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| Saturday,
July 22, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Maruti’s marketshare slips to 46 per cent Diesel price to go up in Chandigarh Pak
to block pornography on Internet Wartsila plan cleared |
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We are in touch with RBI: Sinha 3 Directors of Nebula group
held
PDS includes 11 more items ICICI Bank’s profit
doubles Canara Bank pays
Rs 48 crore dividend
NEW DELHI, July 21 (PTI) — Marketshare of Maruti Udyog slipped below the 50 per cent mark to an all-time low of 46 per cent in June with sales sharply dipping by 34 per cent to 15,898 units during the month. Poor sales registered by the market leader, along with Fiat, resulted in a 7.1 per cent decline in the total sales of the sector as all other passenger car manufacturers posted positive growth in sales during the month. Cars’ sales dipped to 36,974 units during June this year against 39,813 units sold in the same month of the previous year, according to the data compiled by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). However, passenger car sales were up by 10.5 per cent to 143,066 units during the first quarter of the current fiscal compared to 129,421 units in the same period last year. Maruti Udyog Ltd sales declined by 17.6 per cent to 73,447 units during April-June of 2000-01 against the industry growth of 10.5 per cent during the period. All other sectors of the automobile industry except motorcycles, recorded positive growth during the first quarter of the current fiscal. Sales of multi-utility vehicles (MUVs) increased by 10.4 per cent to 171,267 units and of commercial vehicles by 0.2 per cent to 32,077 units. Three-wheeler sales were up by 1.8 per cent to 45,106 units whereas two-wheeler sales grew by 12 per cent to 9.35 lakh units. Riding high on the success of Santro, Hyundai Motor India posted a 65.6 per cent increase in sales to 21,012 units in the first quarter of the current fiscal as against 12,684 units sold during the same period the previous year. Fellow Korean car manufacturer Daewoo Motors too was robust with sales more than doubling to 15,802 units in April-June 2000 as compared to 5839 units in the corresponding period last year. With Honda City fast catching the imagination of Indian masses, Honda Siel Cars India Ltd recorded a 27.2 per cent increase in sales to 2,627 units as against 2,064 units sold in April-June 1999. Into its second year of operation, the ‘Josh’ machine manufacturer Ford India Ltd sales leapfrogged eight folds to 4912 units in the first quarter this fiscal as against 633 units sold in the same period last year while General Motors India Ltd posted a 184 per cent increase in car sales to 1736 units as compared to 612 units sold in April-June 1999. Fiat India, however, recorded a negative growth of 32.6 per cent to 3122 units during the reference period compared to 4636 units sold in the corresponding period the previous fiscal. The sharp fall in Maruti’s market share in June went the Korean auto manufacturers way with Daewoo doubling its market share to 12.7 per cent from 6.5 per cent in June 1999 and Hyundai increasing it from 11.6 per cent to 16.6 per cent in June. Daewoo and Hyundai clocked 11 per cent and 14.6 per cent market share respectively in the first quarter of the current fiscal. The slump in scooter sales continued in June with 21.4 per cent decline to 78,679 units as against 100,079 units sold in the same month last year. Market leaders Bajaj Auto and LML Ltd suffered heavy blows. Scooter sales this fiscal has declined 12.4 per cent to 258,680 units as compared to 295,393 units sold in April-June 1999. Motorcycle sales were, however, robust with a 27.9 per cent increase to 164,201 units in June 2000 as against 128,412 units sold in the same period the previous year. With Hero Honda (48.3 per cent increase in sales) and Bajaj Auto (54 per cent increase in sales) leading the rally, the first quarter of current fiscal saw a healthy 31.7 per cent increase in motorcycle sales to 499,869 units when compared with 380,951 units sold in April-June 1999. |
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Diesel price to go up in Chandigarh NEW DELHI, July 21 — The diesel price in Chandigarh will go up within a month with the empowered committee of state Finance Ministers deciding here today that the Sales Tax rate on the fuel in the Union Territory should be brought in conformity with other parts of the country. The decision taken at the behest of Punjab Finance Minister, Kanwaljit Singh, who is a member of the empowered committee, makes it mandatory for Chandigarh to increase its minimum floor rates on diesel from the existing 5 per cent to 12 per cent within a month. Capt Kanwaljit Singh (retd) said the move would be a boon for Punjab as it would be able to get more revenue from