Chandigarh, May 8
The agri-corporates will finally get a share of their pie in North India. After the ban on their entry in Punjab and Haryana for wheat procurement, these corporates are ready to reap a rich harvest in Himachal Pradesh.

This, inspite of the fact that heavy snowfall at the time of maturation of fruit will adversely hit the apple production this year. Officials in the state say that as against a total production of 5.94 lakh metric tonnes last year, the apple production this year will be a little over 3 lakh metric tonnes.

The low apple production notwithstanding, these corporates — Adani Agri Fresh, Reliance, ITC, Dev Bhumi Cold Chain — are hoping to get a major share of the produce. From apples to peaches, and strawberries to vegetables, these corporates are revolutionising the procurement process in the hill state. "The farmers are not just getting a better price for their produce, but are also saved of the hassles in storage, packaging and transportation to distant mandis. The growers will also be saved from the clutches of the commission agent syndicate as the crop is procured directly from the orchards. The state government is also trying to change the entire root stock of the apple crop, so as to improve the yield," said Dr P.C. Kapoor, principal secretary, horticulture and agriculture, Himachal Pradesh.

Two years ago, Adani Agri Fresh, ITC, Mother Dairy and Concord, had together made their first foray into Himachal by procuring apples. Though these companies are believed to have procured about 10 per cent of the total apple produce last year, the entry of new players like Reliance and Dev Bhoomi will ensure that the procurement by private players crosses 20 per cent mark, say officials in the Horticulture Department. Besides apple, these companies will also be procuring peaches, plums, cherries, apricots, stone fruits, and vegetables like cauliflower and peas.

Adani Agri Fresh, which managed to procure 16,000 metric tonnes of apple last year, proposes to procure over 20,000 metric tonnes of apple this year. Abhay Pant , general manager of the company, said they have set up three controlled atmosphere stores, with a total capacity of 18,000 metric tonnes and they hope to utilise their capacity to the maximum this year. "The crop that cannot be stored will be procured for the spot sale," he added.

Dev Bhoomi Cold Chain, the largest chain of cold storages in the country, too, hopes to double its procurement from 125 truck loads last year ."We have created world- class controlled atmosphere stores of 5,000 metric tonne capacity, processing unit for apple pulp and concentrate (for the 25 per cent unmarketable fruit that we procure) and set up auction yards at various places. This year, we will also be producing strawberry on 5,000 hectares area, on a contract farming basis," said Dr Gyan Thakur, vice-president of the company.

Though it will be a win-win situation for the agri corporates and farmers, it is alleged that the common man is likely to suffer as the best produce will be picked up by these corporates, who will sell it through their retail chains at higher prices.

New Delhi, May 8
After saying umpteen number of times that there is no correlation between futures trading and increase in commodity prices, the government still felt compelled to ban futures trading in four essential food commodities. “This says a lot about what the government thinks and what it says,” said an economist. It clearly shows that the mood in the government is that of panic and no face-saving device is being left unturned to fight inflation, add economy watchers.

When prodded with the question of a correlation between the rising price of commodities and futures trading, minister of state for industry, Ashwani Kumar, said, “Government is not helpless and has means to ensure prices are brought down. More measures — both administrative and fiscal — are in the offing to control inflation”.

“We are monitoring prices on a daily basis and that the government is determined to control prices in a manner and at a level that will not cause hardship on the common man, whose welfare is the first priority of the government,” he said.

Economists say, if the government was so sure about the measures to control prices and its use, then why did the situation go out of hand in the first place? “What was the government doing when RBI Governor had been repeatedly warning that inflationary pressures are building in the economy?”

The minister said a series of calibrated measures would ensure that inflation is brought down by at least one percentage point in the next two months.

He added that iron ore, steel and cement would continue to remain under the government scanner and that the prices of these items would be monitored by the government.

He said these measures would take at least 8 weeks to ease the pressure.

Prices of wheat, rice and edible oils had already come down between March 1 and May 6, he said. Wheat prices have declined by 1.6 per cent, rice by 9.1 per cent and that of edible oil by over 18 per cent, he added.

Shillong, May 8
With rupee falling to a one-year low in the past three days, RBI Governor Y V Reddy today said the situation is reflective of the "global uncertainties".

The uncertainties "were flagged and analysed in the RBI policy statement last week. We have discussed the impact of the uncertainties on India," Reddy told reporters after a board meeting of the RBI here.

