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SAIL-IISCO merger okayed
Nissan subsidiary resumes operations
Wipro to invest Rs 50 cr in HP
HPMC's tetra pack plan hits roadblock
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TCS retains top slot
Vita to diversify product range
Cremica unveils ready-to-use gravies
India-centric Intel PC platform mooted
FICCI plea on independent Directors’ strength
An Airbus A340 flies at the Paris Air Show in Le Bourget, near Paris, on Thursday.
— Reuters
photo
Panel invites suggestions on SME Bill
Centre plans stake in DPC
Central Bank, TCS reach pact
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SAIL-IISCO merger okayed
New Delhi, June 16 Minister of Information and Broadcasting Jaipal Reddy told newspersons here. The Cabinet decided to continue the block grant scheme of funding with some modifications “based on the experience of implementation for the five IITs ( Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kharagpur and Kanpur), four IIMs ( Kolkata, Bangalore and Ahmedabad) and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore”. The modified block grant scheme will be extended to the two new IITs (Guwahati and Roorkee), three new IIMs, the Indian School of Mines ( Dhanbad), the School of Planning and Architecture ( Delhi), the National Institute of Industrial Engineering ( NITIE), Mumbai ,and the National Institutes of Technical Teachers Training and Research (NITTTR) at Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai and Kolkata with a stipulation that the level of corpus may be allowed up to Rs 100 crore in the case of IITs and IISc and Rs 50 crore in respect of other institutions. In addition, these institutes have been granted power not dependent on non-plan budgetary support to create academic posts and make appointments to such posts on a contractual basis for fixed but renewable tenures. The pattern of funding shall be applicable from the year 2005-06 onwards for five years. The Cabinet also cleared the decks for the merger of public sector undertakings-Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO) and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and authorised the Ministry of Steel to initiate the merger process after taking necessary approval of the Board of Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR). “This will ensure availability of high quality iron ore to SAIL’s steel plants and with SAIL’s financial and managerial capabilities and availability of potential with IISCO like mines/collieries, large infrastructural facilities, there would be greater synergy for capacity expansion and technological upgradation of the plant”, an official statement said. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) also decided to provide budgetary support of Rs 141.41 crore to 16 central public sector undertakings to enable these to pay pending salaries and statutory dues of their employees. All 16 PSUs fall under the Ministry of Heavy Industry and owe Rs 98.43 crore as salaries to their employees and Rs 42.98 crore as statutory dues. The support to the PSUs would clear off the salaries and statutory dues till March 31, 2005, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said. The Cabinet also approved amendments in the tax treaty with Portugal and signing of such agreements with Serbia and Montenegro. The Cabinet also gave its approval for upgradation of the post of Coal and Mines Provident Fund Commissioners in the Coal Mines Provident Fund Organisation. The Cabinet also approved the recommendations of the “Group of Officers” on Cadre Structure of Central Secretariat Stenographers Service (CSSS) which includes upgradation of 372 posts and stoppage of direct recruitment in steno grade ‘C’ ( PA). The Cabinet approved the design and development of ‘Oceansat-2 Mission’ which envisages building and launching of a remote sensing satellite with an Ocean Colour Monitor and Ku-Band Scatterometer as the payloads at a total estimated cost of Rs 129.15 crore. The CCEA also approved the establishment of a supplementary transmission system associated with Sipat Stage II project at a cost of Rs 813.67 crore. The CCEA also approved increase in the overall target under mini missions III and IV of the Cotton Technology Mission (CTM) to development of 250 market yards, modernisation of 1000 ginning and pressing factories and installation of 200 grading laboratories. The CCEA also approve the proposal for construction of a new 360 -bed superspeciality block at Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medial Education and Research (JIPMER), Pondicherry. It also approved a financial restructuring package for Braithwaite Bu7rn and Jessop Construction Company. The CCEA also approved the proposal to set up a World Class Drug Research Institute at Sitapur Road, Lucknow.
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Nissan subsidiary resumes operations in India
New Delhi, June 16 “We see great potential for Nissan in the Indian market and expect India to be one of the key contributors to Nissan’s growth in the future,” Mr Yoshie
Motohiro, Managing Director of NMIPL, said in a statement. Nissan currently has five independent dealers in India, one each in Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The Bangalore and Hyderabad dealers started their business in May. Nissan entered the Indian passenger car market in August, 2004, with the launch of SUV X-TRAIL. The model has sold over 130 units the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005.
Kinetic launches new scooters
Pune-based two-wheeler company Kinetic today unveiled its new range of Italian series scooters. Company Joint Managing Director Sulajja Firodia Motwani said these Italian-designed two-wheelers were sure to break new ground in two-wheeler category in India by taking a departure from so-far-accepted traditional scooter formats. As a precursor to the launch, the company had also changed its logo to reflect a premium and aspirational brand image, she added. Ms Motwani said the series comprised seven new scooter designs and were being sold for the first time in the country. It offered a complete range from classic, futuristic, sporty, radical to vintage retro designs. Engine specifications would range from 50 CC to 250 CC. These scooters would be launched in a phased way over the next couple of years with the first launch coming in a month.
