Tuesday, March 30, 1999
today's calendar
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B U S I N E S S | Tuesday, March 30, 1999 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Finance Ministry’s nod
sought to fund Talcher |
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Woodville signs franchise
with WelcomHeritage
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Modicorp Lobbying
stepped up for urea projects Growth
rate to be 5.8 pc in current fiscal |
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Finance Ministry’s nod sought to fund Talcher NEW DELHI, March 29 (PTI) — Powergrid Corporation of India has sought clearance from the Finance Ministry to mop up Rs 1,200 crore through external commercial borrowings (ECB) route for funding its Talcher transmission project in Orissa. The corporation has already got clearance from the Power Ministry for raising resources for the project. In turn, Power Minister P.R. Kumaramangalam is believed to have written to the Finance Ministry requesting the approval of ECB for Powergrid, company sources said. When contacted Powergrid Chairman and Managing Director R.P. Singh told PTI that the corporation had to resort to the ECB route due to delay in sanctioning of the loan from the World Bank. “We have sought clearance from the Finance Ministry to go for ECB and have also asked for giving us the benefit of deemed export status with regard to international borrowings, which otherwise is available only for multilateral funding,” Singh said. The World Bank had not committed on sanctioning of loan to Powergrid for the project in wake of economic sanctions imposed on India after the nuclear tests were conducted in May last year. Powergrid has gone ahead to invite tenders from the equipment suppliers for the transmission project and is hoping that the Finance Ministry would give the deemed export status along with the approval of international borrowings, sources said. While, the state-owned National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has already got the approval to raise about $ 1 billion through ECB route, Powergrid’s request would enable it to take up the transmission work of Talcher which is promoted by the NTPC, sources said. The multilateral agency had not committed on Rs 3,000 crore loan to NTPC for the project due to the sanctions. The NTPC resorted to the ECB route for financing its various projects including the Talcher Super Thermal Plant, Vindhyachal Kayankulam and Simhadri power projects. The 2,000 mw Talcher
project of the NTPC would mean laying of a high voltage
direct current back to back transmission line for
Powergrid connecting Talcher to Kolar. |
Woodville signs franchise with
WelcomHeritage SHIMLA, March 29 — The Woodville Palace Hotel here signed a franchise and marketing agreement with the WelcomHeritage chain today. This is the fourth heritage hotel in the State to become a member of the chain. The other three hotels are at Nalagarh, Pragpur and Kangra. The agreement was signed by Kanwar Uday Singh of Jubbal with Mr Gaj Singh, Chairman of the Welcom Heritage Resorts. Mr Gaj Singh said that 15 heritage properties consisting of palaces, forts and havelis have joined the chain which would help marketing of their rooms by trained hands at Delhi and Jodhpur. He said that there was great potential to exploit heritage properties as tourism has become more selective and people desired to enjoy the old world charm. Heritage tourism has a lot of potential. Kanwar Uday Singh said that Woodville was the summer palace of the erstwhile rulers of the Jubbal state. It was converted into a heritage hotel in 1977. Mr O.P. Munjal, President
of the Welcom Heritage, said that at present the chain
has a base of 530 rooms in 15 properties spread in
Rajasthan, MP and Himachal. |
Glaxo
Wellcome abandons merger plan DRUGS group Glaxo Wellcome has abandoned plans to merge with its fellow big Four conglomerate Bristol Myers and is thought likely to be looking at two smaller mergers as an alternative, it emerged on Sunday. Talks between Glaxo Wellcome and the American company are believed to have ended late in 1998. A merger would have created a combine worth $ 225 billion and brought Glaxo within sight of achieving chairman Sir Richard Sykes’s goal of 10 per cent of the world’s drugs market. Now it seems more likely Glaxo will try to reach that target in two steps with two groups, Britain’s SmithKline Beecham and Roche of Switzerland, heading the list of names in the frame. Glaxo would not comment on reports that it either was or had been in talks with Bristol Myers. But industry observers suggested the discussions terminated at the end of 1998 with expressions of mutual esteem but a decision not to proceed. It is not known what caused the talks to stumble, but it is thought that the idea of a merger was put together by merchant bankers acting for one or both parties. The huge deal would have combined Glaxo’s 4.5 per cent share of the world market with Bristol Myers’ share of between 3.5 per cent and 4 per