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Power sector to have appellate body
Controversial HP hydel project gets WB nod
India, Vietnam to begin direct air linkages
PSIDC, Gail to sign renewed pact
Aiyar seeks oil prices benchmark in Asia
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MP rice tempts Dubai
BOC, Neyveli Lignite shares suggested for long-term investors
No IT rebate on tuition fee for self
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Power sector to have appellate body
New Delhi, October 17 For this, it has shortlisted names of 26 persons, including Central Electricity Authority Chairman H.L. Bajaj, Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission Chairman V.K. Sood and number of retired bureaucrats and CMDs of the PSUs for the posts of two members in the proposed body. Official sources said the body will be headed by a chairman, who will be either a retired Chief Justice of a High Court, or a retired judge of the Supreme Court. It will have two members - judicial and technical - each for a fixed tenure of three years, they added. The Power Ministry has reportedly also shortlisted 20 names for the post of member (judicial) and 23 for member (technical). But both lists have many names in common. For the post of chairman, the government had earlier shortlisted Jawaharlal Gupta, former Chief Justice of Kerala High Court, sources said adding the proposed selection of Justice Gupta was being reviewed and the Power Ministry had asked the Law Ministry and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to submit a fresh panel of names for the job. The Power Ministry will shortly submit the proposed set of names for the post of members to Kirit Parikh, Member, Planning Commission, who is also the Chairman of the Expert Group for Integrated Policy for Energy, for further perusal of the selection process. The members of the proposed tribunal would be finalised in consultation with the senior officials of the Power Ministry, including Power Secretary R.V. Shahi. Other prominent names in the two lists are retired PFC CMD A.A. Khan, former CMD of Tehri Hydro Project M.L. Gupta, retired Heavy Industry Secretary Naresh Narad, three retired members of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and K Roy Paul, a retired Civil Aviation Secretary.
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Controversial HP hydel project gets WB nod
Imphal, October 17 The IFC’s Ombudsman approved the loan despite launching an investigation into the project. Local people and Indian non-governmental organisations had called for the project to be delayed until numerous grievances and irregularities were resolved. We are afraid that we will not have enough drinking water and there will also be too little water left for our fields. The project could even destroy our livelihood, says Sundar Mahant, from Jagatsukh village, downstream of the proposed dam. The 192-MW Allain Duhangan Hydropower Project is being built across two tributaries of the Beas river in Himachal Pradesh, according to a release from the International Rivers Network, Berkeley, USA. The Jagatsukh villagers filed a formal complaint with the IFC’s Independent Compliance Advisory Ombudsman (CAO) in September. They said the project’s environmental assessment was flawed and incomplete and necessary consultations with project-affected people were not held. Their complaint also states that Jagatsukh has not given the No Objection Certificate (NOC) to the project required under state law. On October 5, Jagatsukh residents wrote to World Bank President James Wolfensohn urging him to delay the decision on Allain Duhangan until the CAO investigated their complaint. Two days prior to loan approval, the CAO decided that the villagers’ complaint warranted an independent assessment of the project. An Indian consultant hired by the IFC gave numerous recommendations on measures needed if the project was to meet IFC standards and local laws. The new infrastructure approach of the World Bank will indeed be high risk - but low reward - if it means pushing unnecessary projects with shoddy environmental assessments and without addressing the concerns of local communities, says Ann Kathrin Schneider, South Asia campaigner for International Rivers Network.—
UNI
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India, Vietnam to begin direct air linkages
New Delhi, October 17 Addressing a joint press conference organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) and Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, Mr Khanh said that the Indian government has officially conveyed its decision about the subject to the Vietnamese authorities who have also reciprocated the gesture. India’s Tourism Minister, Mrs Renuka Choudhury and the visiting Tourism Minister of Vietnam, Madam Vo Thi Thang are likely to discuss the details and the dates for establishing the air linkages on Monday.
