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Private players allowed to run container trains
BSE bloomer mars Tulip debut
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President and CEO of Jagson Airlines Uttam Kumar Bose addresses a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday. — AFP
photo
SAFTA: traders disappointed over Pak’s hiccups
IOC rejects Punjab dealers’ demand
PHDCCI seeks FBT review in Budget
IFC to give $500 m for Indian projects
SBI to retain 15 pc of redeemed IMDs
Exporters to get certification online
UTI Bank in Singapore
ABB wins Rs 430-cr ONGC order
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Private players allowed to run container trains
New Delhi, January 5 Announcing the policy guidelines at a press conference here on Thursday, the minister said that all companies, firms and individuals registered in India with an annual turnover of Rs 100 crore, would be permitted to run container trains. He said that containerised import-export traffic in India is growing at a rate of 15 to 20 per cent per annum. Over the next five years, this traffic is expected to increase from 55 million to 110 million tonnes. In the vast country like India, he said, there are possibilities of significant development in domestic container traffic also. Presently, the Railways has a one-third share in the local domestic traffic of about 2,000 million tonnes. The minister said that the permission to run container trains would hold good for 20 years and could be extended by another 10 years, subject to satisfactory performance of the applicant. The process of registration and the policy of container train movement apply uniformly to all applicants including Concor (Container Corporation of
India Limited), a public sector enterprise of the Railway Ministry. At the same time, the Railway Minister promised a level playing field sans discrimination to all companies. He said that the principle of ‘first come-first serve’ would be followed in the operation of container trains. The minister said that the applicant should either have a rail-linked inland container depot or give an assurance within
six months of submitting his application that he will construct rail-linked ICD in three years. The applicant would also have the option of furnishing a lease agreement with an existing rail-linked ICD owner. According to the guidelines, the rail routes connected with the ports have been grouped together in four categories with the exception of Delhi-Mumbai route. Applicants for other routes will have to pay a registration fee of Rs 10 crore and will also be allowed to run domestic container trains across India barring the Delhi-Mumbai route. An operator will be allowed to exit from the market or transfer the permission to another operator for container train operation, subject to the latter fulfilling the selection criterion and the approval of the Railway Ministry. He said that the applicant would have to procure its own rolling stock required for the movement of container trains. He said that the railways might even consider allowing use of surplus railway land for construction of inland container depot and multi-modal logistics parks. While Railways will provide engines and drivers, the applicant will have to provide bogies and procure its own rolling stock required for the movement of container trains, the minister said. In the first quarter of the coming financial year, 2006-07 the minister said the Railways will make all possible efforts to introduce double stack container trains to reduce the unit cost of operations and enable container traffic to be moved at more competitive rates. Asked the number of trains an applicant would be allowed to run, the Railway Minister said “as many as they want”, but quickly added that he would allow increase in this regard following the demand. Keeping this in mind, he said the Railways was going ahead with the third line of Dedicated Corridor to augment the increasing demands for more trains to carry goods and
services.
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BSE bloomer mars Tulip debut
New Delhi, January 5 As per BSE data, about 4.04 lakh shares of Tulip IT Services were sold at 25 paise during the peak trading hours at 2.24 pm. A few seconds later, about 5.95 lakh shares of the newly-listed IT company were sold at a price of Rs 100 a share. For quite a few seconds, the share price dwindled between 160 and 185 before finally stabilising at its intrinsic value Rs 185 at 2.25 pm. The total number of Tulip shares traded in the bourse was about 11.78 lakh at a weighted average price of Rs 77.25. Tulip opened at Rs 180 at BSE, sunk to 25 paise in the afternoon and finally closed at 182.55. So, some of the buyers of Tulip shares had a windfall gain while some sellers lost a fortune. Since, the shares of debutant company are not subject to any price filter, the errors and omissions went unchecked. But it cost the sellers of the share a whopping Rs 12.69 crore within seconds. Brokers say the transactions cannot be reversed automatically as the trading takes place through the electronic mode. If and only if, both buyers and sellers agree to reverse the transaction can the error be undone. Brokers also say the maximum compensation that be offered to aggrieved investors is Rs 5 crore, which is a bare fraction of the losses suffered.
