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| Friday,
April 6, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Punjab to set up export fund
US slowdown pinches tech firms
HP court notice to ElectroSteel Quake casts shadow on Himachal tourism |
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PSIDC losses go up to Rs 63 cr Palio by year-end Change of guard at Microsoft
Computer games help or harm? JK to set up depot
Opto Circuits keeps up pre-IPO promises
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Punjab to set up export fund Patiala, April 5 Talking to newsmen here today after inaugurating the IBM Advanced Career Education Centre, the Finance Minister, Capt Kanwaljit Singh, said it had been decided to start exporting agriculture produce after value addition in raw form by creating an export fund. He said Rs 50 crore had been kept aside for the fund from the Infrastructure Development Board. The fund would be managed by a professional and was aimed at giving experience to farmers about the export market. He said the risk factor of the farmers in exporting their produce would be covered through the fund. The creation of the marketing and information collection centre is aimed at becoming abreast with the latest information about global markets. He said the centre would be established within a month and it would help the government in taking appropriate action whenever there was a need to impose any restriction in case of dumping of foreign goods in the state. The centre would enable the government to react in time in case of any breach of the WTO by other countries. Simultaneously Rs 15 crore had been earmarked for research and development activity as there was a need of a new kind of agriculture after the implementation of the WTO treaty. He said though the fund would be given to Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana, a professional board would control its spending. If needed he would double the endowment. The Minister said the government was also in the process of strengthening the agriculture field. Rs 550 crore had been kept aside in the budget as a reconstruction fund. Money from this fund would go into the causes of the depletion of nutrients in the soil and taking steps for proper pest control. He cited the example of bollworm which had developed resistance to insecticides and was destroying the cotton crop in the southern districts of the state. Capt Kanwaljit, however, made it clear that though the state was readying itself for the WTO, it did not favour it. He said his party was still pressuring the Centre to renegotiate the terms of the treaty. The terms and conditions of the treaty were discriminatory towards developing countries and he alleged that the negotiators representing the country did not do a good job. Under the present terms , subsidies to the agriculture sector would have to be withdrawn and that there was also a suspicion that the government would not be able to provide marketing support to the agriculture sector. The developed countries, however, continued to give subsidies to agriculture and that they had placed the agriculture sector in a category on which subsidies could be given. The Finance Minister also called for reversing the food grain marketing policy of the country saying there was need to provide direct subsidy to the farmer and give him an additional bonus. He said for example for wheat the procurement price could be fixed at Rs 460 and a bonus of Rs 160 could be given to the farmer. In this process wheat would be available to the consumer at a lesser price and would also better the buying power of the
havenots. |
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US slowdown pinches tech firms Bangalore, April 5 That was the typical response of India’s fast-growing technology companies a few months ago to early signs of a slowdown in the U.S. economy, its biggest export market. But a stream of earnings warnings from global network equipment makers and telecom firms and the dot-com bubble which burst have begun to have an impact on Indian companies. A majority of research firms have slashed earnings growth targets for Indian software firms for the year ending March 2002. “I’m going after every expense. If I can see a tornado coming, I have to run indoors,” Suresh Rajpal, chief executive of Trigyn Technologies, told Reuters. “Doing this is just prudent business and especially when I am reading about so many large tech firms cutting costs,” he said. Trigyn Technologies, whose clients include Hewlett-Packard and Nokia, has frozen hiring unless linked to specific projects, closed some U.S. offices and slashed top executives’ salaries by 50 percent. Trigyn is not the only company tightening its belt.
Costs squeeze
Diversified Internet firm Satyam Infoway is also keeping a tight watch on costs. “We’re tightening up in terms of discipline. Our staff is travelling less and everyone across-the-board is being encouraged to increase use of our instant messenger service and e-mails (instead of telephones),” a company spokesman said. NIIT, VisualSoft Technologies and Sierra Optima have also said they will be hurt by a slowing U.S. economy. Analysts said software exporters may be on better ground to face up to the U.S. slowdown due to cost advantages but they are still going to face pain. “The assumption that Indian tech firms are immune to a global economic slowdown is fast getting blown away. With foreign firms slashing IT budgets, business orders will be hit for many local companies,” said one analyst at a foreign brokerage. Though Indian software exporters will benefit in the long-run from a rising trend of global firms outsourcing technology, the near-term risk to business orders remains high, analysts said. “We agree that in the long run, the Indian offshore model offers an inherent cost/quality advantage, but on a six-month view we are sure of more negative news flowing in from the companies,” securities firm Cazenove & Co. said in a report. The gloomy outlook has taken its toll on the Bombay Stock Exchange’s information technology index which has slumped 40 percent so far in 2001 against a nine percent drop in the broader Bombay index.
