M0NEYMAKERS

RIDING THE WIND: The Bombay-based Keshavlal Talakchand (KT) group has harnessed wind power to run its textile mills at Morbi, Gujarat. The Morbi-based Vishaldeep spinning mill and the Arundoya mill, have each set up two wind mills at Lamba, in Jamnagar district, generating about one lakh units per month. According to K K Sheth, director, KT group, a more relaxed tax-benefits policy for wind farms could be an incentive for big investments. As of now, the accruals of tax-benefits for wind farms amount to only,20 or 25 per cent. The group also has a wasteland development project up its sleeve.

HERBAL HEALTH: Bio Ved Inc, a US- based company, is all set to popularise Ayurveda world- wide. With an investment of more than US $1 million in India, it has launched large-scale research and development work to produce and market ayurvedic medicines worldwide. Its arthritis drug will be on the shelves within the next six months. A surgical anti-bacterial solution which can remain sterile for upto two hours, has also been developed by the company. Chronic diseases like hepatitis 'A' and 'B' and skin diseases like eczema, which have not responded favourably to allopathic drugs, are the main targets of these drugs.

WOODY FIBRE: Grasim industries Ltd has a greenfield rayon grade wood pulp plant on the anvil. The Rs 550 crore project, with an estimated capacity of over one lakh tonnes, is being set up for the purpose of meeting the increased demand in the companys viscose staple fibre (VSF) capacity. Rayon grade wood pulp is the major raw material used in the manufacture of VSF, a substitute for cotton. Grasim has greenfield VSF plants in Gujarat, Nagda (Madhya Pradesh), Harihar (Karnataka) and avoor in Kerala.

SELLING THE SUN: After covering ground from Leh to Tamil Nadu, the Central Electronks Ltd (CEL), has entered the West Asian solar energy market with a big bang. It is going to set up a complete factory in Syria to manufacture solar photovoltaic panels and solar power generation accessories. CEL would provide training to Syrian engineers and offer complete documentation on the system design, engineering, operation and field maintenance.

GREEN CHILLERS: one can took forward to cool summers with fewer power cuts, thanks to an eco-friendly and energy conserving technology called 'vapour absor@tion', which makes it possible to enjoy comfort cooling by using one-twentieth of the power normally used in airconditioning. It has been developed by a Pune-based company, Thermax Ltd. The indigenously developed 'direct fired chillers' are essentially meant for comfort airconditioning market which includes hotels, shopping complexes, hospitals, office buildings and software parks.

LOCKING OUT VIRUSES: Internet surfing would be more fun for the users if the latest antivirus software is anything to go by. A US-based company, McAfee Associates Inc has introduced a new product called WebScan that prevents people from downloading viruses over the Internet. It is the first software, according to experts, that stops viruses from entering a computer by identifying the bug before down- loading has taken place as against the current antivirus software that simply identifies a virus after it has entered, enabling it to cause damage. The product comes with an E-mail programme and a Web browser.

Subscribe to Daily Newsletter :

SUPPORT US

We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.