The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, June 19, 2004

ANTI-DUMPING
Polystyrene industry seeks removal of dumping duty
NORMALLY when the domestic industry pleads for levy of anti-dumping duty on imported products, it seldom seeks for its removal lest its cost competitiveness to stay alive would be in jeopardy, even if other user industry of the said imported ... More

BUDGET
IT industry does not need tax sops: Infosys chief
THE information technology (IT) industry does not need any tax sops, according to Mr N.R. Narayana Murthy, the Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys Technlogies, when asked about the major issues that the Government needs to address for the IT ... More

As phosphoric acid price shoots up — Paswan seeks higher fertiliser subsidy
THE Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, has sought an additional subsidy of Rs 1,000 crore in the forthcoming Budget to ensure cheaper supply of fertilisers to farmers in country. This comes in the wake of some ... More

Cheap housing loans for poor urged
THE real estate industry has called for measures to promote low-cost housing for the poor. Defining low-cost housing projects as tenements of less than 500 square feet built-up area, real estate developers have asked the Government to provide ... More

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS
New launches galore at AV Max exhibition
IT was a day of launches at the opening of the AV Max exhibition. The Indian audio video market, which is estimated to be in the region of Rs 100 crore, is expected to grow at a rate of 50 per cent in the next few years. New market entrants ... More

ECONOMY
Workers worldwide pessimistic of financially secure retirement: Study
IN spite of the global economic recovery and rising capital markets, workers worldwide are still discouraged about achieving a financially secure retirement, the pessimism reflected in the fact that only 22 per cent ... More

'CMP focus on farmers, rural infrastructure good for economy'
THERE is nothing significantly wrong in the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) and the market seems to have thrown up a tantrum over some genial and generally not objectionable intentions, Mr Mahesh Vyas, Managing Director of the Centre for ... More

ENVIRONMENT
AP tribal village gets paid for pioneer green project for World Bank
POWERGUDA, a little-known village in Adilabad district of Andhra Pradesh, has become an environmental pioneer by selling the equivalent of 147 tonnes of carbon-dioxide in verified emission reduction to the World Bank. The bank paid $645 to ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
`India, Brazil must exploit trade potential'
TO tap the huge trade potential between India and Brazil, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has said that the two countries can exploit resource advantages, arbitrage the development curve, leverage select ... More

HEALTH
Tanzania seeks tie-ups with India in tertiary healthcare
THE High Commissioner of Republic of Tanzania, Ms Eva L. Nzaro, has sought wide-ranging alliances with India in delivery of tertiary healthcare and availability of affordable medical technology. Addressing a press conference after inaugurating ... More

New radiation technique to fight cancer
YASHODA Hospital, which runs three hospitals in the city, has launched a sophisticated radiation technique that can destroy cancerous tissues without damaging the normal ones in the neighbourhood. The radiation technique, scientifically called ... More

POWER
MERC for 8.5 pc cut in REL tariff
THE Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) today sought an 8.5 per cent cut in the average tariff charged by Reliance Energy Ltd. Average tariff for the first 100 units used by households will include Rs 25 per month fixed charge ... More

NHPC net up 22%; chalks out Rs 25,000-cr investment plan
NATIONAL Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), a Government-owned organisation, has recorded a net profit of Rs 621.38 crore during fiscal 2003-04, up 22 per cent over the Rs 510.5 crore recorded during the previous year. Addressing a press ... More

STEEL
`Upswing in steel sector fortunes likely to continue'
GIVEN recent remarks by the Steel Ministry on regulating the metal's price, a bright sector outlook reminds of that preamble to many an economic theory - `all things remaining the same.' Monday's market nervousness over price control ... More

Steel regulatory body: Draft plan to be ready by Sept
OPPOSITION from steel manufacturers notwithstanding, the Union Steel Minister, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, has said that a draft proposal for setting up a regulator for the sector would be ready by September. "Once the proposal is ready we shall seek ... More

`Steel exports dip despite bullish global trends'
DESPITE the global bullish trend, steel exports from India during the last two months have dropped significantly. According to Mr Moosa Raza, President of Indian Steel Alliance (ISA), this fall is due to the withdrawal of the duty entitlement ... More