— Agencies
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Wipro to invest Rs 50 cr in HP
Shimla, June 16 The unit would be set up in the Baddi area of the state, Wipro chief Azim Premji said when Mr Virbhadra Singh called on him yesterday at Bangalore. Industry Minister Kuldeep Kumar, Tourism Minister GS Bali, Chief Secretary SS Parmar and other senior state officials were present on the occasion.
— UNI
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HPMC's tetra pack plan hits roadblock
Solan, June 16 The fact that HPMC has its manufacturing unit at Sundernagar in Mandi district while it plans to bottle the wines at its Parwanoo unit, the Excise and Taxation Department has termed it a violation of the manufacturing rules. Senior officials of the department opined that the process required a fresh licence and HPMC could be given a licence if both manufacturing and bottling was done at Parwanoo itself. Officials said the tetra packs could enhance the product value by making it attractive and consumer-friendly. HPMC’s Sundernagar plant which began with a capacity of 10,000 bottles of the three products now manufactures 1 lakh bottles. The officials said they endeavoured to increase this quantity and efforts were afoot to procure machinery exclusively for wines.
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TCS retains top slot
New Delhi, June 16 Satyam Computer Services Ltd, with Rs 3,377 crore revenue, and HCL Technologies Ltd (Rs 2,664 crore) maintained the fourth and fifth ranks respectively. IBM Global Services India Pvt Ltd (Rs 1,867 crore) entered the top 20 list at the sixth position. As a result, Patni Computer Systems Ltd (Rs 1,548 crore) was pushed to the seventh position, followed by i-flex Solutions Ltd (Rs 1,110) crore). Mahindra British Telecom Ltd (Rs 913 crore) and Polaris Software Lab Ltd (Rs 697 crore) during the last fiscal. NIIT Ltd, which ranked 12 last year, slipped to the 19th position with revenues of Rs 448 crore while Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd moved up from the 18th rank to 13th with Rs 557 crore in revenue, Nasscom said in its survey on Top 20 IT software and service exporters from India 2004-05, excluding ITES-BPO. Perot Systems ranked 12,
followed by MASTEK Ltd, iGATE Global Solutions Limited (Formerly known as Mascot Systems Ltd), Siemens Information Systems Ltd, Mphasis BFL Ltd and Tata Infotech Ltd (Rs 463 crore revenue). Flextronics Software Systems Ltd stood at the bottom of the list with revenues of Rs 424 crore.
— UNI
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Vita to diversify product range
Chandigarh, June 16 The "Vita Ki Barat", a roadshow to popularise the products of HDDCFL, will remain on the roads of Chandigarh and Haryana for a month. Launching the roadshow, the Managing Director of the federation, Mr Devinder Singh, said here today that the federation had adopted a multi-pronged strategy to diversify its products, increase its production and marketing level and create a long-term bond with milk suppliers. He said a representation had been made to the Chandigarh Administration to allot booths for the sale of Vita products on the pattern of Verka of Punjab. He said it had been decided to introduce a group insurance scheme to provide a financial cover of Rs 60,000 each for the regular and committed members of dairy cooperative societies. Under this innovative scheme, each member would have to pay an annual premium of merely Rs 10. He said for the first time white credit cards would be issued to those who supplied milk to the federation in the lean season. Each card holder could avail loan of Rs 50,000 from bank for purchasing milch cattle without any collateral security. The rate of interest would be 8.75 per cent. He said it had also been decided to prepare a panel of doctors for the healthcare of the milch cattle. Mr Devinder Singh said there was a plan to set up 60 dairy farms with the financial assistance of banks and preference would be given to committed suppliers. A number of steps would be taken to strengthen the marketing of milk. Milk bars would be opened in each sector developed by Haryana Urban Development Authority, mini secretariat, police complex, bus stands and railway stations. As many as 120 milk booths would be added during the current year and all Vita products would be made available at all retail points which numbered more than 2,000. He said there was also a plan to introduce new products like ice cream, sweetened flavoured milk, lassi and milk in tetrapacks in the near future.
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Cremica unveils ready-to-use gravies
Chandigarh, June 16 Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Akshay Bector, Managing Director of Mrs Bector's Food Specialities Ltd, said these gravies would be a hit for working couples. Mrs Bector now offers seven favours — chana masala, korma masala, tikka masala, rogan josh masala, rajma masala, rozana masala and makhni masala. These ready-to-eat gravies are prepared at its facility at Phillaur and are 100 per cent vegetarian with no preservatives. Elaborating the roll-out plan, Mr Bector added that these products would initially be launched in Punjab in the first phase, covering Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar. These products would be available on the shelves of the supermarkets by the month-end. This would be followed by their launch in Delhi, Mumbai and other metros by year-end.
