The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Trai seeks views on blocking stolen mobiles Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 3 The country’s telecom sector regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has released a consultation paper relating to blocking of IMEI for lost or stolen mobile handsets. It has sought views from service providers and other stakeholders on ways to block lost or stolen mobile phones, to curtail the illegal handset market, discourage handset theft and protect consumer interest. IMEI is a unique serial number which identifies the handset. This number is stored in the equipment identity register (EIR) database of a service provider. Currently, there is no method to block a mobile phone in case it is lost or stolen. Service providers can only block the SIM card, in case a lost or theft complaint is registered with them. The only other way is that the mobile phone owner has to write the unique identity number or the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number of the phone and in the eventuality of it getting lost or stolen can report it to the police for it to track the hand set. In case of theft of a handset, the service provider can flag its IMEI number and can block the handset in its own network. There are no figures available for the lost or stolen mobile hand sets, but industry experts say the number is alarming. In 2004, Trai had made a similar attempt, which failed as a number of service providers did not have the capability to track mobile handsets. The consultation papers has sought views on the cost and funding aspects of centralised EIR, the process that should be adopted for blocking the hand set and the unblocking procedure if a lost phone is found. If the EIRs of service providers are shared through a centralised database, the lost or stolen mobile can be prevented from use in all networks.
	India 2nd-fastest growing investor in the US Sanjeev Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 3 India has moved from largest export destination to emerge as the second-fastest growing investor in the US, after the UAE. According to a Ficci-Ernst & Young report on ‘Direct Investments in the US by Indian Enterprises’, there has been a pragmatic shift in the US-India trade and investment relationship. The report was released today. In the 2009 and 2010 fiscal, Indian companies made 536 outbound acquisitions globally, of which 105 were in the US. During the first quarter of financial year 2011 till June, Indian companies completed 101 outbound acquisitions of which nearly one-fourth were in the US. Meera Shankar, India’s Ambassador to the US, said that between 2004 and 2009 Indian companies invested $5.5 billion in the US in greenfield projects. In mergers and acquisition of companies in the US, Indian companies invested $20 billion. She added: “We would like to see more US companies invest in India’s infrastructure sector, through FDI or through putting together a financial package to fund such projects”. The report adds that since the economic downturn, Indian outward FDI has seen a decline from $16.20 billion to $10.30 billion, however the US emerged as a preferred destination and it’s share increased to 6.5% last fiscal from 5.7% in fiscal 2009, even though the number of transactions declined 37%. Sectoral analysis shows that the IT/ITes, pharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors have been the most active over financial year 2009, 2010 and first quarter of 2011. With the largest proportion of the total number of deals, these sectors have collectively accounted for 60% of the total deals over the last two years. Rajan Bharti Mittal, President, Ficci said the report means that India’s rapidly expanding economy, along with its thriving consumer market and availability of skilled personnel has been instrumental in attracting several US companies to invest in the country. As regulations in India continue to be liberalised, the focus shifted from simply attracting inbound investments to actually investing abroad. Mittal said that in any assessment of the state of Indo-US relations one needs to look at the larger picture. “One area of outsourcing should not be seen as a fulcrum of the Indo-US engagement. The relations need to be judged in its totality, just as some European nations have started looking at their engagements with India. “The report forecasts Indian companies will seek more alliances and transactions involving minority stakes and joint ventures rather than focusing on majority stakes. Also, power, steel, mining and oil and gas will drive deal values in the future, whereas pharmaceuticals and health care, followed by IT/ITes and media and entertainment are likely to drive deal volumes. Amit Mitra, secretary general, Ficci, said that the past few years have seen the growth of India’s actual FDI outflow exceed that of global FDI inflow, which was primarily the result of progressive liberalization in India’s overseas investment policy. Recent Indian acquisitions have created and saved 65,000 jobs in the US. Around 374 acquisitions have been made and 127 greenfield projects have been set up in the US by Indian investors.