TAXATION
States agree to implement VAT from April `05 — Force review of draft service tax Bill
BROAD consensus has emerged among most of the States to implement a value added tax (VAT) regime that would replace sales tax from April 1, 2005. The phase out of the central sales tax (CST) would now be "co-terminus" with the implementation ... More

TEXTILES
Textile bodies call for steps to ward off `Chinese monopoly'
A STATEMENT, signed by 90 textile organisations from 49 countries round the world, today called on political leaders and WTO officials to ``either extend the current quota regime or devise new protection system'' and to ... More

SSI
KSIA to meet SIDBI officials
MANGALORE: The Kanara Small Industries Association (KSIA), Mangalore, will hold a meeting with the officials of the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) at Baikampady in Mangalore on June 25. A press release by the KSIA ... More

EXIM POLICY
`Exim policy to give thrust to job creation'
THE key thrust areas of the forthcoming Exim Policy, to be announced by Union minister of Commerce, Mr Kamal Nath, will focus on employment generation and a cut in transaction costs for exporters. Delivering the keynote address at an Open House ... More

EDUCATION
IIM-C to stick to old fee structure
THE governing board of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) has decided to continue with the old course fee structure for the academic year beginning this month. The board, which met here on Friday at ITC Sonar Bangla, also ... More

`Stronger IIMs can't help weaker ones'
WELCOMING the HRD Ministry's move to allow the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) to decide their own fee structure, the Chairman of IIM Ahmedabad board, Mr N.R. Narayana Murthy, has disapproved the idea of financially better-off institutes ... More

Hotel management courses
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology here, governed by the Ministry of Tourism of the Union Government, proposes to start two short-term courses — a Post-Graduate Diploma Course in ... More

WASHING MACHINES
Washing machine makers expect 7% growth this year
WITH the season for washing machines just beginning, the industry is anticipating a growth of about 6-7 per cent this year. It, however, remains to be seen if the players in the segment, besides competing with each other, are able to counter the ... More

FOODS & FOOD PROCESSING
Food for health
Foods for a balanced diet displayed at a health awareness event on diabetes and heart care organised by the Helping Hand Foundation at NIMHANS Convention Centre in Bangalore on Friday. Diabetes and cardiac screening, interactive lecture sessions, ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
Assocham calls for infrastructure equity fund
NEW DELHI: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has called for the creation of an infrastructure equity fund to accommodate needs of Government and other multilateral agencies. The Government should ... More

Chamber urges options to uplift socially deprived
THE Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Coimbatore, has asked the Centre to look for options to improve the conditions of SC/STs, other than job reservation in the private sector. It said better access to education, employment ... More

DISINVESTMENT
TELK: Kerala invites EOIs for stake sale
THE Kerala Government has invited expressions of interest from companies for participation as a strategic partner in the State-owned Transformers and Electricals Kerala Ltd (TELK). The Enterprises Reforms Committee (ERC) had recommended sale of ... More

Left parties against divestment in BSNL
MR Mohammed Salim, recently-elected to the Lok Sabha from the Kolkata North West parliamentary constituency, has said that Left parties would protest in Parliament if the Central Government made any attempt to divest Government equity in Bharat ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
SBT housing scheme for rural poor
STATE Bank of Travancore (SBT) has launched a new "Bhavanasree" rural housing loan scheme for those below the poverty line. Repayment of the loan will be through the own thrift deposits of the beneficiaries with the self-help groups, according ... More

HUMAN RESOURCES
Kerala told to suggest changes in Emigration Act
THE Minister for Non-Resident Keralites Affairs, Mr M.M. Hassan, has said that the State Government has suggested amendments to the Emigration Act of 1983 in order to resolve the difficulties being faced by those seeking jobs abroad. The ... More

INTERVIEW
`Sustain economic growth for human development'
THOUGH India has made good strides in human development over the last 10 years, there is a huge challenge ahead and if there is a political will, the problems can be solved, given the enormous intellectual and management capacity and knowledge ... More

EVENTS

In Hyderabad today

INCOME TAX
Assocham wants I-T exemption limit raised to Rs 1 lakh
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), in its pre-Budget memorandum, has called for raising the basic exemption limit in personal income-tax to Rs 1 lakh from Rs 65,000. The Chamber has suggested that the interest ... More