BUDGET
Opening the door for more goodies?
The Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, arriving at the North Block to give final touches to the interim General Budget on Monday.

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ECONOMY
Devolution formula must reward States, says Jayalalithaa
THE Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, today told the Twelfth Finance Commission that the devolution formula should reward States for performance and good governance and must "give up the practice of rewarding laggard ... More

IBRD to study Karnataka's development models
DEVELOPMENT models from Karnataka have been identified by the World Bank in its `learning process' ahead of the Shanghai Poverty Conference, to be held later this year in China. A Bank-led team is in Karnataka to learn from the successful ... More

`Perception panel' to spruce up Bengal image
THE Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) has set up a new "Perception Committee" under Mr Aniruddha Lahiri, Vice-President of the chamber and Managing Director, ABP Ltd, to work in close co-operation with the West Bengal Government to ... More

ENGINEERING
Recapture CIS markets, engineering exporters told
ENGINEERING exporters have been urged to take full advantage of the Market Access Initiative (MAI) scheme of the Commerce Ministry, whose scope has now been further expanded. Exporters have been told that the Ministry was particularly keen to ... More

Machine tools sector too goes for outsourcing
THE outsourcing bug appears to be biting into new business sectors in the country. First it was the software sector, which was quickly followed by the pharma and clinical research sectors. And now, the latest to hitch a ride with the outsourcing ... More

ENVIRONMENT
Polluted Pampa crying for attention
INADEQUATE sewage disposal and sanitation facilities coupled with very thin water flow in the Pampa river during the recently concluded Sabarimala pilgrim season have raised the coliform bacteria level in the river water to 3.2 lakh in 100 ml of ... More

English Indian Clays told to fix pollution problem
ENGLISH Indian Clays, the white clay manufactures based in Veli near here, has been directed to "take care" of the atmospheric pollution resulting from a snag in the plant. The site was visited by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board ... More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS
Rolling back of customs duty — Picture tube makers fear inverted duty structure
WITH less than a month to go before Thailand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) comes into force, some colour picture tubes (CPT) and colour TV (CTV) manufacturers are upset with the Finance Ministry's recent decision to roll back the customs duty for ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
Chile keen on selling wine to India
IF there are connoisseurs of fine wine, who are also good story writers, this is for them. They may soon get invited to Chile for an exhaustive wine tasting session, provided they are willing to write ballads on the virtues of the Chilean ... More

`India will benefit more in the post-quota period'
INDIA is poised to reap the benefits of a market without barriers post 2005. This is especially so considering that China may still face restrictions in several trade segments up to 2008. According to Mr Thomas G. Travis, Managing Partner, ... More

Hong Kong woos Indian investment
YOU can bring in any quantity of money in any currency, do any business and take out your money in any currency. And you do not have to declare where you got the money from. That's Hong Kong for you — the world's financial centre, says Mr ... More

`Romania will be happy to be a gateway'
WITH Romania expected to join the European Union in 2007, the country's President, Mr Ion Iliescu, said that his country could become a conduit for Indian companies in Central Europe. While highlighting the presence of 180 companies in ... More

HEALTH
Trauma care centres on highways mulled
DID you know that a network of trauma care centres could reduce mortality rate in accident-related cases by 400 per cent? Realising this, the Andhra Pradesh Government would be shortly launching a pilot project to test the AP Emergency Network ... More

POWER
Transco may buy 620 m.u. to meet power shortfall
THE Andhra Pradesh Government plans to buy total energy of about 620 million units (mu). To meet the shortfall of energy due to hydel generation, it has started purchasing power from the Power Trading Corporation (PTC), National Thermal Power ... More

CERC orders `free' transmission line availability
THE Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) on Monday issued orders to ensure discrimination-free access of inter-state transmission lines to generation companies as well as distribution companies. PowerGrid Corporation of India Ltd ... More

REC to fund Bengal thermal project expansion
THE Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) has agreed to finance the Rs 1,000-crore expansion plan of the Santaldih Thermal Power project, making its first major fund infusion, since the cooling off of its ties with West Bengal on account of ... More

SHIPPING
Shipping cos make most of freight market boom
THE going has never been so good for Indian shipping companies, as they are making the most out of the unprecedented boom in the freight market. Reporting handsome margins in the just ended quarter, shipping companies are gearing up to make ... More

STEEL
`More consolidation in steel sector imminent'
"Indian costs are too high upstream, reduce it by 20-25 per cent. That is also the best protection against future imports.'' More

