The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Dispute over, 3G auction soon Tribune News Service & PTI New Delhi, February 22 As all issues with the Law and the Finance Ministries have been resolved, the government is all set to start the process of auctioning of spectrum for 3G mobile services by the end of this week, Telecom Minister A Raja said here today. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a function here, the Telecom Minister said, "the Department of Telecom (DoT) will issue notice inviting applications (NIA) from the potential bidders by the end of this week. All pending issues have been resolved". Asked about the date for auction of spectrum, he said, "You can take 40-45 days from the date of issuing NIA." Going by this, the auction cannot be completed within the current financial year with only 36 days remaining. The Law Ministry had earlier objected to a clause in the draft NIA that successful bidders may ask for compensation in case they were not alloted spectrum within the stipulated time period. On the issue of number of slots to be auctioned, sources said three slots would be auctioned across the nation, but in some states, the government might decide to allow four private players. The government had earmarked Rs 35,000 crore proceeds from the sale of spectrum in the current financial year but due to uncertainty over the number of slots and compensation clause, which has been resolved now, the auction is likely to be delayed. The DoT, according to the sources, has already given the draft of revised NIA to the Law Ministry and once it comes back, the bid document will be finalised by the end of this week. Raja also said the number of slots to be auctioned in each circle would be as per decision of the Empowered Group of Ministers. The 3G mobile service enables cellular subscribers to download contents at fast speed. The government, last week, said it would prefer to auction the spectrum for the third generation mobile phone services at a time when it could earn maximum revenue. "I don't think it really particularly matters if it happens this year or next year ... They (DoT and Finance Ministry) will take the decision based on how the revenue can be maximised," Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, who was heading the high-level committee to monitor vacation of spectrum by the defence forces, had said earlier.
	Countdown to BUDGET Remove tax anomalies: Drug makers Ruchika M. Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 22 Removal of all tax anomalies for drug manufacturers located in non tax-exempt states and providing them with a level-playing field tops the wishlist of the pharmaceutical industry in the region. As the Budget is being given the final shape by the Finance Ministry, a clear division has emerged in the pharma sector. While the industry located in the non-exempt states is demanding parity in tax structure, manufacturers located in tax-exempt states of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttaranchal and northeastern hill states are hoping that the incentives granted to them in excise and income tax to continue. Vinod Gupta, president of the Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Entrepreneurs of Haryana, said since small-scale pharma manufacturers continued to be the backbone of pharmaceutical industry, by providing cheaper rates, their interests should be protected. “The anomalies in tax structure should be removed so that the SME pharma sector remains price competitive and survives the onslaught by pharma majors, who have set up manufacturing units in tax-exempt areas. Since they are not under the MRP-based excise regime, they can quote higher MRP, but sell at low rates to retailers. This increases the profit margins for retailers and hence they promote the sale of these drugs,” he rued. Supporting his views, Jagdeep Singh, president, Punjab Drug Manufacturers Association, said the Finance Minister should look at having a uniform but low excise duty on all drug manufacturers, including those who have set shop in tax-exempt states. “The low amount of tax on MRP is the biggest deterrent for rising prices of medicines. If the entire country is brought under a low excise duty, it will help keep the prices of drugs down,” he said. However, those pharma units that have come up in these excise-free zones are praying that tax concessions granted to them should be extended for a few more years. N R Munjal, vice-chairman, Ind-Swift Laboratories, said these concessions should not be withdrawn now, as the pharma exporters were going through a recessionary phase. “Instead, we hope that the Finance Minister makes some announcements for concessions in income tax for those investing in research and development. We also hope that the import duty on the active pharmaceutical ingredients is also reduced,” he added.
	Merc limousine at Rs 6 cr New Delhi, February 22 Mercedes-Benz today launched its luxury limousine S-Guard, which will also be the most expensive car in the country to-date with a price tag of around Rs 6 crore (ex-showroom). The new car, built on the platform of the S 600, surpasses the Maybach, also from Mercedes-Benz's stable, which comes at a price starting from Rs 5.5 crore. For its price, S-Guard offers special protective features -- ability to withstand ballistic and firearms attack, and is fitted with a 12 cylinder 5.5 cc petrol engine. "This car is basically targeted at corporate and industry leaders, government officials and celebrities. We want to tap the growing market for armoured and protective vehicles in India," Mercedes-Benz India member of the Board of Management Suhas Kadlaskar told reporters here. The company is promoting the car as a total "mobile security concept" and it is fitted with armoured shielding equipped to withstand high intensity blasts (in technical parlance - B6 & B7 range). The S-Guard will come as completely built unit (CBU) from the company's plant in Germany. Asked about the sales target for the S-Guard, Kadlaskar said: "Rather than figures, we want to provide quality security to our customers." The S-Guard can withstand blast from three hand grenades at a single time, with a special fire extinguisher fitted at the car's bottom to deal with fire. The car's fuel tank, built with special elements, can self-seal within seconds of being hit by bullets or lethal arms. With a torque of 830 nm (Newton Metre) and a top speed of 210 km per hour, it can operate on flat tyres, and has infra-red head-lamps, infra-red camera to pick up reflected vision and night view assist systems. — PTI
