The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Northwest `high' compounds break-monsoon
A NON-SEASONAL anti-cyclonic circulation traced to the 700 hPa-level (3.1 km above sea level) over the northwest India on Monday has confirmed fears of meteorologists monitoring the progress of the southwest monsoon. The circulation has caused ... More

Not a lake
The Vidhana Soudha is reflected in the stagnant rain water in front of the building following heavy rain in Bangalore on Sunday night.

INVESTMENTS

Money in the air
WHAT HAVE Aishwarya Rai and Sachin Tendulkar in common? Apart for being the best-known Indians, they are among a growing tribe of high net worth individuals who have invested in wind power, purely as an investment. The returns are attractive, ... More

AUTOMOBILES

UK-based auto cos looking at new avenues in India
A NUMBER of UK-based automobile companies are looking at India for more partnerships with domestic firms. One of the key reasons driving this is that auto companies in the UK are lowering the prices of their products to gain more volume. For ... More

ECONOMY

RBI ANNUAL REPORT
Farm GDP growth declines to 1.1 pc
DEFICIENT and uneven south-west monsoon during 2004-2005 and the base effect of high growth in the previous year has resulted in a sharp drop in the growth of real GDP originating from agriculture and allied activities to 1.1 per cent from 9.6 ... More

The burden of farmers' debt
A recent NSSO report on the indebtedness of farmer households provides important information on the extent and nature of cultivators' debt. In this edition of Macroscan, C. P. Chandrasekhar and Jayati Ghosh consider the main res ults of this survey and the implications for policy. More

`India must realign strategies to be globally competitive'
INDIA has emerged as a fourth largest nation in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) and it now needs to realign its strategies and policy framework, since it is on course to becoming third largest by 2025. The PPP is yet another measure for ... More

Inflation seen in 5-5.5 pc range
THE Reserve Bank of India said on Monday that inflation during 2005-06 is likely to be in the range of 5-5.5 per cent, in line with the projection in its Annual Policy Statement. Underlying inflationary pressures appear to have been contained ... More

`Bold steps needed to develop manufacturing'
BOLDNESS and innovation must underpin Indian industry's growth to develop as an international manufacturing hub, said the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa. Tamil Nadu would be at the vanguard of this development with its growth ... More

FICCI moots 3-stage reforms plan for manufacturing sector
THE Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has suggested a three-stage implementation of reforms to help manufacturing sector achieve international competitiveness. The suggestion comprising a time-bound programme calls ... More

Deteriorating finances a major concern for Goa
The main culprit has been the huge contingent of Government employees the State is saddled with. More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS

RBI suggests 10 pc single uniform rate for imports
THE Reserve Bank of India has suggested a single uniform tariff rate of 10 per cent for all imports. According to RBI's annual report, released on Monday, the country's external environment including foreign exchange reserves allows for ... More

HOTELS

RBI notification on dual pricing not to impact hotels' margins
THE recent RBI notification preventing hotels and restaurants from insisting on dollar payments by NRIs and foreign customers is unlikely to have any impact on their margins. According to hotel industry sources, the RBI directive does not ... More

PSU

CVC proposes posting `outsiders' as vigilance officers in PSUs
THE Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) has floated a proposal to the Government to consider posting "outsiders" as Central Vigilance Officers (CVOs) in some important public sector undertakings (PSUs) even as they possess full-time CVOs. In its ... More

PETROLEUM

Insulated domestic oil prices will add to fiscal burden: RBI
THE Reserve Bank of India has said that if domestic oil prices are not allowed to keep pace with the international price line, the fiscal burden of the Government could increase and also hurt investors of public sector oil companies. In its ... More

MFs keep away from oil stocks
MUTUAL funds have now begun staying away from oil stocks on concerns over earnings with international prices testing $70 a barrel. "For the moment, we are not picking up any oil stocks and will wait for the Government's decision," some of the ... More

TAXATION

CBDT clarifies appointment of Nalini Chidambaram
THE Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) made it clear on Monday that the Income Tax Department had appointed Ms Nalini Chidambaram as a special counsel only for the first case of the batch of cases that was disposed of by the Madras High Court ... More

Finance Minister's explanation in Rajya Sabha — `I had no knowledge of Nalini Chidambaram's appointment by I-T Dept as special counsel'
THE episode relating to the controversial engagement of Ms Nalini Chidambaram as a special counsel of the Income Tax Department ended on an acrimonious note on Monday. The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, Mr Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, ruled that ... More

AP modifies VAT list
IN the first major modification after the implementation of VAT, the Andhra Pradesh Government has issued an order, granting exemption on some items, while clarifying on certain others in the 12.5 per cent category. Hand-operated sprayers, ... More

