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Tuesday,
July 2, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Exports grow 10.5 pc
Chautala brings FDI of Rs 3,000 cr
Increase in power tariff to close alloy industry
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SBI Chandigarh Circle net up 58 pc UTI Bank unveils debit card
Ind-Swift to market
anti-anxiety drug
Bajaj, Hero Honda, TVS bike sales jump Nilkamal
nets Rs 9.7 cr
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Exports grow 10.5 pc New Delhi, July 1 During April-May last year, India's exports totalled $6.74 billion. In rupee terms, Indian exports registered a growth of 15.41 per cent with a total of Rs.364.72 billion, according to data released by the Commerce Ministry on Monday. During May, Indian exports were worth $3.77 billion, a rise of 3.85 per cent over $3.63 billion during the corresponding month last year. During 2001-02, India's foreign trade was pulled down by the global economic slowdown and post-September 11 impact. Exports during the fiscal 2001-02 were valued at $43.99 billion, against $44.03 billion during the previous year. India hopes to garner a 1 per cent share of global trade by 2007, up from 0.67 per cent now. This would require a compound growth of around 11 per cent. This year India has optimistically pegged an export growth of 12 percent. Buoyed mainly by lower international crude oil prices compared to last year, India's import bill during April-May was $8.44 billion, a decline of 3.69 per cent over the $8.77 billion during the same period the previous year. India imports 70 per cent of its domestic crude oil requirements. India's oil bill was 6.79 per cent lower during April-May at $2.49 billion, compared to $2.67 billion in the corresponding period last year. Non-oil imports during April-May were $5.96 billion, which is 2.34 per cent lower than the level of such imports valued at $6.09 billion in the corresponding months last year. The continuing slowdown in domestic demand is another reason attributed by analysts for the drop in non-oil imports. During May, India's imports were valued at $4.4 billion, registering a decline of 5.74 per cent over the $4.67 billion in the corresponding month in 2001-02 fiscal. The trade deficit for April-May is estimated at $994.94 million, which is lower than the deficit of $2.02 billion during the same period last year, according to the Commerce Ministry.
IANS |
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Chautala brings FDI of Rs 3,000 cr Chandigarh, July 1 Claiming this here today, Mr Chautala said his tour to the USA, Canada, the UK, France, the Netherlands, China and Hong Kong was successful as it helped dispelling fear created by the Western media regarding the Indo-Pakistan tension in the minds of investors. The Chief Minister claimed that he advocated at the annual general meeting of the US-India Business Council in Washington that investment in India was not risky, despite the tension on the Indo-Pakistan border. French Agropole, one of the best food processing science parks in the world, and Comite-Bassin-du-Grand Sud Ouest(BGSO) had agreed to assist Haryana in achieving its mission to reorient its agro activities. A French delegation will visit Chandigarh in December. An MoU was signed between the world’s second largest company in broadcast systems, the Finline Technologies and Dayang Nagakawa Motors at Waterloo in Canada to set up exchanges in all major cities of India. A New York-based company, Bio-Pharma Laboratories, proposed to set up a Rs 34 crore bio-technology project in the state. The London-based JCB offered to expand its existing project in Faridabad at a cost of Rs 150 crore, which will employ 800 persons. The MHM group of companies in the UK proposed to invest Rs 250 crore for making bricks from agro wastes for moduler housing. Offers were also received for setting up amusement parks and casinos to boost tourism. A five-member committee under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary has been constituted to follow up the gains of the visit. The other members of the committee are the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister; the Commissioner, Tourism; the Excise and Taxation Commissioner; and the Managing Director of the
HSIDC. |
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Increase in power tariff to close alloy industry Chandigarh, July 1 This was argued by Mr S.P. Oswal, Chairman, Punjab State Committee before the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission here today. Mr Oswal informed the commission that the alloy units in Haryana, Rajasthan and MP have already closed down due to increase in power tariff by these states over the years. The alloy units concentrated in Ludhiana are providing raw material to thousands of auto-parts and other engineering units. Since these units employing more than one lakh persons, said Mr Oswal, are passing through bad times, it would not be judicious to increase the power tariff. Challenging the average cost of electricity at Rs 3.53 per unit as calculated by the board, he said,‘‘ We have worked out the average cost of power at Rs 2.60 per unit by deducting the overestimated depreciation, higher interest rate on