 |
|
ADVERTISEMENT
|
Essar Group to invest $1.5 b in West Asia
MFN status: traders disappointed with Pak
Mercedes S-class to be cheaper
ATF prices up
Haldiram’s to
expand in North
Software to help students clear exams
AUTO SCENE
MARKET UPDATE
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
TAX ADVICE
|
|
Essar Group to invest $1.5 b in West Asia
Dubai, July 2 It has signed a 50:50 joint venture agreement with Qatar Steel Company to set up a 1.5 million tonne a year steel plant, one million tonne steel rolling mill at the Hamriyah Free Zone in Sharjah and a 1.5 million tonne a year steel plant in Iran. Mr Anshuman Ruia, Director, Essar Group, said "The West Asia is a very important part of what we are doing because most of our businesses are very energy-centric, steel, power, refining. So we believe we need to have a much bigger presence here." Mr Ruia said the commissioning of group firm Essar Oil's 10.5 million tonne a year oil refinery on India's west coast in October will create a huge demand to buy crude oil from the region and a steel business here would be a natural fit. "Our philosophy has always been to have (steel) production capacity in markets which are growing and which have a captive need," he told the Gulf News. Large industrial projects being executed in the West Asia, funded by huge oil surpluses, is creating huge local demand for steel that are now being met through imports. Some three to four million tonnes of steel are currently being imported into the region annually. Mr Ruia said production cost of Essar's steel from Qatar and Iran will be among the lowest 10 per cent in the world owing to the availability of low-price natural gas in these countries. Essar has taken possession of land in Qatar, has tied up debt for the project and is in the process of signing gas contracts with the government. The Iran project, in which Essar will hold 60 per cent and pension funds 40 per cent, will be identical to the project in Qatar. The rolling mill in Hamriyah, which will use imported steel billets from Essar's India plant, will cost about a $200 million. — PTI
|
|
MFN status: traders disappointed with Pak
Amritsar, July 2 The general secretary of the Amritsar Exporters Chambers of Commerce, Mr Mukesh Sidhwani, said the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) agreement, which came into force from today, would not improve trade relations as Pakistan was not willing to give any tariff concessions under SAFTA. Mr Sidhwani said although there was no official comment on the issue of concessions from Pakistan but according to their business sources, Pakistan would continue to trade with India only the restricted list of items. Pakistan, in all likelihood, would trade only those items which had been mentioned in the positive list provided by it. A leading exporter of perishable and live stock products, Mr Rajdeep Uppal, said he already knew that Pakistan would never provide MFN status to India and would only allow trading in 742-odd items. He said the SAFTA agreement would have no meaning with the SAARC nations as they fail to make agreement a success. Mr Om Parkash Latti, chairman of the Indo-Pakistan Traders Association, said this was lean period for its members as few items were being exported to Pakistan. The full swing season would start from the middle of August after the rains. He said at present the total turnover of business was nearly Rs 1000 crores annually.
|
|
Mercedes S-class to be cheaper
Mumbai, July 2 "We have started assembling of the new model of S-class car at our Pune plant recently and the first batch of this would come out this month. We expect its price will go down as we would cut import cost," Daimler Chrysler Director (Corporate Affairs and Finance) Suhas Kadlaskar said here. Market analysts estimate the price reduction to be in the range of 15-20 per cent. Mercedes has two variants in S-Class, S-350 priced between Rs 72-75 lakh and S-500 with a price tag of Rs 85 lakh plus. "The complete built up units of S- class attracts an import duty of 112 per cent. The company would narrow down these costs to a large extent as it starts domestic assembling," he added.— PTI
|
|
ATF prices up
New Delhi, July 2 ATF or jet fuel prices for domestic airlines in Delhi were raised by Rs 895.56 per kl to Rs 41,303.58 while in Kolkata the hike was Rs 948.18 per kl to Rs 46,564.46, an IOC official said.
