The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, December 13, 2006

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY
SPML to invest Rs 750 cr in renewable energy
SPML Group has announced it would invest Rs 750 crore in renewable energy projects over five years as part of its growth strategy. It also plans to increase its headcount from 1,000 to 2,000 in the next 18 months and diversify into other ... More

LOTTERY
Centre urged to amend Lottery Act
"If the Centre does not act in two months, the State Cabinet will take a decision and declare Karnataka as lottery-free State." More

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES
Licence for shop can't be renewed as a matter of right: HC
While disposing of a writ petition by a legal heir of a deceased person, pleading for renewal of licence for a shop in a mofussil bus stand, the Madras High Court has ruled that "there can never be a perpetual succession of Government largesse to ... More

ECONOMY
Industrial output growth dips to 6.2 pc in October
This is the lowest growth recorded during the first seven months of the current financial year. More

Markets and IIP: Tenuous link?
Monthly numbers can be influenced by one-off factors such as festivals More

Fiscal deficit target would be met despite additional net cash outgo: Chidambaram
The Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, said on Tuesday that revenue deficit and fiscal deficit targets for 2006-07 would be met despite the gross additional expenditure of Rs 21,823.92 crore, for which Parliament approval has now been ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
Expectations run high as PM embarks on Japan tour
Indo-Japan economic cooperation More

Prime Minister's visit to Japan — To the land of rising opportunities
The India growth story has caught the fancy of Japanese investors. The complementariness of the economies has much to offer each other, across sectors. The four-day visit to Japan of the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, should take the bilateral ti es to a higher level, says AJAY KHANNA More

INFRASTRUCTURE
Vizag port now connected to National Highway 5
Link road will be opened to traffic from Dec 15 More

IIT-M may complete research park project in Sept '07
Delay in permission from HR Ministry upsets original schedule More

PETROLEUM
ONGC may shell out Rs 100 cr for unfinished work
Decides to relinquish five deepwater blocks More

Refining sector emerges as top merchandise exporter
Additional 16.5 mt capacity has come about More

Deora to attend oil meet in China
The Petroleum Minister, Mr Murli Deora, is going to attend a meeting of the five energy-consuming nations - India, China, US, Korea and Japan - being hosted by China. The countries would deliberate upon the issues of energy security and ... More

IndianOil drops plan to tap bond market
IndianOil has dropped the plan to tap the bond market to raise finances, with improvement in liquidity owing to fall in crude oil prices from the previous peak. The company was earlier actively considering issuing bonds as an alternative to ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS
Pharma sector wants only 62 drugs under monitoring mechanism
The pharmaceutical industry wants only 62 drugs of the 354 drugs (663 formulations) in the National List of Essential Medicine (NLEM), 2003 to come under price monitoring mechanism. This view is reflected in the report of the joint committee ... More

POWER
AP to buy power from Central grid
The State Energy Minister, Mr Mohd Shabbir Ali, on Tuesday said that Rs 408 crore has been spent for purchase of additional power from Central generating stations and other states to meet the demand supply mismatch. The Government expects to ... More

STEEL
After one more round in the Corus `takeover open'
The race for the Corus trophy is still on, after the contenders Tata and CSN played out what seems to be just one more round in the takeover open. "It's been an exciting weekend for the Corus Board and Corus shareholders with not one but two ... More

Korean project
TALKING IT OVER: Mr Ku Taek Lee, Chairman of South Korean steel giant POSCO, with the Orissa Chief Minister, Mr Naveen Patnaik, in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday for a discussion on the project the Korean company is setting up in the State. ... More

Panel on iron ore export fails to reach consensus
Export policy should be reviewed every 3 years: Committee More

TAXATION
Chamber hails tax concessions
More than one lakh small and medium traders in the State would be benefited by the concessional rate of tax announced by the Government of Tamil Nadu, Mr S. Rethinavelu, President, Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said. In a ... More

CST phaseout: States decide on compensation package
State Finance Ministers under the aegis of the VAT Panel on Tuesday decided on the compensation package that they would formally demand from the Centre for the proposed phase-out of Central sales tax (CST) from April 1 next year. The package ... More

RADIO/TV
BIG 92.7 FM to be launched in Jammu
BIG 92.7 FM, a part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group promoted Adlabs Films Ltd, is all set to foray into Jammu as the first private owned radio station in the area from December 18. According to a company release, commenting ... More

K Sera Sera launches `Lemon' channel
K Sera Sera, a film production and distribution company, has entered the world of television with the launch of `Lemon,' an entertainment channel. According to a press release, content for Lemon will initially consist of ... More

EDUCATION
French Embassy to woo more Indian students
There will be an increase in the number of scholarships awarded to Indian students for study in France. More

FOODS & FOOD PROCESSING
US food processors eye Indian retail market
Smelling an opportunity, a number of US-based food processing companies are eyeing the shelves of retail outlets in India. JM Grain, a US company dealing in lentils and peas, already present in the commodities export market, is planning to ... More

LEATHER
CLE for strategic imports of raw material
The Council for Leather Exports has said that to meet the huge demand for raw material from the leather sector, the industry would have to consider "strategic sourcing" of skins and hides from abroad. The Council's Chairman, Mr Rafeeque Ahmed, ... More

BIO-TECH & GENETICS
Tech acquisition fund on the anvil: Sibal
The Government is considering setting up a `Global Technology Acquisition Fund' (GTAF) to help Indian biotech companies' acquisition of mid-sized knowledge companies overseas, Mr Kapil Sibal, Union Science & Technology Minister, indicated here on More

MINERALS
Rlys insists on excise certificates from sponge iron, other units
Beleaguered by the spurt in demand for rakes for transportation of iron ore from the mines to the plants, the Directorate of Rail Movement has started insisting on the excise certificates from sponge iron and other units in support of their ... More

SOCIAL WELFARE
Karnataka Govt mulls introducing milk in mid-day meal
Dakshina Kannada Cooperative Milk Producers' Union has come out with a Rs 50-lakh proposal to produce flavoured milk. Proposal to be placed before Cabinet soon More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
C-DAC to develop India Gateway project
The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), is working on an innovative India Development Gateway project that seeks to help rural areas and in social development. The gateway to be developed by C-DAC, Hyderabad is aimed at ... More

EVENTS
Expert calls for systems approach to tech choice
Appropriate technology for regional development is nothing but a `systems approach' to technology choice, according to Prof R.V.G. Menon, energy conservationist and rural technology evangelist. Delivering the keynote address at a seminar on ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
McLeod Russel's acquisitions to boost tea exports
The recent acquisitions of tea companies by the McLeod Russel India Ltd, now the world's largest tea producer, will boost exports, according to a spokesman for the company. "The future acquisitions being planned in Assam and Kenya too will help ... More

Bengal exporters seek `public utility service' status
For exemption from bandhs, strikes More