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Sino-Indian
trade crosses $5 b Punjab exports
grow 59 pc HAL to sell
copters to US Customs National
Insurance, BSNL tie up Power reforms for
HP mooted
BSNL denies blocking Reliance
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Sino-Indian trade crosses $5 b Beijing, November 26 The bilateral trade during January-September this year touched $ 5.33 billion, up 54.8 per cent compared to the same period last year when the total trade was $ 3.44 billion. India’s exports to China during the first three quarters of this year touched $ 2.95 billion, up 85.3 per cent compared to $ 1.59 billion during the corresponding period in 2002. In September alone, India exported goods worth $ 334 million to China, up 65.3 per cent over the same period in 2002. China’s exports to India also witnessed a growth of 28.4 per cent during the period when the communist giant shipped goods worth $ 2.37 billion compared to $ 1.84 billion during the first nine months of 2002. India, thus had a favourable trade balance of $ 584 million in the first three quarters compared to $ 452 million in the negative during the same period last year. However, the composition of the Indian export basket to China has not seen any substantial change and it comprises of iron and steel, ores, plastics, organic chemicals, cotton, mineral fuels, hides and skins and machinery. The iron and steel sector is continuing its stellar performance in China due to the massive construction activities in the world’s fastest developing nation. During the January-September period, India exported iron and steel worth $ 851.9 million compared to $ 140.5 million in 2002, registering a growth rate of 506 per cent. The ores, slag and ash sector had a 72 per cent growth in the first six months of the year when $ 816.6 million was earned by Indian companies compared to $ 474.6 million last year during the first three quarters. Plastics is another high-performance area where China imported $ 234.4 million worth of goods from India compared to $ 177.9 million last year, registering a growth of 32 per cent. Reliance Industries (RIL) is emerging as one of the top players in the polymer business in China. Indian exports of machinery to China also witnessed an impressive growth of 126 per cent during the Jan-Sept period to touch $ 43.1 million compared to $ 19.1 million in 2002. However, cotton exports to China continues to dwindle and during the first nine months of the year, this sector has witnessed a negative growth of 43 per cent. Major Indian imports from China during the first nine months of this year continues to be electrical machinery, organic chemicals, mineral fuels and silk. Chinese exports of electrical machinery to India witnessed 29 per cent growth to touch $ 464.3 million compared to $ 360.3 million during Jan-Sept, 2002. While China’s organic chemicals exports to India had a growth of 18 per cent, the inorganic chemicals sector witnessed a 19.4 per cent increase in exports. Chinese silk continues to do well in India with imports rising 20 per cent to touch $ 182.8 million, up from $ 152.8 million during the first nine months of 2002.
— PTI
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Punjab exports grow 59 pc Chandigarh, November 26 Mr S.K. Sandhu, Director and Secretary, Department of Industries and Commerce, who has compiled the figures,
said," Some industrial associations and economists are apprehending shifting of capital to Himachal Pradesh but the figures provided by banks indicate that we have registered highest ever growth in exports. Readymade garments, rice, food products and engineering goods sector have done extremely well this year." Interestingly, the total exports from the state had increased from Rs 4,015 crore in 2000-01 to Rs 4,408 crore in 2001-02, registering a growth rate of 9.7 per cent. But this year, despite appreciation of the rupee against dollar, the state did extremely well as compared to other states. Haryana had registered a growth of 25 per cent in exports from Rs 8,000 crore in 2001-02 to Rs 10,000 crore in 2002-03. Though the results of contract farming would be visible the next year, even during this financial year ended on March 31, 2003, the exports of rice increased to Rs 718.07 crore from Rs 395.18 crore in 2001-02. The highest increase in exports was shown by the food products sector, with exports increasing from Rs 23.65 crore in 2001-02 to Rs 654.54 crore in 2002-03. The exports of readymade garments and hosiery also increased from Rs 815.97 crore to Rs 1,260.51 crore. Garment exports were expected to get a quantum jump by the end of next year once the quota regime comes to an end. Cycle and cycle parts exports had increased from Rs 466.11 crore in 2001-02 to Rs 762.61 crore in 2002-03. Similarly, the exports of engineering goods, mostly from Ludhiana and surrounding towns, increased from Rs 165.21 crore to Rs 704.38 crore during the corresponding period. Industry analysts said the leather exports had come down from Rs 205.70 crore in 2001-02 to Rs 129.86 crore in 2002-03. Similarly, the exports of machine tools also came down from Rs 66.36 crore to Rs 22.72 crore during the reference period. The pharmaceutical sector had registered a growth from Rs 36.12 crore in 2001-02 to Rs 84.33 crore in 2002-03. |
HAL to sell copters to
US Customs Bangalore, November 26 Negotiations are in an advanced stage to finalise the deal for supplying the civil variant of the helicopter called Dhruv, HAL Chairman and Managing Director N.R. Mohanty said here today. "Our strategic partner, the Israeli Avionics Industries (IAI), is in talks with the US customs authorities to work out the details. HAL will be able to supply the 10 copters in a year's time once the order is placed," he declared. Though Mohanty was unwilling to disclose the value of the order, aviation sources claimed it could be over Rs. 3 billion. Said to be the first such export order for the product, the proposed deal will pitchfork HAL into the multi-billion dollar global copter market. Ever since the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) certified the civil variant of Dhruv last month, HAL has embarked on an aggressive strategy with its Israeli partner to hard sell the ALHs in the global market. HAL is also in discussions with other countries for securing export orders for the military variant and with international organisations for the civilian variant of ALH. HAL has a strategic alliance with IAI for marketing the ALH and advanced avionics, maintenance of unmanned aerial vehicles and in making the cargo conversion kit for Boeing 737 aircraft.
