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| Thursday, January 4, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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IT goes to villages, changes rural life RBI revises private bank entry norms Matiz car to cost more Funds accumulate old economy shares Bank of Punjab to issue 50 cr bonds Govt to improve tax-GDP ratio |
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| Usha Breco to install more ropeways
Voice-activated phones for cars Bug behind Swedish bank computer crash
Amitabh to play with kids Cyrus ties the knot
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| IT goes to villages, changes rural life NEW DELHI, Jan 3 — Information technology (IT) is beginning to change the humdrum life in rural India, taking the latest healthcare and modern education, so far only available to city dwellers, to the people of the country’s 600,000-odd villages. Take, for instance, Lahul Spiti in Himachal Pradesh, remote, snow-bound and inaccessible for nearly half the year and where falling seriously ill during the winter months often meant sure death, as the local dispensary, the only health facility, was ill-equipped to treat the patients. Not any more. A personal computer (PC) at the dispensary is now linked to the main government hospital in Shimla and the country’s premier medical centre, the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi. “This has helped save three lives in the last few months as the dispensary could get expert online medical advice on treatment. This is what we want to replicate. This is what we mean when we say that India will be the IT super power soon. It is not necessary for every one to have PC,” Dewang Mehta, President of Nasscom, told members of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of South Asia here on Wednesday. He cited the example of Madhya Pradesh, which is poised to become the first state to install 12 television channels to exclusively impart remote education to village students from grade 1 to 12. “Good teachers often do not want to move out of Bhopal. Now they can teach students across the state sitting in Bhopal.” And joining the state government’s programme, described by Mehta as the “most novel remote education programme” will be thousands of retired army soldiers who will help set up IT community centres in each village. “Some 20,000 IT-savvy jawans (soldiers) retire from the Army every year,” he noted. He said over 300 members of the Lok Sabha, out of a total of 545, had responded to Nasscom’s proposal to set up IT training institutes, using the Rs 2 crore fund they are allotted by the government for the development of their constituencies. Such institutes had already come up in some places like Chhindwara and Chhattisgarh and Nagpur in Madhya Pradesh and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. In another move to reach IT to the villages, particularly women, he said soon domain registration would start in 17 vernacular languages that will help housewives, who may not know English, to make use of the Internet. “You can call it empowering of women. There will be no digital divide. IT has the full potential to create the digital unite in our country,” he added. But he warned that lack of “bijli (electricity) and bandwidth” could hamper the country’s progress towards IT super power status. “These are the most fundamental requirements,” he said and added that Tuesday’s massive power outage, when most northern states went without electricity for almost the whole day, had once again highlighted the need for addressing these problems. “We have everything we need to be an IT super power. Some 178,000 engineers come out of our campuses every year. We are English-speaking, the language of the IT. For any nation, there comes a time when there is one industry in which they excel. After centuries of remaining in the background, IT has presented us with the opportunity to excel,” he said. He asserted India’s projected software exports of $ 87 billion by 2008 was not an exercise in “optimism.” However, the country needed to consolidate its position in IT services and create original technology, where it has really lagged behind. — IANS |
