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Tuesday,
May 6, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Disinvestment panel suggests sale of 3 PSUs
Indo-Pak units await resumption of trade
‘SARS’ mass mailing worm in operation
Air travel to become cheaper |
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Automobile exports up 65 pc
Malout institute buys 17 acres
HPMC to explore foreign market
Tax collection rises 20 pc
Nitco launches dirt-free tiles
Union Bank net jumps 76 pc
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Disinvestment panel suggests sale of 3 PSUs
New Delhi, May 5 In its 19th report submitted recently, the commission said the government should divest its entire equity in the REC, the State Farms Corporation and the Handicrafts and Handloom Export Corporation. In the case of the REC, it said the government should move out of the company in a phased manner spread over a 10 year period, starting by offloading 49 per cent in favour of a strategic partner. Thereafter, the government should dilute its holding to 26 per cent by 2007 in tune with the time-frame set for achieving rural electrification while extracting a control premium from strategic partner. It also suggested the government support for the company during this phase. In the third phase, it recommended the government should complete its exit from the enterprise in line with diminished role of the corporation by 2012. Sounding out a warning to the company which had recently diversified into funding of generation activities, the commission said leveraging the balance sheet for such forays should be curtailed, failing which its financial problem might be aggravated. However, it noted that the withdrawal from these activities would require recapitalisation best undertaken at the current juncture. Set up in 1969 to finance and promote the rural electrification projects, the REC currently employs over 900 persons with an authorised capital base of Rs 1,200 crore. In the case of another PSU, the State Farms Corporation, the commission recommended sale of entire equity amounting to 100 per cent, failing which the government should close down the unit. It felt the unit which ran seven farms across the country with the objective of developing seeds, might not be an attractive case for prospective buyers given its poor financial health. The corporation currently employs 3,024 people with an authorised capital of Rs 25 crore. The handicrafts and Handloom Exports Corporation was also recommended for privatisation by way of strategic sale. With a turnover of Rs 330 crore, the corporation employs 218 people with units in Delhi and Chennai.
PTI
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Indo-Pak units await resumption of trade
New Delhi, May 5 Nowhere is the eagerness more visible than in New Delhi, where business lobbies have already got in touch with their Pakistani counterparts to make preparations for bilateral visits that will follow a thaw in India-Pakistan ties. As a first step, businessmen want the land border connecting Amritsar and Lahore to reopen fast so that movement of goods will be both cheap as well as profitable. Even in the best of times, third country trade and smuggling surpasses the official business between India and Pakistan, considerably adding to the cost of products and diluting the advantages of possible joint ventures, say officials. “Despite a virtual freeze in political and trade relations for several months, there is little to suggest that there was any let up in smuggling across the borders or trade through other countries,” an industry official told IANS. While India’s official trade with Pakistan in 2001-02 was around $204 million, the unofficial trade was estimated at several folds more at over $1 billion. The potential for bilateral trade is estimated to be around $5-6 billion. Businessmen admit that talks of official trade with Pakistan are premature now. Although Pakistani Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has invited Atal Bihari Vajpayee to visit Islamabad, the officials here have their fingers crossed. Nobody wants to rush for an Agra-like summit without preparing the ground. But Ficci has already contacted Sheikh Jamal Mehboob Maghoom of the India-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IPCCI). “The IPCCI has promised to send a delegation to India as soon as the atmosphere is more conducive," said Amit Mitra, Secretary-General of Ficci, informed IANS. Piyush Behl, a senior director of the CII, who led a delegation to Lahore in August-September, 2001, said: “Once there is more clarity on the political front, we will interfacing with our counterparts in the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry.” While India has in the past offered the most favoured nation (MFN) status to Pakistan, the latter has not reciprocated. “First among our wish list is that the Wagah border should be reopened, providing fillip to the bilateral trade and movement of goods at most economic costs," said Behl. "Both India and Pakistan will benefit from resumption of trade as it will bring down costs substantially and can pave the way for joint exploration of opportunities in the region,” he added. From raw material for the industry to finished goods like tyres and heavy machinery and agriculture produce, India has identified several areas of possible cooperation and trade with Pakistan.