— PTI
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Jagson acquires 19 Airbus aircraft
New Delhi, January 5 “Jagson Airlines will be a low-cost carrier, but not a no-frills one. We will keep the costs low and pass on the benefits to the passenger and our prices will be competitive,” President and CEO of the airlines Uttam Kumar Bose told reporters here. ‘’We’ll be targeting the existing economy class travellers and frequent fliers of legacy airlines with premium service at competitive prices.’’ After the government opened up civil aviation sector for private investments, Jagson was the first to get its registration in 1992. The airline would operate to nine cities by this year-end with the first flight to be operated on the Delhi- Bangalore sector in April or May. For the initial operations, six Airbus planes would be taken on dry lease and flights launched to cover Delhi, Patna, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Jaipur, Dibrugarh and Goa. In the second phase, services would be expanded to Lucknow, Cochin and Hyderabad. The 19 aircraft to be acquired by Jagson would all be A-321-200s in a two economy class configuration. Jagson now operates three 18-seater planes and two helicopters to Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan. While the initial investment would be Rs 250 crore, the total investment in the next three years would amount to Rs 1,500 crore. The airline would outsource several of its services, including ground handling, ticketing and inter-line arrangements for which it would enter into several alliances and partnerships.
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SAFTA: traders disappointed over Pak’s hiccups
Amritsar, January 5 SAFTA which could not come into force would adversely affect the
ongoing relief operations in the earthquake-hit areas of Pakistan. The traders of Pakistan were expecting ‘cheap and best’ construction material from India with
the opening of trade under SAFTA. .The co-Chairman of the PHDCCI, Mr R.S. Sachdeva, said Pakistan had already allowed 771 items for import from India and allowed five perishable duty-free items
last year, besides permission for a restrictive period to the import of steel sheets for re-construction of houses devastated during the
earthquake. Many in Pakistan fear an economic invasion. They argue that India could flood Pakistan markets with goods, with a ruinous effect on Pakistan’s indigenous industry. However, Mr Mukesh Sidwani , General Secretary, Amritsar Exporters Chamber of Commerce, said the apprehension of Pakistan businessmen was misplaced. He said traders and consumers of both countries would benefit with the implementation
of SAFTA. The apprehensions raised by a section of Pakistan, including its media, is that with the frenzy of economic thrust to the Indo-Pak relations , the Pakistan Government is
gradually walking into the Indian trap. However, the huge freight paid by Pakistan for buying goods from Europe, China and other countries is being ignored by vested interests .The huge freight adds to the cost of goods and amounts to crippling the economy of the poor nation . Trade with India would rather greatly benefit the
common man on the street in Pakistan as the cost of freight would make goods cheaper. Indian Commerce Ministry officials have already stated that legally the agreement came into effect on January 1. Operationalisation of SAFTA is a landmark in the history of the SAARC grouping, comprising India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan. In the final analysis, SAFTA will succeed only if Pakistan and India give up their reluctance to enter into a full-fledged and mutually beneficial economic relationship.. The intra-regional trade is estimated anywhere between 8 and 10 per cent of each country’s total trade.
