The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, April 04, 2002

ASCI to evaluate ILO project on child labour
THE International Labour Organisation (ILO) through its Andhra Pradesh unit has signed an agreement with the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) to develop a model participatory, monitoring and evaluation system for child labour projects ... More

Tax sops draw industry to East Godavari dist
A NUMBER of industrial units — medium as well as small ones — were set up during the financial year which ended on March 31, in East Godavari district. Industrialists were eager to avail themselves of tax incentives and other benefits ... More

Jharkhand annual plan finalised
THE annual plan for Jharkhand for 2002-03 has been fixed at Rs 2,652 crore, over and above a provision of Rs 121 crore being made available to the State under the Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana programme, taking the effective Plan size to Rs ... More

AP: Tendering process reform
HYDERABAD: The State Government has convened a meeting of various departments to thrash out reforms in tendering process aimed at bringing down costs and cutting down implementation time. The State has initiated reforms in the ... More

Karnataka: Survey on bonded labour

ENVIRONMENT

Corporates' role in conservation highlighted
WITH environmentalists predicting that the next war would be fought over water — conservation of natural resources appears to be the key to good "corporate social responsibility'', according to winners of the Teri Corporate Awards for ... More

I-T incentive for softwood plantation
THE Government has amended Rule 11 K of the Income-Tax Rules, 1962 so as to include within the eligible projects or schemes, plantation of softwood in degraded non-forest land and any programme of conservation of natural resources or of ... More

Kerala: HC order on Merchem plant closure

FOREIGN TRADE

Palm oil, pharma among MoUs with Indonesia
NINE memorandums of understanding (MoUs) were signed on Wednesday between the Indian and Indonesian companies in the field of railways, palm oil, pharmaceuticals, communication technology, information technology, hospitality, afforestation as ... More

HEALTH

Nod for AIDS control policy
THE Union Cabinet has approved a National Policy for Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDs and a National Blood Policy. The National Policy for Prevention and Control of HIV/AIDS aims, among other things, at reaffirming the Government's ... More

PETROLEUM

`PSU oil marketing cos to receive subsidy payment'
THE Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Mr Ram Naik, on Wednesday said the Government would approve the payment of subsidy to public sector oil marketing companies after their accounts have been certified by the Public Accounts Committee. The ... More

Panna-Mukta in cess controversy
THE Panna-Mukta oil exploration fields are in the limelight again. This time on account of non-payment of the additional Rs 900 per tonne cess imposed during this year's Budget on domestic crude. The stakeholders in the fields, ONGC, Reliance ... More

POWER

Nagarjuna Power told to file new payment security plan -- HC Bench rejects Govt appeal
A DIVISION Bench of the Karnataka High Court has rejected an appeal filed by the State Government against the order of the Single Bench judge in the Nagarjuna Power project case. The Single Bench judge had in August last year set aside the ... More

Wind-diesel project for Bengal
The first such project was commissioned in 1999 in Canada followed by another in Alaska. The concept is unique in that it allowed automatic conversion from wind mode to the diesel mode in case the wind velocity is less than adequate. More

APGenco in talks with PFC to reduce debt burden
The corporation saved Rs 100 crore last year by entering into separate fuel supply agreements with Singareni Collieries Company Ltd and Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd. These agreements had resulted in receipt of good quality coal and consequent savings, acc ording to APGenco Chairman and Managing Director, Mr J. Parthasarathy. More

Plan to raise wind power capacity
THE Government plans to give a thrust to non-conventional energy development with plans to add more generating capacity from wind and renewable resources, the Minister of State for Non-Conventional Energy Sources, Mr M. Kannappan said. The ... More

Kerala: Electricity Licensing Board recast

STEEL

Steel industry: No relief in sight sans zero duty coking coal import
THE Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, may have conceded in his Budget for 2002-03 that the steel industry merited relief as it has been "affected by the slowdown in demand and has suffered large losses". But what Mr Sinha has actually given ... More

