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| Thursday, October 12, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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No mating games, please. It’s
office Credit policy to help
banks YKK to invest 82 cr in
Haryana Punjab not to privatise sugar
mills Clinton signs
China trade bill |
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‘Hike stamp duty
limit to Rs 6 lakh’
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No mating games, please. It’s
office “THEIR eyes met across the carpet tiles. His fingers caressed the keyboard and his message flew to her screen. Her response was immediate. Chancing another glance, he smouldered under the same gaze that had set him on fire the night before. But suddenly he felt a chilling hand upon his shoulder - the hand of the most feared enforcer in Human Resources. ``Mating games belong in fields,’’ he growled, placing a notice of dismissal casually on the desk. ``When will you people learn? Passion is for playtime. This here is a place of work.’’ Could it actually happen? Could employers really believe that workplace liaisons are so terribly
danger uses that they would make them a sacking offence? According to recent reports, some already do. Or, to be precise, the argument has been made that certain clauses in some firms’ codes of employee conduct effectively amount to a ban on romance on the office floor. Those cited include an allegedly growing number of British civil service departments and some major high street names. These, it has been claimed, are just the high-profile tip of a growing iceberg as employers in general become more nervous about the possible implications of libidinal interactions among their personnel. Coupled with the prospect of the government giving bosses the formal right to monitor employees’ e-mails without their knowledge or consent, it seems fears about managers controlling the personal lives of subordinates more tightly than ever may be justified. So what exactly is going on? The British retail giant Marks & Spencer -mentioned in a dispatch from The Director magazine as being one of those with ``stated policies that govern office romance’’ - firmly denies any ban on relationships exists. But increasingly companies do appear to be feeling the need to take a tougher stance on certain connections between employees that might deflect them from their duties. HSBC is one of a number of British banks whose employee handbook includes the requirement that personal relationships should not be allowed to impair efficiency or breach customer confidentiality. Such relationships, though, include not only lovers, but also long-term partners, siblings, parents, uncles and so on. A spokeswoman explains that, yes, HSBC employment contracts do require staff to abide by the guidance in the handbook, but insists it is absurd to suggest this amounts to a back-door ban on entanglements: ``We categorically refute the charge that it is an attempt to control people’s love lives.’’ Talk of personnel departments deploying hard-faced sex police to outlaw love- or lustlorn workers might be overdone: indeed, it is difficult to see how desire could be outlawed effectively in practice. With more and more women going out to work, and British workers toiling for more hours per week than those anywhere else in Europe, it is hardly surprising that so many of us meet our partners during our labouring hours rather than in our leisure time. Nonetheless, it is clear that employers are growing increasingly preoccupied by sexualised behaviour in the ranks, thanks to the substantial rise in the number of legal cases brought for sexual harassment. In the USA it is now commonplace for companies to encourage or cajole employees in sexual relationships to sign ``love contracts’’. Also known as consensual relationship agreements, they typically require the signatories to pledge that their arrangement has been entered into willingly and to promise that if and when it all goes horribly wrong, neither party will sue the firm’s directors on grounds of sexual harassment or discrimination. The aim is to provide protection against the fallout from an affair. A jilted subordinate may claim she was pressured into having sex by the senior figure who has since dumped her. People may argue they were passed over because they were sleeping with someone at an adjoining desk, or claim their working life became unbearable because the company failed to act when somebody they used to be involved with wouldn’t leave them alone. And so on.
— By arrangement with The Guardian. |
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Credit policy to help
banks CHANDIGARH, Oct 11 — RBI though has given banks freedom to invest in stocks, however if not done judiciously, this may instead increase the bad debts of banks. So feel bankers in the region, who opine that investment in the stocks requires expertise which the banks at present are lacking. To invest and get positive results, and train the bank personnel for the same, it might take atleast another one year for the same. Mr K.R. Chabria, Executive Director of Punjab National Bank, says,” At present there are no professionals and people definitely will have to be trained if the banks are to invest in stocks fruitfully”. Though industrialists feel that a cut in the interest rates is should have been done, the bankers say it is not required since there is no scarcity of funds for loaning. While the decision to allow NBFCs to lend money in the call money market has been
welcomed, however, the industry is not positive about issues relating to facilitating of debt recovery and feels that these issues have not been adequately addressed. “The industry is in the midst of a slowdown and restoration of finance limits and issues relating to the NBFCs needed to be taken up seriously”, the CII stated. The bankers also think that attaching annexures of subsidiaries with the balance sheets might cause delay in publishing of the balance sheet, since the accounts have to be audited by CAG. “It might not be possible to publish the same by June if there is delay in audit which is very likely to occur”, said another banker. “The mid-term credit policy, it is expected, would facilitate technology upgradation in banking, Steps like preparation of a vision document, setting up a working group on Internet banking and the use of imaging technology for reducing the learning reconciliation differences and as a precursor to check truncation among others will improve productivity and efficiency in the banking sector,” the CII opined. |