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IOC rejects Punjab dealers’ demand
New Delhi, January 5 It has claimed that only about 60 dealers, engaged in oil transport business as well, out of the total 700 dealers in the state are protesting against its decision, though they have entered into a cartel to jack up oil transport prices. “How can we succumb to the pressure of these dealers to pay much higher transport charges, when the other party has agreed to take substantially lower rates. A public tender was floated recently to sanction a three-year oil transporting contract in the state, but the cartel of these dealers demanded much higher rates,” said a senior official of the IOC. He claimed that the corporation had agreed to consider their demand of allotting some oil transport routes, but they did not revise their transport rates. Since the companies could not pay higher charges, that would ultimately burden the consumers, there was no issue of any compromise, he asserted. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has made it clear that it would not intervene into the matter and would like that the issue was resolved amicably between the petrol dealers and the oil marketing company. “We have no intention in intervening into the day-to-day matters of the oil companies unless the situation becomes quite serious. Hopefully the matter would be resolved amicably between the two parties,” said a senior official in the ministry dealing with the issue. “The dealers should understand that they cannot dictate unreasonable terms to the oil company. At the same time, the company can also take steps to normalise the situation,” he observed. Asked whether the IOC has decided to change the transport contract as part of efforts to check adulteration of oil products, the official said, “To my knowledge the issue of adulteration is not involved in this case. Further, there are other several steps that can be taken to check it.” The IOC claimed that only a handful of dealers are protesting under the impression that being a public sector unit the company would come forward to make a compromise. However, the IOC official said, “There is no scarcity of petrol or diesel in the state, as the majority of dealers are accepting the supply as usual.” Petroleum dealers had warned yesterday that 50 per cent of the petrol stations across the state could go dry from today.
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PHDCCI seeks FBT review in Budget
New Delhi, January 5 Mr. Bibek Debroy, Secretary General, PHDCCI said: “In spite of government issuing clarifications on account of ambiguities, there is an urgent need to review the FBT. Since it is not a tax on income and should not have been levied in the first place.” “It taxes expenditure, often on heads where the government has abdicated its responsibility of providing services. To make matters worse, FBT discriminates between expenditure incurred by the private sector and equivalent expenditure incurred by the government,” he said. FBT is bad in law and bad economics. There is no country in the world that taxes both fringe benefits and perquisites. The rational decision by private enterprise to an irrational policy will now be to offer no income to employees, but to offer everything through fringe benefits, so that tax incidence comes down. According to Mr. Debroy, FBT in its present form has been deeply resented by the assesses as it has not only imposed additional tax burden by taxing even legitimate business expenses, but has also enhanced the cost of compliance two fold. A quick estimate reveals that cost of compliance with direct tax laws could be in the vicinity of Rs.1,000 crore per annum, even if revenue through FBT touches Rs 5,000 crore. Mr. Debroy further pointed out that the existing FBT provisions are not in tune with the stated philosophy and intentions of simplifying the direct tax structure, recommended by the Kelkar Task Force and several other committees. Mr. Debroy pointed out that the requirement to have separate return of fringe benefits, separate assessment proceedings, appeal and penalty was contrary to the government’s objective of ushering in an era of simplification in tax laws. He suggested that the FBT return may be merged with the employer’s withholding tax return or alternatively additional details about fringe benefit tax could be incorporated in the tax audit report. This would avoid the filing of tax return and assessment proceedings. Instead of imposing such irrational taxes to generate revenue, not to speak of cesses, the government should widen the tax base (its own figures suggest there is scope for this) and examine the efficiency, transparency and accountability of government expenditure, he added.
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IFC to give $500 m for Indian projects
Bangalore, January 5 The Bank had funded to the tune of $250 million in 20 projects so far this year, IFC Chief Investment Officer for South Asia Anita Marangoly George told newspersons
here today. IFC was reaching its prudential investment limit in the country, but the investment would increase depending upon its investments in other countries. Ms George said that in the last fiscal, IFC had funded 35 companies to the tune of 430 million dollars. Out of the $4 billion of funding IFC had made in India since 1956, currently a portfolio worth $1.3 billion was active. She said even small and medium Information Technology companies, which had developed innovative products and applications, were in the IFC radar. IFC had opened an office in Chennai recently to increase its presence in South India. Besides India, IFC was
also funding projects in Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. — UNI
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SBI to retain 15 pc of redeemed IMDs
New Delhi, January 5 “We will retain 15 per cent of the IMD proceeds, which would be over Rs 4,000 crore,” SBI chairman A.K. Purwar said after meeting Finance Minister P. Chidambaram here. Several banks including SBI, ICICI Bank, IDBI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Union Bank of India, Centurion Bank of Punjab and Life Insurance Corporation were eyeing a significant amount of the IMD redemptions that started on December 29. Mr Purwar admitted that there was pressure on short-term interest rates due to IMD redemption.
