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Kharif output to reach 103 m tonnes WB wants Punjab to speed up reforms Alliance Air may get new aircraft British Columbia keen
to develop trade ties
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Withdraw steel import duties, WTO tells USA Geneva, November 10 The WTO, in a final verdict, on Monday confirmed that hefty U.S. steel import duties violate trade rules, piling pressure on Washington to withdraw them, diplomats said. They said the WTO's Appellate Body, its highest trade court, had upheld the main thrust of an earlier decision in July by a panel of trade judges, although they made some changes.
ICICI Bank cuts home loan rates ICICI Bank today announced a reduction in the home loan rates by 0.50 percentage point across all products and extend the special festive offer of home loans at uniform rate of 7.50 per cent for all tenors till November 26, 2003.
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Kharif output to reach 103 m tonnes
Mumbai, November 10 The sowing of kharif rice in southern states is in progress and harvesting was reported in northern parts of the country, the CMIE said in its monthly review issued today and added that the total foodgrains production was estimated at 208 million tonnes. The economic think-tank said in August, 2003, the index for industrial production (IIP) growth slowed down to 5.2 per cent compared to 6 per cent recorded in the preceding three months. During April-August, 2003, growth in the IIP stood higher at 5.6 per cent as compared to a 5.2 per cent increase recorded in same period of 2002, it said. Food products, basic metals, transport equipment, beverages and tobacco, wood products, paper products and miscellaneous industries recorded exceptional growth in this period, it added. On the interest rates, the CMIE said during FY-04 financial markets remained stable and the interest rates have softened with comfortable liquidity in the system. The CMIE said the crude oil production declined by 1.4 per cent during first half of 2003-04 (5.3 per cent increase in H1 of last year). In September, the production registered a marginal 0.3 per cent rise, it added. On domestic air traffic, the CMIE said during April-August, 2003, air passenger traffic at all airports registered a 7.8 per cent as compared to 1 per cent last year. Airports across the country handled 18.58 million passengers (17.2 million last year) of which domestic passengers comprised 12.3 million. All airports handled more passengers in April-August than in same period last year, it said, adding that, the only exceptions were Coimbatore and Nagpur where passenger traffic came down by 0.3 per cent and 0.7 per cent. Among the five top international airports, Bangalore registered highest growth rate of 13.8 per cent followed by Delhi — 13 per cent; Kolkata —8.3 per cent; Mumbai—4.4 per cent; and Chennai—1.5 per cent; it said. Referring to traffic movement at ports, it said after a low growth of 2.7 per cent in August 2003, cargo traffic at major ports went up by 12.4 per cent in September. However, growth in most months was lower than the performance recorded in same period of 2002. As a result, during April-September, cargo traffic grew by a lower rate of 6.5 per cent (8.5 per cent last year), it said. The commodity-wise data showed a sharp fall in traffic in cement—45.1 per cent; newsprint—42.9 per cent; fertiliser raw materials—31.2 per cent and foodgrains—15.3 per cent. Finished cargo movement also fell by 4.8 per cent, the CMIE said.
— PTI
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WB wants Punjab to speed up reforms Chandigarh, November 10 After an appraisal of the progress of the reform agenda, Punjab may get a slice from the World Bank’s Structural Adjustment Loan up to $ 300 million. There are also indications that Punjab is high on the agenda of the World Bank, which has similar tie-ups with several other states. Punjab is also keen to get money on projects like rural water supply, urban sanitation, infrastructure, power sector, etc. Except in a few cases, not much homework has been done by the departments concerned in preparing project profiles in the prescribed format, as the World Bank insists that a state must be able to repay the loans it avails of and also levies user charges for the services provided, both social and economic. These projects are first cleared by the Government of India before the World Bank processes them. The general impression at the end of the team’s visit is that the World Bank is serious to open a window to Punjab, if it shows political will to meet certain targets on reform implementation. The team had visited some districts, interacted with a cross-section of administrative secretaries and invited the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president, Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, who presented a detailed memorandum on the “needs and problems” of the state. Sources say the World Bank, though enthusiastic on extending its financial hand, is somewhat disappointed at the pace of implementation of reforms aimed at revitalising economy and the government. Between its present and the last visit in November, 2002, it had submitted an interim analysis on three of the key challenges Punjab is facing — low agriculture growth, severe fiscal stress and weaknesses in governance. It reviewed these three during the current visit. Privately, the team reportedly gave enough hints that there was either slow progress or even slippage in many areas it had earlier identified. It also took cognisance of the change of the Principal Secretary, Finance. Punjab expects feedback from the World Bank on this visit by February. The World Bank team focused on government and power sector reforms, say sources. It was all for stricter financial management, transparency, rational transfer policy of employees, e-governance and disciplining public sector undertakings. Besides, it also discussed the agriculture sector, particularly in respect of diversification; apart from procurement based on minimum support prices, which provided powerful economic incentives to rice-wheat cycle indefinitely, private participation in the establishment and management of mandis and power sector reforms. The World Bank is convinced that there could be no relief from fiscal stress unless reforms in the power sector are put in place. It is unlikely to give any financial assistance for generation of electricity. The electricity board’s Rs 113 crore annual wage bill is a major impediment in any help coming from the World Bank. Some of the administrative secretaries who had interacted with the World Bank team, when contacted by TNS, said there had been a “slow-down” on several reforms and a “roll back” of several decisions involving financial implications had not gone down well with the visitors, who had later met the Chief Minister. Broadly, the World Bank agreed that Punjab was moving in the “right direction” and only needed to speed up implementation of its economic reform agenda.
