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Friday,
August 16, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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PM for ‘economic movement’ to accelerate growth GRAPHIC:
PER CAPITA INCOME US bankruptcy filings on the rise
Cabinet nod to MRPL take-over by ONGC |
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Imported yarn worries hosieries
Net telephony without PC
Coke may divest stake by Aug 17
IFCI notices to 10 defaulting companies GRAPHIC:
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION INDEX — JUNE 2002
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PM for ‘economic movement’ to accelerate growth
New Delhi, August 15 Addressing the nation from the ramparts of Red Fort on Independence Day, Vajpayee said the objective of economic reforms initiated by the NDA Government was to remove poverty and generate employment. Stating that the nation was losing Rs 25,000 crore annually due to power thefts, Vajpayee wondered “how can we bear this”. The Prime Minister appealed to all political parties to evolve a consensus on power sector reforms. “It is not enough for political parties to evolve a consensus but the mindset of the common man should also undergo a change,” he said. People, including farmers, were willing to pay a higher power tariff for continuous and good quality supply, the Prime Minister said adding “though they are ready to pay more for electricity but at the same time electricity should not be pilfered”. Stating that government had allocated a massive Rs 55,000 crore for the highway development project to provide world class infrastructure facility, Vajpayee said this was the largest project undertaken after the Delhi Emperor Sher Shah Suri’s Grand Trunk Road project. The government is committed to improving infrastructure facilities in the country, Vajpayee said adding a Rs 60,000 crore Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna has been launched to connect all villages with all weather roads. “This project is giving employment to rural masses,” he said adding government will shortly announce a package for development of the social sector. Vajpayee said reforms have eliminated queues for domestic cooking gas and telephone connection, while adequate stocks of foodgrains have seen queues at ration shops vanish. “Though insufficient rains have increased prices of vegetables, we have ensured that prices of onion do not increase,” he said. Referring to reforms in telecom and information technology sector, the Prime Minister said “who could have imagined that software exports would give us Rs 40,000 crore annually.” From being import-dependent to meeting foodgrains requirement, India has now turned into an exporter due to high production, he said. “From a situation of importing foodgrains, the farmers have changed the situation and India exported Rs 6400 crore worth of foodgrains last year. We should be proud of this achievement.” he said.
PTI
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US bankruptcy filings on the rise
Washington, August 15 The announcement by United Airlines, one of the biggest carriers in the USA, comes three days after US Airways filed for bankruptcy and a day after American Airlines announced severe cutbacks. "Unless we lower our costs dramatically, filing for bankruptcy protection will be the only way we can ensure the company's future and the continued operation of our airline," Jack Creighton, Chairman and CEO of United parent UAL Corp, said in a statement. Besides these airlines, the area discount retail store Ames has decided to liquidate and close all of its 327 locations after struggling for at least a year to emerge from bankruptcy protection. The management of Ames Department Stores Inc. determined that its creditors would best be served and asset values "best be maximised ... by terminating operating losses and winding down the business", a company statement said on Wednesday. The Chapter 11 filing for bankruptcy was the second in a decade for Ames, which described itself as the last surviving regional discounter. Three of its other northeastern rivals — Ann & Hope, Bradlees Inc. and Caldor Inc.— had all shut their doors in the past three years, and it has not been able to compete with two industry titans, Wal-Mart Stores and Target Corp. Bankruptcy filings have been rising all over the nation. Bankruptcy filings in just one district in Ohio state rose by 7 per cent in the first half of this year as the economic slowdown continued to clobber individuals and companies. New Federal Government data showed that people and businesses filed 18,159bankruptcies in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court's southern district of Ohio from January through June, compared to 17,297 in the same period in 2001 — a year in which regional bankruptcy filings rose to record levels. According to government statistics, 4,830 bankruptcies were filed during the six-month period in Dayton. Cincinnati saw 4,906 filings and Columbus 8,423. Dayton, Cincinnati and Columbus are all in Ohio state. The bankruptcies rose as the national and regional economies suffered a setback from low employment, layoffs and unsteady production. American consumers and businesses filed a record 1.5 million bankruptcies in 2001,compared to 1.25 million the year before.
IANS
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Cabinet nod to MRPL take-over by ONGC
New Delhi, August 15 “After cancellation of the agreement, we will take over the management control and will invest Rs 600 crore through equity to revive the ailing 9.5-million tonnes refinery,’’ Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Chairman Subir Raha told UNI in an exclusive interview. Mr Raha said ONGC had proposed to re-structure the equity as well as loan to turnaround the largest south India -based refinery. The financial institutions had agreed to convert part of their loans into equity and ONGC would also infuse equity in such a manner that it would become the largest shareholder in the Karnataka-based MRPL, he said. HPCL would turn into a minority shareholder in MRPL after completion of re-structuring, Mr Raha said. Under the restructuring programme, the MRPL would become subsidiary of ONGC, he added. ONGC has entered into an agreement with Birlas to buy their 30 crore shares at a price of Rs 2 per share at a total cost of Rs 60 crore. This represent 37.5 per cent of the total equity of MRPL. Considering the purchase as a very good buying for ONGC, Mr Raha said that ONGC would become the first company in the country, which would have downstream project also. ONGC is producing 26 million tonnes crude oil every year and the move of taking-over MRPL will put the group at distinct advantage.
