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Thursday,
May 15, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Maruti, Telco sales in top gear
Give sops, Haryana to Centre
India to get stake in Iran gas fields
Install new devices to stop pollution |
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FCI scam under probe
Corpn Bank profit grows 17 per cent
Bajaj Auto net inches up SEBI action against 6 firms
Canara Bank slashes lending rates
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Maruti, Telco sales in top gear New Delhi, May 14 A total of 42,506 cars were sold against 33,195 units in April last year, data released today by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) showed. Trucks and buses sales, one of the yardsticks to gauge the rate of economic growth, grew marginally by 4 per cent to 11,844 units in the month under review. Propelled by a substantial increase in sales by Mahindra and Mahindra, the utility vehicles segment grew by an impressive 20.7 per cent in April to 8,526 units. Two-wheeler sales, however, dipped marginally by 0.8 per cent to 3,79,166 units as skidding scooter and mopeds sales offset the growth registered by motor cycle sales. Sales of motorcycles and step-thrus grew by 6.10 per cent to 3,03,792 units while scooters and scooterettes received a jolt of 20.3 per cent to 55,536 units in April. Moped sales also dived by 25 per cent to 19,838 units. Three-wheeler sales declined by 26.1 per cent to 12,505 units. Multi-purpose-vehicle sales went up by a marginal 2 per cent to 3,981 units. Maruti Udyog posted a 37.4 per cent increase in sales to 21,373 units in April, 2003. Sales of Hyundai Motor grew by 26.5 per cent to 9,050 units while that of Tata Engineering by a massive 256.7 per cent to 6,533 units. Honda Siel Cars posted a 65.8 per cent rise at 1,277 units but sales of Ford India fell by 23.3 per cent to 1,022 units in April this year. Hindustan Motors recorded a 31.3 per cent dip at 1,020 cars in the month while that of Fiat went down by 82.4 per cent to 739 units. General Motors India posted a 3.36 per cent decline to 776 units while Toyota Kirloskar sold 653 units of the recently rolled out Camry and Corolla cars. Sales of DaimlerChrysler slipped by 11.7 per cent to 60 cars in the month. Car sales increased in March after a dip in February. In February, customers postponed their plans to buy cars in anticipation of reduction in excise duty and went on a buying spree after the government slashed excise duty to 24 per cent from 32 per cent in this Budget. Commercial vehicles’ sales have been witnessing growth since the last couple of months which is largely attributed to activities in the infrastructure sector, mainly in steel and cement. Sales of buses and trucks surged due to replacement cycle as well. Hero Honda witnessed a dip of 2.02 per cent to 32,031 units while Bajaj Auto sales suffered by 1.01 per cent to 67,902 units. Riding high on 110cc model Freedom, motor cycle sales of LML soared by 619.1 per cent to 18,661 units in April, 2003. Kinetic Engineering saw a 23.3 per cent dip at 2,282 units while Yamaha Motor India posted a 8.59 per cent decline at 23,077 motor cycles. In the scooter and scooterette segment, the decline was due to a massive 55.3 per cent dip in sales of Bajaj Auto to 14,827 units, but Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India posted a massive rise of 99.6 per cent to 19,506 units. Sales of TVS Motor went down by 8.92 per cent to 9,880 units. Kinetic Engineering posted a rise of 203.4 per cent to 2,546 units but Kinetic Motor witnessed a decline of 30.4 per cent to 5,328 units. LML suffered a 58 per cent drop at 3,050 units in the month under review.
PTI |
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Give sops, Haryana to Centre Chandigarh, May 14 A spokesperson of the state government disclosed that the Department of Industries, Haryana, in a report submitted recently, had claimed that the incentives extended to these states would hit the industrial development in the state. It had pointed out that the Morni hills and Mewat area were industrially and economically backward. In addition, stated the report, Narnaul and Mahindragarh districts were the industrially backward. The state government had also urged the Centre to provide concessions to entrepreneurs for setting up units in these areas,including 100 per cent exemption in excise duty for 10 years and 100 per cent income tax exemption for initial period of 5 years and thereafter 30 per cent for companies and 25 per cent for individual entrepreneurs for a further period of five years. Investors setting up new industries in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh would be eligible for capital subsidy at 15 per cent of their investment in plant and machinery subject to a ceiling of Rs 30 lakh. The Haryana Government has reportedly claimed that though it had registered a substantial growth in industrial development and exports but there were a number of blocks and districts which were economically and industrially backward. The state government has pointed out that while the Centre had taken a right decision for extending financial incentives to the industry in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh, but it would result in discrimination against the neighbouring state where there were still
many backward regions. |
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India to get stake in Iran gas fields New Delhi, May 14 The swap will eventually see India importing around 5 million tonnes of LNG from Iran annually, a statement issued here Wednesday said. An agreement reached at the end of a three-day meeting of the Indo-Iran Joint Working Group (IIJWG) envisages the deal running for 25 years and India's purchases gradually rising to 5 million tonnes annually, the statement issued by the Petroleum Ministry said. Facing a growing shortfall of gas supplies, India is expected to start off with import of around 2.5 million tonnes of LNG from Iran, according to official sources. India's first LNG terminal is scheduled to be commissioned by year-end at Dahej in Gujarat, with 5 million tonnes LNG supplies from Qatar. The minutes of the IIJWG meeting in Tehran were signed in the presence of Petroleum Minister Ram Naik. "Discussion on this agreement will be completed within the next six
months. The gas sale-purchase agreement will be signed within nine months of reaching the agreement," the ministry stated. "The cooperation in LNG import and participation in discovered fields will be jointly developed into a package," the statement added. Iran has the second largest gas reserves after Russia and has been pressing India to import natural gas via pipeline or as LNG. India has, in turn, been scouting for stakes in overseas exploration blocks to ensure reliable supplies of oil and gas. With this agreement, Iran's plans of supplying gas to one of the biggest markets in the region will have moved closer to fruition. Even so, Iran is still pursuing its decade-old proposal of supplying natural gas to Pakistan and India via a pipeline. India has, however, yet to agree to this, given its volatile relations with Pakistan, through whose territory the pipeline will run. The agreement signed with Iran includes participation of GAIL in the development of a compressed natural gas (CNG) network in Teheran. GAIL has created the world's largest CNG dispensing infrastructure in New Delhi. Naik's visit to Iran was also marked by a term contract by the IOC to import 5 million tonnes of crude oil from National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC-International).
