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TDSAT justifies Rs 150-cr penalty on Reliance Info
FM promises new-look IT Bill next fiscal
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Guidelines for FDI in construction issued
Markfed gets terminal for multi-commodity exchange
National spot exchange soon
No to private investment in nuclear power sector
Disinvestment in Maruti, Balco soon
LG set to hike AC, refrigerator prices
Renault eyes India’s small car segment
Vijaya Bank looks northwards
Nokia to set up plant in India
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TDSAT justifies Rs 150-cr penalty on Reliance Info
New Delhi, March 4 Dismissing Reliance Infocomm petition, challenging the imposition of penalty, a three-member TDSAT Bench, headed by its chairman, Justice D.P. Wadhwa directed the company to deposit the money with the BSNL and MTNL within three days. The Tribunal with its two other members, Vinod Vaish and D.P. Sehgal, in the Bench agreed with the contention of Department of Telecom (DoT) that by indulging in such activities, Reliance Infocomm had posed a threat to the “security of the country.” Having regard to all facts and circumstances, including the licence provisions which have been breached and the consequences of the breach, putting the security of the nation in jeopardy, we do not find it a fit case to be interfered with,” the TDSAT Bench rejecting the Reliance petition said. The BSNL and MTNL had said that while the charges for caller line identification (CLI) on incoming International Long Distance (ILD) is fixed by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) at Rs 4.55 while it was only 30 paise for the local calls. Thus by diverting the ILD calls coming to its subscribers through the public sector companies, Reliance had caused huge losses to them, the DoT had alleged. But the Reliance was not satisfied with the TDSAT verdict as its counsel Mukul Rohtagi said that an appeal would soon be filed in the Supreme Court. He said that the company was entitled to file statutory appeal in the apex court on the issue. Reliance Infocomm so far has paid Rs 294 crore with the BSNL and MTNL in lieu of the CLI charges claimed by them against a demand of Rs 504 crore. Of Rs 294 crore, the company had paid an amount of Rs 180 crore to the public sector companies on the order of the Delhi High Court in which the apex court had declined to interfere. Amidst the hearing going on in the High Court, DoT had imposed a penalty of Rs 150 crore on Reliance Infocomm by an order issued on January 17. The company had challenged it on the ground that the penalty on it was imposed by the Government with a “pre-determined” motive without examining the provisions of the licence agreement with it. DoT counsel, however, had described Reliance action as a “fraud” committed on the public sector companies.
Left wants Trai chief to quit
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) today demanded sacking of Trai chief Pradeep Baijal and probe into the entire “scam” following the dismissal of Reliance Infocomm’s petition challenging a penalty of Rs 150 core by the Appellate Telecom Tribunal.
“What we were earlier alleging has now been confirmed by the TDSAT. The party “reiterates its demand for removal of the Trai Chairman and a full-scale enquiry into the entire scam,” party leader Nilotpal Basu told reporters here. He said probe should be carried out to know as to what extent leakage of public money has taken place and what rules and norms are flouted and how. “The method Reliance Infocomm employed to camouflage an international call was certainly unprincipled and, if we may say so, unscrupulous,” a Bench comprising chairperson Justice D.P.Wadhwa and Members Vinod Vaish and D.P. Sehgal said in a 90-page TDSAT order, while imposing a cost of Rs 25,000 on it. —
TNS |
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FM promises new-look IT Bill next fiscal
New Delhi, March 4 “I will introduce a brand new Income Tax Bill before next fiscal end. A number of provisions and exemptions need to be cleaned up, the Finance Minister said while addressing industry captains under the aegis of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here. The Finance Minister also said the proposed Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for financing long gestation infrastructure projects will be constituted in the next four to six weeks. “The SPV will be running in 4-6 weeks,” the Finance Minister said. The proposed SPV is estimated to generate funds to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore exclusively for funding of core infrastructure projects. Mr Chidambaram also mooted the idea of creating an online database wherein the government can get access to production data and excise liabilities on a daily basis. “There are about 80,000 excise assessees who pay about 90 per cent of the excise duty. What I want is all these 80,000 asseesees to file everyday the production data and excise liability online,” he said. Although, it would not be mandatory on part of the companies to clear their excise duties on a day-to-day basis, it would be convenient for the excise department to get the information about production data and excise liabilities on a daily basis, he said On the SPV for financing infrastructure projects, he said it would fund both private and public sector projects. The SPV would supplement the conventional bank-financing route. While banks will primarily provide short-term loans, the SPV would provide long-term funds. Meanwhile, Revenue Secretary K M Chandrasekhar today defended the sun set clause for tax incentives for Special Economic Zones (SEZs). “The sun set clause is used for every exemption. It is part of any decision on concessions,” Mr Chandrasekhar told newspersons on a sidelines of a meeting organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) here. Justifying the levying of fringe benefit tax, he said that there is an embedded element of perquisites in such expenses, which would be taken care of by this tax. The ministry has identified certain indicators to measure these fringe benefits and most of the perks would be allowed as business expenses. However, if the industry could list out more such indicators, the ministry may consider them favourably for exemption from this tax, he said.
