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| Saturday, February
10, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Army recovers SBI’s 20 cr from debris Corporation Bank gives 1
cr
Fujitsu ICIM, Zensar Tech merge Satyam inks pact with
US firm CHANDIGARH, February 9 — Aptech Internet launched its Internet services “Tring Tring” , here today. The services were earlier launched in Pune, Chennai and Kolkata. With this the city now housed more than six ISPs. |
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Air travellers should know of blood clot risk Ashok Leyland project grounded
Ford to sell used cars in
Delhi Stocks pile up as rice milling is
delayed
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Army recovers SBI’s 20 cr from debris BHACHAU, Feb 9 — In a gruelling operation for over eight hours, the Army helped the State Bank of India’s Bhachau branch recover nearly Rs 20 crore from the debris of its building. The killer-quake on January 26 had reduced the two-storey building of Bhachau-branch of the SBI to rubble causing worry to the bank officials. A senior bank official, who had been personally keeping vigil on the rubble since then, said the bank branch had crores of rupees in its chest and the bank had sought the Army’s help in recovering it. The Bathinda-based 111 Engineering Regiment of the Army then moved into Bhachau to help in the relief and rescue operations. The Bhachau village, which was the nearest to the epicentre of the January 26 earthquake, has reported nearly 2,500 deaths. The recovery operations, personally led by Major J.S. Sodhi of the regiment, were carried out through the fallen debris of the bank and experts from Godrej broke open the lockers. “When we came to know about the problem of bank officials, we immediately swung into action and cleared the obstacles to pave the way for the locker experts,” Major Sodhi, a relieved man, told PTI. The locker experts and senior bank officials, with the help of the Army, broke open the locker in the strong room of the bank and recovered the cash and other documents and records. The search team also recovered three bank lockers of customers during the eight-hour long operation. Two rifles and 15 rounds of ammunition and the cash counting machine were also retrieved. The entire operation was overseen by Assistant General Manager of the State Bank of India Shanker Menon and another senior official S.P. Manoj. In the end it was a sigh of relief for the Army as well as the bank officials as not only the entire cash but all records had been retrieved from the rubble.
— PTI Corporation Bank gives 1
cr CHANDIGARH, Feb 9
— Corporation Bank, a public sector bank, has donated Rs 1 crore to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund in aid of Gujarat earthquake victims. A cheque was handed over to Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee in New Delhi by Mr K. Cherian Varghese, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank. This is in addition to a day’s salary of around Rs 40 lakh which the 10,000 plus employees of the bank have voluntarily contributed. Mr Cherian Varghese, Chairman and Managing Director of the bank, who visited the earthquake affected areas in Gujarat, said branches of the bank in the affected areas have already started functioning. |
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Fujitsu ICIM, Zensar Tech merge KOLKATA, Feb 9 — The board of Directors of Fujitsu ICIM Ltd. (FICIML) and its subsidiary Zensar Technologies Ltd.(ZTL) approved to merge at their respective meetings yesterday after RPG and Fujitsu agreed for an out-of-court settlement. ZTL was the leading software company in the country with a consolidated turnover of about Rs 240 crore with the FICIML holding 74.9 per cent of its stakes. The company would henceforth be known as Zenser Technologies Ltd. The share exchange ratio after the merger was agreed to as one equity share of Rs 10 each of FICIML for every one equity share of Rs 10 each of ZTL. The paid-up equity share capital of these two companies amounted to Rs 17.44 crore and Rs 23.29 crore respectively. The paid up share capital of the merged company after cancellation of shares held by the holding company would be Rs 23.29 crores. The merger would be effective from April 1, 2000 subject to approval of the Bombay High Court. The scheme of merger flowed from an out-of-court settlement between RPG and Fujitsu of Japan, the consent terms for the settlement having been filed today in the city civil court at Pune and are subject to the city civil court order. In terms of this settlement, Fujitsu had agreed to dispose off its 10 per cent shareholding in Fujitsu ICIM Limited. The Directors of both companies believe that the proposed merger is in the best interest of shareholders and employees. The merger will pave the way for the company’s rapid growth and development in the field of information technology. HCL, Toshiba pact for software solutions HCL Technologies today signed an agreement with Toshiba Information Systems Japan Corporation (TJ), a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, for developing cutting-edge embedded software in the areas of mobile and wireless technologies. “The agreement will see HCL Technologies providing embedded software and applications solutions to the Japanese market. The company will also set up an offshore development centre at its development facilities in Gurgaon and Noida,” HCL Technologies Chairman, President and CEO, Shiv Nadar, said here. The agreement will initially envisage five projects which could later be extended to other projects. Nadar, however, declined to divulge the investment plans envisaged under the agreement or the value of the overall project. “The relationship is expected to consolidate and extend in the next couple of years as HCL Technologies deploys its expertise in the area of core technologies for diverse TJ projects,” he said adding that the work would encompass areas of
wireless Internet, mobile Internet and embedded systems for automation of cars. For the enterprise markets, solutions offered by HCL Technologies will encompass the areas of e-commerce, business intelligence, enterprise application solutions, enterprise application integeration and IT infrastructure management. They would be targeted at specific verticals, including finance, telecom, retail, utilities, manufacturing and healthcare. HCL Technologies, which garners up to 3 to 4 per cent of its revenues from the Japanese market, expects the alliance to result in significant business from embedded software technologies area alone over the next three to four years. Elaborating on the alliance, Fujimasa, President of TJ, said the company would leverage HCL’s skills to develop value-added service offerings for both their existing and potential client base in Japan. Fujimasa said the mobile services market in Japan was fast expanding and service providers were under pressure to stay ahead by offering innovative and differentiated services. “Wireless Internet is playing a major role in delivery of these services. It is this market space that TJ like to establish itself as a leading player and HCL will provide the technology backbone for the initiative,” he said. Till date HCL Tech has invested about $ 50 million in various offshore development centres.
