 |
| Tuesday, August 22, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
|
IDBI, banks fail
to agree Sinha allays fears
of any BoP crisis IT Indians target Europe from Britain RBI move on EEFC ‘arbitrary’ |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Remove non-tariff US barriers: Nasscom ST on furnace oil cut Self-Help
Group plan reviewed IT Expo from August
24
NEW DELHI, Aug 21 (PTI) — Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) today failed to reach an agreement with banks and financial institutions on the final pricing of its 51 per cent stake in SIDBI thus delaying the disinvestment process. At a meeting chaired by Banking Secretary Devi Dayal here, top IDBI officials failed to reach an agreement with public sector banks and financial institutions to offload SIDBI shares at a price of Rs 50 per share, recommended by SBI Caps, according to official sources. SBI caps, the merchant banker handling the deal, has been asked to make a fresh presentation giving five year projections of SIDBI to the banks by September 10. Eleven public sector banks including SBI, Corporation Bank, Canara Bank, Indian Bank, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation and General Insurance Corporation (GIC) participated in the meeting. The price of Rs 50 per share was considered too high by the PSU banks who felt that a price of Rs 30-35 was more realistic keeping in view the market perception about the institution, they said. The government had announced two years back the sale of 51 per cent stake in SIDBI, which has a paid-up capital of Rs 450 crore. However, the actual process only began early this year after the IDBI Act was amended in the Budget session of Parliament. Sources said another issue which came up at the meeting was the percentage of dividend projected by SBI caps at 15 per cent. Banks said this was too low, while IDBI officials said that once banks own majority stake in SIDBI, they could decide a higher dividend. IDBI officials said the price was expected to be finally decided around the level of Rs 35 per share. It is expected that even at a price of Rs 25, IDBI would get about Rs 600 crore from the disinvestment, according to analysts. The fresh presentation required to be made by SBI caps would apart from projections for five years, also consider factors which could affect the bank’s performance. Factors like the impact of WTO regime, the Rs 500 crore non-interest earning contribution being made by SIDBI to the credit guarantee scheme, the investment required to revamp State Financial Corporations (SFCS), would be taken into account, sources said.  |
|
Sinha allays fears
of any BoP crisis NEW DELHI, Aug 21 (PTI) — The government today allayed fears of any balance of payment crisis in the country following the downslide of rupee and said the
economy is poised for 6.5 to 7 per cent growth, one of the highest in any country of the world. “There has been an outgo of $ 1.80 billion due to downslide in rupee but there was no need to worry on balance of payment front,” Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha told the Lok Sabha while replying to a debate on supplementary demands for grants for 2000-2001. The minister admitted that there was a negative impact due to withdrawal of funds by Foreign Institutions Investors during the last two months but the situation was turned around this month due to prudent handling of the economy by the government. The minister said the government had been able to cut down its expenditure and its
spending were 37 per cent of its budget during the first quarter of this year as against 40 per cent during the same period last year. Mr Sinha said, however, the expected hike in import bill of petroleum products was a matter of concern and needed to be tackled properly. The House later approved demands for grants amounting to Rs 2536.66 crore for the year 2000-2001. |
|
IT Indians target Europe from Britain LONDON, Aug 21 — Indian software experts have begun to come into Britain in thousands every year as London becomes the centre for expanding India’s information technology (IT) skills in Europe. Close to 10,000 people from the Indian subcontinent arrived in Britain on the basis of work permits last year, a four-fold increase since 1990. Most of these were from India and most of them are in the IT business, officials say. The new wave of immigration from India reflects a new push being given to expansion of Indian software services across Europe. Indian IT firms have concentrated on the USA so far but Europe offers at least as large a potential as the USA. About 60 to 65 per cent of the revenues of Indian software industries come at present from the USA. But according to industry figures, most Indian companies are now showing a much higher growth rate in Europe, somewhere between 70 and 90 per cent. Several Indian companies like Infosys are planning to make London the hub of their new business in Europe. Infosys chief N.R. Narayana Murthy told IANS earlier that “there is now considerable emphasis in expanding the market in Europe, particularly in the U.K.” A rapidly increasing number of work permits have been issued by Britain over the past few years. The total number of people from the Indian subcontinent who arrived in Britain on that basis rose from 4,640 in 1996 to 6,100 in 1997 to 7,930 in 1998, the last year for which Home Office figures are available. That number is reported to have risen sharply last year and this year. The total of 7,930 work permits issued in 1998 included 2,150 for 12 months or more and 3,210 for less than 12 months. The remaining 2,580 arrived as dependants. The new arrivals are politically potent. The Home Office in London issues every work permit with extreme reluctance, and only when a firm can establish that a resident of Britain cannot do the job. In the face of this policy the new Indian arrivals mark a political triumph as much as they indicate business growth. Several trade unions and political leaders came together in a shrill protest in the early nineties when a British firm first farmed out IT services to a company in Bangalore. Union leaders said that the advantage of cheaper work based on cheaper labour in India would lead to a loss of British jobs and of job opportunities in Britain. The Indian offers have won through on the strength of the level of expertise on offer as much as advantages of cost. Britain like many other European countries faces a shortage of top class IT experts. More work permits reflect the increased presence of Indian IT firms in Britain. Firms with offices in Britain are taking a larger share of work than firms operating long distance from India.
