HC moved against cellular project
NEW DELHI, Aug 4 — The Delhi High Court today cautioned MTNL against purchasing equipment for its cellular telephone projects. Meanwhile, a report filed from Shimla said Mandi town will get cellular connection by March next.

Export package today
NEW DELHI, Aug 4 — The government will announce a new export package in the Lok Sabha tomorrow, Commerce Minister R.K. Hegde said here today.

Punjab Tractors
bucks trend
CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 — Despite a slowdown in the tractor industry, successive cotton crop failures in North India and heavy indebtedness of Punjabi farmers, Punjab Tractors Ltd has sold 29 per cent more tractors in the first quarter of 1998 than that in the corresponding period last year.

ASIAN DIARY

Call to improve trade relations with Canada
CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 — Mr Preston Manning, leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons of Canada said here today that 70 to 80 per cent of the Indians settled in Canada were Punjabis and their contribution in the economic field was laudable.

USA to extinguish FIRE on August 14
NEW DELHI, Aug 4 — The USA will pull out all its staff from India connected with the “stock market upgradation” programme on August 14 following its decision to terminate the project as part of sanctions imposed after the Pokhran nuclear tests.

Leather complex stinks

Companies in the dock

Clarify on NTPC chief: Vittal

HC moved against cellular project

NEW DELHI, Aug 4 (PTI) — The Delhi High Court today cautioned MTNL against purchasing equipment for its cellular telephone projects saying that such an investment would be at its own risk.

Acting on a petition filed by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), Justice Anil Dev Singh issued notices to DoT and MTNL.“If MTNL purchases any equipment it can buy at its own risk and cost” the judge said while fixing September 18 for final disposal of the case.

The petition sought the quashing of the amendment to the MTNL licence which allowed it to offer cellular mobile telephone service (CMTS) in Delhi and Mumbai.Counsel for operators Manjul Bajpai clarified that this petition was not an appeal against the earlier order of the high court which paved the way for MTNL’s entry into cellular telephony market last month.

He said that the petition does not raise the issue of jurisdiction of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).“The petitioners in this case—COAI and Hutchison Max Telecom Ltd — were in fact not a party to the earlier petition on the same issue filed with the Trai.” Bajpai said.

COAI counsel contended that MTNL cellular licence was issued without following any tendering process, was arbitrary and was a “gross abuse of powers by the government ...resulting in procedural impropriety, irrationality and illegality”.It was in violation of national telecom policy of 1994 and threatened the very existence of private operators, he added.

The operators apprehended that MTNL could use its interconnect revenues from four cellular operators in Delhi and Mumbai, which was Rs 136 crore in 1997-98, to subsidise its cellular service on a non-level playing field basis.They questioned the logic of MTNL investing Rs 1.070 crore in its Delhi and Mumbai at a time when spare capacity was available in networks of private cellular operators.

“This investment by MTNL at a time when there is an acute scarcity of foreign exchange due to economic sanctions is not called for. The entire cellular equipment will have to be imported by MTNL entailing the outgo of foreign exchange,” the operators said.MTNL will be able to offer more attractive packages by bundling both cellular and basic services, which private operators cannot do because they do not operate basic services, the COAI petition added.

Cellular services for HP towns
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA, Aug 4 — Mandi town will get cellular connection by March next. This was stated here today by Mr Rajan Bharti Mittal, Managing Director of Bharti Telenet Ltd, which is operating the AirTel mobile phone service in Himachal Pradesh.

Mr Mittal told TNS that a survey was being conducted for providing cellular services at Dharamshala, Kangra and Chamba. An investment of Rs 50 crore will be made in the state for providing cellular services.

Bharti Telenet has commissioned the fixed line telephone exchange at Indore and next in line were Bhopal, Gwalior, Raipur and Jabalpur. About 4,000 km of optical fibre was being laid in Madhya Pradesh to run the company’s telephone services in 23 cities.

Meanwhile, ace cricketer Ajay Jadeja inaugurated the first exclusive cellular shop of AirTel here yesterday.

Export package today

NEW DELHI, Aug 4 (PTI) — The government will announce a new export package in the Lok Sabha tomorrow, Commerce Minister R.K. Hegde said here today.