— PTI
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Exporters to get certification online
New Delhi, January 5 “We have already networked our five regional offices including at Delhi Kolkata, and Chennai and process at the sub-office level would be completed by March 31. It will enable exporters to track the processing of certification of their products online, to meet the demand of different markets including EU, US, Japan, Australia and Thailand,” said Ms Shashi Sareen, Director, EIC. EIC is an autonomous export certification body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Ms Sareen said, though exporters would have to submit once hard copy of their product, but the online facility would to get certification would save their time and resources. “To promote export of food processing, dairy and poultry products, the EIC has already entered into agreements with the certification bodies of different markets including EU, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Singapore. The exporters can get certification of their products from us to enter untapped markets,” she added.
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UTI Bank in Singapore
Mumbai, January 5 UTI Bank may raise up to $1 billion through medium term notes to fund the bank’s international operations, he said.
— PTI
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ABB wins Rs 430-cr ONGC order
Bangalore, January 5 This system will enable ONGC to integrate its basins, plants, forward base and other assets to the corporate data centre, facilitating “anytime-anywhere” access to data and real-time performance management, ABB said in a statement here. The turnkey project is expected to be completed by the end of 2007. Kuala Lumpur: A Malaysian company has clinched its single biggest overseas contract from India’s ONGC. The company, Supracrest Petroleum Bhd, said the contract was awarded last Friday for $ 274.3 million ringett. “Twentysix Well Platform Project” involving revamping, replacement, removal and refurbishing of 26 platforms in Mumbai High North, Mumbai High South and Heera were awarded to the company’s wholly owned subsidiary Sarku Engineering Services Sdn Bhd, the Star newspaper said. Work is expected to begin shortly and is scheduled for completion by April 30, 2007.
Lakshmi Overseas
Lakshmi Overseas Industries Ltd, a rice exporter has said it would invest Rs 90 crore for expansion and modernisation scheme. The expansion scheme includes an additional 1,200 tonnes per day (TPD) paddy processing capacity, 200 TPD solvent extraction and 230 TPD cattle feed capacities, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange. The company will also put up a wheat processing capacity of 275 to 300 TPD. It is also in the process of implementing the first phase of biomass-based power plant with a generation capacity of 30MW estimated to cost Rs 109 crore near its factory.
IDBI investment portal
IDBI Capital Market Services, a leading provider of financial services, has launched an investment portal designed to assist the retail investor with information relating to the stock markets. “The portal allows investing online in equities, mutual funds and IPOs. It also gives analysis about the various aspects relating to the economy and its various parameters,” Mr S Muhnot, MD and CEO-IDBI Capital, told newspersons here. “The common investor is bewildered at the jungle of information. He has time and again burnt his fingers in the stock markets. The portal will help in taking well informed decisions,” Mr Muhnot said. He said initially IDBI Caps will provide service free of cost and later on it may even price it. The online investment portal, idbipaisabuilder, has an inbuilt advanced trading portal. The portal also allows information on investing in IPOs.
Spice dividend
Spice Ltd, a company of the $250 million transnational M Corp Group and a leading telecom player in Punjab and
Karnataka circles, has declared 10 per cent dividend for the period ended June 30, 2005. The company has plans to set up a manufacturing facility in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh, by end-2006. Spice phones are already available in the North and in the East. The company has a target of selling 5 lakh to one million sets by March 2006, with focus
on entry-level mobile sets. — Agencies, TNS
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New Delhi, January 5
