The Union cabinet is likely to clear the Information Technology Bill at its meeting on Monday. The bill, which will be tabled in Parliament shortly, will put in place cyber laws to facilitate e-commerce.

Insurance bill

The tabling of the bill for IRA--now rechristened the Insurance Regulatory and Development Act--may be done either on Thursday or Friday, sources said.

Truckers stir: No end in sight

Inter-state movement of goods continued to be hit on the fifth day of the nationwide truckers strike even as some regional transporters' unions pulled out of the agitation in the absence of any positive response from the Government.

Honda tops JD Power list

Honda Siel has bagged the top honours in the latest satisfaction survey conducted by JD Power elbowing out Daewoo Motors India and Maruti Udyog, the coutry's largest automobile company.

Ashok Leyland posts Rs 1.97cr H1 net

Recovery in the commercial vehicle sector and efficient cost management has helped Ashok Leyland Ltd post a Rs 1.97 crore profit for the first half of the current fiscal 1999-2000.

Nestle Q3 net rises to Rs 31.5 crore

Nestle India has reported a profit after tax of Rs 31.50 crore on a 2.7 per cent lower net sales of Rs 416.90 crore during the third quarter ended September 1999.

Glaxo net falls to Rs 43.81 cr

Glaxo India has registered a 8.7 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 43.81 crore for the nine months ended September 30, 1999, against Rs 47.99 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

India Cements posts Rs 34.62cr H1 net

India Cements Ltd has posted a net profit of Rs 34.62 crore for the half-year ended September 30, 1999. Turnover during the period was Rs 712.45 crore.

Bombay Dyeing Q2 net rises 50%

Bombay Dyeing has reported a 50 per cent jump in its net profit for the second quarter ended September 30, 1999. The company's net profit rose to Rs 8.76 crore for the period.

Cipla H1 net jumps 21%

Cipla has registered a 21.25 per cent jump in net profit at Rs 67.90 crore for the half year ended September 30, 1999 as against Rs 56 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

E Merck 9-month net dips 12%

E Merck India has registered a 12.15 per cent fall in net profit at Rs 15.36 crore for the nine months ended September 30, 1999, as against Rs 17.49 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Century Q2 loss touches Rs 29.48 cr

Century Textiles has plunged deeper into the red with net loss mounting to Rs 29.48 crore during the second quarter of the current financial year.

Hutchison Max unveils new tariff

Hutchison Max Telecom has announced a new tariff structure for its mobile phone service to come into effect from November 1. The company will now charge Rs 4.00 per minute during peak hours and Rs 3.95 during off-peak hours from its subscribers for standard tariff scheme.

ABCL seeks time to clear dues

The Amitabh Bachchan-promoted ABCL has sought a seven-year timeframe to pay off its Rs 25-crore liabilities to banks and sundry creditors.

ABN-Amro

ABN-Amro bank on Monday said it has completed all formalities of acquiring Bank of America's retail banking business in India including latter's deposit and loan portfolios of Rs. 800 crore each.

Banks' event-management centres

The RBI has asked commercial banks to set up event management centres at their head offices, regional centres and computerised branches by December 15 to deal with eventualities posed by the Y2K problem including event management and actions needed to minimise risks for the banking industry.

NCAER scales GDP growth rate

National Council of Applied Economics Research on Monday lowered its estimate for India's gross domestic product growth to 5.8 per cent in 1999/2000 (April-March) from 5.9 per cent. The country's GDP grew by 5.7 per cent in 1998/99.

IFC to invest $9m in AP power project

International Finance Corporation has signed agreements to invest upto $9 million in a 28-mw co-generation power project in Andhra Pradesh. The $25.8 million project is being developed by APC.

Compiled by Samuel Bodapaty