Business Line articles from September 2000, page 5

Business Line archives from September 2000

India: ICAI issues new accounting standards.
September 26, 2000... NEW DELHI, Sept. 25. THE Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has released the texts of the Accounting Standard (AS-17) on 'Segment Reporting' and the Accounting Standard (AS-18) on 'Related Party Disclosures'. "These...

India: The crude dilemma.
September 26, 2000... WHAT was being considered as imminent - the across-the- board hike in petro-product prices - just a few days ago, is no longer all that threatening. On Saturday, the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Ram Naik, was given the go-ahead...

India: Verbatim.
September 26, 2000... "I just have to type in 'Pramod' and I can search whether anything controversial about me has appeared in the newspapers. Then I look for BJP. That is basically the use of IT in my life." Union Minister for Information Technology Pramod...

India: Airbus optimistic despite HC fiat.
September 26, 2000... NEW DELHI, Sept. 25. DESPITE adverse remarks by the Delhi High Court, Airbus Industrie said on Monday that it had full faith in the Indian judicial system and expressed keenness to do business here. "We have faith in the Indian system and...

India: 'Arthasastra, forerunner to customs laws'.
September 26, 2000... CALCUTTA, Sept. 25. THE nation's Customs laws and procedures have evolved over a 2000-year period, from the times of Kautilya's Arthasastra through the Mughal period, to the British rule to the modern age. And a good part of this fascinating...

India: Fake currency detector launched.
September 26, 2000... HYDERABAD, Sept. 25. HOMETRONICS (India) Private Ltd (HIPL), part of the Mumbai-based Vijlaxmi group, has launched Scantron, a range of currency counting machines with counterfeit detection mechanism, in Andhra Pradesh. Talking to...

India: EC move to lift remaining curbs on textile imports.
September 26, 2000... MUMBAI, Sept. 25. THE European Commission (EC) had formally tabled a proposal to lift all remaining restrictions on imports of 62 categories of textiles and clothing products, Mr Joe Cunnane, First Counsellor (Economy and Commerce), EC...

India: Labour reforms should be fair, equitable, says ILO.
September 26, 2000... MANGALORE, Sept. 25. THE International Labour Organisation (ILO) is supporting the efforts of Indian trade unions to present "forceful positions" to the Second National Labour Commission so that the "voice of the working people" is heard and...

India: NIO plans hydrate research centre.
September 26, 2000... VISAKHAPATNAM, Sept. 25. AS part of the Government's search for alternative fuel resources in the wake of the depleting crude oil and natural gas reserves, the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) is planning to start a Centre for Hydrate...

India: Oil sector Personnel chiefs' meet.
September 26, 2000... GUWAHATI: The two-day 32nd meet of the Personnel Chiefs of the Petroleum Sector concluded here under the chairmanship of Mr Subir Raha, Director (HRD), IOC. The meet organised by Numaligarh Refinery Ltd continued the ongoing effort at...

India: NCPL posts Rs 9-cr loss.
September 26, 2000... AHMEDABAD: Narmada Chematur Petrochemicals Ltd (NCPL) has registered a net loss of Rs 9.34 crore in 1999- 2000, despite posting a turnover of Rs 199.24 crore, up 49 per cent from Rs 133.67 crore in 1998-99. Addressing the seventh AGM of...

India: New exit route for CLSS cos.
September 26, 2000... NEW DELHI, Sept. 25. THE Department of Company Affairs (DCA) today announced the launch of a fast track scheme (FTS) from September 28 that would provide a simple exit route for those companies which have availed amnesty under the Company Law...

India: Colour Chips suspension at NSE to be revoked tomorrow.
September 26, 2000... Hotel Leela Venture: The following were approved at the AGM held on September 20: a) Appointment of Dr K.U. Mada as the Director. b) Appointment of Mr Venu Krishnan as an Executive Director effective from January 29. c)...

India: RPG group plans to hike stake in CESC.
September 26, 2000... CALCUTTA, Sept. 25. THE RPG group, promoter of CESC Ltd which currently holds 50 per cent of the equity, has plans to increase its stake in the company. This thinking on the part of the promoters can be attributed to, as Mr Sanjiv Goenka,...

