Banking and Finance
HSBC upbeat on India; to employ 1,500 more
THERE is a silver lining to every cloud. Last week, two foreign broking firms — BNP Paribas and WI Carr — announced the closure of their Indian arms, leaving around 50 jobless. But now there could be new opportunities for them and many others
in Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), which is expanding its operations in India.
US watching flow of money more carefully
AFTER the September 11 attacks, US regulators appear to have increased their surveillance of the flow of money in the US financial system, especially from abroad. At the receiving end are foreign banks operating in that country; State Bank of India (SBI)
for one has already had a taste of it.
Breweries
Tasting wine the French way
FRUITY...Dry...Lingering...Short...By themselves, these words hardly evoke any emotion. But when uttered by a Frenchman with all passion, they refer to one thing: Wine. French wine at that.
Cement
Cement sector seeks hike in customs duty
RETENTION of specific excise duty on cement and a hike in basic customs duty (BCD) from 25 per cent to 35 per cent tops the cement industry's budget wish list for the coming fiscal.
Corporate
Insurance PSUs turn backs on rights issues
ALL the four public sector general insurance companies have decided to stay away from investments in rights issues - debt and equity - of large corporates.
Has Tata Fin fired auditors?
HAS Tata Finance Ltd (TFL) terminated the services of its auditors, internal and statutory?
Snowcem buyback at Rs 75 per share
PAINT company, Snowcem India Ltd today announced a buyback of shares at Rs 75 per share.
Chinese co, MML mull joint venture
A CHINESE delegation has proposed to set up a joint venture unit with Mysore Minerals Ltd (MML) to process and market MML's rough granite blocks in that country.
Economy
Sinha pins hopes on last quarter reversal
THE Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, has raised hopes of a reversal of the slowdown in the economy in the last quarter of this fiscal and the ensuing quarters on the back of a better agricultural growth.
CBI submits report on Mascarenhas to Aviation Ministry
THE Central Bureau of Investigation today submitted its report to the Ministry of Civil Aviation against the former Air India (AI) Managing Director, Mr Michael Mascarenhas, on charges of corruption and irregularities.
`New economic regime affecting farmers'
THE new economic regime dominated by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has already affected traditional farmers and it is now the turn of the fishermen of the country to be hit, according to Fr. Thomas Kocherry of the National Fishworkers' Forum.
Environment
NRCP funds for tannery sewage project in TN
THE Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has agreed to provide the National River Conservation Programme (NRCP) funds for a project for mixing treated tannery effluents with treated domestic sewage at Ambur in Vellore district in Tamil Nadu.
Tackling green issues in mining projects
SPEEDING up of the process of clearance for mining projects from the environmental angle has been one of the long-standing demands of industry. In recent times, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) has initiated measures, which it thinks
will go a long way in cutting down delays inherent so long in the clearance process.
Foreign Trade
Thailand proposes forum for Asian co-operation
THE Prime Minister of Thailand, Mr Thaksin Shinawatra, has said his country was proposing to set up a forum called Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) for the countries in the region to informally exchange views and coordinate on global issues.
Health
Survey finds Indians lax in condom use
WHILE seven out of 10 Indians are concerned about contracting HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases (STD), not many are taking protective measures, according to the 2001 Durex Global Survey commissioned by SSL International Plc (SSL), a leading
multinational condom manufacturer.
Infrastructure
Realtors seek liberal foreign equity policy
INFLUENTIAL sections in the real estate sector are crying out for liberal policies on foreign equity investments, including those related to base capital exposure to projects.
Insurance
Still in school? Time to plan your pension
AT what stage of your life should you start thinking or be nudged into thinking about retirement planning and pension?
Management
ICFAI B-school ranked AP's best
THE Business School of the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India (ICFAI) had been ranked among the top B Schools in the country and the Best B-school in Andhra Pradesh in a survey jointly conducted by the All India Management Association (AI
MA) and Business India.
Miscellaneous
Thailand bid to woo Indian film industry
THAILAND has decided to woo the Indian film industry for film shoots with the argument that it is far cheaper than many other countries, according to Mr Somsak Thepsuthan, Minister of Tourism, who was in town with the Thai Prime Minister, Mr Thaksin Shin
awatra, on Tuesday.
Mutual Funds
Privilege notice on UTI issue
THE UTI affair refuses to die down going by the renewed attempt of the Congress to nail the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, in the form of notice for breach of privilege.
Petroleum
Operatorship of Tapti, Panna-Mukta fields -- ONGC spurns BG's compensation offer
THE Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has turned down BG India's (BGI) offer of close to $15 million as compensation for obtaining operatorship of the Tapti and Panna-Mukta discovered oil and gas fields, from where Enron recently exited.
Power
IBRD fiat to Rajasthan on power reforms
THE World Bank has told the Rajasthan Government to provide a higher level of support to the reform programme in the State.
States
Bengal film artistes form co-operative
FROM the arc lights they are now doing the rounds of the corridors of power, pooling their resources for a common course. Among them are leading ladies of directors such as Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen, besides classical vocalists and dancers.
Separate IT Ministry in AP
AFTER two years of assuming office, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, reshuffled his Cabinet - dropped eight and inducted 11 ministers - and created a separate information technology and IT-enabled services Ministry in the State
.
Stocks
First Global promoters to sue Govt for Rs 500 cr
MR Shankar Sharma and Ms Devina Mehra of the scam-tainted stock-broking firm, First Global Stock Broking, are planning to file a suit against the Government claiming punitive damages to the tune of Rs 400-500 crore.
Telecommunications
Govt may withdraw cash from VSNL
THE Government will withdraw a portion of its cash reserves from VSNL for the second time this year prior to its disinvestment if a need arose as it reckons that the company's huge reserves of over Rs 4,000 crore may not get fully reflected in the price
bids of suitors.
Travel & Places
Australia beckons Indians
THE Australian Tourist Commission (ATC) has identified New Delhi and Mumbai as primary targets and Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata as secondary targets of focus to attract more Indian tourists to Australia.
