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Brick prices up 20 pc due to coal shortage
IBM plans to acquire Daksh eServices
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Mobile connections grow 160 pc, says TRAI New Delhi, April 7 Mobile connections grew a whopping 160 per cent last fiscal year-on-year against just 3 per cent rise in the country’s total telephone market, the telecom regulator said today. 
In video: India adds over 1.9
persons for mobile-phone services. (28k,
56k) PTC, Biocon zoom on opening day
Punjab, Haryana among 5 richest states in India Bollywood actor Vivek Oberaoi
dressed as Elvis Presley at the launch of new Coke product 'Wakaw' in
New Delhi on Wednesday. — PTI photo
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Brick prices up 20 pc due to coal shortage Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 7 It has also led to rise in construction costs and retrenchment of thousands of labourers working in the brick kiln industry. Majority of brick kiln owners have decided to wait and watch before renewing the annual contract of labourers. The industry experts claimed that if the situation continued for some more time, other sectors including cement, steel and bank credit will began to feel the heat as well. Mr R. P. Chandel, vice-president, All India Brick and Tile Manufacturers Federation, disclosed that out of about 50,000 brick kilns in the country, about 20 per cent, mostly in Punjab, Haryana, UP and Bihar had been shut down due to uneconomical price of the raw material. He said, “The price of bricks has increased from Rs 1000 per one thousand to Rs 1200 to Rs 1,400 per thousand due to increase in coal prices. The units are still finding it hard to meet the costs.” Commenting on the indifferent attitude of the government, he alleged, “some of the officials of the Coal India and its four subsidiaries including Central Coal Ltd, Eastern Coal Ltd, North Eastern Coal Ltd in connivance with coal mafia have created an artificial shortage of coal in the market.” “The coal prices for the industry have increased from Rs 2000-Rs 2500 per tonne to over Rs 5,000 per tonne in Punjab and Haryana. In UP the prices have reached Rs 3,700 to Rs 3,800 per tonne as against Rs 1,900 to Rs 2000 per tonne prevailing during last year,” said Mr Surendra Pratap, General Secretary of the Federation. Mr Chadel lamented unlike cement and steel sectors, the government had not declared the brick kiln sector as the core sector. “Our annual demand of coal is worth Rs 2000 crore, but due to involvement of coal mafia and corrupt government machinery, we are forced to shell out over Rs 2,500 crore leading to rise in costs for the end consumers.” The industry has called upon the
government to improve coal supply otherwise it would result in closure
of more brick kiln units, retrenchment of labour and will ultimately hit
the housing sector. |
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IBM plans to acquire Daksh eServices
New Delhi,
April 7 The transaction,
which is subject to Indian regulatory approval, is expected to close in
May this year. This acquisition is expected to enhanced IBM’s business
transformation capabilities in key areas including customer relationship
management and financial management services in industries such as
banking, insurance, retail, technology, telecommunications and travel
and transportation. Headquartered in India, privately held Daksh
eServices was founded in 2002 and has emerged as a leading player in the
Asian business services arena with a range of top Asian and
international clients. |
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WTO should have Asia specific agenda: expert
Chandigarh, April 7
Mr Drache, an expert on international trade and social impact
of the WTO, was here today to have an interaction with the faculty and
others invited by the Centre for Rural Research and Industrial
Development ( CRRID) on its campus. Walkout by G-20 led by Brazil and
India from the concluding session of the WTO conference at Cancun on the
agricultural subsidies issue last year has left the WTO in shambles. The
developing countries, also known as Global South, refused to accept any
deal on the agricultural agenda from the Global North ( axis of rich
countries), says Mr Drache. The WTO has failed to provide a
level-playing field to the Global South and Global North blocs. Its
agenda has always been dictated by multinational countries. In Global
North, governments never engage in any sort of business. Multinational
companies do most of the business. And these companies play an active
part to influence the role, policies and programmes of the WTO to
protect their business interests. "The globalisation of economy will
not solve the problems of poverty eradication, health, education,
potable drinking water, etc in the Global South", said Mr Drache. "The
