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| Saturday,
March 3, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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CII sets growth agenda for Punjab
It’s non-polluting
Tax net to cover many towns The Budget
effect Downsize, Himachal
told |
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Balco handed over to Sterlite
Indus Informatics centre in
city Solar plant for Khatkar Kalan Markfed board: Walia, Brahmpura
elected
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CII sets growth agenda for Punjab Chandigarh, March 2 With over 14 lakh educated unemployed (matriculates and above) in Punjab, only rapid, focused growth in these two sectors can create more jobs. Every Rs 100 crore of exports in textiles and garments can add at least 3000 jobs, while every 7 per cent of value addition to agriculture can generate 1.20 lakh additional jobs. Three areas for exports have been identified as textile and garments, I.T. related services and software, and agri-exports. Punjab’s share in the national textile exports is just 2.8 per cent, even though textiles and garments account for 30 per cent of total exports from the state. If this share is increased to a modest 4 per cent in 5 years, the total exports will amount to Rs 4,000 crore. Additional exports of Rs 3,000 crore will generate 1.2 lakh jobs, quite a few of which could be for women. The CII suggests that to achieve Rs 4,000 crore exports, an additional investment of about Rs 1,000 crore is needed. This means the government must provide Rs 80 crore over the next five years for industrial promotional investment.
IT exports
As regards I.T. related services and software exports, Punjab must strive to achieve an exports target of Rs 5,000 crore by 2005. For this it must ensure that an IIIT is set up in year 2001-2002 and Rs 20 crore promised from the Budget be spent on creating the necessary infrastructure. Mahindra Knowledge Park should be set up by June, 2002. Punjab is given wide publicity overseas as an IT destination. The ECP should be given an additional budget of Rs 3 crore a year for the next three years to underwrite expenses for an office in San Jose, California, and for holding roadshows in the USA., Europe and Australia. Provision of 70 per cent reduction in VSNL’s charges of voice transmission should be made available in Punjab.
Agriculture exports
The state must target five-fold increase in agri-exports from the present Rs 600 crore to Rs 3000 crore by 2005. It will generate 1.5 lakh additional jobs. Punjab must create an enabling infrastructure that provides world class education research and extension services. As agro-climatic conditions in Punjab favour growing of vegetables, Basmati, durum wheat and oil seeds, the thrust areas in agri-exports should be products from durum wheat and vegetables. The government must set up two treatment plants in two districts for processing and preserving vegetable and selling them 3-4 months later as fresh ones. Their cost would be Rs 10 crore. PAU must get Rs 15 crore exclusively for research and extension services. In 2001-2002 Rs 10 crore must be provided for creating infrastructure at the centre of Excellence in Biotechnology, Mohali. The Punjab Horticulture Post Harvest Technology Centre at Ludhiana must be provided with Rs 3.0 crore for the purchase of equipment. Punjab should emulate Talwan, Punjab’s area is 50,000 sq. km and Taiwan’s 36,000 sq. km. Populations are similar. But Taiwan exports US$ 100 billion worth of goods as against less than US41 billion from Punjab, the CII noted.
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It’s non-polluting Chandigarh, March 2 Vikram EV which costs nearly Rs 2,50,000 is driven by DC Motor with power input at 72 volts from special deep discharge cycle batteries. It is non- polluting, said a press release issued by the company. The three- wheeler has suspension with elliptical leaf springs and hydraulic shock absorbers fit for rough roads. On the rugged chassis of Vikram EV, various bodies for EV can be developed for accommodating eight to 12 persons. It also does not require gear shifting. "The mileage, on an average, will be around 50 paise per kilometre due to the batteries for which the company will give a warranty of three years", said Mr. Pankaj Josen, local authorised dealer. The company has asked the UT Administration for exemption of sales tax and road tax. The exemption , if granted, will reduce its price to nearly Rs. 2,10,000. He said the Delhi, Karnataka, UP and Rajasthan governments had already exempted the vehicle from the tax and they were hopeful that the company would be granted exemption here too. The vehicle was showcased at the recent festival of gardens and also shown to UT officials. The company has also asked the administration for the setting up of charging station for the batteries and zero emission zones. The proposals have been submitted to the UT Administrator. Scooters India will also shortly launch a gas-powered three wheeler.
