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Sunday,
July 20, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Bankers
seek amendment to farm dues recovery Act RBI
announces prices of 4 liquid bonds Uco Bank
posts 86 pc growth in profit Iran keen
to tie up with India in IT J&K
Govt set to develop industries Obese
Americans may sue McDonald’s
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2 Moga
men win Baisakhi bumper
Jet
Airways sees $ 60m profit
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Bankers seek amendment to farm dues recovery Act Chandigarh, July 19 They said after the implementation of Bank Securitisation Act, and increase retail banking loans, the banks were reluctant to increase credit to the agricultural sector due to age old recovery laws. They pointed out that due to high risk and outstanding loans, the banks were reluctant to increase credit offtake to that sector. The state government should amend the Recovery Act to increase credit to the genuine borrowers. At a recently held the State Level Bankers Committee Meeting, the bankers called upon the state government to change the definition of the agriculture so that bio-gas plants and other new innovative agro based activities could be financed in that sector. The Punjab National Bank (PNB) which is the leading bank in the state suggested to include future interest and other charges in the recovery certificates. The bankers pointed out that due to lengthy proceedings under the Act, the number of recovery cases had assumed an alarming proportion. The position of recovery through district administration under State Agricultural Act, HACOMP Act, they said, had crossed 14,000 amounting Rs 56.31 crore by March 31, 2003. The total agricultural credit in the state had reached Rs 4797.68 crore out of total Rs 7212.32 crore credit. For the current year, the credit target to that sector has been pegged at 5655.62 crore, an increase of 18.4 per cent. But due to severe drought in the state the banks were facing problem of recovery. Though the recovery under the Act has improved, yet the bankers called upon the state government to speed up the matter. Ms Umesh Nanda, Commissioner and Secretary, Institutional Finance and Credit Control, Haryana assured the banks that state government was seized of the matter and an amicable solution would be soon worked out. A senior official of the PNB said: “There were about 4,800 cases amounting Rs 11.80 crore which were pending for more than three years. Most of the cases were in Jind ( 1023), Sirsa ( 589), Gurgaon (494), Bhiwani ( 439) and Fatehabad (435).’’ He claimed that cases could not be settled due to lack of cooperation from Tehsildars and SDO (Civil). He said proceeding under the Act could be allowed before the same authority instead of two authorities — Tehsildar and SDO (Civil).
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RBI announces prices of 4 liquid bonds
Mumbai, July 19 The Reserve Bank of India set the prices of 6.65 per cent, 2009 at Rs 106.25, 6.72 per cent, 2014 bond at Rs 107.64, 7.46 per cent, 2017 paper at Rs 114.13 and the 6.25 per cent 2018 bond at Rs 103.14. The ratio of allotment for the 6.65 per cent, 2009, 7.46 per cent 2017 and 6.25 per cent, 2018 bonds was 20 per cent, while that of the 6.72 per cent, 2014, bond was 40 per cent. As announced earlier by the Central Government, the debt buy back auction of high cost illiquid securities began today. The government will accept a minimum discount as a percentage to market price of 7.5 per cent that must be offered by eligible institutions and this “reserve price” would be calculated for each of the 19 securities offered for buyback, the Reserve Bank of India said in a release. The Reserve Bank of India has also announced the auction of 91-day treasury bill for a notified amount of Rs 500 crore and 364-day T bill for Rs 1,000 crore on July 23.
— UNI
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Uco Bank posts 86 pc growth
in profit
Kolkata, July 19 The improved result came on the back of a 17.51 per cent growth in deposit and 21.12 per cent in advances, both year-on-year, it said. The net interest income of the bank recorded a nearly 47 per cent growth to Rs 280 crore as compared to the corresponding previous year. The bank had added Rs 238 crore to its reserve which stood at Rs 748 crore as at the end of first quarter. The bank has finalised all its plans for its Rs 200 crore
IPO, likely to hit the market shortly. — UNI
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SBI cuts interest on farm loans
Chandigarh, July 19 The new rate is 1.75 per cent below the bank’s prime lending rate, SBI said in a release here today. Bank officials said the decision to reduce the rate is in consonance with the government’s desire to help the farming community, which contributes significantly to the country’s economy.
— TNS
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Iran keen to tie up with India in IT
Mumbai, July 19 Addressing a gathering of Indian businessmen here today, the minister said India was accepted as a leading player in software and Iran would like to gain from the country’s expertise. On a query on extension of visa for Indian businessmen’s stay in Iran, the Deputy Finance Minister promised to look into the issue and extend all help to Indian businessmen. Meanwhile, on the proposed oil pipeline, which was expected to be laid through Pakistan, the minister was hopeful of its materialisation and added that the pipeline would help to forge a good relationship between the three countries, India, Pakistan and Iran. The meeting, organised by Indo-Iran Chamber of Commerce, also discussed other issued related to furthering of trade and commerce between the two countries, including the Iranian pipeline project and also hailed the Iranian President’s recent visit to India as a significant one. During his visit, the two countries has signed memorandum of understandings for strategic relations and promotion of trade and commerce. Aminzadeh would leave for Delhi on Sunday night and would meet Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha, national Security adviser Brajesh Mishra and Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal. Aminzadeh would also meet Indian businessmen and industrialists on Tuesday at a
function organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries in New Delhi.
