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Panel favours 49
pc FDI in IA, A-I Making gold
shopping easy Ease process at
barriers: exporters
Lok Sabha passes
IDBI Bill |
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Afghan trade team
visits Punjab today HPTDC offers
hotel on lease Graphic: India's
Forex assets soars
WagonR, Zen overtake Santro
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Panel favours 49 pc FDI in IA, A-I
New Delhi, December 8 Delivering a sweeping package aimed at fast-track reforms for the sector, the committee has upheld the government’s earlier decision to privatise Air-India (AI) and Indian Airlines (IA). It had recommended allowing up to 49 per cent foreign direct investment in the airlines. It also said private domestic airlines should be allowed to fly abroad. It mooted foreign investments of up to 100 per cent in the non-scheduled carriers like helicopter operations. “Towards this end the government may consider private placement of shares of IA and A-I (after independent valuation) with domestic financial institutions and foreign institutional investors”. This consortium should be allowed to appoint a management team of its choice and exit at its volition, it added. A liberal policy on bilateral aviation pacts that allowed foreign airlines to enter India, time-bound permission for private airlines to launch international services, reduction in airport charges and setting up an independent regulatory mechanism were some other key recommendations of the committee. Mr Naresh Chandra submitted the report today to Minister of State for Civil Aviation Rajiv Pratap Rudy. The five-member committee had made 27 recommendations in the first volume of the report and would also work on the second volume of the report to be presented later. “The government’s aim is to make civil aviation affordable, accommodative and promote connectivity in the country,” the minister said after accepting the report. Mr Chandra added, “in an era of globalisation, all airlines must provide world-class services. The government should rationalise taxes while A-I and IA will have to expand their fleet quickly. Otherwise, they will be wiped out in two years.” The committee also recommended that the import duty on AVGAS should also be abolished. The airlines should be allowed to source ATF from the supplier of their choice. Other aviation-related taxes and fees inland air travel tax on tickets and foreign travel tax might be replaced with a lower ad valorem sector-specific cess — 5 per cent of airfare. The current landing and navigational charges at Indian airports were 78 per cent higher than those in other countries, the report said, calling for unbundling air traffic control (ATC) services from the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The committee recommended that in case of smaller aircraft that were essentially deployed to enhance regional connectivity, the government should do away with the existing discrimination based on the type of aircraft and, accordingly bring parity in taxes on ATF for jets and turbo-prop aircraft with maximum certified capacity of less than 80. Further to it the committee also recommended the introduction of “low cost, low frill” airlines with less than 80 capacity to enhance the regional connectivity. While in agreement with the government to privatise the Delhi and Mumbai airports, it recommended the same for the other airports in the country as well.
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Making gold shopping easy
New Delhi, December 8 Loan against gold deposits may soon become a passe, with a large number of banks offering loans purely for the purchase of gold jewellery, bankers say. “These days banks are offering loans for almost all consumer durables available in the market but the concept of banks providing loans for purchasing gold is relatively new and it is yet another segment which has immense scope to grow in a gold craving market like India”, says T.S. Hariharan of Corporation Bank. Although most banks have personal loans where advances are made irrespective of the end use of the loan amount, it is mainly banks in the South India, which are offering these loans for specifically purchasing gold. Targeted mainly at women buyers, whether working or unemployed housewives, loans for gold are designed to suit the growing middle class segment in the country. “The loans are available not just for working women but even for unemployed housewives. In case of the latter, the banks use the income proof of their spouses for loans by making them co-applicants”, Hariharan adds. The loan carries an interest rate between 10 and 12 per cent and in most of the schemes available at present one can get up to Rs 3,00,000 as loan. Gold can be purchased either from a jeweller or directly from the bank. “The banks offering this scheme have agreement with reputed jewellers giving customer the advantage of buying the jewellery directly from them. The bank settles the payment directly with the retailer”, say Hariharan.
