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Thursday,
October
9, 2003,
Chandigarh, India  
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Govt expects 8 pc growth
Hughes Software net climbs 105 pc
Saudi team arriving on Oct 12
Norms for industrial estates eased |
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Ludhiana Stock Exchange to start commodity trading
Honda to replace ‘City’
PNB, four other banks share
ATMs
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Govt expects 8 pc growth
New Delhi, October 8 “The former RBI Governor (Bimal Jalan) had forecast GDP growth significantly over 6 per cent. I repeat, it will be over 6 per cent. With good monsoon, I will not be surprised if it is pushed beyond 7 per cent and even touch 8 per cent,” Chief Economic Adviser, Ashok Lahiri told reporters. In the first quarter, the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) estimated a GDP growth of 5.7 per cent without factoring the monsoon. With good monsoon, the kharif crop was buoyant and rabi is also expected to do well, going by the meteorological department’s forecast of a prolonged winter. “If we have a bumper harvest, it is imminently possible that we are moving towards more than 7 per cent growth,” Lahiri said. Commenting on the Centre’s fiscal position, Lahiri said the government was “very optimistic” on direct tax collection while indirect tax mop-up would be on target. Direct tax collection was at Rs 33,440 crore in the first six months of this fiscal compared to Rs 29,750 crore in the same period last fiscal, Budget Secretary D. Swarup said. The gross collection was at Rs 50,900 crore till September this fiscal compared to Rs 41,600 crore in the year ago period. Corporate tax collection was at Rs 19,002 crore during April-September this fiscal compared to Rs 15,264 crore in the year ago, while income tax mop-up was at Rs 14,442 crore as against Rs 14,341 crore last fiscal. Indirect tax collection was at Rs 60,172 crore till September, compared to Rs 58,044 crore in the year ago period. “The revenues had been picking up, especially, since September, and will pick up in the second half,” Lahiri said. The government was also keeping expenditure under control after the introduction of the cash management system of various ministries, he said. The government has also apportioned Rs 28,000 crore for food subsidies. “It was expected to remain within target,” Swarup said, adding that the larger procurement of foodgrain due to bumper crop would not impact subsidy bill this fiscal. FII inflow to rise
Hailing the Supreme Court verdict on tax exemption to Mauritius-based companies, the Finance Ministry said today it would help in higher inflow from foreign institutional investors (FIIs). “It (the Supreme Court verdict) clears the cloud over FII inflows coming to India through the Mauritius route,” Chief Economic Adviser Ashok Lahiri told reporters. Asked if FIIs would make more money by exploiting the capital gains tax exemption as laid down in the Indo-Mauritian DoubleTax Avoidance Treaty of 1982, he said “it depended upon the rate of return on investments and movements in the stock market.” The Supreme Court yesterday upheld a income tax circular giving tax exemption on investments made by Mauritius-based companies. —
PTI
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Hughes Software net climbs 105 pc
New Delhi, October 8 The company has also revised its net profit guidance for the year 2003-04 to approximately 80 per cent on a year-on-year basis from the earlier 60-70 per cent, but retained the earlier sales growth forecast of 55-60 per cent during the year. For the third quarter, Hughes Software has projected a net profit guidance of 60-65 per cent over the corresponding quarter last year and 55-60 per cent growth in sales. During the half year ended on September 30, the company’s net profit stood at Rs 32.3 crore, registering a growth of 154 per cent over the same period a year ago and sales increased by 62 per cent to Rs 161.5 crore on a year-on-year basis. The total income for the first half stood at Rs 165 crore. The company added 14 new customers during its Q2, Arun Kumar, president and MD, Hughes Software, said. “Prudent diversification and penetration in telecom domain has helped us expand addressible markets and create medium-term growth drivers. The macro outlook on the global telecom market is still not very clear. However, we are seeing an increase in opportunities and look forward to a period of revenues and earning growth,” Pradman Kaul, Chairman of Hughes, said. In the Q2, Hughes Software added Rs 20.2 crore to its cash and bank balances and maintained its profit margin. During the year, the company’s dependence on its parent Hughes Network Services (HNS) fell to 19 per cent in professional services revenue from the earlier 29 per cent in the Q2 of last fiscal while non-HNS customers provided 57 per cent. —
PTI
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Saudi team arriving on Oct 12 New Delhi, October 8 The move is seen in diplomatic circles here as of immense significance not just economically but strategically too as over the 50 years of bilateral ties, India-Saudi Arabia diplomatic relations have seen a number of ups and downs. According to Saudi Arabian Ambassador here, Mr Saleh Mohammad Al-Ghamdi, the Saudi delegation representing about 30 large business houses from different sectors of the Saudi Trade and Industries will also visit Mumbai and Hyderabad and meet the members of Indian trade and industry. Major chambers like the CII, Ficci, FIEO, Assocham and the Indo-Arab Chamber of Commerce are organising and coordinating these meetings. The coming visit of the Saudi private sector here is seen here as a major breakthrough for Indian economic diplomacy. Saudi Arabia is at crossroads in many ways as relations between Riyadh and Washington have taken a dip since 9/11 developments and Saudi refusal to contribute troops for a US-led stabilisation force in Iraq. Saudi Arabia is the world’s largest oil producer and has more than 40 per cent of the known oil reserves