— IANS |
|
RBI move on EEFC ‘arbitrary’ NEW DELHI, Aug 21 — The Reserve Bank of India’s move to scale down the Export Earners’ Foreign Currency (EEFC) account by 50 per cent to stop the slide of the rupee against the dollar is “arbitrary”, the National Association of Software and Services Company (Nasscom) said today. “This arbitrary and sudden move by RBI will be detrimental to software exporters and it is not in line with the liberalisation process adopted by the government,” Mr Dewang Mehta, President of Nasscom told reporters here. An estimated $ 2 billion are kept in these accounts and the RBI by this measure plans to bring in half that amount in its dollar reserves to pep up the rupee which has seen a down swing in the recent past. The EEFC account scheme was introduced in 1992, which enabled exporters and other exchange earners to retain 70 per cent of their receipt in foreign exchange with an authorised dealer in India. At present a 100 per cent export-oriented unit or a unit in export processing zone, software technology park and electronic hardware technology park can credit
up to 70 per cent and other person resident in India up to 50 per cent of inward remittances to the EEFC account. The RBI, in its directive to all foreign exchange dealers on August 14 said “authorised dealers should initiate steps to scale down the balances in EEFC accounts to 50 per cent of the amounts held as on August 11. Authorised dealers may accordingly direct their constituents to convert into rupee the excess balances latest by August 23 and ensure such conversion. Where amounts are held in term deposits the excess amount may be sold forward by the depositor to coincide with the maturity date of deposit.” Mr Mehta said “the earlier allowance of crediting 70 per cent of inward remittances into EEFC accounts of software exporting units is a trade necessity and should be continued till government announces full convertibility of rupee.” “We definitely want a strong rupee but at the same time we also do not want arbitary and artificial means to be adopted by RBI to bring in an artificial parity between rupee and dollar,” he said. The Nasscom President said “such methods adopted by RBI would only encourage retention of foreign currency overseas, thereby adversely affecting the volumes of software exports. In the longer run, such methods may prove to be more harmful to foreign currency reserves in India.” “Nasscom has requested the Finance Ministry and RBI to reconsider its order of scaling down of EEFC limits and restore it back to 70 per cent level,” Mr Mehta said, adding that “measures should be taken to increase the reserves but scaling down EEFC limits is not the answer.” |
|
Remove non-tariff US barriers: Nasscom NEW
DELHI, Aug 21 — The Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, should stress the need for removal of non-tariff measures by the USA during his visit to Washington next month, the Nasscom said today. “Non-tariff measured imposed by the USA are acting as impediment to the growth of Indo-US business in IT software and services,” Nasscom president, Mr Dewang Mehta told reporters here. “The three main non-tariff measures that need urgent attention were relate to avoidance of double payment of social security, increase in global H1-B visa cap and removal of locational constraints in H1-B visa,” he said. “While Indian government is constantly reducing import duties, its now the turn of the USA to remove non-tariff measures to keep the parity in IT trade between the two countries,” he said. According to Nasscom-McKinsey study, Indian software exports in 2008 can reach an annual $ 50 billion. “There is a problem of double taxation of social security which has made the Indian software industry non-competitive by almost 14 to 20 per cent in the USA,” he said. Indian software professionals working on H1-B or B1 visa in the USA, but getting their wages in India pay social security in India and also pay 14 to 20 per cent of their wages as social security in the USA. Mr Mehta the Indian software professional are not able to reap the benefits of the social security in the USA as according to USA law “a person has to work there for 40 quarters or 10 years to claim any benefits. Whereas, H1-B visa is only valid for three years and renewable for a fresh period of three years.” The Nasscom president said there is an urgent need to avoid this double payment of social security. “The USA has already signed a totalisation agreement avoid double payment of social security with some countries and Mr Vajpayee should persuade Washington to sign similar agreement with India.” He said Nasscom is lobbying for increase in global H1-B visa cap at the Capital Hill. The global cap of 115,000 for the year 1999-2000 was exhausted in March 2000. “We have requested that the annual visa cap may be increased to 195,000 visa annually. If this is not raised, then as per the US legislation, it would
revert back to 65,000 visas in the financial year 2002,” he said, adding that this “would be dangerous.” Two bill to increase the visa cap are pending before the US Congress and Senate. According to Information Technology Association of America, the US faces a shortage of 300,000 IT professionals in the next three years. Mr Mehta said the IT professionals as per the H1-B visa are allowed to work in a particular state of the USA, which “is against the principle of globalisation.” “Such locational constraints in H1-B visas are detrimental to India-US software trade. If H1-B visa is given then it should be applicable for working throughout the country,” he said, adding “India does not attach any such pre-condition to US software professional who come to India to work.” ST on furnace oil cut CHANDIGARH, Aug 21 — The Punjab Government has decided to slash sales tax to 8 per cent from the existing 20 per cent on the furnace oil. Mr Tikshan Sood, Minister of State for Excise and Taxation, said today that he had cleared the file and forwarded the same to the Finance Department for necessary action. He was hopeful that the Finance Department would clear the file this week. The proposal to cut the sales tax on the furnace oil was mooted by the Chief Minister’s office after a deputation of industrialists requested the C.M. in this connection. |
