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Sensex jumps as inflation falls
Cabinet nod for ordinances on banks, markets
Union Bank, BoI deny merger report
Airports’ revamp report assessed
UP Tourism to tap Taj mystique with carnival
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Pidilite paints a rosy scene as kids take to the brush again
Chandigarh, September 17 After suffering a brief eclipse by the new-age fad, computer, traditional hobbies like painting are staging a comeback in a big way among children and grown-ups alike.
Infogain opens centre at Noida
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Sensex jumps as inflation falls
New Delhi, September 17 The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation fell to 7.81 per cent after touching 8.33 per cent the previous week and the government asked the public to be patient, as steps taken by it would take some time before the impact is felt on ground. Finance Minister P Chidambaram had earlier forecast that inflation would start moderating from September. However, the latest figure is still a four-year high since inflation had peaked to 8.83 per cent in January 13, 2001. The general price level was as low as 4.59 per cent in the previous year period. During the period in review, the WPI rose by 0.3 per cent to 189.1 points due to an all round increase in the indices of primary articles, fuels and manufactured products. The index was 175.4 points a year ago. However, certain commodities including vegetables, wheat, eggs, some edible oils became cheaper while prices of certain items like fruits and naphtha (which is one the main raw materials for power and pharmaceuticals) that could lead to higher cost of production for the manufacturing and thereby spur inflation in the future, rose substantially. The index of Primary Articles' group (which has a weight of 22.02 per cent in the WPI basket) shot up by near one per cent to 194.4 points due to costlier food and non-food items and the index was 180.6 points in the previous year. The decline in point-to-point Wholesale Price Index (WPI) inflation by 0.52 per cent to 7.81 per cent from the previous week's level of 8.33 per cent was despite truckers’ strike that had reached a feverish pitch and finally ended on August 28. So far inflation has fallen only four times in this year and it had touched 8.84 mark on January 13, 2001. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) Sensex jumped 83.47 points or 1.52 per cent to a fresh 4-month high of 5,561.15 points today, as market galloped after the fall in inflation that allayed fears of an interest rate hike and led to expectations of impressive second quarter results. Market opened firm note and held on gains in morning trade, staged a remarkable rally in early afternoon after the latest data showed inflation fell sharply from 8.33 per cent to 7.81 per cent, after staying firm above the 8 per level in the previous two weeks, brokers said. The Government had recently announced a slew of fiscal measures to control the spiralling inflation including slashing of custom and excise duties on petro products, steel, cutting import tariff value for edible oils and increasing the cash reserve ratio for banks. The drop in inflation allayed fears of an interest rate hike and players betting of better corporate earnings, took positions in across-the-board counters, they said. The 30-stock Sensex which opened 12 points higher at 5,489.12, which itself was the day's low, shot up above the the 5,500 barrier to hit a high of 5569.47, before ending at 5561.15 points, its highest closing since May 7, and gained 83.47 points (1.52 per cent) from Thursday's close of 5477.68 points.
— Agencies
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Cabinet nod for ordinances on banks, markets
New Delhi, September 17 The decision to promulgate the two ordinances — to amend the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act of 1956 and Depositories Act of 1996 — was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The amendments to the SCRA would enable market regulator Sebi to approve the corporatisation and demutualisation of bourses, which would bar brokers from managing stock exchanges. The ordinance was brought in following the recommendations of Joint Parliamentary Committee that probed the share market scam of 2001, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters. He said the new legislations would bring in “greater efficiency” in the market while strengthening the regulations. A Bill will be introduced during the next Parliament session to replace the ordinance. The Cabinet today also approved setting up of a National Commission for promoting enterprises in the unorganised sector. The Commission will review the status of unorganised and informal sector in India, identify constraints faced by them in terms of freedom to carry out the enterprise, access to raw materials, financial skills, entrepreneurship development, infrastructure, technology and markets.
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Union Bank, BoI deny merger report
Mumbai, September 17 In separate statements to the stock exchanges, both banks said the news item appearing in a leading financial daily titled, Union Bank, BoI seen talking merger, did not originate from the banks. While the Indian Banks Association (IBA) is yet to submit its reports on merger and acquisition (M&A) among the public and private banks, there was no hurry for getting into discussions with any bank right now, said a top official from the Union Bank. “Its premature to talk about merger,” he said. According to Union Bank chairman V. Leeladhar, IBA would submit its report to the government within the next two weeks. The report would detail various parameters and roadmap as how to go about M&A between two or more banks, considering synergy between their locations, product profile, assets, technology platform and customer base. Shares of Bank of India (BoI) and Union Bank of India (UBI) rose sharply today on reports that the two mid-sized public sector banks with significant presence in the western region are informally examining the possibility of a merger. Merger of the two banks could create India’s second largest bank, with a combined asset base of Rs 1,44,000 crore, bigger than ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank and next only to the State Bank of India (SBI). Although the chairmen of both these banks—V Leedhar of UBI and M Venugopalan of BoI—have reportedly denied the merger reports, banking stocks, across the board, rallied as players were optimistic over some mergers among the public sector banks after the Government sent out strong signals that it favoured consolidation of public sectors banks, brokers said. BoI shares, which opened at Rs 49 and hit a high of Rs 51.35, was at Rs 50.30, showing a gain Rs 2.75 or 5.78 per cent from its previous close, while UBI shares were up by Rs 1.55 (2.15 per cent) at Rs 73.50 after opening at Rs 72.15 and touching a high of Rs 75.
