New Delhi, August 23
The government today extended sops worth Rs 1,052 crore to exporters, particularly for the labour-intensive textile, handicrafts and leather sectors, to help them see through the fragile economic recovery globally. "We are not yet out of the woods," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said while extending the schemes like DEPB, under which taxes are reimbursed to exporters, subsidised interest and sops for import of capital goods.

Releasing the annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy 2009-14, he said the revenue implication of these measures would be Rs 1,052 crore. The government made it clear that the popular Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) scheme, which has been in vogue for over a decade, is being extended for the last time.

"Recognising the fragile recovery and the prevailing uncertainties (in the global markets), I have been able to obtain extension of DEPB one last time for a further period of six months till June 30, 2011", Sharma said.

Experts said drawing the curtains on the DEPB scheme was inevitable as it was considered incompatible with the global trade rules under WTO.

No plan to lift ban on wheat exports The ban on wheat and non-basmati rice will stay for now, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma said. "As of now there is no proposal to roll back (export) restrictions on products, which include non-basmati rice and wheat," he said. The government had banned exports of non-basmati rice in April 2008 in the wake of high inflation. The wheat export is under ban since early 2007.

However, Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar indicated to reporters that the Ministry might formulate an alternative scheme.

A number of additional products from sectors like engineering, leather, textiles and jute have also been added to the existing two per cent interest subvention scheme.

Handloom, handicrafts, carpet and the SMEs have been getting this facility, which will now be available till March 31, 2011.

The government also extended the zero-duty Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme by one year to March 31, 2012. The scheme, which was announced in August last year, was to expire on March 31, 2011. Steps to reduce transaction cost of exports too were announced in the policy.

India Inc happy

India Inc and exporters body today expressed satisfaction over the steps taken by the government in wake of the global demand slowdown and domestic resource constraints.

"It is a forward looking policy," Federation of Indian Export Organisations president A Sakthivel said. Most chambers, including Ficci and CII, welcomed the policy supplement, amid promises that the transaction cost for exporters would be brought down by 40 per cent. — PTI

Ludhiana, August 23
In order to make traders aware of the bogus firms, the Excise and Taxation department has started putting the names of bogus firms on their website. Names of 46 bogus firms from Fatehgarh Sahib feature on the department's website.

These bogus firms have resulted in loss of revenue worth crores to the state exchequer. Value Added Tax (VAT) numbers of 350 firms have been cancelled and more than 100 firms from Ludhiana are under department's scanner. The department officials are preparing a list of bogus firms from Ludhiana.

Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner Rishipal Singh said the bogus firms were claiming Input Tax Credit by showing bogus turnover. These firms mainly show the trading of yarn, iron and steel.

Jatinder Khurana, a lawyer, commenting on the department's initiative, said it is the right decision taken by the department. "Now at least genuine traders will be aware of the bogus firms and they will not fall a prey to them. There is no fixed parameter by which a trader can judge whether the firm is a genuine or bogus. Now, genuine traders will not suffer at the hands of bogus firms as names have been displayed on the website and they will be cautious before striking a deal with them," he added.

He added that recently a firm in papers showed the purchase of iron and steel and rice. There are many firms which have not purchased anything but in papers have shown the sales worth crores.

According to information, Rs 12 crore has already been collected as tax from bogus firms from Ludhiana and more is likely to be collected in the future. Numerous cases have been registered against the directors of the bogus firms and many have been arrested.

New Delhi, August 23
State-owned ONGC, OIL and GAIL may make a joint bid to counter Vedanta Resources’ $8.48 billion offer for majority stake in Cairn India, and have already got $10 billion in loan commitments from international banks for the move.

Oil Ministry is believed to be uncomfortable with billionaire Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta Group buying 51-60 per cent of Cairn India for $8.48 to $9.6 billion and has asked ONGC, Oil India and GAIL to cobble up a joint bid to rival the London-listed miner.

The three firms have held informal talks on the joint bid even as the ministry is looking at legal options to deny Vedanta the approval necessary for conclusion of its deal with UK's Cairn Energy Plc, which holds 62.37 per cent stake in Cairn India, sources familiar with the development said today.

ONGC is the leader of the consortium with at least 50 per cent share. OIL and GAIL will each be 20-25 per cent partners.

ONGC has got informal commitments for funding up to USD 10 billion for the takeover bid, another source said, adding that the ONGC-OIL-GAIL consortium may make a bid at more than the Rs 405 a share offered by Vedanta. Oil Ministry, a source said, was against Vedanta acquiring Cairn's stake because it was a non-oil company. — PTI

Mumbai, August 23
Inching towards acquiring a majority stake in SsangYong Motor (SM), auto major Mahindra & Mahindra today said it has signed an agreement with the beleaguered South Korean firm.

In a filing to the BSE, M&M said the signing of the MoU will be followed by "a detailed due diligence process and finalisation of definitive agreements".

The company, however, was tight-lipped on the sum that it had agreed to pay to emerge as the preferred bidder for the South Korean automaker, which has a debt of $640 million.

