Agriculture
Rice exports from FCI stocks
THE Government has decided to allow rice exports of up to two million tonnes from the Food Corporation of India's (FCI) stocks. The exports would be routed through public sector trading companies, including State Trade Corporation (STC), MMTC and Project
s and Equipment Corporation (PEC).
MPs petition PM on Paroda's removal
AFTER representations from crop scientists and academics, it is now the turn of 101 members of Parliament to petition the Prime Minister, urging "immediate withdrawal" of the decision to remove Dr R.S. Paroda from his dual positions of Director-General,
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education.
Airlines
Alliance Air to station leased aircraft in Mumbai
THE two leased Boeing 737 aircraft for Alliance Air due to arrive later this month are to be stationed in Mumbai to augment the services operated by the airline from the region.
Through check-in facilities -- Jet Air in talks with Saudi, Kuwait airlines
JET Airways is in talks with Saudia Airlines and Kuwait Airways to finalise through check-in facilities, following the success of similar arrangements with Emirates Airline and Gulf Air, according to a Jet Airways senior official.
Stanchart loan for aircraft purchase
STANDARD Chartered Bank is understood to be arranging a $350-million loan for Jet Airways.
Banking and Finance
ICICI Bank, BoM merger on cards
ICICI Bank Ltd is considering the merger of Bank of Madura Ltd (BoM) with it, according to separate announcements made by both banks. The board of directors of both banks are meeting on December 11 to consider the scheme of merger. The scheme has to be c
leared by the boards of both banks and the Reserve Bank.
Coal
`Synthetic petrol from coal in 5 years' -- Tie-up with Sasol Mining mooted
IN a move that may have far-reaching consequences on the country's economy as a whole, the Government is contemplating on a plan to produce synthetic petrol in the country through a technological tie-up with Sasol Mining Company of South Africa routed th
rough the South African Government.
Corporate
Eveready to sell last Darjeeling estate for Rs 2.15 cr
IN the third instalment of tea garden sale, Eveready Industries India Ltd today informed stock exchanges of its decision to dispose of the Glenburn estate in Darjeeling for a consideration of Rs. 2.15 crore.
Ciba Speciality board approves merger of arms
THE board of Ciba Speciality Chemicals India Ltd has approved the scheme of amalgamation of its subsidiaries, Pigment Specialities India Ltd (PSIL) and Indo-Swiss Textile Chemicals Ltd (ISTCL) into itself.
Game to make crorepatis of phone cos
THE Big Bs and the Govindas of `crorepati' shows have more competition in hand. For here comes `Dial a Crore', courtesy MTNL and DoT.
Godrej Soaps demerger okayed -- Equity being split at 60:40
THE board of directors of Godrej Soaps Ltd (GSL) has approved the scheme of demerger of its consumer products business, with the paid-up equity capital being split in the ratio of 60:40. The demerger will come into effect on April 1, 2001.
In-house concierge at your service
IT was two days to go for Deepavali when Mr Kartikeyan V., human resources manager at Motorola India Electronics Ltd in Bangalore, realised that he hadn't picked up the fire crackers his son had been badgering him to.
Licensing norm relaxed for SEZs, EPZs
INDUSTRIAL undertakings operating under the 100 per cent export-oriented undertakings scheme, the export processing zone scheme and the Special Economic Zone scheme will no longer be required to obtain industrial licences for manufacturing items reserved
for the small scale sector.
`Local gangs behind Garware kidnap'
POLICE officials investigating the case of the missing Pune-based industrialist, Mr. Harish Garware, owner of Garsons Industries, have ruled out the possibility of kidnap by the Chhota Rajan gang. ``This is a handiwork of either the local gangs or gangs
which are affiliated to the bigger gangs and not of Chhota Rajan, Mr. Mohammedbhai Mulani, Assistant Police Commissioner, Crime Branch, has said.
Increase in marine product exports
EXPORTS of marine products from India touched a level of $ 672.96 million during April-September 2000. This reflected a 26.90 per cent increase to the export level of $ 530.30 million recorded during the same period in the previous year.
Hindalco to buy Grasim's 10 pc stake in BCCL
IN a yet another restructuring move within the A.V. Birla group, Hindalco Industries Ltd has decided to acquire 10 per cent stake in Bihar Caustic & Chemicals Ltd (BCCL) from another group company, Grasim Industries Ltd.
