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Gail to assist China, Iran for gas distribution
National gas pipeline policy may be delayed
RBI modifies priority sector lending norms
Govt rules out allowance for jobless
Indian Idol poll gives new turn to research
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New broadband services from Jan 15
HP hands over Bir coop tea unit to private party for planters’ benefit
Unlimited free STD calls from Reliance
5-star club in Ludhiana soon
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Gail to assist China, Iran for gas distribution
New Delhi, December 17 Talking to the reporters here today, Mr Prashanto Banerjee, Chairman and Managing Director of Gail said,” we are in the process of acquiring 10 per cent equity in the Chinese company.” The equity will be acquired on mutual discussion basis. Asked why it plans to take 10 per cent equity, Mr Banerjee said this would provide an experience to the Gail and depending upon the experience, it would formulate future strategy. He said Gail was keen to assist Iran in setting up city gas distribution network in some cities of that country. Gail is already operating in Egypt and a partner in a city gas distribution company. The company has plans to set up more city gas distribution network in the country, besides operating in Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. He said Gail was also exploring the possibility of buying LNG from Australia and Malaysia in the wake of continued increase in demand. He said a new Dehaj-Bijapur gas pipleline was likely to be completed by the end of next year. “This will ensure LNG supply to Mumbai,” he said. Mr Banerjee said Gail has also undertaken expansion at Pata Petrochemcials complex. The capacity will increase from 3.1 million tonnes to 4.40 million tonnes at a cost of Rs 630 crore. The expansion will be completed by mid-2006.
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National gas pipeline policy may be delayed
The government is likely to delay the announcement of the national gas pipeline policy as the Cabinet note on the policy has not been cleared.
The draft might be scrutinised by a group of ministers, since the Leftist parties and some alliance partners have raised objections over the inclusion of the private sector in laying the national gas pipeline grid. The pipeline policy envisages setting up of a national gas grid and the draft policy enables Gail India to set up grid. Comments and suggestions have already been scrutinised by the Petroleum Ministry but a Cabinet note so far not been finalised because of certain reservations expressed by Gail, which wants that the remaining portion of the gas grid should be set up by it. Gail has proposed to lay an around 8,000-km pipeline involving a cost of Rs 18,000 crore but the plan could not be finalised because of delay in formulating the policy. Defending the Gail decision to favour the monopoly as gas carrier, Mr Banerjee said Gail is not opposed to sharing capacity with private players. But if more players were allowed, the fixation of tariff of carrying gas will be a problem and at the end consumers might end up paying higher price for the gas.
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RBI modifies priority sector lending norms
Mumbai, December 17 This measure, the apex bank hoped, would boost lending for priority sector including small businesses. The current guidelines for classifying the investment by banks in the bonds issued by the specified institutions such as SIDBI, State Finance Corporation and Hudco under the priority sector lending may continue up to March 31, 2005, RBI said in a communication to banks. The investments, already been made/to be made by banks up to March 31, 2005, in the special bonds issued by the above specified institutions (except Nabard), would not be eligible priority sector lending classification with effect from April 1, 2006.
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Govt rules out allowance for jobless
New Delhi, December 17 Replying to a discussion on a private member’s Bill moved by Basudeb Acharia (CPM) who sought a social security net for the unorganised sector, Labour Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao said, “it is not possible to give unemployment allowance because the Centre is not in a position to pay and, therefore, it was bringing a bill guaranteeing employment.” He said the government has taken measures in several sectors to provide employment ranging from small-scale industries to tourism and as part of the exercise to give jobs in rural areas, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had launched the Food for Work Programme on November 14 which would cover 150 backward districts.
— PTI
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Indian Idol poll gives new turn to research
Chandigarh, December 17 In a close to real-time effort to find out why there are more male contestants making it to the next level in Indian Idol, consumers all over India are being asked to give their opinion through the mobile and also win Nokia 3320 phones as prizes. The research initiative has been announced on Sony TV and it closes at midnight on Sunday, December 19, 2004. This is a unique example of how state-of-the-art technology can be leveraged to understand the preferences of the Indian public. It also has the potential of opening avenues for faster and more realistic as well as reliable consumer research. Such a move could be a boon for companies as they will be able to respond faster to changing consumer preferences.
