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April 10, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Govt to go ahead with limited mobility plan No tax
sops for breweries
Water to fuel HLL growth Who runs the world? Dabhol fires fresh salvo |
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How to make
the web pay Get the image, get the promotion A TRIBUNE FOLLOW-UP China: why
anti-dumping duties? NFL plans VRS; signs
MoU with government
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Govt to go ahead with limited mobility plan
New Delhi, April 9 According to the Telecommunication Ministry, the government decision to refer the issue of limited mobility for fixed line phone firms to a ministerial panel was only to find out if the service was allowed under the telecom policy of 1999. “...If not, (we will) suitably modify the policy to include the issue of limited mobility,” a ministry official said today. A government statement said on Saturday that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had decided to refer the limited mobility issue to a ministerial panel headed by the Finance Minister. This led to concerns among telecom firms the move was aimed at reviewing the government’s policy and would delay its plans to award new fixed line licences. The confusion dragged down shares of Reliance group’s flagship firm Reliance Industries on fears that its telecom initiatives could be delayed. The government has awarded preliminary approvals to 48 of the over 132 applications received since it opened the fixed-line business to unrestricted competition earlier this year. As part of the policy, the government allowed limited mobility giving fixed-line subscribers the option of mobile access within a limited area. The Telecom Ministry will continue to process applications for new fixed-line licences despite the issue being examined by the ministerial panel. The panel is expected to submit its recommendations by the end of this month. It is understood that the ministry continued to be in favour of limited mobility using the CDMA Wireless in Local Loop technology as it would improve telecommunications access in rural areas. Limited mobility will allow customers of fixed-line firms mobile access in a limited area at a fraction of the tariffs charged by mobile companies. The decision to permit limited mobility has drawn loud protests from the cellular industry which says it will mean unfair competition and erode their market share and revenues.
UNI
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No tax sops for breweries Chandigarh, April 9 At present there are four distilleries and two breweries in Punjab. The government will prefer that these distilleries and breweries to come up in border or remote areas of the state. Though the liquor consumption has been on the increase, the state government is keen for healthy competition and more indigenous production of both Punjab Medium Liquor (PML) and the Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL). The Punjab Government has also decided to divide the allocation among Sugarfed, lowest and the second lowest bidder for the supply of molasses to the state distilleries. For the past two years, after the Excise Department went for tenders for supply of molasses, no subsidy is being paid to the Sugarfed. The cost of molasses, too, has come down substantially, sources in the Excise Department said. Since Sugarfed has agreed to compete with outside suppliers, including Haryana Sugarfed, one-third share of molasses has been allotted to it. The Excise Department is keen that after setting up of more distilleries and breweries, there will be not only better and healthy competition but also possibility of export of IMFL from the state. At present, the state is able to meet its own requirement of both PML and IMFL. The state government hopes that with the setting up new distilleries and breweries, both direct and indirect employment opportunities will be generated. Each of the distilleries may generate a minimum of direct employment for 300 to 400 persons. At the time of grant of licences to the new distilleries and breweries, the state government may incorporate certain mandatory clauses to make the licences non-transferable and commissioning of the new units within a stipulated and reasonable period of time. The Excise Department is also keen to end the impasse at Ludhiana. A couple of proposals have been forwarded to the state government for consideration by the State Cabinet for an immediate decision about running of liquor vends in the district. The department, the sources said, is also scanning all reports about deaths reportedly caused in the district during the past few days due to alleged consumption of “illicit liquor or hooch”. “It is the duty of the police department to ensure that there is no ‘illicit liquor or hooch’ traded in the state. Action, if any, has to be taken by the police,” the sources said.
