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Thursday,
August 14, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Paper on
level-playing field in 2 weeks, says Trai Safety for
offshore transportation to be strengthened: Naik Punjab CM
to visit China in October CII sees
good scope for Punjabis in China Reliance
to import oil from Iraq
Paying for apple
to hit HPMC |
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IDBI expects huge
profits after conversion into bank LIC aims 20 pc
growth in premium income Web worm hits
Windows
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Paper on level-playing field in 2 weeks, says Trai New Delhi, August 13 Trai Chairman Pradip Baijal said the consultancy paper will be issued within two weeks and recommendations will be submitted to the government within two months. “We will issue the consultation paper on imposing an additional fee on WLL(M) as suggested by the TDSAT in two weeks. After receiving replies of the parties concerned, the recommendations will be sent to the
government within 2 or 3 months”, Mr Baijal told mediapersons on the sidelines of a seminar organised by Ficci here. Mr Baijal said the telecom policies should be consistent but should take into account acceleration in technological changes. The bitter slugfest between cellular and fixed line operators is sought to be put to rest with the TDSAT last week allowing the latter to offer limited mobility services. The 2:1 majority judgement passed by the TDSAT upheld the decision of the government taken in January, 2001, allowing fixed line operators to provide WLL services and turned down a petition by the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) challenging the legality of limited mobility services. TDSAT Chairman Justice D P Wadhwa, however, wrote a dissenting note saying that the WLL services are not legal. Mr Justice R U S Prasad and Mr Justice C R Dasgupta asked Trai and the government to create a level-playing field between WLL (M) and cellular operators and called for the imposition of additional licence fee for the WLL (M) services as it is value addition from the basic WLL service. They said the decision by Trai and the government should be taken within four months and at the same time ensure that WLL (M) remain within the specified short-distance calling area (SDCA). “No hand-over from one SDCA to another is allowed under any circumstance. It should be possible to ensure this through application of appropriate software”, they said. The TDSAT also asked the government to provide an additional spectrum availability for WLL (M) service providers considering the large scale of its operations. On the SDCA issue, Mr Baijal said it was for the government to clarify a number of short distance charging areas in Delhi even as he said the capital city was one SDCA to “best of his knowledge.’’ At the same time he said Trai will enforce the TDSAT judgement.
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Safety for offshore transportation to be New Delhi, August 13 Making a suo moto statement in the Lok Sabha today, Petroleum Minister Ram Naik said an independent inquiry is being conducted by a three-member committee on the safety and security of life in offshore operations, especially air logistics, maintenance, repairs and renovation of offshore structures and pipelines and hiring of helicopters. The committee has been asked to submit its report within three months. Apart from this, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had ordered a statutory inquiry to look into the circumstances of the accident, he said. The government has already announced ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to all deceased, which is in addition to financial assistance (Rs 1.80-6 lakh), Composite Social Security Scheme (Rs 5-10 lakh) and Air Insurance of about Rs 7.50 lakh, available to the employees. The total compensation would thus range between Rs 19.30 lakh and Rs 28.50 lakhs. In addition, that ONGC would considering job to a family member of the deceased and the management would be asked to take time-bound decision on matters such as sufficient manpower for offshore operations. Meanwhile, the Minister urged the ONGC Employees’ Collective of Mumbai Region not to take any action which may adversely affect the oil and gas production from Mumbai Offshore and thereby the national economy at this critical juncture.
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Punjab CM to visit China in October Chandigarh, August 13 The CII is holding a trade fair at Beijing to promote bilateral trade. It has invited all the major companies, and state representatives to showcase their potential to explore that market. It would also hold India Week from October 13 to October 19 at Shanghai. Punjab Chief Minister today confirmed that he would participate in the trade fair to be held at Beijing and in India week at Shanghai. He was speaking at a seminar on “India-China Trade and Economic Cooperation” here today. The seminar was organised by the CII, Northern Region, to promote bilateral trade. In his keynote address, Capt Amarinder claimed that in view of the growing bilateral trade between India and China, the state government would make serious efforts to export wheat, rice, sports goods, auto parts and other engineering goods to that country. The state would try to facilitate some joint ventures between state companies and Chinese companies to set up infrastructure projects in the state, besides promoting investments in the field of IT, bio-technology fields, toys manufacturing, he said. Earlier, Mr S.K. Bijlani, former Chairman, CII Northern Region, said, the bilateral trade between the India-China had crossed $ 3 billion during the first five months of the current financial year. It was likely to reach $10 billion during the next financial year. Mr S.K. Barman, Director, Manufacturing Services, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, said, “We had started our manufacturing in that country about a decade ago. Though due to language, food, cultural variations, and uncertainty over regulations, it was difficult to trade with that country. But those who were ready to take risks, would be able to explore new opportunities in that country.” In his address, Mr Alok Chatterjee, DGM, Samtel Colour Ltd, claimed it was a myth that Chinese companies could always beat Indian companies in the domestic and international market.
