 |
| Saturday, March 25, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
|
Haryana gears up for
power FM clears road for foreign
investors |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Government asked to help in loan
recovery CHANDIGARH, March 24 — Mr K.R. Chabria, Executive Director, Punjab National Bank, today asked the Punjab Government to help banks in the recovery of loans.
Polluting unit 200 yards from
Golden Temple NABARD to begin certificate course Markfed staff oppose sugar mill at
Malout Urea price hike will ‘hit
farmers’ Dealer directed to pay 5000 as
relief
Haryana gears up for power CHANDIGARH, March 24 — To push power sector reforms, Haryana plans to invest Rs 8,000 crore in the next eight to 10 years. This was announced by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala at a conference on “Canadian Energy Solutions” jointly organised by CII and the Canadian High Commission here today. Elaborating, Mr Chautala said that all new generation projects will be offered to the private sector. Expressing concern at the high distribution losses, he said at present the focus is to curb non-technical losses through remote metering, pre-paid metering, temper-proof meters and meter sealing devices. Mr Chautala said the unplanned and ad hoc expansion of the distribution network was the main reason for its deficiencies. He hoped that Canadian expertise in this area would be of great help to the State. He also hoped that Canadian $ 4 million promised by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for Haryana power sector reforms would soon be released. Earlier, Mr I S Paul, Chairman, CII Chandigarh Council, pointed out that there are areas of worry — high transmission and distribution losses, low PLF and no addition to the power generating capacity of the State. He called upon the Haryana Government to formulate transparent policies for greater private participation in the power sector. Ms Linda Brazeau, Trade Commissioner, Canadian High Commission, said that Canadian companies have developed around 10 per cent of India’s total hydro capacity. She hoped that Indian companies and state electricity boards would take advantage of the products and technologies that visiting Canadian companies have to offer. A large power mission from Canada is visiting India consisting of 13 companies. Apart from a large
number of delegates, the others present included Mr
Vishnu Bhagwan, Principal Secretary to the Chief
Minister, Haryana; Ms Meenakshi Anand Chaudhry, Secretary
— Power, Haryana; Mr G S Sohal, Chairman, Punjab
State Electricity Board; Mr V S Ailawadi, Chairman,
Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission; Mr P P
Pamneja, Managing Director, Hryana Power Generation
Corporation; and Dr Tarun Bajaj, Managing Director, Uttar
Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam. |
FM clears
road for foreign investors NEW DELHI, March 24 — The Union Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, today said that foreign direct investment (FDI) will not be subject to any bureaucratic delays. He said the Government will lay down the rules of the game and there will be transparency as far as possible. All that will have to be done is that the foreign investors will have to inform RBI of their investment plans. Addressing the Indo-US joint business council here, Mr Sinha said an implementation board has been constituted wherein the delays in the implementation will be removed. “Any project experiencing delays will be taken up by this board. The whole big sector of infrastructure would be opened up and the 100 per cent management control of five major airports — Delhi, Chennai, Calcutta, Mumbai and Bangalore.” Similarly, the government has come with new set of policies for power, roads, oil sector, he said. One of the areas of concern was balancing the budget of the Central and state governments. He said “I have been realistic and there are hurdles. However, there will not be any hurdle next year and we are in the process of fixing the Fiscal Responsibility Act. We are trying to balance the budget of the central and state government which has dodged us for two decades.” Earlier, the US Secretary of Commerce, Mr William Daley, said there is a tremendous potential which existed between the two countries. “The time was right
to strengthen the relationship.” |
Government
asked to help in loan recovery CHANDIGARH, March 24 — Mr K.R. Chabria, Executive Director, Punjab National Bank, today asked the Punjab Government to help banks in the recovery of loans. Addressing the 72nd meeting of the State Level Bankers’ Committee of Punjab, Mr Chabria said that the aggregate deposits increased by Rs 4,834 crore to Rs 36,049 crore thus registering a growth of 15.5 per cent. The gross credit surged by Rs 1,910 crore to Rs 14,117 crore, showing a growth of 15.6 per cent. Mr P.N. Khurana, Zonal Manager, PNB, said that the implementation of Government-sponsored schemes is on top priority of the Government of India, RBI, banks and State Government departments concerned. Mr K.R. Lakhanpal, Principal Secretary, Finance, Punjab, appreciated the efforts made by banks in increasing the advances in general and in implementing various government sponsored programmes and schemes in particular. He said the Government has taken steps to accelerate the industrial growth, besides providing linkage between agriculture and industry. The meeting was also attended by Mr C.P. Swarnkar, GM, PNB, Head Office, Mr C. Roul, Director, Institutional Finance and Banking (Punjab); Mr Sukhbir Singh, GM, NABARD, and Mr Jagan Mohan Rao, DGM, RBI.
