Friday, October 9, 1998
today's calendar
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B U S I N E S S | Friday, October 9, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Rs 400 crore hike in Punjab
plan outlay
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PSU disinvestment at
current prices: Finance Minister
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Chandigarh
plant to be Pfizer export base Wockhardt
sales rise by 32 per cent Godrej
Soaps plans big restructuring |
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Rs 400 crore hike in Punjab plan outlay NEW DELHI, Oct 8 — The plan size for Punjab for the year 1998-99 has been pegged at Rs 2,500 crore - an increase of Rs 400 crore over the previous year’s outlay. Of this Rs 1300 crore will be funded by the state’s own resources, while the remaining amount will come from the Central Government, the State Finance Minister, Capt Kanwaljeet Singh, told The Tribune here today. The annual plan was finalised at a meeting held here between Mr Parkash Singh Badal and the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Mr Jaswant Singh. Captain Singh said that a meeting to review the fund requirements for the Ranjit Sagar dam project would be held in December this year. The initial project cost of the project was estimated at Rs 1,100 crore. A sum of Rs 2,645.92 crore has been spent on the project so far.” The project has been mostly funded the Punjab Government even though it is an inter-State project”. The state government has targeted to complete the project by February next year “ provided the promised central assistance is received”. As of now the Centre has released Rs 150 crore and the Planning Commission has committed another Rs 100 crore by December. It was also decided to form a committee of Punjab and Planning Commission officials to prepare a report on the problems of soil depletion and crop diversification in the State. The committee would also look into the problem of indebtedness of farmers and causes behind suicides. A similar committee would also be formed to prepare a project report on infrastructure development in the State. To help farmers cultivating land across the barbed wire in the border areas of Gurdaspur, Ferozepore and Amritsar districts, the Commission has approved a lumpsum amount of Rs 6 crore. Home Minister L.K. Advani had recently visited the border districts to know hardships faced by people living in that region. A plea was also made by
the State Government for funds to complete various
projects at Anandpur Sahib. An amount of Rs 8.50 crore
has been approved for establishing a martial arts academy
in Anandpur Sahib. The Central Government had earlier
allocated Rs 5 crore for the academy. |
Indirect tax revenue falls short of target NEW DELHI, Oct 8 (PTI) — Badly hit by the economic slowdown, indirect tax revenue collections fell short of the target by a whopping 13.9 per cent in the first six months of the current financial year. A senior Finance Ministry official told PTI here today that while excise collections were short by 15.9 per cent, Customs collections fell by 11.7 per cent. He said excise collections from April to September this year were Rs 21,957 crore as against Rs 20,512 crore in the corresponding period last year while Customs collections were Rs 19,503 crore as against Rs 19,102 crore in the same period in 1997-98. Though the collections were far below the target, the indirect tax collections registered a 4.7 per cent growth in the first six months as they were Rs 41,460 crore as against Rs 39,614 crore from April to September 1997. Direct tax collections,
however, recorded a substantial growth of 22.5 per cent
in the first six months of this fiscal year but the
growth was not enough to offset the fall in indirect tax
revenue as direct taxes formed roughly only about
one-third of the revenue collections.
