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| Thursday, June 15, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Punjab Government opposes
Centre’s
move to change cess criteria Can you cash in on volatile swings?
Daewoo offers free check-ups |
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Baby food ads mislead
Punjab Government opposes Centre’s
move to change cess criteria CHANDIGARH, June 14 — Punjab has protested against the Union Government’s move to deviate from the agreed criteria for the devolution of cess worth Rs 5,600 crore collected from the sale of diesel and petrol. Informed sources said that Mr Parkash Singh Badal, has made it clear to the Prime Minister and others concerned that only the consumption of diesel and petrol in the state should be the criterion for the devolution of cess and no other formula would be acceptable. The Chief Minister met the Prime Minister on June 12. The Union Government imposed a Re 1 per litre as cess on petrol in 1998 and the same amount on Diesel on March 1,1999 with an objective of developing road infrastructure in the country. Till the end of the last financial year Rs 5,600 crore has been collected, it is learnt. While Rs 5000 crore has come from the sale of diesel, remaining amount has come from the sale of petrol. However, now differences have developed among states and the Centre over its devolution. Earlier it was decided that states would be entitled for share from the cess in proportion to sale of petrol and diesel in their respective territories. However, the Rural Development Ministry which would get Rs 2500 crore out of the total collection for the development of rural road infrastructure, wanted the “connectivity “ between rural link routes should be the criterion. As Punjab and Haryana have wide spread network of roads in rural areas and almost every village is connected with rural road link, the criteria of connectivity would be discriminatory for these states. There are states which have not even 25 per cent road infrastruture in their rural areas. Punjab has taken the plea that though it has rural road network, but the entire network required to be upgraded keeping in view the manifold increase in traffic in rural areas. Many roads required to be widened and their upper crust strengthened. Movement of heavy defence vehicles often plays havoc with roads. At least Rs 1,500 crore is required for improving the rural roads. Moreover Punjab is one of the highest per capita consumer of diesel. Its consumption last financial year was near 180 crore litres which means it should get at least Rs 180 crore as share from the cess collected from diesel. Mr Badal has reported to Mr Vajpayee to direct all concerned not to temper with the already agreed upon formula. Other major worry of the State Government is that if the criteria is changed this time, it would become a precedent for all times to come and the Punjab would be a big loser in future also. Out of the remaining Rs 3100 crore, 57.5 per cent share is to go to the Ministry of Surface Transport for National Highways, 12.5 per cent share to the Ministry of Railways for constructing railway over bridges (ROBs) on busy roads, and 30 per cent for the state sector roads. This is also not acceptable to Punjab. The Chief Minister wanted that the share of state sector roads should be enhanced to 50 per cent. The allocation in this case also should be on the basis of consumption of diesel and petrol. As the 12.5 per cent share would go to the Ministry of Railways, the Punjab Government has taken the stand that henceforth the Railways would not be entitled to any financial contribution from the state concerned for constructing the ROBs. The State Government has also urged the Union Government to provide funds for completing pending projects like a bypass at Gurdaspur, another bypass at Pathankot and a bridge at Sirsa Nadi near Ropar. The state government has urged the Union Government to declare Kharar-Ludhiana-Moga-Ferozepore-Fazilka road Kiratpur-Anandpur Sahib-Nangal road as national highways. |
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60 tonnes grain loss in one train-load NEW DELHI, June 14 — In a country fighting drought conditions in at least five of its states, hundreds of tonnes of grain is lost every year during its transportation in rail racks from one station to another. Sources in the Food Ministry point to the possible connivance between officials of the FCI and the Railways in this major loss of grain during transportation through trains. Although the FCI top management is wanting to control it but is facing problems not only within the organisation but also from the rail officials. According to sources, if a thorough probe is carried out in this loss of grain during transportation, it would bring to light a scam which would put many other major misappropriations in the country to shame. Hundreds of crores worth of tax payers money has been plundered by the conniving officials of the two organisations under the name of this “accepted” norm in loss during transportation. As per reports the FCI and the Railways accept as much as 2 per cent loss of the total grain being transported as normal. Investigations point out that the loss in this manner could be as much as 60 tonnes during transportation of one train-load of grain. FCI transports lakhs of tonnes of it in a year. Not only is the grain moved for storage purposes but also for distribution. Keeping this in mind if the calculation of the 2 per cent loss is made, it works out to an amount which is enormous. Sources in the Ministry point out that this practice has been going on for years and no investigations of any sort have been carried out to check whether this loss is actual or just shown on papers. Sources disclosed that rail authorities issue a receipt which carry words “said to have contained” and not one which specifically points out the quantity of grain being transported. This points out that the railway officials believe on what figures are provided to them by the FCI officials and no physical verification of the same is carried out before the issuing of receipt. According to reports the railways also
do not have a weighing bridge by which it could actually physically check the quantity of grain being transported. Despite repeated requests the railway authorities were said to be not willing to install these weighing bridges which could save the country crores worth of grain. Sources in the Ministry point out that these weighing bridges cost just about Rs 15 lakh each and are so advanced that they can weigh the entire train-load of grain even if the train is moving at a speed of 40 km per hour. Two of such had been installed earlier, but are now said to be non-functional and none is apparently wanting to get them functional. |
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Can you cash in on volatile swings? REMEMBER what we said last week — the best course of action for investors who had prudently accumulated pivotal ICE stocks at declines, would be to start booking partial profits. Now, those who followed the suggested course of action would be sitting pretty. The retracement though is a healthy sign and it might not be too long before the downward drift ends and yet another sharp rally
commences. Traders can once again take advantage of the volatile swings that have become the order of the day and those with a bearish temperament can consider short positions at the counters of Zee Telefilms at Rs 549 (cover up at Rs 510) and Himachal Futuristic at Rs 1498 (cover up at Rs 1399). But operators could consider taking up long positions at the counters of TV 18 at Rs 589 (square up at Rs 643) and HCL Tech at Rs 1296 (square up at Rs 1367). Investors with a long term perspective can keep a close watch on the counter of Cadbury which merits a look-in at successive price declines. Finally, the optimal strategy this week would be — keep an eye out for bargain buys.