— IANS |
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National Insurance, BSNL tie up Chandigarh, November 26 As per the agreement, the BSNL would bear the premium and customers would be provided insurance cover against theft and other damages, said Mr H.S. Wadhwa, Chairman-cum-Managing Director, National Insurance Co. Ltd., here today. He said the company had already tied up with Reliance Infocom to offer insurance cover for handsets to its customers. He was in the city to review the performance of divisional managers. Addressing a press conference, he said the company would soon launch anywhere settlement facility across the country. For this it would make an investment of Rs 165 crore during the current fiscal year to computerise and interconnect its operations throughout the country on wider area network, providing voice, data and video transfer facility, he added. He said the company had posted a growth of 21 per cent in premium collection during the financial year as against the preceding year. In the current fiscal also, the premium income of the company had grown at the rate of 16.76 per cent by the end of October. |
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Chandigarh, November 26 Expressing concern over problems faced by the industry on the power front, the Power Reforms Panel of the CII Himachal Pradesh State Council had submitted a set of recommendations to the Himachal Pradesh Government, said a press note from the CII. The panel had recently presented its perspectives on the power scenario in the state to Himachal Pradesh Power Minister Vidya Stokes, the press note said. The CII recommendations list certain key issues, which require the immediate attention of the state government. These include imposition of augmentation charges, advance consumption duty (ACD), peak load exemptions and quality of power. The CII deliberated these issues and also put forward suggestions for implementation by the state government. Besides this, the council felt that there was a need for creating awareness amongst consumers and having a dialogue with the state government and the State Electricity Board regarding their plan for implementation of the reforms envisaged under the new Electricity Act.
— UNI |
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BSNL denies blocking Reliance Info calls
New Delhi, November 26 BSNL CMD Prithipal Singh said, ‘’We are not blocking any calls from Reliance networks.’’ Reliance Infocomm spokesman Amit Khanna told UNI from Mumbai that: ‘’We have not received any report of the BSNL blocking our calls.’’ Putting at rest the speculation regarding the blocking of calls in some circles, Khanna also denied that Reliance Infocomm had approached TRAI on the issue. A section of the media today reported that the BSNL had decided to block incoming calls from Reliance unless TRAI changed the existing BSNL-Reliance inter-connection norms in line with the new unified access licence regime.
— UNI
Double-decker Jumbo to take off soon
LONDON: The Concorde's majestic take-off may have become a thing of the past at Heathrow, but a new Airbus double-decker Jumbo will soon take to the skies. The new induction is expected to increase Heathrow's passenger capacity by 10 million a year without the construction of an extra runway. The British Airports Authority (BAA) forecast that after its scheduled launch in 2006, the 550-seat A380 will notch up 60,000 flights a year to and from Heathrow alone within a decade. Paul Fairbairn, BAA's strategy director, described the introduction of the world's largest passenger plane as "the biggest change" in Heathrow's operations since the advent of Boeing's original 747 Jumbo in 1970. He said the new four-engine jet would allow the number of passengers per aircraft to rise sharply on long-haul routes, increasing Heathrow's capacity from 63 million passengers a year to 95 million by 2016, without any extra runway or increase in total of flights.
— IANS
New stent to hit markets soon
Visakhapatnam:
A new type of stent with an alloy coating will hit the markets shortly. Stents are extensively used for implantation in heart surgeries. Interventional cardiologist Dr A.V. Ganesh Kumar of Seven Hills Corporate Hospital here said the thickness of the new stent would be less than the existing ones and claimed it would be priced lower than the available ones in the market.
— UNI
Canada woos Indian tourists
New Delhi: Canada is opening offices of its tourism commission in New Delhi and Mumbai as a part of its plan to woo Indian tourists. India becomes the 16th country to have offices of the Canadian Tourism Commission. Judd Buchanan, Special Adviser on Tourism to Canadian Prime Minister, told newsmen here yesterday that only 65,000 Indian tourists now visited Canada every year. The plan was to increase it to 650,000 in 10 years by attracting the growing middle class. He said Canada had identified India and China as countries with a huge potential in the next two to three decades. The first hotel of Canadian hotel chain, Four Seasons, would start functioning at Mumbai in 2005.
— UNI
US economy to grow by 4.2 pc
Paris: Growth in the US economy should continue at a rate of close to 4 per cent as consumption and investment support the economy, the OECD said on Wednesday. The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast the world’s largest economy would grow by 4.2 per cent next year after 2.9 per cent in 2003.
— Reuters |
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Bajaj stake Metro Cash Sugar mill SBI technology Tata Info net up Director awarded Spice scheme Firm acquired Actros trucks |
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