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Water to fuel HLL growth
New Delhi, April 9 A company spokesperson told PTI over the phone from Mumbai “we have identified new areas like water, consumer healthcare and confectionary as possible areas which may fuel HLL’s future growth”. Declining to give further details on the subject, the spokesperson said these areas are being considered to further the company’s talent attraction and knowledge management attempts besides paring costs. HLL has also decided to focus on only 30 of its total 110 existing products as part of an evolving brand focus exercise. “HLL has examined its brand portfolio very thoroughly and decided to concentrate its resources behind 30 brands of the company’s current price list of 110 brands. These 30 brands have been selected on the basis of their absolute size, brand strength, relevance, competitive advantage and potential for growth,” he said. The 30 chosen brands will receive a disproportionate share of the marketing appropriation spend, he said. They will be backed by a high level of relevant innovation, based on the company’s consumer insight and technology platforms. “For example in soaps, HLL has developed a technology which will enable it to reduce costs and further improve quality,” he added. As part of this brand focus exercise, wherever appropriate,
HLL will take its brands across categories to further develop existing markets. “For example, the per capita
consumption of soaps in India is only 400 gm. The market indeed can be further developed by introducing more functional products. Thus, HLL has launched Fair & Lovely soap, extending the Fair & Lovely skin cream; Breeze 2-in-1 as a double benefit body and hair wash product as an extension to Breeze Soap,” he added. Another brand where new launches are around the corner is ‘Annapoorna’. HLL has already launched atta under this brand and claims to be the market leader; it is test marketing spice in the Southern markets and Basmati rice also under the same brand umbrella. The company said it will endeavour to add a service dimension to its chosen brands. This includes setting up exclusive brand outlets, which double up as service centres, in select cities. Setting up Lakme Beauty Saloons, Hot Tea Shops and Ice-cream parlours in
certain metros is a part of this plan, the spokesperson said, adding 12 Lakme Saloons have already come up in eight cities. In a bid to open up new consumption opportunities for tea, coffee and ice-cream business, the company is enhancing its channel reach for these products.
PTI
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Paris, April 9 Experts could argue for hours over a question like that, but France's Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine has a ready — and quite revealing — answer. The man who coined the term "hyperpower" to describe the post-Cold War United States considers America's pension funds more influential than its president and ranks people's passions and beliefs as key elements of global clout. Movie makers, organised crime and computer bugs also figure in the six-part list he offered in an interview in the new edition of the French magazine La Revue Internationale et Strategique just published in Paris. Asked "who runs the world?", Vedrine spelled out his hierarchy of real global power in the following order: "1. Nobody (or chance or chaos theory) "2. The Americans: people saving for retirement through pension funds, company chairmen, financiers, rating agencies, journalists, movie makers, researchers, lobbies, American beliefs, the president. "3. Five or six other political, economic and cultural powers of global influence, among them France and others, also including the emerging Europe. "4. The leaders of all the other countries and secretaries general of international organisations. "5. Organised crime. "6. At the fringes: anyone who can throw grains of sand into the mechanism -- peoples, passions, individuals, bugs." Vedrine said he measured power by the classic standards -- "economy, currency, army, territory, population" -- and by the so-called "soft-power" arising from the indirect influence that a country, a group or a trend can exercise on other countries. "This is a realistic and factual list, without any value judgment," he concluded.
Reuters
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Dabhol fires fresh salvo Mumbai, April 9 The company said this step has been taken to protect its interests and termed it as “necessary” under the PPA and related security documents to notify the
MSEB of “certain events to enforce our rights”. Confirming the development,
MSEB Chairman Vinay Bansal told PTI that the board had received the notice and a decision on further course of action would be taken after studying the implication of invoking the clause. A senior
MSEB official said the notice would be forwarded to the state Department of Legal Affairs, which in turn would determine whether the given reasons for invoking the “forced majeure” was politically motivated or otherwise. Industry sources say the present stand-off was over the non-payment of December-January bills by the
MSEB and its consequent fine to the DPC of over Rs 400 crore. However, the
MSEB had made “a protest payment” of Rs 113 crore towards the DPC's
February bill. The DPC has, meanwhile, also despatched the bill for March to the tune of Rs 146 crore on Saturday last arising out of a 35 per cent plant load factor for the same month. According to sources, as per the
PPA, the DPC can also stop supply of power to the MSEB under the “forced majeure” clause. But a
DPC spokesman replied in negative and said the plant was running and the company had no such plans. “The latest action by the
DPC comes in wake of the Centre’s denial to facilitate the company’s invoked counter guarantee followed by Enron’s decision to knock at the doors of London-based arbitrator to resolve the issue”, the sources said. In its notice the
DPC has said, as an affected party, it had been subjected to “concerted, deliberate and politically motivated” actions of the Maharashtra Government, the Government of India and the board, which would have a “material and adverse effect” on the company’s ability to perform obligations under the
PPA. DPC spokesperson said the “forced majeure” clause was resorted to as, according to the
PPA “certain events occurred that are beyond the reasonable control of the affected party (DPC)”. “Given the cumulative effect of these political actions, the
DPC determined that the political force majeure declaration is an appropriate mechanism for providing that notice, and that is an appropriate and necessary step in protecting the
DPC and its stakeholders’ rights”, the statement added.
