The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	SBI, PNB raise deposit rates up to 75 bps Mumbai, September 30 Two major public sector lenders, SBI and PNB, on Thursday hiked deposit rates in various maturities by up to 75 basis points. PNB also increased its base rate —below which banks can't lend — to 8.5 per cent. SBI, however, left its base rate unchanged at 7.50 per cent. All new rates take effect from tomorrow. RBI norms state that banks have to review their base rates every quarter. This is the first review of the rates, since it was introduced in July this year. The banks' decision to increase deposit rates, which would be followed by other lenders, follow Reserve Bank's concerns that lenders are not attracting enough depositors. For 91-180 days term deposits, SBI will pay 5.5 per cent interest, up 75 basis points from the existing rate. Interest on fixed deposits with maturity period between a year and 554 days has been raised by 25 basis points to 7 per cent, while deposits for 555 days would attract 7.5 per cent. The interest rate on term deposits of between 556 days and 1,000 days, under different slabs, has been increased by 50 basis points, going up to 7.75, SBI said in a statement. PNB, meanwhile, raised its base rate from 8 per cent to 8.50 per cent in response to RBI's hike in the policy (lending and borrowing) rates for banks on September 16, and the subsequent impact on cost of deposits. Base rate is the minimum lending rate below which bank cannot offer loans. The benchmark prime lending rate would remain intact at 11.75 per cent, PNB said in a statement. It said that taking note of the negative real rates to the savers, in view of high inflation, interest on fixed deposit have also been increased by 25-50 basis points across various maturities. The maximum rates offered by PNB now is 8 per cent for deposits of maturity between 8 and 10 years, while for SBI it is 7.75 per cent for fixed deposit of 1,000 days and 8-10 years. For one-three year term deposit, PNB will pay 7.5 per cent interest, an increase of 25 basis points. Interest on fixed deposits with maturity period between 271 days to a year has been raised by 50 basis points to 6 per cent, while 5-8 years term deposit would attract 7.75 per cent interest rate. — PTI
	Maruti to ramp up production 10% Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 30 Maruti Suzuki India Ltd (MSIL) plans to ramp up production 10 per cent from next month. The company expects September to record its highest-ever sales. MSIL Chairman RC Bhargava the company would ramp up production 10 per cent to nearly 1.1 lakh units every month from October, taking its annual output to 13 lakh units in 2011-12. In the 2010-11 fiscal, it aims to sell 12 lakh units. “This year, we are producing about one lakh cars per month. From October, this will be further increased to produce about 1.08 to 1.1 lakh units a month," Bhargava told reporters here. “Clearly, the market continues to hold firm. There is no softening,” Bhargava said. “We are now looking fairly optimistically at the rest of the year.” Maruti plans to invest $1.3 billion over the next three years on manufacturing plants to boost capacity, it had said earlier this month. The company would build its fourth auto plant in India , boosting its output to 1.5 million units a year. The new factory would start operations in 2013, with annual output capacity of 250,000 cars. Bhargava said September sales would be higher than in August, when they rose 24 per cent from a year earlier to a record for any month. Maruti's share of the Indian car market at the end of August was 51.8 percent, he said. This is however, down from 53.2 percent in the previous fiscal year and 55.1 percent in 2008/09. "We are not focused fundamentally on retaining market share. It's not a worry because we know we have capacity constraints, we have a waiting list," Bhargava said. He also said Japan 's Motor Corp would source less than 30,000 cars this fiscal year from Maruti, compared with 51,072 cars last fiscal year, primarily due to a decline in European demand.
