 |
Friday,
December 20, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
|
Vajpayee
to talk to Megawati FICCI for
30 pc tax on income above 3 lakh
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
HSBC to
invest $ 175 million Haryana to
give sops to bio-tech units Tata
launches WLL service
Government
rules out MTNL privatisation Union
Bank enters insurance sector SC
upholds SBI’s VRS Indo
Rama plans expansion
|
|
Vajpayee to talk to Megawati
New Delhi, December 19 Arun Jain, Chairman of Polaris Software, and his senior executive Rajiv Malhotra have been detained by the Indonesian police following a commercial dispute between the software company and a bank in Jakarta. “Yashwant Sinha has already taken up the issue with the Indonesian Foreign Minister,” Mahajan told mediapersons on the sidelines of a press conference here. “Hopefully, by evening, something will be resolved. If not, then the Foreign Minister will request the Prime Minister to talk to the Indonesian President,”he added. The Indonesian police detained both Jain and Malhotra on December 13 at the behest of Bank Artha Graha, a leading private bank, over a commercial dispute. India has told Indonesia that the continued detention of the software executives in Jakarta and reported use of “strong-arm tactics” against its professionals could impair bilateral ties. Indian Charge d’ Affaires Amar Sinha met Indonesia’s Chief of Protocol on Thursday and impressed upon him the need to quickly secure the release of Jain from what New Delhi calls “illegal detention”. Sinha told IANS on phone from Jakarta that he had conveyed India’s dismay to the Indonesian foreign ministry official over how a small commercial dispute, which could have been resolved through arbitration, had been allowed to snowball into a diplomatic spat that had the potential to impact on the historically close relations between the two countries. The envoy’s meeting followed a telephonic conversation the Indian External Affairs Minister had with his Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirayuda in which he conveyed New Delhi’s displeasure in “strong terms” over the detention of Jain. Wirayuda reportedly told Sinha that he would do his best to have the issue resolved and had deputed his chief of protocol to meet the Indian envoy. Charge d' Affaires Sinha has, however, been unsuccessful in meeting Indonesia’s police chief despite repeated attempts. Jain and Malhotra, head of the company's bankware division, have been detained at the police headquarters. Indian diplomatic sources said the duo have been allowed consular access and also Indian food sent from the mission. They have also been able to communicate with their families back home. “The issue on hand is a commercial one, governed by a contract signed under Singapore laws with an option for arbitration only under Singapore laws. In this context, the detention in Indonesia clearly violates the terms of the contract,” said a Polaris statement. Informed sources said though Polaris had offered to pay the bank $1 million “to settle the dispute”, the bank had asked for 10 times that
amount. IANS
|
|
FICCI for 30 pc tax on
income above 3 lakh New Delhi, December 19 The Federation has suggested that the surcharge of 5 per cent should also be done away with. At present, the maximum marginal rate of income tax on individuals, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) and AOPs etc is 30 per cent and applies to an income of over Rs 1.5 lakh. The tax rate would be 31.5 per cent inclusive of surcharge in case of individual income over Rs 1.5 lakh. Comparing the situation with other countries, FICCI said that in countries like Hong Kong and China, a maximum rate of 45 per cent applies to income above the equivalent of Indian Rs 70 lakh and its rate of 35 per cent is attracted on income above Rs 40 lakh. “It may thus be appreciated that the effective marginal rate of 31.5 per cent is on the higher side when compared with the
prevalent rates in neighbouring countries”. Pointing out the exemption on interest payable by government on deposits made by a retiring employee of the Central or state government or a public sector company out of his retirement benefits in the notified schemes with three years of lock — in period, the Federation said that the denial of this benefit to the employees in private sector has caused unwarranted disparity. Regarding the standard deduction, the memorandum states that there is no rationale in denying the benefit of standard deduction to those with income over Rs 5 lakh and the creation of four categories of salary earners for the purpose of standard deduction has also led to unnecessary complications. FICCI has also emphasised on additional tax incentives for senior citizens and enhancement of tax exemption of medical expenses. In order to sustain the pace of investment in the housing sector, the pre-Budget memorandum has proposed that the deduction relating to interest paid on borrowed capital for acquiring or constructing one self occupied house deductible upto Rs 1.5 lakh when the construction of acquisition is completed before April 1, 2003, should be allowed even where the acquisition is completed on or after April 1, 2003.
