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| Microtek launches new flat screen Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 8: Microtek International Limited, India’s leading IT peripherals company has introduced a new 17 Inch Flat Screen OSD Color Monitor in its ‘FlatVision’ series of.....more Sonipat
becomes SONIPAT, Oct 8: By producing over 75 per cent of Haryana’s mushrooms, Sonipat......more US
strikes to have NEW DELHI, Oct 8: Reserve Bank Governor Bimal Jalan said today that the US-led air-strikes.......more NEW DELHI, Oct 8: Gold prices shot up on the bullion market today on stockists’ buying.....more |
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Mahajan to
inaugurate technology exhibition NEW DELHI, Oct 8: The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Information Technology and Communications, Pramod Mahajan, will inaugurate a three day India-Singapore technology expo - Istex 2001 - beginning tomorrow in Singapore.....more ASSOCHAM for intensive NEW DELHI, Oct 8: Pointing out various lacunae including the likelihood of the adjudicating officer ......more Cement plant to be DHARAMSHALA (HP), Oct 8: Himachal Pradesh Industry Minister Kishori Lal today said a Rs 600 ...more US-led air-strikes MUMBAI, Oct 8: US-led air-strikes against Afghanistan triggered panic sales, pushing the sensex.....more |
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Sonipat becomes leader in mushroom production SONIPAT, Oct 8: By producing over 75 per cent of Haryana’s mushrooms, Sonipat, has become one of the leading districts of the country in mushroom production. Mushroom cultivation has become popular, not only among farmers, but also landless labourers and other sections of society. According to official sources, the credit for starting mushroom production in Sonipat goes to some farmers of Bhadana village who, in the year 1984, got a short duration training in mushroom production from Himachal Pradesh and motivated some other farmers also for starting this occupation. The Department of Horticulture, Haryana, the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) and other nationalised and cooperative banks played an important role in giving a boost to this occupation. However, many mushroom growers are sore about the attitude of the banks whose officials do not help them in advancing loans despite the profit margin and absence of defaulters. They give an excuse that the particular village does not fall in the service area under which particular areas are attached to branches of a nationalised bank. Most banks do not cater to mushroom growers and despite getting a no-objection certificates from such bank, the other banks, while processing cases give all encouragement, but in the end wriggle out saying that the area did not come under the service scheme. (PTI) Many progressive farmers alleged that they had been facing an acute shortage of good quality mushroom spawn (seed), due to the failure of the authorities concerned to supply the same. Mushroom growers are also not happy with the Haryana Agro-industries Corporation and they feel that the Corporation has not only discouraged them but prevents them from getting a good profit as corporation officials wait for a slump so that they can buy their produce at a cheaper price, according to officials of the Horticulture Department of Haryana. Lack of adequate marketing facilities in villages and at district level and non-availability of lab facilities to eradicate diseases, lead to low production and low price in the market. Sealed tin facilities for this produce could solve many problems, they said. Mushroom cultivation has been started in nearly 100 villages in Sonipat. Prominent among them are Bhadana, Akbarpur Barota, Rohat, Jharoth, Sisana, Ganaur, Rajlu Garhi and Murthal. During the past one decade, the mushroom production had witnessed a steep rise. A number of progressive mushroom cultivators are using ultra modern techniques to constantly increase their production. The mushroom growers of Bhadana and murthal were leading in production and installing trays as well as constructing sheds for this purpose. The factors which also helped in promoting mushroom culture included proximity to the national capital for immediate sale of the produce, easy availability of raw materials and an urge among the educated unemployed youth for starting their own occupation. (PTI) |
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US strikes to have little impact on Indian eco: Jalan NEW DELHI, Oct 8: Reserve Bank Governor Bimal Jalan said today that the US-led air-strikes on Afghanistan will have little impact on the Indian economy. "There is nothing to worry about it. That’s what I am saying," he told reporters when asked how would the US military action in Afghanistan impact the Indian economy. However, Jalan hastened to add "we are watching the situation." Declining to comment on the busy season monetary and credit policy to be unveiled by RBI on October 22, Jalan indicated that softer interest rate bias would continue. "As of now yes," Jalan said when asked if the softer interest rate stand will continue. On depreciation of rupee, Jalan said external situation was comfortable right now and orderly conditions would be maintained in the foreign exchange market. "RBI is there to meet temporary demand and supply imbalance. We will meet it," Jalan said. Jalan had had an hour-long meeting with Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha which was described as a ‘routine’ one. Jalan said "no comments," to a query on growth rate that has been forecast by IMF and Central Statistical Organisation to fall this year due to economic slowdown, RBI had earlier said the economy would grow at 6 to 6.5 per cent this financial year. IMF and CSO have now said it could be only 4.5 to 5 per cent. (PTI) |