|
Products
that save petrol CHANDIGARH, March 24 — Dr K.N. Mallik, formerly of the PGI here, has developed two agro-based biomass products which, it is claimed, reduce pollution by 70 per cent and result in 30 to 50 per cent petrol/diesel saving. Produced by Delhi-based Pratus Petrochem Ltd at its plant in Noida, the products — Feacksol and Coscutol — have been approved by the Petroleum Conservation Research Association, the Delhi Directorate of Transport and the Automobile Association of Eastern India. Telco has tested Feacksol in its cars with positive results. Mr H.K. Sharma, Director
of the company, told newspersons here today that the
products would be launched in the market in April and the
company is in the process of appointing dealers in this
region. |
Swiss
group takes over Sita Travel NEW DELHI, March 24 — The Swiss travel group Kuoni Travel Holdings Limited has acquired 100 per cent equity holding of India’s largest travel firm, Sita World Travel and its affiliated companies in Nepal and Sri Lanka. Announcing the acquisition here today, the President and CEO of Kuoni, Mr Hans Lerch, said the company plans to list the merged firm in the BSE and would come out with an IPO later this year. With this acquisition
the Swiss company has complete dominance in the Indian
tourism sector. It has Sita which has a significant
presence in the inbound and business tourists and SOTC,
which Kuoni acquired a few years back, specialises in out
bound tourist. |
Polluting
unit 200 yards from Golden Temple AMRITSAR, March 24 — Residents of an area in the proximity of the Golden Temple within the beautification plan limits are up in arms against a printing unit. The printing unit was set up in the congested Khoti Bazar area, just 200 yards from the Golden Temple, 3 years ago. Residents say this was done in violation of MC regulations. The area, occupied by 25 residents in closely-packed houses with a road width of just 10 feet has been exposed to the hazardous discharge of the unit, which uses chemicals and paints to print on polythene sheets. Twentyfive residents of Khoti Bazar, in a written complaint to pollution control board, Amritsar, Patiala, New Delhi and Commissioner, Municipal Corporation Amritsar have urged them to take action against the said unit. Residents claim children
have been known to start vomiting when the unit startsup. |
NABARD to
begin certificate course SHIMLA, March 24 — The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has decided to introduce a six-month certificate course on women’s empowerment in association with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the Department of Women and Child Development, Union Ministry of Human Resource Development. Mr A.K. Garg, General Manager of the bank, said that the new course would educate women help groups through the distance education programme of IGNOU through need-based curriculum. This was an innovation
in the field of micro-credit. The objection of the course
was to create a cadre of master trainers to train other
change agents similarly situated in their regions and
spheres. In order to encourage more animators to take up
this programme, the bank would reimburse the course fees
for 1,000 candidates who successfully complete the course
in the first attempt. The course would commence in July. |
Markfed
staff oppose sugar mill at Malout CHANDIGARH, March 24 — The Punjab State Cooperative Markfed Employees Union has opposed the installation of a sugar mill at Malout by the management of Markfed. The president of the union, Mr Ranjit Goyal, said here today that already more than a dozen sugar mills in cooperative sector and nearly half a dozen in private sector in Punjab had incurred a loss to the tune of Rs 300 crore in a past few years. Terming the installation of the mill as “misadventure,” which would adversely affect Markfed, Asia’s biggest organisation in cooperative sector, Mr Goyal urged the management to cancel the decision. In fact, he said, the installation of the mill at Malout, where no raw material is available to run the mill, was a political decision. Malout falls in the constituency of Mr Sukhbir Badal, son of the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal. Advancing arguments to justify the union’s opposition to the installation of the mill, Mr Goyal said Sugarfed which had more than a dozen sugar mills under its control in the state, had made several statements in recent past, telling all concerned that mills were running in loss and many of these had no raw material for a full season, starting in September and ending in March every year. Sugar mills at Zira, Ajnala, Jagraon and Rakhra have already closed their cane crushing operations this season as they had raw material to operate only for 40 days or so. Moreover the recovery of the sugar mills located in Punjab was around 9 per cent as compared to 11 per cent in Maharashtra. When a cooperative organisation, Sugarfed, has burnt its figures by earning a huge loss from sugar mills operated by it what is the logic in another sister organisation, Markfed, dumping money into the drain. Alleging that the management has managed a report from some Central organisation regarding viability to install the mill at Malout, Mr Goyal said there was already a sugar mill at Faridkot and it ran hardly for 50 days. Faridkot is not far from Malout. Mr Goyal claimed that Markfed had prepared a project worth Rs 30 crore hoping that some bank would finance it but so far no bank had come forward to foot the bill. Markfed was now setting up the mill on its own with 100 per cent share in the capital. The union has also
