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Wednesday,
March 6, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Sinha not
to withdraw 4 pc duty on cycle parts PF rate
may slide if SDS rates are cut Playwin
starts online lottery
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Riots hit
Punjab textile industry Companies’
interim dividend Connect
rentals reduced Fertiliser
price hike burdens farmers
Nicholas
eyes firm in Europe
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Sinha not to withdraw 4 pc duty on cycle parts Ludhiana, March 5 Mr Sinha reportedly told the delegation categorically that he would not take back the decision as the SSI units have already been provided adequate exemptions. After meeting Sinha Mr Satish Dhanda, Vice-Chairman, Engineering Export Promotion Council, and a member of the five-member delegation, later told TNS ‘‘We have called a meeting of the industry representatives tomorrow to announce nationwide indefinite strike in protest against the attitude of the Finance Minister. The All-India Bicycle Dealers’ Association has already announced its support to the agitation.’’ Earlier the delegation discussed this matter with Mr S K Tuteja, Additional Secretary and Development Commissioner and Mrs Vasundhara Raje Scindia, Minister of SSI. They also accompanied the delegation along with Lala Lajpat Rai, local MP and Mr A.K. Murthi, MP, from Chennai, to meet Finance Minister but failed to convince him. Mr Dhanda claimed,‘‘ the decision will affect the Rs 3,000 crore industry, and the demand will shrink by 25-30 per cent next year. The SSI units have a share of about Rs 550 crore and exports are to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore, so the government will not earn more than Rs 50 crore from this duty, which will prove a havoc for us.’’ He said they had offered to the minister that the exporters and large units were ready to pay taxes provided SSI units are exempted from duty, that are the backbone of the industry. Mr D.S. Chawla, President, United Bicycle and Bicycle Parts Manufacturers’ Association, the small units will not be able to absorb 4 per cent duty and deal with cumbersome procedures of the excise department.’’
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PF rate may slide if SDS rates are cut
New Delhi, March 5 The Government is expected to decide on SDS rate this month and a decision on further slashing PF rates would be taken after that, Central Provident Fund Commissioner Ajai Singh told reporters at the sidelines of a seminar organised by PNB Gilts here today. “The provident fund currently offers a 9.5 per cent risk-free return. But we can’t say what the PF rate would be if SDS rates are cut,” he said. The state-run Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), having a corpus of Rs 1,15,000 crore, have 80 per cent of its investment in SDS that offers 9.5 per cent return. The remaining portion is invested in central and state government papers (over 12.8 per cent) and ‘AAA’ rated PSU bonds (8.2 per cent) as on December 2001. These instruments have a maximum return ranging between 13.82-17.5 per cent. However, if the SDS rate is cut by one per cent, the interest income of Employees Provident Fund Organisation will come down by Rs 477 crore, exerting pressure on the PF rate. “There is pressure on us to maintain a high return. We now offer 9.5 per cent return. It is unlikely to be sustained in a falling interest rate regime. It is a matter of concern,” Sinha said.
PTI
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Playwin starts online lottery Chandigarh, March 5 The inaugural draw of Super Lotto will be held on March 29 at Gangtok
(Sikkim) and telecast on the Zee Network. The results will also be published in all leading dailies. Prizes can be won in denominations ranging from Rs 60 onwards. Prizes of amounts within Rs 5,000 will be given immediately by retailers to players. The concept of online gaming has been launched by Playwin Infravest Private Limited promoted by the Rs 4,500 crore Essel group. Says Subhash
Chandra, Chairman of the Essel group, ‘‘online lottery is a huge business globally with a market size of around $125 billion. In the UK alone, the National Lottery, that has been operating for past seven years has created more than 1,000 millionaires. The highest ever single jackpot won on the National Lottery has been more than Rs 158 crore’’. Online gaming is a computerised process where the terminals are placed at easily accessible dealer outlets such as department stores, grocery shops, ice cream
parlours, etc. On reaching the terminal, the player generates a ticket by selecting six numbers of his choice. The same number will be printed on the ticket by the computer terminal after the number is registered with the Central Computer System (CCS). The online gaming terminals are available to consumers through a large and comprehensive retail network. These terminals are connected using various communication links to the CCS. The results of these games will be declared on Zee Network. The draw is done automatically through a special draw machine that has been imported specifically by
Playwin. Announcing the launch, Mr Sanjay Das, CEO, Playwin Infravest said, ‘‘it gives me a great pleasure to start this all game . This will change the fortune of millions. This transparent, modern and tech savvy way of online gaming would infuse a new life into the entire industry, and would generate revenue for the government as well’’. The Government of Sikkim is the first to launch online lottery. Many other state governments are in the process of introducing online lottery. The state governments will directly benefit out of this new game since 20 per cent of the revenue generated will be given to the government for welfare programs like primary education and infrastructure projects, 50 per cent towards the prize money and the balance towards operating costs.
