The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Infosys defends SEZ in UT Tribune News Service Bangalore, March 16 Infosys defended its facility at Chandigarh and said the operations at the unit had started after it was granted approval by the government. Infosys CEO Kris Gopalkrishnan said this in a statement issued in response to reports in a section of the media, saying the company could be subjected to penal action for availing tax benefits and duty exemptions for its Chandigarh unit even before the SEZ status was accorded to it. “Infosys did not claim any tax or duty benefit till its SEZ unit got approved by the Ministry of Commerce on June 16, 2006, and signing of the customs bond on July 10, 2006. Therefore, there is no question of taxes and duties (direct and indirect) evasion as reported in the Press. Infosys started the operation in the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park (RGCTP) only after it obtained the Letter of Approval from the Commerce Ministry”, the statement said. Infosys did not avail any excise duty exemption on the construction activities till it got the approval from the Ministry of Commerce on June 16, 2006”, added the statement. On the charges that the company carried out a series of complex land buying and lease deals with the Chandigarh Administration in order to buttress its legality of the SEZ status, Gopalkrishnan said Infosys was the first software company to be invited by the Chandigarh Administration to start a development centre at the park (being created as an SEZ). Infosys accepted the offer and signed an MoU with the administration on November 15, 2002. As per this MoU, Infosys was allotted 20 acres of land on June 11, 2004. The remaining 10 acres were allotted on November 10, 2005. No sale deed was signed for both allotments. Later, Infosys signed the land lease agreement with the administration as per the provisions of the SEZ Rules on April 3, 2009, Gopalkrishnan said. The Infosys CEO said the cumulative investment by the company in its Chandigarh facility, as on December 31, 2009, was Rs 286.85 crore. Since the start of operations of the Chandigarh Development Centre on September 4, 2006, till December 31, 2009, the facility had exports of over Rs 750.40 crore. The export for the last 12 months ending December 31, 2009, was Rs 374.64 crore. “As of December 31, 2009, we had 2,676 employees at our Chandigarh Development Centre. The only activity taken up in this development centre is for export purposes”, Gopalkrishnan said.
	March inflation may touch 10 pc mark: FM New Delhi, March 16 Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today exuded confidence that the economy would soon return to 9-10 per cent growth, but said double-digit inflation and excessive borrowing were major challenges. "We shall have to move towards the betterment, towards the development and 9 to 10 per cent growth is achievable. It is not a pipe dream," he said, while winding up the discussion on the Budget in the Rajya Sabha. At the same time within the framework, it was possible to control inflation to ensure that it did not eat up the benefits of growth. "Benefit of growth is necessary, price control is necessary, fiscal consolidation is necessary," he added. On high inflation, the minister said it was mainly due to a low base. Last year during these months, inflation was in the negative zone and the impact of low base may remain for few more months till May/June this year. "I will not be surprised if it (inflation) reaches double digit in March," he said. The inflation has already touched 9.89 per cent in February. Inflation numbers for March will be announced in mid-April. The Centre, he said, has taken all steps to insulate the vulnerable sections by releasing foodgrains for sale in the open market and is working closely with the states to address the issue. A meeting of the committee of the Chief Ministers, constituted by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to deal with the rising prices, will be held shortly to take stock of the situation. — PTI
	SBI rights issue by Dec likely Mumbai, March 16 The State Bank of India is likely to hit the market by the year-end with its rights issue to raise around Rs 20,000 crore, a senior bank official said today. This will enable the banking behemoth to fuel its business plans, particularly in the face of rising competition from its deep-pocketed rivals, both private and overseas. "This (rights issue) could happen by November-December. We expect to raise around Rs 20,000 crore through this exercise," the official, who did not want to be named, told PTI here. The banking major is likely to approach the government with its rights issue plan in the near future, the official said. The government, which holds just above 59 per cent stake in the SBI, had recently placed the SBI Amendment Act in Parliament, allowing the SBI to dilute the state holding to 51 per cent and thus raise necessary equity capital as and when required. Besides the SBI, a host of other state-owned banks have also expressed their intention to raise capital by way of equity dilution or other routes. These include Uco Bank, Vijaya Bank, Oriental Bank of Commerce and Canara Bank. — PTI
	Strides to cement stake in Ascent New Delhi, March 16 Strides Arcolab today said the company would consolidate its stake in Ascent Pharmahealth to 100 per cent for $35 million (Australian) (about Rs 146 crore), and delist it from the Australian Securities Exchange. "Strides already have a 57 per cent stake in Ascent Pharmahealth and now, we are in discussion with the company's minority shareholders to acquire the remaining minority 43 per cent stake," a Strides Acrolab official told PTI. The company in a statement said it would make a cash offer of 0.35 Australian dollar per Ascent share, valuing the company at 100 million Australian dollar (Rs 417 crore). This proposal was at an 84 per cent premium to the 12- month volume-weighted average share price of 0.19 per Ascent Pharma's share, it added. Strides Arcolab said it would spend around 35 million Australian dollar (about Rs 146.1 crore) to increase the shareholding to 100 per cent in the firm and delist it from the Australian Securities Exchange. "As Strides is already listed in India, it does not make sense to have another listed entity in Australia," Strides Acrolab managing director and vice-chairman Arun Kumar said in an interaction with CNBC TV 18. The company said the move is a part of its strategy to consolidate Ascent's earnings which stood at around 100 million Australian dollar last year under a single entity. The Banglore-based company had acquired the majority stake in the Australian firm in August, 2008, which sells branded generic drugs and over-the-counter products in the Australasia region. It was also seeking to include Ascent's founder and chief executive Dennis Bastas as an equity participant in any formal proposal. Strides would also be looking to retain Bastas' executive management team, the statement said. Strides Acrolab has reported a revenue of Rs 1,328 crore in the financial year ended December 31, 2009. — PTI