debt, proposed subsidy by the state government on free power to agriculture sector, power theft and additional burden of Ranjit Sagar dam on PSEB. The delegation of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry submitted that for the past five years, Rs 9,586 crore of power had been supplied to the agriculture sector free of cost. Further the government was providing free electricity to weaker sections worth Rs 100 crore annually. The power theft worth Rs 700-800 crore was an additional burden on the inefficient board. Mr Amarjit Goyal, Chairman of the chamber pointed out that the board was paying salary to about 20,000 persons without any work, who were earlier working at the Thein Dam. Interestingly, the PSEB board management has reportedly asked the commission to increase power tariff by 30-40 per cent for all the categories of consumers. It would cut down the total deficits of the board worth Rs 2600 crore. But the CII calculated deficit at just Rs 740 crore and asked for decrease in power tariffs. |
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What cost Sinha his job? New Delhi, July 1 His task included kick-starting a flagging economy by arresting the spiralling fiscal deficit, lowering government spending, accelerating the sale of state-run units and projecting the country as an attractive investment destination. The bureaucrat-turned-politician Sinha was trying to do all that with dexterity, but what ultimately led to his transfer from the North Block was his failure to sell ambitious economic reforms to the burgeoning middle-class. "While Sinha had the intention, his delivery (of economic solutions) was found wanting with noticeable slip-ups," said Saumitra Chaudhury, a senior economist with ICRA India Ltd. "He failed to push through and attempt to reduce the subsidies on fertiliser, food and power front, all of which came up against obstacles which he could not surmount as he lacked the necessary political support," Chaudhury told IANS. Analysts, however, say Sinha's measures to rationalise the tax rates, his desire to vigorously pursue public sector privatisation, the decision to open up the insurance sector and the drive to initiate labour reforms are all quite noteworthy. Shashanka Bhide of National Council for Applied Economic Research, says: "Despite the adverse situation, the modest pace of economic reforms continued, especially in the financial sector." Analysts say Sinha, who took up the portfolio in 1998 and presented five Budgets, was targeted for criticism by members of his own BJP for failing to bring reforms that could please the electorate. "His biggest failure was he couldn't keep the middle-class, the core constituency of BJP, in good humour. And that proved to be his nemesis," said a fund manager with a brokerage house. "Not only the Opposition, there were many in the ruling coalition too who were lobbying for many months now to get him out of the Finance Ministry. "The electoral debacle faced by BJP in many assembly elections only helped Sinha's opponents to highlight that his economic policies have alienated the middle class," said the fund manager who did not want to be named. The analysts say though Sinha understood the need for hard reforms to take economic growth into higher trajectory, he doesn't have many supporters either in his party or the ruling coalition of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Sinha was given a media roasting in March this year for unveiling a national Budget that newspapers slammed as "short on line," "lacklustre and dispirited" and "crushing". Though Sinha was forced to roll back some of the taxation measures in face of stiff opposition from within the ruling coalition and outside, reinforcing his reputation as "rollback Sinha", it failed to create a positive impact. During his tenure, Sinha came under pressure to resign more than once. Sinha first came under opposition attack in May 1999, led mainly by the Communists, for his alleged involvement in bailing out foreign institutional investors through a double tax avoidance treaty with Mauritius. The controversy died down when Prime Minister Vajpayee strongly defended him. Within a few months into 2001, Sinha was under fire once again—this time over his ministry's inaction in the stock market scandal, which resulted in erosion of the market capitalisation of a host of companies. Unfortunately for Sinha, this controversy surfaced barely a few days after he presented a widely acclaimed Budget on February 28. Demands for Sinha's resignation again gained ground in August last year following allegations of mismanagement at the UTI This time around the attack on the him has become stronger, following allegations by former chief of the UTI fund P.S. Subramanyam, who maintained that he had kept Sinha informed of the goings on in the US 64 scheme. While these controversies have been testing times for Sinha's abilities to stay on as the Finance Minister, industry observers point out that he also has several achievements. "These were factors over which the Finance Ministry had no control. Given this environment, the minister has given a reasonably good performance," said Shashanka Bhide of think tank National Council for Applied Economic Research.
