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Bread for mid-day meal scheme proposed New Delhi, March 9 The bread manufacturing industry has proposed to the government to supply bread for mid-day meal scheme run in “anganwaris” and government schools in the country at a “special price” to encourage better health of students. At present, bread is given to students in some states like Andhra Pradesh under the mid-day meal scheme.
Cairn finds more oil in Rajasthan
LIC, UTI MF in race for pension business
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Steel units granted permission under policy: Ram Lal
Shimla, March 9 Mr Ram Lal, Industries Minister, today lambasted the BJP for making a hue and cry over the new arc and induction furnace steel units coming up in the state and asserted that they are granted permission under the industrial policy framed by the previous Dhumal government. Ficci for action plan to tackle unemployment Chandigarh, March 9 During the election campaign, political parties may ignore the issue of unemployment, but Ficci has decided to ask the parties to take this issue and to announce an action plan to tackle the problem after the elections. LG unveils promotional scheme Chandigarh, March 9 With a view to cashing in on the upcoming Indo-Pak cricket series, LG here today announced a promotional scheme, LG Cup Uthao Shaandar Inaam Pao. The scheme will start tomorrow and will continue till April 15. Govt to revive Super Bazaar New Delhi, March 9 Based on a study of the National Consumer Cooperative Federation and property evaluation by ICICI Bank, government has agreed in-principle to revive the erstwhile super-market chain Super Bazaar which was shut down two years ago. Coke eyes rural markets for growth Chandigarh, March 9 Coca-Cola is planning to supply its brand this summer to villages through bullock carts and cycle rickshaws as a part of an elaborate strategy to penetrate the rural India.
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Bread for mid-day meal scheme proposed Tribune News Service New Delhi, March 9 In a proposal that will be submitted to Mr Sharad Yadav, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and PDS, at a national conference on March 11, the All-India Bread Manufacturers’ Association (AIBMA), has decided to take that initiative. Mr Vinod Tiwari, President of the association, said the proposal, if accepted, will boost the bread industry as well. Industry representatives claim that the mid-day scheme, on which the government is spending hundreds of crores annually, is facing criticism due to lack of hygiene and proper practices in the preparation of food. In numerous cases, they say, the children have fallen sick due to unhygienic preparation of “khichri, dalia” and other traditional food items. Mr Tiwari said: “As part of its share, the government can supply wheat to the bread manufacturers at the export price (around Rs 430 per quintal). The subsidy will be strictly aimed at boosting education among lower strata and below poverty line.” The government will not have to spend anything extra, he added, as it was already subsidising the foodgrain exports from the country. According to the AIBMA,”If the bread, that has been developed as wholesome food over the years, is used with salad and milk, it will provide the required nutrients to the children and check widespread malnutrition among them.” Mr Tiwari called upon the government to take a decision to give a big jump to the literacy and food processing industry in the country. The total bread production in the country is estimated at 30 MT per year, of which the organised sector accounted for about 50 per cent of the total production. He said, “the organised sector consists of around 1,800 small bread manufacturers, 25 medium manufacturers and two large industries. The unorganised sector consists of about 75,000 bread bakers mostly located in residential areas in cities and towns. As per
industry estimates, the bread industry in India has observed an annual
average growth of around 10 per cent during 1980-1990. However, the
annual production growth rate subsequently declined to 6.5 per cent
between 1997-2000 and to 5.75 per cent during 2001-03 period. The
industry also blamed the taxation policies and lack of industry-friendly
policies for this scenario.
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Cairn finds more oil in Rajasthan
New Delhi, March 9 Cairn found oil in the N-A-1 well, eight km
away from the successful N-B-1 drilled in January, with estimated
inplace reserves of 130-470 million barrels and preliminary recoverable
reserves of 20-80 million barrels, a company press release said. The
find is smaller than N-B-1, now named Mangala, which is estimated to
hold 450-1,100 million barrels of in-place oil reserves and of which
50-200 million barrels were estimated to be recoverable. The Mangala
find can produce an estimated 2.5 million tonnes of crude oil annually
from 2007. India’s total crude oil production is about 32 million
tonnes. Cairn Energy announced that a cumulative flow rate of 6,000
barrels of oil per day has been achieved across three selected zones
during an open hole drill stem test programme in the N-B-1 exploration
well. — PTI |
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9 pc interest on PF from April likely
New Delhi, March 9 The Central Board of Trustees of Employees
Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) had cut interest on PF by 0.5 per
cent but granted a golden jubilee bonanza of 0.5 per cent to virtually
retain 9.5 per cent for the current fiscal. With Parliament being
dissolved and Election Commission announcing the four-phased polls in
the country, the EPFO, whose chairman is the Labour Minister, cannot
take any decision in this regard for the next financial year and
therefore, one has to assume that interest rate would be lower at 9 per
cent. “There are chances that interest rates may be revised after the
new government comes in,” official sources told PTI. When asked whether
it would mean a downward revision, they did not specify since nothing
could be “uttered” because of its possible political ramifications for
the polls. Already there are two views on the interest rates with one
school of thought believing if the Centre could introduce higher return
bearing instruments like Varishta Pension Bima Yojana and Dada-dadi
bonds, then the market certainly would have an “appetite” for it. The
