The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, July 06, 2004

CLIMATE & WEATHER
MET SIGNS
Monsoon fails to wag its tail
EVEN as the southwest monsoon looks to emerge out of its weeklong slumber and set on its coverage of the north and northwest parts of the country, its tail that extends to the South has largely failed to wag in tandem. According to the Agromet ... More

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY
AP Govt to raise 20 crore Jatropha saplings
AS a part of its effort to promote bio-diesel plantations, the Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to raise 20-crore saplings of Jatropha in its nurseries this year for distribution to farmers in eight drought prone districts. A decision to ... More

CEMENT
Rise in cement prices in AP
CEMENT prices in Andhra Pradesh have shot up by Rs 10 to Rs 15 per bag on Monday. As against a price of around Rs 135 per bag last month, the current prices are ruling at Rs 145 to Rs 150 per bag. According to the President of All-India Mini ... More

ECONOMY
CMP does provide room for reform: Montek
THE Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, said on Monday that there was enough elbowroom within the framework of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government to carry out hard ... More

Rising budget deficit brings more woes to Italy
Italy is today faced with prospects of downgrading of its credit rating and could also face prospects of EU sanctions. More

Poor harvest, reforms impact hit Bengal's industrial growth
INDUSTRIAL growth was sluggish in West Bengal for most part of 2003-04 partly on account of the poor harvest in 2002-03 and partly because of the adverse impact of liberalisation, according to a report on the State economy published in the ... More

HEALTH
Draft legislation on AIDS awaits Govt nod
A LEGISLATION for HIV/AIDS has been drafted by the organisation Lawyers Collective in consultation with various stakeholders including the Government and the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO). It will be submitted to the Government by ... More

HCDC sets up healthcare training centre in Kolkata
HEALTHED Career Development Centre (HCDC), promoted by a New Jersey-based NRI, with a tie-up arrangement with Judith Miller (nursing) of the US, has launched its first training centre in the city to train Indian healthcare professionals for " ... More

PESTICIDES
Will banning endosulfan solve the problem?
The Endosulfan Manufacturers Association of India (EMAI) is planning to move the Kerala High Court to lift the temporary ban on the use of this pesticide. More

STEEL

`Retain steel yard at all cost'

TAXATION
Panchayats ask APTransco to clear all tax dues
THE Andhra Pradesh Panchayatraj Chamber has asked the Transmission Corporation of Andhra Pradesh (APTransco) to clear all the tax dues it owed to 21,943 panchayats in the State. Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Mr Y. Babu ... More

BREWERIES
In a bottleneck
Checking liquor bottles at a manufacturing unit in Thrissur. Non-availability of cheap liquor in the State due to high cost of molasses might pave the way for large-scale production of spurious ... More

EDUCATION
Pre-counselling guidance session for Vizag students
THE third in the series of pre-counselling guidance sessions for students aspiring to join professional courses, organised by The Hindu, will be held in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday. The second session of the `Workshop on engineering and ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Kerala CM warns against filling up wetlands for construction
`Filling up of wetlands is one of the main reasons for recurrent droughts and floods in many parts of the State.' More

GCDA invites bids

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
FIEO wants `dollar window' to boost exports — Seeks more flexibility in EEFC account
IN a bid to further rev up exports which are now on the upswing, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), Eastern Region, has urged the Reserve Bank of India to open a "dollar window" which would take care of the requirements of ... More

CINEMA
Cinema halls struggling for survival
Hundreds of farmers committed suicide in the region. The day is not far off when (film) exhibitors will follow suit. More

DISINVESTMENT
CPI (M) opposes NTPC divestment plan; says no problem with IPO
THE Government's plan to disinvest 5.25 per cent of its holding in National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) along with the proposed Initial Public Offering (IPO) of a similar percentage of shares is set to run into rough weather with the move ... More

SOCIAL WELFARE
Steps to improve education of minorities soon
THE Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister, Mr Arjun Singh, on Sunday said that the Government would take decisive steps for the welfare and educational advancement of minorities within four months. The Minister said that the measures would be ... More

Canara Bank gesture

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Assocham chalks out roadmap for rural credit
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has drawn up a roadmap for a higher rural credit flow for the agriculture sector, and warned the Government that if it failed to arrest the declining trend in rural credit, its ... More

LABOUR REFORMS
Forum demands white paper on child labour in AP
THE Baala Karmika Vimochana Vedika (Forum for Liberation of Child Labour) has demanded that the government release a white paper, giving details of all child labourers working in factories in the State. The Convenor of the forum, Mr E. Anjaiah, ... More

EVENTS
FICCI role in Stonemart expo
THE Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has joined hands with the Centre for Development of Stones and Rajasthan State Industrial Development & Investment Corporation to organise the third edition of `India Stonemart' More

Lecture by US cardiologist

INCOME TAX
Raise exemption limit to Rs 40,000 says IRDA — I-T sops for pension investments urged
Lower tax benefits for pension investments relative to that for other kinds of investment such as housing property, life insurance policies and mutual funds is one important reason for the relative neglect of annuities in the country. More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Five traditional items push export growth
IMPRESSIVE performance by traditional export products such as gems and jewellery, chemical and related products, engineering goods and relatively moderate show by textiles and agriculture and allied products which ... More

Mills strike deal to import 6 lakh bales of cotton
TRADERS have struck deals to import at least 6 lakh bales of cotton at an average price of 53-54 cents per pound (Rs 18,890-Rs19,480 per candy of 356.56 kg) for July-August delivery. Spinning mills are buying imported cotton almost everyday ... More

Measuring instruments import norms eased
THE Finance Ministry has relaxed the existing norms for import of measuring instruments. The revenue department has now permitted imports of measuring instruments with non-standard units of weight or measure. The Government had, so far, ... More

TOURISM
Karnataka tourism corporation reports profits
IN a bid to expand its revenue stream, the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) has decided to set up an `one-stop shop' to house the gamut of tourism services such as reservation, cafeteria, ATMs and foreign exchange counters ... More