Airlines
IA to dry lease 8 aircraft
INDIAN Airlines (IA) will take eight aircraft _ four Airbus A-320 and four Boeing 737-300/400 _ on dry lease shortly to augment its fleet capacity.
AAI workshop on traffic forecasting
AIRPORTS Authority of India (AAI) is organising a five-day workshop from March 21 on `Traffic forecasting and economic planning' in collaboration with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Corporate
Paper price hike hits cone, tube makers
THE rationalisation of the excise duty on paper in the recent Budget has added to the woes of the paper cone and tube manufacturers, who have been hit hard due to the steep increase in the paper prices by the mill sector.
Foreign Trade
Textiles, chemicals power exports
THE 13 per cent growth in the country's exports during the first eight months of the current fiscal was led by a group of four big ticket items comprising textiles, engineering items, gems and jewellery and chemicals and related products which together c
onstitute 68 per cent of India's aggregate exports.
CII office in Dhaka soon
IN an effort to boost trade ties between India and Bangladesh, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is to open an office in Dhaka shortly.
Information Technology
IT Ministry skirts H-1B visa issue
DESPITE strong representations from the software industry, the Ministry of Information Technology (MIT) has chosen to remain non-committal on raising the issue of increasing the quota of H-1B visa for Indians, with the visiting US delegation led by the P
resident, Mr. Bill Clinton.
Anti-piracy raids in Hyderabad
WITH assistance from the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) and the Business Software Alliance (BSA), the Hyderabad police have seized pirated software worth Rs. 77 lakhs from seven locations through raids in the twin cities
. In all, 13 people, including some senior-level employees of companies, have been arrested by the police.
Infrastructure
Electric traction sets import -- Rlys re-examining GE bid
THE Indian Railways is re-examining the Rs. 150-crore tender for import of 50 electric traction sets for its diesel locos from General Electric, US, following the recommendations of a tender committee set up for the purpose.
Insurance
Norms for banks entry into insurance may be relaxed
THE Reserve Bank of India is likely to further relax its new set of guidelines for entry of banks and financial institutions into the insurance sector. The guidelines were issued on Thursday.
Miscellaneous
PM to push social security measures
THE Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is set to take up with the visiting US President, Mr. Bill Clinton, the issue of granting recognition to Indian social security measures (SSMs) and to treat them at par with the SSMs prevailing in the US.
`Vibrant' Panchayati Raj stressed
A `VIBRANT' Panchayati Raj system, coupled with a strong linkage between Panchayati Raj institutions (PRIs) and community-based organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and self-help groups, is the ``need of the hour''. This will be the ideal
solution to expedite various rural development programmes in the country.
`Environmental education must'
ENVIRONMENTAL education in schools has to teach the children the interconnected nature of cause and effect, according to the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ms. Maneka Gandhi.
Policy
`Subsidies to become WTO-compatiable'
THE Government is reviewing the subsidies in place and taking all measures to reorient them to make them World Trade Organisation (WTO)-compatible in all respects. The present uncertainty about the compatibility of some of the export promotion schemes is
likely to be sorted out soon.
Politics
Clinton arrives on historic visit
THE US President, Mr. Bill Clinton, arrived to a red-carpet welcome in New Delhi late on Sunday evening, beginning his five-day visit to South Asia and marking a new chapter in the relationship between the world's two largest democracies.
Power
Power requirement to replace installed capacity -- Change in bidding norm for Pipavav project
WITH a view to inducing greater competition, the Government is planning to obtain bids for the 2,000-MW Pipavav `mega' project on the basis of power requirement rather than installed capacity, as has been the convention so far.
States
Plan to seek IBRD, Unicef aid for Assam tea schemes
ADDRESSING the recently-concluded silver jubilee session of the Tea Association of India (TAI), Assam Branch at Tezpur, Mr. Joseph Toppo, the Minister of State for Labour, said that health and sanitation, and drinking water have been the twin problems of
the workers of the Assam tea gardens which needed attention.
Fascel plans to offer WAP system in Gujarat
FASCEL Ltd, the leading cellular phone service provider in Gujarat under the brand of CelForce, is mulling the launch of Internet-enabled wireless application protocol (WAP) system in this region. Though Nokia Telecommunications, its network provider, is
ready with the system, Fascel is likely to time it in such a manner that the WAP system launch coincides with its plans to get into rural telephony by July-August this year.
IT Kids going East
THE Chennai-based IT Kids (P) Ltd, which offers fun-filled IT education to children in the 4-14 age group, is seeking a major presence in the eastern region. To begin with, the company is slated to shortly finalise the appointment of ``Master Franchisees
'' for Calcutta.
Company mooted for tannery waste disposal
THE Union Minister for Environment and Forests, Mr. T.R. Baalu, has asked the leather tanneries of Vellore district to start a company specially for the purpose of evacuating the treated effluents to the sea through a pipeline laid along the Palar River
bed.
RBI study urges States to contain debt -- `Revenue gap still cause for concern'
IN a recent study on State finances, the RBI has pointed out that the overall Budgetary position of the 26 State Governments for the current fiscal clearly reveals structural weaknesses which are yet to be addressed properly.
Telecommunications
Sodhi still in the race to head telecom tribunal
MR. JUSTICE S.S. Sodhi, who was Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) prior to its reconstitution, is still in the race for the post of Chairman, Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal. However, ``higher perks'' sought
by him have come as a stumbling block to his appointment, according to a senior Minister in the Union Cabinet.
Textiles
NIFT gets permanent campus -- Centre keen on NTC revival: Rana
THE Union Government is keen on revival of the National Textile Corporation (NTC) mills. A draft revival plan has been put up to the Union Cabinet for approval, according to Mr. Kashiram Rana, Union Textiles Minister, who inaugurated the permanent campus
of the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) here on Sunday.
Textiles export may touch $14 b
TEXTILES export in 1999-2000 is likely to show an increase of over four per cent over 1998-99 to touch $14 billions, according to the Union Textiles Minister, Mr. Kashiram Rana. In 1998-99, textiles export recorded a growth of 1.5 per cent over 1997-98.