PTI |
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How to make
the web pay London This month the subscription model — among other last-ditch attempts to turn a penny out of content — is back. Last week the 365 Corporation, which specialises in digital media communities, announced it was cutting all editorial from Gay365 and introducing a subscription fee of £ 11.95 a year in line with Personals365, which provides a kind of online virtual sauna for couples to check out each other’s credentials and chat. We all know that sex, or at least the promise of sex, sells on the Internet (industry revenues are expected to hit £ 2.26bn in 2001). There is also a proven market, if a small one, for mission-critical business information or
“inside dope’’ (The Street.com, Insider.com and the UK’s the451.com
“the technology firestarter’’ and BreakingViews.com, all work on subscriptions) but will people pay for good jokes? Bob Kohn, CEO of Laugh.com, believes so. The former entertainment lawyer and co-founder of eMusic has just launched the comedy destination site (which aims to make money from a combination of selling comedy CDs and wireless subscriptions) slap-bang in the middle of the dot.com recession. And it isn’t an April Fools’ — it has $ 2.2m backing. “There is a huge demand for comedy — some of the highest-paid acts (such as Jim Carrey and Tom Hanks) are comedians,’’ asserts Kohn. The idea is to raise the quality of those jokes which get passed around by e-mail, using fresh material from 10 or 15 well-known comedians in audio or video form. And Kohn has a pet theory: ``Comedy is recession proof, it has negative beta during a recession — people look for outlets to relieve the tensions of the day.’’ He hopes to go public in a year, when he thinks there will be a resurgence in demand for digital companies. Laugh.com at least has the product (the site is really a front for Kohn’s profitable comedy CD production company which distributes to 6,000 stores) and the names to back it up, including top US comics George Carlin, Phyllis Diller, Red Skelton, Milton Berle and cult prank callers the Jerky Boys; not to mention Peter Sellers’ daughter Victoria who ``interviews’’ notorious madam Heidi Fleiss seeking sex tips. Kohn is cautiously excited about the wireless service (``give it three years’’) which will deliver one-minute clips and daily postings from your favourite comic to PDAs and future phones for $ 2 a month. He is confident that the west will take to it just as the Japanese have to Manga on their I-mode mobile service. Laugh.com’s
“Management Message’’ has a sobering disregard for the dot.com business model:
“The proliferation of (our) hardware and software that enables the management and playback of downloadable audio and uploadable orgasms is currently driving growth in the sector . . . The NewYorker.com, the long-awaited companion site of America’s most civilised weekly, would have to agree.
“Want more traffic? Use humour,’’ advises its sidecar site Cartoonbank.com, which licenses quality cartoons for $ 15 a throw and sells funny T-shirts. New Yorker.com and Tina Brown’s Talk.com site — which launched head to head in February — are the new breed of dot.coms whose main boast is that they are run on a shoestring, or as Kohn puts it, are
“like a one-storey whorehouse: no fucking overheads.’’
By arrangement with The Guardian
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Get the image, get the promotion London, April 9 "We are often brought people from companies who perhaps have been planned for greater things who haven't quite got it right and need some help with etiquette issues, mannerisms or body language," said Laurel Herman of Positive Presence, a consultancy which has worked for companies such as HSBC and Lloyds TSB. "Looking successful is perceived as being successful," says the company website. "In today's world, a stylish appearance is the global trademark of success — it symbolises a contemporary attitude, a cutting edge approach."