in the world. The biggest irritant between India-Saudi Arabia ties has been Riyadh’s traditionally close relations with Pakistan. Riyadh has several times bailed Islamabad out of economic crunch situations. The uneasy New Delhi-Riyadh relationship was reflected in a lull in high-level bilateral exchanges in the 1960s and 70s following the Indo-Pak wars of 1965 and 1971. The bilateral trade in 1997-98 was $ 3.2 billion, in 1998-99 it has come down to $ 2.6 billion. During 1998-99, Saudi Arabia was the 12th top destination for Indian exports. Mr Al-Ghamdi said the Saudi delegation will also include three members from the Saudi Development Fund who will discuss financial and investment opportunities with their counterparts in India. There are at present 47 Saudi joint ventures in India and 58 Indian joint ventures in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The latest Saudi joint venture in India is of Amiantits group of companies of $10 million for manufacturing GRP pipes, tanks and fittings. |
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Norms for industrial estates eased Chandigarh, October 8 Instead of cancelling the allotment of industrial plots in cases where entrepreneurs have failed to commence production as per the terms and conditions, the government has decided to allow the commencement of production of the project on the allotted plot by charging 25 per cent of the extension fee stipulated in the management procedure for the fourth year provided there are genuine reasons for seeking extension. The entrepreneurs will, however, have to ensure the construction of at least 10 per cent ground coverage. The Department of Industries, Haryana has also reduced the second extension fee by 50 per cent. It will grant second extension of one year to the entrepreneurs, that is for the fifth year from the date of offer of the possession, if they had achieved at least 20 per cent of the permissible ground coverage, besides ordering machinery. In this case, they will have to pay 50 per cent of the total extension fee prescribed for that area under the estate management procedures. The department has made clear that the allottees who commence production in the extended period will not be eligible for 20 per cent rebate on the cost of land, which is otherwise available to those who commence their production within three years from the date of offer of the possession of the industrial plots. The state government has further granted one-time concession to allow the bifurcation and fragmentation of the industrial plots of one acres and above which has happened by September 25, 2003. The allottees will have to pay the required transfer fee in that case. As per the new instructions, the bifurcation can be legalised by paying fee equivalent to transfer fee provided the plots were not subdivided in more than two parts and either of the subdivided plots will not be less than 500 square yards. However, such bifurcation should be for the purpose of industry only. The allottee can also be exempted if he had leased out or rented the industrial plot. But there should not be more than two tenants on the original plots. To encourage the IT industry in the state, the state, government has decided to grant extension of two years without charging any extension fee from those allottees who have not implemented their projects in the stipulated period up to September 25. However, allottees seeking extension will not be eligible for the rebate of 20 per cent on the cost of land. The state government has also issued instructions to amend the terms and conditions regarding the minimum coverage area of the plots. If the plot size is up to 5 acres, the minimum permissible covered area for any transfer of plot will be 20 per cent of the ground coverage. For the plot size ranging 5 to 10 acres, the minimum ground coverage will be 15 per cent and similarly, the ground coverage will be 10 per cent for industrial plots of 10 acres and above. |
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Ludhiana Stock Exchange to start commodity trading Ludhiana, October 8 According to Mr Harjit Singh Sidhu, officiating Executive Director, LSE, it will take nearly four months for the new company to begin operations. With the promulgation of new delisting guidelines by Sebi in February, 2003, many companies (which are non-regional) have applied to LSE for delisting of their shares which will adversely affect the revenues of the LSE. However, to compensate for this loss LSE management has taken many measures such as cost-cutting and recovery of outstanding listing dues from defaulting companies and exploring other sources of revenue generation. Meanwhile, volumes of business on the LSE through its subsidiary-LSE Securities Limited have risen sharply since the first week of April, this year with the advent of bull run on the bourses across the country. The average daily volume of business, which hovered around Rs 70 crore in April, went up to Rs 140 crore in September-October with the highest volume of Rs 184 crore on September 24, thus recording a quantum jump of about 100 per cent during this period. This includes the trading volumes of capital market segment of the BSE and the NSE and futures and options (derivatives) segment of the NSE.
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Honda to replace ‘City’
New Delhi, October 8 Trial production of the car, which will be powered by a 1.5-litre engine, is on after which commercial production will commence, the official said. The official declined to comment on the pricing of the new car and expected volumes. Honda Siel also plans to launch an improved model of its luxury sedan ‘Accord’ in January, 2004, with a 3-litre ‘V6’ engine. The new vehicles will be launched as part of efforts by Honda Siel to achieve a nearly 32 per cent rise in turnover this fiscal. —
PTI
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Coop bank team Vijaya Bank IDBI ‘Gift card’ Banks tie-up Yamaha sales up SBP pact AirTel plan New Spice plan Development loan |
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