Though the Governor did not specify the "uncertainties", he was inevitably pointing at the rising oil prices and slowdown in capital inflows.

Close on the heels of the currency fall, the current account deficit is likely to deteriorate marginally from the consensus estimate, Reddy said. — PTI 

New Delhi, May 8
Telecom regulator TRAI has sought comments from the stakeholders on allowing subscribers of one operator to choose another operator for making long-distance (STD and ISD) calls.

In a move that would bring in competition and improve quality of services, TRAI issued a consultation paper seeking views from all stakeholders on 'carrier selection' that includes the possibility of allowing long-distance service providers to issue calling cards.

In its note, TRAI said, "When implemented, carrier selection offers customer the capability of selecting the long-distance carrier for their STD/ISD calls.

“This would help the customer in selecting services provider best suited to their specific needs, particularly in terms of price and quality," the regulator said.

"A number of developments have taken place since the last consultation to make the environment quite different from what existed then," TRAI said, adding that all service providers have become competitive in terms of both price and quality and they can now move to next stage of offering choice of operators to their customers.

This is the second time TRAI has initiated a process to allow subscribers to choose service providers. Last time, the regulator had consulted the industry in December 2001 but it could not be implemented as state-owned BSNL was not ready to offer such facility.

Jakarta, May 8
Microsoft has no plans to make another approach for Yahoo! Inc after it pulled its $47.5 billion bid earlier this month, Microsoft's chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie said on Thursday.

''The market may wish that the Yahoo deal may come back together, but Microsoft at least at this point assumes it's over,'' Mundie told Reuters in an interview in the Indonesian capital.

''We know what we thought it's economic limits were and that didn't come together, so we've moved on and we will go back and implement plan B that we've been on in any case,'' he added, referring to the company's online services strategy.

Microsoft walked away from its bid to buy Yahoo last Saturday after the Internet company turned down its offer to raise the price by $5 billion to $47.5 billion.

Microsoft's offer was for $33 a share but Yahoo would not lower its demand below $37, Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said.

The software company initially bid $31 per share for Yahoo more than three months ago.

''Yahoo could always come back again and say please buy us for $33 (a share) and I'm sure we might reconsider it but we're not assuming that's going to happen,'' added Mundie, who took over as Microsoft's lead visionary on technology from co-founder Bill Gates in 2006. Microsoft's online business has racked up nine straight quarterly losses, but Mundie said it was prepared to be patient.

''We view these online services as strategic long term businesses. We will continue to invest heavily in order to do that and our aggregate business performance allows that to happen,'' he said.— Reuters

New Delhi, May 8
The automobile industry has got its momentum back with April's overall vehicle sales rising by 9.83 per cent, thanks to reduced excise duty in the 2008-09 Budget.

According to figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), the domestic passenger car sales managed a growth of 17.15 per cent in April. Total domestic vehicles sale in April stood at 8,06,238 units, against 7,34,103 units in the same month last year.

The passenger car segment clocked a sale of 98,740 units during the month, against 84,283 units in the same month a year ago, SIAM said. Segment leader Maruti Suzuki India registered an increase of 22.30 per cent at 51,766 units, against 42,326 units in the same month in 2007.

Rival Hyundai Motors sold 21,492 units during the month, against 15,697 units last year, up 36.92 per cent.

Tata Motors, however, recorded a decline of 17.10 per cent at 11,193 units, against 13,502 units in the same month previous year.

General Motors India had a 21.65 per cent jump in its sales with its hatchback 'Spark' continuing a good run. The company's overall sales stood at 3,411 units, compared to 2,804 units last year.

On the motorcycles front, the industry witnessed a reasonably good growth in April with the segment registering a jump of 8.31 per cent at 5,01,592 units, against 4,63,091 units during the year-ago month, SIAM said.

According to SIAM, during April, motorcycle market leader Hero Honda Motors registered sale of 2,76,580 units, against 2,55,408 units in the same period during 2007, up 8.29 per cent.

Rival Bajaj Auto also recorded a similar increase of 9.19 per cent at 1,38,117 units, against 1,26,494 units last year. — PTI

New Delhi, May 8
The RBI is in a fix as its directive to discourage people from using garlands made of currency notes — a common feature in north Indian weddings — seems to be falling on deaf ears.

"We issued a directive last year that currency notes should not be used in making garlands, which defaces the notes and shortens their life," Alpana Killawala, chief general manager of the public relations division of RBI, told IANS on phone from Mumbai.

