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Thursday,
October 10, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Apprenticeship Act to be enforced strictly
Panel for cut in fertiliser subsidy
CII roadshow on Dubai trade zone
Postal dept plans to cut down losses |
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Don’t ‘give licence’ to polluting sheller Exide posts 44 pc rise in PBT
LML sales up by 17.7 pc
Project for Mozambique
Film export earns 9 b Dr Dixit gets
lifetime award
Pepsodent launches dental
insurance
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Apprenticeship Act to be enforced strictly New Delhi, October 9 “The Apprentices Act makes it mandatory on the part of the establishment to engage apprentices as per the quotas fixed for them in relation to the skilled workers employed by them.I would request all the State Apprenticeship Advisers not to hesitate in taking legal action against the defaulting establishments,” Labour Minister Sahib Singh Verma said here. Inaugurating the 29th meeting of the Central Apprenticeship Council here, Dr Verma said establishments had the taken liberty of not engaging apprentices as per the quota as the authorities had not been very strict on this aspect. “I feel the time has come to enforce the Act more forcefully,” he said. The State Apprentice Advisors had been urged to take legal action against defaulting establishments, Mr Singh said while inaugurating the 29th meeting of the Central Apprentices Council. The Labour Minister said the Directorate General, Education and Training in his department had formulated a scheme on a pilot basis for testing and certification of the skill of workers, obtained through informal means. Dr Verma, who is the Chairman of the Council, said apprenticeship training makes the worker fully skilled and observed that with the change in technology, the skill requirement underwent very frequent changes. Stating that the government alone might not be able to take care of the entire skill requirement, he said it could at best act as a facilitator. Private sector participation would be necessary, he felt. He also favoured close linkages with the industry not only for the normal industrial training but also for the apprenticeship training. Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Rita Verma said a target had been fixed to impart apprenticeship training to 60,000 workers by 2002-03. She suggested that a smaller committee of the Council be constituted which would meet frequently to review the apprenticeship training scenario. Earlier, Minister of State for Labour Ashok Pradhan urged the Council to play a pro-active role in creating a skilled work force in the country. He said in the era of globalisation, productivity and production had to increase and this was possible only through skill upgradation of the workers.
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Panel for cut in fertiliser subsidy New Delhi, October 9 GoM on fertilisers is headed by Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission K C Pant. The draft policy is expected to be shortly placed before the Cabinet for approval. GoM recommendations come after the recommendations of the Expenditure Reforms Commission (ERC). GoM, in fact, has suggested the breaking up of the industry into six different categories, whereas the ERC had recommended a five- fold categorisation of the industry. The recommendations of GoM will form the basis of the long-term fertiliser policy. The recommendations, if approved by the Cabinet, is expected to bring about a steep increase in the fertiliser prices. The GoM recommendations pertain to retention pricing, energy norms and transport subsidy. GoM, however, rejected the ERC suggestion of setting up a development fund for the fertiliser sector. As per the recommendations of GoM, the date of implementing energy norms has been fixed for 2004. While 50 per cent of the transport subsidy will be reduced by next year, the remaining will removed from 2004.
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CII roadshow on Dubai trade zone Chandigarh, October 9 Addressing industry leaders from the Northern Region at a road show organised by the CII — Jebel Ali Zone - An Investment Destination — he listed the advantages, incentives and benefits offered by JAFZA. He said the zone offered abundant energy resources, no trade unions, speedy and efficient e-connections and excellent living and recreational facilities for both entrepreneurs/executives as well as labour. He disclosed that it was the largest free trade zone in the UAE, with a base of around 2300 companies, including 400 Indian companies. The Indian companies, he said, included Tatas, Birlas, Jindal, Eicher, Onida and Videocon. Earlier, at a similar session in New Delhi, the JAFZA and the CII signed an MoU to promote greater economic and industrial cooperation, comprising manufacturing and processing, transport, distribution, trade and investment. According to the MoU, he said, the JAFZA would assist in opening of a new market for Indian industry, particularly CII companies. JAFZA will also offer to help CII establish an office in the zone.
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Postal dept plans to cut down losses Chandigarh, October 9 Addressing a press conference on World Post Day, he said, “The department has chalked out a plan to computerise its services in a phased manner in addition to in-service training of its staff. It is aimed at improving customer services and to reduce establishment costs.” He disclosed that by booking 24 lakh speed post/EP post articles, the department had registered a growth of over 47 per cent in the traffic in 2001-02 as compared to previous year. The revenue from premium products also registered a growth of over 54 per cent during the same period. Mr Bhushan said the department had already computerised all the 22 head offices in the Punjab circle. Regarding their business strategy for the year, he said, Postal Department would upgrade four state speed post centres at Patiala, Jalandhar and Amritsar, besides launching of e-post from all head
offices. The department had also planned to distribute telephone bills of Connect telecom, in addition to a pilot project to distribute and collect electricity bills through post offices that would start at Patiala soon.