|
|
HSBC to invest $ 175 million Chandigarh, December 19 Talking to mediapersons, he said HSBC was targeting the retail marketing, mutual funds, insurance and credit to develop its business. He was here after inaugurating a branch at Ludhiana. The Chandigarh branch has already achieved break-even and would set up new benchmarks in the banking area. The bank has decided to set up a software centre to develop software packages for the worldwide operations at Pune by investing $ 25 million. The bank was quite open to the possibility of “taking over” a domestic branch, which could offer large customer base in the target group, compatibility with bank system, cultural faith and quality staff. However, in view of government restrictions, the bank would continue to increase its presence by entering into a strategic alliances with other banks. He said there was every possibility of cut in the interest rate in the near future. The bank would also take decision after watching the moves of the domestic leaders, he added.
|
|
Haryana to give sops to bio-tech units Chandigarh, December 19 Under the bio-technology policy of the state, the government is setting up a state environment and health board and the bio-technology industry will be given special incentives, said Mr A.N. Mathur, Chief Secretary, Haryana, here today. Speaking at the quarterly meeting of the State Level Bankers' Committee, he said the thrust areas to be covered under the policy include agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry, food and agro- processing, health, education and industrial education and bio- informatics. The state will also promote cultivation of medicinal plants in a big way keeping in view their vast potential in the market. Appreciating the role of the banking sector in the state economy, Mr Mathur called upon them to participate in the emerging areas. He disclosed that to increase the bank lending to the priority sector, the government has decided to raise the exemption of stamp duty on agriculture loans from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1 lakh. The government has decided to develop special economic zone at Garhi Hashru in
Gurgaon district. After gaining a third rank in software, the state is set to achieve second rank in the country this year. In his keynote address, Mr S.S. Kohli, CMD, Punjab National Bank, said the total deposits of the banks increased from Rs 20,809 crore in September, 2001, to Rs 23,484 crore, registering a growth of 12.9 per cent. Similarly, the advances had increased from Rs 8,222 crore to Rs 9,788 crore during the same period, registering a growth of 19 per cent. In respect of national goals, Harwant Singh, Zonal Manager, PNB, Northern zone,said the share of the priority sector to the total credit had increased to 62 per cent against the national goal of 40 per cent. The credit deposit ratio was stagnating at 40 per cent. Ms Umesh Nanda, Commissioner & Secretary, Institutional Finance and Credit Control Haryana, Mr Sarban Singh, Special Secretary, Haryana and Mr Ramesh Chandra, Regional Director, RBI, New Delhi also participated at the meeting.
|
|
Tata launches WLL service
New Delhi, December 19 The company’s product offering will include wireline, fixed wireless and CDMA mobile services in Delhi, company officials said here. As part of mobile tariff, the company is offering a standard tariff plan at a monthly rental of Rs 200 and outgoing call charge of Rs 1.20 per three minute and incoming calls free. The security deposit under this plan for local access will be Rs 2,400 and for local, STD and ISD will be Rs 4,400 while the activation fee will be Rs 1,000 plus 5 per cent service tax. There will no free local calls under the standard plan, officials said. Mahajan allays fears
The government today sought to allay customer fears over WLL saying there was no restraint on basic telephone operators providing the service. “In my view, at least the Supreme Court ruling has not restrained WLL services. So old as well as new operators are allowed to offer these services,” IT and Communications Minister Pramod Mahajan told reporters here. “Supreme Court ne WLL ko close karne ko nahi kaha hai (The SC has not asked to shut down WLL services),” he said at the launch of Tata Teleservices’s basic and WLL telephony services here. The apex court has only referred the matter to the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to see if there were any losses and to whom. Customers of WLL services need not worry. WLL policy is here to stay,” he said. Asked about cellular operators’ view, Mahajan said “they put their views at TRAI but the views were not accepted. They then approached the TDSAT who also did not see any point in their argument. Then they approached the Supreme Court which too has not stayed WLL services.” “Cellular operators views have not been accepted at the three impartial and legal bodies. The government believes WLL is part of the policy,” he said. Mahajan said he would launch Reliance Infocomm’s WLL services later this month.
