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Wednesday,
April 16, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Can Reliance offer STD at 40 paise a minute?
Alternative tariff package fair: BSNL
Pepsi cuts prices, Coke yet to follow
Voltas earmarks 50 cr
for brand promotion |
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HDFC Bank net rises 30.48 pc, to pay 30 pc
Punjab, UT big sources for call centres
Chamber for boosting Punjab's tourism
Castrol net up 18.46 pc
Onions’ export liberalised
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Can Reliance offer STD at 40 paise a minute?
New Delhi, April 15 In the wake of news reports questioning the sustainability of the Reliance’s tariff package under the new dispensation of interconnect usage chage from May 1, Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) Chief Pradeep Baijal clarified that guiding principle is saying that “the tariffs are non-discriminatory. “This implies that the service provider should not charge different tariffs for calls originating and terminating in its own network or calls originating in its own network and terminating in other networks offering the same type of service,” he said. TRAI had earlier this year announced new IUC system and made it mandatory for all telecom operators to comply with it from May 1. Baijal at the same time clarified that Reliance’s pre IUC package of 40 paise a minute was approved by the authority but under the new dispensation the company would have to submit new tariff proposals. He declined to comment on whether he found the Relinace package discriminatory saying that “they are yet to submit their revised tariff plans and unless we see and evaluate with different conditions nothing can be said.” When contacted, Reliance Infocomm officials said that the company is yet to receive any official communication from TRAI in this regard. The regulator said that the company is yet to submit its new package with the regulator. Baijal said while the non-cellular and non-WLL tariffs were required to be placed before TRAI for approval, packages relating to Cellular and WLL would come up to the regulator for information as the tariffs for these two segments of telecom services would be forborne. Besides the clause of non-discriminatory tariffs, as a general principle, tariff packages have to comply with other factors such as consistency with IUC regulation; compliant to 24th amendment of Telecom Tariff Order; non-predatory which means not been designed in a manner that eliminates competition and thus the viability of industry in the long run. In this respect, BSNL’s decision to charge different pulse rates for fixed to fixed calls and fixed to mobile phones calls, were not discriminatory as the corporation was not discriminating between its own subscriber and that of a specific operator. PTI
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Reliance sticks to tariff plans
New Delhi, April 15
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Alternative tariff package fair: BSNL New Delhi, April 15 “The alternative tariff package bridges the gap between the charges applicable for intra-circle long-distance calls from landline to landline phone and from landline phone to a cellular mobile phone”, the Chairman and Managing Director of BSNL, Mr Prithpal Singh, told newspersons here. According to the alternative tariff package of BSNL, which was cleared by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), there would be no change in rentals for both urban and rural customers. The number of free calls, however, has been reduced to 30 and 50 for urban and rural areas, respectively. As per the package, for calls beyond 200 km within a telecom circle, the call rate has been reduced by 50 per cent to Rs 2.40 per minute from Rs 4.80 per minute. For inter-circle calls (across state boundaries) the call rates have been retained at Rs 4.80 per minute for calls terminating beyond 500 km. Mr Prithpal Singh said in the alternative tariff package, efforts had been made to make tariffs for all fixed phones to cellular phones uniform and affordable, “This will benefit about 70 per cent of the population residing in semi-urban and rural areas, who are paying STD charges at a rate of about Rs 4.80 per minute”, he said. Under the alternative tariff package, for intra-circle (within 200 km) calls made from BSNL fixed line to cellphone, the rates have been reduced from Rs 4.80 per minute to Rs 3.60 per minute. “In any case, there are two packages available, i.e. the standard tariff package and the alternative tariff package. Customers can choose either of the packages as per his requirement”, the BSNL Chairman said. He said the Calling Party Pays (CPP) regime will come into force from May 1, 2003. For the implementation of the CPP regime, TRAI’s standard tariff packages provide for the charge at a rate of 60-second pulse against the existing 180-second pulse at the locations of the point of interconnect. From other locations, such as semi-urban and rural areas, the STD charge is applicable, he added. Mr Prithpal Singh said the alternative tariff plan had introduced options for the landline telephone users to equalise the imbalances existing in this scheme. “The standard tariff is also available to customers who want to pay as per TRAI-prescribed standard tariff”, he said. |
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Pepsi cuts prices, Coke yet to follow
New Delhi, April 15 However, the only other soft drinks company, Coca-Cola, appears to have been caught on the wrong foot with its 300 ml pack still priced at Rs 8. When contacted, Vice-president, External, of Coca-Cola India, Sunil Gupta, told PTI “We’re making no fresh comments on our pricing strategy. Right now, our 300 ml pack continues to be priced at Rs 8.” The fresh price war, triggered by Pepsi, follows an earlier onslaught when both the companies reduced prices by about 20 per cent across the board just before the Union Budget for 2003-04 provided them excise duty relief. A Pepsi spokesperson said, “In a high-consumption market such as Delhi going into the summer, aggressive price points devolving from the 300-ml segment will work much better. Our price strategy for this market, therefore, works off this thinking. As a consequence to this, 200-ml bottles are also priced at Rs 5. The new price points are 300 ml at Rs 6, and 200 ml at Rs 5.” According to industry sources, this sector is heavily dependent on returnable glass bottles and Pepsi’s latest price reduction strategy is critical to drive volumes. Sources said earlier this year, Coca-Cola had taken the price war head on by introducing 500-ml PET bottles priced at Rs 12 each, beginning with Maharashtra, one of Pepsi’s key markets. Pepsi, which was selling 500-ml PET bottles priced at Rs 15 each, was caught on the backfoot and was forced to react, beginning with reduction in prices of its 500 ml bottles to match that of Coke, the sources said. Meanwhile, action may now shift to the 200-ml segment. According to industry sources, Coke is offering Sunfill sachets priced at Rs 2 each, free with 200-ml and 300-ml bottles, in some regional markets. In effect, therefore, while Coke’s price points for 200-ml and 300-ml bottles remain at Rs 5 and Rs 8, respectively, the consumer is being offered more for less. In the home-consumption segment too, Coca-Cola took the lead earlier this year by slashing prices of its 1.5-litre and 2-litre PET bottles. Pepsi too reduced prices of its 1.5-litre and 2-litre PET bottles, to Rs 35 and Rs 40, respectively, against the earlier price of Rs 43 and Rs 50. PTI