diesel as buying the fuel from Chandigarh would no more be profitable. The decisions taken by the empowered committee of state Finance Ministers to monitor sales tax reforms are not required to be ratified by the Chief Ministers. Today’s meeting was attended by the Finance Ministers of all States and some Chief Ministers. Another significant decision taken by the meeting was the deferment of introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) by one year to April 1, 2002. It was also decided that the introduction of VAT and dismantling of the central sales tax would go simultaneously. CST is a major source of revenue for all states and in the case of Punjab accounts for 25 per cent of its revenue and 20 per cent for Haryana. The committee decided that the revenue loss suffered by the states on account of withdrawing CST should be compensated by the Centre and it should make a provision for compensation in the Union Budget. It was decided that the CST related ‘C’ form should be retained by all states as it would make it easier to assess inter-state trade and volumes properly. Evasions could also be plugged. The meeting noted that all states, except those in the special category like Jammu and Kashmir and the North-East should have complied with the decision to discontinue all sales tax incentive schemes. Even Bihar and Pondicherry, who refused to fall in line, had agreed to implement uniform rates. Haryana Finance Minister, Sampat Singh said that CST on fertilisers and pesticides should be brought down to zero. He said Haryana had implemented minimum floor rates on 202 of the 205 commodities and it was maintaining zero per cent on
fertilisers. |
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Pak to block pornography on Internet ISLAMABAD,
July 21 — The Pakistani government’s decision to regulate the Internet in the country to block cheap telephony and pornography has come under flak for intruding on personal freedom. While rights groups have slammed the announcement by the Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation
(PTCL), information technology (it) experts say the move will be counter productive. Media commentators also rapped the military regime for enforcing outdated notions of “morality”. They have described the step as “regressive” at a time when other Islamic nations were opening up to the rest of the world. Since its introduction five years ago, the number of Internet users in Pakistan is estimated to have grown to 175,000. The government’s telecom company announced in mid-July that it was setting up two national access points (naps) in Karachi and Islamabad to control cyber traffic. “Telephone calls made via the Internet have caused a huge revenue loss to the
PTCL estimated to be in the range of $ 2.8 million per annum,” said a
PTCL press statement. More and more Pakistanis are using the new technology to cut down telephone bills while speaking to relatives abroad. “A three-minute call to Canada would cost around Rs 300 (about $ 60) but the call of same duration made through the Internet will cost less than a few cents,” said the owner of a cyber cafe in Islamabad. “While the Pakistani Government is blindly integrating the country’s economy in the global economy, it is not allowing the benefit of modern technology to its people,” he added. But Internet telephony is not the only reason. “By establishing NAP, we can block access to pornographic sites. This will encourage, especially among young people, healthy and educational use of the Internet,” the
PTCL official said. The critics see this as a “control-freak” state’s bid to undo the liberating influence of the Internet. “The Pakistani state views itself as a guardian and promoter of Islamic moral values as defined and dictated by the forces of orthodoxy and has so far thrived by manipulating ... ideas that are fed to people through state-controlled electronic media and a pliable print media,” said media commentator Najum Mushtaq. “Perhaps for the first time, a technology is becoming available to the average middle class Pakistani that threatens to break free of this controlled communication,” he observed. According to rights activist Abbasi, such monitoring and control “creates opportunities for a ‘politically-motivated sniffing’ into e-mails and other Internet packets.” “It seems that the ‘morality’ propaganda of
PTCL is frivolous and naive in the potentially anarchic world of cyberspace,” he said. IT experts also pointed out that there was no way of technically ensuring that censorship of this kind could be confined to pornography without hampering the flow of other information. “Pornography is a relative term and when defined by state-functionaries in Pakistan, it can mean anything from a mere description of parts of human anatomy to a ceremonial kiss to men in shorts,” said Najumul Islam, an it consultant in Islamabad.
