0 |
| Thursday, December 14, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
|
Banking
Bill moved despite opposition Why men
hate shopping with women SBI gave
loan to AI bombing accused Spend more
on care of toddlers Guidelines
eased for industry |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Haryana
CM offers space to Delhi units
Internet
on cable in Hyderabad
Mastek long-term
pick
|
|
Banking Bill moved despite opposition NEW DELHI, Dec 13 — The ruling side today used its majority in the Lok Sabha to override stiff opposition to the introduction of a banking Bill that would enable the government to reduce equity in nationalised banks from the existing ceiling of 51 per cent to 33 per cent. The Bill at the introduction, which was put to vote at the insistence of the Opposition, mustered the support of 209 members from the ruling side while it was opposed by 159 members from the Opposition side. The glowing electronic board showed that there was only one abstention. The Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) and Financial Institutions Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2000, generated heat in the Opposition benches with the members of the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Left parties opposing the move. Former Prime Minister Chandrashekar said the nationalisation of the banks was done after a proper nationwide exercise and it was meant to help reach out credit to rural India. The Vajpayee Government on the other hand was taking decisions in a hurry, without any debate or discussion. It had become a routine for the Cabinet to announce the sale of national assets after each of its meeting. The Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, who occupied the same post in the short-lived Chandrashekhar Government, retorted that the first decision to disinvest in 20 per cent share in public sector units was taken during the regime of the former Prime Minister. Mr Chandrashekhar corrected his erstwhile junior colleague to say that the decision related to disinvesting 20 per cent government equity to the financial institutions and not private parties. The Congress also contested Mr Sinha’s claim that the Narsimhan Committee on banking reforms was set up by the Congress and then again by the United Front Government and the present the government was only implementing the recommendations of the committee. The Finance Minister said the decision to reduce the government equity in banks from 100 per cent to 51 per cent was taken by the Congress in 1994. Mr Scindia said it was not mandatory for the government to accept all recommendations. He said the Congress would oppose tooth and nail the government’s efforts to disinvest in nationalised banks. The government should continue to have full control over them. Mr Sinha said the public sector character of the banks would be maintained at every cost. He felt that merit of the Bill could be discussed at the time of the debate. Initiating the nearly one-hour impromptu discussion, CPI (M) member Basudeb Acharia said the proposed legislation would allow the banks to approach the capital market which would enable the multinational companies to get a hold on them. It was also stated that the Bill was intended to serve the interest of
willful defaulters who owed the banks Rs 58,000 crore. “These defaulters should be actually put behind bars”, they demanded. |
|
Why men hate shopping with women LONDON: It’s that time of year again when all good people are trying to avoid Christmas shopping, especially us men. It’s not just that we can’t stand shopping; we hate it in our own idiosyncratic, highly complex way. The famous distinction between `going shopping’ - which counts as a leisure activity - and `doing the shopping’ - which was first added to a woman’s list of things to complain about when supermarkets were built - is one that perfectly separates men and women. Men - who are naturally more laidback about domestic drudgery - refuse to make a chore of food shopping, even at Christmas. While women go round a Sainsbury’s supermarket in hiking boots with an alphabeticised list and an architect’s drawing of the store in their head, men tend to be more intuitive and discerning and creative. We prefer to wander freely, flouting supermarket law by dawdling our way back to the same aisle more than once, humming and hawing, wondering what smoked oysters are like. So, no, we don’t mind going to the supermarket, as long as we don’t get earache for being spontaneous and talking all week about it. What we do hate is having to shop for clothes, which involves abandoning the relative safety of the one-stop shop and facing the tyranny of choice that is the high street. My problem is I’m a slow reader. I’m a nineteenth-century shopper trapped in the future, constantly in danger of being mown down by other pedestrians as I dither outside a branch of Shelly’s shoestore wondering if I’m too old for leopardskin shoes. Inside shops it’s even worse, with assistants insisting on trying to assist, when it is immediately obvious that there’s nothing I would remotely be seen dead in that I actually need or can raise the necessary finance for. Even if I spot something vaguely not too horrible it loses its charm the minute I see it in proximity to the rest of my clothes. No wonder men are flocking to mail order, which gives you the opportunity to buy something that doesn’t suit you on the grounds that it at least suits the man in the picture. My wife’s friend Lorna tells me about her ex-husband, who would never go shopping for clothes. `He just used to wear his old ones until they were worn out,’ she says. `So I’d have to go out and buy replacements - it was either that or be married to a scarecrow. I did take him once into a branch of Marks & Spencers to buy his father a sweater but he said he was having a panic attack and had to go and wait outside. Needless to say, he never bought me any presents. But the minute we were going through the divorce he turned up one day in a new jacket and trousers! I think he must have discovered retail therapy, but it took a life crisis to do it.’ As for present-buying, I have discovered an excellent website called menhateshopping.com, which is devoted to listing places that sell gift vouchers online - surely the ideal convenience for people who don’t want to buy anything and don’t want to have to go in a shop to do it. Gift vouchers should come with a little greetings card saying: `Have you any idea what a nuisance this is?’ The Internet is full of subversive anti-shopping material. My favourite is Top 30 Hints for Men Who Hate Shopping. Examples include: `Take shopping carts for the express purpose of filling them and stranding them at strategic locations around the store’ and `Drag an armchair on display over to the magazines and relax with a cooling drink from the food court’. Another site suggests the reason men hate Richard Gere is because he shows almost as much interest in shopping in his films as he does in appearing nude. So what’s our problem? `Impatience, intolerance of crowds, queuing,’ says Lewis, when I ring him. `And men don’t like the pressure of time. That’s why they hate going out shopping with women. Women are methodical, comparing prices and quality from store to store, trying to make an informed purchase. Men on their own go crashing in like SWAT teams, grab the first thing they see and run out again. They’re all right shopping for computers and cars and gadgets but on the whole they’d rather be somewhere else.’ Like the dentist’s perhaps... — By arrangement with The Observer
|
|
SBI gave loan to AI bombing accused TORONTO, Dec 13 — The State Bank of India reportedly gave a loan of $ 2 million to Vancouver-based Papillion Eastern Imports Ltd, owned by Ripudaman Singh Malik who has been charged in the 1985 Air-India bombing case. Malik (53) is now in detention in Vancouver in British Columbia, accused along with Ajaib Singh Bagri of causing the deaths of 329 passengers and crew members on board the Air-India flight that was bombed on June 23, 1985. A report in The Globe and Mail also reveals that in the mid-1980s, the SBI also held mortgages on two of Malik’s properties. Malik’s finances have drawn public attention because he’s expected to apply for bail this month. He and Bagri appeared in a
district court on November 29 but they were remanded in further police custody. Some members of Toronto and Vancouver’s Sikh communities “still question why Papillion borrowed $ 2 million from the SBI (in Canada) in 1984, at a time when the Government in India was giving rough treatment to Sikhs,” the Canadian newspaper reports. However, according to Malik’s wife, Raminder Kaur, who is now in control of Papillion, getting the loan from the SBI was not unusual and there was no special significance to the family’s using an Indian bank at that time. Mr A.K. Dasgupta, president of the SBI, Canada, told IANS that “1984 is a long time and if any loan is given it must have been given by our Vancouver office”. He said he would investigate before commenting on the claim made by Globe and Mail.
— IANS
|
|
Spend more on
care of toddlers UNITED NATIONS, Dec 13 — The UN Children’s Fund has called for governments to invest in infants and toddlers, saying money spent on early child care would bring incalculable dividends in a more productive population. ‘‘As the lives of young children are short-changed, so the fortunes of countries are lost,’’ UNICEF has said in its annual ‘‘State of the World’s Children’’ report. In the first three years of a child’s life, brain connections multiply and a toddler’s ability to speak, sense walk and reason are formed, scientific studies have shown. But the brain’s malleability also means that children who do not receive the care they need rarely catch up or reach their full potential. ‘‘If these sensitive periods pass by without the brain receiving the stimulation for which it is primed, opportunities for various kinds of learning may be substantially reduced,’’ the report said. UNICEF estimated that for every one dollar invested in the physical and cognitive development of babies and toddlers, there is a seven dollar return, mainly from cost savings in the future. Carol Bellamy, executive director of UNICEF, said: ‘‘It has been shown then that the economic capacity of that individual is going to be greater — the ability to absorb education and to benefit from that education.’’ Yet through ignorance, apathy or neglect, many nations have paid least attention to babies and toddlers, where results are not immediately evident and a ‘‘quick fix’’ cannot garner political benefits. |
|
Guidelines
eased for industry JAMMU, Dec 13 — The Centre has eased the norms for a fast track scheme under Section 560 of the Companies Act, 1956. The companies now are not required to file no objection certificates from various departments nor to file certificates from statutory auditors. This was stated by the Regional Director Department of Company Affairs, Mr
L.M. Gupta, at a meeting with the various members of the J and K branch of chartered accountant, company secretaries and other corporate professionals. According to Mr Gupta the companies are now required to file affidavits and indemnity bonds along with the documents and lumpsum fee to the Registrar of Companies to enable him to strike off the name of the company. The scheme has been extended to December 26. Earlier, it was for a period of 60 days starting from September 28, 2000. These norms have been eased on the recommendations of various professionals and business and business communities. The Registrar of Companies, Mr Manmohan
Juneja, said three different forms have been prescribed. While form applies to the companies who had availed the Company Law Settlement scheme up to August 31, 2000. Pink form is for those companies which availed the scheme in the extended period which ended on September 31, 2000. All those companies availed the scheme are not required to pay any further fine or fee except cost of the form, which has been fixed at Rs 100 only. Other companies that intend to avail the scheme are required to apply for blue form along with their due documents and lumpsum fine as prescribed under the new scheme.
