NATIONAL Patents (Amendment) Bill passed in Lok Sabha The crucial Patents (Amendment) Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha today (Mar 22, 2005) after Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath assured the House that adequate safeguards have been provided in the Bill to protect the interest of Indian pharma industry and the poor people.
IIMA campus recruitment: Salaries touch new level The Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) today (Mar 22, 2005) finished its final campus placement process for the season with the maximum domestic salary pegged at Rs 14.5 lakh while the maximum international salary offered $ 152,000.
BSE: High oil price, fiscal year-end dog market High global oil prices continued to cast a shadow on the market and the Sensex today (March 22, 2005) tumbled by 121 points on across-the-board selling pressure from domestic investors amid a slowdown in FII inflows in the run-up to the fiscal year-end.
CPM expresses support to contentious Patents Bill After weeks of threadbare discussions over the nitty-gritty of the patents law, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) today (Mar 22, 2005) expressed support to the contentious Bill saying the Government had accepted ten of the 12 amendments in core areas suggested by the Left parties.
Fixed, mobile phone subscribers base touch 92.88 mn The total subscriber base of fixed and mobile telephone services grew by 7 per cent in the quarter October-December 2004 to 92.88 million from 86.86 million in September 2004, according to a TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Act of India) quarterly performance indicator.
Air Deccan plans to fly 4mn passengers next fiscal Low cost airline Air Deccan today (Mar 22, 2005) said that it plans fly over 4 million passengers in the next financial year (2006), four times more than the one million people it has flown since inception 18 months ago.
Media mogul Rupert Murdoch to meet PM, Sonia today Media mogul Rupert Murdoch, who is on a two-day visit to New Delhi, will meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Information and Broadcasting Minister S Jaipal Reddy today (Mar 22, 2005).
BJP for referring Patent Bill to Standing Committee The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) decided to press for referring the Patent (Amendment) Bill to a Standing Committee of Parliament, while asserting that its strategy would not depend on the stand taken by Left Parties on the issue.
Petrol price hike issue under consideration: Govt Government today (Mar 22, 2005) said that it was considering whether to increase prices of petrol and diesel due to increase in international crude oil prices.
Day-long bank strike hits hard PSB operations Banking operations were hit hard today (Mar 22, 2005) with nine major unions in the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) going on day-long strike protesting against merger and acquisitions and higher FDI, but the private sector banks were largely unaffected.
Hostile climate hinders economic development: Advani The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) yesterday (Mar 21, 2005) opposed imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT), which is slated to go into force from April 1, in the absence of a consensus on it and alleged there was a climate of "vendetta" in the political arena, which is not conducive to economic development.
State FMs' review meeting on VAT called on Mar 24 Taken aback by the decision of certain States not to implement Value Added Tax (VAT) from April 1, 2005 a review meeting of States Finance Ministers had been called on March 24 in the capital, West Bengal Finance Minister and Chairman of the empowered panel on VAT Asim Dasgupta said.
