Business Line articles from August 2001

Business Line archives from August 2001

India: Bills on SICA repeal, co tribunal tabled.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. THE Government today introduced separate Bills in the Lok Sabha seeking to set up the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and to simultaneously repeal the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act (SICA), 1985,...

India: Wartsila NSD: A new trigger.
August 31, 2001... WARTSILA NSD India's parent company's decision to acquire the remaining 49 per cent stake in the company at a price of Rs 120 per share could trigger further upmove in the stock. The share price of the company closed at Rs 82.35, up by about...

India: Thomas Cook India: Upside capped.
August 31, 2001... THE announcement of an open offer price of Rs 351.68 per share for the acquisition of a further 20 per cent stake in Thomas Cook India by C&N Touristic and associates may not result in an uptrend in the former's stock price. An open offer has...

India: Bengal CM denies move to give up Haldia Petro stake.
August 31, 2001... KOLKATA, Aug. 30. THE West Bengal Chief Minister, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, has denied that the State Government was now considering either diluting or giving up its stake in Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd (HPL). Describing the recent...

India: Thomas Cook open offer at Rs 352.
August 31, 2001... MUMBAI, Aug. 30. THOMAS Cook AG, the parent company of Thomas Cook India Ltd (TCIL), along with its subsidiaries, will be making an obligatory open offer for acquiring 20 per cent equity stake in TCIL at Rs 351.68 per share. The offer...

India: Tata Steel to make second open offer for TSSL.
August 31, 2001... MUMBAI, Aug. 30. THE Rs 7,759-crore Tata Steel will make a second open offer to the shareholders of Tata SSL Ltd (TSSL), at the same price of Rs 27 per share offered in the first open offer. The company's board met on Thursday to approve the...

India: ISRO hires transponders on US satellite for Ku band.
August 31, 2001... BANGALORE, Aug. 30. ISRO's business arm Antrix Corporation has hired three transponders on GE-1A, a commercial US satellite, to provide high power Ku band facility for the growing VSAT community. The three-year agreement for an...

India: Taj group to invest Rs 100 cr for renovation.
August 31, 2001... MUMBAI, Aug. 30. TAJ Group, out on a face-lift spree, plans to pump in another Rs 100 crore in the current fiscal for renovating existing hotels as well as for building a new property. The group, with 50 hotels under its fold in the country,...

India: Power Bill tabled in LS, gives flexibility to States.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. THE Electricity Bill, 2001, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha today by the Minister for Power, Mr Suresh Prabhu, is aimed at dismantling the age-old regulations that have lost their utility in the changed scenario and...

India: Rail fund and 'Green Book' priorities.
August 31, 2001... KOLKATA, Aug. 30. WITH the Railways taking the first step towards the constitution of a Rs 17,000 crore non-lapsable safety fund by introducing a safety surcharge on passenger tickets with effect from October 1, the focus now shifts to the...

India: 'Urgent steps needed to tackle oil pool deficit'.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. THE Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Ram Naik, today highlighted numerous issues that need to be addressed before complete dismantling of the administered pricing mechanism (APM) in the oil sector by March...

India: BSES resolution to raise equity passed.
August 31, 2001... MUMBAI, Aug. 30. BSES Ltd plans to raise Rs 10,000 crore equity through various instruments including FCCB, ADR/GDR, preference issue and internal accruals to fund its plans for generating 9000 MW as per its 'Business Plan 2012'. A...

India: HAL heritage museum opened.
August 31, 2001... BANGALORE, Aug. 30. HINDUSTAN Aeronautics LTd's heritage centre and aerospace museum was inaugurated here on Thursday by the Minister for Tourism, Mr Roshan Baig, who promised to include it as part of Karnataka State Tourism Development...

India: Jayalalithaa to skip NDC meet.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. THE Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, would be conspicuous by her absence to the crucial National Development Council (NDC) being held here on Saturday. Government and political sources told Business Line...

India: Krushi bank: Naidu for RBI intervention.
August 31, 2001... HYDERABAD, Aug. 30. THE Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, has urged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor, Dr Bimal Jalan, and the Union Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, to immediately intervene in the Krushi...

India: Cable TV to get addressibility: Don't want a channel, don't pay.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. IN a move to bring in more accountability in the chaotic cable TV business, the Government today decided that all pay channels would have to go through the conditional access system (CAS) whereby each household will get...

India: FDI inflow up 3.6 pct.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. FOREIGN direct investment (FDI) inflows into the country during the first seven months of 2001 was $80 million more than the corresponding figure during the same period last year, reflecting a marginal increase of around...