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Tax net to cover many towns Chandigarh, March 2 With a view to widening the tax base, Mr Sinha had announced that the scheme would be extended to all "urban areas" from the next financial year. Sources said any town to qualify for the urban status must fulfil at least three conditions. These are a minimum population of 5,000, 75 per cent of the male working population in non-agricultural pursuits and minimum population density of 400 persons per square kilometre. Though formal notification in this regard was yet to be issued by the Centre, still if the census criterion was taken into consideration, residents of several towns in the regions, fulfilling any one of the six criteria, will have to file the tax returns. Among the towns, which fulfil the "urban area" criteria are Gurdaspur, Kapurthala, Bathinda, Ferozepore and SAS Nagar in Punjab and Ambala, Rohtak, Karnal, Panipat and Panchkula in Haryana. Similarly, Shimla, Kangra and Mandi in Himachal and Srinagar and Jammu in Jammu and Kashmir will be covered under the scheme. The six criteria are owning a house, subscription to a telephone, having a car, membership of a club with minimum membership of Rs 25,000, subscription to a credit card and travel to a foreign country during the last financial year. Currently the scheme was in operation in Chandigarh charge namely Chandigarh, Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar. Similarly, Faridabad, Gurgaon and Yamunanagar were also covered under the scheme and fell in the Panchkula charge. The sources claimed that with the introduction of the scheme there would be a substantial increase in the number of tax payers in the country.
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The Budget
effect New Delhi, March 2 The reduction in the prices of Coca Cola India products varies from 7 per cent to 10 per cent, which is much higher than the effective rate of excise relief given to the industry by the Finance Minister. The 200 ml pack size, which comprises the single largest segment of sales volume meant mostly for students, housewives and the common man, will attract a price cut of close to 7 per cent as against the net excise relief of only around two per cent. In the one litre category, the prices have been slashed from Rs 22 to Rs 20. The key brands in this category include Coca Cola, Thums Up, Fanta, Limca, Sprite and Maaza. HDFC cuts loan rates Mumbai, March 2 The new lending rates would be effective from March 5 and rates for loans below Rs 2 lakh are 10.75 per cent for up to five years, 11.50 per cent for upto 10 years and 11.75 per cent for upto 15 years, HDFC said in a statemnet here today. The rates for loans above Rs 2 lakh are 10.75 for upto five years, 12.25 per cent for upto 10 years, and 12.50 per cent for upto 15 years, it said. The lending rate for the loans having tenure above 15 years and upto 20 years would be 12.50 per annum, it added. HDFC has also lowered the rates on its “HDFC Individual Deposits” by 50 basis points and would be effective from March 8, it said.
PTI Uno, Siena prices slashed Mumbai, March 2 The three Uno petrol models will be cheaper by Rs 18,000 while for the three diesel models the cut is Rs 20,000, the company said in a release here today. Uno EL will cost Rs 3,13,984 (ex-showroom Delhi), while Uno DS EL non-AC (diesel) was Rs 3,59,916 (ex-Delhi). Fiat also lowered the prices by Rs 30,000 in case of four Siena petrol models while the cut will be Rs 35,000 for the Siena 1.6 ELX AC PS and Siena 1.6 ELX AC PS Pack 2. Siena Diesel, both Euro I and II, with three models each, will be cheaper by Rs 35,000. Under Euro I, the Siena TD EL AC PS will cost Rs 6,27,129 (ex-Delhi) while in Euro II, the price for the Siena TDS EL AC PS will be Rs 6,48,981 (ex-Delhi). The prices of the two models under Siena Weekend (petrol) have been cut by Rs 40,000. The diesel model, Siena WE DS ELX AC PS, will cost less by Rs 40,000 at Rs 7,71,733 (ex-Delhi) while the other model, Siena WE DS ELX AC PS Pack 2, will be Rs 45,000 cheaper at Rs 8,35,924.
PTI Hardware units hit hard New Delhi, March 2 “The Budget has been a let down for the hardware industry,” said Mr Balu Doraisamy, MD Compaq Computers. The industry leaders in a sharp reaction to the Budget said “the hardware industry has been looking forward to the rationalisation of tariff with a reduction in excise duty to 8 per cent from the existing 16 per cent and abolition of the 4 per cent SAD.” “But the drop in surcharge in the present Budget results in a reduction of only 1.8 per cent on finished goods. The impact on raw material will be a negligible 0.5 per cent reduction,” he said. And, the industry is depending on the increased IT spending from the government for a robust growth as Mr Sinha has not made any major changes in either the excise or customs duty structures. “While the abolition of the 10 per cent surcharge on customs duty is not expected to have a major impact on prices of hardware products in the country, the industry seems to be let down by no changes in the excise duty structure,” said Vinne Mehta, Director of Manufacturers’ Association for Information Technology, the apex body of the Indian hardware industry. Mr Sinha has not made, even the software sector happy. Mr Dewang Mehta, the President of Nasscom said some disappointment is in the fine print regarding the imposition of service tax and DTA sale. A service tax has been imposed on scientific and technical consulting services, online information and database retrieval services and lease circuit line holders. |
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Downsize, Himachal
told Chandigarh, March 2 The chamber suggested that the Himachal Government should aim at fiscal stability and acceleration of the development by allocating 50 per cent of the government expenditure, downsizing of employment from present 1.81 lakh employees and limiting state debt on the basis of repayment capacity . Since the resources through additional taxation are limited, curtailing the government expenditure by disinvestment of loss-making public undertakings, imposing user charges for recovering 50 per cent cost of public services, minimising non- merit subsidies and reducing decision-making layers in the state administration are essential for healthy management of the state finances. The chamber also called for corporatising of electricity board . For facilitating industrial development in the state the chamber suggested allocation of funds for the setting up of common effluent treatment plants, strengthening link roads , setting up of an IT Park and IIIT . The chamber also recommended the usage of a scientific basis for classification of commodities in appropriate tax slabs. The chamber has urged the Chief Minister to abolish additional goods tax imposed on some items.