PTI
|
|
Government rules out MTNL privatisation
New Delhi, December 19 “The Government has no proposal to privatise MTNL beyond what is already disinvested,” Communications and Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan said responding to supplementaries during the Question Hour. Stating that hiring some agency for billing purposes could not be viewed as privatisation, he made it clear in the near future too there was no proposal for privatisation of MTNL. In his written reply, Mahajan said approximately Rs.20.64 crore was outstanding against MTNL Cellular Customers in Delhi and about Rs.21.32 crore in Mumbai. He said due to some technical snags in the billing system, the bills for the period January to March 2002 could not be issued on time. However, the system has been streamlined and the bills are being issued regularly, he added.
PTI
|
|
Union Bank enters insurance sector
Mumbai, December 19 The agreement was signed by UBI’s Chairman and Managing Director V. Leeladhar and HDFC Life Insurance Co’s CEO Deepak Satwalekar here. UBI is among the first public sector banks to enter the insurance sector after the notification of the amended Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) (Licensing of Corporate Agents) Regulations 2002 on October 10. “The bank has obtained approval from IRDA and the RBI to take up corporate agency,” Leeladhar told reporters after signing the agreement. He said that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed with the HDFC Standard Life Insurance on November 5 and they got the license on December 6, he added.
UNI
|
|
SC upholds SBI’s VRS
New Delhi, December 19 “The appeals preferred by the nationalised banks arising from the High Court are dismissed except in the cases where the concerned employees have accepted a part of the benefit... The appeals filed by the SBI are allowed,” a three Judge Bench headed by outgoing Chief Justice G.B. Pattnaik said. The Bench comprising Justice H.K. Sema and Justice S.B. Sinha further said they did not agree with the decision of the High Court.
|
|
SBP Aur branch adjudged best Chandigarh, December 19 Hi-tech branch
Mr Jagdish Chandra Sharma, Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, today inaugurated the new fully computerised branch of State Bank of Patiala at Ner Chowk. Mr Salil Mishra DGM, Chandigarh zone, said the bank has specially designed loan schemes. Mr V.A. Ghai, AGM also spoke on this occasion.
|
|
Indo Rama plans expansion
Nagpur, December 19 At present, its main manufacturing facility at Butibori, about 25 km from here, produces 850 tonnes of polyester per day which is well above the installed capacity of 650 tonnes per day. ‘’Expansion in our business will take annual polyester production from three lakh tonnes to five lakh tonnes by June 2004,’’ said company’s managing director O P Lohia. India has a total polyester production capacity of 15 lakh tonnes annually. There are two major integrated players in the market. While Indo Rama makes three lakh tonnes, Reliance produces over five lakh tonnes of polyester in a year. Of Indo Rama’s total sales turnover of Rs 2,400 crore projected for current fiscal year, nearly Rs 2,000 crore is expected to come from polyester units and the balance from its spinning activities.
UNI
|
|
Gold zooms up to 5560
Mumbai, December 19 Standard gold opened at Rs 5660 in line with firm Asian advices. However, it eased marginally following a fag-end fall in London prices and closed at Rs 5560, showing a remarkable rally of Rs 75 over yesterday’s close.
PTI
|
|
Cossets
starts operations again Chandigarh, December 19 The company has claimed that Cossets has again started its operations, after it was given a clean chit. It has now claimed that all the
operations are now normal with a more progressive outlook. Cossets is also scheduled to add five more stores to its existing stores by February, 2003 at Amritsar, Moradabad, Gurgaon, Roorkee and one more at Delhi. |
Retirement
plans
Om Kotak Mahindra today launched the Kotak Retirement Income Plan and Kotak Capital Mutiplier Plan to persuade people to start planning for retirement early. Addressing a press conference, OM Kotak Mahindra Managing Director Shivaji Dam said the new plans would help the working people, especially those in the unorganised sector.
UNI
|
|
bb
PSB cuts rates Quark ED Forum J.P. Industries Motorola |
 |
| 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 | |