TAXATION
Scrap penalty for delay in service tax payment, says PHD Chamber
THE PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) has urged the Finance Ministry to do away with the imposition of penalty for delay in payment of service tax. In a note to the Finance Ministry, the Chamber has said that the levy of penalty ... More

TEXTILES
JC Penney to increase textile outsourcing from India
US mega department store chain JC Penney Company Inc is planning to increase apparel outsourcing from Indian companies. Addressing a news conference here to announce the plans of the world's largest importers of readymade garments with nearly ... More

Linking cotton yarn price with export `not correct', says SIMA
THE Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) has stated that the prevailing trend in yarn price is on account of the market dynamics and it has nothing to do with cotton yarn exports to China. The apex textile industry body has termed the recent ... More

TRAVEL & PLACES
TT Services to launch Visa support services for New Zealand
DRAWING upon its pioneering effort made in Visa support services to the US four years ago, TT Services, an associate company of the TTK Group, on Monday announced the launch of a similar service for the New Zealand Immigration Services (NZIS), ... More

CARS
Hyundai emerges as second biggest exporter
EVEN as the passenger car exports crossed the one-lakh mark in 2003, there has been a change in the pecking order at the top with Hyundai replacing Ford as the second largest exporter. With Hyundai's parent in South Korea declaring that soon ... More

FOODS & FOOD PROCESSING
Centre plans stringent norms for food products — PFA Act amendment on cards
EVEN as there is expected to be a uniform standardisation of packaged water and soft drinks following the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) report on pesticides in soft drinks in Parliament next week, the Government has initiated moves to ... More

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Building expo in Delhi from Feb 18
INDIA Build '04, a three-day exhibition on building and construction industry, will open in Delhi from February 18. The focus of the exhibition will be on the most serious concerns of the construction industry, namely, disaster ... More

METALS
`Duty sops to import copper cathodes may hit small units'
THE decision to allow import of materials at concessional duty rates for use in the manufacture of goods of a specific description will have grave implications on a large number of small-scale intermediary units of copper, brass and aluminium ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

CINEMA
KFCC threat to stop film production
THE Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce has threatened to stop film production from March 8 in case the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) plans to take part in the star night programme organised by a private Malayalam television channel ... More

IPR
MNC drug cos ready to swallow pill
WHEN an Eli Lilly employee in New Delhi logged into Indianapolis to trouble-shoot a local problem, little did he realise that the issue was in fact addressed from back home in Noida! No more recent than last week, this experience illustrates ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

NEW PROJECTS
Centre gives nod for Coimbatore industrial cluster project
THE Union Government has given its nod for the establishment of a `Pump, Motor, Foundry and Allied Industries Cluster' here at an estimated investment of Rs 66 crore. While the Centre would be extending a grant of Rs 49.5 crore for this ... More

EVENTS
BUSINESS LINE FEATURE ON ELECRAMA-2004
Power centre
The trade fair will showcase products for the power and electricity industry, keeping in mind the Government's ambitious target of adding one lakh MW power capacity to the existing 1.1 lakh MW. According to organisers, this could translate into busin ess worth $200 billion. Archana Chaudhary takes a look. More

Petronet Dahej plant to be commissioned on Feb 9
PETRONET LNG Ltd's five million-tonne LNG re-gasification plant will be commissioned on February 9 after the arrival of the first natural gas shipment from Qatar, Mr Ram Naik, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said here on ... More

`Tex Spares 2004' to hold business meet on wind energy
THE second edition of the Southern India Mills Association (SIMA)-sponsored textiles spares/accessories exhibition, `Tex Spares 2004', to be held later this week has sought to improve upon its maiden industrial exhibition hosted by the ... More

Granite expo
Granite cutting machine on display at the Bangalore Palace Ground where Stona'04, the sixth international granite and stone fair, is scheduled to take off on February ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Traditional products pull down H1 export growth
THE relatively moderate growth in exports during the first half of the current fiscal was largely due to negative performance by traditional products such as textiles leather and manufactures coupled with modest growth posted by agriculture and ... More

Duty-free credit entitlement certificate route norms relaxed — Service providers allowed to import `any' capital goods
IN a reversal of its earlier stance, the Finance Ministry has now permitted all service providers to import "any capital goods" under the duty-free credit entitlement certificate (DFCEC) route. The only exception to the latest standpoint would ... More

TOURISM
Chhattisgarh paves way for pvt. role in tourism
THE Government of Chhattisgarh has paved the way for greater involvement of the private sector in the development of tourism in the State. Henceforth, all initiatives and investments veering round tourism in Chhattisgarh would have the active ... More