C&N-Thomas Cook deal `not to impact' TCIL operations
THE acquisition of the UK-based Thomas Cook Holdings (TCH) by Germany's Condor & Neckermann Touristic (C&N Touristic) will not have any impact on the business of Thomas Cook (India) Ltd where TCH holds 40 per cent equity.
Courts
Access to drinking water is fundamental right, says SC -- No polluting unit within 10 km of lakes, AP told
IN a significant judgment, the Supreme Court has held that the right to access to drinking water is fundamental to life and there is a duty cast on the State under Article 21 of the Constitution to provide clean drinking water to its citizens.
SC ruling on value of imported goods
WHEN a discount is permissible commercially, and there is nothing to show that the same would not have been offered to any one else wishing to buy the old stock of bearings, there is no reason why the declared value of import in question was not accepted
under Rule 4(1) of the Customs Valuation (Determination of Price of Imported Goods) Rules, 1988 (`the Rules').
Economy
Ad hocism in policies
THERE was a time, not too long ago, when the formulation of the Government's economic policies was in the hands of economists. This was particularly true during the trying times in 1991-92 when the country had no other alternative but to laun
ch the process of structural adjustments and economic reforms to get the derailed economy back on the track.
Foreign Trade
DGFT norms for 55 export items
THE Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has notified the standard input-output norms for 55 new export items.
Information Technology
Walk the red carpet in Germany...
WHEN Deepak Bhatt arrived in the Frankfurt airport on August 8 this year, he expected to find a representative of his new employer, Flatfox at the airport.
Miscellaneous
Star struck
Actresses Suhashini Maniratnam and Ramya Krishnan fascinated by a Rs 9-lakh platinum ring at the inaugural of Jewels 2000, an exhibition-cum-sale of jewellery which began in Hyderabad on Friday. The four-day expo is being organised by ANZ International T
rade and Marketing Associates.
Petroleum
Crude oil prices may stabilise at $26-27'
THE declining trend in international crude prices, if sustained, is expected to improve refining margins of Indian refiners, particularly the private sector, and reduce the oil pool deficit.
Power
CLP Power committed to Mangalore project -- Status quo till financial package is in place
CLP Power International has conveyed that there would be no change in the status of the $1.3-billion Mangalore power project despite its acquisition of PowerGen's assets in the country.
KfW keen to fund more projects
THE German financial institution, Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (better known as KfW), sees for itself an active role in the social and infrastructure sectors in India in the coming years.
States
Global meet to put Kerala on fast track of growth
A 3-day international partnership summit, aimed at putting Kerala on the fast track of development, will be held here on January 4 - 6, 2001.
Mahratta chamber sets up panel on bio-technology
TAKING into account the emerging importance of bio-technology, the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA) has set up a bio-technology sub committee. The mission of the committee is to turn Pune into a dominant bio-tech centre in
Asia, an official release from the chamber has said.
Two thermal projects awaiting Cabinet nod
GUWAHATI: The State Power Minister, Mr Hitendra Nath Goswami, has said that Amguri and Borgolai, the two thermal power projects with a capacity of 100 MW each, are awaiting Cabinet approval.
FAPCCI refutes tax evasion charges
HYDERABAD: The President of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FAPCCI), Mr. Mohanlal Gupta, has refuted the charge of the Minister for Commercial Taxes, Ms J. Padmavathi, that traders have been avoiding payment of sales tax
.
`Advisory price for sugarcane inadequate'
VIJAYAWADA: The sugarcane advisory price announced by the State Government at 10 per cent of the Central price on 8.5 per cent recovery, is very disappointing and the cane growers will incur huge losses, Mr N. Satya Venkateswara Sarma, the Secretary of t
he AP Sugarcane Growers' Association, has said.
NTC employees abstain from work
COIMBATORE: Over 4,500 textile workers employed in the National Textile Corporation-owned textile mills in the State abstained from work on Friday in response to a one-day strike called by workmen's unions.
Taxation
Tax collections up 17.5 pc in Apr-Nov
THE Centre's aggregate tax revenues during April to November this year logged a 17.57 per cent growth to touch around Rs 1,07,261.01 crore as compared to Rs 91,228.52 crore on the back of robust direct tax collections. Customs collections, however, conti
nued to register a paltry 4.03 per cent growth.
Quote bank a/c No to speed up I-T refunds
INCOME-TAX refunds to non-corporate assessees can be speeded up if the beneficiaries quote their bank account numbers in the discharge vouchers.
