Villagers keen to water harvesting
Panlot -- Marathi version of water harvesting -- has proved to be a boon for the villagers of Kalamkarwadi of Ahmednagar district, some 70 kms away from Pune. Parobai Gahote and Shakuntala Kalamkar, representatives of the Mahila Bhachat Gath, Babanrao Tulshiram Kalamkar, Sarpanch of Kalamkarwadi village in Ahmednagar district and other members of the village never thought they would be able to enjoy fruits of their labour.

Biotech is the next industrial frontier
Governments from Beijing to Tokyo and Singapore to Islamabad see biotechnology as the next industrial frontier and are preparing their countries for it, according to media reports from different parts of Asia. With biotech expected to play a major role in the future of both medicine and agriculture, they are determined to be at the forefront of this cutting edge technology.

Bengal to avail of Central sugar quota
West Bengal has put its act together and aims to procure 29,000 tonnes of sugar for distribution through ration shops, the first time it is going for the full quota since the Centre gave the job to the states. The state's Essential Commodities Supply Corp Ltd has been procuring sugar from mills in the sugar belts and feeding the public distribution system since Dec `99, when the Centre took the FCI out of the picture.

Pepper prices decline
The prices of Indian pepper after witnessing a steep decline last week, showed a slight recovery this week. However, volumes in the market do not support the rebound in the prices. The benchmark Oct 2000 futures contract in the Cochin based pepper exchange -- India Pepper and Spice Trade Association tumbled to Rs 18,950 on Aug 18, resulting in a loss of Rs 1,850 a quintal from the starting off in August.

Ashton plans to counter De Beers bid
Even as the global diamond industry awaits the outcome of De Beers' open offer for Australia-based Ashton Mining, the latter has appointed independent experts, inlcuing KPMG Corporate Finance, to assist the Board to respond to De Beers' hostile bid. Ashton Mining holds 40 per cent equity in Argyle Diamonds, the breakaway partner of De Beers.

Gold prices move to $275
Gold prices were seen heading back towards resistance at $275 during the European session on Friday as players squared their positions ahead of the weekend. Silver was also seen reversing some of its recent losses, traders said.Gold - While the dollar still remained the driving force behind any moves in the gold price, dealers said position-squaring would add momentum to the market and lift the price higher

Steel industry hit by surplus output
There is very little, as a strategy, that one can talk about the steel industry worldwide. The market is down with international prices seeing no bottom for major products. It is so well known that unabated production has not only brought prices down but also has threatened a collapse of the export market in the coming days. Yet, the steel makers have perhaps no clue as how to effect the necessary production cut.

Petro-firms seek concessions
Petroleum companies are looking for concessions from the Union Government, now that they are saddled with excess stocks of petroleum products, like naphtha, fuel oil, diesel etc. They want the so-called level playing field for importing diesel, but in the case of naphtha, fuel oil and LSHS, independent power producers (IPP) have been told that they can only secure supplies from refineries in the country in a directive issued by the ministry of power.

Erratic rains affect agrochem industry
Erratic rainfall and `unfavourable' crop economies have jointly contributed to a 10 per cent decline in the growth of the local agrochemicals industry. "The agrochemical business suffered a major setback during 1999-2000 and had a negative growth of more than 10 per cent" said Indian Crop Protection Association (ICPA) chairman VR Kaundinya. "Erratic rainfall and unfavourbale crop economics have been the most adverse factors which affected our business during 1999".

Cotton imports getting dearer
The days of enjoying cheaper imported cotton for our textile mills are over currently. The overseas prices which have been hardening of late are expected to go up further in the 2000-01 season beginning October this year. Currently, the overseas cotton prices have jumped to over 60 cents, up from around 50 cents towards the end of 1999.

Bhilwara's textile business booming
The general belief that the textile sector in the country is not doing well is belied when the developing rosy scenario (of the textile sector) is seen at Bhilwara in Rajasthan. With the growing business volume of around Rs 3,000 crore in a year - all from the textile sector - the town is coming up. As things stand Bhilwara is yet to achieve new heights.