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MTNL-BSNL merger put on hold
Sun’s sting operation makes Indian call centres jittery
Rightsize govt, moots Tenth Plan appraisal
Anil may take over Infocomm tomorrow
Natural gas costlier from July 1
Chinese envoy lays emphasis on synergy
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ICICI Bank to expand overseas
India’s external debt rises to $120.9 billion
Hero Honda not to enter car segment
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MTNL-BSNL merger put on hold
New Delhi, June 24 According to sources, there has been no movement on the proposed synergy between MTNL and BSNL. The high-powered committee in the Department of Telecom (DoT) was considering four options in this regard. The options include divestment in BSNL to make it a listed entity for smooth merger between the two or making BSNL a subsidiary of MTNL. Communication Minister Dayanidhi Maran had earlier said in February that synergy between the two PSUs would take place within three months as the DoT was looking into the report submitted by advisers. MTNL offers telecom services in the two metro cities of Delhi and Mumbai while BSNL operates in the rest of the country. BSNL had also made an attempt to get a licence for offering services in Delhi and Mumbai but the request was turned down by the DoT, saying the government was a majority equity holder in MTNL and could not compete with another 100 per cent owned PSU. Meanwhile, BSNL Chief A.K. Sinha has said the proposed “India One” policy aiming at uniform rates for local and STD calls will hit the telecom firm’s revenues. Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran had announced earlier that the government was aiming at “One India” by removing artificial barriers in the way of uniform call rates. “This will benefit the customers. But in the given scenario of licensing and being the domestic long distance carrier and the way we depend on long distance revenue... Definitely it is going to hit the revenue,” Mr Sinha said here. He said increasing the local call charges was also an option for making up to some extent the revenue shortfall resulting from uniform tariffs.
Navratna status sought
The DoT is understood to have sent a proposal to the government for granting “navratna” status to the state-run BSNL, a move which would enable the company to take quick commercial and financial decisions, besides venturing overseas. “Right now we are not a navratna company.. We have asked for it.. We have given the justification to be a navratna company to the ministry.. they have probably sent the proposal to the government”, Mr A.K. Sinha said here.
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Sun’s sting operation makes Indian call centres jittery
Bangalore, June 24 The industry is keen that the entire facts of the case be put before the world quickly and hopes the Sun’s sting operation reveals only information which is “not hot”, an euphemism for information which can easily be gleaned from the records of a mobile company or any such source. Industry feels it is too quick to jump to conclusions. The National Association for Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) President Kiran Karnik says the organisation is working with the Haryana police to trace the alleged culprits and verify the truth. He said according to available information the person who is accused of selling the personal data of Britons to a reporter of the Sun does not work in a call centre but a web design company. Industry sources say many Indian companies have opted for international security standards such as ISO 17799, BS 7799, COBIT and ITSM security models, which are way ahead of security standards being practiced by many of its rivals for the world outsourcing business. At the ground-level here in the city, call centres claim to be virtual forts. An employee cannot take a cellphone into a work area nor possess a floppy or compact disc. Employees are also denied access to the Internet in the work area. Cyber law expert and Supreme Court lawyer Pawan Duggal while talking to TNS said loopholes in the IT Act need to be plugged immediately. He said effective remedies need to be put into place wherever misuse of data takes place adding measures also need to be given to outside clients who outsource work to India. Presently the quantum of punishment for misuse data is three years. “This needs to be increased to seven years”, Mr Duggal says. The expert said presently outside companies could only seek damages of Rs 1 crore on account of misuse of data. This, he said, needed to be increased to Rs 50 crore to instil confidence in outside clients that they would be suitably compensated in case their data was misused.
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Rightsize govt, moots Tenth Plan appraisal
New Delhi, June 24 “The issue of rightsizing the government cannot be ignored. Unfortunately, the government has long been seen as the employer of first resort by the educated middle class in India and a rapid expansion of government employment has taken place, especially in the general staff. With the changing role of the government, there is a pressing need for rightsizing of the government, without causing hardship”, the MTA says. The MTA is scheduled for discussion by the Chief Ministers of all states at the two-day meeting of the National Development Council (NDC), to be held here on June 28 and 29. It has been approved by the full Planning Commission, chaired by the Prime Minister, and given the nod by the Cabinet. The appraisal has suggested to the government to identify surplus staff, set up an effective redeployment plan, and also devise a liberal system for exit. For the time being, recruitment should only take place for functional posts, and vacant posts of secretarial and clerical nature should not be filled. It notes that the Central government has already restricted the recruitment of fresh personnel to just one-third of the posts falling vacant each year, and some states have taken similar steps. “These are moves in the right direction”, the appraisal says. It says reducing the number of general holidays, as recommended by the Fifth Pay Commission, can lead to better productivity of the existing staff. Meanwhile, the Planning Commission has warned against continuation of the Technology Upgradation Fund scheme beyond March, 2007, as it may hamper Indian exports under the WTO after the phasing out of quotas (Multi-fibre agreement) in the textiles sector in January this year. “Following the worldwide phase-out of quotas in textiles and clothing, the industrialised countries are not likely to miss any opportunity to put obstacles on imports from India... This would make Indian textile exports particularly vulnerable on account of the subsidies under TUFS,” the appraisal said. “Therefore, it would be appropriate to phase out this scheme after the expiry of its present validity period on March 31, 2007,” it added.
