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Thursday, April 11,
2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Infosys records 37 pc growth
Punjab in dilemma over Punwire probe All-time
high disbursement by Nabard
Nissan unveils first mini-car |
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FCI delays interest payment
FDI inflow
declines
PNB records 17.5 pc growth
Judge orders probe into Enron deals
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Infosys records 37 pc growth Bangalore, April 10 Announcing the annual results to newspersons here, the newly appointed Chief Executive Officer and President Nandan Nilekani said the total turnover for the year was Rs 2,603.59 crore and profit after tax was Rs 807.95 crore. The income from software development services and products was Rs 680.13 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2002, an increase of 21 per cent over comparable income of the corresponding quarter in the previous year. The board of directors, who met today, recommended a final dividend of Rs 12.50 per share (250 per cent on par value of Rs 5 per share) for fiscal 2002 amounting to Rs 82.73 crore. The total dividend recommended for the year was Rs 20 per share (400 per cent on par value of Rs 5 per share) including the interim dividend of Rs 7.50 per share, he added. He said the income from software development services and products projected to be between Rs 684 crore and Rs 694 crore and the earnings per share expected to be
between Rs 31 and Rs 32 and for the fiscal ending March 31, 2003. The income was projected between Rs 3,085 crore and Rs 3,170 crore. Asked whether the company had suffered a setback considering the reduction in profit year by year, Mr Nandan denied it saying the company had grown larger over the years and the market had become wide. The year ahead was a
challenging one, he added. He said the company had 293 active clients including those 116 added during the year and 29 in the fourth quarter. Replying to queries, Mr Nandan said the Board had recommended investments by Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) investments to increase to maximum of 100 per cent of the paid up equity share capital of the company as against the permitted limit of 49 per cent subject to approval by the Annual General Meeting. UNI
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Punjab in dilemma over Punwire probe Chandigarh, April 10 The former Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had recommended that a three-member team headed by the Chief Secretary with two officers of the rank of Financial Commissioner should hold afresh a thorough probe into the Punwire affairs. It was Punwire which figured high on the priority list of the new Congress government as it wanted to initiate action against all those who were responsible for “destroying this profit-making unit”. Sources reveal that after the new government was installed, the first file to be dug up from the Industries Department for a “look” was that of Punwire. And the last minute order of an enquiry by a three-member committee had presumably saved the day for high officials connected with industries in general and Punwire in particular. Certain senior functionaries of the previous CM’s secretariat were to be targeted for the “Punwire” scam. Investigations reveal that at one stage the previous SAD-BJP government was contemplating to “hush up the scam” and close the file-making the report submitted by a three-member team as its base. Investigations reveal that ordering of fresh probe by a high-powered committee was “purely accidental” as the Chief Minister had recorded on the file that the report submitted by three-member team should be accepted. The enquiry committee comprised three middle-rung civil servants. The then CM also got recorded his observation that the file should be shown to the then Advocate-General, Mr H.S. Mattewal. It was perhaps this observation that changed the subsequent action. The enquiry report had admitted that a loss of Rs 100 crore has been caused to the state but could not hold any one responsible for this loss. It also suggested that corrective measures should be taken to ensure that such lapses do not occur again thus giving cleaning chit to all those responsible for this “unfortunate fiasco”. The Advocate-General reportedly wrote back that on what point of law he should examine the file. He was asked to examine the case afresh. Mr Mattewal reportedly held that facts could be checked and verified by the administrative staff, the other aspect examined by him revealed that “matter was very serious as there has been a loss of Rs 100 crore.” He recommended that a thorough probe held into the whole case again. Mr Badal then reportedly discussed the whole case afresh with the then Chief secretary, Mr N.K. Arora, and the AG, Mr H.S. Mattewal, before ordering constitution of a three-member enquiry committee headed by the Chief Secretary. The state not only suffered a loss of Rs 100 crore in Punwire but also hundreds of employees of the unit had been rendered jobless as the unit has been lying closed for a long time now. Sources in the Chief Minister’s Secretariat reveal that there would be a “thorough probe” into the Punwire scam but what shape it takes would be known only after the entire file and legal position of previous reports have been examined. |
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All-time
