Business Line articles from August 1999, page 6

Business Line archives from August 1999

Investing in cyclicals: Watch the ups and downs of economy (1277).
August 22, 1999... Raghuvir Srinivasan THE automobile industry is an excellent example of how economic cycles impact industry. Its fortunes are linked to the performance of a host of sectors, ranging from agriculture to the industrial sectors of cement,...

India: Pay phone bills via Net (489).
August 22, 1999... Anita Mani NEW DELHI, Aug. 21 NO more waiting in queues for paying phone bills. Just log on to the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) site and pay bills over the Internet. MTNL, the state-controlled basic services provider in...

India: SEBI accepts Kaul panel recommendations (862).
August 22, 1999... S.Vaidya Nathan IN the past week, the Securities and Exchange Board of India has accepted the recommendations of the P. K. Kaul Committee on the role of trustees. Their implementation would lead to trustees being more accountable for...

India: How S&P CNX Nifty constituents fared: Software steals the show (1302).
August 22, 1999... IF THE financial performance of the S&P CNX Nifty companies for April-June 1999 quarter is anything to go by, the first signs of recovery in the corporate performance seem unmistakable. An analysis of the 50 companies in the universe of S&P...

India: Coimbatore SE to seek Bombay Stock Exchange, NSE membership (852).
August 20, 1999... R. Y. Narayanan COIMBATORE, Aug. 19 IN a move that is reflective of the times, the Coimbatore Stock Exchange (CSX) is seeking membership of the two premier bourses in the country - the BSE and NSE. The CSX decision puts it in...

India: NEPC group banking on financial recast (382).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau CHENNAI, Aug. 19 THE Chennai-based NEPC group has arranged for rescheduling its Rs. 120-crore debt burden as a part of its restructuring exercise. The group hopes to set its house in order by selling some of its divisions...

India: TTK Pharma is now TTK Healthcare (367).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau CHENNAI, Aug. 19 TTK Pharma Ltd, which has diversified interests in paper, printing, maps and publications and foods besides its predominant healthcare focus, will now be known as TTK Healthcare Ltd, to reflect the core...

India: ICICI preferential offer prior to global issue (230).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau MUMBAI, Aug. 19 ICICI Ltd has decided to make a preferential allotment of equity capital to the domestic institutional shareholders (LIC, GIC & subsidiaries and UTI) prior to its international equity offering. The...

India for free movement of persons (871).
August 20, 1999... G. Srinivasan NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 INDIA favours a separate agreement for freer trade in services through movement of natural persons, since the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATs) has not succeeded in addressing the...

India: Assocham for caution on tariffs at WTO meet (328).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 THE Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has urged the country's trade negotiators to exercise "extreme caution" while negotiating industrial tariffs at the forthcoming...

India: Let's be vigilant at Seattle meet, Hegde tells G-15 (297).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau BANGALORE, Aug. 19 LAMENTING the "disappointing experience" of the developing countries on the WTO regime, the Commerce Minister, Mr. Ramakrishna Hegde, called upon the G-15 nations to make a united effort to rectify some...

Canada may 'disable' obese flyers (342).
August 20, 1999... CANADA is considering whether to grant disability status to obese airline passengers who are forced to buy a second seat, a move that could entitle them to discounts. John Cottreau, a spokesman for the Canadian Transportation Agency - a...

Indo-Pak trade in the post-Kargil scenario (1296).
August 20, 1999... Rasheeda Bhagat ISLAMABAD, Aug. 19 VIEWED from the perspective of Indo-Pak trade "it was fortunate, even though an extremely unfortunate development, that Kargil conflict took place during the summer months, when there is a general...

India: Call for debate on market access rights (668).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau BANGALORE, Aug. 19 THE CII has called for a wide debate at the WTO on the issues of market access, saying they lack clarity and are implemented unfairly by the rich nations. Market access is of main concern to...