Continue to grow
The sector will continue to grow but Indian software firms will have to slash their forecasts of lofty growth rates in the short-term due to the deepening tech slowdown, analysts said. India’s software sector, which has grown by more than 50 percent in recent years, was expected to top $6.0 billion in exports in the year ending March 2001, up 55 percent from the previous year. Figures are yet to be released. About 60 percent of the exports go to the USA while Europe accounts for 25 percent. Indian companies said they are gearing up for longer sales cycles. “A deal that would have taken three weeks for closure is taking twice that time now,” said the chief financial officer of a Bangalore-based provider of Internet infrastructure services. “This is mainly because people out there have become more cautious as far as spending is concerned,” he said. Analysts said second-tier Indian tech companies were most vulnerable to a deepening slowdown in technology spending because only the larger firms tend to get repeat orders and enjoy long-term relations with large customers. Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia said in a report last month that smaller Indian firms have the greatest downside risk to earnings forecasts due to their weaker client relationships, low level of average business orders and ordinary marketing set-up. India’s top three listed tech exporters such as Wipro, Infosys Technologies and Satyam Computer Services have posted more than 100 percent year-on-year earnings growth in the last few quarters boosted by work done for big clients like Nortel Networks and Cisco Systems. So far, none of them have said they would be hurt by a slowing U.S. economy. Analysts, however, expect the earnings and revenue growth of these companies to come off the boil in the next two quarters due to forecasts of weaker demand from the USA.
Reuters
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HP court notice to ElectroSteel Shimla, April 5 The notices were issued by a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice C.K. Thakkar and Mr Justice L.S. Panta. The petitioner said the state issued notice inviting tenders for the supply of ductile iron pipes of various diameters. The petitioner also submitted its tender on October 9, 2000. The tenders were opened on October 10 and the rates of the petitioner were much lower than the rates of Electro Steel Castings Limited, that was the only other tenderer. Till March the tender was not finalised to favour the Electro Steel and it was forced to reduce the rates to compete with the petitioner. On March 17, 2001, the petitioner send a letter to the Minister of Industries pointing out the difference in rates and the unfair treatment being given to it. The petitioner also offered to reduce its rates and on March 31, 2001, the contract awarded to Electro Steel. The petitioner alleged that the rates as quested by it were not only lower but were also exempted from payment of sales tax. Whereas Electro Steel Company has to pay 4 per cent Central sales tax. Mr Deepak Gupta, on behalf of the petitioner, contended that the contract would cause Rs 80 lakh to the state exchequer.