— Agencies
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Anil may take over Infocomm tomorrow
New Delhi, June 24 Anil, who met Communication and IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran on Wednesday, would take over the top slot to be vacated by Mukesh, sources said. Three other nominee directors — Manoj Modi, Anand Jain and Y.P. Trivedi — would also leave the company along with Mukesh. Immediately thereafter, the younger Ambani would visit Infocomm’s headquarters at the Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge Centre in Navi Mumbai. With a employee strength of over 40,000 and a revenue of over Rs 5,000 crore, Infocomm is still considered a money guzzler and would require substantial investment for its complete roll-out plants. So far Mukesh Ambani had pumped in about Rs 16,000 crore in the project and it was estimated that another up to Rs 14,000 crore would be needed as an additional investment in the company. Anil is also scouting for some top-level executives for the company.
On a pilgrimage
KEDARNATH: Having ended a bitter feud with his elder brother Mukesh, over control of the Rs 1,00,000 crore Reliance empire their father built, Anil Ambani, a devout Hindu, has embarked on a pilgrimage. The 46-year-old business tycoon, who now owns Reliance Energy, Reliance Capital and Reliance Infocomm, today visited the Kedarnath shrine of Lord Shiva, one of the 12 ‘Jyotirlingas’ in the country, along with his wife, Tina. Yesterday, he paid obeisance to Lord Shiva in Amarnath in Jammu and Kashmir and at Vaishno Devi shrine. In the evening, he offered prayers at the Lord Vishnu temple in Badrinath. Anil left Kedarnath for Mumbai, where he is expected to take charge soon of Reliance Infocomm, the telecom company, which functions out of the Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge Centre.
— PTI
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Natural gas costlier from July 1
New Delhi, June 24 The Petroleum Ministry on June 20 issued an order increasing the consumer price of gas for power and fertiliser units to Rs 3200 per thousand standard cubic meters per day from Rs 2850 per thousand standard cubic meters at present. The same for other sectors has been raised to the level of the landed price of LNG — $ 3.86 per million British thermal unit (Rs 6740 per thousand standard cubic meters per day), officials said. India’s largest gas producer ONGC will get an additional Rs 1600 crore revenue from the increase in the gas price. The 12 per cent rise in the feedstock cost would result in rise in power tariff by Rs 0.67 per unit. The fuel bill of power and fertilizer units will go up by Rs 17 crore per annum for every million standard cubic meters per day (MMSCMD) of gas consumed by them. For petrochemcials, steel and other industries, the fuel bill will rise by Rs 135 crore for every mmscmd of the gas consumed,” an official said. The increase in the gas price would hit Reliance Industries, Essar Steel and state-run gas firm GAIL. GAIL’s revenues would be hit by about Rs 650 crore due to the it uses gas for production of petrochemicals. The transport sector, industries in Agra/Ferozabad and small consumers (consuming less than 0.05 million standard cubic meters per day) have been spared from an immediate hike. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had on May 19 approved an ad-hoc increase in natural gas prices. The natural gas price for the north-east sector would be 60 per cent of the new price, officials said.
