B U S I N E S S

GM eyes Maruti stake
BEIJING, Oct 22 — General Motors Corporation has evinced interest in picking up a stake in India’s largest car maker, Maruti Udyog, “if approached by the Indian government”. In addition, the company is very upbeat about acquiring up the beleaguered South Korean car maker Daewoo as part of its plans to ensure a sizeable presence in India, a spokesman for GM’s Asia Pacific Operations told UNI here.

If you lose old e-mail files
WASHINGTON, Oct 22 — What would you do if you lost all of your old e-mail files? If you’re like many people, such a setback just might ruin your day. That’s because e-mail has become a part of almost everyone’s life — and losing old e-mail means being without a record of correspondence and e-mail addresses.

Car as a computer on wheels
DETROIT, MICHIGAN, Oct 22 — Silicon Valley was hard at work selling the idea of the automobile as a computer on wheels at a conference here this week, but leading figures from the traditional auto-industry questioned the hype. “I don’t believe the consumer is asking for that, and I don’t believe there is a need for the car to be a portal to the Internet,” argued Francois Castaing, the French-born executive who was the chief of engineering at Chrysler Corp. until he retired last year.

GM eyes Maruti stake
From Byas Anand

BEIJING, Oct 22 — General Motors Corporation (GM) has evinced interest in picking up a stake in India’s largest car maker, Maruti Udyog (MUL), “if approached by the Indian government”. In addition, the company is very upbeat about acquiring up the beleaguered South Korean car maker Daewoo as part of its plans to ensure a sizeable presence in India, a spokesman for GM’s Asia Pacific Operations told UNI here.

Regarding Maruti, the spokesman said: “If we are approached and offered (stake in Maruti), we are very interested in taking it.”

However, he said the US-based car maker is not making any pro-active efforts towards the same.

“We are looking at a greater presence in Asia Pacific and India is a key market for us.”

GM eyed Maruti as a perfect fit into its portfolio and expected the alliance to help it grow in India. “Global consolidation and global alliance is the order of the day and we feel the best way to grow is through alliances.”

The company is pushing ahead with plans to expand in Asia. Last month, it doubled its stake in Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corporation to 20 per cent for $ 600 million. MUL was incorporated in February 1981 as a Government of India owned company, and had entered into a licence and joint venture agreement with Suzuki Motor Corporation of Japan in October, 1982, to manufacture fuel-efficient cars at a low cost.

Following the JVA, SMC increased its stake in stages to 50 per cent by 1992. MUL’s equity capital of Rs 132.29 crore and its shareholding has remained unchanged since then with SMC holding 50 per cent, GoI 49.74 per cent and MUL Employees Mutual Benefit Fund 0.26 per cent.

Daewoo, the spokesman said, was another perfect fit into the company’s portfolio as it would offer GM access to several Asian markets and a greater presence in Korea. In addition, Daewoo’s Matiz would also mean availability of a ready mass market car for GM.

Daewoo Motors assets include manufacturing operations in Eastern Europe as well as in South Korea. South Korea’s recent efforts to sell Daewoo Motor collapsed after US auto giant Ford, which was given the exclusive rights to negotiate the purchase of Daewoo Motor in June, abruptly withdrew its $ 6.9-billion bid in mid-September.

Ford had been chosen as the sole bidder for Daewoo in June, over non-binding bids from a GM-Fiat consortium as well as a DaimlerChrysler Hyundai Motors alliance. — UNI

If you lose old e-mail files

WASHINGTON, Oct 22 (DPA) — What would you do if you lost all of your old e-mail files?

If you’re like many people, such a setback just might ruin your day. That’s because e-mail has become a part of almost everyone’s life — and losing old e-mail means being without a record of correspondence and e-mail addresses.

The loss of e-mail could even have legal consequences, depending upon your profession and how you use e-mail. Unfortunately, backing up your e-mail is not always easy, due to the way e-mail programs store files on your hard drive. But it can be done.

Back-up program
Most e-mail programs store your messages in multiple, compressed files on your hard drive. These files are not always easy to find - in other words, you can’t just, say, copy a single folder to another location on your hard drive and feel secure that you have a backup copy. What’s more, e-mail programs also contain your e-mail address book and sometimes other contact information that you would be loathe to live without.