Dressing up, dressing down While the image "makeover" is best suited to television personalities and politicians, most business men and women just need an image "tweak", style gurus say. This can involve advice on grooming, comportment and voice, said Herman. "We suggest things, but unless it's a very important issue to 'unprogramme' someone — let's say the way they walk—we would then bring in a specialist to do that." Generally men are more receptive to advice about their image than women. "Men are much more open," Herman told Reuters. "Women are locked into misconceptions particularly about clothes and make-up that you need to sometimes challenge gently in order to move them on." Dress down days — when staff can ditch the traditional suit and wear "smart casual" clothes to work — have become popular in city firms but some employees think casual clothes are at odds with having a "professional" image in the workplace. A recent survey by recruitment specialists Jonathan Wren found power dressing is still the choice of office wear for many city female employees but the traditional image of the pin-striped city gent is slowly dying out. Andersen, the accountancy and consulting firm formerly known as Arthur Andersen, said the advice of image consultants was made available to its staff last year so they could interpret what "smart casual" means. "They did a few sessions here about how to feel comfortable in an environment where there isn't a dress code," said a spokeswoman. "Partners are also quite at liberty to hire somebody on a one-to-one basis if they wanted to get personal advice." But despite the popularity of dress down policies, some City women say they feel they are taken more seriously in the workplace if they stick to conservative business attire. "As a general rule women should dress as though they are a rank higher than they actually are but generally they dress as though they are a rank below," one female banker told Reuters. Image consultants say the suit is still the basic armour of doing serious business and professionals need to think carefully about their working wardrobe. "You're dressing for your next pay rise," said image consultant Mary Spillane in her book "Branding Yourself".
Feminising the business look Back in the 1980s power dressing meant just one thing: a fiercely ambitious woman executive in a masculine-style suit with big hair, big shoulder pads and a lot of attitude. For women, the key to looking professional nowadays is to feminise the business look, image consultants say. "Simply tailored, masculine-style clothes are wonderful but your accessories have to be fun," Spillane, who runs the corporate consultancy ImageWorks, told Reuters. "You have to have a great brooch, interesting earrings, your hair has to be glossy, not butch, and you've got to bother with make-up." She says men need to take time to choose well-tailored power suits as well as good smart casual co-ordinates for work. "The suit has changed," she wrote. "If you didn't realise it and have pretty much been wearing the dull, dark numbers with only white shirts then, surely, retirement must be round the corner." A common dilemma for women is whether to wear trousers or a skirt in business meetings and interviews but stylists say a skirt suit reflects a more confident image. "You need to look perhaps as though you could be put into any situation and cope," says Susie Faux, who runs Wardrobe, a personal service offering wardrobe solutions and advice on grooming for both business and non-career women. "Something about a woman in a skirt suit has a little bit more credibility than a woman in a trouser suit." But getting the right image across at work is not just about wearing sharp suits, having an impressive handshake and knowing how to walk with confidence. Recruitment specialists say attending key company functions and socialising with work colleagues after work are essential for employees who want to get ahead, although such events demand social skills that are only acquired through practice. "This can mean showing an interest in people who normally bore you rigid," said Sarah Parsons at recruitment specialists Reed. "It means smiling until your jaw aches and remembering more names than a telephone directory. In short, it means acting."
