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Thursday,
June 28, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Govt may
revise policy on 8 pc growth: PM Steel
mills face bleak future PNB House Fin
sanctions 140 cr loans Chambers
for changes in Competition Bill Kuldip
Nayar apprehends financial emergency |
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Italian
directors to film G8 summit Punjab
Tractors to pay 75 pc Bank of
Punjab profit surges 20 pc
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Govt may revise policy on 8 pc growth: PM New Delhi, June 27 “ We will have to revise our policies, procedures and institutions in order to unleash the productive potential of our people”, the Prime Minsiter said in his opening remarks of the full Planning Commission meeting here in New Delhi. Mr Vajapyee, however, said that thorough consultations with all political parties will be held before deciding on the revised economic policy programme. He indicated that the major changes were in the offing in the government machinery and said that the projected growth rate of 8 per cent would necessitate significant changes in the government departments. The meeting was held to finalise the approach paper of the Tenth Five Year Plan. While complimenting the Commission for raising the target from 6 per cent to 8 per cent, the Prime Minister, however, struck an ambitious note and said “even this in my view is less than the expectations that have been raised in our society in the recent past”. It may be recalled that the Prime Minister had earlier favoured a target of 9 per cent but the poor performance of the economy in the last few quarters had prompted a revision in the projections. “Growth in itself cannot be our only development goal”, he said while underlining the need for focussed policy initiatives for a more
broad-based growth with the major thrust on social development. Expressing confidence that a political consensus would not be impossible, he said that since the plan formulation was on schedule the government had sufficient time to consult political parties on the future policy framework. “I hope the Tenth Plan document will provide a detailed blue-print on the measures on which we all agree, based upon the broad strategic approach that has been outlined in the approach paper”, he said. Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr K.C. Pant exuded confidence that the an eight per cent growth rate was achieveable but cautioned that it was not an easy task. “In fact the economy is currently decelerating and the international environment is not ideal. Major efforts will be needed to achieve the acceleration. This will involve a significant increase in
investment rates as well as major improvements in efficiency”, Mr Pant said.
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Steel mills face bleak future Ludhiana, June 27 The Ministry of Steel has invited the suggestions from the Steel Re-rolling Mills Association and Small Scale Steel Re-rollers Association in this regard. Mr Vinod Vashisht, President, Small Scale Steel Re-rollers Association has strongly condemned the proposal. In the memorandum sent to Steel Ministry and Minister of State Small Scale Industries, Mr Vashisht has argued that the building and other material made out of ship-breaking material is in fact have better strength than billet and bloom used by big units. The small associations have argued that the big units are not so much interested in providing quality steel at low price as was done by the small mills. Rather they are interested in making huge profits via manipulation. The industry that employs about 1 lakh workers was already passing through recession. The associations have sent a report prepared by the Laboratory of National Institute of Secondary Steel Technology, a unit under the Ministry of Steel, showing better chemical and mechanical composition than the material made out of billets. In the memorandum, they have argued that the move of SAIL and Tata had ulterior motives to crush the steel re-rolling industry of Punjab. It should not be accepted in view of the infrastructure available in the country for the manufacturing of steel. According to the industry sources, about 500 small scale re-rolling units will be closed if the proposal was accepted by the government. Moreover, there will be a huge shortage of iron and steel in India as the integrated steel plants can not fulfill the demand of steel alone. The industry has questioned the ministry about the use of low-grade material being supplied by these steel plants. Ms Vasundra Raje Sindhia, Minister of State Small Scale Industries and Agro and Rural Industries has assured the associations to look into the matter and that before taking any decision the views of associations would be considered.
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PNB House Fin sanctions 140 cr loans Chandigarh, June 27 Housing sector, presently is one of the best performing ones and a growth of at least 50 per cent is forecasted in the business of housing financing companies in the country. These companies did a business of around Rs 8,500 crore and the same is likely to be Rs 12,000 crore for 2000-01, said Mr Nambirajan. PNB Housing Finance which expects a 100 per cent growth in its business, sanctioned loans worth Rs 140 crore during 2000-01. The Chandigarh branch of the company which started operations in August 1992, has sanctioned more than Rs 20 crore in respect of around 900 accounts, he said. Regarding the future plans, he said PNB Housing Finance will open five branches.