GDP growth
is 6.9 pc
Kolkata: India has been able to achieve an unprecedented 6.9 per cent GDP growth during the current financial year exceeding all expectations and overcoming a difficult monsoon, Chief Economic Advisor of the Union Finance Ministry Ashok Lahiri said here today.
Participating in a Ficci-sponsored interactive session on the Union Budget 2005-06 with members of different Chambers of Commerce here, Dr Lahiri said in the wake of a stupendous growth in the services and manufacturing sectors, coupled with satisfactory performance of the Corporate sector the country had even surpassed its targetted growth of GDP of 6.8 per cent to be achieved by March 31.—
UNI |
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Guidelines for FDI in construction issued
New Delhi, March 4 As per the guidelines, the minimum area in case of development of serviced housing plots would be 10 hectares; in case of construction-development projects, the minimum built-up area should be 50,000 sq. mts and in the case of a combination project, any one of the above two conditions would suffice. The investment would further be subject to minimum capitalisation of $10 million for wholly-owned subsidiaries and $ 5 million for joint ventures with Indian partners. The funds would have to be brought in within six months of commencement of business of the company, an official statement said. Original investment cannot be repatriated before a period of three years from the completion of minimum capitalisation. However, the investor may be permitted to exit earlier with prior approval of the government through the FIPB. At least 50 per cent of the project must be developed within a period of five years from the date of obtaining all statutory clearances. The investor would not be permitted to sell undeveloped plots. For the purpose of these guidelines, “undeveloped plots” will mean where roads, water supply, street lighting, drainage, sewerage, and other conveniences, as applicable under prescribed regulations, have not been made available. The project shall conform to the norms and standards, including land use requirements and provision of community amenities and common facilities, as laid down in the applicable building control regulations, bye-laws, rules, and other regulations of the state government/ municipal/ local body concerned, the statement said.
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Markfed gets terminal for multi-commodity exchange
Chandigarh, March 4 While addressing mediapersons, Mr Randhawa said being a member of the Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd ( MCX), the facility of commodity future trading will be available for wheat, rice, cotton, cottonseed, mustard oil, mustard seed, channa etc. With this, the farmers will now have an option to bring their fair average quality wheat and deposit the same with Markfed against a warehousing receipt. By pledging this receipt with the banks, they can draw an advance against the stocks kept with Markfed.The farmers can also sell their produce now at a better price after seeing the prices on TV channels and Internet. Mr S.S.Channy, Managing Director, Markfed, said 75 per cent of the minimum support price (MSP) will be paid to the farmers in advance by discounting the interest, custody and maintenance charges. This would also reduce the dependence of farmers on procurement agencies and they would be able to bypass commission agents and money lenders, he said and added that this would help them trade directly with the food processing units and get instant market returns. Existing warehouses and Markfed grain testing laboratory at Ropar will also facilitate better standardisation and gradation of commodities for smooth functioning of future market.
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National spot exchange soon
New Delhi, March 4 By disseminating spot price data on agricultural commodities, NSEAP would enable farmers across the country to access the national market and trade with each other on an electronic platform and settle their trades under the support and regulations of NSEAP, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Shri Taslimuddin informed the Rajya Sabha today. The Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX), Financial Technologies (India) Ltd., and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (Nafed) have entered into a joint venture for the establishment of National Spot Exchange for Agriculture Produce, he said in a written reply.
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No to private investment in nuclear power sector
New Delhi, March 4 India, which developed expertise in nuclear power applications in early sixties, has remained a laggard in the application of technology for power generation. And the cost of nuclear power generation is quite comparable to thermal and gas power generation. Minister of State in the Prime Minister Office, Prithviraj Chavan, in a written reply to the Parliament, said, “ there is no proposal currently under the consideration of the Government for allowing private sector to set up nuclear power plants. He said under the Atomic Energy Act nuclear power plants could be set up by the government or government companies. In these at least 51 per cent equity share should be held by the Central government. The government is not ready to open up nuclear power sector for private companies due to security and environmental safety reasons, said government sources. Experts in the field of energy claim that despite increasing demand for energy, India has not allowed private sector participation in this field leading to low capacity and inefficiency in the nuclear units. They said government should allow at least disinvestment of its 26 per cent to 49 per cent stake in the nuclear power sector to generate more resources for the power sector. According to Ministry of Power, during the 10th Five Year Plan ( 2002-07) the government has plans to add at least 1,300 MW nuclear power capacity. Earlier, Punjab had also demanded to set up a nuclear power generation in the state though the demand was rejected keeping in view the geographical location of the state. In addition to the nuclear total nuclear capacity, nine nuclear power reactors with a total capacity of 4,460 MW are presently under construction. On completion of these projects, the installed capacity will progressively reach 6,780 MW by 2008 and 7,280 MW by 2011,” the minister said. Officials in the Ministry of Power admitted that the world average share of nuclear power is about 16 per cent. While developed countries like France, Sweden, Germany, Japan and the USA have nuclear share ranging from 8 per cent to 20 per cent, the share of nuclear power in total power generation in Brazil and China is comparable to that of India. They pointed out during the recent tsunami disaster in the coastal areas, there was a panic among the public and government circles, when water reached in the premises of Kalpakkam nuclear plant near Madras. However, government has taken various safety measures after that crisis. In a study paper “ Economics of Nuclear Power in India” Former Union Minister of State of Power, Prof Yoginder K. Alagh has maintained, “ the country is endowed with large reserves of thorium and adequate uranium reserves. The thorium reserves can sustain three lakh MW power generation capacity for about 300 years.