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Don’t ‘give licence’ to polluting sheller Patiala, October 9 The PPCB has sent a list of the defaulting industries to the DFSCs to ensure they do not become eligible for stocking government paddy, besides separately requesting the PSEB not to renew the power connections of these industries. The board has been taking up the issue of installation of effluent treatment plants (ETPs) and air pollution control devices (APCDs) with the industries since 1997 but still a number of units has not complied with the pollution norms. Both rice sheller and Saila units owners had been asked to comply with the pollution norms till September 30 or face closure. Board Chairman Satish Chandra, while talking to TNS, said 144 rice sheller owners were still to install APCDs. In the case of Saila plants these cause both air and water pollution and the installation of ETPs and APCDs were necessary in all such plants. Mr Chandra said similar notices had also been served on brick-kiln owners who were still not following the norms set by the board. As many as 447 brick-kilns had been identified that had not installed APCDs. These units had been given time till October 30 to install the devices failing which the DFSCs would again be directed not to issue licences to these units this year. The pollution board has also decided to come down heavily on entrepreneurs who have not installed APCDs on Cupola furnaces. These furnaces run only four to five days a month but generate immense air pollution because they used raw coal. These furnaces had been given time till November 30 to install the devices or face closure. Mr Chandra said out of a total of 10,414 industries as many as 1,674 had not installed APCDs while 911 industries had not installed ETPs. The board has already taken action against 32 units in the state for not following the provisions of the Water Act and closed down their operations recently. The maximum number of such industries are from Amritsar where nine units have been closed down.
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Exide posts 44 pc rise in PBT
Kolkata, October 9 Net profit for the three month period ended September 2002, stood at Rs 14.43 crore as against Rs 12.25 crore for the same period last year. Gross sales for the quarter was at Rs 272 crore as compared to Rs 248.4 crore in the same period, thereby reflecting a 9.4 per cent rise over the comparable period last year. “The company has shaken off the blues of the previous year and is steadily moving ahead. We are optimistic that the coming months will be a period of further growth for the company,” Exide Industries Chairman S.B. Ganguly said.
Mastek
Mastek Ltd has posted a net profit of Rs 102 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2002 as compared to Rs 16.20 million for the corresponding quarter last year. The total income also increased to Rs 341.60 million in the quarter under review from Rs 198.10 million in the same period last year. The Mastek Group has posted a net profit of Rs 152.50 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2002 as against Rs 41.10 million during the corresponding quarter in the previous year.
UNI
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LML sales up by 17.7 pc
New Delhi, October 9 The company sold 15,366 two-wheelers during the month against 13,048 units in September last year, an LML spokesperson told PTI here. Motor cycle sales surged by over three times (254.5 per cent) year-on-year to 10,097 units from 2,848 units. However, scooters fell by 48.3 per cent to 5,269 units from 10,200 units a year earlier.
PTI
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McDonald’s in soup over worm in burger
New Delhi, October 9 Businessman Yashpal Singh Aulakh alleged there was a worm in a burger he bought from the McDonald's outlet in the upscale Basant Lok commercial complex in south Delhi yesterday. "The burger is lying with me and anybody can see the worm in it. I am going to file a case against McDonald's," Aulakh told IANS. He had carried home a chicken burger and two vegetarian burgers from the restaurant. His 11-year-old daughter Jaspreet apparently found the worm in one of the burgers while eating it in their car. Aulakh immediately complained to the restaurant. "They were not apologetic and started blaming me. So I have decided to show the world and make people aware of the way these multinational companies work," said an angry Aulakh. "I have lodged a complaint with the police and also with the Food Adulteration Department. I don't want any compensation. I just want to let the world know how ‘safe’these glamorous restaurants are." But McDonald's said it was "next to impossible" that any burger it served would carry a worm. "The customer came with the complaint after taking the burger out of the restaurant," a company official said. Last year, McDonald's had to apologise to its customers in the USA for using non-vegetarian oil in its French fries.
IANS
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Project for Mozambique
Chandigarh, October 9 The High Commissioner of Mozambique, Mr Carlos Agostinho Do Rosario, had called on the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, here this evening and urged him to help his country in increasing agricultural productivity and setting up food processing units. The Haryana Chief Secretary, Mr A. N. Mathur said that the Haryana Agriculture University and the State Agriculture Department could help in setting up the pilot project who impart technical knowhow and training to the scientists of Mozambique.
TNS
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Film export earns 9 b
New Delhi, October 9 The films exported, both as reels and through rights for video cassettes, CDS, DVDs and satellite television transmission has combined to generate this amount, according to film exporters at the Film Bazaar of 33rd International Film Festival of India here. “There is increasing demand for our kind of films, mainly Bollywood. But they don’t want violence or sex. They want love stories, family themes, and melodrama,” says Nandkumar Bele, Secretary, Indian Film Exporters Association. “There is a lot of potential for ‘non-traditinal markets’ like China, Japan and South Korea. Tamil actor Rajnikant is a superstar in Japan.”
PTI
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Dr Dixit gets
lifetime award Chandigarh, October 9 Dr Dixit, who presides over the heart department of Batra Hospital, has been awarded for furthering the teaching and practice of cardiology. He started cardiology and cardiac surgery departments of Batra Hospital. |
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US soyabean oil Corpn Bank branch Acron Immigration |
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