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Saturday,
July 27, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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CORPORATE NEWS
PSEB
demands 35 pc share in Central pool HM to tie
up with GM HP, Canada
ink pact on power project Ban on
gutkha and zarda opposed Higher
grain harvest needed to meet demand |
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PHDCCI
holds seminar India
Organic logo unveiled IT
industry to grow 30 pc
Microsoft
to boost R&D spending
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CORPORATE NEWS Kolkata, July 26 “UTI is entitled to buy or sell their shares held in ITC and we have nothing to say on that,” Deveshwar said while replying to shareholders query at the company’s 91st annual general meeting here. Coming out of the AGM, Deveshwar avoided any comments when reporters asked if his statement meant that ITC had no objection to UTI selling its stake to BAT Plc. Earlier, the company announced its first quarter unaudited financial results showing over 15.24 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 343.92 crore from Rs 298.44 crore last year. Net sales turnover increased by 21.42 per cent to Rs 1408.02 crore from Rs 1159.62 crore while net income after 27.87 per cent increase in other income stood at Rs 1433.99 crore against Rs 1179.94 crore last year. Commenting on results, Deveshwar said, these earnings were achieved despite difficult trading conditions, and after accounting for the ongoing start up and business development costs relating to the FMCG businesses. Asked if the company’s decision in mid-April to hike prices of its flagship brands ‘Gold Flake’ and ‘Bristol’ by 9 per cent and 17 per cent, respectively, had any effect on volume of cigarettes, the chairman said: “It is too early to say.”
GNFC
Gujarat Narmada Valley Fertilisers Ltd has posted a 17.01 per cent rise in net profit at Rs 17.33 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2002 compared to Rs 14.81 crore in same period of previous fiscal. Total income, net of excise, for the period under review was down to Rs 255.54 crore as against Rs 286.7 crore in Q1 of 2001-02.
Gujarat Gas
Gujarat Gas Company Ltd has posted a net profit of Rs 9.93 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2002, down by 42.37 per cent compared to Rs 17.24 crore in the previous corresponding quarter. Total income has increased to Rs 98.16 crore in the quarter ended June 30, 2002 from Rs 93.42 crore in the
corresponding quarter a year ago.
MTNL
The Board of Directors of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) today recommended a dividend of 45 per cent in FY-02. The board’s decision was subject to shareholders’ approval in the ensuing AGM.
Ontrack Systems
Ontrack Systems Limited, a Kolkata based system integration and software development company, has posted a 58.31 per cent growth in revenue from Rs 2.23 crore to Rs 3.39 crore for the first quarter of the current fiscal. The company has also registered a growth of 68.91 per cent in net profit from Rs 0.18 crore to Rs 0.25 crore during the same period.
Tata Power
Tata Power Company Ltd has posted a net profit of Rs 83.73 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2002, posting a decline of Rs 2.84 crore as compared to Rs 86.57 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2001. Total income in the quarter rose to Rs 1070.13 crore from Rs 963.44 crore during the same period a year ago.
Agencies
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LMA bags best management award Ludhiana, July 26 The award was received by Mr V.K. Goyal, General Secretary of the association, during the 10th Regional Convention of Northern Regional Council of All India Management Association (AIMA) in Lucknow from Mr D.S. Bagga, Chief Secretary, Government of Uttar Pradesh. Mr Goyal said that the award was given to the association in recognition of outstanding performance with respect to development of entrepreneurship, professional management skills, management ethos, strengthening of professional standards and development of fraternity. He said that more than 18 other associations from Northern India were in race for the prestigious award. He said that the association had achieved the distinction on the basis of remarkable growth in membership, organising various management development programmes, publishing books and other reading materials, undertaking innovative activities and playing active role in starting new local management associations in the region.
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PSEB demands 35 pc share in Central pool Ludhiana, July 26 The PSEB has also asked the Power Trading Corporation of India to negotiate surplus power for Punjab from the power surplus states but so far it has not succeeded in getting the same because of power position of the
PSEB. The Uttar Pradesh State Electricity Board is reported to have some surplus power. Negotiations are being made through the Power Trading Corporation of India, which strikes deals for all state electricity boards. Meanwhile, the PSEB has imposed a massive cut on power consumption on various categories of consumers in order to save energy and cut the power bill. It has been purchasing about 275 lakh unit of power daily from the central sector power projects. However, following the power cut, it purchased 207 lakh units of power yesterday. All these purchases are made on a cash payment basis. A spokesman for the PSEB claimed today that they were ensuring a 10-hour power supply to tubewells in two groups and the border areas were getting eight hours of power supply. The power cut on urban and industrial feeders has been raised to five hours daily and arc and induction furnaces in the state have been grouped into two and are allowed to run for 24 hours for two days.