cent, creating the world’s largest drugs firm. Equally important, Glaxo’s strengths in ulcer, asthma and migraine treatments would have complemented Bristol Myers’ in heart and cancer treatments and drugs connected with the central nervous system. This would have helped clear the merger with regulators in Washington and Brussels, who look at overlaps in “therapeutic areas”. It would, for instance, have stopped a merger with Sweden’s Astra, which is strong in Glaxo’s areas. Astra is now merging with Britain’s Zeneca. The other members of the big four, America’s Merck, with a 4.5 per cent share, and similar-sized Novartis of Switzerland, are not thought to be potential Glaxo partners. Sir Richard has forecast further consolidation within the industry and insists Glaxo will not stand back from this process. The thinking inside the company is that technological changes are altering the relationship between a firm’s size and its research and development effort, so the biggest players will be able to rely on a more straightforward link between spending on research and its outcome in terms of profits. Glaxo believes only large groups will be able to take advantage of this change. Asked recently if it was on the look-out for merger opportunities, an insider replied that in the light of Sir Richard’s remarks, it would be “very odd if we weren’t”. It is believed the company may have assigned one or two employees to study full-time possible merger scenarios, although no announcement is thought imminent. Glaxo tried to merge with SmithKline Beecham last year, but the deal fell apart as the two sides could not agree on the division of executive positions. That failed merger followed a proposal that SmithKline merge with American Home Products, a deal which was eventually rejected by SmithKline in favour of talks with Glaxo. Stressing its primary concern is still running its day-to-day business, Glaxo has said any deal
would have to deliver proven value to shareholders. —
The Guardian.
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Textile
policy to follow TUF launch NEW DELHI, March 29 — The much awaited Technology Upgradation Fund (TUF) Scheme for the textile and jute sector is going to be launched on April 1, 1999, official sources said here. The fund would provide interest subsidy upto 5 per cent to textile units willing to make fresh investments to adopt state-of-the-art technology. The total size of the corpus is likely to be in the range of Rs 25,000 crore. Many financial institutions like IDBI and ICICI are going to contribute to this fund, sources said. The launching of the fund would be followed by a new textile policy aimed at “providing necessary environment” to the textile industry. An expert committee under the chairmanship of Mr S R Sathyam was set up in July 1998 to analyse the present status of the industry, its competitiveness, the impact of the existing textile policy and to suggest policy measures to improve the productivity and competitive edge of the Indian textile industry in a holistic manner. The committee is expected to submit its report by the end of April this year. The government also likely to launch a Cotton Technology Mission. The mission, a joint effort of the Textile Ministry and the Agriculture Ministry, would focus on research for improving seed and farm level technology, extension of technology to farmers, improving marketing infrastructure, facilitating marketing arrangements, and contamination free efficient cotton processing. NEW DELHI, March 29 (PTI)
— B.K. Modi’s Modicorp today announced a major
restructuring of its operations by focussing on
telecommunication and information technology (IT) for
developing a synergistic business portfolio. Modicorp
will invest its resources and grow in the IT and telecom
sector as the company sees value delivery through its
capital to maximise shareholder value in these sectors,
it said. |
Hydro-power: Himachal’s
engine for growth SHIMLA: Hydro-power is being counted on as a sure engine for state’s growth. And the Himachal Pradesh government seems determined to make the most of its abundant water resources. The state is witnessing rapid progress in execution of hydel power projects. To make optimum use of its rich natural resources, the government has prioritised tapping the hitherto untapped hydel potential from its five river basins of the Sutlej, the Beas, the Ravi, the Yamuna and the Chenab. The total power potential of these rivers and their tributaries is estimated to be about 20,000 MW, out of which only 3543 MW has been utilised. The total capacity of the project at present under execution in the state sector is 171.5 MW comprising Larji (126MW), Ganwi (22.5 MW), Gumma (3 MW), Bhaba Augmentation Project (3 MW), Sal II (2MW), Holi (3MW) and Khauli (12MW) projects. HPSEB is also collaborating with the Naptha Jhakri Power Corporation Limited to execute of the Nathpa Jhakri Hydel project (1500 MW). Besides, arrangements for execution of projects in public and private sector, the government has also decided to execute 