The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Maharatna status for mega PSUs Girja Shankar Kaura Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 24 Mega public sector undertakings of the country today got greater financial and operational autonomy after the government accorded the “maharatna” status to these firms to help them emerge as global giants. The PSUs that would benefit from the decision include ONGC, SAIL and NTPC. The decision to name the top performing PSUs as “Maharatnas” was taken at the meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Talking to mediapersons after the meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said: “The main objective of the Maharatna Scheme is to empower mega CPSEs to expand their operations and emerge as global giants". Of the 18 Navaratnas, SAIL, ONGC and NTPC met the stiff criteria set by the government, including a three-year track record of annual net profit of over Rs 5,000 crore. The other criteria included their net worth being Rs 15,000 crore and turnover of Rs 25,000 crore, besides being listed entities in the bourses. The decision would empower the boards of these firms to take investment decisions of up to Rs 5,000 crore as against the present Rs 1,000 crore limit without seeking government approval. “The PSUs which have the potential to become Indian Multinational Companies (MNCs) can be recognised as a separate class as Maharatnas,” Soni said. The decision would also give more autonomy to performing PSUs and the Maharatna firms would now be free to decide on investments up to 15 per cent of their net worth in a project, limited to an absolute ceiling of Rs 5,000 crore. “However, the overall ceiling on such equity investments and mergers and acquisitions in all projects put together will not exceed 30 per cent of net worth of the CPSE,” Soni said. In another decision, the government also approved an amendment to the Copyright Act, which would entitle authors of musical, cinematographic and literary works to royalty in case their works are used for commercial purposes. The amendment is proposed to give “independent rights to authors of literary and musical works in cinematograph films, which were hitherto denied and wrongfully exploited by producers and music companies,” Soni said. It will ensure that authors retain the right to receive royalties and benefits enjoyed through the copyright societies, she added. Another amendment ensures that the authors of the works, particularly songs included in the cinematograph films or sound recordings, receive royalty for commercial exploitation of such work. It has also been proposed to introduce a system of statutory licensing to ensure that the public has access to musical works over the FM radio and TV networks. Earlier, only the film’s producer had the copyright of the product. After the amendment in the Act, the term of copyright for cinematograph films has been extended by making the producers and principal director as joint authors of the film. The newly introduced copyright term will be for 70 years and can be extended by another 10 years provided the producer enters into an agreement with the director.
	Now, Hindustan Shipyard Ltd under defence ministry Girja Shankar Kaura Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 24 The government today took a decision to transfer the state-owned Hindustan Shipyard Limited from the Shipping Ministry to the Ministry of Defence (MoD). This has been done with a specific motive of meeting the country’s security needs. The decision was taken at the meeting of the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which also approved the setting up of a new shipyard of international standard to meet needs of merchant ships. Talking to mediapersons after the meeting, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said: “The government has approved transfer of Hindustan Shipyard Ltd (HSL), Visakhapatnam, to the Ministry of Defence for meeting the national security requirements of building strategic vessels for the Indian Navy.” “For meeting merchant shipping requirements of building and repair, the government has given an ‘in principle’ approval to Ministry of Shipping for setting up a shipyard that meets international standards.” The location of the new shipyard is yet to be finalised. Sources said the move to transfer the shipyard to the MoD is aimed at creating capabilities for the Navy to indigenously construct nuclear submarines and keeping a veil of secrecy around it. It will play a critical role to the Navy’s plan to construct and induct a fleet of nuclear submarines in the coming years. Notably, the design for nuclear capable ships has been on the drawing board for some time now. Earlier this year, India had inducted the indigenously built nuclear powered submarine ‘Arihant’, an achievement which put India in the select group of nations who possess nuclear- powered defence ships. The Shipping Ministry had earlier sent a note to the Cabinet for the transfer of HSL after valuing the company at a little over Rs 1,000 crore and finalising the transfer modalities. HSL has built as many as 150 ships and repaired over 1,800 so far and undertaken repairs for the Navy. Sources said the shipyard has work orders worth Rs 2,000 crore now, which are likely to be completed by March 2011.
