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Sunday,
June 16, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Bill to give banks more teeth
SBI offers small business cards
Gandhi's ideals in SA firm's ad |
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Clinton makes $9.2 m from speechesWashington, June 15 Former President Bill Clinton travelled the globe last year, picking up $9.2 million in speaking fees, while his wife, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, a New York Democrat, got a $2.85 million advance for her memoirs, according to a financial disclosure report released on Friday.
Wilful default
Change of guards on the cards
Sale of Hiroshima N-bomb parts
cleared
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Bill to give banks more teeth New Delhi, June 15 Addressing officials of the United Bank of India here, Mr Sinha said the proposed legislation would seek to balance the interest of the creditors vis-a-vis borrowers. At present, the rules, regulations and legislation are loaded in favour of borrowers. The proposed Bill would seek to acquire the ownership of collateral properties pledged by borrowers to the banks and institutions. This will have the right impact on people who are wilfully defaulting the banks despite making profits. “We are aware of wilful defaulters. No mercy should be shown for wilful defaulters. The legislation will give you( banks) authority and instrument to deal with wilful defaulters”, he said. The policy of banks should be followed to the smaller borrowers who cannot repay the loan because of financial difficulties. There should be facilities for settling the dues at one go by exempting them from the penal interest rate. The government was also working towards amending the Deposit Insurance Corporation which would balance the interest of creditors and borrowers. Mr Sinha said the government would stick to the schedule of setting up the first asset reconstruction company (ARC) to take over the bad and doubtful debts of banks and financial institutions. The Finance Minister, however, refused to indicate what would be the initial corpus of the ARC and who will be its contributors. Mr Sinha had stated that the pilot ARC, under the existing legal framework, would be in place by June end. The government will continue with its policy of maintaining low inflation rate and soft interest rate regime in the fiscal. In 2002-03 the current account deficit(CAD) would be even less than 1 per cent of the gross national product.
He, however, refused to quantify the level of CAD. Mr Sinha said the CAD in 2001-02 was nearly one per cent of GNP and because of good export performance, the CAD in the current fiscal will be even lower. Inflation is the worst form of
taxation and impinges harshly on the poor. The annual inflation rate in recent past was 1.5 to 1.6 per cent and the government will ensure that prices do not spurt. Mr Sinha regretted that the public has not got used to the logic of low inflation rate accompanied by low interest rates. “They still think in terms of 15 to 20 per cent rate of inflation and 15 per cent interest rates,” he said. |
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SBI offers small business cards Chandigarh, June 15 Talking to TNS, Mr R.K. Sinha, Chief General Manager, State Bank of India, Chandigarh Zone, here today, claimed that this innovative product would revolutionise the cumbersome and subjective procedure of providing credit to the small scale sector, retail traders, artisans and tiny units. He said, “Under the scheme, the SSI units and professionals with a satisfactory record for the past two years, would be eligible for loans up to Rs 5 lakh. They would be provided credit cards after making an assessment of their financial record on 15 transparent parameters, which included age, own house, academic qualification, experience, profits, marketing, insurance and loyalty to the banks.’’ The persons scoring 36 out of 60 marks would qualify for the loan. He claimed that the conditions such as submission of stock statements and audited balance sheets had been waived off under the scheme. Loans would be sanctioned within a week after the receipt of detailed
information. However, half yearly inspection and monitoring would be made to ensure the end use of funds. Interestingly, he added that the bank would bear all costs involved in providing cards. Under the scheme, small businessmen and retailers would be able to take up to 20 per cent of their annual turnover as loans. Similarly, the professionals would be able to take loan up to 50 per cent of their annual income as loans. As per the guidelines, there would be no need for providing collateral security up to Rs 25,000 loans. For additional loan, up to Rs 5 lakh, the margin would be just 20 per cent. Mr Sinha earlier, launched the credit card at a function and distributed 101 cards worth Rs 2.58 crore credit limit on the first day of the scheme. He said the SBI has fixed a target of Rs 150 crore for loaning to the SSI sector in the Chandigarh zone, during the current financial year. Meanwhile, the card, he said, was launched in Shimla on June 13 cards by Mr D.L. Manwani, GM (D& PB), SBI, Chandigarh circle.
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Gandhi's ideals in SA firm's ad Johannesburg, June 15 The group has launched an initiative to get customers to "think differently". The main theme is Gandhi's response to a journalist's query in London. He was asked what he felt about Western civilisation to which he replied tongue-in-cheek: "I think it would be a good idea." Tim Byrne of ad agency The Jupiter Drawing Room told IANS: "The Gandhi ad was one of two in the series, the other featuring writer Oscar Wilde." Byrne said they were wary that there may be resistance to using Gandhian images and quotes in a commercial context, but the firm was given approval by a reported authority on Gandhi, German web site Gandhi serve, and there had never been any intention to exploit the Indian leader's image. He said he was not aware that direct descendants of Gandhi were still in South Africa or Nedbank would have consulted them as well. In February, Gandhi's great grandson Tushar had signed an agreement with U.S. firm CMG Worldwide under which anyone invoking Gandhi's name for marketing a product must pay a fee to the company. But Tushar revoked the agreement following protests that he could not conclude the deal because he was not Gandhi's only descendant. It was also said that Gandhi was too much of a public figure to get a patent on his name. "We obviously also wanted to use Gandhi because of his close links with South Africa," said Byrne. Gandhi arrived in the country as a young barrister and ended up being an important figure in the struggle against racial oppression of Indians and blacks by the then British government here. Byrne said: "We felt icons like Gandhi and Wilde, who had different approaches to life, would have been the type of people to identify with the bank. In view of the prolific and innovative writings of these gentlemen, the print component of the advertising campaign lent itself well to using them." The full-page ad featuring anecdotes from Gandhi's life and writings appeared in South African business daily, Business Day. The visuals in the ad, which include photographs of Gandhi at various stages of his life, were sourced off the Internet. The ad was produced in sepia tones to reflect the mood and style of Gandhi's times.