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Matrimonial portal business booming
Chandigarh, October 17 Indian online matrimonial portals are growing at an average rate of more than 200 per cent annually against the world average of 25 per cent. Globally, it is estimated to be a more than $-10 billion industry. Of this, the highest growth rate is being witnessed in the South-Asian market. Consider this: In January 1997, shaadi.com had 45,000 plus members. Today, it boasts of 2 million members, growing eight times every year. Other top Indian matrimonial portals like bharatmatrimony.com and jeevansaathi.com also have nearly the same number of registered users. “During the past two years, there has been a tremendous growth in our business and the portal is seeing a growth of 250 per cent, on an average,” says an official spokesperson of bharatmatrimony.com. She asserts that the market is still in the nascent stage for India and the best is yet to come. “We receive nearly 1,000 CVs everyday with the conversion rate of 12 per cent,” says Vivek Khare from jeevansaathi.com. He claims that his portal is clocking 150 per cent growth rate and adds that the growing Net penetration has a vital role to play in this. JeevanSaathi, whose management control was taken over by 35 per cent stakeholder naukri.com recently, charges Rs 750 for a three-month subscription and Rs 1,800 for one year. The portal already has a database of more than 1.5 million registered users. Applying simple mathematics, the revenue figures are mind-boggling. Much more can be said about portals that charge more than this and have a higher database of subscribers. Major Daljeet Singh (retd), a Chandigarh-based representative of bharatmatrimony, says that the prime reason for such a phenomenal rate of growth is that this method is ‘instant.’ It is a faster method and annuls the fear of rejection, which is a bane in traditionally arranged marriages. “It blends the sanctity of traditionally-arranged marriages with the interactivity of the Internet, wherein the parents are involved, horoscopes matched and photos exchanged,” the official spokesperson says. Portals are even coming out with their USPs (unique selling propositions) to widen the subscriber base. Shaadi.com, for instance, is launching Shaadi Point centres to cater to the non-Internet savvy individuals and parents. “Shaadi Point is a network of centres (retail outlets) across the nation. Every Shaadi Point will be connected to the central database of prospects through a proprietory technology. Another is a messenger service, which allows members to chat online.
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PSIDC, Gail to sign renewed pact
Chandigarh, October 17 The MoU was first signed between the two on October 29, 2002, to encourage the usage of natural gas for various industrial sectors in Punjab and facilitate the setting up of the Doraha project at Ludhiana. However, the focus of the revised MoU would be more on tapping the natural gas, hydrocarbons and polymer markets in the region. As per the draft proposal, both Gail and PSIDC would club the demand clusters to form various industrial zones and each of these zones would then be taken up as a specific project by a steering committee constituted by both the signatories, which will determine the modus operandi for implementation of the project through a joint venture of Gail and PSIDC. The equity participation by Gail, PSIDC, Punjab government and other institutions shall be decided on the basis of the demand potential and the techno-economic study. MoU on similar lines has also been signed with the HSIDC recently.
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Aiyar seeks oil prices benchmark in Asia
Bangalore, October 17 “Two-thirds of the West Asian oil produce is bought by Asian countries, primarily Japan, Korea, India and China. Yet, we do not have a oil products market,” he told reporters after inaugurating the LPG Bottling plant of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), 50 km from here. Mr Aiyar said while there is Brent in Europe and Western Texas Intermediary (WTI) in the US, where suppliers were offering a discount on the oil prices, the Asian nations, which lacked similar benchmarks, are buying oil from various markets. He said the Opec nations were also not happy with the “dizzy rise” of oil prices, which is triggered by speculators in the New York market. For the proposed meeting of buyers and sellers of oil products in the Asian region, Mr Aiyar said, there has been positive response from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, while positive indications were given by Malaysia, United Arab Emirates, Korea and Iran, while awaiting response from China, which is holding a high-level meeting. —
PTI
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MP rice tempts Dubai
Bhopal, October 17 This was stated by the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Babulal Gaur, at a press conference here today. Mr Gaur was recently in the Gulf countries in connection with the inauguration of the Madhya Pradesh Pavilion as part of the Ramzaan festival in Sharjah. He said that he had a useful discussion with the government leaders and businessmen at Sharjah and Dubai. The NRIs, Mr Gaur said, would like to set up a university in Madhya Pradesh for the study of their children. For this the land would be provided.
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BOC, Neyveli Lignite shares suggested for long-term investors
The quarterly results announced so far have been good but the Sensex has come down from 5766.30 points on October 4 to 5686.73 points on October 15, registering a loss of 79.57 points. Infosys, TCS and Wipro, the leaders in the information technology sector, have declared impressive results. Infosys’s half yearly results are up by 30.8 per cent, that of TCS by 9.30 per cent and that of Wipro by 42.61 per cent. For the half yearly results, the EPS data are as under: Infosys’s net profit for the half year is up by 30.61 per cent, that of TCS by 9.53 per cent and that of Wipro by 42.96 per cent.
