Airlines
Tata-SIA bid for AI cleared
THE Government has cleared the bid of the Tata-SIA combine for Air India (AI) disinvestment and will review the position of disinvestment of Indian Airlines (IA) ab initio as both the bidders for the airline have been disqualified under the guidelines fo
r disqualification of bidders, Mr Arun Shourie, Minister for Disinvestment, said here today.
IA introduces Delhi-Mumbai round trip fares
INDIAN Airlines (IA) has introduced a new return journey fare of Rs 10,000 between Delhi and Mumbai for travel in economy class.
Banking and Finance
Banks may offer to buy some PSU debt from US-64 basket
A CLUTCH of banks have indicated their desire to pick up some of the public sector bonds in the Unit Scheme-64's portfolio of Unit Trust of India. The offer, mostly from public sector banks, is in a bid to infuse cash into the ailing scheme to meet redem
ption obligations.
Banks find a rewarding crop
NATIONALISED banks are waking up to the fact that lending to the farmer is a viable option.
Madhavpura Mercantile bank revival delayed
THE first step towards the revival of the collapsed Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank (MMCB), through the reconstitution of its board of directors, has been delayed further.
Corporate
HC vacates stay on VST open offer -- Denies offer period extension
THE Andhra Pradesh High Court has dismissed the petition filed by a couple of shareholders of VST Industries Ltd on June 8, based on which it had granted interim stay orders directing both Bright Star Investments Ltd and Russell Credit Ltd not to proceed
further in the acquisition of VST shares through their offers. Accordingly, the stay on the acquisition process has been vacated.
Economy
Improving efficiency vital to stem privatisation
IMPROVING efficiencies in the public sector is crucial to stemming the wave of privatisation planned by the Government, according to Mr R. Kuchelan, Chairman of the Working Peoples' Trade Union Council (WPC).
TUs plan State-level meets against reforms
AS a `curtain raiser' of sorts for the July 24 convention of all the Central trade unions to be held in New Delhi, the joint committee of trade unions is organising a State convention in Bangalore on July 12 and a district convention in Mangalore on July
10.
CII outlines steps to forge ties with Pakistan
AHEAD of the summit meeting between the President of Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf, and the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has suggested the formal institutionalisation of a joint parliamentary co
nference as a first step towards building confidence between the business communities on both sides of the border.
Urban readership base grows 52 pc
THE reader base in urban India has grown by 52 per cent from 63 million to 96 million over the last decade, the National Readership Survey (NRS) 2001 said in its latest findings.
`Reforms have failed to help the deprived'
THERE is a crisis between the perception of goals of the middle class and the reality of the 35 crore people living below the poverty line and it is high time that efforts are made to bridge the huge gap, said Mr Pavan K. Verma, High Commissioner Designa
te to Cyprus.
Mutual Funds
UTI asked to work on small investor plan
THE UTI board is hopeful of working out an exit route for small investors to its US-64 scheme shortly.
MPs quiz Sinha on UTI debacle
THE Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, today got a taste of what to expect during the monsoon session, with several members of Parliament raising the issue of the UTI debacle at the meeting of the Consultative Committee on Finance.
Pharmaceuticals
SEBI clears Zydus offer price for German Remedies
THE Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has given Zydus Cadila permission to proceed with the open offer for German Remedies Ltd (GRL) at the original offer price of Rs 650 per share.
`Penegra' case may set a new trend
THE tale of trademark infringement of Pfizer's Viagra by the `desi' avtars may have received a twist when Zydus Cadila was recently allowed to resume the marketing of its `Penegra' brand, albeit in a different colour.
Policy
Sushma for separate body to regulate content
THE Information and Broadcasting Ministry has suggested that content be regulated by a separate body and not by the proposed super regulator, Communications Commission of India (CCI).
Power
One-time settlement of SEBs' dues -- Centre yields to States' demand for greater sops
THE Centre today yielded to the States' demand for greater incentives than that prescribed by the Expert Committee on the one-time settlement of State electricity board dues. It, however, refused to yield on the current payments' front even as the States
sought relief on payment of current bills to the extent of 40 per cent.
MERC fiat to Govt on dues to SEB
THE Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) today ordered the State Government to file, within seven days, an affidavit declaring the subsidy amount payable to the State Electricity Board for financial year 2001-02.
States
Oppn asked to help improve Bengal image
MR Nirupam Sen, the West Bengal Industry and Commerce Minister, has sought the co-operation of the Opposition parties to build a positive image for the State to help attract prospective investors from outside.
State Mining Ministers to discuss dereservation
IN a bid to boost the country's mining industry, the Union Minister of Mining, Mr Sunder Lal Patwa, has convened a meeting of the Ministers of Mining and Geology of the States on July 14.
TUs oppose Kerala move to hike power tariff
A meeting of the United Trade Union, a confederation of various trade unions in and around Kochi, has urged the Kerala Government to review its decision to hike power tariff, saying that any increase would affect the functioning of various industrial uni
ts.
Statute review paper released -- Panel proposes separate study on water disputes
THE National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution proposes to make a separate study on the issues of inter-State water disputes and disagreements relating to inter-State activities such as trade and commerce.
Concern at tardy deposit growth in Dakshina Kannada
A MEETING of the district consultative committee and district-level review committee for banking held here attributed the decline in the growth of deposits and advances in the rural centres of the Dakshina Kannada district to the plummeting prices of the
predominant plantation crops of the district-- arecanut, coconut, rubber and pepper.
Fire fighting drill
Indian Oil Corporation employees demonstrating a rescue drill at Cherlapally bottling plant near Hyderabad, where the company has established its bottling facility with a capacity of nearly 16000 bottle per day.
Stocks
JPC to probe UTI positions in `Ketan Parekh' scrips
THE Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), probing the stock market scam, will take a cue from the lead provided by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) regarding UTI's sale and purchase of four so-called ``Ketan Parekh scrips'' -- HFCL, Zee
Telefilm, Global Telesystems and DSQ Software -- from July 1999 to March 2001.
Taxation
Draft rules on valuation of perks cause concern in corporate circles
THE proposed Draft Rules for valuation of perquisites -- for the purpose of computing the income chargeable under the head ``Salaries'' -- released recently by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, has caused widespread concern among employees of top compan
ies, chambers of commerce and taxation experts.
Duty evasion by pan masala maker
NEW DELHI: The Central Excise Commissionerate, Lucknow has detected excise duty evasion to the tune of Rs 40 crore by a manufacturer of pan masala.
Transfer pricing rules to be notified soon: CBDT
THE Finance Ministry will notify the transfer pricing rules during this fortnight or maybe the week thereafter, according to Mr G.C. Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).
Telecommunications
HC adjourns basic telephone service case to July 24
THE question of clearing the applications for issue of letters of intent for `basic telephone service' as per the Telecom Policy 1999 adumbrated by the Ministry of Communications has to wait till at least July 24, when the case preferred by a Chennaiite
challenging the guidelines issued by the Ministry would be taken up.
Reliance withdraws one set of cellular bids
RELIANCE Communications Pvt Ltd has withdrawn its set of bids for the fourth cellular licences in 15 circles across the country, which it had submitted to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on July 29.
Textiles
Cotton yarn exports to Russia down 100%
COTTON yarn shipment from India to quota countries has sharply declined through the second quarter this calendar year.
