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Sunday,
August 4, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Jaswant promises help to drought-hit states
Sugar turns bitter in Punjab
BSNL cellular services by month-end
Corporate defaulters ‘respond’ to notices GRAPHIC: PLAN OUTLAY
It’s farewell to vodka |
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Minister ignorant about selloff
Question of title
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Jaswant promises help to drought-hit states
New Delhi, August 3 However, the stress of rehabilitation would be on asset creation and not meaningless relief works, he said while addressing the National Council of the BJP here. Drought relief measures had commenced in July itself instead of October and November, he said adding that a task force consisting of ministers was constituted by the Prime Minister to overcome the situation. He said during the next two months the government would not allow any state to suffer for want of funds or foodgrains. The government, he said had provided 50 lakh tonnes of food grain to the states but the lifting by the beneficiary states did not cross 30 lakh tonnes. Meanwhile, the Minister said, the states should not expect everything to be done by Delhi but chip in their own share of responsibilities too. Mr Jaswant Singh also denied allegations that the NDA was partial in disbursing the relief help and cited the example of providing Rs 1,770 crore worth help to opposition ruled Karnataka. Similarly, it would not fall behind in providing help to Rajasthan, which was again another Opposition ruled state. The Minister said the finances of the country was quite sound but it could not remain complacent because of the changing economic situation in the world. “The country has a foreign exchange reserves of $ 59 billion and the inflow of the foreign direct investment (FDI) this fiscal is a new record,” he said. He said the worrying aspect of the economy was that of the problems faced by multinational companies based in the United States. Many of them faced bankruptcy adversely affecting the investment climate not just within that country but also throughout the world. “When a strong economy is affected, it will naturally affect all others,” he remarked.
UNI
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Sugar turns bitter in Punjab Chandigarh, August 3 With Budhlada sugar mill still under liquidation, the cumulative losses of the 13 mills add up to a staggering Rs 556 crore. Only 2 mills (Budhewal and Nawanshehr) have shown cumulative profit of Rs 25 crore. Sugarfed apprised the Cabinet sub-committee on Co-operative on July 30, suggesting that the government should allow sugar mills to convert into “multiple sugarcane processing industry” by permitting co-generation and manufacture of ethanol and rectified spirit, besides, enabling expansion and modernisation of the mills. It sought a “package” deal, including a loan of Rs 190 crore from the Rural Development Fund for making payments to farmers and also linking sugarcane price to sugar recovery. (A status paper on Spinfed was also presented to the Committee by the Co-operation department. It also presented the Punjab Self-supporting Co-operative Societies Bill—2002. While Spinfed revival did not find favour, a workshop on the Bill was suggested, say sources.) Enquiries by TNS have revealed that co-generation is a feasibility. The success story of Faridkot mill is quoted, as proof. There are no takers for the other two, ethanol and rectified spirit. The need to revive sugar industry is acknowledged because that will help in diversification from wheat-rice rotation. The government view is to make sugar mills “independent” and “wind up” Sugarfed. The work of the co-operative mills can be looked after by setting up a “sugar cell” in the office of Registrar, Co-operative Societies. Sugarfed has identified several factors responsible for loss by the sugar mills. These are—manmade, poor quality sugarcane, less area under early maturing varieties, low sugarcane availability (mills get less than 50 per cent cane of their requirement), low sugar recovery (8.43 per cent) and low rates of levy sugar. More over, the high price difference between the statutory minimum price and state advised price has also contributed to losses. It is said that because of this difference, “excess” payment of Rs 1100 crore was made to farmers from 1990-91 to 2001-02. Sugarfed has resorted to one time settlement. Against Rs 220 crore due, as on June 30, 2000, it has settled for a sum of Rs 65.43 crore and claims to have saved Rs 154 crore and hopes to save another Rs 186 crore. Sugarfed needs Rs 23 crore to pay farmers in 2002-03. Sugarfed’s case against closure of mills is as much in view of the need for diversification, as ensuring excise revenue to the state. Punjab’s four effective distilleries annually need about 42 lakh quintal molasses for manufacture of Punjab Medium Liquor. The sugar mills supply nearly 32 lakh quintal. Closing of mills would adversely affect excise to the tune of Rs 1000 crore, claims Sugarfed, besides having negative impact on diversification. |