The slight fall in Sensex and Nifty is due to the three factors: profit-booking in a volatile market, spurt in the crude oil prices in the international market, slump in the global stock market. Whether the Indian stock market would maintain its buoyancy would largely depend on the corporate sector’s quarterly results. The international crude oil prices are at their top at about $ 54 a barrel. This would continue to have adverse affect on the profitability of the stock market in many sectors of industry. One has to wait and watch for the impact of the high oil prices on the industry and the corporate sector. Scrips to watch are: Tisco, Larsen and Toubro and the top IT leaders like Infosys, TCS, Satyam and Wipro. For long-term investors, shares of BOC India and Neyveli Lignite can be recommended for slow but steady market price appreciation. The scripts are relatively low-priced but have good fundamentals and prospects. BOC is a multinational company, with BOC Group Plc holding more than 51 per cent equity shares. The company has equity capital of about Rs 49 crore, Rs 136 crore as "premium reserve" and Rs 31.49 crore as "general reserves". It is a leading company in India in gases and related products. The company is also engaged in project engineering which deals with manufacture and sale of cryogenic and non-cryogenic vessels. During the year ended March 31, 2004 it set up a 225 tonnes per day plant at Jamshedpur for Tisco. It is also setting up a world-class compressed gas plant at Bangalore. It declared a dividend of Re 1 per equity share for financial year 2003-2004. Its quarterly results for the quarter ending September 30, 2004 indicate its half yearly net profit at Rs 681 lakhs as against Rs 426 lakhs for the corresponding period last year. Its market price has moved up from Rs 32 six months ago to Rs 60 now. Last Friday, it was quoting around Rs 49. It has prospects for further rise both in profitability and in market price. Neyveli Lignite is a public sector unit. It is mining lignite (brown coal) which is used in power sector for generating electricity. Its expansion programme has been approved by the government and the company is expected to perform better in the next two years or so. It has an equity capital of Rs 1677.71 crore and its Rs 10 face value share has a book value of Rs 42.8. It has an EPS of Rs 6.8 on the basis of results in 2003-04. At present it is quoting around Rs 62.50 and has a distinct scope for better results and price appreciation.
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No IT rebate on tuition fee for self Q. I have taken an education loan for tuition fees of my post-graduate course in medicine, with my husband a co-applicant. Am I or my husband eligible for rebate in Income Tax towards payment of fees or repayment of loan EMI? — Dr Ruchi Gupta A. As per the provisions of Section 88(2) (xivb) of the Act, the rebate in respect of tuition fee is available only in respect of tuition fee paid for the children of the assessee. Accordingly, you will not be entitled to any rebate from tax under Section 88 of the Act. Business loss Q. I am a salaried employee and also have a small business. During the current year, I might have a loss in my business. My question is whether I can set off the business loss against my salary income ? — Rahul Sharma A. As per the amendment made by the Finance Act, 2004, you cannot set off the loss under the head ' profits and gains of business or profession ' from the income which is assessable under the head ' salaries'. Tax on gratuity Q. Is gratuity paid to an officer on resignation from a public sector bank, after continuous service of 13 years, calculated on the basis of one month’s salary (last drawn) for each completed year of service taxable? The amount of gratuity is well below the ceiling of 3.5 lakh. As far as I know, the gratuity paid to the officer is either as per the provisions of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, or as per the Sub regulation (3) of the bank (given) whichever is higher. Please guide. — Kuldip Singh, Talwandi Mallian (Moga) A. The employee concerned would be eligible for a deduction u/s 10 (10) (ii) of the Income-tax Act, 1961in respect of the gratuity received by him. In accordance with the said section, the maximum amount that is exempt on account of receipt of gratuity is Rs.3.5 lakh. This amount is also the maximum limit prescribed under the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972. You have specified in your query that the amount of gratuity is well below Rs.3.5 lakh, therefore the gratuity received by the concerned employee will be exempt from the tax.
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India, which is championing for a benchmark for oil prices in Asia, has received positive signs from several countries for a crucial meet in January aimed at “stability, security and sustainability” in the Asian oil market, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said today.
Ranbaxy’s
third quarter results are up by 7 per cent in terms of its net profit.