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Chambers for changes in Competition Bill
New Delhi, June 27 While the Assocham has appreciated the Cabinet approval to make optional pre-merger notification to the proposed trade-related Competition Commission of India (CCI), it has said that the Bill even in its diluted form vested vast discretionary powers on the proposed commission. On the other hand, the PHDCCI has said that there are certain grey areas in the concept bill which need to be smoothened out stating that rules should be prescribed for demerger in case a merger is approved by the High Court but later declared anti-competitive by the CCI. Taking a more holistic approach, the FICCI has reiterated its stand of having a three-stage action plan for the Competition Bill saying a commission with an “advisory or advocacy” role for three to five years should be incorporated at the first stage. “The government should address the Competition Law issues in three stages instead of enacting the Bill and giving effect to it immediately,” FICCI said in a statement. “Our companies are of very small size with respect to international standard and would need enough time to strengthen and be competitive enough to face global competition, with regard to safeguarding consumer interest,” it added. According to Assocham, as the threshold limits for post-merger scrutiny of merging entities will be the same as those relating to the earlier pre-notification limits, the Bill in its present form would subject ‘industrial group’ to scrutiny if the group to which the acquired company will belong has assets worldwide in excess of $ one billion or turnover more than $3 billion. According to FICCI, with regard to the issue of abuse of dominance, which should be resolved at the second stage, the Bill provides for an overall prohibition against enterprises abusing dominate position. The dominant position means strength of an independent enterprise anywhere in the world enabling it to withstand competition appreciably affecting the market competitors and consumers by its action, it added. Norms for determining an enterprise enjoying dominant position are subjective and there is a need to spell out the extent of their share and size, it said. FICCI said the Bill is unclear about “the method of determining the ‘below cost’ pricing in the regulations to be framed by the commission.” The stringent delineation of subjective factors for determination of dominance is bound to discourage the growth of healthy enterprises, it added. According to PHDCCI, there is a need for enacting a separate legislation to govern unfair and restrictive trade practices once the CCI is set up and MRTP Act is repealed. “The Competition Commission, should be vested with adequate powers and that it should be administered in a proper manner so that it does not turn bureaucratic like MRTPC” PHDCCI said. A similar line was toed by Assocham which said too much discretion with the commission would impede business by creating “bureaucratic leviathan” similar to MRTPC. On the threshold limits for mergers and amalgamations, FICCI said “there should be no threshold limit prescribed.” According to the Competition Bill provisions, a mandatory pre-notification to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for a merger beyond a threshold limit of company assets worldwide exceeding Rs 500 crore or turnover exceeding Rs 1,500 crores is necessary, it said. Holding that mergers and acquisitions are legitimate means for company’s growth, the FICCI said “any intervention by the commission is bound to create a complete bottleneck for growth and consolidation of Indian companies.“ It said the proposed Competition Act is to foster and maintain competition in Indian market securing enterprise freedom by curbing anti-competitive trade agreements eliminating abuse of market dominance.
PTI
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Kuldip Nayar apprehends financial emergency
New Delhi, June 27 Speaking at a public meeting here last evening to commemorate the 26th anniversary of the 1975 National Emergency as ‘Anti-Emergency Day’, Mr Nayar said he apprehended that the government, “which is implementing policies dictated by the World Bank and the
IMF, will impose a Financial Emergency to suppress popular discontent.” Recalling his “deep shock” at the imposition of the National Emergency on June 25, 1975, Mr Nayar said he was aghast that such attempts could be made to subvert democracy. Senior Advocate P.N. Lekhi regretted the absence of a social response against totalitarian tendencies in the country. “The response of the civil society to such tendencies is worse today than in 1975,” he added. Former National Commission for Women member Syeda Hameed highlighted the oppression and exploitation suffered by women in different parts of the country. Referring to her interactions with women in the Kashmir Valley during a recent visit, she said they had lost their men to the bullets of both the terrorists and the security forces. Veteran Socialist leader Surendra Mohan, talking about the people’s movements going on in various parts of the country, appealed for an active support to these movements. General Secretary of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties
(PUCL) Y.P. Chhibbar said democracy had become a mere electoral democracy in the country. “The need of the hour is to behave democratically with one’s wife and children too. Only then, democracy can become a norm of social behaviour,” he added. The public meeting on the theme “Present Threat to Democracy and People’s Rights” was organised by the PUCL (Delhi Branch), Citizens’ Committee for Secular Action, the Amiya and
B.G. Rao Foundation, Forum for Democracy and Communal Amity and Indian Radical Humanist Association.