Hindustan Cables The government today invited expression of interest for strategic sale of shareholding in Hindustan Cables Limited (HCL). The government intends to disinvest 74 per cent of the equity of HCL in favour of a strategic partner with transfer of management control. ICICI Securities and Finance Company Ltd has been appointed as Advisers to the government in connection with the proposed disinvestment in HCL.
— UNI, PTI HYDERABAD, Feb 9 — Satyam Computer Services and the US-based ideaEDGE Ventures today announced the formation of a joint venture “Satyam idea EDGE Technologies” (SIT) to focus on business emerging from mobile Internet convergence. The SIT, a 50-50 joint venture to be headquartered here, will provide technology solutions to companies in the emerging mobile Internet industry which is expected to generate over $ 15.75 billion market in next four years. The joint venture would initially focus on providing solutions to idea EDGE Ventures and strategically leverage resource base of Satyam to launch services worldwide, Managing Director of Satyam B Rama Raju and Chief Technology Officer of ideaEDGE Rick Lefaivre told a press conference. Starting with 30 professionals, a majority of them drawn from Satyam Computers, and a five-member core group of leaders, SIT was expected to grow to a 500-member team in the next three years, Rama Raju said.
— PTI Aptech Internet
service in city CHANDIGARH, February 9
— Aptech Internet launched its Internet services “Tring Tring” , here today. The services were earlier launched in Pune, Chennai and
Kolkata. With this the city now housed more than six ISPs. Company officials expect to capture a substantial market share in the coming days . “Our exclusive features will include home training for Internet to customers where they will be taught how to make the maximum use of the online services like banking, shopping etc. , how to download faster, remain connected for longer time and several others by which the surfer will become 50 per cent more efficient in Net browsing”, said Mr. Ravi Dighe, Vice- President, Sales. The company also launched its “answer engine”, where the user will be able to directly interact with experts from various fields who will answer the queries. The Aptech Internet officials said as many as 50,000 more experts will be available on their site to answer queries of the user directly. Tring Tring connections will be available in packages of 50 hours at Rs. 600 and 100 hours at Rs. 1,000. “We may lower the rates depending upon the market conditions”, Mr Dighe said. The company expects to reach a major segment on account of its exclusive features as well as the lower rate of Internet penetration in the country. “India has got a meagre 3.5 million users as compare to 89 lakh in China . This number was merely 2 lakh around three years ago and is expected to cross 1 crore within five years, thus widening the scope for ISPs here”, he said. |
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Air travellers should know of blood clot risk GENEVA, Feb 9 — Airlines should warn travellers of the risk of potentially deadly deep vein thrombosis and passengers should take in-flight precautions to avoid it, tavellers of the risk of potentially deadly deep vein thrombosis and passengers should take in-flight precautions to avoid it, International Air Transport Association said on Friday. But the industry group, which links 274 major airlines, said there was “no conclusive medical evidence” supporting a link between fatal blood clots and long-haul travel. IATA said all carriers should inform travellers at the time of reservation of the risks of blood clots and remind them research was being conducted into deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Air travellers should be encouraged to seek medical advice if there is a family history of DVT or any condition which might pose a risk — recent surgery, hormone treatment or poor blood circulation for example — IATA said in a statement. Prior to boarding and while in the skies, passengers should drink sufficient fluids to avoid dehydration, wear loose-fitting clothes, avoid smoking and alcoholic drinks, and also do physical exercises while seated. But passengers should not be encouraged to walk about the aircraft as “this could compromise safety in the event of unexpected turbulence,” the Geneva-based group said.
