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Nod to subsidy for farm projects in
GDP growth slows down to 6.9 pc
Act to curb money laundering in force
IHFL, Sahara raise lending rates
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Eicher buys US design company
McNerney is Boeing CEO
Kamla Dials forays into designer jewellery
TCS, MS to form joint venture in China
Purchase Preference Policy for Central PSUs okayed
Rs 806 cr for Panipat refinery expansion
Dabur to sell entire stake in French JV
Bank account
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Nod to subsidy for farm projects in Punjab, HP
New Delhi, June 30 Infrastructure projects in all these states will now be eligible for investment subsidy of 25 per cent of the capital cost up to Rs. 50 lakh on each project. In the North-East states, hill and tribal areas, the rate of subsidy shall be 33.33 per cent of the capital cost up to Rs. 60 lakh. There is no upper ceiling on subsidy in respect of infrastructure projects of state agencies, an official press note said. The investment subsidy on the capital cost attracts large investments in marketing and post- harvest infrastructure projects in agriculture and allied sectors. The scheme is linked to reforms in the Mandi Act/Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act (APMC Act) to allow direct marketing of agricultural commodities and setting up of competitive agricultural markets in the private and cooperative sectors. The infrastructure projects have been broadly defined to include user facilities like market yard, platform for loading, assembling and auction and weighing and mechanical handling equipments, functional infrastructure for assembling, grading, packaging, quality certification, labeling and packaging infrastructure for e-trading, marketing extension and market -oriented production planning. Mobile infrastructure for post- harvest operations such as grading, packaging and quality testing is also eligible for subsidy under the scheme. The state governments concerned can also take up modernization projects in respect of their existing markets and set up state of art modern terminal markets for the marketing of fruits, vegetables and flowers in the respective areas. The government has allocated Rs. 190 crore for the scheme for 2005-06 and 2006-07. Subsidy under the scheme is to be released to the financing banks through Nabard and the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).
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GDP growth slows down to 6.9 pc
New Delhi, June 30 The GDP growth rate in 2004-05 marks a major drop compared to the previous fiscal where the overall economic growth was 8.5 per cent. The growth of 6.9 per cent in 2004-05 was powered largely by a robust performance of the 9.2 per cent growth in the manufacturing sector and ‘trade, hotels, transport and communication’, which grew by a staggering 11.4 per cent. The agriculture sector, the cornerstone of the country’s economy, however, fared badly ,recording a growth of 1.1 per cent ,far lower than the farm sector’s growth of 9.6 per cent achieved in 2003-04. The GDP at factor cost at constant (1993-94) prices in the year 2004-05 is now estimated at Rs 15,29,408 crore, as per the figures released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) here. The per capita income in real terms ( at 1993-94) prices during 2004-05 is estimated to attain a level of Rs 12,416 as compared Rs 11,799 for the year 2003-04. The growth rate in per capita income is estimated at 5.2 per cent during 2004-05, as against the estimated growth rate of 7.1 per cent in 2003-04. The sectors which clocked good growth rates are ‘manufacturing ( 9.2 per cent), ‘electricity, gas and water supply’ ( 5.5 per cent), ‘construction’ ( 5.2 per cent), ‘trade hotels, transport and communication’ ( 11.4 per cent), ‘financing, insurance, real estate and business’ ( 7.1 per cent), and ‘community, social and personal services’(5.9 per cent). The GDP at factor cost at constant prices in the last quarter ( January to March) of 2004-05 is estimated at Rs 4,14,045 crore as against Rs 3,86,819 crore in Q4 of the previous year, showing a growth rate of 7 per cent.
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Act to curb money laundering in force
New Delhi, June 30 The Act, aimed at combating siphoning of money into illegal activities, provides for attachment and seizure of property and records besides stringent punishment, including rigorous imprisonment upto 10 years and a fine up to Rs 5 lakh, an official press note said here. The Act, in line with India’s commitment to fighting all forms of economic crimes, first came into being in 2002 but could not be brought into force due to certain lacunae. It was accordingly amended in Parliament’s last session to remove the short comings. As per the provisions of the Act, every banking company, financial institutions and intermediaries need to maintain a record of all transactions, the nature and value of which is being prescribed in the rules. FIs, including chit funds, cooperative banks, housing finance companies and non-banking financial entities, and intermediaries like stock-brokers, sub-brokers, share transfer agents, bankers and registrars to an issue, merchant bankers, underwriters, portfolio managers, investment advisers and others had to be registered with SEBI. Such transactions include all cash transactions of the value of more than Rs 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency, all series of cash transactions integrally connected to each other which have been valued below Rs 10 lakh or its equivalent in foreign currency where such series of transactions have taken place within one calendar month and all suspicious transactions whether or not made in cash. Information about these transactions will have to be furnished to the Director, Financial Intelligence Unit, India (FIU-IND).
