The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, October 13, 2004

CLIMATE & WEATHER
MET SIGNS
Alert on coconut leaf rot
THE Agromet bulletin dated October 11 and issued by the Met Office, Thiruvananthapuram, has warned coconut farmers of a bout of leaf and bud rot in the medium term. Spraying of one per cent Bordeaux mixture has been recommended for affected ... More

ANTI-DUMPING
Brazil pares dumping duty on Indian jute imports
THE jute industry has finally succeeded in reducing the anti-dumping duty imposed by Brazil on import of jute goods from India after a legal battle lasting for seven years. This was announced by Mr A.K. Bal, Secretary of Jute Manufacturers' ... More

CHEMICALS
Consultant to draw roadmap for setting up chemical parks
WITH a target of attracting approximately $8 billion investments in the chemicals sector, the Union Government has appointed the consultancy firm — Dalal Mott Mcdonalds, for preparing the roadmap for setting up chemicals parks across the ... More

ECONOMY
Thought @ the speed of government
Vividly, and anecdotally, long-time journalist and recently-turned politician, Mr Arun Shourie, captures the sloth in government in his 18th book. As a Minister in the Vajpayee Cabinet, he made most of his privileged access to chronicle the pace of g overnance, and to find out why the system is able to fend off attempts to change it. A rewarding read for those who believe in reform of government, says K. Venugopal. More

Industrial growth at 7.9 pc in August
LED by strong recovery by the manufacturing sector, industrial output registered 7.9 per cent growth in August 2004, as against growth of 5.7 per cent in the same month last year. The cumulative growth of industrial output during the first five ... More

Karnataka industries `reeling under tax burden'
Capital expenditure can go up as much as 8 per cent for those planning to either set up an industry here or expand its operations, the study says. More

FOREIGN TRADE
Iraq invites investment in oil industry
IRAQ is keen to attract huge investment from international firms in its oil and gas sector even as the war-torn country is targeting a boost in oil production from less than 3 million barrels per day, at present, to 6 million bpd by 2010, at an ... More

Panel to catalyse Singapore investments in India set up
A NEW panel, in the name and style of the Network India Real Estate and Finance Sub-Committee, was launched as part of an ongoing multi-channel business conference known as `Global Entrepolis 2004' in Singapore today. The objective is to spur ... More

Chirac's China mission to pave way for major deals
THE prospect of the French President, Mr Jaques Chirac, returning to Paris armed with some $3-billion worth of orders from China, has raised wider expectations for other Europeans to cash in on trade and investment opportunities in China. Mr ... More

HEALTH
Govt bans rofecoxib sale
COMPANIES such as Ranbaxy, Torrent, Unichem and others that manufacture generic versions of Merck's arthritis drug, Vioxx, may have to withdraw their offerings from the market. The Health Ministry has decided to impose a total ban on sale of ... More

Micro Labs dumps rofecoxib drug
THE Merck action has started hurting. Micro Labs has stopped production of its drug Rufica. The drug based on patent holder Merck's rofecoxib molecule was a Rs 5-crore brand for the company and figured among the top five domestic brands. With ... More

Merck effect: Pharma cos scan pain relief options
DOMESTIC companies that made and sold the arthritis drug rofecoxib are quickly scanning their pain relief portfolios to see how best to recover market space. Rofecoxib, a much-prescribed drug for the past two years, is now a market discard, ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE
SBI, LIC come together for funding infrastructure projects
THE country's biggest banker and the largest insurer have joined hands to provide adequate long-term finance to infrastructure projects . State Bank of India (SBI) and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Tuesday signed an MoU, which ... More

PSU
Cabinet may take up Rs 450-cr PSU revamp package
THE Cabinet is likely to consider a restructuring package worth Rs 450 crore for weak public sector units in its meeting scheduled here for Wednesday. It is also expected to discuss the proposed National Steel Policy formulated by the Ministry of ... More

PETROLEUM
ONGC set to recover dues from Gujarat PSUs
OIL & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is finally expecting recovery of dues worth over Rs 6,000 crore from six State public sector undertakings (PSUs) and one municipal body in Gujarat. The dues have accumulated on account of supply of natural gas More

PHARMACEUTICALS
Pharma sector keeping an eye on US poll outcome
The drug industry is keeping a close watch on the prospects that may open or close on them in case Mr John Kerry wins. More

POWER
Bidding for global projects — PowerGrid ties up with Netherlands co
POWER Grid Corporation of India Ltd has tied up with ECC-Keema of the Netherlands to bid for global transmission and power system improvement projects. Mr R.P. Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, Power Grid Corporation, said at a press ... More