other group, which comprises mainly the financial markets, feels the
sustainability of higher returns for the EPFO was “untenable” due to low
interest regime. — PTI |
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LIC, UTI MF in race for pension business
New Delhi, March 9 Confirming this, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development
Authority member U K Sinha told PTI “there are many more in the
fray.” Life insurers like ICICI Prudential, Birla Sunlife, HDFC
Standard Life and Aviva are eyeing the emerging sector, which has the
potential to outpace the life insurance industry within a few
decades. PSU banks like Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank are also toying
with the idea of tapping long term savings. Association of Mutual Funds
of India is in talks with the interim pension regulator to allow mutual
funds to offer pension schemes, its chairman A P Kurian
said. “Internationally, mutual funds and pension funds worked
side-by-side,” he said while pitching for entry of major mutual funds in
the pension business. Major fund houses like Principal, DSP Merrill
Lynch and Templeton are waiting for the final guidelines for entry into
the pension sector. — PTI |
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Steel units granted permission under policy: Ram Lal
Shimla, March 9 Addressing a press conference here today,
he said the licence and quota system has been done away with under
liberalisation and there is no need to grant licences as alleged by the
BJP. In all 59 arc and induction furnace steel units and five re-rollings
mills had been granted provisional registration. The government cannot
legally block such units as they have not figured in the negative list
of the Centre or the state. These units will invest Rs 550 crore and
employ 12,000 persons. The BJP is misleading people by saying that these
units had no employment potential. |
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Ficci for action plan to tackle unemployment
Chandigarh, March 9 It has expressed
concern that as the per the government statistics, the number of
unemployed persons in the country has crossed 4 crore. Despite the fast
economic growth, inadequate growth in employment has further aggravated
the situation. A study brought out by the chamber, “Unemployment
situation in India: Solving it the Ficci way” has called upon the
political parties to treat it as a major political issue in the ensuing
Lok Sabha elections. The study has pointed out that despite the economic
growth rate, the growth of employment in the industry has been much
lower than in China and the East Asian countries. Referring the
Planning Commission’s projections, the chamber has noted that
unemployment rate is expected to increase from 9.21 per cent in 2002 to
9.79 per cent by 2007. The growth in labour force during the current
five- year plan will push up the number of unemployed from 34.85 million
to 40.47 million by 2007, the terminal year of the plan. Ficci has
urged the government to undertake labour reforms, provision of entry and
exit clauses for firms, human resource development programme and flow of
credit at reasonable rate, especially for the labour-intensive
industries.
The study has also recommended that to encourage employers in the
small-scale sector, the government should offer special economic package
to them to replace obsolete technology, especially in the textile,
leather and engineering sectors, the major employers in the
manufacturing sector. In view of increasing job opportunities in service
sector, Ficci has suggested to the government to focus on education,
health, tourism, insurance and BPO activities to create new employment
opportunities. |
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LG unveils promotional scheme
Chandigarh, March
9 Under the scheme, a customer who purchases any LG product, will be
given a plastic cup having a scratch sticker. The customer is required to
scratch it and win the prize printed on it. Every cup has an assured
gift like televisions, refrigerators, computers, audio system, T-shirts
and bats autographed by Sourav Ganguly, Shrikanth, Gavaskar, and Ravi
Shastri. Customer can avail the offer at any LG outlet. During this
period, LG has set a target to achieve a turnover of Rs 1,350 crore. The
company is aimed at spending Rs 50 crore on the promotion campaign,
including Rs 40 crore on adspend. According to Mr Anil Arora, Head
(marketing) of LG, the firm is expecting to sell at least 10 lakh
products in this period. A plant of the firm is being constructed at
Baddi that will manufacture refrigerators and airconditioners. |
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Govt to revive Super Bazaar
New Delhi, March 9 “Properties of Super Bazaar
have been evaluated by ICICI Bank while the NCCF has devised the revival
plan which will now be taken up by the next government after the polls”,
official sources told PTI, adding the plan was prepared early last month
under a directive of Consumer Affairs Minister Sharad Yadav. They said
Super Bazaar brand name is well established but after the value
additions which will be made, it is proposed to call the revived entity
‘Super Bazaar Plus’. — PTI |
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Coke eyes rural markets for growth
Chandigarh, March 9 Mr Sunil Gupta, Vice-President, Corporate Affairs and
Communications, Coca Cola India (CCI), said today: “We started supplying
Coke to villages in different parts of the country through the
traditional vans and trucks last year but found, to our dismay, that at
most places, the narrow rural roads could not accommodate large
motorised vehicles. Hence, the move for supplying our brands through
bullock-carts and cycle rickshaws”. Mr Gupta said rural India represents
an important market where every marketer wanted to get a foothold.
According to official figures, as much as three-fourth of the country's
population and 41 per cent of the growing middle class live in the rural
areas. This segment consumes 70 per cent of soaps, besides accounting
for 38 per cent of all new 2-wheeler purchases. Mr Gupta said till
last year, penetration of soft drinks was as low as 10 per cent in the
rural areas as against 37 per cent in the urban areas, while per capita
consumption was just two bottles a year as against 23 bottles in cities.
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