The government is concerned about the poor performance of export which have registered a 7 per cent fall in the first quarter of the current fiscal, Hegde told newsmen after an hour-long meeting with Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha.

The meeting was also attended by Commerce Secretary P.P. Prabhu, Revenue Secretary N.K. Singh and Chief Economic Adviser Shankar Acharya.

Leather complex stinks
Tribune News Service

JALANDHAR, Aug 4 — The leather complex developed by the Punjab State Leather Development Corporation and the Punjab Small Industry and Exporters Corporation earning foreign exchange worth Rs 238 crore is facing closure due to lack of flash dumps and solid waste disposal plants.

Since 1987 the PSIEC has not been able to provide the promised facilities of maintaining a flashing disposal site. The Leather Complex Entrepreneurs Association has so far been maintaining the flashing disposal site.

Even the instructions given by the Director of Industries, were not followed by the PSIEC.The president of the association, Col J.S. Paul, and the Vice-President, Mr Amardeep Singh, talking to the media today, said that due to the absence of suitable arrangements for the disposal of flashing, tanneries have been forced to stop or curtail production.

This has resulted in losses to entrepreneurs.Last year’s export earnings of this industry were placed at Rs 238 crore. If given proper encouragement, this industry has a potential to earn Rs 1000 crore annually in foreign exchange in the next five years and provide employment to atleast 15,000 people.The promoters of the leather complex had acquired a plot of 4 acres in Sengharsole village adjacent to the complex.

But residents of the area objected to it and the raw animal flash and solid waste were not allowed to be dumped at the site. An alternative site has not been located. The association demands that illegal residential colonies coming up around the leather complex should be stopped.

Call to improve trade relations with Canada
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 — Mr Preston Manning, leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons of Canada said here today that 70 to 80 per cent of the Indians settled in Canada were Punjabis and their contribution in the economic field was laudable.

He was speaking at a Phdcci meeting.Mr R.K. Saboo, former president, Phdcci, said the business community is keen to enhance ties with the Canadian government and industry. He requested Mr Manning to try sister-city relationship between Chandigarh and Vancouver or Toronto.

Mr Gurmant Grewal and Mr Bob Mills, MPs from Canada, stressed on bilateral trade between the two countries and for special links with this part of the country.Mr R.S. Sachdeva, president, Mohali Industries Association, pointed out that a large business delegation from Canada would be welcome for promotion of trade.

Asian diary
North-East goes for ‘made in China’

ASK for a pack of Indian cigarettes in a shop in Imphal, Kohima or Dimapur and the shopkeeper looks askance.Most likely you will get one of the many foreign brands, especially the popular Chinese gaspers like ‘Win,’ ‘Pine’ and ‘Congress.’ In Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Tripura and even in Guwahati, Chinese-made items hold sway and Indian products are practically extinct.Cigarettes, toys, electronic gadgets and household goods such as blankets, mosquito nets, kerosene lanterns, utensils, patent medicines, crockery and a host of Chinese goods are commonplace in the states bordering Myanmar.Every major town of the region has its own thriving “Hong Kong Bazar” and these goods are there for the taking.If one were to visit a house in Kohima, tea would be served in bone China crockery from China, the serving tray would be Chinese, the bucket would be Chinese and even the serving spoons would be Chinese. (UNI)

Food habits
RECENT changes in the food habits of the Japanese hold out a big promise for India to increase its spice exports to the far-eastern country.The Japanese have now switched over from fermented beans products to more fish products and curry rice, Spices Board Deputy Director N.E. Cheriankunju says.“Use of more fish products and curry rice has increased the demand for spices in Japan. Indian exporters should tap this potential market by supplying good quality spices,” he says.Indian exporters will have to educate the Japanese consumers on the qualities and uses of spices and stick to the Japanese food sanitation law which restricts use of additives. (PTI)

Ban on sugar mills
THE Pakistan Government has extended the ban on setting up new sugar mills in Punjab province for three years. “The decision has been made to extend the prime cultivable area for the cotton crop,” an official has said.The decision by the provincial government comes as a surprise to industrialists who allege that the move is actually aimed at monopolising the sugar sector by the ruling party legislators.“Many ruling party legislators, including the ruling family, have sugar mills and by banning new units, they want to monopolise the sugar market,” one industrialist, who had applied for a licence, said bitterly. (ANI)

