The Hindu Business Line : Friday, November 26, 2004

ANTI-DUMPING
Dumping duty mooted on slabstock polyol imports
THE Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry has recommended imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty on imported flexible slabstock polyol of molecular weight 3000 to 4000, used to produce flexible slabstock foam, from China, South Korea, ... More

ECONOMY
Hold-up in Spending Bill; extra H-1 B visas may take a while
There is no danger to the Spending Bill; but it is taking more time winding its way down to Pennsylvania Avenue. More

Plan panel to begin talks with States from Nov 30
THE Planning Commission is kicking off State Plan discussions for 2005-06 starting with Tamil Nadu on November 30 here, even as the current fiscal year Plan discussions with State Government saw an interlude because of the General Elections in ... More

Six State Finance Ministers to meet PM on debt relief
MOUNTING debt burden has brought together six States to jointly pitch for a plea to get relief from the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh. A meeting has been slated for November 30 in New Delhi when the Finance Ministers of Andhra Pradesh, ... More

`Govt keen on public-private partnership'
THE UPA Government is taking all possible steps to enhance public-private investment for promoting economic growth and poverty reduction in the country, the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, has said. Chairing the first meeting of the ... More

Trek for food
Women labourers take goats for grazing in the forests in Chinnar near Munnar. Many estates having closed down in recent years, women employed in tea estates are taking up other jobs for livelihood. ... More

ENVIRONMENT
Bengal plans sensory tech watch on polluting sponge iron units
PERTURBED by the high level of air pollution created by 30 odd sponge iron plants that have come up in the State in the last few years, the West Bengal Pollution Control Board is planning to take the help of sensory technology to ensure ... More

FERTILISERS
Comprehensive fertiliser policy urged
NEW DELHI: The Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO) has called upon for the formulation of a comprehensive policy covering all fertilisers and taking care of shareholders' concerns. Under the present urea pricing policy, the ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
Israeli delegation to visit India in Dec
THE Deputy Prime Minister of Israel, Mr Ehud Olmert, along with Mr Benjamin Netanyahu, former Prime Minister and now Finance Minster, are visiting India during the first week of December. The leaders will be accompanied by a large delegation ... More

`Doing business with USA'
YOU are a small-scale entrepreneur. You are interested in gaining an entry or at least a peek at how to go about doing business with one of the richest countries in the world, then be at the Le Royal Meridien in Chennai on December 1, say ... More

HEALTH
Organon working on drugs for andropause
THE "male menopause" or andropause may not have globally developed as much as a business segment, as it was expected. But Organon, the human healthcare business unit of Akzo Nobel, continues to pursue research on drug candidates in this segment, ... More

Health Ministry to enforce anti-tobacco law from Jan 1
FROM January 1, 2005 the Health Ministry will start cracking the whip on violations of the tobacco control legislation. The Health Minister, Dr A. Ramadoss, has already written to all the Chief Ministers asking them to strictly enforce the ... More

MPI ties up with cardiac centre
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Government-owned Meat Products of India Ltd (MPI) and the International Centre for Cardio Thoracic and Vascular Diseases-Chennai have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for harvesting heart valves and ... More

Eye surgeons' meet today
KOTTAYAM: The 31st State conference of the Kerala Society of Ophthalmic Surgeons, Drishti 2004, organised by the Kottayam Ophthalmic Society will be held here from November 26 to 28. There will be seminars, interactive sessions, video ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE
`Forex reserves for public investment, a sound idea'
Analysts contend that adequate private investment will not flow to many critical infrastructure areas unless financial and regulatory constraints are addressed. And with the bulk of the country's forex reserves earning abysmal returns, it makes bette r sense to deploy the surplus in public investments — an idea mooted and defended by Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, who elaborated on this theme to G. Srinivasan. More

Modern Shanghai towers way above Mumbai
A distance that would take at least 90 minutes by normal means of transportation takes all of seven minutes on Shanghai's Maglev trains. More

POWER
KSEB bid to improve distribution system
IN a bid to improve the efficiency of power distribution system across the State, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) has initiated steps to minimise the power loss as well as to strengthen the existing lines. The third phase of the ... More

