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April 13, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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A bachelor who romanced with IT Honda to invest 300 cr in
Haryana Hughes Soft net shoots up 100 pc Himachal to set up think tank: Dhumal |
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US poultry meat safe: envoy Industrialists for single labour code PSB offers to fund
projects in Punjab Punjab to recast cooperatives NIIT Swift Point Centre launched
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A bachelor who romanced with IT New Delhi, April 12 This was the dream Dewang Mehta cherished and strived to achieve. A shrewd lobbyist and irrepressible cheerleader, 38-year-old Dewang Mehta had become the single voice of the country’s IT sector. A Delhi University graduate, Dewang Mehta was a trained accountant and a computer graphics graduate from the United Kingdom. He had a computer graphics business in London, where he once worked as a cook in a fastfood restaurant. Pictured with who’s who in the IT industry like Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Azim Premji, N R Narayana Murthy, the Nasscom President was seen quite often in fashion and socialite circles too. He had been the judge of many beauty contests. The 1962 born bachelor, Dewang Mehta, in an interview to a popular magazine revealed his desire to “fall in love”. When
hundreds of hopeful women responded, he said “it seems romance has passed by me” and acknowledged that “India’s IT mission is my burning passion.” Reuters adds:
The bespectacled Mehta, who had long sideburns that reminded some of rock star Elvis Presley, had a deep interest in computer programming. In his early days, Mehta would walk in T-shirts and sandals into newspaper offices to lobby for Nasscom, whose membership leapt to more than 800 from 38 in 1989. He later switched to impeccable double-breasted suits and anchored TV shows on computing. Mehta used his flair for public relations and an accountant's sense of detail to get a series of tax reliefs from New Delhi's difficult bureaucracy, and won several awards for championing information technology in India. He helped India ease up rules to promote venture capital, sustain and expand income tax breaks for software exports and forge bilateral relations for the technology sector with a host of nations, including Australia. "I would also like to contest for Parliament to pursue my goal and ambition to make India an IT superpower," he said in his website named after himself. Mehta, who often listened to old Hindi movie songs and working with a lean staff that until two years ago functioned from a hotel room, balanced his catchy slogans with hard numbers for analysts and investors. He also worked hard to remove a widespread impression that computers were meant for the elite. "We want roti, kapda, makan, bijli and bandwidth," (We need, food, clothing, shelter, electricity and bandwidth), he said in a slogan he popularised last year.
Advice to Punjab Chandigarh, April 12 It was the largest-ever gathering that had assembled in the CII hall to hear the two giants of the IT industry. Dewang's promise to set up a Nasscom chapter in Chandigarh in April this year drew a wide applause. So Chandigarh's loss is understandable. Though in a hurry to go back, Dewang Mehta made a few weighty suggestions to put Punjab on the IT roadmap. He told the Punjab ministers and bureaucrats present to (a) set up at least one IIT and one IIIT in Punjab (b) start IT and English education from Class I (c) Take IT to the masses and (d) Chandigarh must have an international airport. The nature of suggestions indicates his commitment to promoting the IT revolution. When the Geneva-based World Economic Forum selected Dewang Mehta as one of the "100 global Leaders of Tomorrow" few perhaps realised this his tomorrow would never come.
TNS
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Honda to invest 300 cr in Haryana New Delhi, April 12 The company is also actively discussing plans to increase its product offerings and has lined up some new models for launch in the near future. Hhml, however, did not state the specifications of the new motor cycle or how it would make the new investment. In a joint statement issued here, Honda Motor Company of Japan said it is targeting an annual sale of 17.5 lakh two-wheelers in 2003 along with its local joint venture partner hhml and the new subsidiary Honda Motor Cycle and Scooter India (HMSI). Out of this, HHML would contribute 15 lakh units and hmsi 2.5 lakh units. “This will represent 25 per cent of the worldwide 70 lakh units two-wheelers target for 2003 that Honda set last May,” it said. Hhml, a 26:26 joint venture between Honda and the Hero group, had sold over 10 lakh motor cycles in fiscal 2000. hmsi, Honda’s fully-owned unit, is launching the “Honda Activa” scooter in July and will add new models with expansion of production capacity from 2002. The company has applied for purchase of a plot of land measuring 1 lakh square metres next to the existing factory at Gurgaon.
PTI
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Hughes Soft net shoots up 100 pc New Delhi, April 12 "We expect to maintain a compounded annual growth rate of 61 per cent in terms of topline," Chief Operating Officer Manoranjan Mohapatra said in a press conference to discuss the company's results for the past year and outlook for this year. Hughes Software has been growing at that pace since its establishment in 1992. It has chalked up a blistering 88-89 percent compounded average growth rate since 1992; net sales have grown at an average rate of 61 per cent. But on Wednesday, the company indicated profit growth could ease somewhat in the current year to March 2002. "Profitability will be better than the 61 per cent revenue growth...," Mohopatra said. But he did not say whether the company would maintain its nearly decade-long profit growth rate. Hughes Software's shares swung wildly in Thursday trading after the company posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter and full-year results just before the market opened. Net profit rose 66.8 per cent to Rs 629 million ($13.4 million) for the year to March. Analysts had expected a 54 to 57 per cent rise. Excluding an extraordinary item of Rs 62 million the previous year, net profit shot up by 100 per cent. Hughes Software' net sales soared 85 per cent to Rs 1.985 billion; analysts forecast an 83 percent increase.
