Asia Africa Intelligence Wire articles from April 2003

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire archives from April 2003

INDIA'S EXTERNAL TRADE WARY OVER WAR (Iraq war to adversely impact export-import trade with West Asian countries).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) The war in Iraq will impact commodity trade across the world. Countries involved in export-import trade with East Asian countries and goods passing through the affected region would be affected. The war...

INDIAN BASMATI RICE OUTPUT EXPECTED TO BE HIGHER IN 2003: PEPSICO (good prices in 2002-2003 to bring in more acreage under Basmati cultivation).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) The high price realization for Basmati rice in 2002 will bring more acreage under Basmati cultivation in 2003 Kharif season. It would also encourage farmers to switch acreage from other crops to Basmati rice...

EXPORT GROWTH DOWN TO 9% (in Jan 2003).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) In Nov 2002 exports grew by over 34 percent. In Dec 2002 exports grew by 15 percent. In Jan 2003, it grew by only 9.19 percent to $4.64 billion in comparison to Jan 2002, which showed the exports of...

TRADITIONAL ITEMS DOMINATE EXPORT (with a robust growth of 18 percent).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Apr-Nov 2002 witnessed a robust export growth of 18 percent of traditional goods like textiles, gems and jewellery, chemical and related products and engineering goods, which normally dominate the export...

STATES TO BE COMPENSATED (for loss of revenue from reduction of CST on implementation of VAT).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Government of India has agreed to compensate the states for the loss of revenue from reduction of Central sales tax (CST) on implementation of VAT from 1st Apr 2003. As the CST cannot be phased out in one...

SERVICE TAX FROM 5 TO 8% (the Government of India expects to collect Rs8,000 crore following increase in service tax in 2003-04).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Government of India has increased the service tax in its Budget for 2003-04 from five to eight percent. Ten new services have been brought under the tax net. Some of these are commercial vocational...

INFRASTRUCTURE SECTORS GREW 4.1% (growth shown for two successive months).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Apr 2002-Jan 2003 witnessed a growth of 5.2 percent in the index for six core sectors as against 3.1 percent for Apr 2001-Jan 2002. In Jan 2003, there was a slowdown in the growth of infrastructure...

6-POINT AGENDA FOR INDUSTRIAL GROWTH (to become globally competitive).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Industrial growth has been given importance in the Government of India's Budget 2003-04. Six points have been identified for implementation for faster industrial growth. They are: movement towards a low...

COMPANIES TO SHIFT BASE (following the stringency of global environmental protection standards).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Rubber product manufacturers in the eastern region are planning to move out of city limits, on their own, owing to global environmental protection standards becoming stringent. Negotiations for purchase of...

CABINET CLEARS FUND (to protect small and marginal farmers against fluctuations in commodity prices).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Government of India has set up a fund to protect 3,42,000 small and marginal farmers (who have plantations of less than four hectares) from the fluctuations in commodity prices of coffee, tea, rubber and...

RUBBER PARKS PLANNED IN N-E (in Meghalaya, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura and Assam).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Production of rubber in India is 6.3 lakh tonnes as against the demand of 6.8 lakh tonnes. India exported Rs2,165 crore worth of natural rubber and rubber products during 2002-03. Government of India is keen...

TYRE COs HOPE FOR MORE. (benefit of freight, and reduction in special excise duty and peak customs duty).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Government of India in Budget 2003 has allowed Rs9,700-crore tyre industry the benefits of using "averaged freight" in their invoices while clearing goods from their factories and depots. The companies can...

48% INCREASE IN PCBL TURNOVER (improvement is attributed to steady increase in automobile production).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Philips Carbon Black Ltd (PCBL) is a part of R.P. Goenka group. PCBL is one of the major producers of carbon black in India, along with Cabot India and Indian Rayon. Carbon black is a key input for the...

RIDING ON TWO WHEELERS (TVS Srichakra is a major player in the two-wheeler tyre market).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) TVS Srichakra of TVS Motor group is a major player in the two- wheeler tyre market catering to requirements of majors like TVS Motor, Hero Honda and Bajaj Auto. Major part of the revenue for the company is...

