The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, February 09, 2008

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY
AP to plant pongamia in 2 lakh acres
In a major boost to bio-diesel plantation in Andhra Pradesh, the State Government has decided to enable pongamia plantation in two lakh acres this year.The decision has been taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara ... More

SOCIAL SECURITY
ESIC to issue smart cards with unique identification number
Kolkata, Feb. 8 Employees’ State Insurance Corporation will be issuing smart cards with a unique identification number to more than 10 million insured persons under the ESI scheme. The process will be initiated this year and completed ... More

BUDGET
Infrastructure loans: Banks want tax sops
Seek exemption from TDS More

ECONOMY
Costlier manufactured items force inflation rate to top 4%
Wholesale Price Index of all commodities up at 217.6 More

AP growth rate pegged at 10.37%
Hyderabad, Feb. 8 While the growth rate for Indian economy has been pegged at 8.7 per cent for the fiscal 2007-08, Andhra Pradesh is poised to grow at 10.37 per cent.“This is made possible due to huge public expenditure the State ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
More relief under way for rupee-hit exporters
Foreign Trade Policy coming up next month More

PSU
Nod for transfer of BWEL to Rlys after financial recast package
New Delhi, Jan. 8 The Government has approved the transfer of administrative control of Bharat Wagon and Engineering Company Ltd (BWEL), a sick public sector unit under the Ministry of Heavy Industries, to the Indian Railways after undertaking ... More

PETROLEUM
ONGC plans to offer 22 marginal fields for development
Unlocking small pool of discovered hydrocarbon reserves More

POWER
PM to lay stone for power plant in Maharashtra today
Ahmedabad, Feb 8 The Prime Minister, Mr Manmohan Singh, will lay the foundation stone for the 1,980-MW super-thermal power plant, developed by the Adani Group, at Tiroda in Gondia district of Maharashtra tomorrow. The Maharashtra Chief ... More

STEEL
Ministry calls steel producers’ meet on Feb 15
To discuss justification for hike in prices More

Bengal forms panel for steel projects
Kolkata, Feb. 8 The West Bengal Government has appointed a committee to review the feasibility of proposals for steel plant projects in the State. At the Indian Chamber of Commerce, the State Industry Secretary, Mr Sabyasachi Sen, ... More

SSI
IFC, Cairn open centre for small biz development in Rajasthan
New Delhi, Feb. 8 IFC, a member of the World Bank group, has reinforced its partnership with Cairn India with the opening of an enterprise centre to support community and local small businesses development initiatives, in and around Barmer ... More

Budget wish-list: FIEO demands package for rupee-hit SME sector
New Delhi, Feb. 8 In the run-up to the Union Budget 2008-09, the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) has rolled out a raft of export relief measures to stem the decelerating growth in the country’s exports and accord impetus ... More

Govt de-reserves 79 more items from SSI sector list
New Delhi, Feb. 8 The Government has de-reserved 79 more items from the list of items exclusively manufactured by the SSI sector. These cover electrical goods, such as domestic voltage stabilisers, exhaust fans, electric irons, storage water ... More

RADIO/TV
UTV upbeat on World Movie channel
New Delhi, Feb. 8 UTV is confident of finding an audience for Bosnian, Japanese and Argentinean movies amongst others to be telecast on its new World Movie channel, and is betting on winning over at least 30 per cent of the audiences of ... More

EDUCATION
IIITM-K PG course
More

FOODS & FOOD PROCESSING
Indonesian province seeks funds in agri processing sector
Mangalore, Feb. 8 There is good scope for investments in agriculture processing industries in Banda Aceh in Indonesia, according to the Vice-Governor of the province, Mr Muhammad Nazar. Addressing the members of the Kanara Chamber of ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
TN approves DLF bid for Tidel-II
Highest bidder at Rs 660 cr More

Millennium Spire plans to speed up pan India investment
To focus on Coimbatore, NCR regions More

One-stop building solution shops
With a view to helping consumers, one-stop building solution shops will be opened by the Aditya Birla Group at many places in Tamil Nadu, Mr Stanley Jacob, General Manager, Ultratech Cement, said. Speaking at an engineers and builders meet, Mr ... More

Ripple effect: Emaar issue drags realty stocks
Firm interest rates add pressure More

READYMADE GARMENTS
Clothing firms seek relief from Budget
Mumbai, Feb. 8 Import duty on garment machinery should be charged at a fixed of 5 per cent, said Mr Rahul Mehta, President, Clothing Manufacturers of India (CMAI), in a pre-Budget memorandum to the Union Finance Minister. “The ... More

NEWSPAPERS & PUBLISHING
Mumbai edition of expats magazine launched
Mumbai, Feb 8 Global Adjustments, a relocation services and cross-cultural training company, launched its Mumbai edition of the expatriate magazine At A Glance- Understanding India. The magazine was launched in ... More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
Jairam Ramesh for removing ban on FDI from Pakistan
New Delhi, Feb. 8 The Minister of State for Commerce, Mr Jairam Ramesh, said that close on the heels of removing Bangladesh from the FEMA (Foreign Exchange Management Act) negative list and permitting foreign direct investment from Bangladesh ... More

Kamal Nath defends retail FDI policy
Bangalore, Feb. 8 The Union Commerce Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, on Friday said that the government will continue to reduce customs duty but it will also ensure that every fiscal policy decision it takes stimulates economic growth.But he ... More

EVENTS
‘Communication skills vital for jobs’
Coimbatore, Feb. 8 There are plenty of job opportunities available now and the problem is that many people lack in communication skills despite being highly knowledgeable, according to Dr. S. Ramanathan, Professor and Director, School of ... More

For book lovers
More

City Quiz today
Coimbatore, Feb 8 The Coimbatore City final of the intercollegiate quiz competition for undergraduates - IQ 2008 - will be held on February 9 at President Hall here.Launched in 2006 by IMS, involved in management training and career ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
US wheat body sees imports at 30 lakh tonnes
Bangalore, Feb. 8 Though the Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Dr Akhilesh Prasad Singh, has ruled out import of wheat during 2008-09, a representative of the US wheat growers is of the view that shipments into the country could be ... More