India: JVSL to capitalise debt; L&T may get 7 pc stake.
September 26, 2000... BANGALORE, Sept. 25. JINDAL Vijaynagar Steel Ltd has proposed capitalisation of some of the outstanding term loans as a part of the equity restructuring plan, being undertaken with the help of Andersen Consulting. Sources said the...

India: Plastic-bodied scooters, motorcycle sales up.
September 26, 2000... NEW DELHI, Sept. 25. SALES of plastic-bodied gearless scooters and scooterettes continued to show a distinct growth trend during August this year, while metal-bodied scooters maintained their unrelenting downward drift. In the meanwhile, the...

India: Honda Siel plans two City VTEC variants.
September 26, 2000... NEW DELHI, Sept. 25. HONDA Siel Cars India Ltd (HSCIL) plans to launch two new variants of its recently-introduced Honda City VTEC - the company's mid-size car with the new VTEC engine. The two variants are likely to be launched next year and...

India: Pearl Polymers FD downgraded.
September 26, 2000... MUMBAI: The Credit Rating Information Services of India Ltd (Crisil) has downgraded the rating for the fixed deposit programme of Pearl Polymers Ltd (PPL) from "FA" to "FA-". The revised rating indicates that the degree of safety...

India: Bhagheeratha Engg net at Rs 9.14 cr.
September 26, 2000... KOCHI: Bhagheeratha Engineering Ltd has posted a profit before tax of Rs 17.45 crore during the last fiscal, registering a growth of 231 per cent over the previous year. The PAT stood at Rs 9.14 crore last fiscal compared to Rs 3.47...

India: Kinetic Challenger to hit roads next week.
September 26, 2000... PUNE, Sept. 25. KINETIC Engineering Ltd (KEL), which has made its presence felt with its various models of scooters, step-thrus and mopeds in the domestic and global market, is all set to launch its new bike, Kinetic Challenger, next week....

India: Balmer Lawrie shuts 2 units, sells stake in joint venture.
September 26, 2000... CALCUTTA, Sept. 25. BALMER Lawrie & Co Ltd has closed down its units at Manali and Aroor as part of its business restructuring exercise. The production (of industrial fat) at the Taloja unit was phased out in 1999-2000 while the company's...

India: Kirloskar Oil to focus on pump exports.
September 26, 2000... PUNE, Sept. 25. KIRLOSKAR Oil Engines Ltd (KOEL) is placing its thrust on pumps and generating sets for export this fiscal. It has targeted the markets of Africa, West Asia and South East Asia, Mr Atul C. Kirloskar, Chairman and Managing...

India: 'Dunlop revival package soon'.
September 26, 2000... CALCUTTA, Sept. 25. THE revival package for Dunlop India Ltd is likely to be announced by the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) in a few weeks. This was indicated by Mr R.K. Sadhu, the lone BIFR nominee on the Dunlop...

India: Techtran to set off premium against losses.
September 26, 2000... HYDERABAD, Sept. 25. TECHTRAN Polylenses Ltd (TPL), the Hyderabad-based ophthalmic lenses producer, has embarked upon a financial restructuring programme to overcome the problems of heavy debt burden and mounting accumulated losses and also...

India: CricketNext.com to build talent base.
September 26, 2000... CHENNAI: CricketNext.com, a cricket portal, has announced a joint initiative with former batsman, Sanjay Manjrekar, to build a cricketing talent base in the country. The initiative, called 'Play the Game - Play it Right', is the first in...

India: Longines launches wedding pack.
September 26, 2000... MUMBAI: Swiss watchmaker Longines has introduced the Longines Dolce Vita bride and groom models in 18 carat gold, packaged in a red lacquered wooden box. This wedding package will be supported by a new advertising and comunication...

India: New ACs from Voltas.
September 26, 2000... CHENNAI: Voltas has introduced Vectra, a new range of air-conditioners with green air technology. These are equipped with the four-stage quadra plus air filter, which combats active odour, cigarette smoke and bacteria. This model is available...

