B U S I N E S S

Invest in Afghanistan, says Karzai
New Delhi, March 6
In an effort to hasten the pace of reconstruction in the trouble-torn country, the President of the transitional government of Afghanistan, Mr Hamid Karzai, has asked India to provide assistance directly to the administration in Kabul instead of routing it through NGOs or other channels. “We are unhappy. We want more money to be distributed through the government to rebuild the Afghan economy, provide jobs,’’ he said.

Nation page: India to give $ 70 m grant to Afghanistan Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai addresses a luncheon session organised by the CII and FICCI in New Delhi on Thursday.  — PTI photo

A tea seller prepares a brew at an international convention in Kolkata on Thursday. — Reuters

Little impetus to food processing sector
New Delhi, March 6
The budgetary proposal for the food processing sector, despite being declared a priority area by the government, does not provide for much needed impetus for its growth. 

Raise MSP for Kharif crops: Punjab Govt
The Punjab Government has suggested to the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices for a substantial rise in the minimum support price for the kharif crops. 

PNB disburses 350 cr loans in Punjab
SAS Nagar, March 6
As part of its drive to tap the retail loan market, PNB has disbursed Rs 350 crore worth loans in the Punjab zone between April 1, 2002 and February 28, 2003. 

Japanese students shout to cheer themselves at a job-hunting rally in Tokyo on Thursday. About 3,000 students from business schools kicked off their job-hunt efforts amid tight economic conditions in Japan.  — Reuters

BSNL bets big on wireless
New Delhi, March 6
BSNL today said it expects to have a subscriber base of eight lakh in CDMA-based limited mobility services by the end of the current financial year.

Textile units oppose duty on fabrics
Amritsar, March 6
The Textile Manufactures Association has decried government proposal to levy excise duty on all types of fabrics, terming it as a blow to the small scale textile industry which is already facing difficulties.

ABN Amro to expand operations
New Delhi, March 6
Dutch banking major ABN Amro Bank today said it views India as a “major business centre” and plans to expand its operations through more branches, ATMs and kiosks in 11 cities by 2005.

Chinese tyres

HP to have biotechnology park
Shimla, March 6
Himachal Pradesh has been selected by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India to have a biotechnology park.

• Samsung Heavy wins ship orders

• Ceat reduces tyre prices

Invest in Afghanistan, says Karzai
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 6
In an effort to hasten the pace of reconstruction in the trouble-torn country, the President of the transitional government of Afghanistan, Mr Hamid Karzai, has asked India to provide assistance directly to the administration in Kabul instead of routing it through NGOs or other channels.

“We are unhappy. We want more money to be distributed through the government to rebuild the Afghan economy, provide jobs,’’ he said, addressing industry leaders at a luncheon meeting organised by the CII here.

Stating the country was only 50 per cent satisfied, Mr Karzai said $ 1.8 billion of the total $ 5 billion pledged for the reconstruction of Afghanistan was disbursed in 2002. Of this only a small proportion ( $ 200 million) was given directly to the Afghan government while the rest were routed through NGOs and the United Nations.

He also urged the Indian industry to make Afghanistan its investment destination and said the risks associated with investment were much less as it was generally perceived to be.

“You want to get rich, you will have to take risk. However, risks in Afghanistan are fewer than in other parts of the world where competition is high,” Mr Karzai said.

“With regard to the ongoing reconstruction in Afghanistan, we are not completely satisfied. So we are asking donor countries to step up funds directly to the government,” he said.

“We are politically under control but weak in terms of human resource development and capacity to provide services through effective administration,” he said.

Kabul was very keen to widen trade relations with India and small-scale industries held tremendous scope in the country. “It ( small-scale industry) is a priority area for us”, he said.

On the proposed pipeline project from Iran to India, Mr Karzai said Afghanistan had signed an agreement with Turkmenistan and Pakistan. “We only hope that India will join this project... I hope that we can work out a facility for transportation of goods from India to Afghanistan via Pakistan”, he said.

Little impetus to food processing sector
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 6
The budgetary proposal for the food processing sector, despite being declared a priority area by the government, does not provide for much needed impetus for its growth. While those associated with the sector are of the view that the budget has not provided any backward linkage for the transportation of the produce from remote areas, economists have stated that the government should come out with a package for attracting the farmers to shift from rice and wheat, where MSP is assured, to horticulture.

