Tuesday, September 15, 1998
today's calendar
|
B U S I N E S S | Tuesday, September 15, 1998 |
| weather n
spotlight today's calendar |
|
|
Recession renders many
jobless
|
 |
HC to monitor Hero
Honda plans high-powered bike
|
|
L&T
bags Rs 104 crore Khandala bypass order ‘Lift
ban on sale of edible oils’ Bankers’
meet today G-7
meeting on Russia opens |
|||||
 |
||||||
Recession renders many jobless BHIWANI, Sept 14 — The textile industry in Haryana faces demand recession in the domestic and European markets. Most of the textile units are located at Faridabad and Bhiwani. Of the 68 textile factories at Faridabad, only 15 are in operation and 10 of these utilise only 30 per cent of the installed capacity. Similarly at Bhiwani, the textile units face a severe financial crisis. Over 10,000 workers have been rendered jobless due to the closure of textile units at Faridabad alone. A majority of the closed units have no money even to pay wages to the retrenched workers. The situation in Bhiwani Denim and Apparals Ltd is no different. The workers in this mill have not been paid their wages for May, June and July. The management announced a lockout on August 6, but lifted it following an agreement with the workers on August 17 which envisaged the payment of wages in instalments. The mill is running at 25 per cent capacity and thus, each of the 200-odd workers is provided employment for eight days in a month by rotation. Giving reasons for the recession, Mr Narsimhan, Secretary, Faridabad Industries Association, told TNS on the phone that the European markets had of late started preferring products from China, Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea because of lower prices. These countries, he said, were dumping their products in the European markets so as to “earn the much-needed foreign exchange” following depletion in the Asian currencies. The Indian textile industry is unable to compete with them. Bhiwani Textile Mills is hopeful of notching up a turnover of Rs 200 crore in the current financial year as against Rs 160 crore in the previous year. Mr K.D. Joshi, Vice-President (Projects), claimed that of the total turnover, over Rs 40 crore was expected to comprise export earnings. He said the company would
launch two types of suitings under the Graviera
brandname. Last year it had launched a
polyester-jute-cotton blended suitings called
“Juslik” followed by “Perfect Feel
Finish” fabric. “Wonder Wash” fabric is
being introduced. “No detergent is required to wash
this fabric”, he claimed. |
HC to monitor fertiliser scam CHANDIGARH, Sept 14 — A Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court consisting of Mr Justice, J.L. Gupta and Mr Justice N.K. Aggarwal today took cognisance of the multi-crore fertiliser scandal going on in Punjab for November 16, 1998, so that its progress could be effectively monitored. The petition was filed in public interest by Mr Satnam Singh Behru, president of the kisan wing of the Shiromani Akali Dal (M). A vigilance inquiry was completed in April, 1997. Then another hurdle came in the form of high political influence. The file remained with the office of the Chief Minister for one year and thus even the registration of the FIR was delayed by more than one year after the inquiry was completed. Involved allegedly in the scandal were former Minister Raj Khurana, sitting MLA Amrik Singh, a former Director of Agriculture and several officers, besides countless dealers and manufacturers of fertilisers. They had manipulated records. The scandal is deceptively simple. Claim subsidy of fertilisers without manufacturing a single tonne of “khad” and show its fictitious sale through forged documents with the active help and connivance of officers of the department which was meant to monitor the sale of fertiliser. The clinching nature of evidence is that not even raw material, which is necessary for the manufacture of the “khad” was imported. A huge stock was shown to have been transported in fictitious vehicles with fake registration numbers. They turned out to be of scooters and small vehicles which possibly could not transport the fertilisers shown in the documents. The petitioner alleged that the Government of Punjab is shielding the officers. Three officers of the Punjab Agriculture Agro Industries Corporation, who were named in the FIR, did not even apply for the anticipatory bail. Only Director, Mr S.S. Bains, applied for the anticipatory bail, which was granted to him. No raid was conducted at the residences of the remaining eleven officers. The petitioners alleged that the investigating officers had been directed by the Chief Minister, Punjab, not to arrest any officer. The IG Vigilance had expressed his helplessness due to the intervention of the Chief Minister. The petitioner says that
