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Wednesday,
May 2, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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U.S. sanctions to go soon: Sinha
New TRAI norms for cellular
services Journalism as
business
PEDA identifies 90 power sites |
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Industry is under pressure: CMIE
Goindwal units face closure 20 per cent growth
in exports
Beware, computer educators can cheat
Mercan Capital offers fee concession
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U.S. sanctions to go soon: Sinha Washington, May 1 Sinha, who was in Washington to attend the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, said, “Our views have been very clear and we have said right from day one that sanctions will hurt U.S. interests more than they’ll hurt Indian interests.” Sinha at a press conference at the Indian embassy on Monday said, “I did not raise this issue with Mr. Paul O’Neil,” but when the latter solicited his views, “I did tell him that things were quite normal except in certain areas and it will be in the interests of both countries if the U.S. could see its way to lifting the sanctions with legislative approval.” But Sinha got quite testy when questioned on the issue of corruption exposed by tehelka.com, which had conducted a sting operation into financial irregularities in defense deals, and on whether the rupee will depreciate against the dollar to the extent that Rs 50 would fetch only $1. Sinha said nobody had raised the issue of the depreciation of the rupee with him either or expressed concern during the Bank meetings or the bilateral with O’Neil. Sinha said no one, including O’Neil, had raised the Enron controversy issue with him either, but he had of his own volition brought the latter up to what’s going on and the envisaged negotiations between the Maharashtra Government and Enron and assured Washington that “no precipitous action will be taken.” IANS
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India on ‘Special 301’ list
Washington, May 1 An official announcement said today: The ‘Special 301’ aims at identifying countries not providing adequate protection to copyrights, patents and other intellectual property rights and would bring them under higher scrutiny by the US authorities.” The Super-301 report has also identified barriers to investment in India in the auto sector. The foreign automobile firms like Ford have questioned the Indian Government’s conditionality to indigenise their production within a particular time frame. The case has been going on under the auspices of the WTO in Geneva for quite some time, according to an Indian Embassy official.
UNI
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New TRAI norms for cellular services New Delhi, May 1 “Any unused amount at the end of the validity period should be credited to the subscriber’s account in cases where subscriber renews subscription within a reasonable grace period,” the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said in a statement. TRAI also made it mandatory for all service providers to report their specified grace period to the authority. To benefit low-end subscribers, the telecom regulator has also directed the service providers to offer at least one denomination of pre-paid cards in the range of Rs 300 or less with a corresponding validity period of at least one month. “This will benefit low user subscribers and also visitors to a particular service area who preferred to use this service instead of roaming facility of their home network,” TRAI said. At present pre-paid cards of varying denominations with different validity periods are available in the market although many operators do not offer denominations of smaller value for low-end subscribers. The charge to be levied from the subscribers for replacement of lost/damaged cards will not exceed the cost to the service provider in addition to a reasonable mark-up. The amount actually charged by the service providers will need to be reported to TRAI as part of the reporting requirement enabling the regulator to monitor the charges and intervene in instances where there were major deviations from the cost. The service provider will also be required to specify various components of the maximum retail price, including talk-time value on the package itself. The guidelines from TRAI came following complaints from consumers and consumer organisations on certain matters such as unused amounts in the pre-paid cards, charges for replacement of lost or damaged cards and the nature and method of information given to subscribers at the time of purchase.