	Kingfisher to launch $250-million GDR issue Bangalore, September 30 Kingfisher Airlines will launch a $250-million GDR issue shortly. The company was also in the process of restructuring of its debt with a consortium of bankers, Chairman Vijay Mallya said today. Speaking at the AGM and later addressing reporters, the UB Group Chairman Mallya said the debt recast was expected to be completed in the ‘next month or so’. "In broad terms, about 30 per cent of the total debt would be converted by banks into capital," Mallya said, adding, the UB Holdings had passed a resolution to convert Rs 735 crore of loans also into capital. "There would be an interest reduction to an average of 11 per cent," he said. Kingfisher would now have to make the repayment over nine years, with a two-year moratorium. Mallya added that the debt restructuring package also calls for Rs 900 crore of additional facility to be provided by the banks to the Airlines. Once the debt restructuring exercise is completed, Kingfisher would immediately launch the $250 million GDR issue. "....We are completely committed to fund-raising (GDR issue) immediately after the bank restructure is over". "...We are going to be in the US next week with some preliminary road-shows. We have already met a whole bunch of investors in the US, Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore...all of whom have expressed strong interest in investing in Kingfisher", Mallya said. He said Kingfisher is now casting its net "further and wider" to make sure that when it launches the issue, there is sufficient investor interest to subscribe to it. On alteration of debt-equity ratio after the debt recast exercise and GDR issue, Mallya noted that it depends on the price at which Kingfisher issued the shares. — ANI
	Sanjay Aggarwal appointed CEO Mumbai: Private air-carrier Kingfisher Airlines today said that it has appointed Sanjay Aggarwal as its CEO. The appointment is with immediate effect. "We have appointed Sanjay Aggarwal as our (Kingfisher Airlines) CEO with immediate effect," an airline spokesperson said. Aggarwal is the former CEO of SpiceJet, another private air-carrier. He is credited with steering SpiceJet into profits in 2010 fiscal, the first time since its inception in 2005. Aggarwal quit the airline in July this year after media baron Kalanithi Maran bought a 37.7 per cent stake from US investor Wilbur Ross. According to airline industry observers, Aggarwal will have the tough task of turning around the bleeding Kingfisher Airlines. — PTI
	Using technology to touch lives Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 30 The dissemination of technology to the rural hinterland has begun. Information Communication Technology (ICT) is impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of farmers. ICT is being seen as a huge business opportunity by leading IT firms. The eRevolution conclave that concluded in Chandigarh today brought to the fore how information technology (IT) was being adopted to frame best farming practices. With a session dedicated on ‘Technology is Now Touching a Billion Lives’, the conclave brought into focus new-age tech gurus like Rikin Gandhi and scientists like Dr Bhushan G Jagyasi (both TR 35 winners). Both individuals have given innovative ideas that have brought about social and economic change at the grassroots. Rikin Gandhi, who was born and brought up in the US, came to India to work on a bio-diesel project. Though the project did not take off, he got a lot of exposure on the rustic wisdom of farmers and the practices they adopted in agriculture. This triggered the idea to set up an NGO, Digital Green, that ties up with NGOs at the village level, so that they help farmers make short videos about agricultural practices. These videos are then screened in various other villages, and since it is made by farmers and has them talking about the practices, their adoption by other farmers becomes easy. His NGO is being funded by the Gates Foundation, which has committed $ 3 million for the venture. Gandhi said that since 600 million people in India depend on farming for their livelihood, it was essential that his videos reached more farmers. “We are now operating in 400 villages of Karnataka , Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Orissa. With over 500 videos now produced by us, we are looking at extending our operations to 1,200 villages in two years,” he said. Another TR 35 winner from India, Dr Bhushan G Jagyasi, is a scientist at TCS Innovation labs. He has developed mKrishi, a mobile-based agro advisory system piloted for potato farmers, which bridges the gap between farmers and experts by enabling interaction in local language through a mobile phone. He has used the reading of weather and crop sensors and thus computed to risk of pest attack on potato crop, using models developed by agriculture scientists. To come up with the exact pest attack prediction strategy, he has combined farmers’ observation of the crop with the output from mathematical models.
