 |
|
RBI norms for one-time settlement
IRDA advocates FDI hike to 49 pc
Closure of IFCI ruled out
Only Rs 418 cr ‘will turn’ over 30 PSUs around
India to host Asian energy roundtable
India ‘attractive’ offshoring venue
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
India, Indonesia to cooperate at WTO meeting
Tatas eye Highveld Steel
Philately section in ONGC Museum
Airtel violates rule, says DoT
LIC plans combo policy
Court bars Ranbaxy
|
|
RBI norms for one-time settlement
Mumbai, November 23 The RBI has stated that these guidelines would be applicable to all NPAs in the SME sector, which became doubtful or loss or sub-standard as on March 31, 2004, with an outstanding balance of Rs 10 crore and below. This scheme would not be applicable to the cases of wilful default, fraud and malfeasance. Under these guidelines, the RBI has forwarded a settlement formulae whereby the minimum amount to be recovered from the NPA accounts would be the outstanding balance in the account as on the date, when the account was categorised as a doubtful NPA. The guidelines also stated that the NPAs, which were classified as sub-standard as on March 31, 2004, and which became doubtful subsequently would have to pay the total outstanding balance in the account as on the date, when the account was categorised as a doubtful NPA. Besides, it would also have to pay interest at the existing prime lending rate from April 1, 2004, till the final payment. The RBI has asked banks to submit a monthly report on the progress of such settlements to the higher authorities and give wide publicity to the scheme. Banks have also been asked to give notices to eligible borrowers by January 31, 2006.
— PTI
|
|
IRDA advocates FDI hike to 49 pc
New Delhi, November 23 “FDI hike is a matter of policy. The Finance Minister has already announced it in the Budget. We do support it,” said Mr C.S. Rao, Chairman, IRDA, at a Ficci seminar on insurance here today. Mr Rao said he also favoured legislative amendments to ensure greater flexibility in investments by insurance companies. “The Law Commission has submitted a report on a comprehensive insurance legislation to the ministry,” he said. On the unfair practices being adopted by some corporate agents, Mr Rao said IRDA would come up with stringent guidelines to safeguard the interest of consumers and insurers. “We would issue some guidelines on the manner of selection of corporate agents, the manner in which their activities should be monitored, and precautions to be taken so that there is complete disclosure of the policy implications for the clients,” he said. Mr Rao said advertisements by corporate agents that misled consumers to believe that they were insurers was a problem that needed to be addressed. “We would like to prevent it before it (the problem) becomes big,” he said. The insurance regulator said IRDA will also unveil separate guidelines for unit-linked insurance policies (ULIPs) in 2 to 3 weeks. Foreign partners in companies like ICICI Prudential Life, Max New York Life, Aviva and ING Vysya have been demanding hike in FDI cap for a long time. The government has notified the FDI hike in civil aviation from 40 to 49 per cent and in telecom from 49 to 74 per cent, but is yet to do so for insurance, as it requires amendment in the IRDA Act. Apart from the FDI, the Finance Ministry is also awaiting IRDA’s report on coming up with a comprehensive legislation on insurance. “We are compiling a report. We will submit it to the government in two weeks,” Mr Rao said. IRDA is in the process of vetting the reports of KP Narasimhan panel and Law Commission.
|
|
Closure of IFCI ruled out
New Delhi, November 23 “There is no communication to the IFCI from the government about its closure. Also, the board is working out on a long-term strategic solution to the present problems of the company,” the IFCI said in a statement clarifying on reports in a section of the Press. Moreover, in recent times there has been a considerable improvement in the financial performance of the IFCI with the operating profit rising to Rs 228 crore during the first half of 2004-05 from Rs 64.18 crore in the same period last fiscal. The IFCI affairs are managed by an independent Board of Directors, it said, adding that the government did not have a majority stake in the institution. The IDBI is the majority stakeholder in the IFCI with about 40 per cent while other banks and public hold the remaining stake.
— PTI
|
|
Only Rs 418 cr ‘will turn’ over 30 PSUs around
New Delhi, November 23 But despite working overtime to formulate the revival schemes, there has been considerable delay in their approval sought by administrative ministries from the CCEA. “For the implementation of the BRPSE’s recommendation on turnaround package for over 30 enterprises, fresh infusion of Rs 418 crore will be required of which Rs 94 crore will go towards funding voluntary retirement schemes for workers of these companies,” sources told PTI. The board is also of the view that productive employment should be increased after revival, which would eliminate the need for VRS. The board has also ensured that the companies would return a large part of the funds to the government from the sale of surplus assets in the next two to three years so that the cash infusion would be in the nature of bridge loan. The waiver of loan and interest that would be required for the revival of 30-odd companies cleared by the BRPSE would be close to Rs 3,000 crore, while in several cases the government would have to convert a small part of its loan and interest totalling around Rs 450 crore to equity, sources added. As the government, which was not getting back its loans from PSUs, the waiver would not hit it hard. This would also have been needed if it closed down the companies or decided to sell them to private players. In the case of Hindustan Salts and Bridge and Roof, the cabinet has already cleared fresh infusion of Rs 7.40 crore and Rs 60 crore, respectively. The revival package for HMT Bearings will require Rs 7.40 crore of fresh funds from the government while for Bharat Wagon this sum would be Rs 25.66 crore of which Rs 10 crore will be for VRS. In the case of HMT Machine Tools Rs 180 crore would have to be pumped in while Rs 80 crore would be required for Hindustan Antibiotics Limited of which Rs 34 crore is needed to fund VRS. In the case of the Central Inland Waterways Corporation, the board has approved a revival plan of Rs 17 crore all of which will be for VRS. Garden Reach Ship Builders are also very keen to take over the Rajabagaon dockyard of the CIWTC. After the formulation of revival packages, companies like Bridge and Roof, Praga Tools and Mecon, whose revival packages are awaiting the government nod, have already made profits in the 2004-05 financial year. They have also been making profits in the first half of 2005-06, along with others like Hindustan Salts, Eastern Coalfields, HMT, Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam Ltd BBJ Construction Company, Braithwaite and Bharat Wagon.