INDIA AS COMPONENT SOURCING HUB (as India is able to adopt various technologies).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Indian automotive component industry is responding to global changes and the export of components is expected to be $1 billion by 2005 according to industry sources. Multinational companies like Ford,...

QATAR AIRWAYS LAUNCHES FLIGHT TO KOCHI (flights to Kochi leave Doha early mornings on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Qatar Airways (QA) has launched Doha-Kochi flight. This is the fourth destination, after Mumbai, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram in India, QA is operating. The airline is at present operating 19 flights...

HYATT REGENCY-CHECK OUT THE CHECK-IN OPTIONS (the hotel bills the customer from the time he checks in).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Hyatt Residency of Mumbai is known as a 24-hour hotel. Instead of 12-12 billing, the billing starts from the time customer checks in. This billing system is convenient particularly to those who use the...

GORDON HOUSE-BOUTIQUE-STYLE BUSINESS (is popular with Corporate houses and most of the guests are repeat clients).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Gordon House is located in a by-line near the Gateway of India, Mumbai. It has just 29 rooms, inclusive of one suite. It is a business-oriented hotel with facilities like ample workspace in each room, free...

MUMBAI-TALE OF TWO CITIES (Mumbai is now considered as two cities-North Mumbai and South Mumbai).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Mumbai can be considered as two cities-South Mumbai and North Mumbai. The areas south of Mahim is called South Mumbai and the areas starting from Bandra as North Mumbai. Up to 1970s, Mumbai meant South...

PROFILE OF THE COROLLA FROM TOYOTA (Corolla available with option of 5-speed manual or four speed automatic transmission).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) The Corolla is available with the option of 5-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. The vehicle features four cylinder, petrol, in-line engine, with a displacement of 1.794- cc, max power of...

PROFILE OF DAIMLERCHRYSLER INDIA (Interview with Hans-Michael Huber, Managing Director and CEO, DaimlerChrysler).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Hans-Michael Huber, Managing Director and CEO, DaimlerChrysler (DC) India, states that with fast changing consumer behaviour, the Indian automotive industry is going towards maturity. DC India successfully...

PROFILE OF AQUILA GV 250 CRUISER FROM HYOSUNG (Hyosung's Aquila GV 250 cruiser from Korea brought into India by Kinetic Motor Company in CKD form).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) Kinetic Motor Company brought Hyosung's Aquila GV 250 cruiser in CKD form from Korea into India. The bike has a four-stroke, air- cooled 75 degree V Twin DOHC, four valves per cylinder engine with 249-cc...

PROFILE OF THE CALIBER 115 FROM BAJAJ AUTO (has a fuel efficiency of 75kpl in highways, priced at Rs46,927 on road in Mumbai).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) The Caliber 115 has a four-stroke, air-cooled 75 degree V Twin DOHC, four valves per cylinder engine with a displacement of 111.6 cc, max power of 9.5 bhp at 8000 rpm and maximum torque of 0.93 kgm at 6500...

IMPROVEMENTS ALL-ROUND-LIGHT COMMERCIAL VEHICLES (in Apr 2002-Feb 2003 LCV sales went up 33.05% to 15,874 units).
April 30, 2003... (From India Business Insight) During the first 11 months of 2002-2003, sales of light and commercial vehicles went up 33.05 percent to 15,874 units while the industry output rose to 17,365 vehicles. During the period, sales of the goods...

Ex-MLA killed by pet elephant.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) LUCKNOW: Ram Lakhan Verma, forest minister in Mayawati's cabinet in 1995, was on Sunday trampled to death by his elephant, Lal Bahadur. The tusker turned wild at Verma's home at Pahapur village in Ambedkar...

Flaunt your shahtoosh: Govt gives 6 months to legalise banned possessions.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Chandrika Mago NEW DELHI: You may finally be able to flaunt that prized shahtoosh shawl or wipe the dust off animal trophies, perhaps even bring your "tame" wild animal out into the open. Armed with...

