The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, January 18, 2007

Frost nips arrivals at Coonoor tea auctions
With frost affecting the harvest and supply of green leaves for processing at factories, arrivals of black tea for auctions at the Coonoor Tea Trade Association (CTTA) have slumped this week. For the third auction of 2007 scheduled for Thursday ... More

STORAGE
Machine tools yet to catch outsourcing fever
Trickle has started with low volume precision components More

AUTOMOBILES
Kalam sees scope for auto sector growth
The automobile industry in India accounts for a business volume of $45 billion and has the potential to grow much faster both through Indian as well as international manufacturers who have established huge facilities in the country. "We have ... More

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES
Medha Patkar's right shall not be infringed: HC
Mr Justice Dipankar Datta of the Calcutta High Court today passed an order directing the West Bengal Government that Medha Patkar's right shall not be infringed by the State authority except where the situation is contrary to the ... More

ECONOMY
HP annual Plan fixed at Rs 2,100 cr
Social sector given top priority More

Centre keen to reform agriculture: Dasmunsi
The Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting and Parliamentary Affairs, Mr Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, has hinted that the Centre may soon take more steps to reform agriculture so that India's economic growth goes beyond sectors such as ... More

ACCOUNTANCY
ICWAI meet from today
The 48th National Cost Convention of the Institute of Cost & Works Accountants of India (ICWAI) will be held in Hyderabad on January 18-20. Dr C. Rangarajan, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, would inaugurate the meet ... More

ENGINEERING
TN invites German capital in engg sector
TN has highlighted opportunities in developing SEZ and investment scope in them. More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS
`New trade classification codes will hit industry'
Small EPCs unhappy; Customs and Excise Board told to have relook More

FOREIGN TRADE
UK to fully fund Indo-British Partnership Network: Brown
Looking to double exports to India by 2010 More

`Liberalisation good for Australia'
"Economic modelling has confirmed that unilateral trade liberalisation was good for Australia. During the 1990s, the country went into a massive privatisation," said Prof R.F.I. Smith, Senior Research Fellow in Management of ... More

Imports from Russia at $2.02 b
Imports from Russia into India for 2005-06 stood at $ 2.02 billion compared to $0.52 billion in 1994-95, according to the Confederation of Indian Industry. In 2006, the two nations jointly decided to achieve the target of $10 ... More

Partners in trade
BOOSTING TIES: Mr Kamal Nath, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, with Mr Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer, UK, at the `The Partnership Summit' organised by CII in Bangalore on ... More

Chile woos IT companies
`Stable and fast-growing country' More

INFRASTRUCTURE
JB Chem to set up SEZ in Gujarat
JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd plans to invest Rs 115 crore in a pharmaceutical sector-specific special economic zone. It signed a memorandum of understanding with the Government of Gujarat, for the development and construction of the ... More

SEZs: Board of Approvals meet postponed
With the formulating of a new rehabilitation policy for displaced farmers under way, the Government has decided to put on hold fresh approvals for special economic zones (SEZs). The meeting of Board of Approvals for SEZs under the Commerce ... More

PETROLEUM
Indian crude basket at $50.60
The Indian crude basket on Tuesday went down by 82 cents to $50.60 a barrel from $51.42 a day earlier. This was, however, higher than the lowest touched on January 12 when it stood at $50.47. The Indian basket comprises Oman-Dubai sour grade ... More

Era of cheap oil over: Venezuela company official
The era of cheap oil is over and prices will not go back to $30-40 a barrel again, according to Mr Luis F. Vierma, Vice-President (E&P) of Petroleos De Venezuela SA (PDVSA), Venezuela's national oil company. "Oil prices will stay where they are . More

Shift to transparent oil pricing system, says Chavan
`Regulator must fix oil prices' More

POWER
M.P. signs MoUs with 5 power cos
The Madhya Pradesh Government has signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with five companies for setting up thermal power projects in the State with investments to the tune of Rs 14,500 crore. The companies include Kedia Power Ltd, Bhopal; ... More

TAXATION
Concern over fringe benefit tax impact on small business
The Tamilnadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has expressed serious concern over the impact of the 30 per cent Fringe Benefit Tax levied on small businesses and the consequent jump in the cost of doing business. In a memorandum submitted to ... More

