 |
Thursday,
November 7, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
|
Political debate overshadows selloff process
Indian Airlines hikes fares
Decision on gunnysack bales’ purchase misfires
PHDCCI favours loans up to 50 lakh
Food Park project at Sirhind |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Single legislation for unorganised sector
GAIL seeks govt nod for sale of stake in ONGC
50 pc cut in night-time Internet charges
PNB lowers deposit rates Microsoft felicitates 33 Indians Rationalise tax duty, demand
tyre dealers
Microsoft not planning dividends
|
|
Political debate overshadows selloff process New Delhi, November 6 The whole process has got mired in political debate with big ticket Nalco being the latest to be put on the backburner following agitations by workers and political groups stalling the due diligence exercise. The ministry of Disinvestment said Tuesday that the due diligence has been deferred till January, which in effect rules out completing the disinvestment process within this fiscal. So far only about Rs. 35 billion have been realised through disinvestment, as the government looks to raise resources to push ahead with infrastructure projects seen as a major key to achieve the targeted economic growth of 8 per cent per annum. With economic think tanks forecasting only around 5 per cent growth this fiscal, India’s target of higher growth in the next five years is unthinkable if the present impasse on disinvestment continues, say experts. “This is a disturbing trend. The whole issue has become more of a political debate than an economic decision,” B.B. Bhattacharya, director of the Institute of Economic Growth, told IANS. What started as a debate on the advisability of the government diluting its stake in two state-owned oil companies on grounds of their being of strategic importance has degenerated into a political debate that has all but stalled the whole process. “Not only this year’s target but also the five-year plan (2002-07) target of Rs.780 billion seem unachievable,” said Bhattacharya. “What is required is a white paper that lays out the companies for disinvestment and methodology of calculation and then start the individual process.” On the lines of the disinvestment process adopted by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the white paper could be debated in Parliament, by common people and by trade unions on the grounds of policies before being adopted, the experts said. In the event of the disinvestments process not gaining steam, the government would either have to slow down public investment to contain fiscal deficit or go in for additional borrowing. “The slowing down of the disinvestments process will become another bottleneck in India’s plans to boost public spending in infrastructure,” market analyst D.H. Pai Panandikar said. The only way forward, he felt, is for Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to take a firm stand. “With the policy having been agreed to in the cabinet, the Prime Minister has to take a firm stand to ensure the ministers abide by the decisions they had supported. Though the Prime Minister is showing signs of being firm on the disinvestments process, it is not firm enough,” said Panandikar. Once a decision has been taken, hedging it with ifs and buts is the best way to derail it, felt the experts. While Coal and Mines Minister Uma Bharti and Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik are opposing the privatisation of Nalco, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik, Defence Minister George Fernandes and Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi have together forced a three-month delay on selling stake in two state-run oil majors, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL). “The divestment process is a political issue not only in India but elsewhere also. Each country has to find its own answers,” said Pradeep Srivastava of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). Given the political divide, Srivastava feels “in the long run a credible white paper that addresses various concern would help. We need to assess each case of divestment done so far and the outcome to improve on the process.”
IANS
|
|
Indian Airlines hikes fares New Delhi, November 6 Domestic carrier Indian Airlines today became the second airlines to hike the costs of air travel after its private competitor Jet Airways, It announced a 10 per cent across-the-board hike in fares from November 10 throughout its network in an effort to offset the hike in ATF prices and airport user charges. However, there would be no change in the APEX (advance purchase and excursion) fares and the domestic US dollar fares, an IA spokesperson said. Jet Airways, while announcing a 10 per cent hike last evening, had also hiked its point-to-point, return excursion and promotional fares. Announcing the fare revision, the IA spokesperson said the Inland Air Travel Tax (IATT) would be increased proportionately but there would be no change in the insurance charge and the passenger service fee. The excess baggage fares would also be revised proportionately, he said. The increase in ATF prices following dismantling of the administered price mechanism and airport user charges has “left us with no other choice but to increase the fares.” “But this 10 per cent increase will only meet a small per cent of our heightened costs”, officials said, adding that an additional burden of Rs 175 crore was incurred by IA in this current fiscal itself due to 40 per cent hike in ATF prices. The IA spokesperson said tickets issued on or before November 9 would be accepted for travel commencing on or before November 14 at the pre-revised rates. However, all tickets issued or reissued on or after November 10 would be on the revised fares. The ATF prices have increased by almost 40 per cent between March and October, with the steepest rise recorded in the last two months when it rose by 10 per cent. ATF accounts for about 35 pc of the price of a domestic ticket.