	Mukesh again tops list of richest Indians at $27 billion New Delhi, September 30 Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani has topped the latest Forbes' India Rich List with a net worth of $27 billion for the third consecutive time. Steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal remains at number 2 with a net worth of $26.1 billion. Moving up to third position this year is Wipro's Azim Premji. His wealth increased to $17.6 billion from $14.9 billion dollars last year, amid an improving outlook for the sector. Premji moves up to third place, displacing younger Ambani sibling Anil Ambani, who dropped tosicth place. India's rising stock market and a booming economy that's expanding by 8.5 percent have boosted the net worth of richest people, according to Forbes' India Rich List. The combined net worth of India's 100 richest people is $300 billion, up from $276 billion dollars last year. This year, there are 69 billionaires on the India Rich List, 17 more than last year. Also improving on their previous ranking to number 4 are brothers Shashi and Ravi Ruia with $15 billion dollars, more than their last year's net worth of $13.6 billion. Naazneen Karmali, India Editor of Forbes Asia and Mumbai bureau manager of Forbes magazine, said: "As we had predicted, the huge correction in Indian wealth which occurred in 2008 is fast becoming a distant memory. This year's list illustrates the vibrancy and resilience of India's economy." Twenty-six of the 35 who returned to the top 40 from last year are wealthier now. The biggest gainer in percentage terms was media baron Kalanithi Maran, who made a splash with his purchase of a big stake in low-cost airline SpiceJet. His net worth rose 74 percent, according to Forbes. — ANI
	Five women feature on Forbes’ India rich list As many as five women have made it to Forbes India magazine's list of the 100 richest Indians this year, including OP Jindal Group chairperson Savitri Jindal, who surpassed billionaire Anil Ambani to attain fifth position in the list. Jindal was the richest lady in India for the fourth consecutive year, with a net worth of $14.4 billion, says the annual India Rich List. Apart from Jindal, Bennett, Coleman & Co Chairperson Indu Jain (21st), Anu Aga (51st) of Thermax group, Biocon's Kiran Mazumdar Shaw (75th) and Shobhana Bhartia (76th) of Hindustan Times are the other women that found a place on the list. Jindal, who has been the chairperson of the OP Jindal Group since her husband Om Prakash's demise in 2005, saw her wealth growing by $2.4 billion since November, 2009, when Forbes had last published its annual India rich list. Vidya Murkumbi of Shree Renuka Sugars, who had featured at the 93rd spot on the list last year failed to find a place this year.
	Kapurthala to be the new hand tool cluster of Punjab Bipin Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, September 30 The first-ever common facility centre for a hand tool cluster has finally been shifted to Kapurthala from Jalandhar. Reportedly, the pilot project has received land in Kapurthala district as Jalandhar failed to provide land due to political interference. Allocated land for the hand tool cluster under the Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS) of the central government, the centre would come up over 12 acres at Rs 83.40 crore in Subhanpur Focal Point in Deh Kanjli village of Kapurthala. Departmental sources said that the state government was forced to shift the centre from Jalandhar to Kapurthala as the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation (MC) kept refusing land. As the last date for approval of the scheme was to end on September 30, the industries department preferred setting up of the centre in the neighbouring district. The department was left with two alternative sites - Tanda in Hoshiarpur and Deh Kanjli in Kapurthala. A majority of the municipal councilors objected to the proposal in the MC house meetings on the grounds that more industrialists be involved in the project and the lease deal (for the proposed land where the centre was to be set up) be amended. Repeated communications from the central government’s Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) SS Channy, principal secretary, department of industries, Punjab government, forced the state government to set up the centre. The Secretary wanted to know the source of ‘Cold Forging Technology’, proposed in the project. The cluster representative, however, claimed that the technology would be sourced from Japan and Taiwan as it was comparatively less expensive that the German technology. Over 40 industrialists, running hand tool manufacturing units in Jalandhar, have already completed all required formalities including raising of funds and preparing project reports. Under the industrial infrastructure up-gradation scheme of the (DIPP), the centre will be set up with 75 per cent financial assistance from the union government, 10 per cent from the state government and the rest 15 per cent from cluster members.
	Mahindra Satyam stock falls fearing US action Shiv Kumar/TNS Mumbai, September 30 The stock markets hammered the stock of Mahindra-Satyam after the scam-tainted company reported a loss of Rs 124.60 crore for this fiscal. The stock fell nearly 9 per cent today to close at Rs 90.10 on the BSE and the National Stock Exchange. Reports that the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United Exchange was mulling filing a civil suit against the company also hammered the stock in today’s trading. Yesterday, Mahindra Satyam had announced that its board had cleared the proposal to de-list the company’s shares from the NYSE. The company is accused of not complying with the accounting norms of the US.