|
|
|
Haryana CM offers space to Delhi units
CHANDIGARH, Dec 13 (TNS) — Mr Om Prakash Chautala today directed the Industries Department to provide adequate infrastructure and space for the resettlement of industrial units affected by the orders of the Supreme Court directing the closure of certain industrial units in Delhi. The Haryana Chief Minister said that the areas around Jhajjar and Badli on the one side and Kundli on the other would be most attractive to these displaced units because of their nearness to the existing units and availability of sufficient infrastructure. He asked the officers to develop new industrial estates, if required, in the Kundli area where more than 500 acres of land is available with the government.
|
|
|
Internet on cable
in Hyderabad HYDERABAD, Dec 13 — Internet connectivity through cable without the hassles of a telephone line or cable modem was launched in Hyderabad today. Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu launched the service, saying the facility would soon be extended to other major cities and towns in the state. Mac Info, which provides the cable connection, has implemented HDSL technology on a point-to-point link, bypassing the existing leased circuits and thus reducing cost of the cable connection. Its state-of-the-art MAN technology ensures uninterrupted high speed and economical access to the Internet. The company has laid cables across 60 km in Hyderabad and Secunderabad and plans to cover another 100 km in one year. It has invested Rs. 30 million on creating the infrastructure. The company will charge Rs 5,000 for installation and a monthly rent of Rs 1,200 for unlimited access. It will also collect Rs 500 as annual maintenance charge for the first year. Even before the formal launch, more than 2,000 people had registered with the company for connections.
— IANS
|
|
|
NRI returns to his roots Meerut:
This Indian American hasn’t forgotten the time he used to walk barefoot to school under a scorching sun because there was no money to buy shoes. For, it is the memory of Jaipal Rathi’s impoverished childhood that prods him to initiate a slew of development works in his native Nagauri village in Meerut district. Rathi is today Manager of the Advanced Engineering group at the New Jersey-based Raytheon Engineering & Co, which deals in the construction of nuclear plants, safety issues and their analysis. And 15 per cent every month is what Rathi sets aside from his salary for charitable work in India, particularly Uttar Pradesh. He was recently in India to oversee the construction of a hospital in the village. Rathi established the Saraswati Shiksha Mandir, a co-educational, primary school in 1989 and is now all set to build a hospital in his village. Thanks to his efforts at raising funds for his trust, Sriram Gram Vikas Samiti, the school has now gone up to the Class 10 level, with 450 students coming from 15 neighbouring villages. Today Rathi is the pride of his village and his parents, Dhoom Singh and mother Balwati Devi. “During all those years in the U.S.A, I never forgot my roots,” says Rathi. “I grew up in the kind of poverty where I didn’t even have shoes to wear, so I am aware of the hardships which the people of my village have to face. The idea of setting up a school happened when one of the elderly women asked me to set up a school for the girls in this village. I immediately started giving it shape and look where it is today,” he said. The road to his dreams was paved with several hardships. Rathi completed his engineering studies at Allahabad, relying entirely on scholarships, and even when he went abroad he had to borrow Rs.20,000 from his sister and friends. “My parents were very poor and I didn’t want to burden them,” he recalls. Remembering his childhood, Rathi says the most enduring image of poverty that has stayed with him is of one Janmasthami eve, when he was barely seven. “Since it was a festival, my mother had made ‘mewa’ (a sweet dish) but my father had failed to arrange for the money to buy sugar. I along with my three brothers and sister, had to make do with sugarless mewa.” Thanks to his dedication, Rathi does not hesitate to ask others for contributions even if it is as little as a dollar. “But my wife, Sheela, doesn’t always understand my efforts,” smiles Rathi. “She comes from a wealthy family of Modinagar and has never seen the poverty that I have actually lived in.” But that was the least of his worries when he decided to set up the school. “The villagers were not very accommodating due to their politics. They just refused to give any land for the school, and I had to persuade my father to sell three acres of his land,” he said. The success of the school, however, has helped change the mindset of the villagers, who are now extending full support for the hospital, for which 1.5 acres of land have already been acquired. Rathi’s children — Seema, who is a doctor, and his son Sandeep, who is a medical student — have been instrumental in helping with the hospital. His daughter, in fact, has even organised free camps for medical consultations in the village.