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Voltas earmarks 50 cr for brand promotion New Delhi, April 15 "We are in the process of unfolding an aggressive market strategy to capture top slot particularly for Air Conditioners (ACs)", Vice-President Sales and Service, Mr K.J. Jawa told TNS here today. He said various initiatives by the company would include launch of a series of new products, publicity via road shows etc and setting up of call centres. The customers will find a fresh pre and post-sales approach, he said. "American Technology, Chinese Prices and Indian Management"— is what the company promises to offer in its products. The entire new range of products includes a 1.25 tonne ‘Vertis Gold’ AC, priced at around Rs 16,000, a 65 litre refrigerator priced at Rs 5,000 among others. Voltas has also come up with a Retail Organisation as a part of the latest retail focussed strategy. "Earlier, the company was not very aggressive on this front but now, realising the potential the retail segment holds, we are focussing on this sector", he said. Special initiatives towards capturing a major share of the market in Punjab will be there, which is a high growth potential market for the company. "We are currently recording a growth of almost 70 per cent in terms of sales volumes in the state , which is expected to rise further. Major initiatives towards publicity will be taken here". Voltas has also re-entered the refrigerators market for which 11 new markets have been identified. |
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HDFC Bank net rises 30.48 pc, to pay 30 pc
Mumbai, April 15 The board has recommended a 30 per cent dividend for FY-03 as against 25 per cent in the last fiscal, an HDFC Bank release said here today. Total income also rose to Rs 2,496.07 crore (Rs 2,036.24 crore in Fy-02), it said. For the fourth quarter ended March 2003, the net profit increased to Rs 116.62 crore (Rs 90.24 crore) while total income stood at Rs 686.07 crore (Rs 566.02 crore). Deposits in FY-03 increased by 27 per cent at Rs 22,376 crore (Rs 17,654 crore). Savings account deposits rose by 58 per cent at Rs 4,663 crore (Rs 2,957 crore). HDFC Bank said advances grew by 72.5 per cent to Rs 11,755 crore with total retail advances constituting 29 per cent (21 per cent) as on end-March 2003. Consequently, net profit for Q4 and FY-03 is higher by Rs 4.79 crore and Rs 17.96 crore respectively. Had the bank followed the revised accounting policy in the previous year, then the net profit would have been higher by Rs 1.73 crore and by Rs 4.44 crore respectively for the year ended March 31, 2002. PTI
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Punjab, UT big sources for call centres Chandigarh, April 15 The NCR has about 80 call centres or Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) service providers as they are called. They employ about 40,000 people and since the business is expanding at a rapid pace, they need more manpower all the time. The industry also has a high attrition rate. "It is as high as 50 per cent", says Mr Aseem Handa, Head, Talent Search and HR, Exiservice Inc. (EXL), a Delaware Corporation, which is recognized as the No. 1 BPO service provider in India. "There is so much job-hopping that as many as 50 per cent of the employees of any given BPO organisation tend to leave every year. In an interview with TNS here today, Mr Handa said that "we are now focusing on non-metro cities where the potential recruits to the company are relatively innocent, less demanding and more willing to adapt to the demands of their job". During interviews with potential recruits in the city yesterday and today, he was able to select about 25 persons. In Amritsar, he hopes to pick up more young boys and girls. Chandigarh and most cities of Punjab have been a good source of manpower for the BPO's. Chandigarh in particular has one the best educational infrastructures available in this part of the country. All that the call centres require are plain graduates with a good command over English language and who can speak fluently and persuasively. Of course, they are trained by the company before they start handling calls from customers in the US or elsewhere. Besides Chandigarh and Amritsar, the company is now recruiting staff from Lucknow, Kanpur, Dehradun, Ajmer, Jaipur, Bhopal and Indore. Initially, the call centres were set up by American companies in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. But soon it was discovered that it would be much cheaper to have them in India because of the inexpensive manpower here. India, the concept of call centres was pioneered by the GE Capital which remains the leader.
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Chamber for boosting Punjab's tourism New Delhi, April 15 The PHDCCI will submit its recommendations to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh who will also release the tourism policy of the state on the occasion. According to the PHDCCI, the government should remain a prime facilitator in terms of upgrading infrastructure for attracting investment from non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the tourism sector by offering them special package of incentives. The chamber said the state has excellent potential for being promoted for village tourism. It can also play an effective role in generating additional employment with a unique opportunity for women and weaker sections of society to get them assimilated in the economic cycle of the state, said the PHDCCI said, adding that the historical traditions of the villagers, folk arts and cuisine could be promoted as special attractions. |
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Castrol net up 18.46 pc
Mumbai, April 15 The company board, which also considered and announced the audited results for fiscal 2002, has recommended a final dividend of Rs 12.50 per equity share (which includes a special dividend of Rs 8.25), it said. For FY-02, the net profit has gone up by 41.07 per cent at Rs 152.92 crore (Rs 108.4 crore in 2001) while total income (net of excise) decreased to Rs 1,169.98 crore (Rs 1,180.02 crore).
PTI |
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