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Tuesday,
September 9, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Pak refuses MFN status to India
Anti-outsourcing bill in USA on cards
Humanoid robot comes to India
Haryana set to woo Singapore team
Nod to Bt cotton despite poor show Parke-Davis, Pfizer merger
gets approval
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Dr Reddy’s Lab eyes Europe
Prices of 70 drugs cut down
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Pak refuses MFN status to India Islamabad, September 8 "This has become an emotional issue for Pakistanis and we don't want to take any hasty decisions that hurt our people," a Commerce Ministry official told IANS on condition of anonymity. But businessmen here seem to be in favour of granting the MFN status to India. Such a status eases qualitative and quantitative restrictions on the flow of goods between the two countries. India gave Pakistan the MFN status in 1996. Since then New Delhi has urged Pakistan from time to time to accord such a status to India to increase their trade. Much has happened between the two countries since 1996, including the deployment of troops on their border in 2002. Pakistan has in the past linked the grant of the MFN status to India to the Kashmir dispute. The official said: "Pakistan has been increasing the number of items open for trading with India step by step and has added 78 items to the list though not the ones mentioned by India." Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar had earlier said that granting the MFN status was no different from the most ordinary status given by one country to another nation with which it is trading. "But it has now become an emotional issue and hence the minister has also stepped back and linked the granting of the MFN status to serious discussions with India on political disputes," Khalid Mahmood, a research fellow at Islamabad's Institute of Policy Studies, told IANS. Parliamentarian and leading businessman Illyas Bilour says the choice for the two countries is to either have normal trade with each other or to let smuggling between the two countries of goods worth $1.5 billion a year to continue. Indian goods come to Pakistan either directly from across the border or through places like Singapore and Dubai. The All-Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has been demanding for long that its members be enabled to import textile machinery parts from India that are made there with licences from German, Swiss or other companies. The products there are far cheaper than the same parts manufactured in European countries. But Islamabad has been indifferent to their appeals. "After 2004 when the textile quota agreement expires, Pakistan will find it difficult to defend its refusal to give the MFN status to India," says APTMA spokesman Hafeez Abid.
— IANS
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Anti-outsourcing bill in USA on cards
Washington, September 8 “Although none of the legislations introduced in several states to prohibit state IT contracts and work being awarded to offshore companies have been passed, the Bills are expected to reappear during the current election year given the haemorrhaging of jobs in the USA,” Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) President, Mr Harris Miller, said at a conference. Earlier this year, four US states — New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut and Washington — were considering legislation for stopping the outsourcing of IT work. The issue of outsourcing of IT contracts and jobs to countries is now moving from the states to the Bush administration and the Congress in view of the rising joblessness. According to the latest economic estimates, a vast majority of the 2.7 million jobs lost since the 2001 recession began were the result of permanent changes in the US economy. In August 2003 alone, more than 90,000 jobs were lost. What started off as a value-added service, outsourcing now is being viewed unfavourably because of the economic situation and resultant job losses, said TCS America President Arup Gupta. In India, the outsourcing sector is projected to surge by 55 per cent this fiscal. Commerce and Industry Minister Arun Jaitley has said the attempts to ban IT outsourcing from other countries amounted to a denial of market access. “Such moves are vitiating the environment as it is tantamount to denying market access in an area in which India has core competence. Bringing in such legislation interferes with market forces,” Mr Jaitley said.
— UNI
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Humanoid robot comes to India New Delhi, September 8 He is Asimo, the first walking humanoid robot. Asimo (Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility), Honda Motor Company’s latest and most significant advancement in the pursuit of creative mobility was unveiled here today in the first-ever visit to this region. After travelling to China, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, besides the USA and Europe, Asimo will be in India for a month. During his stay here Asimo will demonstrate its abilities and skills to interact with humans, and of its character of assistance and support to them. Asimo will also conduct special Asimo shows, participate in school quiz contests, and robotics seminar. Asimo has redefined the boundaries of robotics research and study in the world by displaying its immense ability and skill. Asimo’s visit to India has been planned by Honda Motor, Japan, along with its four Indian ventures: Honda Siel Cars India, Hero Honda Motors, Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India, and Honda Siel Power Products. Enabled by the new walking technology, Intelligent Real-Time Flexible Walking or i-walk, considered a huge leap forward in the development of humanoid robots, Asimo can walk with a great amount of flexibility. The advancement in technology makes Asimo perfect for helping around the house, especially for persons confined to bed or wheelchair. Asimo’s size has been chosen to allow it to operate freely in the human living space and to make it people-friendly. Currently, Asimo functions as a tour guide in museums and as a greeter in high tech companies in Japan.
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Haryana set to woo Singapore team New Delhi, September 8 The delegation is led by Singapore’s Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan. It comprises officers of Building and Construction Authorities and International Enterprises and 25 businessmen. Mr Prem Singh, India’s former High Commissioner to Singapore and Vice-Chairman of the FIPB, will meet the
delegation. Mr Prem Singh said here on Monday that they will market Haryana, especially Gurgaon, to the delegates at a meeting on Tuesday. “We will apprise them of the investment-friendly climate and cosmopolitan ambience of Gurgaon, besides the strong leadership and stable government of the state. Apart from our 12-minute audio-visual presentation on Haryana, we will highlight the business opportunities and strengths of the state,’’ Mr Prem Singh said. The Haryana FIPB will leave no stone unturned in convincing the delegation that Haryana is very suitable for foreign investment as it is free from law and order problems. The former career diplomat said Haryana is rich in infrastructure and is the first state to provide metalled road access and electricity to all villages. “We are the second largest exporter of software after Bangalore and Chennai,’’he said. He said the board has succeeded in generating serious interest of foreign investors in Haryana. While claiming Rs 3,500 crore of foreign investment in the pipeline, he enumerated various projects in the initial stages. Those building the Shangrila Tourist Resort on Gurgaon-Faridabad Road have already acquired 500 acres for the Rs 1200 crore project.
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Nod to Bt cotton despite poor show New Delhi, September 8 “We need to know from the GEAC how approval for commercial cultivation in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra was granted when no state and district-level committee was set up, as required by the rules under the Environment Protection Act,” Dr Suman Sahai of the Gene Campaign, the NGOs working in this field, said here today. “The GEAC must also fix the responsibility for the failed cotton crop and make Monsanto compensate those farmers who have suffered losses. This is required under the Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Right Act, 2001,” she added. The official report sent by the state government on the field trials of the Kharif season stated that Monsanto’s Bt cotton had done worse compared to the local non Bt-hybrids. The Monsanto cotton plant type is weaker and less vigorous compared to indigenous cotton varieties. The cost of cultivation is higher for Bt cotton compared to indigenous non-Bt hybrids and the net incomes are lower in the Monsanto variety compared to the indigenous varieties.
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Parke-Davis, Pfizer merger
gets approval
New Delhi, September 8 The apex court dismissed the special leave petition
(SLP) filed by dissenting shareholders and approved the merger of Parke-Davis with Pfizer. “Pfizer will now proceed to complete the implementation of the Scheme of Amalgamation with
Parke-Davis,” the pharma company said in a statement here. The company will now take steps to issue equity shares of Pfizer in the proportion of 4 equity shares for every 9 equity shares of
Parke-Davis (India) Ltd. Pfizer will also proceed to hold the Annual General Meeting to approve the annual accounts of the company for the year ended November 30, 2002, and pay dividend at the rate of Rs 7.50 on every equity share on the post-merger equity capital of the company.
— UNI
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Volvo trucks Central Bank Ashok Leyland BSNL phones IMF Director J&K tourism Hero Honda Tata Tea IDBI bonds FDI norms |
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