Jairam Ramesh bereaved
Mr Jairam Ramesh, Secretary AICCI, and a spokesperson of the party on economic matters, who was scheduled to make a keynote address in the seminar, could not attend the function. He had to cancel his visit to the city after his father who was staying in Bangalore expired yesterday.
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CII sees good scope
for Punjabis in China Chandigarh, August 13 Mr
Piyush, who is still the Director, CII, Northern Region, Chandigarh, has been assigned the task of promoting bilateral trade between India and China. He claimed that Indo-China trade, which is just $1 billion, will reach $30 billion by 2010. The trade is increasing by over 70 per cent every year. Appealing to the Punjab Government and industry, he said,‘‘China is no more a threat for us, but an opportunity to tap the market. Even if it emerges as the largest manufacturing economy, we could try to become number two. We cannot be a silent participant in the globalised economy.’’ Its economy has been growing at an average rate of 8.5 per cent for the past one decade. There was a vast scope for Punjabi goods' manufacturers to explore the 1.13 billion market of China. Companies like the Aditya Birla group, Bry Air, Dr Reddy’s Lab, ICICI Bank, Infosys, NIIT, Ranbaxy,
Satyam, TCS, SBI, etc have set up their offices in China. The Punjab Government can attract Chinese investment in the field of roads, power, toys, fruit processing, shopping malls and toys manufacturing. Mr Bahl said Markfed can enter joint ventures to export wheat, rice and other products to that country and processed food to other countries. Chinese companies in Shanghai are using high quality packaging material to sell chilled and boiled coconut water in the market. He said,‘‘ There is a lot of scope to sell processed kinnow and watermelon juice to that country. ’’ He said a CII team at Shanghai can help the small-scale industry to showcase its products at the
Shanghaimart— an initiative of the traders to showcase their products at Shanghai— to one of the largest market of the world. The CII has taken an initiative to set up India-China Club to promote bilateral trade between the two giant economies of the world.
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Reliance to import oil from Iraq
New Delhi, August 13 “RIL has signed an agreement with Iraq’s State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) for buying over 1 million tonnes of crude oil during October to March,” industry sources said. The Indian Oil Corp (IOC) will sign a contract this week with Iraq’s oil marketing company for import of just over 3 million tonnes of Basra Light crude oil during October, 2003, to September, 2004. The IOC will lift about 1.5 million tonnes of Basra Light crude oil during the six months to March, 2004, and an equal quantity thereafter. — PTI OBC net up 25 pc by US norms
NEW DELHI: The Oriental Bank of Commerce said today its net profit as per the US GAAP accounting shot up by 25 per cent at Rs 572 crore in 2002-03 compared to Rs 457 crore as per Indian Accounting Standards. The OBC, which is one among a few public sector banks to take a lead in making the accounts in the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, also reported a 59 per cent rise in the shareholders’ funds (capital and reserves) at Rs 3,369 crore as per the US GAAP against Rs 2,109 crore by Indian Accounting system. This revelation by one among the top 10 banks comes at a time when ICICI Bank had reported a dip in profit as per US GAAP.
— PTI
Oil prices slip to $ 31.92
NEW YORK: Oil prices have drifted lower as traders relaxed a little about the outlook for Iraqi production, analysts said. New York’s benchmark light sweet crude contract for September delivery fell nine cents to $ 31.92 a barrel yesterday. In London, Brent North sea crude oil for September delivery eased four cents to $ 29.87. But the market remained anxious about the declining US inventories of gasoline on the eve of the release of weekly data on US commercial oil stocks.
— AFP
RBI to pay 8,834 cr dividend
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India Board today decided to transfer a dividend of Rs 8,834 crore, lower than the previous year, to the Government of India out of its surplus profit. This dividend has been paid for the year ended June 30, 2003, an RBI spokesperson said here. In the previous year, the apex bank had paid a dividend of Rs 10,320 crore.
