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Sunday,
May 27, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Best Western to set up hotels in Punjab
Dark secrets of Silicon Valley
BSE makes changes in indices Stan Chart group announces VRS |
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A billionaire who
is still a worker Paradigm centres in
Chandigarh Govt-industry interaction stressed Award for HP coop bank
Change of
user
Tax-paid goods
Beware, ‘ISI mark’ may mislead you
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Best Western to set up hotels in Punjab New Delhi, May 26 "We have identified properties in Ludhiana, Amritsar, Jalandhar and Chandigarh and the tourists will soon have the quality of service of an international player here," the CEO of the chain in South Asia, Mr Anand S Gupta, told The Tribune. He said the group would make a foray in the tourist destinations in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir in the second phase. The Best Western has 4,100 hotel properties spanning 84 countries. The group, which has made a quite entry into the country 18 months ago, already has 16 hotels in India, thus
emerging as a largest hotel chain in the country. Most of the hotels of the chain are at present in South or Western India. "We plan to enter the North in big way in the coming months and the customers would have real value for their money," he said. The group plans to have 30 properties in the country by December, 2002 and 15 in South Asia, Mr Gupta said. Not willing to disclose the properties identified in Punjab and Chandigarh, he said "these are not heritage properties. They are leisure hotels and will focus on the business tourist. Most of them have 50 to 100 rooms." The chain primarily targets the "mid-market" segment of the hotel industry and its property are three or four star hotels. Stating that the chain would not take over the management control of the property, Mr Gupta said "the tourists would find in these hotels international standard of hospitality and quality control." Mr Gupta said the time has come for independent hoteliers to get their hotels branded to give them a winning edge over their competitors. "It has been proved time and again that the
management control by a chain does not work in mid-market segment. What has appealed to the Indian hotelier is that Best Western, as a worldwide policy does not manage hotels. With the latest technology and education available in India at par with the West, the new breed of Indian hoteliers are capable of managing their operations. What they need is a strong brand and we would provide that," Mr Gupta said. Statistical date indicate that every 10th person in the world is travelling and the mid-market is the fastest growing segment. Good mid-market hotels are unable to compete alone anymore. International branding has become crucial for their success. Mr Gupta said individual mid-market hotels do not have the capability to tap the vast potential.
Association with international brand brings them value and quality and the global chains with their network bring them customers from across the continents. The hotel industry is the largest foreign exchange earner after the information technology sector. More than 2.5 million tourist visit the country, however, this number is meagre compared to the global trends. India attracts only 0.4 per cent of the tourists to the country, whereas Malaysia and Thailand are visited by thrice that number of tourists. |
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Dark secrets of Silicon Valley HOW
do we think of Silicon Valley? An array of gleaming industrial parks in the suburbs south of San Francisco that happen to be the richest places on the planet. A hotbed of entrepreneurial energy. An amazing agglomeration of scientific and technical know-how, backed by the finance needed to put human progress into dizzying fast-forward. That's certainly the way the internet entrepreneurs would like you to look at it. "Let me tell you a secret," confides John Doerr, the venture capitalist, near the beginning of Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman's widely praised new documentary film, Secrets of Silicon Valley. "It's not about money. It's about the future." Doerr and his fellow dot.com gurus — fellow venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson, the Cisco chief executive, John Chambers and Gerald Levin, CEO of AOL Time Warner — positively fall over each other in their tussle for the ultimate hyperbole. The Internet is the modern era's Library of Alexandria, they say. It ends all the old conflicts between economic growth and environmental harmony. It makes meaning out of life and death. Tell that to Raj Jayadev, a 24-year-old temporary worker in Silicon Valley who has spent the past few years packing computer printer boxes at Hewlett Packard. As the new film also relates, he and his workmates — most of them immigrants, most of them women — are under