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YKK to invest 82 cr in Haryana TOKYO, Oct 11 (UNI) — The visiting high-level Haryana delegation led by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala today achieved a major success when Japanese YKK Corporation top brass announced a Rs 82-crore direct investment for expansion of its international standard manufacturing area at Bawal in the state. The announcement was made by YKK President and Chief Executive Officer Tadahiro Yoshida after a prolonged meeting with the Chief Minister and his official delegation here. The Chief Minister also called on Japanese International Trade and Industry Vice-Minister Tatsuya Ito and urged him to promote more companies to invest in Haryana to utilise its unique central location as well as numerous leisure facilities at Gurgaon and Dharuhera, including golf courses and resorts so dear to Japanese businessmen. Mr Chautala outlined the cooperation between several Japanese companies like Honda, Suzuko, Sony, Denso, YKK and others which have already selected Gurgaon as their premier workplace in Haryana. The Chief Minister emphasised conducive atmosphere prevailing in the state relating to friendly and hard-working labour, good infrastructure and road facilities, power and pollution-free environment. Mr Ito expressed his gratitude on behalf of the Japanese companies for excellent facilities, including time-bound clearances of projects, given to them by the Haryana Government. He requested the Chief Minister to continue the support extended by his government to the Japanese multi-national companies. Mr Ito, whose Ministry regulates international trade and industry of Japanese companies, accepted his invitation to visit Haryana during his next itinerary to India. He emphasises that after the visit of the Japanese Prime Minister to India earlier this year, Japan had already placed India as a thrust area of Japanese investment, particularly in the information technology sector. He acknowledged that professional talent around Delhi had made Gurgaon as an ideal destination for businessmen from his country. The Chief Minister and his delegation members also interacted with the International Trade and Industry Ministry’s Director General to explore further business avenues. Finance Minister Sampat Singh and state government officers accompanying the Chief Minister assisted him during the deliberations. Later in the evening, Mr Chautala also attended two meetings of prominent industrialists of Tokyo. The Chief Minister was personally invited to interact with leading industrialists from it and other sector by Mr Vaibhav Upadhayay, chief of India centre. Earlier, before leaving for here, Mr Chautala and the delegation visited the Trade Development Board and the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Singapore last evening. The tdb, which spearheads trade related activities of Singapore companies, has identified investment in it, property development and logistics sectors as key areas. Mr Chautala had detailed discussions, including an interactive session, with several prominent businessmen of Singapore, including Mr Gopinath Pillai, Chairman of Windmill International and Singapore’s High Commissioners to Iran and Pakistan. Several Singapore-based industrial magnates like Mr Satpal Khattar, Mr Raheed Nargund and former idb representative in India Mohan Mirwani also projected Haryana as a favoured destination. The Chief Minister also visited the science park and Singapore’s Juron Town Park Corporation (JTC), which is already participating in establishment of Gurgaon technology park. |
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Punjab not to privatise sugar
mills CHANDIGARH, Oct
11— Sugar production in Punjab has become unviable due to climatic conditions and policies of the central and state government. The state has 22 sugar
mills. There are 15 mills in the cooperative sector. The total sugar production is 4.20 lakh tonnes which is 2.5 per cent of India's total production. The area under sugarcane is 1.45 lakh hectares. As a good variety eludes sugarcane
growers, the sugar recovery rate is low at 8-10 per cent. Eleven cooperative sugar mills' accumulative losses were Rs 416.15 crore as on March 31, last. In 1999-2000, the total loss suffered by 13 out of 15 mills was Rs 69.90 crore. Only
Budhewal mill made a modest profit of Rs 37.58 lakh. These mills were defaulter to the financial institutions to the tune of Rs 211.38 crore, SDF Rs 20.31 crore and RDF Rs 113 crore. Some financial institutions have filed cases against some of the mills in the Debt Recovery Tribunal at Jaipur. A proposal has been put before the financial institutions by the Registrar, Cooperative Societies for a "one-time" settlement. If the institutions agreed to forgo all interests and accepted principal amount, the state could be requested to make available Rs 57.31 crore. With that the entire sum of Rs 211.38 crore would be settled, effecting a saving of Rs 154.07 crore. Concerned over the losses logged by the cooperative mills, unavailability of good sugar cane variety, higher state advised price of sugarcane, poor sugar recovery, problem of storage space for sugar, levy sugar, imports etc, the Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, has had a review of the sugar scenario and issue of liquidation of cooperative sugar mills in Ajnala, Faridkot and Jagraon. With the next crushing season at the door-step, a review meeting of the Sugarfed has also been taken by the Financial Commissioner, Cooperation. Informed sources told TNS today that the Chief Minister was against the liquidation of cooperative sugar mills. Fearing farmers' (who are shareholders) unrest if the mills were sold off, he has suggested the "revival" of the mills and making them viable since sugarcane is one of the suggested alternative crops to wheat-paddy rotation. One of the mills at Budhlada is under liquidation for which there are practically no buyers. Only one tender for Rs 6.85 crore was received. A re-tender is on the anvil. Mr Badal wants Punjab Agricultural University to concentrate on sugarcane research and evolve a varieties not only resistant to diseases, insects and pests but which would yield higher sugar recovery. Cutting down on production losses, system management improvement is also suggested. The state has approved converting sugar mills into "multipurpose" sugar processing
