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| Thursday,
April 5, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Imported chicken not that cheap
‘Promote wine as health drink’
‘Hold inquiry into transformer order’ 45 cr IT exports from UT, Mohali |
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Tax laws being simplified Fear in the air Ramco ties up with Boeing Ikon price hike ruled out Govt clears Rs 545 cr FDI proposals NTPC net up, cash collections fall WWICS to
open more offices
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Imported chicken not that cheap Chandigarh, April 4 Mrs Desai, who is currently on a tour of Punjab, said that media reports suggesting that Indian markets would be soon flooded with cheap chicken — particularly drum sticks (chicken legs) — from the USA and Europe at as low rates as Rs 30 to Rs 35 a kg may create an unnecessary scare among poultry farmers and unrealistic expectations among consumers. “At best, the imported chicken may be 10 per cent cheaper than the locally produce of chicken but its price would be nowhere near the projected price of Rs 30-35 a kg,” she said maintaining that in developed countries, consumers prefer breast meat of a chicken because of low fat content in it. “ As such, chicken breasts are sold at a premium there. For example, in the USA, the chicken breasts are sold at $ 3.00 to $3.50 per kg. It is, therefore, impossible for them to export chicken breasts or whole chicken. “The only product which might be exported to India at lower prices are chicken legs (drum sticks) and other non-prime cuts. Last year, the US offered drum sticks in West Asia at US $ 0.17 per lb. With the addition of freight this would work at approx Rs 34 per kg. At the current rate of Customs duty i.e. 100 per cent basic plus 4 per cent SAD — effective rate 108
per cent — the landed cost will not be less than Rs 70 a kg. In addition there would be transportation and distribution costs and distributors’ and retailers margin also. Thus it is most unlikely that the imported chicken would be available to the consumer at less than Rs 80 or Rs 85 a kg which comes to about 10 per cent cheaper than the locally produced chicken”, adds Mrs Desai. Mr Surjit Singh, President, North Zone Broiler Breeders Association, however, is apprehensive about the pricing as worked out by Mrs Desai. “There is confusion about the rate of duty on imported chicken. Only those items which fall in the category of ‘cuts and edible offal, of fowls of the species Gallus Domesticus, fresh, chilled or frozen’ are to be charged 100 per cent Customs duty while other items covered under the section ‘ other cuts and edible offal, of poultry, fresh, chilled or frozen’ are to be charged 35 per cent Customs duty. A normal customs official would not be able to know the difference between fowls of the Gallus Domesticus species or other poultry. “There is every possibility that chicken products are charged 35 per cent duty under the poultry head thus making it really hard for local producers of the chicken to compete with imported chicken,” adds Mr Surjit Singh demanding that the Central Government must clarify this point so that difference between poultry and fowls belonging to Gallus Domesticus is clearly conveyed to the officials concerned. Mr Surjit Singh agrees with Mrs Desai that apart from the price, quality would be another factor. The freezing and storage techniques followed in the developed countries were different from those in India. Meat products could be stored for longer periods in the West than here. The stocks presently held in the USA were reportedly two to three years old, said Mrs Desai holding that once these stocks enter India they have to be stored and transported under different conditions and in the process some of the taste and flavour were likely to be lost. Indian consumers are used to fresh chicken. “Besides, in the developed countries, chicken is raised on a feed containing genetically modified maize. The European Union has already prohibited the use of genetically modified grain, as well as import of food articles produced by using such grain. In India also, use of such grain is not permitted,” Mrs Desai added. She, however, insisted that expectations of a drastic fall in the prices of chicken does not stand to any reason.
