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Progress of food parks slow
Lottery ticket seller is highest taxpayer
Plea to bring printing units under SSI ambit
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Market update
British airlines wrangle over routes to India
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Fortis opens hospital in Noida
Dabur Honey tastes bitter in New Zealand
Tax advice
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Progress of food parks slow
New Delhi, November 7 The Ministry of Food Processing Industries, which is providing grants worth crores of rupees to the states to set up these parks aimed at food processing and employment generation in rural areas, has asked the state government to take an interest in the projects and coordinate among different agencies to speed up the development of these projects. A monitoring report of the ministry has noted that the Punjab Agri-Export Corporation (Paic), an implementing agency to set up a Rs 17.84-crore food park in Sirhind, Fatehgarh Sahib district, has not yet submitted the utilisation certificate (UC) for at least 50 per cent of the bank loan. It has urged the corporation to submit the UC immediately so that the remaining loans and grants could be considered for disbursal. The ministry has already sanctioned a grant of Rs 2 crore for the project. Paic has not reportedly allotted the industrial plots in the food park so far. The Finance Ministry has already announced tax exemptions to the food processing units in these parks. These include 100 per cent deduction of profit for five years under the Income Tax Act and 25 per cent of profits for the next five years and exemption of excise duty to fruit and vegetable based products. Haryana, which has been sanctioned two food parks out of total 46 projects sanctioned in the country, has not so far submitted expenditure statements. The Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC) is developing a food park each at Rai in Sonepat district at a project cost of Rs 53.21 crore and at Saha in Ambala district at a cost of Rs 7.31 crore. About 75 entrepreneurs have been allotted industrial plots to set up their units in these parks. The ministry has also rapped the Jammu & Kashmir, UP, Rajasthan and Maharashtra governments for delay in the execution of these projects. In case of Manipur, the ministry has even recalled the sanctioned funds to develop food park in Imphal. As part of its plan to revamp the agriculture sector, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already announced to encourage state governments and entrepreneurs to set up food processing units in the states on a large scale. Said Mr Subodh Kant Sahay, Minister of State for Food Processing, “We have invited all MPs to come forward to help set up food parks in each constituency. The Centre is providing up to 25 per cent of the project cost as grant to the PSUs, private sector, NGOs and other agencies to set up food parks, up to a maximum limit of Rs 4 crore.” The grant is likely to be increased to Rs 10 crore soon. The ministry is also contemplating to bring an integrated food law in winter session of Parliament on the demand of the industry, he added.
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Lottery ticket seller is highest taxpayer
Chennai, November 7 No one has ever heard of him because he is a low-profile businessman. Mr S. Martin, the lottery king, is the highest individual income tax payer, for the last two years. “I don’t have the exact figure, but it is definitely more than Rs. 50 crore,” says Mr Martin on being asked about the amount he paid as income tax during ’02-’03 and ’03-’04. “The figure could have been much higher had the Tamil Nadu government not banned lottery.” And sitting on top of his nearly Rs. 4,000 crore empire, consisting not just of lottery business but also a highly successful satellite television channel, he is modest. “I am only doing my duty as a citizen. I was paying the Central government what is due from me.” A school drop-out, who started out with a small stationery shop in Coimbatore, which later started selling lottery tickets also, he emerged as one of the biggest guns in the lottery business setting up on the way the Martin Lottery Agency, extending his operations to Chennai. The path to his success lay in getting wholesale agency for lotteries conducted by the state governments like those of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. From there it was a mere graduation to conducting the lotteries of states like Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Bhutan also. In the late ’90s, when there were allegations about the genuineness of many of these lotteries partially due to circulation of fake lottery tickets in the market, Mr. Martin tried to infuse a degree of transparency by getting the daily and weekly draws conducted by his company live on a Delhi-based satellite television channel. From there it was just one more step for Martin. He set up a new company, Fortune Media, which soon went on air with Southern Spice or SS Channel, the South Indian ‘version’ of MTV and Channel V. The lottery draws are now shown live on this channel. Despite the success of the TV channel, lottery remains his passion. And his one big regret is that the Tamil Nadu government is firm on not revoking the ban on lotteries in the state. “It is a question of livelihood of several lakh people, many of them physically challenged. The government can help them get employment and also earn more than Rs 200 crore as revenue if the ban is lifted,” he says.
