The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, April 08, 2003

WMA limit at Rs 16,000 cr for 2003-04
THE limit for ways and means advances for the Union Government for fiscal 2003-2004 is Rs 10,000 crore for the first half of the year, and Rs 6,000 crore for the second half of the year, the RBI said, in a news release on Monday. This ... More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS

Gold goes off `green channel'
IMPORTERS and exporters eligible to avail the new scheme include all status holders under the Exim policy, Central and State Government public sector undertakings, all importers and exporters including manufacturer who have been importing and ... More

Customs House Agents decry new system
THE Central Board of Customs and Excise (CBEC) has introduced a new self-assessment scheme called the Accelerated Clearance of Import and Export Scheme (ACS). While the move is aimed at bringing the Indian Customs clearance procedures on par ... More

Declaration of stocks, excise registration — Cenvat date extended for textile firms
CBEC had originally set April 7 as the last date for filing of stock declaration so as to allow them to avail the `cenvat' credit. The department had allowed the Cenvat credit for the duty-paid inputs and the deemed `Cenvat' credit in respect of oth ers. More

FOREIGN TRADE

Indo-Israel chamber plans task forces to boost ties
THE Indo-Israel Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IICCI) proposes to set up task forces in the sectors of biotechnology, hi-tech ventures, agro-tech, water harvesting, information technology (IT) and telecom security to bring mutual ... More

HEALTH

No masks please, we ride our luck
THERE is but a thin, if any, screening process to filter the health-status of tourists travelling into India from countries afflicted by atypical pneumonia or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). If the Sahar International airport in Mumbai ... More

HOTELS

Fewer check-ins worry TN hotel industry
SLIDING occupancies and rates have pushed quality hotels in Tamil Nadu under pressure, according to Mr Uttam Dave, Chief Executive Officer, Pannell Kerr Forster Consultants. The hospitality sector in Tamil Nadu has been hit by a minimal growth ... More

PETROLEUM

Govt mulls oil club for bidding overseas
THE Government is actively considering the idea of ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and GAIL India jointly bidding or negotiating for overseas oil and gas exploration blocks. Currently, the three State-owned oil majors do ... More

POWER

BHEL, NTPC likely to join hands for IGCC project
BHARAT Heavy Electrical Ltd's 100-MW IGCC power project, which the PSU is likely to put up in collaboration with National Thermal Power Corporation, may still be on the drawing board but the proposal itself is being seen as an achievement. ... More

TAXATION

Kochi corporation urged to scrap cess on KRL crude
THE decision of Kochi Corporation to impose a cess on crude oil brought in by Kochi Refineries Ltd (KRL) and pumped through the city from the Kochi port has been objected to by trade and industry. The objection to this effect was first raised ... More

Imposition of ST on sarees puts Delhi traders in a spot
Saree dealers in Delhi were annoyed and upset over the move of the Sales Tax Department to bring sarees under the sales tax net and that too on a retrospective basis from April 1, 2001. More

SSI

SSI readymade units seek relief on excise
READYMADE garment traders are protesting the Government's move to withdraw the excise duty exemption for SSI units manufacturing products worth Rs 1 crore. Representatives of various textile associations are meeting the Finance Minister, Mr ... More

BHEL ancillaries form cluster for growth
The Central Government has identified Tiruchi as one of the `clusters', under the cluster development programme. To make use of this, the ancillaries of BHEL have recently formed a company, under Section 25 of the Companies Act (non-profit companies) , styled `Trichy Engineering and Technology Cluster Ltd'. More

Panel recommends simplification of book-keeping norms for small firms
THE first report by the Law Reforms Committee set up by the State Government has proposed that a suitable legislation be enacted to spare small establishments employing not more than 50 persons from complying with the taxing administrative ... More

Udyog Mitra okays projects worth Rs 1,807 crore
According to top State Government officials, the dip in investment flows was in line with "external uncertainties and lack of upturn in the local economy". More

WATER

Rally to protest Netravati diversion
MANGALORE: The Karnataka Parisarasaktha Krishikara Vedike will hold a rally here on April 9 to protest against the Government's proposal to divert the Netravati River. The plan to turn the West-flowing Netravati eastward, according to ... More

Rs 63.46-crore Nabard loan for AP water project

RADIO/TV

Self-regulatory plan by news channels
THE television coverage of the terrorist siege on Akshardham drew a lot of flak from the Government especially with the Information & Broadcasting Minister openly criticising the manner in which television channels dealt with the issue. Hence, ... More

GEMS & JEWELLERY

War, SARS take sheen off jewellery
THE prospect of war continuing beyond mid-April in Iraq and deaths caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in South-East and Far East Asia have combined to ruin prospects for India's diamond and gem and jewellery industry. Poised for ... More

READYMADE GARMENTS

Garment exports up 17 pc in 11 months
AFTER a lacklustre performance during fiscal 2001-02, garment exports to quota countries had acquitted well by logging a 17 per cent growth during the first 11 months of the fiscal 2002-03 at $4,086.10 million. According to figures compiled by ... More

BIO-TECH & GENETICS

Drive to promote awareness on bioinformatics
INBIOS-Bioinformatics Society of India, a voluntary, non-profit organisation, has lined up a series of initiatives sessions across the country to create awareness on the potential of bioinformatics and as a new career option. In one such ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Insat 3A launch tomorrow
IN the wee hours of Wednesday, Insat 3A, the multipurpose satellite that has been long overdue, will finally take off into space. The mainly telecom and broadcasting satellite contains weather and search and rescue payloads. 3A will fly on ... More

SMALL SAVINGS

Minister says report on EPF rate by month-end
EXPRESSING the Centre's interest to enhance compensation payable to workers on retrenchment, the Union Labour Minister, Mr Sahib Singh Verma, said that the expert panel to review interest rate for the Employees Provident Fund would submit its ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Silent revolution under way in TN villages
IN two small groups of villages tucked away in the remote recesses of Tamil Nadu, a silent revolution is under way, thanks to the efforts of the National Agro Foundation, a body that the President of India once happened to be the Chairman ... More

TOURISM

Toy train and ropeway to woo tourists to Kailas Giri
THE Visakhapatnam Urban Development Authority (VUDA) is taking steps to attract more tourists to Kailas Giri in the city and has awarded two projects - circular toy train and ropeway - to two private companies on BOT (build, operate and ... More

Rajasthan to repackage itself
THE Rajasthan Tourism Department has embarked on a major drive to reposition and repackage the State as a tourist destination. Disclosing this to Business Line, Mr Arvind Mayaram, Secretary, Departments of Tourism, Art and Culture, ... More

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