First Indo-Pak JSG meet on economic cooperation tomorrow
New Delhi: In furtherance of a decision to set up a joint study group (JSG) on economic co-operation between India and Pakistan, which was announced at the fourth meeting of the SAARC Commerce Ministers held in Islamabad in November last year, the Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Kamal Nath, will inaugurate the first meeting of the JSG on Tuesday.

The two-day meeting will be held between the Commerce Secretaries of the two countries, S.N. Menon and Tasneem Noorani, respectively, an official release said.

It was agreed that for adopting a strategy to boost trade between India and Pakistan, a JSG co-chaired by the Commerce Secretaries of both the countries would be set up.
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W.Bengal and Chinese province of Yunnan to enhance trade ties
Kolkata: The Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has signed an agreement with the Yunnan Provincial Chamber of Commerce to facilitate joint ventures and enhance trade ties between West Bengal and the Chinese province.

The sectors highlighted under the agreement, included trade, tourism, transport and agro-products and others. A direct flight between Kolkata and the Yunnan region is also contemplated.

The Indian Chamber of Commerce said that Yunnan could become eastern India's gateway to China's south and northwest. "Indian Chamber has found a strong ally in the business community and the provincial government of Yunnan," ICC officials said.
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Govt. allows import of raw sugar
New Delhi: The government has given the go-ahead to sugar mills to import up to 30 lakh tonnes of raw sugar to keep domestic prices at about Rs17 per kg, despite sugar production of 80 lakh tonnes during the first five months of the current sugar season.

Ministry officials said that between April 2004 and February 15, 2005 raw sugar import had touched 10.58 lakh tonnes with another five lakh tonnes expected by March end and an additional five-lakh tonnes by April.

In the wake of low capacity utilization of sugar mills in the country, the government decided to import raw sugar rather than refined white sugar.
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Manufacturing and services sectors post ten per cent growth
New Delhi: Companies in the manufacturing and services sectors have experinced over ten per cent growth in turnover and operating profits during the April-December 2004-05 period, compared to the previous year, according to a CII report.

However, while the manufacturing sector has shown an increase in profit margins, there has been a decline in the same for companies in the services sector. For the 544 manufacturing firms, operating margins increased from 14.8 per cent in 2002-03 to 17.4 per cent in 2004-05 whereas post-tax margins jumped four percentage points to 8.7 per cent.

During the April-December period in 2004-05, for the manufacturing sector the drop in interest costs has slowed down from the steep 22 per cent decline last year, according to the CII report. This reversal in the movement of interest costs is strongly reflected in the services sector with interest costs rising by 14.8 percentage points. This could point to the upturn in interest rates in the last couple of months, according to the report.

Sales in the services sector too rose by 36.8 per cent in the first three quarters of 2004-05. Profitability, measured either as operating profits or post-tax returns, has also shown strong growth but not as much as in the manufacturing sector.

According to the CII report, the maximum number of firms earned margins between 0-5 per cent and 10-15 per cent.Some six per cent of the companies earned negative margins (-20 per cent) and below. Services recorded a strong 8.2 per cent year on year growth in the second quarter. Within the services sector, trade, hotels, transport and communications grew by 11.6 per cent over 11 per cent of the last quarter. However, financing, real estate, business services, and community and personal services moderated the services sector growth.

The success of hotels, transport, and communications in the services sector was primarily due to increased growth of construction from 3.6 per cent to 5.2 per cent. Also, electricity, gas and water supply that grew 9.2 per cent, led to the success of these sectors, the CII report said.
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Survey reveals gold deposits in Nilambur
Thiruvananthapuram: Gold prospecting in the Nilambur belt in Malappuram district by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the Department of Mining and Geology, Kerala, has revealed presence of deposits estimated to be worth Rs600 crore at current gold prices.

GSI officials said that gold ore reserves of 80,000 tonnes have been identified in the Kottathara region of Nilambur alone. Ore from the Kottathara area is estimated to contain up to 13.8 gm/tonne of gold. According to officials, mining is currently considered viable for any ore sample that yields up to a low of four gm/tonne of gold.

As part of the strategy for mining in the area, the Department of Mining and Geology, Kerala, is tying up with the Mineral Exploration Corporation for `cluster drilling' in the area. The Centre has allotted Rs1.77 crore for the project. Additionally, the State Government will put in 15 per cent of this amount as its contribution.

In Nilambur, the gold deposits lie scattered. The State Mining and Geology Department is now proposing to consult with Hutti Gold Mines in Karnataka for exploiting these minor deposits.

Meanwhile, mineral prospecting in Kozhikode and Malappuram has revealed five iron ore deposits from these districts. The GSI-Kerala estimated the reserves to be around 96 million tonnes of low-grade iron ore. Bauxite deposits have been identified in Neeleswaram (Kasaragod) and some areas in Thiruvananthapuram district.
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