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HM to tie up with GM
New Delhi, July 26 Both the companies have already finalised the terms and conditions, stated a press release. Under the proposed tie up, HM will manufacture engines and transmissions at its plant in Pithampur near Indore. GM will provide the necessary technical support to manufacture the power trains for their requirement in India. “The tie up forms part of an overall change in the strategic direction for HM. From being a pure automobile manufacturer, we are now consolidating our position as an aggregate provider for other players in the industry”, said Mr C.K. Birla, Chairman, Hindustan Motors.
TNS
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HP, Canada
ink pact on power project Shimla, July 26 Mr S.K. Dash, Secretary (Power), and Mr Gurbans S.Sobti, Adviser Trade, Canadian High Commission signed the protocol on behalf of the state and the Canadian Commercial Corporation, respectively. Mr Harsh Gupta, Chief Secretary, and Mr Shamsher Singh, Chairman of the State Electricity Board, and other senior officers of the state were also present on the occasion. As per the terms of the protocol the project will be implemented in two phases, namely project preparation and project construction.
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Ban on gutkha and zarda opposed New Delhi, July 26 While drawing the attention of mediapersons to implications of the ban, Mr Ashok K. Aggarwal, Organising Secretary of the association, said it would render 20 million people jobless, increase smuggling of products and prompt manufacture of spurious products. Mr Aggarwal said 25 crore adult Indians were addicted to tobacco in one way or the other. Of these, 71 per cent (18 crore) were addicted to smoking and 29 per cent (7 crore) to chewing tobacco. He said the decision of the Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu governments to impose a ban on gutkha and zarda had been challenged by some local manufacturer and was pending adjudication before high courts in both states. Similarly, the order passed by the Allahabad High Court directing the state government to impose a ban had been contested before the apex court. Mr Aggarwal said the state government did not have the power to impose such a ban. “The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act is a central legislation. The power to ban a product lies with the Central Government. The Cigarette and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisements, Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Bill, 2001, was tabled in Parliament on March 7, 2001. It has been endorsed by the Parliamentary Standing Committee and is awaiting consideration of both Houses of Parliament,” he said.
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Higher grain harvest needed to meet demand A
tough battle is ahead in the World Trade Organisation between developing and developed countries over access to markets for agricultural products of poorer nations, one of the major tests for the success of the so-called “Development Round” launched at the Doha Ministerial Meeting last November. Indications so far are that developed nations, especially the European Union and the United States, will fight hard to safeguard their own high agricultural subsidies to a large extent despite the Doha Declaration’s call for reduction of all farm support including the phasing out of export subsidies. Recently, USA went ahead and substantially increased the level of its support to farmers while it expects EU to bring down the subsidies in various forms, for production, farmers’ incomes and exports. In this confrontation between the two major trading entities, the concerns and interest of developing countries will be sought to be marginalised. The precipitous fall in world commodity prices, other than fuel, which has lasted for several years has worsened the plight of countries as in Sub-Saharan Africa dependent on exports of primary products, apart from the denial of market access to them. India looks for greater opportunities for agricultural exports in a liberalised multilateral trading environment. Amidst the uncertainties around the Doha Round, which is yet to pick up momentum, the industrial nations would be cheered by the latest OECD forecast of improving agricultural prices and rising demand for imports in developing countries. The world climatic conditions have also been adverse for several countries in developing regions, which would push demand for imports of foodgrains. The Paris-based OECD (Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development) in its Agricultural Outlook 2002-07 says world agricultural prices should gradually rise from their current weak levels as the economic recovery strengthens at the end of the year and into 2003. Reporting a recovery from the sharp drop in prices during the second half of 1990s, OECD forecasts a marked increase in prices which would be more for certain meats and dairy products than for cereals and oilseeds. Much of the improvement in world agricultural markets would be due to stronger demand and growing imports in rapidly developing countries outside OECD. Trade in livestock products and foodstuffs would continue to grow faster than that of foodgrains, OECD says. OECD does remind the developed nations that continuing high levels of government subsidies and farm support and insulating their producers from wood markets do not serve the long-term