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‘Promote wine as health drink’ Shimla, April 4 India was the only country where wine was treated on a par with liquor and it was high time to take corrective step and promote it as a health drink by lifting unwarranted controls in its distribution. Unlike liquor, wine was essentially fermented juice with all the nutritive value and its promotion would not only promote health but also ensure remunerative returns to fruit growers, Mr Chogle, who was here along with Mr Arun Shah, Managing Director, in connection with the winneries being set up by his company at Pragatinagar and Nagwain at a cost of Rs 30 crore. He said the Centre had set up a working group on wine and some other positive steps had also been taken to promote the wine industry as indicated from the latest exim policy. The wine which was earlier under control of the Ministry of Chemical and Fertilizers was now being looked after by the Ministry of Food Processing. However, the various states were still exercising controls on wine like liquor and it was being treated as a food product only in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. Once it was deemed a food product it could be sold without any restrictions. As Himachal was emerging as the fruit bowl of the country, his company decided to set up two winneries simultaneously. While one of these would brew wine from a mix of fruit, the other would produce wine from grapes. In the first stage wine would be produced from existing fruits like plum and apricot which were available in plenty. In the next phase grapes-based wines, for which special grape varieties had already been planted, would be manufactured. These would start bearing fruits after three years. The winneries, which were being set up in the joint sector, would go a longway in diversification of the apple-based economy. The company would go in for contract farming to ensure that it got adequate fruit for winneries. The local growers would be given plant material and knowhow to produce fruit of required specifications. In turn the company would buy back the entire produce at a pre-determined price. On average the net returns to the growers would not be less than Rs 50,000 per hectare. For best quality produce the earning could be up to Rs 1 lakh per hectare. The growers of Himachal will be earning almost 40 per cent more than those of Maharashtra. This was mainly because the agroclimatic conditions in Himachal were exactly similar to the wine producing countries like Germany and France. Mr Chogle, who brought the wine culture to India, said that Champagne Indage was the only company exporting wine. In Himachal the company would go in for early ripening varieties of grapes so that harvesting could be completed before the onset of monsoon. A major advantage to growers here was that unlike Maharashtra, the plants remained dormant for four to five months and as such much less labour and farm inputs were required for their upkeep. The foundation stone of the first winnery would be laid by Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, at Pragatinagar on April 6. |
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‘Hold inquiry into transformer order’ Patiala, April 4 The PTMARA in a communication to the Union Minister for Energy has alleged that a deliberate attempt had been made to subvert the tendering process in the board and that the board was favouring a few suppliers who had pooled prices by forming a cartel. It has claimed that the board would lose around Rs 5 crore through this move and that it was imperative to order an inquiry into the entire issue. Already a one man inquiry panel which conducted a probe into the issue at the instance of Punjab Power Minister Sikander Singh Maluka had recommended action against the erring officials, including the Member, Operation and Chief Engineer, Material Management and also recommended reissuance of the tenders. The government, however, decided to allow PSEB to go ahead with the purchase involving an amount of Rs 72 crore sighting the fact that reinviting tenders would involve a time period of another three months or more. The PTMARA claimed that the quoted prices in these tenders had increased substantially even though as per price variation formula the prices should have actually reduced by around two per cent since the issuance of the last order. It alleged that the then Chief Engineer, Material Management had not recommended the lowest price received to the board but had arbitrarily calculated that 5 per cent higher prices be given over last year’s updated price. It alleged that the prices of similar rating of transformers purchased by the other boards such as Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh had reduced during the last two years. It said custom duty was being reduced progressively resulting in price reduction of all imported raw
materials. It said other boards were taking advantage of this reduction but PSEB authorities were turning a blind eye towards this fact. The PTMARA said earlier also the board had either placed orders on the lowest tendered price or had been asking for revised lowest offers from all tenderers or holding negotiations with all the tenderers. This it said had almost always brought prices even lower than the lowest quotation. It said in the past also orders were never placed on ‘’ calculated and justified ‘’ prices. Board Chairman G.S. Sohal, however, claims there is no bar on making purchases on calculated and justified prices adding that even the apex court had upheld the right of boards and corporations to make their own decision in this regard and that the lowest tenderer did not automatically qualify for selection. He said orders had to be given to established firms and that some firms could not be allowed to hijack the tender procedure by quoting ridiculously low rates. When asked about the formation of cartels by certain suppliers he said though the board did not encourage this it could not do anything to avert it. He, however, said the board could think of disqualifying suppliers who formed a cartel in forthcoming tenders adding the full Board would have to take a decision on this issue. He said presently as the government had given the go ahead for the purchase of the transformers the Board would proceed speedily in the matter as the transformers were needed in the paddy season. |