India: New SIMA chief concern over rising yarn stocks.
August 31, 2001... COIMBATORE, Aug. 30. DESPITE the current setback in yarn exports, the spinning sector in the cotton textile chain is still the vibrant link and it will do better once the industry manages itself in structural adjustments, said the new...

India: Piaggio buys PGVL.
August 31, 2001... MUMBAI: The Piaggio group on Thursday announced the acquisition of 100 per cent of the share capital of 3-wheeler manufacturer Piaggio Greaves Vehicles Ltd (PGVL). PGVL was set up in 1998 with 51 per cent equity stake held by Piaggio and...

India: Panel to advise Centre on accounting standards.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. THE Union Government on Wednesday formally notified the constitution of a 12-member National Advisory Committee on Accounting Standards under the Chairmanship of Mr Y.H. Malegam. The Chairman and the other 11 members will...

India: SC moved on CNG norms: Naik.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. THE Centre has filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court, seeking some modifications in the latter's strict ruling on the implementation of pollution-free compressed natural gas (CNG) as fuel in the Capital's vehicles,...

India: Tough time for SSIs post-WTO: Advani.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. THE Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani today said it may be necessary to remove SSI reservations and relax labour laws in some areas such as toys, leather products, and processed foods among others where India has a...

India: G.K. Moopanar passes away.
August 31, 2001... CHENNAI, Aug. 30. MR G.K. Moopanar, founder President of the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) and a member of the Rajya Sabha, died in a private hospital here early today after a prolonged illness. He was 70 and is survived by his wife, a son and...

India: CII hails rail safety cess.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. THE Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has "whole- heartedly" welcomed the imposition of a safety-cess on railway fares. In a statement the chamber has said that the safety to passenger life is of paramount importance....

India: Tyre exports rise 25% in Q1.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI:Tyre exports by members of the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) increased by 24.96 per cent during the first quarter of the current fiscal to Rs 212.52 crore as against Rs 170.07 crore recorded in the same period the...

India: Blue Dart targets 22 pc growth.
August 31, 2001... KOLKATA: Blue Dart Express Ltd is hopeful of notching up a growth of over 22 per cent in the current fiscal. In 2000-2001, the integrated air express and logistics company recorded a turnover of Rs 256.17 crore, up from Rs 204.86 crore the...

India: L&T bags highways contract.
August 31, 2001... MUMBAI: Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T) has bagged the Rs 121.5-crore contract to construct a 36.89-km stretch of the National Highway Four between Kanchipuram and Walajahpet along the Chennai-Bangalore highway. The contract, to be executed within...

India: HM exports RTVs to Bangladesh.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI: Hindustan Motors Ltd (HM) has exported 24 units of rural transport vehicle (RTV) to Bangladesh, its third consignment to the eastern neighbour. A company statement said that in the first two consignments, HM had exported 36...

India: SEBI panel ruling on 'strike price' in option deal.
August 31, 2001... MUMBAI, Aug. 30. 'STRIKE price' in an option contract would be adjusted for any extraordinary dividend that a company may declare, a Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) sub-committee has ruled. The 'strike price' is the price...

India: Taj group plans more investment companies.
August 31, 2001... ABU DHABI, Aug. 30. THE Taj group has recently established an investment company, Taj Asia, which is one of three regional joint venture investment companies to be set up to aggressively market the Taj brand on the international hospitality...

India: Two new variants of Matiz launched.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. DAEWOO Motors India Ltd, subsidiary of the ailing South Korean car maker Daewoo Motor Corp, today announced the launch of two special edition versions of its 800-cc Matiz car with more features and a price dearer by about...

India: 'Toyota not ready for making engines itself'.
August 31, 2001... BANGALORE, Aug. 30. THOUGH Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd (TKM), maker of the multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) Qualis, is not averse to undertaking engines manufacture itself, low volumes have been a deterrent. The company, which boasts of 70 per...

India: FIs okay debt revamp package for DCL Poly.
August 31, 2001... HYDERABAD, Aug. 30. FINANCIAL institutions have granted significant reliefs and concessions, while approving a major financial restructuring package to DCL Polyesters Ltd, the Hyderabad-based Rs 304-crore company which was acquired by one of...

India: Grasim to hike cement capacity.
August 31, 2001... MANGALORE, Aug. 30. GRASIM Industries Ltd, the flagship company of the Aditya Birla group which claims to be the third largest producer of cement in the country, is to increase its capacity from 11 million tonnes per annum currently to 15...

India: Essel Propack net at Rs 14.18 crore.
August 31, 2001... MUMBAI: Essel Propack Ltd in its consolidated global revenue statement has reported a 51 per cent rise in profit-after-tax (PAT) at Rs 14.18 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2001 as compared to Rs 9.39 crore in the year-ago period....