“The budget provides for development of infrastructure especially roads, but what is needed are food collection centres and market terminals in remote areas as part of infrastructure,” Mr K.P. Sareen, Executive Secretary of All India Food Preservers Association, told The Tribune.

He said the budget does not address the backward linkage aspect of the food processing sector, even as the Economic Survey indicated that crores of rupees worth horticulture produce are lost due to lack of infrastructure facilities and poor handling.

Noted economist, Prof Abhijit Sen, had stated that the government must announce special package for the farmers, who wish to diversify and should also identify certain acres of farm land in each district, where the state should procure the produce as a pre-determined price.

The Union Finance Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, in the budget, emphasising the need for crop diversification, proposed to reduce customs duty on refrigerated trucks from 25 to 20 per cent. He also announced a new central sector scheme on hi-tech horticulture and precision farming and allocated an initial sum of Rs 50 crore for the scheme.

Mr Sareen said “the most important area of concern is subject of perishability of raw materials and backward and forward linkages. In order to enter global market and competition of imported food products in addition to unfavourable terms under WTO agreement, the question of policy changes needs to be examined.”

The survey said the shelf life of foodgrains is over three years or even more as against fruits and vegetables whose shelf life ranges betweek one week and three months. “Currently hardly one per cent of over 140 million tonnes of fruits and vegetables produced in the country goes through the processing route. Hence, strategies for diversified agriculture should involve a separate road map for value addition in fruits and vegetable sector,” the survey said.

Creation of essential infrastructure for preservation, cold storage, refrigerated transportation, rapid transit, grading, processing, packaging and quality control would be key areas for such a strategy, the survey added. 

Raise MSP for Kharif crops: Punjab Govt
Bhagwan Dass

The Punjab Government has suggested to the Commission on Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) for a substantial rise in the minimum support price (MSP) for the kharif crops. It has proposed Rs 675 per quintal for common varieties of paddy and Rs 743 per quintal for superfine (Grade 1) varieties against the last year’s prices of Rs 530 and Rs 560 per quintal. While working out costs agricultural experts have taken into account the wholesale price index, input price index and the cost of cultivation estimates.

The MSP proposed for cotton is Rs 3,474 a quintal. It was Rs 1,675 last year. The sole criterion for calculating costs in this case is the cost of cultivation approach.

The MSP recommended for maize is Rs 817 as against Rs 485 per quintal last year. A hike of Rs 399 per quintal has been proposed in the last year’s MSP of Rs 1,330 for mash and moong. The suggested new price is Rs 1,729. Similar high increases in the MSP have been asked for arhar and groundnut. The MSP demanded for the former is Rs 1,716 and for the latter Rs 1,762 as against the last year’s price of Rs 1,330 and Rs 1,355 per quintal.

Financial Commissioner (Development) P.K. Verma who, along with Agricultural Director R.K. Rampal, represented the Punjab Government before the commission said: “We have made a very strong case and placed it before the commission justifying our proposals with full facts and figures”.

Since the MSP for wheat has been kept at the last year’s level of Rs 620 per quintal and there is a resentment among growers. Captain Amarinder Singh is very “enthusiastic” to get highter prices for the kharif crops. It has justified the hikes in the prices of maize and pulses particularly so as to achieve diversification by withdrawing area from the cultivation of paddy. The new prices for maize and pulses are an assurance to growers that they will get returns from these crops which will not be less than rice.

PNB disburses 350 cr loans in Punjab
Tribune News Service

SAS Nagar, March 6
As part of its drive to tap the retail loan market, PNB has disbursed Rs 350 crore worth loans in the Punjab zone between April 1, 2002 and February 28, 2003. The bank is offering retail loans at lower rates till March 31 as part of the festival season’s bonanza, said Mr U.S. Bhargava, General Manager, PNB, Punjab Zone, presiding over retail lending function held at PCA Stadium here today.

He disbursed loans worth Rs 15.25 crore to beneficiaries under various schemes. Talking to mediapersons, he disclosed that the bank was offering various concessions in upfront fee, documentation fee and lower rate of interest to all customers. These concessions would be available till March 31.

