Business as usual for British Airways

Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai have resumed normal operations, following the end of the 72-hour British stewards and stewardesses association (Bassa) strike last week. British Airways operates direct services from the four metros - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta - to the UK, Europe, USA and Canada with a total of 16 flights each week. Mumbai and Delhi are served daily with non-stop Boeing 747's twice-weekly boeing 747 services operate from Chennai to London Heathrow.

Co-ordinated action for IREP: The ministry of non-conventional energy sources (MNES) has sought inter-ministerial coordination for expeditious and effective implementation of renewable energy programmes, particularly the integrated rural energy programmes. The MNES has suggested a framework for the coordination, which involves formation of a task force, headed by a additional secretary or a joint secretary, consisting of directors from both ministries and experts from outside the government for sustainable operation of IREP projects. It has suggested a similar set-up at the state level.

New NIFT in Bangalore: India's premier fashion institute, National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) will open its seventh branch in Bangalore to meet the growing demand of the garment industry for providing quality fashion designers and apparel marketing professionals.

Kerala to set up mini hydel project: The Kerala government is planning to set up a mini hydel project with the technological assistance of China, state electricity minister P Vijayan informed the state assembly. A workshop on small hydropower projects was going on at the technopark here, Vijayan said adding that it was being attended by a delegation from the China-based Hangchem International Centre for small hydro power.

Cotton production up: Cotton production in the country, which is expected to touch 16.5 million bales during the current fiscal, would get a major boost once the Cotton Technology Mission gets under way. Though the cotton production in the country has gone up from 12.1 million bales in 1993-94 to 16.1 million bales in 1995-96, the cotton yield per hectare is quite low in the country, according to an official release in New Delhi. Cotton yield in the country is about 300 kg per hectare .

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.