IANS
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‘SARS’ mass mailing worm in operation
New Delhi, May 5 MicroWorld Technologies Inc, a content security and IT solutions provider, has cautioned computer users of ‘SARS’, also known as W32/Coronex-A, the mass mailing worm that uses a variety of subject lines, message bodies and attachment names including ‘SARS Virus’and Hongkong.exe. “SARS forwards itself to all contacts in the Outlook address books and attempts to dupe innocent computer users into opening an attachment offering details on the current SARS epidemic. The worm is delivered as an e-mail attachment and the e-mail may have a subject line about the current paranoia about SARS,”, a press release said here. SARS worm just goes onto prove that there are still scores of virus writers who use common fears to spread across dangerous viruses throughout the world, Govind Rammurthy, MD and CEO, MicroWorld Inc said. However, the impact of the worm seems to be less destructive, a security analyst said. Sunil Chandran, CEO, Stellarinfo, a data security firm in Delhi said “the worm is in operation since April 24 and so far its nature of destruction is not high and not widespread and there has been no reporting of data loss by customers to us”. “The worm in not severe in its action otherwise after being in operation for the last two weeks, it could have led to serious data loss. Since it has not happened or at least not reported it is taken to be mild”, he said.
PTI
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Air travel to become cheaper
Mumbai, May 5 “The new fares are to stimulate growth, improve the bottomline of the airline and are aimed at carving a new market”, Jet Airways chairman Ramesh Goyal told newspersons here today. “The apex fares introduced last year had helped to create a market by itself or else we would have gone down by 8-9 per cent”, he said, adding the new fares were aimed at new customers who travel by road and rail. He said it was necessary for government to reduce route and navigation charges as suggested by International Air Transport Association (IATA) to help the airline industry, otherwise the industry would turn sick. A civil aviation ministry-appointed committee was looking at this proposal to lower charges and was expected to submit its report shortly, he said. “There is need for government to take a serious look at the aviation sector before it becomes unviable like the many carriers in Europe and the US”, he said. Asked if Jet was planning an IPO or a private placement, Goyal said the proposal would be considered only after two years as the industry was going through one of its worst phases.
PTI
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Automobile exports up 65 pc
New Delhi, May 5 A total of 3.05 lakh vehicles were shipped during April-March 2002-03 over 1.84 units in the previous fiscal, data compiled by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed. The exports performance was impressive keeping in view the 14.8 per cent growth in domestic sales during the last fiscal. However, exports of commercial, utility and multi-purpose vehicles declined during the year. The country’s largest car exporter Maruti Udyog posted a robust 182.7 per cent rise to 31,518 units but Ford India’s exports fell by 10 per cent to 27,355 units. Exports of Hyundai Motor grew by 65.4 per cent to 8,966 units but Tata Engineering registered a 10.5 per cent decline at 1,940 units. Hindustan Motors saw a rise of 46 per cent to 92 units while General Motors and Honda Siel exported 39 and 67 cars. Nothwithstanding the good run in the domestic market, exports of commercial vehicles fell by 9.82 per cent to 10,704 units. This was due to a 16.2 per cent dip in light Commercial Vehicle exports at 5,900 units while that of Medium and Heavy Commercial (M&H) vehicles saw a marginal decline of 0.41 per cent to 4,804 units. M&H bus exports of Ashok Leyland and Tata Engineering posted a rise of 53.2 and 368.3 per cent to 1,226 and 1,522 units respectively. M&H truck exports of Ashok Leyland and Tata Engineering, however, dived by 13.1 and 61 per cent to 1001 and 975 units. Exports of light bus of Ashok Leyland went up by 865.21 per cent to 222 units. Exports of light trucks of Tata Engineering