IANS |
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Clinton makes $9.2 m from speeches Washington, June 15 The former first couple also paid more than $1.3 million in legal fees for themselves and former staff, much of it stemming from old White House investigations, according to the disclosure report. The report showed the Clintons still owe at least $1.75 million in legal fees, and have a blind trust worth between $1 million and $5 million. The figures were contained in a financial disclosure report filed by Sen. Clinton. All members of the U.S. Congress must make such reports public each year. Hillary Clinton's advance was from an $8 million book deal with Simon & Schuster. Her memoirs are due out next year. Like many former Presidents, Bill Clinton cashed in with speaking fees. According to the report, he gave on average about one speech a week for between $28,100 to $350,000. Among his worldwide stops were: Canada, Hong Kong, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Poland, Spain, Ireland, England, France, Brazil, Japan, Australia, Italy, Scotland and a number of U.S. cities, from New York to Los Angeles. Reuters |
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by Praful R. Desai Wilful default Q: Merely because the tenant did not follow the procedure of depositing rent in Court, can it be said that he is guilty of wilful default in payment of rent? Ans: In Nimmagadda Krishna Hari v Manepalli Mangamma, Andhra Pradesh H. C. was expressing opinion on this point thus: Thus H.C. observed that merely because the tenant did not follow the procedure of depositing the rent in Court, he cannot be held to be guilty to wilful default in payment of rent. If he can show that he has tendered the rent and it has been refused by the landlord, it is not obligatory to follow the procedure of depositing the rent under S:8 of A.P. Rent Act. However, if the tenant chooses to adopt the procedure of depositing the rent U/s.8, he should continue to deposit the rents regularly and within the time as and when the rent falls due. If he is irregular in making the deposits, he may be guilty in payment of rent. This section could be invoked only when there is jural relationship of landlord and tenant between the parties. There is no duty cast on the tenant to follow the procedure laid down in that section in all cases when the landlord refuses to receive the rent without reasonable cause. The expression used is ‘may’ and not ‘shall’. The tenant, in the opinion of the H.C., cannot be called to be a wilful defaulter so long as he establishes that he tendered the rents and the landlord refused to receive the same without assigning any reason. It is not open to the landlord who refuses to receive the rent without reasonable cause, to insist on the tenant to adopt the procedure U/s.8 of the Act. To sum up. The H.C. said, when the landlord refuses to receive the rent for any month, it is open to the tenant to opt for the procedure U/s. 8(2) of the Act which is not mandatory, but only directory, but having opted in the procedure contemplated U/s.8. The tenant has to follow diligently the steps stated U/s. 8(3) to S. 8(5) of the Act. The H.C. in this way answered the reference that the provisions of S:8 of the Act are only directory and not mandatory and not following the procedures stated U/s. 8(2), 8(3) and 8(5) of the Act will not automatically ensure to the benefit of the landlord to substantiate the ground of wilful default. In this view of the matter, the H.C. further held that the decision in C. Hanumantha Rao v M. Prem Sudhakar Rao (1998 (i) ALT 754) does not lay down a correct proposition of law. It was thus held that the said decision is no longer a good law. It was accordingly overruled in view of the other decisions referred to. The H.C. concluded that now the C.R.Ps will be listed before the concerned Hon’ble Judge hearing C.R.Ps. for his decision on merits. It was ordered accordingly. |
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by K.R. Wadhwaney Change of guards on the cards THE Minister for Civil Aviation Shahnawaz Hussain’s oft-repeated desire of “one man one post” has become a reality. The Cabinet Committee on Appointments, with the backing of the PMO, has accepted the proposal. In keeping with this principle, Sunil Arora has become the first full-time Chairman and Managing Director of the Indian Airlines (IA) for three years. He will soon hand over dual responsibility of Joint Secretary (Policy and Planning) in the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Similarly, new full-time Chairman and Managing Director will be appointed in Air India. The Deputy Managing Director J.N. Gogio is currently officiating as MD while Civil Aviation Secretary K. Roy Paul is the part-time Chairman. The appointment of Sanat Kaul in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) has also been cleared. Currently, he is a Joint Secretary in the ministry. As India’s representative in the ICAO, he will be based in Bangkok. The appointment of the full-time Chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) continues to cause problems. Following fresh round of advertisements and fresh set of guidelines, three incumbents have been shortlisted. N. Sridhar will be the new Chairman of Pawan Hans. He is currently holding the office of Director of the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). New flights There will soon be new flights to Turkey and Singapore under bilateral air services. Shahnawaz Hussain has already discussed with the authorities of the Turkey Government. A Turkish delegation will undertake a visit shortly to finalise modalities for the flights between India and Istanbul. Similarly, India has permitted Singapore Airlines and its subsidiary SilkAir to operate flights to Bangalore and Hyderabad, respectively. SilkAir’s operations will start in winter this year, while Singapore will start flying from early next year. Air India will either have code sharing with Singapore Airlines to the West Coast of the USA or start operating its own flights. It all depends on the
availability of the aircraft. New body The Northern India Forum for Aviation and Sustainable Tourism will hold its first convention at Delhi on June 21. With headquarters in Chandigarh, the Nisast will have the support of Minister for Tourism Jagmohan, who will be inaugurating the convention, while Minister for Civil Aviation Hussain will be the chief guest. |
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Oswal Chem J&K Bank ATM BSNL plan SEBI Website Foster’s beer Hutchison plan Mobile services BSNL mobiles i-flex oversubscribed |
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Low inflation, soft interest rate policy to
continue: Sinha
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