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US ready to resolve outsourcing issue
Hike in call charges unjustified, says Trai
Jet, Sahara set to fly overseas
Gold import: nothing to rejoice about Hero Honda Bajaj Auto TVS
US firms to source apparel from India |
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GAIL to explore gas business in UK GAIL India said today it was exploring transmission and compressed natural gas business in the UK which was likely to become a net importer of natural gas by 2006. Gail
public issue deferred by month
IT sector to grow by 28 pc, says Nasscom
RIL reaffirms gas reserve estimates
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US ready to resolve outsourcing issue
New Delhi, February 2 Talking to a select group of journalists, US Charge d’Affaires Robert O Blake said, “Free trade and open market should be a two-way street. The best way is for India to continue to open its market so that jobs are created in the USA.” Welcoming the recent tariff, tax and investment liberalisation measures announced by Finance Minister Jaswant Singh, he said, “The two countries also need to work together in the Doha round of WTO negotiations to identify ways to open new markets rather than close those are already open.” Mr Blake said the USA was interested in investing in financial services, insurance, telecom and other such areas in India and wanted caps on foreign investments in these sectors to be lifted. He, however, noted that these caps were now being lifted gradually. He said he had already conveyed the Bush Administration’s views on the outsourcing issue to top Indian officials in recent days. Mr Blake said President George W Bush was according top priority to creation of jobs in the country. Outsourcing was largely resulting in the jobs flowing out of the USA. “The USA favours free trade and open markets but the benefits of trade must be reciprocal,” he added. The US official highlighted the growing strategic partnership between the two countries, which was reinforced by the recent statements of Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Bush on the next steps in the bilateral partnership in the areas of high technology trade, civil nuclear and space cooperation and missile defence.
— UNI
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Hike in call charges unjustified, says Trai
New Delhi, February 2 ‘‘The operators are citing Access Deficit Charge (ADC) as the reason for increasing tariffs...It is a poor excuse. We did our calculations and there is enough margin available for not increasing tariffs,’’ D P S Seth, member, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), told PTI. Asked if the regulator would intervene on the issue of hike in rates, he said, ‘‘There is a forbearance on tariffs and so let the competition bring it down." He, however, said the regulator would have to ‘examine’ the issue. ‘‘We will have to examine it once the tariff information comes to Trai,’’ Mr Seth pointed out. With the implementation of the new
Interconnect Usage Charges (IUC) regime from February 1, mobile operators have started hiking tariff rates by up to 50 per cent, especially long distance charges. The post-paid cell-to-cell STD rates are expected to increase by 50 per cent to Rs 2.99 per minute from Rs 1.99 in case of calls over 200 km, although charges for distance up to 200 km will remain unchanged at Rs 1.99. For pre-paid customers, the cell-to-cell STD charges are expected to increase to Rs 2.99 from Rs 2.40 for all distances. According to industry sources, the hike in charges for cell-to-fixed line STD would range from 25-50 per cent depending on the distance. Mr Seth said Trai’s calculations showed that ADC component, after being applied, could not lead to hike in the charges.
— PTI
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Jet, Sahara set to fly overseas
New Delhi, February 2 The Gulf sector — the most profitable for IA and A-I — will continue to be their exclusive preserve for the time being, government officials said today. The Cabinet meeting scheduled for February 4 is also likely to clear a limited open sky policy for the next three years. Under the scheme, it has been decided to open up the skies for all carriers — including Gulf-based airlines — to operate any number of flights to India during the peak months of December, January and February every year for the next three years. The steps are aimed at giving a boost to tourism and ease the access to India, officials said. At the same time, preventive measures are also being put in place. For instance, foreign skies will be open for only those carriers that have operated on the domestic routes for two years. That will eliminate new entrants like Air Deccan from plying on overseas routes. Officials say this condition will prevent any international carrier from setting up base in India and immediately starting overseas flights. “It will also prevent a new domestic operator from immediately seeking international routes. The domestic operators will be given unused rights of IA and A-I and the distribution will be done on the basis of their flying record for the past five years, an official said.
