Led by buoyancy in excise and personal income-tax realisation, total collections during the first six months of the current fiscal (April-September 1999) registered a rise of 13.34 per cent as compared to the corresponding period last year. The excise collection has shown an increase of more than 20 per cent manifesting a turnaround in the economy. The realisation from income-tax has also moved up by 21 per cent.

Telco to up Indica output

Telco has firmed up plans to increase Indica production to 7,000 units per month as against the current levels of 5,000-5,500 units. The company, it is believed, has given additional schedules to some of the component suppliers to increase supplies in the coming months.

JJ Irani gets 2 years in jail

Tata Steel managing director Dr JJ Irani, and former general manager (works) PN Roy, were sentenced to two years' simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh each by first class judicial magistrate Brajesh Chandra Jha, on Monday. The two were convicted under Section 92 of the Factories Act for violating the provisions under rule 55a of the Bihar Factories Rule, 1950.

Delhi not to participate in CTBT meet

India on Tuesday decided not to respond to the UN secretary-general's intimation for participation in the special conference on facilitating entry into force of the CTBT commencing in Vienna on Wednesday.

Intel chip christened "Itanium"

Computer chip giant Intel Corporation said that it has selected "Itanium" as the brand name for the first product in its next generation of microprocessors, previously code-named Merced. Itanium is the company's first chip to use its new IA-64 architecture, which will process data in chunks of 64 bits, rather than the 32-bits that chips like the Pentium III process today.

Asian gold hits two-year high

Asian spot gold soared to fresh two-year highs on Tuesday before stalling at midday as fund buying from overseas and short-covering fuelled unusually busy trading, dealers said. Hong Kong midday gold ended at $327.00/330.00 per ounce, up from its opening price of $322.50/325.50 and New York's $316.50/319.50 close on Monday. Gold touched $331.50 in the morning, the highest since October, 1997.

Bullion prices zoom

Prices of both gold and silver skyrocketed by touching a new peak on firm overseas advices coupled with tight overseas supplies prompting speculative activity on the domestic bullion market on Tuesday. Standard gold jumped up from Rs 4,725 to Rs 4,900 before concluding at Rs 4,830 with a net overnight gain of Rs 105 per 10 gm. Gold .22 carat also finished Rs 100 higher at Rs 4,470 per 10 gm.

McDowell eyes premium SWC brands

The UB group spirits flagship firm McDowell & Co Ltd has set its sights on three premium brands owned by Shaw Wallace & Co Ltd (SWC). The UB group has submitted an offer to the Calcutta high court for acquiring brands including Royal Challenge, Director's Special and Haywards from SWC. McDowell's offer for the three brands amounts to Rs 250 crore. These three brands have a marketshare of more than 7 per cent in their respective liquor segment in the country, while the volume of sales is about 4 million cases per annum.

Rhone-Poulenc plans for Hoechst

French pharmaceutical giant Rhone-Poulenc plans to launch a friendly all-share offer for Hoechst starting October 26, the French firm announced on Tuesday. Hoechst and Rhone-Poulenc had announced last December they would merge to create an international drugs giant spanning pharmaceuticals, agricultural chemicals and animal health products.

Mitsui signs pact with TIDCO

Japanese multinational giant Mitsui on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) to set up a Rs 7,500-crore naphtha industrial complex in the state to produce 500,000 tonnes of ethylene every year.

RSMML's record output

The Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals, a state undertaking, and market leader in non-metallic minerals like rock phosphate, gypsum and limestone, has a attained record production, turnover and profit during 1998-99.

Intel invests in India software firm

Intel Corporation said on Tuesday it had invested an undisclosed amount in Indian computer software firm Silicon Automation Systems Ltd (SAS). Bangalore-based SAS develops software solutions in telecommunications, signal processing and design tools.

DaimlerChrysler mulls HQ shifting

DaimlerChrysler is considering moving its headquarters to Detroit to revive US investor interest in the group, a German magazine said on Tuesday. Weekly Der Stern said in an advance release that chairman Juergen Schrempp was exploring the politically controversial move out of the southern German headquarters in Stuttgart to shore up the stock - which rallied on the report.

Cyanamid Agro to merge group firm

Cyanamid Agro is understood to have finalised plans to merge group company, ACCO Industries, which is 100 per cent held by the US parent American Home Products, with itself.A clarification

Essar House: While the facts of the article "Essar House to open doors to top firms' are correct, the reference to FRN and $40 million is out of context and unwarranted. The FRN issue and Essar House is not connected any way.

-- Compiled by Samuel Bodapaty