That’s why it can be worth your while to use a backup program specifically designed to make safe copies of your e-mail messages. There are freeware and shareware programs available that work just fine. Aj Systems, at www.Ajsystems.Com, http://www.Ajsystems.Com, specialises in programs for backing up and restoring e-mail from all of the popular e-mail programs.

The company’s OutBack Plus works with Outlook, Express Assist backs up Outlook Express e-mail, and BackDora is designed to back up Eudora e-mail files. Each program is available free for evaluation and costs under $ 30 for an unlimited licence.

You can find free back-up tools for Outlook as well. Go to zdnet’s shareware and freeware repository at http://hotfiles.zdnet.Com, http://hotfiles.zdnet.Com, and type ‘’backup outlook’’ in the Search field. You’ll find several utilities —perhaps not as polished as those from aj systems — that will do the job for you as well.

Note that Microsoft’s Outlook 2000 comes with a built-in backup feature, but it will only back up your personal e-mail folders, not some of the other important settings, such as your address book.

Don’t forget normal, scheduled backups of your entire hard drive —or at least the data files you would hate to lose.

Also, you’ll find that Outlook and Outlook Express both have export and archival features. It’s important to understand the difference. First of all, exporting data and archiving data are not the same as backing up your e-mail messages. When you export messages, you convert them into a format that another program can read. When you archive messages, you move them out of your current folders into a separate archived file. While it’s true that you can then back up this file and save it to another location, archiving is not meant as a replacement for backing up your e-mail messages.

Have a computer question? Send it via email to the computer helper at jayd@csi.com, mail to:jayd@csi.com.

Car as a computer on wheels

DETROIT, MICHIGAN, Oct 22 (AFP) — Silicon Valley was hard at work selling the idea of the automobile as a computer on wheels at a conference here this week, but leading figures from the traditional auto-industry questioned the hype.

“I don’t believe the consumer is asking for that, and I don’t believe there is a need for the car to be a portal to the Internet,” argued Francois Castaing, the French-born executive who was the chief of engineering at Chrysler Corp. until he retired last year.

Castaing was one of the invited speakers at Convergence 2000, an automotive electronics conference that brought Silicon Valley and the auto industry together here this week.

Consumers will not want to pay for services they can only access from their car when they are already paying for portable cellular service they can access anywhere, said Castaing.

Nor will consumers be willing to shell out for in-car devices, such as navigation systems, if they cost more than today’s car-audio systems, argued Franz Wressnigg, Chairman of German auto-electronics supplier, Siemens Automotive Corp.

Traditional auto suppliers such as Siemens predict the much-hyped linking of the car to the Internet will turn out to be no more than adapting the car so that drivers can operate cellular phones, personal digital assistants and other portable devices with voice recognition software.

“That’s not redesigning the car,” Castaing said.

“That’s connecting the radio system and the portable wireless telephone.”

That connection basically involves adding a microphone to the sun visor or overhead console; programming the car audio system so it plays cell phone conversations over speakers; and installing wireless communications technology that lets devices talk to each other over short distances.

AVIATION NOTES

by K.R. Wadhwaney

Dos & don’ts may hit IA, AI sell-off

WHILE deciding to privatise Indian Airlines and Air India, government has put several restrictions. Only 26 per cent of the airline’s equity will be available to a strategic investor; 25 per cent is available to institutions, employees, the public and NRIs through initial public offerings.

This is not all. There are more do’s and don’ts. The “strategic investor” has to have at least a minimum net worth of Rs 1,000 crore. In addition, no foreign airline can independently buy stake in domestic airline.

The government recently announced “Expression of Interest” (EOI)” for share-holding in IA. But, shockingly, kept out Jet Airways on the plea that scheduled air transport operators were not eligible to participate. The government officials have said “it is being done to maintain a competitive environment”.

Snags

QUITE a few aircraft of IA and Alliance Air have been grounded because of sudden development of ‘snags’. This clearly indicates that there is inadequate maintenance of the fleet.

