The Hindu Business Line : Friday, September 24, 2004

CEMENT
Drive to dispel fears on asbestos
THE Chrysotile Asbestos Cement Products Manufacturers' Association (CACPMA) will soon launch a nationwide "education and awareness" campaign to combat "ignorance, myths and propaganda" being spread by "vested interests and competing industries" ... More

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES
Selection body for Competition panel to be reconstituted
THE prevailing deadlock on the setting up of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) may end soon. The Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by the Union Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, which met here on Wednesday, is understood to have decided ... More

ECONOMY
Poverty eradication is the challenge for globalised world, says PM
THE central theme for the vast majority of the members of the United Nations is the challenge of development and eradication of poverty, said the Prime Minister,Dr Manmohan Singh, in his address to the General Assembly here this ... More

At NYSE, Manmohan holds talks with corporate chiefs
THE Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, had a wide ranging luncheon discussion at the New York Stock Exchange with top CEOs drawn largely from the media and financial sectors. Questions are said to have ranged from rural India, rural economy to ... More

Jaswant traces taxation glitches to economic ills
FORMER Union Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, has said that taxation glitches have contributed to discards in certain sections of the economy which made people wary on taking profits `today itself' and not wanting to invest for the ... More

Jaswant call for `mental reform'
YOU may be inclined to elevate Coimbatore as the `Manchester of India' by taking pride in the city's eminencein textile manufacture as the erstwhile British textile hub. But it is for sure that this adage will not enthuse the former Finance ... More

ENVIRONMENT
Plea for financial sops to improve environmental standards
MR Christoph Achini, Manager (Green Credit Projects) from Switzerland's State Secretariat of Economic Affairs, has called for giving financial incentives like access to capital and potential reimbursement to industries complying with ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
FIEO team for SE Asia
A 15-member trade delegation sponsored by the Union Government is visiting Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia to explore business opportunities. The delegation would travel under the banner of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations ... More

Chinese province keen on strengthening trade ties
FUJIAN Province in China has called for expansion of channel of communication between the province and Andhra Pradesh to improve bilateral trade. Addressing members of Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) ... More

HEALTH
Kerala's draft policy aims to streamline drugs procurement
Four different lists of essential drugs and supplies will be drawn up, taking into account disease pattern, the services offered and the requirement. More

Neurology seminar at Kottayam

Cardiac check-up camps

INFRASTRUCTURE
Kanara Chamber eyeing `Metro Mangalore'
THE new President of the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), Mr A. Srinivas Rao, wants to see a "Metro Mangalore" with more investments coming to the region, leading to its development. To achieve this, he wants to take the ... More

PETROLEUM
Govt to soon decide on ONGC petro retailing — Establishing MRPL as brand may be main option
ONGC's plan to enter petroleum retailing may take a decisive turn in the next few weeks. According to sources, the Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry, which has initiated a `debate' on the issue of diversification of oil PSUs vis-à-vis ... More

STEEL
Mounting steel prices hit infrastructure projects
SURGING steel prices have dealt a debilitating blow to construction companies in India, applying the brakes on execution of several major construction projects, including some of the road projects of the National Highway Authority of India ... More

TAXATION
VAT: States told to consider options on Central sales tax
The proposal to retain the 4 per cent CST in the first year is in sharp contrast to the earlier thinking in the Finance Ministry that the first year of VAT implementation should see some cut in the CST rate. More

Net direct tax collections up 47.66%
THE Central revenue department has mopped up Rs 38,364 crore from direct taxes during April 1-September 17 this year, which represents a 47.66 per cent growthto the collection level of Rs 25,982 crore recorded in the same period last year. ... More

VAT compensation package base year to be 2004-05
STATE Governments on Thursday scored a victory of sorts by convincing the Central Government to change the base year on which the compensation package for losses, if any, arising from implementation of value-added tax (VAT) is to be agreed upon. ... More

New scheme to enlarge service tax assessee base
THE Finance Ministry intends to launch from Friday a soft media campaign aimed at enlarging the service tax assessee base in the country. The advertising campaign, to be unveiled in the print media, will also declare that no penal action would ... More

TEXTILES
Europe looms for new parks likely in TN
THE Tamil Nadu Government plans to set up four high-tech parks for shuttleless looms in powerloom clusters such as Palladam, Komarapalayam, Andipatti and Erode. These parks would get assistance from the Centre and the State Government. The ... More

SSI
Chamber seeks larger VC fund for SMEs
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has called for enlarging the size of the Venture Financing Scheme (VFS) of Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from Rs 100 ... More

RADIO/TV
National Geographic Channel open to be on DTH platform
THE National Geographic Channel (NGC) is open to being part of the direct-to-home platforms of both Prasar Bharati and Essel Group's Dish TV. According to Mr Zubin Gandevia, Managing Director, NGC, "We are open to being part of the DTH ... More

BEVERAGES
PepsiCo chief coming
AFTER the heat and dust created by the Coca-Cola Company Chairman and CEO, Mr E. Neville Isdell's recent visit to India, it seems the PepsiCo boss is also India bound. The Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo, Mr Steve Reinemund, is likely to visit ... More

MEDICAL & SURGICAL EQUIPMENTS

New framework for medical device industry

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Eco clearance must for new constructions
NEW construction projects or industrial estates, in which construction work had not commenced or had not come up to the plinth level or expenditure had not exceed 25 per cent of the total sanctioned cost, would now require environmental clearance ... More

TRADE & LABOUR UNIONS
Rubber plantation strike called off
TRADE unions have called off the 10-day-old strike in the rubber plantation sector in the State after an agreement on productivity-linked interim advance payments, among others, was reached in discussions with the Labour Minister, Mr Babu ... More

EVENTS
ICAI meet on global audit opportunities begins today
THE two-day Continuing Professional Education (CPE) conference on `Emerging Global Opportunities' being organised by the CPE Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accounts of India (ICAI) gets under way here tomorrow. The CPE is partnering ... More

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Nabard entrepreneurship scheme

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Fall in groundnut oil prices dampens export optimism
AS the time for harvest of kharif oilseed crops approaches, a question bigger than the size of the groundnut crop that is engaging the attention of the players is whether groundnut oil exports would be feasible. There is optimism that exports ... More

Higher quotes hit guar gum powder exports — Processors blame futures exchanges for high prices
EXPORTS of guar gum powder have slowed down on sharp fall in guar (Cyanmopsis tetragonolobus) production that has been hit by poor rainfall. With the production fall leading to rise in guar seed prices, the processing industries are ... More

`Exports may touch $75 b this fiscal'
THE country's merchandise exports are likely to touch the $75-billion mark during the current fiscal if the level of growth witnessed so far is sustained, the Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Mr Kamal Nath, said here on ... More