The Hindu Business Line : Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Project for youth in AP
HYDERABAD: Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, has launched the CII and City & Guilds (C&G) project on enhancing the skills of the youth at Machilipatnam in Krishna District on Sunday. Addressing a gathering after ... More

ECONOMY

RESURGENT INDIA

The great growth story
New-generation companies are spearheading a resurgent India. And it is changing the Mumbai skyline like never before. More

Hiccups, yet Mumbai marches on!
MENTION Mumbai, and immediately one's thoughts turn to money. How many times has one heard Mumbai being referred to as a gold mine, an El Dorado bursting with rags-to-riches stories. This was also the theme of the popular Johnny Walker song from ... More

Starting up a brand new day
"I WATCH the western sky/The sun is sinking/The geese are flying south/It sets me thinking." Like birds in winter, markets and manufacturing hotspots were shifting. Asia was the world's big opportunity and with it, the world was Asia's ... More

City of Hope
IF Kolkata can be called the city of joy, Mumbai must be, and I believe is, the city of hope. Thousands of immigrants from all over India find their way into this metropolis hoping to make their fortune. This is certainly not a recent phenomenon. ... More

Why financial planning?
INDIA'S financial sector has seen major changes over the past decade, with the banking, securities and insurance sectors becoming less clearly defined as banks began to move towards universal banking structures. These changes affect ... More

ESCAP pegs India's GDP growth rate at 7.5 pc
INDIA is one of the countries hit by the recent tsunami, but the disaster is unlikely to have much of an impact on its growth prospects with the country's growth becoming "more broad-based" in 2004. This is the assessment of the Bangkok-based ... More

Plan panel to prepare discussion paper on regulatory regime
THE Planning Commission will put up a discussion paper on improving regulatory mechanisms and setting up new regulators where they do not exist but are needed by May for national debate. This follows a directive from the Prime Minister, Dr ... More

ENVIRONMENT

Shipping Ministry urged to carry out studies for Sethusamudram project
THE Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has urged the Shipping Ministry to carry out detailed studies before initiating further proceedings on the proposed Sethusamudram project, the much-awaited maritime shortcut between the East and West ... More

Saving the turtle
Greenpeace activists protesting outside Bombay House, the Tata headquarters in Mumbai on Tuesday, against the steel plant coming up near Damra port in Orissa. The six-million-tonne per annum steel project will export and import steel products ... More

FOREIGN TRADE

`Time to come out with FDI-based ties with Japan'
THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) has suggested that Indo-Japan bilateral trade relationship should shift to foreign direct investment route rather than being only official development assistance (ODA) based. Echoing ... More

Aiyar to visit Pak next month
THE Petroleum Minister, Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, will leave for Pakistan in May on an official visit to boost bilateral energy ties including the $4.16-billion Iran-India gas pipeline project. "I am leaving for Islamabad on May 25. Bilateral ... More

HEALTH

AP raises ESI limit on super-speciality treatment to Rs 1 lakh
THE Andhra Pradesh Government has agreed to raise the ceiling for super-speciality treatment under ESI from Rs 75,000 to Rs 1 lakh. This would benefit those who need to undergo bypass surgery, kidney transplantation, neurosurgery, and cancer ... More

Nursing Council directive
HYDERABAD: The Nursing Council of India has advised the State Government not to issue essentiality certificates from the academic year 2006-07. Participating in a review meeting here, Dr D Sambasiva Rao, Secretary (Health, Government ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE

USAID to help develop pool finance structure in Bengal
THE United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Government of West Bengal today decided to work for development of a "pool finance" structure for urban infrastructure capacity building. USAID has already helped in the ... More

Govt to build 42 flyovers in Mumbai
MOTORISTS in Mumbai now have a reason to cheer. The State Government is planning to build 42 new flyovers over the next three years under the World Bank-funded Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP). The Maharashtra State Road Development ... More

PSU

Salem Steel Plant aims at 40 pc increase in production
THE public sector Salem Steel Plant (SSP) plans to raise its production by 40 per cent to 2.11 lakh tonnes for 2005-06 fiscal from the 1.50 lakh tonnes during 2004-05. The plant is also eyeing the special finishes fabrication and kitchenware ... More

`Viability is key to investment in melting shop'
IF sourcing stainless steel slab, the prime raw material for the Salem Steel Plant (SSP), at competitive rates is the basis for long-term profitability of the company, any decision to invest on the proposed steel melting shop for the plant to ... More

PETROLEUM

Left parties urge Govt not to raise petro prices
THE Left allies of the UPA Government on Tuesday asked the Centre not to raise petrol and diesel prices and instead cut excise duty and put the increase in road cess in abeyance. This, the allies felt would contain the impact of rise in ... More

