 |
|
Anil Ambani quits IPCL board
Amartya, Meghnad clash over India as a nation state
Economy must grow at 10 pc, says Kalam
Tsunami fund
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Despite tsunami, growth to be 6.5 pc: WB
OBC accuses 5 companies of cheating GTB
Sensex, Nifty rewrite history in New Year
Auto scene
Graphic: India's External Debt
|
|
Anil Ambani quits IPCL board
New Delhi, January 3 Anil took the attack to the rival camp by resigning as Vice-Chairman and Director of IPCL, an erstwhile PSU taken over by the Ambanis in May 2002, on the ground that he considered it against his “dignity, self-respect and self-esteem” to serve on the Board where Anand Jain is also a director. Jain is close to Mukesh, who is the chairman of IPCL, the third biggest listed company in the Reliance fold with a market capitalisation of over Rs 4,800 crore. Anil’s salvo is the first after the December 27 meeting of the RIL Board which had strongly backed his brother. Thereafter, the family had come together on the birth anniversary of family patriarch and group founder Dhirubhai Ambani. In his resignation letter to Mukesh Ambani, the younger brother said Jain was “heading the conspiracy to divide us and to further worsen our differences.”
REL Q3 results
The Reliance Energy (REL) board of directors will meet on January 19 to consider payment of dividend for the third quarter ended December 31. The board, headed by Anil Ambani, would also consider and finalise the quarterly results of the company, among other things, REL informed the Bombay Stock Exchange today. The company also fixed January 28 as the record date for it to determine the entitlement, if any, for the payment of quarterly dividend payment, it said.
|
|
SC tells Reliance to clear BSNL dues
Refusing to alter its earlier order directing Reliance Infocomm to pay the entire Rs 182.7 crore amount on incoming international calls to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), the Supreme Court today directed the company to clear the remaining amount of Rs 84.7 crore within a week.
A Bench of Mr Justice N. Santosh Hegde and Mr Justice S. B. Sinha said Reliance should pay the entire Rs 182.7 crore amount as had been directed by it on December 3 while referring the matter back to the Delhi High Court, which had passed the initial direction in this regard in an interim injunction. Reliance had moved an application seeking to pay the amount in the form of bank guarantee (BG) not in cash or through cheque and sought modification in the apex court’s December 3 order. Reliance counsel contended that there was some dispute over the payment of about Rs 29 crore and in view of this, the company be allowed to pay the money through BG. He said as per the high court’s interim direction, Rs 98 crore had already been paid to BSNL. But this was opposed by BSNL counsel Soli J. Sorabjee, who said the apex court had referred the matter back to the high court only on the condition that the entire amount of Rs 182.7 crore was paid to the public sector company. The high court had asked Reliance to pay the money when BSNL had filed a petition alleging that the private company had been “illegally re-routing” incoming international calls to its (BSNL) subscribers, coming through the former’s system as “local calls” causing huge losses to the public sector company. The BSNL said while charges of local calls were only 30 paise per minute, it was Rs 4.55 for the international calls.
|
|
Amartya, Meghnad clash over India as a nation state
New Delhi, January 3 Lord Desai traced the fragmentation of Indian politics to historically low rates of economic growth. “Because the rate of growth was low in the first 30 years since Independence and the planning strategy capital intensive, poverty did not go down and employment did not grow”, he said while speaking at the national seminar on ‘Development and Nationhood: An Indian Perspective’, organised by Ficci and Sri Ram Centre for Industrial Research (SRC) here. As literacy levels continued to stagnate and health care and social development programmes received lip service, the marginalised sections of society threw up a new breed of leaders whose sole purpose was to capture the State. “This rapacious class gave back to its cluster of vote banks a share of the State spoils, ensuring in the process, the forceful emergence of a third force in Indian politics”, Lord Desai pointed out. Describing the reassertion of regional parties as the direct outcome of social and spatial disparities, Lord Desai said this sowed the seeds of India becoming a multi-national polity. The primary loyalty of leaders of these political parties lay with regional aspirations, the notion being that prosperity in States and regions would lead to national prosperity, he added. He said India needs a grand coalition designed to accelerate the rate of economic growth that widens the space in a non-State sphere that encourages and nurtures economic activities that produce surplus value, creates productive jobs and puts an end to competitive populism. Professor Sen, however, said the concept of the Indian nation state depends on what nation means. “I think we have overestimated the contribution of the British in uniting India”, he said. The notion of an Indian nation state “pre-dates the British by a long margin”, he said. The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, lent a social dimension to Lord Meghnad Desai’s plea for accelerated economic growth so that the fruits of development percolate to the masses transparently and equitably, within an overall social security system. Dr Ahluwalia said the greatest challenge confronting the nation’s politics and political leaders is to sell economic reform policies in a manner that individuals begin to perceive them as inclusive, that it has something in it for them. He said the need of the hour is faster economic growth along with equality of opportunity to create wealth as “the tolerance of an unequal outcome is higher when people at large began to think that development will bring some good to them”.