— PTI |
|
|
New Delhi, July 2 At present the company has six retail outlets in Delhi and NCR, including Noida and Gurgaon, and targets to have a 15-20 per cent growth in the next fiscal. ''With a total turnover of Rs 500 crore in 2005-06, our namkeens account for 60 per cent of the turnover, while about Rs 150 crore is contributed by the retail business. We are targeting a growth of 15-20 per cent annually,'' Images Retail magazine quoted Haldiram's GM-Operations, Delhi, Mr S.K. Verma as saying. The company also plans to open express outlets in malls and high footfall areas. ''Details are yet to be finalised, but we plan to open express outlets covering an average area of 800-1000 sq ft,'' Mr Verma added. Haldiram's will also venture into ready-to-eat products, to be launched in a few months time. The products will be launched for the export market, and just 15-20 per cent for the domestic front, he said. In the first phase of expansion, 10-15 ready-to-eat products will be launched, while simultaneously 10 other varieties will be added. — UNI
|
|
Software to help students clear exams
Kolkata, July 2 Named 'CLEaRS,' acronym for
Computerised Learning, Evaluation and Review System, the software has been developed by New York-based multinational, Learning Accord (L A). "The software teaches exactly what the student does not know, what he needs to know and is knowable to him, in the timeframe available before his exams," L A CEO Rear Admiral B R Vasanth said. The software has two versions — one for the medical college admission test (MCAT) for students in the US and Canada and another for Indians taking the board examinations and entrance tests for medical and engineering institutions. This is the fourth generation knowledge transfer system which combines the gurukul system of education and book-based teaching, Vasanth said adding that it maps the student's mind 18 times per second to work out a strategy.
— PTI |
|
Bajaj motor cycle sales up 40 pc
New Delhi, July 2 The total two-wheeler sales stood at 1,88,231 units, up 33 per cent from 1,41,316 units sold in June last year, a company statement said. Three-wheeler sales rose 29 per cent to 25,687 units in June this year as against 19,966 units in the same month during 2005. Exports more than doubled to 34,369 units in June from 15,946 units in the same month a year-ago. For the April-June period, motor cycle sales increased by 34 per cent to 5,68,187 units as against 4,22,543 units in the corresponding period a year ago, the company said. Total two wheeler sales during the April-June period stood at 5,78,621 units, up 28 per cent from 4,51,661 units in the same period last year. TVS Motors
TVS Motor Company Ltd, the flagship company of the TVS Group, has reported a 17 per cent rise in total two-wheeler sales in June at 1,26,679 units, compared to 1,08,111 units in the same month last year. The motor cycle sales in June 2006 stood at 74,683 units, up 24 per cent from 60,170 units sold in June 2005, making it the third successive month in the current financial year when TVS’s motor cycle sales rose by more than 20 per cent, the company said. Strong performances by TVS
STAR in the entry-level segment and Apache in the premium segment helped boost the overall growth in the motor cycle segment. Hero Honda
Hero Honda has announced that it registered a growth of 21.29 per cent in its sales at 8,32,692 for the quarter ending June 2006, as against 6,86,494 units during the corresponding period last year. In June 2006, the company sold 2,78,660 units, up by 23.26 per cent, as compared to 2,26,073 units in June last year. During the month, the company also launched its fuel-injection technology motorcycle Glamour FI.— Agencies |
|
|
MARKET
UPDATE
Indian markets continued to yo-yo last week, but Sensex ended the week with a gain of 208 points at 10,609, while Nifty advanced 85.5 points to settle at 3,128.2. Markets ended the week in green because of a whopping gain of 447 points last Friday. This move was prompted when Federal Reserve on late Thursday night toned down its warnings and signaled a possible stop on further increase in key lending rates. But as expected, the US Central Bank lifted its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 5.25 per cent, its highest since March 2001.
