"Gift" to kids on Children's Day next year
BANGALORE, Nov 7 — Work on the Rs 40-million computarium, India's first technology interactive museum for children being planned here, is expected to begin in January 2000 as soon as the sponsors for the project are finalised.


Experts split over decision on Microsoft
WASHINGTON, Nov 7 — A devastating legal decision that Microsoft used monopoly power to harm consumers left experts split yesterday whether the company should focus on appealing against the ruling or cut its losses and enter settlement talks that may lead to its break-up.

• "Settlement is always an option"

Kinetic goes vroom on trial production of mobikes
NEW DELHI, Nov 7 — Kinetic Engineering has started trial production of its first motor cycle model and plans to launch the vehicle next month, a top company official has said.

IDBI draws up rehauling plans
MUMBAI, Nov 7 — The Industrial Development Bank of India has drawn major asset and liability rehauling plans to tackle its non-performing assets and high interest costs, the prime factors which pulled down its profits in the first half of the current fiscal.

Inflation soars up, courtesy diesel price hike
NEW DELHI, Nov 7 — Inflation rate recorded a 0.11 percentage points increase to 2.95 per cent for the week ended October 23 as the recent hike in diesel prices continued to manifest in the prices of most commodities.

• Bullion

"Gift" to kids on Children's Day next year
by Imran Qureshi

BANGALORE, Nov 7 (IANS) — Work on the Rs 40-million computarium, India's first technology interactive museum for children being planned here, is expected to begin in January 2000 as soon as the sponsors for the project are finalised.

The project, which is being undertaken by a trust consisting of the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), the Department of Science and Technology, telecom industry and the Chief Secretary of Karnataka, has already been allotted five acres of land by Indian Telephone Industries.

If everything goes as per schedule, the computarium will be thrown open to public on the Children's Day (November 14) next year.

"The response from school children as well as IT companies at the just-concluded IT.Com has been so marvellous that the computarium would become a reality," programme director for the project Suganda S. Raj, said

The computarium would customise its operations for local children who do not have exposure to the English language or computers. "There are about 5,700 schools in this city. But only 80 of them have computers. The Computarium will design bilingual programmes because what came across very strongly was that language did not come in the way of the children understanding the subject," she says.

Once set up, the computarium would be free for children for four hours in the morning. General public would be allowed entry in the evenings and holidays for a nominal fee of Rs. 10 or Rs. 20.

About 200 IT companies have agreed to contribute to the computarium. And, after IT.Com, companies like Epson, IBM and several others have responded positively. "Our request to them is share their experiences with us. If you are a chip manufacturer, give us a film on the how and when of it. We are not seeking money. We want inputs," Raj says.

The trust, which runs on corporate sponsorships, is planning to look at similar ventures in other states once the museum is commissioned. "We are looking at bringing as many technologies as possible to maintain its state-of-the-art status, adds Raj.

Bhopal-like gas tragedy averted in Paradip

BHUBANESWAR, Nov 7 (PTI) — With the state government and industrialists here projecting their cumulative losses beyond a staggering Rs 2,750 crore, the first hazy picture of the devastation to agriculture and industry in Orissa, caused by the October 29 super-cyclone, has emerged.

Industries of all sizes — small, medium and large — have been wiped off suffering a combined loss of over Rs 1,000 crore.

The worst of the lot is the Central Electricity Supply Corporation (Cesco), a subsidiary of the Grid Corporation of Orissa (Gridco), responsible for the power distribution in the Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Dhenkanal zones.

The port town of Paradip has been completely devastated by the storm. Paradip port trust Chairman Santosh Mohapatra put the preliminary losses to port machinery at Rs 100 crore.

The Paradip Phosphates Limited, a public-sector undertaking, engaged in the manufacture of diammonium phosphates has also suffered huge losses. Details of the damages are yet to be assessed since many parts of the plant are still under water.

A fertiliser unit under construction by Punjab-based Oswal group has claimed losses of over Rs 200 crore. Besides, the plant accounted for a good number of casualties in Paradip since the construction workers were inside the premises when the cyclone hit the town.

The plant, which also held out a threat of ammonia gas leak due to increase of gas temperature inside the tank following power disruption, averted a Bhopal-like tragedy by sending an SOS to the Indian Air Force.