Industrial policy The CII has suggested the HP Government to implement industrial policy in consultation with the representatives of various industries, concessional rates of tax, income tax holidays, meaningful initiatives in education and merger of loss- making PSUs. The CII suggested the creation of infrastructural development ministry, clubbing together with the Departments of power, industry, ayurvedic medicine and tourism,under one minister and a single secretary. The other recommendations were— to build Baddi-Barotiwala, Nalagarh as a textile garment corridor, more initiatives in IT like an annual budget for Electronic Corporation, tapping of the hydroelectric potential of the state by project implementations in time bound plans. The private sector participation to develop herbarium and green houses should be encouraged. In terms of horticulture, the CII recommended that the outlay of agri-research should be raised from the present 0.4 per cent of farm production to 1 per cent. In terms of tourism, privatisation of properties, adventure tourism and development goods and helicopter services are essential to attract more tourists to the state. Captain Alok Sharma, Chairman CII, HP Council, Mr. I S Paul, Chairman, CII, Chandigarh Council, who made the presentation, will meet the HP government again within three months to follow up on these proposals. |
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Balco handed over to Sterlite
Indus New Delhi, March 2 After signing of the shareholders agreement and the share purchase
agreement, the Centre today offloaded its 51 per cent stake in Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO) to Sterlite Industries for Rs 551.5 crore. The Chairman of Sterlite Industries (India) Limited, Mr Anil Agarwal today welcomed the endorsement of the Lok Sabha for the government’s decision to disinvest BALCO. In a statement issued here, Mr Agarwal said that “ it is reassuring to know that the will of the people is behind the government’s commitment towards disinvestment. This will serve as a model for other disinvestment initiatives in the future”. |
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tInformatics centre in city Chandigarh, March 2 In his brief remarks, the minister said that there was need for more such centres to impart quality IT training and education since there was dearth of skilled IT professionals for the industry in the region. He hoped the new centre under the aegis of the Informatics would fulfil that need. Mr Naveen Johnson, Assistant Manager, Informatics said that the opening of the new centre was a part of the grandiose plans devised by the company to expand in the northern region as it had proposed to open 23 centres in Punjab and 15 centres in Haryana shortly. |
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Solar plant for Khatkar Kalan New Delhi, March 2 The plant will cost about Rs 6.5 crore and it will be completed this year. The decision to install the plant was taken here today at a meeting between Union Minister of State of Non-Conventional Energy Sources M. Kannapan and Mr Parkash Singh Badal. The Punjab Chief Minister requested Mr Kannapan to lay the foundation stone of the plant on Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s Martyrs Day on March 23. Earlier, Mr Badal also held meetings with Union Urban Development Minister Jagmohan, Union Minister of State for Surface Transport Maj-Gen (retd) B.C. Khanduri and Defence Minister George Fernandes to expedite developmental projects of the state related with their ministries.
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Markfed board: Walia, Brahmpura
elected Chandigarh, March 2 After a welcome address to the Directors by Mr DS Bains, Managing Director, Markfed, who presided over the meeting, Mr Ravinder Singh Brahmpura, one of the Directors, proposed the name of Mr Jagdish Singh Walia for election as the Chairman. The proposal was seconded by Mr Davinder Singh, Director. No other proposal was received and Mr Walia was unanimously elected. For the post of Vice-Chairman, the name of Mr Ravinder Singh Brahmpura was proposed by Mr J S Bajwa, another Director, which was seconded by Mr Jagdish Singh Walia. As no other proposal was received, Mr Brahmpura was also unanimously elected. |
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BOB NOT TO CUT PLR CAN FIN HOMES PNB HOUSING FIN IMMIGRATION SERVICE TATA INTERNET APTECH PACT JCT ELECTRONICS CANARA BANK |
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STUDENTS SHIVER IN JOB MARKET CHILL IMMOLATION AGAINST GOVT FEES SURF NET THROUGH POWER SOCKET FUJITSU CUTS PROFIT TARGET VITAMIN
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