India: Stage set for an uptrend?
September 26, 2000... THE maximum retail price (MRP) of major brands of refined sunflower oil have seen a downward revision of between eight and 20 per cent between August 1999 and August 2000, with the majority of brands marking down prices by around nine per...

India: Rivals wrest shelf space from Madura Garments.
September 26, 2000... BANGALORE, Sept. 25. THE A. V. Birla Group-acquired Madura Garments finds itself in rough weather following reports about a decision by a section of the trade to discontinue stocking the company's readymade menswear brands. Sources told...

India: Levi's new denim variant to be backed by techno campaign.
September 26, 2000... NEW DELHI, Sept. 25. LEVI Strauss (India) Pvt Ltd, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Levi Strauss & Co, has extended its Levi's Red Tape sub-brand to Deep Blue, a new variant. The highlight of the line is the 515 Super Loose variant in deep...

India: Zaza for phased launch of footwear.
September 26, 2000... CALCUTTA, Sept. 25. THE Kanpur-based Zaza Products Pvt Ltd has embarked upon a phased launch of its premium branded footwear across the country. The company's presence in the domestic market for premium footwear was till now restricted...

India: S Kumars launches readymades.
September 26, 2000... MUMBAI, Sept. 25. THE S Kumars Group launched its first ready-to-wear range of garments here on Saturday. Named Cinnamon, after the spice, the brand is targeted at the middle and upper-middle segment. Targeted at the 20-40 age group, the...

India: Sony targets Rs 720-cr sales.
September 26, 2000... HYDERABAD, Sept. 25 SONY India Ltd, the 100 per cent subsidiary of $63-billion Sony Corporation of Japan, has projected total sales of about Rs 720 crore this fiscal as against the corresponding revenues of Rs. 613 crore last fiscal. The...

India: KPTCL signs purchase pacts for 25.5 MW.
September 26, 2000... BANGALORE, Sept. 25. THE State-owned Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd (KPTCL) has signed power purchase agreements (PPA) with four cogeneration projects for a total of 25.5 MW. The PPAs were signed by the Chairman and Managing...

India: Ennore power unit switched on after renovation.
September 26, 2000... CHENNAI, Sept. 25. THE renovation and modernisation work on one unit of 110 MW at the Ennore Thermal Power Station of the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board has been completed. This unit, along with two others of identical capacity, were shut down...

India: Tannirbhavi power plant to be operational by Dec.
September 26, 2000... MANGALORE, Sept. 25. THE 220-MW naphtha-based Tannirbhavi barge-mounted power plant would be operational by December or January, according to the Karnataka Chief Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna. Mr Krishna, who was in Mangalore to undertake a...

India: Schemes to boost handloom, sericulture sectors in North-east.
September 26, 2000... GUWAHATI, Sept. 25. AT the just concluded two-day conference of the Ministers of Textiles of the North Eastern States a few important decisions to promote and develop handloom, handicraft and sericulture sectors in the region were taken at...

India: Maharashtra allowed more onion exports.
September 26, 2000... NEW DELHI, Sept. 25. The Government on Monday announced the release, with immediate effect, of an additional 50,000 tonnes of onions for export from Maharashtra to be effected by November 30. This is in addition to the 20,000 tonnes...

India: ASSAM: 'Exempt all handloom inputs from ST'.
September 26, 2000... GUWAHATI: The Federation of Industries and Commerce of North Eastern Region (FINER), in a memorandum to the visiting Union Textiles Minister, Mr Kashiram Rana, urged exemption of sales tax for all inputs in the handloom sector. It said even...

India: ASSAM: SHCIL completes one year service.
September 26, 2000... GUWAHATI: The Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL), the only Depository Participant (DP) services provider in the North East, completed one year of its operation in the region on September 21. According to an official...

India: KERALA: Kochi-Munnar hi-tech corridor.
September 26, 2000... THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: THE Kerala Government has decided to set up a hitech knowledge corridor, which will link Kochi, the commercial capital, with Munnar, the summer resort town nestling in the higher reaches of Idukki district. The...

