 |
| Friday,
April 20, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
|
Drug firms drop AIDS case Credit policy hailed HCL Tech net zooms 96 pc NIIT profit may drop 40 per
cent
Global money transfer thru post offices |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
IT Dept to be
recast Fed slashes US rates Paint that cools Nitish spells out farm strategy Max New York kicks off
operations CORPORATE
NEWS Sun Pharma net climbs 48.8 pc
|
|
Drug firms drop AIDS case Pretoria, April 19 “With the consent of all parties, I simply ask to notify (that) the application is withdrawn,” Fanie Cilliers, lawyer for the 39 drug firms, told a packed court, including Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang and dozens of AIDS activists, many wearing t-shirts proclaiming themselves “HIV positive”. The case was brought by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association of South Africa (PMA) and 39 international drug makers, who had sought to prevent implementation of a new law that would allow the import of cheap copies of patented drugs. It turned into a key test of the ability of the world’s poorest countries to secure affordable and sustainable supplies of medicines in the face of an epidemic which affects more than 25 million people in Africa alone. “It’s the result of a settlement. We have basically laid down a partnership to allow us to move forward,” PMA chief executive Mirryena Deeb told reporters at the court. She said the settlement ensured that South Africa would meet its international trade obligations, including those set under the World Trade Organisation. Kevin Watkins of the British aid group Oxfam told Reuters the pharmaceutical industry had been forced to withdraw to limit the public relations disaster caused by the application to force South Africa to pay first-world prices for drugs. “It’s a comprehensive climbdown. The drug industry is throwing the towel into the middle of the ring. Word of a pharmaceutical withdrawal began to spread on Tuesday, the eve of the resumption of their court challenge to a new South African law on medical patents. Representatives of the 39 international companies acting with the local PMA met through the night on Tuesday and sought a postponement of the case on Wednesday before announcing the unconditional withdrawal of the case on Thursday.
Drugs from India Substitute triple-therapy treatment drugs imported from India cost as little as $350 a year, compared to more than $1,200 currently charged by Western drug firms. Pressure groups have blasted major drug firms such as
Glaxo SmithKline, the world’s largest supplier of HIV-AIDS medicines, and Merck & Co. Drug firms argued that the proposed legislation would give unfettered power to South Africa’s Health Minister to import or manufacture generic drugs, overriding their cherished patent rights which, they argue, fund future medical research.
Reuters
A win for India too London, April 19 The move by the firms to back off is “a victory for millions of poor people in South Africa and around the world,” said an Oxfam spokesman. Oxfam, a major Britain-based NGO, has been in the forefront of moves to oppose the drug companies. The Indian government has been seeking to make a strong case against patents for life-saving medicines. The victory in Pretoria has been hailed as a victory for the whole of the developing world.
IANS
|
|
Credit policy hailed New Delhi, April 19 President of the
CII, Mr Arun Bharat Ram said that the RBI Governor has rightly acknowledged the fact that the money as well as the government securities markets have functioned normally and there has been no reduction in market liquidity. The proposal to form a new surpervisory structure for urban cooperative banks
(UCBs) under the control of a separate high level supervisory board consisting of representatives of the central government, State Governments, RBI and other experts, could be a step in the right direction. President of Federation of
FICCI, Mr Chirayu Amin described the RBI credit policy as “bold”. Complimenting the RBI for allowing banks to lend at lower than the PLR to select borrowers, Mr Amin felt that it would help in bringing down the entire lending rate structure. The FICCI president also welcomed the RBI’s announcement to rationalise the interest rate on export credit. The exporters have been demanding linking export credit rate to the PLR as that will give the needed
flexibility in credit financing rates. President of
Assocham, Mr Raghu Mody said that the RBI’s decision to bring about a flexible PLR structure was a welcome
step. Mr Mody, however, stressed the need for moral suasion by the RBI to ensure that the benefit of reduction in PLR is actually passed on to the corporate sector. The Assocham Chief also felt that the real stakeholders in the bank are the depositors. The committee of review deposit insurance made a number of salutory recommendations modelled on the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and these should be implemented. President of PHDCCI Mr Sushil Ansal said that the positive stance of the credit policy will provide adequate liquidity to meet credit growth and support revival of investment demand. However, in view of the domestic recessionary trends and slow down in the US economy, coupled with softening of inflation and interest rates structure, it was an opportune time for RBI to have reduced Bank Rate to enable the banks to soften their lending rates in turn. Further, to give freedom to banks regarding fund management and adequate liquidity to the financial system, CRR should have been reduced, Mr Ansal said. RBI’s measure to reduce interest rates on export credit by 1 to 1.5 per cent and to rationalise export credit refinance is redeeming feature of the credit policy which PHDCCI had been actively pursuing with RBI for
long.
