Friday, December 24, 1999
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B U S I N E S S | Friday, December 24, 1999 |
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Govt lets ISPs use foreign
satellites NEW DELHI, Dec 23 — The government has permitted Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to obtain bandwidth from foreign satellites to boost the usage of Internet facilities in the country. No hanky-panky in wheat import: FM NEW DELHI, Dec 23 — Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha told the Rajya Sabha today that there was nothing hanky panky in the free import of wheat in the past few months and the decision of the Government later to impose a 50 per cent duty on December 1. No plan to cut Maruti stake NEW DELHI, Dec 23 — Suzuki Motors and the Government are not planning to reduce their stakes in the 50:50 joint venture in Maruti Udyog Limited. |
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Government okays Hinduja proposal
Is Mercedes Benz potentially sick? Cogentrix
power to put Rs 42,000 cr burden ?
Tips for upgrading SSI technology RBI
offices to open on Dec 31 |
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Govt lets ISPs use foreign satellites NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (PTI) — The government has permitted Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to obtain bandwidth from foreign satellites to boost the usage of Internet facilities in the country. The Internet policy announced by the government permitted ISPs to set up international gateways for Internet but the matter relating to the use of foreign satellites was under consideration. The modalities and requirements have been finalised by the Telecom Commission in consultation with the Department of Space and the Ministry of Information Technology. The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) will be the nodal agency to provide single-window clearance for the proposals for obtaining bandwidths from foreign satellites by ISPs. For speedy clearance, a high-powered Standing Committee has been set up having representatives from DoT, the Department of Telecom Services (DTS), the Wireless Planning Commission, the Ministry of IT and headed by the Department of Space. The committee will endeavour to clear the proposals within 15 days and in any case not later than 30 days. The broad parameters for
scrutiny include to see that the proposed satellite
access schemes and earth station specifications are
consistent with radio regulation guidelines, the proposed
satellite is coordinated with Indian administration for
the frequency band of operation for the given service and
that the ISP gateway proposals conform to the various
Government policies as applicable from time to time, an
official release said. |
No hanky-panky in wheat NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (UNI, PTI) — Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha told the Rajya Sabha today that there was nothing hanky panky in the free import of wheat in the past few months and the decision of the Government later to impose a 50 per cent duty on December 1. “It was absolutely a clean deal and if there is any specific information with any member, the Government will not hesitate to take the strongest possible action,” he said replying to the brief discussion on the resolution he moved seeking the House approval on levying 50 per cent Customs duty on wheat. Members had also sought clarifications at the same time on the statement made by his Minister of State for Finance last week on imposition of Customs duty. The Rajya Sabha later returned the resolution to the Lok Sabha which has already approved it. Sinha said, wheat was put under Open General License by the pervious United Front government in 1996 in the wake of forecasts of a shortage of three million tonnes of wheat production in 1997-98. But subsequently wheat production improved in the country with a record 71 million tonnes in 1998-99 as against 66 million tonnes in the previous year, he said adding this year as well “we are expecting another good crop.” In the light of this surplus situation, the Government decided to bring in this special measure as the godowns were overflowing with stocks. Sinha maintained that farmers’ interest will be fully protected as the government was buying whatever came into the market. About 1.5 million tonnes of wheat was imported from May to October this year. In previous years the import was around two million tonnes. Earlier, Mr Guru Das
Dasgupta (CPI) wanted to know why wheat was allowed to be
imported when the country had enough stock of the
commodity. He said a group of importers had made huge
profit as the price of imported wheat was less than that
of the indigenous wheat. |