India: World Bank lends $15 b in fiscal 2000.
September 26, 2000... NEW DELHI, Sept. 25. THE World Bank has said strengthening client ownership of policies and programmes and involving poor people in development efforts became the focal points of its assistance in the South Asian region with "a key priority...

India: 'World economy better but not good enough'.
September 26, 2000... PRAGUE: The world economy has come a long way from the financial crisis of 1997-99, but rising oil prices and stubborn poverty in many emerging nations still pose major challenges, the US Treasury Secretary, Mr Lawrence Summers said. ...

India: Personal spending key to recovery: Japan.
September 26, 2000... PRAGUE: The Bank of Japan Governor, Mr Masaru Hayami, told international financial authorities on Sunday that personal consumption was key for Japan's economy to move firmly onto a self-sustaining recovery path. Delivering Japan's...

India: Oil shocks and knee-jerk responses.
September 26, 2000... AS the country is trying to cope with the third oil shock, the Government's policy responses continue to be on predictable lines. The Government is trying to devise ways to bring down the oil pool deficit to a manageable limit by adopting a...

India: ADB to fund projects worth $1.2 b in India.
September 26, 2000... NEW DELHI, Sept. 25. THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) has indicated that it would fund projects in India aggregating $1.2 billion during the current year. The bank also plans to gradually raise the funds earmarked for projects in India...

India: IBRD-funded UP water schemes end women's misery.
September 26, 2000... SIMAYAL, UP, Sept. 25. IN the hilly regions of the country, there is a strange paradox. Amidst bountiful rainfall there is scarcity of drinking water. Most of the rain water runs off, making it difficult to trap it and the poor womenfolk are...

India: 'Cable TV poised for explosive growth'.
September 26, 2000... NEW DELHI, Sept. 25. TIMES have, indeed, changed for the cable television industry, whose growth in 1990 was spurred by the vivid live news capsules of the Gulf War by CNN. With convergence becoming a reality, a decade later, the cable...

India: eSmart Soft launches tradersindia.com.
September 26, 2000... HYDERABAD: eSmart Soft Pvt Ltd, a Hyderabad-based e-business software development and solutions company, has launched its B2B site, www.tradersindia.com. The Director of eSmart Soft, Mr Ramana Reddy Ambati, said that the site is...

India: Business directory on the Net.
September 26, 2000... THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Windsor Graphics, which brought out the first official business directory in 1988, has launched a business directory on the Internet. Named 'WindsorYellowPages.com', the directory is open- ended without print...

India: New service from i-DNS.net.
September 26, 2000... BANGALORE: i-DNS.net International has launched a service targeted at country-code top level domain (ccTLD) administrators. According to a company release, it now has the capability to offer full-scale registry operator outsourcing...

India: Electric portal to divest stake.
September 26, 2000... AHMEDABAD: The Vadodara-based Indiaelectricmarket.com, part of the Essen group of companies, will soon be divesting two per cent equity each in favour of seven leading electrical goods manufacturing companies in the country. This follows...

India: Gilat to showcase broadband tech.
September 26, 2000... NEW DELHI, Sept. 25. GILAT Satellite has plans to introduce in the Indian market Skyblaster VSAT, a viable satellite technology enabling consumers to access the Internet at great speed and overcome bandwith choke. At the India Internet...

India: Media2india to market Jupiter services.
September 26, 2000... BANGALORE, Sept. 25. MEDIA2INDIA.NET, an end-to-end media solutions company from the Microland Group, has annouced a tie-up with Jupiter, to market its research services in India. Jupiter, a worldwide authority on the Internet commerce,...

India: Citrix, Tech Pacific sign pact.
September 26, 2000... MUMBAI, Sept. 25. CITRIX Software Ltd on Monday announced a strategic alliance with Tech Pacific India Ltd as its national distributor in India. After Datapro Infoworld Ltd, Tech Pacific is the second distributor to be signed by Citrix....