— IPS |
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NEW DELHI, July 21 (PTI) — The government has approved foreign investment proposals of GVK Power Company and Wartsila Corporation to pump in Rs 200 crore each in their respective power projects while allowing Planetasia to increase stake to 46 per cent in its Internet
venture. Industry Minister Murasoli Maran approved 35 cases of FDI of about Rs 727 crore which includes approval to Timex Watch Ltd to allot preferential shares worth Rs 22 crore in their business, the statement issued by the Commerce Ministry said here today. The proposals cleared by the FIPB, approved by the minister, has allowed Japanese multinational Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd to increase its stake to 100 per cent in their recruitment and training and maintaining a pool of seamen business. The multinational company would have to invest 0.025 crore for the purpose. Dow Chemical (India) Ltd’s proposal for expansion of activities in the country to establish a 100 per cent holding company for DOW group’s investment in India has been cleared. The company would pump in Rs 6.6 crore for the purpose. The government has also cleared Essar
Commission's proposal to expand its basic telephony business in the country. No fresh FDI inflow is involved in this case. FIPB also gave its nod to the world’s largest automobile component manufacturer Delphi Automotive Systems to test market its products in India. No foreign exchange inflow was involved in this case. Al Hind TV Ltd and Falak TV Ltd were given permission to invest Rs 20 crore each for production of TV serials with latest technology. The US-based Portman Holdings has been allowed to bring in Rs 215 crore for setting up “mixed use complexes” for downstream activities. Planetasia.Com Ltd has been permitted to expand business opportunities in the field of internet operations. Another company Science Aids.com would bring in Rs 4.8 crore to provide e-commerce solutions in the country. |
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We are in touch with RBI: Sinha NEW DELHI, July 21 (PTI) — Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said today his ministry was in touch with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with regard to the falling rupee value against the dollar. “We are in touch with RBI,” Sinha told reporters here on the sidelines of a SIDBI function. Asked whether the Finance Ministry was concerned over the falling rupee value, Sinha said: “Ask this question to the RBI. They are supposed to keep a day-to-day watch on such developments.” Releasing the SIDBI report on small scale industries (SSIs), Sinha said developed countries, which had expertise in developing the SME sector, should cooperate more closely with developing countries to encourage, strengthen and nourish the sector. He said the government was aware of the problems being faced by the sector, specially in the wake of opening up of the economy and international competition. There was a need to examine whether the Technology Modernisation Fund launched by SIDBI was adequate to support the SME units, estimated at over three lakh. Both the Centre and state governments have been cooperating to bring about taxation reforms, which have been impeding the growth of the SSI sector. |
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3 Directors of Nebula group held JALANDHAR, July 21 (UNI) — The police today claimed a major breakthrough in the Rs 6 crore financial scam with the arrest of three directors of Nebula Group of Companies, who had gone underground last year when the scam was busted following registration of a case of fraud, cheating and criminal conspiracy. As many as 25 office bearers of the companies, including its Chairman Varinder Kochar, were arrested earlier, according to Senior Superintendent of Police Gaurav Yadav. The SSP identified the arrested Director as Dilraj Singh, Jaswant Singh and Pardeep Kalia, all residents of the city. Dilraj Singh and Jaswant Singh, who were arrested from their houses in Parkash Nagar and Improvement Trust Colony on Jalandhar-Kapurthala Road on July 18, are under police remand, while Pradeep Kalia was remanded to police custody today. The company, which duped public of Rs 6 crore, had diverted public deposits to investments in real estate. |
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PDS includes 11 more items NEW DELHI, July 21 (PTI) — The
government today launched a nation-wide scheme to provide 11 essential items, including pulses, salt and edible oils through the public distribution system (PDS) at prices lower than the market price, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution Minister Shanta Kumar said. “Under the scheme called ‘Sarvpriya’, 11 items of day-to-day use like pulses, salt, edible oils and soap will be supplied through 4.5 lakh fair price outlets across the country at a cost lower than the current market price,” he told reporters here. The other items provided under the scheme include tea, detergent cake, exercise notebooks and toothpaste, he said, adding that Sarvpriya would be executed through the National Consumer Co-operative Federation
(NCCF). |
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ICICI Bank’s profit
