The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Buffett seeks higher FDI in Indian insurance New Delhi, March 25 Keen to enter growing insurance sector, US billionaire Warren Buffett, who is here mainly to promote philanthropy, today wondered if India would raise the FDI limit in the sector to 49 per cent. The US-based company is keenly watching the developments regarding further opening of the sector to foreign investment. Legendary investor Buffett, whose group recently entered Indian insurance market, called on Irda Chairman J Harinarayan here and wanted to know if the FDI cap would be raised to 49 per cent. Irda is the insurance regulator. "Buffett wondered whether the foreign direct investment limit for foreign insurers could go up to 49 per cent (from the present 26 per cent)," Harinarayan told PTI after meeting chairman of conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway. "The discussions were very general and was good," he said. Buffett, known for his business acumen and choice of investments, said that India is an "an exciting market". The Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 is pending in Parliament. The Bill, when enacted, would allow raising the FDI cap for the industry to 49 per cent. However, it has been awaiting approval since 2008 as it was delayed by strong opposition from the Left parties. Berkshire Hathaway had recently forayed into the Indian non-life insurance sector as a corporate agent of Bajaj Allianz General. On his maiden visit to India, Buffett had said that an foreign investment cap of 26 per cent in insurance sector here was a deterrent. Earlier in the day, Berkshire Hathaway head re-insurance Ajit Jain said the question of larger investments in the sector in India, "depends on regulation." India-origin Jain, long rumoured to succeed Buffet, looks after the conglomerate's multi-billion dollar re-insurance business. Yesterday Buffett along with Bill Gates, held a dinner meeting here with 70 business people, including Wipro Chairman Azim Premji and discussed a wide range of issues related to philanthropy. As part of its India entry, the American conglomerate has incorporated Berkshire India to sell and distribute general insurance products in India. It would directly sell insurance to consumers through the portal ‘www.berkshireinsurance.com’ and by way of telemarketing. — Agencies
	Tata Motors rolls out record 100,000th CV this fiscal Jamshedpur, March 25 Leading automobile company Tata Motors today said it has become the first Indian company to produce 1 lakh commercial vehicles (CV) in a financial year. “It is really a proud moment for the company as Tata Motors has become the country’s first automobile company to produce one lakh commercial vehicles in a financial year,” Ravi Pisharody, President, Commercial Vehicle Business Unit (CVBU), Tata Motors, said here. Pisharody said he hopes the growth rate of commercial vehicle sector would depend on the interest rate though it has not affected the sector as yet. The interest rate has to be maintained to achieve the growth rate, which was registered at 20-22 per cent this fiscal, he said adding that the growth rate in the next fiscal is likely to be 10 to 15 per cent. On the performance of the Tata Motors World Truck, the company official said the sale has been increasing significantly in the last few months. The response for the world truck, which had started its production in the first quarter of the current fiscal, was good and would further improve in view of the increasing demand as well as the improving road condition in the country. “Presently, we are producing two models of the world truck at Jamshedpur plant and likely to introduce two more models soon,” he said, adding, the company was expecting to produce around 6-8 models by the next fiscal-end. Pisharody expressed confidence that the company would utilise the maximum capacity of the world truck (55,000 per annum) in next five years in view of its increasing demand.— PTI
	BMW launches 6 Series Udaipur, March 25 German premium car maker BMW today said it is targeting sale of up to 60,000 units in the next ten years in the Indian market and will invest an additional Rs 70 crore by 2012. BMW today launched its luxury car 6 Series in India, priced at Rs 95 lakh (ex-showroom). The company's wholly owned subsidiary, BMW India, also announced launching its sports utility vehicle X3 within this year as a completely knocked down (CKD) unit from its Chennai facility. "In the next ten years, India's luxury car market is expected to grow ten times to up to 1.5 lakh units...we will certainly enjoy 35 to 40 per cent of the market by then," BMW India President Andreas Schaaf told reporters here. The Indian luxury car market stood at about 15,000 units in 2010 and the company sold 6,246 units to become the numero uno, he added "We are stepping up investment in India. In the next two years, we will increase our investment to Rs 180 crore from the existing Rs 110 crore in the country," Schaaf said. The company has recently acquired additional land to enhance the size of its facility in Chennai to 40 acres, up from 22 acres earlier. BMW India recently hiked its production capacity to 10,000 units from 8,000 units. "We will invest in the brand, network expansion and new products. We will continue to maintain leadership in the Indian luxury car market," he said. As a part of the expansion plans, the company will also launch its SUV X3 as a CKD vehicle within this year. He said the company will double its dealerships to 40 by 2012 from 20 at present. Talking about its new 6 Series, Schaaf said,"It is an ultra-luxury car which will be available in India as a completely built unit."— PTI
