Mukand to revamp product portfolio: In a bid to survive a tight market, leading alloy steel-maker Mukand is reworking its product portfolio. The company's research and development team is working on creating special grades of steel--a departure from the normal grades like the 200 series and 300 series manufactured by most steel-makers. Deputy general manager (R&D and TQM) Amit Ganguly said the series of products Mukand planned to introduce would cater to industries like aerospace, nuclear power, defence, and food processing

VSNL may reap Rs 150cr windfall: The state-owned VSNL is set to reap an annual windfall of Rs 100-150 crore because of import-duty reliefs after becoming the country's first service-sector organisation to get super star trading house status. The status comes afterthe telecom carrier earned a net foreign exchange of $650 million during 1997-98.

Sensex down 6 points: Trading on the Bombay Stock Exchange was mostly lacklustre a day after the Government unveiled the Economic Survey. Reflecting the mood, the 30-share Sensex closed Thursday's innings at 3281.29 points, registering a fall 6.24 points, against the previous close of 3287.53 points.

`Tax on software earnings is disastrous': Nasscom has urged finance minister Yashwant Sinha not to delete Section 80 HHE from the Income-Tax Act, as this will cause a depletion in their export earnings. Exports form over 90 per cent of the earnings of several major companies like Infosys. The section allows software companies to replough their profits for further growth.

Cadbury net rises 41%: Confectionery major Cadbury India said on Thursday it posted a 41.19 per cent rise in its net profit to Rs 26.22 crore for the year ended December 1998, against Rs 18.57 crore in the previous year. Net sales duringthe year rose 20.94 per cent to Rs 428.33 crore, from Rs 354.14 crore, the company said. The board has recommended a dividend of Rs 5.5 a share (Rs 3.5). New product initiatives boosted the company's performance, analysts said.