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Success depends on business solutions, says Nirvik
Chautala woos investors
Exim forms likely to be withdrawn |
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Govt may stop onion export New Delhi, January 11 With the Lok Sabha elections round the corner, the government is not taking any chances on the “onion front” and is “seriously considering” halting exports to control the spiralling prices.
Sensex may touch 7,000-mark
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Success depends on business solutions, says Nirvik New Delhi, January 11 “Clients are looking for performance and historical associations are not enough to retain accounts any more. Grey’s success can be largely attributed to the fact that we are looking at business solutions for our clients rather than mere advertising solutions”, Mr Nirvik Singh told The Tribune in an interview. Mr Nirvik Singh, who was selected for the ''Agency Head of the Year'' award at MEDIA magazine’s prestigious Asia Pacific Awards at Hong Kong last month, said “it calls for various sense of responsibility” . “As advertising agencies clients expect us to respect their money much more”, Mr Singh said. Mr Nirvik Singh is behind the ''India Shining'' campaign of the Government of India which reflects the feel good factor in the economy cutting across various segments of the population. The award is given to the agency leader who has done the most to advance his business and set the industry standards. Nirvik was adjudged the winner after an exacting judging process by MEDIA magazine, which included a strict audit by PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Mr Nirvik Singh said the award was a recognition of the Grey India as much as it was for the Indian advertising industry. “We have spent a couple of years redeploying our various talents to yield best practice results across our diverse country and customer base. It has resulted in gratifying sales and share gains for clients and this award is another acknowledgement that our strategies are paying off”, he said. The Indian advertising industry was “clearly reaching the global standards” and more and more such awards will come in the near future. He took over at the helm of Grey India in 1997 in the backdrop of a severe financial crunch. He is credited with successfully re-engineering the erstwhile Trikaya Grey from a just a creative led hot-shop to a total communications and marketing solutions partner. Currently, Grey Worldwide claims a growth rate twice that of the industry and he attributes this growth to the shift in focus his agency took from providing advertising solutions to partnering the client’s total
communications and marketing endeavours. The realignment of strategies in the advertising industry was precipitated by prolonged economic downturn not too long ago and. Given the slow offtake in most categories, more and more companies were calling for pitches and changing advertising agencies. On the ''India Shining'' campaign, he said that it was reflective of the true state of the economy. “There is no question, the country and the economy is shining. It was a proud moment for us to be associated with such a campaign”, Mr Nirvik Singh said. The contentious issue of billing also does not catch the fancy of Mr Singh, who feels that too much has been made of the billing phenomenon. The size of the Indian advertising industry is Rs 10,000 crore in terms of amounts of advertisement placed in the media. “The billings obsession has gone too far. Instead the obsession should be towards
solutions”, he said. There have been a lot of debate within the advertising circles about the size of each agency. Many agencies had started pushing total billings as a major yardstick during sales pitches. However, those familiar with the functioning of the industry point out that the billing figure is nothing more than an academic entry in their balance sheet. Moreover, the billing figures do not reflect the true income of the agency as they work on a 15 per cent commission structure. Besides, as many experts have pointed out, the problem is further compounded by the fact that no Indian ad agency is a listed company and therefore it is impossible to verify figures submitted by an agency. Mr Nirvik Singh said billings of the ad agencies are not reflective of the size of the industry as they cannot be taken as correct parameters of the actual earnings.
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Chautala woos investors
New Delhi, January 11 Interacting with delegates attending the second Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Indian Diaspora Day) conference, Om Prakash Chautala said irritants, including, lack of healthcare facilities or traffic bottlenecks and civic services, would be sorted out soon. "By next year when you come again all these problems would have been sorted out," he told a largely satisfied group of investors among the Indian diaspora. Bucking the low growth in most North Indian states, Haryana had in the last three years attracted $6 billion in domestic investment, Chautala noted. He gladdened delegates by saying, "I regard you as the asset of India abroad and not in the sense of money bags that you may or may not bring to India for investments. "If we are not able to sort out their problems, investment will not come in," Chautala told IANS candidly after the two-hour long interactive session. In contrast to Haryana's tale of growing success, Indian diaspora representatives at the session on Punjab had to face the disappointment of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's absence. Punjab Chief Secretary J.S. Gill faced a volley of complaints about the lack of infrastructure, including erratic power supply.