Development, expansion of Tapti gas field: British Gas-ONGC-Reliance joint venture plans to invest $500 m
THE three-way joint venture by British Gas, ONGC and Reliance Industries Ltd that operates the Panna, Mukta and Tapti gas fields on Tuesday announced an investment plan of $500 million for the development and expansion of the Tapti gas field, ... More

POWER

Power Tariff Policy to be finalised soon
THE Government is close to finalising its long-pending Power Tariff Policy, which would be placed before the Union Cabinet in about a couple of weeks time, the Power Secretary, Mr R.V. Shahi, said here today. Speaking on the sidelines of the ... More

STEEL

Orissa not to allow setting up of new sponge iron units
TAKING note of the pollution being caused by sponge iron units, the Orissa Government has recently decided not to allow setting up of new sponge iron units in the State. The decision will also cover the 30-odd applications pending with the ... More

TAXATION

Some mass consumption items exempted from VAT — Consensus reached on convergence of rates
THE Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on VAT on Tuesday gave away fresh sweeteners to ensure smooth sailing of VAT implementation and also achieve convergence in VAT rates. In a common man-friendly move, the committee has exempted ... More

VAT: Promos on consumers' rights soon
THE Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on Value Added Tax (VAT) may soon switch track and focus energies on educating consumers about their responsibilities and rights under a VAT regime. The media campaign so far was mainly ... More

`Trade response to VAT disappointing'
THE Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on Value Added Tax (VAT) has expressed disappointment over the trade response to the implementation of VAT. "I am slightly disappointed with trade over its response to VAT implementation. ... More

SSI

Commonwealth SME meet — enterprising
WHEN the curtains fell on the Second Commonwealth-India Small Business Competitiveness Programme, delegates from the 35-odd countries who participated in the five-day meet had a lot to take home. The 72 members were drawn from bureaucracy, ... More

RADIO/TV

Nickelodeon in tie-up with Bombay Dyeing
NICKLEODEON, the children's channel, has tied up with Bombay Dyeing for a merchandising arrangement. Nickelodeon Asia has tied up with Bombay Dyeing to feature characters from two of its shows, SpongeBob SquarePants and Blue's ... More

BIO-TECH & GENETICS

Western Australia keen on biotech alliances
INDIA and Australia are expected to be major players in the biotechnology sector in the Asia Pacific region. In that context, there is a possibility of Western Australia and India working together on biotech alliances to leverage on each ... More

MINERALS

`East can attract $125 b investment in minerals'
A report on the country's potential in the minerals and metals sector, jointly prepared by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Mckinsey & Company has highlighted that this sector alone in the eastern region has the potential to attract ... More

NEWSPAPERS & PUBLISHING

Resurgent India
Exactly a year ago, Business Line made its entry in Mumbai. On the occasion of the edition's first anniversary, we bring out a four-page colour feature titled "Resurgent India". It reflects the forward march of a nation, counted by many ... More

FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT

`Investment boom will follow Japanese PM's visit'
THE forthcoming visit of the Prime Minister of Japan, Mr Junichiro Koizumi, is expected to spark a fresh wave of Japanese investment into India. "I see a second investment boom into India from Japanese companies," Mr Yasukuni Enoki, Ambassador ... More

IPR

CII-APTDC workshop
HYDERABAD: With a view to help SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in protecting their intellectual property, the CII and Andhra Pradesh Technology Development and Promotion Centre (APTDC) have decided to conduct a survey to identify ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

Guatemala takes flavour off cardamom exports
STIFF competition from Guatemala in the world cardamom market has pushed down the Indian exports substantially. India, which used to export over 2,000 tonnes of cardamom (small) even when the total production of the commodity in the country ... More

EU to launch probe into sharp surge in Chinese textile imports
THE European Union (EU) Trade Commissioner, Mr Peter Mandelson, has announced that he has decided to ask the European Commission to authorise him to launch investigations into nine categories of Chinese textile exports to the EU in the light of a ... More

IOC to step up crude import from Iraq
INDIAN Oil Corporation is showing increasing preference for Iraq crude, better known as `Basra Light', primarily due to the price advantage it offers. Having entered the Iraq market last year, the company procured 4.8-million tonne (mt) Basra ... More

Services Export Promotion Council gets off the ground — L.B. Singhal is Executive Director
THE Commerce Ministry has taken the first step towards operationalising the Services Export Promotion Council (SEPC) by appointing Mr L.B. Singhal as its Executive Director. Mr Singhal is currently the Director-General of the Export Promotion ... More

TOURISM

Global demand for eco-lodges expected to rise by 10 pc
THE global demand for eco-lodges is expected to increase by an average of 10 per cent per annum over the next several decades, but the sector faces a number of challenges and requires a comprehensive development strategy to support its ... More

Airport officials taught to be tourist-friendly
OFFICIALS of the Customs Department at the Begumpet Airport, who are the first to greet tourists arriving in Hyderabad by air, have got tips to be tourist-friendly. Experts from Tourism and Hospitality Training Centre conducted a day-long ... More