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NEW DELHI, Oct 8: Gold prices shot up on the bullion market today on stockists’ buying in the wake of US-led attack on Afghanistan, and hit the 55-month high of Rs 4880 per ten gram, showing a smart gain of Rs 80. The yellow metal spurted to Rs 4900 per ten gram at the outset on brisk buying and due to a steep rise in US dollar against the Indian rupee, but returned to settle at a level of Rs 4880 seen on March 12, 1997. Market players were divided over the cause of fresh rise in yellow metal prices as some ascribed it to a likelihood of protracted nature of hostilities after the terrorist attacks in the US, while other attributed it to a constant firmness in the dollar vis-a-vis rupee. "Gold prices jumped up on two reasons - the US-led attack on Afghanistan and a rise in US dollar against Indian rupee, All India Sarafa Bazar president, Sheel Chand Jain, said. He said the upsurge in yellow metal prices had been largely on firmness in the US dollar since September 11, rather than by "safe haven" buying. A leading Delhi-based bullion merchant Ravi Jalan said, "gold is a sentiment-driven metal and sentiment has well changed after the news of the attack". The trading sentiment could also be gauged from the trend in international markets where gold rose just 1.25 US dollar an ounce at 292.75 dollar. (PTI) |
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Mahajan to inaugurate technology exhibition NEW DELHI, Oct 8: The Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Information Technology and Communications, Pramod Mahajan, will inaugurate a three day India-Singapore technology expo - Istex 2001 - beginning tomorrow in Singapore. The fair would be part of the ‘India Week’ being organised in Singapore by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The slowdown in the global economy has to be seen as an opportunity to push ahead on two important fronts. The first is the process of internal reforms and the second is exploring opportunities for economic cooperation and linkages with other countries. In fact, it is the slowdown in the Singapore economy, which has prompted a strategic shift by India INC towards looking at Singapore as a hub for sourcing services and products from focussing on Singapore as a source for foreign direct investment. Underlining the importance of a Government - industry partnership to take this forward, CII pointed out that the participation of the Government in overseas exhibitions and trade fairs was a great source of encouragement. Mr Mahajn will be the guest of honour at the Singapore-India conference on Information Technology as well as a conference on trade and economic cooperation. The minister will also inaugurate the recently relocated CII office in Singapore during his visit. In SYNC with the new strategy, most of the business conferences revolve around different segments of the services industry. Separate conferences are being organised on the tourism and hospitality industry, infrastructure sector, financial services, information and communication technology, healthcare and health research and on opportunities for trade. Apart from business and economic events, ‘India Week’ will also showcase and celebrate India’s rich cultural tradition. A series of cultural events including a concert by Indian Ocean, violin recital by Dr L Subramaniam, Malika Sarabhai dance ensemble, a concert by Hariprasad Chaurasia and a J J Valaya fashion show are scheduled to take place during the week. (UNI) |
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ASSOCHAM for intensive debate on convergence bill NEW DELHI, Oct 8: Pointing out various lacunae including the likelihood of the adjudicating officer usurping the jurisdiction of the Communications Commission of India (CCI), the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) today demanded a national debate on the communication convergence bill. In a statement here, an ASSOCHAM spokesman said the convergence bill as introduced in Parliament was vague in its objective and lacked simplicity and therefore a thorough debate was warranted on each provision of the bill. The spokesman said while the power to license was proposed to be vested with the CCI, the bill gave residual power to the Central Government to interfere in the functioning of the CCI and in matters relating to its regulatory functions but also its licensing functions. Furthermore, serious jurisdictional issues were involved as the Adjudicating Officer (AO) was vested with sweeping powers and could impose penalties and fines. Serious overlaps and inconsistencies were evident and the qualifications of the AO were indeterminate. Some of the orders passed by the AO were not even appealable to the appellate tribunal, the spokesman added. In a right-of-way dispute relating to public