— Agencies
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IHFL, Sahara raise lending rates
Mumbai, June 30 IHFL has revised its interest rates across all maturities to 8 per cent per annum and 8.25 per cent per annum under its variable and fixed rates respectively, effective from July 1 IHFL said in a statement here today. The interest rates to its existing borrowers, who have available variable interest rate loans, would also go up by 0.25 per cent per annum with effect from July 1, the statement said. Sahara Housingfina Corporation Ltd will raise rates on loan below Rs 3 lakh to 8.25 per cent from the existing 7.5 per cent, while those on loans from Rs 3 lakh to below Rs 5 lakh will go up from 7.50 per cent to 8 per cent. Loans of Rs 5 lakh and above will carry interest rate of 7.75 per cent against the existing 7.5 per cent, Sahara Housingfina said in a statement.
— PTI
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Eicher buys US design company
New Delhi, June 30 “India, with its low-cost but high-quality engineering skills, has a great potential in this sphere and we expect major growth in the coming time,” Chief Operating Officer of the Rs 2,200 crore Eicher Group, Siddhartha Lal, said here. He said the all-cash $ 2.5-million acquisition of the Detriot-based DIE, which currently employs about 60 engineers, would be followed by other acquisitions in the future. “Possibly. We are looking at acquisitions in the future in the US and Europe,” Lal said. Eicher currently employs about 60 persons in India who are engaged in engineering services and Mr Lal said that if the business grew as expected, the company expected the division to have as many as 600 engineers by 2009. He said US is “the biggest market” for these services and the company expected a major chunk of revenues from that country. “DIE will provide us a ready platform for growth in the US and help us in growing the business rapidly,” he added.
— PTI
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McNerney is Boeing CEO
New York, June 30
Mr McNerney, who formerly ran General Electric Co.’s jet engine division, would succeed Mr Harry Stonecipher, who was ousted as Boeing’s CEO in March after he admitted to having an affair with a woman Boeing executive.
With the appointment of an outsider, Boeing passed over two top internal candidates, Mr Alan Mulally, head of the company’s booming commercial jet business, and Mr James Albaugh, who leads its defense unit.
— Reuters
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Kamla Dials forays into designer jewellery
Chandigarh, June 30 Satva — the first project of its kind in India — will use high precision CNC (computerised numerically-controlled) milling machines to set diamonds and other precious stones on metals. Until now, the diamond settings were being done either by gluing or by manually made clasps. The CEO of Kamla Dials, Mr Yashovardhan Saboo, told TNS: “The business of branded jewellery is acquiring gigantic proportions globally and there are no major jewellery units in this area to cater to the increasing demand. We decided to foray into the booming business of high-quality jewellery manufacturer as jewellery was getting branded by big brands.” The total cost of the project is Rs 2.2 crore and the first phase of the project has been completed with an investment of Rs 1 crore at Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh. It includes setting up the first production line of high-tech 5-axis CNC machining centres, computerised designing facilities and eight state-of-the-art assembly units. The company, he said, plans to put up four more production lines after 2008 and set up expanded facilities in the proposed gems and jewellery park near Delhi in Haryana. Satva , a 50:50 joint venture between the two companies, wants to export at least half of its designer jewellery. The company expects to generate about 50 per cent of its business in India and the balance from export clients both in the fields of watches and jewellery, mainly from the Swiss brands in Europe.
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TCS, MS to form joint venture in China
Mumbai, June 30 As part of this strategic partnership, TCS will hold a majority stake in the joint venture for Sino-India Cooperative Office (SICO) of China, TCS said here today. The other stakeholders in the proposed venture are Microsoft, Beijing Zhongguancun Software Park Development Company Ltd, Uniware Company Ltd and Tianjin Huayuan Software Park Construction and Development Company Ltd, it said. — PTI
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Purchase Preference Policy for Central PSUs okayed
New Delhi, June 30 Each ministry would be asked to make a list of PSEs that would require PPP support. If there is no possibility of making a positive list, each Ministry may attempt a negative list of PSEs, which may not require PPP support. PPP support would be extended to contracts of the value not exceeding Rs.100 crore. If civil works are included as a part of the contract for supply of goods and / or if the contract is a turnkey contract, such contracts would also be covered by the PPP, subject to the condition that the total value of the contract does not exceed Rs 100 crore, an official statement said. Exemption will be granted to the Ministry of Power from the PPP policy, subject to the condition that Ministry of Power will place certain orders upon BHEL on a negotiated basis price benchmarked through competitively bid projects every year. The Ministry of Power and Ministry of Heavy Industries would work out, at the beginning of the year, the number and value of the orders to be placed upon BHEL, during the financial year, it said. The government introduced the Purchase Preference Policy (PPP) for products and services of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) in 1992 in place of the policy of both price and purchase preference prevailing at that time. The Union Cabinet today approved an additional expenditure of Rs. 442.03 crore for full computerisation of Income Tax Department. This is in addition to earlier amount of Rs 251.56 crore sanctioned in December 2002. The additional funds are needed to meet the enhanced requirements relating to single national database as a part of the sanctioned project for full computerisation of the Income Tax Department and running it for 5 years. This will lead to computerised matching of large databases for identifying non-filers and detecting tax evasion resulting in improved service to taxpayers and increase in level of deterrence against tax evasion, an official statement said. The Cabinet also approved the merger / amalgamation of India Oil Blending Limited (IOBL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOC), with IOC. The date of merger would be decided by the two companies. The Cabinet also authorised the two companies to take follow-up action that will be necessary to carry out the merger. IOBL is a public company incorporated in 1963 under the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956, having its registered office at Trombay. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved the sharing of the sale proceeds of the assets of M/s. Daewoo Motors India Ltd. between the Department of Revenue for settlement of customs dues and the First Charge Holders in the ratio of 45:55. A Memorandum of Understanding will be signed between the Department of Revenue and the Financial Institutions for sharing the proceeds from the above sale. It also approved the sale of the assets of M/s. Daewoo Motors India Ltd. without insisting on the right to confiscate after sale. It also approved writing off the remainder of the principal amount and waiver of the interest and penalty accrued to facilitate sale of the assets of M/s. Daewoo Motors India Ltd. without encumbrances, to contribute to better realisation of value from the sale. The CCEA also approved the proposal to implement Rs.290 crore scheme for Integrated Development of the Leather Sector (IDLS) during the Tenth Five Year Plan period.
