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Thursday,
August 8, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Hero Cycles ties up with Japanese firm
Banks fail to implement govt-sponsored schemes
Top beer brands being elbowed out of Punjab ? |
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Punjab inks pact for online lottery Chandigarh, August 7 The Punjab Government signed an agreement here on Monday with a consortium led by Venture Business Adviser Private Ltd to launch state online lottery by December. The government will get about Rs 9,301 crore out of this venture as a licence fee for 7 years including Rs 55 crore during the first year, said Mr Sher Singh Sidhu, Director, Punjab State Lotteries, here today. Punjab lags in
reforms PFC
takes action against tainted officials ClickCheque
launched
HCL Info ties up with Scansoft
Connect redefines areas
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Hero Cycles ties up with Japanese firm New Delhi, August 7 NBI is part of the $ 1.5 billion Matsushita Electric Industries Company, which has popular brand names, including National, Panasonic and Techinis. The alliance will be driven by technology transfer from NBI and will involve upgradation and buy-back arrangements by the Japanese partner initially for 5 lakh bicycles in a phased manner over the next five years. NBI will extend the technological know-how and will use Hero Cycles as its manufacturing base. Speaking on the occasion, Co-Chairman, Hero Cycles O.P. Munjal, said: "So far we have been manufacturing the lower and middle level bicycles for the domestic as well as export market and this strategic tie-up with NBI will bridge the gap between the middle and high-end bicycle segment providing a competitive edge to Hero Cycles in the lucrative export markets. Of the Rs 50,000 crore bicycle market of the world, India has a share of only 1 per cent and Hero Cycles has almost a 50 per cent share in the domestic market. With the addition of high-end bicycles for export from India, we hope to increase the share to 5 per cent in the next five years, Mr Munjal added. Bicycles for niche markets will be manufactured at the Hero Cycles’ latest state-of-the-art plant, imported from Germany, set up at a cost of Rs 30 crore in Ludhiana having a capacity to produce around three lakh bicycles annually. The company plans to invest a further Rs 20 crore in the next two years to expand its capacity to cater to the Indian enthusiasts also. NBI President, H. Nagakawa said: "We have entered into this alliance as Hero Cycles subscribes to our philosophy of constantly offering the consumers a more advanced product. They are the world leaders in manufacturing and we hope to combine their manufacturing strength with our technological edge to establish a formidable force in the global bicycle industry." Hero Cycles Limited is the largest manufacturer of bicycles in the world with a combined production capacity of more than 19,000 bicycles a day or 5.6 million bicycles per annum at its two units located at Ludhiana and Sahibabad. It clocked a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore during 2001-02 including Rs 120 crore from export of bicycles.
UNI |
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Banks fail to implement govt-sponsored schemes Chandigarh, August 7 In fact, bankers find it difficult to find suitable candidates because of impractical annual income conditions and lack of interest on the part of district industry centres (
DIC). Further low recovery rates from beneficiaries under these schemes have affected their interest to finance entrepreneurs under the scheme. The bankers say that the recovery rate under the PMRY scheme is even less than 20 per cent. According to information available, the banks disbursed credit to 7,496 candidates against a target of 9000, during 2001-02, thus achieving a target of 83.29 per
cent. Though 18,200 cases were sponsored by the district level committees, but banks failed to find sufficient number of youth, eligible for loans. The recently held state level bankers committee meet also noted that in case of Swarna Jayanti Shahari Rozgar Yojana, there was a great need to improve the pace of sanctioning of loans. The banks could disburse loans to only 1,285 persons,
i.e. 59.5 per cent of total sponsored cases. Mr T.R. Sarangal, Director Industries, Punjab, also feels that the increase in growth of advances to the SSI sector has also declined over the years, to 5.4 per cent during 2001-02 against 11 per cent increase in growth during the previous year. Though the over all economic recession in the economy, tensions on the border and increasing threat from international players, he says, has also contributed to this phenomenon. However, banks should come forward to finance economically viable projects. Interestingly, the advances under the district rural industries, also witnessed a decline of Rs 2 crore in 2001-02 from Rs 7 crore during 2000-01. In fact, the ratio of DRI advances to total advances of previous year remained below the level of 1 per cent, which continues to be the weak area. The advances to weaker sector constituted 8.1 per cent of total advances as against the stipulated level of 10 per cent. The banks have urged the government to involve bankers , while preparing these schemes if it was interested to make them mutually
