Airlines
Jet Airways to connect Delhi, Bagdogra
JET Airways will operate a daily service between Delhi and Bagdogra from May 1.
If bidding process fails -- Govt open to IPO route for AI, IA
THE Government has decided to keep open the option of divesting its equity in Indian Airlines (IA) and Air India (AI) to the public and institutional investors through an initial public offer (IPO) in the event of the two bids submitted for the two airli
nes are rejected by the Government on technical grounds later.
IA hopes to cash in on Bill Clinton factor
INDIAN Airlines is hoping that the decision of the former US President, Mr Bill Clinton, to travel by an aircraft of the State-owned airline during his recent visit to India will help enhance its intrinsic value ahead of the disinvestment process.
Banking and Finance
IDBI acting CMD re-appointed
MUMBAI: The Government has re-appointed Mr S.K. Chakraborty as the acting Chairman and Managing Director of Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI).
Ex-chief of MMCB arrested
THE former Chairman of the Madhavpura Mercantile Co-operative Bank (MMCB), Mr Ramesh Parikh, was placed under arrest in a nursing home in Ahmedabad this morning.
Corporate
RIL hikes outlay for infotech venture
RELIANCE Industries Ltd (RIL) has increased the capital outlay for its infocom venture by nearly two-thirds or 66 per cent. It plans to invest over Rs 25,000 crore over the next three to five years instead of earlier estimated expenditure of over Rs 15,0
00 crore.
Buyback extended; FII limit hike on cards
RELIANCE Industries Ltd has extended the share buyback programme for one more year as it has not bought back any shares during the current buyback period. The company is seeking to increase the limit for foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to 49 per c
ent of its equity.
VSNL earmarks Rs 2,000 cr for capital expenses
VIDESH Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) has marked out a capital expenditure of Rs 2,000 crore for 2001-02 which will be broadly allocated among it's direct-to-home (DTH) and domestic long-distance (DLD) projects as well as acquisition of extra bandwidth among o
ther areas.
Watching outcome of Enron issue: Ambani
THE Reliance group is closely ``watching and waiting'' the outcome of the on-going controversy over Enron's Dabhol power project to make any further move vis-a-vis its Patalganga power project expansion.
Kesoram board to consider merger report on May 4
PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS will submit on May 4 its report to the board of Kesoram Industries Ltd (KIL), on the proposed merger of Birla Century Finance Ltd (BCFL) and Hindustan Heavy Chemicals Ltd (HHCL) with KIL.
Courts
SC allows appeal in Customs duty case
IN Shriram Vinyl & Chemical Industries vs. Commissioner of Customs, Mumbai (Civil Appeal No. 3940 of 1998 decided on March 20, 2001), a three-Judge Bench comprising Mr Justice S.P. Bharucha, Mr Justice N. Santosh Hedge and Mr Justice Y.K. Sabharwal, came
to the rescue of SVC Industries, and allowed their appeal against the Customs Authorities who had illegally denied them the benefit of concession in duty for imported parts used in assembling the machinery in accordance with Notification No. 155/86-Cus
dated March 1, 1986, by interpreting it in an incorrect manner.
Economy
Review IMF clauses: India
INDIA has made out a strong case for reviewing conditionality clauses by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as its design had given rise to serious problems of proliferation and intrusiveness with respect to national ownership of Fund-supported progra
mmes in member-countries.
Financial Performance
Reliance Q4 net down 21 pc -- Full year's profit increases 10 pc to Rs 2,646 cr
RELIANCE Industries Ltd (RIL) has reported a net profit of Rs 2,646 crore ($ 567 million) for the year ended March 31, 2001 registering a 10 per cent increase over Rs 2,403 crore ($ 551 million) in the previous year.
ACC turns around, PAT at Rs 47.48 cr
CEMENT major ACC Ltd has registered a profit after tax of Rs 47.48 crore in 2000-2001, as against a corresponding loss of Rs 58.85 crore for the previous fiscal.
VSNL net up 88% at Rs 1,577 cr
VIDESH Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) has reported 88 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 1,577.60 crore for the year ended March 31, 2001, over Rs 840.30 crore in the previous year.
Ranbaxy Q1 PAT up 46.8 pc
RANBAXY Laboratories Ltd posted a Q1 sales of Rs 445.7 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2001. This was up 18.7 per cent from the corresponding quarter's Rs 375.6 crore.
Reliance Petro posts Rs 1,464-cr profit
RELIANCE Petroleum Ltd (RPL) has reported a net profit of Rs 1,464 crore in its first year of operations after its refinery was commissioned. Net sales for the financial year amounted to Rs 30,963 crore. The company's exports stood at Rs 6,410 crore duri
ng the fiscal.