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New broadband services from Jan 15
New Delhi, December 17 While MTNL will launch the services in Delhi and Mumbai, BSNL will do it from Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad on the same day. This was announced by the Minister of Communications & Information Technology, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, while addressing the first meeting of the Members of the Consultative Committee attached to his ministry, here today. The Department is targeting around 10 million broadband service users by 2007. It will be another success like the mobile telephone services revolution in the country, he said. Mr Maran said, though the 256 kbps costs Rs 3000 in the market, the telecom PSUs have agreed to provide the services at Rs 500 per month, which will make users more confident to use the broadband services. While VSAT should also be used as small hubs the Government is also allowing DTH operators to operate broadband Internet and uplink after fulfilling necessary licensing conditions. He further stated that the government has relaxed the conditions for outdoor use of frequencies to promote Wi-MAX and Wi-Fi. Elaborating further on the features of the New Broadband Policy, Mr Maran said the policy has been finalised after taking into consideration all relevant aspects, including the recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on accelerating growth of broadband and Internet penetration.
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HP hands over Bir coop tea unit to private party for planters’ benefit
Shimla, December 17 The state Cabinet at its meeting yesterday decided to hand over the Bir Cooperative Tea factory to a private concern. Earlier in February, the Sidhbari Tea Cooperative factory near Dharamsala was handed over to a private party. Now only the Palampur Cooperative Tea factory is running while the unit at Baijnath is lying closed. Trial plantations undertaken by the Agriculture Department in the Tissa area of Chamba and Karsog in Mandi district have proved to be successful and there is a proposal to bring almost 4,000 hectares under tea cultivation. The China hybrid variety of tea, extensively grown in Kangra, gave encouraging results. Despite repeated efforts by the government to help the running of the cooperative tea factories in the interest of the planters, the four units at
Baijnath, Bir, Palampur and Sidhbari could not register good profits. To extend help to these cooperative factories, the government even shelled out Rs 5.60 crore in the form of equity as a one-time relief to these units. “The immediate concern of the government is to strengthen the existing area under tea and ensure the smooth running of the factories which are processing the leaves for making black tea,” informed Mr B.S. Chauhan, Assistant Director, Tea, in the Agriculture Department. He says plans to take tea to non-traditional areas of Mandi and Chamba would be taken up once the tea industry is stabilised in Kangra district. The planters had been badly hit due to the closure of the tea factories at Bir, Billing and Sidhbari as there was no outlet for selling the leaves. The cottage industry, which was making green tea was, however, surviving but for getting black tea processed the planters were facing great difficulty. “Our main concern is to protect the interest of the planters and if they can get a good leaf price from private parties running the tea factory, they will be encouraged to continue with their tea gardens,” said Mr K.S.
Dhaulta, Joint Registrar in the Cooperation Department. As per a survey undertaken by the Tea Board of India in 1997, a total area of 2,312 hectares was under tea cultivation. “Though there has been a marginal increase in the area under tea compared to the 1986 survey when 2023 hectares was under the crop, the facts remain that lots of tea gardens in Jogindernagar, Baijnath and Bir have stopped growing tea,” informed an official. It remains to be seen how successful the experiment of handing over the cooperative tea factories to private hands will be, because on this depends the fate of the tea industry and government attempts to revive it.
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Unlimited free STD calls from Reliance
Chandigarh, December 17 Mr Shukla said the free calling plan came with a monthly commitment of Rs 700 for post-paid customers or with a recharge voucher (RCV) of Rs 770 for pre-paid customers. Both these options carry talk time value of Rs 165 for making calls to non-Reliance phones at a flat unit rate of Rs 1.10.
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5-star club in Ludhiana soon
Ludhiana, December 17 The project, that involves an estimated investment of over Rs 40 crore, would not only be different in terms of facilities that it promises, it would also be among the very few in this city, dominated by family businesses, to separate management from ownership. “We have decided that a private international management agency will take care of its routine affairs,” revealed Managing Director Sukhvinder S Oberoi.
— TNS
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Jet, Sahara to fly to Singapore, Thailand
New Delhi, December 17 This information was given by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel in the Lok Sabha yesterday. He said the move would allow the airlines to fly to these countries under the existing bilateral air services agreements. The government currently permits private carriers to fly to Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
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