New Delhi, December 29
Expressing concern over the spurt in suicide among farmers, Agriculture experts today asked Finance Minister P Chidambaram to accord highest priority on canalising more resources to small farmers in the next year’s Budget.

In a pre-Budget consultation meeting, they also asked the UPA government to provide greater incentives to the farming community to enhance agricultural productivity, which had shown a subdued growth in the past three years.

Experts were also keen that the Centre allocated resources for speedy completion of irrigation projects across the country and introduction of support price and minimum procurement price for supporting farmers.

One of the experts, Mr Ashok Gulati of the International Food Policy and Research Institute told the minister that the support price should take care of actual expenditure incurred by the farmer in producing grain.

While asking the government to initiate campaign on a massive scale to educate the farmers about the World Trade Organisation (WTO) framework, eminent farmer leader Sharad Joshi said the government should also ensure financially feasible exit route for the farmers, including those who were selling their land to SEZ developers.

He also demanded the implementation of the recommendations of the National Farmers Commission on providing crop loans at 4 per cent rate of interest.

During the meeting, Mr Joshi described the Essential Commodities Act as an “archaic legislation” which bestowed enormous power on the state but “hardly any legal obligation” to ensure that farmers get a fair and remunerative price for their crops.

“All systems putting restrictions on transport, storage, marketing, processing and exporting should be scrapped,” he said, but added imports in the form of dumping were against the interest of Indian farmers and should not be allowed.

The government should put in place a vast network of laboratories for testing food, seed, insecticides, fertilisers and water, he said.

Conservationist Rajinder Singh wanted community-based decentralised water management, as water had become a major restraining factor in enhancing productivity.

This could be achieved through cheap loans for digging wells or tube-wells, he said, adding as a long-term policy the government should also shuffle the items provided under the public distribution system (PDS), he told Dr Chidambaram. He also sought inclusion of pulses and other items in the PDS basket. 

New Delhi, December 29
The government today ruled out any extension of the deadline beyond December 31 for investors to submit their PAN details to depositories for trading on the stock exchanges, the move taken as part of tightening of SEBI's regulations following the IPO scam.

The deadline has already been extended once than the earlier stipulated date of September 30 following some practical problems.

There would be no further extension, a Finance Ministry sources said.

In a statement, the ministry said: "It is clarified that the investors, who do not provide their PAN by December 31, 2006, will not be able to debit their demat accounts and trade on the stock exchanges from January 1, 2007." For those who have opened demat accounts after April 1 this year, quoting PAN is already essential.

The deadline of December 31 is for those who had opened such accounts before April 1. — PTI 

New Delhi, December 29
BSNL and the Department of Posts (DoP) have tied up to provide telephone services in remote areas.

The companies said today they had signed a pact to this effect. The two entities had collectively initiated a scheme, namely ''Gramin Sanchar Sewak Scheme'', in 2003.

The PSUs are also trying to work out a scheme in which ATM facilities will be extended to some of the farthest corners of the country, thereby getting facilities for micro-financing and remittances of funds.

In addition, BSNL will extensively use the Bill Mail Services of the DoP and will utilise the services of postmen for collection of telephone bills, thereby extending the facilities of bill payment to the doorsteps of the subscribers.

The DoP will be one of the preferred franchise for selling pre-paid cellular recharge coupons, Indian Telephone Cards, FLPP Card, Webfone Card, and Sancharnet Card, BSNL said. — UNI

New Delhi/London, December 29
The much-touted $730 million acquisition of Daewoo Electronics by Videocon-led consortium could fizzle out if creditors to the ailing Korean company reject a price cut demand by the proposed buyers.

While Dhoot-promoted Videocon, along with US-based equity firm Ripplewood, insisted on a price cut of up to 13 per cent after conducting due diligence of Daewoo, sources in the know said that the creditors' would take a call next week.

They, however, said that in case creditors did not agree to the price cut, the process for sale of the ailing company would have to start afresh.

Videocon officials were tight-lipped on the issue of price cut as also the resistance by the creditors led by Woori Bank, who have been collectively running the company since the Daewoo conglomerate collapsed under a $80 billion debt in 1999.

Meanwhile, Financial Times of London quoted Park Jun Tae of Woori Bank as saying that "the deal could be nullified...

we expect it will take one or two days to get the result as each of the creditors has to choose whether it agrees or not with Videocon's proposal." The British daily quoting Woori Bank said the planned $750 million sale of Daewoo Electronics could be nullified next week if creditors rejected a proposal by the Videocon-led consortium to cut the price tag by 13 per cent.

Unless more than 75 per cent of the creditors agree to the proposal, the deal would be cancelled, the daily said.