An IA Airbus 300 returned to the base (Chennai) after being airborne for 30 minutes. Similarly, Alliance Air Boeing 737 for Port Blair had to return to Chennai following fears of tyre burst.

On both these occasions, there was mid-air scare. While these instances cause concern to travelling public, they also throw entire schedule haywire.

Both aircraft were thoroughly inspected and repaired. But there is an urgent need to tighten maintenance staff so that such instances do not recur as often as it is happening in both these airlines.

Uncertainty

UNCERTAINTY prevails on the issue of fares on domestic sectors. IA has decided not to raise fares despite the hike in the price of aviation turbine fuel.

While there is uncertainty about fares on domestic sectors, Singapore Airlines is planning massive expansion. It will buy 10 of Airbus Industrie’s massive A3XX jetliners and place options for 15 more.

TAX & YOU

by R. N. Lakhotia

Q: I had PPF A/c No. 62 in State Bank of Hyderabad. I had applied for transfer of account at SBI SAS Nagar but the bank had refused the transfer saying that A/c cannot be transferred from SBH to SBI. Please clarify the same.

—Shammi Sahni, Chandigarh.

Ans: Transfer of the PPF A/c is the internal matter of the different bank. You should approach your concerned bank for redressal in the matter.

Q: I am a senior citizen owning a six marla house and a telephone. My annual income is Rs 96,000 (Rs 72,000 as pension and Rs 24,000 by way of interest). I would request you to let me know if my income in taxable or not. In case it is not taxable, is it mandatory for me to obtain “PAN”. If it is taxable, how much amount I have to pay as tax.

I would further request to provide me the required information at the earliest to enable me to take further necessary action accordingly.

— J.R., Panchkula.

Ans: On the facts stated by you there will be no liability on you to pay Income-tax specially when you are a senior citizen. Besides, from your pension income you will be entitled to a standard deduction like salary income. Likewise, from your interest income you will get a deduction upto Rs 12,000 u/s 80L thereby the net tax payable by you specially after tax rebate of the senior citizen will be nil. It is not necessary for you to file Income-tax return.

Q: I retired from bank’s service on 14.04.99. Deduction of Rs 12454 was made in Income Tax on total amount of Rs 287099 paid as gratuity to me. Is the deduction justified. If not, what is the remedy.

— Daljit Singh Gujral, Ambala City.

Ans: On the facts stated by you it appears that the deduction on gratuity has been correctly made by your DDO. It is not the maximum amount which alone is to be taken into account for determining the complete exemption in respect of gratuity amount but even other factors like completed year of service etc. have to be taken into account.

Q: I am a government employee. My income for the year 1999-2000 is going to be about 98000. I had bought NSCs worth Rs 25,000 in February ‘99. Interest for one year is due on 24th February 2000. My queries are:-

1. Whether this due interest will be added in my income for year 99-2000?

2. Am I eligible for any tax concession from this interest?

— Mrs Shashi Goyal, Jind.

Ans: The accrued interest under NSC A/c will be taken into account while calculating your gross total income. However, this accrued interest would be considered for deduction u/s 80L. Besides, this amount would also be eligible for tax rebate u/s 88.

MARKET SCAN

by J.C. Anand

ICE stars likely to twinkle on Divali

ONE question which is being asked both by traders and investors is whether the market has bottomed out? The stock exchange indices continue to fall, but last week the quantum of fall was much lower. The Sensex was lower by 1.2 per cent and Nifty by less than 0.40 per cent. This is a hopeful sign. It is quite possible that this week, the indices might close on a positive note. The Divali may not have much glitter but the market is likely to greet it with some upward movement. Information technology scrips have performed even better than expected though the old economy scrips have announced, with some exception, disappointing second quarter results.

Another positive factor is the revival of interest in some top ICE scrips like Infosys, Satyam Computers and Global Tele, It appears that in these scrips, the market has bottomed out. The same, however, cannot be said in respect of the old economy shares. The current week’s trading is likely to indicate a clearer trend for the future behaviour of the stock market in the coming months.