| RBI revises private bank entry norms MUMBAI, Jan 3 (PTI) — The Reserve Bank of India today issued revised norms for new banks in the private sector, doubling the initial minimum paid-up capital requirement to Rs 200 crore. The banks will have to increase the initial paid-up capital to Rs 300 crore within three years of starting the business, RBI said in a statement here. The promoters’ contribution would have to be maintained at minimum 40 per cent of the paid-up capital on continuous basis. The initial capital, other than promoters’ contribution, could be raised through public issue or private placement. RBI said in case the promoters’ initial contribution was in excess of 40 per cent, they would have to dilute the excess stake after one year of bank’s operation. However, the apex bank was silent on time frame in which the promoters should dilute the excess stake. Promoters would have to take RBI’s specific approval if they want to divest their excess holding in phases after one year as stipulated, the RBI said. The apex bank said the promoters’ contribution of 40 per cent of the initial capital would have a lock-in period of five years from date of licensing of the bank. While raising the capital to Rs 300 crore, the promoters would have to bring additional capital to ensure that their holding remains at atleast 40 per cent of the fresh capital, it said. RBI said those who had their applications pending with the apex bank to start new private banking ventures would have to apply afresh. Non-Resident Indians’ (NRI) stake in the primary equity of the bank would be restricted to 40 per cent. When the private bank’s co-promoter includes a foreign banking or finance company, including multilateral institutions, their equity participation would be restricted to 20 per cent within the overall ceiling of 40 per cent. Large industrial houses have been barred from directly promoting the bank. However, individual companies connected with industrial houses may take up equity of the new private sector bank up to maximum 10 per cent, it said. |
| new delhi, Jan 3 (pti) —Daewoo Motor India Ltd (DMIL) said today it will increase the prices of its small car ‘Matiz’ by Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000 from mid-January. The hike will be spread over all the four variants of the car which are at present priced between Rs 3 lakh and Rs four lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). The company also announced a 81 per cent rise in sales at 50,900 units in 2000 compared to 28,140 cars a year ago, a company statement said. Notwithstanding the continued downward market trend, Ford India and Toyota Kirloskar Motor Ltd (TKML) have hiked the prices of their vehicles from January 1. “The prices of all the five variants of the mid-size car ‘Ikon’ have been increased by Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000,” a Ford India official told PTI on the phone from Chennai. A senior TKML official said on the phone from Bangalore that it has effected a Rs 17,000 hike on all versions of its ‘Qualis’. The company is selling the ‘FS’, 'GS’ and ‘GST’ variants of the Qualis which were priced between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 8.5 lakh, he said. While Ford India has raised the price of the entry level 1.3CLXI Ikon car (without power steering) by Rs 7,000 from Rs 5.16 lakh (ex-showroom-Delhi), the 1.3CLXI (with power steering) would now cost Rs 5.45 lakh, up Rs 6,000. “The prices of 1.3 EXI (without power steering) and the 1.6 ZXI have been hiked by Rs 8,000 and Rs 10,000 to Rs 5.84 lakh and Rs 6.40 lakh respectively,” the official said. Ford has also raised the prices of the ‘1.8 ZXI’ and the limited edition ‘sxi’ variants of the ‘Ikon’ by Rs 1,000 and Rs 9,000 respectively from Rs 6.55 lakh and Rs 7 lakhs. “The ‘1.8 ZXI’ will now come fitted with optional fog lamps costing Rs 4,000 more,” the official added. Domestic car makers are under pressure to hike prices following fall in the rupee value, implementation of uniform sales tax and also increase in global steel and fuel prices and other production-related costs. Ford India has, however, termed the hike as “routine business exercise done at the end of every year” and ruled out any cost pressure. TKML said the earlier prices were introductory “touch-and-try-prices” which have been revised following an increase in production and other-related costs. Hyundai Motor India’s has already announced a price hike for its Santro and Accent cars by 2.04 per cent to 2.24 per cent from December 22. Maruti Udyog had also indicated that it would revise prices upwards from this month. Sales of the ‘Ikon’ car went up by 589.7 per cent to 11,939 units during April-November 2000-01 from 1,731 units in the same period of the previous year. Sales during January-November stood at 20,254 units. Car sales declined by 4 per cent to 386,527 units during April-November 2000-01 from 402,694 units in the year-ago period. Bajaj Auto Ltd has registered an 89 per cent growth in motorcycle sales in the third quarter ended December 2000 as compared to the same period last year. The company sold 3,14,624 units in the third quarter of 2000-01 as compared to 1,66,524 units sold in corresponding period last year. In the ungeared scooter segment, Bajaj posted sales of 20,842 in the quarter ended December 2000 as against 20,729 units sold in the corresponding period last year, Vice President Business Development and Marketing R.L. Ravichandran said in a release here today. |