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Alliance Air may get new aircraft New Delhi, November 10 The minister said the government was considering a proposal to allow Alliance Air to lease new aircraft to replace its ageing fleet. “A proposal for Alliance Air to replace its ageing fleet through the leasing route is under consideration of the government”, he said. Talking to newsmen on the sidelines of an "open house" session with all agencies concerned at Indira Gandhi International Airport here he said Indian Airlines and Air- India were already proceeding with plans to expand and replace their fleets. The committee at its meeting last week had suggested that the Alliance Air should be also allowed to expand its fleet and replace its ageing aircrafts on the same lines as was being done by Indian Airlines and Air-India. Speaking about the process of modernisation of the Delhi and Mumbai airports, he said “we are going as per the planned schedule and will select the financial consultant on November 14” when the next meeting of the empowered committee of the Group of Ministers on the airport privatisation would be held. The Group of Ministers had yesterday shortlisted three financial consultants. The government was also considering giving productivity linked incentive (PLI) to the employees of Indian Airlines, but the airline board would take a final decision, Mr Rudy said. He, however, refused to elaborate on the scheme, saying “the employees will have to work more to earn more.” IA staffers have been demanding PLI for all sections of employees. However, the "Open House" session
did not go without any protests.
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British Columbia keen
to develop trade ties Chandigarh, November 10 He was in the city to meet the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana and interact with captains of the industry. Speaking on the sidelines of a meeting with industrialists held at CII, he said India was a significant destination for British Columbia goods in 2002, taking in 0.4 per cent of all exports. With 12.5 per cent of Canada’s exports, the province ranked third in the country behind Ontario (46.6 per cent) and Quebec (36 per cent). He stated that British Columbia had seen its trade in 2003 grow at 15 times the national trade of Canada, adding that it was leading the country in job creation. Moreover, 15 of the world’s 50 fastest-growing technology companies were located in British Columbia, he added. He claimed that a large population of Indians settled there had an emotional attachment with the state, besides the competitive edge enjoyed by both countries in different areas. Appreciating the contribution of Punjabis to the economy of British Columbia, Mr Campbell said, “About 9 per cent of the population of British Columbia has roots in India, largely in North India. More than 10 per cent of the legislature comprises people of Indian origin. The economic ties with Indian companies and people will be mutually beneficial in a big way.”
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| Withdraw steel import duties, WTO tells USA
Geneva, November 10 They said the WTO's Appellate Body, its highest trade court, had upheld the main thrust of an earlier decision in July by a panel of trade judges, although they made some changes. "It is a victory for the complainants," said one envoy, who asked not to be named. "They (the Appellate Court judges) confirmed the basic finding," he added. In response to the trade court decision, U.S. President George W. Bush must quickly withdraw the tariffs or face retaliation from the European Union, which is threatening to hit back with some $2.2 billion in duties on U.S. goods. The EU was one of a number of countries, including Japan, Brazil, South Korea and Switzerland, to file a complaint with the WTO over the steel duties, introduced in March 2002 to protect the struggling U.S. steel industry.
— Reuters
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