|
|
Economy must grow at 10 pc, says Kalam
New Delhi, January 3 “Our nation is going through a major challenge of the uplift of 260 million people who are below the poverty line. They need habitat, they need food, they need health care, and they need education and employment finally resulting in a good life. As of now our GDP is growing at 6 per cent per annum. Whereas, the economists suggest that to uplift the people below poverty line, our economy has to grow at the rate of 10 per cent per annum consistently, for over a decade”, Dr Kalam said while delivering the first Professor Manohar Lal Sondhi lecture here. He said that during the last century, the world has undergone a change from being an agricultural society where manual labour was important, to an industrial society where management of technology, capital and labour have acquired importance. “Now, in the 21st century, we are into the knowledge society where knowledge is the primary resource rather than capital and labour. Efficient utilisation of knowledge can create a comprehensive pool of wealth for the nation and improve the existing quality of life. In such a society, the integration and effective use of IT in various sectors like industry, healthcare, education etc. will be key in achieving prosperity”, he said.
|
|
Satyam donates Rs 2.5 cr
Hyderabad, January 3 Godrej Foundation
CHANDIGARH: In view of tsunami calamity, the Godrej Foundation has decided to contribute Rs 50 lakh to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund. In addition, employees of the Godrej Group will donate a day’s salary and the Godrej companies they work for will make a matching contribution.
Tetra Pak India
BANGALORE: Tetra Pak India will contribute $ 2,50,000 for relief and rehabilitation measures in the tsunami-affected regions of the country. Furthermore, all employees of Tetra Pak India will donate one-day’s salary towards these efforts, a company statement said. The company is planning to utilise these funds for supplying liquid food and other necessities for the affected people in the tsunami-hit areas, it said.
NFL
CHANDIGARH: National Fertilisers Limited has decided to contribute Rs 75 lakh in the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund for mitigating sufferings of affected people in the recent tsunami disaster. About 4,900 employees of NFL will contribute their one day salary and the company will contribute the balance amount.
Coca-Cola
CHANDIGARH: Coca-Cola India donated Rs 80 lakh towards the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. Mr Jaspal Singh, Vice-President, Operations, Coca-Cola India, handed over a cheque of Rs 50 lakh to Ms Jayalalithaa, Chief Minster of Tamil Nadu while Mr Vijay Bhasker Reddy, General Manager, presented a cheque of Rs 30 lakh to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Y.S.R Reddy in Hyderabad.
Hexaware
CHANDIGARH: In the wake of recent earthquake and the devastation caused by tsunami, Hexaware Technologies Limited has pledged to donate Rs 1 crore to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund.
MEMG Group
NEW DELHI: Manipal Education and Medical Group (MEMG) today announced a contribution of Rs 1 crore to Prime Minister’s Relief Fund to assist the victims of the tsunami that ravaged South and South East Asia last week. This will be in addition to the Rs 1 crore donated to the Sri Lankan Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. The group has also sent two doctors and medical supplies to Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka. —
TNS, Agencies
|
|
Despite tsunami, growth to be 6.5 pc: WB
The World Bank today said the Indian economy was expected to clock a growth rate of 6.5 per cent in the current fiscal, despite the devastation caused by the tsunami disaster.