intense pressure to package more than 800 printers a day. They have to work fast, they have to weather constant minor injuries such as cuts from the paper and cardboard, they have to endure more than double the average number of workplace accidents, they complain constantly of chest pains and respiratory illnesses caused by the dust from the packing materials and from the toxic chemicals in printer toner. And they are paid just $8 an hour. That's not enough to meet the incredibly high housing costs of Silicon Valley, or anywhere near it, so many of them commute in from 75-100 miles away. Because they are classed as temporary employees, working for a recruitment company called Manpower Inc rather than directly for Hewlett Packard, they enjoy almost none of the benefits associated with full-time work. There is no career advancement, no structure for pay increases based on experience. If they lose their jobs, they must start somewhere else at rock-bottom wages. The truth of this situation, replicated at hundreds of hi-tech companies across Silicon Valley, is that the image of a new kind of corporation evoked by the entrepreneurs — sleek, dynamic, technology-driven and socially-conscious — is largely a myth. "There is nothing new about this new economy," Jayadev remarks in the film. "Companies will always have production needs." And that, like it or not, involves the exploitation of human labour. However advanced the software, someone has to assemble the machinery, package it and deliver it, whether it is a mainframe computer or just a program disk that needs to be inserted in a cardboard box and shrink-wrapped. The argument forcefully made during the 60 minutes of Secrets of Silicon Valley is that there is a direct link between the pretence — that the hi-tech industry has no working class — and the real treatment that real workers receive on the shopfloor. We watch Jayadev as he helps to organise a mass protest against Manpower's reluctance to honour unpaid back wages. We see him upbraided at Hewlett Packard for passing on health complaints to management ("they said I was getting people too riled up"). And we see him first lose his job — after warnings about his labour activities — and then fight for his reinstatement through the California Labour Commission. Ken Loach could not have invented a more compelling or a more representative character. As the film makes clear, Silicon Valley is not only a crucible for technological development; it is (or at least was until the end of the tech-stock boom) also an expression of capitalism at its crudest, most market-driven, most anti-union and least subject to even minimal government intervention. That means that while there is money galore to be made and spent by the elite, little or no attention is paid to the health of the community as a whole. Roads are not built fast enough, so traffic has ground to a virtual halt along the two freeways, the 101 and the 280, that run through Santa Clara County from the San Francisco suburbs to San Jose. Schools are in desperately short supply, as are social services. Housing and commercial property prices have become so absurd that basic services have all but disappeared in some areas. Doctors can't afford to practice in some neighbourhoods. The venture capitalists who work out of Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park can't go out for a sandwich at lunchtime; no cafe or restaurant can afford to operate within a three-mile radius. In some ways, it seems extraordinary that Secrets of Silicon Valley has attracted the attention that it has. How often have US audiences shown the remotest interest in class conflicts, unionisation battles and social problems rooted firmly in class and the capitalist system? . "Globalisation is our big theme," says Snitow. And where Silicon Valley throws itself out of balance, the rest of the world is sure to follow.
By arrangement with The Observer |
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BSE makes changes in indices
Mumbai, May 26 Monsanto India will be included in the BSE-100 index in place of Nagarjuna Fert and Chemicals, BSE said in a release here today. The bourse has also replaced eight stocks in BSE-200 index with inclusion of scrips like Alstom Power India, Balaji Telefilms and Mukta Arts and exclusion of eight stocks like KSB Pumps, Otis Elavators and Archies Greetings. The BSE-500 index will also go under revision with inclusion of 22 new scrips and deletion of 22 stocks. Consequent to replacements in BSE-500 index, the constitution of the BSE-sector indices, which are sub-set of the BSE-500 will also change accordingly. Additional margins on 77 scrips
The BSE has imposed additional volatility margin on 77 scrips, including Infotech stocks DSQ Software, Global Telesystems and Digital Equipments for the settlement cycle beginning May 28. The margin will be computed on the net outstanding purchase or sale position including the carry forward positions at the end of the day.
