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Infrastructure in industrial locations to be strengthened
Sugarfed mills’ fate uncertain Govt announces sops for SEZ units Naik proposes 12 to 15 pc share sale in ONGC, IOC Maruti inks
5-year wage settlement Hero Honda to announce third plant in December |
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Indo-US high-tech cooperation group meets on Nov 20 NCDC asked to lower interest rates Pears from USA enter India
Unorganised workers bill deferred
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Infrastructure in industrial locations to be strengthened
New Delhi, November 6 The scheme will provide transport, road, water, power gas/fuel supply, solid waste disposal, effluent treatment, and IT and communication technology support in select industrial clusters/locations, said an official release issued after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs. Initially 20-25 high growth potential clusters/locations will be taken up for development in the Tenth Five Year Plan period (2002-07), it said. The scheme would be implemented through Special Purpose Vehicle
(SPV) formed by the cluster/industry association so as to ensure that the infrastructure development/ upgradation is user-driven. “The scheme is expected to enhance competitiveness of domestic industry through increased productivity, lower cost of production, improved product quality, increase in global market share through exports and additional employment generation,” an official statement said. The CCEA also approved the extension of the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme
(TUFS) up to 2007 aimed at helping the modernisation of the Indian textile industry. The CCEA cleared extension of the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme upto March 31, 2007 and enlarged its scope to cover small scale powerloom with additional incentives of 20 per of the cost of modern weaving machinery upto Rs 50 lakh. Minister for Health and Family Welfare Sushma Swaraj told reporters after the CCEA meeting that with the help of the
TUF, an estimated 32,000 modern looms would be added with a projected benefit of Rs 7,500 crore. Under the TUF scheme, interest rate incentive of 5 per cent is given on the credits utilised for the modernisation of looms. The spinning and composite segments are the largest beneficiaries of the scheme accounting for 57 per cent of the sanctioned credit, the CCEA noted. Processing and weaving sections have been able to utilise only 14.49 per cent and 8.80 per cent of the credit sanctioned, respectively. The decentralised powerloom sector, which accounts for 60 per cent of the total production of cloth in the country, has been able to avail of only about 2.12 per cent of the sanctioned amount. Since 1999, only 191 units have taken credit for modernisation, for about 2,564 upgraded looms.
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Sugarfed mills’ fate uncertain Chandigarh, November 6 Out of fifteen mills of the
Sugarfed, one has already been in the process of liquidation, and the remaining are working on day to day basis. Neither the management nor the employees were able to take any decision and are uncertain about their future. On the other hand, farmers are waiting for the announcement of the state administered price (SAP) for the sugarcane by the state or the Statutory Minimum Price
(SMP) to be announced by the Centre. Ms Vinni Mahajan, Director-cum-Secretary, Directorate of Disinvestment, Punjab, today disclosed that the high powered committee has finalised the name of the consultants to “study the restructuring package for the 14 sugar mills of the Sugarfed and one sugarmill of the Markfed in the cooperative sector. The KPMG Group, that has been selected for the consultancy work, is likely to start its work soon, after the consent of the core committee.” The farmers organisations in the state are up in arms as neither state government nor the Centre have announced the SMP or SAP for cane. The UP farmers led by Mahinder Singh Tikait have already announced to come to streets soon if the Centre failed to announce the SMP for sugarcane. The Petroleum Ministry had announced to introduce petrol with 5 per cent mixed ethanol in the state among other states to provide relief to the sugar sector. They alleged that the state government was not taking any interest to offer any temporary but most required relief’ to the sugarcane producers or the employees of the mills.
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Govt announces sops for SEZ units New Delhi, November 6 Though this move was projected as a step to give boost to exports, the Labour Minister’s announcement is being seen as the beginning of a new labour regime which would possibly culminate into a “hire and fire” environment. “We have taken a decision to exempt units in SEZ from payment of statutory dues for a five-year period covering ESI and EPF contributions”, Mr Verma said at the 23rd National Employees Relations Conference here, organised by Standing Conference of Public Enterprises. The minister asserted that the move would help the domestic industry in a big way to increase production and create greater employment opportunities. The exemptions had been put in place from yesterday after Gujarat became the first state to enjoy the concessions. Several states had sought relaxation in labour norms for setting up these zones. Among the major units expected to gain from the move is the Positra SEZ promoted by Sea King Infrastrcutre in Gujarat. Mr Verma also told the conference that the government had taken an in-principle decision to allow fixed-term labour contracts. The contracts would be introduced in January, he said, adding that one or two meetings were to be held to firm up the decision. These contracts will allow employers to hire workers for a fixed period on mutually agreed terms with the possibility of renewal. The minister said the move would allow employers to engage workers for the period required without placing the burden of employing them for an indefinite period. Employers, however, would be mandated to ensure that social security obligations are met, he pointed out. On the issue of permitting contract labour, the minister said the government hoped to amend the Abolition of Contract Labour Act during the coming winter session of Parliament. The amendment will allow contract labour in a number of sectors, including gardening, courier services, loading and unloading. Restrictions, however, will continue in the case of core functions.
