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PM worried over mounting fiscal deficit
FM promises to revisit tax on small cars
Posco creates Indian arm
Bajajs reach settlement
ABN Amro signs euro 1.8 billion
India attractive for investment, says |
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Mittal, Noon in Asian Power List
Auto Scene
IT Round-up
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PM worried over mounting fiscal deficit
Lucknow, September 1 “I feel concerned about the financial health of the country. The collective fiscal deficit of the Centre and states is 9 to 10 per cent of our national income,” he said after launching the LIC “Bima Gold” policy here. If the deficit was not contained, “the economic progress of the country could be impaired,” the PM said and asked the state governments to discharge their obligations in this regard as also strive to improve education and health services. He was also worried about the mounting losses in some state electricity boards, which could trigger an economic crisis and asked all political parties to think of ways and means to meet the rising power demand of the nation. “The electricity boards in some states are not working properly. Every year there is a loss of Rs 25,000 to 30,000 crore. Power has not reached the rural areas and the farmers are not able to make full use of it,” the PM said. The Prime Minister said if the country had to progress, the functioning of state electricity boards would have to be improved and transmission and distribution losses be checked. “We might have to provide free power to poor farmers, but if the losses continued to mount there could be a crisis,” Mr Manmohan Singh said, asking public sector power utilities to learn to succeed in the era of competition and globalisation. Laying stress on savings, the Prime Minister said money from savings could be used to fund infrastructure development. In this context, he pointed out that the government’s ‘Bharat Nirman’ rural infrastructure development programme entailed an expenditure of Rs 1,74,000 crore in the next four years. He also called for improvement in the Railways, freight system, roads and irrigation and said the LIC had a big role to play in this regard. The Prime Minister was confident that India would have the resources to rid itself of poverty and unemployment, provided the economy sustained a 7 to 8 per cent growth rate in the next 10 years. Stating that the LIC and banks had to pay more attention towards strengthening infrastructure in backward states, he said public sector
enterprises were set up with the idea of using the profits for development. The Prime Minister also wondered whether it was prudent to spend on celebrations, while asking people to contribute whatever they can for the country’s development. He also asked the LIC to further improve its services especially to the small policy-holders. “As an ex-policy holder, I can say that it requires further improvement. Small policy-holders should be paid more attention”, he said. Earlier, the Prime Minister distributed Bima Gold policy bonds to five policy-holders. UP Governor T.V. Rajeswar and Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav were among those present on the occasion. AHMEDABAD: The LIC has decided to open “satellite” offices in all its 19 divisions in ‘metro cities’ to move closer to policy-holders as part of its golden jubilee celebrations. One such office is being opened in each of the 19 divisions in all “metros” as per definition of the LIC at Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Bhopal. The first “satellite office” in Ahmedabad has been opened near Indian Space Research Organisation-Space Application Centre (ISRO-SAC), befitting the name of the scheme.
— PTI
Special bonus on LIC policies
Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram announced that the LIC would give a special-bonus to its policy-holders to mark the completion of 50 years of service. All those who possess a valid LIC policy as on March 31 this year would be eligible for the bonus, he said, adding that Rs 2,100 crore had been earmarked for this purpose. Lauding the LIC for its contribution and growth, Mr Chidambaram said the LIC planned to venture into foreign countries in the days to come. As per the bonus announcement, the policyholders would receive additional Rs 50 per 1,000 insured while policy holders between April, 1981, to March, 2001, would receive between Rs 45 to Rs 6 per 1,000 insured as per their year of investment. The policyholders from April, 2001, to date will get Rs 5 per 1,000 insured.
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FM promises to revisit tax on small cars
New Delhi, September 1 ‘’We have to revisit the question of taxation earlier than we thought,’’ Finance Minister P Chidambaram said at the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) annual convention here. Mr Chidambaram said India was becoming a hub for small car-makers with Toyota, Daihatsu and Tata Motors working on small car projects. This would give existing Indian producers of small cars, as well as companies planning to produce small cars in India, the necessary incentive to do so. ‘’Cars are treated as luxury items in India and that is the reason they are taxed at a higher rate,’’ Mr Chidambaram said. ‘’There is need to change this mindset,’’ he added. Earlier, Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL) Managing Director Jagdish Khattar called for tax exemption for small and fuel-efficient cars. He said the automobile sector contributed to raising employment and 17 per cent of excise revenues. Every new commercial vehicle generated 13 jobs, cars 5.1 and two wheelers 1.
— UNI
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Posco creates Indian arm
Bhubaneswar, September 1 Incorporated as Posco-India Private Limited under the Companies Act, 1956, with the Registrar of Companies, Orissa, the subsidiary has started functioning from its office here, Posco sources said. The office is currently functioning at Fortune Towers in the Chandrasekharpur area of the city. Mr Soung-sik Cho, Senior Executive Vice-President of Posco, now given the additional charge of Managing Director of the subsidiary, would mostly operate at the headquarters in Seoul while Mr Tae-hyun Jeong had been appointed as the Deputy Managing Director. Mr Jeong would be stationed in Orissa and control and operate actual functioning of the Managing Director of the company, the sources said. The first phase of the 12 million tonne project would operate with an authorised capital of $ 1.2 billion which would be invested in the three million tonne capacity steel plant. Company sources said its Indian steel project was the largest foreign direct investment in the country.