India: Global Mariner arriving at Vizag (209).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau VISAKHAPATNAM, Aug. 19 GLOBAL Mariner, the $8-million exhibition ship purchased by the International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) to highlight the emerging trends in the global shipping industry and the various...

India: Gold hedging by banks allowed (139).
August 20, 1999... NEW DELHI: The Department of Consumer Affairs has issued a notification permitting the Reserve Bank of India and scheduled banks authorised by the RBI to enter into forward contracts for the sale and purchase of gold within the country. ...

India: RBI cut-off for State loans (175).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau MUMBAI, Aug. 19 THE Reserve Bank of India has announced a cut-off rate of 11.77 per cent and 11.74 per cent for ten-year stock floated by the Governments of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu respectively. According to a...

India: T+5 settlement, 5-day trading to be introduced (700).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau MUMBAI, Aug. 19 THE SEBI committee on rolling settlement has decided to introduce T+5 settlement with a five-day trading period. This means the trades in stocks selected for rolling settlement will be settled within a...

'Daewoo revamp in Korea will help Indian arm' (220).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 DAEWOO Motors India Ltd today announced that the restructuring initiatives at Daewoo Corporation will translate into sharper business focus for its Indian auto arm. According to Mr. S.G. Awasthi,...

India: Divestment panel favours Bharat Heavy Electricals outside PSU fold (534).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 THE Disinvestment Commission has recommended that Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) be taken out of the public sector fold through disinvestment of an additional 20 per cent of the company's equity to...

India: EU imposes countervailing duty on PET film imports (516).
August 20, 1999... G. Rambabu NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 THE European Union has imposed provisional countervailing duties ranging from 6.7 per cent to 37.2 per cent on imports of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film from India. The duties, to be...

India: Reduce Govt stake in HOCL to 26%: Panel (512).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 THE Disinvestment Commission has recommended that the Government should bring down its equity holding in Hindustan Organic Chemicals Ltd (HOCL) to 26 per cent, from the existing 59 per cent, by...

INDIA: Tamil Nadu tourism corpn to franchise 15 hotels (442).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau CALCUTTA, Aug. 19 THE Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) is planning to appoint private sector franchises for running 15 hotels in the State, according to Tamil Nadu's Joint Director (Tourism), Mr. S.M....

India: Development of synergic operation model suggested (492).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau MUMBAI, Aug. 19 THE Government is believed to have suggested that the single buoy mooring (SBM) oil handling facilities in the Gulf of Kutch, develop a pattern of synergic operation so that any one of these crude handling...

Accor ventures join Asia Miles (227).
August 20, 1999... SOFITEL and Novotel, part of the hospitality business group, Accor, have joined Asia Miles, a popular travel reward programme to extend the incentive for usage of the hotels. Under the programme, over 450 Sofitel and Novotel hotels and...

RBI buy-sell FX swaps undermine repo rate (547).
August 20, 1999... T.B. Kapali THE pursuit of "normally" contradictory and mutually exclusive financial market objectives - for instance, pursuing exchange rate stability even while preferring a soft domestic interest rates stance - appears to be landing...

India: M&M presents 2 variants to Voyager (479).
August 20, 1999... S.Muralidhar NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 FACED with a fall in demand for its multipurpose vehicle (MPV) - the Voyager - Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (M&M) has introduced two new variants in the market, aimed at offering customers better value for...

India: IFC may take stake in Sundaram Home Fin (394).
August 20, 1999... N.S. Vageesh Sanjiv Sankaran CHENNAI, Aug. 19 THE International Finance Corporation (IFC), Washington, is planning to participate in the equity of Sundaram Home Finance Ltd, the housing finance foray of Sundaram Finance. ...

India: Bharat Petroleum, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust sign pact for liquid cargo jetty (309).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau MUMBAI, Aug. 19 THE Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) have signed a licence agreement for developing a liquid cargo jetty at the port. The jetty would be jointly developed...