units. Thus besides manufacturing sugar, co-generation of electricity, making rectified spirit, ENA and country liquor and serving as bottling plants is mooted. For mills to remain in profitable operation, sugarcane requirement is 465.30 lakh tonnes. The running season of a mill averages between 42 and 120 days. The cooperative mills crushed 268.64 lakh quintal in 1999-2000 against 218.69 lakh quintal in 1998-99. Last season state cane price was Rs 100 per quintal against statutory minimum price of Rs 56.10 per quintal. Despite losses the cooperative mills have cleared all dues— Rs 266 crore — to the farmers by June, 2000. In the next season, cooperative mills were expected to crush 306 lakh quintal of cane at an average recovery of 9.20 per cent with a tentative loss of Rs 69.69 crore, inclusive of interest, approximately Rs 51.3 crore. The sugar mills again look upto the RDF for assistance and survival. Integrated bio-control pest management, improved varieties, tissue culture lab at
Nawanshahr supplying disease-free plantlets and mill-wise varieties being sown etc are some of the measures expected to bail out the sugar mills which are in a soup. Steps to reduce waiting period for farmers in the mills are on the anvil as are measures to effect economy including reduction of staff
etc. A proposal for setting up a sugarcane adaptive research project has also been submitted to the Ministry of consumer affairs by Sugarfed for approval. |
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Clinton signs China trade bill WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (AFP) — President Bill Clinton signed into law a landmark China trade bill, at a stroke ushering in a new era of open commerce between the world’s most powerful economy and its most populous nation. “This is a great day for the USA and a hopeful day for the 21st century world,” said Mr Clinton yesterday at a signing ceremony in the White House Rose Garden attended by key members of his administration and the Congress. The bill grants permanent normal trading relations to China in a deal speeding Beijing’s long-delayed entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In practice, it guarantees China the irrevocable low tariff access to US markets as other American trading partners in return for a promise by Beijing’s communist leaders to throw open their vast market to US firms. Touting his key policy of engagement with China, Mr Clinton said the controversial law, which finally cleared by the Congress last month, would help ease China peacefully into the global economic system. He said the legislation, a major personal triumph as his presidency draws to a close, was the culmination of an effort launched by President Richard Nixon nearly 30 years ago to open China to the outside world. |
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‘Hike stamp duty
limit to Rs 6 lakh’ CHANDIGARH, Oct 11— Though the overall recovery position of the banks in Haryana has improved, the recovery under government sponsored schemes is continuously declining. Disposal of recovery certificate cases filed under the Haryana Agricultural Credit Operations and Miscellaneous Provisions Act is also very slow and more than 76 per cent of the cases are pending for more than a year. Stating this at the 74th meeting of the State Level Bankers Committee, Haryana here today, Mr K.R. Chabria, Executive Director of PNB said that the new industrial policy of the government has attracted investment of more than Rs 15,000 crore in the state. The bankers, in the meeting said that the state government should enhance the exemption limit on stamp duty from Rs 60,0000 to Rs 6 lakh. Mr Virendra Nath, Financial Commissioner, Institutional Finance and Credit Control Haryana, who was the chief guest, lauded the overall performance of banks in the state. |
cr
Loan defaulters put on
Web site CHANDIGARH, Oct 11 — “It is great not to be on our list”, proclaims a unique
Web site www.loandefaulters.com, which has been put on the Net to reveal major defaulters of loans taken from banks and financial institutions. The site has been recently launched by Compact Disc India reveals names of 36,000 business men and companies who are prime loan defaulters. “As a patriotic duty and in the interest of people and our country, the site reveals names of all loan defaulters who are protected under the outdated secrecy clause”. Listing the names of defaulting companies, the site also details the financial heath of public sector banks and financial institutions . The architects of the site claim that the RBI had given no objection to loandefaulters.com to provide list of borrowal accounts against whom suits have been filed by banks and financial institutions for recovery of loans. The site lists names of as many as 5,221 companies of India which owed Rs 27,777.13 crore to various public sector banks and against whom suits have been filed for the recovery of loans on March 31,1999. By the same date, the site lists non-performing assets of the public sector banks totalling Rs 51,710 crore,which is 15.9 per cent of the total capital. The net profits of the public sector banks were Rs 3,258 crore against deposits of Rs 5,56,482 crore. Total bank branches across the country were listed as 45,598 till March 31, 1999. Bears tighten grip LAST week we predicted that the market is still not out of the woods yet and the bears continue to hold the upper hand. Well, the bears used an iron fist this week and smashed the pivotals to pulp, and from the looks of it the downslide is far from over unless of course the DFIs and FIIs step in to make bargain purchases. Traders with a bearish temperament can consider short positions at the counters of Infosys Technologies at 7418 (cover up at Rs 7289) and Wipro at Rs 2504 (cover up at Rs 2363). Those with a bullish temperament, may consider taking up long positions at the counters of Nestle at Rs 486 (square up at Rs 504) and Mastek at Rs 1977 (square up at Rs 2104). The dark horse bet of the week is Ajanta Pharma while the optimal strategy for this week is start bargain hunting. |
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Bank of Punjab Trade pact
Compaq PC |
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