and Ashok Leyland dipped by 38.1 and 38.4 per cent to 2,696 and 101 units. Exports of utility vehicles slipped by 64 per cent to 1,106 units as Maruti and Tata Engineering suffered a jolt of 35 and 79.2 per cent to 230 and 508 units respectively. Multi-purpose vehicle exports also skidded by 30 per cent to 570 units as M&M and Maruti saw 19 and 31.3 per cent dip to 68 and 502 units respectively. Motor cycle and step-thru exports zoomed by 121.7 per cent to 1.26 lakh units. The growth was fuelled by Yamaha Motor and Bajaj Auto registering 128.4 and 148.1 per cent rise to 45,546 and 45,810 units respectively. Motor cycle exports of Hero Honda and TVS Motor also grew by 75.5 and 160.7 per cent to 22,859 and 7,570 units respectively. Scooter exports also jumped up by 6.29 per cent to 30,116 units mainly due to Honda Motor cycle and Scooter India (HMSI) which clocked a massive 74.2 per cent growth to 10,916 units. But, Bajaj Auto fell by 32.7 per cent to 7,556 units. Moped exports also went up by 22.9 per cent to 23,330 units as Kinetic Engineering and Majestic Auto posted rise of 109.9 and 26.1 per cent growth to 4,561 and 16,145 units respectively. Three-wheeler exports grew up by 181 per cent to 43,443 units as passenger carrier three-wheelers recorded a 195.2 per cent rise to 42,878 units but that of goods carriers fell by 39.9 per cent to 565 units.
PTI
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Malout institute buys 17 acres Chandigarh, May 5 A formal agreement was signed today here between the Department of Technical Education & Industrial Training and the two organisations. While Mr K.B.S. Sidhu, Secretary to the Punjab Government, Department of Technical Education & Industrial Training, signed on behalf of the Punjab Government, PUDA Chief Administrator D.P. Reddy and MIMIT Principal and Dr Gurdip Singh, executed the agreement on behalf of their respective institutions. The deal also envisaged the transfer of an additional area of 7 acres, comprising 4.11 acres that was previously earmarked for water works and an unreserved area of 2 acres behind the school.
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HPMC to explore foreign market Shimla, May 5 This was stated by Mr Virbhadra Singh, the Chief Minister, while launching the latest orange kinnow drink of the corporation, here today. He said after experimenting with different blends of juices and corporation decided to market on a large scale the three most acceptable brands of “Apple tapple”, Ditto Apple and Ditto mango. The latest offering would be marketed as Ditto orange knnow in tetrapacks. The turnover of the corporation increased to Rs 43.12 crore in 2002-03 from Rs 31.37 crore in the previous year. It earned a profit of Rs 59.66 lakh as against a loss of Rs 1.15 crore in the preceding year. The corporation for the first time handled the progeny-cum-demonstration orchards of the horticulture department on a tribal basis and marketed 458 tonnes of apple during the last season to earn a profit of 12 lakh.
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Tax collection rises 20 pc
New Delhi, May 5 In contrast, Income Tax collection was up by only 12.8 per cent at Rs 35,805 crore during the last fiscal compared to Rs 31,742 crore in the previous fiscal, they said.
PTI
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Nitco launches dirt-free tiles
New Delhi, May 5 Mr Sushil Matey, Vice-President, Nitco Tiles, told TNS here today that with the launching of these new tiles there would be a kind of revolution in the construction industry as the new range would reduce the chances of dust getting stuck in the joints to almost minimal.
TNS
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Union Bank net jumps 76 pc
Mumbai, May 5 The interest income for the FY-03 grew by 7.23 per cent to Rs 4,306.18 crore compared to Rs 4,015.68 crore in 2001-02. The bank has recorded a 15.11 per cent rise in the total business at Rs 71,398 crore compared to Rs 62,259 crore in the previous fiscal.
PTI
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BoB cuts PLR Mumbai, May 5 |
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Sony’s offer GNFC gets order Uco Bank union Wine industry Mahindra Fin |
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