|
|
Decision on gunnysack bales’ purchase misfires Chandigarh, November 6 Official sources said the department wanted to abolish the practice of getting the bales ( one bale contains 500 bags of 50 kg capacity) from the office of the Director General, Supply and Disposal (DGSD) and wanted to have the bales from private manufacturers. Haryana officials were reportedly not happy with the quality of bales being supplied by the DGSD and opined that a better bargain could be struck with private manufacturers. Tenders were invited for this purpose last month and the purchase was to be to the tune of Rs 250 crore for the supply of the bales. However, when the matter was reviewed at a meeting in presence of Mr Om Prakash Chautala here on Sunday, it was reportedly found that not a single tender had been received from manufacturers. The Chief Minister was not aware of the department's decision to snap connections with the DGSD. "Some tenders were received from traders for supplying bales. But for such an important job only tenders, supplied by manufacturers, are entertained and therefore the tenders supplied by the traders were turned down", an official here said. Official said the DGSD also obtained bales from private manufacturers and a Kolkata-based central government undertaking. However, the manufacturers' reluctance to respond to Haryana's invitation had put the state government in a quandary. "Preliminary discussions are being held with Nafed for supplying the bales. However, no final decision on this issue has been taken yet", a source here said and added that the possibility of the state government once again approaching the DGSD for the bales could not be ruled out. Sources in the FCI said if the state government would get the bales from private manufacturers, the reimbursement for the cost of the bales would be made by the FCI either at the rates offered by the DGSD or the actual price of the bales, whichever would be less. |
|
PHDCCI favours loans up to 50 lakh Chandigarh, November 6 According to the background paper prepared by the PHDCCI for the forthcoming Banker-borrower meet insistence on collaterals/guarantees causes avoidable difficulties to entrepreneurs who have limited resources and thereby find it difficult to arrange collateral security. Inability to provide the same adversely affects their borrowing capability, which results in shortage of working/short-term credit and adversely affects diversification/modernisation. The background paper states that it is essential that banks should change their outlook and adopt a dynamic approach to facilitate and accelerate industrial activities. this will also be useful in fostering long-term relationship of mutual trust and confidence between industry and Fis and banks. The paper also suggests that banks should consider Brand Equity as security for those borrowers who have established brand name in the local as well as international market. The paper states that there is an increasing tendency by the banks to insist on additional comfort when their loans are fully secured by way of hypothecation of current assets. In some cases there is also, in addition a second charge on fixed assets. It has therefore been suggested that banks should not insist on additional comfort in the form of personal guarantee and corporate guarantee and credit/loan should be given on the merit of the proposal and the promoter’s credibility.
|
|
Food Park project at Sirhind Chandigarh, November 6 The project will also have network of retail outlets for promoting the domestic sale of fruit and vegetables besides doing exports of fresh fruits and vegetables from the state. The main thrust of the project will be to export fresh\semi-processed vegetables and fruits from Punjab chiefly to the U K and Middle East to begin with a South-Asia\Europe would be covered in the next stage. Contract farming has already been undertaken on 500 acres for growing winter vegetables wherein the company will buy back the entire produce from the farmers on per acre basis. Mr Himmat Singh, MD, PAGREXCO said that the project will give a big boost to the state government’s plan to diversify Punjab’s agriculture by developing market linkages for horticultural produce. The project plans to undertake contract farming in 3000 acres for summer vegetables. Mr Ankush Aggarwal of Idma Laboratories stated that Food Park Project is part of their diversification plans where they will exploit their strength in the export market. The company has already tied up with retail outlets in U.K. and Dubai.
|
|
Single legislation for unorganised sector New Delhi, November 6 The Labour Minister said that multiplicity of laws and schemes hinder effective implementation and therefore a single legislation was necessary. Dr Verma said many of the occupations not covered under the organised sector should be examined and brought under the ambit of unorganised sector. “The need for skill upgradation is paramount for increasing productivity in the unorganised sector and also sustains their employability”, the Minister said. Efforts are being made for providing a “paramount social security card” to the casual worker so that they can avail benefits of the Employees Provident Fund and Employees Insurance Scheme, the Minister said adding that the worker would be required to contribute Rs 100 per month for this. A two-day national seminar on the unorganised sector is being held at Vigyan Bhavan here on November 7-8, he said.
|
|
GAIL seeks govt nod for sale of stake in ONGC
New Delhi, November 6 “ADB loan is coming very costly to us with an effective interest rate of over 14 per cent. We are seeking early repayment through sale proceeds of company’s 4.8 per cent shareholding in ONGC,” highly placed company sources said. “The current rate of interest on these (ADB) loans is 6.34 per cent per annum. However, considering the foreign exchange fluctuations and guarantee fees, the effective cost to GAIL is around 14-15 per cent per annum,” sources said. The fresh loans from ADB are now available at LIBOR plus 60 basis points i.e. 2.60 per cent. The effective cost shall be around 8 per cent per annum.