HCL Tech net zooms 96 pc New Delhi, April 19 The Rs 129 crore net profit for the quarter ended March 31, represented 96 per cent increase over the Rs 65.9 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter last year. Gross revenues rose 53 per cent to Rs 363.2 crore in January-March 2001 as compared to Rs 237.5 crore revenues posted in the third quarter of the last fiscal, a company statement said here. For the nine months ended March 31, 2001, HCL Technologies posted a massive 134 per cent increase in net profits to Rs 343.5 crore as against Rs 147.1 crore recorded in the corresponding period last year. Gross revenues increased 61 per cent to reach Rs 1023.2 crore in July-March 2000-01 compared to its revenues of Rs 636.3 crore of the previous year. The company revised upwards its net income estimate for July-June 2000-01 fiscal to exceed Rs 480 crore against Rs 243.3 crore of last year, representing 97 per cent increase. While offshore centric revenues constituted 65 per cent of the Q3 revenues, the company expected the trend of higher mix of offshore centric revenues to continue and expected it to reach 70 per cent of revenues for the next quarter. On the outlook for the next fiscal (July-June 2001-02), HCL Technologies said “the current developments have a positive impact on the company’s offshore centric business (65 per cent in Q3), which remains a key focus area for the company.” HCL Tech is positioned to gain from this opportunity because of its focus on high upfront investments in building a strong marketing network, emphasis on offshore centric revenues and focussing on annuity contracts for long term visibility, the company release said. Commenting on the slowdown in the US economy which has impacted adversely on bottomlines of several infotech companies, HCL said “we are closely observing the developments in the US economy and have been in constant touch with our customers and partners.” HCL Technologies President and CEO Shiv Nadar said “we are happy to report an excellent performance again this quarter, reflecting sustained strong growth. HCL Technologies’ focus on core technologies will be our key advantage in times to come.” During the quarter January-March 2001, offshore centric revenues increased by 53 per cent over Q3 of last year to Rs 236.5 crore. Contrary to the trend in infotech industry, total employees strength in the company went up by 231 over the previous quarter aggregating to 4,625, the release added.
PTI
NIIT profit may drop 40 per cent New Delhi, April 19 “The global economic slowdown and the general lowering of sentiment can have an adverse impact on the operating profits of the company, which could drop by 30-40 per cent over last year’s operating profits,” NIIT said in a statement. Company profits rose 31.4 per cent to Rs 48.33 crore in the second quarter ended March 31, 2001 as against a profit of Rs 36.77 crore in the same period last year. Net sales rose marginally by 3.3 per cent to Rs 217.03 crore in January-March 2001 compared to Rs 209.96 crore sales in the corresponding quarter the previous year. Global revenues, comprising NIIT and its subsidiaries, skidded marginally to Rs 351.82 crore during the quarter as against Rs 353.74 crore of January-March 2000. “The global economic slowdown is turning out to be more rapid and more pervasive than anyone had estimated earlier,” NIIT Chairman Rajendra S. Pawar said. Company bottomline soared 41.3 per cent to Rs 78.16 crore in the first six months of the fiscal as compared to Rs 55.29 crore profits posted in October-March 1999-2000. Sales increased 11.9 per cent to Rs 372.84 crore in October-March 2000-01 as against sales of Rs 333.10 crore in the same period last year. Commenting on the future outlook, NIIT said the global economic slowdown has created uncertainty in the environment. As communicated in early March, Software Services business is expected to grow at around 20 per cent this year. The Learning Business, being a consumer business, could be affected by negative sentiment being created by media reports on H1B visa returnees. “While gearing up for an uncertain 6-9 month period we are investing in retraining our workforce on new technologies; aggressively building the NIIT brand, creating new content and curriculum; building reusable software components and upgrading process quality in the software factories to gear up for the inevitable growth,” Pawar said. As the impact of the global economic slowdown fades away, the Indian IT sector will see a strong rebound through accelerated outsourcing. NIIT intends to use this period to sharpen its competencies to prepare for the future.