the fertilisers industry is misappropriating nearly Rs
200 crore a year in Punjab only. |
Fiat to launch five Palio vehicles NEW DELHI, Sept 14 (PTI) — Italian automajor Fiat plans to introduce its complete range of ‘Palio 178’ vehicles in the country and the first car from this range will be launched next year. “The 178 range, a family of five vehicles, will be manufactured in India before long and we will introduce the first car for India in 1999,” Andrea Simoncelli, Senior Vice- President of Fiat S.P.A, said here on Monday. The Palio family consists of a hatchback, the Siena Saloon and the weekend station wagon, Simoncelli said, adding that a pick-up version and a van were being developed. Fiat will invest $ 1 billion in the country over the next five years as it viewed India as the “most important market outside Europe.” Fiat’s financing arm, Fidis, is scouting for a partner to set up a joint venture for automobile financing. The company which make the
Uno cars, is “doing very well now thanks to the
growing sales of Uno diesel.” Simoncelli said. |
Hero Honda plans high-powered bike NEW DELHI Sept 14 (PTI) — Having taken the two-wheeler market by storm with its fuel efficient four stroke bikes, Hero Honda is now planning to step out of the 100 CC segment by launching a high-powered bike. The new bike will be the first two wheeler from the Hero Honda stable to sport a higher BHP engine with more cubic capacity, company sources told PTI. The bike, to be launched by the middle of next year, will be a four stroke one and priced “competitively”. “We have covered all segments of customers — be it the cost-conscious middle class or those preferring style and comfort. Now we want to tap those who cry for more power in their bikes,” the sources said. Hero Honda
has so far rolled out four mobikes and a stepthrough to
garner a market share of over 37 per cent. Though the
fuel-efficient bikes of Hero Honda were successful in the
market, a complaint against them was that the bikes
lacked power and pick-up. |
Matiz gives 24.5 km NEW DELHI, Sept 14 (UNI) — Daewoo Motors India Limited’s much-awaited small car boasts of a fuel efficiency of 24.5 km to a litre of petrol under test conditions with its base non-airconditioned model. Exhaustive test runs are
being conducted across the country on the vehicle.
“On the highway, the car has even given a mileage of
over 25 km to a litre of petrol”, company sources
told UNI here. The company is also exploring the
feasibility of producing the engines and transmission for
the ‘Matiz’ in India. |
Bankers’ meet today NEW DELHI, Sept 14 — A three-day conference on “Managing global banking, emerging perspectives and lessons for India” is being organised by the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) here from tomorrow. Finance Minister Yashwant
Sinha will inaugurate the conference. The speakers
include Dr Bimal Jalal, Dr Vikay Kelkar, Mr C.K. Vasudev,
Mr M.S. Verma, Dr R.H. Patil, Dr Jagdish Capoor and Mr
Raymond Li. This was announced at a press conference here
today by the Managing Director of Union Bank of India, Mr
A.T. Pannir Selvam. |
IMF team evaluates Pak economy ISLAMABAD, Sept 14 (PTI) — Pakistan has expressed confidence that it will not default on its foreign debt repayment even as a high-level IMF team started evaluating the country’s economy for a possible $ 1.56-billion bailout package to pull it out of the current economic crisis. “We feel the worst is behind us. The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has given us a handsome package. Teams of the IMF and the World Bank have arrived in Islamabad for talks. So we feel we have turned the corner,” says Information Minister Mushahid Hussain. The worst period for Pakistan’s economy was from June to August when the country came under the US sanctions following nuclear tests in May. “The sanctions have been hurting Pakistan to some extent but we have been bearing with sanctions and these have not affected the political will of the leadership of Pakistan,” Hussain told BBC in an interview. He also dismissed allegations of the Opposition and speculation in the Press that Pakistan has been under pressure due to the economic crisis to sign the CTBT, and said, “We have