New Delhi, August 20
The government has decided to release Rs 22,000-crore subsidy in cash to the fertiliser industry this fiscal, apart from the budgetary allocation of Rs 32,000 crore, chemicals and fertiliser minister Ram Vilas Paswan said here today.

“Total fertiliser subsidy is estimated to be Rs 1.19 lakh crore in 2008-09 while we have made available Rs 54,000 crore cash payment to the industry,” Paswan told reporters here.

He disclosed that the finance ministry was not prepared for the Rs 22,000-crore-subsidy in cash. It was of the view that subsidy be paid to banks through bonds. But banks were not willing as they would have to sell the bonds at a discount since companies would have got the payment in cash.

Paswan said the step has been taken as an interim measure for three months till the first supplementary was passed in Parliament.

Asked whether the entire subsidy would be paid in cash, Paswan said there would be no financial problems to the companies and the government has ensured that they would receive the money even if there was a delay.

Paswan said: “We are buying urea at Rs 26,000 a tonne while selling to farmers at Rs 4,830 a tonne.” Similarly, the government is buying DAP at Rs 56,000 a tonne while selling it at Rs 9,300 a tonne and potash at Rs 36,000 a tonne against Rs 4,800 per tonne, he added.

The subsidy bill is going up as the government is bearing the burden of the gap between actual cost and selling rate of these fertilisers.

Paswan also said the gas availability was a larger issue, which the government was handling. But, whenever gas would come from both domestic and global sources, there would be no shortage and it was expected that it would be achieved by 2010, he added.

The eGoM has already decided to give top priority to the fertiliser sector in allocation of gas, Paswan said, adding the revival of closed plants depend on gas availability.

“We require a total of 95 mmscmd gas for the fertiliser plants, including the eight closed units. Out of our current requirement of 41 mmscmd for the gas-based units, we are getting 29 mmscmd,” he said.

He stated that 70 per cent of total fertiliser plants were gas-based and they used only 30 per cent subsidy. The remaining plants run on naptha and receive 70 per cent subsidy.

The minister said the Department of Fertilisers was preparing a Cabinet note for allowing private sector participation in the revival of closed units like Haldia.

“Our intention is to revive the units. If there is no possibility of reviving a unit through a public sector company, the private sector should be allowed through joint-venture,” he said.

Paswan also said FAGMIL was looking at producing gypsum at the PPCL unit in Sasaram district in Bihar, currently lying closed. — PTI

New Delhi, August 20
The government has finally admitted that inflation may continue to be high for some more time despite all the fiscal and monetary measures taken in the past few months. The finance ministry said in the outlook on inflation, a day before releasing the inflation data, that while the year-on-year inflation may persist in the short run, it is expected to moderate as the measures taken by the government work their way through.

The outlook on inflation adds that the government will continue to closely monitor the price situation both domestically and globally and also continue to take appropriate measures to contain prices and keep them below international levels.

The government, defending its own actions, has said the price situation was being closely monitored through weekly meetings of the committee of secretaries and regular meetings of cabinet committee on prices and decision making on issues affecting the price situation has been put on fast track. The inflation has touched an all-time high of 12.44 per cent in recent months and indications are that it would continue to rise unabated.

Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) also stated last week that inflation is likely to touch 13 per cent and might continue to build pressure on the economy leading to moderate growth in the coming year. Despite the fact that the government has said growth would be around 8-9 per cent, the PMEAC has said global commodity prices would lead to moderation of growth and it might cool off to 7- 7.5 per cent in 2008-09.

New Delhi, August 20
Telecom consumers in India will soon have choice to select the cheapest STD and ISD tariffs irrespective of the service provider with the telecom regulator TRAI today sending its recommendations to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on ‘provision of calling cards by national and international long-distance operators’.

As per the recommendations consumer would be able to exercise choice of long-distance operator for the national and international calls through calling cards. Besides, the consumer would be able to subscribe to any access provider and still not be dependent on the access provider for long-distance calls.

This will start a new era of competition with the telecos being encouraged to provide affordable innovative tariff plans whereby the consumers would be able to make calls through long-distance calling cards from telephone of any access provider.

To make this possible the regulator has also recommended amendment of NLD/ILD operators’ licence conditions to allow them to access customers directly for national and international long-distance calls, respectively.

Explaining the new working experts pointed out: “Suppose, you are a Bharti subscriber and you find out BSNL is offering the cheapest long-distance tariffs. You then buy a pre-paid long-distance package from BSNL for a specific duration.

You punch in a set of numbers specified in the package to get on to the BSNL network, and then proceed to make the long-distance call you wanted to and talk for as long as your pre-paid package permits.”

Officials at TRAI said the regulator had recognised the need for carrier selection in the path to liberalisation and after an elaborate consultation process with the stakeholders has come up with the recommendations.

Competition brought in by carrier selection was considered important for bring in operational efficiencies in the long-distance segment and also in offering choice, quality and affordable prices to the consumers.