	Sensex gains 130 pts Markets at 19-month high Mumbai, December 24 Extending the gains for the third straight day, the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex today rallied 130 points to close at a 19-month high amid a string of positive news and strong global cues. Brokers said unexpected softening in food inflation to 18.65 per cent and a promising 5.3 per cent core sector growth in November helped markets continue to spread Christmas jingles. The 30-share index initially gyrated in a narrow range but jumped in the last one hour to conclude the day gaining 129.50 or 0.75 per cent over its previous close at 17,360.61- a level not seen since May 16, 2008. The Sensex has gained over 740 points in three days of sustained buying by funds. Similarly, the broader 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange touched a 19-month high today by gaining 33.80 points or 0.66 per cent to end the day at 5,178.40 - a level not seen since May 05, 2008 - from its last close. Marketmen said investors in early trade were awaiting clear triggers after yesterday’s massive rally. The sentiment got a boost when news of core sector growth and lower food inflation figures trickled in the afternoon. The late rally was driven by funds getting onto a buying spree, they added. Covering short positions ahead of the December expiry and a long four-day weekend also helped push the Sensex up. Food inflation unexpectedly softened to 18.65 per cent for the week ended December 12 from 19.95 per cent in last week. Infrastructure industries grew by a healthy 5.3 per cent in November against a meagre 0.8 per cent a year ago, in line with the recovery in industrial growth. — PTI
	Infrastructure sector expands by 5.3 pc in Nov New Delhi, December 24 India’s infrastructure sector expanded by 5.3 per cent in November on the back of robust growth in steel and cement in line with the broader recovery in industrial production. The six core sectors, which contribute 26.7 per cent to the overall Index for Industrial Production (IIP), improved on their October performance of 3.8 per cent. In November 2008, the six sectors grew by 0.8 per cent. Steel emerged the best performer with an expansion of 11.7 per cent in November, turning the corner from a negative 6.3 per cent a year ago. Petroleum refinery products were also up at 4.9 per cent after contracting by 1.1 per cent last year. Cement remained solid growing at 9 per cent against the 8.7 per cent recorded last year. However, electricity and crude oil remained areas of concern, contracting 1.8 per cent and 1.6 per cent, respectively. IIP in October expanded by a healthy 10.3 per cent, reflecting the strength of the economic recovery after the slowdown. November figures are expected in the second week of January. “We had a forecast of GDP growth of 7-7.5 per cent in 2009-10 and by seeing this figure, I can say that it seems to be within reach,” Former Chairman of Prime Minister Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Suresh Tendular said. — PTI
	$700 mn ADB loan for India New Delhi, December 24 India will receive a $700 million loan from the Asian Development Bank to fund infrastructure projects in the country. The loan would be released in three tranches over a period of three years. The first tranche will be of $210 million. The multilateral funding agency would also provide a $150 million loan to the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises for its khadi development programme. According to an agreement signed recently, the ADB will provide the loan amount to Indian Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) for supporting the government’s “infrastructure development agenda through enhancing the availability of the long-term funds for infrastructure financing”. The loan is second in a series of loans by ADB to IIFCL. The earlier facility of $500 million was approved in 2007. The release said, “IIFCL will provide funds to private sector entities at commercial terms with over 20-year maturity for infrastructure projects in the public private partnership (PPP) mode.... the period of utilisation of this loan will be 5 years for three tranches.” — PTI