Lankan exports
SRI LANKAN exports to India currently valued at around $44 million per annum, will quadraple following the removal of tariffs over 2,000 products by India, Sri Lankan Minister for Trade and Commerce Kingsely T. Wickramaratna has said.In an interview to the state-owned Daily News in Colombo on Tuesday, Wikramaratna said once India lifts tarrif barriers on 2000 items by October this year, a host of Sri Lankan products including spices, fibre and fibre-based products, rubber and rubber based products, graphite, ceramic ware, gems and jewellery would find their way to Indian markets under open general licence (OGL).Sri Lanka already has 380 items listed for exports to India. (PTI)

Punjab Tractors bucks trend
By Nirmal Sandhu
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 — Despite a slowdown in the tractor industry, successive cotton crop failures in North India and heavy indebtedness of Punjabi farmers, Punjab Tractors Ltd has sold 29 per cent more tractors in the first quarter of 1998 than that in the corresponding period last year.

“We continue to actively manage both growth and cost containment aspects of our business strategy”, Mr Yash Mahajan, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of PTL, told The Tribune here today.

Mr Mahajan credits “customer focus and people-friendly management” for Punjab Tractors emerging as a respected corporate entity.“Making profits is PTL’s commercial responsibility, enhancement of shareholder value is our destination”, he said.

According to PTL figures, the tractor industry witnessed a flat 2.2 per cent first quarter growth, taking aggregate volumes to 63,227. With this Swaraj’s market share has gone up to 19 per cent.

However, according to the figures of the Tractor Manufacturers Association, the tractor production has gone down. The industry manufactured 37,194 tractors during April-May 1998 against an earlier level of 40,468 and sold 39,247 tractors against 39,166 units.

One reason for the fall in production is the “production problem” at Escorts Ltd. Mahindra and Mahindra too was unable to achieve “full potential” due to the wage issue negotiated with the unions. Poor monsoon in the South and cotton crop failures are also being blamed for the decline in the industry’s performance.

Against this bleak scenario, Punjab Tractors has crossed the 12,000 tractor unit level, growing 28.9 per cent over the corresponding period of 1997. PTL’s net profit for the April-June 98 quarter at Rs 27.9 crore jumped 52.5 per cent over last year’s first quarter.

This represents annualised EPS of Rs 55.11 against Rs 36.15 last year. The total revenue grew 34 per cent to Rs 237.2 crore.Apart from tractors, PTL sells harvester combines and forklifts. While the sales of harvester combines rose sharply to 46 in the first quarter (24 last year), the forklift sales were almost stagnant at 15 (17).

This is attributed to poor demand, industrial stagnation and virtually nil government buying.The PTL annual general meeting held on July 31 approved a dividend of 125 per cent which is the highest in the auto/engineering industry. PTL has an equity base of Rs 20.25 crore after a 1:1 bonus in December 1996.

The PSIDC holds 26 per cent of the equity while 19 per cent is with the UTI, 9 per cent with the IDBI, 4 per cent with GIC and about 6 per cent is held by mutual funds. FIIs hold about 18-19 per cent equity while the remaining 36 per cent is with the public.

Diesel Zen on August 10?

NEW DELHI, Aug 4 (PTI) — The diesel version of Zen car is likely to hit the road on August 10. Maruti Udyog Ltd’s Managing Director R.S.S.L.N. Bhaskarudu, however, declined to confirm the date or price of the vehicle saying it would be known only next week.

The MUL Board of Directors is likely to discuss tomorrow the introduction of new models, including the diesel Zen, besides the appointment of Jagdish Khattar as the second Managing Director of the company.

The board could also take up the letter written to the government by MUL Director (Finance) A.R. Halasym stating that his seniority was overlooked when it was decided to appoint Khattar as the Joint MD.

$ 2.5b from Y2K projects

CALCUTTA, Aug 4 (PTI) — India is expected to earn at least $ 2.5 billion from software exports for Y2K projects, according to National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) Executive Director Dewang Mehta.

While software companies in the country had already bagged Y2K projects worth $ 1.5 billion in the last two to three years, export orders worth $ 1 billion were expected by next year, Mehta told newspersons here.

The domestic Y2K opportunity in the country was about Rs 1500 crore, of which about Rs 1000 crore would be fulfilled by in-house repair jobs and Rs 500 crore outsourced to software companies.