	Religare set to enter Japan New Delhi, March 16 Religare Enterprises today said it would set up its asset management, sales and distribution business in Japan and had hired a team from KBC Financial Products for the same. Further the company has applied for investment advisory and agency business licenses with Japan’s financial regulators and will follow it up over a period of time by applying for a discretionary investment management license, Religare said in a statement. The communication comes on the heels of Religare’s last month’s announcement to earmark around $1 billion for strategic investments in diversified asset management businesses globally. “The hiring of the team is in tune with our plans to establish a multi-boutique investment management business globally,” Religare Enterprises CEO and MD Sunil Godhwani said. The management team in Japan comprises Takuya Koyama (CEO and board member), Koichi Kane (chairman and board member), Mitsuhiro Morita (head of sales), Yuichi Sakuma (head of compliance) and Masako Oyama (head of client service) as the initial team to kick-off its operations. — PTI
	Punjab Budget Move to hike power duty shocks industry Ruchika M. Khanna/Manav Mander Tribune News Service Chandigarh/Ludhiana, March 16 The proposal of increasing the electricity duty by 3 per cent, as announced in the Punjab Budget today, has the industry up in arms. Reeling under a severe power shortage and trying to sustain itself in this period of slowdown, the industry has demanded that the government should immediately roll back this electricity duty. Furthermore the reduction of entertainment tax from 125 per cent to 25 per cent has worried the industry. In his efforts for additional resource mobilisation, the Finance Minister has announced that electricity duty be enhanced by 3 per cent. The duty is being enhanced from 10 per cent to 13 per cent on power supplied by Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), and from 5 per cent to 8 per cent on power purchased by individual consumers from outside the state (under Open Access Policy). With this, the per unit cost of power in Punjab would go up by 12 paise, and the state hopes to raise Rs 270 crore through this measure. It may be noted that per unit cost of power to industrial consumers in Punjab is Rs 4.33. With an electricity duty of 10 per cent, the consumers pay an additional 45 paise per unit as electricity duty. For the past couple of years, Punjab charges duty on electricity at ad valorem basis. Though initially the electricity duty charged on consumers was 5 per cent, it was increased to 10 per cent in year 2004. Because of the economic slowdown over the past two years, the industry in Punjab had been demanding that the duty be rolled back by 5 per cent. “But the government has failed to come to our aid, and has instead raised the duty by 3 per cent. The worst affected in this case would be the power intensive industry, especially the steel industry. This has come as a big blow to the industry, especially when profit margins are shrinking and industry in the small and medium enterprises (SME) sector is making efforts to stay afloat,” said R S Sachdeva, co chairman of Punjab committee of PHD Chamber. Supporting his views, P D Sharma, president of Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ludhiana, said the power tariff rate had increased because of the additional duty. “Now that a revision in the power tariff is expected around April, the cost of power will go up again,” he rued. Power has been made costly by 13 paise. “During the last two years of the present government’s tenure there is a 50 per cent increase of electricity duty from 36 paise in 2007 to 55 paise in 2010. With the revision of rate by the regulatory commission the effect of this increase will be much more,” said SC Ralhan, regional chairman of Engineering Export Promotion Council.
	City, Ludhiana to have Italian furniture stores Ruchika M. Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 16 The Italian leather furniture manufacturer Natuzzi group is all set to foray in the Indian market. The luxury furniture and furnishing maker will start by opening two flagship stores in Delhi and Mumbai in July this year. Though initially, the company will be importing all its products in the country, they are also looking at setting up a manufacturing base in the country. This manufacturing plant will be set up only when the company reaches the economies of scale, so that it can cater to the Indian market. Talking to TNS here today, Nitin Bahl, country manager India, Natuzzi, said by the end of this year, they propose to set up eight stores. “Other than the two flagship stores, we will be setting up mono-brand shops and galleries across all metros and important tier-II towns. In North India, we will be setting up two mono-brand stores - at Chandigarh and Ludhiana. The store at Chandigarh will be set up this year, while the one at Ludhiana will be set up in 2011,” he said. He said the flagship stores would be set up in an area of 8,000 to 10,000 square feet, while the mono-brand stores will be set up in an area of 5,000 square feet. “We are tying up with the large furniture retailers to set up our galleries (shop in shops),” he said. Bahl said the company was making its foray in the Indian market by taking the wholesale route and would be franchising the brand. “We will be closely working with our franchisees and all investment in brand building would be done by us. We foresee a great future here as the economy is growing and more and more households have large disposable incomes. The organised furniture market too is growing rapidly - from three per cent in year 2000, it is expected to grow to 11 per cent this year. Since just over eight per cent of the $ 9.40 billion furniture market in the country is organised, we are hoping to capture a sizeable chunk of the market,” he said.
	Pvt control from ports to go: Minister Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 16 The government today assured the Rajya Sabha that the monopoly of private operators at major ports would go and a policy for such action would be finalised within one month. Replying to supplementaries during Question Hour, Shipping Minister GK Vasan said the new policy that sought to prevent monopolies being created would go to the Law Ministry for vetting once it was finalised by his ministry in a month. The new policy included bar on any private operator from bidding for next berth if it was the only operator of a berth handling a particular cargo. Comments on the draft policy had been received from stakeholders and were under finalisation in shipping ministry. The minister said the policy would apply to only major ports and non-major ports which were under jurisdiction of state government would not come under its purview. Replying to another question, Vasan said the government was considering modification of shipbuilding subsidy scheme. In principle approval for shipbuilding subsidy for four vessels amounting to Rs 23.69 crore has been granted to Alcock Ashdown (Gujarat ) Ltd.