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Which party will pocket compensation in Singur?
Subbarao is new RBI Governor
Cable dispute: Tatas fined $19 m
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No cut in petrol, diesel prices for now: Deora
Rupee at 17-month low
Impasse over DGCA chief continues
Forbes List of Billionaire Heiresses
Auto Scene
UCO Bank to launch pre-funded chequebook accounts
Exports up 31.2 pc
Hero Group plans Rs 500-cr aviation foray
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Which party will pocket compensation in Singur?
New Delhi, September 1 In Singur, it is multi-crop agriculture land producing three crops a year, in addition to this the location of this land is only 30 miles from Calcutta city and International airport. The West Bengal (WB) government is offering a compensation of around Rs 8-12 lakh per acre. Compare this with Noida (UP) near Delhi where Mayawati is paying Rs 35 lakh per acre for land that is barren. Sources in the industry say the land opposite to the Tata plant (across the Delhi -Kolkatta highway) belongs to party cadres, while the land adjacent to the plant belongs to Trinamool Congress party cadres. It is anyone guesses what stratospheric level will the land prices touch once the project is in place. Trinamool Congress sources say the additional 400 acres land required for the project should be acquired from across the highway which belongs to CPM cadre .If that land is acquired then the compensation will be at a very low rate by the West Bengal government to its own party cadre which can be offensive. But if the adjacent land to the plant is being bought then the Trinamool sources say it will not part with the land for such a paltry sum and a higher compensation package will have to be worked out. Sources in Trinamool say in February 2007, the state government claimed that 95 per cent of the 14,000 farmers on the acquired land had voluntarily accepted the compensation offer. The state government had also while inviting the Tata’s claimed that the land was not fertile and was growing only one crop a year. The Tata’s were clearly tricked into this deal and were also convinced the company that the land was amply available and there would be no land acquisition problem in the area. Trinamool Congress sources say the CPM politburo actually thought that they could use terror and bullying tactics to acquire land as has always been used like in Nandigram. Here again they forged the signature of many farmers and acquired the land forcefully. It is just that now these tactics do not work and the farmers are well aware of their rights. Besides this, Tata’s are also realizing that they have entered into a raw deal and the CPM is finding it hard to keep up the promises. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya is ready to increase the compensation package because losing Tata’s could mean a halt to other projects in the state for the future sources in Trinamool say. |
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Subbarao is new RBI Governor
New Delhi, September 1 The baton for the new post will be handed over by the present RBI Governor Y.V. Reddy on September 5. Dr Subbarao is presently holding the post of finance secretary in the ministry of finance. Prior to this, he was secretary, Department of Economic Affairs in the ministry of finance. He belongs to the 1972 batch of the IAS (AP cadre). Dr Subbarao has wide experience on issues in public finance and has held important posts in this area. He has worked as secretary to the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council.
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Cable dispute: Tatas fined $19 m
New Delhi, September 1 The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has directed Tata Communications to pay $19.29 million to RCom plus interest from May 2006 as damages over a cable dispute. Reliance officials here said this was the fourth consecutive decision that the tribunal had given in favour of RCom against the Tatas. The ICC Tribunal has ruled Reliance Globalcom’s claims of damages against Tata Communications in congruence with the New York Law requirements to satisfy loss profit damages claim for sale of capacity. “In the matter of the ICC arbitration proceedings brought by Reliance Globalcom Ltd, formerly known as Flag Telecom against Tata Communications Ltd, the Tribunal has on August 27, 2008, handed down a final award dealing with the issue of damages,” Tata Communications said. “The Tribunal has directed Tata Communications to pay Reliance a sum of approximately $19 million plus interest from May 2006 as damages against the $385 million sum claimed by Reliance,” the company said. This was the tribunal’s final award in the ICC arbitration proceedings over a dispute regarding Flag Europe Asia cable ongoing since 2004. The dispute between the two companies goes back a few years, when FLAG accused the then state-owned Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd — now Tata Communications — of denying it free access to its cable landing station and thereby having a monopolistic hold on bandwidth prices. |
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No cut in petrol, diesel prices for now: Deora