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Plea to bring printing units under SSI ambit
Mandi, November 7 Talking to the reporters here today after submitting a memorandum to the CM, Pam president S.K. Sharma said over 75 per cent of the printing work from the government sector is going out to Chandigarh and Delhi, despite the fact the hi-tech coloured and offset printing units are available in the town and other parts of the state. “Not only this, the government has taken out the printing units from the SSI bracket, which is unjustified as printing has become value-added service, added Mr DD Thakur, general secretary, Pam. “Over 500 printing press employ over 3,000 persons in the state,” he informed.
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Market update by Lalit Batra
ON account of all-round buying, the Sensex surged by over 200 points (3.8 per cent) last week to close at a seven-month high of 5891. As the mood turned extremely bullish, thanks to factors such as a sharp fall in crude oil prices and the election of George W. Bush as President of the United States of America for a second term, among other things, stock cutting across sectors raced to higher levels.
The outlook for the market is positive as inflows to emerging markets, as a whole, are expected to pick in the coming months as political uncertainty in the USA has dissipated following the conclusion of the presidential elections. The victory for Bush spurred domestic IT stocks. Bush is seen as more forthcoming to outsourcing of services to countries such as India. The mood on the market is bullish on account of high liquidity and strong quarterly results. The market may continue to rise and even touch the 6000-level this week. At the same time, investors are advised to book profits as the Sensex nears the 6000 mark.
NTPC The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) stock made a sensational debut on the bourses last Friday and closed with a sparkling gain of 21.8 per cent over the issue price (Rs 62). The NTPC is the largest power generating company in India with a nationwide presence. Its capacity stands at 21,435 MW, which is around 19 per cent of India’s total installed capacity. India has largely been a power deficient country, with the peak demand-supply mismatch running into double digits. Though the generation capacity of the country has almost doubled in the past decade, it has not kept pace with the growth in demand. This augurs well for the NTPC in the long run.
Voltas Voltas is a major player in the electro-mechanical engineering segment, which involves all aspects of construction of infrastructure like electrical and airconditioning, barring the civil structure. The company also has a presence in the manufacturing of forklifts, textile auxiliary, and agro-chemicals and trading of chemicals. The company’s second quarter results were a mixed bag. White top-line grew up a mere 1.9 per cent, there has been a notable improvement in operating margins during the quarter. While the company has managed to improve margins of all divisions, the unitary segment continues to remain a drag on the overall profitability. Cooling appliances, refrigerators and airconditioners form a part of this division. Intense competition continues to take its toll on this segment. The stocks looks fully priced in the Rs 140 to Rs 155 range, and fresh investments should be considered only after looking at the next quarter’s performance.
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British airlines wrangle over routes to India
London, November 7 With the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) deciding to allocate a further 21 direct flights per week to India on Thursday, the three airlines will try to secure the maximum routes. At a ‘scarce capacity hearing’, the first to involve the country’s three biggest airlines, BA, Virgin and BMI will each argue before the CAA that they should be able to operate some or all of the 21 new routes for weekly flights to and from India, the ‘Sunday Telegraph’ reported. The BA, which currently owns the rights to all 19 flights a week, has requested it be given all 21 new flights as it can get the “greatest capacity” by using Boeing 747s. The UK-to-India market is worth around £ 200 million a year, according to experts. At present, 60 per cent of those travelling to India from the UK are forced to go via another airport. Under the new agreement between the British and Indian governments, seven each of the new routes must go to Mumbai and Delhi, with the remainder to other cities. Though the BA claims that giving it the slots would be in the best interest of consumers, BMI and Virgin also have the same contention. BMI has guaranteed to the CAA that its fares will be 10 per cent below those currently offered by the BA, London daily ‘The Observer’ reported.