Wagon-R likely to cost 3.80 lakh NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (PTI) — Maruti Udyog’s new small car Wagon-R, scheduled for launch on Saturday, is likely to be available in three versions with price tags between Rs 3.80 lakh and Rs 4.10 lakh, a top company official said here today. The 1100 cc “tall body” car will have four cylinders and 16 valves to generate a power of 62 brake horse power (BHP) and a torque of 82 kg/newton metre at a speed of 3,500 revolutions per minute (RPM). Wagon-R will be the most powerful and with the maximum number of valves (16) in the small car segment, officials claimed, adding that it would be technologically more advanced than other small cars. Wagon-R will be fitted with a multi-point-fuel-injection (MPFI) system for meeting Euro-II emission norms. It will give a mileage of 16-18 km per litre with air-conditioner on during the city driving conditions, officials claimed. The new car will have a self-diagnostic system to warn in advance about any breakdown. The system will also indicate about the nature of the fault and suggest replacement of faulty parts. The model will be fitted with power windows, central locking, air-conditioner/heater, music system and a remote-controlled fuel tank opener. Suzuki Motor Corporation President O. Suzuki arrived here late last night to launch the vehicle. Mr Rohtash Mal, MUL Chief General Manager (Marketing and Sales), emphasised that Wagon-R will not kill Zen. Wagon-R will face
competition from Santro because of the tall boy design of
both cards, according to experts. Euro-II compliant
versions of Santro are currently available in the price
range of Rs 3,05,955 to Rs 3,74,649 (ex-showroom) in
Delhi. Hyundai Motors India Limited will announce around
Rs 18,000 price increase on Santro early next month. |
Pay taxes, get transparency NEW DELHI, Dec 23 — The Government plans to use the tool of information Technology for rationalising the direct and indirect tax laws and procedures to provide a transparent tax administration, the Finance Secretary, Mr P. Mankad, said here today. Speaking at a pre-Budget interaction with the PHDCCI Mankad said while the Government was keen to provide a transparent tax administration, it was possible only if the industry and trade respond equally by paying due taxes. He noted the request of the chamber for discontinuation of 10 per cent surcharge on basic customs duty due to expire on March 31, 2000 and the urgency to realign the duty rates based on the principle of subjecting raw materials to lowest duty and the finished products to the highest slab. The President of the PHDCCI, Mr Ashok Khanna cautioned that many industries would be out of business and cheaper imports would fill the shelves of retail shops if non-essential imports are not curbed within the framework of the WTO regime through suitable calibration of duty rates. Khanna also pointed out that the management of finance has gone off the rails and there was a need to impose a statutory ceiling on government borrowings so that fiscal deficit does not exceed the pre-determined upper ceiling. This in turn would release more funds at lower interest for trade and industry. The Chairman of the
Central Board of Excise and Customs, Mr S.D. Mohile, the
Chairman CBDT, Mr Ravi Kant and other senior officials of
the Finance Ministry were also present. |
Is Mercedes Benz potentially sick? NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (PTI) —Mercedes Benz India, a subsidiary of automobile giant Daimler Chrysler, has become “potentially sick” with erosion of over 50 per cent of its networth, but its officials say the company has a long-term commitment towards India. The company has notified the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) about its financial condition as per the Sick Industrial Companies Act (SICA) provisions. Mercedes Benz India made the reference to BIFR after the company’s accumulated losses rose to Rs 336 crore compared to equity capital of Rs 600 crore as on March 31, 1999. Confirming the development, MBIL General Manager (Corporate Affairs) Suhas Kadlaskar told PTI from Pune that the reference to BIFR has been made only on “technical grounds” to ensure compliance of legal regulations. “The financial
condition of the company is very healthy and Daimler
Chrysler AG had a long-term commitment towards
India,” Kadlaskar said, adding that the company had
posted a net profit of Rs 2.60 crore in 1998-99. |
Government okays Hinduja proposal NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (PTI) — The Government today approved 131 foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals worth Rs 5592 crore in diverse sectors including automobile, financial, power and software sectors. General Motors India Limited’s proposal to hike paid-up capital in its existing fully owned venture by Rs 180 crore was cleared by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). The NRI group Hinduja’s proposal to hike its stake in Hinduja National Power Project (HNPCL) from 51 per cent to 100 per cent was also approved by the Government, an official release said. The deal would involve FDI inflow of Rs 294 crore. When contacted HNPCL Adviser Suresh Chandra told PTI that the company had not submitted any application to the Government seeking change in equity structure in the 1.2 billion project coming up at Visakhapatnam. He said that the Hindujas were given permission to bring up to 100 per cent foreign equity in the project right in the beginning and they were not proposing to buy 49 per cent stake of the National Power of the UK in the over 1000 mw fast track project. FIPB also cleared a
proposal of the UK based Taj Telephone and Cables
Limited’s proposal to bring in an FDI of Rs 3450
crore to build and operate a state-of-the-art digital
fibre network in India. |