been in independent position on the issue of CTBT.” An IMF team, meanwhile, began technical meetings with government officials on macro-economic indicators of Pakistan to prepare a report before a high-level team arrives in Islamabad to negotiate on the $ 1.56-billion loan package. The three-member IMF team was busy with officials of the Ministry of Finance and the Planning Commission to evaluate the country’s economic indicators of the last quarter of the previous fiscal (July-June 1997-98) and also in the first two months of the 1998-99 fiscal year. According to media reports, the IMF officials are insisting on a reform of tax system in the country, so that the government’s revenue could be hiked, apart from pressing for the reform of the banking system and recovery of more than Rs 150 billion of pending loans of the public sector banks. Pakistan’s foreign
exchange reserves dipped to the precarious levels of
around $ 700 million which is barely enough to meet three
weeks’ imports as the possibility of a default on
its foreign debt repayment commitments is looming large
in the absence of any foreign bailout package. |
G-7 meeting on Russia opens LONDON, Sept 14 (AFP) — A meeting of senior officials from the group of Seven (G-7) leading industrialised countries on solutions to the crisis in Russia, began here today. The meeting was being attended by officials from Finance and Foreign Ministries, and representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the EU Commission and from Australia, which currently holds the Presidency of EU Ministerial meetings. Russia was represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Georgi Mamedov and Deputy Finance Minister Mikhael Kasiyanov. They were meeting to
“reflect” on the crisis to prepare conclusions
for a meeting of Finance Ministers and Governors of
central banks in G-7 countries in Washington on October
3, the foreign office said. |
‘Lift ban on sale of edible oils’ NEW DELHI, Sept 14 (UNI) — Mustard oil and vanaspati producers have urged the Centre and state governments to lift ban on sale of edible oils and vanaspati as a delay may adversely affect the industry in the long run in view of the coming festival season. The trade associations, talking to UNI, said, “the mustard oil controversy will have long term repercussions on consumers, farmers, industry as well as the economy of the country, if the government does not announce its clear policy on the future course of action on the matter. Total ban on the sale of
mustard and vegetable oil by some states, including
Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Maharashtra,
Orissa and Himachal Pradesh, imposed hurriedly without
finding the real source and stage of adulteration, they
said. |
L&T bags Rs 104 crore Khandala bypass order MUMBAI, Sept 14 (PTI) — Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has bagged the Rs 104.35 crore contract to construct the Lonavala-Khandala bypass from the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRTC). The 8.28 km road connecting the two famous hill stations in the state includes two stretches of elevated expressway parallel to the existing national highway No. 4. The construction, to be completed within a tight schedule of 21 months, would considerably ease the heavy congestion on the existing Mumbai-Pune highway, an L&T statement here said. L&T has also bagged
the order to construct the “International Finance
and Business Centre” at the Bandra-Kurla complex
near Mumbai, which would be the hub of the NSE capital
market operations as well as its corporate headquarters. |
| H |
|
||
| LG launches 9 TV models CHANDIGARH, Sept 14 (TNS) — LG Electronics launched nine models of its latest colour television classified into four series — Golden Eye Swing, Golden Eye Supreme, Golden Eye Plus and Joymax ’99 — at a dealers meet here last night. “Shortly we will start exporting these TV models with the ‘Made in India’ tag”, said Mr Rajeev Karwal, Vice-President (Sales & Marketing). LG also plans to launch two new models of window ACs, one new model of split AC and a package AC. LG has achieved a turnover of Rs 400 crore within 16 months of the start of operations. Samsung MD Anti-MNCs Hind Copper Gold falls Dunlop accounts Focal points Crisil |
 |
 |
 |
| Nation
| Punjab | Haryana | Himachal Pradesh | Jammu & Kashmir | | Chandigarh | Editorial | Stocks | Sport | | Mailbag | Spotlight | World | 50 years of Independence | Weather | | Search | Subscribe | Archive | Suggestion | Home | E-mail | |