PTI
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Stan
Chart group announces VRS Mumbai, May 26 All employees who have attained the age of 40 years or completed 10 years of service as on July 1, 2001, would be eligible for the scheme, the bank said in a press note here. Out of a total strength of 4,300 employees, nearly 1,450 would be eligible and the banks expect 1,000 employees to opt for the same, it said adding, the average pay out would be over Rs 19 lakh per person. The objective of the scheme is to provide financial assistance to those employees desirous of pre-mature
retirement, to achieve optimum utilisation of manpower, improve operational efficiency and conduct the bank’s business profitably in an increasingly competitive environment. Under the scheme, the eligible employees would be entitled to receive either three months’ salary for every completed year of service or one month’s salary for every month of service left till normal retirement age of 60 years, whichever is higher. The scheme, which opened today, would close on June 25. Employees opting before June 6 would receive an “early bird” incentive of up to eight months salary, the press note said. The banks have introduced the scheme for the first time after their merger. The staff members who are eligible for the scheme and whose applications are accepted, shall retire from the bank on or before September 30, 2001, as decided and communicated by the competent authority. Mr Jaspal Bindra, the bank’s Regional General Manager in India, said: “We have also set up career transition centres in each of our regions to help and support employees who want to pursue alternative careers or start their own businesses with the amount they will be getting”.
PTI
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A billionaire who
is still a worker Madrid Amancio Ortega refused to don a tie for his coming-out. Jowly, with a pot belly and receding grey hair, he looked like an average, small-town Galician businessman and for someone who may be among the 60 richest people on the planet he still does see himself as a worker. At 13 he was delivery boy at a shirtmaker's in his home town of La Coruna, designing clothes in his sister's dining room. First sales were housecoats and dressing gowns. When Madrid's pin-striped merchant bankers began to sell their services for the flotation, he did not want to listen to their patter. He wanted to be making clothes and opening shops. ``It was torture for him,'' admitted one banker. Visits by dignatories to his base in unfashionable Galicia embarrass him. No journalist has ever interviewed him. Mr Ortega's favourite spot in the vast network of factory buildings outside La Coruna is the
womens wear design section of Zara. He prides himself on an eye for popular, accessible fashion. One of his first coups, back in the 1970s, was to clothe Galicia students in Starsky and Hutch cardigans. At lunchtime he can be found in the company canteen, surrounded by seamstresses, designers and labourers. There is no dynasty waiting to take over Inditex. Mr Ortega's daughter owns shares, but does not want to run the business. His only son is severely disabled. His ex-wife Rosalia Mera, one of the founders, is selling half of her 14 per cent share and campaigns for the disabled. Ortega has written to his 24,000 employees, explaining that he will gradually sell up so the company can be run professionally after he's gone. He still lives in La Coruna. Only a stud farm on the gale-battered Finisterre peninsula and a new 28 million US dollar Falcon jet show how far he has come. |
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Paradigm centres in
Chandigarh Chandigarh, May 26 The company plans to open three more centres in the region and 300 training centres across the major cities and 500 centres spread across Asia in 2002, before branching out globally. The education programme is such that it encompasses all aspects of e-commerce, web designing, web marketing, multimedia & application development. The advance courses offer a programme which include basic web designing, building database driven web sites, java, advanced java & network programming, protocol studies, Internet Security, WAP, advanced wireless protocols & VoIP. Paradigm also offers a summer special course which is a three month course. The course fee is Rs 3500 and is targeted at people from the age group of 10 years onwards. Considering the present IT industry scenario in India and abroad and keeping in mind the job opportunities available in IT sector, Paradigm is in course of building its own R&D centres in Delhi and Bangalore. |
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Govt-industry interaction stressed Gurgaon, May 26 Presiding over a session on “Taking Haryana forward: Faster, further”, an interaction between industrialists of Gurgaon and Faridabad and state government officials, Mr Khattar said the country had fallen far behind in the manufacturing sector, much behind China in the Asia. In his concluding remarks, he expressed satisfaction over the state’s
bureaucrats, led by Mr S.Y. Quraishi, Principal Secretary to the Haryana Chief Minister, sending positive signals with regard to the industry in the session. Mr Quraishi said the state government was taking all possible measures to further increase the pace of industrialisation in
Haryana. He indicated that the privatisation of the distribution segment, as part of reforming the power sector, was on the cards. |
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Award for HP coop bank Shimla, May 26 Addressing a press conference here today, Mr K.K. Kaushal, Chairman of the HP State Cooperative Bank said the bank would receive the best award among the cooperative banks throughout India. The award has been recommended by a separate jury under the Chairmanship of Mr Y.C. Nanda, Chairman, NABARD for evaluating the performance of the state cooperative banks. The bank stood first in the nation in profit earning of Rs 23 crore in the last year bank earning, he said. The recovery jumped from 39 per cent to 85 per cent in the year, deposit have increased from 66016.56 to 1173.12 crore. The loans and advances have increased to 296.90 crore from 30 crore. The maximum loans have been given to the development of the agriculture sector in the state by providing credit for purchase of fertiliser pesticides, seeds, tractor, etc. The award will be presented on June 8 in Mumbai. |