India: SHV pact with Tata Yodogawa.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI: SHV Energy North-East Ltd, a part of the SHV Group, has signed an agreement with Tata Yodogawa Ltd , a Tata Steel subsidiary for supply of LPG to its Jamshedpur works for 10 years. SHV would be investing close to Rs 1 crore in...

India: Nasdaq joins hands with TiE.
August 31, 2001... KOLKATA, Aug. 30. THE first tell-tale signs of Nasdaq's activism, beyond its usual dialogue with listing aspirants, are evident in India. The India office of the US exchange has joined hands with The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE, a technology...

India: SIMA to stay out of wage talks.
August 31, 2001... COIMBATORE, Aug. 30. THE apex textile mill management body, Southern India Mills Association (SIMA), has refused to assume any role in the negotiation for wages on behalf of its members. At the annual general meeting of SIMA held here today,...

India: Tourism industry faces PETA wrath.
August 31, 2001... KOLKATA, Aug. 30. HAVING had a swipe at the Indian leather industry, Virginia-based PETA (People for Ethical Treatment to Animals) is now targeting the tourism industry. "If India wants to play in the world market, it can hardly complain that...

India: Pessimism overtakes auto parts industry.
August 31, 2001... CHENNAI, Aug. 30. FOR the first time in 14 years, the automotive components industry posted a negative five per cent growth in the April-June quarter. This seems to have shaken the industry, with a recent survey conducted by the...

India: India Today to host conclave.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI: As part of the 25 years celebration, the India Today Group has instituted the India Today Conclave to be held between October 21 and 23 in New Delhi. "The India Today Conclave will go beyond discussions about the economy. With...

India: Axles India to offer buyback.
August 31, 2001... CHENNAI, Aug. 30. AXLES India Ltd will come out with an offer to buy back shares from the public, which currently amounts to around nine per cent of the equity capital. After the public offer is over, the company would delist from the...

India: TVS-Suzuki's Victor debuts.
August 31, 2001... CHENNAI, Aug. 30. TVS-Suzuki Ltd on Thursday formally launched its indigenously developed 4-stroke motorcycle, TVS Victor, here. The price has been fixed at Rs 41,187, (ex-showroom, Chennai). At the function, the company's Managing...

India: Honey Bee brandy loses to rum race in Kerala.
August 31, 2001... BANGALORE, Aug. 30. HONEY Bee brandy from Herbertsons' Ltd has lost the top slot in Kerala to Empee Distilleries Ltd's economy rum, Victoria, as preferences among liquor consumers in the State show major changes. Honey Bee has been the...

India: Joint-free tiles from H&R Johnson.
August 31, 2001... PUNE, Aug. 30. H&R JOHNSON (India) Ltd is set to unveil a new category in the tile market with the launch of joint-free porcelain tiles under the brandame, Porselano. Porcelain tiles has been one of the largest selling categories in the...

India: Mega Lube oils market with new range.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. THE South African company, Mega Lube, on Thursday announced its foray into the country's lubricant market through a joint venture. The joint venture company will start producing about a dozen lubricants in two to...

India: NDC meet likely to be stormy.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. AMIDST strong signs of listlessness among State Governments for being hemmed in by conditionalities even for the grant of normal Central Plan assistance, a crucial meeting of the Centre and States is slated on September 1,...

India: Dumping probe into acrylic fibre imports.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. THE Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry has initiated anti-dumping investigations on alleged dumping of acrylic fibre (in all deniers) from the UK, Germany, Brazil and Bulgaria. The petition seeking...

India: India offers to share telecom knowhow.
August 31, 2001... BANGALORE, Aug. 30. INDIA has offered to share its telecom capabilities with other ITU member countries on a mutual basis. This can help to bring about a standardised modern and affordable communication system globally, according to Mr C.V....

India: Rational Software workshop.
August 31, 2001... BANGALORE: E-development company, Rational Software Corporation, is conducting a workshop on 'Project Management and Improving Software Economics' here on September 6 and at Chennai on September 7. The workshop, to be conducted by Mr...

India: 3 portals to use neoIT tech.
August 31, 2001... BANGALORE: neoIT has announced the licensing of its MarketMaker technology to three leading portals and a premier technology association. CyberIndia Online, GlobalOutsourcing.org, Net Exhibitors (HITDecisions.com) and the Software and...

India: TCS inaugurates Hungary centre.
August 31, 2001... MUMBAI: Tata Consultancy Services, a global software solutions and consulting services enterprise major, has inaugurated its 24th global offshore development centre in Budapest, Hungary. The centre will undertake development work for...