sooner countries of this bloc realise this reality would be the better",
he added. Open economy system has worked for the good of a few instead
of common good in the countries which opted it. ''What we see that
inequality, poverty and unemployment is growing in such countries", said
Mr Drache. Countries like India, Brazil should forget that the US or
the European Union( EU) will slash subsidies, that was a major area of
dispute at Cancun, to agricultural sector. There was a strong domestic
political base for providing subsidies worth $ 200 billion to the
farming sector in the US. The agriculture subsidy level in the Global
North has not decreased in the past 50 years and, in fact, it has risen
sharply in the 90s. The G-20 had urged the US and the EU for a
substantial cut in the subsidies to the farming sector in their
countries and also for a greater access to the developing countries in
their markets. Speaking on spreading inequality, he said the World Bank
figures show that "how extreme the actual situation is". Today, average
real incomes in the developed world are 75 times higher then in the
world's least developed regions. The annual dairy subsidy per cow in the
EU comes to $913, while its annual aid to sub-Sahara Africa is at a
shocking $8 per person. Rich countries spent $311 billion to subsidise
northern farmers, an amount that dwarfs the $ 52 billion spent by all
developing countries, he remarked. Even the access to the EU and the US
markets will not solve the problems faced by the developing countries on
the agricultural front. He is strongly against the dismantling of the
price support system to the agricultural sector by India. "It will be a
wrong step as farmers will not be able to compete with their
counterparts in the US and the EU and it will lead to a chaos in the
country", he said. Asked about the anti-globalisation movement, Mr
Drache said it was picking up. He said the WTO should have a new
strategy. It should have an Asia specific agenda. In the developing
countries, poverty, illiteracy, poor health, unemployment were serious
problems. The WTO should address these problems on a priority basis. "
Moreover, the developing countries should not be over dependent on the
WTO to solve their problems", he added.
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Mobile connections grow 160 pc, says TRAI
New Delhi, April 7 In fact, mobile
segment surpassed fixed line in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai and Punjab during
2003-04, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said. Mobile
connections, including WLL (M) stood at 33.58 million as on March 31
this year against 13 million during the same day of 2003. The respective
figures for fixed line connections, including WLL (F), were 42.58
million and 41.48 million. If mobile telephony attracts as much
customers as was drawn last fiscal — over 20 million — and fixed lines
rose by just last year’s 3 per cent growth — mobile connections will
overtake basic telephone market this fiscal. Releasing the figures for
GSM industry for last fiscal, the Cellular Operators Association of
India, however, said yesterday that there is an increasing concern that
the subscriber additions trend is appearing to plateau off. This is
particularly disturbing against the background of the aggressive
teledensity targets that the industry wishes to achieve. There appears
to be an urgent need to analyse the situation and remove the impediments
in the way of an accelerated growth path. Industry is examining all
concerned aspects to help arrive at an answer, COAI said. TRAI
attributed the telecom growth to various factors, including its
recommendations on the unified license regime and increased competition
leading to lower tariffs. According to an analysis, the effective per
minute charge for unified access has come down from Rs 1.63 in March,
2003 to Rs 0.42 in March, 2004, showing a 4 per cent decline. Four
mobile operators — Bharti, Reliance, BSNL and Reliance — have exceeded
the 5 million mark each. — UNI
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PTC, Biocon zoom on opening day
New Delhi, April 7 The PTC shares, in particular, surpassed all recent
records by leaving far behind all the six public sector companies, whose
shares were offloaded recently, including the much-touted ONGC, in terms
of investors’ response. The shares of face value of Rs 10 offered at
Rs 16 through a book building route touched the high of Rs 46.35 and low
of Rs 27.75 before settling at Rs 44.65 on BSE. The scrip touched Rs
46.85 at the high end and low of Rs 31.10 before closing at Rs 44.80 on
NSE. Bangalore-based Biocon offered its share of face value of Rs 2 at
Rs 315. The share touched the high of Rs 506.70 and low of Rs 425 before
settling at Rs 484 on NSE. On BSE, the scrip touched Rs 507 and Rs 400
before closing at Rs 484.35.
