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| Wednesday, November 15, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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India fails to use $ 7.9b worth WB loans Badal offers sops
to NRIs in Dubai Where students
cannot overwork |
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Ranbaxy awards
announced HUDA to allot
industrial plots Proposal
to set up trade centres Air India
selloff to be finished by March
TV18 right for bulls
Shonkh Tech to
raise Rs 170 cr Indian wine enters UK Herbal healing
on the rise Inequality
in India
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India fails to use $ 7.9b worth WB loans NEW DELHI, Nov 14 — The World Bank President, Mr James D. Wolfensohn today expressed concern over the non-utilisation of Bank funds by India and decided to set up a committee to find out reasons for the trend. Winding up his eight-day tour of India, which took him to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh, Mr Wolfensohn pointed out that India had not utilised $ 7.9 billion worth of loans sanctioned by the World Bank. It was not unusual but the quantum was high, he said. Of the 79 projects in which the World Bank was involved, 13 projects had run into difficulties. He said part of the criticism against the Bank was justified and he was in constant touch with non-governmental and civil organisations. He felt that the failures of the Bank often got highlighted as the focus was never on the right things that the lending agency did. On the stiff conditions imposed by the Bank on the loan seekers, Mr Wolfensohn said the impression was wrong. The conditions are put forward by the borrower and the Bank only puts it down in the agreement. It is the States and countries which spell out their plans to borrow money from the World Bank. If the conditions don’t suit the Bank then it always has the option not to lend. Mr Wolfensohn felt that a lot needs to be done in India for the infrastructure sector. The power sector was burdened with high supply cost, indebtedness, line losses subsidisation and non-payment of bills. The development of roads was also an important aspect in the communications network and the Bank would be funding the Delhi-Calcutta highway. The Bank President, who visited a number of rural and urban poverty reduction projects in various States, said he was particularly impressed by the visible progress in empowering women and mobilising communities to determine and manage their own assets. He felt the use of information technology as a tool for poverty alleviation was “further along here than anywhere else, though we are still at the beginning”. He proposed a partnership with India to develop IT as an anti-poverty tool. Mr Wolfensohn
Salid the Bank was keen to extend support to India in its battle against poverty. He was ready to expand World Bank lending to beyond $3 billion a year provided the implementation of the ongoing projects improves. |
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Badal offers sops to NRIs in Dubai DUBAI, Nov 14 (UNI) — “From an agro-dominant state, I want to convert Punjab into an industry and service-led economy”, Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal said here last night while unfolding some revolutionary plans to attract foreign investments in the state. At a function organised in his honour by the Indian Association Dubai, Mr Badal announced some far-reaching changes in the tenancy laws in the state as part of his efforts to woo Non-Resident Indians
(NRIS). The NRIS could get back their shop, house or agricultural land if occupied by somebody in the state by summary proceedings which must be completed within two months, he said, adding that the Rent Restructure Act had also been amended to ensure that the
NRIS did not have any disadvantage. The Chief Minister, who was in Dubai at the last leg of his tour to the USA and the United Arab Emirates
(UAE) to attract NRI investments in his state, said 10 per cent of the industrial plots in the state would be reserved for
NRIS, who would also get various other incentives. Mr Badal said he proposed to form a joint committee, comprising officials from the state and leading overseas Indians, to identify areas in which the
NRIS could invest in Punjab in a big way. Appealing to the NRIS to liberally invest in the country of their origin, Mr Badal said “China has become a strong economy in the world today mainly because of investments in their country by the Chinese settled abroad”. Mr Badal said he visited New York and Wisconsin in the USA before coming to the
UAE, where he visited Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and met a number of officials and a cross section of the
NRIS in connection with various developmental projects in the state. In New York, he addressed a gathering of
NRIS along with former Prime Minister I.K. Gujral and in Wisconsin, he met Governor Tommy Thompson. Yesterday, he met Dubai Department of Civil Aviation Chief Sheikh Shmed Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum and sought his assistance in constructing a new private international airport somewhere between Delhi and Punjab. |
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Where students
cannot overwork CHANDIGARH, Nov 14 — A number of important changes in relation to the Australian student visa and skilled migration visa having far reaching consequences and aftermath on the overseas student community studying in Australia and those wishing to migrate to that country have come into effect from November 1. An expert on Australian education and immigration and the only registered migration agent in India, Mr Naresh Gulati, said here today that under the revised regulations, it has become mandatory to cancel the student visa of a student who is found working for more than the permitted 20 hours a week. This has come in the wake of number of overseas students, including many from India, studying in Australia who had flouted the previous law. Under the old law, the minister had the discretion to cancel the visa. Mr Naresh Gulati, an expert education consultant said a large number of Indian students studying in private colleges had flouted the old system. Under the new system, students will face mandatory cancellation of their student visa and will risk their precious career, if they work more than 20 hours a week when the course is in session. He advised the parents of the students studying in Australia that the former should advise their children not to overwork. The changes have also affected skilled migrants applying under the points test or the skilled regional sponsored category. Under the new regulations, a new skilled occupations list has been released. Mr Gulati advised the aspiring migrants to consult the latest skilled occupations list prior to applying for migration on their own or through an agent. Under the new regulations, all teachers intending to migrate to Australia will need to prove their English language proficiency by undertaking the academic module of the IELTS test conducted by the British Council Division as a part of the immigration process. Mr Gulati said that under the old system, the applicant could get exemption from the National Office of the Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR) from the IELTS test if they had completed their degree in English medium. |