French minister asks India to join hands against America.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: Castigating the US for its unilateral military action in Iraq, France on Monday indicated that countries with "a similar vision" like France, India and others should come together to act as a...

Computers and ministers: Aamma's the word in TN.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: SWATI DAS CHENNAI: Waking up to the need to keep in step with the times, the Tamil Nadu government is now keen on making its Cabinet computer literate. And the ministers will begin their education...

RJD workers kill truck helper to seize vehicle.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) PATNA: Even as RJD supremo Laloo Prasad Yadav warned partymen against harassing traders, a truck helper was shot dead by his partymen in Ara on Monday while seizing a bus to ferry participants for the...

Modi's bid to break ice with envoys.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) GANDHINAGAR/NEW DELHI: In a bid to resurrect the sliding image of Gujarat as a safe and attractive investment destination, chief minister Narendra Modi will meet potential investors in New Delhi over lunch on...

BJP's Dalit agenda boosts Bangaru.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Smita Gupta NEW DELHI: Former BJP president Bangaru Laxman could well be on the comeback trail, thanks to the party's need to project a significant Dalit face ahead of the coming assembly elections...

MPs decry 'pro-Hitler' NCERT books.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: NCERT school texts depicting Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler as a hero and nationalist came in for flak from Lok Sabha members on Monday. Making a mention of a news report in The Times of India during...

UP told to pay Rs 5 lakh to medico's family.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has ordered the UP government to pay interim relief of Rs 5 lakh to the family of Sonali Bose, a medical student, who was shot dead by the police in a case...

Transfers may hit Godhra riots probe.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) GANDHINAGAR: The transfer of 41 senior police officers in Gujarat, purportedly to strengthen the state's intelligence network, is expected to further delay investigations into the post-Godhra riots. While...

Extra security at airports a problem: MPs.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: Members in the Lok Sabha on Monday vented their ire against what they termed a security overkill at airports leading to passenger harassment and often loss of items confiscated as a safety precaution....

Airports step up vigil against SARS.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Byas Anand NEW DELHI: With the SARS scare spreading its tentacles across India, health and airport authorities here have intensified the screening process for all in-bound passengers. The authorities...

Kalyan favours tie-up with SP, Congress.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Ambikanand Sahay NEW DELHI: Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh - who has been the object of "friendly overtures" by a section of the BJP recently, despite his growing proximity to...

Rs 5-cr Hindi mela planned in Surinam.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Aunohita Mazumdar NEW DELHI: After the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in January, it's time for the government's next mega junket - the World Hindi Conference. This time, the diaspora is not coming to...

Pilot stir may be declared illegal.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: Refusing to soften its stand against the unionised Air-India pilots who are not flying to SARS-affected nations, the civil aviation ministry on Monday filed chargesheets against 12 of the 27 suspended...

Vajpayee, Jamali set the ball rolling.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: In the first concrete sign that a thaw in bilateral relations may finally be underway, Prime Minister Vajpayee and his Pakistani counterpart, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, spoke to each other on the...

Air-India suspends 18 more pilots.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: The Air-India management on Tuesday toughened its stand against the striking Indian Pilots Guild (IPG). Eighteen more pilots were suspended on the grounds that they had refused to fly to SARS-affected...

People's involvement in border management must: SSB chief.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Bisheshwar Mishra NEW DELHI: Contrary to Intelligence Bureau (IB) reports that 'madarsas' preaching anti-national activities have mushroomed on the Indo-Nepal border of late, a film made by the...

Marriage valid if bride does not conceal pregnancy: SC.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: In a significant judgment relating to rare facts leading to a matrimonial dispute, the Supreme Court said that a marriage could not be held to be invalid if a husband was aware that his bride was...

CVC's sanction not needed to prosecute Hinduja brothers.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that there was no need of CBI to seek Central Vigilance commission's prior sanction to file a charge sheet against the three Hinduja brothers in the Bofors...

SC reserves judgment on Pota.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday concluded hearing on the petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). During three weeks of hearing, a...

Scorpion sting for addicts in south Gujarat.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Amit Mukherjee AHMEDABAD: Addiction knows no barriers. From alcohol, to opium, to cough syrups, addicts flit form one grade of narcotics to another to achieve what the world has always deprived them...