— UNI
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Airports’ revamp report assessed
New Delhi, September 17 While Civil Aviation Ministry officials are still assessing the report from the IMG of officials that had been submitted about three weeks ago. The reports were submitted after studying the report of global consultant ABN-Amro on whether the 10 bidders fulfilled the criteria laid down by the Civil Aviation Ministry. The IMG had on August 4 laid down the criteria for shortlisting of the bidder-consortia and asked ABN-Amro to study their technical capabilities as well as their experience in managing airports. The prime parameters, at this stage, are the net worth of these consortia and their technical capabilities and experience. Ministry officials said that efforts were under way to submit the IMG recommendations to the GoM by next week. The GoM may take a final decision on the issue only by circulating the note. The issue has already been discussed with Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee who heads the GoM on restructuring the two airports. Incidentally, reports said that it was unlikely that any of the 10 bidders, including Bharti, Reliance and Videocon, would be knocked off at this stage.
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UP Tourism to tap Taj mystique with carnival
Lucknow, September 17 Despite a decision taken by the Chief Minister on January 7, 2004, to celebrate the International Taj Festival and a Cabinet decision in June to start preparation, the Budget for the festival was finally sanctioned on September 14 with less than a fortnight left for the inauguration. The state government has already invested Rs 5 crore to make the festival a big success with the hope to reap rich dividends. Of this Rs 2.5 crore has been earmarked for converting the Mahatma Gandhi Marg in Agra into a no headlight zone while the remaining is for a publicity campaign to attract tourists. The dire need to refurbish Taj tourism is corroborated by official statistics. In 2001, of the 7.95 lakh foreign tourist visiting Uttar Pradesh, 5.81 lakh (73 per cent) came to Agra. However, last year Taj could attract merely 3.20 lakh (38 per cent) of the total 8.25 lakh tourists visiting the state. The six-month long cultural carnival will have six mega events. President APJ Abdul Kalam is expected to release a postage stamp too. While Taj would be the focus of the festival, the events would be spread over the historical monuments of Agra like the Agra Fort, Akbar’s mausoleum, Fatehpur Sikri, maqbara of Itmad-ud-daula and the shrine of the sufi saint Sheik Salim Chishti.
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Pidilite paints a rosy scene as kids take to the brush again
Chandigarh, September 17 The computer boom, which seemed to have fascinated the young as well as the old, has somewhat receded over the past few years. While government bodies never tired of extolling the obvious virtues and advantages of computers, parents too insisted on their children joining computers classes to “prepare them for the future”, to the neglect of hobbies like painting and singing. “The shift from hobbies like art and craft to computers was reflected in the decline in the sale of painting colours manufactured by our company,” says Mr Randeep Singh, Team Head, Fevicril division of the Mumbai-based Pidilite Industries Ltd, in an interview with TNS. “However, the setback has proven to be temporary, thanks to the slowdown in the IT industry in the West and the job restrictions on IT professionals in countries like the USA after the terrorist strike on World Trade Center in New York three years ago. “Children have once again started opting for painting as hobby which is, of course, the best means of expressing themselves through their imagination. This is translating into the growing sale of our products like fabric paints, stick-on colours, glass colour range, fabric glue for beads and sequins, lamination glue, silk glue, 3D outliner, candle making kits, to name a few,” he said. This has encouraged Pidilite Industries Ltd to add new products to its portfolio, turning it into the biggest company in this field in the country with an annual turnover of nearly Rs 755 crore. Pidilite Industries was the first to come out with a violet toner and captured the whole market within two years. Guided by its dynamic director, Mr Apoorva Parikh, it has also acquired a number of new products from other companies including M-seal for waterproofing, Steelgrip insulation tape, Ranipal whitener for clothes. The company lays a lot of emphasis on R and D. Pidilite now employs a large number of teachers who organise free summer painting camps and workshops for schoolchildren. The last summer workshop it organised in Chandigarh was attended by more than 2, 500 children. Similar workshops are being held in different parts of the region as well, including, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. “As a matter of fact, the demand for such camps is now pouring in from the rural areas and small towns like Ropar,” says Mr Randeep Singh.
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