in partial response. The remaining seven have preferred to ignore the Central Government
initiative to weed out mafia and ensure proper coal supply to the genuine customers and have not responded.
Corporate
Meet okays HLL FII limit, bonus debenture
THE shareholders of Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) today approved an increase in the ceiling for equity holding by foreign institutional investors in the company to 49 per cent.
Kolkata's business spots on the block
IT'S a garage sale of the corporate kind. Top properties at Dalhousie, Kolkata's business district, are said to be on the block and several eager real estate hawks in the city are trying to get them.
Sandvik AB makes open offer at Rs 850
SWEDISH high-tech engineering firm Sandvik AB is to make an open offer to acquire 10.70 per cent of its Indian subsidiary Sandvik Asia Ltd (SAL) at a price of Rs 850 per share.
IOC divests stake in Indo-Mobil
INDIAN Oil Corporation (IOC) has sold its 50 per cent equity stake in Indo Mobil Pvt Ltd to its partner, Mobil Petroleum Corporation Inc, for a consideration of Rs 22 crore.
Cussons seeks waiver on divestment clause
CLOSE on the heels of soft drink major, Coca-Cola India, another foreign joint venture company, Cussons India has also sought a waiver of the mandatory entry level clause relating to disinvestment of shares to Indian entities.
Economy
Industrial growth slumps to 1.9 pc in Oct
THERE are few signs of the ongoing recessionary trends in the economy `bottoming out', with the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) estimating overall industrial growth at 1.9 per cent during October, as against 6.8 per cent in the same month the prev
ious year.
Move to give more teeth to money laundering law
THE Union Cabinet is set to consider official amendments to the legislation on prevention of money laundering (PMLB) at its next meeting, following the Law Ministry approving the modifications proposed by the Finance Ministry.
Education
Sinha to inaugurate CA South chapter meeting
THE Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, is to inaugurate the golden jubilee regional conference of the southern chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).
Hotels
ITDC staff protest
Employees of ITDC hotels play cards during a day-long strike against privatisation in New Delhi on Wednesday.
Information Technology
WeP works 20 days a month
THE economic slowdown and consequent fall in IT investments has forced WeP Ltd (formerly Wipro ePeripherals) to cut production at its Mysore factory.
Pruning at IBM Global
FOR the first time in India, IBM Global Services has laid off people. While the company refused to give out the exact number of employees affected, sources put it at anywhere between 50 and 100.
GTL top brass agree to 25 pc pay cut
AS part of its strategy to beat the slowdown, the top brass of GTL Ltd, formerly Global Telesystems Ltd, has decided to forgo part of their pay and commission.
Infrastructure
`FDI in townships less than 100 acres likely'
THE Government is considering allowing 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the development of integrated townships of less than 100 acres, according the Union Minister for Urban Development, Mr Ananth Kumar.
Petroleum
IOC seeks review of pact with RPL
INDIAN Oil Corporation (IOC) officials on Wednesday met the Petroleum Minister, Mr Ram Naik, seeking a review of an earlier agreement under which it was to pick up the entire produce of controlled petroleum products from Reliance Petroleum Ltd from April
1, 2002, Ministry sources said.
ONGC well not yet capped
THE exploratory well (SK 108) of Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in north Gujarat's Mehsana district, which went out of control last weekend, was yet to be capped on Wednesday.
Power
PTC seeks nod to sell surplus power of SEBs
THE State-owned Power Trading Corporation (PTC) has approached the Union Power Ministry with the proposal that it be authorised to sell the entire surplus power available with the State Electricity Boards, National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) and ca
ptive power plants. The objective of the proposal is to increase PTCs volume of business throughout the country.
Securitisation of WBSEB dues cleared
THE West Bengal Government has cleared the issue of securitisation of the dues of the West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB).
Radio/TV
Panel to formulate regulatory code for broadcasters
THE Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) decided to form a committee to formulate a code of programming for broadcasters at its annual general meeting held here today.
States
Bengal jute TUs to go on strike
THE indefinite strike called by 18 central trade unions of the jute industry in West Bengal is likely to push this age-old and ailing sector into a major crisis during the first fortnight of next year.
CNG dispensing system in Delhi
NEW DELHI: Indraprastha Gas Ltd, the supplier of compressed natural gas (CNG) in Delhi, is launching an efficient CNG dispensing system to cut down on the waiting time at CNG stations.
Kerala to sign MoU with Centre for funds
THE Kerala Government has announced a series of fiscal reform measures, which, among other things, commit itself to signing a reform-linked memorandum of understanding with the Centre to avail precious funds in the medium term.
Technology
Biotech catching on
WITH biotechnology seen as the new growth engine, several corporates and institutions are eyeing the education sphere in this emerging sector as the demand for skilled professionals is set to grow.
Textiles
Cotton textiles, yarn exports register negative growth
EVEN as apparel exports from the country have suffered a setback during the first 11 months of the calendar year, exports of cotton textiles to quota countries and yarn to non-quota countries during the same period also logged a negative growth of 12 per
cent.
Transport
SER to run 5 winter specials
IN addition to the 10 pairs of Kurla-bound superfast winter special trains announced earlier, South Eastern Railway (SER), in a bid to clear the extra rush of passengers, has decided to run 5 pairs of premier superfast weekly special trains between Howra
h and Lokmanya Tilak terminus (Kurla) between December 16 and January 15, 2002.
