INFRASTRUCTURE
Bengal keen on funding from multilateral agencies
The departments concerned were negotiating with the World Bank for a loan of about Rs 4,000 crore for undertaking various infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges and power generation and distribution. More

AP invites pvt participation for infrastructure
THE State Government has called for private participation in improving infrastructure in the State. Delivering the inaugural address at a three-day international conference organised by the Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (India), Mr ... More

PSU
Get the right price
Sankar Ray on why deals in distressed assets have to be fair to the sellers too More

PETROLEUM
IT cos indifferent to oil sector: Raha
THE ONGC Chairman & Managing Director, Mr Subir Raha, said here on Wednesday that domestic IT companies were "totally indifferent" to the software needs of the oil and gas sector and that they had taken "zero initiative" in this ... More

Australian co wins ONGC contract for `digital oil field'
THE Oil and Natural Gas Corporation has awarded a $215.35-million contract to Australian company Clough Engineering for developing G1-GS15 fields in the Krishna-Godavari offshore for producing 1 million tonne of low-sulphur crude oil and 6 ... More

POWER
REL to bid for UP's five distribution cos
RELIANCE Energy Ltd will bid for five electricity distribution companies in Uttar Pradesh up for sale through a Government-initiated international bidding process. This decision was taken by the REL board, which met on Tuesday to consider the ... More

STEEL
Monitoring movement of rakes — SAIL seeks access to Rlys' freight info facility
STEEL Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) is planning to access Indian Railways' Freight Operation Information System (FOIS) and has accordingly approached the Railways authorities. The Railways is understood to have agreed to provide the facility, ... More

WATER
`Water-sharing pact not at the cost of fraternal ties'
THE Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, has said that the State does not want to compromise its cordial relations with the neighbouring Tamil Nadu even while seeking to protect its rights in the long-drawn river water sharing talks. Replying to ... More

RADIO/TV
Monthly cable TV bill to go up 7%
MONTHLY cable bills are set to go up by 7 per cent from January 2005. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), after reviewing the ceiling rates for inflation, has issued an order permitting the hike. It has said that the new rates ... More

`Bandwidth issue could drive up costs for broadcasters'
THE country's television industry has had a stupendous growth during this year with a large number of broadcasters joining the fray but distribution infrastructure has not kept pace. A serious bandwidth space issue facing the industry could ... More

EDUCATION
Record overseas job offers at IIM-B
THE Class of 2006 at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, has created history of sorts with 43 students out of 163 getting overseas offers for summer placements. According to a release by the institute, this is the highest across all ... More

CARS
Maruti, Skoda mull price hike in January
MARUTI Udyog Ltd and Skoda Auto on Wednesday said that they are planning to increase prices of their vehicles in January 2005. While Maruti did not specify the models across which it would enforce a price hike, {Scaron}koda Auto India in a ... More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
New housing policy on anvil
A NEW housing policy, focusing on expansion of housing for weaker sections in rural areas and to expedite urban reforms process, is expected to be announced shortly. This was stated by the Minister for Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation, ... More

Majestic Properties plans 3 more malls
CLOSE on the heels of announcing its `Melange' mall project near Meerut at an estimated cost of over Rs 80 crore, Majestic Properties is now planning three more malls in the country. "There are three more malls in the pipeline. We will be ... More

GOLD & SILVER
Lacklustre deal
Sharp rise in gold prices has weakened demand for gold jewellery in Kerala, despite being the buying season. The price per gram has gone up to Rs 616, prompting many to sell off their jewellery, which the dealers do not ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
`Tap biz opportunities'
HYDERABAD: The Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Fapcci) has asked industrialists to tap business opportunities available in the State. Addressing the second meeting of Fapcci-CEO Club, Mr O.P. Goenka, ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Scientists look to Space for energy source
DEMANDS of the digital economy on power quality, concerns on pollution levels flowing from raised generation and fears over depleting fossil fuel reserves are forcing engineers to turn to the Creator for an assured and sustainable source of ... More

WTO
US comes under fire at WTO's dispute settlement meet
A GROUP of developed and developing countries including India have succeeded in getting the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body to authorise suspension of concessions and other obligations to the US under the latter's so-called ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
AP among top three in local area development
ANDHRA Pradesh is among the top three States in utilising funds under the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS). So far about 89 per cent of funds allocated to the State's Lok Sabha members and 82 per cent to its Rajya ... More

EVENTS
Hannover Fair to be held in April
THE next edition of the Hannover Industry Fair, which remains the world's leading showcase for industrial technology, is to be held from April 11 to 15, 2005. The fair, which provides a comprehensive presentation of industrial automation ... More

CII organises AIDS rally
HYDERABAD: Marking the World AIDS Day, the Andhra Pradesh chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has organised a rally here on Wednesday to create awareness on the disease. The rally, which started at Narsapur Cross Roads ... More

INCOME TAX
I-T collections overestimated on challan confusion
FOR the first ever time, the Centre's revenue collections from personal income-tax have exceeded that from corporation tax during the current fiscal, sparking off questions regarding the sources behind the unusual buoyancy in the former. As ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Par-boiled rice exports to Africa on the rise
AT least one lakh tonnes of par-boiled rice have been exported, mainly to West and North African countries, in small lots during the last couple of months. With the Government yet to decide on the scheme to promote foodgrain exports, exporters ... More