Bt cotton: Companies undeterred by opposition.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Chandrika Mago NEW DELHI: At a time when Parliament's standing committee on agriculture has ruled that transgenic cotton is not proving ``a sensible proposition'' and sought a re-evaluation, more...

M M Joshi hits out at Leftists.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi relied heavily on former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's utterances to slam the Leftists over the phrase ``saffronisation of education'' while replying to a...

Pranab opposes disinvestment of PSUs.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) New Delhi: The government needs to take ``hard decisions'' on economic policy, but disinvesting in government-run companies is not necessarily one of these, senior Congress member Pranab Mukherjee told the Rajya...

Woman MP alleges harassment by Laloo's men.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: A woman Lok Sabha member from Bihar claimed on Tuesday that after an attack on her motorcade two days ago allegedly by RJD men, she felt insecure and needed security cover. The statement by Renu...

Modified version of Prithvi missile test-fired.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: A modified version of ``Prithvi'', the tactical surface-to-surface ballistic missile already inducted into the armed forces, was successfully test-fired from the Interim Test Range at...

Investment move by MTNL a scam: Oppn.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: The opposition in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday alleged that a Rs 250-crore investment by the public sector MTNL in a dubious project reeked of scam as the chance of return stood slim. Raising the...

NCERT history books miss out on Gandhi assassin.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: An Opposition member in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday accused the government of carrying on ideological indoctrination of young minds by deliberately removing from the NCERT history texts the name of...

Rift in ICHR continues as members play politics.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Mahendra Ved NEW DELHI: Amid recent Holi revelry, HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi released Rs 1.25 crores in history research money that had been delayed by six months. Although an equal amount is...

LS demand for war-hit Baghdad gurdwara's repair.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: A gurdwara in Baghdad - hallowed by its association with Guru Nanak during his long sojourn - and damaged in the recent war in Iraq, is in urgent need of repairs, a Lok Sabha member said on Tuesday....

Geelani, senior citizen of India.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Bisheshwar Mishra NEW DELHI: Senior Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani may think of himself as a Pakistani but home ministry officials are taking great satisfaction at the fact that he...

Foreign diplomats welcome Vajpayee-Jamali talk.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: The international community has welcomed the telephonic conversation between the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan and hoped that it would lead to a sustained engagement between the two...

Cong hopes talks will be held soon.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: The Congress on Tuesday welcomed the telephonic conversation between Pakistan Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and his Indian counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee and urged Pakistan to ensure...

Congress leaders seeks reservation in pvt sector.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Rajesh Ramachandran NEW DELHI: Senior Congress party leaders on Saturday spoke out in favour of reservation of jobs in the private sector for other backward castes (OBC), scheduled castes and tribes....

Govt sets up separate children's panel, NGOs skeptical.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: After five years of discussions, when the proposal was nearly vetoed by the finance ministry, the Centre finally announced the constitution of a National Commission for Children on Tuesday. The...

72-yr-old killed in Malviya Nagar.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: A 72-year-old woman was strangulated on Tuesday afternoon at her Malviya Nagar residence. The police said the deceased, Harbans Kaur, was alone at the time of murder and registered a case of robbery...

AIIMS flyover ready to use.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: The AIIMS flyover will become fully functional on Thursday ensuring signal-free movement for traffic in 12 directions. The flyover project replaces a traffic intersection which existed at a point...

Building owners seek more time.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: The proprietor of Sagar Apartments has moved the Delhi high court seeking more time to install fire fighting devices in the building. The fire department last week served a notice to the proprietors...

Court not to entertain plea against Reliance.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Tuesday told Janata Party leader Subramanium Swamy that it did not have the jurisdiction to entertain his petition seeking a probe against Reliance Industries. The court of...

South, east Delhi to get less water.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: For the next three days, almost entire south and east Delhi will get water at low pressure. The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) attributed this to the fact that the Upper Ganga Canal has nearly dried up....

