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Tuesday,
March 19, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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RBI predicts 6.5 pc growth
NRIs to launch airline by Sept
Punjab, Nestle to join hands
Probe defence supplies, say hosiery units |
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Chinese firm & JCBL pact on luxury buses Hyundai launches Santro Zip Plus
CAG pulls up IT Dept for wrong assessments
Lord Krishna Bank mulls IPO
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RBI predicts 6.5 pc growth New Delhi, March 18 “I think, this year should be better. Growth ( in GDP) should be between 6 and 6.5 per cent. In the medium term of four to five years, the growth should be in the range of 7 per cent,” Dr Jalan said on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER) and the CII here. Elaborating on the growth projections, the Governor said despite the significant spurt in oil prices, inflation had remained low, while there were signs of recovery of the world economy and the credit offtake had improved substantially. “Circumstances are certainly better now,” he said, referring to the high forex reserves and the low inflation rate. “Opportunities are great and prospects are good,’’ he said, adding that the country had achieved an average growth rate of 6 per cent in the past two decades despite the adverse conditions such as high inflation and interest rate and the bad balance of payment (BoP) position. In the present situation of the balance of payments was good and even if there were a capital flight, it was unlikely to affect the economy adversely. The prospects for the next five years were better than in the past 20 years, he said. The capacity of India to withstand shocks, both external and domestic, was much better now, Dr Jalan pointed out. He, however, voiced concern over the high rates of interest in real terms.”Our real interest rates are high and companies are paying much higher rate of interest,’’ he said and assured that the bank’s bias toward softer interest rates would continue. Underlining the need for a more stable fiscal policy regime, he said there was a need to move away from large numbers of changes every year in the Budget. “A long-term structure of fiscal policy is needed that lays down the path for the next five to seven years which is stable and represents consensus,’’ Dr Jalan said. Lower farm growth projected
The National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) today projected agriculture growth of just 3.8 per cent during the current financial year, in contrast to an estimated farm sector growth of 5.7 per cent on which the government pins its hopes of economic revival. “Based on the information available for the monsoon, it seems to us that the growth in agricultural GDP during the year may not be as high as 5.7 per cent, as projected by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO). We project a growth of 3.8 per cent in agriculture,” NCAER’s quarterly Macro Track said. According to the Delhi-based economic think-tank, the industry is forecast to grow at 4.8 per cent during the year while service sector growth is projected to be 6.4 per cent. Based on these indicators, the NCAER has projected overall GDP growth at 5 per cent.
PTI |
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NRIs to launch airline by Sept Chandigarh, March 18 The new airline — North Star Aviation — will not only air connect major cosmopolitan and metropolitans but also important stations throughout the country, including Jammu, Srinagar and Chandigarh in north. Talking to The Tribune at the Sector 17 Institute of Tourism and Future Management Trends, the Chief Executive Officer of the new airline, Captain Jha, said instead of taking 150-seater Airbus 320 or Boeing 737 aircraft on wet or dry lease, the company had decided to purchase the aircraft. “The difference between the leased aircraft and those taken on hire-purchase basis is so little that it is advisable to go for the later option as after five or six years, they become our property,” Captain Jha said, who had worked as a pilot for Indian Airlines for eight years and logged 4,500 hours of flying, including 4,200 hours on Boeing 737 alone. After leaving Indian Airlines, he moved to California where he is settled now. Captain Jha said some US-based NRIs got attracted to his proposal of starting a private airline as the domestic civil aviation had been recording about 10 per cent annual growth in India. These NRIs formed a consortium and raised $ 100 million in 1997 to start an airline. “We are awaiting the formal government approval. Rest everything is lined up,” he said. The five-point guiding roaster of the new airline, he said, would be safety, punctuality, economy, comfort and courtesy. It would initially establish its hubs in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai and take engineering support from outside. “We will set standards that are associated with the top international air carriers. The endeavour of the new airline would be to be reasonably priced, on a par with others, besides providing better service,” Captain Jha said. He said some of the previous private air taxis and private airlines folded up quickly because they lacked professionalism. They were just lured into the business because of “glamour” and “big money”. He said the cost of acquiring aircraft would be about 60 to 70 per cent of the total capital investment. Meanwhile, a three-member team of the new airline is here for the past three days interviewing students of the ITFT for recruiting ground and cabin crew. As many as 35 students have been shortlisted. |
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Indians to be barred from computer jobs Washington, March 18 The US Defence Department has announced that it is planning policy changes in the light of the September 11 terrorist attacks to extend restrictions on foreign nationals handling secret information to “sensitive but unclassified positions.’’ These positions include the growing number of contract workers who process paychecks, write software, track supplies and maintain e-mail systems. The Defense Department’s move to reduce the vulnerability of computers systems from cyber attacks comes in the wake of little-publicised restrictions announced by the Justice Department in July. There has been a ban on non-US citizens manning the communications systems of the Treasury Department since 1998.