PTI
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Journalism as
business Mumbai, May 1 Knowing fully well that the newspaper was being mauled by competition, a reporter put forward a proposal to the editor: Do not pay me any salary. Just provide me with an accreditation and publish all my stories. The numerous public relations agencies and corporate communications managers proliferating in the city could take care of his financial needs, he added. The stunned editor recovered his composure quickly to drive out the corrupting correspondent, and narrated the episode to some of his colleagues. The story has since been making the rounds of the city’s watering holes frequented by the hack pack. And financial journalists working for pink or even white papers are looked upon with envy, especially when the stock market is spurting northwards. In the 1990s, when journalists were shuttling between one hotel room and another covering press conferences of public issues, Mumbai’s public relations agencies tied up with suppliers of corporate giveaways and gift vouchers to keep the pen pushers happy. “At many press conferences, journalists were given gift vouchers of Rs 1,000 each,” said a former reporter now with a public relations outfit. The vouchers were traded for cash at select watering holes. The tapering off of new issues that followed the stock market crash robbed many of a lucrative side income, at least temporarily. Public relations agencies and communication agencies are known to recruit journalists at fat salaries. The pay-off is done in the hope that they will seek the help of their former colleagues to push a puff piece or a feel-good feature about a client. The cherry on the cake is a profile of a client’s CEO that would ensure the renewal of an annual contract for the public relations agency. So reporters of mainline newspapers on high-flying beats like automobiles, aviation and software are prized by these agencies, particularly the hot creative shops run by one or two communications professionals. With several newspapers cracking down on junkets and gift taking by journalists, communications experts are seeking fresh ways to win friends and influence media persons. Invitations to lavish dinners at five-star hotels are being supplemented by private parties among “friends.” After all, how can someone refuse an invitation to a private party by a former colleague or a good friend, even if he or she is a public relations professional? Don’t be surprised if the newest multinational corporation (MNC) is sponsoring the booze and the food that comes from a swank catering joint. And the sales pitch is equally subtle. “The idea is to persuade reporters to carry exclusive items about the client rather than to uniformly draft press releases,” a public relations person says. It goes without saying that an “exclusive” story gets better display and mileage for the company. Talk of public relations going the way of Amway, a U.S. conglomerate that has been promoting the concept of person-to-person marketing and independent business ownerships for 41 years.
IANS |
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PEDA identifies 90 power sites Chandigarh, May1 Operation of these projects, which the authorities expect to be done in less than two years, will mean 97 mw of additional electricity. PEDA has already allotted 28 sites for mini hydel power projects having capacity of 30 mw . After the allotment of these additional 90 sites, power generation from the private sector in the state will be 107 mw . "We have sought approval from the Bhakhra Beas Management Board in case of those sites which are under its purview", said Mr Rajan Kashyap, Chairman, PEDA.The sites will be offered to private operators on build operate and own (BOO) basis, soon after the announcement of the Energy Policy, 2001. Electricity generated from these projects will be fed into the grid of the PSEB, which will buy it from the private parties. Rates, however, are yet to be decided. The state government is promoting mini and micro hydel power projects as they have a short gestation period, require no resettlement and problems like submergence, deforestation, etc are not associated with these. While on one hand, the state which is already facing a power crisis will be relieved to an extent, on the other, exploitation of these sites would mean that the state will have to resort to unconventional power generating sources to meet the demand which is increasing at 10-12 per cent per annum, said Mr S S Sekhon, Director, PEDA. "Most of the hydel power generating sites have already been identified and unconventional sources will have to be tapped in the coming years to meet the demand of electricity in the state," he said. Reportedly, PEDA has already completed eight mini hydel projects at Abohar branch canal(4) which have fed 524 lakh units of electricity into the PSEB grid(up to March 31, 2001), and Bathinda branch canal(4) , three of which are yet to be commissioned. In the private sector 28 mini hydel power generation sites, which involve an investment of Rs 180 crore, have already been allotted to four private developers. Of these 28, five projects in Tibri, Babchali, Dolowal, Harigarh and Salar are likely to be commissioned within a month. In case of the private developers, loan assistance up to 75 per cent of the project cost is provided by the Centre. Among the state initiatives are the sale of power to the PSEB at Rs 2.25 per unit(base year 1994) with annual escalation of 5 per cent for10 years, banking facility for one year, exemption of electricity duty and permission of third party sale. The new power policy will decide electricity rates to be implemented after 2004. The policy is expected to be announced shortly. Gestation period of mini hydel projects being short, these projects are expected to be operational soon. Allotment of the new sites should be done in four to five months after these are offered to the private parties and if everything goes well, they can be commissioned within a year after the allotment, Mr Sekhon stated. Cost between Rs 6 crore and Rs 7 crore per mw will be involved in establishing these projects.
