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dollar gains 40 p Mumbai, May 10 Nervousness over election results, meltdown in global stock markets and rising oil prices sent shares prices into a tailspin today, dragging down the BSE Sensex by a whopping 113.74 points to end at a six-week low at 5,555.84 points. 
In video:
Markets crash on the last day of polling. (28k,
56k)
Truckers veer
away from service tax The Centre is losing Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 crore annually due to its failure to bring goods’ transport business into service tax net though the express cargo and courier companies doing same business have already been covered under that tax.
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Implement fiscal
reforms: RBI State-run aircraft manufacturer, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, aims to become a $1 billion firm this fiscal (2004-05), HAL Chairman N R Mohanty said today.
India cannot be rich by its service sector alone but will have to improve its manufacturing industry and make world-class products to compete in the international market, Lord Swraj Paul, leading NRI industrialist, has cautioned.
Rs 28.8 lakh US
grant for Orissa The United States today provided a grant of $ 65,000 (Rs. 28.8 lakh) for the implementation of the safe water system in Orissa. Steel makers may
not hike prices Steel producers may not hike prices after the nearly three-month long moratorium to hold prices ends in May, with apex body Indian Steel Alliance apprehending onslaught of cheap imports in the wake of softening the international market. Mumbai, May 10 Reliance Clinical Research Services (RCRS) has commenced studies for clients in the US, the UK and West Asia in areas, including infectious diseases, vaccines and oncology to take advantage of India’s cost competitiveness and human resources.
Intel unveiled three new Pentium M processors, laptops here today. The new products, 735, 745 and 755 processors feature faster clock speeds, design enhancements and more on-die cache memory for better performance.
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Edgy market nosedives 114 points, dollar gains 40 p
Mumbai, May 10
Markets opened on a bearish note, continued to lose ground as the final phase of polling swayed trading sentiments. Foreign and domestic funds reportedly pressed heavy sell-off due to election uncertainty, even as some bargain-hunting lifted the market from intra-day lows, brokers said. The 30-stock Sensex which opened 40 points lower at 5,628.61, which itself was the day’s high and dipped below the 5,500-barrier to hit a low of 5,501.17, finished at 5,555.84, its lowest closing since March 30, and shedding 105.71 points or 2.01 per cent from Friday’s close of 5,669.58. The CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also lost 35.35 points or 1.96 per cent at 1769.10 points. While the earlier phases of the elections indicated a thin majority to the BJP-led NDA, NDTV’s latest opinion polls held before the final phase of voting showed that the ruling NDA was losing ground, and that panicked the market. Besides the election woes, the persistent weakness in the Asian and US markets on apprehension over of the rising interest rates and surging crude oil prices as well as China’s decision to cool down its overheated economy, also fuelled selling pressure. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) inflows, the major driving factor for the stock markets, turned negative due to nervousness over election results as they sold equities worth Rs 56.80 crore during the week-ended May 7, as against a net investment of Rs 106.9 crore in the previous week. The FIIs reported net selling on the last three sessions of the previous week. Most of the software, metal, cement, PSU, banking, auto, FMCGs, media stocks lost ground on persistent selling pressure. The markets is expected to continue its highly volatility in the crucial week that will determine the next government of the country, Vijay Saraf, chief operation officer at Centrum Securities, said. As the market generally welcomes the return of the ruling BJP-led alliance that pushed ahead the economic reforms, including the privatisation programme, the BSE Sensex could touch a high of 6,500 level if the BJP retains power. On the other side, if the NDA
government loses the election, the BSE barometer could dip to a low of
5,000 within a few days, Mr Saraf added.— UNI |
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Truckers veer away from service tax New Delhi, May 10 Under the pressure of a strong lobby of goods transport companies,
the government has failed to implement reforms in the transport sector
leading to huge revenue loss, widespread corruption at the toll-tax and
state-entry levels and severe damage to the national highways due to
overloading by a majority of truckers. A study undertaken by Indian
Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT) here has revealed
that “ by bringing about one lakh goods booking transport companies and
agencies in the country under 8 per cent service tax the government
would collect over Rs 10,000 crore annually. The estimated annual
business in this sector is around Rs 1,60,000 crore and is growing at a
high rate.” The study points out the reforms will force inefficient
companies to quit from business and bring down domestic freight charges,
currently claimed to be highest in the world. The IFTRT has expressed
hope that the new government will take a decision in this regard at the
earliest. Mr S.P. Singh, co-ordinator of the study, wondered if the
express cargo and courier service companies engaged in the same business
could pay 8 per cent service tax, why goods transport companies were
kept out of tax net. Interestingly, the government had tried to impose
5 per cent service tax on goods transport services in 1997, but after a
weeklong strike by the truckers on the behest of these transport
companies, it had withdrawn the tax. The industry experts claim that