UNI |
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Punjab, Nestle to join hands Patiala, March 18 Mr Carlo M. Donati, Chairman, Nestle India, accompanied by Mr Sadeev Sandhu called on Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh at his residence here. They also participated at a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister to discuss Nestle India’s participation in the Punjab Government’s ongoing initiative to secure greater value addition for Punjab farmer through agricultural diversification. The government was represented by Mr P.K. Verma, Financial Commissioner (Development), S.K. Sinha, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Mr D.S. Development Jaspal, Secretary, Animal Husbandry and Mr Himmat Singh, Managing Director, Punjab Agro Industries Corporation. The Chief Minister reiterated the government’s commitment to secure the maximum value for Punjab milk producers through induction of world class private sector marketing and processing expertise represented by Nestle and assured his government’s positive support in further developing and expanding Nestle’s milk processing capacity in the state. The government also suggested for Nestle’s consideration its joint participation in a wide variety of agro-based projects, including the country’s first food park to provide technology, handling and processing and marketing facilities to the state’s farmers in growing fruits and vegetables. |
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Probe defence supplies, say hosiery units Ludhiana, March 18 Mr Vinod Jain, President of the association, while speaking to TNS said the memorandum was presented to the Defence Minister on Saturday at a meeting here on his visit to the city. Mr Jain claimed that they have been called by the minister to his office to present further evidence in the next few days before ordering an investigation. Elaborating the ongoing scandal he said, ‘‘the defence forces used to purchase hosiery products from 70-75 units here worth more than Rs 100 crore annually. But a few years ago some army officers, who were not paid their share in these deals, decided to cancel the purchases in the name of poor quality and delivery, without any knowledge of the ministry. The contract was shifted to ordnance factories in Shahajanpur and Kanpur in UP, who did not have adequate capacity for manufacturing, but they started purchasing items like socks, blankets, sweaters and other hosiery items from outside at higher price.” Mr Jain reportedly told Mr Fernandes that he was wrongly informed by the officials that the SSI units had not been debarred from these deals. |
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Chinese firm & JCBL pact on luxury buses Chandigarh, March 18 The initial investment during the first phase will be Rs 12 crore and manufacturing plant will be set up in Lalru within six months, said Mr Zhang Yan, Overseas Enterprise General Manager, King Long, while talking to TNS here today. The company looks upon India as a big potential market for luxury coaches. “This technological tie-up will provide us an opportunity to venture and consolidate our position in the Indian market”, he said. While this is the first ever overseas venture by King Long, the company has opted for the Indian market owing to increasing road traffic by almost 15 per cent annually and the efforts of the two governments towards infrastructural improvement, said Mr Yan. The luxury buses that will be high-speed buses, 11-metre long which include features like electric doors, safety equipment, highly efficient engine, interior lighting, audio-visual systems, etc., will cost Rs 35 lakh. To be built on domestically made bus chassis, the emission standards will be Euro-II compliant. Mr Vivek Datta from JCBL said the company has high expectations from the tie-up. “We originally started as a company to manufacture bus and cargo boxes for Swaraj Mazda but with the liberalisation of Indian economy and the increasing awareness among travellers, JCBL would now focus on modern luxury coaches with the state-of-the-art technology from King Long. |
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Hyundai launches Santro Zip Plus New Delhi, March 18 Called “Santro Zip Plus”, the car would sport ex-showroom Delhi prices of Rs 3.35 lakh (LE version), Rs 3.51 lakh (LP), Rs 3.77 lakh (LS) and Rs 4 lakh (GS), respectively, Hyundai India Managing Director Y.S. Kim told a press conference here. The new car would be powered by a 1086cc “Epsilon” engine and has advanced features like knock sensor and distributorless ignition system for better driving. “Today is the worldwide launch of the new Santro. The car will be introduced in South Korea next month and later in Europe,” Kim said. Currently, the company exports about 500 Santro cars every month to nine countries including Algeria, Indonesia, Morocco, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Singapore. New vehicles would be launched this year to broaden the company’s product portfolio. First, a sports-utility-vehicle “Teraccan” would be launched by August this year with a 2500cc turbo-diesel engine at a price of about Rs 20 lakhs. The vehicle would be imported as completely-built-units. 10 pc profit likely Hyundai said its profit and turnover is likely to grow by 10 per cent to about Rs 110 crore and Rs 3,300 crore during this fiscal. The company has also kept its options open to raise money through an initial public offer (IPO) in the near future, Subbu said.
PTI |
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CAG pulls up IT Dept for wrong assessments
New Delhi, March 18 Most of the observations dealt in the report relate to arithmetical mistakes, application of incorrect rates of taxes, incorrect valuation of closing stock, excess allowance of business expenditure, omissions to assess capital gains, excess exemptions and incorrect deductions, leading to under assessment of income either in the hands of corporate entities or individuals.
UNI |
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PNB public issue Cell services hit BPCL import Jaiprakash Ind STCI stake SBI MF dividend SEBI group BSES seeks refund Satyam gets letter |
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