The bank had already lowered the income eligibility criteria for personal loans to Rs 5,000 from Rs 10,000 for those teachers who were maintaining their accounts with PNB.

Mr Bhargava said, “the bank has also decided to offer a rebate of 2 per cent in the rate of interest for regular repayment of loans at the time of final adjustment of the personal loan accounts. A further rebate of 0.5 per cent in the interest rate and exemption from processing fee will be available till March 31 under the festival season bonanza offer.”

On the technology front, he said, the bank had decided to inter-connect its 1,000 branches at about 50 centres across the country during the current year. It would enable customers to avail inter-city and intra-city branch banking, instant transfer of funds and other facilities. He claimed that the bank’s branch in Phase VII, SAS Nagar would be inter-connected next week and another branch in Phase I, SAS Nagar would be shortly inter-connected.

Earlier, he inaugurated the bank’s Tatkal Suvidha Kendra at the Phase VII branch that would offer personal loans. Mr N.C. Jain, Senior Regional Manager, claimed that the total business volume of the Chandigarh B region had reached Rs 2,079 crore, including Rs 920 crore deposits and Rs 1,159 crore advances, by February 28 this year.

BSNL bets big on wireless

New Delhi, March 6
BSNL today said it expects to have a subscriber base of eight lakh in CDMA-based limited mobility services by the end of the current financial year.

“In CDMA based limited mobility services, we are hopeful of ending the current fiscal with a subscriber figure of eight lakh and by the end of March 2004, the same could go upto 16 lakh”, Prithipal Singh, CMD, BSNL said here at a seminar on New Telecom scenario.

From 2004 onwards, he said BSNL expects to add 15 to 20 lakh CDMA subscribers annually.

Out of 2600 SDCAs (Short Distance Calling Areas) in the country, BSNL has covered already 1500 SDCAs through WLL and it would cover the remaining SDCAs in the next one year, Singh said.

B.D. Khurana, vice chairman, Reliance Telecom, said by 2010, he expected a total 200 million subscriber base inclusive of both cellular and fixed line for the industry.

Speaking on the occasion, Akhil Gupta, joint MD, Bharti Enterprises, said in the next two-three years, India may have 60 million cellular subscribers and 100 million fixed line users.

Mr Khurana said Reliance has set up 3000 cell sites and would roll out CDMA services across its 18 circles and already capacity network of six lakh exists with the company.

Rajiv Kataria, COO-Delhi circle, Tata Teleservices said he hopes a rise in subscriber base of 10-12 million subscribers every year. PTI

Textile units oppose duty on fabrics

Amritsar, March 6
The Textile Manufactures Association has decried government proposal to levy excise duty on all types of fabrics, terming it as a blow to the small scale textile industry (SSI) which is already facing difficulties.

Mr O.P. Mehra and Mr H.S. Makhni, President and General Secretary of the association said the government’s levy was uncalled for as it had failed to take into consideration a large number of employed persons who neither possessed resources nor know-how to comply with legal requirements.

Therefore, revenue would be affected and large-scale harassment, evasions, corruption were evidently going to rule the roost.

These units which were a source of employment might face closure causing heavy losses and unemployment for many in the industry. OC

ABN Amro to expand operations

New Delhi, March 6
Dutch banking major ABN Amro Bank today said it views India as a “major business centre” and plans to expand its operations through more branches, ATMs and kiosks in 11 cities by 2005.

ABN Amro Bank’s Chairman, Rijkman Groenink, today unveiled three retail banking initiatives — mobile phone-based payment mechanism ‘Mpower’, interactive kiosk with video conferencing facility ‘Direct Access’ and ‘GoodLife’ credit card. PTI

Chinese tyres

New Delhi, March 6
JK Tyre will start selling tyres sourced from two Chinese companies in global markets this month as part of plans to grow its international business to Rs 800 crore within four years, a top company official said. PTI

ROUND-UP

HP to have biotechnology park

Shimla, March 6
Himachal Pradesh has been selected by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India to have a biotechnology park.

Financial support of Rs 2 crore has been earmarked for the park which would be joint venture of Himachal Pradesh Government, Horticulture University and private investor. The cost would shared in the ratio 70:30 by the Union Government and Himachal Pradesh Government and the state would get Rs 85-lakh during first three years, an official release here said. PTI

Samsung Heavy wins ship orders

SEOUL: South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries Co, the world’s third-largest shipbuilder, said today it had won $ 1.1 billion in orders from Canada and Europe, giving a boost to its earnings prospects. The latest deals brought Samsung’s backlog of orders to 8.2 million gross tonnes for 110 vessels, which would keep it busy for two and a half years, Samsung said in a statement.

