The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, February 12, 2003

AP Budget session from Feb. 17
HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh Governor, Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, has summoned the Eleventh Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly to meet for the budget session on Monday, February 17. The State Government has recently made public the ... More

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES

A model Lokayukta
BANGALORE: Karnataka Lokayukta, which busted scams of Rs 270- crore in the city municipal corporations last year, is literally going places. A six-member World Bank team that visited the office of the Lokayukta, Mr Justice M. ... More

ECONOMY

Industrial growth up 5.3% in Apr-Dec 2002
INDIAN industry has registered a 5.3 per cent growth rate during April-December 2002, compared to 2.5 per cent for the corresponding nine months period of the previous fiscal. The latest quick estimates of the Index of Industrial Production ... More

Gloom & doom overdone?
UNCERTAINTY continues to dog financial markets all over the world. The prospect of a war with Iraq has led to a dramatic surge in the price of oil and gold. While the rise in crude was entirely expected, gold has come out of a long somnolence ... More

ENVIRONMENT

Waste management proves a messy affair
THE question of managing the increasing municipal solid waste (MSW) in the country assumed added significance in the light of the Supreme Court granting four weeks' time on January 14, 2003 to the Union Government to file its comprehensive ... More

Ullal fishermen demand solution for sea erosion
The local residents are demanding the implementation of a new Rs 9-crore plan for the construction of three `breakwaters' in the area, which according to them is the only permanent solution possible. More

Consortium to advise on environment
FOUR Hyderabad-based national institutions have come together to form a consortium to provide advice to State Governments, regulatory bodies and industries on the long and short-range environment protection plans. The Indian Institute of ... More

FOREIGN TRADE

`EU experience can be tried in South Asia'
Indian policy makers, Mr Caillouet said, had shown a keen interest in learning from the EU experience to `replicate with suitable modifications' a similar integration in South Asia under the rubric of SAARC. More

DGFT norms for 17 new export items

HEALTH

Funds, pharma cos likely to help India remove leprosy
CAN efforts to stem the growth of AIDS in India take a page out of the manner in which the country looks set to conquer leprosy? With a little help from pharma major, Novartis, a steady flow of funds and a massive interventional programme by the ... More

POWER

New co soon for Kalpakkam reactor project
A `SPECIAL purpose vehicle' (new company) is to be set up to implement the 500 MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor project at Kalpakkam, near here. The Nuclear Power Corporation is expected to take a five per cent stake in the company. Mr S.B. ... More

Nepal seeks Indian funds to boost hydel sector
NEPAL has called for increased Indian investments in its hydro-power sector, which is believed to pack a lot of potential in terms of new generation. The small Himalayan State faces a mismatch between its latent requirements and the actual ... More

STEEL

Second round of steel debt package in offing
A SECOND round of debt restructuring involving around 33 steel companies and close to Rs 5,000 crore high-cost debts is in the offing following tremendous pressure exerted by the industry and sections of the Government on public sector lending ... More

`Tech roadmap vital to reduce energy consumption of steel'
EFFORTS are on to reduce the specific energy consumption level of steel plants to around seven giga calories per tonne of crude steel by the end of next fiscal year from a level of about 7.5 now. Mr S. Kumar, Executive Director of Research and ... More

SSI

Introduce VAT after anomalies are set right: SSIs
Under the VAT mechanism, central sales tax would be continued at two per cent in 2003-04 and was likely to be reduced to zero per cent in 2005-06. Hence, the consuming States would continue to suffer both in terms of trade diversion and higher cost. More

WATER

Prabhu for private role in river linking
THE Chairman of the Taskforce on Interlinking of Major Rivers, Mr Suresh Prabhu, has called upon the private sector to participate in the Government's ambitious project to link the major rivers across the country. On the sidelines of a ... More

COAL

Social & environmental impact of Coal India projects — IBRD urged to act fast on inspection report
" Despite many warnings and specific recommendations by local and international NGOs, the Coal Sector Rehabilitation Project went ahead too soon and without adequate assurances that the social and environmental issues were being adequately addressed. " More

EDUCATION

Opportunity beckons!
With the number of Indian students studying in the UK on the rise, the British Council has organised another `Education UK' exhibition in major cities such as Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Mumbai and Chennai from February 8 to February 22. The ... More

`Exit policy' for colleges in Karnataka
BANGALORE: The State Government is planning an `exit policy' for colleges getting grant-in-aid. A high-powered committee has proposed the phasing out of the grant-in- aid system for urban colleges that are more than five-years-old ... More

CII seminars to focus on quality education
The first of the series will be held in Bangalore on February 17 at the Infosys campus on the policy changes needed to bring in quality education. More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION

Delhi builder to sell flats by invitation
THE Rs 250-crore Delhi-based builder, Omaxe Construction Ltd, has launched a premium residential project in Noida, called the Royal Residency, which promises to offer its residents not only a comfortable living but also handpicked neighbours. ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

DNA fingerprints can solve identity crisis
IN the September 11, 2001 terrorist strike that destroyed the twin-towers in New York, a gigantic task faced by the US Government was to establish the identity of the dead. About 25,000 body parts had to be identified from the rubble. What ... More

DISINVESTMENT

GE Shipping pulls out of SCI race
THE Great Eastern Shipping today said the company is no longer interested in bidding for Shipping Corporation of India (SCI). In a notice to stock exchanges, GE Shipping, believed to be a serious bidder for SCI, said the company has decided not ... More

BPCL sale: 15% domestic, 20% GDR offering mooted
THE Ministry of Disinvestment has mooted a proposal for the Government to sell 15 per cent of its stake in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) in the domestic market and another 20 per cent in the international markets through the global ... More

WTO

`India, Canada must work to benefit all at Cancun'
"Our nations share many common objectives in these negotiations. We should work towards an agreement that benefits all," Mr Edwards said. More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Nabard loan for rural infrastructure
MUMBAI: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has sanctioned loans aggregating to Rs 1,052.95 crore towards creation of rural infrastructure in 16 States across the country. This was decided at Nabard's ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

Goa's iron ore exports may scale new peak
GOA'S iron ore export industry is expected to end 2002-2003 with an all-time high shipment of close to 22 million tonnes (m.t.), according to a senior official of the Goa Mineral Ore Exporters' Association (GMOEA). The rise in shipments is mainly ... More

Modified Exim policy to help achieve 1% of world exports
The sources said that with the country's exports during the first three quarters showing up a double-digit growth far exceeding the 12 per cent target, the policy proposals would be devised so as to ensure that the momentum generated this fiscal is s ustained and stepped up. More

TOURISM

Karnataka plans `bold initiatives' to tap tourism potential — CM calls for more public-private partnership
THE second Connect Summit, underlining the theme `Strength to Supremacy' opened with the Chief Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, declaring that his Government would strive to remove all hurdles affecting free flow of tourism into the State. He was ... More

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