66 mini and micro hydel projects having generation capacity of 127 MW in the private sector. A recent visit to the Ganwi and Sanjay Vidyut Pariyojana, Bhaba at Bhabanagar in Kinnaur district indicated the government’s commitment to ensure completion of a time bound programme for power generation which will go a long way in making the state the power state of India. The Resident Engineer of the Bhaba Power House Division, Mr A.N. Sharma said the first unit of the 3 X 40 MW power house had started generation in May, ’89, and all three machines were put into operation two months later. Since then it has generated 4850 MUs till February this year. This power house surpassed all previous records in the 50th year of India’s independence. At present, it boasts of power generation of 692 MUs and is all set to achieve 695 MUs by March end. Due to its all time high generation, this power house fetched the state an additional revenue touching Rs 22 crore in 1998-99. The Ganwi hydel project had started in April, ’95. The first phase involved construction of roads, buildings and bridges. Actual work which involved construction of the underground power house and the tail-race tunnel and other activities related to the powerhouse complex started in early ’97. Mr G.R. Panwar, Superintending Engineer of the project said the project was scheduled to be completed by May ’99 but had to be re-scheduled due to some problems with Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited. He said the project which entails tapping of Ganwi, a tributary of the Sutlej would be completed in two and a half years. Water here is being sourced at an altitude of 1565 metres above sea level. A distinct feature of the project is the penstroke flow of water from the source through pipes. Mr Panwar pointed out that
no forest land is involved in executing the project. He
said the greatest advantage is that the project would not
require rehabilitation of local people. |
Lobbying stepped up for urea projects NEW DELHI, March 29 (PTI) — Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are believed to be lobbying for getting a project each out of the three urea projects likely to be cleared soon by the Public Investment Board (PIB). Estimating a supply gap of about 22 lakh tonnes of urea by 2003, both Planning Commission and Agriculture Ministry are believed to be favouring clearance of three of the five proposals of 7.68 lakh tonne capacity each, to avert over-dependence on imports in future. The PIB, likely to meet here next month, had earlier asked the Fertiliser Ministry to prioritise the five projects in terms of investment, outgo of subsidy and usefulness before a formal decision was taken on the proposals. Out of the pending proposals, IFFCO’s Nellore project in Andhra Pradesh entails heaviest investment at Rs 1670 crore followed by Kribhco’s project in Uttar Pradesh at Rs 1479 crore. The expansion project of state-owned Rashtriya Chemicals and Fertilisers (RCF) at Thal will require the lowest investment among the five proposals at Rs 1263 crore for identical capacity creation. In terms of subsidies also, IFFCO’s project at Nellore will put an annual burden of about Rs 600 crore on the exchequer followed by Rs 472 crore for Kribhco’s new project in Gorakhpur. Five fertiliser projects worth over Rs 7,000 crore have been pending before the PIB for the past one and a half years as the Planning Commission had kept in abeyance the proposals for mega fertiliser projects saying cheaper imports was a better option. According to the Fertiliser Ministry’s priority list, the IFFCO’s project figures last while “RCF’s project comes on top followed by Kribhco’s Rs 1268 crore Hazira expansion project and Rs 1479 crore Gorakhpur project and National Fertilisers Ltd’s (NFL) Rs 1315 crore Panipat expansion project. Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has requested the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, during a recent visit to clear the project, highly placed official sources said. During a meeting in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) held on March 3, it was concluded that keeping in view the fertiliser demand-supply gap of 22.3 lakh tonnes in 2003, three projects with a capacity of 7.68 lakh tonnes per annum could be set up. The meeting also concluded that the expansion projects such as KRIBHCO’s Hazira and RCF’s Thal are most economical in view of the saving of approximately Rs 350-400 crore on capital cost. According to the proposal, Gorakhpur project of KRIBHCO will utilise infrastructure of the existing plant of the FCI, lying closed since 1990. In addition, if
implementation of both Hazira and Gorakhpur projects is
undertaken simultaneously, it will save approximately Rs
140 crore on account of discounts likely to be offered by
the technology and equipment suppliers. |