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Disinvestment in Maruti, Balco soon
New Delhi, March 4 "The government is thinking of residual stake sale in case of Maruti and Balco in the next few months," a Finance Ministry official said today. Initial public offers of Oil India and PowerGrid Corporation of India Ltd is also being explored for the next fiscal, he said. The government also intends to offload 5 per cent stake in Bharat Heavy Electronics Ltd. The move is part of efforts to mop up Rs 5,000-7,000 crore in 2005-06 through sale of government equity in PSUs. Finance Minister P Chidambaram has targeted a whopping Rs 50,000-70,000 crore mop up from disinvestment of PSU shares in the next 4-5 years. The entire amount would go into the National Investment Fund to be managed by professional fund managers like UTI Mutual Fund, LIC Mutual Fund and SBI Mutual Fund. The dividend from the National Investment Fund would be spent for funding social schemes and restructuring of PSUs. In the case of Bhel, the government would offer five per cent of its holding in the public offer that is expected to garner around Rs 950 crore. In the case of Maruti, it intends to sell its 18.28 per cent residual stake in phases. In Balco, government wants to sell its 44 per cent stake to Sterlite and five per cent to the employees of the aluminium major.—
PTI
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LG set to hike AC, refrigerator prices
Chandigarh, March 4 This was disclosed by Head, Marketing, LGEIL, Mr Salil Kapoor, here today after LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd strengthened its brand association with cricket by launching “LG Challenge — Khelega Kya.” The company also unveiled the first-of-its-kind ad campaign featuring the two skippers of India and Pakistan — Sourav Ganguly and Inzamam–ul-Haq. Mr Kapoor said nearly Rs 60 crore had been set aside for the ad campaign featuring Inzamam as Sultan of Lahore and Sourav as Sultan of Kolkata. “While we will invest Rs 60 crore, we hope to achieve a target of Rs 1,200 crore through sales during the match season and from this particular campaign,” he added.
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Renault eyes India’s small car segment
Geneva, March 4 “If we are successful and we belive we will be, then we are ready to study the possibilities of launching a small car in India,” Luc Alexander Menard, Senior vice-president (International Operations), Renault, told PTI during the ongoing 75th Geneva Motor Show here. —
PTI
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Vijaya Bank looks northwards
Chandigarh, March 4 As of today, Vijaya Bank has 35 branches in the region and out of the 100 new ones planned, at least 40 would be in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, Uttaranchal and Chandigarh. “The region is a gold mine as far as the agriculture sector and agro-based industry is concerned. The small-scale industry as well as export-oriented units also attract us,” adds the chairman, saying that the sky is the limit. He is also open to mergers and acquisitions following Finance Minister P. Chidambaram’s announcement of grant of autonomy to banks in this area. “We welcome the reforms process. The internal strength and network of the bank would be the key factor in case of a takeover,” he elaborated. Upbeat about the credit growth of the bank, Mr Kapur disclosed that Vijaya Bank was raising Rs 250 crore under Tier II to give a boost to its capital adequacy ratio. “The duration of the bond is 10 years and UTI Bank and Barclay’s Bank have the mandate to perform the job,” he added while saying that he was making a public announcement of this deal for the first time. While expansion in the North is on at full speed, they are also on the verge of making a presence abroad in West Asia and Hong Kong. Established in 1931, Vijaya Bank is one of the oldest and biggest nationalised banks in the country.
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Nokia to set up plant in India
Bangalore, March 4 Mr Behl said it would be a "fairly large" factory, which would eventually house 2,000 persons. He said the company was currently in dialogue with various state governments on locating the plant, which is going to be it's tenth such facility in the world and produce both GSM and CDMA handsets. In the wake of "positive announcements" in the Union Budget pertaining to the telecom sector, Nokia may cut prices of its mobile handsets in India, a senior company executive hinted today. Describing budget proposals as being very beneficial to the telecom industry, he said "Whatever measures announced in the Budget, we will pass it on to consumers as early as possible." — PTI
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Chandigarh, March 4