Experts split over decision on Microsoft

WASHINGTON, Nov 7 (Reuters) — A devastating legal decision that Microsoft used monopoly power to harm consumers left experts split yesterday whether the company should focus on appealing against the ruling or cut its losses and enter settlement talks that may lead to its break-up.

US District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson decided on Friday that Microsoft Corp's Msft.O wields monopoly power in personal computer operating systems, which was a major setback for the world's largest software company in one of the biggest anti-trust cases of the century.

The findings were so sweeping that experts said there was little doubt Mr Jackson would later rule the company violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. From now on, they said, Microsoft should concentrate on an appeal or a settlement because they believe Mr Jackson would rule against it.

There are potentially two further phases in the trial. The first is for Mr Jackson to decide if Microsoft has a liability for breaking the law. If it does, the Judge could then move to apply sanctions ranging from restrictions on the way it does business to breaking up the company.

Both parties will be entitled to present arguments in both phases.

The remedy phase could prove embarrassing for Microsoft because rivals and customers could again describe in detail the behemoth's tactics.

The government charges, for instance, that Microsoft used its power to illegally crush rival Internet browser-maker Netscape and muscle other firms. Microsoft argued it had no monopoly in operating systems and always acted within the law.

"Settlement is always an option"

WASHINGTON, Nov 7 (AP) — Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said in a letter published today that the software maker is committed to "a fair and responsible" resolution of its antitrust trial.

Meanwhile, the US Justice Department's top antitrust enforcer said on ABC's "This Week" that the government is "looking at a full range of remedies" to find the appropriate punishment, following a judge's ruling that Microsoft has misused its monopoly powers.

Still, Assistant Attorney-General Joel Klein, on "Fox News Sunday," also said that "obviously settlement is always an option." He refused to discuss specifics.

"We would need a settlement that deals with the very findings that the court made in this case, a settlement that produces consumer choice, innovation, and competition in the market," Mr Klein said.

Kinetic goes vroom on trial production
of mobikes

NEW DELHI, Nov 7 (PTI) — Kinetic Engineering has started trial production of its first motor cycle model and plans to launch the vehicle next month, a top company official has said.

The 100 cc and 150 cc four-stroke motor cycles have been developed by the company in technical collaboration with Hyusung of Korea and would be launched next month, Kinetic Joint Managing Director Sulajja F. Motwani said.

Prices of the motorcycles have not yet been finalised as the company is waiting for the report of an internal survey for price positioning of the new vehicles.

IDBI draws up rehauling plans

MUMBAI, Nov 7 (PTI) — The Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) has drawn major asset and liability rehauling plans to tackle its non-performing assets (NPAs) and high interest costs, the prime factors which pulled down its profits in the first half of the current fiscal.

"The main reasons for the drop in profitability have been the NPAs and higher interest costs. We are now working out restructuring of the bad and doubtful loans, as well as our own outstanding liabilities," IDBI Chairman and Managing Director G.P. Gupta said

The financial institution (FI) is also considering lowering of interest rates for some of its borrowers who are finding repayment difficult due to high rates, on the condition that they pay 50 per cent pre-payment premium.

"This would apply only to companies whose accounts were good and whom the FI would want to retain as customers," Mr Gupta said.

IDBI is also planning to refocus its lending operations, shifting emphasis to textiles, power distribution, petroleum product pipelines, telecom, cement, roads and ports.

Mr Gupta said another reason for the dip in the institution's profits was the the squeeze in margins, with more competition from other banks on account of good liquidity in the system.

Inflation soars up, courtesy diesel price hike

NEW DELHI, Nov 7 (PTI) — Inflation rate recorded a 0.11 percentage points increase to 2.95 per cent for the week ended October 23 as the recent hike in diesel prices continued to manifest in the prices of most commodities.

The annual rate of inflation, based on wholesale price index (WPI), rose for the fourth consecutive week to 2.95 per cent (provisional) from 2.84 per cent (provisional) in the previous week and 8.20 per cent during the corresponding week last year.

The rise in inflation rate is mainly due to the increase in the indices of fuel, power, light & lubricants and primary articles which registered an increase of 0.2 per cent each during the reference week.

The steep increase (35 per cent) in diesel prices effected on October 5, continued to reflect its indirect impact on prices of other essential commodities.