PTI
|
|
Global money transfer thru post offices Ambala, April 19 Chief Post Master General Haryana
T. R. Sharma said that in Haryana, in the initial phase the scheme is being launched in six postoffices — Ambala GPO, Ambala City HO, Karnal, Rohtak, Gurgaon and Faridabad. “In the next phase the scheme will be extended to all the remaining 10 head post offices in the state and other large sub post offices,” he said. Mr Sharma said that at the initial stage, only money transfer from other countries to India is being allowed as per the guidelines and specifications of the Reserve Bank of India and facility of money transfer from India to other countries is presently not available. He said that under this service the procedure is simple. The money deposited with the agents of western union in any country for transmission to the designated post offices in India would be available instantly for payment to the payee at the selected post offices. The beneficiary is required to contact the Post Master of the nearest head post office selected for offering this service, show his valid identification, and fill the yellow coloured “To receive money” form.
|
|
IT Dept to be
recast Chandigarh, April 19 Talking to TNS today, the Chief Commissioner, Income Tax, North-Western Region, Mr J.S. Ahluwalia, said the main aim was to reduce procedural hassles and target new areas to widen the tax base. He said the restructured department would have five Chief Commissioners (CC). At present, there are two CCs in the region. Besides, for conducting raids the department would have the Directorate of Investigations here. Earlier, it was in New Delhi. The Chandigarh-based CC will look after Chandigarh, Patiala and old Karnal areas; the Panchkula-based CC will look after Haryana; the Amritsar-based CC will look after Amritsar, Bathinda, Ferozepore, Faridkot, Gurdaspur and J & K; the Ludhiana-based CC will look after Ludhiana and nearby areas, Moga and Malerkotla; and the Shimla-based CC will look after Himachal, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahr. The department is also aiming at reducing the staff by 4.5 per cent at the national level. For this the department has identified lower cadre posts, including tax assistants, lower division and upper division clerks. “The aim is to computerise the tax structure and reduce the interaction between taxmen and assessees”. Apart from traditional sources, the department is targeting new areas “where the income is being earned and spent”. According to official sources, the number of taxpayers in the region has been increased to 23.65 lakh in April 2001 from 20.46 lakh in the previous year. The collection from Punjab, J& K and Chandigarh was Rs 1,533 crore and from Haryana and Himachal it was Rs 752 crore in April 2001. Regarding the decision of the CBDT not to scrutinise tax returns, he said the decision would continue this year also. The aim was to encourage taxpayers and facilitate the department to complete its restructuring process. This does not mean that the department will not scrutinise any return. “The Chief Commissioner can intervene if he feels that the suspected concealment is massive or where the concealment is apparent from the way the return has been filed”, clarified Mr Ahluwalia. Reacting to confusion among assessees regarding quoting a bank account number on new tax forms, he said the department had decided in principle to receive returns with bank account numbers. “The aim is to streamline the refund procedure. The returnee will get the refund cheque with his account number printed on it”, he said. As transactions on the Internet are picking up, the department is going hi-tech. Officers and staff are being given training about the Internet, website and e-mail transactions so that assessees can file their return on the Internet and interact with tax officials on the Net.
Fed slashes US rates
Washington, April 18 For a second time this year, the US central bank delighted financial markets by aggressively cutting rates between regularly scheduled meetings of its policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee. In the statement that followed the relatively rare step, the Fed served notice it was ready to cut rates again if needed, saying risks to the economy remained tilted toward weakness. The Fed’s next scheduled FOMC meeting is on May 15. Stock markets, already in positive territory before the move, soared on the news that borrowing and investment costs would fall. The Dow Jones industrial average was ahead nearly 400 points at noon and the high-tech laden Nasdaq composite index was up more than 160 points.
Reuters
Paint that cools London, April 18 If the temperature rises above 20 C (68F), a coating in the paint reflects sunlight to keep the building cool and it absorbs heat from the sun when the temperature drops, New Scientist magazine said on Wednesday. And if that is not enough, the paint changes colours with the seasons. “There are different seasons in nature, so that cool tones are preferred in summer and warm tone is winter,” Yiping Ma of Tongji University in Shanghai told the weekly science magazine. “The coating can increase the temperature by 4 C in winter and can decrease temperature by about 8 degrees C in summer,” according to Ma. Ma and his team are still trying to improve the paint, which needs to be re-applied every four years.