In the near term, the Sensex may trade between 9,000-10,700 levels. It will take cues from global and Asian markets. The US markets will possibly consolidate and refrain from falling further as the US Federal Reserve toned down warnings. The sentiment will be lifted by reports that India’s monsoon rains in the crucial sowing month of July are likely to be 90 to 100 per cent of the long-term average. Next trigger would be the first quarter results which are expected to be strong. Infosys will be the first bell weather to report its earnings on the July 12. Wockhardt
Wockhardt is amongst the leading pharmaceutical companies in the country. It has its operations spread all over the world with the major regions begin Europe, India and the USA. The company has also ventured into biotechnology which is a strongly growing part of its product portfolio. With 3 key products in this category - Wepox (erythropotein), ‘Wosulin’ (human insulin) and Biovac-B (Hepatitis-B vaccine), the company is slowly and surely finding a foothold in the global market place. Over the past couple of years, Wockhardt has been agile in acquiring a global face, both through the organic and the inorganic route. The acquisition of CP Pharma in the UK and ‘esparma GmbH’ in Germany has given it access to two of the biggest generic markets in Europe. Apart from this, the company intends to establish a strong presence in the US. We believe that the company is poised at a very interesting phase with both its organic and inorganic growth plans lined up over the next couple of years. The company’s US business will be a key organic growth driver and a good out-licensing deal for its new chemical entities will act as another trigger. Buying on Wockhardt with a minimum of two year’s perspective’s recommended. |
|
|
No rebate on coaching fee u/s 80C
by S.C. Vasudeva Q. I have admitted my son to one year classroom coaching programme towards medical entrance exams-2006, being conducted by M/s Brilliant Tutorials (P) Ltd. Will the fee charged by the institute (inclusive of the registration fee and service tax) be an eligible saving for the purpose of section 80C of the Income Tax Act? — Tarsem Chand, Yamunanagar A. The deduction allowable under Section 80C of the Act is in respect of tuition fee paid whether at the time of admission or thereafter to any university, college, school or other educational institution situated in India for the full time education of any two children of the assessee. On the basis above provision, I am of the opinion that coaching fee paid to Brilliant Tutorials would not be covered within the provisions of Section 80C of the Act. Tax liability Q. My gross salary is Rs 3,50,000. My GPF is Rs 12,000 annually and NSC is Rs 5,000 Prime Minister Relief Fund is Rs 7,000 I am a lady in government school. I want to know how to calculate my income tax. — Rekha Chaudhary, Jalandhar A. On the basis of figures given by you, your total income works out at Rs 3,26,000 (3,50,000-24,000) on which a tax of Rs 45,186 inclusive of education cess of 2 pc would be payable for the assessment year 2006-07. II Q. I am a Punjab Government employee, working in the Health Department. I have annual income of Rs 2,20,000 (approx). Kindly elaborate/show my tax liabilities as per following saving details per annum for the year 2005-06: 1. General Provident Fund 12,000 — Darshan Singh, Qadian A. On the basis of fiigures given in the query, the total taxable income work out at Rs 1,33,125 (Rs 2,20,000-86,875). The tax thereon would be Rs 3,380 including education cess of 2 pc. Section 80 C Q. I have invested Rs 1,00,000 in Senior Citizen Saving Scheme with the State Bank of India. Kindly tell me whether this will be considered as investment under Section 80C for income tax purposes so that I can get the income tax relief. — N.K. Vaidya A. The amount of deposit made under Senior Citizen Saving Scheme is not covered under the provisions of Section 80C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (The Act). Tax calculation Q. I am a employee of PSEB. I have a total income of Rs 2,45,000 during 2005-06. Please let me know what are the tax liabilities as per following saving details: General Provident Fund 72,000 Tuition fee of my son 22,500 Total 1,10,600 — Jagjiwan Singh, Samrala A. The amount of deduction allowable to you would be restricted to Rs. 1,00,000/- being the maximum amount allowed to be deducted under section 80C of the Act. Accordingly on a total income of Rs 1,45,000 (2,45,000 – 1,00,000), tax of Rs. 4,590 including education cess of 2 pc would be payable. Senior citizen Q. I am 76-year-old and a civil pensioner of Himachal Pradesh. Being senior citizen my income during the financial year 2005-06 would be as under: Pension 1,03,000 Total: 1,64,000 Kindly advise me if law required to pay income tax on the above said amount and whether I am required to file income tax return to obtain PAN. If so, to whom should I contact in the matter to get forms etc. — Sohan Singh Dhaulta, Shimla A. On the basis of figures given in the query, you are not liable to pay any tax of income if the same is less than Rs 1,85,000. In accordance with the provisions of the Act, you are not required to file the income-tax return for assessment year 2006-2007. National Savings Certificate Q. I want to know whether subscription to post office 6 years National Saving Certificate (NSC) VIII Issue has been notified u/s 80C(2)(ix) for purposes of deduction u/s 80C for assessment year 2006-07 and onwards. Kindly give the details of the notification. In case no notification has been issued so far and is not issued by due date for filing the return for assessment year 2006-07, whether such subscription already made after 01.04.2005 will be eligible for deduction for assessment year 2006-07? — Avtar Kishan Kapoor A. National Saving Certificate (VIII) Issue have been notified vide notification no. 1560 (E) dated 03.11.2005 [279ITR(ST)7] as being covered under the provisions of Section 80C of the Act.
|
| 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 | |