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Reliance makes record profit MUMBAI, Oct 8 (PTI) — Reliance Industries Limited today announced a record first-half profit of Rs 921 crore on sales of Rs 7,374 crore between April and September this year. Sales increased by 16 per cent over the corresponding period last year, when it had netted sales of Rs 6,330 crore. RIL’s operating profit increased by 21 per cent to Rs 1,670 crore as against Rs 1,383 crore for the same period last year with the cash profit up by 16 per cent at Rs 1323 crore from Rs 1,145 crore, RIL said in a statement after the Board meeting here. The earnings per share (EPS) for the half year was Rs 9.80 and cash earnings per share was Rs 14.1 on the total paid-up equity share capital of Rs 932 crore. The company’s contribution to the national exchequer in the form of various taxes increased by 16 per cent to Rs 1,519 crore over the corresponding period. Production grew by 47 per cent to 3.45 million tonnes from 2.35 million tonnes with total exports, including deemed exports, increasing by over 230 per cent to Rs 286 crore as against Rs 86 crore during the corresponding period. With the company’s expansion plans at the Jamnagar petrochemicals complex on schedule, its overall production capacity would rise to over 9 million tonnes per annum, and “be the engine of future growth and performance”, Mr Anil Ambani, Managing Director said. Ambani said capital expenditure during the half year under review was over Rs 1,350 crore primarily on the Jamnagar petrochemical complex. With all the plants commissioned at the Hazira petrochemical complex, interest expense had increased by 46 per cent to Rs 347 crore, a 32 per cent increase in depreciation. The operating margin
improved from 19.1 to 19.6 per cent despite extremely
challenging environment faced by the global petrochemical
industry |
PSU disinvestment at current prices: FM WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (PTI) — The government will go ahead with its disinvestment programme in key public sector undertakings at prevailing market prices and will not wait for the conditions to improve in the stock markets. “We are going ahead with our disinvestment programme. We have taken a decision that we will divest at the going market prices. Unlike in the past, we will not wait for the market to turn...,” Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said. Sinha told reporters here that the government would not wait for the market to reach a certain imaginary level for starting the disinvestment process. “This is a major departure in policy, therefore, we are confident we are going to disinvest and that the markets in India will improve,” Sinha told a news conference yesterday. The government had announced that it would disinvest equity in four PSUs — Indian Oil Corporation, the Container Corporation, Videsh Sanchar Nigam and Gas Authority of India — to mop up Rs 5000 crore during the year. Recent reports had
suggested that financial institutions had warned the
government that they might not get a good price for
shares because of the lull in the stock markets
worldwide. |
Chandigarh plant to be Pfizer export base NEW DELHI, Oct 8 (PTI) — Pfizer Ltd has decided to hive off its formulations unit at Ankleshwar in Gujarat as part of its strategy to downsize its manufacturing facilities, company sources said. The decision comes in the wake of a consolidation exercise initiated by its global parent Pfizer Inc., USA and reduction in capacity utilisation of the unit. The move aims at reducing company’s manufacturing bases in a particular country, company sources said. Pfizer has already sold off its bulk drugs manufacturing facility at Kalyani in West Bengal to Dabur Ltd. With the sale of its Ankleshwar unit, Pfizer will be left with only two manufacturing units in the country, its fermentation plant at Chandigarh and formulations plant at Thane in Maharashtra. Pfizer has appointed Arthur Anderson and Abnque Nationale De Paris (BNP) as joint consultants to assist and advice on the sale of the plant, company sources said. Many pharma companies have evinced interest in the Ankleswar plant, sources said adding discussions were on with some leading players. The company now plans to use its Chandigarh fermentation plant as an export base for bulk drug cholropropamide. Pfizer has discontinued
production of its popular anti-diabetic diabenese,
combantrin and teo terramycin dosage forms. |
Wockhardt sales rise by 32 per cent MUMBAI, Oct 8 (PTI) — Wockhardt a pharmaceutical company has registered a rise of 32 per cent in its sale during the first half of the current financial year. The company has notched up Rs 115.6 crore this year as against Rs 152.3 crore during the corresponding period last year, according to a release. The company’s domestic pharmaceutical business grew by 28 per cent to Rs 73.4 crore while international sales rallied to Rs 22.9 crore. Combined with its recently
acquired subsidiary, Merind Limited, the group’s
sales crossed the Rs 200 crore mark to reach Rs 211.1
crore, showing a growth of 25 per cent over the same
period last year. The total sales of Merind’s rose
by 10 per cent to Rs 58.8 crore from Rs 53.3 crore while
its exports rallied by 150 per cent to Rs 4.7 crore from
Rs 1.9 crore during this quarter. |
Godrej Soaps plans big restructuring MUMBAI, Oct 8 (PTI) — Godrej Soaps Limited yesterday announced a major restructuring programme, taking back sales and distribution of its products from its associate company, Godrej Hi-Care Limited, with effect from January 1 next. All the Godrej Hi-Care
personnel currently involved in the selling of the
products marketed by Godrej Soaps would be transferred to
Godrej Soaps.Announcing this, Adi. B. Godrej, Managing
Director of Godrej Soaps Ltd, said “with this
restructuring, Godrej Soaps would return to its original
structure”. |
India loses $ 80 b due to pollution WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (PTI) — India loses a whopping $ 80 billion annually on account of sickness and death from pollution and economic costs attributable to resource degradation, according to a World Bank estimate. The loss due to poor environment is pegged in excess of $ 20 billion a year by conventional calculations and nearly $ 80 billion in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, according to the World Bank’s Annual Environment Review released yesterday. Environmental degradation in the region continues to worsen — driven by the familiar factors of increasing industrial and urban pollution in urban areas and degeneration in rural and coastal areas from the unsustainable use of land, forest and water resources. Deteriorating water
quality due to poor sanitation, industrial effluents and
pesticide runoff, lack of clean water, poor solid waste
management and air pollution are the key environmental
problems in South Asia.
