The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, January 29, 2008

AUTOMOBILES
Hopes of rate cut drive up auto stocks
Kolkata, Jan. 28 A group of market participants expecting a cut in cash reserve ratio or in repo rate by the Reserve Bank of India tomorrow, picked up interest sensitive sector stocks. BSE Auto Index closed in the green along with the Bankex ... More

ECONOMY
RBI signals dip in growth; food prices may fuel inflation
Q3 review sees credit offtake slowdown, higher fund mobilisations More

‘Growing economy requires managers with global vision’
Chennai, Jan. 28 At a time when India along with China was leading the world in economic activity and GDP growth, there was a need to produce managers with a global vision, said Mr Ennarasu Karunesan, Director and CEO, Chennai Container ... More

Reforms have benefited Sikkim, says CM
Jump in State GDP, drop in poverty level More

FOREIGN TRADE
Australia keen to engage India in more trade: Minister
Mumbai, Jan. 28 The two countries have not been engaged closely in the past; yet, the two-way trade between India and Australia is currently valued at $ 14billion. Admittedly, India is Australia’s fastest growing export market in ... More

Jairam Ramesh visiting Maldives
New Delhi, Jan 28 The Minister of State for Commerce, Mr Jairam Ramesh, is undertaking a three-day visit to the Maldives from January 29 as part of India’s ongoing drive to expand trade and investment ties within the SAARC ... More

PETROLEUM
Crude oil output in December dips 1.5%
The country’s crude oil output in December fell 1.5 per cent. The natural gas output rose 4.1 per cent to 2.85 billion cubic metres (BCM) during the month under review. Oil companies including Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) ... More

Govt likely to issue Rs 9,080-cr oil bonds
State-owned oil marketing companies – Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation are likely to get bonds worth Rs 9,080 crore to partially compensate the under recovery suffered for selling ... More

Row likely over GAIL marketing rights
Panna-Mukta-Tapti gas More

PHARMACEUTICALS
Pharma raw material imports from China turn costly; domestic SMEs see gain
Hyderabad, Jan 28 Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the pharma sector can look forward to better future as many companies are likely to source raw materials from domestic market due to spiralling costs of imports from China. China ... More

POWER
Power forum launched
New Delhi, Jan. 28 Enertia Alliance for Sustainable Energy (EASE), a forum for promotion of sustainable energy and building an industry networking group for initiating actionable plans, was launched in the Capital recently. The first ... More

NTPC may spend more on overseas coal assets
Plan to double generating capacity More

STEEL
‘Higher input costs may hit steel cos margins’
Mumbai, Jan. 28 Global rating agency Fitch in its ‘Outlook for 2008’ has assigned a stable rating for the Indian steel industry sector.Fitch expects steel demand to grow at 8-9 per cent in 2008, driven by a strong domestic ... More

TAXATION
Budget 2008: Hopes and fears
With prices on the rise and our tax structure not adjusted for inflation, the middle-class and lower middle-class segments deserve a sizable tax relief in the forthcoming Budget. Also, industry is justified in demanding a reduction in corporate tax rates as this is needed to remain competitive in a globalised world, says T. C. A. RAMANUJAM. More

Vodafone plea admitted
Mumbai, Jan 28 The Bombay High Court on Monday admitted a writ petition by Vodafone International Holdings BV (VIHBV) challenging claims of the Indian Tax Authorities that Vodafone was in default of withholding tax obligations in India.A bench ... More

WATER
Hind Unilever’s second rainwater harvesting scheme
Mumbai, Jan 28 Greening Barrens is Hindustan Unilever Ltd’s new Corporate Social Responsibility programme at Mandka village in Vidarbha, inaugurated last week by Mr Poreddiwar, Collector.This is the second rainwater-harvesting ... More

Degremont signs deal with Mumbai civic body for water treatment
Mumbai, Jan 28 Water treatment company, Degrémont, a subsidiary of Suez Environment, has signed a contract with Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai for the design, construction and a four-year operation of one of the largest water ... More

CREDIT POLICY
FIEO hopes RBI will cut cost of credit
The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) has expressed the hope that the Reserve Bank of India would consider a reduction in the cost of credit in the short term, as was done by the US Federal Reserves which recently announced a ... More

EDUCATION
ISB ranked 20 in top 100 global B-schools list
Indian School of Business (ISB) has been ranked 20 in the top 100 global business schools by the Financial Times (FT), London. ISB was the first business school in India to make it to the ranking and the youngest ... More

CARS
Boosting presence
More

Toyota may make India export hub for its small car
Looking to scale up investments, capacity at Bangalore facility More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
High-level task force on affordable housing set up
Deepak Parekh to head 11-member panel More

LEATHER
Joint board for livestock, leather mooted
The time is ripe for setting up a joint industries board for livestock and leather industry development, according to Professor M.S. Swaminathan, MP and Chairman, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation.Addressing the inauguration of the ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
Traders to observe hunger strike tomorrow
Madurai, Jan. 28 Traders in the State will observe a day-long hunger strike in Chennai on January 30 to protest against the entry of multinational companies and domestic industrial conglomerates into retail business, and allowing foreign ... More

BIO-TECH & GENETICS
TN farmers take to Bt cotton in a big way
Perambalur, Jan. 28 N. Venkatachalam, a cotton farmer in Venpaavur village near Perambalur in Tamil Nadu, has not seen any change in the price that he has been getting for cotton in the last 10 years. “But I am making more money now than ... More

EVENTS
Kolkata Book Fair: HC disallows Park Circus venue
More

Rubber Board seminar
More

ECONOMIC OFFENCES
Billing a must, traders warned
Madurai, Jan. 28 Punitive action would follow, if the traders failed to bill all the goods sold, warned Mr S.N.M. Ubayathulla, Minister for Commercial Taxes, here on Sunday.Addressing the silver jubilee celebration of Madurai Hardware ... More