10% safeguard duty on carbon black imports: India has imposed a 10 per cent safeguard duty on carbon black imported under open general licence till February 28, 1999. A notification issued by the revenue department of the finance ministry said the duty would not be applicable to carbon black imports under advance licence, which is against the export of rubber goods.

Infosys H1 income spurts 103%: Infosys Technologies has recorded a 103 per cent growth in its total income at Rs 218.86 crore for the half year ended September 30, 1998, compared with Rs107.69 crore reported in the corresponding period last year. Net profit for the period under review stood at Rs 52.07 crore (Rs 23.04 crore). The company has recommended an interim dividend of 25 per cent.

Unit Trust reviews IPCL operations: The Unit Trust of India, after conducting a strategic review of IPCL's operations, is believed to have gathered the impression that disinvestment will make the petrochemicals major more competitive. The mutual fund behemoth, which has a large exposure in IPCL, had sent a team to the company last week to assess the its performance.

Court vacates injunction order on Perfetti: A Nagpur district court recently vacated the injunction order restraining Perfetti India from making use of the trademark `Big Babol'. The judgment and order dated September 28 was delivered in a suit filed by Candico Ltd, seeking to restrain Perfetti India from the use of the brand name `Big Babol' on its bubble gum. According to additional district judge LR Deshmukh, there is noevidence that Candico is using `Big Bubble Gum' as its trademark.

Cummins Wartsila plans: Cummins Wartsila, the France-based manufacturer of power engines, is exploring the possibility of setting up a manufacturing base in the country and launching gas-based engines. According to company area director (south Asia) Aspi Pajnigara, the company also plans to provide financial aid to its consumers."

Sensex sheds 44 points: Rumours about UTI selling heavily on the bourses hit the market yet again with punters resorting to panic selling at counters like Reliance, MTNL, SBI and ITC on Monday. The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 44.18 points to finish the session at 2,872.48 points. Most of the sales were routed through the NSE as trading on BSE's BOLT started only after 11.45 am on account of a systems failure.

CBI unearths fraud at Bank of India: The CBI has unearthed a fraud worth Rs 80 lakh in Bank of India's Jacob Circle branch in Mumbai. The investigating agency arrested two BoI branchmanagers -- AG Vora and SG Kachara -- on October 6 for crediting Rs 80 lakh in the name of Ashoke Bansali against unpaid cheques and transferring loans from the bank's account into 17 fictitious accounts.

Direct tax collections up 20%: Direct tax collections in the country moved up by 20 per cent in the first six months of the current fiscal, Central Board of Direct Taxes chairman Ravi Kant said on Monday. He, however, did not divulge the figures in value terms.

`India, China to recover first': Investment bank Goldman Sachs has slashed its estimates for economic growth in Asia following the financial turmoil and expects only India and China to record any expansion during the year. In its latest report, the bank left India's growth forecast unchanged at 5 per cent for the year, and predicted a 7.6 per cent growth in the Chinese economy.

Centre clarification on Samadhan scheme: A section of tax experts has raised doubts over the validity of the circular issued by the Central Board ofDirect Taxes in the context of the Kar Vivad Samdhan scheme. The income-tax department has clarified that the two circulars issued by the CBDT on September 3 and October 7 should be construed as issued by the central government.

Swaraj takes over as Delhi CM: Sushma Swaraj, brought in by the BJP to bolster its image before next month's assembly elections, on Monday took over as the chief minister of Delhi, replacing Sahib Singh Verma who was forced to quit in the wake of severe criticism of his government's performance. Addressing newspersons later, Swaraj said she would consult senior leaders on the formation of her cabinet.

Sahib Singh to be inducted into cabinet: The BJP on Monday said former Delhi chief minister Sahib Singh Verma would be inducted into the union cabinet in the wake of reports that he was unhappy over his removal from the post. Party general secretary Venkaiah Naidu said he was making the announcement as directed by prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and that it was adecision of the prime minister and the party.

British Aerospace, Daimler Benz Aero to merge: British Aerospace and Daimler Benz Aerospace of Germany are planning to merge early next year to create a giant pan-European defence contractor, The Financial Times reported on Monday. After a year of negotiations, a big merger of British Aerospace, Daimler-Benz Aero and Aerospatiale of France seems unlikely, the report added. However, there would be an invitation to Aerospatiale to be represented on its board.

First Japanese bank reforms enacted: Japan's upper house of parliament on Monday enacted the first set of crucial bank reforms as premier Keizo Obuchi prepared to meet opposition leaders to broker a deal on more bank bills. The eight "financial revitalisation bills" outline how Tokyo will deal with failed banks and remove the finance ministry's authority over financial affairs.