Reuters
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TRIBUNE FOLLOW-UP Chandigarh, April 9 According to subsidiary ledgers and other documents available with The Tribune, PSIDC has made no attempts to curb these expenses. The Punwire final settlement might take even more than 7-8 years , says the liquidator. Documents show that from July 13, 1999, to February 28, 2001, the expenses on tours of officials, etc have been more than Rs 36 lakh (Rs36,14,217.70) of which a major amount has gone towards payment of bills to Mr S S Brar, Managing Director , Mr R S Rai, Legal advisor and S S Kohli and Associates who were assigned with the job of preparation of balance sheets and statement of affairs of Punwire. Apart from these PSIDC has also spent quite an amount for payments to Price WaterHouse which was assigned job of special review of Punwire , payment fixed by way of loan at Rs 65 lakh. S S Kohli and Associates, CAs were assigned the job of preparation of balance sheets and statement of affairs of PSIDC and the professional fee for that was fixed at Rs 6 lakh apart from which it was also stated that Kohli would be re-imbursed for out-of -pocket expenses on actual basis to a maximum of Rs 5 lakh. They have incurred more than Rs 1,80,000 in 2000-2001. Though several official meetings have been conducted in the' past where the officials have expressed concern towards heavy losses which PSIDC is making , however, not much effort to control the expenses seems to have been done. For instance ledgers show that on December 31, 2000, TA bills of Mr Brar as high as Rs 1,55,623 were cleared including one bill of Rs 93,982. On January 9, 2001 again two bills totalling Rs. 1,16,432 were cleared. On May 31, 2000 again two TA bills— Rs 91,654 were cleared. Interestingly, the accounts show taxi bills separately. Of the total expenses incurred between July, 1999 and February,2001, more than Rs 13, 30,000 bills of Mr R S Rai were cleared whereas payments made to Mr Brar exceeded Rs 5 lakh. On July 31, payments more than 1,80,000 were made to Mr R S Rai. And though terms and conditions do entitle them to payments up to these limits, but a review clarifies that the concerned could have been more cautious while incurring these expenses. Assigning the job of review of Punwire to Price WaterHouse , one of the biggest companies dealing in accounts and related investigations by the Corporation could have been assigned the same job to any other less expensive company, say the agitated employees of PSIDC on the condition of anonymity. Reportedly, no advertisements in newspapers were given for several appointments including this and the preparation of balance sheets. Price WaterHouse had submitted its reports last year itself. However, no reports of officials having taken any concrete action after the report has been received. The PSIDC Karmchari Union has been expressing
dis- contentment regarding the outflow of funds from PSIDC towards Punwire. The employees while condemning the board of directors of Punwire stated that the deterioration of Punwire could have been estimated 2-3 years back before the same coming to light. Why is it the sole responsibility of PSIDC to venture into such a peculiar whirlpool? "Not only this, no responsibility has been fixed till date despite a financial crunch which PSIDC is facing. The officials are enjoying themselves in the name of Punwire", said and
insider." How long will this continue"? the employees questioned. Meanwhile, the liquidator while talking to TNS on phone said that as per the law, after auction, if any, the amount realised will be distributed pari passu among the secured creditors and towards payment of salaries. Payment to unsecured creditors would be made only after that.
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China: why
anti-dumping duties? New Delhi, April 9 “Chinese enterprises and products have met with unfair treatment in India and the Indian authorities have frequently taken legal actions by carrying out anti-dumping investigations into commodities of Chinese origin,” Chinese Ambassador to India Zhou Gang said at a meeting organised by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) here. The Chinese Ambassador said anti-dumping action against China has adversely affected bilateral trade between the two countries and “impeded further development of Sino-India economic trade and cooperation”. The current volume of trade of $2.91 billion between the two countries was much below the potential despite the fact the India was the largest trading partner of China in South Asia, Mr Gang said adding that “problems in bilateral trade should be resolved through consultations and exchanges,” he said. The bilateral trade volume between India and China has increased from $265 million in 1991 to $1,998 million in 1999. President of FIEO K K Jain said Sino-India trade has the potential of touching $110 billion in the next four
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NFL plans VRS; signs
MoU with government New Delhi, April 9 The company also signed an MoU with the central government for 32.25 lakh MT production in 2001-02, an official statement said here. The production of Urea will be in line with the government’s guideline to restrict production to 100 per cent of the installed capacity, it said, adding the company is the largest producer of nitrogenous fertilisers in the country. The production target includes production from Nangal revamp plant, which has begun commercial production from February 2001, three months ahead of schedule. Besides planning a VRS, the company is also keen to acquire ISO-14001 certification for its Nangal and Bathinda units. The MoU, which was signed by NFL Chairman P. S. Grewal and Fertliser Secretary Ashok Pahwa, also includes marketing extension services and e-commerce initiatives. PTI &
TNS
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Subex Systems Aptech Computer KNA Intl Jindal Iron Godrej Products Coolex 2001 |
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