|
Self-Help
Group plan reviewed CHANDIGARH, Aug 21 — A state-level meet of senior bankers, NGOs and government officials was held by NABARD here today to review the Self-Help Group programme in Punjab and Haryana. Mr A. Ramanathan officer-in-charge, R.O., informed the house that the number of SHGs formed in Haryana has increased from 523 to 1414. The number of groups financed by the bank increased to 260 as on July 31, 2000. Mr P. Satish, General Manager, explained that SHG is not only beneficial to the poor but also profitable for the banks because they can get about 6 per cent additional interest as compared to other investment options. A number of NGOs discussed their success in the programme and highlighted difficulties in getting the SHGs financed. SNS Foundation, Gurgaon, and Guru Kripa Society, Ropar, raised the issues like minimum amount in the saving bank account, uniformity in monthly saving and freedom to the groups in framing their own bye-laws/rules. Dr B.S. Suran, DGM, clarified that all this was provided for in the guidelines. IT Expo from August
24 CHANDIGARH, Aug 21 — The Haryana State Electronics Development Corporation (HARTRON) and the CII will organise an “IT Expo” (an exposition-cum-seminar on e-governance) at the CII convention centre in Sector 31 here from August 24 to 26. The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, will inaugurate the e-governance exposition, while the seminar would be inaugurated by the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Mr Vishnu Bhagwan. Mr Aditya Puri, Chairman of the CII Haryana State Council, Mr R.S. Varma, Chief Secretary, Haryana, Mr Lalit Yagnik, Head-e-Business, IBM Global Services, and Mr P.K.
Chaudhery, Commissioner and Secretary, IT Haryana will address the seminar. Mr P.K. Chaudhery will also preside over the seminar on connectivity and Internet to be held on August 25. |
rc
TCS signs MoU with Jataayu Software MUMBAI,
Aug 21 (PTI) — Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has signed an MoU with wireless Internet company, Jataayu Software (P) Ltd whereby the former will be able to expand its scope of operations into the wireless application protocol
(WAP) area. TCS has identified WAP as a strategic growth area and as per the MoU the products and offerings created by Jataayu in the
WAP area such as ‘Jataayu’ and ‘Unwiring the Internet’ would be provided expertise by the Tata company to take them to the global market place, a
TCS release said here today. As part of the agreement TCS would assist Jataayu, which is a spin-off from Integra Micro Systems (P) Ltd of Bangalore, in the areas of development and test services, software engineering process and training, infrastructure and certification. In return,
TCS would derive value by gaining opportunity for system integration work with the products and services of Jataayu Software. Both the companies would also co-operate in the areas of device drivers, protocol stack levels and wireless technologies. Zdnetindia tie-up MUMBAI, (UNI): Zdnetindia (www.zdnetindia.com), a Jasubhai Group company, and caltiger (www.caltiger.com), the country largest private
ISP, today announced a strategic business partnership. Under the partnership agreement, Zdnetindia will provide technology content and services to every registered user of Caltiger, every registrant of Caltiger automatically becomes registered with Zdnetindia com, receive its award-winning tech newsletters, and is offered easy and direct
access to the site, a company release said. Zdnetindia.com has been developed to become the premier technology portal in India, designed for Indians who want to buy, use and learn about technology, it offers a one-stop experience-horizontal, vertical and temporal-into the world of technology today. Miel e-security MUMBAI, (UNI): Miel E-security Limited, a one-stop-shop for all e-security solutions and products, has tied up as exclusive premier business partner for India with Cyberguard Corporation of USA, to enhance its portfolio of security products and solutions for Indian clients. The partnership will help the Indian firm to enter into “firewall” security segment after having concentrated on public key infrastructure (PKI) security. A firewell is a safeguard to protect critical data from outside attacks while allowing access between a trusted network and a less trusted one, it is basically a packet filtering and proxy gateway system that protects an organisation’s Internet and extranet reachable resources. Traffic that meets the requirement of the internal network site security policy is only permitted to pass through, Mr Mohan said. New website NEW DELHI, (UNI): Accessing information on radio frequency allocations have been made easier with a website launched today outlining the whole gamut of
sitting procedure and official clearance for the various categories. www.dotindia.com has been created for giving information regarding standing advisory committee on radio frequency allocations (SACFA) to increase transparency, responsiveness and efficiency in the Spectrum Management process. Lists of applications for SACFA clearances circulated from July, 2000 have also been put on the website and are updated on a weekly basis, status of various applications submitted for SACFA clearance is also indicated.
