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Tuesday,
August 20, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Mobile
rates may fall further: COAI India No.
2 in rice export LIC to
recruit 35,000 agents Banks told
to cut lending rates
New
Sahara scheme to cut air fares |
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ROUND-UP Allahabad Bank slashes rates GRAPHIC: FERA VIOLATION BY MNCs
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Mobile rates may fall further: COAI
New Delhi, August 19 The cellular operators, including Sunil Mittal-owned Bharti, Hutch, Escotel and MTNL, which met here outlined a charter of demands for the government and the regulator to act fast to ensure that the end consumer was benefited by way of lower tariffs — airtime and rental. The industry said most of the operations were running negative in terms of not only profits but also cash flow and there was an urgent need to match international best practices in policy and regulation norms to ensure that existing tariffs and growth rates were not merely sustained but also surpassed. The cellular operators also indicated that free incoming calls from cell-to-cell across various networks was in the pipeline but refused to give any deadline saying the operators were working on it. Hutch CEO Asim Ghosh said: “it will happen within this calender year.” The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) spokesperson T.V. Ramachandran said the industry was expecting an investment of Rs 25,000 crore in the next three years to sustain the present level of growth. India's cellular phone users are set to climb to 10 million by December, but the industry complains that crippling levies have seen it accumulate losses of Rs. 77 billion in the last eight years. India currently has 8 million subscribers. The turnover in fiscal 2001-02 ended March was Rs. 4 billion, 40 per cent of which went to the government as licence fees and other charges, industry representatives said Monday. "Our rates are the lowest in the world and our service is comparable to the best there is worldwide and yet our payout to the government is higher than anywhere else," T.V. Ramachandran said . Cellular phone services are currently available in 1,481 towns and cities across the country. They cover 60,000 villages and most of the major rail routes and highways to provide seamless connectivity to users while travelling. Cellular services will spread to 500 more locations by March 2003, when the number of networks will increase to 70 from 51 when the fourth operators in each circle roll out their services. Investment in the industry is likely to rise to Rs. 250 billion from the current Rs. 210 billion. "A cellular phone is no longer an urban elitist device. We think there is enough scope for reducing tariffs further if the investment climate improves," Ramachandran contended. "Today, the average rental that an operator gets is Rs. 202 per month and Rs. 1.99 per minute for calls. Against this is the very high cost structure, where we pay licence fees, spectrum charges, inter-connectivity charges and service tax."
PTI, IANS
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India No. 2 in rice export Chandigarh, August 19 In the world grain market, where present rice trade is 25 million tonnes, as per United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) July circular, India has exported 4.5 million tonnes out of which the contribution of Punjab is 3.5 million tonnes (April 2001 to July 2002). This achievement has enabled India to beat the USA, China, Vietnam, Pakistan and Burma. It is giving a tough competition to Thailand, which is the leader in rice exports. All this has been made possible by the FCI. The Senior Regional Manager, Mr V.K. Singh, told TNS yesterday that besides its own improved housekeeping, the FCI also launched a drive to procure “quality” paddy that also helped Punjab find a rice niche abroad. And there was a time (1997-98) when several Chief Ministers had written to the then Punjab Chief Minister, making complaints regarding “poor quality” of rice being dispatched from the state. This happened due to lowering of specifications in respect of procurement of paddy and rice with the intervention of the then Prime Minister, Mr I.K. Gujral. With export window now opening up and farmers becoming aware of quality aspect, Punjab hopes to clear enough stocks to accommodate new crop. Though the rice of Kharif in (2001-02) was first made available to the exporters only towards the end of that calendar year, the response in the world market has been quick and fast. The exports are enabling Punjab to liquidate its burgeoning rice stock—18 million tonnes out of which half the quantity is of exportable quality. Another factor that has enabled India to find a market-hold abroad is weather. Quoting USDA bulletin, Mr V.K. Singh said, for the first time conditions are right for India to have two consecutive years of strong, if not record, exports. The El Nino has caused a reduction of rice production in parts of Southeast Asia and South America that allowed India to reach record export levels that have yet to be achieved again, as well as triggering a record level global rice trade. This led India to gain market share, especially from Thailand, Africa, West Asia, and Southeast Asia. India is expected to hold this new market share even in 2003, while, Europe is now emerging as a new destination for Punjab rice. This makes India second largest exporter of rice in the