UNI
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Imported yarn worries hosieries Ludhiana, August 15 Kitonak and Daspa are the two synthetic yarns imported from Taiwan besides Peach and Split yarns are other synthetic yarns which are being imported. These yarns are available at Rs 120 to Rs 220 per kg in the local market. Acrylic yarn is being eased out by these polyester yarns. Otherwise the hosiery industry is facing slump as not many orders have been received by the local manufacturers from other states. The readymade garments of China and other countries are giving a competition to the Indian goods in the domestic market. The hosieries are a worried lot in view of the easy flow of the Chinese goods. However, they maintain that this is just a beginning and they can compete with these countries provided the Central and the state governments support them. Mr Prem Sagar Jain, founder president of the Readymade Hosiery Manufacturers Welfare Association says the Centre has reimposed C form which had been removed after six years of struggle. This has created a new problem for small scale buyers from other states. The buyers have to pay 10 per cent sales tax if they do not procure C form. Similarly the state government has imposed a 4 per cent entry tax on the hosiery yarns which is also a big handicap for the development of the industry. Mr Jain points out the Union Government has earmarked Rs 25,000 crore for the ugradation of the textile industry. But they cannot avail of this benefit because of the strict rules for procuring NOC from the Pollution Control Board. They have to get the NOC if the investment is more than Rs 25 lakh whereas the small scale industries limit is Rs 5 crore. Mr Vipin Dhand, General Secretary and Mr Sunil Dutt say Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi and Tamil Nadu have reduced the taxes to promote the hosiery industry. Now the manufacturers of these states buy fabric from Ludhiana and they prepare the finished products in their own states instead of buying the readymade goods from Ludhiana. Ludhiana manufactures hosiery cloth worth Rs 180 crore (12,000 tonnes) every month. Readymade garments worth Rs 1200 crore are exported from Ludhiana to other countries annually like the USA, the UK and European and West Asia. The hosiery industry is also faced with the problem of severe power cuts. |
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Net telephony without PC Chandigarh, August 15 Till recently, users had often complained about the poor quality of voice and difficulties at cyber cafes, thus forcing them to use their phones to make international calls despite high rates. However, some experts have introduced new devices to ensure clarity of voice, without using PCs, that will made it possible to make calls at Rs 5 per minute to the USA, the UK, Canada against about Rs 24 per minute call rates from telephones. The Hi-tech group has launched Hi-tech telephony in the region with the collaboration of Net2phone, the world leader in voice over internet retail market. The company plans to explore the potential of Internet telephony in the region. Though some ISPs like Glide have already entered this market but the company claims that there is still a great scope in Punjab and Chandigarh. Mr N.S. Aneja, General Manager (Channels), Hi-tech Net Telephony, says, “We are introducing Yap Jack Plus at a cost of about Rs 10,000 that will connect through a regular telephone line. Users will be able to make international calls without PCs as it will operate by dialing the ISP through a standard phone line and ringing the caller back to initiate the call.” He claims the Internet call market in Punjab has increased to about Rs 24 crore. Though most of the calls are made from the other end due to high rates with the expansion of Internet telephony without making use of PCs, most of the calls are likely to be made from here only. Mr Aneja says the company has also introduced IP phone at a cost of about Rs 14,000 that can be used on a lease line or Internet connection like any normal phone. Another product is Yap phone at a cost of about Rs 1,200 that is connected with the PC to listen to voice. It ensures better sound than usual Internet telephony. Industry experts feel that with the improvement in internet services in the rural areas and aggressive marketing of pre-paid cards will push the service. These cards are currently available at a price of Rs 100 to Rs 5,000.
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Coke may divest stake by Aug 17
New Delhi, August 15 After finalising the plans, the company is likely to intimate the government tomorrow about its disinvestment plans via private placement route, sources said. Company spokesperson Nantoo Banerjee told PTI today that “I will be in a position to tell you something only tomorrow.” After rejection of its proposals several times by the government for waiver or moratorium on mandatory disinvestment, the Commerce and Industry Ministry had given the company a month long extension to comply with the condition by August 17. The sources said company was not likely to seek any further
extension in view of the government’s earlier position whereby no concessions were given despite Coke’s plea of adverse market conditions and poor financial health.
PTI
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IFCI notices to 10 defaulting companies
New Delhi, August 15 “We have issued notices to 10 companies for taking over their assets. We will wait for 60 days and then appoint an intermediary for initiating sale of those assets. These defaulting companies owe us about Rs 1,300 crore,” IFCI Chairman V. P. Singh told PTI here. He said IFCI would join other FIs like IDBI and ICICI for the NPA recovery drive against wilful defaulters which have borrowed collectively from these institutions. “We have given them consent to go ahead in serving notices,” Singh said, indicating that the FIs are all set to take management control of the defaulters if they fail to pay up within the stipulated time. IFCI had to take this drastic step in the wake of burgeoning bad debts that was eating into the profits of the company.
PTI
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Pramati Tech Development loan Thermal power Essel Propack RBI dividend HP, NJPC pact Corporation Bank |
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