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by Praful R. Desai Change of user Q:
When the premises were let to tenant for residence and it is used for residential as well as used as a godown, whether there is a change of user? Ans: In Dattaram Pangam v Allan Eurico Vales [2001 (1) RCJ 202] the Bombay H.C. held thus: The sum total of evidence on record establishes that the appellant was utilising the suit premises for residence and part of it as godown. It is in this context that the lease deed can be looked into for collateral purpose, though the lease was not registered. Firstly, no objection was raised when the said lease was exhibited and in case the objection as to registration of the lease had been raised, the original applicants would have had further opportunity to lead over evidence on the dispute as to whether the suit premises was let out for residential purpose or for godown. The S.C. in Rai Chand Jain v Miss Chandra Kanta Khosla [AIR 1991 SC 744], has laid down that unregistered lease can be considered for determining whether lease is granted for residential or non-residential purpose. In fact, in the instant case, on the basis of evidence on record, even if one unregistered lease is totally ignored, it is established that the suit premises was used as residential premises and a part of it as godown. In any event, whichever way one may look into the matter, there is change of user. If the lease is taken for residential purpose, as stated by the original applicants, the suit premises was used as godown besides the residential purpose. In case the lease is taken for the purpose of godown, there is evidence on record that the suit premises was being used for residential purpose as well besides the same being used as godown. In the circumstances, the H.C. held that the original applicants had succeeded in establishing the change of user of the suit premises, as a result of which the eviction of the applicants is justified and does not call for any interference. In that way, the H.C. dismissed the present appeal. |
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by A.K. Sachdeva Tax-paid goods Q: We are engaged in the business of transportation of goods in Himachal Pradesh. It was in the first week of May that we purchased tyres and tubes from Haryana on cash payment for which a bill of sale had been issued by the seller showing “tax paid goods”. These tyres and tubes were required for our own vehicles which are used for transportation of goods and we never intended them to be sold in the State of Himachal Pradesh. While these goods were being brought to Himachal Pradesh, these were detained by the Officer Incharge, Entry checking post on the ground that no central sales tax had been charged in the bill of sale. Despite several requests for release of the goods without penalty, the officer incharge passed an order under sub-section (7) of section 22 of the Himachal Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1968 levying penalty to the extent of 25 per cent of the value of the goods. Kindly advise if the action of the sales tax authorities is justified? Ans: It appears from the facts of the case that the goods purchased from Haryana were not meant for trade as they were exclusively required to be fitted in the vehicles. The powers involving detention of goods are referable to sub-section (6) of section 22 of the Himachal Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1968. As per these provisions, an officer incharge of the check-post can proceed to seize the goods only if the goods under transport are meant for trade in the State of Himachal Pradesh and that it has been found the person carrying the same is attempting to evade the payment of tax due to the State. A person who is merely bringing goods to the state otherwise than by way of trade purposes cannot be presumed to have evaded the tax due under the provisions of the Himachal Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1968 that too on the ground that the party selling the goods had not realised central sales tax in the bill of sale. Having regard to these facts, the action of the officer incharge in detaining the consignment and realising the penalty is wholly without jurisdiction and unwarranted. This is rather a case of harassment to the party who had no plan to sell the goods in the state. It is therefore advisable that a statutory appeal can filed under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 30 of the Act assailing the validity of the penalty order before the appellate authority. Q: While framing the assessment in relation to our business, the assessing authority did not take into consideration admitted payment of tax of Rs 10,500 despite a copy of challan had been furnished alongwith the relevant returns. This has obviously resulted in additional tax demand for which a demand notice has been issued for payment. Kindly advise what remedy is available to us in this regard? Ans: The mistake committed by the assessing authority while finalising the assessment and computing the tax liability of the queriest can be rectified in terms of sub-section (2) of section 11A of the Punjab General Sales Tax Act, 1948 which says “an assessing authority or any such authority as may be prescribed, may, at any time, within one year from the date of any order passed by him and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed, rectify any clerical or arithmetical mistake apparent from record. It is, therefore, suggested in view of the facts and the circumstances of the case that the assessee can file an application before the assessing authority seeking rectification of the order of assessment if one year after passing of the assessment has not expired.