high disbursement by Nabard Chandigarh, April 10 The bank introduced various schemes during the year including scheme for marketing of crops, financing of agri-clinics and agri-business clinics, two wheelers for farmers and purchase of land for agriculture purposes , he said. “Though this region forms only 2.9 per cent of the total area and 4.6 per cent of the total population, Nabard has special emphasis on this region which holds 13 per cent of the total assistance provided by the bank to various states cross the country”, said he. While the total assistance to Punjab for 2001-02 was Rs 1,208 crore, it was Rs 1,468 for Haryana. The credit support extended by the bank with a view to increase capital formation in agriculture and rural activities during this period was Rs 437.42 crore for Punjab, Rs 403.66 for Haryana and Rs 0.09 crore for Chandigarh. During the year, 18 cold storage schemes including 12 in Punjab were sanctioned . In pursuance with the announcement made by the Union Finance Minister in his Budget speech of 2000-01, the bank sanctioned 20 rural godown schemes during the year involving a total capacity of 2.895 lakh MT, said Mr Ramanathan. With a view to give impetus to rural housing, the bank has recently introduced a scheme for refinancing and during the year, Rs 54.42 crore was disbursed as refinance under rural housing. While short term credit assistance to the State Co-operative Banks and Regional Rural banks during the year was Rs 1,515.80 crore, as many as 17 new projects under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (seven in Punjab , RIDF assistance was Rs 240.26 crore and 10 projects in Haryana- Rs 227.94 crore RIDF assistance) , were sanctioned during the year. These projects were relating to rural drinking water, flood protection and drainage, rural roads and bridges , improvement in power sector and construction of rural primary schools. Credit plan falls short of 203 cr
Ludhiana Mr Hari Singh Sandhu, Lead District Manager, Punjab and Sind Bank, claimed that it was the largest district credit plan in the country for the current fiscal year, in comparison to Rs 1,819 crore plan of the last year. However, according to Mr Dev Raj, AGM, Nabard, ‘‘The credit target of Rs 1,698 crore earmarked for the priority sector has fallen short of Rs 203 crore against the base potential linked credit plan prepared by Nabard for the priority sector. The annual credit plan is based on this annual report prepared by our regional office.’’ |
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Nissan unveils first mini-car Tokyo, April 10 “(It is) more for Nissan than just a new car, it is an essential asset of our strategy on the compact car segment this year besides the new March (launched last month) and the Cube to come” this autumn, he told reporters. Japan’s mini-car market — for autos with 660 cc engines that are less powerful than small cars but with cheaper road tax - comprises two million out of six million cars sold here per year, Ghosn said. “It makes it a highly important segment. Twenty-two per cent of Nissan’s consumers own a mini as a second car, it is an opportunity to contact new potential buyers,” he said. The mini-car was made by Suzuki Motors Co using cost-cutting original equipment manufacturing platform. But Nissan, 44.4 per cent owned by Renault SA of France said it has injected its personality into the Moco — named after the Japanese word ‘moko-moko’ meaning warm and cute feeling — using exclusive colours and interior design.
AFP |
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FCI delays interest payment Ludhiana, April 10 According to officials of the state government, the banks charge 11 per cent as rate of interest on the credit advanced to the government for the purchase of wheat and paddy on behalf of the Centre. The interest has to be borne by the central agency but there is always delay in receiving it which creates problems for the state government in procuring fresh credit for the procurement of rabi and kharif crops. The government has already represented to the Centre that the Centre should meet the interest money to the banks as the state cannot afford to spare such a heavy amount. Meanwhile, the RBI has sanctioned a cash credit limit of Rs 6,100 crore to the state government for the purchase of wheat by state official agencies. First instalment of Rs. 3,050 crore has been received and the second instalment of a similar amount will be received next month. The state hopes to procure as many as 1.20 crore tonnes of wheat this year as the state is expecting a bumper crop of 155 lakh tonnes. The crop quality is also good this year. |
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FDI inflow declines New Delhi, April 10 The National Capital of Delhi continues to be favourite hotspot for investors accounting for 53.72 per cent share of the total FDI that came to the country during the year. According to the latest figures available, the net FDI inflows during 2001 amounted to $ 3.57 billion which is 47.08 per cent higher than the inflows during the previous year. "While there was an overall decline of over 40 per cent in global FDI inflows during 2001 as compared to the previous year, the inflows into India showed a positive trend," FDI newsletter said. Cumulative FDI approved by the government since 1991 is $ 74.29 billion, of which the actual inflows were $ 27.98 billion, accounting for an average realisation rate of around 40 per cent. Delhi attracted FDI inflows worth $ 1.5 billion during 2001, followed by Maharashtra with $ 664.8 million and accounting for 23.23 per cent. The other three states which figured in the top five states were Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Telecommunications, among sectors, attracted highest FDI inflows of $ 939.4 million, accounting for a share of 32.82 per cent, followed by electrical equipment including computer software with inflows of $ 416.8 million, accounting for a share of 14.56 per cent. |
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PNB records 17.5 pc growth Chandigarh, April 10 Aggregate deposits at the end of March 2002 were Rs 63,741 crore compared to Rs 55,412 crore in March 2001 posting a growth of 15 per cent Credit of the bank amounted to over Rs 37,000 crore compared to Rs 30,521 crore last year. The bank has computerised 2055 branches enabling to capture 77.76 per cent of its business through Computers. It is providing ATM facilities in 173 locations with card base of over Rs 1.12 lakh while telebanking services and Remote Access facilities are provided in 111 offices and 27 offices respectively. The bank had very recently come out with its IPO for the first time to the tune of Rs 165 crore which was oversubscribed by more than 4.28 times and the bank could garner about Rs 703 crore, said Mr Kohli. |
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BPCL, HPCL chiefs IDBI Bank A-I Chairman Zee Telefilms SBI donation Apollo Tyres |
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