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ON April 24, 1993, Mr M. Ganga Reddy was dragged out of his house in the middle of the night by a group of Naxalites and brutally beaten, leading to his untimely death. He had two insurance policies with “accident benefit” that required LIC to pay an amount equal to the sum assured under the policy, in case of accidental death. But LIC paid Mr Reddy’s widow, only the insured amount and rejected her claim under the “accident benefit”, forcing her to seek the help of the consumer court. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum heard the case and directed LIC to pay the accident benefit. But LIC preferred an appeal against this order before the Andhra Pradesh State Commission and later, the National Commission (RP No 536 of 1996). LIC’s contention was that the death of the insured was not an accident as it was caused by Naxalites who came with a plan to attack him. Secondly, the circumstances in which he died constituted death “resulting from riots”, which attracted the exclusion clause in the policy vis-a-vis the accident benefit. The National Commission, headed by Justice Suhas C. Sen dismissed both contentions and directed LIC to pay the widow the accident benefit. The Commission pointed out that the scope and meaning of the word “Accident” used in a policy of insurance was examined in England as early as in 1893, in the case of Hamlyn vs the Crown Accidental Insurance Company, wherein it was said: “The cause of the injury was accidental in the sense that the injury was a casualty and unforeseen and unexpected”. Said the commission: In this case, it cannot be said that the death resulted from natural consequences of events in the life of the deceased. He was dragged out of the house and the injuries inflicted upon him lead to his death. The commission next referred to Clause 10 (b) of the insurance policy, which said that liability to pay an additional sum equal to the sum assured under the policy would arise if the assured sustained any bodily injury resulting solely and directly from the accident caused by outward, violent and visible means and such injury, solely, directly and independently of all other causes, resulted in the death of the assured within 120 days of the occurrence of injury. In this case, there cannot be any doubt that the assured had sustained bodily injury which resulted in his death within 24 hours. There cannot also be any dispute that the injury was caused by outward, violent and visible means, the commission said. The commission also dismissed the argument of LIC that Mr Reddy suffered injuries “resulting from riots”. It pointed out that in the exclusion clause stating that LIC would not be liable to pay the accident benefit if the life assured suffered disability or death caused by injuries resulting from certain situations, the policy had used the word riots, along with civil commotion, rebellion, war, invasion, hunting, mountaineering, steeple-chasing or racing. Since these were not technical or legal terms, it was safe to assume that the word “riots” was also not used in the policy in a strictly legal sense. Said the commission: The word “riot” has to be understood in the context of the other words in that clause, which denote some sort of public tumult, which is also the dictionary meaning of riot. In this case, there was no public disturbance, the insured was not caught in an unusual disturbance or rioting going on in an area and injured. This was an isolated individual case. In the light of the commission’s order, LIC should widen its definition and scope of what constitutes an accidental injury or death under the policy. In the Hamlyn case quoted by the commission for example, the court held that the injury caused to the knee of the insured while bending down to pick up a marble dropped by a child, was an accidental injury. The court observed: “That that was accidental I cannot doubt. He did not mean to wrench his knee and that would not be the ordinary result of such an action”. LIC should also remove the word “riots” from the exclusion clause. When a riot suddenly breaks out and a person who is caught there gets injured in an attack by the rioters or dies in a stampede or gets killed by the bullets fired by the police to quell the mob, would it not constitute accidental injury or death? Why should an insured person be denied the “accident benefit” in such a case? The untenable arguments
advanced by LIC in this case to defeat the claim of the
widow once again underscores the monopoly’s attitude
towards its customers. If the corporation does not mend
its ways, it is bound to lose its business to private
insurance companies who will soon set up shop here. |
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| Chandikrit opens today CHANDIGARH, Oct 8 (TNS) — More than 60 small units of Chandigarh will participate in a three-day Chandikrit mela being organised by the Department of Industries at the Sector 17 Plaza from tomorrow. Multi-media TV Tax scheme ASCON meet Funds sought Forex rates Gold spurts Blood donation Punjab loan Spice Telecom Centurion Bank |
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