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Rs 806 cr for Panipat refinery expansion
New Delhi, June 30 IOC, which holds 74.46 per cent stake in BRPL, will offer its equity shares to BRPL shareholders in a proportion to be decided by advisors of the merger, a senior company official said. The merger decision has now to be ratified by the board of BRPL after which IOC would initiate the process of appointment of financial and legal advisors for the merger. The company had previously decided to merge its fuel retailing subsidiary IBP Co Ltd. The merger is currently pending with the Government. BRPL owns a 2.35 million tonnes per annum refinery in Assam and petrochemical units. The Board of IOC at its meeting today also cleared expanding capacity of Panipat refinery to 15 million tonnes per annum and raising the capacity of the Mundra-Panipat pipeline to 9 million tonnes from the current 6 million tonnes at an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore. IOC, which currently has seven refineries with a combined installed capacity of 41.35 million tonnes per annum, will complete doubling of Panipat refinery capacity from 6 to 12 million tonnes by October this year. While doubling of Panipat refinery capacity entailed an investment of Rs 4,165 crore, an additional Rs 806 crore would be required for raising its capacity further to 15 million tonnes. The expansion would be completed in 33 months, the official said. The official said potential for expansion exists at Mathura refinery from 8 to 11 million tonnes, at Gujarat from 13.7 to 18 million tonnes and at Panipat from 15 to 21 million tonnes. “These plans will be firmed up after detailed study considering projection of domestic demand growth.”
— PTI
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Dabur to sell entire stake in French JV
New Delhi, June 30 The New Delhi-based company said he Board of Directors had taken this decision to have better control over subsidiaries. The board approved the transfer of 6,38,520 equity shares of Nepalese Rs 100 each in Dabur Nepal Pvt Ltd (constituting 79.96 per cent) and 50,000 equity shares of $ 10 each in Dabur Overseas Ltd (constituting 100 per cent stake) to Dabur International Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary, it said. It said the resolution was effective from June 30. It further said the board had also decided to divest the entire stake of 1,35,00,000 equity shares of Rs 10 each held by it in Dabon International Pvt Ltd, a joint venture with Bongrain of France, for the manufacturing of cheese and other products.
— PTI
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Bank account
New Delhi, June 30 This will be apart from its plan to raise Rs 700 crore tier-II capital this year to keep pace with asset growth as the Mumbai-based bank is targeting a business of Rs 1,22,000 crore this fiscal. Union Bank Chairman K. Cherian Varghese said the public offer which could hit the market this fiscal, will bring down the government stake in the bank to 51 per cent from 60.85 per cent. At the current price of Rs 106 per share, the bank can easily raise up to Rs 800 crore by offering eight crore shares.
ICICI Bank
ICICI Bank will mop up Rs 600 crore through a tier-II bond issue as part of efforts to raise its capital base in view of the increasing business. With an asset size of Rs 1,67,700 crore as on March 31, 2005, the bank’s move is to further shore up its capital base to meet the stringent Basel-II norms. Supported by strong accretion to reserve and the capital infusion of Rs 3,246 crore in April 2004, its capital adequacy ratio improved to 11.78 per cent as on March 31, 2005, higher than the RB-mandated 9 per cent.
Syndicate Bank
Syndicate Bank has identified West and South Africa as “key regions” for establishing its international business, a top executive of the bank said in Chennai today. As of now, the bank has an overseas branch in London, in addition to two ‘exchange companies’ in Doha and Oman. “We have applied to the RBI to open ‘representative offices’ in Dubai and South Africa, Mr Chandra Sekhar, General Manager of the bank, told reporters, while announcing the decision to enter the capital market with its follow-on issue of 50 million equity shares of Rs 10 each at a
premium band, to be decided through the book-building process. — Agencies
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