UNI
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Italian directors to film G8 summit Thirty leading Italian film directors will turn their lenses on the G8 summit in Genoa next month, and on the assorted anti-globalisation movements in town to register their protest. The collective film of the event is being coordinated by the Director Francesco Maselli to give a voice to dissident opinions which may not receive a hearing from the mainstream media. “Only directors with long experience behind a camera can do justice to the particularity and complexity of an event like the one in Genoa,’’ Maselli told the leftwing daily L’Unita on Tuesday. Among the directors supporting the project are the veteran Gillo Pontecorvo, Gabriele Salvatores, Ricki Tognazzi, Carlo Lizzani and Pasquale Scimeca. “It is our duty to roll up our sleeves and work with others on such an important occasion, when the quality of life of the future is being decided,’’ said Pontecorvo, the director of The Battle of Algiers. He does not expect to record the same scenes of violence as in his classic film on the Algerian war of independence, but believes that cinema enjoys an editorial freedom that is lacking in Italian television today. “All the major Italian film directors have a past in documentary-making. We will be reviving the habit of our youth,’’ he said. Pontecorvo said he expected the film to be shown in cinemas and broadcast on television. Most of the project’s directors have leftwing sympathies, so he does not anticipate problems in harmonising their diverse accounts of the event, which takes place from July 20 to 22. “The editing will be the crucial moment, which will set the tone and determine the substance of the thing,’’ he said. The veteran director Luigi Magni has pledged his support for the project, although he said he would not be braving the streets of Genoa in what is likely to be torrid summer heat. ``The issue of globalisation should involve everyone,’’ he said. “They have to realise that the world cannot be destroyed for profit, to take account of the conditions of life in Africa and Asia, of hunger, drought and the destruction of the polar ice-caps. What are we going to do with the world? That’s the real question.’’ The director Carlo Lizzani told L’Unita: “I am supporting the initiative because I completely agree with those who say that the world is not just the G8, but is also another 2bn people who are not represented and who have the right to be. It seems obvious to me that cinema should be on their side.’’ The government has launched a charm offensive to stifle any potential anarchist violence at the summit through a strategy of attention. The chief of police, Gianni De Gennaro, has been sent to Genoa to meet leaders of the 700 protest movements represented in the Genoa Social Forum. Renato Ruggiero, the foreign minister and a former chairman of the World Trade Organisation, has offered to transmit a document expressing the views and wishes of the protesters to all the world leaders attending the summit. The government hopes its assurances that dissent will enjoy a high visibility in Genoa will eliminate the protesters’ desire to drive home their point with violence.
Guardian
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Punjab Tractors to pay 75 pc Chandigarh, June 27 The Mohali-based company recorded a turnover of Rs 964.48 crore in 2000-01 as against Rs 1016.84 crore, a decline of 4.56 per cent. At a meeting here today the Board of Directors of Punjab Tractors declared a dividend of 75 per cent. PTL has strengthened its operating margins to 19.3 per cent despite severe market conditions when all other tractor manufacturers saw their profits and margins plunge. Mr Yash Mahajan, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, said: “For the first 11 months (April-Feb) our market share was 18.9 per cent”. Commenting on the drop in sales, Mr Mahajan pointed out that farm income and tractor demand had been affected substantially by drought conditions in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, besides low open market prices and staggered procurement in surplus states like Punjab and Haryana. Additionally pressure from over supply of some lead players and consequent inventory pile-up had led to aggregate industry volumes dropping 8 per cent to 252,800 tractors. Total revenue for the year reached Rs 966 crore against last year’s Rs 1025 crore improved product-mix and sound cost management enabled the company to raise its margin at the operating level to 19.3 per cent generating a profit of Rs 186 crore (last year Rs 195 crore, margin 19.2 per cent). Reflecting a decline in other income of Rs 6 crore (no dividend from UTI units which were disposed off at a profit in 1999-2000), PBT for the year reached Rs 168 crore against last year’s Rs 190 crore. Profit after tax translated into an earning of Rs 18.5 per share on the post-bonus equity of Rs 60.75 crore.
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Bank of Punjab profit surges 20 pc Chandigarh, June 27 The net profit rose to Rs 34.82 crore from Rs 33.11 crore. The capital adequacy ratio is comfortable at 11.02 per cent as on March 31, 2001 as against 9.81 per cent last year. The board has recommended a tax free dividend of 14 per cent to its shareholders. The net non-performing assets have come down from 2.32 per cent to 2.31 per cent during the year. Deposits increased from Rs 2608 crore to Rs 3046 crore whereas advances registered a growth from Rs 1301 crore to Rs 1506 crore during the year. The bank has ambitious plans to open 36 banking offices bringing its network to 100 during the year 2001-02. The bank will also continue to expand its electronic and multichannel banking.
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National savings NetXcell SBP scheme Philips |
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