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Ranbaxy
awards announced NEW DELHI, Nov 14 — The Ranbaxy Science Foundation has announced its annual awards for 1999 in
recognition of outstanding original research contributions made by Indian scientists in medical and pharmaceutical sciences. Each award carries a citation, a trophy and Rs 1 lakh in cash, according to a press release. Those selected for the award are Dr Anil K. Tyagi of Delhi University, Prof John Kuriyan from Rockfeller University, and Dr Mansukh C Wani, Research Triangle Institute, USA. Prof S.S. Aggarwal from the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, and Dr I.C. Verma of Gangaram Hospital will share the award in the field of medical sciences-clinical research. The scientists will be honoured at the seventh annual symposium of the foundation scheduled to be held on December 23. Prof Steven M. Haffner from the University of Texas Health Centre, USA, will give away the awards. |
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HUDA to allot
industrial plots CHANDIGARH, Nov 14 — The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) has invited applications from entrepreneurs for the allotment of freehold industrial plots at Gurgaon, Sohna, Rewari, Dharuhera, Faridabad, Hathin, Hisar, Bhiwani, Rohtak, Panipat and Bahadurgarh. Stating this here today, the Chief Administrator, HUDA, Mr N.C. Wadhwa said that in view of the increasing demand of the entrepreneurs, HUDA had decided to allot industrial plots so that more and more industries could be set up in the state. Mr Wadhwa said that the booking of these plots would remain open till December 29 and the allotment of plots would be on first-cum-first served basis. He said that the entrepreneurs would have to apply on the prescribed form alongwith all requisite documents with the earnest money and project report, complete in all respect, to the concerned Estate Office, HUDA through banks on any working day. He said that in Gurgaon, 221 plots of different sizes would be allotted to the entrepreneurs while 33 plots had been earmarked in Sohna Rojkameo Textile Valley and Industrial Estate, 255 in Dharuhera and one at Rewari. Similarly, 139 plots would be allotted at Faridabad, 40 at Hathin, 25 at Hisar, 94 at Bhiwani, 480 at Rohtak, 256 at Panipat and 22 at Bahadurgarh. He said that the application forms for allotment of these plots were available with concerned Estate Officer, HUDA, Coordinator, Industrial Assistance Group, New Delhi, Coordinator, Industrial Assistance Group, Chandigarh, Chief Administrator, HUDA, Panchkula, branches of Union Bank of India at Gurgaon, Faridabad, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Bhiwani, Rewari, Hisar, Yamunanagar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Delhi and Chandigarh, branches of Punjab National Bank at Gurgaon. |
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Proposal to set up trade centres NEW DELHI, Nov 14 — India will have to learn from the experiences of other countries to overcome yawning gaps in socio-economic achievements, the Union Minister of State of Commerce, Mr Omar Abdullah, said while inaugurating the 20th India International Trade Fair (IITF) here today. “While some of our achievements in fields like space research and information technology have earned us worldwide recognition but there are yawning gaps in our socio-economic achievements,” Mr Abdullah said. He said the government had put in place a number of policies, but India should not hesitate to learn from the experiences of other countries. “The world has witnessed India on the forefront of information technology. Still we find ourselves stranded in a jam as far as infrastructure development, sustained economic development, rural development and other areas are concerned,” he said. Mr Abdullah said the Asia Pacific Millennium Fair, which was taking place along with the IITF, would help forge new alliances, and intensify trade and technology exchanges among countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Later talking to reporters, Mr Abdullah said the India Trade Promotion Organisation would set up trade centres in different cities across the country. “The trade centre in Chennai is almost complete while another one at Bangalore is coming up,” he said. On the participation of the private sector in these trade centres, he said the government was considering the possibility. The minister said it was important for India to adjust to the sweeping changes and gear up to face competition not only in the international arena but also in the domestic market. “If we want that globalisation is made inclusive and equitable there must be policies and measures that correspond with the needs of the developing countries and economies in transtition,” he said. Commerce Secretary Prabir Sengupta in his address said the changed economic scenario had brought about changes in the role of the government. “The role of the department of commerce had changed from being a controlling authority to that of an enabler and facilitator. And the initiatives announced during the exim policy has helped achieve a growth of 22 per cent in exports in dollars during the first six months of the fiscal,” he said. The trade fair this year is coinciding with the ASPAT 2000 fair. Over 5,200 companies from over 24 countries including Brazil, UK, Russia, Germany, Thailand and UAE are participating in the fair.  |