“Our estimate is 6.5 per cent growth for this fiscal. We don’t yet know the economic impact of tsunami. Yet, I would say it would not significantly change the outcome (in the fiscal year)”, Country Director of World Bank Michael Carter told newspersons here on the sidelines of a seminar organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. Mr Carter said more than an economic disaster, tsunami was a human disaster. Earlier, speaking at the seminar Mr Carter said there was a lot to gain for India on the trade front from globalisation. “India has already gained a great deal because of the remarkable growth in services over the past few years”, he said.
|
|
OBC accuses 5 companies of cheating GTB
New Delhi, January 3 In its due diligence exercise after the amalgamation of the erstwhile Global Trust Bank Ltd (GTB), has come across cases of borrowal accounts where serious financial improprieties have been observed. Internal investigations have revealed that the Bank has taken high credit exposures in certain accounts even exceeding exposure norms prescribed by the Reserve Bank of India. High degree of imprudence in exercise of sanctioning powers have been observed where the bank appears to have abetted certain group of borrowers to siphon off funds through banking channel, an official release said. According to the release criminal complaints with the CBI has been filed against Unitel Software Ltd., Business India Publications, Mumbai, Petro Energy Products Co. Ltd. (PEPCO), Shonk Technologies International and Pearl Distilleries Ltd. Some other cases are also being examined and it is likely that OBC will lodge further complaints with the CBI in due course, the note said.
|
|
Sensex, Nifty rewrite history in New Year
Mumbai, January 3 The 30-stock BSE Sensex opened at a historic high of 6,626.49 points and rose further to hit yet another new peak of 6,669.80, breaking its previous record high of 6617.15 set on December 29. The Sensex was at 6,660.54 points at 1300 hrs, showing a gain of 57.85 points or 0.88 per cent from its weekend close of 6,602.69. The 50-stock Nifty which opened steady at 2080 points then crossed the 2,100 barrier for the first time in its history to touch an all-time high of 2105.15, was at 2101.75 points, up by 21.25 points from last Friday’s close of 2,080.50. The market sentiment remained buoyant amid optimism over Q3 results after leading corporates paid huge advance tax, strong FIIs inflows and hopes of further reform in banking, telephone, power and other sectors could provide the market a further boost, brokers said. Most of the old and new economy stocks have posted handsome gains today on the back of sustained buying by foreign funds and local operators, they added. —
UNI
|
|
Bike, car sales ride high in Dec
Chandigarh/New Delhi, January 3 Total two and three-wheeler sales in the past month rose 58.4 per cent to 1,68,806 units from 1,06,569 in December last year, the company added. Hero Honda
Hero Honda Motors sold 2,30,751 bikes in December, up 44 per cent from 1,60,191 units in the same month a year ago. The two-wheeler maker said sales in April-December rose to 19,35,981 units from 14,77,439 in the year-earlier period. Hero Honda’s sales during the calendar year 2004 jumped 35 per cent to 25,28,699 motor cycles compared with 18,73,632 motorcycles in the previous year.
TVS Motor
Motor cycle sales at TVS Motor Company grew 21 per cent to 63,496 units in December from 52,464 units in the same month last year. The company said its sales performance in third quarter improved with motor cycle sales clocking 2,03,245 units compared to 1,62,293 units during the same period last year.
Maruti
Maruti Udyog Ltd, India’s biggest carmaker, today said its sales increased 18.2 per cent in December 2004 even as sales of Maruti 800 dropped 42.2 per cent. A total of 43,828 units were sold last month as compared to 37,091 units recorded for December 2003, a company statement said. Sales of Maruti 800 declined to 7,885 units in December 2004 as compared to 13,641 units in the same month previous year. Compact cars, Alto, Wagon R, and Zen, recorded a growth of 49.2 per cent at 20,759 units. Sales of Omni van and multi purpose vehicle Versa grew by 21 per cent at 5,237 units while that of premium mid-size cars, Baleno and Esteem, went up by 124 per cent at 2,987 units.
General Motors
Riding high on the success of the popular Chevrolet brand, General Motors India sales grew by 73 per cent in calendar year 2004. The company is gearing up to meet the growing demand for its cars by hiking its annual production capacity to 60,000 units by February. The Chevrolet brand has won yet another laurel with BS Motoring naming it Best Automotive Brand of 2005. In 2004, the company sold a total of 26,166 cars as against 15,155 cars in the previous year. These included 9,191 units of Optras, 8,369 units of Opel Corsa and 8,417 units of Chevrolet Tavera. —
TNS, Agencies
|
|
bb
Nerolac Paints Whirlpool Target achieved LIC Housing Fin |
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
New Delhi, January 3