India: Sun looks at $ 250-m funding for Asia-Pacific.
September 26, 2000... BANGALORE, Sept. 25. SUN Microsystems Inc on Monday announced plans to significantly increase its investment focus on the Asia Pacific region through its newly formed Sun Asia Pacific Venture Investment Program. Sun is targeting $50...

India: Global Online messaging application.
September 26, 2000... HYDERABAD, Sept. 25. GLOBAL Online Services Ltd (GOSL), the Hyderabad-based software solutions and Internet service provider, unveiled PersonalMessenger, a communication application services product developed by the US-based Delray...

India: MUMBAI: Re on high note.
September 26, 2000... THE rupee closed stronger on Monday at 46.01/03 compared to Friday's close of 46.20/22, dealers said. They said the softening of oil prices in the international market bolstered the rupee. It had opened the day around 46.14/16 levels. ...

India: IDBI Bank holds builders' meet on housing loans.
September 26, 2000... HYDERABAD, Sept. 25. IDBI Bank organised a builders' meet here on Monday to highlight its Money Home and Money Home Plus products to finance home loans to the prospective buyers of house/flat in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad....

India: CAR: Look before you leap.
September 26, 2000... FOR quite some time now, the RBI and others have been arguing against a uniform capital adequacy ratio (CAR) for banks. Most banks, at least in the Government sector, have attained the minimum 9 per cent capital adequacy ratio, but that only...

India: IDBI-Principal unveils 'Future Goals'.
September 26, 2000... MUMBAI, Sept 25. IDBI-Principal on Monday announced the launch of "Future Goals" - a life-stage investment solutions bringing innovative investment concept of asset allocation by investors in mutual funds. IDBI-Principal Mutual Fund...

India: Repo auctions: RBI maintains rates at 10%.
September 26, 2000... MUMBAI, Sept. 25. THE Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday absorbed Rs 6,795 crore maintaining rates at 10 per cent in both the one-day repo and the three-day repo auctions. The RBI accepted all 15 bids of Rs 1,345 crore in the one-day...

India: SBI Caps study on Assam Tea Corpn.
September 26, 2000... MUMBAI, Sept. 25. SBI Capital Market will conduct a study on the future financial viability of the loss-making State Government undertaking - Assam Tea Corporation (ATC) - and disinvestment in the firm. Disclosing this to presspersons,...

India: Dollar trading in pepper may begin next month.
September 26, 2000... KOCHI, Sept. 25. DOLLAR denominated trading in pepper is expected to commence at the International Pepper Exchange (IPE) by late next month following the clearance given by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to the India Pepper and Spice Trade...

India: Meagre growth in rubber consumption.
September 26, 2000... KOTTAYAM, Sept. 25. WITH the peak production season round the corner, rubber prices have started to decline. The average price of RSS 4 grade in August 2000 was Rs 31.98 per kg compared to Rs 33.15 in August 1999. The prices have further...

India: Tissue culture plants yet to be tapped commercially.
September 26, 2000... COIMBATORE, Sept. 25. TISSUE culture plants are not only cheaper than regular varieties, but have become inevitable today, to sustain yield level. Used in nursery and in the propagation of medicinal plants, the commercial exploitation of...

India: MNC seed interests vs farmers' plight.
September 26, 2000... BANGALORE, Sept. 25. IT is a classic case of seed vs bija as Bangalore plays host to two important seed industry seminars beginning today. One is the Asian Seed 2000, organised by the Asia and Pacific Seed Association, where corporate...

India: Undue delay.
September 26, 2000... THE US PRESIDENT, Mr Bill Clinton's decision late last week to release 30 million barrels from the estimated 571-million-barrel emergency oil reserve has tempered world crude prices for the moment, but the fact cannot be denied that the...

India: Catch up time for poorer States.
September 26, 2000... Whatever its shortcomings, the Eleventh Finance Commission cannot be faulted for ignoring the principles of equity - strengthening the allocation pattern in favour of the poorer States. And this is essential, especially because of the...