— IANS
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Exim forms likely to be withdrawn Chandigarh, January 11 Informed sources said under tremendous political pressure from senior Congress men, Capt. Amarinder Singh will meet Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal and the Excise and Taxation officials here tomorrow on the status of Exim forms. There are strong arguments for and against continuation of the Exim forms, required to be filled-in and filed by those traders, who either export or import goods. These forms are furnished at the 35-odd Information Collection Centres (ICC). Basically, a revenue safeguarding measure, it was estimated that this system could result in at least 20 per cent increase in revenue collections in October-December quarter. Results will be known by January 31, next. There are reports that prior to the introduction of Exim forms, the documents on the basis of which data on export or import of goods was fed into the computer were returned to the person submitting the information. Later, when the entries in the computer were cross-checked and verified with the dealers concerned, the same were denied. And the department had no evidence to substantiate authenticity of the documents. It transpired that in several cases, dealers were playing frauds on fellow dealers by submitting fake documents in their names. It is said in the financial year, 1999-2000, when ICCs were introduced, transactions worth over Rs 700 crore were denied by dealers, across the state. If a general sale tax of 8.8 per cent is calculated on the suppressed or denied turnover, the state lost a tax revenue o Rs 62 crore, approximately, in one year
alone. This figure could be even higher, as several traders managed to even bypass ICCs. According to Mr Amarjit Goyal, the Exim forms were “duplicity” of the work, which was already being done by ICCs. This had increased the burden of registered dealers, many-fold. The vehicles had to wait for long at entry points into the state, as drivers and others collected forms from the consignee dealer. He said in five states, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, where Exim forms existed, there was no computerisation at entry points. Since Punjab had computerised system why Exim forms, he asked adding, “We want Punjab to increase revenue collection. We are not against this. But it is also a fact that no theft of revenue is possible without the connivance of the staff”. The department officials, however, denied any “duplication” of efforts. There was quite a difference in furnishing correct information on the 11 points in ‘’security-oriented’’ and accounted for Exim forms and in the ordinary ST XXIV-A forms that dealers got printed of their own. Relying solely on the dealers’ or traders’ documents had proved to be a revenue disaster with large scale denials or suppression of transactions and turnover, later. “Besides state revenue, the system is also intended to safeguard the credibility of the trade and business interests of traders, as well”, said a department official. Sources said rather than winding up this revenue collecting mechanism barely four months after it was introduced, the Exim form system should be allowed to continue at least till January 31, next. Later, results could be evaluated and corrective steps, if any, incorporated in consultation with the trade.
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Govt may stop onion export
New Delhi, January 11 Alarmed at the price rise, the Consumer Affairs Ministry is in favour of stopping onion exports with immediate effect and a meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Exports of Agro-Products has been convened later this week to decide on the issue. “We cannot take any chances on the onion front. Despite all efforts made, prices have remained consistently high for the past three months. The ministry has now asked the Commerce Ministry to stop exports immediately,” official sources told PTI. A sharp rise in onion prices was one of the major factors in BJP’s debacle in 1998 assembly elections in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Sources said the prices was spiralling as severe cold had delayed the late-kharif crop and fog hit transportation of onions. That exports were on the rise had not helped market sentiments either and in Delhi, the common man was poorer by Rs 14 for every kg of onions he bought and that too from the wholesale market, they added. In many other cities, prices in the past three months had shot up to Rs 18-19 per kg before coming down to the present average of Rs 15 a kg.
— PTI
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by J.C. Anand Sensex may touch 7,000-mark The stock market has been highly volatile during the last week. After some sharp decline on two trading days due to technical correction, the market again jumped up and the indices touched all-time high in Sensex and Nifty. On the last trading day, on Friday, last week the Sensex touched a high of 6240.6 points during the intra-day trading. But at the end of the session it had moved down to 6119 points with a gain of only 11 points from the previous day’s close. Even before the announcement made by the Finance Minister about cut in customs and excise duties and large concessions to farmers, students, senior citizens and employees, some top analysts were highly optimistic about a further rise in the market indices. Some placed the Sensex at 6500 points, some at 7,000. The Finance Minister’s concessions are in the nature of a mini-budget to win middle class voters for the coming Lok Sabha elections which are likely to win middle class voters for the coming Lok Sabha elections which are likely to be in early May this year. The success at SAARC summit at Islamabad has also contributed to the positive feeling about the future of economy and the stock market. When the SAARC decisions are implemented, there will be sharp increase in the regional trade and economic gains. The announcement about cut in customs and excise duties which will get implemented almost immediately will have considerable impact on the corporate sector. The customs duty on non-farm goods has been cut by 5 per cent from 25 per cent to 20 per cent. The customs duties on coal and power equipment have been cut from 15 per cent to 10 per cent. This is likely to benefit the companies like Tata Power and BSES. The duty on life saving drugs and equipments has also been cut to 15 per cent. The information technology is bound to gain by the cut in the customs and excise duties. The customs duty on cellphones, computer network, laptops and computers have also been cut. Infrastructure projects get exemptions under Section 10 (23 G). This will help companies like Larsen and Toubro and others engaged in construction. Some information technology companies which have declared their results have done very well. phasis BFL’s third quarter profit is up by 57 per cent. Infosys’ net profit for the third quarter is up by 28 per cent to Rs 283.14 crore. The other companies in this sector are also expected to do very well and no profit booking should be done in the top-level companies in this sector. Jubilant Organosys (formerly known as Vam Organic has declared a net profit (for the third quarter) of Rs 237 million as against 125 million for the corresponding period last year and has announced an interim dividend of 75 per cent (Rs 3.75 per equity share of Rs 5 each). Larsen and Toubro’s Rs 10 face value share which is at present quoting around Rs 580 is expected to complete its demerger process by sale of its cement manufacturing plants to Grasim has received a large number of orders both from India and abroad is expected to maintain its buoyancy even in the post-merger period. The company’s chairman has announced a comprehensive programme to expand the engineering and construction activities of the company in the post-merger period. A partial profit booking may, however, be done though there is still some scope for further rise in the market price of its shares. The market is expected to maintain its buoyancy and is likely to get another jump in case the NDA comes to power. SEBI announcement regarding “margin trading” will also contribute to it for it is expected to promote speculative business as well as transparency and stability in the system. There is some news that Global Trust Bank, which at present is quoting around Rs 32, is likely to sell 49 per cent of its equity to some foreign investors. In case this gets through, the share price will move up by 30 to 40 per cent. The retail investors should book profit in those scrips which have weak fundamentals but have already moved up by 70 per cent or more.
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Delhi, January 11