	RBI quarterly review on Jan 29 Mumbai, December 24 The Reserve Bank today said it would come out with its third quarter review of the monetary policy for the current fiscal on January 29. “D Subbarao, Governor, Reserve Bank of India, will release the Third Quarter Review of Monetary Policy 2009-10 on January 29, 2010,” the RBI said in a release. The apex bank’s quarterly review is being eagerly awaited, as there have been intense speculations that it may signal an interest hike to tighten money supply, which would help contain rising inflation. Following the global financial meltdown in September 2008, the RBI took a host of measures to make liquidity available to the fund-starved industry. The RBI reduced the short-term lending (repo) rate by 425 basis points to 4.75 per cent and short-term borrowing (reverse repo) rate by 275 basis points to 3.25 per cent. The Central Bank also reduced the cash reverse ratio, the amount of money that banks keep with the RBI, by 400 basis points to 5 per cent. The Finance Ministry in its Mid-Year Review for 2009-10 has said the Reserve Bank needs to withdraw the easy money policy gradually and in a calibrated manner so as to ensure sustained economic recovery and contain inflationary expectations. “If inflationary pressure persists for a long time it can fuel inflationary expectations and monetary policy will have to take a close look at this,” RBI Governor D Subbarao had also said. The Prime Minister Economic Advisory Council Chairman, C Rangarajan, recently said the Reserve Bank could reduce money supply and raise interest rate to tame the rising prices of food articles. The food inflation was over 18 percent in December and the second quarter growth rate has also touched 7.9 per cent. Besides, the overall wholesale price has increased phenomenally to 4.78 per cent during November compared to 1.34 per cent in the previous month. The RBI in its monetary policy review in October has revised the inflation forecast to 6.5 per cent by March-end from 5 per cent earlier. With the economy showing signs of recovery and inflationary pressure becoming evident, the RBI in its October policy initiated the first phase of exit by raising statutory liquidity ratio (SLR), the portion of funds banks invest in government bonds, by one percentage point to 25 per cent and withdrawing some other steps. — PTI
	Rupee bounces back by 22 paise Mumbai, December 24 The Indian rupee today bounced back sharply by 22 paise to 46.65/66 against the US dollar on hopes of higher capital inflows amid a sustained rally in the stock market. A weak American unit that hovered below its three-month peak against the Euro also supported the Indian rupee. Forex dealers attributed the smart recovery in rupee to the benchmark Sensex that rallied 130 points to close at a 19-month high of 17,360.61 points. They said expectations of increased capital inflows after Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) resumed buying yesterday also boosted rupee sentiments. Meanwhile, the dollar was down against basket of currencies today as its rally stalled following news of a surprise drop in US home sales that dented optimism about the economy. In fairly active trade, the domestic unit opened higher from its previous close before turning positive to end at 46.65/66 a dollar. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) fixed the reference rate for the US dollar at Rs 46.76 per dollar and for the single European currency at Rs 67.13 per euro. Rupee premiums for the forward dollar ended slightly better on fresh paying pressure from banks and corporates. The benchmark six-month forward dollar premium payable in May ended up at 57-1/2-59 paise from 56-1/2-58-1/2 paise on Wednesday, and far-forward maturing in November also closed higher at 123-1/2-125 paise from 121-1/2-123-1/2 paise previously. In cross-currency trade, the domestic currency remained firm against the Pound sterling while reacted downwards against the Euro and the Japanese yen. The rupee improved further against the pound to end at Rs 74.69/71 per pound from Wednesday’s close of Rs 74.75/77. — PTI
	Costly gold spurs diamond demand in India: GIA Chennai, December 24 Surging gold prices have spurred demand for diamond in India with buyers expecting high returns, a top official of the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) said today. Diamonds offer higher returns in terms of investment compared to gold contrary to general perception, GIA (India and Middle East) Managing Director Nirupa Pandya Bhatt told reporters on the sidelines of a function here. “Based on reports we get from retailers, the size of the diamond industry in the country is about USD 1.5 billion. It is well poised to grow in the future,” she said. Gold prices this festive season have zoomed past the Rs 17,000 mark per ten gram, which buyers hope would be reflected in the diamond market as well in terms of returns. Bhatt said economic meltdown has not impacted sale of diamonds in India. “I think there was no impact of it (meltdown). I should say the purchase of diamond from customers has been going on as usual,” she said. The Gemological Institute, headquartered in America, is involved in diamond grading and has six laboratories across the globe, including their second biggest in Mumbai, she said. — PTI