India: Meet on role of HR in slowdown.
August 31, 2001... PUNE, Aug. 30. "An organisation's success depends on its people and its challenge lies in attracting, retaining and reorganising human resources in the age of competition." "Galvanizing minds and helping people to be innovative and...

India: Slowdown rubs sheen off ITIL.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. TIME was when Mr Vinay Rai of Usha Group rode on the booming stock price of his software firm, Information Technologies India Ltd (ITIL), to the Forbes' list of billionaires. With a networth of $2 billion, Mr Rai,...

India: NumTV launched in the US.
August 31, 2001... NEW YORK, Aug. 30. FORMER cricket skipper and Chairman of the Champ Cricket Channel, Mr Kris Srikkanth, and leg spinner, Mr Venkatapathy Raju, formally launched NumTV, the world's first Internet Web-casting television channel, in New York...

India: MosChip mulls Netmos Tech merger.
August 31, 2001... HYDERABAD, Aug. 30. MOSCHIP Semiconductor Technology Ltd (MSTL), the Hyderabad-based fabless semiconductor company, is evaluating the possibility of merging with it NetMos Technology Inc., the US-based player in the PC peripherals market. ...

India: Microsoft launches 'XP' with Indian language support.
August 31, 2001... HYDERABAD, Aug. 30. MICROSOFT Corporation India has announced the launch its Office XP with Indian language support here on Thursday. The President of Microsoft India, Mr Rajiv Nair, has handed over a copy of the product to the Andhra...

India: To close $5-m fund requirement.
August 31, 2001... KAASHYAP Radiant is about to close a $5-million fund requirement from banks for its e-learning initiative. The funding would be in the form of non-convertible debentures/term loans, and the deal was expected to be closed in a few days, said...

India: Escotel ties up with Asianet.
August 31, 2001... KOCHI, Aug. 30. ESCOTEL Mobile Communications Ltd (Escotel) has entered into a tie-up with Asianet Satcom, the largest cable network services company in Kerala, for providing Asianet content via the wireless media to Escotel mobile users. ...

India: Fujitsu's SystemWalker in India.
August 31, 2001... BANGALORE, Aug. 30. JAPANESE major, Fujitsu Ltd, has launched SystemWalker, an enterprise management systems tool, in India in collaboration with Bangalore-based Indo-Fuji Information Technologies. SystemWalker is an integrated, complete...

India: Network Associates plans more investments in India.
August 31, 2001... CHENNAI, Aug. 30. NETWORK Associates Inc.(NAI), the world's largest independent network security and management software company, is seriously considering setting up a software development centre in South India. Recently, a team was in India...

India: Asianet cable announces financial closure.
August 31, 2001... KOCHI, Aug. 30. ASIANET Satellite Communications Ltd has announced the financial closure for its cable TV and broadband Internet access service project in Kerala. This Rajan Raheja group company is a leading cable TV services provider...

India: MUMBAI: Re sheds 2 paise; gilts slip further.
August 31, 2001... THE rupee ended weaker on Thursday by around two paise at 47.14/1450 against the dollar as compared to previous close of 47.1150/12 in the forex market. It opened at 47.13/14. Forex dealers said the marginal slip of the currency was on...

India: AIRBEA calls nation-wide strike on Sept 6.
August 31, 2001... KOLKATA: The All-India Reserve Bank Employees' Association (AIRBEA) has called for a nation-wide strike on September 6 to demand settlement of a number of pending issues. A press release issued by AIRBEA referred to the RBI management's...

India: UTI Bank to sign MoU with India Post.
August 31, 2001... CHENNAI: UTI Bank is to ink a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India Post on Friday to offer value-added financial products and services to customers of both the organisations. The MoU provides for the setting up of UTI Bank ATMs in...

India: SBI pays RBI Rs 157.17-cr dividend.
August 31, 2001... MUMBAI: State Bank of India (SBI) has paid a dividend of Rs 157.17 crore to the Reserve Bank of India for the year 2000-01. The dividend is being paid on the 59.73 per cent of equity that RBI holds in SBI. The rate of dividend in 2000-01...

India: ICICI Bank ATMs number 100 in Mumbai.
August 31, 2001... MUMBAI: ICICI Bank has launched its 100th ATM in Mumbai. With this, the bank will have a network of 574 ATMs spread across 54 cities. According to a press release, ICICI Bank continues to focus attention on newer functions that will...