— Ashok Kumar |
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Less than 1 pc Pakistanis pay income tax KARACHI, June 14 — Seizing power in a coup last October could prove to be an easier task for Pakistan’s military rulers than reforming the country’s creaking tax system in their first Budget on Saturday, economists said. The challenge stems from trying to make official an undocumented economy which rivals a $ 60 billion formal one, pampered by a complex tax system and a tax collecting body riddled with corruption and inefficiency. The first step by the government of Gen Pervez Musharraf, the carrying out a tax survey in the face of strong resistance from retailers, was a good start, analysts said. “So far, the government has met the challenge as they have been able to resist pressure from the traders,’’ said Arshad Arif, research head at First Capital ABN Amro Equities. Retailers launched nationwide strikes for more than two weeks to try to force the government to step back from its tax reform plans, protests which had forced previous governments to back down. Arif said implementing a broad-based general sales tax may be easier as a result of the survey, as the government estimates only 20,000 out of 2.5 million shops in the country collect a sales tax. But Arif said expectations of a quantum jump in tax revenue were ambitious as Pakistan’s tax system is hindersome and full of leakages corrupt tax collectors thrive on. Industries have complained of facing multiple taxation, small retailers complain that maintaining accounts is difficult and sectors such agriculture are not fully in the tax net. Arif said Pakistan should not expect an increase in tax collections of more than 10 per cent in the fiscal year that starts in July from a projected Rs 360 billion ($ 6.9 billion) in the current fiscal year. Pakistan’s Citibank-groomed Finance Minister, Shaukat Aziz, says he is determined to break this logjam by making a broadening of the tax base his key priority. “A key element of the Budget will be to broaden the tax net,’’ he told business leaders in Karachi last week. Nadeem Naqvi, research head at International Asset Management, said the challenge to the government was two-fold, one from an undocumented economy, and the other from money earned through illegal means. Either way, less than one per cent of Pakistan’s 140 million people pay income tax. Naqvi said while the documentation drive was vital for the country, the government first needed to instil confidence in the public that the tax machinery would not abuse its powers. — Reuters |
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Like Microsoft, USA abuses monopoly INCLUDED free with Windows 2000 will be a computerised edition of the game Monopoly. In this version, Microsoft already owns every property from Old Kent Road to Mayfair and you just go round and round giving the company lots of money. You try to tell yourself it is not fixed, but when Bill Gates wins second prize in a beauty competition you can’t help being suspicious. For the past two years, in a legal battle more difficult to understand than the Microsoft user’s manual, the computer giant has been found guilty of anti-competitive practices and abusing its monopoly power. Considering how aggressively Microsoft has consistently stamped on any competition, its lawyers really should have seen this lawsuit coming, but then this is the company whose computers failed to foresee that the year 2000 would follow 1999, so you can’t presume anything. Now an American judge has ordered Gates to spell out, in detail, how he is going to break up his company — which should be interesting. After four hours the judge will stop him and say: “Sorry, just going back a bit there, can you explain what a mouse-mat is again?” Since losing the case Bill Gates has seen his personal wealth drop by around $25bn, so he has had to postpone the loft conversion that he and his wife had been saving up for. Internet Explorer will probably no longer be given free with Windows, which means that the poor customer will end up having to pay more to look at hardcore pornography and white supremacist sites. It is of course true that Microsoft has stifled competition, but just a moment . . . who is it that is saying that this sort of behaviour is unacceptable? The United States government! This would be like Gates telling Clinton he’s a bit nerdy. There are a number of monopolies in this world but the USA has a monopoly of all of them. Of course, this case is not really about free trade. It is a battle between the world’s most powerful country and the world’s most powerful company. It is the first flashpoint in the new cold war between nation states and corporations. More battles between the giants will follow; Japan versus Sony, Korea versus Daewoo. America won the first cold war on behalf of capitalism. And what thanks do they get? Capitalism then proceeds to push America aside and the next struggle ensues. Gates should now hit back by counter-suing the USA for operating anti-competitive practices. He would have a very good case. As a government, the USA has consistently stifled free trade. Tiny independent operators like Cuba and Nicaragua have been virtually forced out of business and all sorts of international laws broken in the process. With the kind of breath-taking arrogance that you only get from the leaders of world superpowers and 17- year-old public school boys, America actually attempted to make it illegal for European countries to trade with Cuba; the case against America is even greater than the one against its richest citizen. Like Microsoft the US has a variety of operating systems; in the Balkans they used