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BSNL cellular services by month-end Hyderabad, August 3 BSNL would enter the cellular market with a “competitive tariff and a host of value-added services” and was hoping to capture over 50 per cent of the market in the next two years, Singh told a press conference here. The telecom giant was looking at providing 2.5 million mobile connections in the first phase and to start with the connectivity would be offered to a few cities in each zone, he said. “We will work out tariffs that are acceptable and convenient to the customers,” the CMD said without elaborating on the company’s tariff strategy. Asked about the fierce competition among private cellular operators resulting in reduction of tariff, Singh said “Lot of people are eagerly waiting for BSNL’s entry into the market. We are actually helping the customers to get low tariff”. Asked about delay on the part of BSNL in expanding WLL (Wireless in Local Loop) network in the face of a more aggressive push by private operators, he said the validation of WiLL equipment was ‘more or less over’ in all zones and it would roll out in another two months. Simultaneously, the company was giving finishing touches to branding, marketing and accounting strategies, he said. The BSNL was investing over Rs 2,500 crore on cellular network, Singh said, adding the company would soon announce brand names for its services. Asked about the possibility of mobile phone rentals coming down further with BSNL’s foray into the market, he said “Let us hope so. The real race will be in providing value-added services”. On whether the company would go in for ‘bundling’ of handsets along with cellular services, the CMD said “we want to do lot of bundling provided TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) approves it”. The BSNL, he said, would also introduce Video Phone by the end of this year. On WLL tariff, he said the company was working out alternative packages to be submitted to the TRAI. “We have already ordered 5 lakh lines of WLL and another 2.5 lakh lines are being ordered this month,” Singh said. Earlier, the CMD launched Answering Machine Service (AMS) here to be provided to BSNL customers free of cost and a customer utility portal www.bsnl.in to facilitate a large number of service functions through internet and to serve as a one-stop resource centre for the telecom industry. The portal would also provide for online payment of telephone bills and personalised logins for high volume customers.
PTI
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Corporate defaulters ‘respond’ to notices Mumbai, August 3 Some entities, which were issued notices, have approached ICICI Bank to restructure debt payments and sale, Executive Director of ICICI Bank Kalpana Morparia told reporters on the sidelines of seminar organised by Fitch Rating India here today. She did not reveal the names of defaulters and the quantum of amount involved. The new ordinance will help banks and financial institutions to take charge of secured assets of defaulters and hasten the process of debt recovery. IDBI Executive Director R.J. Bedekar said his institution had slapped notices to 17 parties for an amount aggregating Rs 1,640 crore. They are mainly from power, steel and textile sectors. IDBI had already made provision for bad assets worth over Rs 5,500 crore and “these are most likely targets for the recovery”, Bedekar said, adding that any recovery would improve the bottomline. The financial institution has created a special cell under its Chief General Manager to idenfify and pursue such cases. Meanwhile, Morparia said ICICI Bank has approached the RBI with a proposal to convert its existing 130 offices into branches to expand the network. ICICI Bank would focus on retail products including housing credit in the fiscal, to sustain growth, she said. The bank has issued Mortgaged Backed Securities worth Rs 50 crore for corporate portfolio, Morparia said. The bank’s proposal for floating safety bonds issue was before SEBI and hope to hit market shortly, she added.
PTI
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It’s farewell to vodka
Moscow, August 3 That may be the cliche — but, for Russia at least, it is no longer valid as tastes and habits from the Baltic to the Pacific are changing. “Beer is beating vodka”, the magazine Itogi reports in its latest issue. Russia’s breweries have been enjoying heady double-digit growth for years. Take a stroll down along Moscow’s showpiece Tverskaya Uliza thoroughfare and you’ll find beer everywhere, right down to the young women in short skirts and cool shades, half-litre mugs in one hand. Posters push brands with names like Golden Keg, Old Miller or Siberian Crown. Beer gardens in the shade of the Kremlim walls offer freshly-pulled beer from the tap. In the past five years, beer consumption in Russia has doubled. Brewing is growing faster than any other economic sector.
