HOTELS
Delhi hotels spring back with high occupancy
IN Delhi, it is not only the mercury which is soaring northwards these days. Almost all the major hotel chains in the Capital have been reporting high occupancy rates during the current month and the future seems to be only looking better. "The ... More

PSU
`Poor PSU performance drag on State finances'
THE dismal health of State finances in the country is largely due to the poor financial performance of the State public sector undertakings (PSUs) which need to "go a long way" to ensure a modicum of returns on the huge capital sunk, according to ... More

POWER
LIC extends Rs 6,500-cr line of credit to NHPC
LIFE Insurance Corporation (LIC) on Thursday sanctioned a line of credit of Rs 6,500 crore to National Hydro-electric Power Corporation (NHPC). "This is the highest ever tie-up for NHPC from a single lender to meet funding requirement through ... More

Lower rates to save Rs 100 cr for new power projects in Bengal
NEW power projects coming up in West Bengal are set to reap a bonanza by way of lower costs on account of the reduction in interest costs recently effected by the Union Power Ministry. Power sector sources said that with the Ministry deciding ... More

STEEL
Ministry eases steel supplies to SSIs
THE Ministry of Steel has decided that the small-scale industries corporations (SSICs) which are interested in procuring iron and steel material from primary steel producers in the private sector such as Ispat, Essar and Jindal Vijaynagar Steel ... More

SSI
Kerala SSIs hope to cash in on ethical platform
KERALA had all along been harbouring a negative reputation for the high cost of its labour. Now the State has been able to cash in on what was earlier perceived as a liability in the high costs of its products into an asset. The B2B meet ... More

WATER
AP CM reiterates promise on Godavari projects
THE Telugu Desam is committed to taking up the Polavaram and Icchampalli projects on the Godavari to make full use of the river waters and both the projects will be components of the plan to form a national river grid linking the Ganga and ... More

RADIO/TV
Cricket series: DD seeks details of revenue benefits of Ten Sports
THE India-Pakistan cricket series may be drawing to an end but the dispute between Ten Sports and Doordarshan is far from over. National broadcaster Prasar Bharati on Thursday sought details of the revenue benefits to Ten Sports as a result ... More

EDUCATION
Promoting Indian education abroad
Ed. CIL is upbeat about its aggressive marketing of the India brand in higher education this year. More

IIM-B files affidavit in SC over fee cut issue
THE Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), filed an affidavit on Thursday before the Supreme Court opposing the Union Human Resource Development Ministry's order to reduce the institute's admission fee to Rs 30,000 from Rs 1.50 lakh. ... More

GEMS & JEWELLERY
Gem & jewellery exports surge by 31 pc
GEM and jewellery exports, which account for one-fifth of the country's exports in value terms, surged by 31 per cent during the fiscal year 2003-04 to touch $ 11.99 billion against $ 9.14 billion recorded during the previous year. In rupee ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
Assocham proposes long-term fiscal policy
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has proposed a long-term fiscal policy for a minimum period of five years to provide stability in the fiscal system. In a note submitted to the Government, the chamber has ... More

GENDER
Empowering women on Pune shopfloors
THE new chief of the Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) western region, Mr Pradeep Bhargava, has a challenging mission ahead of him this year. Along with the Vice-Chairperson, Mr Rahul Kirloskar, who is also Director, Exports at ... More

EVENTS

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINES
`No mention of safed musli in Ayurveda texts'
SAFED Musli, a medicinal plant, which has shot in to popularity of late as a lucrative crop encouraging farmers in the southern States to take up its cultivation extensively, does not seem to find a place in the Ayurvedic scriptures as a ... More

TOURISM
Kurnool to get tourism boost with Rs 6-cr projects
KURNOOL district, which is home to the popular tourism sites such as the Belum caves, Srisailam and Mantralayam temples, will have several infrastructure projects worth Rs 6 crore in this financial year that are expected to enhance tourism ... More

PEOPLE