NATO, but the World Trade Organisation, the World Bank and even the United Nations itself have all been called into play at various times. This will probably be the last European football championship in which a team from Europe is allowed to win. Any fair minded judge would have to agree that like Microsoft, the USA has abused its monopoly of power and must therefore be broken up. It has refused to operate a level playing field and so must be separated into its constituent parts. Dividing it between North and South is one option, but this was tried before apparently, and caused all sorts of problems. You could split it between Democrats and Republicans or Pepsi and Coke drinkers or between the pro and anti gun lobby, though this might be a bit unfair if another civil war broke out. But the American courts have ruled that monopolies should not be allowed to dominate and so the USA must be as good as its word. If Microsoft Windows is not allowed to give you free bundled software, then each Americanised country should not automatically get a McDonald’s in every high street and Jerry Springer repeats on their TV channels. There must be a way of dividing America up so that we continue to get Seinfeld and ER, but are not compelled to get the rest of the American culture that is bundled in with it. Can we have the films without having to watch the speeches at the Oscars? Can we have the music without the graffiti on our subways? The break up of America will be such a complex job that somebody will have to design a computer programme to do it. If only Microsoft hadn’t been fragmented. It probably had a free programme on Windows 2000 that could have done it all for us. — By arrangement with The Guardian
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Daewoo offers free check-ups NEW DELHI, Jun 14 (UNI) — In a bid to spruce up pre and post-sales service initiatives, Daewoo Motors India Limited (DMIL) today announced the launch of a large-scale service and test-drive campaign under which the company would be offering free check-up of all Daewoo cars. In addition, it would also book orders and deliver finance options at the customer’s doorstep to enable quick car purchase, a statement issued here today said. The campaign would be on for a period of around six weeks beginning June 17 in over 100 locations in major cities, including Chandigarh and Gurgaon. Additional facilities available to the customers during the programme include direct interface with company officials, door-step order placement, solution to finance related issues and explanation of quick car purchase procedure. |
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Baby food ads mislead NEW DELHI: Alarmed by the rising consumption and ill-effects of infant milk substitutes and complementary foods, doctors and activists have joined hands to combat the growing influence of manufacturers, who have the means and the money to take control of the market. Despite a law discouraging the bottle feed culture, the sale of baby milk substitutes and related products is registering a growth with manufacturers “destroying the spirit if not the letter of the law”, they say emphasising the need for stricter action to bring them round. The promotion of infant milk and food substitutes has been carried out on a much larger scale than creating awareness about their ill-effects and advantages of mother’s milk, owing to aggressive advertising by corporates. The ideal time for starting complementary foods for babies is not before six months, but most commercials promote its use in the fourth month, which is both misleading and violative of the Infant Milk Substitute, Feeding Bottles and Infant Foods Act, says Dr R. K. Anand, Head, Department of Paedriatrics and Neonatology at Mumbai’s Jaslok Hospital. “The hard sell advertising of infant food makes us victims of profit-making desires of the companies which promote their products aggressively,” says Dr Anand. — PTI Maruti again for six-day week NEW DELHI: Maruti Udyog has decided to move back to a six-day working week beginning June 20, according to Managing Director Jagdish Khattar. . The company had decided to cut down production from May 19 and go on a five-day week in view of the major slump in demand for cars. “We will come back to a six-day week once the plant reopens after its half-yearly maintenance shutdown on June 20,” he says. “There was a lot of uncertainty in the market following the decision by the state government’s to implement uniform 12 per cent sales tax from May 15. While some states had implemented it, there were still talks that the move would be reversed. This resulted in people holding back their purchases. But now slowly they are accepting the fact that there would be no roll-back and demand is picking up, Khattar adds.
— UNI Asian Age JV with HCL NEW DELHI: The Asian Age has joined hands with HCL Infinet, a subsidiary of HCL Infosystems, and floated a 60:40 joint venture called Asian Age Infinet Private Limited. HCL Infinet, which is scheduled to launch its ISP services in 42 A category cities next month, will place the content — rich Asian Age Infinet horizontal portal on its home page. “The JV will leverage the content expertise of Asian Age and technology capabilities of HCL,” Chairman and Managing Director of Asian Age Infinet M.J. Akbar said here at a media presentation on Wednesday. “The Net will play a critical part in
redefining who is number one in media,” Akbar said. He sees dramatic change in the content different from the print media. “The communication pattern on the Net is not imprisoned by newsprint,: he said.
— UNI
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Tyre prices Payot Lab SBP branch Vardhman Job site ICICI |
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