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India-centric Intel PC platform mooted
Mumbai, June 16 “With in a year or two, we will have a new computer applications platform for India,” Intel India President Ketan Sampat told UNI here today. The company is looking at a low-cost, low-power consuming PC platform, with more user friendly functions. “There are special needs for a platform for the Indian or emerging markets. And the idea is to design new processors for the platform if it is required,” Mr Sampat said. The company has already started similar initiatives in Cairo (Egypt) and Sao Paulo, (Brazil). “We have not yet made any decision. We are still in the
process of evaluation... several country locations have been reviewed for a possible future manufacturing site, India is one among them,” Mr Sampat told reporters on the sidelines of the Skotch Financial Technology Summit here today. Reacting to Union IT and Communication Minister Dayanidhi Maran’s statement that Intel plans to locate its $ 400 million assembly test manufacturing facility in India where Intel chips would be manually wired for testing, Mr Sampat said nothing had been changed from their end. “Intel has not yet taken any decision,” he clarified. On Tuesday, Mr Maran had said Intel would set up the facility in special economic zones and had shortlisted Chennai, Noida and Bangalore for setting up the manufacturing centre.
— UNI
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FICCI plea on independent Directors’ strength
New Delhi, June 16 "It has to be appreciated that promoters, who have majority stake in the business and on whose confidence people have subscribed in the company, must have significant representation on the board. In this perspective, FICCI is of the view that the limit of independent directors should not be more than 25 per cent, including nominee directors," the chamber said in reaction to the Irani Committee report for a new Companies Act. The chamber, which took feedback from finance directors, company secretaries, chartered accountants and legal experts of large, medium and small companies across the country for its survey, said requirement of presence of independent directors may vary depending on the size and type of company. The chamber said shareholders and the board should decide as to how many of them would be adequate to have effective governance of their
company. — PTI
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Aviation scene
Le Bourget, (France) June 16 The venture is being jointly promoted by InterGlobe and Mr Rakesh Gangwal, globally recognised for his management skills and expertise in the airline industry. ‘’IndiGo is the result of extensive analysis and planning by very experienced airline executives and we are convinced it will be a successful new player in a market that is both large and fast growing,’’ said Airbus president and CEO Noel Forgeard. Deliveries of A320s will start in late 2006.
Air Deccan
London: Air Deccan, India’s foremost low-cost airline, has taken delivery of its first new ATR 72-500 aircraft at Paris Air Show. The aircraft, delivered with a 72-seat configuration, is the first one of an order for 30 new ATR 72-500 aircraft signed in February at Aero India show in Bangalore. “I am delighted to take delivery of the first new ATR 72-500. This aircraft will help us to satisfy the increase in traffic and to carry on with our plan to connect all main Indian cities to the major metropolitan centres at a very low fare,” Air Deccan’s Managing Director Capt Gopinath said at the delivery ceremony yesterday.
A-I service
Mumbai: Air-India has decided to launch direct flights from Kolkata to London with effect from June 18. The new flight, to be operated on the Delhi-Dhaka-Kolkata-London route thrice a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, will also provide connectivity between Delhi-Dhaka, Dhaka-Kolkata and Dhaka-London, and Air-India statement said today. The new flight, part of A-I’s sustained drive to expand its worldwide route network, will the third long-haul flight to be introduced by the company in the past three months. The flight will be operated with the state-of-the-art Boeing 777-200 aircraft with 272 seats in three class configurations.
Air Sahara flight
Delhi: Private carrier Air Sahara today announced the acquisition of two Boeing 777-200 ER (extended range) aircraft on lease for intercontinental operations. The airline recently obtained government approval to launch daily flights to London Heathrow. ''By winter schedule, which begins in October, we'll have daily flights to London from New Delhi,'' said a spokesperson. She said Air Sahara president and CEO Ronojoy Dutta yesterday signed an agreement for dry-leasing of two B777s with US-based International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) at the Paris Air Show. The lease is valid for eight years. The planes can fly non-stop for 13 hours and will be deployed on New Delhi-London route. So far, Air Sahara had 21 planes, including 13 Boeing 737s and eight Bombardier CRJ 200 jets offering 140 flights daily to 24 destinations, including Colombo in Sri Lanka and Kathmandu in Nepal.
— Agencies
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Panel invites suggestions on SME Bill
New Delhi, June 16 The small-scale industry is at present defined by notification under Section 11B of the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951. Section 29B of the Act provided for notifying reservation of items for exclusive manufacture in the small-scale industry sector. Except for these two provisions, there exists no legal framework for this dynamic and vibrant sector of the country's economy.
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Centre plans stake in DPC
Chiplun, June 16 Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said here today. The Centre is making efforts to start two phases of the Dabhol project in a year and make available 2600 MW of power to Maharashtra, he
said. — PTI
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Central Bank, TCS reach pact
Chandigarh, June 16 The scope of the entire project includes the retail, corporate, trade finance and delivery channels for Internet, phone and mobile banking (SMS and WAP). Over 25 million customers and over 38,303 employees will benefit from the IT initiatives of the bank.
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Aviation scene