India: The tale of the rising 'sons'.
September 26, 2000... THE ongoing brawl in the DMK party, involving two possible heirs to the party throne, exploded last week with the supporters of Mr M. K. Azhagiri - son of Mr M. Karunanidhi, DMK President - going berserk in the temple town of Madurai. ...

India: Sales (mis)management.
September 26, 2000... A LAZY Saturday afternoon, and you are slowly dropping off into the land of nod, when the door bell buzzes. It is another of those 'pesky' salespeople selling a new detergent powder that is 'guaranteed' to turn your clothes sparkling clean...

India: The Indo-American long march.
September 26, 2000... A 10,000 li march begins with a single step, pronounced Chairman Mao. Like the apple that supposedly descended unannounced on Newton's head, the obvious does occasionally conceal a deep message. The trick is to appreciate its presence...

India: Removing ban on iodised salt: A truly tasteless move.
September 26, 2000... THE DECISION to lift the ban on the production of plain non-iodised salt across the country next month, setting aside expert opinion, has triggered fierce debate on the issue. The Union Health Ministry has, through a written order, asked the...

India: SEC tries to fix things that ain't broke!
September 26, 2000... THE BATTLE has been simmering for a while. The US capital market regulator, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), is bent on breaking up the auditing and consulting businesses of the Big-5 firms. The accounting profession is, however,...

India: Resumption of contract dredging in Hooghly under study.
September 26, 2000... WHETHER the Calcutta Port Trust could again be allowed to go for contract-dredging to facilitate maintenance-dredging in the Hooghly river in view of the limitations of Dredging Corporation of India, is under the consideration of the Central...

India: Steady growth in New Mangalore container traffic.
September 26, 2000... MANGALORE, Sept. 25. THERE has been a 'steady growth' in container traffic at the New Mangalore port ever since container services from here were reintroduced on March 5 this year, according to the Traffic Manager of the New Mangalore Port...

India: 'NHDP work on schedule'.
September 26, 2000... NEW DELHI, Sept. 25. THE Minister of State for Surface Transport, Mr H.N. Yadav has reiterated the Government's commitment to providing road connectivity to all places having population of 1000 and above by 2003. Inaugurating a seminar...

India: NCDRC rapped for delay.
September 26, 2000... NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has come down heavily on the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission for sitting over a complaint under the Consumer Protection Act for six years and thereafter asking the complainant to approach either...

India: Bulls dominate intra-day.
September 26, 2000... MONDAY'S trading witnessed intra-day domination by the bulls. In spite of this, the downtrend in both the indices continued for the seventh calendar day. The sentiment of the market also continued to be in favor of the bears. A bull move...

India: Tech stocks spiral in uncertain market.
September 26, 2000... ON the first day of the new settlement at the Bombay Stock Exchange, the BSE Sensex rallied by 3.50 per cent (or 141.11 points) to close at 4,173.48 points. After a sharp decline in the Sensex by nearly 11.6 per cent, this trend reversal...

India: Buying interest in refinery shares.
September 26, 2000... LYONS RANGE ( Up 0.31) TECHNOLOGY scrips rebounded to post smart gains at the Calcutta Stock Exchange on Monday. Top among the gainers were the counters of Silverline (15.10 per cent), Satyam Computers (14.49 per cent), DSQ Software...

India: Cement on a losing streak.
September 26, 2000... THE markets have had a bad time in the last two weeks, showing declines in most trading sessions. The crisis of rising global oil prices severely hit the world markets and the effects were felt on all bourses. The Nikkei, for instance, dived...

India: Heavy domestic demand pushes up pepper.
September 26, 2000... KOCHI, Sept. 25. PEPPER prices increased marginally last week on heavy domestic demand. The prices of MG1 garbled was quoted at Rs 18,300 a quintal, while that of ungarbled at Rs 17,500 a quintal on September 23 as against the price of...

India: Global mineral trade fair from today.
September 26, 2000... NEW DELHI, Sept. 25. THE third International Trade Fair on minerals, metals and metallurgy, to be organised by the Indian Institute of Metals in the capital from September 26-29, is expected to generate business worth $250 million. ...