TAXATION
Melas to widen service tax net at Thiruvananthapuram
THE Thiruvananthapuram Central Excise and Customs Commissionerate will hold Service Tax Melas with a view to registering new assessees and disposing of those cases pending a decision for matters technical. This was announced here by Mr R.K. ... More

New Haryana plan to redress traders' woes soon
A Rs 286-crore afforestation project has been launched with the assistance of Japan Bank. More

TEXTILES
Additional export quota
MUMBAI: Additional quantities of 10 lakh kg of cotton yarn and 3.65 lakh kg of table, toilet and kitchen linen (other than terry) to the European Union; 20 lakh pieces to the US will be released in the fourth quarter. This is in ... More

SSI
UK bodies to train SME entrepreneurs
THE British Executive Service Overseas (BESO) and its sister agency, Voluntary Service Organisation (VSO), are to undertake a major skill development and training programme for entrepreneurs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in West Bengal, ... More

Voicing support
Activists of the CPI (M) Delhi State staging a dharna in the Capital on Tuesday against the sealing of cottage and small scale industries in residential areas.

COAL
CIL targets 445 m.t output by 2011-12
THE Government has projected a quantum jump in coal production by Coal India Ltd (CIL) by 2011-12, which is the last year of the Eleventh Five Year Plan. The target for CIL has been placed at 445 million tonnes, which is more than 50 per cent ... More

Coal merchants object to be called as C&F agents
THE Indian Coal Merchants' Association has sought a clarification from the Central Board of Excise & Customs on the matter relating to terming coal merchants as C&F (clearing & forwarding) agents, particularly when none of the clauses und More

RADIO/TV
`Broadcasters' future lies in content ownership, copyright'
IF you think that viewers' loyalties towards channels are declining, then be ready for bits and pieces viewing. For with technology progressing at a very fast pace, broadcasters would have to focus on content ownership. Speaking at a FICCI ... More

DD gets tough with pvt channels on Olympic footage
Prasar Bharati has decided to bill news channels and other broadcasters for using the Olympic footage for more than the time permitted. Other channels cannot use the Olympics footage for more than two minutes and the duration of one particular ... More

EDUCATION
15,000 Indian students headed for UK
THE number of Indian students visiting Britain for higher studies is likely to be around 15,000 this year, compared to 11,000 last year and 5,000 five years ago, said Sir Michael Arthur, British High Commissioner to India. "We are slowly ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Ascendas, Mahindra to jointly develop ready-built space near Chennai
ASCENDAS, a Singapore-based business space provider, and Mahindra Industrial Park today signed an agreement to develop 1 million sq ft of ready-built space at Mahindra City, at Maraimalai Nagar on the outskirts of Chennai. This will cater to ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
Sunil Alagh takes over as AIMA President
MR Sunil Alagh, Chairman, SKA Advisors and former Managing Director of Britannia, has been appointed as the President of the All India Management Association (AIMA). He takes over the AIMA presidency from Mr R. Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director, ... More

HUMAN RESOURCES
`HR person needs the right blend of theory, practice'
The right blend of theory and practice can make the HR (human resources) person more sensitive to the changes taking place around him, according to Ms Kalpana Purushothaman, Head, Talents Department and Employee Engagement, Sonata Software, ... More

TRADE & LABOUR UNIONS

Chamber concern over road blockades

INTERVIEW
WITH QUOTA REGIME SET TO GO...
Three-pronged plan to boost textiles, clothing industry
THE Ministry of Textiles has drawn up a three-pronged strategy covering fiscal, investment and level-playing measures to bolster the indigenous textile and clothing industry to face the competition once the current quota regime in global trade in ... More

`Govt expenses far more rigid than revenues'
MR Subir Gokarn, Chief Economist of Crisil, the country's leading rating agency, heads its Centre for Economic research in Delhi. He was earlier associated with the National Council for Applied Economic Research and the Indira Gandhi ... More

EVENTS

In Thiruvananthapuram today

Seminar on asset valuation

In Hyderabad today

ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Entrepreneurship development programmes in AP
THE Federation of Andhra Pradesh Small Industries Association Small Scale Industries Centre (FAPSIA-SSI) is organising an entrepreneurship development programme (EDP) for Andhra Bank in East and West Godavari districts for setting up small and ... More

PIRACY
Reports on anti-piracy measures sought
THE Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has asked State Governments to send monthly reports on steps taken to curb piracy. Mr Navin Chawla, I&B Secretary, has written to all the Chief Secretaries asking them to issue directions to the More

TOURISM
Kanara Chamber submits action plan on tourism development
THE Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), which has come out with an action plan on tourism development in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, has stressed the need for the development of infrastructure in the region, apart from ... More