"It's part of our continuing efforts of clean notes policy. But no one seems to be paying heed as most weddings, especially in north India, keep using such garlands. We can't take any action against the public. We can only sensitise them," she said.

For the masses, however, this directive doesn't make any sense. Alok Aggarwal, a sales executive in Delhi, said: "The tradition of making the bridegroom wear the garland of currency notes is a symbol of shagun (good luck).

"In most cases, this garland is then carefully stacked away. So where is the question of misusing the notes?" he asked. The RBI has been trying for a while to inculcate "good habits" among the people — so as to encourage good quality notes.

Killawala said: “Our latest initiative is making a short film on the dos and don'ts of handling bank notes. People have to be discouraged from scribbling on notes and folding them. The movie will be ready for telecasting in another couple of months.”

“The trend of note garlands is mainly north India centric. Therefore, we will have to devise a programme specifically for that area," she added. — IANS

Chandigarh, May 8
Deputy chairperson of the Shareholders Committee of Claas India, a Germany- based group in combine harvesters, Cathrina Claas today called on Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here.

Claas, along with group executive vice-president Jan Hendrik Mohr, apprised the Chief Minister of the assembly line operations, which had started from Morinda- based plant yesterday. They invited the Chief Minister to inaugurate the manufacturing operations, which was slated to start on October 15.

Taking part in deliberations, Cathrina hoped that the wide product range of combine harvesters offered by the group would cater to the needs of all segments of farming community. She said the Crop Tiger 30, Crop Tiger 60 and Crop Tiger Tera Trac would put the conventional agriculture in the country's largest agrarian state in the most mechanised and scientific mode, thereby making agriculture economy far less labour intensive and highly productive besides depleting residual standing crops. She expressed her desire to visit rural Punjab to assess first-hand information on farming community, their needs and its applications which could be translated into effective instruments of macro applications through research and development of Claas, Germany.

The Chief Minister appreciated the group's concern in setting up a full-fledged plant at Morinda with both assembly line and manufacturing operations. He also urged them to introduce agricultural equipment for paddy transplantation and cotton picking, as both these operations was labour intensive.

Badal also asked Cathrina to send specialised drivers and mechanics to train youth as drivers, which would provide them assured employment based on the certification to be issued by Claas, Germany. 

BRIEFLY

Oil holds above $ 123
Tokyo: Oil edged lower after hitting a record high near $ 124 on Thursday, as the dollar’s rise to a two-month high against the euro countered bullish news of falling US diesel stockpiles. US crude for June fell 27 cents to $ 123.26 a barrel by 0747 GMT, off a record of $ 123.93 reached earlier. — Reuters

TCS renews pact with Virgin
Mumbai: Tata Consultancy Services has renewed its IT management services contract with global airlines firm Virgin Atlantic Airways till 2011. Under the pact, TCS would continue to manage Virgin Atlantic's global end-to-end IT systems including the infrastructure and application support services, it said. — PTI

Tata Steel raises Rs 2,000 cr
Mumbai: World's sixth largest steel maker Tata Steel on Thursday said it has raised Rs 2,000 crore through private placement of Rupee debentures as part of its longterm financing plan. “Tata Steel has raised Rs 2,000 crore including Green Shoe Option through private placement of redeemable non-convertible Rupee debentures,” the company said. — PTI

Amway plans
Chandigarh: Direct selling FMCG major, Amway India, is now targeting the mass market with the launch of its great value products. With the launch of these products , the company hopes to increase its annual turnover from Rs 800 crore in 2007 to Rs 1,000 crore this year. The company will also be substantially increasing its distributor base and warehouses, besides introducing new products in the market. — TNS

Walther tie-up
Chandigarh: German arms manufacturer, Walther, will now be targeting the internal security market in India, through a tie-up with Chandigarh based Abhinav Futuristic, a company promoted by ace shooter Abhinav Bindra. Abhinav Futuristic has tied up with New Age Technologies, a company promoted by former Punjab DGP, Sarabjit Singh, to sell its arms to the police departments in various states, besides selling these to sports (shooting) enthusiasts. The company hopes to clog a turnover of Rs 100 crore in the first year of operations. — TNS

M.D. Mallya
Chandigarh: M.D. Mallya has taken over as the chairman and managing director of Bank of Baroda. Prior to taking this assignment, he was the chairman and managing director of Bank of Maharashtra. — TNS