alleged irregularities in placing the order for
purchasing machinery worth Rs 20 crore. It has sought a
high-level probe. |
Urea price
hike will ‘hit farmers’ CHANDIGARH, March 24 — The reduction in subsidy in fertilisers and the hike in urea prices by 15 per cent in the Union Budget will hurt the interests of the farming community and affect adversely farm production in the country. This was stated by Sampat Singh, Haryana Finance Minister, while presiding over the inaugural session of the Development of Haryana: opportunities in the Union Budget, 2000-2001, organised by the faculty of Economics and Development Planning of the Haryana Institute of Public Administration (HIPA) here today. He said a sustained and broad- based growth of agriculture was essential for alleviating poverty, generating income and employment, ensuring food security and sustaining domestic market for industry and services. Mr Sampat Singh regretted that there was lack of interaction between policy makers and the public. He was of the opinion that before framing any policies things should be debated in public at the grassroots level. Keeping this in view, the Haryana Budget was formulated which was infrastructure-oriented with special stress on power reforms and improvement of roads etc. Nearly 64.5 per cent of the total Budget had been earmarked for infrastructure development. He said it should be a
joint endeavour to supplement the efforts towards
restoration of fiscal balances. The Budget of Haryana for
the year 2000-2001 contained some policy initiatives,
involving fiscal restructuring measures intended to
address issues in revenue mobilisation, expenditure
management and infrastructural development. |
Dealer
directed to pay 5000 as relief AMRITSAR, March 24 — The District Consumer Redressal Forum, has directed M/s Swani Motors LTD, Amritsar, and M/s Swani Udyog LTD, New Delhi, to pay compensation of Rs 5000 and Rs 1000 as costs to the complainant Dr Sanjiv Bhagat for an air-conditioned Maruti car that he purchased from them. In a four-page judgement, the forum members Mr M.S. Chawla, Mr G.D. Chawla and Dr Amarjit Kaur Girgla observed that the dealers had not paid proper attention to set the vehicle right for one year and caused mental tension to the complainant. The forum directed the dealers set the vehicle right to the satisfaction of the complainant within 15 days and the compensation and costs to be paid within 30 days of the order. The said vehicle carried a warranty of a year from the date of delivery, i.e. October 9, 1998. According to the complainant, the car did not function properly since the day of its purchase due to defects in the gear system, poor fuel consumption, noise in the engine, shockers etc. The dealers could not set it right in spite of the vehicle being tested and repaired during the warranty period under the supervision of the authorised staff. Mr Updip Singh, counsel for the complainant, sought fresh warranty of a year besides compensation of Rs 2 lakh with costs amounting to Rs 10,000. The dealers, however,
did not admit to any of the complaints that Dr Sanjiv had
filed and charged that the complainant had put adverse
remarks on the job card intentionally as he was not ready
to pay the charges of petrol and gear oil during repairs. |
cr
NIIT bags contracts worth $ 14 m NEW DELHI, March 24 (PTI) — NIIT today said it had bagged two large software contracts of $ 14 million. The first $ 9.5 million contract is from a large cement manufacturer chain in Thailand. The company also bagged another $ 4.5 million software order from Singapore’s land transport authority. Polaris joins hands with US co CHENNAI, March 24 (PTI) — Polaris Software has entered into a partnership with Marshal and Ilsley Corp (MI) of the USA to develop, market and implement software based on the Eastpoint banking system. Developed by Eastpoint Technology Inc; the system is being used by 60-70 US banks. Goodyear net up, to pay 30 pc NEW DELHI, March 24 (UNI) — The Board of Goodyear India today announced a 30 per cent dividend for the 1999 calendar year, having recorded a Rs 4.2 crore rise in net profit during the period. The company recorded a net profit of Rs 18.93 crore in 1999 as against Rs 14.72 crore a year earlier. Its net sales rose to Rs 666 crore in 1999 from Rs 535 crore a year earlier. ICI, Hoechst declare interim NEW DELHI, March 24
(UNI) — ICI India announced the payment of an
interim dividend of 55 per cent for the financial year
ending March 31. Hoechst Mariom Roussel at its meeting
held today, resolved that an interim dividend of 35 per
cent be paid for the financial year ending March 31. |
bb
Diabeyog CADD centre Parko Pentavox Shawl exporters Pernod Ricard Safety audit Reliance Ind SSI Ltd GDR |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh Tribune | In Spotlight | 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 119 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