Reuters
|
|
Nitish spells out farm strategy New Delhi, April 19 India’s initial negotiating proposals submitted to WTO in January 2001, broadly aim at increasing the flexibility enjoyed by developing countries by creation of a “Food Security Box” for providing domestic support to the agriculture sector under the special and differential provisions, as also further strengthening of trade defence mechanisms with a view to ensuring food security and to take care of livelihood concerns. India has demanded substantial and meaningful reductions in tariffs including elimination of peak tariff and tariff escalation, substantial reduction in domestic support and elimination of domestic subsidies by developed countries so as to get meaningful market access opportunities. National Agriculture Policy announced recently addresses the challenges arising out of economic liberalisation and globalisation. It seeks to actualise the vast untapped growth potential of Indian agriculture, strengthen rural infrastructure to support faster agricultural development, promote value addition, secure a fair standard of living for farmers and agricultural workers. A detailed action plan for the implementation of the policy is being developed through inter-ministerial interaction, Mr Kumar said. After lifting of QRs from April 1, 2001 a Committee of Secretaries under Commerce Ministry has been formed to monitor agricultural imports in the country. |
|
Max New York kicks off operations New Delhi, April 19 It has also introduced five life insurance products and seven riders (options) that can be customised to over 200 combinations enabling customers to choose the policy that best fits their needs. The company has launched its operations in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad with its highly competent life insurance agents and advisors and flexible products and solutions focussed on creating a partnership for life with its customers in India. The riders offered by Max New York Life include an option to purchase paid-up additions, guaranteed insurability option, waiver of premiums, term rider, personal accident benefit, dread disease and spouse. Mr Gary Benanav, Chairman and CEO of New York Life International, said that “in India we found more potential for life insurance than any other country in the world. The vision of the company is to become the preferred brand of life insurance in India. To achieve this the company will meet customer needs through a combination of flexible products, quality service and a capable, professional agency force.’’ MNYL Chairman Analjit Singh said that the partnership is founded on common vision and values and synergistic strengths.
UNI
|
cr
Sun Pharma net climbs 48.8 pc Mumbai, April 19 The company’s net sales for fiscal 2001 increased by 28.72 per cent, at Rs 613.23 crore as compared to Rs 476.42 crore in the last fiscal. For the fourth quarter ended March 31, the company has reported a net profit of Rs 31.33 crore, up by 30.81 per cent as compared to Rs 23.95 crore in the same period last year, it said adding the net sales for Q4 stood at Rs 163.38 crore as against Rs 128.27 crore in the same period the previous year. However, for the reporting quarter, SPIL’s other income decreased to Rs 49 lakh from Rs 1.32 crore in the same period last year. The company has informed that it was awaiting approval from the Bureau of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction and its shareholders for the proposed merger of Pradeep Drug Co Ltd with itself. GEOMETRIC
SOFTWARE has registered a 56.83 per cent lower net profit at Rs 8.90 crore for the year ended March 31, 2001, as compared to Rs 20.62 crore in the last fiscal. Though the company’s total income rose by 40.5 per cent to Rs 46.9 crore over Rs 33.36 crore in the same period last year, for the fourth quarter ended March 31, GSSL posted a net profit of Rs 6.5 crore, also down by a huge 61.26 per cent as against Rs 16.78 crore in Q4 of 2000. TRIGYN TECHNOLOGIES: Suresh Rajpal, President & CEO of Trigyn Technologies, has submitted his resignation to the Board of Directors of the company due to personal reasons. The board accepted the resignation, which will be effective one month from today. K.S. Sudarshan, the current Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Company, will take over as chief Operating Officer (COO) and report to the board. An active search for a new CEO is under way. UNICHEM RESULT: Unichem Laboratories has posted higher net profit of Rs 1990.16 lakh in the financial year 2000-01 as compared to Rs 1547.54 lakh in FY 1999-2000. The sales turnover of the company also increased from Rs 20563.36 lakh during the FY 1999-2000 to Rs 24815.50 lakh in the financial year under review registering a growth of 20.67 per cent. The company recorded an earning per share (EPS) of Rs 23.33 for the fiscal year 2000-2001 on diluted basis after bonus issue in the ratio of 1:1 as against Rs 36.28 recorded on the old equity base for the previous year.
Agencies |
co
Coke profit beats forecast IBM boosts profits to $ 1.75 bn Gillette Q1 net drops 29 pc AOL Time Warner EPS rises Merrill profit falls 21 pc Apple profits higher than expected |
bb
SBP best bank Polaroid Escorts Finance Ernst & Young Capital Food Apple’s ‘iLearn’ Tata Consultancy Aptech |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 121 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
