The Hindu Business Line : Monday, April 19, 2004

ECONOMY
South leads services surge, says CII study
THE States in the South have played a major role in making the country a global player and form the backbone of the country's comparative advantage in the services sector, a study undertaken by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has ... More

Old-age worries have come to roost in Kerala: Survey
THE profile of Kerala's population not getting any younger hardly make for news, but concerns arebeing expressed over indications that the worrisome trend may already have come home to roost. Or, consider this. There are currently 50,000 ... More

`Adequate funds key to Bengal industrial cluster projects'
IDENTIFYING exports as an area of growth for States, the West Bengal Government is now committed to introducing major policy initiatives. Speaking at an interactive session on the export promotion initiatives of States here recently, Mr Moloy ... More

Bizy women
Women queue up in front of a bank in Bhalki village in Bardhaman district of West Bengal to get their passbook updated. The village bank provides them loans to start small business to supplement family income. An amount of Rs 1,00,000 is ... More

EXCISE AND CUSTOMS
Compressor makers decry duty cuts on imports
WORRIED that the recently announced duty cuts on import of compressors may sound the death knell for the domestic manufacturing industry, compressor manufacturers have urged the Government to review its decision in order to avoid a situation of ... More

PETROLEUM
Firm crude prices in summer worrisome
The US gasoline inventories are down and there are concerns that violence in West Asia can cause disruption. More

POWER
Electric blues
IF there is one public utility most Keralites would love to swear at, it must surely be the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), the giver - or, on most occasions, the non-giver - of the power that lights up their lives. With the recent ... More

STEEL
Wagons for SAIL: Railways on track
In 2003-04, SAIL needed 1,480 rail wagons a day to dispatch finished products out of its various plants. To move an additional 0.7 mt of finished products as projected for thisfiscal, the wagon requirement might rise by 76 wagons or so a day. This wi ll be no problem as, for the first time, specialised BOST wagons fitted with air-brakes will be pressed into operation for transportation of finished products out of the plants. More

TEXTILES
Textile manufacturers want higher interest rebate
FOR a textile industry that is viewing the post-2005 scenario with much optimism, Indian apparel and other textile manufacturers, especially small and medium manufacturers, are hoping that the new Government will raise the interest rebate on ... More

SSI
Stonesoft to focus on SMEs
PRICE erosion, greater competition and saturation in the enterprise firewall market have prompted enterprise network security manufacturer, Stonesoft Corporation, to focus on the SME segment and collaborate with hardware vendors. The price for ... More

RADIO/TV
India TV goes on air
INDIA TV, a 24-hour Hindi news and current affairs channel promoted by television presenter Mr Rajat Sharma, went on air today with a prime time three-hour program on the elections. The program was hosted by Mr Sharma and Mr Tarun Tejpal, ... More

EDUCATION
Madurai-Kamaraj University bio-informatics centre elevated
THE Department of Bio-technology has elevated the Bio-informatics centre of the Madurai-Kamaraj University as Centre of Excellence (CoE). The centre, one of the five centres to be elevated in the country, will receive Rs 2.92 crore from the ... More

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS
Path-labs: New trend in outsourcing saga
DIAGNOSTIC services are the next emerging outsourcing opportunity, with Indian path-labs looking to take on work from hospitals and agencies based abroad. SRL-Ranbaxy recently concluded a pilot project for a UK-based hospital and is looking to ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Nabard options for SHGs in Perambalur dist.
MADURAI: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has identified 34 new entrepreneurial options for women self-help groups in Perambalur district. According to sources, the options have been identified after a ... More

EVENTS
`Corporates must innovate to survive'
MANAGING interference within an organisation is the biggest challenge facing business and industry in this new age of borderless economy, Prof. Krishna Kumar, Director of the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, has said. Speaking at the ... More

Meet stresses on management of customer relations
CUSTOMER Relationship Management (CRM) is essential in the competitive world, especially for those in service sector, according to Mr R.K. Madhukar, General Manager of Canara Bank. He was delivering the keynote address at a seminar on `CRM: ... More

Engagements

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Capexil wants overtime practice at Petrapole LCS scrapped
EVEN as exporters, particularly of perishable commodities, to Bangladesh have been urging the powers that be to remove the barriers and delays to export shipments in order to facilitate speedy movement of trucks through ... More

Box shortage, freight hike — Exporters at receiving end
EXPORTERS started fiscal 2004-05 with a series of problems. If the rupee is going up the supply of containers is going down. Adding to their woes is the ocean freight increase from April 1. Exporters have been facing ... More

EOUs, SEZ units want benefits restored
THE trade policy liberalisation and phased reduction in the country's tariff structure over the years together have robbed the 100-per cent export-oriented units (EOUs) and units located in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) of their very ... More