beneficial for the beneficiaries and banks. The state government should also provide assistance to banks to recover loans under these schemes. |
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Top beer brands being elbowed out of Punjab? Chandigarh, August 7 While the insiders of the industry say that the state government has fixed the maximum retail price of a 650 ml bottle of beer at Rs 45 to heavily favour locally made beers, the Excise officials maintain that sale of beer has started picking up after regulating of its price. “It was a policy decision taken by the Council of Ministers. Though some of the beer companies had made representation against the fixation of MRP at the time of finalisation of excise policy, but the government did not agree to their plea,” says Mr Suresh Kumar, Commissioner, Excise and Taxation, maintaining that he was not aware of any new representation made by breweries from outside the state. “Even if they make any such
representation, it would be taken up only next year as there is no way of changing the policy midway in a season. And I find no fault in this policy as every state protects its own industry.” There has been no precedent in the recent past when the maximum retail price of any beer or IMFL was fixed in the state. The usual practice has been of fixing the minimum sale price. Investigations reveal that there has been a sharp fall in the sale of beer in the state. Against a sale of 20 lakh cases a year a couple of years ago, only 13 lakh cases were sold in the state last year. One of the reasons given for a steep fall in the sale of beer, which the government otherwise wants to
popularise, has been its retail price. Last year, some of the common beer brands were selling in the retail market at prices varying between Rs 50 and Rs 75 a bottle. This year, the government has been insisting that no beer should sell for more than Rs 45 a bottle at a vend and Rs 50 at a pub. This policy shift has been resented by a number of top breweries of the country, including Shaw Wallace group, who have made representations to the government seeking review of this policy decision. They argue that by fixing the maximum retail price and hiking import fee on beers of other states, the Punjab Government was not only favouring local beers but also denying its consumers certain popular brands which are being imported from outside the state. The most popular of these have been Haywards 5000, Haywards 3000 and Godfather — all in the category of strong beers. A case of 12 bottles of 650 ml each attracts an extra duty of Rs 59 if the beer is imported from other states. “In such a situation, how an imported beer could compete with locally made beers,” they ask. Shaw Wallace group reportedly sold nearly two lakh cases of beer in Punjab last year while Godfather sold about one lakh cases. As such, they say, they contributed Rs 6 crore by way of excise duty, import fee, sales tax and other levies during 2001-2002. But under the new policy, this revenue would not be generated. The Punjab Government levies an “excessively high import fee of Rs 39 per case making the imported beer much more costlier. A bar on the MRP will thus provoide an uneven playing field to imported beer which might prefer to stay away from Punjab markets,” says an industry observer. By doing so, Punjab would not benefit much as its revenue from sale of beer would come down further as those addicted to certain popular brands would get their supplies from neighbouring Chandigarh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh where there is no
MRP. |
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Punjab inks pact for online lottery Chandigarh, August 7 The state government had floated a tender in April this year to start online lottery. M. Corp Consortium, New Delhi, Modi International Networks Pvt Limited, New Delhi and Dakshin Media Ltd, Mumbai, had applied for the contract. However, the government decided to sign the contract with the consortium of Venture Business Adviser Pvt Ltd. due to its highest bidding. The consortium has been floated by four companies, including Venture Business Adviser, Vee Sound Craft, BSVK group and Jupiter Info Ltd. The infrastructure will be set up by Scientific Gains firm, having vast experience in running online lotteries, throughout the region. The online lottery counters would be linked with a master server to be set up at Chandigarh. Under the agreement, the state government has already received Rs 50 lakh as a security amount and Rs 5 crore as bank guarantee. The consortium would have to deposit Rs 13.75 crore, one quarter licensing fee, before selling first lottery ticket. The issue of online lottery had recently raised much controversy in the state Legislative Assembly, as the opposition parties levelled allegations of underhand dealing with a particular group. However, officials, defending the agreement, said, “the present government has signed an agreement for Rs 9,301 crore against Rs 855 crore by the previous government. The extra licence fee would be a net gain for the cash-strapped state economy.’’ Asked about the future of paper lottery, Mr Sidhu said the paper lottery would continue, since there was no competition between the two lotteries. The online counters would be set up in hotels, markets, beauty salons and other such places, which are frequently visited by the upper class. Later, he distributed prizes for the Budh Purnima Bumper Draw in Ludhiana. The first prize of Rs 1 crore was presented to Mr Sunil Kumar of
Malout. |
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Punjab lags in reforms New Delhi, August 7 According to the study Delhi , West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Tripura and Manipur have shown growth above the national compunded annual growth rate (CAGR), whereas other states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Assam have under performed. It was also observed that while Karnataka, Maharasthra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat are reform oriented states, Punjab, Assam, Bihar, Karela, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and UP are lagging in reforms. |
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PFC takes action against tainted officials Chandigarh, August 7 Mr Iqbal Singh Sidhu, Managing Director, PFC, in a press note issued here today, has reported that Mr V.K. Aggarwal, District Manager in the rank of DGM, Amritsar, has been suspended for causing losses to the PFC, in the sale of some properties. The enquiries have found specific lapses on his part. Mr Sidhu said the show cause notices have been issued to one senior DGM, one AGM, four deputy managers and three senior assistants. Similarly in another case, one deputy manager has been demoted to a lower post on finding that he had tried to cheat the corporation by submitting a false medical reimbursement claim. |
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PFC issue by year-end New Delhi, August 7 “Internally, we have decided to go ahead with an IPO. We have appointed international consultants JM Morgan Stanley for advising us on capital restructuring and other pre-IPO related issues like timing and premium on the face value,” PFC Chairman and Managing Director A.A. Khan told PTI. |
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ClickCheque launched New Delhi, August 7 ClickCheque, which aims at bringing paradigm shift from preprinted stationery to pre-designed electronic templates , will provide the banks with a futuristic technology. The main features of click cheque are seamless integration with core banking software, user friendly GUI, efficient management and tracking of cheques and distributed printing and platform independence. Not only can cheques be printed on demand using this technology, click chque would facilitate customization by branch, multilingual support, additional security through inclusion of account number in the MICR code and provision to print even loose leaves. Coinciding with the launch of clickCheque, GBTS today announced the achievement of ISO 9001:2000 certification for “Design, Development, Implementation and maintenance of IT solutions for the insurance and financial services domains”. |
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HCL Info ties up with Scansoft New Delhi, August 7 “The agreement with Scansoft includes products, Dragon Naturally Speaking (speech recognition software which converts spoken words into text) and also Scansoft’s paper to digital solutions and document imaging applications, OmniPage, Omni Form and Paper Port”, said Mr Rajendra Kumar, Vice-President, Operations, HCL Infosystems, addressing newspersons here today. Under the agreement, HCL will distribute Scansoft products to retail, systems integrators, application developers, OEMs (Original Equipment
Manufacturers) and value added re-sellers. TNS |
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Connect redefines areas Chandigarh, August 7 Currently if a subscriber in Chandigarh has to call Amritsar which is at a distance of more than 200 km, he has to subscribe to the STD facility by paying an additional deposit of Rs 1,000 and Rs 3,000 for landline and CDMA mobile connections respectively. But for Connect subscribers the whole of Punjab and Chandigarh will be accessible from any Connect local phone. The pulse charges, however, will remain unchanged. A Connect local subscriber can now just dial 95 + STD code (without ‘0’) + destination number to call anywhere in Punjab and Chandigarh. With this facility Connect local subscribers can call any number, be it a Connect number or otherwise, which is even beyond 200 km charging area.
TNS |
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