— PTI
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Paying for apple to hit HPMC Shimla, August 13 The government has been supplying a part of the apple procured under the market intervention scheme for processing free of cost since 1998 to sustain the corporation which has over the past two decades accumulated losses of Rs 28 crore. However, while finalising the market intervention scheme for procurement of apple from growers at a support price of Rs 4 per kg for this season, the government also decided to provide the processable grade of fruit at Rs 2.25 kg. Consequently, the cost of the production of the apple juice concentrate will go up by Rs 23 per kg as on average 11 kg of fruit yield one kg of juice concentrate. The corporation is finding it difficult to compete with the Chinese juice concentrate which is available at around Rs 28 per kg. With the change in government policy the cost of production will increase to Rs 55 kg. Further ,the handling charges for 40,000 tonnes of apple to be procured under the scheme will be paid at Rs 1.30 per kg against the actual expenses of Rs 2.40 per kg, making procurement of fruit an uneconomical proposition. Last year the government paid Rs 1.19 crore as handling charges as against the expenditure of Rs 1.34 crore ,causing a loss of over Rs 15 lakh to the corporation .This year the losses will rise as the total procurement will increase because of the bumper crop. The change in the government policy has come at a time when things had started looking up and the corporation earned an operational profit of Rs 1.32 crore for the first time last year. The corporation had taken a number of steps to curtail expenses like switch over to online banking, centralisation of financial controls, recovery of outstanding dues and discontinuation of credit facility to its
distributors. All these efforts will be in vain as the high cost of products will render the apple products unmarketable.
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IDBI expects huge profits
after conversion
into bank
New Delhi, August 13 “We have always been in profits. We hope, IDBI will post huge profit after the conversion,” Vora told PTI, while expressing optimism about its universal banking plans set to be rolled out after Parliament clears the IDBI Repeal bill. IDBI’s proposed ‘Business Model’, drawn up last year, envisages that if the FI is converted into a bank in this fiscal, then it would post a net profit of Rs 493 crore in 2003-04, with total income projected at Rs 6,427 crore and expenses at Rs 5,003 crore. The profits will go up to Rs 583 crore in 2004-05, and further to Rs 607 crore in 2005-06, Rs 653 crore in 2006-07 and Rs 671 crore in 2007-08. The profit projection is based on the reduction in cost of borrowing after the conversion of the DFI into a bank. “After conversion into a bank, we will raise funds through all kinds of deposits — current, savings and term deposits,” Vora said. It is estimated that IDBI would be able to raise about Rs 5,000 crore per annum by way of savings, current and fixed deposits. Another Rs 4,500 crore would come from bonds.
— PTI
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LIC aims 20 pc growth in premium income
New Delhi, August 13 In an interview to PTI, LIC chairman S.B. Mathur also exuded confidence of retaining more than 90 per cent market share after five years despite the stiff competition from private players. “This fiscal, we are expecting 20 per cent growth in premium income at over Rs 11,600 crore, which is an addition of Rs 2,000 crore over previous fiscal’s income,” he said. This fiscal, LIC has already mopped up about Rs 1,100 crore from Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana, which was launched by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee hardly a month ago. It targets about Rs 2,000 crore alone from this scheme. LIC will also push up sales of some of its attractive schemes like Bima Plus and launch more schemes to shore up premium income. LIC also witnessed Rs 1,800 crore drop in premium income after it closed its most popular high-yielding policy ‘Jeevan Shree’ and launched a new policy.
— PTI
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Web worm hits Windows
San Francisco, August 13 A computer security expert said the worm, which specifically targets computers running Windows XP and Windows 2000, could spread for a few days before tapering off. At least 124,000 computers using Microsoft Corp.’s Windows software have been infected worldwide, according to a sample by Symantec Corp.’s Security Response sensor network. “Corporate networks are getting hit pretty hard,’’ said Alfred Huger, a senior director of engineering at Symantec. “Hundreds of machines are spontaneously rebooting throughout the environment.’’ Johannes Ullrich of the SANS Institute said the rate at which the worm was spreading seemed to be slowing a bit late Tuesday afternoon. SANS (SysAdmin, Auditing, Networking and Security Institute) is a security training and information organisation based in Bethesda, Maryland. The patch is available at http://www.microsoft.com/security/.
— Reuters
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