INDIA: Karnataka High Court stays sales tax levy on Bharat Electronics Officers Club (459).
August 20, 1999... Sanjay Bhatia BANGALORE, Aug. 19 THE Karnataka High Court has stayed the levy of sales tax and penalty imposed on Bharath Electronics Ltd Officers Club, pursuant to a petition filed by the club challenging the levy of sales tax on it...

INDIA: Pimpri Municipal Corporation hikes industrial licence fee (554).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau PUNE, Aug. 19 WITH effect from April 1999, the annual industrial licence fee in the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has been increased from 200 to 300 per cent. The PCMC had also enforced a 10 per cent...

India: The foreign hand (582).
August 20, 1999... A FOREIGN bank with one branch in Bangalore has opened 40 ATMs in the last few months and now services 60,000 accounts. A banker from a nationalised bank said, "They will simply finish us off with every second professional in the city keen on...

India: Company Law Board recovery schemes for public deposits (276).
August 20, 1999... NEW DELHI: The Company Law Board (CLB) has prepared schemes for recovery of public deposits worth Rs. 500 crores under Section 45QA of the Reserve Bank of India Act, which were scheduled for repayment to the depositors, in respect of about 30...

India: State Bank of Hyderabad donation to Kargil fund (170).
August 20, 1999... HYDERABAD: State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH) has donated Rs. 42 lakhs to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund, being the contribution of employees of the bank, and an amount of Rs. 2 lakhs towards the Army Central Welfare Fund. The SBH Managing...

India: Sino-US relations: Primacy of economics over politics (1077).
August 20, 1999... Sunanda K. Datta-Ray AS INDIA prepares for its 14th Lok Sabha election and China gets ready to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Communist rule, no one speaks any longer of the rivalry between two political systems that once animated and...

G-secs market - will an issuance calendar help (1867).
August 20, 1999... S. Naresh A.C. Reddi ILLIQUID security markets impose a cost to the issuer due to expectations of higher returns by the investor. The Government securities (GS) market in India is characterised by infrequent trading of securities...

India: Oil and Natural Gas Corp, Maars Software shine in a bearish market (740).
August 20, 1999... Krishnan Thiagarajan AFTER three consecutive days of uptrend, the BSE Sensitive Index at the Bombay Stock Exchange dipped by 75.07 points on Thursday to close at 4630.06 points. Profit-booking and apprehensions of a huge increase in...

India: 'Express Cash' for AmEx members (230).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 AMERICAN Express, the world's largest card issuer, today announced the launch of 'Express Cash' access facility for its cardmembers at over 45 ATMs of the HDFC Bank network in 19 cities across the...

India: Nalco Chem to acquire Aqua Chem (858).
August 20, 1999... Board Meetings American Dry Fruits: August 18, Change in name of company Artson Engineering: August 20, Accounts Femnor Mineral (India): August 31, Quarterly Results Gujarat Cycles: August 30, Accounts Gujarat Perstorp...

India: Cement stocks: The build-up (621).
August 20, 1999... Poornima Kavlekar THE Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index gained around 84.13 points on Wednesday and closed at 4,705.13 points. For the fortnight, the gains were more prominent in the small and medium sized stocks. Cement and plastics...

India: RBI cancels bank licence (130).
August 20, 1999... MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India has canceled the licence issued to the Maharashtra-based Siddharth Sahakari Bank Ltd. Consequently, the bank is precluded from transacting the business of banking as defined in the Banking Regulation Act...

India: Kodak launches 4 digital camera models (661).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 KODAK India Ltd today launched a range of digital cameras and CD writers in the domestic market. Summit Data Products Ltd, a leading Indian value products distributor, has been appointed the national...

India: Shop at Nilgiri's -through the Net (686).
August 20, 1999... Srikala B. BANGALORE, Aug. 19 THE next time you go to the US, keep your baggage light. Drop the idea of carrying Indian masalas and snacks with you. When you need them, just go to Nilgiri's Web site and click for your order. Your...

