HOTELS
Duty-free credit scheme — Hotels told to pass on benefits to clients
ALL hotels (one-star and above), heritage hotels and standalone restaurants availing themselves of the duty-free credit entitlement scheme for service providers would now be required to pass on the entire benefits of the scheme to their ... More

PETROLEUM
ONGC to invest Rs 2,500 crore in Mumbai High
OIL and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) plans to invest Rs 2,484 crore on its largest oil field - Mumbai High - during the new financial year. Although a large part of these investments will be targeted towards the ongoing ... More

POWER
Consumer body unhappy with WBERC's new rules
The WBERC has framed these rules as required by the Electricity Act 2003 to govern the operations of distribution licencees. It deals with matters such as recovery of electricity charges, disconnection of supply, besides setting benchmarks for operat ional efficiency. More

BHEL research backing for AP power projects
IN the power sector development of Andhra Pradesh, the corporate research and development (R&D) of BHEL, is playing an increasingly bigger role in supply of indigenous equipment, support systems and improving operational efficiencies. The BHEL . More

TEXTILES
Textile exports may fall short of targeted $13 b
THE country's textile exports for the just ended fiscal may not achieve the targeted $13 billion, thanks to the firm rupee. Though the percentage of the shortfall in the exports is yet to be known, we are almost certain now that the export ... More

Man-made fibre textile exports seen rising 20%
INDIA `Shining' may be true for the Synthetic and Rayon Textile Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) as the export performance for end-March 2004 remains shining with a 20 per cent growth estimated in the man-made fibre textiles exports from the ... More

Spindle capacity norm curbs SSI units from accessing TUFS funds
THE minimum spindle capacity norm set for availing the concessional project financing under the Union Government sponsored technology upgradation fund scheme (TUFS) has kept most small-scale textile spinners practically outside the purview of ... More

CARS
India up 2 slots in auto rankings
INDIA has jumped two places ahead to the 13th position in the latest automobile production ranking of the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers, OICA, overtaking Belgium and Mexico. The 85-year old Paris-based OICA, which is ... More

FOODS & FOOD PROCESSING
US Bio Terrorism Law — EAN unveils food traceability norms
A LARGE number of Indian food and marine exporters are "inadequately prepared" to meet the requirements of the US Bio Terrorism Law, according to Mr Ravi Mathur, CEO, EAN India. EAN India is a non-profit organisation set up by the Commerce ... More

LEATHER
Leather exports have breached $2-b mark: Council
LEATHER exporters have achieved the $2 billion (around Rs 8,720 crore) target set for exports in 2003-04, according to industry estimates. This was confirmed by the Chairman of the Council for Leather Exports (CLE), Mr S.S. Kumar, who told ... More

CINEMA
Bollywood calls for the means to a fund
AGREED, you don't have the looks of Hrithik or the charm of Ash, and so find it tough to gain a foothold in Bollywood. The next best thing could be to become an investor. The `fantastic new opportunity', as Media Moguls reports in ... More

Karnataka Bank forays into film, TV software financing
KARNATAKA Bank Ltd, the traditional old private sector bank, has ventured into financing film and television software production. The bank is financing `Malgudi Days', the visual media presentation of the works of late R.K. Narayan. According ... More

IPR
Drug companies warn of rocky IPR road ahead
DOMESTIC drug companies have sounded a note of caution on the hassles that could surface in the details of the legal framework that is being laid out for the product-patent regime, come January 2005. The recent legal entanglements that have ... More

INTERVIEW
`Leisure-pleasure attitude is bane of Bihar now'
THE laid-back attitude of the people of Bihar has been its bane, as poor governance. But its virgin soil and copious ground water resources can transform Bihar into an agricultural wonder, says Dr Shaibal Gupta, Member Secretary, Asian ... More

EVENTS
`Law tribunal will provide more scope for co secys'
THE Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) hopes that the proposed National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), expected to replace the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), would open up opportunities for the profession of ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
`8 per cent appreciation against dollar too high to make good' — Exporters take up rupee rise with Jaitley
`We know the ground reality. The impact of the appreciating rupee would be felt in the coming months as exporters are now hesistant about getting into new contracts with the rupee gaining against the dollar'. More

TOURISM
Janpath: Oxford Street in the making
IF London has its Oxford Street, Paris its Champs Elysees and Singapore its Orchard Street, how about Delhi's good old Janpath? According to a grand plan formulated by the Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco), Janpath, the ... More