New Delhi, September 1 “Where is the scope for reducing prices? Oil companies are still making losses,” petroleum minister Murli Deora told reporters here. The drop in international oil prices has resulted in revenue loss of IndianOil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum dip to Rs 400 crore per day from Rs 450 crore a fortnight back. “Oil companies continue to lose money on sale of petrol, diesel, (domestic) LPG and kerosene. There has not been so much reduction in global prices to warrant a price cut,” petroleum secretary R.S Pandey said. The basket of crude oil India buys averaged $111.09 a barrel in the second fortnight of August as compared with $117.37 per barrel in the first fortnight of the month. Based on an average price of the second fortnight of August, retailers are losing Rs 6.31 per litre on petrol, Rs 13.69 on diesel, Rs 31.39 on kerosene and Rs 312.58 per 14.2-kg LPG cylinder. Till last week, they were losing Rs 7.07 per litre on petrol, Rs 16.22 on diesel, Rs 39.55 on kerosene and Rs 348.89 per LPG cylinder. The three firms are now projected to lose Rs 165,300 crore in full 2008-09 fiscal, down from Rs 184,801 crore projections of last week. A month back the losses were projected at Rs 205,740 crore. Pandey said the revenue loss of retailers would be fully compensated, through a combination of oil bonds and assistance from upstream firms like ONGC. — PTI
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Mumbai, September 1 In fairly active trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the domestic currency opened lower at 44.20/23 a dollar from its last weekend's close of 43.92/93 a dollar as oil refiners stepped dollar purchases after global crude oil prices surged in Asian trade. The rupee later recovered to 44.14/15 a dollar in late morning deals. The local unit had last touched this level on March 14 last year when it closed at 44.2450/2525 against dollar. Forex dealers said there was heavy dollar demand from oil companies following a rise in global crude prices by nearly one dollar to 116.40 dollar a barrel in Asian trade today. They said the intervention by the RBI could not be confirmed but some state-owned banks were believed to be selling dollars at higher levels. — PTI
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Impasse over DGCA chief continues
New Delhi, September 1 Gohain, who superannuated last year, was today asked to continue at the top post of the aviation regulatory body for another three months after his second extension of two months expired yesterday, an official spokesperson of the civil aviation ministry said. The DGCA has the final word on several critical aviation functions like aircraft registration, formulation of airworthiness standards for civil aircraft and their licensing, licensing of pilots, aircraft maintenance engineers and flight engineers and licensing of air traffic controllers in the
country. DGCA officials said the tenure of Gohain was extended as legal problems had delayed the appointment of his successor after Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) decided to quash the civil aviation ministry’s selection process that had zeroed in on Naseem Ahmad Zaidi as the next DGCA
chief. Gohain had retired in June but was asked to continue to facilitate the appointment of and succession by
Zaidi, India’s representative at the International Civil Aviation Organisation. After the ministry decided to appoint Zaidi as DGCA chief, Gohain’s second-in-command A.K Chopra moved the CAT to protest the decision. Last month, CAT quashed Zaidi’s appointment on the petition of Chopra, who is joint director general in
DGCA, before the appointments’ committee of the Cabinet could approve the appointment. Ministry officials say till the matter was resolved, the ministry had no option but to extend Gohain’s term. The ministry now has two options — either appeal against CAT’s order or begin the DGCA selection process afresh. |
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Forbes List of Billionaire Heiresses
New York, September 1 While many daughters and granddaughters of the world’s wealthiest would never actually inherit a billion-dollar fortune, Indian-origin steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal’s daughter Vanisha Mittal Bhatia has emerged as the potentially richest among those standing to inherit a fortune, according to US business magazine Forbes. Vanisha is followed by Isha Ambani, the richest resident Indian Mukesh Ambani’s only daughter, at the second rank, and another Indian billionaire K.P Singh’s daughter Pia Singh at the third position in the Forbes list of the world’s likely-to-be richest heiresses. Mittal was ranked as the fourth richest person in the world in March when Forbes published its annual rich list, followed by Mukesh Ambani at the fifth rank. “Perhaps best known for the $60 million wedding her father threw for her in 2004, she (Vanish) now serves as a director on the board of dad’s $103 billion steel company, ArcelorMittal,” Forbes said. “Her corporate involvement and small family - she has only one brother - puts her in good stead to inherit a sizable chunk of her father’s fortune,” the magazine noted. About 16-year-old Isha, it said Mukesh Ambani’s only daughter is “just a teenager but already has her own stake in the family’s Reliance Industries, worth about $80 million.” About Indian realty baron K.P Singh’s daughter Pia Singh, ranked third in the heiresses list, the magazine said she already held a stake worth $400 million in the country’s biggest real estate firm. “A graduate of University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Singh pursued a six-week filmmaking course at New York University and later worked in the risk-underwriting department at GE Capital. She now works for her father’s DLF group, where she heads its entertainment venture, DT Cinemas, and is managing director of its luxury retail business.” The three Indian or Indian-origin heiresses on the list are followed by Delphine Arnault-Gancia, daughter of French luxury goods icon LVMH’s Bernard Arnault and Marta Ortega Perez, daughter of Spain’s richest man Amancio Ortega in the top five. “Still, for all the attention lavished on the daughters and granddaughters of the world’s wealthiest, many will never actually inherit a billion-dollar fortune,” Forbes said, adding that “fewer wealthy parents are leaving their fortunes to their offspring these days, in part due to estate taxes or charitable interests but also for fear of indulging the ‘Paris Hilton syndrome’ or a trustafarian lifestyle.” Besides, some billionaires have even opted to cut the kids out almost entirely from their fortunes and America’s two richest men - Bill Gates and Warren Buffett - have both announced intentions to leave the bulk of their fortunes to charity, the magazine said. — PTI
