The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, September 27, 2005

Monsoon on withdrawal mode
THE anti-cyclonic circulation is bearing down on the west and northwest, creating favourable conditions for withdrawal of the southwest monsoon from these regions during the next 2-3 days. Meanwhile, Typhoon Damrey roared across the South ... More

NON-CONVENTIONAL ENERGY

Malaysia to build three palm biodiesel plants
PALM biodiesel is set to become a viable alternative to petroleum diesel in the wake of soaring crude oil prices; and to derive benefit from this new development the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) will soon commence construction of three ... More

COURTS/LEGAL ISSUES

SC seeks explanation on `unregulated' mobile towers
THE Supreme Court of India has sought explanation from all the mobile phone operators and various government and semi-government agencies over the issue of alleged `illegal' and `unregulated' constructions of mobile phone towers on top of ... More

ECONOMY

PM to meet Plan panel today on agriculture issues
THE Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has convened a meeting of the Planning Commission on Tuesday to discuss the problems of the agriculture sector. The meeting follows a sharp deceleration in agriculture growth from the Ninth Plan onwards ... More

ENGINEERING

Pak keen on buying Indian machinery for edible oil refineries
Pakistan would like to take India's help for setting up the refineries and has drawn a lesson from India in going in for value-addition of edible oils. More

ENVIRONMENT

Fact-finding team to visit Kudremukh mines
AN eight-member fact-finding team of the Jaya Sri Krishna Parisara Premi Samithi will visit Kudremukh on September 28 to assess environmental pollution there. Addressing newspersons here on Monday, Prof B.M. Hegde, President of the Dakshina ... More

FOREIGN TRADE

`Trade barriers deter better business ties with ASEAN'
Though India and Asean signed FTA in 2003 and the former has already started rationalising its tariff structure, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam have not responded. More

INFRASTRUCTURE

Infrastructure growth slows to 5.7 pc in Aug
The sector's growth in April-August also slowed down to 5.1 per cent (6.5 per cent). More

PSU

Panel visits Bharat Dynamics
HYDERABAD: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence visited Bharat Dynamics Ltd (BDL), a public sector undertaking on Monday. The Chairman and Managing Director, Major General (Retd) Rajnesh Gossain, briefed them about the on-going ... More

PETROLEUM

`Only Centre has options to control fuel price rise'
THE Centre has various options to rein in fuel prices, which it is not exercising, according to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa. Intervening during the debate on the first supplementary estimates in the Assembly today, she ... More

POWER

NTPC seeks to include Dabhol project under tripartite pact — To lower risk of payment default
THE Rs 26,000-crore National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has sought the inclusion of the erstwhile Dabhol power project under the purview of the tripartite agreement to mitigate the risk of a payment default by Maharashtra, which is to buy ... More

TAXATION

Seven States may participate in tax info exchange project
The information exchange system would also help verify and track inter-State transactions and curtail the scope for tax evasion. More

SSI

Promoting small units
The Defence Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee (right), with the Minister for Small-Scale Industries and Agro & Rural Industries, Mr Mahabir Prasad, at a `National expo of small, agro & rural Industries' in the Capital on Monday. ... More

TYRES

Tyre exports up 26 pc in '04-05
TYRE exports surged by nearly 26 per cent during fiscal 2004-05 to touch Rs 1,834 crore, according to the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers' Association (ATMA). Exports during 2003-04 stood at Rs 1,460 crore, which represented a nearly 17 per ... More

COAL

Coal India chief for expediting approval for new projects
THE Chairman of Coal India Ltd, Mr Shashi Kumar, has urged the Union Government to expedite the official clearance process for new coal projects to enable coal companies maximise their production. He said the perceived coal demand-supply ... More

EDUCATION

`Teachers must stimulate young minds with science'
PROF Douglas Dean Osheroff, Nobel laureate in physics, wants science teachers to stimulate the imagination of young minds. "Most children are interested in natural phenomenon. If their questions are not answered, their interest withers away," ... More

IIPM conducts seminar in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), in association with its consulting partner, Planman Consulting, organised a seminar based on Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's best selling book "Count Your Chickens Before They ... More

MEDICAL & SURGICAL EQUIPMENTS

AP buys 40 lakh disposable syringes
HINDUSTAN Syringes & Medical Devices Ltd (HSMD) has announced that the Andhra Pradesh Government bought 40 lakh auto disable (AD) syringes for immunisation in 22 districts of the State. In a press release here, the company said the State ... More

BIO-TECH & GENETICS

ABLE announces 3 regional chapters
ABLE, the Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises, has said it will start three regional chapters. These would be in Hyderabad for the South, Mumbai for the West and New Delhi for the North, a release said. Dr M. Vidyasagar, Executive ... More

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

CCMB opens advanced spectroscopy facility
THE Director General of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Dr R.A. Mashelkar, on Monday inaugurated a spectroscopy and proteomics facility at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). According to CCMB, the setting ... More

MINING & QUARRYING

South Goa to host meet on mining industry
A TWO-day international seminar on mining industry beginning on Wednesday in South Goa would evaluate the present status of iron ore industry in the country and sketch the strategies to improve the competitive edge in the domestic as well as ... More

SOCIAL WELFARE

Programme for tsunami-hit children
A memorandum of understanding for a three-year programme to provide educational and nutritional support to tsunami-affected children in the country was signed between the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) and the Bharat Soka Gakkai ... More

CAG non-committal on issue of auditing NGO accounts
PLAYING safe over the ticklish issue of auditing books of accounts of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) receiving Central aid, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), Mr V.N. Kaul, has said that it was for the Government to take a call on ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

BL CLUB

`Rural computer education a billion dollar industry'
"THE next big thing in the computer industry is happening in the rural areas. Educating the rural population is a billion-dollar industry," said Mr L. Balasubramanian, President, `K-12 business', a strategic business unit of NIIT, to the students ... More

EVENTS

Seminar on FEMA, TDS
HYDERABAD: The Sub-Chapter to the Indian branch of the Netherlands-based International Fiscal Association (IFA) has announced that it is organising a full-day seminar on `FEMA, TDS and Transfer Pricing' here on October 1. In a press ... More

INCOME TAX

Madurai Bench HC grants stay on chamber plea on FBT
THE Madurai Bench of Madras High Court granted an interim stay on the application of Fringe Benefit Tax on the members of the plaintiff organisation - Tamilnadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Mr Justice K. Raviraja Pandian granted the ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS

Cashew growers in pact with insurers for `transit' cover
THE Karnataka Cashew Manufacturers Association (KCMA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Ltd and Oriental Insurance Company to underwrite marine cover for the cashew industry. Under the ... More

Rubber exports failed to pick up last year
IT is a paradox that export of sheet rubber from the country failed to pick up last year despite international prices reigning higher by about Rs 15 per kg, according to the Cochin Rubber Merchants Association. Addressing the AGM, the ... More

NATURAL CALAMITIES

YSR orders 25 pc hike in compensation
THE Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, on Monday directed the officials to enhance the norms of relief assistance by 25 per cent from the present to all the affected farmers suffered due to cyclonic storm that hit the state recently. ... More

TOURISM

exevo plans to tap tourists to do market research, translation — Work-holiday model in conceptual stage
WHEN it comes to tapping opportunities in the emerging knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) space, companies seem to be devising novel ways. Driven by a client push to take on an increasing amount of work in foreign languages, KPO company exevo is ... More

Tourism infrastructure gets a boost in AP coastal districts
THE Andhra Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation is developing infrastructure in a big way in the Visakhapatnam division comprising East Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts. A major park is coming up at ... More