The buyers had earlier proposed to boost capital investment in Daewoo, adding that they would conduct due diligence and might adjust the offered price. — PTI 

London, December 29
British telecom giant Vodafone’s plans to acquire India’s fourth-largest mobile operator Hutch-Essar has received mixed reactions from some of its key shareholders, with a few of them raising concern over the high valuation of the deal, media reports here said.

Fears were mounting among some shareholders that Vodafone would be forced to overpay in a much-hyped bidding war that was going on between various suitors from across the world, the reports said, without naming any disgruntled shareholder.

When contacted, a spokesperson for Vodafone declined to comment on whether the auction-like bidding war was inflating the valuation of the target company.

The official also declined to comment on whether it had sought or planned to seek support of its shareholders for the intended acquisition.

The world’s largest mobile player is pitted against India’s Reliance Communications, which made its interest public yesterday, as well as Essar, a minority shareholder in Hutch-Essar with a 33 per cent stake.

Hutch-Essar is reportedly being valued between $14-17 billion, but none of the players interested in the company have confirmed the valuation.

While some shareholders are opposing Vodafone’s interest in Hutch-Essar, others like Standard Life Investments have been reported by British dailies as supporting the deal.

Standard Life, which has 1.7 per cent stake in Vodafone, is supporting the bid, saying the strategy of pushing into emerging markets “bodes well” for future, The Times said.

Two other newspapers, Independent and The Telegraph, also reported that Vodafone’s emerging market strategy had been supported by Standard Life. — PTI 

New Delhi, December 29
A person, who suffered dislocation of shoulder after a fall in Boston, USA, has been compensated Rs 4.7 lakh towards his medical reimbursement after a Consumer Forum decided that the insurance company cannot repudiate claim by taking cover under an exclusion clause.

"NIC was unfair and unjustified in repudiating the genuine claim of Dharmapal Agrawal by taking cover of the exclusion clause since he was not suffering from any ailment for about six years prior to taking up of the policy," said the forum comprising President S.L. Khanna and member S.R.Agrawal in a recent order.

Dharmapal Agrawal had obtained a 'worldwide corporate frequent travellers' policy for one year from National Insurance Company (NIC) through its agent firm, Heritage Health Services Pvt Ltd (HHSPL). He was entitled to reimbursement of medical expenses incurred on his illness or treatment of injuries sustained in any accident.

After he suffered dislocation of his right shoulder in Boston following a fall in May, 2005, HHSPL rejected reimbursement of his medical expenses claiming that Agrawal was suffering from a coronary disease which he did not disclose while furnishing information in the proposal form.

The forum, while holding NIC and its agent HHSPL guilty of "deficiency in service", also awarded Agrawal a compensation of Rs 22,500 on account of mental agony and harassment.

"A fall cannot be attributed to a coronary artery disease and the company has itself admitted that he had undergone angiogram about 16 years prior to taking up the policy and also had stopped taking medicines about six years back," said the forum dismissing the contention on non-disclosure of essential information. — PTI 

Mumbai, December 29
The Renuka Sugars Board of Directors has approved the company's decision of issuing Rs 60 crore shares for a three-year period on private placement. It also announced a dividend of 20 per cent.

The annual general meeting yesterday approved the decision of the company to raise the authorised share capital to Rs 105 crore from Rs 40 crore while agreeing to the implementation of the ESOP scheme for employees. —PTI

New Delhi, December 29
India could attract about $2 billion worth investment in telecom equipment manufacturing in the next two years.

As of now, the total FDI in telecom manufacturing is about Rs 1,000 crore, which is expected to touch $2 billion or Rs 9,000 crore over the next three years,” Telecom Minister Dayanidhi Maran said.

Telecom equipment manufacturing revenue is also expected to double in the next one year from the current about Rs 17,000 crore to Rs 35,000 crore, Mr Maran said.

Global majors are exploring India for production of switches, gearbox, handsets and other wireless equipment.

Rising demand for a wide range of telecom equipment, particularly in the area of mobile telecommunication, has provided excellent opportunities to domestic and foreign investors in the manufacturing sector, he said.

India, adding up to six million wireless subscribers a month and having recently surpassed China, promises to be a market with huge demand potential, a fact global telecom majors could barely miss.

Mr Maran said a proposal for setting up Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council and Telecom Testing and Security Certification Centre (TETC) is also in the pipeline.

A large number of companies like Alcatel and Cisco have also shown interest in setting up their R&D centres in India.

With above initiatives, India is expected to be a manufacturing hub for the telecom equipment. Cisco recently announced that it would undertake a pilot of its IP phone manufacturing in India. — PTI