utilities, the dispute would be resolved by the district judge of the area where the property is situated. If the land belongs to a private owner, the dispute would be resolved by the CCI. There must be good reasons for such discrimination, but that is not evident from the bill. It was pointed out that the definitions contained in the bill were incomprehensible. There is a 5-star classification of licenses, though in the original bill, there were only four categories. The industry protested and requested a simplification to a 3-level classification. After having supposedly appreciated the concerns of the industry, the bill as presented to Parliament, increased the number of categories requiring license from 4 to 5. Require a license instead of reducing it. Instead of a five-star category, the industry had suggested three simple categories (i) infrastructure provider (ii) service provider and (iii) content provider which had already been used in the indian context over the last several years. A major hurdle created by the bill is that a telecom service provider would need five licences instead of one as at present. Though operators had shifted over to the NTP 99 regime more than two years back they have not yet received their comprehensive amended licenses, and continue to operate in a state of uncertainty. The bill fails to provide clear transition provisions into the convergence bill regime, the ASSOCHAM said. (UNI) |
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Cement plant to be set up in Majir DHARAMSHALA (HP), Oct 8: Himachal Pradesh Industry Minister Kishori Lal today said a Rs 600 crore cement plant will be set up in the private sector at Majir in Chamba district. At a "meet-the-press programme organised by Trigarth Press Club at Kangra, he said this cement plant would be free from pollution. He said limestone deposits at Sikridar village would be used in this plant. Referring to illegal mining carried out in the State, the minister said it was impossible to stop this practice. Despite this, he said the Government had recovered royalty to the tune of Rs 73 crore during the past two years. Mr Kishori Lal said the Government was contemplating on restructuring the mining department. (UNI) |
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US-led air-strikes on Afghanistan turn stocks weak MUMBAI, Oct 8: US-led air-strikes against Afghanistan triggered panic sales, pushing the sensex sharply down to the day’s low of 2718.41 at early stages on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today. However, the BSE barometer later rallied smartly following a partial recovery in key stocks as Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha ruled out any major impact of the US strikes on the Indian economy, since it was a limited operation. Initially, the BSE sensitive index had plunged to low of 2718.41 on fears that the ongoing conflict between the US and Afghanistan would adversely affect the economy. The sensex later rallied smartly on buying support prompted by the Government’s encouraging statement and closed at 2765.37 as against last Friday’s close of 2812.90, still showing a net loss of 47.53 points or 1.69 per cent. The broad-based BSE-100 index also dropped by 21.25 points to 1280.03 from previous close of 1301.28. The sentiment was also aided by reports that the basket oil price used by opec to set its output remained below 22 dollars despite the US air strikes. The war factor was almost discounted with stocks falling sharply after the September 11 terrorist attack on the US, market sources said adding ‘the sensex is unlikely to fall below this level’. Many of the key heavyweights recovered their early losses on fresh purchases by domestic financial institutions, while foreign institutional investors reportedly were sidelined. In the specified group, 130 including 26 index-based counters registered losses while 43 others closed with gains. The BSE-200 index and the dollex-200 index were quoted sharply down at 281.94 and 97.45 from last weekend’s close of 286.73 and 99.48 respectively. The BSE-500 index moved down by 13.71 points to 831.16 from previous close of 844.87. The dollex-30 was down by 9.90 points to 471.32. The volume remained low at Rs 893.22 crore. Ranbaxy was the top traded scrip with a turnover of Rs 124.36 crore followed by Infosys Tech (Rs 120.11 crore), Wipro (Rs 111.97 crore), RIL (Rs 104.06 crore) and HCL Techno (Rs 62.65 crore). Ranbaxy dropped by 11.65 to 668.35, Infosys Tech by 95.85 to 2391.80, HLL by 3.70 to 208.55, Wipro by 27.90 to 894.60, ACC by 2.50 to 117.40, BHEL by 1.05 to 121.70, Cipla by 10.95 to 1036, Colgate by 3.65 to 156.15, Dr Reddy by 10.95 to 1786.45, GACL by 2.45 to 150.60, ITC by 12.50 to 591.80, L&T by 6.60 to 156.40, Nestle by 11.20 to 488.25, NIIT by 4.20 to 99.45, RPL by 1.10 to 27.35, Satyam Com by 6.35 to 119.45, SBI by 3.70 to 172.05, Zee Tele by 7.85 to 70.80, Sterlite Opt by 7.30 to 100.20, Rhone Poul by 21.10 to 287.65, PSI Data by 4.30 to 56.40, SSI Ltd by 7.15 to 89.80, Mastek by 4.65 to 56.15, Moser Baer by 19.60 to 221.10, Pentamedia by 2.05 to 21.35, Mirc Ele by 17 to 145 and Hughes Soft by 30.30 to 191.60. However, Bajaj Auto firmed up by 12.35 to 279.55, HPCL by 1.45 to 115, RIL by 1.30 to 253.40 and CMC Ltd by 42.70 to 256.35. (PTI) |
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