— PTI
|
|
India to host Asian energy roundtable
New Delhi, November 23 The ministerial representatives from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Russia will hold talks with high-level representatives from four consumer countries, including China, India, South Korea and Japan during the roundtable and bilateral meetings. ‘The proposed roundtable supplements the earlier initiative and will focus on the theme of stability, security and sustainability through inter-dependence and mutual cooperation in the Asian oil economy,’ Petroleum Secretary S.C. Tripathi said here today. The initiative being led by Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar aims to evolve an Asian oil market considering that these countries are the largest consumers of oil and gas produced in the region. The second roundtable and bilateral talks will also see India signing six MoUs with South Korea and a wide-ranging pact with Turkey for enhancing cooperation in the hydrocarbons,Mr Tripathi said. ‘The memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with South Korea include hydrocarbon cooperation, strategic oil reserves, technical collaboration on gas hydrates, hydrogen, CNG and fuel cells,’ he said. Meanwhile, India is planning to bring its share of 10,000 barrels per day (bpd) oil from the Sakhalin-I exploration block in Russia from the second quarter of next year on a test basis for six months before finalising future plans. ‘The initial production is expected to be 50,000 bpd of which our share will be 20 per cent. We have decided to bring oil to India for six months to test its acceptability in our refineries and the viability of bringing it here,” said OVL Managing Director
R.S. Butola.
|
|
India ‘attractive’ offshoring venue US exports Washington:
US Under Secretary of Commerce David McCormick, who is leading a US delegation to India next week has said that US exports to the country have almost doubled from $4 billion to $7.5 billion in the past three years. The time required for companies to receive export licenses for dual-use technologies has also dropped over the period, while the approval rate on those licenses has climbed to 91 per cent, he said.
— UNI
New York, November 23 It remains the best offshore destination by a wide margin even if wage inflation and emergence of lower-cost countries decreased its overall lead, the annual ranking by consulting firm A.T. Kearney has said. The report, however, cautioned that the Indian lead has shrunk slightly compared with that of last year. This was due to a slight reduction in India’s financial attractivess, the result of wage inflation in India and the emergence of new even lower-cost contenders, in Africa and South East Asia, like Ghana and Vietnam. As far as China is concerned improved infrastructure and relevant people skills have increased its attractiveness as a low-cost option for servicing Asian markets. The gap between India and the second-ranked country China is larger than the gap between the next nine countries combined. A surprising finding in its annual rating is that the US emerged as the 11th among the 40 countries evaluated. The firm said it had added four lower cost cities in the United States, Britain, Germany and France to determine how the compare with the more traditional offshore locations. The survey gives wage inflation and emergence of even lower-cost contenders such as Ghana and Vietnam for the slight reduction in India’s financial attractiveness. The report said that infrastructure and improving skills of the people have increased the attractiveness of China’s low-cost option for servicing Asian markets. Thailand jumped from 13th to 6th in this year’s Index and South-East Asian countries now make up four of the top six locations on the Index. Offshore attractiveness in Europe continues to migrate eastward as Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania enter the Index for the first time. As a region, South-East Asia is the biggest winner in this year’s Index. Malaysia maintains its 3rd position Singapore stays at 5th, the Philippines rises from 6th to 4th, Thailand jumps from 13th to 6th, and Indonesia leaps into the Index at 13th. Even Vietnam, at 26th in this year’s Index, sees its ranking rise from 20th to 16th position among the original 25 countries included in both the 2004 and 2005 Indices.
— PTI
|
|
India, Indonesia to cooperate at WTO meeting New Delhi, November 23 “We have agreed on a new strategic partnership which calls for closer diplomatic consultations, stronger defence relations and enhanced economic ties, especially in trade and investment,” said Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono Yudhoyono here today. Mr Yudhoyono invited Indian industry to tap the market in Indonesia. Speaking at the meeting Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said there was need to diversify the trade basket between the two countries.He identified sectors like IT and rail transportation for increasing bilateral trade and investments. Mr Nath said Indian companies have invested more than $2 billion in Indonesia.
|
||
|
Tatas eye Highveld Steel
Ink deal with Bluescope
Targeting an investment of Rs 1,200 crore for manufacture of steel products in the country, domestic major Tata Steel and Australian company Bluescope today formally signed a joint venture agreement to form a new company to market the products in the SAARC region. The joint venture will invest Rs 1,200 crore on four manufacturing locations in India and a network of sales offices across SAARC, Tata Steel informed the Bombay Stock Exchange today. While the two companies had announced their plan for forging alliance on November 10, they subsequently laid the foundation for the manufacturing unit near Jamshedpur.