TRAI had issued a consultation paper regarding the issue on May 7. Majority of the stakeholders were of the opinion that the traditional method of carrier selection was not relevant in the current scenario because of high implementation cost, poor cost-benefit outlook, sufficient competition already having been established in the market and technical and operational issues with implementation of carrier selection.

A popular opinion among the stakeholders was that implementation of carrier selection through calling cards was a good option for both consumers and service providers, officials said.

Mumbai, August 20
Idea Cellular today formally launched its GSM mobile service in Mumbai. At a press conference here to announce the launch, managing director Sanjeev Aga said Idea would be operating in Mumbai on the 1,800 Mhz frequency and would have more than 1,000 cell sites in operation.

“We have done an investment of Rs 800 crore till March and are expecting a market share of 20 per cent in Mumbai. The launch is an emphatic step in Idea’s emergence as a top national company, in telecom and across sectors,” Aga said.

He added that Idea has another 10 licenses for which spectrum has been allotted in Bihar, Jharkand, Orissa and Tamil Nadu. Services in all of these areas would be operational by the end of the year and the company’s footprint will cover more than 90 per cent of the country’s mobile telephony market, Aga said.

He added that Idea expected to have 8 lakh customers in the next one year.

Company chairman Kumaramangalam Birla said the technology adopted by Idea was the latest to be launched in any city anywhere in the world.

He added that Idea would position itself as a superior telephony player in Mumbai because of its superior technology. He said the company was expected to break even in four years.

New Delhi, August 20
Stepping up its expansion in the media and entertainment segment, Reliance ADA Group plans to enter the broadcasting sector with launch of 20 television channels to supplement its new businesses such as the DTH services which the group company Big TV has just launched.

“Reliance is coming up with its own channels which will increase our portfolio,” Big TV DTH CEO Arun Kapoor said here.

He said the plan is to come up with 20 channels of which two to three channels would be launched by the fourth quarter of this year.

Another four to five channels would be launched early next year, he said at the launch of the DTH services in Delhi.

Sources said Rel ADA group plans to launch mostly general entertainment channels along with regional ones in the line of Zee and Star.

The channels business will, however, belong to Reliance Big Entertainment Ltd which is the umbrella company for all entertainment businesses.

Reliance ADA already has interests in the broadcasting segment where its group company Reliance Capital and Reliance Trustee Company Ltd holds 11.93 per cent and 1.54 per cent stakes respectively, in TV Today, the broadcaster that has Aaj Tak and Headlines Today channels. — PTI 

New York, August 20
Celebrity golfer Tiger Woods and India-origin Nishita Shah, managing director of Thailand’s diversified GP Group, have made their way into the list of next generation billionaires compiled by US business magazine Forbes.

Nishita Shah (28) and her family had earlier featured in the Forbes ‘Thailand’s 40 Richest’ people rankings with a net worth of $375 million.

Noting that the world’s current crop of billionaires has plenty of money but “not much youth”, the American magazine said the average age of the 1,125 persons on Forbes’ list of the world’s wealthiest is 61.

“It’s impossible to predict exactly who will replace them, but don’t bet against the following people. All are young, extraordinarily successful and have ambitious plans for the future,” the magazine said in an accompanying article published in its online edition.

Other names in the list are Elon Musk (37), co-founder of online payment processor PayPal; Kenji Kasahara (32), creator of Japan’s leading portal Mixi; venture capitalist Roelof Botha (34); Chase Coleman (33), who runs Tiger Global fund; Michael and Xochi Birch, founders of social networking site Bebo and Hollywood actor Tyler Perry (38).

On Tiger Woods, the magazine said when the golf champion returned to the links from a knee injury “he will continue a financial rise that could crown him the first billionaire to make his money through sports. We predict it could happen as soon as 2011 because of Tiger’s lucrative endorsement deals,” the report added.

Writing on Nishita Shah, Forbes noted that she was one of the richest people in Thailand because of her stake in the sprawling family business.

“Last month we estimated her net worth at $375 million. When the stunning heiress is not poring over financial reports or gracing the pages of Thai magazines, she’s planning her upcoming fashion line,” the report said.

The recent Forbes Celebrity 100 list estimated that entertainer Tyler Perry banked $125 million last year.

According to the magazine, the diversity of the next generation billionaires’ list shows that one cannot predict what industry the next billionaire would come from and added that these people also have something in common.

“Even though they’ve accumulated more than enough money to retire in luxury, they aren’t packing up for the Hamptons,” Forbes said. — PTI

New Delhi, August 20
The countrywide strike called by the seven left-wing central trade unions against the government’s refusal to accept their six-point demands and “aggressive anti-people economic policies” evoked a mixed response in Delhi today. The six-point demands included containing unprecedented price rise, widening economic disparity, falling real wages and mass-scale violation of the labour laws, rising unemployment and increasing atrocities on labour.