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Naik proposes 12 to 15 pc share sale in ONGC, IOC
New Delhi, November 6 The government has been able to garner just about 10 per cent of the Rs 13,500 crore revenue target set from stake sale in state-run firms since big-ticket sell-offs like Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) got stuck due to a Supreme Court ruling. “This (deficit in revenue receipts) is a concern for Finance Ministry as also the Disinvestment Ministry. Petroleum Ministry will extend all co-operation (in meeting the shortfall). One way can be to reduce some equity in IOC or ONGC or GAIL,” he told PTI here. He said 12-15 per cent equity in India’s largest firm IOC or the country’s highest profit-making company ONGC can be offloaded in the market. The proposal, which is yet to be formally put up to the Cabinet, is besides the three options government is exploring in the wake of the apex Court halting privatisation of HPCL and BPCL. IOC too has proposed a mega overseas issue of $ 2 billion (20 per cent equity) or buying government stake in HPCL to bridge the revenue deficit. “We are yet to discuss the issue (of offloading shares of IOC or ONGC in capital market) in the Cabinet,” Naik said.
— PTI
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Maruti inks
5-year wage settlement
New Delhi, November 6 As per the new wage settlement, effective from November 1, 2003, the annual wage growth of employees has come down to 3.5 per cent from 9 per cent. The one-time increase has also been brought down to 5.9 per cent from 27.18 per cent as per the previous wage settlement, effective since 1996. “With this wage settlement, Maruti’s normally high wage will be aligned closer to the market,” the company said in a statement. Dearness allowance has been delinked from changes in the consumer price index and basic pay. The workers will receive a fixed hike in their dearness allowance. “By severing the link between consumer price index and employee compensation, the new settlement brings the wage structure in tune with market competitiveness,” Maruti said. Allowances for the employees have also been delinked from changes in basic pay and dearness allowance, and instead they have been merged to form a consolidated perquisites basket. The company will also make a one-time lump sum payment of Rs 40,000 to each worker as per the new wage settlement. The new wage settlement and VRS are part of efforts by Maruti to contain rising cost pressure due to increasing steel prices and an appreciating Yen, by improving productivity and rationalising costs. Maruti Chairman S. Nakanishi had recently said the strategy would be to cut costs by 30 per cent over the three-year period ending 2005, for which every operation was being reviewed for improvement and to impart more efficiency. The company has also undertaken a major revamp of its vendor base and reduced it to less than 350 now from 400 two years back. — PTI
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Hero Honda to announce third plant in December
New Delhi, November 6 ‘’The study is in its final stages and details about the proposed plant and its location would be announced in December,’’ Hero Honda Motors Managing Director Pawan Kant Munjal said. The company, which is expecting a double-digit growth this fiscal, saw October sales touching a record high at 280,825 units at a growth of over 50 per cent. The company currently has two plants, one in Gurgaon in the National Capital Region and the other in
Dharuhera, Haryana. These together can produce around 2.2 million units. Its sales touched 1.67 million units last fiscal and the company is hoping to cross the two million mark in the near future. Mr
Munjal, however, refused to give details about the capacity size the company was looking for the new facility or the investments planned. ‘’All these are under consideration and things will be clear only next month,’’ he said. Industry watchers said the company may look to South India for the new plant as it contributed around 25 per cent to its sales. Other regions could be Punjab in the north and Gujarat in the west.
— UNI
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| Indo-US high-tech cooperation group meets on Nov 20 New Delhi, November 6 The US Undersecretary in the Commerce Department, Mr Kenneth
Juster, is arriving here for the second HTCG talks with a high-level multi-ministerial Indian delegation headed by Foreign Secretary Kanwal
Sibal. Significantly, 25 CEOs of top US companies are also coming here as part of the US delegation for holding brainstorming sessions with the captains of Indian industry. The US CEOs primarily represent three broad industries: life sciences, information technology and defence. This indicates that US industries are going to invest in India in these sectors, sources added. Currently, bilateral trade between India and the USA is in the range of $ 13 billion. The confabulations between the business leaders of the two countries will be held in
Bangalore. The meeting is being organised under the aegis of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). The two countries had taken a decision last year to strengthen bilateral relations in areas of high technology and fundamental scientific research. The first meeting of HTCG took place in Washington last year.
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NCDC asked to lower interest rates New Delhi, November 6 Addressing the general council meeting of NCDC, he said the crop insurance scheme for agriculture could go a long way in benefiting the farmers. The NCDC has reduced its lending rates of interest twice in the past few months, which now range between 9 and 11.5 per cent. The minister urged the NCDC to explore the possibility of bringing down the interest rates to enable it to have a competitive edge over other financial institutions.
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Pears from USA enter India New Delhi, November 6 USA pears were introduced in the Indian market in 2002 in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore to gauge consumer response. To promote USA pears as a convenient anytime, anywhere snack, PBNW would be introducing products like Pear Packer and Pear Slicer which are reusable and designed to add more convenience to carry and slice the product.— UNI
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Unorganised workers bill deferred
New Delhi, November 6 Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told reporters after a cabinet meeting that the Unorganised Workers Bill was likely to come up in the next cabinet meeting. Though the bill, cleared by the Group of Ministers headed by Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani was discussed, it was felt that there was need to
fine-tune it and tie the loose ends before its introduction in Parliament, Swaraj said. “It is only being
fine-tuned and the item has been deferred and will be taken up in the next cabinet meeting”, the Minister said making it clear that it had not been rejected.
— PTI
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