India: Dhanalakshmi opens ATM in Bangalore.
August 31, 2001... BANGALORE: Dhanalakshmi Bank has opened its first ATM in Bangalore. The bank has three other ATMs in Thrissur, Kochi and Chennai and is planning to open another in Mumbai, according to a press release. The ATM will provide withdrawal,...

India: OM Kotak to launch three new products.
August 31, 2001... CHENNAI: OM Kotak Life Insurance, a joint venture of Kotak Mahindra and Old Mutual of the UK, proposes to launch three new products - term, group insurance and a unit-linked product - before the end of this financial year. The company...

India: Dena Bank draws up 3-year revival plan.
August 31, 2001... MUMBAI, Aug. 30. DENA Bank Ltd has formulated a "three year" revival plan, consequent to recent meetings its officials have had with the Finance Secretary, Mr Ajit Kumar. The bank will submit the plan to the Ministry shortly. The...

India: NBFCs mull PLR benchmark.
August 31, 2001... CHENNAI, Aug. 30. NON-BANKING finance companies (NBFCs) are mulling a prime lending rate for their borrowers. Concerned over the cut-throat competition in the industry, a few of them have got together to propose a sort of benchmark floor rate...

India: SBI to submit fresh proposal for IT arm.
August 31, 2001... MUMBAI, Aug. 30. STATE Bank of India (SBI) has decided to put up a fresh proposal to the Government for setting up an information technology subsidiary. SBI's earlier proposal was rejected by the Government stating that "it would be a...

India: Separate supervisory body: Urban co-op banks oppose RBI move.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. UNEASY at the impending threat of the removal of the Reserve Bank of India's supervisory umbrella, urban co-operative banks (UCBs) have represented to the central bank to spike the proposal to set up a separate supervisory...

India: UK keen to invest in Bengal projects.
August 31, 2001... KOLKATA, Aug. 30. THE UK sees investment potential in West Bengal's growth sectors such as agro-foods, healthcare and information technology. It is also bullish on traditional areas such as mining and tourism. The British Deputy High...

India: Karnataka meet to discuss T&D losses.
August 31, 2001... BANGALORE, Aug. 30. THE Karnataka Cabinet has decided to meet on September 5 to exclusively discuss how to cut the power transmission and distribution losses of its SEB. The T&D losses now hover at 33 per cent, an improvement from the...

India: Hyderabad to host mega shopping event.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. THE first ever month-long shopping extravaganza, 'The great mall of Hyderabad', which is being tipped as the largest in Asia, opens in Hyderabad on October 13. Addressing a press meet, the State's Minister of Tourism,...

India: ANDHRA PRADESH: Rs 500-cr rural electrification plan.
August 31, 2001... HYDERABAD: The State Government has embarked on a Rs 500-crore rural electrification project which will ensure 100 per cent electrification of all rural habitations in the State by March 2004. While reviewing the progress of the rural...

India: Cargo Service signs pact with AAI for perishable goods.
August 31, 2001... KOLKATA, Aug. 30. CARGO Service Centre India, the Indian subsidiary of Cargo Services Centre, an international logistics service provider, has signed an agreement with the Airports Authority of India to handle perishable goods at Delhi's...

India: JNPT calls fresh EoI for marine chemical terminal.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. THE Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) has invited fresh expression of interest (EoI) from private operators to develop a marine chemical terminal at the port on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis at an estimated...

India: SCI board must decide on further equity, says Ministry.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. THE Ministry of Shipping is of the view that the issue of investing $ 11 million as additional equity by the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) in the LNG shipping deal for Dabhol Power Company (DPC) should be decided at...

India: Ship-repairers decry VPT move to hike fees.
August 31, 2001... VISAKHAPATNAM, Aug. 30. SHIP-repairers based in Vizag have been hit hard by the recent decision of the Vizag port to increase the licence fee and security deposit. The 30-odd ship repairing units, with a combined annual turnover of about...

India: Movenpick to strengthen India operations.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. MOVENPICK Foods, the Swiss-based manufacturer of food products, including its premium ice-cream brand, seeks to structure its presence in India by the end of this year. Mr Neeraj Jain, Movenpick's General Manager,...

India: Maharashtra set to launch IPM scheme for cotton.
August 31, 2001... MUMBAI, Aug. 30. MAHARASHTRA, one of the leading cotton producing States, is gearing up to implement the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) scheme recommended under the second mini-mission of the Technology Mission on Cotton (TMC). Having...

India: Sugar production 182.8 lt till July.
August 31, 2001... NEW DELHI, Aug. 30. THE country's sugar production during the 2000-01 crushing season (October-September) has touched 182.8 lakh tonnes till July 2001. This is as against 179.99 lakh tonnes produced during the corresponding period of the...