— IANS Cancer strikes
Rhodes scholar
NEW YORK: Two Indian Americans are among 32 college and university students from the USA selected for Rhodes Scholarships for 2001. The Indian American scholars are Lipika Goyal of Scotch Plains, New Jersey, and Raju Raval of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Rhodes Scholarships provide two or three years in study at the University of Oxford in Britain. The total value of the scholarship is based on the academic field, degree pursued and the Oxford college chosen, but it averages about $ 27,000 per year. Scholars will also be chosen from 18 other
countries, including India. Last year also two Indian American — Neelakash Varshney and Jasdip Kharbanda — won the schoolarship. Three Indian Americans had won the previous year — Akash Kapur, Neil Hattangadi and Navin Narayan. But tragedy struck and Narayan died of cancer at Fort Worth, Taxas, his city of birth, in March this year. He had postponed his departure to Oxford as two weeks after he was elected as a scholar, a CAT scan revealed that the illness has returned to him after a four and a half years of remission. He completed his Harvard course work and thesis from home and was awarded his degree just a few days before he died. — IANS |
|
|
Corporate
news Bulls are slowly tightening their grip on the market. FIIs making purchases in software stocks in anticipation of excellent working results by IT companies in the third quarter. A sharp rally in Nasdaq futures, which was up by about 105 points after 2.00 p.m, came as a shot in arm for enthused operators who, along with domestic institutions, were busy chasing cement stocks on news that the government had given the go-ahead for starting work on the Rs 30,300 crore road construction project to link the four metros as part of the ambitious Rs 58,000 crore National Highway Development Project. Sentiment turned distinctly bullish after the US Supreme Court reversed a decision by the Florida Supreme Court to order hand recounts of disputed presidential ballots and cleared way for George Bush’s election as the next President. MTNL is likely to get listed on the New York Stock Exchange by mid-January, as all hurdles have been cleared, S. Sundaresan, Director (Finance), told reporters in Delhi. Moser Baer
may hike its stake in Dutch company MMORE BV International to 51 per cent from the current 36 per cent in 2001 as part of its expansion plans in Europe. The company is expected to invest about $ 2 million for the additional 15 per cent stake, having acquired the 36 per cent stake for a little over $ 5 million. Earlier in June this year, Moser Baer acquired the entire 100 per cent stake of Capco which in turn held 36 per cent in MMORE. Cummins India has drawn up plans to cash in on the spur in demand due to the increased expenditure on infrastructure development by targeting a revenue earning of about Rs 300 crore in the coming three years. It will enter the construction equipment market though an extended product range. TTK Prestige
has picked up 26 per cent in the Ahmedabad-based kitchen appliance company called Softel Machines Limited.
Company sources did not reveal the amount involved. The deal is being arranged by Meghraj Financial Services. NIIT
has entered into a “Partnership for Development” agreement with the Commonwealth of Australia enabling NIIT to cater to the needs of the Australian market and to leverage Australian expertise for addressing its global operations. Asian Paints
reopened its factory at Kansa in Uttar Pradesh after reaching a satisfactory agreement with the workmen on Tuesday. Gesco: Renaissance Estates Director Abhishek Dalmia said he had extended the closing date for the open offer to January 24 for mopping up 45 per cent of all outstanding shares of reality company Gesco Corporation. |
|
|
NSE forecast With the MSCI recast tuning out to be less harmful than feared, an undercurrent of bullishness seems to have returned to the Indian market. The corrective bounce-back of the Nasdaq too seems to have revived some confidence at tech counters and although there is currently fair interest at some media counters, the general consensus is that the sentiment there is a manipulated one. There are fair trading opportunities on offer at the moment and bull operators can consider taking up long positions at the counters of Satyam Computer at Rs 381 (square up at Rs 419) and Visualsoft at Rs 905 (square up at Rs 982) while short positions can be considered at the counters of Pentamedia Graphics at Rs 382 (cover up at Rs 355) and Bajaj Auto at Rs 272 (cover up at Rs 249). The long-term pick of the week is Mastek and the optimal strategy for the week is — start unwinding long positions if the market rallies. |
bb
Kinetic Motors Haryana Fin Infopark Maruti protest HCL Infosys Rediff.com PSB’s IPO |
 |
| 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 | |