Growth rate to be 5.8 pc in current fiscal BANGALORE, March 29 (PTI) — The country’s economy would end up with a growth rate of 5.8 per cent during the current financial year, Planning Commission Member Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia said today. Mr Ahluwalia told an interactive session organised by the Greater Mysore Chamber of Industry (GMCI) here that this year growth would be aided mainly by the agricultural sector “which is doing well”. He said a 7 per cent growth rate target had been fixed for the next three years of the Ninth Five Year Plan but stressed that, to achieve this, a 10 per cent plus growth in the industrial sector was essential. Mr Ahluwalia said though he was not in a position to “see a strong recovery” in the industry, there would certainly be a turnaround. One positive factor for the industry was that the world trade growth was expected to be more than last year’s and the “position” in East-Asia was stabilising after the crisis, he said. Mr Ahluwalia, a former
Union Finance Secretary, suggested that the country
should aim at 8 per cent growth rate by the end of the
decade after the conclusion of the Ninth Five Year Plan
in 2002. |
Do women
have to pay for their ‘welfare’? NEW DELHI: A new insurance scheme promising women for the first time a ‘security’ cover among other things against ‘rape’ has generated a lot of controversy with women activists accusing the authorities of insensitivity. Though the word ‘rape’ has been substituted by ‘physical assault’ at the feminist bidding, the questions raised by them still remain. Would it make women pay for keeping their own dignity or the loss of it? How practical is the scheme? Would it not mean harassment at the insurance company in addition to courts? The launch of “Rajrajeshwari Mahila Kalyan Bima Yojana” by Government has evoked a mixed response with some social activists protesting strongly against equating heinous crimes with mere accidents. But legal experts say the scheme would enable victims get compensation for even crimes less serious than rape. “It is a personal accident insurance scheme, which can be of immense help to tribal and rural women, who for ages have been exploited”, says an insurance official, arguing vehemently that “it’s not meant to offend them, rather to benefit them.’’ “But it equates physical assault or even rape with disability, giving compensation for the loss of a limb, but ignoring the life-long trauma of the victim,” says Geetha Ramakrishnan of the Chennai-based women’s struggle committee. “With over 15,000 rape cases alone being registered every year, women don’t need an insurance cover in anticipation of such crimes. What they actually need is a safe crime-free environment, speedy trial of rape and other cases, rehabilitation and compensation,’’ she says. “When everything else (the legal redressal system) is in disarray, this policy has come as a piecemeal approach... with no state accountability for crime against women,’’ says Akhila Shivadasa of Media Advocacy group. “The policy, which is being offered as a ‘welfare’ measure does not ensure any right to security of women,’’ says Shivadasa, noting they have become a part of the cold crime statistics. “It is nothing more than making a political capital out of the sufferings of women... The whole approach to the issue has been wrong,’’ says Ramakrishnan. Initially announced by the General Insurance Corporation through its four subsidiaries last Diwali, the officials say it is fast becoming popular with rural women — over 1.35 lakh have sought cover in the last four months. The scheme was formulated after the Prime Minister asked the GIC and its subsidiaries to formulate a scheme for the welfare of women, says a senior insurance official. “We have also been told to ensure better delivery to make the compensation process easy. “A woman who is permanently disabled due to an accident which involves physical assault would get Rs 25,000, the same amount for loss of two limbs and eyes but half if she loses one limb or an eye.” the officials said. Coming at an annual premium of Rs 15 only, it initially offered insurance against accident including snake bites, drowning, falling from the hill as also when suffering from particular ailments and rape. However, the word ‘rape’ drew a flak with social activists who said the insurance companies were trying to market the heinous crime. The ‘objectionable’ word has now been replaced with ‘physical assault’ but social activists say ‘change in terminology does not change the mentality of the authorities.’ “Now an assault on a woman, which may include trying to outrage her modesty would be treated as mere accident, which can be made good by monetary compensation, which ironically would be collected from the potential victims only,’’ says Nirmal, working with an NGO. “The issue remains that women have been asked to pay a premium for being raped or physically assaulted,’’ says Ritu Menon of Kali for women. “Instead of making the state accountable and responsible for the atrocities on women, the women themselves are being made to fend for their sufferings,’’ Menon says. “Women do not need such ‘gifts’ from the government but making the laws more stringent to check crime,’’ she says, adding “ instead of protecting the women against violence, they now offer insurance policy against crimes”. The insurance companies