On the other hand, many negative factors persist. Despite assurances held out by the Finance minister on the good performance of the Indian economy during the current financial year, the fact remains that so far the economy has not been doing well. FIIs have been the net sellers in the market so far and there is no indication that they will soon return to it as investors. In fact, they found the South Korean and Taiwan markets more attractive than the Indian market and where the P/E ratios were regarded as more tempting than in India. The public sector units are still awaiting disinvestment; and when the process of disinvestment begins, this will take away a large part of investmentable funds from the stock market. The old economy shares continue to serve as a drag on the stock market.

It appears that the market is now less likely to fall back than to move forward in the coming weeks. Satyam Computers is now available at reasonably attractive P/E ratio. From the old economy shares, TISCO has the potential of moving up by 10 to 15 per cent. Larsen & Toubro is now being quoted around Rs 158/- in the market, and it may be a good investment for those who can hold it for a year or so. The Board of Directors of Larsen & Toubro has now decided to demerge the cement units of the company and to compensate the shareholders by allotment of 25 per cent shares to the shareholders of Larsen & Toubro. Some leading foreign partner is likely to be associated with the proposed cement company. This demerger is expected to be completed in six to eight months. This would raise the profitability of Larsen & Toubro manifold. The cement company might, however, take a few years to emerge as a very profitable investment.

As stated in this column earlier, Vikas WSP is doing well and is likely to move up by 30 to 40 per cent by the close of the current financial year. The second quarter results of the company have improved by 61.7 per cent in its net profit; and the six month’s results indicate a net profit of Rs 101.98 lakh as against Rs 62.10 lakh. The E/P ratio for the second quarter is 104.60 and the book value is Rs 168.16.

The automobile sector, with the exception of Hero Honda, has performed poorly. HLL has performed below market expectations. The ICE sector shares have performed well but investment in these shares requires thorough research and caution. Moser Baer is another share deserving long-term investor’s attention.

OFFBEAT

No expiry date for this act
From Kavita Bajeli-Datt

NEW DELHI: There was absolute silence as all eyes were riveted on the speaker. No movement, not even the slightest shuffling of hands and feet could be seen or heard.

The subject being discussed in a packed New Delhi hall was sex, and those lapping up every word of renowned Indian sexologist Prakash Kothari were not a bunch of wide-eyed teenagers but senior medical practitioners with only a sprinkling of women.

“Indian men suffer from impotency due to a variety of reasons. Apart from common myths and misconceptions, the use of drugs, the fear of failure and marital conflicts result in impotency,” said Kothari.

He was speaking at a mega conference “ACADIMA” organised by the Indian Medical Association at Hotel Ashoka.

What apparently made many flock to Kothari’s talk was perhaps a sneak preview of slides showing different sexual positions that could have been straight out of Kama Sutra.

Kothari kept his audience enthralled with double entendres. Little wonder that the small auditorium was packed with men, old and young, all listening to Kothari’s gospel, some even forgoing their lunch for the talk.

But the few women who sat through the more-than-half-hour presentation seemed to have to brave the stares of men, while a few others preferred to leave the auditorium.

As slide after slide discussed problems that Indian males face in their sexual life and how they should combat it with a little “cooperation” from their partners, the audience cheered and clapped. Even the elderly had something to cheer about when Kothari said “there is no expiry date for this act.”

He was literally mobbed by anxious people at the end of his lecture with everyone jostling to congratulate him for unveiling his secret. Kothari himself seemed to be taken aback by the audience response. “I made them comfortable with their sexuality and that was why I could talk to them about sexuality,” he told IANS.

Selling wildlife to India profitable

MUMBAI: It’s the lure of the wild. Wildlife is proving to be big business, with international channels like the National Geographic Channel (NGC) finding India as its fastest-growing market in Asia.

India itself has rewarded the two-and-half-year-old wildlife programs channel with a 54 per cent jump in subscribers, NGC Asia managing director Ward Platt said.

Indian cable television subscribers watching NGC spurted from 7.8 million in January this year to 12 million currently. This figure contributed significantly in helping the channel to claim that its distribution has bypassed the 20-million, 24-hour mark across the Asia-Pacific region.