	Subscriber re-verification date extended Tribune News Service New Delhi, November 3 The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has extended the deadline for re-verification of subscribers to December 31. “Service providers approached DoT in October for extension of time. They stated that creation of infrastructure for re-verification had taken some time,” DoT said in a statement. The statement added that since re-verification activities are in full swing, operators need more time to complete the process. “After consideration of all relevant aspects and consultation with security agencies, the time limit has been extended till December 31,” it said. In the wake of security concerns, the telecom ministry has also proposed introducing new subscriber verification norms. One of the proposals states that telecom operators should send SIM cards to subscribers by registered post or through messengers on the rolls of the company.
	Maruti exports dip on increased focus on domestic market New Delhi, November 3 The country’s top two carmakers Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai Motor witnessed significant declines in exports in October, as they shifted attention to meet rising domestic demand ahead of the festive season. Maruti Suzuki India (MSI’s) exports declined 18.11 per cent to 11,353 units from 13,864 units in the year-ago period. Hyundai Motor India (HMIL’s) overseas sales dipped 25.32 per cent to 17,500 units from 23,434 units in the corresponding period last year. “In the last two months, we have diverted our exports to the domestic market to meet the demand. People wait to buy cars in festivals and if we cannot fulfil it, then we will loose them,” HMIL Director (Marketing and Sales) Arvind Saxena said. Many European nations incentivised buying of new small cars in exchange of old ones to boost auto sales after the downturn in 2008. Though the scheme helped in pushing sales and increasing the exports from India, but the money alloted for such scheme started drying up very soon. MSI Managing Director and CEO Shinzo Nakanishi had also said that the company's exports to Europe has been declining. “We were able to expand to other non-European markets and during the (second) quarter, 60 per cent of our total exports came from the non-European markets, up from 20 per cent a year ago,” he added. The company would continue to focus on non-European markets to match last year's exports volumes of about 1.47 lakh units, he said. In the domestic market, both MSI and HMIL achieved record sales in October, thereby signaling strong demand in India. — PTI
	India begins move to free urea pricing New Delhi, November 3 India has formed a panel to study the feasibility of freeing up pricing of the popular urea fertiliser, a government minister said on Wednesday, a political minefield that could affect millions of poor rural voters. In February, India eased controls on several fertilisers and raised prices of the popular urea nutrient 10 per cent, raising hopes for lower subsidies and higher margins for producers. That move also sparked protests from farmers groups and opposition parties who said it would raise costs of production and further impoverish India's massive rural population. But easing controls could help India cut a urea subsidy bill that is projected at Rs 21,480 crore ($4.84 billion) and help rein in a fiscal deficit projected at 5.5 per cent of GDP for this fiscal. On Wednesday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and junior Fertiliser Minister Srikant Jena met industry lobbies before deciding to form a panel comprising the top bureaucrats of expenditure, fertiliser and agriculture ministries. "The panel will come back to us after they have formed a view on decontrol (of pricing)," an Indian minister said on condition of anonymity because the process was still underway. — Reuters
	No takers for single window clearance website in Punjab Amaninder Pal Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 3 The Single Window Industrial Clearance Portal (SWICP), an online facility introduced by the Punjab government, has not found many takers. The portal, started by the department of industry, to streamline clearances required from various departments is not picking up due to cumbersome processing procedures on the website. Only 15 industrialists have used the facility since its introduction a year ago. The portal provides a common platform for various clearances including change of land use, approval of layout plan, approval of building plan, sanction of water and sewerage connection, approval for use of forest land, registration under factories act, registration under VAT and consent for establishment and operational facilities for storage, transport and disposal hazardous wastes. VN Mathur, Chief Coordinator, Udyog Sahayak, a nodal agency that run the portal, said that instead of using online facility, the industrialists still preferred manually submitting hard copies, seeking applications to various departments. “Industrialists find it difficult to scan project reports and then submit them online on the portal,” revealed another officer, associated with the operation of the SWICP. SS Channy, principal secretary, Industry and commerce, said the department was trying to popularise the portal among the industrialists. “To encourage the use of the portal, we have held meetings with various industrial bodies and associations. We expect its use to pick up,” added Channy.