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45 cr IT exports from UT, Mohali Chandigarh, April 4 Till February this year exports had touched Rs 45 crore of which Rs 24. 95 crore was Chandigarh’s share. Last year exports had been Rs 14.77 crore, a majority of this being from Chandigarh. Some of the leading companies in the two cities are Quark, Tata Interactive Systems, Infosys and Inde Dutch Systems, says Dr Sanjay Tyagi, Additional Director, Software Technology Parks of India, a wing of the Union Ministry of IT. In the year 1998-99 exports stood at Rs 7.7 crore. The target for next year is Rs 100 crore, he informs. Exports are in the fields of electronic publishing, graphic arts and production workflow for Quark. Another company, Toubro Infotech is into providing online web-based support (e- support and e-maintenance) and web content development for the US market. Smartdata Enterprises is exporting software designing, development and maintenance, data analysis, capture, processing and mining besides having online consultancy. ATEC Software exports web content development and multimedia softwares. Inde Dutch Systems is into pre-press publishing, legal data, coding, web chat centre, medical billing and collection. ISGP Technology Centre is doing medical transcription and software development. Also in the list of exporters are Rana Informatics, Regal International, R-square Infosystems, La-tech Software Company and Drish Infotech. The Director IT, Chandigarh Administration, Mr Vivek Atray, says this shows the growing status of the city as an ideal IT destination. Already several hundred IT professionals have been employed in these companies, he said, while adding that the wired city project and the IT park project will propel the city further. The Chandigarh Administration’s IT policy lays special emphasis on software development and several benefits have been introduced like having a change in building bye-laws to allow software companies to operate from residential areas. |
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Tax laws being simplified Chandigarh, April 4 In the coming three to four years, the government will most likely do away with the exemptions, stated Mr T.R. Rustagi, Joint Secretary , TRU, CBEC, who was speaking at a seminar on post Budget impacts and central excise on Indian industry, organised by PHDCCI here today. Several issues like duty rate structure, CENVAT on goods removed as such, Credit of differential CVD and issues on service tax and customs were highlighted in the seminar. Industrial associations from Ludhiana, Amritsar, Baddi, Parwanoo and surrounding areas put forward the problems being faced by them. Mr Rustagi said that during the last three years, efforts have been made to bring down excise rates from 11 to a single rate. Mr S.P. Srivastava, Chief Commissioner, Customs, said that the Indian industry must tune up its capabilities to face global competition. “The government is taking measures to strengthen anti-dumping machinery and will take a strict visual on imports,” he said. He indicated that the government is alive to the concern expressed by the industry regarding the permission of large-scale imports which have been permitted under the new Exim policy. Mr Ashok Khanna, immediate past President suggested restoration of exemption of excise on watches. Mr Amarjit Goyal, Chairman, Punjab Committee, PHDCCI, Mr Satish Bagrodia, Chairman, H P Committee, Mr Sanjay Bhatia, Indirect Tax Committee also spoke on the occasion. The seminar was attended by 70 participants, including representatives of the industrial associations and a team of senior government officials. |
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Fear in the air For more than a year now, we have been issuing warnings about the dubious transactions of the so called ‘New Bull’. With that operator now landing where he belongs, it seems another can of worms has been opened up at the Indian bourses. The immediate knee-jerk panic reaction was followed by some semblance of sanity, but the undercurrent remains very nervous. There is widespread fear that this might just be the tip of the iceberg and bigger problems may crop up. What is really alarming is that Ketan Parikh’s last gambit was almost identical to that of the notorious so called erstwhile big bull, Harshad Mehta. Now, this is indeed a sad comment on the state of our market and banking systems. However, as always, where there is life there has to be hope and bull operators willing to take a punt could consider taking up long positions at the counters of DSQ Software at Rs 91 (square up at Rs. 108) and ICICI at Rs 84 (square up at Rs 96). Bear operators could consider taking up short positions at the counters of MTNL at Rs. 140 (cover up at Rs. 129) and Reliance Industries at Rs. 399 (cover up at Rs. 386). The long term portfolio pick of the week is Hughes Software which appears to be fairly attractively priced notwithstanding the general technology slump. The dark horse bet of this week is Ajanta Pharma whose strategic revamp could now begin to show results.