doubles CHANDIGARH, July 21 — ICICI Bank has doubled its profit for the quarter ended June 30, 2000. The bank has reported a net profit of Rs 40.14 cr as compared to Rs 20.25 cr for the corresponding period in the previous financial year. The bank has reshuffled its composition of deposits by gradually liquidating high cost deposits, leading to an improvement in interest rate spreads. Total deposits as at June 31, 2000 stood at Rs 8,740 cr as against Rs 5,954 cr as at June 30, 1999. The retail deposits stood at 42 per cent of the total deposits. Advances have also shown strong growth, which were Rs 5361 as on June 30, 2000 as compared to Rs 3,449 cr as on 30.6.1999. The bank has pioneered new concepts viz. “Kid-e-Bank” for kids and Bank @ campus for students, which are essentially Internet-based channels. The bank has opened 100 offices and installed 200 ATMs. ICICI Bank has very aggressive growth plans for the region. It plans to at least double its business volumes this year. Its present office network includes nine branches, one extension counter and fouroff-site ATMs. Three more off-site ATMs will be installed in Chandigarh by this month-end. The bank plans to add 20 more service outlets within this financial year in the region, said a bank release here today. |
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Canara Bank pays
Rs 48 crore dividend
NEW DELHI, July 21 (PTI) — Canara Bank has paid a 20 per cent dividend amounting to Rs 48.05 crore for the fiscal 1999-2000 to the government. The dividend cheque was presented by bank’s Chairman R.J. Kamath to Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha here today. The bank which has been earning net profits since its inception in 1906 recorded a net profit of Rs 236 crore in the fiscal 1999-2000 compared to Rs 227 crore in the previous fiscal, Kamath said. The bank’s total business (deposit plus advances) during 1999-2000 was about Rs 70,000 crore, with deposits growing by 16 per cent to about Rs 48,000 crore, he said. Canara Bank’s capital adequacy ratio stood at 9.64 while net non-performing assets ratio declined to 5.28 last year, during the year. |
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Aromatic milk from rice BANGKOK: Thai researchers have successfully developed rice milk as a healthy option to cow milk. Researchers of the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology here have found that milk extracted from rice is rich in nutrients particularly calcium and contains higher
carbohydrate than that in cow milk, an official report quoting the centre’s Deputy Director Darunee Edwards said. “Rice milk is also more aromatic and contains less cholesterol than cow milk”, says the report. Under the project, Thai Jasmine or Hom Mali rice variety is made into powder through a process of building enzymes in the rice grains and water is added to extract milk from the compound. However, the intake of protein may be needed for infant consumers to get full nutritional value as rice milk contains less protein than cow milk. The research project still needs time to come up with a complete study.
— Pool-TNA Pineapple wine not on menu OKINAWA: When the world’s rich men’s club, the Group of Seven, holds its annual summit in France, the hosts search their cellars for the most distinctive Bordeaux wines to serve at the sumptuous banquet. If the rotating summit is held in the USA, the Americans will put their finest California vintages on display to impress their partners. But there is little chance this year’s summit, on Okinawa in Japan’s semi-tropical far south, will acquaint this select group with the pride of the island’s vintners — pineapple wine. Organisers have passed up the opportunity to serve a special “Summit 2000” vintage. Leaders from the USA, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia will be served French and American varieties with their meal. Visitors to the local winery can quickly taste why. Summit 2000, which retails for 2,000 yen ($ 18.60), is almost undrinkably tart. The regular dry version tastes sour. The sweet one resembles pineapple juice left out in the open too long. Even the special pineapple-shaped bottle, while original, can’t make it an up-market drink. But a visit to the winery is not a complete loss. After sampling the different varieties of wine, visitors find a keg with freshly squeezed natural pineapple juice. It tastes great.
— Reuters Second largest
Internet mart NEW DELHI:
India will emerge as the second largest Internet market in Asia after China with 70 million users by 2003, investment bank Goldman Sachs has said in a research report. “We expect resident Indians to constitute the second-largest group of Internet users, after China by 2003,” Goldman Sachs said in its research report on Rediff.Com, the first Indian Internet website to get listed on an overseas stock exchange. Fragmented advertising markets and India’s multilingual characteristics should favour the growth of the internet advertising markets. Also, an undeveloped shopping culture favours one-stop websites like Rediff, which should also attract the wealthy non-resident Indian market. “There are already in excess of 10,000 Internet kiosks in India, most of whom are charging less than a bottle of Coca-cola for an hour of Internet usage,” it said. On the emergence of cable
TV as a driving force for Internet usage, it said: “Internet via cable
TV has a lot of potential in India given the fact that there are about 25 million cable and satellite households (translating into about 100-125 million viewers) relative to a pc base of about four million. “Adoption of cable
TV by Indian households has been one of the biggest success stories in technology and media in India,” it said.
— PTI
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Escorts net soars by 189 pc Digital revenue up 44 per cent Ballarpur net jumps 329 pc TV 18 takes 26 pc stake in Indiabulls.com ABB bags 64 cr order from Hindalco Matushita TV back in black
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Federal Bank Car exports P&G Bhadrachalam Indiart.com Vanavil Dyes |
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