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vaccine launch: SmithKline Beecham (SB), an International Healthcare system, would launch several vaccines in India during 1998-99. These include a hepatitis-A vaccine, a two-in-one hepatitis A & B vaccine and another targeted at preventing chicken pox. Says M McDonald, managing director of SB Pharmaceuticals-India, "The combined recombinant-based hepatitis A&B vaccine has already completed clinical trials and is awaiting clearance from the Drug Controller General of India.' The independent hepatitis-A vaccine has already been launched in the Philippines, Malaysia, China and Singapore.

fight against warming: Thirteen Fortune 500 companies representing oil, automakers, utilities and other big industries will join a campaign to fight global warming. These companies would lend their names and non-financial support to a campaign by the Pew Charitable Trusts to educate the public on the risks of global warming. According to Eileen Claussen, a former assistant secretary of state and director of the new Pew Center on Global Climate Change, the time has come for big companies to look into the problem of global warming.

refining oil: After experiencing numerous delays, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) at Panipat has finally started refining crude oil. The refinery was scheduled to be commissioned in July 1997. The six-million-tonne refinery is expected to produce every year eight lakh tonnes of petrol, nine lakh tonnes of jet fuel, six lakh tonnes of Kerosene and 21 lakh tonnes of high speed diesel. IOC has invested Rs 3,868-crore for setting up the refinery. The new project will cater to the north-western region of the country, including Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir.

mega plan: Arab countries have planned to invest more than US $66.3 billion on oil, gas, petrochemical and refining projects between 1998 and 2003, an Arab oil investment executive said. The amount would rise to US $90 billion if we calculate the value of projects under construction, said Nureddin Farrag, chief executive and general manager of the Saudi Arabain-based Arab Petroleum investment Corporation. "We presume that sources of financing for the projects under construction have already been agreed upon,' he said.

rich on protein: Monsanto Co and Cargill Inc have agreed to jointly develop genetically enhanced food and animal feed, linking Monsanto's gene technology with one of the world's most powerful food processing and distribution companies. The alliance, the first of its kind, sets the stage for other partnerships between agricultural bio-technology companies and the processors. They need to turn genetically engineered crops into high-value products such as protein-rich corn for animal feed or low-cholesterol oil for humans.

power game: Haryana has planned to set up 43 liquid-based power projects. The first liquid-based power project in the state will soon become operational at Gurgaon, said Attar Singh Saini, power minister of Haryana. The 25 megawatts power project has been set up by Magnum, a Delhi-based company at a cost of Rs 55 crore. The state government has planned to set up in all 43 liquid-based power projects with a view to improve the power situation in the state. So far, Saini said, the state government has cleared 19 liquid-based power projects in Haryana.

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