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LIC to recruit 35,000 agents Chandigarh, August 19 This was stated by Mr
M. M. Mukherjee, Zonal Manager, LIC, here today. He was in the city to address a convention of the Zonal Managers Club member agents. Nearly 1,600 agents from Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Delhi and Chandigarh participated in the convention. He said the North zone had collected Rs 2,783 crore during 2001-02 as premium as against Rs 1,196 crore collected during the previous year. Bima Nivesh, a single premium policy, alone had generated a business of Rs 1,402 crore during the period, he said. The zone had registered a growth of 16 per cent in total number of polices and 51.7 per cent in total sum assured during that period, he added. Talking to the mediapersons, Mr Mukherjee said the LIC had planned to become a transnational player in the insurance sector. Its branches were being opened in Nepal, Sri Lanka, the USA and other countries, he said. The total funds with the LIC have crossed Rs 2,47,000 crore during the past year. Despite the entry of more than 20 players in the field, the LIC has registered an unprecedented growth in selling the policies. He claimed, “We have accepted the challenge of private players and are now focussing on every segment. New products like Jeevan Rekha and Anmol Jeevan have been launched to compete with the schemes of competitors. The earlier policies are being revised to adjust with the falling interest rates and needs of the buyers. |
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Banks told to cut lending rates Chandigarh, August 19 Speaking at the inaugural function of the six-day management development programme for senior functionaries of eight banks at the centre for the rural and industrial development, Mr Lakhanpal said banks have to improve their efficiency by cutting their costs. At the same time they must also cut down the lending rates as without proper credit input, developmental activities were not possible. Compared to the lending rates elsewhere, he said in India they were not only the highest but almost two to three times more than elsewhere. “It is bankers who can accelerate the growth rate,” he said. The Punjab Infrastructure Development Board has decided to extend its activities further by increasing its scope of works from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1500 crore a year by encompassing in its activities projects like power, irrigation, urban services and transport. Earlier, Mr ATP Selvam, the course Director, said the banking industry as a whole was facing a four-fold crisis. The crises areas were corporate governance, risk management, people’s management and information technology. Earlier, Mr Rachhpal Malhotra, Director, CRRID, talked about the overall economic scenario and the role of banks in infrastructure development. Mr J.P. Gupta, a former Financial Commissioner of Punjab also spoke. |
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New Sahara scheme to cut air fares
New Delhi, August 19 As per the “Price Buys” scheme, to start from August 26, a Delhi-Mumbai ticket can be purchased for Rs 3,000 if it is booked 20-25 days before travel and Rs 4,000 if done so before 15-19 days. Passengers can also avail the “Steal a seat” scheme under which 1,000 seats would be auctioned daily with the bidding price starting at Re 1. . Under the scheme, a Delhi-Kolkata ticket would cost Rs 2,800 if booked 25 days before the day of travel and Rs 4,000 if, booked 19 days before it. Similarly, fare for Delhi-Lucknow would be Rs 2,000 if booked 25 days in advance and Rs 2,200 if done 19 days before it. It would be Rs 4,000 for Delhi-Bangalore if done 25 days before the day of travel and Rs 5,000 if done 19 days before it.
PTI
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ROUND-UP Colombo, August 19 Murthy, who was in the island over the weekend, met Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and was invited to advise the government on developing the island's IT sector, the Daily Mirror newspaper said Monday. "Murthy responded to the request by saying he likes it and is honoured to serve as an adviser to the people of Sri Lanka," Industries Minister Rohitha Bogollagama was quoted as saying. Murthy, the chief mentor of Infosys Technologies, was a guest at a state-organised industrial exhibition in Trincomalee, the east coast port town that is to be developed with foreign investment as an export processing zone.
IANS Allahabad Bank slashes rates Kolkata:
Allahabad Bank today announced further cuts in its domestic term deposit interest rates from August 16. As per the new rates, term deposits for Rs 15 lakh and above for a minimum period between seven and 14 days will now attract an interest of only 4.5 per cent per annum, while that for 15 days to 29 days, for 30 days to 45 days and for 46 days to 90 days will draw interest at 5, 5.25 and 6 per cent. Similarly, for domestic term deposits for period between 91 days and 180 days, between 181 days and less than a year, between one year and less than two years and between two years and less than three years will attract annual interest at the rates of 6.25, 6.50, 7.25 and 7.50 per cent respectively.
UNI |
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Hand-free car kit O-Zone fridge SBI telebanking OBC offices Hafed plants HCL inks pact SAP roadshows Godrej buyback |
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