| Funds accumulate old economy shares MUMBAI, Jan 3 (PTI) — Led by ITC, old economy shares continued their upward march lifting the sensex by another 41 points on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday on sustained buying support from speculators as well as domestic institutions. While new economy stocks showed a weak trend on fresh selling following a sharp setback in the techno-laden Nasdaq Composite Index that tumbled by 178.66 points last night on concerns about profits and the slowing economy. South East Asian markets like Hongkong and Singapore also closed today with hefty losses partly aiding the downtrend in tech stocks. A smart upsurge in the sensex could be gauged by a sharp rise in key index-based cyclicals like ITC, HLL, SBI, Telco, MTNL, RIL, Hindalco and HPCL. Refinery and bank stocks were also in keen demand on investment buying by local funds. Dealers said it was clearly visible that the FIIs and investors were paring their exposure in new economy shares and shifting their focus to old economy counters. Rumours that the market regulator SEBI might impose stringent measures to curb naked sales, fuelled speculative buying. Institutional investors, particularly Unit Trust of India have accumulated cement, steel, petroleum, engineering, automobiles, consumer products and state-run company stocks, available at prevailing attractive lower levels. Banking sector stocks turned highly active after the RBI issued revised norms for new banks in the private sector doubling the initial minimum paid-up capital requirement to Rs 200 crore. Cement shares continued to remain in the limelight on reports that some cement majors had again revised upwards cement prices which expected to show marked rise in their earnings during the last quarter of this fiscal. Among private sector banking stocks, HDFC Bank traded heavily on emergence of buying towards the middle of session and ended Rs 1.25 up at Rs 226 while Corporation Bank rose Rs 2.45 at Rs 98.05. SBI shares continued to maintain rising tempo on steady inflow of buying by all sectors and ended Rs 6.85, or nearly 3.2 per cent at Rs 215.75 off day’s high of Rs 219.90. Nasdaq-listed Interact Commerce Corporation, a leading provider of customer relationship management software for mid-market companies and small office/home office businesses, today appointed Pentasoft Technologies as antic its channel partner in India. Under the partnership, Pentasoft will help Interact Commerce sell and implement “saleslogix and act” line of solutions. The board of Tudor India will consider the allotment of equity shares worth Rs 17.5 crore to CMP Batteries Ltd of the UK on a preferential basis at its meeting on January 9. This preferential allotment was being considered towards discharging liability against deferred payment of credit extended by the UK-based battery firm, the company said in a notice to the Bombay Stock Exchange today. |
| Bank of Punjab to issue 50 cr bonds CHANDIGARH, Jan 3 — The Bank of Punjab will soon launch “at par facility” enabling traders to issue cheques and make instant payments through any branch of the bank in the country, thus saving time and draft charges. However, a trader will have to retain a minimum balance of about Rs 1 lakh to enjoy the benefit. Announcing this here today, Mr Tejbir Singh, Executive Director, told The Tribune that the bank will open 20 more branches in Punjab and Haryana during this year. Another branch of the bank will be opened at Jammu in February. Describing 2001 as the “thrust year” for Punjab and Haryana, he said: “After one year the Bank of Punjab will relegate the competitors to the second position in all spheres and it will be a distant second position”. Having invested about Rs 20 crore in putting in place latest technology, the bank has already introduced a global debit card, Internet banking, mobile banking, and e-alerts. The bank plans to open 38 e-bank centres in the two states. “There is no competition in Punjab. We set own benchmarks to improve ourselves,” Mr Tejbir Singh said with a smile, exuding confidence. The bank, which offers its subscribers in Haryana the electricity bill payment facility, is also holding talks with the Punjab State Electricity Board and is expected to introduce a similar facility in Punjab. With the NPAs level at a manageable 2.2 per cent and business per employee among the highest in the banking industry, Bank of Punjab expects a business growth of 30-40 per cent and a healthy growth in profits, reaping the fruits of technology he said. Also on the agenda is the introduction of consumer loans for white goods, besides launching credit card and opening-point of sale terminals at merchant establishment. Mr Tejbir Singh, who was in Chandigarh to attend a board meeting, denied rumours that the bank was a takeover target and asserted that “on the contrary, we are considering to take over a southern bank”. He did not name it. Outlining overseas plans, he said the bank plans to open representative offices in Canada, America (New York), the UK (London) Australia, besides Dubai to procure business and establish contacts with NRIs. The bank will raise Rs 50 crore through the private placement of bonds. SBI Capital Markets has been appointed the sole arranger to the issue which will remain open from January 5 to 16. With this bond issue, the bank’s capital adequacy is expected to rise to 12 per cent from the level of 9.81 per cent as on the year ending March 2000. |