Reuters
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Himachal to set up think tank: Dhumal Shimla, April 12 Speaking at the interactive with legislators organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) here yesterday he said it was high time parties rose above narrow political considerations and adopted a practical approach to make the hill state self-reliant. He said the days of professional politicians were over and in the globalised economic regime the country needed politicians with a professional touch who could look beyond the term of five years. He disclosed that Norway had shown interest in hydel generation and offered to fund some of the projects. Mr Virbhadra Singh, the leader of opposition said the non-availability of detailed project reports was the main hurdle in the way of speedy exploitation of the hydel potential. There could be complications in the projects for which MoU had been signed without project reports. Mrs Vidya Stokes, the Pradesh Congress Committee Chief, said concerted efforts should be made to develop tourism which had vast scope for generating employment. Besides preference he given to agro based industries so that even the fruit and vegetables growers could also be benefited. Earlier, Mr Sushil Ansal, President of the Chamber, said Himachal Pradesh should achieve competitiveness in domestic and global market in the identified sectors of horticulture and agro based industry, tourism, information technology, textiles and hydropower. Welcoming the setting of power regulatory commission in Himachal, he said that as a follow up to this, the government should corporatise the power sector and create separate companies for generation, transmission and distribution in order to ensure financial viability of the sector. Stressing the need for a technology mission to develop horticulture to raise yield and quality to match international standards, he also called for setting up processing facilities. Although Himachal was known as a horticulture state, only 4 per cent of fruits were processed as against 83 per cent in Malaysia, 78 per cent in Philippines and 30 per cent in Thailand. He suggested replication of the success story of Mother Dairy Fruit and Vegetable project in Delhi, to market off season vegetables and table varieties of fruits for increasing the income of farmers. Expressing concern at the poor state of finances, he said the fiscal deficit as approtion of estimated state income was expected to be 16.8 per cent in the year 2001-02. He said top priority be given to restoration fiscal correction. In this connection user charges for public services should be
improved to reduce subsidy and a conscious policy be adopted to recover 50 per cent of cost and the impact be spread over the next 2 to 3 years.
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US poultry meat safe: envoy New Delhi, April 12 “The allegation that US poultry exports include meat that is two to three years old and unfit for human consumption is offensive and completely without merit”, Agriculture Counsellor in the US Department of Agriculture Weyland Beeghly told newspersons here today. Terming media reports about the US poultry industry as “misinformation”, Mr Beeghly said allegations that “US poultry is subsidised at the rate of several hundred dollars per tonne is patently false”. Clarifying that the frozen poultry meat can be stored safely for up to one year, Mr Beeghly said any product older than that is diverted to non-human uses or destroyed. US poultry meat has been coming to India for a number of years under the special licensing arrangements available to upscale hotels and tourist facilities. “Last year such imports totalled more than $500 thousand. I believe that the availability of imported poultry meat, and the marketing effort that accompanies it, can increase the demand for all poultry meat”, Mr Beeghly said. The USA was in fact very heavily involved in the development of India’s commercial poultry sector. “Partly because if the Indian poultry industry develops and prospers, we believe, it can become an important market for the US feed ingredients,” he observed. Pointing out that US poultry meat and Indian poultry meat were similar and yet very different products. “While the Indian industry provides mainly small, fresh, whole birds favoured for home use, the US can offer large, frozen chicken parts which may be attractive for institutional use,” he
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Industrialists for single labour code Gurgaon, April 12 President of the GIA Jagan Nath Mangla said today that the existing labour laws need review and modifications to suit the
current trend of liberal ethos in the country’s economy. The over protective labour policy so far has proved to be counter productive and the concern to protect jobs at all costs and keep alive sick and unviable units have sot the nation dearly. This has created a feeling of job security among the employees irrespective of the economic condition of the industry which has resulted in industrial
indiscipline, low productivity and poor quality of goods. The right of the employer has been curtailed by allowing unnecessary and excessive interference of the
government in the form of prior permission for lay off, retrenchment and closure of unenviable
units.
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PSB offers to fund
projects in Punjab Amritsar, April 12 Mr Gujral, who was talking to newsmen here yesterday, said at present the bank credit deposit ratio in Punjab was around 32 per cent and hopefully it will increase to at least around 46 per cent at the national level. For this the bank has offered loans for building new roads, hospitals, bus stands and any other project in Punjab. The state has approached the bank for building a new mental hospital in Amritsar at the old site for which the government has given it the project report. The bank will soon release the funds. Likewise, the state roadways has demanded fund for new bus stands in Jalandhar, Ludhiana and other major cities. The Chairman said about 1,900 employees have availed the voluntary retirement scheme last year.
Punjab to recast cooperatives Chandigarh, April 12 This was stated by the Minister of Co-operation, Mr Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, at a press conference after he had held the annual review of the charge under him here today. Punjab is at the top in the country in loans and advances as well as recovery. Yet stagnation had set-in in the co-operative financial institutions necessitating diversification without diluting the role of co-operative credit (short-term and long-term) in sustaining agricultural production. The co-operative credit policy, 2001-2006, had been evolved with a view to making agriculture multi-functional enabling farmers lessen their dependence on the traditional village money-lender, the commission agent or arhtiya. Hence diversifying into non-farm sector by making credit available to farmers.
NIIT Swift Point Centre launched Chandigarh, April 12 The centre, which was inaugurated by Dr. S. Krishnamurthy, Principal, Technician Teachers’ Training Institute, offers short, affordable and effective computer programs designed to help first-time users become comfortable with computers & the internet. The Swift series of programs, which have been created by NIIT’s instructional R&D team, will be conducted at the NIIT Swift Point online classrooms with the basic objective to help thousands of retired people, housewives, professionals (lawyers, doctors, architects, entrepreneurs) and students learn computers & the Internet most effectively.
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Yahoo! net loss at $ 11.5m Yahoo! adds porn videos PIA cancels flights Slowdown worse than expected Motorola warns of losses in Q2 |
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