DPA
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by K.R. Wadhwaney Minister ignorant about selloff Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie is a man of actions. He said in the Lok Sabha that the disinvestment in Air India and Indian Airlines will come about sooner than later. Despite the Disinvestment Minister’s categorical statement in the Lok Sabha, Shahnawaz Hussain said he had not received any fresh proposal regarding the sell-offs of AI and IA. He said: “I am not aware of any such developments. We are yet to resume talks with the ministry”. According to Mr Shourie, the proposed stake to be sold off in Indian Airlines will now be 51 per cent and the total sell off limit in Air India will continue to be 60 per cent. With such a categorical statement how could Mr Hussian plead his ignorance about the proposal? The climate may not yet be favourable for the foreign airlines to participate, but some foreign carriers will jump into fray. Some aviation experts opine the two airlines, if run professionally would soon become profit-making units. The two airlines’ problems are needless interference by politicians. But as these become private and new bosses run them on the policy of “hire and fire”, these will soon turn profitable. Mixed reaction There is uncertainty prevailing in discounted fare scheme, floated by certain carriers on the domestic sector. The airline officials claim they are doing brisk business, but agents are disappointed as they are denied commission on tickets sold three weeks in advance. The prospective passengers are still more unhappy because 50 per cent of the fare is cut in case of cancellation. While the airline officials maintain that the discounted air fare scheme will stay and bring “incremental revenue” on seats that were going unoccupied, the agents claim that the scheme will die an unnatural death. Many passengers feel that the deduction of 50 per cent on cancellation is too steep. There is a likelihood of one more airline start operating on the domestic sector. It will certainly increase competition but in the “world of the fittest to survive” the new operator will have to do something extra-ordinary to stay afloat. |
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by Praful R. Desai Question of title Q: Where the suit was purely a suit for eviction under the Rent Act, can the question of title could have been gone into and decided? Ans: Jharkhand HC in Smt Saroj Devi v Tarak Pad Rai [2002 (1) RCJ. 326] was considering this point. The trial court earlier decreed the suit on the basis of admission of defendant, holding that there was relationship of landlord and tenant between the parties. It is relevant to state that although relevant document was brought on record during the plaintiff’s evidence and was proved by the witness for the plaintiff. The contesting defendants did not come either to deny or to explain aforesaid admission as required in law. The court of appeal below committed an error of record, in the opinion of the HC, in observing that the aforementioned document was not brought on record prior to closure of evidence of parties. A perusal of lower court — record shows that the relevant document was proved by the witness for the plaintiff and was admitted in evidence on 6.6.1984. Thereafter, defendants took adjournment to adduce evidence in rebuttal on 7.6.1984 but did not adduce any evidence and hence arguments of both parties were heard and concluded on 7.6.1984 and suit was fixed for judgement on 16.6.84. In view of the HC, the court of appeal in view of aforesaid admission of defendant No. 1 and others, erred in holding that there was no relationship of landlord and tenant between parties. Since the present suit was a pure suit for eviction under Rent Act, question of title at the instance of defendants could not have been gone into and decided herein. It is clarified by the HC that observations finding, of any, given in the judgements passed by the two courts below are not to operate as res judicata in a regular suit for declaration of title instituted between the parties for the property in question. The present suit under the Rent Act, held the HC, is maintainable at the instance of the plaintiff. The HC clearly held that there was relationship of landlord and tenant between the parties and the defendants were liable to be evicted from the suit premise on being defaulter in payment of rent within the meaning of the Act. The HC thus set aside the judgement and decree passed by the court of appeal and confirmed the judgement and decree passed by the trial court. The suit thus stands decreed. In the result, the present appeal was allowed. 
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