EXCISE AND CUSTOMS
CBEC asks Customs to refrain from unilateral action on EPCG cases
THE Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has advised the jurisdictional commissioners of Customs to refrain from taking unilateral action on export promotion capital goods scheme (EPCG) cases where Customs has a doubt about the valuation of ... More

HEALTH
SC ruling on Pan masala, gutkha: Health bodies to approach Centre for ban
Union Health Ministry officials point out that the Tobacco Control Act only tackles sale in public places, sale to children, advertising and labelling issues. It does not touch the manufacture of tobacco products. More

Rare surgeries performed by KIMS
YAGNESH Mehta, a 16-year-old intermediate student who had fourth stage osteosarcoma, a life-threatening bone cancer, is today a confident young lad. Mr Radha Ramana Murthy, a 51-year-old man, crippled for the past four years with rheumatoid ... More

USFDA's nod for Ranbaxy tablets
NEW DELHI: Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd has received the approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Fluconazole tablets and suspensions used for treatment of some infections caused by candida, a ... More

PSU
789-tonne rise in KMML titanium exports
KERALA Minerals and Metals Ltd (KMML) has increased its export of titanium dioxide pigment rutile grade by 789 tonnes during April - June, 2004 to 1,789 tonnes from 1,000 tonnes in the same period last fiscal. With this, the Kollam-based ... More

PETROLEUM
Reliance finds more gas off east coast
RELIANCE Industries has made two gas discoveries — one of them major — in exploration blocks off the east coast of India. The announcement of these discoveries was made on Tuesday by Niko Resources, Reliance's 10 per cent partner ... More

Oil Ministry lukewarm to PSUs diversification — ONGC plans may be hit
EVEN as some of the public sector oil companies are seeking to `do an Exxon Mobil', the Petroleum Ministry top brass is nudging them to stick to their `core' businesses and provide rigorous justification for their ambitious diversification plans. ... More

BPCL, GSPC to ink piped gas supply deal
GUJARAT State Petroleum Corporation Ltd (GSPC) is entering into a gas sale agreement with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) for the supply of 5 lakh standard cubic metres per day (scmd) for distribution in the State capital. The sale ... More

CPCL to set up desalination unit
CHENNAI: Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd proposes to set up a 5.8 million gallons-per-day seawater desalination plant at Ennore, some 16 km from its Manali refinery. The project will cost Rs 193 crore and will take 30 months to ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS
Prescriptions may go generic
TAKING a cue from UK's National Health Service (NHS), the Government is looking at the option of asking the medical fraternity to prescribe generic drugs, in order to bring down the prices of essential drugs. Preliminary discussions have ... More

Sun Pharma, Ipca Labs plants hit by floods
THE monsoon has taken its toll on drug companies, with Mumbai-based Sun Pharma and Ipca Laboratories reporting floods at their plant sites in Silvassa, located in Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Sun Pharma said that two of its dosage form plants at ... More

Clinical trials of GM organisms — Pharma cos may be exempted from seeking clearance
THE Government is likely to exempt pharmaceutical and biotech companies from seeking Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) clearance for undertaking clinical trials in the case of "purified products" of genetically modified organisms ... More

STEEL
Steel sector bid to woo budding architects
THE steel industry may be enjoying a bullish phase but efforts are still on to promote steel usage in the construction sector. One such attempt involves targeting young architects. As a part of the National Student Award Competition organised ... More

TAXATION
Centre's service tax collections double in Q1
SERVICE tax collections of the Centre have nearly doubled in the first quarter of the current fiscal. Official sources said that the total service tax collected by the Centre during April-June 2004 stood at about Rs 2,400 crore as against a level ... More

TEXTILES
Cotton prices may plunge further
HIGHER market prices during 2003-04 (averaging 69 cent per pound) are expected to boost world cotton output to record levels in 2004-05. As production is forecast to exceed consumption during the year leading to an increase in world ... More

EDUCATION
Networked system should provide quality education: Kalam
IDENTIFYING connectivity, tele-education system and quality content as essential components of a viable distance education programme, the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, has said that an integrated networked system comprising the upcoming ... More

CONSULTING
Rash of resignations in consulting world
THE consulting world has been witness to significant upheaval during the recent times, with scores of senior consultants quitting their jobs over the last couple of months. The latest controversy has come about with Ernst and Young, Global ... More

PAPER, BOARD & NEWSPRINT
Cenvat removal puts paper cone units in a fix
PAPER cones and tubes manufacturers are in a fix over the removal of Cenvat for the textile sector. While the textile sector hails the removal of Cenvat, paper cones and tubes manufacturers claim that the move has had an adverse effect ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
CII announces talent contest for IT students
THE Confederation of Indian Industry (Southern Region) has announced `iTalent 2004' contest to identify and showcase students' talents in developing IT-related projects for industry applications. It has invited institutional nominations of ... More

CII hails concept paper on Company Law
THE Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has welcomed the Government's move to simplify and rationalise the Company Law and to reduce the number of sections in the law. "This will give the industry an opportunity to discuss the recommendations ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
German co signs pact with CCMB
THE German major in imaging systems, Carl Zeiss, and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), here have signed a memorandum of understanding to conduct workshops on advanced microscopy and image analysis. The effort is to sensitise ... More

CINEMA
Kerala Govt announces sops for film sector
The State Government has decided to approach the Centre with a request to declare cinema as an industry. More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
Maersk FDI proposal among 46 cleared
THE proposal of Denmark-based Maersk A/S for setting up a joint venture company for redevelopment of bulk terminal and turn it into a container terminal involving foreign direct investment (FDI) worth Rs 317.80 crore was among the FDI proposals ... More

SOCIAL WELFARE
Centre for NRI studies to be opened shortly in Thiruvananthapuram
GLOBAL NRI Foundation, an organisation that works for the welfare of non-resident Indians (NRIs), will establish a centre for NRI studies and services in Thiruvananthapuram. This facility will be inaugurated during the `Global NRI meet' to be ... More

LMW to open `leisure village' for seniors
GKD Charity Trust of the city-based LMW (Lakshmi Machine Works Ltd) Group has promoted a `leisure village' for senior citizens — Vrundhavan. The first phase of the Rs 8-crore project is nearing completion. The Chairman and Managing ... More

HUMAN RESOURCES
`Convert India into a country of opportunities'
WHAT will be the `oil' that will drive India's economy to prosperity and propel it into the top few developed nations in the 21st Century? It will be the Indian Mind. Making this assertion, the Director-General, Council of Scientific Industrial ... More

EVENTS

INCOME TAX
India Inc for review of `falsification of accounts' proposal
CORPORATE India has stepped up pressure on the Finance Ministry to modify the proposed provision in the Income-Tax law on falsification of books of accounts. Stating that this proposal in the Finance Bill 2004 has created a fear psychosis ... More

TOURISM
Taj group forays into wildlife tourism — Ties up with CC Africa, Cigen
The target audience would comprise pure wildlife tourism enthusiasts, circuit tourists and the high-end domestic travellers keen on such an experience. More