— PTI
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J&K Govt set to develop industries
Srinagar, July 19 Minister of State for Industries Raman Mattoo, during his visit to the industrial sector in Baramulla in north Kashmir, told reporters the industrial development was a critical component of the strategy to achieve a balanced and integrated progress of the state and to deal with the problem of unemployment. The government has plans to enhance all possible support as well as market opportunities to profitable units, he said and exhorted the need to exploit the huge natural deposits of gypsum and lime in the state which could prove to be the assets of the industrial sector. Stating that the government was committed to strengthening the viability of the industrial sector, Matoo said with the optimum utilisation of natural resources in the state, profitable units like mineral water, poultry and poultry products, willow bat and furniture, food processing and dairy products could easily be established. Willow industry, having ever increasing demand in the international market, would shortly be started in the Baramulla industrial complex, he said. A fruit park was also being set up at Sopore to provide facilities to the unit holders in manufacturing fruit-related products, the Minister added.
—PTI
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India can overtake China: report Washington, July 19 This is stated in a new report of the latest issue of the Foreign Policy Journal here. In the article entitled "Can India Overtake China?" the authors say China's open arms to foreign direct investment
(FDI) and India's home-grown entrepreneurs are two models in a race for economic development in which India might just turn out the winner. India "looks poised to reap significantly more FDI in the coming years than it has attracted to date", some of this the result of embracing the
diaspora, say MIT associate professor Yasheng Huang and Harvard professor Tarun Khanna in the report. While in the 1990s, more than half of China's FDI came from the
diaspora, the Indian diaspora accounted for less than 10 per cent of the foreign money flowing to India. With the welcome mat now laid out, direct investment from non-resident Indians is likely to increase though the Indian diaspora's intellectual capital may be even more valuable, the authors contend. "With the help of its
diaspora, China has won the race to be the world's factory. With the help of its
diaspora, India can become the world's technology lab," say Khanna and Huang. They emphasise that the export-led manufacturing boom in China "is largely a creation of
FDI, which effectively serves as a substitute for domestic entrepreneurship", and that few local firms in that country can compete in a world-class level with any big multinationals, unlike India. India has not attracted anywhere near the amount of FDI that China has. China received over $44 billion in FDI in 2000 when India got just $3.4 billion. Only 10 per cent of Chinese people live in poverty while the figure is 25 per cent for India. Beijing has had a long and welcoming relationship with the wealthier Chinese expatriate community compared to India where not only was the diaspora less willing to invest back home, but it was also shunned until recently by the Indian government, say the authors. The Chinese diaspora numbers 55 million and the Indian diaspora 20 million. "New Delhi took a dim view of Indians who had gone abroad." The upshot, however, is not all negative. "In the process, India has managed to spawn a number of companies that now compete internationally with the best that Europe and the United States have to offer", many of them having the most cutting-edge, knowledge-based industries — Infosys and Wipro and Ranbaxy and Dr.Reddy's Labs, to name just a few. Last year, the Forbes 200, an annual ranking of the world's best small companies, included 13 Indian firms but just four from mainland China, the authors point out. India's infrastructure to support local business growth is also resultantly stronger, as is its legal system, compared to China. The authors say India is doing a "superior job" of utilising its resources and indications are its ground-up approach "may indeed be wiser".
— IANS
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Obese Americans may sue McDonald’s London, July 19 John Banzhaf, a central figure in successful multibillion-dollar healthcare lawsuits against the tobacco industry, believes the fast food giant will be hit by a deluge of lawsuits if it can be shown that its high-calorie diet of burgers, soft drinks and fries is addictive. Banzhaf, a professor of law at George Washington University, is spearheading a number of “test cases’’ against McDonald’s. “The sky is almost the limit,’’Banzhaf told The Observer. “Tobacco companies have had to pay more than $200bn to reimburse US states for their healthcare costs, and now our epidemic of obesity is such that the junk food companies will also be liable for vast sums.’’ His remarks follow new scientific findings from Princeton University that suggest a combination of high-fat and high-sugar foods create biochemical reactions in the body similar to those seen in people addicted to cigarettes. If verified, the research can remove food companies’ long-standing legal defence that consumers are responsible for their own overeating. The proportion of overweight adults in the USA has soared to 65 per cent. Treating people for obesity-related illnesses costs America’s healthcare system an estimated $117bn a year. Around 25 per cent of the food consumed by this group is made in fast food restaurants, says Banzhaf. “So we can estimate that McDonald’s as the market leader is probably responsible for a good 5 per cent of the damage done to the healthcare budget — in other words, in excess of $5bn per year.’’ He added: “McDonald's may also be liable to pay punitive damages, and compensation for the pain and suffering of those who became seriously ill.... It can also be sued if its advertising is found to have been deceptive, or if it improperly targeted children .... I will not be surprised to see McDonald's paying more than $50bn over the next decade.’’ McDonald’s, which has successfully repelled obesity lawsuits in the past, declined to comment on Banzhaf’s remarks. It has denied that its foods are addictive or that it encourages overeating.
— By arrangement with The Guardian.
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2 Moga men win Baisakhi bumper Chandigarh, July 19 Mr Sadik Khan and Mr Shah Waryam of Baghapurana, Moga district, were declared the joint winners of Rs 1.50 crore award for Baisakhi Bumper, 2003. Mr Lal Singh said bumper draws of the state lotteries were popular and the total sales of tickets of Baisakhi Bumper, 2003, had crossed 4.43 lakh as against 2.17 lakh tickets during Baisakhi Bumper, 2002.
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Essar Shipping net rises
New Delhi, July 19 |
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Syndicate Bank Tata Steel Mobile phones SIDBI new CMD Spice offer Gulf Oil net up Customers meet |
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