TEXTILES

TUFS panel okays coverage of funds raised thru other sources
THE Inter-Ministerial Steering Committee (IMSC) for technology upgradation fund scheme (TUFS) for the textile industry has given its approval for coverage under TUFS, the investment of funds raised from sources other than banks made into ... More

EXIM POLICY

`Exim policy to give an extra thrust to trade'
THE new five-year Export-Import (Exim) policy would give "an added impetus and momentum to the outward looking trade policy" followed for a decade with a distinct possibility of a compounded annual export growth of 12 per cent in dollar terms ... More

HCV/LCV/TRACTORS

Tractor sales down 21% in November
TRACTOR sales fell over 21 per cent year-on-year in November despite a turnaround in the agricultural sector, which is projected to grow at 5.7 per cent in 2001-02, according to the latest industrial data. Tractor sales in November fell to ... More

AIR-CONDITIONERS & REFRIGERATORS

A view to a chill
Come summer, and the heat is on in the AC market, one of the few consumer durable categories witnessing growth. This season will see the majors double their efforts to keep people cool. More

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS

Kerala: Stir against hospital fee

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS

FKCCI favours separate export policy for States
WITH the World Trade Organisation (WTO) dismantling trade borders, there seems to be a growing perception among the States of the need to enunciate individual export policy. The policy formulations in regard to exports and imports are ... More

CII unhappy with extension of preference to PSUs
THE President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Mr Sanjiv Goenka, has described as unfortunate the two-year extension of the Purchase Preference Scheme for public sector enterprises. "The extension of the scheme went against the ... More

Kerala: Traders' protest over delay in meeting

DISINVESTMENT

IPCL sell-off on course -- Row over gas pricing resolved
THE row over the pricing of gas supplied by GAIL and ethane and propane supplied by ONGC to IPCL's plants at Gandhar and Nagothane respectively was resolved at a high-level meeting here on Tuesday, putting the IPCL disinvestment process on course ... More

RIL not to be disqualified from IPCL bidding
RELIANCE Industries Ltd (RIL) will not be disqualified from bidding for IPCL or any other PSUs, the Union Minister for Disinvestment, Mr Arun Shourie, said here on Wednesday. Mr Shourie disclosed that the CBI charge-sheet against Reliance under ... More

`No rationale in IOC bid for HPCL, BPCL'
THE Disinvestment Ministry has justified the ban imposed on Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) from bidding for HPCL and BPCL. "There is rationale in IOC buying IBP Co Ltd, but there is no rationale in IOC buying HPCL and BPCL,'' Mr Pradip Baijal, ... More

Delta Paper pips Gelcon for 4 Nizam Sugar units
IN a significant development which deviates from the earlier proposal for outright sale, Delta Paper Mills has pipped the Goldstone Exports Ltd consortium (Gelcon) to be associated as a joint venture company with four units of Nizam Sugars Ltd, ... More

New system to avoid unfair bidding by PSUs
THE Union Government will set up a mechanism to prevent "unreasonable bidding" by public sector units during disinvestment and avoid an IBP-like situation. The issue is expected to come to the fore when oil PSUs such as Hindustan Petroleum ... More

EVENTS

Bamboo: A clean, green option
URAVU, a charitable trust promoting livelihood avenues among indigenous tribal groups in Kerala, is running an environment-friendly sale-cum-exhibition of bamboo products (which ends on Thursday). According to the organisers, there is ... More

Best pavilion award

Kochi Engagements

INCOME TAX

TN: 2 lakh file returns in last-minute rush
CHENNAI: Over two lakh income-tax returns were filed in three days (March 29-31) with the special counters organised by the Income-Tax Department in Tamil Nadu. The IT returns were filed by persons covered under the `one-be-six' scheme. ... More

TOURISM

Kerala: DTPC campaign for drivers

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Maruti back in black, makes Rs 55-cr profit

Asian Paints eyes buys; `talking to Snowcem'

FI-promoted banks may get to do Govt business

Rupee falls to new low, recovers

Of elephants, rabbits and GIC Fortune

GTB may resume search for strategic partner -- Retail deposits soar by Rs 1,000 cr

In Depth
Inside Kashmir

Guide to derivatives

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