IANS |
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Install new devices to stop pollution Patiala, May 14 According to a recent survey conducted by the board, 300 saila plants had installed pollution devices which were not designed properly. Similarly the devices in cupola furnaces in Batala and Ludhiana and induction furnaces at Mandi Gobindgarh did not conform to the standards of the pollution board. The Rice Shellers Association has been asked to get a consultant approved for designing the air pollution device by June 9 and install the devices by August 31. Rice shellers and saila plant operators not conforming to this schedule will not be granted licence for operation in the coming paddy season. Board Chairman N.S. Tiwana said cupola furnace operators would be asked to make a similar schedule for the design of new devices for its plants. He said a meeting with the cupola furnace operators had been scheduled in Ludhiana for this purpose soon. It had also been revealed that some steel manufacturers of Mandi Gobindgarh had not fitted suitable air pollution devices on their induction furnaces and they had also been asked to get a model pollution device approved by the board. Mr Tiwana said though the associations were being approached to get standardised pollution devices which were to be used in their industry, the government had also made a committee to monitor the entire process. Besides this, the pollution board has also decided to take up the issue of pollution caused to ground water by pharmaceutical industries located at Tonsa in Nawanshehr district. The board has asked Ranbaxy, Montari and DSM Infectors to engage a consultant to study the pollution caused to the underground water in the area. The firms have been given two months to come up with the new processes which will replace the current system of relying on evaporation of the effluents by releasing them in shallow ponds. |
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FCI scam under probe New Delhi, May 14 Mr Sanjay Kaul, Joint Secretary, Food Ministry, will head the commission which has been asked to submit its report on the Food Corporation of India’s dealings with rice exporters at the earliest, official sources said. In the scam amounting to Rs 455.6 crore, the FCI has granted extra quantity of rice in lieu of broken rice while releasing rice stock at a concessional rate to private exporters. The inquiry will also look into the reported diversion of grains meant for exports into the more lucrative domestic market, sources added. The FCI had allowed private parties to take away 12.55 lakh tonnes of rice as compensation against the so-called quantity of broken rice in the total stock of 57.24 lakh tonnes, released on concessional rate to exporters between April, 2001, and September, 2002. It is alleged that some exporters sourced additional rice from the FCI on the pretext of processing 25 per cent broken rice into 10 or 5 per cent broken rice. They apparently did not do the processing and exported 25 per cent broken rice while diverting additional purchases from the FCI into the domestic market. While the FCI management has contended that the incentive was given to exporters to encourage them to lift broken rice from the granaries, the ministry dismissed the argument saying even after the incentive was withdrawn, the lifting of rice for exports showed an upward trend. |
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Corpn Bank profit grows 17 per cent
Mumbai, May 14 The bank’s board has recommended a dividend of 45 per cent for the year under review, Corporation Bank informed the BSE today. The bank’s total income for the year increased to Rs 2,733.63 crore, compared to Rs 2,476.03 posted during the same period last year, it said. On a standalone basis, the bank had posted a net profit of Rs 415.99 crore for the year, as against Rs 308.1 crore posted in the previous year. The company’s total income rose to Rs 2,634.28 crore compared to Rs 2,327.63 crore posted in FY’02. The bank has posted a net profit of Rs 47.28 crore for the quarter ended March 31, as compared to Rs 45.37 crore during the same period a year ago. The total income rose to Rs 656.94 crore during the quarter, as against Rs 583.45 posted during the same period last year.
PTI |
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Bajaj Auto net inches up
Mumbai, May 14 The total income increased from Rs 1,016.93 crore in the fourth quarter to Rs 1,133.59 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2003. For the year ended March 31, 2003, Bajaj Auto posted a net profit of Rs 534.63 crore as compared to Rs 518.16 crore last year. The total income for the year increased to Rs 4,481.3 crore from Rs 3,877.11 crore in FY-02.
UNI |
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SEBI action against 6 firms
Mumbai, May 14 The six companies were Essar Oil Ltd, Arihant Cotsyn Ltd, Malanpur Steel Ltd, Ojas Technochem Products Mukerian Papers and Vatsa Corporations. It was contemplating action against them under Section 15 C of the SEBI Act, which empowers it to impose a penalty of Rs 1 lakh each day or Rs 1 crore, whichever is less, for their failure to redress investor grievances after having been called upon to do so.
UNI |
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