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Air India selloff to be finished by March NEW DELHI, Nov 14 — The process of examining the bids received for the much-hyped disinvestment of government stake in Air India has started and the advisers appointed for the purpose have indicated that it will be completed before the close of the current financial year. Inaugurating the seminar on “Disinvestment Imperatives” organised by Assocham here today, the Minister for Disinvestment, Mr Arun Shourie, said once the bid examination is complete the prospective bidders will be asked to submit technical offers and the shortlisted bids will be evaluated through open bidding. While refusing to divulge the number of bids in the interest of disinvestment process, the minister said he was surprised to see the figure of Rs 24,000 crore as a value of Air India being mentioned by the media, which according to him had no basis. Mr Shourie, however, said the government was not averse to the suggestion earlier mooted by the chamber President, Mr Shekhar Bajaj, for reopening the bids, if they were found wanting and inadequate and that there should be no hesitation to go for inviting fresh bids. This should not be construed as a failure of the disinvestment process. He said to induce transparency in the system, the government has already assured the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and the Central Vigilance Commission that each and every document related to the transactions will be audited from the social and economic point of view and handed over to the Parliamentary Standing Committee. Mr Shourie said the Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment would meet on November 17 to give momentum to the process. The minister said the government has identified more PSUs for disinvestment as against 38 units already lined up and were at different stages of implementation. Meanwhile, the government has started processing 13 units transferred to the Disinvestment Department by the Department of Heavy Industry. Mr Shourie said the government was committed to hasten the process of disinvestment and protect the interest of the workers. During the last nine years, the government provided Rs 34,000 crore to revive 23 units recommended for the purpose but lamented that not even a single unit could be revived and therefore, the urgency of handing over the PSUs to the strategic partner. Commenting on the delay in processing the cases, the minister said, the world over it took at least one to two years in processing disinvestment cases. Referring to ITDC, he said, out of 34 properties the government had decided to give three properties on lease management but regretted that apart from five properties all others were complicated cases as in most of them, the leases or ownerships are not clearly defined. |
Shonkh Tech to raise Rs 170 cr NEW DELHI, Nov 14 (PTI) — Software firm Shonkh Technologies International Ltd is planning to raise Rs 170 crore through private placement of equity for funding its expansion plans. A decision to this effect was taken at a Board meeting held today which approved the private placement of up to 70 lakh shares as per SEBI guidelines at a premium of Rs 250 per share. The Board decision will however, be subject to approval of the company’s shareholders in the extra-ordinary-meeting to be held on December 11, a company statement said here. Shonkh said the funds would be used to fund its expansion plan for setting up software development facilities in the country. These included infrastructure cost of the ERC project for other states, infrastructure for multi-lingual development cost, infrastructure cost for e-governnance, software packages, setting up of overseas office, investment in acquisitions, R and D cost and working capital requirements. With the proposed expansion, Shonkh has targeted to achieve a sales revenues of Rs 91 crore and a net profit of Rs 15.98 crore for the six months period ending March 31, 2001. The company expects to attain a net profit of Rs 74.49 crore over a sales turnover of Rs 424 crore in the next fiscal. |
Indian wine enters UK LONDON: After its runaway success with curry and vindaloo, India has launched its home-made wine in the
UK market in a big way. Inaugurating the Indian pavilion in the Asia Hall of Vinepolis — the city of wines — here on Monday, Sharad Pawar, President of the Nationalist Congress Party, said though Indian wine was entering the global market for the first time,
India’s wine industry was 4,000 years old. The wine industry is known to have flourished during the Mughal and Maratha regimes. Recalling his own contribution to the growth of the wine industry, Pawar said in 1968 he had invited 700 Maharashtra farmers to grow grapes in Narayangaon region and today 97 per cent of the grapes are used for producing wines. Sham Chougule, Chairman, Indage group, exporters of Indian wine, said the company has received orders for export of half-a-million bottles. — PTI Herbal healing
on the rise BHOPAL: Fortyfive-year-old Shashi Varma, who was diagnosed as suffering from third stage uterine cancer, underwent several kinds of treatment, including chemotherapy. After three months of treatment, the disease resurfaced. Doctors blamed it on faulty doses of radiation. Having lost all hope for recovery, she started counting her days when she was introduced to the Ayurvedic system of healing by her friend. Initially reticent, she took her last chance and started taking the herbs. Two years thereafter her progress report has charted a positive graph and she intends forming a platform to spread the message of “herbal healing”. Welcome to the world of herbal powers. Even as the medicinal world makes new strides in conquering various diseases, the mystic of “herbal powers” is fast gaining ground.
— UNI Inequality
in India WASHINGTON: A World Bank report has brought out the terrible impact of rich-poor inequality on health, nutrition and other aspects of quality of life in India and 43 other countries and said the multilateral financial institution will encourage governments to bridge the gap. “India has substantial wealth inequalities in all three indicators. For example, only 12 per cent of child-births among the poorest 20 per cent of the population are attended by a medically trained person compared to close to 80 per cent among the richest households,” the report said. The Bank’s publication “Socio-economic Differences in Health, Nutrition and Population” is based on data for 1992-93, the latest available here.
— PTI |
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Skyphone Aid to artisans Essar Cellphone Amway Patni Computer HFC loans Jet Airways |
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