The Hindu Business Line : Friday, April 11, 2003

Industrial production grows 6.4 pc in Feb
INDUSTRY appears to be on a sustained revival path, with the official Index of Industrial Production (IIP) growing by 6.4 per cent in February as against 2.4 per cent during the same month last year. The 6.4 per cent year-on-year overall growth ... More

AP CM's claims on development questioned
THE CPI (M) has accused the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, of misleading the people with his "tall claims on the development of the State on all fronts'' during his tour of the north-coastal districts this week and said ... More

`Regional disparity dangerous for national unity'
THE Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr K.C. Pant, has said that economic and social development has not been uniform in various parts of the country and, as a result, the regional imbalances have been growing practically in all ... More

FOREIGN TRADE

Industry ready to step into Iraq
"UN is executing contracts for goods worth $10.1 billion sourced from almost 100 countries. It is imperative that India presents its case to the officials concerned in the UN so that the stake of Indian business in this programme is maximised," Dr Mu thiah said. More

HEALTH

Bill makes smoking a pipe-dream
While the amended Bill does not allow you to smoke in an amusement centre, restaurants, railway waiting rooms, public offices or any place visited by "general public", it allows you to grab a puff "in an open space''. Also, it provides for the design ation of "smoking areas" in airports, hotels with 30 rooms and restaurants with 30 seats. More

SCI asks crew to take SARS precautions
SHIPPING Corporation of India (SCI) has advised masters on its vessels to take proper precautions by the crew sailing into any of the areas susceptible to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The masters have also been told not to grant ... More

Bid to tackle SARS threat in Karnataka

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

`Mangalore yet to reach out to IT firms'
What is little known is the fact that the district boasts of 100 per cent literacy, a cosmopolitan and multi-religious atmosphere. Every year, 2,400 engineers graduate from this region. More

INFRASTRUCTURE

Vigilance panels mooted for urban growth projects
THE Union Urban Affairs Minister, Mr Ananth Kumar, has proposed setting up vigilance and monitoring committees for all urban development schemes to ensure their smooth functioning. Such committees would be chaired by Members of Parliament, Mr ... More

Wholesale market to be shifted to Byatarayanapura

POWER

Only open access can power Electricity Bill
WHEN the Electricity Bill is ultimately enacted, the average domestic consumer is neither going to witness a significant improvement in the quality of power supply nor a reduction in the brown outs in the short run. A first step towards ... More

Power Bill set to be enacted on April 21
THE Electricity Bill 2001, which seeks to improve the service and quality of power supply to consumers in the country, is set to be enacted on April 21, when it is scheduled to be taken up by the Rajya Sabha. "We have sought amendments aimed at ... More

TEXTILES

`Textile sector must focus on product innovations'
PRODUCT innovations and greater amount of retailers' influence on product delivery will sway the fortunes of the textile businesses in future, according to Dr Keith Silkstone, President of the Textile Institute International's UK region. The ... More

WATER

Kerala pins hopes on Cauvery tribunal
What Kerala can hope to do is to conserve its resources for its own use. The State is eagerly looking forward to the final settlement of the Cauvery dispute in this respect. More

BREWERIES

Who will bell the `surrogate' cat?
THE definition of `surrogate' promotions continues to fox both alcoholic beverage companies and administrators alike, even as the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) proposes pre-emptive censure measures. Flummoxed by the IBF's recent letters ... More

RADIO/TV

News channels decide on code
NEWS channels have finally woken up to the fact that sensitive handling of events is necessary and have decided to come up with a set of guidelines to be followed while depicting terrorist attacks, accidents or war. Senior officials at news ... More

NDTV to take a `serious' view of news
IT'S not going to be dumb or entertaining. "It's going to be serious news." That's how Dr Prannoy Roy, President, New Delhi Television (NDTV), says the new Hindi and English news channels would be. In preparation for the launch, NDTV appointed ... More

Regional channels are the losers during World Cup: TAM Media
WE'VE counted the winners, let's take stock of the losers; while the ICC World Cup brought gains to SET-Max and Doordarshan in the form of viewership and ad revenues, the big losers on both counts were the regional channels. Regional channels ... More

EDUCATION

IT cos losing charm in campus recruitment
THE information technology (IT) firms appear to be slowly losing charm as employers while there seems to be an increased preference for old economy companies among fresh graduates in campus recruitment. This was evident from the fact that ... More

Seminar on higher education

FOODS & FOOD PROCESSING

Pickled bananas turn hot business
BANANA growers, who were anxious to dispose of immature bunches or those falling off early due to wind, need worry no longer. There could be a huge demand for these in the days to come. Thanks to the training imparted by the National Research ... More

GEMS & JEWELLERY

Gem, jewellery exports up 21 pc
GEM and jewellery exports for the year ended March 31, 2003 were higher by 20.88 per cent at $9.10 billion as compared to the previous year's $7.53 billion, surpassing its target of $8.7 billion. In rupee terms, exports increased by 22.9 per cent ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

TN land value norms to be made transparent
THE Tamil Nadu Government will rationalise the norms for fixing guideline value of land and building valuation, the Revenue Minister, Mr O. Panneerselvam, told the Assembly on Thursday. Moving the demand for grants for the departments under his ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

CII seeks to correct `wrong perceptions' about the East
AS part of its attempt to improve the eastern region's image among investors and society at large, the Confederation of Indian Industry has proposed to showcase what it calls are success stories rooted in the east. Aware of the "perception ... More

CII plans India Centre in Singapore
THE Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is to partner International Enterprise, Singapore, to set up an "India Centre" in Singapore by October this year. "The centre will enable medium scale Indian enterprises to use Singapore as a base for ... More

Tuticorin Chamber office-bearers

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Insat capacity to rise to 96 transponders
INSAT-3A, ISRO's newest multipurpose satellite, launched on Thursday, will augment the space agency's capacity to 96 transponders when it gets operational in a month. The satellite with a lifespan of 12 years is targeted at public and private ... More

PRINTING

TN Govt presses to be modernised
THE Tamil Nadu Government will constitute a committee to decide on outsourcing a part of its printing works. It will also modernise the printing presses under the Stationery and Printing Department, the Revenue Minister, Mr O. Panneerselvam, said ... More

IPR

Industry should be strong in patenting: PM
THE Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on Thursday favoured patenting to face competition and expressed disappointment over very few Indian firms filing patents. "I am rather disappointed to see that very few Indian firms file patents. ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Kerala: Rice sanctioned under SGRY scheme
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: All fourteen districts in the State have been sanctioned 42,000 tonnes of rice as per the food-for-work scheme under Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojna (SGRY) programme. The allocations are as under: Alappuzha ... More

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Biz problem? Call IIM Bangalore
ARE you an entrepreneur stumped with a business problem and looking for expert advice from industry leaders? Just check with the NS Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore. Big names in ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

Vegoil importers seek quick health certification
VEXED over inordinate delays in mandatory sampling and clearance of imported vegetable oils by Port Health Organisation (PHO) and consequent impact on the market, importers have demanded a simplified time-bound clearance procedure especially for ... More

Oilmeal exports hit new low in 2002-03
Soyabean extraction, which usually constitutes almost 50 per cent of the aggregate oilmeal shipment from the country, has been the worst hit with exports falling 47 per cent to a low of 13.3 lalh tonnes. More

TOURISM

Seychelles offers tourism tips and avenues
`Ayurveda and health tourism is something Kerala can sell in the archipelago not just to visiting tourists, but to the local people as well. This, along with fishing tourism, provides two plausible areas of cooperation.' More

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