— PTI
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Fortis opens hospital in Noida
Chandigarh, November 7 The tertiary care hospital with super-speciality in orthopedics and neuro sciences was inaugurated by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Built with an investment of Rs 100 crore, the 350-bed Noida centre will showcase the synergy of medical technology and advances in IT through telemedicine, providing access to the best medical professionals to rural population, Fortis Chairman Harpal Singh said. Fortis, which has already set up its hospitals in Mohali, Amritsar and Noida, plans to set up an integrated healthcare complex in Gurgaon with an investment of around Rs 900 crore and hospitals in Ludhiana and Jalandhar.
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Dabur Honey tastes bitter in New Zealand
New Delhi, November 7 New Zealand’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) is investigating claims that foreign honey is being brought into the country and assessing how widely it has been distributed. Quarantine officers are trying to track down the Dabur brand honey after an Auckland beekeeper reported that honey from India was being sold in local ethnic shops. The Beekeepers Association has demanded serious and specific actions to protect the domestic industry after it was discovered that Dabur Honey was being sold in an Auckland shop. Auckland National Beekeepers Association representative Graeme Cammel said he alerted the MAF because “it is a breach of biosecurity regulations”. A New Zealand TV website, quoting Cammel, said the particular brand of honey, Dabur, has also raised concerns because it is under voluntary recall in Canada. Honey imports from almost everywhere in the world are banned because of the risk of introducing bee diseases. “The first priority is to get the illegal honey off shop shelves and then find out how it slipped through the biosecurity net,” said Paul Bolger of MAF’s operational standards team. — UNI
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Use Form 15-H for bank declaration
by S.C. Vasudeva Q. I am a senior citizen pensioner. My income for the current financial year (2004-05) will be as under: (a) Pension Rs 1,51,000 (b) Interest on FDs Rs 29,500 (ii) Kindly calculate my tax liability as per the new IT Rules, with special reference to: (a) Standard Deduction (b) Exemption u/s 80-L (b) Rebate u/s 88B/ 88D as the case may be (iii) You are further requested to intimate whether the TDS on interest from the bank deposits is mandatory or can there be some concession, in case the tax liability is nil. — R.L. Perhar, Pathankot A.
The total tax liability in your case for assessment year 2005-06 would be as under:
(ii) Tax at source can be deducted by banks if the interest for the year exceeds Rs 5,000. However, in your case you can furnish a declaration to the bank in Form 15-H stating that the tax on the total income is likely to be nil and therefore, no tax should be deducted form the interest income. Such deduction in Form 15-H is to be furnished in duplicate. The bank will not thereafter deduct tax at source on your interest income. Education loan
Q. I have taken an educational loan from State Bank of Patiala (SBoP) in the name of my son studying electronics and communications engineering degree programme and have repaid an amount of Rs 20,000 out of Rs 1,50,000. Am I eligible for rebate under Section 80E for an amount of Rs 20,000? Under Section 80E, it is also mentioned that rebate is eligible up to Rs 40,000 for a maximum period of seven
years Does it mean that I can avail this Rs 40,000 rebate per year or is it maximum Rs 40,000 dividend over a span of seven years? Kindly clarify. Can I deduct Rs 20,000 from my total income before calculating the tax payable, an assessee, being an individual? — R.K. Bansal, Kangra A. Section 80E of the Income Tax Act, 1961, provides that in computing the total income of an assessee, being an individual, there shall be deducted, in accordance with and subject to the provisions of this section, any amount paid by him in the previous year, out of his income chargeable to tax, by way of repayment of loan, taken by him from any financial institution or any approved charitable institution for the purpose of pursuing his higher education, or interest on such loan: Provided that the amount, which may be so deducted, shall not exceed Rs 40,000. It would thus be observed from the above that the deduction in respect of the repayment of loan is allowable to a person who has taken the loan for pursuing his higher education. In view of the provisions of law as they exist you would not be entitled to any deduction as the repayment is being made by you in respect of loan taken for the higher education of your son.
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