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Riots hit Punjab textile industry Ludhiana, March 5 Mr Prem Sagar Jain, former president, the Readymade Hosiery Garments Manufacturers’ Association, said,‘‘ Gujarat is a major market for hosiery garments and for import of yarn and other raw material. Burning of the industrial estate in Surat and in other towns over the past few days have almost stopped the movement of goods. The price of polyester film yarn has already increased from Rs 72-73 to Rs 80-82 per kg. The units are making use of stocks of other yarn, and if the situation does not improve in the next two-three days, their prices are also bound to increase. ’’ Mr V.K. Goyal, Chief Executive, Vardhman Spinning and General Mills, admitted that the supply of fabrics and yarn from Surat and other towns in Gujarat have been affected. Moreover, a number of units which supply T-shirt and other summer wears to that state is also suffering losses due to slow movement of trucks. Lamenting over financial losses due to riots, Mr Sarabjit Singh, General Secretary, Punjab State Goods Transports Association, said,‘‘ The hosiery industry and transporters have suffered huge losses worth crores of rupees due to traffic blockage. Hundreds of trucks from the region, carrying hosiery goods, are standing on their way. Now neither the units are ready to take risk in supplying goods to the state nor we have adequate trucks.’’ The industrialists said the freight rates from Ludhiana to Ahmedabad for nine tonne trucks have already increased from Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000 and for Ludhiana-Mumbai from Rs 11,000 to Rs 13,000.’’
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Companies’ interim dividend
Mumbai, March 5 Presently, dividend is not taxed in the hands of investors but companies have to pay a dividend distribution tax.
Company
Div/Shr
(Rs) Tata Honeywell 6.00 D-Link India 5.00 Bhagyanagar Metals 1.50 Bajaj Auto 14.00 Grasim Ind 8.00 Apollo Hosp 2.00 Hindalco Ind 12.00 Tata Elxsi 2.50 Guj Ambuja 4.00 Sonata Soft 0.15 Wim Plast 3.00 Dr Reddy 2.00 Britannia 7.00 Dabur India 1.00 Indian Hotels 8.00 Godfrey Phillips 12.50 Bombay Dyeing 1.00 Reliance Cap 2.90 Cipla 5.00 Tata Tea 7.00 Mirc Elect 22.50 Varun Shipping 1.00 Kothari Prod 12.00 Tata Invest 6.00 Tata Power 5.00 Tata Steel 4.00 Tata
Chem 5.00 Shivalik Bimetal 1.50
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Connect rentals reduced
Chandigarh, March 5 |
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Fertiliser price hike burdens farmers
New Delhi, March 5 “Agricultural production will become costlier on account of the hike in fertiliser prices announced in the Budget. Farmers will have to spend Rs 12 more per hectare”, Union Agriculture Secretary J.N.L. Srivastava told PTI here. Though the proposed 5 per cent increase in the issue price of urea, DAP and MoP would have a marginal impact on the farm sector, it is likely to affect small and marginal farmers who would have to pay more for agro-nutrients. The budget also seeks to reduce the subsidy for Single Super Phosphate (SSP) by Rs 50 per tonne, besides announcing suitable modifications in the prices of complex fertilisers in a move directed at decontrolling the agro nutrient sector as recommended by the Expenditure Reforms Commission (ERC). Srivastava said the money spent on fertilisers by the farmers constitute about 10 per cent of the total cost of various agricultural inputs. On an average, a subsidy amounting to more than Rs 4,100 per tonne is at present borne by the Government on every tonne of urea sold to the farmers. The heavily subsidised urea, now priced at Rs 4,600 per tonne.
PTI
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Nicholas eyes firm in Europe New Delhi:
Nicholas Piramal said today it is in advanced stages of negotiations with some European companies to acquire biotechnology businesses abroad. The company already has 180 scientists working on its biotech programmes under Quest Institute of Life Sciences (QuILS) on various research projects and the proposed acquisition will help this branch of Nicholas Piramal India in further growth, company sources said here. NPIL has used the merger and acquisition route to grow during the last decade. Last year, it acquired Rhone Poulenc’s business in India, thus becoming the second largest pharma company in India after Glaxo Smithkline, the sources said here.
PTI
HMT may divest 74 pc stake by Oct New Delhi: Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) is expected to complete offloading a majority stake in its tractor business and five other subsidiaries by October and has mandated international consultancy major Ernst & Young to act as an adviser. “The company is expected to complete process of disinvestment in HMT by October. Consultancy firm Ernst & Young has been appointed for valuation and assessment of HMT,” Heavy Industry Secretary Ravinder Gupta told PTI. HMT intends to offload up to 74 per cent stake in the tractor division and five subsidiaries to a strategic partner and had invited an expression of interest in October last year. The government had, in 2000, approved a revival and restructuring package for the company involving conversion of Rs 39.7 crore loan into equity along with a waiver of Rs 12.7 crore due as interest on loans.
PTI
Essar Shipping bags deal New Delhi: Essar Shipping has grabbed a contract for freighting crude oil from Iran to Jamnagar in Gujarat for the group’s refining rival Reliance Petroleum, a deal that will help the shippers earn $ 300,000 in a fortnight. Essar Shipping, which is coming up with a 10.5 million tonne refinery in Gujarat adjacent to Reliance’s 27 million tonne refinery, has been given a charter to freight 1 million tonne of crude from the Iranain coast. The freight, loaded on March 2, had been booked at $ 21,000 a day and the ship would anchor at Jamnagar port around March 15-16, Essar Shipping chief Sanjay Mehta told.
PTI
IOC plans more acquisitions Chennai: IndianOil Corporation (IOC) Chairman M A Pathan today said IOC may go in for more acquisitions and mergers to maintain its market leadership in the wake of the deregulation of the country’s hydrocarbon sector from April 2002. Speaking after inaugurating a Zero Discharge Plant at Chennai Petroleum Corporation a subisidiary of IOC, in Manali, near here, he said the onus was on IOC, the only Fortune 500 company from India, to maintain its market leadership and grow further. Mergers and acquisitions were likely to increase in the wake of deregulation of the hydrocarbon sector from April this year.
UNI
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bb
M&M plant Washy talky Apollo Tyres Nalco selloff BSNL SBI Mutual Fund ILD licence NIIT in Germany |
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