	Govt says no decision yet on opening retail sector New Delhi, March 25 The government has not taken a decision on opening up the supermarket sector to foreign investors, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Friday, continuing a stalemate on the long-awaited reform that will open the door to Wal-Mart and Carrefour. India restricts foreign firms to operating wholesale outlets or single-brand stores. Trade Minister Anand Sharma last month said the government was close to a decision on letting them enter the multi-brand sector as well. "Government has not taken any decision," Mukherjee told parliament during a discussion on allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail stores. "The problem is a very complex one ... A large number of people are involved in it (the sector)," he said. Wal-Mart has said it is ready to open hundreds of retail outlets if rules are liberalised. In October, Chief Executive Mike Duke had said he was very positive the rules would be eased after meeting Indian officials. Wal-Mart operates five wholesale outlets in India in partnership with agriculture-to-telecoms group Bharti Enterprise. Carrefour last year opened its first India wholsesale outlet. — Reuters
	Metro Cash and Carry to open shop in Sep Ruchika M Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 25 Metro Cash and Carry plans to launch operations in Punjab from September this year. The company, which is operating in India as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Metro Inc, will invest Rs 900 crore in the state in a phased manner. A company spokesman said that by March 2012, they will be setting up two other centres at Jalandhar and Zirakpur. The company has already bought land for setting up these stores and on an average each store will be spread over one lakh square ft. The company has already started hiring and training staff for its three stores. A customer activation programme has also been launched. Punjab is the fifth state in the country, where Metro Cash and Carry will launch operations.
	PM advisor says monetary policy to stay tight New Delhi, March 25 The monetary policy policy will continue to be tight to curb high inflation, the prime minister's top economic adviser said on Friday, forecasting headline inflation to ease to 7.5 per cent in March. "The inflation rate continues to be high and therefore the monetary policy will have to remain tight," C. Rangarajan, chairman of the prime minister's Economic Advisory Council, told reporters. The RBI has raised policy rates eight times in the last 12 months as headline inflation stays way above its comfort level of around 5 percent. The bank has warned of more inflationary pressures, prompting analysts to expect further rounds of monetary tightening this year. Wholesale price inflation, the most widely watched gauge of prices in India, unexpectedly quickened to 8.31 per cent in February. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee expects inflation to cool to around 7 percent in March, while the central bank's target is 8 per cent. Wholesale price inflation would average 6 per cent in 2011-12, Rangarajan said. He also said the current account deficit in 2010-11 would be only slightly above 2.5 per cent of GDP and expected capital inflows of around $60 billion in the year would be enough to finance it. — Reuters
	Govt to form state panels to ensure coal blocks development New Delhi, March 25 To tighten the noose of firms sitting idle on the coal blocks alloted to them, the Centre has said panels at state level would be formed by the year-end to ensure speedy development of captive blocks. “(The ministry will)...pursue states to constitute a State level committee under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary of the State concerned to review the progress of allocated coal/lignite blocks in the states," the Coal Ministry said on its website. The Ministry also said the committees, to be constituted by October 31, will hold one meeting in its first year by March next year. But in the following years, two meetings would be held by the state panel to assess the development of blocks. The Coal Ministry will rush letters to the Chief Secretaries of the States by end of next month, asking them to constitute panels, it said. The government has already formed a review committee under the chairmanship of the Additional secretary of Ministry of Coal to review progress of development of coal/lignite blocks and the associated end-use plants. The review committee will hold meeting twice a year to take the stock of the development of these blocks. To weed out non-serious players, the government had last year issued notices to 82 firms and sought their responses as to why coal blocks allocated to them should not be withdrawn, as they had failed to develop them within allotted time frame. — PTI