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Ramco ties up with Boeing New Delhi, April 4 The Boeing Company plans to market the EMS under the brand name ‘Enterprise One’, Ramco Systems informed the BSE today. Indian Hotels today said it has secured RBI approval for a comprehensive restructuring package for Taj Lanka Hotels and Taj Maldives by creating a new joint venture to be based in Hong Kong. Reliance results: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) will announce its audited annual results for the financial year 2000-2001 on April 30,2001. A notice to this effect has been sent to the stock exchanges today. Reliance Petroleum Ltd (RPL) will announce its first audited annual results for the financial year 2000-2001, on April 30, 2001. Amtek Auto has allotted seven lakh equity shares of Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 280 per share to its promoters, including their friends, relatives, associates and associated companies. The decision for the allotment made as preferential offer on firm allotment basis was taken at the board meeting held on March 31, 2001.
UNI, PTI |
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Ikon price hike ruled out Mumbai, April 4 “We will not be a single model company any more. We are looking at some improved models of Ikon and will make an announcement before the year end”, Ford India Managing Director Phil Spender said here today. Spender told newspersons that there were no plans to increase the car prices, which had been brought down by Rs 10,000 to Rs 40,000 following excise duty concessions announced in the Union Budget. With margins under pressure, high interest rate, devaluation of the rupee and other increase in the capital costs, it would be impossible to bring down prices further than the present level, he said. At present, production was around 92 cars a day and there were no plans to increase it further. Spender said exports to South Africa and Mexico have been well received and the “Ikon” established itself as a world car from India. Ikon has captured 24 per cent market share during the first quarter of 2001 by selling 10,549 units, including 5,211 in domestic sales and export of 5,338 CKDs. On the exim policy, Spender said it has come as a shot in the arm to Ford India’s plans to grow in the Indian auto industry and ensures that the sales of domestic units remain on course.
PTI |
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Govt clears Rs 545 cr FDI proposals New Delhi, April 4 The major investment proposals pertain to chemicals and pharmaceuticals, tourism, infrastructure and IT related services including software development. Among the clearances is the one for global pharmaceutical major Eli Lilly to buy out the stake of 50 per cent partner, Ranbaxy, in its joint venture Eli Lilly Ranbaxy Pvt Ltd. Eli Lilly would pay Rs 79.9 crore to increase its stake from the present 50 per cent to 100 per cent. Other major investment cleared include FDI investments of Rs 106.27 crore in Abbot Equity Holdings Ltd, UK, Rs 70.5 crore for 100 per cent equity holding in hotels and resorts company Berjaya Vacation Club Berhad of Malaysia and Rs 122.2 crore FDI in Indian Infrastructure Equipments Ltd. |
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NTPC net up, cash collections fall New Delhi, April 4 However, the cash collections of the Corporation has fallen, mainly due to the deteriorating financial health of State Electricity Boards (SEBs). “The cash collections have fallen to 76 per cent in 2000-01 compared to 84 per cent in 1999-2000 as various states contributed through issuing bonds in favour of NTPC,” CMD of the Navaratna PSU, Mr C.P. Jain told newspersons here today. The outstanding dues from SEBs to the Corporation stood at Rs 16,000 crore at the end of March 2001, of which principal amount is Rs 9,900 crore and the surcharge is Rs 6,100 crore, the NTPC Chairman said. |
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WWICS to
open more offices Chandigarh, April 4 Stating this at a press conference here today, Mr Curtis Panke, Director Global Placement Services, highlighted the increasing employment opportunities in Canada for Indians. Col B.S. Sandhu, CMD, WWICS, said that a change in the immigration rules by Canada , which are likely to be more strict in terms of education , age norms, communication skills etc are expected within four to six months. WWICS, which already has its offices in New York , and Dubai, is also planning to open its offices in Singapore, Dhaka, Islamabad, Lahore and Hong Kong this year. |
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Hafed website Companylawinfo CMD for NBCC MTA 2001 Asian Academy Dhiman Systems IndusInd MD |
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