The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, October 20, 2004

CLIMATE & WEATHER
Covery story
It's raining business for this pavement shop selling rainwear , as people in Chennai grapple with the sudden but welcome onset of the North East monsoon.

Monsoon active over Kerala
TWO days into the onset, the northeast monsoon has become active in Kerala to the accompaniment of extravagant strokes of lightning and roll of thunder. The onset phase on Monday did not provide for anything out of the ordinary for the State ... More

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY
Sibal calls for India, Russia to explore alternative fuels
THE Government has called for technological collaboration between India and Russia to explore the use of gas hydrates as an alternative source of energy. Gas hydrates are crystalline solids found at a depth of about a kilometre from the ocean ... More

Praj Ind develops tech to process sweet sorghum for alcohol production
The company is initially launching the technology in Tamil Nadu, which recently announced a policy to encourage sweet sorghum as an alternative to water- intensive crops such as sugarcane. More

ANTI-DUMPING
Peru initiates dumping probe on textile imports
THE end of quota regime in global textile and clothing products at the dawn of 2005 does not mean that India could easily capture a preponderant share of the trade in this segment as many a country is sharpening the knife, by way of ... More

POWER
Bhilwara group in pact with Norway co for hydro project
THE LNJ Bhilwara Group on Tuesday announced a joint venture agreement with Norway-based hydro power major Statkraft Norfund (SN) Power Invest AS for executing hydroelectric projects in India. As part of the agreement, the LNJ Bhilwara Group ... More

Meet on power begins Oct 25
THE emerging power scenario and regulatory issues will be discussed at length during the three-day sixth Power India International conference being organised by India-Tech Foundation at Mumbai from October 25. It will feature an exhibition ... More

New NTPC Simhadri GM
VISAKHAPATNAM: Mr S.C. Pandey has assumed charge as the new General Manager, NTPC Simhadri Thermal Power Project, here. A graduate in instrumentation engineering, Mr Pandey has been serving the NTPC for the past 26 years at various power ... More

TEXTILES
India focusing on `quality' of cotton textiles for global market: Vaghela
INDIA is repositioning itself as a "quality" cotton textiles and apparels manufacturer in the international market after dismantling of the quota regime from January 1, 2005. The Union Minister for Textiles, Mr Shankersinh Vaghela, told ... More

EDUCATION
Pondy varsity holds interface
THE Department of Management Studies of the School of Management in Pondicherry University organised a three-day institute-industry interface programme called `Synapse 04' here last week. The department had been holding such programmes every ... More

JUTE
2 NJMC mills proposed for jt sector
THE Union Textiles Ministry has proposed to place two of the six sick mills of National Jute Manufactures Corporation (NJMC), a PSU, in the joint sector. Mr Shankersinh Vaghela, Union Textiles Minister, told presspersons after an interactive ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
NGRI chief honoured
HYDERABAD: Dr V.P. Dimri, Director, National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), here has been honoured with the Fellowship of the National Academy of Sciences, Allahabad. Earlier in July, he was honoured by the Department of Ocean ... More

MINERALS
NGRI gets US patent for mineral survey device
THE Hyderabad-based National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) has bagged a US patent for the design and development of an electromagnetic induction device that helps in surveys for minerals. To commercially exploit it, NGRI is negotiating ... More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
Left parties not to soften stand on FDI
THE Left parties will not soften their stand on foreign direct investment (FDI) in any critical sector until these result in manufacturing, create employment opportunities and upgrade the technological skills of the domestic industry, Mr Sitaram ... More

Cabinet to consider hiking FDI in civil aviation to 49%
THE Union Cabinet, which is scheduled to meet here on Wednesday, is likely to consider a proposal to hike the foreign direct investment limit in the domestic airline industry from the existing 40 per cent to 49 per cent. However, the issue of ... More

IPR
India will meet deadline for patent protection: Kamal Nath
EVEN as the Left parties have petitioned the Government on the need for addressing concerns of Indian companies before amending the patents law, the Commerce Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, today said the country would meet the deadline for product ... More

SOCIAL WELFARE
Coke contribution
HYDERABAD: Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd in association with the `Hyderabad Round Table,' a non-governmental organisation on Tuesday performed a bhoomi puja for the construction of two classrooms at the Zilla Parishad ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
CIFT launches project for coastal women in Kochi
THE Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) is launching a research project, `Action research on community-based coastal zone management with specific involvement of women', at the Chellanam fishing village in Kochi. The three-year ... More

HUMAN RESOURCES
S. Australia woos skilled professionals
THE South Australian Premier, Mr Mike Rann, has invited Indians to migrate to his State to meet the shortage of skilled professionals — software engineers, doctors, electricians and nurses — there. "We ... More

EVENTS

In Thiruvananthapuram today

In Hyderabad today

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
New import norms for metal scrap
THE Finance Ministry and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), it appears, have at last buried their differences over the import policy on metallic scrap. The Revenue Department and the Department of Commerce had locked horns over ... More