— PTI
Mumbai, November 23 Tata Steel is in talks with Anglo American, which owns 79 per cent stake in the Highveld Steel. “This is in the process and we are evaluating it,” Tata Steel Managing Director B. Muthuraman said confirming the development on the sidelines of the formal announcement of the company’s joint venture with Australian Bluescope Steel. Declining to attach any special significance to the proposed acquisition, he said: “This is not the only company we are currently looking at. In fact, there are several other companies on our radar,” He also refused to divulge further details on the proposed acquisition, saying “We have not made up our mind on the acquisition and we will have to wait for sometime to divulge anything further”. Informed sources said Mittal Steel South Africa had previously shown an interest in the firm, but were unable to give the latest development on this. Tata Steel has manufacturing facilities in six countries in the Asia Pacific region and China. The company plans to set up a six million tonne steel plant in Iran and a two million one in Bangladesh. In 2004, Tata Steel acquired NatSteel Asia, which produces about two million tonnes of steel products annually across seven countries.
|
|
Philately section in ONGC Museum
Mumbai, November 23 The museum’s claim to fame will arrive from its second phase, which is going to house a dedicated section on Oil Philately. “This will make the ONGC Museum one of the select few global destinations for Oil philatelists, and perhaps, the biggest one — considering the number of collections,” observed Mr M Rajagopala Rao, Coordinator of the Museum, stating that very few oil museums in the world have dedicated divisions on oil philately. Oil Philately started in 1919, when the world’s first postage stamp to depict oil derricks of Baku oilfield was issued by the National Republic of Azerbaijan. The main theme of these stamps, however, was the Baku Temple of Eternal Fires, a relatively modern structure that continues the ancient Zoroastrian tradition of worshipping fire temples. Stamps depicting oil-related themes issued by Azerbaijan, which was followed by other countries like Bolivia which issued oil-related stamps in 1959. India joined the select club in 1962, when the first commemorative stamp on petroleum-related theme was issued, sketching an oil refinery. Today, more than 170 countries have issued over 2,500 stamps which relate to oil and natural gas exploration, production, refining, transportation and marketing for commemorating important events like discovery, new installation, conferences and other such events. India’s contribution has been around 10 of these stamps.
— UNI
|
|
Airtel violates rule, says DoT
New Delhi, November 23 The Airtel 2-in-1 plan violates the NNP 2003 as the subscribers are made to dial ‘#’ (hash) while making a call. Use of any such keys is against the NNP and is treated as a violation of the license conditions, says the DoT notice. The Airtel 2-in-1 service offers the service of pre-paid account on post-paid connections on the same SIM card. A customer having this service would have the option of choosing to use the pre-paid or the post-paid payment mechanism as desired. When contacted, Bharti Group Chief regulatory officer Narendra Gupta said that “the Airtel 2-in-1 service does not violate the NNP, as the NNP does not encompass the mode or procedure by which a subscriber can access the service provider’s physical network per se.” “The NNP has standardised the procedure for calling between two subscribers. Dialling ‘#1’ and number essentially enables a subscriber terminal to communicate. “Hence, ‘#1’ is only an identification mechanism between the subscriber and the company network. Bharti as an integrated player having a pan-India presence, has been complying with various license conditions, from time to time,” Mr Gupta said.
— PTI
|
|
LIC plans combo policy
New Delhi, November 23 The state-owned insurer also plans foray into health insurance and build more homes for elders, LIC Chairman A.K. Shukla said on the sidelines of Ficci conference here today. With an aim to double its business this year and mop up over Rs 1,00,000 crore in premium income, the state-owned insurer will launch a new whole span of life scheme ‘Bima Bachat’ in January. This will be the third scheme in a row this fiscal after ‘Bima Gold’ and ‘Jeevan Plus’. The new policy will not only target domestic consumers but also NRIs who will redeem their Indian Millennium Bonds in December-end.
— PTI
|
|
Court bars Ranbaxy
Mumbai, November 23 The directive restricts the company’s subsidiary Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc (RPI) to market Quinapril HCI tablets with the strengths of 5, 10, 20 and 40 mg, the company said today. Quinapril HCI tablets are the AB-rated generic equivalent of Pfizer (Parke Davis) anti-hypertensive agent Accupril tablets. Pfizer is seeking damages from Ranbaxy and Israel’s pharmaceutical company, Teva, for lost revenue from the drug that recorded $ 387 million sale in the USA in 2004. Ranbaxy had earlier moved the court to reverse a preliminary order, which was the result of a suit brought by Pfizer.
— PTI
|
bb
Publicis to buy stake in SIMS Pantaloon plan Plan shelved |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