STEEL
To meet steel plant needs — Posco may focus on Paradip port
WITH the Tata-L&T combine having virtually walked away with the Dhamra port project, Posco, the Korean steel giant, is mulling over the idea of concentrating on the Paradip port to meet the requirements of the steel plant it proposes to set up in More

steelrx.com launches magazine
NEW DELHI: Online steel trading portal steelrx.com has launched a monthly magazine. Aimed mainly at the iron and steel trade, the first issue was released here on Monday at the Ministry of Steel by the Joint Secretary in the Steel ... More

TAXATION
Finance Ministry amends Cenvat credit rules
THE Finance Ministry is keen to build a database on Cenvat Credit utilisation in certain industry sectors. The revenue department has amended the Cenvat Credit Rules 2004 to require certain manufacturers of specified excisable goods to file a ... More

Northern States urged to cut entertainment tax
THE PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) has urged the Chief Ministers of various Northern States to reduce the rate of entertainment tax to 30 per cent. In a representation submitted to Chief Ministers of Northern States, including ... More

WATER
Report on water resources in next Budget session
HYDERABAD: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Water Resources will submit its report in the next Budget session of the Lok Sabha, according to the Committee Chairman, Mr Rayapati Samabasiva Rao, here. Mr Rao said that the Committee ... More

CIGARETTES
Cigarette makers divided over nicotine content notice on packs
THE Health Ministry is working on a set of rules for the tobacco industry that will specify the content and packaging rules for tobacco products. Under this head, the issue of nicotine presence in cigarettes and beedis has become a contentious ... More

EDUCATION
CAP vocational training institute inaugurated
THE Director of Intermediate Education, Dr Atchamamba, has inaugurated the Child and Police (CAP) - Teen Channel Institute of Vocational Education under the aegis of the State Institute of Vocational Education (SIVE), Board of Intermediate ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
Janapriya plans townships in Mumbai, Bangalore
JANAPRIYA Engineers Syndicate, a city-based housing construction company, has unveiled its plans to develop residential townships in Mumbai and Bangalore besides Hyderabad in the coming year. The company's new projects include construction of ... More

GOLD & SILVER
Spot gold may correct lower
SPOT gold prices continue to head higher as the dollar made record lows against the Euro in particular and against other major currencies as well in spite of the US economic figures coming in at the higher end of market expectations. The ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Kerala ideal for biotech, IT initiatives: Muthunayagam
BIOTECHNOLOGY, nanotechnology and information technology will together shape the future and will form the foundation of tomorrow's world, said Dr A.E. Muthunayagam, Executive Vice-President (Designate), Kerala State Council for Science, ... More

Synopsys science fair for Govt school students
SYNOPSYS (India) Pvt Ltd is organising the second annual science fair and exhibition, "Disha'04," for government and corporation schools on December 4 at St Theresa Girls School, Chamarajpet, Bangalore. The science fair is jointly organised in ... More

CINEMA
Non-Kannada films: Industry wants legislation on three-week moratorium
NOTED Kannada film star Dr Rajkumar led a dharna today in front of the Vidhana Soudha demanding legalisation of the three-week moratorium on the release of new non-Kannada films in the State. The Chief Minister, Mr Dharam Singh, met the ... More

SMALL SAVINGS
EPF role in social security lauded
SPEAKERS at an interactive session on ESI and PF, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry-Kerala, have lauded the role played by the Employees Provident Fund in providing the biggest social security cover for the working class of the ... More

EVENTS
IIM-K annual management seminar from tomorrow
THE past decade in India has seen changes like never before. This has thrown up unforeseen challenges to the industry, forcing them to look into newer ways of satisfying ever-changing customer needs. In this backdrop IIM-Kozhikode is ... More

OUTLOOK
Industry fears rise in raw material costs on account of Railway freight hike
CORPORATE India has expressed apprehensions that the proposed hike in Railway freight rates ranging between 3.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent will lead to cost-push inflation through the cascading effect. According to industry sources, coming on ... More