The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Strike by public sector banks hits business Ruchika M. Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 6 Banking operations in the country were impacted severely with employees of public sector banks going on a two-day nationwide strike from today over wage revision, but ATMs and major private sector banks provided the much-needed relief to customers. Reports received from various centres, including financial capital Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai, said cheque-clearing operations, foreign currency as well as money market operations and government transactions by the public sector banks were crippled. Transactions worth Rs 3,000 crore will be affected in the region as part of the two- day strike by the public sector banks. The strike that began today has been called by the United Forum of Bank Unions. It is estimated that daily transactions worth Rs 1,500 crore take place in various banks in Punjab, Chandigarh and Panchkula, through almost two lakh cheques a day. Sources in the RBI informed TNS that while transactions worth Rs 250 crore take place in the tricity (Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali) every day, the average daily transactions in Ludhiana are worth Rs 600 crore. Across the country, clearance of 10.6 lakh cheques worth Rs 8,030 crore are likely to be affected during this strike, besides bringing to a halt all retail operations of these banks. The bank employees have gone on strike in protest against the Indian Banks’ Association going back on its agreement to a wage revision of 17.9 per cent and restricting the hike to 13 per cent. They are also demanding the option of pension for bank employees. As a result of the strike, the cheques that were deposited in the various banks yesterday will be cleared only on Monday. These cheques will be sent to the MICR house for clearing on Saturday and will be affected in the customers account only on Monday (August 10). Only the cheques deposited in private banks were affected as the RBI held a contingency clearing session for these banks in the evening and around 3,000 instruments (cheques) were cleared. But, only those cheques which were drawn on and deposited in private banks were cleared. Most of the banks like State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda had sent out public notices urging their customers to complete their transactions before August 6 to avoid inconvenience. However, a number of people were seen waiting outside the banks in the morning today. Banks had also asked its customers to use ATMs or Internet banking, during these two days of strike. Banks have also made special provision for loading their ATMs to the maximum capacity. A top official in UCO Bank informed TNS that the average daily transactions from each ATM is generally lower than its optimum capacity. “For the two-day strike, we have made special provisions of loading the ATMs to its full capacity yesterday. Also instructions were given to load notes of higher denomination (Rs 1,000 and Rs 500),” he said.
	Nationalisation of RIL gas ruled out Tribune News Service New Delhi, August 6 The government today ruled out the state takeover of the distribution of Krishna-Godavari (KG) gas, over which the two Ambani brothers are locked in a bitter legal battle, but reiterated that it will do "everything" to protect its rights over gas allocation. Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora, responding to a call-attention motion in the Rajya Sabha said, "We have nothing to do with a private dispute. However, we have everything to do to protect the government's legal rights on gas allocation". "The old days of nationalisation are gone," Deora added while responding to suggestions made by MPs for a state takeover of the gas distribution. Stressing that the priced fixed for gas produced by Reliance Industries was lower than rates charged by other private firms, he said its gas utilisation policy was aimed at operationalising idle and unutilised assets. "I am confident that natural gas would fuel economic growth of the country and the government will do all in its power to ensure its use for natural priorities at reasonable price," he said. He said the $4.2 per million British thermal unit price fixed for gas produced from KG-D6 fields of RIL was lower than the average of $5.51 per mmBtu charged by UK 's BG-led consortium for Panna/Mukta and Tapti gas. It was also lower than the $4.3 per mmBtu price of gas produced from Cairn's Ravva Satellite fields and $4.75 per mmBtu for the UK firm's Lakshmi fields. He pointed out that the Bombay High Court judgment of June 15, which stated that the agreement between Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries and his younger brother Anil Ambani's Reliance Natural Gas Resources (RNRL) stood "has implications on the government's right to fix prices and we have filed a Special Leave Petition in this regard". The eGoM-approved price formula provides for a maximum gas price of $4.2 per mmBtu at $60 a barrel crude rate. If crude falls to $25, RIL gas will cost $2.5 per mmBtu. Stating that demand has far outstripped the availability, Deora said the domestic gas availability in 2008-09 at 105 million standard cubic meters per day met just over half of the 197 mmscmd requirement. "With the commencement of gas production from (RIL's) KG-D6 fields and increased import potential of liquefied natural gas (LNG), the gap between demand and supply has come down," he said.