out of around 30 lakh trucks in the country, goods-booking companies own
nearly one lakh of them. But they usually hire trucks from small
operators and book consignments from the industry and traders. As
intermediaries, goods transport companies, control the service of
collection, booking and delivery of cargo by issuing goods receipt (bilti)
and have strong network of delivery offices, warehouses and nationwide
set up of branches and agents. Mr Singh said: “Once this sector is
brought under tax net, the transparency and competitive working in the
trade will make the transport system economical and efficient so that
Indian industry and agriculture is globally competitive by reduction in
cascading impact of transportation of raw material and finished
products.” At present, the IFTRT claims, India had the most inefficient
road transport sector, controlled by a strong lobby of transport
companies and truck unions. The multi-national companies and other
industrial bodies like CII, FICCI have also been pressing upon the
government to initiate reforms in transport sector. |
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Implement fiscal reforms: RBI Mumbai, May 10 The RBI,
in its report on state finances for 2003-04, also highlighted the need
for reversing the trend of a decline in social sector expenditure as
level of government expenditure on this head is of “great significance”
in developing economy. Fiscal empowerment through revenue augmentation
to facilitate higher development expenditure is crucial, it said. The
ratio of the states’ own tax revenue to gross domestic product has
improved from 5.6 per cent in FY-02 to 5.9 per cent in FY-03 and was
budgeted at 6 per cent in FY-04. — PTI |
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Indigenise, says HAL chief
Bangalore, May 10 Addressing workers after
distributing the best performing division awards for 2002-03 here, Mr
Mohanty said HAL had changed its logo that said “HAL wants to climb up,”
with exports being a thrust area. He said HAL had several achievements
to its credit last year, including building eight Jaguar trainers and
delivering 13 Advanced Light Helicopters to the armed forces, besides
flying the first prototype of the upgraded MiG 27 fighter. Mr.Mohanty
said till HAL was building licensed products by importing foreign
technology the cost did not matter as the customer (armed forces) was
prepared to pay and “we had little opportunity to reduce costs”. “But,
when products like Light Combat Aircraft, Advanced Light Helicopter and
Intermediate Jet Trainer, which are designed and developed by us, and we
start many future projects by the end of this decade, it is very
important that costs come down,” he said. Mr Mohanty asked academia,
DRDO, private industry and HAL R&D team to increase indigenisation of
ALH so that the costs come down drastically. He later told reporters
that 70 per cent of ALH was imported and efforts were on to indigenise
components in the helicopter. “We have built a composite rotor blade at
Rs 1 crore, which cost us Rs 1.8 crore when it was imported. The costs
savings is huge”. — PTI
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Make world-class products, Paul to India
London, May 10 “The country is not going to
get rich in hi-tech alone, that too clearly in the servicing industry.
But it has given Indians hope and confidence that they are becoming part
of the world,” he said, participating in BBC World’s ‘Talking Point’
programme with India’s Ambassador to the UN Vijay Nambiar last
night. “India has to improve its manufacturing industry — that thing is
coming. We have to make world-class products. At the moment, China has
become the manufacturing centre for the world,” the chairman of Caparo
Group of Industries said. Lord Paul, who is also Britain’s business
ambassador, said: “India can easily compete with China or combine with
China because there is every possibility of making products competitive.
Look at the car component industry in India. It is doing extremely
well.” Answering a specific question on “India in a decade,” Lord Paul,
Co-Chairman of the India-UK Round Table, said “I am a very strong
believer. This is an opportunity for India. — PTI
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Rs 28.8 lakh US grant for Orissa
New Delhi, May
10 In a brief ceremony at the US
Embassy, Ambassador David C. Mulford presented the check from the
Indo-US Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases and Disease
Surveillance Programme to Population Services International (PSI) for
implementation, surveillance, monitoring and evaluation activities. |
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Steel makers may not hike prices New Delhi, May 10 “Cheap import is a possibility and a matter of concern.… We
have informed the government of our concern and want continuation of
protection in the shape of 15 per cent import duty,” its president Moosa
Raza told PTI here. Asked if ISA would advise domestic producers not to
hike prices in June, he said: “It is not our job to advise members on
prices. The producers have to take care of consumers, otherwise they
would commit “harakiri”. He clarified that the end of the moratorium
did not mean an upward revision in prices. — PTI
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Mumbai, May 10 RCRS
is working for indication in oncology, burn wounds, cardiovascular,
endocrinology, nephrology, gastroenterology, a Reliance group press
release said here today. Commenting on this business initiative,
Reliance group Chairman Mukesh Ambani said clinical research services
initiative was part of Reliance’s bid to transform itself into a
knowledge and services-driven enterprise. The costs of clinical
trials in the USA and Europe have skyrocketed. Many healthcare
companies have found doing clinical trials in India an attractive
option. Completing clinical drug trials and product development in
India could be up to 75 per cent faster, he said. — PTI |
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