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Quake casts shadow on Himachal tourism Shimla, April 5 Unlike previous years hotel bookings have failed to pick up although summer is round the corner. Only about 25 per cent of rooms of the Himachal Tourism Development Corporation, which has over 36 hotel complexes across the state, have been booked so far. Normally, the booking is 40 to 50 per cent and in some of its popular resorts like Manali 60 to 70 per cent rooms are booked by this time for May and June. The shortfall is mainly on account of poor response from Gujarat which is still reeling under the impact of the devastating earthquake. The industry is feeling the impact all the more as the affluent Gujarati community accounts for about 30 per cent of the about 48 lakh domestic tourists who throng the state annually. In fact tourists from Gujarat and Maharashtra start arriving toward the end of April and the flow continues till the end of May. Normally maximum booking for April-May are from Gujarat, followed by Maharashtra and Bengal. This year most of the bookings are from Maharashtra and only a few from Gujarat. The situation may improve over the next one month as tour operators based at Ahmedabad who largely control tourist trade have become active again. The number of visitors will be, however, much less from the state as the people over a large area were busy rebuilding their lives. Mr Ajay Tyagi, Managing Director of the State Tourism Development Corporation said the impact of Gujarat would be certainly felt, particularly during the earlier part of tourist season. Gujarat was important as a majority of the high spending tourist came from the state. Keeping this in view the corporation was planning to build its own office in Ahmedabad. The corporation had for the convenience of tourists started bookings of hotel rooms on the Internet from the current season. The booking would be confirmed if the party concerned deposited the tariff within two days of booking at any branch of UTI Bank. Besides, the corporation had also entered a tie-up with the Travel Corporation of India which had over 40 marketing offices within the country and abroad. The tie-up will help attract high-end clientele, particularly foreign tourists. The corporation has decided to tap ground water to overcome the perennial shortage of water at the Hotel Holiday Home complex, Shimla, Bhagsunag in Dharamsala and Naldhera. The Indian Airlines which operates regular flights from Delhi to Kulu and Shimla is likely to do good business during the season. All seats have been booked until June end. According to Deepak Sood, President of the Travel Agents Association and booking agent for the airlines. The tourism industry had made much headway over the past one decade in the state and the tourist traffic has been increasing with each passing year. The number of tourists visiting the state has more than doubled from about 20 lakh to 48 lakh over the period. It was expected to cross the 50 lakh mark this year but this may not happen now and the figure may come down. |
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PSIDC losses go up to Rs 63 cr Chandigarh, April 5 The organisation, which was established to promote industries, is itself in trouble. It is learnt that not only has the PSIDC's lendings witnessed a substantial decline it will not be able to meet its liabilities at least for the next three years. Reportedly, the auditors have already pointed out that for 1999-2000, the PSIDC showed a loss of Rs 28.74 crore for 1999-2000, whereas the actual net loss was Rs 181.04 crore. In 1998-99 also it had incurred a loss of Rs 20.35 crore though
the actual loss as per the audited balance sheet was , reportedly, Rs 48.16 crore. The auditors had attributed this to "inefficiencies" in the corporation. According to sources , the corporation is hardly doing any business and due to the financial crunch it has been restricted to only borrow funds resulting into additional liability of payment of interest. |
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Palio by year-end New Delhi, April 5 “The Palio will be launched between August-December 2001,” Fiat India Managing Director Maurizio Bianchi told reporters here. The investment would supplement the $ 650 million (about Rs 1,600 crore) it had put in its car operations till date. “The money will go towards research and design and tooling at the Kurla plant in Mumbai,” Bianchi said. The company plans to sell about 50,000 units of the “Palio” in 2002 against a production capacity of 60,000 cars at the Kurla plant. “It will be positioned in the top-end of the ‘B’ segment in terms of technology and will be offered in the 1200cc and 1600cc hatchback petrol engine version. Later, we will bring out a diesel one also,” Bianchi said but declined to give the price-positioning of the ‘Palio’.
PTI |
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Change of guard at Microsoft New Delhi, April 5 Rajiv Nair, President, Microsoft India, will take on additional responsibility as Senior Strategic Adviser, Microsoft, Asia, a company statement said here. Kaul will be responsible for realising Microsoft’s NET vision, spearheading the customer partner focus and MSN, the company’s portal property. In addition he would be responsible for Microsoft’s developer and education initiatives in India. As Regional Director, Mirchandani will oversee the management of seven local subsidiaries including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam and India.