A bold stroke at tired minds.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Thomas M Easley According to record, Pop Art emerged near the end of the 1950s. Practitioners of the genre had grown impatient with the seriousness of abstract expressionism and looked to common...

3 schools told to roll back fee hike.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has asked three schools which recently increased their tuition fees to return the donations they took from parents and rollback fee hike. Delhi education minister said the...

Police didn't probe girl's death case: father.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Maneesh Pandey NEW DELHI: A trader has accused the police of not carrying out a fair investigation into his daughter's death. In a petition before the high court, the trader said the police have...

Shootout probe shows eunuch lived lavishly.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: The lavish lifestyle of some eunuchs in the city has come to light following investigations into the murder of a eunuch in the Tis Hazari complex on Monday. Neelam, the victim of the shooting used...

Three nabbed for stealing 2 kg gold in Karol Bagh.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: With the arrest of three persons, including a former employee of the victim, the central district police claimed to have solved a day light robbery case in the Karol Bagh area. Gold jewellery...

Goel for national consensus on VAT.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: The confederation of trade leaders unanimously elected the Union minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), Vijay Goel, as its chairman while hailing his contribution in seeking redressal...

Killer who posed as woman held.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: With the arrest of an alleged killer the police are claiming to have solved two blind murders. The accused, Pandit Ram Prakash Sharma, had disguised himself as woman to evade arrest. The police,...

Ansals get a breather in Uphaar case.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) NEW DELHI: Sushil and Gopal Ansal, facing charges of criminal negligence leading to the death of 59 people in the Uphaar case, got a breather on Tuesday. A Delhi court rejected the victims' plea to cancel...

Muslim women discover themselves.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) MUMBAI: "Now, take a partner and hold her hand.'' Embarrassed giggles and muffled snorts followed as burqa-lad women stood up to hold their neighbour's hand. "Close your eyes now and hug the person.'' The...

Tardeo slum project challenged in HC.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Nauzer Bharucha MUMBAI: The slum rehabilitation project in Tardeo's MP Mill Compound, which includes the construction of two 60-storeyed skyscrapers, is being challenged in the Bombay high court by...

Illegal phone exchange busted.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) MUMBAI: An extortion call made to a Vile Parle businessman was recently traced to an illegal telephone exchange in the Grant Road area. The unit IX of crime branch subsequently raided the illegal exchange...

Hearing in Salman case begins.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) MUMBAI: Senior advocate Adhik Shirodkar representing actor Salman Khan in the hitand-run accident that took place on September 28 last year, pleaded on Monday that the charges of culpable homicide not amounting...

Trees hacked to make way for swimming pool.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) MUMBAI: At least 24 trees in Navy Nagar have been illegally hacked to make way for a swimming pool. The trees, reported to be both small and large ones,were located in the military parade ground opposite St...

BEST launches disabled-friendly bus.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) Undertaking on Tuesday lowered the height of its bus floor to meet the rising expectations of its commuters. Launching the low-floor buses,...

Mumbai's tourist guides inhabit a lonely planet.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Piali Banerjee MUMBAI: According to popular conception, tourist guides are those who insist on telling you that the central dome of the Gateway of India is 48 feet wide and 83 feet above the ground,...

Station-ary at Churchgate.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Jyoti Punwani MUMBAI: The police crackdown on lovers in Bandra not so long ago was so typical of the species. Go after blameless citizens, but let the offenders get away. So the police look the...

Average age of child workers falls.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) Byline: Roli Srivastava MUMBAI: The average age of Mumbai's working children has fallen drastically, child rights activists said on Monday, the eve of the Anti-Child Labour Day. Over the past five...

8 Uzbeks among sex workers held after hotel raid.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) MUMBAI: Eight women from Uzbekistan and two from Kazakhistan were among the 11 commercial sex workers arrested on Monday following a police raid on Celeste Hotel in Colaba. The ten women had arrived two...

BMC still to raze illegal structures.
April 30, 2003... (From The Times of India) MUMBAI: A month after residents of Bandra's Didol housing society won a case against former actress Reena Roy's mother, Sharda Roy, for encroaching on the society's compound, the BMC is still to demolish the...