	Punjab exports dip Manav Mander Tribune News Service Ludhiana, November 3 The union government is signing Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with many countries. However, the government has to ensure that indigenous industry gets level-playing field to compete with the countries with such deals are being entered into. The ongoing currency war is resulting in the appreciation of rupee to the disadvantage of our exporters. Many of our competing countries are controlling the inflow of capital to keep their currencies under-valued. “The ongoing global currency war is hurting our exports grievously and encouraging imports. Our industry is facing a double-edged weapon," said PD Sharma, president of Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
	Tata Tele to launch 3G in all zones by 2010 Bangalore, November 3 Tata Teleservices, India's No.4 mobile carrier, launched its 3G wireless data services ahead of larger rivals and on Wednesday said it will roll them out across its nine telecom zones by the year end. Tata Tele, 26 per cent owned by Japan's NTT DoCoMo, has set aside $500 million for spending on 3G networks, MD Anil Sardana said at a media briefing. Bharti Airtel plans to launch 3G services before the end of 2010, while No. 3 operator Vodafone Essar is eyeing a launch in the January-March quarter of 2011. "As the consumers see value in what 3G can provide... the total wallet size for telecom will increase," said Deepak Gulati, executive president of the mobility business. — Reuters
	Corporate Results GAIL net rises 30% to Rs 924 cr New Delhi, November 3 State-run gas utility GAIL India has reported 30 per cent jump in net profit for the second quarter ended September 30, on the back of higher revenues from transmission and sale of natural gas and better price for liquid hydrocarbons. "The increase in net profit was mainly due to higher realisation on liquid hydrocarbons (LPG), increase in transmission of natural gas, trading and margin earned on gas and slight improvement in petrochemical margins," CMD B C Tripathi.. Revenues from natural gas transmission business rose 16 per cent to Rs 979 crore, petrochemicals sales expanded 13 per cent to Rs 721 crore, while LPG and liquid hydrocarbons sales jumped 43 per cent to Rs 737 crore. Sales from natural gas trading rose 27 per cent to Rs 6,290 crore. Turnover was up 30 per cent to Rs 8,104 crore as against Rs 6,223 crore in the second quarter last fiscal. Tripathi said GAIL has completed first phase of expansion of Dahej-Vijaipur pipeline to increase the company's capacity to move gas from west coast to markets in the north to 35 million standard cubic meters per day (mmscmd) from 24 mmscmd. The expansion cost Rs 980 crore. Fortis Q2 revenue up 88%; net up 477% Fortis Healthcare Ltd has reported that net profit for the quarter ended September 30, stood at Rs 74.8 crore, a growth of whopping 477 per cent as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. This includes a net profit of Rs 53.9 crore made on the divesture of Parkway investments. The company also continued its growth momentum during the quarter and the consolidated operating revenue was at Rs 357.8 crore, 88 per cent growth, compared with the corresponding period last fiscal. This was led by impressive performance by Fortis Noida, Fortis Mohali, Fortis Malar and Fortis Jaipur Hospitals, which grew by 50%, 37%, 37% and 34% respectively. Shivinder M Singh, MD, Fortis Healthcare, said: “The last quarter has been very exciting for us with increasing footholds in both Indian and overseas markets. We remain committed to medical excellence and world-class quality as we build on the recognition Fortis enjoys as a trusted name in healthcare.” Aurobindo Phrama net jumps 92.18% Aurobindo Pharma today reported 92.18 per cent increase in net profit to Rs 198.32 crore for the quarter ended September 30, driven by robust performance from its formulations business. The company had a net profit of Rs 103.19 crore in the same quarter last year, the company said. Net sales rose to Rs 1,112.62 crore from Rs 882.64 crore. The company also said its board has approved an interim dividend of 100 per cent, that is Rs 5 per equity share of Rs 5 each. Besides, splitting of shares in the ratio of 1:5, that is each share of face value of Rs 5 will be sub divided into shares of face value of Re 1, has also been approved. — Agencies/TNS