Cogentrix power to put Rs 42,000 cr burden ? NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (UNI) — The proposed Cogentrix power project in Karnataka will place a Rs 42,000 crore burden on the people of the country, according to Agarwal, the petitioner in the case against the project. The power purchase agreement (PPA) of November 1997, under which 16 per cent of the 28 per cent assured profit would have to be paid in dollars for 30 years, depreciation in the exchange value would alone lead to a cumulative loss of Rs 15,000 crore, while cost padding would result in a loss of another Rs 18,000 crore, Agarwal told reporters. Cogentrix power “is far more expensive than Enron power. As is now known the reality of paying for Enron power is proving fatal for Maharashtra,” he argued. The arbitrary doubling of the project from 250 MW to 500 MW each at Bangalore and Mangalore and thereafter shifting the entire 1000 MW project to Mangalore would result in extra transmission cost and distribution losses of at least Rs 300 crore a year or Rs 9,000 crore over 30 years, he said. Agarwal, on whose petition the Karnataka High Court had ordered a CBI probe into charges of kickbacks in the allotment of 1013 MW Mangalore Power Project, said that he would move the authorities in the USA alleging that project promoters Cogentrix had bribed politicians and officials in India. Within a day of the
Centre deciding to give counter guarantee for the project
after the recent Supreme Court judgement quashing the
High Court order and giving a clean chit to the
promoters, Agarwal told reporters that he would move the
US Department of Justice and Securities Exchange
Commission over the alleged kickbacks in the deal. |
No plan to cut Maruti stake NEW DELHI, Dec 23 — Suzuki Motors and the Government are not planning to reduce their stakes in the 50:50 joint venture in Maruti Udyog Limited. While the Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Mr Manohar Joshi, said the Government has no plans to infuse funds into the company, the President of Suzuki Motors, Mr O. Suzuki, said the reducing market share of the company could be curtailed only by the introduction of new models. “A completely new model would require an investment to the tune of Rs 3 to 4 billion,” Mr Suzuki said. While Mr Joshi declined to comment on the reported talks between the Government and the General Motors, Mr Suzuki expressed his ignorance of any such meetings. Earlier in his address
at a FICCI meeting Mr Suzuki said the last century
focused on the USA, Europe and Japan. The next millennium
belongs to Asia and particularly India. |
Air India flight clears Y2K test NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (PTI) — Air India today said its aircraft had successfully conducted an experimental flight to test the Y2K rollover, though it announced ‘‘marginal’’ alterations in its schedules to keep the fleet on ground during the actual changeover on the millennium night. The Y2K rollover test was operated on AI’s A-310 aircraft yesterday with the airline’s Joint General Manager Capt V.K. Khosla, Capt D.S. Pais and Deputy Chief Aircraft Engineer S.M. Rao operating it, an AI spokesperson said. Before take-off, the aircraft clocks were set on 2330 UTC (international air travel time) and the engineers on board who carried out checks when the clock struck 0001 UTC, ‘‘noticed no abnormalities’’, the spokesperson said, asserting that the aircraft performance ‘‘was normal in all respects’’. However, ‘‘out of abundant caution’’, the airline has marginally altered its schedules so that all its aircraft are on ground between 2300 UTC or 4:30 am (IST) and 0100 UTC or 06:30 am (IST) on that night. A massive contingency
plan will be activated from 9:30 am on December 31, the
spokesperson said, adding that AI will treat its flights
on December 31 as millennium flights. |
Tips for upgrading SSI
technology CHANDIGARH, Dec 23 — In a note submitted to the Punjab government and the Planning Commission today the PHDCCI suggested technological upgradation, research and quality testing facilities for small scale industries. Mr Amarjit Goyal, Chairman, Punjab Committee, has said that small entrepreneurs do not have access to funds for technological upgradation and marketing their products. The PHDCCI had suggested that professionals may be supported to set up research organisations, which can act as technical consultants to small enterprises. New technology areas such as micro-electronics, process control systems, computer software, bio-technology, Pollution control and energy conservation offer great scope for knowledge intensive, low-capital based enterprises set up by qualified technologists. The government should encourage such units. It is imperative that a
policy is evolved with three components — technology
transfer from abroad, local technology creation and
technological development abroad. A technology mission
may be launched at the earliest to study detailed
requirements of SSEs for technology related issues and
establish networking with technological institutions in
India and abroad, besides arranging for venture capital. |
RBI offices to open on Dec 31 NEW DELHI, Dec 23 (PTI) — As a part of the contingency plan to counter the Y2K bug, the offices of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will remain open on December 31 and do normal transactions. The offices of the RBI
will remain closed on January 1, 2000 for public
transactions on account of half-yearly closing of the
Reserve Bank’s accounts, instead of December 31, an
RBI release said here today. |
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