The Hindu Business Line : Saturday, March 15, 2003

Safeguard probe on Bisphenol imports
NEW DELHI: The Director-General (Safeguards) has initiated an investigation into imports of the industrial chemical, Bisphenol A. The Government can impose a safeguard duty on an article if it is imported in quantities and conditions ... More

BUDGET

`Sinking fund' for debt management; support fund for traditional industries — No new tax proposals in deficit Kerala Budget
CREATION of a "sinking fund" for debt management, a support fund for traditional industries, a price stabilisation fund for agriculture and introduction of a social safety net for destitutes are some of the highlights of the Kerala Budget for ... More

GIM-fired Budget lays emphasis on infrastructure in Kerala
The power sector outlay in the Annual Plan has been fixed at Rs 630 crore. The strategy would be to attain an optimal energy mix of thermal and hydel power with special focus on tapping the small hydel power potential. More

Kerala: VAT main concern among industries
THE State Budget has evoked mixed reaction in the industry. Though the chambers of commerce and industry welcomed the initiatives in the fields of education, infrastructure development, tourism etc, there were reservations over some crucial ... More

A leg-up to farm sector, traditional industries in Kerala
`Our revenue deficit as a percentage of the gross fiscal deficit is among the highest among the States. But we have turned the corner. The worst is definitely behind us.' More

Roll back excise duty on edible oil: Merchants
THE trade circles here have called for withdrawal of the levy of eight per cent excise duty on refined edible oil. The Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants Association in a letter addressed to the Union Finance Minister has said that the Union ... More

ECONOMY

States still pay dear on Plan loans
WOULDN'T it be great if, in these times of soft interest rates, someone offers you a return of 10.5 per cent on debt, that too tax-free? Well, unfortunately you are not that lucky; for that you will need to be the Union Government. Indeed, ... More

Economic Review sees 4.7 pc growth in Kerala
DESPITE a steep fall in the prices of cash crops such as pepper, tea, coconut, ginger and rubber in the last year, the Kerala economy and State Government's finances are back from the brink and in turnaround mode, says the Economic Review 2002. ... More

FOREIGN TRADE

`EU development aid aims at enhancing trade'
"We want to make our development aid efficient and trade-enhancing which is possible if we address one by one the number of bottlenecks so that India would be able to match our sanitary and phytosanitary standards. It is not a question of conditional ity. We do not negotiate on standards," says Mr. Lamy More

PLASTICS

Plastic sector eyes export market
plastic products exported from India range from polyester film, plastic woven sacks, laminates and writing instruments to floor coverings, cine X-ray positive/negative film, hard lenses and fishing net. More

POWER

PPAs of 8 hydel projects cancelled in Karnataka
Sources said the regulator had taken the decision as the PPAs of these hydel projects with the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd had not been approved. More

TAXATION

TN makes draft VAT Bill public
Making public the provisions of the Act is expected to facilitate the smooth transition from the general sales tax system to VAT. More

SSI

Centre for talks with States on KVIC tax issue
THE Centre is willing to take up with the States the issue of the high incidence of taxes imposed on the products produced by the khadi and village industries sector. Responding to the issues raised by Dr Mahesh Sharma, Chairman, Khadi and ... More

CARS

`India must emerge as hub for auto R&D'
SOME European car manufacturers are using Eastern Europe as a low cost manufacturing base. Peugeot, for instance, is building plants in Eastern Europe, where the wage costs are one-fourth of that in France. But, the chief executive of Peugeot has ... More

CINEMA

`Corporatisation won't change Bollywood's feudal system'
AT Frames 2003 on Friday, the discussion on `The Business of Filmmaking', chaired by Shyam Benegal, had a lot in common with the day's India-New Zealand cricket match. If the Indian team yet again betrayed its capacity for unpredictability, ... More

`Plug legal loopholes to curb piracy'
PIRACY, one of the gravest challenges facing the entertainment industry, necessitates initiatives such as changes in law as well as awareness programmes, according to a report presented by law firm Amarchand Mangaldas for FICCI Frames ... More

NEWSPAPERS & PUBLISHING

`Stem commercialisation of news with code of practice'
WITH boundaries blurring between editorial functions and marketing, the issue of ethics of news as business dominated a two-day colloquium on `Emerging media issues', that started here on Friday. With editors and senior journalists ... More

WTO

Only developed nations can ensure smooth ride: Jaitley
INDIA on Friday made it clear that the primary onus of removing the roadblocks to the forthcoming Cancun Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) lies with the developed world. Addressing a meeting on `Indo-EU Economic ... More

A bumpy road ahead of Cancun meet, says Lamy
THE European Union Trade Commissioner Mr Pascal Lamy, on Friday described the road ahead to Cancun Ministerial meeting as "bumpy" and likened major players as elephants and said "elephants are good animals on bumpy road". At the end of his ... More

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

`Rural market is crucial for survival of SHGs'
EVEN the poor people are consumers. This is the fact that Mr Satya Prakash Tucker, Programme Coordinator of the Andhra Pradesh Rural Livelihoods Programme (APRLP), wants the women self-help groups (SHGs) to realise; more so, in the light of ... More

HUMAN RESOURCES

`More focus needed on unorganised sector'
IN the enthusiasm to realise the benefits of training to the organised sector, we are sadly neglecting the unorganised sector which contributes about 60.5 per cent of the country's GDP, according to Prof Ashoka Chandra, President, Indian Society ... More

INTERVIEW

EVENTS

Film industry told to set its house in order
THE dent to Bollywood's image from its poor record at the box office in 2002 showed as the Government promised encouragement but told the film industry to set its house in order. "You will have to introduce an element of corporate governance. ... More

FAPCCI plans `Asia-Africa meet'
THE Federation of Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FAPCCI) proposes to organise an `Asia-Africa Summit' here in November. Stating this, the President of the Chambers, Mr Omprakash Tibrewala, requested and cooperation and ... More

NATURAL CALAMITIES

AP Ministers to monitor drought relief
HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, has instructed all his Ministers to tour their respective districts and oversee the drought relief measures being taken by the State Government. Reviewing the ... More

TOURISM

Tourist arrivals up 17% despite war threats
THERE was a sharp increase in tourists arrival in India in the first two months of 2003 despite fears of a war in Iraq. In fact, the trend started in October 2002 with data showing an average growth of 15 per cent on overall arrivals, according ... More

Comments & Letters to the Editor to: bleditor@thehindu.co.in
Subscribe to: Business Line