India: Make a Dash for Onam gifts (182).
August 20, 1999... KOCHI: The sales campaign for Titan Industries' Dash watch in Kerala is pitched against the backdrop of Onam. 'Celebrate Onam with the gift of time! Gift someone you love a Dash watch from Titan', reads the sales campaign. Created...

India: Marine exports down 4.5 pc in Q1 (494).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau KOCHI, Aug. 19 THERE was a slump in marine exports during the first quarter of the current year. The quantum of exports declined by 4.5 per cent to 63,593 tonnes during April-June 1999 against 66,623 tonnes in the...

India: HP launches portable CD-RW (157).
August 20, 1999... CHENNAI: Hewlett-Packard Company has announced the launch of HP CD-Writer Plus M820e, HP's first portable CD-RW drive, which weighs less than a pound and fits in the palm of a hand. It is portable enough to take on the road with a laptop and...

India: General Motors gearing up for Corsa launch (829).
August 20, 1999... Girish Singhal NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 GENERAL Motors India Ltd (GMI), a wholly owned subsidiary of the US-based General Motors Corporation (GMC), is gearing up for the launch of its much-awaited car 'Corsa' in the domestic market within...

India: Maruti Udyog house magazine wins award (166).
August 20, 1999... NEW DELHI: Maruti Udyog Ltd's (MUL) in-house magazine - Gatirang - has been awarded the 'Best House Magazine' award in the All India House Magazine Contest' 99, organised by the Rotary Club of Cochin, Midtown. A company release said more...

India: AIG, DSP Merrill in talks for stake in Tata Finance (516).
August 20, 1999... M.C. Govardhana Rangan N.K.Kurup MUMBAI, Aug. 19 THE US-based insurance company, American International Group (AIG) and DSP Merrill Lynch Ltd are in negotiations with the Tatas for acquiring equity stake in Tata Finance Ltd. ...

India: Siemens enters hearing aids trade (146).
August 20, 1999... BANGALORE: Siemens has announced the formation of Siemens Hearing Instruments Pvt Ltd (SHI), a 100 per cent subsidiary of Siemens Audiologische Technik GmbH, Germany, for marketing and distributing hearing instruments in India. ...

India: Companies exhorted to develop global outlook (417).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 DOMESTIC companies must leverage their competitive advantages to the maximum and develop a global outlook to counter the rising level of business uncertainty on the home turf, Mr. K.G. Ramachandran,...

Nepal plans tourism ventures with India (555).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau CALCUTTA, Aug. 19 THE Nepal Tourism Board (NTB), a recently-instituted autonomous body comprising Government and private sector representatives in Nepal, plans to take up proposals for joint tourism promotions with the...

India: NGOs key to empowering women: Sen lauds low fertility rates in Kerala, Tamil Nadu (521).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau CALCUTTA, Aug. 19 NOBEL laureate, Prof. Amartya Sen today hailed the low fertility rates achieved by Kerala and Tamil Nadu, saying that in these two States, the rates were lower than the US, China, France and Britain. ...

India: Driving into the Net auto market (433).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau CHENNAI, Aug. 19 PORTALS became hot property recently. Yahoo!'s success as a portal triggered the setting up of other kinds of portals each of which serve as a one-stop shop for one particular kind of information. ...

India: Scratch to believe Samsung (230).
August 20, 1999... CHENNAI: Samsung India Electronics Ltd has initiated a new promotional campaign, 'Scratch and Believe' for its microwave ovens. The campaign seeks to demonstrate the scratch-resistant feature of the ceramic enamel used in the oven by giving...

India: Intl Bestfoods rights issue at Rs 185 premium (179).
August 20, 1999... NEW DELHI: International Bestfoods Ltd (IBL), the subsidiary of the $8.5-billion Bestfoods Ltd of the US, said that it plans to come out with a rights issue in the ratio of 7 equity shares for every 10 equity shares held, and at a price of...

