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Wednesday, April 10,
2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Economy to grow over 6 pc: ADB
Naik for cut in duty on petro products
US tightens rules for students, tourists
Special water can cure arthritis: scientist |
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Chautala to tour 8 nations
Haryana economy robust: Miglani
Sterlite offer for HZL shares
Hydrogen as fuel of future
SBI chief’s appointment challenged
Corporate citizen award for HLL
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Economy to grow over 6 pc: ADB
New Delhi, April 9 “We expect that recovery of global growth combined with a modest pick up in domestic demand will provide sufficient stimulus for the India economy to grow by 6 per cent in 2002, and return to the 6.5 per cent growth path by 2003,” ADB’s South Asia Director-General Yoshihiro Iwasaki told reporters. Releasing the latest Asian Development Outlook, Iwasaki, however, said this is based on the assumption of continuing recovery in the global economy and strong fiscal consolidation to reverse crowding out effects to large public borrowing, accelerate structural reforms and restore business confidence. But India will profit from the US rebound, which has happened earlier than anticipated and the global economy stimulating export growth and industrial production, the economy is likely to growth at 6.5 to 7 per cent in 2003. India’s fiscal deficit is likely to have widened to 5.7 per cent of GDP in 2002-03 because of a combination of contracting imports, and hence lower import-based revenues and increased spending, the ADB report said. Pakistan in contrast, cuts its fiscal deficit by more than one per cent to 5.3 per cent of GDP under an IMF standby arrangement, although this was primarily through expenditure cuts. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka both had small increase in their fiscal deficits as a proportion of GDP, it said adding despite this progress continues to be characterised by relatively high fiscal deficits and large government debt burdens. Warning that large fiscal deficits and high interest costs can adversely impact growth momentum in India, the report said strong industrial and services performance was needed to grow at 6-7 per cent in 2002-03. Despite weakened industry sector, GDP grew at 5.4 per cent in 2001 because of strong agricultural growth and recovery in services sector, it said. Fiscal and other structural reforms were essential to generate more revenues, reduce the deficit, enhance infrastructure investments, improve market efficiency and thereby achieve
high growth, it said. PTI
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Naik for cut in duty on petro products
New Delhi, April 9 “I have written to the Finance Minister and the proposal is being examined,” he said. Highly placed sources today indicated that the Finance Minister will announce a cut in duties while moving the Finance Bill in Parliament for its approval. At present, the excise duty on diesel is fixed at 16 per cent and on petrol at 32 per cent. Talking to mediapersons here after a meeting with Home Minister L.K. Advani over the Supreme Court order on converting all public transport buses in the capital to CNG-mode, Mr Naik said the prices of crude oil were on the rise in the international market and the dismantling of APM is in transition phase. “We have advised oil companies not to increase the retail prices in the interest of consumers and the national economy,” he said. While the Indian oil companies had been asked by the Centre not to hike the prices till June, with the de-regulation of the oil sector, it was not possible for the government to keep giving directions to the oil companies. Mr Naik expressed the hoped the crude prices would come down in the international market in days to come and would settle around $ 20 per barrel, price taken into accounting while formulating the Budget proposals for 2002-03.
UNI
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US tightens rules for students, tourists
Washington, April 9 Immigration officials said on Monday that effective immediately students must obtain such visas before studying in the USA. Until now, most students were admitted on visitor visas while awaiting student status. The Immigration and Naturalisation Service (INS) was embarrassed and heavily criticised for sending out approved student visas to two of the terrorists who were killed flying hijacked planes into the World Trade Centre September 11. The incident had brought cries from some lawmakers to break apart the INS and rebuild it. Also on Monday, the INS proposed cutting the minimum stay for tourists and business travellers from six months to 30 days. An INS official said visa-holders would have to show compelling reasons to extend their stay. The INS is also making it harder to switch to a student visa after a visitor arrives in the country. However, the agency said it would speed up decisions on such requests, issuing them within 30 days. At the time of the September 11 attacks, approximately 600,000 foreign students were enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities. INS officials acknowledged they did not know the whereabouts of many and promised changes to track them
better. IANS
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Special water can cure arthritis: scientist
Sydney, April 9 Developed by former vet Russell Beckett, who has a doctorate in biochemical pathology, “Unique Water” has just gone on sale after testing by 100 Australians. One is Paul Sheehan, a respected Sydney journalist, who said in the Sydney Morning Herald at the weekend how it has cured him of a series of long-term auto-immune diseases. A letter from Sheehan’s doctor said: “He has ankylosing spondylitis, and is now undergoing investigation for lupus erythematosis. He suffers constant back and neck pains, florid facial rash, extreme fatigue and shoulder pains.” The illness is incurable and requires constant treatment. But Sheehan said after taking Beckett’s water for two years, he was no longer consuming drugs of any kind, suffered no back or neck pain nor any of the other symptoms of the diseases. “For someone with a cocktail of chronic conditions, I feel suspiciously normal and relatively pain-free,” he said. A number of prominent people are said to have