Clots can kill Blood clots can form in lower limbs due to immobility in confined spaces — the so-called “economy class syndrome”. Death can result if a clot reaches the heart or lungs. DVT has been linked to long-haul air flights following a number of reported deaths in recent months. In October, Briton Emma Christoffersen, 28, died after collapsing in the arrival hall of London’s Heathrow airport after returning from Australia following the Olympic Games, a 19,000 km (12,000-mile) trip. Research is being carried out in Britain and Australia. IATA said a proposal for a DVT health warning to be included with notices on passenger tickets was also under consideration. Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is organising a meeting of experts on March 12-13 to look into the issue “amid growing concerns”, WHO spokesman Greg Hartl told Reuters. “At the present time, there is no conclusive medical evidence supporting the alleged connection of deep vein thrombosis with long distance travel,” IATA Director General Pierre Jeanniot said in a letter to the United States and the European Commission. “Nonetheless, a number of further studies are underway and IATA members are very much aware of the need to minimise any potential risks,” added Jeanniot, a former Chief Executive Officer of Air Canada, who has headed IATA since January 1993. “...the number of cases are so few over the years that it may be difficult to establish any type of link between flying as an activity and DVT, and any other activity and DVT,” IATA spokesman Tim Goodyear told Reuters. “DVT is largely caused by inactivity of any sort — sitting on a couch watching television or even lying in bed,” he added. IATA is holding a conference on cabin health in Geneva from May 17-18. Other issues to be discussed are in-flight services, including the quality of food, air and entertainment.
— Reuters
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IT meet on
Punjab CHANDIGARH, February 9
— A conference on "Punjab: The Next IT Destination" will be organised by CII in collaboration with Punjab State Electronics Development and Production Corporation and the Ind-US Entrepreneurs here on February 15. Mr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, member, Planning Commission, Mr. Dewang Mehta, President, Nasscom, Kanwal Rekhi, Founder and Past President Ind- US Entrepreneurs, Silicon Valley and others will participate. The speakers will discuss entrepreneurship and leadership— the emerging business models— and identifying major threats and opportunities in business. Special emphasis on information technology and new economy sectors with a focus on Punjab will be laid. |
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Ashok Leyland project grounded FEROZEPORE, Feb 9 — Ashok Leyland’s offer to run a professional driving school on a 25 acre plot with an investment of Rs 3.5 crore has not yet materialised. Although the company has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Punjab Government to establish the proposed school at Rajpura, the project has been grounded for the time being due to litigation. In an interview with TNS, the company General Manager (marketing), Mr K.N. Krishnamurthy, said that the project is aimed at grooming high skilled truck drivers to minimise the accidents, fuel wastage and ensure highly professional transportation service. Mr Krishnamurthy, who was here to inaugurate Shashwat motors office in Abohar, observed that since the transport sector in Punjab has immense potential, there was a need to groom professional truck drivers in the state. Expressing concern at the unprofessional drivers being engaged by the unorganised transport sector, he said: “Conventional drivers mostly start their career as cleaners and remain ignorant of the traffic sense and fuel consumption, leading to accidents and oil wastage”. The school will therefore train drivers in professional handling of the vehicle to ensure road safety. He explained that the school will offer range of skills from driving through village lanes to six-lane roads. Besides, drivers will also be trained in transporting hazardous goods like explosives and chemicals. The school will also offer yoga and meditation classes to dissuade truck drivers from taking to drugs for stress control. Besides, the school will offer family counselling to ensure that truckers do not become active AIDS carriers. Mr Krishnamurthy pointed out that since drivers stay away from their families for days together, they often fall prey to wrong temptations. Their company is already running a school in Namakkal in Salem, which has produced over 40,000 skilled drivers until now. He claimed that the scope of placement of drivers being trained by Ashok Leyland was also high. Elaborating on the proposed driving school in Punjab, he said that since the site offered by the state government in Rajpura is under possession of tillers, the company is entangled into litigation. Ford to sell used cars in Delhi NEW DELHI, Feb 9 — Ford India today launched “Ford assured” in Delhi enabling its dealers to buy, recondition and sell used cars of different Indian makes. Every Ford Assured car will be sold with a 12-month warranty or 15,000 km, whichever is earlier, according to Mr John Fink, Vice-President, Marketing and Service. The reconditioned cars would have a Ford quality stamp. By professionalising the used car business, Ford Assured would deliver an assurance of quality, genuine value for money, and peace of mind, he said. Ford Assured was earlier launched in Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Ludhiana, Baroda and Pune. In Delhi, Ford dealers Harpreet Ford and Indus Ford would offer the Ford Assured services. The used car business in India is largely disorganised and Ford will set benchmarks in the automobile industry and red-fine practices that currently govern the Indian used car markets, said Mr Ravi Mangipudi, General Manager, New Business Development, Ford India. Replying to a question Mr Fink said Ford Assured was not to facilitate import of used cars.