USA to extinguish FIRE on August 14

NEW DELHI, Aug 4 (PTI) — The USA will pull out all its staff from India connected with the “stock market upgradation” programme on August 14 following its decision to terminate the project as part of sanctions imposed after the Pokhran nuclear tests.

The stock market upgradation programme formed a part of the Financial Institutions Reforms and Expansion (FIRE) project funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

The urban infrastructure development, which formed part of FIRE, however, will continue as the U.S. Administration has decided to treat it as a humanitarian aid project which is exempt from the purview of sanctions, a top official in USAID told PTI.Various institutions and stock markets, including the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange benefited from the consultancy and inputs given by the project since 1993.

Companies in the dock

MUMBAI, Aug 4 (PTI) — The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) received 3,407 complaints against 630 companies last.Vatsa Corporation topped the list, with the BSE receiving 52 complaints this month and raising the total number of pending complaints against the company to 571.

Padmini Polymers, Western India Industries, Cauvery Software Engg Systems, Prakash Industries, Thapar Milk Products, NEPC India, ATV Projects, Rolta India, Subhakti Textiles and Pentafour Products were among the top 20 companies that account for over 15 per cent of the total complaints.

Clarify on NTPC chief: Vittal

NEW DELHI, Aug 4 (PTI) — Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) and Power Ministry have locked horns over the extension of National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Chairman Rajendra Singh.

PESB Chairman N. Vittal has asked the government for a clarification as to how Singh’s term could be extended without the performance assessment and approval of the Cabinet Committee on Appointments (CCA).

When contacted Vittal said that “PESB had invited Rajendra Singh for an interview late last month, but he was given extension by the Power Ministry before this.

”On the other hand Power Minister P.R. Kumaramangalam told PTI “extension was given after we got a written clarification from the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) and Department of Personnel (DoP).

”Power Ministry is maintaining that as per the DPE office order of May 30, administrative ministries are empowered to extend the term of incumbents who have not “completed 58 years or five years’ tenure”.

Biz briefs

Photocopier
NEW DELHI, Aug 4 (TNS) — HCL Infosystems Limited today launched a digital photocopier, DP2460, in collaboration with Toshiba. Based on the cutting-edge digital image advanced reproduction technology, the Toshiba DP2460 is targeted at medium and large corporates.

Tourism centre
NEW DELHI, Aug 4(TNS) — An information centre providing complete details about hotels, restaurants and tourists spots in north India has been opened in the Capital. It has been promoted by the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Northern India (HRANI).

NHPC capital
NEW DELHI, Aug 4 (TNS) — The government has raised the authorised share capital of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) to Rs 5,000 crore from Rs 3,500 crore. This will speed up the ongoing projects of the NHPC, including the the 390 MW Dul Hasti project in Jammu and Kashmir.

Coop federation
CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 (TNS) — The Haryana Government has appointed Registrar, Cooperative Societies Haryana or his nominee and the Director, Public Relations, as Government nominees on the Board of Directors of the Haryana State Cooperative Development Federation, Chandigarh, with immediate effect.

Mercedes-Benz
CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 (TNS) — A 15-seater luxury coach from the Mercedes-Benz stable will be launched in the city next month. Manufactured by Ssaangyong, Korea, the coach is priced at about Rs 12 lakh and will be displayed at the company outlet Tai-Pan Traders Ltd in the industrial area on August 5 and 6, according to a company release.

Gold steady
NEW DELHI, Aug 4 (PTI)— Silver declined further on the bullion market today on persistent offering by stockists against lack of buying interest and closed with losses. However, gold turned steady in limited negligible deals and finished unchanged. The quotations: Silver .999 (ready) 8100, delivery 8210, coins buyer 10,400 and seller 10,600. Standard gold 4230, ornaments 4080 and sovereign 3475.

Seminar
CHANDIGARH, Aug 4 (TNS) — A seminar on Rajbhasha was organised today to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Independence by Uco Bank, Zonal Office, Chandigarh. Mr B. Venkatraman, General Manager of the bank presided over the seminar. Dr Sansar Chand, a Hindi writer stressed that use of Hindi should be on the basis of merit, as well along with its constitutional obligation and national feeling.