`Exempt gum arabic from VAT'
The Sattur Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the Chief Minister, Mr M. Karunanidhi, to grant full exemption for gum arabic from the levy of value added tax (VAT). In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, the ... More

SSI
Bank of Baroda SME loan factories
Bank of Baroda has launched three `SME loan factories' in Mumbai for "streamlined processing and timely sanctioning of SME loan proposals". "The loan factory comprises a centralised processing cell called `Credit Hub' for speedy ... More

TRAVEL & PLACES
`Easy way' to get a US green card
Student visa norms may also be relaxed More

RADIO/TV
DTH makes merry
... by wooing customers with fancy offers. More

Govt bans AXN till March 15
The Government has decided to ban the AXN channel till March 15 for airing what it describes as "indecent content" in its programme such as `World's Sexiest Advertisements'. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry believes that ... More

EDUCATION
Workshop on `Creative Science'
To encourage school children to explore and discover science, Discovery Science Exploratorium and Ocimum Biosolutions have partnered to bring a two-day workshop on "Creative Science Learning" to the teachers of the Hyderabad. ... More

Glasgow varsity ties up with Globsyn biz school
The University of Glasgow is in talks with different Indian business schools to forge partnerships for mutual benefit. The university, which is based in the West of Scotland, on Wednesday announced a partnership with Globsyn Business School of ... More

Textile institute convocation
The second convocation of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Textile Management (SVPITM) here, the autonomous institute under the Union Ministry of Textiles, will be held on Thursday. The Textiles Secretary, Mr A.K. Singh, will preside ... More

TEXTILE MACHINERY
German textile fair in Sept
New range of machinery to be on show More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
Citigroup may pump in up to $1 b in 2-3 years
Citigroup Investments India, which has invested about $500 million in some 25 portfolio companies in the country, expects to pump in another $1billion over the next two-three years. These investments are not sector specific and would cover ... More

NDTV plans to pump in $130-160 m FDI thru group co
UK arm to raise funds in LSE listing More

SOCIAL WELFARE
TN orders verification of list of urban BPL families
A detailed survey of BPL families living in urban local bodies was conducted in 2003 More

EVENTS
Media meet in Coimbatore
Kural, "the informed voice of the citizens of Coimbatore'', is organising a meeting to debate on the issues concerning the media on January 19. Mr B.K. Krishnaraj Vanavarayar, Chairman, Kural, said since Independence, the ... More

`Creating jobs remains main concern'
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) summit was a time for sharing happy news and numbers. There is a high probability that the Government will reduce the peak Customs duty from 12.5 per cent and phase out the prevailing four per cent ... More

Infrastructure construction fair at Hyderabad
The SME Expo-Infrastructure Construction 2007, sponsored by ICICI Bank, will bring together major players in the construction sector and machinery manufacturers in a three-day exhibition beginning here on Thursday. JCB, Terex ... More

New entrant
IN R-DAY ORBIT: Indra-II Radar which will be displayed during the Republic Day Parade, at a press preview in the Capital on Wednesday.

Trade fair venue shifted to Salt Lake
`Not all participants accommodated due to paucity of space' More

INCOME TAX
5,000 set to become tax return preparers
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) announced on Wednesday that 5,000 candidates have cleared an examination that would pave the way for them to be licensed as tax return preparers. These candidates will undergo short training at 100 ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Low global prices lead to rise in ginger imports
Pepper, cassia shipments into the country also up More

BL Club talk today
As part of Business Line Club activities, Mr G. Giridhar Prabhu, Proprietor of Achal Industries, Mangalore, will address MBA students of Mangalore University on January 18. Mr Prabhu, a cashew manufacturer and exporter, ... More

TOURISM
New tourism centre in Noida
A new centre of the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, is coming up at Noida. An official statement issued here said that five acres of land ... More

BOOKS
Kochi International Book Fair
As many as 45 publishing companies from India and abroad are participating in the second International Book Fair And Cultural Fest to be held here at Marine Drive from February 2. The Chief Minister, Mr V.S. Achuthananthan, will ... More