 |
|
PC hints at petro price revision
OPEC vows response to oil market
Ambanis inching towards settlement: FM
Ajit Narain Haksar — A tribute
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
SBI to reward efficiency
Forex reserves decline
Hyundai founder is no more
Investor guidance
Give loan to your
homely wife and save tax
Lax security at airports
|
|
PC hints at petro price revision
New Delhi, May 21 “We are looking for ways to distribute the burden (of surging global oil prices) between the government, oil-marketing companies and refineries. But sometimes circumstances are out of our control,” Mr Chidambaram told private news channels. Stating that no government would like to hike the petroleum prices, he said raising the prices depended on factors which were beyond the government’s control. The Petroleum Ministry is understood to have sent an official note to the Prime Minister’s Office seeking a hike of Rs 3.75 per litre in the price of diesel and of Rs 2.60 in the price of oil. Chennai:
Union Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar has said there is need for reviewing the domestic prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas, but preferred to leave it to the Cabinet to take the final decision on the issue. The prices of petroleum products had not been revised in the past six months and if the situation was allowed to continue, the oil-marketing companies would ‘’end up facing a huge revenue loss,’’ Mr Aiyar said here on Friday. The oil companies had already suffered a loss of Rs 20,000 crore during 2004-05. If there was no change in prices in the international scenario and in the domestic fiscal regime, the companies were bound to suffer a loss of income of another Rs 43,000 crore during 2005-06, he said.
— Agencies
|
|
OPEC vows response to oil market
Shuneh (Jordan), May 21 “We are waiting until the end of the year to review the experience of the past two years to reformulate our culture and price band”, he said. He said global demand for oil grew by 2.6 million barrels per day (BPD) to 82.5 million BPD in 2004.
— AFP
|
|
Ambanis inching towards settlement: FM
New Delhi, May 21 “Both Mukesh and Anil talk to me from time to time and I advise both to settle their dispute quickly... Looks like they will reach a settlement,” Mr Chidambaram told NDTV. Though the progress was “slow”, Mr Chidambaram said “I think they are moving towards a settlement.” On a query about the role of the Finance Ministry, Mr Chidambaram said his ministry was responsible for any systemic aberration or any shock to the system. The government always had the power to intervene but “I don’t think it is required”. Only recently, the Ministry of Company Affairs and market regulator SEBI had said that RIL Vice-Chairman and Managing
Director Anil had written to them on several occasions and these issues were being looked into.
— PTI
|
|
Ajit Narain Haksar — A tribute
Ajit Narain Haksar was a man who believed in “subordinating corporate objectives to, and enmeshing them with, national aspirations.” The first Indian Chairman of ITC, he was first and foremost a proud Indian. When he took over the reins of what was then the Imperial Tobacco Company of India, it was owned by British American Tobacco (BAT). Like many such companies in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and the rest of the country during the 1950s and 1960s, it was an organisation redolent of the Raj culture.
A man ahead of his time, Haksar realised that the Imperial Tobacco Company of India had no place in modern India. He was the first Indian chairman of a multinational concern in India to start changing the ‘imperial’ structure. He persuaded the British owners to start diluting the shareholding of ITC even before the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act came into existence. Over the years, it became a majority Indian concern. Today, ITC’s shareholding is unique, almost equally divided as it is among our financial institutions, the Indian public and BAT. Haksar stressed the need for self-reliance much before it became a buzz-word. Indianisation of the financial holdings went apace with Indianisation in men and material. During his tenure as Chairman from 1969 to 1983, most expatriates were replaced by Indian managers. What is more, he believed in gender equality. Much before women managers became de rigueur in corporate India, as happily it is today, Haksar had started the process. I was fortunate to have been recruited into ITC at that time, and I worked closely with him, watching and being a part of the changing face of ITC. His choice of areas for diversification reflected his national sensibilities. His decision to take ITC into hotels, a capital-intensive sector requiring large players like ITC, resulted in foreign exchange earnings which were a scarce commodity those days. It also provided employment opportunities for the educated unemployed. He next chose paper and paperboard as an area of diversification for virtually the same reasons. Paper and paperboard too were scarce those days, and needed to be imported. In addition, he chose to set up a unit in Bhadrachalam in Andhra Pradesh, an area which was not very developed. He was a great believer in meticulous planning and always stressed that hard work was the key to success. Ad-hocism was permitted only when it was an absolute necessity. A great votary of management education, Mr Haksar worked closely with all the IIMs and was on the board of governors of IIM Calcutta and IIT Kharagpur. He had worked for a short while in the advertising concern of J Walter Thomson (JWT) before joining Imperial Tobacco, and he always stressed the need for market research. ITC was one of the organisations that helped create IMRB, the market research wing of JWT (then known as Hindustan Thomson Associates). Haksar was a market- driven person, and he believed in the value of advertising. “Repeat an advertisement till it becomes boring to you,” he would tell us. “Only then will the message be driven home”. The famous Wills “made for each other” campaign, which has stood the test of time for over four decades and even entered our day-to-day discourse, is an example of this. He did not confine himself to the corporate world. He started the ITC Sangeet Research Academy, which has produced Ustads like Ajay Chakraborty and Rashid Khan. The process continues today with promising young vocalists like Zainul and Kaushiki. After retirement, Haksar lived in Delhi and kept up his interest in golf. He was captain of the Delhi Golf Club, as he had been of the Royal Calcutta Golf Club in earlier years. He authored several books as well. Ajit Narain Haksar was a multi-faceted personality — a devoted husband, father and grandfather, a great leader of men, and an inspiring motivator. But most of all, he will be remembered as a proud Indian and a great gentleman.
