The Hindu Business Line : Friday, March 19, 2004

ENVIRONMENT
AP: Waste segregation helps keep a town garbage-free
JUST a year ago, Suryapet, a small town in Nalgonda district on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada highway, was like any other town, with piles of litter dotting the streets and main thoroughfares. But a joint effort launched by the residents and civic ... More

HEALTH
Apollo Health launches specialised maternity centres
APOLLO Health and Lifestyle Ltd (AHLL), the wholly-owned subsidiary of Apollo Hospitals, has launched boutique maternity centres. To be called `The Cradle,' these state-of-the-art specialised maternity care centres will cater to the needs of ... More

PETROLEUM
PSU oil cos seal discount deal with Reliance Ind
THE public sector oil companies have finalised a deal with Reliance Industries Ltd to purchase 4.3 million tonnes of petroproducts at a 37 per cent discount in 2004-05. During the current fiscal, Reliance is set to sell around 11.5 million ... More

PHARMACEUTICALS
Animal resource facility to be set up in Hyderabad
INDIAN pharmaceutical and biotech companies, compelled to go abroad to conduct costly animal experiments for vaccine and drug development, can look forward to get them done within the country at lower costs in the near future. This optimism ... More

POWER
Implementation of major projects — North-east power corpn to raise Rs 2,500 cr
NORTH Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd (NEEPCO), on its way to implementing a string of major projects, has proposed to raise at least Rs 2,500 crore from the market to fund its expansion. The company, which has lined up three large ... More

TEXTILES
End of quota restrictions — `India could be the big winner in textiles after China'
WITH the multi fibre agreement (MFA) and the quota restrictions coming to an end in December 2004, India could be the big winner after China, according to a McKinsey study commissioned by DHL. According to the DHL-McKinsey Apparel and Textile ... More

NTC units report higher productivity
NATIONAL Textile Corporation (NTC), which is in the throes of labour restructuring and organisational revamp, has been buoyed by improved productivity and higher capacity utilisation recorded by its functioning textile units affiliated to various ... More

SSI
IBA to meet Ministry over sick SSI units
THE banking sector is eyeing small-scale industries, a sector that has largely remained in the background. The Indian Banks' Association, along with the small-scale industry, is meeting officials of the Finance Ministry in a bid to revive sick ... More

WATER
Coca-Cola's Kinley plant in Kerala hit by agitation
AFTER being forced to halt operations of its soft drinks plant at Plachimada near Palakkad, following allegations regarding misuse of groundwater, Coca Cola's bottled water business in Kerala is hit by an agitation on the same issue. NeST ... More

Atlas on Madurai water bodies
MADURAI: The Madurai District Administration is compiling a detailed atlas on water bodies in the district. Addressing a seminar here, the Collector, Dr B. Chandra Mohan, said that the district is endowed with around 3,800 water ... More

RADIO/TV
Japa4 goes off air
JAPA4, the first private FM radio channel in the State, has gone off air, after a 14-month run. The last of the programmes was aired on March 6. Lack of support from the advertisers seemed to be the reason for the abrupt end to the channel, ... More

EDUCATION
Sarva Siksha Abhiyan offices in Kerala to be networked
ALL offices of the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) in the State, district and block levels will be networked in a bid to streamline and expedite the project, the Minister for Education, Mr Nalakath Soopy, has said. The Minister said this while ... More

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS
ICMR to host Web site, animal advisory board
THE Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has taken up a project to e-link all its research institutes and create Web sites with an investment of Rs 3.5 crore, according to its Director-General, Prof N.K. Ganguly. Another initiative ... More

COKE & METALURGICAL COKE
Indian companies gear up to raise metcoke capacities
WORRIED over the future availability of metallurgical coke in the international market and with its prices spiralling by over 100 per cent in the past year, a number of Indian companies are gearing up to increase domestic capacity in ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
PlaNet to get Rs 45 lakh a year for micro-finance
MICRO-FINANCING in the country is getting a leg up with more corporate entities and banks realising that empowerment at the grassroots level is a workable option. One such institution, PlaNet Finance India, has just bagged Rs 45 lakh a year ... More

REGULATORY BODIES & RULINGS
Bengal panel flays `undue financial assistance to cos'
EIGHT big private sector industrial houses received financial assistance worth Rs 39.17 crore from the cash-strapped State Government under the State's industry promotion scheme. The companies include big names such as Kusum Products Ltd., ... More

INCOME TAX
CBDT tells cos to replace paper format returns with e-TDS
THE Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has clarified that any tax deduction at source (TDS) return filed by India Inc after June 1, 2003 on a paper format will not be in conformity with the legal provisions. The Board has now held that those ... More