“We have won orders to build 13 container ships and seven oil tankers recently from Canada and Europe,’’ the company said.

Samsung said the clients included Seaspan Container Lines Ltd of Canada and Reederei Claus-Peter Offen GmbH & Co of Germany, but it did not elaborate on delivery schedule. A company spokesman said ships were usually completed about two years after orders were placed. Reuters

Ceat reduces tyre prices

New Delhi, March 6
Tyre maker Ceat Ltd today announced a 5 per cent reduction in prices of its products following the excise duty cut provided in the 2003-04 Union Budget. While truck tyre prices have been reduced by Rs 700-900 per pair, light commercial vehicle tyres’ prices have been cut by Rs 300-350 per pair, a company statement said. Passenger car and utility vehicle tyres have been lowered by Rs 100-150 per pair and Rs 175-200 per pair respectively. However, due to no change in the excise duty on two and three-wheeler tyres, there is no reduction in price of these products manufactured by Ceat. PTI

BIZ BRIEFS

Spice Telecom
Chandigarh, March 6
Spice Telecom today announced an augmentation in its existing roamers local link service. With this new initiative, besides Spice subscribers, now all DOT landline subscribers also would be able to make a local call to any inroamer who has logged onto the Spice network while visiting Punjab. This new initiative ensures greater savings on STD charges for in-roamers, another important reason for them to log onto Spice while roaming in Punjab. To avail this service, all that a landline subscriber would need to do is dial 98110 12345, the subscriber would simply need to dial 9814012342 followed by te in-roamers number 98110 12345. TNS

Connect rates
Chandigarh, March 6
Connect today slashed its domestic long distance rates by 47 per cent for calls beyond 500 km. Calls, which used to cost Rs 9/4.50 (Peak/Off-Peak) will now be charged at a flat rate of Rs 4.80. There will be no change in charges for the call made to destinations within 500 km. The new rates would be applicable from tomorow and would continue till March 31, after which the new interconnect usage charge regime comes into effect. TNS

Touchtel tariff
New Delhi, March 6
Touchtel subscribers can now make calls at a flat rate of Rs 4.80 per minute round the clock for distance above 500 km. The fixed line phone service provider from Bharti Telenet today announced a reduction of more than 47 per cent on the long distance rates across its operations in the country. The new rates will be applicable from midnight March 7 whereas there will be no change in the rates for distance within 500 kilometres,said Mr Badri Agarwal, President, Bharti Infotel today. TNS

Taxmann
New Delhi, March 6
Taxmann, a publisher of journals and books on taxation and legal matters, has announced the launch of two new legal weeklies. The first, “Indian Law Decision”, is a weekly journal reporting the judgements of the Supreme Court and high courts. The second, a “Consumer Law Decision”, will report on the judgements of “Supreme Court/ high courts on consumer protection laws, a release said. TNS

LG CD Drive
New Delhi, March 6
LG Electronics today launched 52X CD-RW Drive in the market which the company claims is the world’s fastest. Priced at Rs 4,500 the CD-RW Drive comes with a Super Link Buffer Underrun Error Protection Technology, a company release said. TNS

Milk testing
Amritsar, March 6
Milkfed and milk unions here have introduced new means to measure the procurement of milk from suppliers. Nearly 511 automatic milk collection stations have been opened in the state out of which 45 have already started operating here, Mr S.K. Mahajan, General Manager, Verka, said. OC

Citibank
New Delhi, March 6
Citibank today said it has so far sold 50,000 Woman’s Card, designed to contribute towards empowerment of underprivileged women. Through this card it was possible to contribute over Rs 21 lakh to benefit the underprivileged women through its NGO partners. PTI

IDBI
Mumbai, March 6
IDBI has taken possession of Ganesh Benzoplast Ltd’s (GBL) salt refinery located in Rajkot, Gujarat under the Securitisation Act to recover dues of Rs 85 crore even as the company’s management is still negotiating for a repayment. PTI