Airlines
Jet Air expansion on track, sees flat growth
JET Airways, the private airliner which has garnered about 41 per cent of the domestic marketshare, will further ramp up operations with the planned investment of $750-800 million on track.
Banking and Finance
HDFC opens new branch in Hyderabad
HOUSING Development Finance Corporation Ltd (HDFC) has opened its new branch in Hyderabad, taking its national network to 108 branches, reaching out to over 2,400 towns and cities across the country.
Corporate
Sherif Dyan venture with Agis Aweca
THE Chennai-based logistics provider, the Sherif Dyan group, has formed a joint venture company with the Austrian/German Agis Aweca group, to provide international logistics support from India.
L&T to open up; plans global presence
LARSEN & Toubro Ltd (L&T), the inward-looking and media-shy engineering and construction conglomerate, has decided to open up.
Economy
Fiscal crisis looming, says Sinha
ADMITTING that "a serious fiscal crisis" was looming, the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, today said that the Governments future economic agenda included wide-ranging reforms in the fiscal front besides the financial and agriculture sectors.
The polished diamonds of reforms
THE telecom sector and the equity markets came in for special mention by the Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, as outstanding jewels in Indias reforms process.
Food & Dairy Products
Grey areas `behind brown' dot labels
EVEN as companies incorporate the mandatory brown dot on products with non-vegetarian ingredients, grey areas such as the status of food supplements continue to remain unresolved by the Health Ministry.
Foreign Trade
Developing nations told to be ready for trade-offs
The Director-General Designate of the World Trade Organisation, Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi, has urged the developing countries to remain closely interested in the trade-offs that they are bound to make or receive during the post-Doha phase of multilateral
negotiations.
EU will co-operate closely with India on Doha agenda: Lamy
The EU Trade Commissioner, Mr Pascal Lamy, has said that the EU wants to work extremely closely with India on the Doha Development Agenda, which he described as a new sort of Round where traditional trade liberalisation must serve sustainable development
.
Information Technology
Sterling Infos ADR/GDR issue plan gets FIPB nod
THE Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has cleared Sterling Infotech Ltds proposal to raise $500 million (Rs 2,350 crore) through ADRs/GDRs comprising up to 68,407,180 equity shares representing 45.60 per cent of the total paid-up equity capital o
f the company.
Infrastructure
PM launches housing scheme for poor
THE Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on Sunday launched a Rs 2,000-crore housing project called Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana, stating that such schemes, in addition to helping the urban poor, were aimed at kick-starting the economy.On a whirlwind
tour of Hyderabad, the Prime Minister, who had earlier inaugurated the Indian School of Business (ISB), laid the foundation stone for the Financial District project, the Insurance Regulatory Development Authority (IRDA), a Rs 295-crore river Musi conser
vation project and the Rs 875-crore Hyderabad water supply project.Mr Vajpayee said that such housing and major road projects under way were aimed at fuelling the economy.``We need to speed up the economy. The overall financial situation and the economy
need to improve. We need to bring in more such schemes to activate the economy," he said."Several projects, including power projects, which have been pending for long due to indecisiveness, have to be speeded up. Delay in decision-making should be avoide
d.''While complimenting the Andhra Pradesh Government for several innovative approaches, Mr Vajpayee, ``There is no discrimination between one State and the other. Wherever we are witnessing swifter development, we are funding them based on a particular
State's request."Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana is aimed at providing housing for the urban poor where there is a "growing disparity" between the haves and the havenots.The scheme is expected to have an annual outlay of Rs 1,000 crore from the Centre and a
Rs 1,000-crore Hudco loan.Slum-dwellers in urban areas will be the target groups and the beneficiaries would be identified in consultation with municipal bodies, community development societies and neighbourhood groups.The Chief Minister, Mr N. Chandrab
abu Naidu, requested the Prime Minister to help the State Government in expediting the Rs 2,000-crore Hyderabad International Airport project.
Management
Resource management need of the hour: PM
THE Indian School of Business (ISB), established here within two years of laying of the foundation stone, has set a new benchmark for project implementation, according to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Miscellaneous
Navy week celebrations
An air-borne helicopter in a demonstration as part of Navy week celebrations-2001 in Mumbai on Sunday.
Shipping
Mumbai port revival plan being finalised
A BLUEPRINT for reviving the ailing Mumbai port with private sector equity participation is being finalised and the implementation will begin before the end of this fiscal, Mr Ved Praksh Goyal, Union Minister of Shipping, has said.
States
AP to benefit from mega road project
ANDHRA Pradesh would be greatly benefited by the Golden Quadrilateral mega road project, as more than a 1,000 km of the 13,000 km National Highway is to be improved under the project in the State.
AP Govt plans thrust to eSeva service
IN order to increase the use of eSeva IT-based citizen-friendly service centres, the Andhra Pradesh Government is planning to forge tie-ups with more banks, airlines, the Railways and other public interface organisations.
Naxals blast AP Paper Mill quarters
NAXALITES blasted four of the staff housing quarters of the Andhra Pradesh Paper Mill at Vedurunagar in the Addateegala mandal of East Godavari on Saturday night, according to police sources here.
Bid to check tree-felling at Periyar reserve project
THE Indian Oil Corporation has come forward to assist the Kerala forest departments efforts to check large scale felling of trees for fuel wood from the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) in the State by commissioning an LP Gas agency in the Pambavalley area.
AP Govt to present draft budget for public debate
DEVIATING from the established norms, the Andhra Pradesh Finance Ministry is gearing up to come up with a draft Budget which is proposed to be circulated among people and after eliciting their response, the Budget exercise will be finalised.
`TN Govt move will fuel inflation'
THE increase of power tariff, bus fare and prices of all commodities by the Tamil Nadu Government would affect the normal life, leading to inflation and is not conducive for the growth of the State, Mr S. Anburajan, President, Madurai District Tiny and S
mall-Scale Industries Association (MADISSIA), has said.
Taxation
Howzzat? ICC appeals for tax relief
THE International Cricket Council (ICC), which has been in the eye of a storm following a spat with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on the controversial decisions of the match referee, Mr Mike Denness, in South Africa, has put to test th
e benevolence of the Indian Government.
Telecommunications
MTNL, Prasar Bharati in talks for cable services venture
MAHANAGAR Telephone Nigam Ltd. (MTNL) proposes to float a joint venture company with Prasar Bharati to provide cable services as part of its diversification into entertainment and information.
Divergent views on VSNL reserves: Shourie
THE issue of taking out a portion of the huge cash reserves of about Rs 4,500 crore lying with VSNL before its privatisation is being discussed within the Government.
