3000 casualties in N Korea train mishap
Pyongyang: According to reports around 3000 people are believed to have been killed or injured in North Korea as a result of a massive explosion, when two fuel trains collided. Reports say that the trains were carrying oil and liquefied petroleum gas.

North Korean authorities have declared a "state of emergency" in the area, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said.
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Core industries register lower growth rates
New Delhi: The official index of six infrastructure industries have registered a growth of just 5.4 per cent during the fiscal just ended, compared with 5.6 per cent in 2002-03. During 2003-04, production of coal, at 354.7 million tonnes (mt), was 5.1 per cent higher than the preceding year's 337.4 mt.

Electricity generation of 558.134 billion units during 2003-04 was 5 per cent higher than the 531.594 billion units produced in 2002-03. The growth for production of crude petroleum was even lower, at 1 per cent, with production in 2003-04 amounting to 33.384 mt, against 33.044 mt in the previous year.
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PTC and Punjab electricity board sign Rs 800 crore deal
New Delhi: Power Trading Corporation (PTC) has entered into a long-term power supply agreement with the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB).

Power for this deal will be sourced from the 450-MW Baglihar hydroelectric power project in Jammu & Kashmir and the 22.5-MW Bhilangana hydroelectric power project in Uttaranchal. Baglihar power project, promoted by the Jammu & Kashmir Government is expected to be commissioned by March 2006. A major portion of power from the project will be sold to PTC for an initial period of 12 years.
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DGFT at an interactive session on exim policy
Moradabad, UP: The Director General of Foreign Trade L. Mansingh has said that the transaction cost in exports is a matter of concern and the government had been taking all out steps to reduce the same so as to achieve 1 per cent share in the world trade. Mansingh was speaking at an interactive session on Exim Policy and Customs organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) and Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH).

The objective of the Exim Policy, the DGFT explained, was to achieve 1 per cent share of world trade by 2007. He said China's share was 3 per cent of world trade and with Hong Kong's exports included China's share in world trade went up to 7 per cent. To reduce transaction cost and increase efficiency, the government had been trying to ensure that the transaction cost of exporters was kept at the minimum. He was of the view that the recent exim facilitation measures announced by the government were steps in that direction. This, he said, was a continuous exercise.
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