M&M has been maintaining that it would be inheriting a debt-free company, when it completes the acquisition of SM by November this year.

"Korea is one of the world's leading centres of automotive excellence and SsangYong brings with it a rich legacy of R&D and innovation. India is a rapidly growing SUV market and will create new growth avenues for SsangYong," Mahindra Group vice-chairman Anand Mahindra said.

The synergies between both the brands will make the group a "combined force to reckon with" in the global utility vehicle space, he added.

On August 12, M&M was chosen as the preferred bidder by SM, outbidding other firms such as the Kolkata-based P K Ruia Group.

M&M said that it will retain the Korean heritage of SM and would function under a Korean management. "The acquisition will offer financial stability to SM, while making M&M the largest Indian employer in Korea," it added. — PTI

Amritsar, August 23
Indian traders are exporting potatoes and tomatoes at Rs 4 and Rs 14 per kg, respectively, to Pakistan after it allowed import of these items recently. The Pakistani government has to review its decision in the wake of unprecedented destruction caused by recent floods, two years after banning import of these vegetables.

Anil Mehra, president, Dry Fruit Karyana Commercial Association, a local body of importers and exporters, said supply of these vegetables to Pakistan at this juncture helped them to keep the prices in check.

He informed that as per the norms of the Pakistani government, a kg of potato attracted import duty of Rs 5 while that of tomato was charged Rs 3 a kg.

The trade from the Land Customs Station at Attari-Wagah Joint Check Post, which began about five years ago, reached Rs 796 crore in 2009- 10. Till the completion of the first quarter this fiscal, India exported goods worth Rs 310 crore.

Indian export vendors generally sell various kinds of merchandise, including soyabeen and garlic, and procure mainly cement from Pakistan. The trade in the item began with the import of 11,316 metric tonnes of cement three years ago. After being convinced of its good quality, its import reached to over seven lakh tonnes in 2009-10.

Chandigarh, August 23
Max Bupa Health Insurance, which has just entered the health insurance sector in the country, is looking at expanding its operations in the tier-2 and tier-3 towns. Though present in six towns as of now - Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai - the company is looking at expanding in Ludhiana, Jaipur and Surat.

It is also planning to infuse over Rs 500 crore in its operations in India in the next five years. “Our current paid-up capital is over Rs 150 crore, which we plan to raise to Rs 700 crore in the next five years," said Dr Damien Marmion, CEO, Max Bupa Health Insurance.

Talking to TNS here recently, Marmion said the focus of the company will be on tele selling and net selling, rather than opening new branches. “We already have presence in 130 cities across India and will continue to reach out to more cities through the new age techniques,” he added.

The CEO said they would also explore the possibility of having banks as a distribution channel for their policies. “Though we are not in talks with any bank as of now, but we will like to scout for partners in the banking sector,” he said. He added that they were planning to increase their headcount to 600 by the end of this year, and have an agent strength of 3,000.

Max Bupa is a joint venture between healthcare major Max and British health insurer Bupa. He said the USP for the company will be their products, which will focus more on family and their services. “We are also giving a lot of value addition to our clients like loyalty bonus, maternity benefits and renewal benefits, which will ensure good business for us,” he added.

The company, which started its operations in April this year, plans to get business worth Rs 25 crore by the end of this year. “We have already got business worth Rs 5 crore,” said the CEO.

BRIEFLY

Hewlett-Packard eyes 3Par
Palo Alto (US): Hewlett-Packard Co is bidding $1.5 billion for data storage provider 3Par Inc., just a week after rival Dell Inc. agreed to acquire the company for $1.13 billion. HP and Dell have been looking to expand beyond personal computers over the past few years in a search for bigger profits. Shares of 3Par rose $6.66 to $24.70 in premarket trading.— PTI

L&T bags Rs 1,195 cr orders
Mumbai: Engineering major Larsen & Toubro on Monday said it has received two orders worth Rs 1,195 crore from ONGC for construction related works. The company will set up an additional processing unit at the gas processing complexes of ONGC at Hazira and Uran, L&T said.— PTI

Airtel digital TV offer
Chandigarh: Airtel digital TV on Monday announced that in addition to the regional channels that are part of their base tariff pack, customers will now be able to get the rest of the regional channels of their choice on that pack free for life. — PTI

IDBI Bank plan
New Delhi: State-owned IDBI Bank plans to open 280 branches across the country in the next 12 months to help increase its retail business. "We have got permission to opens 280 branches from the RBI, which will take up our total network to 1,000 branches by September, 2011," IDBI Bank CMD RM Malla said. — PTI

Oil stocks soar 11%
Mumbai: Shares of major oil PSUs, BPCL and HPCL, on Monday zoomed as much as 11 per cent on the BSE, amid speculations of fuel price hike. BPCL shot up nearly 12 per cent to touch an all-time high of Rs 781.05. Shares of HPCL, too, soared 7.16 per cent to hit a year-high at Rs 545.80 per piece. — PTI