|
|
SBI to reward efficiency
Kolkata, May 21 Bank Chairman A.K. Purwar said here that the bank had decided to launch the incentive schemes for high-performing Branch Managers and Assistant General Managers before extending the same to other staff. Stating that the SBI was the first among PSU banks to announce such incentives for high-performing employees, Mr Purwar said “we expect it to be followed soon by other banks.” The incentive scheme, which was approved by the board yesterday, would be rolled out this fiscal and offered in the form of a lumpsum financial reward.
— PTI
|
|
Forex reserves decline
Mumbai, May 21
|
|
|
Hyundai founder is no more
Seoul, May 21 Mr
Chung-Se-Yung, a brother of the late Hyundai Group founder Chung
Ju-Yung, set up Hyundai Motor in 1967 and helped to build the company into the world’s fifth largest carmaker.
— AFP
|
bb
by K.R. Wadhwaney Lax security at airports
Said to be madly in love with a girl, a 22-year-old Punjabi youth hoodwinked security, AAI and other officials to make yet another near successful ‘stowaway’ at Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) recently. His off-loading was more by accident than by any vigilance of the CISF. Had the Punjabi youth made it, it would have caused a lot of embarrassment to the CISF in particular and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) in general. The IGIA has been one of the most vulnerable airports where several ‘stowaways’ have taken place. Two need mention
here. Not long ago, one Shreedhar dodged past all agencies, including British Airways staff, and got comfortably seated in the aircraft. He arrived in Hong Kong, where he was intercepted by the immigration and was deported. On his return, he was interrogated by the security agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau (IB). The case was quietly hushed up. Two Punjabi youths, Pradeep Saini and Vijay, entered the under-carriage of British Airways (BA-144) when it was on ground at the IGIA. Vijay was thrown out when the plane was descending at the Heathrow airport. He died near an empty garage in Richmond (South-West London). Pradeep was in delirium when he was taken out. Specialists and doctors were surprised as to how he had survived. Could these two youths have got into under-carriage without someone’s connivance at the IGIA? The IGIA continues to be a ‘soft target’, despite deployment of the CISF. Two many touts and undersirarble characters are floating around even at sensitive areas. Any ruffian, who is walking
confidently can be considered a ‘VIP’ at the airport. Several renowned travel agencies have got passes issued for their ‘staff’ to help assist groups coming or leaving. Some agencies have even secured passes for freelance men/women in the name of ‘airport staff’. Now a public relations agency, with the backing of an influential politician, has been established to help arriving and departing passengers. Every passenger, who avails of this ‘PR company’s’ assistance will be charged Rs 500 onwards. It is said: “Two many cooks spoil the broth. Here, at the IGIA, it will merely succeed in increasing corruption. Where is the need to have this ‘PR company’ when agents officials are already doing a similar kind of exercise? The fact of the matter is that skies may not get crowded even after new airlines start operating from the IGIA but the terminal buildings will become more congested causing more inconvenience to passengers than any comfort. The AAI continues to talk big and make lofty promises without actually taking positive measures to reduce congestion. There are no parking bays to accommodate aircraft. AAI officials have gone on record saying ‘we will have 20 parking bays at four metro airports before the end of this year and another 45 by 2006-end’. In addition, there is paucity of qualified and competent Air Traffic Controllers (ATCs). There is a shortfall of about 45 per cent at Delhi and Mumbai. This much of a shortfall is suicidal. The analysts feel that as new players enter the already-messy field, there is bound to be chaos and confusion in the skies and on the ground. The ground realities are shocking but the authorities are unfazed and are busy issuing lofty statements. |
| 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 | |