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by Pushpa Girimaji Beware, ‘ISI mark’ may mislead you THE Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986, specifically prohibits the use of ISI mark except under a licence from the national standards body. Yet, instances of violations of the Act or misuse of the mark by manufacturers and retailers are not rare. While some falsely proclaim their product to be certified by the BIS by printing the ISI monogram, there is another category of manufacturers who use the ISI mark in bold letters and then print just below or next to it words like “As per” (ISI) or “As in” (ISI). Some also claim that their product “conforms” to the ISI standard. Or some print the letters IS in such a way that it seems like the ISI standards mark. There is another variety of manufacturers who obtain the ISI quality seal for one particular part used in the product, but mention on the package the ISI mark in bold print and then say in minute letters that the standard mark is for a particular part. Since consumers are not aware of these nuances, they are easily misled into thinking that they are buying a product carrying an assurance of quality from the standards making body. Only recently, a consumer complained about how he was misled by the ISI mark printed on a miniature circuit breaker that he purchased for his house. It was only when the product turned out to be defective that he realised that manufacturer was not licenced to carry the ISI mark at all and that he was cheating consumers by writing on the package “as per ISI standard” and using the ISI monogram. In other words, the BIS was not certifying that the product was of the standard prescribed by it. So there was no third party guarantee on that product and he could not approach the BIS for redress of his grievance. Besides issuing licences to those who voluntarily seek its standard mark on various products, the BIS administers mandatory certification schemes. In fact with the addition of bottled water, the number of items of mass consumption coming under mandatory quality certification issued by the BIS has now gone up to 133... And following the notification issued by the Ministry of Commerce, such compulsory certification for these items is applicable not only to domestically produced goods, but also to those being imported into the country. And the list of these items includes tungsten filament general service electric lamps or bulbs, cement, infant milk foods, milk powder, condensed milk, infant formulate, plastic feeding bottles, mild steel tubes, multipurpose dry batteries, three pin plugs and socket outlets, switches for domestic and similar purposes, electric iron, radiators, immersion water heaters, oil pressure stoves, food additives. In other words, all these products cannot be sold without the ISI mark. However, for such mandatory certification scheme to be effective, consumers should not only look for them at the time of purchase, but also ensure that the quality certification is genuine. The genuine standard mark will carry not only the ISI monogram, but also the relevant standard number. In addition, manufacturer should also indicate the seven digit licence number issued by the BIS. The number is preceded by the letters CM/L-So consumers should always look for these. In addition, when you buy an ISI marked product, ask the retailer to specify on the receipt that the product bears the ISI mark. If the mark is not genuine, he will hesitate to put it in writing because violation of the BIS Act attracts imprisonment and/or fine and forfeiture of property. You could also check from the BIS office the list of manufacturers who have obtained the BIS quality seal for the product that you intend to buy. I must also mention here that the BIS has brought out for the benefit of consumers, small four page brochures on various goods under mandatory certification. Titled “Know your product series”, each of these pamphlets deals with a different product: It gives the consumer some basic information about the product, explains how the ISI mark helps and gives tips on selecting the right product. It would be really good if the BIS can make available such brochures to all consumers. They need not be printed in colour or on glossy paper. Just ordinary paper would do and even if they are priced at Rs 2 per brochure, consumers, I am sure would like to buy them. In the meanwhile if you come across any misuse of the BIS mark of have any problems with an ISI marked product that you bought, you can write to the Consumer Affairs and Public Grievances Department, BIS, 9 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi-110002 or visit their site at http://www.del.vsnl.net.in/bis.org or e-mail at bis@vsnl.com |
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Subex Systems Draft rules Forex reserves up Chairman held NHPC signs MoU Business school |
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