	NPS contributions to get tax benefits u/s 80 CCD Sanjay Khurana Tribune News Service Chandigarh, August 6 More than five lakh persons have subscribed to New Pension System (NPS) till June-end. This was disclosed by Minister of State for Finance Namo Narain Meena in the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. The NPS was extended to all citizens of the country from May 1, 2009. Under the scheme, 50 per cent of the funds is allowed for investment in the stock markets. "The total number of subscribers in the NPS as on June 30, 2009 was 5,40,244," the minister said. He said there were two main tax-related issues pertaining to NPS contributions and the Finance Bill, 2009, has given these a consideration. The benefit under Section 80 CCD of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 was restricted to the employees of the Central Government and other employees and was not available to other individuals (like self-employed). "The Finance Bill, 2009 has proposed to extend the benefit of Section 80 CCD of the Income-Tax Act, 1961 to all individuals," he said. Further, he said the accumulated pension wealth was subject to tax at the time of withdrawal and the Bill proposes to exempt from tax all withdrawals if such amount is used for purchasing an annuity plan in the year of exit. Investment in NPS attracts tax benefits under Section 80CCD. This deduction was hitherto available to employees only. However, the Budget has amended Section 80CCD so as to extend the tax benefit thereunder also to self-employed individuals. A significant point to be noted is that there is a limit of 10 per cent of salary on the amount of Section 80CCD deduction for the employees. Since there is no mention of any similar limit for non-employees, it may be inferred that for this category the overall limit of Rs 1 lakh will be applicable. That being said, there remain two issues with NPS that yet remain unresolved. The first issue is with the amount of deduction. The combined limit of Section 80C, 80CCC and 80CCD is Rs 1 lakh. Now most taxpayers exhaust the Rs 1 lakh limit with Section 80C itself. In such a case, any investment in NPS will be left with no tax deduction. If the objective of the government is to encourage NPS, there is a need to provide additional deduction to the same. The other issue is to do with withdrawals from NPS. The way NPS functions is at the age of 60, at least 40 per cent of the accumulated funds are to be used to buy an annuity while the balance 60 per cent of the funds may be withdrawn as a lump sum. Now, the Budget specifies that if an annuity plan is purchased in the same year of withdrawal, the amount used to purchase the annuity will not be taxable — which means 60 per cent of the maturity proceeds will be fully taxable. The only way that one can get 100 per cent deduction on the maturity amount from NPS is if the entire maturity proceeds are used to purchase the annuity and that, too, in the same financial year.
	Jet pilots may go on strike Shiv Kumar Tribune News Service Mumbai, August 6 Pilots belonging to Jet Airways may go on an indefinite strike after the management sacked two pilots who played a major role in forming a trade union. Captain Sam Thomas and Captain D Balaraman were sacked without any termination notice earlier this week, days after they sent in an application to the management seeking recognition of the airline's pilots' union. The pilots have come together to form the National Aviator's Guild to take up issues pertaining to the employees of the airline. At present, pilots belonging to Jet Airways have an association called the Society for Welfare of Indian Pilots. The association claims membership of 755 pilots. Office-bearers of the association say more than two-thirds of the pilots in Jet Airways had favoured setting up a union. The sacked pilots were in the process of getting the union recognised by the management when the axe fell on them. According to sources, the two sacked pilots may approach Naresh Goyal, CEO of the airline to plead their cause. As of now, the pilots have chosen to adopt a conciliatory path. Briefing reporters here, the pilots said they were not planning to organise other sections of employees nor were they out to create trouble for the management. However, some pilots say, the mood among their colleagues is one of shock and the pilots are waiting for some signs of progress in the talks between their sacked leaders and the management before planning the next course of action.
	Textile industry to get Rs 2,546 cr soon: Maran New Delhi, August 6 The government today said the textile industry will get Rs 2,546 crore under the Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (TUFS) within three working days, which is seen as a stimulus to the sector impacted by slump in global commerce. "...Rs 2,546 crore (under TUFS) will reach the beneficiaries in 72-hours," Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran told reporters here adding "during the slowdown this will help the industry...and bring lot of comfort to the industry". He said by releasing the amount, the dues to the industry under the scheme till June 30, 2009 stand "cleared". The fund would be transferred electronically through more than 121 financial institutions and banks to the accounts of 12,514 beneficiaries. Maran also said the ministry would approach Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for more funds for the textile sector. Under the TUFS the government provides subsidies to the industry so that it can modernise by installing new machinery. The government also announced the constitution of a 41-member working group under the Textile Secretary Rita Menon to form a National Fibre Policy, aimed at making India self- sufficient in fibre consumption and export requirements. "The policy would be announced by the year end," Maran said. The group will submit its report in the next three months.— PTI
	India adds 1.2 cr mobile subscribers in June New Delhi, August 6 Telecom operators in the country added around 1.2 crore subscribers in the wireless segment in June taking the total user base to 46.48 crore, sectoral regulator TRAI said today. The total number of telecom subscribers was 45.29 crore in May this year. "The wireless (GSM and CDMA) segment added 12.03 million new subscribers in June, while the wireline segment witnessed a dip of 120,000 connections," the statement said. The wireless subscriber base increased from 41.52 crore in May to 42.72 crore at the end of June, registering a monthly growth rate of 2.9 per cent, it added. The wireline subscriber base declined from 3.76 crore in May to 3.75 crore at the end of June. BSNL and MTNL, which have about 86.2 per cent market share in the wireline segment, lost 190,000 users in June. While BSNL lost 1,81,277 subscribers, MTNL lost 8,998 subscribers. BSNL subscriber base stood at 2.87 crore at the June-end, while MTNL had 35 lakh subscribers by June. Among the private operators, Airtel added about 28 lakh subscribers taking the total user base to 10.2 crore from 9.96 crore at the end of May. — PTI
	Tata Tele launches GSM service in Maharashtra Mumbai, August 6 Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) has launched a GSM service called Tata Docomo in Maharashtra and would invest Rs 1,000 crore for the same. "We are committed to a Rs 1,000 crore capital expenditure towards GSM service for this financial year," Tata Tele MD Mukund Govind Rajan told reporters here. IT Minister Gurudas Kamat launched the service in Mumbai. He made the first call to Tata Tele chairman Kishor A Chaukar. As an introductory offer, Tata Tele would charge one paise for a second in its GSM service. — PTI