— PTI
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Bajajs reach settlement
New Delhi, September 1 “We were thinking that the whole thing will be settled by September but now it has been delayed due to tax implications,” Mr Bajaj said.
— PTI
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ABN Amro signs euro 1.8 billion outsourcing deal Bangalore/New Delhi, September 1 Infosys sources here today said the company along with TCS would provide application support with the purpose of enhancing ABN Amro’s worldwide operations. The sources said supply of application development would also be part of the deal. IBM has been selected for building the IT infrastructure of the bank. Infosys here said the five-year deal was the single largest multi-year multi-million euro contract ever won by Infosys. The Infosys share of the overall contract includes committed volumes in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific and the right to bid as a top five service provider for Application Development projects at the Dutch global bank. “This is a landmark deal for Infosys,” said Infosys Managing Director Nandan M. Nilekani. “This deal clearly indicates that large offshore players like us have a competitive business model to deliver large, global, multi-year contracts. The deal also signifies a trend towards strategic global sourcing, where customers are selecting multiple, best-of-breed vendors to help improve efficiencies in their IT service delivery.” Mr Nilekani said Infosys has been aggressively expanding the depth and breadth of its service offerings over the years, investing in industry-specific capabilities and solutions, particularly in the financial services sector. TCS said that the landmark engagement is expected to generate committed revenues for TCS of over Euro 200 million over the next five years. TCS will manage a major part of ABN Amro’s application support and enhancement services for its operations in the Netherlands, Brazil as well as its private client business globally. “In addition to the significant annual revenues it will generate, this is the first multi-national global engagement that allows TCS to utilise its Global Delivery Model (GDM) in its entirety,” said Mr S. Ramadorai, TCS Chief Executive Office (CEO) and Managing Director. ABN Amro has gone in for a drastic reduction in its labour force. As many as 3,500 persons were laid off last year while it has slashed more jobs this year. The bank employs around 97,000 employees across its 3,000 branches worldwide.
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India attractive for investment, says US envoy
Chennai, September 1 Addressing a meeting organised by CII here, he said transformation of India’s economy was on and the US could help India advance this process. The US private sector could participate in India’s market economy. “However, we need to work on removing barriers,” he said. Calling for settlement of unresolved issues and removal of restrictions on retail and financial sector, he said: “US is not here to dictate but to make available its assistance and help India realising its dream of achieving higher growth.” The overall legacy problems had undermined the image of India, he said and urged the country to improve its image to attract more foreign investments. “Foreign and private banks were restricted from their ability to grow,” he said.
— PTI
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Mittal, Noon in Asian Power List
London, September 1 Mittal, who is worth £ 25 billion pounds this year as per Forbes estimates, and Ghulam Noon, whose Noon Products turns out 1.2 million ready-to-eat meals a week, were selected in the Asian Power List.
— PTI
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Auto Scene
New Delhi, September 1 “We are at the end of the homologation stage of Actros and we intend to introduce in the market early next year through Completely Built Units (CBU),” Daimler Chrysler India, CEO, Hans Michael Huber said on the sidelines of SIAM Annual Convention here.
Toyota plans
small car
Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd (TKML) today said it is considering to enter the small car segment in India. “We need to have something in the small car segment. We are serious about it,” TKML, Managing Director Atusushi Toyoshima said. On its capacity expansion with a possible second plant Toyoshima said it needs to be directly linked to the new project (small car project).
Maruti M800 sales drop
Car market leader Maruti Udyog Ltd today reported a 9.5 per cent rise in sales in August this year at 46,509 units against 42,480 units in the same month last year, despite a slight slowdown in
exports. The decline in the numbers of the ‘M800’ model, however, continued with sales dropping 18.7 per cent to 7,084 units from 8,713 units in August 2004. Domestic sales grew by a strong 10.8 per cent to 41,717 units in August this year from 37,660 units in the same month last year. Exports for Maruti in August were down 0.6 per cent to 4,792 units from 4,820 units in the same month last year. Maruti’s sales in the first five months of the fiscal were almost flat, growing only 1.7 per cent to 2,13,131 units against 2,09,523 units in the same period last year.
Hero Honda sales
up 28.5 pc
Hero Honda Motors Ltd, the country’s biggest bike maker, today reported a strong 28.5 per cent rise in sales in August this year at 2,46,304 units as against 1,91,635 units in the same month last year. The company’s sales in the first five months of the current fiscal grew 15.6 per cent to 11,63,921 units compared to 10,06,412 units in the corresponding period last fiscal, the company said in a press statement. During the month under review, the company also completed the phased launch of its new 125-cc model ‘Glamour’, it said, adding, over 45,000 units of the new model have already been sold since the launch in June this year.
