Airlines
Jet Air flights from Mumbai hit
THE Maharashtra Government's decision to prosecute the Shiv Sena chief, Mr. Bal Thackeray, affected the operations of privately-owned Jet Airways today with some staff members not reporting for work amidst tension in the city.
Ministry reviewing decision on AI Calicut-Gulf route
THE Ministry of Civil Aviation is reviewing the decision of whether Air India should be allowed to restart operations on the lucrative Calicut-Gulf route or whether the existing service being operated by Indian Airlines should continue.
AI plans online travel bookings
AIR India plans to allow passengers to make travel bookings on the Internet soon. Senior officials of the Systems Support Department of the airline told Business Line that the plan was to allow such booking to be made by all passengers flying the airline
in a phased manner.
Banking and Finance
`Banks under more pressure to adopt technology faster'
THE Prime Minister's statement that banks need to chalk out a time-bound computerisation and networking programme has put some more pressure on public sector bank for adopting technology, according to Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, member, Planning Commissi
on.
Budget Text
Status of documents -- Tele-enquiry system at air cargo complex
THE Revenue Department has introduced a tele-enquiry system for customs at the Delhi Air Cargo complex wherein importers, exporters, custom house agents and members of the trade will be able to ascertain the current status of their Bill of Entry as well
as Shipping Bill including the status of drawback credit on voice mail, through the telephone.
Corporate
TV18 decision on stake in new co tomorrow
THE board of Television Eighteen India Ltd (TV18) will decide on Tuesday (July 18) whether to invest Rs. 24 crores for a 60 per cent equity stake in a new company it plans to promote.
Decision on IFCI pref issue after revamp panel report
THE Ministry of Finance has decided to keep in abeyance the proposal for subscribing to a Rs. 400-crore preference share issue of IFCI Ltd till the D. Basu Committee, appointed to look into the restructuring of the institution, submits its report to the
Government.
A feminine touch to company boards
WHAT the political parties and the parliamentarians have lost out, the Department for Company Affairs (DCA) seems on the verge of achieving. In all likelihood, this monsoon session of Parliament the Companies (Second Amendment) Bill, 1999 will include a
clause on the reservation of one or two professionally qualified women on a company's board.
Sampre Nutritions bags IA order
HYDERABAD: Sampre Nutritions Ltd, manufacturer of confectionery products, has bagged an order from Indian Airlines Ltd for the supply of 18.5 tonnes of candies and toffees per month. The order is worth Rs. 2.2 crores per year.
Economy
Effforts to attract FDI inflows prove futile
DESPITE the Government's best efforts to attract foreign investors, there has been a gradual slackening of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the country.
Payment of tax-demand before appeal -- Objections stall Finance Ministry move
THE proposal mooted by members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance to make direct tax assessees cough up a certain percentage of the tax-demand raised on them before filing an appeal against the Revenue Department has hit a roadblock, with
the Finance Ministry receiving a spate of representations against the same.
Bangladesh keen on Indian investment
MR. Humayun Kabir, Deputy High Commissioner of Bangladesh in Calcutta, has urged Indian investors to participate in the major disinvestment programme now being taken up in that country.
Information Technology
Mahajan leads IT delegation to China
A high-level Indian official delegation led by the Minister for Information Technology, Mr. Pramod Mahajan, is visiting China to explore possible joint ventures in the IT hardware sector, research and development and collaborations in critical areas of k
nowledge sharing.
PSU
Points to ponder on STC privatisation
As part of its larger disinvestment programme, the Centre wants to divest its stake in a number of public sector companies, many of which are loss-making with no hope of a turnaround. Ironically, the list includes even profit-making parastatals such as t
he State Trading Corporation of India (STC) and MMTC, the traditional trading arms of the Government.
Petroleum
Petrol dealers in Maharashtra call off strike
THE petrol dealers in Maharashtra today called off their strike following the appeal made by Mr. Ram Naik, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
Power
Enron asked to rework tariffs for Karnataka
ENRON has been asked to rework the tariffs for sale of power to Karnataka from the Dabhol Power Company (DPC) as a prerequisite for entering into five-year power purchase agreement.
GoM to review REC's role, operations
THE future role and operations of the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) will be reviewed by the recently-constituted Group of Ministers (GoM) on rural electrification, according to the Power Minister, Mr. P.R. Kumaramangalam.
Move to suppress 850 posts in four TN thermal units
THE trade unions of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) have protested against the Board's proposal to do away with 860 posts at the four thermal stations.
Appeals against HC order on fresh WBSEB tender
THE consortium comprising Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Crompton Greaves Ltd (CGL) and ABB Ltd (ABL) today filed an appeal in the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court challenging the order dated June 20, 2000 passed by Mr. Justice Bhaskar Bha
ttachahrya, directing the West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB) to call for a fresh tender.
States
Goods worth Rs 500cr lost in Ahmedabad due to floods -- Gujarat rain toll touches 65
THE heavy rainfall that lashed Ahmedabad, the commercial capital of Gujarat, during the last three days that started with a record three-hour downpour on Thursday morning has left behind very heavy damage to the trade and commercial circles in the city.
While 10 lives have been lost in the city, taking the toll in the State to 65, the major damage in terms of commodity has occurred from destruction of merchandise stored in the basements of various buildings across the city.
LG launches new models in N-E
GUWAHATI: Consumer electronics giant, LG Electronics India Ltd (LGEIL), has launched new models in various segments of the electronics market in the North-East. The Manager, Guwahati branch, Mr. D. J. Sharma, said the company had launched va
cuum cleaners, a 51-litre refrigerator, a new generation fashion TV, two new models of semi-automatic washing machines, microwave ovens, three models of Flatron TVs and an audio CD recorder. _ Our Bureau
`Utility services in all villages soon'
HYDERABAD: The State Government has drawn up plans to reach out 24 utility services to all villages in the State soon, according to the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Taxation
66.5 pc rise in direct tax collection
THERE has been a 66.5 per cent rise in collection of direct taxes during the first quarter of the current year compared to the corresponding period last year, according to the Union Minister of State for Finance (Revenue), Mr. V. Dhananjaya Kumar. Collec
tion of excise and customs has also risen by 13.5 per cent during the corresponding period.
Textiles
Government close to a solution on NTC mills
WITH operational losses mounting due to delay in finding a durable solution to the deep-rooted sickness of textile mills under the National Textile Corporation (NTC), the Government may accept the inevitable options of ``privatisation, failing which clos
ure of unviable mills with no activity or partial activity'' of the 119 mills of the holding company.
Garment sector dereservation -- Rana hopeful of Cabinet approval
DESPITE the disagreement within the NDA Government over the dereservation of garment sector, the Union Textiles Minister, Mr. Kashiram Rana, has asserted that his Ministry was ``eager'' to dereserve the garment sector from the exclusive domain of the sma
ll-scale industries (SSIs) at the earliest.