PTI |
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Novartis pill offers new hope on leukemia Boston, April 5 But a second study in the Journal, by the same research team, finds that the drug Glivec, also known as STI571, is far less effective once the leukemia mutates into a more aggressive form. Although doctors are still assessing the long-term effects of the drug, “as the story unfolds, STI571 may well become the single best agent for treating CML,” said John M. Goldman and Junia Melo in an editorial in the Journal. “It is expected to be licensed for use in the United States this fall and in other countries soon after.” CML is caused by the abnormal fusion of two bits of the genetic code. The result is a protein, called bcr-abl, which is found in virtually every CML patient. Researchers believe the protein causes the deadly overproduction of white blood cells, which is the hallmark of CML. In its chronic phase, survival is typically about six years. But many patients can live 20 years or longer. Until now, only a bone marrow transplant offered the chance of curing CML, but the risks of a transplant are high and most patients do not have a suitable donor available. The alternative is injections of the drug interferon alfa, which is not always effective and has some serious side effects. “Much, however, has now changed with the advent of STI571,’’ said Goldman and Melo of the Imperial College School of Medicine in London. In the two new studies, funded partly by Swiss health care company Novartis AG, a team led by Dr Brian J. Druker of the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland found 300 milligrams of Glivec, taken orally daily, brought the white blood cell count back to normal within four weeks in 53 of the 54 volunteers with CML. All of the volunteers had stopped responding to interferon treatments. The second druker study tested the drug on patients whose leukemia had entered the especially deadly “acute” or “blast” phase, where few treatments work for very long. STI571 showed an effect in as many as 70 percent of those patients, but the benefits were short-lived, the researchers said. The side effects of the drug, including nausea, diarrhea and swelling, were mild, according to the 11 researchers, three of whom have served as consultants to Novartis. Goldman and Melo said tests were under way to see if the drug was effective against lung, prostate and brain tumors. A third study in the Journal, reporting on the case of a 50-year-old woman with a relentless type of cancer known as metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), found that ongoing treatment with STI571 caused the tumor to shrink continually. Further tests on GIST patients are ongoing. “If this treatment can do the same for people with any other cancers” as it has for CML, said Druker, “it will be a dream come true.”
Reuters |
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Computer games help or harm? London This is an age where couch potato has become almost a term of endearment and the debating skills of young people often consist of a series of impenetrable guttural utterances. Parents understandably worry that they are aiding and abetting the dark forces of cyber-culture by turning out successive generations of socially impaired and brain-numbed adults. Past studies into the effects of computer games on the young have muddied the issue. Some claim increased violence on screen is making children more aggressive. Others say they are improving their spatial skills. Now, a research study by Britain’s Home Office suggests that, whatever the short-term effects, in the long term the child who becomes a computer “geek’’ is more likely to go to university and to move into a better-than-average job. “Well of course we do,’’ says Simon Fullarton, one of the first generation of games players. “Games don’t just give you a buzz — they require intelligence and intuition. If you look at a game like Half Life, you’re a character in an experimental, make-believe world that’s gone horribly wrong. It’s been taken over by flesh-eating zombies who are after you. To clear an escape you have to deal with natural disasters, pick up visual clues, avoid capture and devise strategies. It’s all about problem-solving.’’ A prizewinner at London’s Royal College of Music, Fullarton gave up his studies to become a Cisco engineer specialising in networking. He deals with switching and routing, getting international systems talking to each other. The most experienced Cisco contractors earn around US dollars 1,410 a day. But games have changed. While the first Atari tennis games were simplistic and easy, today’s virtual reality scenarios are violent, bloody and often encourage on-screen lawlessness. Grand Theft Auto, a current favourite, requires players to stop cars, pull out and punch the driver, and go joyriding, progressively notching up points for misdemeanours, including running over pedestrians and the police. “I don’t let my boys play the more violent games,’’ says Martina Milburn, head of the UK charity, Children in Need. “But many scenarios are no more aggressive than the robust games of cowboys and Indians we played as children. “My eldest son is dyslexic and the skills he has built up through games have helped enormously with other areas of use. For example, he has trouble with books but was able to do his exam revision using a CD-ROM. My youngest, who is five, already has mouse and keyboard skills and uses the computer to play games traditionally played on the carpet — snap and matching. He is not preparing for a future dominated by computers, but a present dominated by computers.’’ And therein lies the rub. For the luddites, computers are still a new-fangled fad. In reality they provide the infrastructure of modern life. In the same way that our parents pointlessly restricted TV watching, we try to stem an unstoppable tide.
The Guardian |
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JK to set up depot Jammu, April 5 The J and K SIDCO has prepared a project and submitted it to the Department of Commerce, for sanction of grant for the project. SIDCO will shortly sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Central Warehousing Corporation for executing the project, he said, adding that a state-level monitoring committee has also been constituted to oversee implementation of the project.
UNI |
bb
IT centre opens JK Dairy Low benzene petrol DishnetDSL chief Indiasoft Essar Steel Samsung monitor Markets closed |
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