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Industry is under pressure: CMIE
Kolkata, May 1 The report said the lifting of QRs would increase the inflow of goods from foreign countries. Although the government had given some sort of protection to the domestic industry by way of increased import duties, the CMIE said these measures would do “little” to ward off the competitive threat from cheaper products. This would directly make an impact on the industry in the form of increased competition, the report said. Commenting on the industrial growth, CMIE report, said the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for January 2001, showed a very low growth of 2.8 per cent as compared to 3.3 per cent in the preceding month. Growth of the manufacturing sector had been weighed down by sectors such as paper and non-metallic mineral products. The general slowdown had its reflection on capital goods production, as it grew by 2.7 per cent in April to January 2000-01 as compared to 6.6 per cent in the previous year. Sectors which recorded higher growth during the period included food products, rubber, plastics & petroleum products, metal products, textiles, medical & surgical instruments, and syringes. Lower growth was posted in sectors of chemical products, machinery and equipment, cotton and synthetic textiles, beverages and leather. However, the growth in the industrial sector is likely to decelerate during the last quarter of the fiscal, the CMIE report said adding that this surmise was based on the poor growth rate of IIP coupled with lifting of QRs from April 1. On the growth rate, the report said that the GDP would likely be lower than 6.4 per cent in the current financial year.
PTI
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Goindwal units face closure Goindwal Sahib (Tarn Taran), May 1 At present BHEL is manufacturing industrial valves from 2” to 8” dia for which castings come from outside Punjab. Total annual turnover of the plant is about Rs 4 crore. This plant is in its present state has very limited scope of development of ancillary units. BHEL had agreed to allot ancillary units at Goindwal for some of the items required by BHEL units at Hardwar and Bhopal. The matter was taken up with Government of India and BHEL at various levels by the state government and ultimately and team of the Planning Commission headed by Mr M.C. Gupta, the then adviser Industry and Minerals of the Planning Commission visited Goindwal complex about 11 years back. The team in its report observed that premises of BHEL at Goindwal were big enough to take on additional load provided these are in line with the corporate philosophy of BHEL and could be marketed preferably in the North Zone. Mr Jatinder Pal Singh Dhillon, Chairman Goindwal Industries Welfare Association told this correspondent today here that the Union of India was to give some special incentives located here in order to encourage growth of the industries located here in the isolated and rural areas. However, no such incentives have been given so far. The units established here with the cost of crore of rupees are facing lock up for the last so many years. There are so many other units which have been closed even before their coming into production, like Noor Paper Mills, a project of Rs 18 crore on which Rs 6 crore have been spent by the promoters and PSIDC. Even the construction work here is stopped for the last 5 years. The entrepreneurs are facing initial problems like raw material and marketing here. In reality the complex is a blot on the country’s fair name of progress.
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20 per cent growth in exports New Delhi, May 1 According to the data available from the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI and S), India’s exports during 2000-2001 were valued at $ 44.1 billion which was 19.83 per cent higher than the level of $36.8 billion during April-March 1999-2000. In rupee terms, the exports were Rs.201674.10 crore, which was 26.39 per cent higher than the value of exports during April-March 1999-2000. This data covers only merchandise exports and does not include software and other services. Exports during March 2001 were valued at $4277.32 million which was 10.82 per cent higher than the level of $3859.80 million in March 2000. The value of exports in March, was the highest achieved in any month in 2000-01. In rupee terms the exports were Rs.19941.07 crore during March 2001 which was 18.53 per cent higher than the value of exports during March 2000. The quick estimates given by the DGCI and S show that the main sectors that have performed well in 2000-01 are marine products, leather and leather products, basic chemicals, engineering goods, electronic goods, man-made yarn fabrics and made ups and readymade garments. India’s imports during April-March 2000-01 were valued at $49843.00 million representing a growth of 0.27 per cent over the level of imports valued at $ 49709.83 million in April-March 1999-2000. Oil imports during April-March 2000-01 were valued at $15653.29 million which was 62.29 per cent higher than oil imports valued at $9645.42 million in the corresponding period last year. Non-oil imports during April-March 2000-01 were estimated at $34189.71 million which was 14.66 per cent lower than the level of such imports valued at $ 40064.41 million in April-March 1999-2000. Imports during March 2000-01 were valued at $ 4304.02 million which was 11.65 per cent lower than the level of $4871.45 million in March 1999-2000.