PTI
|
|
50 pc cut in night-time Internet charges
New Delhi, November 6 “BSNL is pleased to announce 50 per cent reduction in PSTN call charges from 10.30 p.m. to 6.30 a.m. for all Internet dial-up users for any service provider using access code 172xxx”, a BSNL statement said today adding reduced charges would be applicable with effect from November 7. As per the amended rates, for internet access local calls made from 10.30 p.m. to midnight and midnight to 6.30 a.m., the revised pulse rate would be for 360 seconds as against the existing duration of 180 seconds, it said. A large number of Indian consumers use dial-up connectivity for accessing internet, and subscribers currently pay about Rs 25 per hour.
PTI
|
|
PNB lowers deposit rates
New Delhi, November 6 The maximum rate for maturity period of three years and above has been reduced to 6.75 per cent from the existing 7 per cent. The rate for one year to less than five years maturity has been decreased to 6.5 per cent from the existing 6.75 per cent. For maturity slabs of 15 to 29 days and 30 to 45 days the revised rates will be 4.5 per cent and 5.25 per cent respectively. Further, the rates for 91 to 179 days and 180 days to less than one year will be 5.5 per cent and 5.75 per cent respectively. A similar reduction has also been announced in NRE term deposits wherein the applicable rates of interest are 5.75 per cent for six months to less than one year, 6.5 per cent for one year to less than three years and 6.75 per cent for three years and above.
TNS
|
|
Microsoft felicitates 33 Indians New Delhi, November 6 This award was established by Microsoft a decade ago to recognise individuals for their outstanding contributions in a wide range of community activities. MVP status is awarded to the most active online community ‘gurus’ for their technical expertise and voluntary willingness to share their experience and commitment to helping others realize their potential within Microsoft technical communities. The winners included eleven from Mumbai, seven from Chennai, four from Bangalore, two each from Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram and one each from Delhi, Visakhapatnam, Chandigarh, and Secunderabad. Mr Dilip Mistry, Director, NET and Developer Evangelism, Microsoft Corporation India Pvt Ltd, said MVPs made a significant contribution to Microsoft’s customer.
UNI |
|
Rationalise tax duty, demand
tyre dealers New Delhi, November 6 According to the Federation, the excise duty on radial tyres for commercial vehicles should be brought down by 50 per cent in relation to the duty rate on outdated cross ply tyres , that is, 16 per cent on radials and 32 per cent on cross ply tyres. “This will provide level playing field to the domestic and foreign products”, the Federation stated. The memo stated the passenger car radial tyres, though imported in small quantities, are going unaccounted for and also without proper checks on quality, safety standards and product performance. Enactment of product liability laws in order to check such practices is the need of the hour.
|
n A brokerage has retained its hold rating on the Bajaj Auto stock, expressing concerns over slowing of sales growth and pricing pressures. n A foreign brokerage has maintained its ‘overweight’ rating on Pfizer. n A brokerage is advising clients to start accumulating Reliance, citing reasonable valuations and limited downside. n A foreign brokerage has maintained its buy rating on BHEL, citing enhanced earnings stability and free cash generation as the potential catalysts. n A brokerage house has recommended a buy on Satyam, saying that the stake sale in subsidiary Satyam Infoway is a positive for the stock. n L & T may gain ground after the company said that it had received a $ 100-million gas processing and supply order in Tanzania. n An analyst has reiterate a buy rating on television content provider Balaji Telefilms, citing a rise in TRPs in each of Balaji’s top ten programmes. n A well-known fund manager is upbeat on the prospects of SBI, and has accorded a strong buy to the PSU banking major. n A renowned analyst is recommending i-flex Solutions, citing scalability in the business model, depth of domain and vertical expertise, revenue visibility and superior growth rates as the main triggers. n There’s room for a punt at the counter of Ipca Laboratories, feels a dealer. n A pick up in sales due to the festive season, and a strong earnings performance for the September quarter could drive the Hero Honda stock price higher. n A fund manager has maintained his underweight rating on the Wipro stock, citing weak telecom environment. n Tisco is poised for an improved performance in the next few quarters and therefore investors could accumulate the scrip, says a domestic brokerage house. n Cheerleaders of the Ranbaxy stock argue that long term business prospects look attractive, minor reversals notwithstanding. n A domestic brokerage house continues to stand by its market outperformer rating on PSU oil major BPCL, citing imminent privatisation and attractive valuations as the key triggers. — Ashok Kumar |
|||||
bb
Nominated TCI ESS bags orders EXL Services |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 122 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