Seven flights from Delhi were cancelled while train services remained normal. Air passengers had a tough time as the strike affected the conveyor belt operations and loading and unloading of baggage. Taxis and other modes of transport were also off the road.

With the employees of the public sector banks and airport extending their support to the bandh called by the left trade unions, including CPM affiliated centre for indian trade unions (CITU), several public sector banks remained closed.

Arun Arora of the GMR group that looks after the airport services told the media that the maximum impact was felt on the flights between Delhi and Kolkata since Kolkata airport was totally closed owing to the strike. Employees of various sectors, including telecom, railways, defence, banks, insurance, various public sectors besides the state and central government employees have declared their support to left-supported bandh.

New Delhi, August 20
In wake of the huge private and government investments lined up in the infrastructure projects, pace of employment generation in the sector has risen significantly as evident from a share of 12 per cent in the total employment opportunities generated in the first three months of the fiscal, according to an Assocham placement pattern (APP) study.

The APP study - Job trends in infrastructure sector - has also revealed that the sector comprising aviation, construction, energy, core infrastructure and metals & mining, have jointly contributed a significant share of 12 per cent to the job vacancies posted in first quarter of this fiscal.

The study comprised a sample size of total 1,05,638 jobs generated, spreading over 55 cities categorised in three tiers according to the size, population and other demographic characteristics. The sector created a 12,580 job opportunities out of the total sample size between April-June’08.

However, if one looks at the period between 2000-2005 employment in the organised sector, it has been stagnant and a declining trend can be seen in the infrastructure sector of electricity, gas, water and construction shows a study conducted by PHD Chambers of Commerce.

A break up shows that in the public sector employment in electricity, gas and water has dropped from 9.35 lakh persons in 2001 to 8.65 lakh in 2005. Similarly, in construction the figure falls from 10.81 lakh in 2001 to 9.11 lakh in 2005.

In private organised sector, figures for employment in electricity, gas and water has dropped from 0.52 lakh in 2001 to 0.49 lakh in 2005. Similarly, in construction the figure falls from 0.57 lakh in 2001 to 0.49 lakh in 2005.

The Assocham study further shows that construction segment had a maximum share of 24.32 per cent in the total employment generation in the infrastructure sector. The number of job openings in the segment remained buoyant on account of a rise in the construction activities of different projects under progress.

Energy, one of the key drivers of the infrastructure sector, had a share of 18.80 per cent with the number of job openings in the segment totalling to 2,365. Core infrastructure has been the least contributing segment in terms of the number of jobs generated in the quarter. The increased cost of finance might have taken its toll on the segment with 1,857 newly created jobs and a share of 14.76 per cent.

BRIEFLY

Oil prices above $115
LONDON: Oil prices extended recent gains on Wednesday, with New York crude climbing above $115 a barrel, on prospects of a possible cut to OPEC production, traders said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, climbed 55 cents to $115.08 a barrel. London’s Brent North Sea crude for October delivery advanced 54 cents to $113.79 a barrel in electronic deals. — AFP

IndusInd Bank
MUMBAI: IndusInd Bank, in association with Grameen Capital India and SKS Microfinance, has announced the closure of a Rs 100 crore assignment of microfinance receivables. This transaction was structured and arranged by Grameen Capital India and comprised a pool of advances to the agriculture and allied sectors. SKS Microfinance has signed a management and collection agreement with the bank and would continue to administer these loans and channel the collections to the bank, the bank said in a release on Wednesday. — UNI

Citigroup Global Mkts
MUMBAI: Citigroup Global Mkts (Mauritius) has consolidated its stake in e-learning solutions provider Educomp Solutions to 5.10 per cent at about Rs 8.56 crore. The e-learning solution provider has bought 25,000 shares amounting to 0.15 per cent stake in Educomp on August 14 through open market transactions, the firm said. The deal value amounts to Rs 8.56 crore, based on the closing price of Educomp Solutions on August 14. — PTI

Petron Engg bags contract
MUMBAI: Petron Engineering Construction on Wednesday said it has received a letter of intent from Utility Energytech and Engineers Private Ltd, an associate company of Reliance Energy Ltd, for a Rs 64-crore thermal power project in West Bengal. The firm received the letter of intent for erecting boilers for the 1,200 MW Ragunathpur Thermal Power Project, Petron said. — PTI

DBS fixed maturity plan
MUMBAI: DBS Chola MF on Wednesday announced the launch of its close-ended fund, DBS Chola Fixed Maturity Plan - Series 11, which will open on August 21 and close on August 28. The maturity date of the scheme is September 28, 2009, and investors can opt between a cumulative or dividend options. The scheme will not have any entry load, but it will have a two per cent exit load if redeemed before maturity, DBS Chola said. The minimum application amount is Rs 5,000 and in multiples of Rs one under retail plan, Rs 10 lakh in multiples of Re one for institutional plan, it added. — UNI