— UNI
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Gold import: nothing to rejoice about
New Delhi, February 2 “The move is definitely appreciable as it will help boost jewellery exports, which are a major foreign exchange earner, but when it comes to the consumer, there is not going to be much reduction in prices,” says G S Pillai, former regional director, the World Gold Council. “The channeling agencies like banks and MMTC were hardly charging half a per cent. So per 10 grams of gold, it will make hardly a difference of Rs 50-60, which will not be much of a difference,” says Pillai. Agrees Vivek Jalan, a certified gold wholesaler. “The duties, too, are very less and are gradually decreasing further. At present they are around Rs 160 per 10 gram. If these duties go, the prices would again come down by just Rs 160 or so,” he says. Explaining the pricing of gold, he says all this depends on international markets. At present, gold prices are soaring in foreign markets. The interest rates on deposits have reached their bottom and people are looking at gold as an investment and asset. All this has increased the gold prices in a big way, he notes. However, Deepak Mehra, a jeweller says, “prices will come down in the coming weeks, though not to very large extent. It will help control the fluctuations - the daily hike of Rs 100 or so and stabilise the market.” “The fluctuations do not give a very nice feeling to the consumer,” Mehra says, noting that “last season was very good. Sales were high, when suddenly the prices started soaring.” Rajesh Kumar, a jeweller, says, to keep the business moving, they cut down their margins, fixed a sale price, all to attract the consumers during the wedding season. “But if it is literally free import, the trade will benefit a lot,” says Jalan, noting that “direct import will become easy. The suppliers outside will start recognising the importers and they can start doing business directly,” Jalan says. However, Pillai says to increase jewellery exports, the government, besides freeing import, also needs to do away with the duty on import of machinery which is used in making jewellery. “At present, there is no duty on import of machinery for the exporters, but the manufacturers have to pay varying duties on various machineries,” he says. “If we need to make jewellery exports a thrust area, all these duties have to go,” he says, noting that at present India has just 2 per cent share in the international market. But to compete with other exporters like China, Malaysia and Thailand, “we need to modernise our infrastructure.”
— PTI
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New Delhi, February 2 The carmaker sold an all-time high of 49,140 units during the month against 37,738 units a year earlier. While domestic sales went up by 31.4 per cent to 44,309 units, exports jumped 20 per cent to 4,831 units, a company statement said. Maruti’s cumulative (April, 2003,-January 2004,) sales grew 30.3 per cent to 3,77,159 vehicles. Domestic sales increased 27.6 per cent to 3,37,288 units while exports climbed 58.2 per cent to 39,871 units. Despite the record performance in January, sales of its bread-and-butter model M-800 declined 2.1 per cent to 15,301 units but that of Omni van and multi-purpose-vehicle Versa went up by 11.7 per cent to 6,016 units. In the premium small segment, sale of Alto, Wagon-R and Zen models soared 86.5 per cent to 21,495 units. The mid-size cars Esteem and Baleno also clocked a 46 per cent growth at 1,344 units during the review month. However, the multi-utility-vehicles Gypsy and Vitara suffered a 39.3 per cent drop to 153 units.
Hero Honda
Hero Honda said today its sales surged by 35 per cent to 1.95 lakh units in January, 2004. Cumulative (April-January, 2003-04) sales went up by 17.2 per cent to 16.7 lakh units over 14.2 lakh units during the year ago period, a company statement said here. Last month, the company launched a variant of its ‘Ambition’ motorcycle in the executive segment.
Bajaj Auto
Bajaj Auto Ltd has clocked a 3 per cent growth in two- wheeler sales last month at 1,06,872 units compared to 1,03,790 units in January, 2003. It recorded a 4.8 per cent rise in two and three wheelers for January 2004 over 1,21,216 units in the same period last year, the company said in a release here today. Exports recorded a 49 per cent jump at 15,029 units as against 10,089 in January last year, the release added. The company said the executive and premium segments helped in a 12.6 per cent growth of two- wheelers while in the executive segment, the Bajaj Caliber 115 and Bajaj Wind 125 together accounted for 102 per cent growth as compared to January 2003.
