Cauvery hearing on Aug 17: A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court will hear Tamil Nadu's suit for notification of the Cauvery tribunal's 1991 interim award on August 17. The centre has already notified a revised scheme in consultation with the riparian states for the implementation of the award. Meanwhile, talks between prime minister AB Vajpayee's emissaries and AIADMK supremo J Jayalalitha to dissuade the latter from withdrawing support to the government on the Cauvery issue appear to have broken down.

B-school battle hots up: The battle for business has intensified with the Maharashtragovernment pulling out all stops to retain the prestigious Indian School of Business which seems to be going the Andhra Pradesh way. According to sources, the blue chip companies have, in principle, decided to set up the school on the outskirts of Hyderabad, thanks to the Andhra Pradesh chief minister's persuasive skills.

Govt nominees on SWC board: The centre has appointed G Keshavraj and R Balasubramanium as its nominees on the board of Manu Chhabria-controlled Shaw Wallace and Company in compliance with an order of the Company Law Board. Under the terms of their appointment, the two government nominees are required to submit a quarterly report on the performance of Shaw Wallace jointly with the CLB nominees to the DCA.

Nicholas Piramal in bulk drugs pact: Nicholas Piramal has finalised a novel "three-way" strategic equity alliance with British chemicals company, La Porte, and a US firm for its bulk drugs business. The tie-up is expected to see the American partner make a capitalexpenditure of around Rs 50 crore in a new bulk drugs facility at Hyderabad.

T-Series drama takes a new turn: The T-Series family drama has reached a crescendo with the late Gulshan Kumar's 21-year-old son, Bhushan Kumar, deciding to withdraw the T-Series logo from him estranged uncle Gopal Kishan. According to Kumar, the decision was taken by the entire family following repeated attempts made by Kishan to harass the family members and his failure to maintain the brand equity of the logo.

MTNL not to buy cellular equipment for now: State-owned MTNL has decided against placing equipment orders for its proposed cellular services network in Delhi and Mumbai till the Delhi high court gives a verdict on a case against the entry of MTNL into cellular services. The court had last month cautioned MTNL that any investments made on the purchase of equipment would be "at its own risk".

Berger Paints draws up marketing plan: Berger Paints has chalked out a well-defined marketing strategy totake on rivals in the current year. According to chairman KS Dhingra, the company will strengthen its distribution network by setting up new depots in the country, enhancing the dealer network and launching a few more products this year.

Local funds halt Sensex free fall: Domestic institutions rescued the market from another bout of heavy selling by foreign funds on Wednesday. In a tug-of-war between the local and foreign funds, the 30-share BSE Sensex bounced back from the day's low of 2,924.24 points to end the day at 2.950.80 points, a loss of 19.84 points from Tuesday's close.

SEBI may expand compulsory demat list: Markets regulator SEBI is expected to make it mandatory for institutions to trade only in the paperless shares of all the companies which have signed up with the depository with effect from December. The move, which is expected to give a boost to trading in paperless form, will see about 125 companies added to the existing list of 110 companies.

Bank strike on Sept18: Bank officers and employees on Wednesday decided to resort to a one-day country-wide strike on September 18 after wage negotiations with the Indian Banks' Association failed to make any headway. The United Forum of Bank Unions, comprising nine employees and officers' organisations, has called for the one-day strike in a bid to press for their demands on wage settlement.

RBI collects Rs 2,000 cr: The Reserve Bank has mopped up nearly Rs 2,000 crore through open market operations conducted in the last one week. With this the central bank has managed to reduce the extent of monetisation by nearly Rs 3,000 crore in the past one month.

Re fall worries power sector lenders: The depreciation in the value of the rupee is becoming a cause for concern for institutional and non-institutional lenders both within the country and abroad. The lenders have begun to express serious concern over the security of the amount lent by them to power projects with major portions of equity and debt funded inforeign currency.

Core sectors report positive growth: Six infrastructure industries registered an overall growth rate of 5.1 per cent in the first quarter of the current fiscal, unchanged from the previous corresponding period's figure. According to a review conducted by the ministry of industry, the electricity, cement, steel and coal sectors recorded a positive growth of 10.1 per cent, 4.2 per cent, 2.8 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively, while crude petroleum and petroleum refinery products recorded a negative growth rate.

India accedes to Paris Convention: India has decided to accede to the Paris Convention for the protection of industrial property and the Patent Cooperation Treaty. An announcement to this effect on Wednesday said that the accession to the Paris Convention and the PCT would provide a tremendous boost to scientific research, inventive and innovative activities.

IBRD aid for Orissa: Orissa chief minister JB Patnaik on Wednesday said that the state willreceive more than Rs 4,200 crore as assistance from the World Bank for investment in the infrastructure sector. The power sector in the state would receive a loan Rs 1,400 crore from the World Bank and Rs 400 crore from the British government.

No ST tax for PMC water project: The Maharashtra government has decided to exempt equipment purchased by the Pune Municipal Corporation for its Rs 735-crore water supply project from sales tax. The exemption is expected to reduce the project cost by about 20 per cent or Rs 140 crore. The corporation is in talks with the state government for exemption of excise duty and waiver of stamp duty.