SSI

SISI buyer-seller meet on Oct 28, 29 in Chennai
SMALL Industries Service Institute (SISI), a promotional organisation working under the Ministry of Small Scale Industries, will organise a national exhibition-cum-buyer-seller meet on October 28 and 29 at the Chennai Trade Centre. Mr G.M. ... More

WATER

North coastal AP facing scarcity of water
THERE has been sufficient rainfall in Andhra Pradesh this season, barring the three districts of Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam , along with parts of East Godavari. Agricultural operations have been hit in this water-starved zone ... More

COAL

Dubai's Coal & Oil Co looking to acquire coal mine in Indonesia
The company, according to President and CEO, Mr Ahmed A.R. Buhari, has a 30 per cent share of the imported coal market in India. More

BREWERIES

Is `pint' adding fizz to the beer industry?
Statistics also show that the `small' idea has been very popular in Karnataka and Mumbai with 36.2 per cent and 13.1 per cent of the sales, respectively coming from the 330-ml packs. More

RADIO/TV

`Only cos incorporated in India must be allowed in terrestrial broadcasting'
THE Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has suggested that only companies incorporated in India should be allowed to get into terrestrial broadcasting. The regulator submitted its report on terrestrial transmission to the Information ... More

EDUCATION

IDP Education Australia conducts interview session
HYDERABAD: IDP Education Australia, representing Australian institutions is hosting an interview session for students with 41 institutions here at Grand Kakatiya Sheraton Hotel in Hyderabad on Monday. This is for February-March 2006 ... More

Great Lakes to conduct new programmes
GREAT Lakes Institute of Management is organising a management development programme on "powerful business profitability strategies". This interactive one-day session on August 31, will be led by Prof. Paul Prabhakar and Prof. S. Sriram, ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

KSL developing integrated township in Nagpur
KSL and Industries Ltd has ventured into the realty business and is developing an integrated township project - Empress City. The project will be spread over 25 acres in Nagpur. According to Mr Saurabh Kumar Tayal, Chairman and Managing ... More

AnandRathi real estate fund to start investing from Sept-end
THE Rs 500-crore real estate venture capital fund of AnandRathi group will be ready for investments by the end of September. Addressing newspersons here on Monday, Mr Manoj Shenoy, Regional Director of AnandRathi, said that the group is in the ... More

PRECIOUS METALS

Another gold rush in the making in US?
THE tale of frontier mining that marked the rush for gold in the US North-West during the 1850s returns with renewed zeal in certain parts of the Oregon and Washington States. Goaded by dreams of quick riches, many are ... More

METALS

Car boom in Asia driving metals to new highs
ASIA is driving not only the base metals market, but also passenger car market. Despite decline in Western Europe and no growth in North America so far this year, world car production is set for another year of expansion in 2005, thanks to ... More

BIO-TECH & GENETICS

Funding still a roadblock for biotech start-ups
ARE angel investors shying away from helping biotech start-ups from taking wing? Or is it that biotech companies are not biting the bait from venture capital (VC) companies? Both of the above are true, say representatives of the biotech ... More

PRINTING

Screen printers expo to be held in Delhi
IN an attempt to enable Indian screen printers access the latest technological innovations, The Federation of European Screen Printers' Association (FESPA) will bring companies here to participate in the world expo to be held in December. The ... More

GENDER

CII to launch vocational training for TN women
THE Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has moved beyond seeking Government sops or support. It is today looking at partnering with the Government to build a stronger nation. `Sustainable Competitiveness' is CII's theme for the current ... More

DISINVESTMENT

`Expedite preparation of sell-off paper soon'
NEW DELHI: The Parliamentary Standing Committee of Finance has asked the Government to expedite the preparation of a White Paper on Disinvestment that should spell out a cohesive and uniform approach on disinvestment of Government equity ... More

IPR

Kamal Nath inaugurates new patent office
WITH the new patent regime in place from the beginning of this year, India today moved into the hi-tech area of intellectual property rights with the first modern patent office becoming operational in Delhi from Monday. Three more such offices ... More

INDUSTRIAL POLICY

`Multi-crop farmlands won't be acquired for setting up industries': West Bengal CM
`There was no question of compromising on the food security and the interests of the horticulture and floriculture sectors.' More

EVENTS

IIMB organises lecture on business plan
BANGALORE: The Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIMB) will host a talk by Mr Vivek Sekhar, Principal, 2i Capital Group, on `Writing a Business Plan' on September 1. According to a release by the Institute, this lecture would ... More

INCOME TAX

Finance Ministry issues clarificatory circular on FBT
The Finance Ministry late on Monday evening came up with a clarificatory circular explaining the provisions of the fringe benfit tax (FBT) that was introduced in this year's budget. The explanatory notes to the FBT provisions include a ... More

Banks, coops get more time to file returns
BANKS, cooperative societies and public companies involved in providing of long-term finance for construction of residential houses can breathe easy. The Finance Ministry has now given more time to such entities for filing their returns (for ... More