This channel is part of the National Geographic, a prominent magazine that has been in publication for the last 112 years. The magazine’s TV operations are now 33 years old. — IANS

Queen hit by dot.com slump

LONDON: The Queen has become the highest-profile casualty of the slump in dot.com shares when the value of her stake in a fledgling Internet company fell by (pounds sterling)157,000 ($226,000) in a matter of hours on Friday.

The monarch’s 1.5% stake in Getmapping.com, which sells aerial

photographs of Britain via the Internet, was worth £ (912,000) ($ 1,313,200) shortly after the company floated on the stock market in April.

But the turbulence of the markets and the falling price of dot.com shares have seen the value of the royal investment slump by almost 80%.

A spokesman for the Queen last night refused to say whether she planned to hold on to her holding or had any other dot.com investments. “We don’t talk about her individual personal holdings as it would inadvertently act as a commercial endorsement,” he said. “As far as the Queen having any other investments in IT or cutting-edge technology firms, I’m afraid I’m unable to comment.” — The Guardian

CORPORATE NEWS

FIIs turn net sellers in equities

MUMBAI, Oct 22 (PTI) — FIIs were net sellers in both equities and debt to the tune of Rs 271.1 crore ($ 59.1 million) and Rs 121.9 crore ($ 26.6 mn) respectively, during the week ended October 20, 2000. According to the data provided by SEBI the FIIs were net sellers in equities on the first three days of trading beginning October 16 when the benchmark BSE sensitive index declined by 10.26 points, 63.88 points and 71.16 points, respectively.

Essel to support Jindal’s media firm

MUMBAI, Oct 22 (PTI) — Subhash Chandra’s promoted Essel group of companies will support Vijay Jindal, former Managing Director of Zee Telefilms to set up a media investment company with an initial capital of Rs 10 crore. Zee Telefilms will hold a 40 per cent stake and the rest will vest with Mr Jindal, who will bring in Rs 6 crore as his share in the new venture, the company said in a release here today.

Transport Corpn net jumps 10 pc

NEW DELHI, Oct 22 (PTI) — The Transport Corporation of India yesterday reported a 10.07 per cent jump in the net profit at Rs 4.48 crore for the half-year ended September 30 as against Rs 4.07 crore in the same period the previous year. The turnover rose by 11.7 per cent to 229.01 crore (Rs 204.97 crore in the HI of 1999-2000), a company statement said here. The gross profit stood at Rs 9.19 crore during the April-September period, a jump of 17.8 per cent, as compared to Rs 7.80 crore in the first half of the previous year.

Jenson and Nicholson to hive off arm

CALCUTTA, Oct 22 (PTI) — Jenson and Nicholson is considering to hive off its Industrial Coatings divisions as part of its massive restructuring exercise. Officials of the company, having 33 branches in the country, said a final decision in this connection would be taken at a meeting of the Board of Directors tomorrow.

Indo Rama may come out of red

NEW DELHI, Oct 22 (PTI) — Indo Rama Synthetics will initiate its Rs 1,500 crore polyester project in Karnataka within the next six months and is expected to come out of red this fiscal. “The group will put up another polyester plant in Karnataka at a cost of Rs 1,500 crore. The work will start within the next six months,” Indo Rama Senior Vice-President Alok Goel told PTI.

BIZ BRIEFS

Inflation dips
NEW DELHI, Oct 22 (PTI) — The annual inflation rate fell marginally by 0.53 percentage points to 7.03 per cent in the week ended October 7, despite the continuing rise in fuel and primary articles’ prices.

Indian Bank
CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — Indian Bank has been appointed as an arranger and a collecting banker for the proposed India Millennium Deposit (IMD) scheme, which opened for public subscription on October 21. The bank’s NRI branch in Sector 9, here is the collecting branch for the scheme of the State Bank of India.

Seminar
CHANDIGARH, Oct 22 — WWICS conducted a seminar on investment, business and employment opportunities in Canada at TTTI here yesterday. The seminar was addressed by Col BS Sandhu, CMD, WWICS and Mr Curtis Panke, Director, GPS.