prosperity and competitiveness of their farm sectors. Any slowdown of market-oriented policy reform and trade liberalisation could put a sustained recovery in agriculture at risk, and it could discourage developing countries from reform. The OECD outlook forecasts a likely increase in global wheat, coarse grain and rice production by 11,13, and 8 per cent respectively by 2007, compared to the 1996-2000 average. Almost 70 per cent of the global increase would be in non-OECD countries. Low stock levels and rising demand, especially from developing countries, should fuel a gradual improvement in maize, and to a lesser extent, wheat prices. But there will be no return to the high price levels for cereals seen in the mid-1990s. OECD also says East Asia is expected to become a more important dairy market in the medium term. The OECD projections do not take into account the effects of the new US farm support bill and the midterm review of Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy. The EU is currently having a look at its economic and agricultural policies in the context of the proposed enlargement of the Union with the addition of several Central and Eastern European countries. The world grain harvest was estimated at 1843 million tonnes in 2001 after the previous year’s poor record of 1836 million tonnes, and production has been declining since the peak output of 1880 million tonnes in 1997. The depressed harvests of last two years, according to the World Watch Institute (WWI), the Washington think-tank, resulted from weak world prices for grain, drought stretching from the Middle East through Central Asia and across northern China, and spreading shortages of irrigation water. Even if prices recover and drought ends over some regions, water shortage will worsen as population growth outruns water supply in more and more countries. After the record grain production of 210 million tonnes in 2001-02, India faces a bleak year with failure of rains over large parts of the country which would affect the rural incomes though food stocks with government could be drawn to meet the shortfall. China has faced severe drought in the last two years, which it could manage with its reserves. While world grain production was down in the last two years, consumption was rising. The gap was met by depleting stocks to the lowest level in two decades, according to WWI. The annual growth in demand for foodgrains is 16 million tonnes and if 2002 harvest does not register a significant increase, grain prices may climb. WWI says irrigation water shortages make it much harder for the world’s farmers to keep up with the growth in demand. Although India has the largest irrigated area of 59 million hectares, followed by China with 54 million hectares. It remains at as much risk as many other countries facing water shortage. The water-tables have fallen in parts of India, especially Punjab. The WWI study makes a case for affordable small-scale drip irrigation schemes which have the potential to boost incomes of the poor while improving food production and reducing hunger in drought-prone areas.
IPA
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PHDCCI holds seminar Chandigarh, July 26 Mr Ashok Khanna, Past President, PHDCCI stressed on the need for concern for people in the organisation which would mean being conscious of their performance, potential and prospects for a highly effective organisation. He also said that in an effective organisation, people meet each other and work physically together to tackle problems and not work separately through watertight compartments. The managers, regardless of their particular aptitude or skills, must lay emphasis on inter-personal relations and communication amongst members of the organisation. Mr Bharat S. Mehta, Co-Chairman, IR and HR Committee of the Chamber said managing colleagues is more difficult than managing either the boss or subordinates. With the subordinates, we have the authority of hierarchy. With the boss, we have the authority of performance. With colleagues we have neither. In fact, prominent display of performance can be disfunctional, as it can arouse Antagonism due to jealousy colleagues can be managed by establishing a relationship through:
Mr Beant Singh, Resident Director, PHDCCI highlighted that interacting with colleagues informally and off the job plays role in building a positive relationship. He also said that sometimes practical wisdom could help you lead more effective organisation rather than academic qualifications. Mr P.K. Verma, Co-Chairman, IR & HR Committee of the Chamber also attended the seminar.
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India Organic logo unveiled
New Delhi, July 26 The logo would be used as an authentication mechanism for various organic products in the country. “The trademark logo is part of India’s larger programme to be a major player in the global organic market”, said Mr Saptharishi. The occasion also
witnessed the launch of the official website www.indiaorganic.info. Mr Sapthaptrishi also informed that India will host an International conference “Indian Organic Products — Global Markets” in November this year.
TNS
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IT industry to grow 30 pc Bangalore, July 26 The growth would be powered by a robust rebound in IT spending worldwide and Indian back-office service exports that blends high-speed telecoms with cheap labour, he said.
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