TVS Motor plans Indonesian foray
TVS Motor Company today said it would hit the Indonesian market by October next year with its step-thru vehicle. “We are expecting the trial production from our Indonesian plant by July-August next year and the products will hit the market by October,” TVS Motor Company CMD, Venu Srinivasan said. The Indonesian plant would be the mother plant for the ASEAN region and it would have an installed capacity of quarter million, he said. The plant has been built with an investment of $ 50 million. Mr Srinivasan further said the company’s Himachal Pradesh plant would start functioning by June next year which had been built with an investment of Rs 70 crore. “The plant would produce only motor cycles in the range of 125 cc,” he said.
Bajaj Auto bike
sales up by 40 pc
Bajaj Auto, the country’s second- biggest bike maker, today reported an impressive 40 per cent jump in motor cycle Infosys, TCS, Patni, IBM, Accenture to share assignment sales in August this year at 1,49,415 units against 1,06,745 units in the same month last year. The strong growth was on account of highest ever sales of its Pulsar, Wave and Avenger models, second highest ever sales of other models such as Discover and CT100, coupled with the second highest exports at nearly 24,000 units, the company said in a press note. The motor cycle and two-wheeler sales grew significantly higher than the industry growth rate, it said. The total two-wheeler sales, including scooters, grew 37 per cent to 1,64,020 units in the month compared to 1,19,895 units in August last year.
GM India register 69 pc rise in sales
General Motors India sold 3,159 cars in August 05, registering a sharp increase of 69 per cent over July'05. As compared to the same month last year, it has shown a increase of 40 per cent. General Motors India sold 20,322 cars in the period January to August 05, a growth of 33 per cent over the same period last year. August'05 sales include 811 Chevrolet Optra's, 1339 Opel Corsa's, 1003 Chevrolet Tavera's and 6 Chevrolet Forester's.
— Agencies, TNS
Hydrogen powered 3-wheeler
In a significant development to reduce vehicular pollution, a three-wheeler vehicle powered by hydrogen fuel is being exhibited for the first time in India today. The vehicle being exhibited at the annual convention of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers is one of the two such demonstration models in the world. Its conventional combustion engine was converted to use hydrogen fuel through an American-Indian business alliance forged by the United States-Asia Environmental Partnership (US-AEP), a programme of the United States Agency for International Development
(USAID).
The result is a milestone in the US-India energy cooperation, and international efforts to mitigate climate change through a future hydrogen economy.
Energy Conversion Devices of Troy, Michigan, and Bajaj Auto Limited of Pune, India, have worked together to make the prototypes a reality.
— UNI
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IT Round-up
Bangalore, September 1 “There’s always a possibility,” said Mr John Wookey, Senior Vice-President, Applications Development, Oracle Corporation, in response to a question on whether the enterprise software company would go in for 100 per cent acquisition of i-flex. A month ago, Oracle announced that it was acquiring up to 61 per cent stake in i-flex solutions in a $ 909 million (Rs 3,952 crore) deal, enabling it to broaden its product portfolio in the financial services space. Mr Wookey, who is responsible for the strategic direction and development of JD Edwards, PeopleSoft and Oracle business applications, indicated that i-flex would be retained as an independent unit of Oracle. “Keeping its independence is critical” in aggressively attacking the market, he advocated. He said acquisition of i-flex was “critical” to Oracle’s ambition to become global number one in the banking software domain. Company executives pointed out that i-flex has a customer base of 575 banks spread across 11 countries and the firm has an employee base of close to 5,500 people globally. “Banking is a critical industry for us,” Mr Wookey said. “i-flex is a perfect partner.” Oracle is now looking to offer its global customers integrated solutions across the front, middle and back-office. i-flex would give Oracle a clear leadeship in banking and drive the latter’s strategy in this space, he added.
iSoft bags deal
Healthcare applications solutions provider iSoft Group Plc has won a multi-million dollar contract from SingHealth, a Singapore-based leader in advanced regional healthcare delivery, research and teaching, to provide next generation information solutions. “The announcement affirms SingHealth’s commitment to support healthcare reform in the region. Architected on iSoft’s solution framework, SingHealth will improve services to citizens and support a more streamlined journey to well being,” an iSoft press note said here.
TCS eyes Indonesia
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has won a major business performance consulting project from Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Indonesia’s oldest state-owned bank. TCS will be implementing the Malcolm Baldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence (MBCfPE) framework for BNI, Indonesia’s third largest bank. MBCfPE is a systematic and holistic framework of enabling continuous improvements of management, business, strategic, market related and operational processes.
— Agencies
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Steel price up Chola MF payout Biopolymers Order from Kenya Novartis bid BSEL Chairman Petronet LNG MD NCL plans Rs 67-cr expansion PACL achieves record production |
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