are serious about helping women, they should also give
some interim compensation so that the victims do not have
to wait for the court’s order to come, judicial
process would also have to be more active, says State
Counsel Meera Bhatia. — PTI |
United Nations, (IANS): The Philippines has called on the international community to protect national population policies from the fallout of the economic crisis in the Asian region. The 47-member Commission on Population and Development was told by Filipino representative Ofelia M. Temp that the drastic reduction of capital inflows in Asian countries had sparked concern that the economic crisis would suppress the capacity of developing countries to generate population-related resources. “Developing countries need the donor community to promote the goals of the Cairo Conference,” she said. The reduction of capital inflows in some Asian countries, she said, had led to concern that the economic crisis would have a “significant impact on the capability of some developing countries to generate resources related to population activities.” Therefore, developing countries, Temp said, would continue to turn to the donor community for assistance in promoting the goals of the 1994 Cairo Population Conference, at least in the medium term. The Commission continued its deliberations on follow-up action on the Cairo recommendations. Malaysian representative Raj Karim said women were the most affected by the economic crisis and global efforts to assist developing countries should focus on such issues as reproductive health and HIV/AIDS prevention. Also critical was the availability of resources to address issues of complex demography involving large numbers of young and old people, he said, adding that developing nations faced the challenge of attaining a balance in population growth to prevent rapid ageing and maintain a significant labour force. India’s representative Pravin Visaria said documentation on population trends should be placed on the Internet and resources should be made available for that. Trade recovery SINGAPORE, (PTI): Inspite of decline in trade in initial months of the year, Singapore expects to recover from slump in the second half of this year, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Trading Development Board of Singapore, Barry Desker said. “We remain positively optimistic on the prospect in the coming months”, Desker said. He said the 12 per cent decline in total trade in January and February was less severe than the 15 per cent drop in the fourth quarter of 1998. “The clear indications we have are that the trend will be continuing into coming months”, Desker said, new agency Xinhua reported. The decline in non-domestic export in January and February has also moderated compared with the severe fall in the fourth quarter of 1998, he added. Speaking on international environment, he said, “we face an international environment in which there is tendency to protectionism”. Insurance BEIJING, (PTI): China will open its multi-billion dollar insurance market wider to allow foreign firms to compete with staff-owed firms as part of Beijing’s bid to join the World Trade Organisation (WTO), an official newspaper reported. Quoting the Chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), Ma Yongwei, China daily business weekly said more licences would be granted to foreign insurance companies in the future. Opening up is on the CIRC agenda as negotiations for China to join the WTO continue, Ma said. Aid for Philippines MANILA, (AFP): Japan and other donors have pledged about $ 4.5 billion in aid to the Philippines,but the World Bank threw a dampener on celebrations by warning of problems ahead and questioning Manila’s economic forecasts. Philippines Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu said in a video conference from Tokyo that the donors meeting in the Japanese capital was “a big success” which amounted to a “resounding vote of confidence” in Manila. The largest pledge of $ 3.1 billion came from Japan. This includes $ 1.13 billion in its annual yen loan package to Manila, Espiritu said. Another $ 1.04 billion will come from multilateral institutions including WB, ADB and IFC, he said adding the balance will come from various bilateral donors. In a report released, the World Bank said while Philippines has weathered the Asian financial crisis better than its neighbours, perils remained ahead for the economy. “The outlook for
recovery is clouded by uncertain prospects for private
capital flows and high levels of corporate and banking
stress,” the report said. |
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| Hoechst NEW DELHI, March 29 (PTI) — Hoechst Marion Roussel is introducing a new anti-diabetes drug Amaryal in the country, aimed at consolidating its position in the Rs 140 crore Indian anti-diabetes drug market. Commodities |
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