ICICI Bank’s IPO oversubscribed by
408.5 pc The ICICI bank’s public offering of Rs 3,050-crore (with a
greenshoe option of another Rs 450-crore) has been oversubscribed by
408.5 per cent on the closing day today. The issue received bids of
488,704,600 shares at the floor level of Rs255 per share against the
offering of 119,667,843 shares at both the BSE and NSE, thus registering
an oversubscription of 408.59 per cent. — UNI |
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Punjab, Haryana among 5 richest states in India
New Delhi, April 7 Participating
in the annual meeting of the CII, several speakers admitted that small
enterprises and agriculture were playing a crucial role in the
development of the economy. The CII has also decided to empower “skills
and technology to the cluster of small industries” to the small
enterprises across the country. Collaboration of CII and Mohali
industries have helped upgradation of small enterprises, said Mr Sunil
Kant Munjal, Vice President, CII. Making a presentation “Small is
beautiful,” Mr Khushjiv Singh Sethi, Executive Director, Gillard
Electronics Ltd., claimed the small industries had the potential to
become big industries besides providing employment opportunities to
large number of youth. What was needed, he said, was upgradation of
skills, managerial skills and appropriate policies for the growth of the
sector. He said collaboration with CII had helped Mohali industrial
units to save lakhs of rupees annually besides improving product
quality. In its annual report, the CII noted that the Northern states
including Punjab, Haryana had a vast potential in the manufacturing and
service sector due to inherent edge of skilled manpower and
entrepreneurial skills. Two of the five richest states in the country
are from the northern region with Punjab ranking second and Haryana
fourth, stated the CII report. It added that Delhi’s contribution to the
country’s total investment had increased to 25 per cent in 2003-04 from
a low level of 2 per cent in 2002-03. Mr Gautam Thapar, Chairman, CII
(Northern Region) claimed that the industry would have to tackle the
core issues “crime, corruption, gender injustice and its social
responsibilities” besides profits and growth. |
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95 pc paddy milling complete
Ludhiana, April 7 The Food Corporation of India and the state
procuring agencies had purchased 1.30 crore tonnes of paddy which was a
record during 2003 season. Out of this 15 per cent was purchased by the
private trade. The milling of paddy purchased by the FCI is already over
and the paddy milling of state agencies is expected to be completed by
the end of this month. Enquiries made by The Tribune show that the
milling of paddy which used to continue uptil September was possible
because of the additional capacity created last year. More than 500 new
rice mills have come up in the state and at present the number of rice
mills in the state is stated to be more than 3000. Another reason for
the speedy milling of paddy was the availability of space within the
premises of the rice mills. The storage space was made possible due to
the speedy movement of rice and wheat from the state to other states.
The godowns of Punjab are at the moment lying empty as at one time,
there used to be 20 to 25 million tonnes of wheat and paddy in the
stores which posed serious problems at the time of officials procurement
of the two crops. According to official sources, Punjab godowns have at
present about 50 lakh tonnes each of rice and wheat and the storage
position in the state is very comfortable. Rather the government is in a
piquant situation as the godowns were constructed with the financial
assistance from the Central Government under the guaranteed scheme. Now
the government agencies have to pay rent for the vacant godowns. There
will be no problem in storing the new wheat crop claim the officials of
the food supplies department. |
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Coke in vanilla flavour
New Delhi, April 7 “We also expect to increase
our franchisee by 20 per cent with the launch of the new product in a
year’s time,” Coca-Cola India President and CEO Sanjiv Gupta told
mediapersons here. The new variety will be available in 500 ml PET
bottles at Rs 15 in Delhi. The product will be launched in 22 cities,
including Mumbai, in a month’s time. Coca-Cola India today admitted
that it is running short of production due to summers which is affecting
supply of its products in some parts of the country. Mr Gupta termed it
a short-term phenomenon, saying that will be taken care of shortly. —
UNI |
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Investment needed in poultry sector
Dharamsala, April 7 Dr
Taneja said that poultry products are most important source of proteins
in the diet. In India the consumption of poultry meat is just 1 kg and
that of eggs just 37 per person annually. More investment is needed in
this sector because it has potential for growth and can contribute more
to the national economy by raising annual growth rate of agriculture
sector. |
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Centurion Bank to open more branches
Chandigarh,
April 7 The bank at present has
total of 61 branches and 20 extension counters in the country. “ In
North India we have a presence of just 15-20 per cent and will focus on
setting up more branches in Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh, where the
growth is actually happening. ‘’ The total deposits of the bank are to
the tune of Rs 3,000 crore, advances are worth Rs 1,100 crore, said Mr
Bhandari. The bank’s net NPA as on February 6, were Rs 130.83 crore
representing 8.35 per cent of net customer assets, as compared with Rs
104.09 crore representing 7.51 per cent of net customer assets at
year-end fiscal 2003. The bank had only last week announced their
Right’s Issue. The bank has incurred a net loss of Rs 26.33 crore for
the over 10-month period ended February 2004. |
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Airtel bills
Rajasthan
bank BoP at Panipat
Union Bank
Ashok Leyland |
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