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Skoda sales up 22.56 pc
New Delhi, September 1 General Motors India
General Motors India on Monday reported 4.4 per cent increase in August sales at 6,074 units against 5,817 units during the same month last year. “With the commencement of production at our new plant in Talegaon, Pune, from Tuesday, we are now in a position to expand volume and remain committed in bringing world class products to our valued customers,” General Motors (India) vice-president P.Balendran said. Bajaj Auto
Bajaj Auto on Monday reported a five per cent rise in its motorcycle sales in August at 1,75,274 units against 1,67,483 units in the same month last year. Total two-wheeler sales during the month was up by four per cent at 1,76,631 units, as against 1,70,203 units in the month under review last year, Bajaj Auto said. Maruti Suzuki sales down
Maruti Suzuki on Monday reported 9.19 per cent decline in sales during August at 59,908 units as against 65,968 units in the same month last year. The domestic sales stood at 54,113 units compared to 60,229 units in the same month a year-ago, down by 10.15 per cent, the company said. Hero Honda
Hero Honda on Monday reported a 26.84 per cent jump in its domestic sales in August at 3,05,516 units, against 2,40,875 units in the corresponding month last year. The cumulative sales for the April-August period stood at 14,81,077 units, compared with 12,44,919 units in the corresponding period last year, reflecting a 18.97 per cent growth, the company said.
— PTI |
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UCO Bank to launch pre-funded chequebook accounts
Ludhiana, September 1 S.K. Goel, chairman and managing director of the bank, said the bank would also adopt five villages in the state under its integrated rural development scheme to provide loans to villagers not only for farming but also for other purposes like education and marriage. “These loans would be provided to artisans, households and others with an aim to uplift them. We have adopted five villages so far and are currently studying details so as to decide which villages would qualify under this scheme,” he said. Among its major initiatives are pre-funded chequebook accounts to be launched by the bank shortly. Customers would be able to utilise these cheques as traveller cheques. It is a unique product that provides a customer with interest on his savings account and at the same time saves the commission incurred on issuing demand drafts,” he said. Goel, who was here to inaugurate the bank’s mid-corporate branch here to cater to medium and large scale enterprises, said the bank was also focusing on launching specialised services to cater to segments like industrialists. The mid corporate branch of the bank would provide “high quality” services to customers requiring credit limits beyond Rs 5 crore. The bank, he said, would widen its reach. It would open 118 more branches across the country in 2008-09. Goel also opened an ATM in Sector 44 and a branch in Sector 38, Chandigarh.
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Exports up 31.2 pc
New Delhi, September 1 Exports grew to $16.34 billion while imports rose to $27.14 billion, leaving a 51 per cent bigger trade gap of $10.79 billion in July, according to official figures released here today. The crude oil import bill in July, on the back of a record high of $147.27 per barrel, shot up by 69.3 per cent to $9.48 billion from $5.6 billion. In rupee terms, exports grew by a wider margin of 39.1 per cent as stronger dollar yielded more of a local currency to exporters. Rupee lost about 11 per cent in the last four months resulting in higher margins for exporters. However, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations attributed the export growth to increase in input cost. “Much of the value-wise increase is due to increase in the prices of inputs,” FIEO president Ganesh Kumar Gupta said. For the April-July 2008 period, exports showed a growth of 24.6 per cent rising to $59.19 billion, while imports reached $100.41 billion. Consequently, the trade gap ballooned to $41.22 billion. With oil prices softening, HDFC chief economist Abheek Barua said: “The trade deficit would shrink”. He said easing of commodity prices would also help the situation. — PTI
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Hero Group plans Rs 500-cr aviation foray
New Delhi, September 1 The company plans to develop a 300-acre special economic zone (SEZ), further expandable by another 100 acres, for aerospace and defence industry, the location for which is yet to be finalised. “We are working on global defence industries to put up their own facilities or strategic alliance with Indian partners in our SEZ and to begin with we are putting up our own light sport aircraft manufacturing facility in technical collaboration with world class European player,” Hero Aviation vice-chairman and CEO Pankaj Munjal said. Hero Motors will make a direct investment of Rs 500 crore for various activities in the aviation sector, which include manufacturing of light sports aircraft, aircraft and aerospace applications, besides setting up aviation training institutes and colleges.
— PTI
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UTI Mutual Fund SBI MF, Karur Vysya tie-up Vishal Retail plans Fidelity Fixed Maturity Plan Union Bank of India Website launched
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The search for the new Reserve Bank governor is finally over. The government has appointed finance secretary Duvvuri Subbarao to head the apex bank.
The task before Subbarao, who is already well versed with the economic stress that the country is reeling thorough, will be a formidable one.