TVS
TVS Motor Co. today reported a marginal 1.67 per cent rise in sales to 98,020 units in January, 2004, compared to 96,409 units in the same month last year. Motorcycle sales dipped by 2.25 per cent to 59,844 units in the review month against 61,223 units sold in January, 2003, a company statement said.
— PTI
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US firms to source apparel from India
New Delhi, February 2 Currently, the company sources 200 million dollars worth of apparels from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The company currently sources mainly garments from India. In the years to come, it will also source
woven pants, knitted shirts and home textiles, Mr Birkins disclosed. For this, the company has deputed 10 senior executives to identify the probable players from which it would source its requirements. The officials have been visiting Ahmedabad, Ludhiana and Tirupur, besides others, he disclosed. The company right now sources its requirements from Shahi Exports, Delhi and the Gurgaon-based Pearl Global Ltd, besides some companies in Bangalore and Mumbai. Fashion dresses with embroidery are one of the important items done in Delhi. Its officials are in talks with the Vardhman Group for sourcing apparels from 2005 onwards, Mr Birkins disclosed but refused to divulge any other names, saying he does not want to provide a clue to its rivals. J C Penney Co currently has a liaison office in Mumbai with 50 officials. country head Adil Raza had recently said companies like Shahi Exports, Bangalore-based LT Karle, Eastman Exports of Tirupur, Wellspun (Mumbai) and Trident of Ludhiana are geared up rather well for post-2004. Besides cheap labour, India also has a pool of management professionals and uses IT to efficiently to run companies, J C Penney Company Senior Vice-President and Product Development Director M. McGrath said to query as to why was the company keen on sourcing supply from the Indian textile industry.
— UNI
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GAIL to explore gas business in UK
Mumbai, February 2 “We have expertise in transmission and processing of natural gas, operation and maintenance of pipeline systems and CNG-run transport system. We are offering our skills and technical support in all three areas to the UK,” GAIL Chairman and Managing Director Proshanto Banerjee told reporters on the sidelines of the 2nd Asian Gas Buyers’ Summit here. UK Minister of State for Energy Stephen Timms said “I have invited GAIL to visit the UK later this year to speak to the industry about developments in the Indian gas sector and to help develop further the co-operation between Indian and British companies in the gas market.”
— PTI
Gail public issue deferred by month New Delhi, February 2 The decision was taken at a meeting of the top ministry officials with the merchant bankers and legal advisers this evening, sources associated with the disinvestment process said. The sources said the market regulator had given the clearances for the public issue for both the oil PSUs even though these did not fall under the purview of existing guidelines. SEBI is understood to have communicated to the ministry that it would facilitate the sale of equity and has given a go ahead.
— PTI |
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IT sector to grow by 28 pc, says Nasscom
Mumbai, February 2 “The industry has sustained its growth trend and continues to post a strong double digit growth, despite a slow economic growth in key markets and emerging concerns against business process outsourcing (BPO) from India,” Nasscom president Kiran Karnik told reporters here. Besides cost advantages, factors such as quality, productivity, total cost of innovation and customisation helped the country maintain its lead in the global IT industry, he said, quoting a recent Nasscom study. The domestic IT market was estimated to grow by over 11 per cent in 2003-04 to touch $ 7.4 billion (Rs 15,350 crore), buoyant on conducive government policies and the recent reduction in customs and excise duties on personal computers (PCs), he said.
— PTI
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RIL reaffirms gas reserve estimates
Mumbai, February 2 “We still maintain the same reserve estimates,” RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani told reporters on the sidelines of the 2nd Asian Gas Buyers’ Summit here.
— PTI
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