| NEW DELHI, Jan 3 (PTI) — The government has taken all steps to improve the tax-GDP ratio and at the same time keep the tax burden minimal on the masses, Minister of State for Finance G.N. Ramachandran said here today. Speaking at the 28th All-India Conference of Corporate Managers and Tax Executives, the minister said, “the government is looking at all ways to improve the tax-GDP ratio while keeping the tax burden minimal on the masses”. On taxation in various sectors like life insurance, e-commerce and transfer pricing, he hoped the various committees appointed to look into niceties and nitty-gritties would submit the report before the budget for 2001-02. Earlier, inaugurating the seminar, Chairman of Government appointed Tax Advisory Group Parthasarathi Shome said there was need to incorporate networth and book profits to rationalise Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT) to evolve a more meaningful strategy to increase tax-GDP ratio through a widened tax base. |
| Usha Breco to install more ropeways NEW DELHI, Jan 3 — Usha Breco, part of the Usha Martin Group, an ISO 9002 company, in the field of aerial passenger ropeways, has embarked upon a major expansion plan to cater to the rising needs of installing "Udan Khatolas" (as passenger ropeways are called). As of today, the company owns, operates and maintains five passenger ropeways — Maa Mansadevi Udan Khatola and Maa Chandidevi Udan Khatola (Hardwar), Maa Kalidevi UdanKhatola (Pawagadh) and Maa Ambadevi Udan Khatola (Ambaji — Gujarat) and Malampuzha Udan Khatola (Kerala). Talking to TNS, Mr Rajeev Gupta of Usha Breco, said that since 1981, the company’s Udan Khatolas in total have serviced nearly four crore customers with a hundred percent safety track record. The vision of the company is to expand their "ropeways to the gods" to thousands of hill-top temples nationwide. According to Mr Gupta, the passenger ropeways actually result in many more people visiting places of worship. Hardwar, for example, is an obvious stop for visitors after they have been to Mussoorie, for a fun-cum-religious trip. Strapped for time, the elderly, disabled and frail can ride up the hills in under five minutes compared to the walk which takes 45 minutes or more. "If there were no cable cars, they would not be visiting those temples. Where there are cable cars, pilgrims and tourists will naturally follow", he says. The company has finalised plans for two more in the near future, one at Virar near Mumbai and another in Gujarat. Talks are also on in Andhra Pradesh at the famous Tirumala Temple, Mr Gupta said. |
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Voice-activated phones for cars stuttgart/Munich (Germany), Jan 3 (DPA) —There are two golden rules when driving a car: keep your hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road. Hands-free mobile telephone kits can therefore do precious little for road safety if they force drivers to peer down at their mobile displays every time they want to make a call. In recent years, designers at the upper end of the car market have attempted to overcome this problem with multi-functional steering wheels which come equipped with a series of switches capable of operating everything from the stereo to the telephone. Notwithstanding the success of these wheels, engineers have now come up with a still more ingenious solution, in the form of voice-activation. This technology has the car hanging on the occupants’ every word. A simple spoken command is enough to change the radio station, leaving the driver to concentrate on the task in hand. However, voice-activated systems are as yet fairly rare. For example, in Germany, disregarding suppliers of radios, telephones, navigation systems and even sunroofs, only two firms currently install the new technology. Mercedes can rightly take the plaudits as the forerunner in this field. The launch of the new S Class saw the introduction of Linguatronic, a system enabling voice-activated use of the telephone. Mercedes has since extended the option to almost its whole model range, with prices in the region of 1,000 Marks, or approximately $ 440. The new C Class, unveiled last spring, boasts