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Chinese envoy lays emphasis on synergy
Chandigarh, June 24 Recognising the Indian industry’s skill in software development and office management, Mr Yuxi said China has a good manufacturing base. “If we combine the strength of the two countries, we can provide world class products and good services in the international market,” he said. The Ambassador was speaking to reporters on his arrival in Chandigarh today as the head of a 10-member delegation, which would be interacting with the governments of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh on matters relating to trade and commerce. Stating that China is developing a strategic partnership with India, Mr Yuxi added a lot of Chinese companies were keen to invest in India. “Already 49 Chinese companies are operating in India. One of our communication giants based in Bangalore has invested $ 100 million and is planning to invest a few hundred million more over the next few years,” he added. Pointing out that investment policies are different in the two countries, the Ambassador said while Chinese policy favours the foreign investor, the Indian policy on the other hand is protective to the local investors. Tourism, he said, has intense potential for both countries and besides being an industry on its open, is also the gateway for further business and cultural exchanges. Stating that Sino-Indian cultural ties go back a long way, he rued that tourist inflow between the two countries is quite low. He opined that India needed to substantially develop its infrastructure to cater to the tourist industry. Mr Yuxi said China was also quite concerned about growing international terrorism and is contributing to international efforts to combat it. “We are going in for joint exercises to fight terrorism. We have to find ways and means to address a common problem,” he said. Later, during a PHDCCI-organised Interactive Session on ‘Emerging Opportunities for India – China Economic Cooperation’ Mr Yuxi assured that traders and industrialists from India would get visas to visit China within five days. In case of urgency, it could be processed within two to three hours. He was also of the opinion that tourism in India could be improved if sufficient infrastructure, including roads,
were provided. Besides this, the cost of airline and hotel accommodation should be reduced, he said. The Ambassador assured that steps would be taken to implement the bilateral treatise and agreements signed between the two premiers on issues pertaining to strategic cooperation, cultural exchanges and other political and economic developments. The two countries have decided to celebrate 2006 as the Year of Friendship and a series of social and cultural activities would be organised then. Mr Rajiv Bali, Chairman Chandigarh Committee, PHDCCI, said India needs to imbibe lessons from China’s economic miracle, which have been built upon higher productivity, low cost of production, huge capacities, export-led growth focus and a clear FDI wooing policy. Mr Satish Bagrodia, Member, Managing Committee, said more important was the exchange of technology to further the bilateral trade. He said both countries should liberally think of visas for visitors other than business community to boost cultural exchange. Mr Yuxi and the Chinese delegation called on Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and evinced keen interest to promote friendship and cooperation through bilateral trade between Punjab and China.
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ICICI Bank to expand overseas
Chandigarh, June 24 India, particularly states like Punjab, from where nearly 25 per cent of people migrate to Canada every year, has a lot of potential when it comes to expansion. And the bank believes that a home country-linked approach is an effective entry strategy for new international markets, according to Mr Gupta. ICICI Bank’s international presence spans over nine countries and includes two wholly-owned subsidiaries in the UK and Canada, offshore banking branches in Singapore and Bahrain, and representative offices in the US, China, Bangladesh and the UAE.
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India’s external debt rises to $120.9 billion
New Delhi, June 24 During this period, the external debt stock rose by $8.1 billion of which $3.1 billion or 38 per cent was contributed by valuation effects arising from depreciation of the US dollar, according to the Eleventh status report on India’s external debt. Significantly, between December, 2002, and December, 2004, India’s external debt rose by $15.5 billion of which $8.7 billion (56 per cent) was on account of weakening of the US currency, the report released today by the Department of Economic Affairs said. During the same period, the sovereign debt rose by $879 million. — UNI
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Hero Honda not to enter car segment
Bangalore, June 24 On the location of the proposed plant, he said no decision had been taken, but the company would finalise it “very, very soon”. Currently, the company has two plants in the North which have capacity to produce around 2.4 lakh motor cycles per month. Hero Honda sold 26 lakh motor cycles in 2004-05, and claims a 50 per cent marketshare in the segment. The company is exporting to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Columbia, Nepal and Peru. For Columbia alone, the company is shipping 4,000 units per month. Mr Lall said the company had no plans to enter the passenger car segment. The company would come out with two products in the current financial year.
— PTI
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Task force on IT industry
Gurgaon, June 24 Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who was speaking at an interactive session with experts from IT, hoped the task force would submit its report in a month.
— PTI
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Deccan connects Delhi, Gwalior
Gwalior, June 24 Delhi’s air connectivity with Gwalior will also help promote tourism, Air Deccan MD G.R Gopinath said here after the launch. Air Deccan operates flights to 34 destinations across the country, giving first-time air connection to many cities such as Nasik, Vijaywada, Hubli, Belgaum, Kolhapur, Dehra Dun, Jabalpur, Kanpur and Surat. Air Deccan has become the first air service to Gwalior, connecting it with Delhi and Bhopal.
— UNI
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Oil prices hit $ 60 Citigroup assets Inflation rises ONGC’s discovery British Airways HPSIDC earns Rs 5.45 cr profit Punjab bags Rs 400 crore of orders SIDBI to focus on SSI in Punjab
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Chandigarh, June 24