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Beware, computer educators can cheat
New Delhi, May 1 “Cheaper courses are not always the most cost effective ones and before enrolling one should check the risk factors and the institute’s credentials”, said a senior IT specialist. Competence of the faculty, credentials of the centre, credentials of the institute and the requirements of the candidates are key factors which should influence the choice of the right computer course, he said. The modus operandi of the fly-by-night operator is simple. Go on an advertising spree to first lure franchisees with great offers, and then lure students by promising the moon at a discount. Then the promoters either disappear or fail to deliver, leaving the franchisees and the students high and dry, the expert pointed out. A number of such companies have been in the news lately. Wintech, Advanced Technology Labs and Zap are a few examples. Computer education works mostly on a franchise model, similar to McDonald’s. A training company provides the courseware and faculty, in partnership with a local franchisee who is responsible for the bricks-and-mortar infrastructure and administration. The franchisee buys a license from the training company and negotiates a revenue-sharing formula. Even if a company is not an outright cheat, it may still be forced to shut down all or some of its centres. The world is passing through a US-led slowdown in IT industry because of the excessive speculative money that flowed into and then out of dotcoms whose business models were not viable, another IT expert said. The track record of an institute or company is very important in avoiding falling into the trap. The revenue data of the computer training companies would be a good indicator. According to a dataquest/computer today survey, NIIT reported an annual revenue of Rs 624 crore last year, followed by Aptech with Rs 408 crore, and SSI with Rs 136 crore. Datapro, which had almost as much revenue as aptech a decade ago,
reported a turnover of only Rs 38 crore. A well-known name like Tata Infotech remained stagnant around Rs 40 crore-level for the last three years.
UNI
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Mercan Capital offers fee concession Chandigarh, May 1 "We charge no fee until our clients get immigration," said Mr Jerry Morgan, President of Mercan Capital, at a press conference here last night. The company is celebrating its 12th anniversary and seventh anniversary of its India office. Mr Jerry Morgan, who has been in the region for the past 10 days, has met around 4,000 persons of whom only 1000-odd qualified for immigration. "We have a personal stake in each candidate that we accept and so our success rate is good," he added. Engineers and technical people who are bachelors and fluent in French stand good chance for immigration. The company, which has its head office in Montreal and India office in Mohali, headed by Harminder Singh Gandhi, also offers a money-back guarantee.
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Chinese hackers deface websites Washington, May 1 Honda shares hit 22-month high Tokyo, May 1 Korea trade surplus in April Seoul, may 1 Vodafone to buy BT’s stake Tokyo, May 1 Hyundai Engg to get new aid Seoul, May 1 |
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DSQ Software net grows 28 per cent DSQ Software reported 28 per cent growth in its net profit during the first quarter ending March 30, 2001. According to the quarterly results released by the company, the net profit during the period touched Rs 28.61 crore as against Rs 22.4 crore during the same period last year. ITI posted a turnover of Rs 2,185 crore for the year ended March 31, 2001, earning a net profit of Rs 25.23 crore. SAMTEL COLOUR on Tuesday reported 11 per cent growth in the net profit at Rs 41.56 crore even as sales declined marginally to Rs 666.54 crore for 12 months ended March 31, 2001. IND-SWIFT has posted a 48 per cent rise in the net profit at Rs 7.77 crore for the fiscal ended March 31, 2001, over Rs 5.26 crore in the previous fiscal. TATA FINANCE has reported a 76.64 per cent drop in the net profit at Rs 4.42 crore for the third quarter ended March 31, 2001, compared to Rs 18.95 crore in corresponding period of previous fiscal. PRITISH NANDY COMMUNICATION has registered a net profit of Rs 4.63 crore for the year ending March 31, 2001 as against Rs 2.41 crore in the earlier year. VIDEOCON INTERNATIONAL has posted a 7.38 per cent increase in the net profit at Rs 151.44 crore for the financial year ended March 31, 2001, compared to Rs 141.03 crore in same period of previous fiscal. SHIPPING CORPORATION has posted an impressive jump of 149 per cent in its net profit at Rs 401.59 crore during the financial year ended March 31, 2001. MASCON GLOBAL has achieved a turnover of Rs 106.85 crore during the first quarter, which is an increase of 75 per cent over the corresponding period last year. Mascon has also recorded a net profit of Rs 22 crore, which is an increase of 85.5 per cent as compared to the same period last year.
PTI, UNI |
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