INDIA-IMPACT: Exempt now from dumping duty (209).
August 20, 1999... THE imposition of 30.80 per cent anti-dumping duty by the European Union on imports of steel wire ropes and cables from India may not affect the revenue stream of Usha Beltron and Usha Martin. The company has offered a price undertaking to...

India: Birlasoft recast under way To become 100 pc subsidiary (422).
August 20, 1999... Partha Ghosh NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 BIRLASOFT Ltd, the software developing firm of the C.K. Birla group, is being converted into a 100 per cent subsidiary of Birlasoft Enterprises Ltd. Birlasoft Enterprises was set up in June this year...

India: Aptech placement programme (132).
August 20, 1999... CHENNAI: The regional placement cell of Aptech Ltd in Chennai will conduct a two-day programme on placement of Aptech students in the city starting on Friday. Career Rendezvous' 99, according to the company, would be a platform where...

India: Maars Software to consider bonus (233).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau CHENNAI, Aug. 19 THE board of directors of Maars Software International Ltd is scheduled to meet on September 6 to consider a bonus issue. The board would also draft an employees stock option scheme (ESOP) then. The...

India: Verma panel rules out merger option (562).
August 20, 1999... Sarbajeet K. Sen NEW DELHI, Aug. 19 THE M.S. Verma Committee on weak banks is likely to recommend the setting up of Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) to cleanse the balance sheets of banks that are on the recovery path. The...

The Pakistani view: Moderates and jingoists (1234).
August 20, 1999... Rasheeda Bhagat "HE doesn't talk anymore papa. He has become India," says the little boy to his father, pointing to a sulking parrot, in a cartoon on the front page of a Pakistani English daily. The reference, obviously, is to the Prime...

India: Tata Donnelley on overdrive; to launch one more magazine title (754).
August 20, 1999... Sanjay Pillai CHENNAI, Aug. 19 TATA Donnelley Ltd (TDL), the Mumbai-based Yellow Pages and magazine publisher, is all set to come out with another special interest publication (SIP) to add to its existing titles, even as an existing...

India: NBFC applications rejected (130).
August 20, 1999... MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India has rejected the application for grant of certificate of registration submitted by the Chennai-based Fineline Finance and Investments Ltd and Uttar Pradesh-based Godavari Hire Purchase (P) Ltd. ...

India: SAIL borrows $200 m via FCNR(B) route (379).
August 20, 1999... Anindita Dey MUMBAI, Aug. 19 TAKING advantage of low forward premia, Steel Authority of India Ltd has borrowed $200 millions through the foreign currency non-resident (FCNR(B)) route for meeting its working capital requirements. ...

India: Edible oil imports seen at 45 lakh tonne (579).
August 20, 1999... Our Bureau MUMBAI, Aug. 19 DOMESTIC vegetable oil import demand for the oil year ending October 1999 is placed at 45 lakh tonnes following a surge in per capita consumption triggered by low prices, according to Mr. Dorab Mistry, the...

India: Hyundai - keen to establish credibility (1854).
August 20, 1999... M. Ramesh CHENNAI, Aug. 19 IN the eight months from its inauguration of its Chennai plant in October 1998, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMI) has sold over 35,000 Santro cars. Which is saying a lot in today's fiercely competitive market....

India: ICICI credit card early next year (364).
August 19, 1999... Our Bureau NEW DELHI, Aug. 18 ICICI is set to be the next big entrant in the domestic credit cards market. The financial institution is finalising plans to launch a card under its brand name early next year, the ICICI Joint Managing...

India: BILT board nod for paper business recast (313).
August 19, 1999... Our Bureau NEW DELHI, Aug. 18 THE board of directors of Ballarpur Industries Ltd has approved a three-year strategic plan to enable the company to accelerate growth and consolidate its position as India's largest paper group. ...

India: Escotel auditors see share capital erosion (697).
August 19, 1999... Raja Sukumar Cholleti HYDERABAD, Aug. 18 ESCOTEL Mobile Communications Ltd (EMCL), a subsidiary of Escorts Ltd which is in the business of cellular telephony, has registered a complete erosion in its share capital with its...