— UNI |
rc
Stocks pile up as rice milling is
delayed CHANDIGARH: Punjab’s problems of plenty are getting worse by the day. After the paddy muddle, it is the rice crisis which has hit the state. In both cases, it is the farmer or the exchequer which has suffered. The gainers have been private trader, millers and the procurement agencies’ officials. Nexus among all the three has already earned notoriety. The latest crisis has been caused by the FCI’s refusal to accept the “poor quality” rice being offered by the Punjab Government agencies for the Central pool. The FCI is reportedly insisting that it would not relax the tightened rice specifications as Punjab had been unambiguously told at the time of sanctioning the Rs 350 crore relief package last October that the Centre would not compromise on the issue of quality. The state government agencies had procured paddy stocks after the Centre had agreed to Mr Parkash Singh Badal’s demand for relaxation of paddy specifications in view of the damage to last year’s crop due to untimely rains. The Centre had also told Punjab that the state’s poor quality rice had been rejected by other states. Therefore, it would insist on quality of rice while accepting stocks milled out of the paddy procured after relaxing specifications. The Centre had agreed to increase the maximum limit of damage from 3 to 7 per cent and moisture from 16 to 18 per cent for procuring paddy. But to insure quality of rice it had reduced the out-turn ratio (percentage of rice out of the damaged paddy) from 67 to 64. In the case of levy rice to be given by private millers out of their own purchased paddy, the out-turn ratio was kept at 67 per cent on the presumption that they would deliver better quality rice. These conditions applied to both Punjab and Haryana. The immediate fallout of the stalemate on rice milled out of the 2000 paddy stocks is that the quantity of stocks delivered by the state agencies for the Central pool so far is only around three-fourths of what was contributed by the state during the corresponding period of last year. Official circles in Punjab fear that in case the dispute over delivery of rice to the FCI is not resolved quickly, the already delayed rice milling would lead to a major crisis as the procured paddy stocks would remain accumulated, exposing them to the vagaries of weather. Nearly 4.5 lakh tonnes of damaged paddy of the 1999 crop is already lying in the state. Delayed clearance or non-clearance of the paddy stocks procured in 2000 will aggravate the storage accommodation crisis for the coming wheat crop, which is expected to start arriving in mandis in April-May. Paddy arrivals in Punjab last year totalled around 110 lakh tonnes. Of these, about 85 per cent stocks were procured by the government agencies and the remainder by the millers. Although millers have to give 75 per cent rice levy to the Centre, they are apparently anxious to give much more because of abundance of foodgrains and poor demand in the open market. In sharp contrast to Punjab, Haryana has already delivered to the Central pool over 6 lakh tonnes of rice, nearly 63 per cent of the 8.73 lakh tonnes expected to be contributed by government agencies for the buffer. The state’s total contribution, including the millers’ levy, will be around 15 lakh tonnes. Haryana was given a relief package of Rs 38 crore by the Centre. Ironically, what was described as Badal’s major political victory when he secured the Rs 350 crore “relief” package at the intervention of the Prime Minister has so far failed to yield the promised benefit to the farmer. Of the package amount, Rs 100 crore to be shared equally by the Centre and the Punjab government, was to compensate the farmers who had made distress sales of their paddy below the minimum support prices of Rs 510 per quintal for common varieties and Rs 540 per quintal of grade ‘A’ during the period September 21 to October 14. But the payment of compensation has not yet started either in Punjab or Haryana. Neither has the Centre released its share nor have the two state governments started paying their own shares to the farmers, who are feeling agitated. They even alleged at a demonstration held at Mr Badal’s function recently that the commission agents were asking for Rs 50 a quintal as “Inspectors fee” for paddy sold by them. The remaining Rs 250 crore of the Rs 350 crore relief package was meant for ensuring payment of MSP to the farmers who sold their damaged paddy to the government agencies after October 14. This meant that the Centre would ultimately bear the cost of purchasing the damaged stocks in the shape of reduced 64 per cent out-turn of rice from such stocks. But allegations have been levelled that the farmers, with the exception of the influential and the politically connected, had generally been paid less than MSP because of the connivance between traders and officials. Influential Akali circles even allege that, initially, delay in procuring paddy at MSP was caused by their BJP ally to benefit the vested urban interests, its main vote bank. This had resulted in demonstrations and road blockades by the farmers in September-October in Punjab. This had harmed the Akali Dal politically the farmers are the Akali main vote bank.
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Opposition march enters Colombo China’s Internet firms lay off staff Poor result worries Hyundai Free phone calls for quake-hit |
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BHEL donates 3 cr Cadila Pharma Free helicopter |
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