The Hindu Business Line : Thursday, June 14, 2007

CLIMATE & WEATHER
Rains hit train services
Train services on both Howrah and Sealdah divisions of Eastern Railway were disrupted today because of a spell of torrential rain early in the morning, says a press release. The disruption was caused by frequent tripping of ... More

Out of gear
TRAFFIC DISRUPTED: The water-logged road in front of Raj Bhavan at Dalhousie area in Kolkata as the heavy showers and subsequent non-stop drizzle resulted in flooding of large parts of the city on Wednesday. ... More

ANTI-DUMPING
India is second in initiating new anti-dumping probes: WTO
`Total initiations in H2 of 2006 declined compared to previous year' More

ECONOMY
Organised food retailing can increase rural income, cut inflation: Crisil
Will facilitate better supply chain management, create efficiencies More

ENVIRONMENT
An initiative to get rid of solid wastes
The menace of solid waste has become the biggest challenge for urban civic bodies. Sheer volume of solid waste they have to manage every day and huge costs involved to carry out the job is a Herculean task for the cash-starved ... More

FOREIGN TRADE
Egypt keen on more co-operation with India
`Offers good roads, IT infrastructure among other facilities' More

Indo-Japan Chamber SME desk
To strengthen trade relations between small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India and Japan, the Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry has proposed setting up an SME desk that will explore opportunities to outsource work ... More

INFRASTRUCTURE
Pact signed for convention centre
The Kerala Government on Wednesday entered into an `authorisation agreement' with a consortium led by Chalet Hotels for setting up a Rs 100-crore International Convention Centre Complex (ICCC) near Akkulam Tourist Village near here. Chalet ... More

PETROLEUM
Bring ATF under declared goods, says Mallya
`Supply fuel at rational price' More

PHARMACEUTICALS
Drug pricing body regains powers
Nine years since it last fixed the price for any non-scheduled drug, the National Pharma Pricing Authority (NPPA) is exercising its powers under Para 10 (B) of the Drug (Price Control) Order, 1995 again. The authority is believed to have ... More

TAXATION
Pay more for highways with bridges, tunnels
Road Ministry formulates rules for new toll policy More

PHD Chamber for quick implementation of VAT in UP
The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged quick implementation of Value Added Tax (VAT) in Uttar Pradesh as part of its wish list to take the State to a higher orbit of growth. "UP cannot afford to remain isolated from other States ... More

SSI
SAP India to launch `hosted model' solution for SMEs
As part of its go-to-market initiatives, enterprise business solutions major SAP India Pvt Ltd will soon announce the launch of a "hosted model" B1 (Business One) solution for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India, according to Mr Alan ... More

SecureSynergy, Israel co team up
Israel-based Aladdin Knowledge Systems has partnered with SecureSynergy, an information assurance services firm, to offer secure surfing and mailing services to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in India. The service aims ... More

VMWare targets SMEs for virtualisation software
Virtualisation vendor VMWare is now planning to target small and medium businesses (SMB) in India. Virtualisation is a blanket of software that helps administrators manage servers better through a single interface. It masks the number and ... More

RADIO/TV
Radio City's high decibel campaign
Radio City 91.1 FM is launching its largest campaign ever in an effort to mark out a unique position amidst the clutter of radio channels. Declining to comment on the budget of the `Fun ki nayi Bhasha' campaign which aired last weekend, ... More

Voluntary CAS in 55 cities mooted
The group established by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to look into digitalisation and introduction of voluntary Conditional Access System (CAS) has recommended that the system be rolled out in 55 new cities. Comprising of ... More

EDUCATION
Sanra Soft signs pact with UK varsity
Sanra Soft, a media technology company, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the University of Portsmouth in the United Kingdom to deliver two new media courses starting October this year in Creative and Cultural Leadership (M.A. ... More

MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS & HOSPITALS
Wockhardt signs MoU with Gujarat Govt to manage hospital
Under public-private partnership model More

REAL ESTATE & CONSTRUCTION
TN imposes new charge on building projects
Rs 100 per sq ft fixed for Chennai metropolitan area More

Additional burden of Rs 400 cr, say TN real estate developers
Estimated additional burden at Rs 400 cr More

LEATHER
Footwear institute ties up with IGNOU
Footwear Design and Development Institute (FDDI) has tied up with the IGNOU for offering professional programmes through distance learning mode. The initiative is aimed at facilitating training for working professionals and also at extending the ... More

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
Block move for Wi-Max in 3G band: GSM operators
Says issues relating to interference must be sorted out More

MINING & QUARRYING
Bauxite mining in Vizag dist opposed
All opposition parties in the State - the two left parties, the BJP and the Telugu Desam - have condemned the proposal of the State Government to undertake bauxite mining in the agency tracts of Visakhapatnam district through the Andhra ... More

MINERALS
Nod for low-grade barytes benefaction plants in AP
CM okays 3 plants involving Rs 90-cr investment More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT
60,000 IT-enabled rural centres by Aug 2008 likely
Providing information and e-governance, micro-credit services More

GramIT proposes 7 new BPO units in Andhra Pradesh villages
Shortlists some villages; targets college youth More

LABOUR REFORMS
Minister calls for interface on child labour
The Minister of State for Commerce, Mr Jairam Ramesh, has proposed an interaction involving the Ministries of Labour, Human Resource Development and Social Welfare along with state governments, the export promotion councils and non-governmental ... More

EVENTS
`ICT will play critical role in connecting rural areas with cities'
The Information and communication technology (ICT) will play a critical role in connecting rural India to the urban areas, said MART, the Delhi-based rural marketing consultancy agency. "Corporate houses and the Government needs to look at the ... More

EXPORTS & IMPORTS
Kamal Nath to press for higher DEPB, drawback rates
Slew of measures to address exporters' concerns More

NATURAL CALAMITIES
Mock drills on disaster management
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is planning to conduct 21 disaster management mock drills in the country during 2007-08. Brig. B.K. Khanna, Specialist (Training and Capacity Building) of NDMA, told this to ... More

TOURISM
KSINC focus on upmarket tourism sector
The State-owned Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation has officially launched its tourist boat - Lake Palace - which is ideally suited for long trips in the backwaters. The boat is fully air-conditioned with comfortable ... More

India's tourism potential `being held back'
`Rajasthan model worthy of emulation by other States' More