The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, July 16, 2003

`New pension scheme has number of loopholes'
THE morning after it was launched by the Prime Minister, the Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana seems to have all the makings of a classic faux pas. According to a section of LIC agents, the policy has a number of loopholes and there are hardly any ... More

ECONOMY

Jaswant Singh sounds bullish on economy
THE Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, has sought to paint a rosy picture of the economy, which, he said, has fully emerged out of "a difficult year in the macroeconomic sphere brought about by a combination of adverse factors." A confident ... More

ENVIRONMENT

Clean Tirumala campaign
SRIVARI Seva Group, the service wing of Tirumala Tirupati Devastanam Information Centre, has tied up with Exnora, an NGO, and Parryware, a bathroom solution provider, for the "keep Tirumala Clean and Hygienic" campaign at Tirumala. In an effort ... More

Bengal to allocate over Rs 50 cr for solid waste management
THE West Bengal Government has decided to allocate Rs 50.32 crore for solid waste management (SWM) schemes in municipal towns and Rs 37 crore for controlling pollution in the Mahananda river under the second phase of the Ganga Action Plan ... More

Kerala may ban plastic bags

HOTELS

Hotel industry product show from Saturday
With room rents under pressure and tourist arrivals dropping, hoteliers are faced with a need to keep costs down. These concerns of the hoteliers are to be addressed during a four-day product show of the hospitality industry, Hotel & Restaurant ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE

Kochi Kinfra Park to acquire 200 acres for expansion
An eight-storey building having a total area of two lakh sq ft would be constructed soon, at an estimated cost of Rs 25 crore. More

PETROLEUM

Pant to discuss natural gas price issue with Ministers
AS the Group of Secretaries tasked with the work of determining the prices of natural gas for user industries such as fertiliser and power and petroleum could not agree on the price, the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Mr K.C. Pant, who is ... More

POWER

Higher hydel inflows may improve power situation
AFTER almost three consecutive years the power situation in Karnataka is likely to improve following higher inflows in to the hydel reservoirs. Inflows into the Sharavathy valley reservoir, the mainstay of the State's hydel power generation, ... More

STEEL

Global demand fuels steel stocks
INCREASING global prices and demand have had a catalytic effect on steel sector stocks on domestic bourses with some shares rising by as much as 115 per cent over the last one month alone. The rally has not been restricted to frontliners such ... More

TAXATION

New tax measures to reduce litigation — Jaswant moots tribunal, ombudsman
THE Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, on Tuesday announced a slew of tax reform measures, aimed at reducing litigation and enabling speedy disposal of pending cases. The setting up of a national tax tribunal (NTT), introduction of 50 ... More

AP commercial tax revenue up 7 pc
THE Andhra Pradesh Commercial Taxes Department has recorded a 7.1 per cent growth in revenue collection in the first quarter of the financial year 2003-2004, in spite of the fact that the agriculture production and collection from that sector has ... More

TEXTILES

Textile mills find going tough in first quarter
IF the March-ended 2003 financial year has been a good patch for most textile mills when they could post some decent percentage of profit margins in their operations, the first quarter of 2003-04 will see a complete reverse in fortune, according ... More

RADIO/TV

Cable operators reject Rs 72 `honeymoon' package
THE honeymoon may well be over before it starts. The controversy surrounding the implementation of the Conditional Access System (CAS) today only deepened with cable operators stating that they would not offer all the channels at Rs 72 (plus ... More

Indian FTA broadcasters for speedy CAS rollout
THE Indian owned free-to-air (FTA) broadcasters — Aaj Tak, Eenadu, Sahara, Sun TV and SAB TV — have petitioned the Government to reconsider the postponement of the Conditional Access System (CAS) in favour of the viewers and the cable ... More

Govt seeks more details from Star
THE Government has asked Star India to clarify whether Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla has divested his 25 per cent stake in Media Content and Communication Services (MCCS), the company that has sought uplinking permission. It has also sought details ... More

CARS

Freebies drive car sales up in June
DRIVEN by rising sales of manufacturers such as Maruti, Hyundai and Tata Engineering, domestic car sales jumped by 23 per cent in June 2003. Additionally, the spate of discount schemes and freebies on offer currently on various models helped ... More

GEMS & JEWELLERY

Gems, jewellery exports likely to touch $16 b
EXPORTS of gems and jewellery from India is expected to touch $16 bn by 2010. In 2002-03, exports of gems and jewellery from India stood at $ 9.1 billion, according to Mr Pankaj Parekh, Convenor of Eastern Gold Jewellery Council and Convenor of ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

AIMO moots `mother industries' concept
A COUPLE of `mother industries', increased consumption, revival of demand and better, removal of inspector raj, strengthening infrastructure and the Japanese mantra of MITI (Ministry of International Trade and Industry). This mix, according to ... More

BIO-TECH & GENETICS

`IPOs will tell if biotech is attractive'
THE appetite in the capital market for public issues of biotech companies may hold the key to the speed with which a commercial focus is injected into the industry in India. Different arms of the Union Government fund a significant extent of ... More

CINEMA

AP to enforce single window clearance for film industry
ADDRESSING the long-pending demand of the Telugu film industry, the State Government has decided to strictly enforce the single window system of granting permissions for film shoots in the State, besides bringing in video parlours into the ... More

DISINVESTMENT

Due diligence for HPCL next month
THE Government has decided that the suitors for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) can commence due diligence of the public sector oil major early next month. According to a decision taken by the Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG), ... More

Sterlite on Balco: To be or not to be
STERLITE Industries Ltd, which owns a 51 per cent equity stake in aluminium maker, Balco Ltd, is sending out conflicting signals on the Government's decision to sell its residual equity in the company. While Sterlite has informally told the ... More

INTERVIEW

APIDC-Venture Capital bullish on fund raising
CLOSE on the heels of successfully roping in General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) to invest Rs 5 crore into the biotechnology venture fund last week, APIDC Venture Capital Ltd (APIDC-VCL), the joint venture between the Ventureast Group ... More

EVENTS

Hyderabad engagement

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Entrepreneurship report ranks India at No. 2
INDIA may be the second most entrepreneurial country — after Thailand — with a score of 17.9 per cent from among 37 surveyed countries, but it throws up some interesting paradoxes and differences, according to the Global ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

Coir exports get `eco-friendly lift'
WITH the global awareness rising for eco-friendly products, Indian coir products have begun to enjoy a good market share abroad. Growing demand for these products, especially coir mats, is sustaining the exports of the products. Indian coir ... More

TOURISM

Nepal Tourism in talks with Kerala Govt for brand identity
AFTER a slump in tourist arrivals and revenue from tourism last year, the Nepal Tourism Board is in talks with the Kerala Government in a bid to build a brand identity in the tourism segment, like what Kerala has done. Here in Kochi to launch ... More

PEOPLE

WGC appoints MD for Indian sub-continent
WORLD Gold Council (WGC) has announced the appointment of Mr Sanjeev Agarwal as Managing Director of the Indian sub-continent. Mr. Agarwal will be responsible for developing the overall strategy and steering the market towards achieving WGC's ... More

Comments & Letters to the Editor to: bleditor@thehindu.co.in
Subscribe to: Business Line