a more advanced version of Linguatronic capable of altering hi-fi settings and even changing CDs, all at the hands-free behest of the driver. BMW offers a similar voice-activated telephone package on all of its models, with the sole exception of cabriolets and roadsters. Spokeswoman Stefanie Koehler puts the price at about $ 350. The BMW version has a vocabulary of some 30 words and can access up to 40 telephone book entries in response to a spoken command. — DPA Bug behind Swedish bank computer crash STOCKHOLM, Jan 3 (DPA) — A belated millennium bug may be to blame for crashing the Swedish bank Nordbanken’s computer system in recent days, making it impossible for customers to make money transactions, the Stockholm newspaper Aftonbladet said today. Nordbanken’s computers crashed just before the New Year, and again on Tuesday, the newspaper reported. The bank’s 3.5 million customers were unable to withdraw money from cash points, use their bank cards in shops or transfer funds over the Internet or by telephone. Nordbanken President Magnus Falk expressed deep concern about the disruption, apologised to the bank’s customers for any inconvenience and promised compensation for any losses incurred. Falk said the exact cause of the computer crash was yet to be determined, but would not rule out the 2000 bug or the activities of hackers. |
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Amitabh to play with kids MUMBAI: If you thought “Kaun Banega Crorepati” (KBC) was the greatest, wait till you watch its revamped version. STAR TV is feverishly working to create more excitement over the show. The frequency of the show may be reduced to two days a week to keep the excitement alive, say sources. There will be more celebrity specials, like the one on New Year eve with Rani Mukherjee and Shahrukh Khan. It will also focus on special regions and professionals like the army and the police. There will also be a “junior KBC” where Amitabh Bachchan will interact with kids. According to STAR officials, a special edition of the show may be shot for Indians living abroad particularly in the U.S.A., Britain and West Asia. However, the logistics of shooting KBC abroad could be exorbitant. STAR TV is revamping the advertisement tariff structure for the show. Already the channel has bundled advertising for KBC with other shows telecast by it. This, along with cross promotions of other shows on KBC, has boosted the viewership of several shows and increased STAR’s advertising revenue. Currently KBC is said to be earning Rs 2 crore per episode. STAR TV is expected to make profits this year one year ahead of schedule, thanks to KBC. — IANS Cyrus ties the knot MUMBAI: Popular veejay and anchor Cyrus Broacha married his longtime girlfriend and freelance photographer Ayesha Monani here last Wednesday. After Bollywood’s hottest property Hrithik Roshan and a host of other stars, Broacha is the latest to have been hit by the marriage virus. Strangely, the prospect of marriage has left the non-stop chatterbox completely speechless. He has left the media to his bride-to-be. According to Monani, there are no plans for a honeymoon and the couple would rather be back at work. Broacha is currently hosting a popular candid camera show for the Indian version of Music Television in which he disguises in various roles and takes the Mickey out his victims. True to style, Broacha has used the opportunity to grab media attention. Unlike the norm, it is Broacha himself who has chosen to be given away. Society chroniclers have prominently displayed pictures of a tearful Broacha being “prepared” by his parents, Farrokh and Olivia Broacha, to be handed over to Monani and her family. So will matrimony see television’s naughty boy growing up? Not in a hurry, says the Monani. “I want to have a lot of children...and he wants to have a lot of dogs,” she told a newspaper. — IANS CHANDIGARH: Jaspal Bhatti will return to the small screen as “Professor Money Plant” in a forthcoming television serial next month. Bhatti, an electrical engineer-turned comedian, who shot into fame in mid 1980’s with his “Ulta Pulta” and “Flop show” serials, will be lampooning the coaching classes sector this time. Eight episodes of the serial have already been canned, Bhatti told IANS. The serial will be telecast on a Punjabi satellite channel and a Hindi version will follow later. Bhatti plays the key role of a principal of a coaching institute. According him, the institute is of “nikammas” or idlers. His wife in real life, Savita Bhatti, who normally plays his onscreen wife also, has a different role in the serial. “There was a better role to play in this home production,” she said. To which the deadpan-faced humorist added, “At last I have her permission to have another wife on screen.” — IANS |
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