GTB posts Q4 loss
HYDERABAD: Scam-tainted Global Trust Bank on Monday reported a loss of Rs 22.71 crore for the fourth quarter ending March, compared with a profit of Rs 35.33 crore in the same period the previous year.
GTB posts Rs 22 cr net loss in Q4 -- Earmarks funds to cushion future shocks in capital market
GLOBAL Trust Bank Ltd (GTB) has registered a fall of 26 per cent in net profit for the year ended March 31, 2001 and incurred a net loss of Rs 22.71 crore for the last quarter, largely owing to huge provisions of Rs 120.34 crore made during the year, whi
ch includes Rs 55 crore of additional provisions and reserves.
Foreign Trade
Time ripe for expanding trade with Africa: Omar
THE Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Mr Omar Abdullah, has said that the time is right for India to substantially expand trade, investment, and go in for technology transfer and technical cooperation with African countries.
Infrastructure
`Service tax will hit funding by banks, NBFCs'
NEW DELHI: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) has said that the recent imposition of service tax on lease/hire-purchase transactions undertaken by banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) will affect funding of infrastru
cture projects in the country. -- Our Bureau
Pharmaceuticals
Four-fold growth in pharma sector forecast
THE scale of opportunity in the Indian pharma sector is likely to grow to an innovation-led drug industry worth $25 billion by 2010 with a market capitalisation of almost $150 billion from the current $5 billion generic-based drug industry.
Politics
Much tehelka about...
THAT the monsoon session of Parliament too, will be as disruptive, acrimonious and stormy as the Budget session which ended last Friday is clear from the tenor of speeches and the frayed tempers that were exhibited -- particularly by the Opposition leade
r in the Lok Sabha -- even as both Houses were adjourned, ahead of schedule.
Power
Enron renegotiation panel announced
THE Government has announced the Dabhol project renegotiation committee. The persons on the panel include Mr Vinay Bansal, Chairman, Maharashtra State Electricity Board, Mr Sudhir Shrivastava, Secretary, Expenditure, and Mr Ashok Lavasa, Joint Secretary
in the Economic Cell at the Centre, apart from all the members of the Godbole Committee.
Eco-friendly power generation tech from BHEL
INDIA has joined a select band of countries like the US, Germany, and Japan with the successful inhouse development of an eco-friendly power generation technology by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), suitable for stand-alone power generation in remote
areas.
AP Transco efforts to reduce losses in distribution
ANDHRA Pradesh Transmission Corporation Ltd (AP Transco) is striving to reduce primary distribution losses to the minimum by having high voltage distribution system and installing seperate transformers to different complexes of concentrated loads, accord
ing to Mr P.M.K. Gandhi, Managing Director of Central Power Distribution Co Ltd.
States
Unusually `wet summer' for Kerala
A FREAK monsoon-like weather setting in most parts of Kerala is threatening to throw a spanner in the works of candidates fighting the Assembly polls just as they are preparing to launch full-throttle into the campaign trail.
Gujarat imposes 2 pc cess on petro-products
THE Gujarat Government, in a bid to offset the Rs 194-crore revenue loss to the municipalities and panchayats due to abolition of octroi, has decided to impose a two per cent cess on petrol and other petroleum products all over the State with effect from
May 1. The additional cess would add Rs 150 crore per annum to the state kitty which in turn would divert the fund to the municipalities and panchayats in the State.
Govt plans GPS to monitor APSRTC fleet
THE Andhra Pradesh Government is planning to introduce GPS (Global Positioning System) for better monitoring of the fleet of buses being operated by the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC).
Cyberabad waterless
People drawing water from a pipeline junction in the Hitec city in Hyderabad which is facing acute drinking water shortage.
Telecommunications
DoT immobilised over limited mobility
THE stalemate continues. Just when one thought that the final word had been said by the Group on Telecom and IT (GoT-IT) on the limited mobility controversy, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) is still to decide on its future course of action.
Textiles
Extend TUFS to cover all segments: Panel
THE Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce has underlined the need for extending the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) to cover all the important manufacturing segments of the textile industry.
`Crisis of confidence' among Sircilla weavers -- AP proposes strategic tie-ups to market handloom products
THE Union Minister of State for Textiles and Handlooms, Mr P. Dhananjaya Kumar, said there is a `crisis of confidence' among weavers in Sircilla -- the textile town of Andhra Pradesh.