India: 45 bids for 27 oil blocks (529).
August 19, 1999... Our Bureau NEW DELHI, Aug. 18 MARKING the true entry of private participation in the oil exploration business, the Government today closed the first round of bids under the New Exploration and Licensing Policy (NELP) and received a...

India: VSNL traffic volumes fail to take off (367).
August 19, 1999... Anita Mani NEW DELHI, Aug. 18 TRAFFIC volumes of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) have failed to take off in the aftermath of the tariff cuts initiated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Instead, traffic figures...

India: SRA Systems pact with Autodesk (313).
August 19, 1999... Our Bureau CHENNAI, Aug. 18 THE Chennai-based SRA Systems Ltd, with core competence in migration and re-engineering projects and document management and imaging solutions, has entered into a strategic tie-up with Autodesk in India...

India: SQL Star ties up with i2Office.com (202).
August 19, 1999... Our Bureau HYDERABAD, Aug. 18 SQL Star International Ltd, a Hyderabad-based IT company engaged in software development, ERP consultancy and IT education, has announced a tie-up with i2Office.com, a California-based Internet service...

India: Spice subscriber base at 50,000 (127).
August 19, 1999... NEW DELHI: Spice Telecom has achieved a subscriber base of 50,000 in the two years since it launched operations in June 1997. The Spice network covers 45 cities and towns in Punjab and 15 district headquarters, according to a company release....

India: VSNL undersea cable link by September-end (284).
August 19, 1999... G.K. Nair KOCHI, Aug. 18 CERTAIN bottlenecks at some of the overseas destinations are likely to delay the commissioning of the Videsh Sanchar Nigam's South-East Asia Middle East Western Europe (SEAMEWE) undersea optical fibre cable...

India: SEBI to set up working groups on Internet trading norms (229).
August 19, 1999... Our Bureau MUMBAI, Aug. 18 THE Securities and Exchange Board of India has decided to set up two working groups for preparing the norms and guidelines related to Internet trading of securities and services. The SEBI-appointed...

India: Norton Ghost version (203).
August 19, 1999... Our Bureau BANGALORE, Aug. 18 SYMANTEC, a utility software producer for business and personal computing, has introduced Norton Ghost 5.1 Personal Edition - a PC cloning utility software - for home and self-employed computer users....

India: DoT told not to demand PSTN charges from ISPs (339).
August 19, 1999... Our Bureau NEW DELHI, Aug. 18 THE Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today directed the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to withdraw its demand on e-mail and Internet service providers (ISPs) to pay up Rs. 15,000 for...

India: Canon augments 'Stamina Series' (236).
August 19, 1999... Our Bureau NEW DELHI, Aug. 18 CANON India Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canon Singapore Pte Ltd, announced the launch of a new copier model "NP 7210" which has an output of 21 copies per minute on a variety of materials. The...

India: Philips launches steam iron (192).
August 19, 1999... CHENNAI: The Domestic Appliances and Personal Care Division of Philips India Ltd has launched Comfort Steam Iron, a light steam iron. The ceralon coating used for the base is 300 per cent more durable compared to irons with a teflon coating,...

India, Vietnam sign protocol on IT (132).
August 19, 1999... NEW DELHI: India and Vietnam have signed a protocol on co-operation in the areas of information technology and electronics. Under the protocol agreement, the two sides would work together on policy, policy management and technology fronts....

India: Carrier Aircon has another point (117).
August 19, 1999... CHENNAI: Carrier Aircon has inaugurated its fourth Comfort Point in Chennai to display its entire product range under one roof. The company has 10 Carrier-owned Comfort Points along with 22 dealer-managed ones. Speaking at the inauguration,...

INDIA-TAMIL NADU: Chamber welcomes NDA manifesto (134).
August 19, 1999... MADURAI: The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry has welcomed the election manifesto of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Mr. S. Rethinavelu, President of the chamber, in a statement has said the manifesto contained several...