undergone similar cures since starting to drink what they call “magic water”, which is richer in some minerals and found naturally in some places. None has a financial interest in the product. Beckett, who has spent 20 years researching it, has been granted patents in Australia and in the USA where the Patent and Trademark Office describes it as “A method of preventing or treating inflammatory diseases or degenerative diseases in a mammal.” His claimed breakthrough is based on the proposition that acids formed from carbon dioxide produced by the body contribute to fatigue and degeneration and are the building blocks for all inflammatory diseases. They are key factors in rheumatoid and osteoathritis, osteoporosis and some cancers and skin diseases. Beckett’s key breakthrough is claimed to be the anti-acid magnesium bicarbonate in the water which travels down the individual cells where it acts as a protective buffer against excess carbon dioxide and acid. He tried to prove his theories by testing the ingredients on sheep for many years before realising that such water must occur naturally somewhere. He found it, by coincidence, in the Monaro region of the Snowy Mountains near Canberra where farmers had known for years about the longevity of cattle and sheep. The government-run Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation had been researching for 35 years why some animals lived twice as long as normal, and most lived at least 30 per cent longer. Despite the success of the trials in Sydney, Beckett acknowledges his theory will take many years and many thousands more people to prove. He has had numerous research papers about his theories published in the Australian Veterinary Journal and is now working on a paper for the New Scientist. But through a Sydney soft drinks manufacturer Bert’s Soft Drinks, Beckett has organised commercial sales of the water. AFP
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Chautala to tour 8 nations Chandigarh, April 9 The Haryana delegation, it is learnt, will comprise of Mr Om Prakash Chautala, Chief Minister, Mr Sampat Singh, Finance Minister, Mr M K Miglani, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Mr Harbaksh Singh, MD of the HSIDC and other officers. According to the tentative programme drawn up by the state government in Chandigarh, the high powered delegation will visit China, USA, Canada, UK, France, Tunisia and the Netherlands with the objective of attracting foreign direct investments to Haryana. According to the tentative programme, the team will leave India on June 9 and would return on June 26. Official sources here said that Mr Chautala would have meetings with casino operators in London as well as in Paris. “ Casino can be set up by enacting a state law and the Goa Government has already come up with a law like that. The plan is to do something in that line in Haryana and have a casino at Gurgaon or Faridabad to cater to clients from Delhi”, the sources said.
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Haryana economy robust: Miglani Gurgaon, April 9 Addressing captains of the industry at a meeting last evening, Mr Miglani said the secondary (industrial) and the tertiary (service) sectors have expanded in the recent past. This was sure enough indication that the state’s economy was in the pink of health and moving in the right tragectory. The meeting was organised by the Gurgaon Industrial Association (GIA). The theme of the meeting was: “Haryana Government-Industry partnership-agenda for growth”. Mr Miglani was here along with the Secretary, Industry, Haryana, Mr S.C. Chaudhary, the Chief Administrator, HUDA, Mr N.C. Wadhwa and Mr K.K. Khandelwal from the Labour Department. He made out a strong case for diversification in the traditional pattern of cropping in the state on the part of farmers so that they could reap better returns. He assured that the government was committed to providing all kinds of facilities speedy growth of the industry. Responding to the demand of the industrialists for reconsideration of the charge of External Development Charges (RDC) from the units which had been installed several years ago, he said the special committee
constituted under him for the purpose was examining the entire issue. He assured that it would be decided within 10 days and to the satisfaction of the industrialists.
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Sterlite offer for HZL shares
Mumbai, April 9 The specified date to acquire 20 per cent holding through open offer was April 25, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange today. This offer, required under Securities and Exchange Board of India’s takeover code, was being made after it acquired 10.98 crore HZL shares, representing 26 per cent stake from the Government of India at Rs 40.51 per share. Following Centre’s divestment of 26 per cent strategic stake, the non-ferrous metal group has acquired management control in HZL.
PTI
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Hydrogen as fuel of future New Delhi, April 9 Speaking at the press conference here today, Director, Thermal Hydro Products Energy Conversion Devices, Dr Krishna Sapru said that Hydrogen can be used as an alternative fuel that would be environmentally friendly. The need for alternative, cleaner fuel is felt more today in view of increasing environmental degradation and an uncertain future supply of conventional fuels”.
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SBI chief’s appointment challenged
Allahabad, April 9 The Public Interest Litigation filed by one Shakeel Ahmad, an account holder in the bank, alleged the appointment was made under a “pick and choose” policy of the Central government overlooking seniority and merit of other aspirants. It further alleged the appointment violated the Narasimhan Committee report as the newly-appointed chairman has only 24 months left in service against the Committee’s recommendation of a minimum three-year term. Besides, the Cabinet Committee approved the SBI Chairman’s appointment without seeking details of his past experience as also the advice of the bank’s board of directors and intelligence report, the petition said. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice S.K. Sen and Justice V.M. Sahai ordered the petition to be listed for hearing on April 11 next. PTI
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