	Base rate for SBI to be 8 pc: Bhatt New Delhi, February 22 The State Bank of India (SBI) today said the proposed base rate for the bank seems to be around 8 per cent. "Base rate at this point seems to the around 8 per cent for the bank," SBI chairman O P Bhatt told PTI on the sidelines of an AIMA event here. The Reserve Bank of India has proposed to replace the Benchmark Prime Lending Rate (BPLR) with base rates from April this year. The base rate is the lowest rate that the bank can charge from a customer and is intended to bring about more transparency in the lending operations of banks. The SBI was at present looking into all aspect of the base rate system proposed by the Reserve Bank and was yet to take a final call based on asset liability situation, he said. Asked if the SBI had approached the RBI for more time to migrate to the base rate regime, he said, "We do not intend to approach the RBI but possibly other banks may seek some relaxation for compliance." Further, he said the base rate would not translate into higher interest rate. Asked about the merger of the State Bank of Indore with itself, Bhatt said, the merger should take place by March this year. The bank was currently seeking regulatory approval from the RBI and thereafter it would go to the government for clearance, he said. This will be the second such merger of its associate banks. In August, 2008, the bank had merged State Bank of Saurashtra with itself. — PTI
	Panic buying in steel, prices go up Shivani Bhakoo Tribune News Service Ludhiana, February 22 In a single day, the prices of steel increased from Rs 26,000 to Rs 27,300 per metric tonne. Thanks to announcements made by the Economic Advisory Committee of Prime Minister on February 19, due to which panic gripped among buyers, the construction and other industrial companies started purchasing steel in bulk. Chairman, Prime Minister Economic Advisory Committee, C Rangrajan made announcement on February 19 that “Stimulus may be rolled back in current Budget.” This gave an indication that excise duty on steel may be increased from present 8 per cent to 12 per cent. Those in trade felt that rates will be increased once excise duty was increased. Panic buying of steel started and rates increased between Rs 1,300 to 1,500 per MT in single day i.e. on February 20. Perturbed over the continuous price hike, the industry in the region holds “irrelevant” statements made by political leaders responsible for the fluctuation in steel prices. The chairman of Federation of Small Industries of India (FASII) Badish K Jindal told TNS that after Sharad Pawar, it was now C Rangrajan, chairman, Prime Minister Economic Advisory Committee to make such announcements which lead to price-rise. “Those in trade felt that after Budget, steel prices will be increased. Whereas it has not even been confirmed whether excise duty will be increased after the Central Budget on February 28. Just one statement created panic among buyers, who started purchasing steel in huge quantities,” said Jindal further adding that Engineering Industry was already in turmoil. “The hike has been announced by the secondary market and not by the steel manufacturers,” he said. Due to increased demand of steel in last 2-3 days, the prices of steel scrap also increased from Rs 22,000 per MT to Rs 23,200 per MT on February 20. The total increase in prices is about 4 per cent.
	Duty slapped on stainless steel imports New Delhi, February 22 India has imposed anti-dumping duty of up to $ 2,254 per tonne on import of certain stainless steel products — used by consumer durables and auto industries — from the US, the EU, China and other countries. The decision to slap the duty by the Finance Ministry follows an inquiry by a Commerce Ministry wing, which found that "the domestic industry has suffered material injury" due to a surge in imports. The probe found that the cold-rolled flat products of stainless steel have been exported to India below normal value. The anti-dumping duty on different type of products will go up to $ 2254.69 per tonne and also cover imports from South Korea, South Africa, Taiwan, Japan and Thailand, the Central Board of Excise and Customs said in its notification. Outokumpu, ArecelorMittal and Posco are major exporters of steel products to India. In April, 2009, the government had imposed provisional anti-dumping duty on these goods. — PTI
	Single window clearance portal launched Tribune News Service Chandigarh, February 22 Manoranjan Kalia, Minister for Industries and Commerce, Punjab, inaugurated the single window industrial clearance portal (SWICP), Composite Application Form (CAF) and 24-hours helpline, set up by the department here today. He said the entrepreneur would have the facility to file online Composite Application Form for clearances relating to the pollution control board, the PSEB, local government, the department of housing, town and country planning, forest, excise and taxation and factories. In order to strengthen the role of facilitator of the department, a round-the-clock helpline for information on state industrial policies and procedures etc., required by the entrepreneurs/industry, has also been set up. This would attract the industrial investment in the state, said Kalia. Dr. S.S.Channy, Principal Secretary, Industries, said the web uniform resource locator of the portal is “www.pbindustries.gov.in/swicp.” The entrepreneur would also have the facility of online tracking the status of his application. The status of application would also be monitored by the Udyog Sahayak wing of the department. In case the approval was not granted within the stipulated time, the Department of Industries may issue the certificate of Deemed Approval to the entrepreneur. Manual containing guidelines for using the portal by entrepreneurs has been put on the website of the Punjab Government, www.punjabgovt.nic.in. A toll free number 18001802469 has been installed.
	Project for Sterlite Shubhadeep Choudhury Tribune News Service Bangalore, February 22 Sterlite Technologies Limited, a leading global provider of transmission solutions for the power and telecom industries, today announced here that it had been awarded the Letter of Intent by Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFC) for its East-North interconnection mega transmission project. The East-North interconnection mega transmission project aims to evacuate power from the North-East and Eastern states to the Northern region of India. It is the first mega independent power transmission project to be awarded in India. The project involves establishment of two 400KV Double Circuit transmission lines that would connect Assam with West Bengal and Bihar. The project has been awarded to Sterlite Technologies on a ‘Build, Own, Operate and Maintain’ (BOOM) basis. The transmission lines were supposed to be commissioned within 3 years and the company was to operate and maintain the same for a minimum tenure of 22 years thereafter. The project, costing about Rs 800 crore, was won by Sterlite on the basis of its technical and financial credentials through a tariff based bidding process conducted by PFC.