The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, January 04, 2005

Army planning to outsource select non-core activities
THE Indian Army is exploring the possibility of outsourcing select non-core activities such as medical services and training with a view to cutting down on costs, according to Lt Gen Arvind Sharma, GOC-in-C, Eastern Command. Speaking at a "Meet ... More

ECONOMY

Energy consumption to GDP ratio falls 18 pc
THE per capita energy consumption increased by 14 per cent in India between 1990 and 1997, according to figures made available by the World Resources Institute, while the ratio of energy consumption to GDP fell by 18 per cent between 1990 and ... More

Equal opportunities key for faster growth: Montek
The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, on Monday said that the greatest challenge confronting the nation is to sell economic reform policies in a manner that individuals begin to perceive them as inclusive, ... More

World Bank retains outlook on Indian economy
THE World Bank on Monday said its outlook for fiscal 2005 on the growth rate of Indian economy would not change significantly, despite the damage caused by the tsunami. Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Federation of ... More

AP records 17.5 pc revenue growth
DEBT swapping, cutting down on wasteful expenditure and pepping up tax collections have helped Andhra Pradesh record a growth of 17.53 per cent in revenues during April-November period of this fiscal. The State's own revenues (both tax and ... More

`Healthy functioning of public institutions vital for democracy'
For 36 years since its inception in 1952, the Lok Sabha sat for over 100 days every year. More

ENVIRONMENT

NMPT to have `green belt' around the port
THE Chairman of New Mangalore Port Trust (NMPT), Mr P. Tamil Vanan, inaugurated tree-planting programme on the premises of the NMPT administrative office building on Saturday. A port release said here on Monday that NMPT is all set to have a ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE

TN road development agency to handle Guindy estate facelift
Once the project is completed the operation and maintenance would be through the industrial township authority. More

PHARMACEUTICALS

Govt plans pharmacy chains for making cheap drugs accessible
WITH the affordability of drugs in the product patent era being a priority for the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the Government is toying with the idea of setting up pharmacies across the country. Senior officials in the Ministry of ... More

Day 1 of product patent regime — Pharmaceutical industry kept guessing
THE Indian patent office's mailbox facility is turning out to be the proverbial Pandora's box! It has kept the pharmaceutical industry guessing on how many patent applications have been filed in the 10-year period leading to the product patent ... More

TAXATION

Joint panel on VAT to meet today
THE joint committee with trade and industry on value added tax (VAT), formed by the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on VAT, is to meet here on Tuesday. Mr Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General of the Confederation of All India ... More

Rice millers to meet tomorrow in Hyderabad
RICE millers in Andhra Pradesh are to meet on Wednesday in Hyderabad to deliberate on the issue of agricultural marketing cess of one per cent imposed on rice, according to Mr D. Bhaskara Reddy, President of the East Godavari District Rice ... More

TEXTILES

TN textile exporters await `great rush' of quota-free 2005
FINALLY the much talked about January 2005, the deadline year to liberate the Indian textiles sector from quota restriction, has come. And it has come quietly. But, for the textile industry in this part of the country, there is no deluge of ... More

Textile export promotion body worried over DEPB rate cut
THE Textile Export Promotion Council (Texprocil) has reacted sharply to the Government's unprecedented move to slash the DEPB (Duty Entitlement Pass Book) rates for cotton textile products, such as yarn, fabrics and made-ups by a further 15 per ... More

RADIO/TV

Uplinking norms: News channels may get deadline extension
THE Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry is likely to give another three-month extension to news channels uplinking from the country to comply with guidelines. News channels were given time till December 31 to adhere to the 26-per cent . More

TRAI for digitisation of cable industry by 2010
THE Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued a consultation paper on digitisation of the cable industry, which aims at improving signal quality and offering more choice to the consumers. It has suggested that the digitisation ... More

EDUCATION

Bangalore management institute introduces mentoring for students
Students need to have a sustained relationship with a senior member in the institute that will help them professionally and personally. More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

Guindy industrial estate body office-bearers

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Govt sets up scientific advisory council
THE Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Monday announced the setting up of a Scientific Advisory Council chaired by Dr C.N.R. Rao. The Council will advise the Government in addressing the challenges facing Indian science. Addressing the 92nd ... More

MINERALS

S-E Rly alters wagon allocation for iron ore traffic
SOUTH Eastern Railway (SER), a major freight loading zonal railway, has cut down on the allocations of wagons for movement of iron ore for exports. Simultaneously, wagon availability has been stepped up to facilitate increased domestic movement ... More

IPR

`Product patent regime to drive R&D outsourcing to India'
THE adoption of the product patent regime from January 1 this year would see huge movement of outsourcing of research and development (R&D) work into India, according to Dr Rakesh Mohan, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) in the ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Rs 8,000-cr plan for rural phones
This is the first project aimed at rural households. Until now, the USO fund was being used for setting up village community phones. More

EVENTS

Meet on TQM in seafood industry
The workshop would try and disseminate information regarding implementation of TQM in the seafood industry. More

Mumbai Festival to begin on Jan 14
MUMBAI: The Mumbai Festival committee announced on Monday that the festival would commence from January 14. The festival committee said it has dedicated itself to creating multiple platforms for the citizens of Mumbai to help victims of ... More

NATURAL CALAMITIES

Priority berthing for ships carrying relief materials
THE Shipping Ministry has directed all the major port trusts to give priority berthing to ships carrying relief material and also to waive port charges on such ships in the wake of tsunami disaster. The Shipping Secretary, Mr D.T. Joseph said ... More

Govt to focus on drinking water, power in tsunami-hit areas
SHARING a status report of the relief operations in the tsunami affected areas, the Government today said that its focus includes establishing communication network, drinking water, restoration of power supply and prevention of outbreak of ... More

Major engg, construction cos lend a helping hand in TN
LEADING companies in the engineering, construction, transport and logistics are to lend a hand in the rehabilitation of those hit by the tsunami. They are a part of the Disaster Response Network (DRN) - India, a corporate initiative to ... More

Tsunami: Thin attendance in Govt schools
THE winter vacation is over and it's time for schools to reopen. But in the tsunami-hit areas of the city, it is a different story altogether, with the fisherfolk and their children still struggling to come to terms with reality. In the ... More

Satyam Computer, staff contribute Rs 2.5 cr to tsunami relief work
SATYAM Computer Services Ltd and its employees have jointly contributed Rs 2.5 crore as part of its efforts to assist the massive relief work undertaken by the Government, to help the tsunami affected. The contribution was made to the Chief ... More

Karnataka: Tsunami aid pours in from PSUs, private cos
AID continues to pour in from private and public sector companies in Karnataka for the relief of last week's tsunami victims, apart from a massive quantum of relief sent by the official State machinery. HAL has said that it has handed over a ... More

Haryana's gesture
The Haryana Finance Minister, Prof Sampat Singh, presenting a cheque for Rs 3 crore to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms. J. Jayalalithaa, for providing relief to the people affected by tsunami, in Chennai on Monday. ... More