— PTI |
Ease process at barriers: exporters Chandigarh, December 8 Mr S.C. Ralhan, Regional Chairman, Engineering Export Promotion Council, claimed that exporters were importing steel yarn, textile, machinery and other products worth over Rs 2,000 crore annually from other states and countries to Punjab for value addition. But transport carriers had to waste four or six hours every time at the check posts, besides harassment at the hands of excise officials resulting in the loss of time and money. Representatives of the exporters and Safexpress distribution chain have met the officials of the Excise and Taxation Department, but nothing has been done so far, they said. Mr Pawan Jain, Chairman and Managing Director, Safexpress, claimed,"Ours is a time-bound business, which is badly affected by delay in clearance at the sales tax barriers and octroi posts. " He claimed that Safexpress alone was transporting goods worth over Rs 5,000 crore to and from Punjab for exporters and traders involving over Rs 300 crore sales tax revenue to the state government. The provision of green channel would give a fillip to the state industry. Mr Ralhan said: "The Excise and Taxation Department can initially provide a separate green channel to containers of the exporters and later to other reputed units to enter or exit from the state on the pattern of airports. Higher penalty could be imposed if they are found guilty during random checking." The UP Government had already provided that facility to the exporters by issuing them identity cards. Since exports in Punjab had already crossed Rs 7,000 crore last year, this facility would further help increase in exports from the state. |
Lok Sabha passes IDBI Bill New Delhi, December 8 The Opposition, not satisfied with Finance Minister Jaswant Singh’s statement that he would consider its suggestion for keeping the government equity at 51 per cent as it required only an executive order, pressed for an amendment moved by Mr Basudeb Acharia of the CPI (M) in this regard. Deputy Speaker P M Sayeed put to vote the Amendment which, on the electronic board, showed 36 members in favour and 33 against. This was followed by a commotion wherein the Opposition members charged that a member from the treasury benches had come later and voted.
— UNI |
| Ethiopia woos investors Chandigarh, December 8 Speaking at a session on ''Trade and Investment Opportunities in Ethiopia'' he invited investors to his country. The session was organised by the CII, Northern Region. Mr S.K. Bijlani, former chairman, CII, said, " There is a vast scope for investors to explore the market in the country which has vast agricultural resources." Dr Forssido said a total of 4,026 projects worth $ 4.89 billion had been approved since the launch of reforms in 1995. The privatisation programme had already seen the sale of 171 companies. Ethiopia was one of the seven Sub-Saharan countries named by the Unido as the ones likely to attract investment. The Ethiopian Ambassador said with a population of 70.7 million and an access to the market of 20 countries of Africa, the country was making efforts to attract investment in the field of infrastructure, education, water resources management, pharmaceutical, construction, leather garments and processing. |
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Afghan trade team visits Punjab today Amritsar, December 8 A spokesman of the CII said here today that the Afghan business leaders would discuss the modalities to import various items. |
HPTDC offers hotel on lease Nurpur, December 8 Criticising the move of the state government to lease out the hotel, former chairman of the HPTDC. Rakesh Pathania alleged that it was an attempt to sell the interest of this area. |
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WagonR, Zen overtake Santro
New Delhi, December 8 In the compact car category, Maruti’s WagonR topped the list followed by Zen while Hyundai Santro, which had ranked first in terms of quality for the past two consecutive years, trailed at the third position, J.D. Power said in its Initial Quality Study (IQS). Tata Motors’ Indica and Fiat Palio finished at fourth and fifth positions. MUL’s Esteem was adjudged the best car in the mid-sized segment while General Motors’ Opel Corsa/Swing and Ford Ikon came in second and third models. Opel Corsa/Swing was the most improved model in the category, the study said. Honda City has been ranked the best in the new mid-sized segment followed by Hindustan Motors’ Lancer and Hyundai Accent while Toyota’s Qualis stood first in the multi-utility vehicle category. “Quality is a constantly moving target and while the industry has made considerable progress over the last five years...it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain the rate of improvement we have been seeing,” J.D. Power Country Manager Mohit Arora said. The survey was based on evaluation from over 3,300 new owners of 26 different models representing 11 makes, J.D. Power said. Grand Vitara variant launched
Within a year of launching its maiden sports-utility-vehicle Grand Vitara XL-7, Maruti Udyog today rolled out an upgraded version of the vehicle. The new variant has been priced at Rs 16.98 lakh (ex- showroom, Delhi), costlier by Rs 21,000, Maruti Director (Sales) K Saito told a news conference here. The new SUV will be powered with a 166 brake horse power engine, making it the most powerful SUV in India, the company claimed.
— PTI |
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