|
ty
Hackers vs experts BLACKPOOL: Computer hackers and security experts gathered side by side on Sunday at a conference in the traditional northern holiday resort of Blackpool aimed at getting the government to do more to counter cyber-terrorism. As the annual Data and Network Security Council conference event got under way, a team of hackers from London was tackling the Hack the Flag competition — using their skills to break into a computer and seize a small text file, and defend it against all-comers. “Any method with the exception of physical theft/violence is allowed,” according to the rules, including “social engineering”, the term hackers use for interaction with humans rather than machines. “Bribing other team members is allowed.” This might sound like the sort of event that gives computer security experts nightmares. In fact, a large group of them were sitting in the same part of the seaside hotel, listening to speakers calling on the government to do more to protect the UK’s infrastructure from cyber-terrorists. “We aren’t worried about the people in this room, we’re more worried about people like Saddam Hussein,” organiser Jonathan Wignall told the conference. The organisers want the government to take the treat of “information warfare” seriously, by funding a hotline allowing computer users to warn of virus or hacking attacks, a sort of hackstoppers along the lines of Crimestoppers. In the longer run they think a government agency is needed to anticipate security weaknesses, and guard key parts of the UK’s infrastructure, such as utilities and the government, from possible attacks. — The Guardian
Oppenheimer
is dead
Harry Oppenheimer, who has died aged 91, was South Africa’s foremost industrialist for nearly 40 years, and the last of the latter-day “Randlords”. Although by the mid-1980s he had reliquished formal control of the two great strands in his business empire, the Anglo American Corporation and De Beers Consolidated Mines, he continued to exercise a daily influence as the grand old man of South African mining, and remained a De Beers director until 1994. Long feted in the West as a singular beacon of reform, his vast interests in gold, platinum, diamonds and coal nevertheless stoked the economic engine that maintained the ability of the regime to survive and prosper for the white minority. As he himself remarked in 1984, when beginning to disengage from the business: “In a South African context I may seem to be a liberal, but at heart I’m just an old-fashioned conservative.” On a personal level, Oppenheimer was a self-effacing, very private family man with a record of philanthropy that seemed out of place in the hard world of international mining and finance. Despite the miserable conditions and poor wages of the tens of thousands of migrant labourers who worked the mines, he portrayed himself as a gentleman Anglophile, and had an ability to beguile his critics with either dignified silence or pained politeness. This character, together with his enormous financial clout, enabled him to navigate the treacherous waters of apartheid South Africa.
— The Guardian
|
cr
Star Gold launch from September New Delhi: The Rupert Murdoch-owned Star TV has earmarked Rs. 120 million investment over the next one year in promoting its 24-hour Hindi classic movie channel, Star Gold, slated for launch early next month. The promotional campaign for Star Gold includes organising “video-on-wheels” in smaller towns and cities, advertisements in Hindi and vernacular print media, cinema halls and radio. Vivendi plans TV venture The mega merger of global media giants Vivendi, Seagram and Canal Plus is set to have its impact on India through new business ventures, to produce television and entertainment software and launch new music delivery systems. The merged entity, Vivendi Universal, or Universal Music as the company is called in India, plans to invest in Bollywood ventures on the production floor under the “Universal” banner and make a foray into television software. Ford mulls price hike for Ikon Ford India is planning to hike the price of Ford Ikon, the car for the mid-size segment, by at least Rs 30,000 following sharp depreciation in the value of the rupee against the U.S. dollar and stricter enforcement of Euro II norms. The company, whose Ford Ikon has already achieved a 26 per cent market share in the mid-size segment, has decided to develop Chennai as an export hub. Lakme colours cosmetic segment Cosmetic major Lakme Lever has tied up with the Fashion Design Council of India, a conglomeration of 33 designers across the country, to launch fashion colours in lipsticks and nail enamel. The new marketing strategy of the company, wherein designers would be announcing the colours of fashion in its colour cosmetics range, if successful, would be extended to eye shadows and eye liners.
— IANS |
bb
Office-bearers TMI Network Uniproducts Kotak MF 123world.com Godrej ISPO BHEL |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 120 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