IANS |
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SBI Chandigarh Circle net up 58 pc Chandigarh, July 1 Mr Sinha said the deposits of the Circle increased by 14.5 per cent from Rs 13929 crore to Rs 15943 crore. The advances of the Circle gone up by 26.3 per cent from Rs 9226 crore to Rs 11651 crore during 2001-02. The priority sector advances of the Circle stood at 54 per cent of non-food advances at the end of March 2002. He said the personal segment advances increased by Rs 272 crore from Rs 870 crore at end March 2001 to Rs 1142 crore recording a growth of 31 per cent. The CD Ratio significantly increased to 73.1 per cent and the business per employee increased from Rs 158 lakh as on March 2001 to 170 lakh as on March 2002. Profit per employee increased from Rs 1.81 lakh to Rs 3.26 lakh and the cost income ratio came down from 60.61 per cent to 44.43 per cent as on March 2002. Mr Sinha said the Circle has set a goal of Rs 250 crore for fresh deployment of funds in agriculture sector. The recovery of loan in agriculture sector was plus 60 pc last year. He said the bank will soon launch ‘smart card’ which will serve the purpose of SBI Card, ATM and Credit Card. The bank has recently received ‘A’ category rating from Moody’s. |
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UTI Bank unveils debit card Chandigarh, July 1 The card has an enhanced daily withdrawal limit of Rs 40,000. In addition, special discounts will be given for purchases made with the card at a wide selection of shops, departmental stores, hotels, restaurants and jewellers in major cities with which UTI Bank has tied up. Besides, the card carries a unique comprehensive insurance cover for its cardholders.
TNS |
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Ind-Swift to market anti-anxiety drug Chandigarh, July 1 Citalopram helps to restore the brain’s chemical balance by increasing the supply of a substance in the brain called serotonin. Citalopram appears to relieve depression by increasing serotonin without affecting many of the other chemicals in the brain that influence mood. A new study conducted by the University of Wisconsin researchers at the American College of Neuropsychopharmachology shows that patients experience significantly less weight gain than those on paroxetine. The total market for anti-depressant drug stands at US $ 10 million and is growing at 14 per cent annually whereas the growth rate of Citalopram is 32 per cent. Mr V.K. Mehta, Director of Ind-Swift Limited, said that “Ind-Swift is among the first few companies in India to receive the DCGI nod”. The company is yet to decide on the pricing strategy, but Mr Mehta said that the brand would be available at “patient friendly” prices. The company already has over 80 brands featuring in IMS. The company is growing at an average annual growth rate of 89 per cent (as per IMS-MAT, April 2002). This is the third product in the lifestyle diseases from the company’s stable. Earlier, the company had launched Glufit (Pioglitazone), Caplor (Clopidogrel), Atstat (Atorvastatin).
TNS |
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Bajaj, Hero Honda, TVS bike sales jump Mumbai, July 1 Hero Honda has recorded a surge of 33.10 per cent in its bike sales for June ‘02 compared with that of June a year ago. TVS Motor Co Ltd’s motor cycle sales for June has surged 95.3 per cent from a year ago, driven by a popular four-stroke Victor model launched last year while, Bajaj Auto motor cycles sales rose 92.50 per cent to 68,361 units in June. TVS Motor sold 53,905 motorcycles in June compared with 27,597 units in June, 2001, but sales were down 8.9 per cent from the 59,161 bikes sold in May. The company has received large orders for the 110 cc four-stroke Victor model while, sales of its older two-stroke models, the Max 100 and Max R, were helped by a seasonal upswing. TVS Motor’s overall vehicle sales was up 32.2 per cent in June to 92,929, despite scooter sales falling 7.6 per cent 15,565 units and mopeds down 9.3 per cent to 23,459. Hero Honda’s motor cycle sales for June surged to 139,993 units from 105,159 in June last year. Bajaj Auto Ltd’s overall sales grew 18.76 per cent by volume in June over the same month last year to 116,868 vehicles. Most of the growth came from motor cycles sales which rose 92.5 percent to 68,361 units. However, scooter sales declined to 28,842 units in June, 2002, compared with 41,882 units in June last year.
UNI |
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Nilkamal
nets Rs 9.7 cr
Mumbai, July 1 The Board of Directors has recommended a 18 per cent dividend for 2001-2002. The company’s sales for the year ended March 31, 2002, rose to Rs 280.89 crore compared with Rs 278.53 crore for the previous year. Other income for the period stood at Rs 3.54 crore (Rs 3.14 crore).
UNI |
bb
Small savings Indofil Imidacel |
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