The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

Punjab roots for more trade with Pak as premiers meet
Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 29
As Prime Minister Manmohan Singh prepares to meet his Pakistani counterpart, Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani in Mohali, Punjab has put its best foot forward to use the surrounding bonhomie as an opportunity to strengthen its economic ties with Pakistan.

Besides seeking the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status for India, Punjab wants to extend the eastern freight corridor to Wagah. The state also wants to create new industrial infrastructure near the border.

Punjab Chief Secretary S C Aggarwal today took up the matter with Union Commerce secretary Rahul Kumar. He has sought the central government’s help to boost trade. The daily trade via Wagah is over Rs 1,200 crore a year. Over 30 items are traded via this route.

Sources said the Punjab government has asked the Commerce Ministry to take up the issue of having a specified list of items that can be traded between the two countries, in public domain.

“We also want that just the way, India has given MFN status to Pakistan, Pakistan too should reciprocate this. Pakistan has only a positive list for importables from India. While appreciating the fact that the country intends to protect particular industries, it is suggested that a Negative list of these few items be created, and thus allow import of the rest of items from India,” said the source.

Punjab is also pushing for an independent trade gate at the Wagah border, so that goods can be traded without delay. The state also wants installation of scanners so that delays resulting from physical verification of goods is reduced. Warehousing and cold chain facilities should also be set up near the border so that perishable food items are not spoilt.

The state has also pleaded for allowing movement of goods in containers rather than trucks to increase trade volume. “We recommend that a fully-developed Railway siding should be set up at Attari Station which will also have storage godowns & other facilities,” said an official.

Sensing an opportunity

lPunjab wants the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status for India

lThe state wants to extend the eastern freight corridor to Wagah

lThe state wants installation of scanners so that delays resulting from physical verification of goods is reduced

Output of six core industries up 6.8%

New Delhi, March 29
Fuelled by surge in crude oil and finished steel output, growth in the six core infrastructure industries improved to 6.8 per cent in February from 4.2 per cent in the same month last fiscal. However, compared to January when infrastructure sector, that has 26.7 per cent weight in the country's Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew by by 7.2 per cent, the performance in February was a shade lower.

During the April 2010-February 2011 period, the six core sectors - crude oil, petroleum refinery products, coal, electricity, cement and finished steel - registered an expansion of 5.7 per cent compared to 5.4 per cent in the same period last year, according to the Industry Ministry data released here today.

Crude oil and finished steel output grew by 12.2 per cent and 11.5 per cent in February from 4 per cent and (- 0.2) per cent respectively in the same period last year, according to the data released by the Industry Ministry today.

Petroleum refinery products too registered a healthy growth of 3.2 per cent in February from a 0.7 per cent in the corresponding period last year.

However, according to economists, this month's core sector growth will not have much positive impact on the February IIP numbers, likely to be released next month.

"It (February core sector growth) will not have much positive impact on IIP," credit ratings agency CRISIL Principal Economist D K Joshi said.

Growth in factory output slowed down to 3.7 per cent in January 2011 from 16.8 per cent in the same period last year.

Electricity generation grew by 7.2 per cent in the month under review compared to 6.9 per cent in February 2010.

However, coal output contracted by 5.7 per cent in contrast to 6.7 per cent expansion in February 2010. Growth in cement production slowed down to 6.5 per cent in the month under review from 7.9 per cent in the same period last year.

During the 11 months of this fiscal, the crude oil sector output grew by 11.9 per cent, as against a 0.3 per cent contraction in the same period last fiscal.

Growth in coal output slowed to 0.1 per cent during April 2010-February 2011 from 7.9 per cent in the corresponding period last year, the data said.

Electricity and cement production also slowed down to 5.4 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively, during the 11 months of the ongoing financial year from 6 per cent and 10.8 per cent in the same period last year. — PTI

InterGlobe brings Rs 12.5 cr sports car Koenigsegg

New Delhi, March 29
To feed the growing appetite of burgeoning Indian millionaires, InterGlobe General Aviation Pvt Ltd today introduced Swedish super luxury sports car Koenigsegg carrying a price tag of about Rs 12.5 crore.

InterGlobe General Aviation Pvt Ltd - the subsidiary of InterGlobe Enterprises that operates low-cost airline Indigo - also launched an entire range of other luxury products in India such as motorcycles, yachts, boats, premium helicopters and private jets.

The company has also rechristened itself as InterGlobe Established Products, which will be branded as The ESTD.

It is aiming to tap the luxury market in India, which is estimated to grow 25 per cent annually with the emergence of young high net-worth individuals.

India is estimated to witness $14.72 billion worth luxury products coming into the country by 2015 from $4.6 billion in 2009, he added.

"These cars are completely hand-crafted at our Sweden facility and we produce just 18 units a year... We will offer one or two cars for the Indian market," Koenigsegg Automotive Founder and CEO Christian von Koenigsegg said. The company sells its cars primarily in the US, Europe and China, he added. Besides Koenigsegg, The ESTD launched another super sports car Gumpert from Germany. The company also introduced Italian premium motorcycle Vyrus and German cruise bike Hollister’s. — PTI

Email alerts on card transactions from June 30

Mumbai, March 29
Customers will get alerts on their e-mails for all transactions done through their debit or credit cards from June 30. The guidelines issued to the lenders by the Reserve Bank is aimed at checking fraudulent transactions and encouraging usage of cards by customers.

Presently, only some banks are intimating their customers through SMS and email about transactions done on their debit and credit cards. “It is decided that banks make take steps to put in place a system of online alerts for all types of transactions, irrespective of the amount, involving usage of cards at various channels,” the RBI said.

This measure is expected to encourage further usage of cards at various delivery channels. Banks may implement this measure latest by June 30, 2011, it added.
RBI's initiative comes amid incidents of fraudulent withdrawals at ATMs. It is important to arrest the incidents of frauds in order to further encourage card based transactions in the country.Currently, banks are required to alert customers on transactions above Rs 5,000 using card numbers or while making on line payments. — PTI

Punjab hikes purchase tax on wheat to 5%

Chandigarh, March 29
The Punjab government today hiked the purchase tax on wheat to 5 per cent from the existing 4 per cent, a move that would raise the procurement cost of the Food Corporation of India for lifting wheat in the state. According to traders, increase in purchase tax on wheat would lead to Rs 11 per quintal rise in procurement cost. At present, wheat MSP is Rs 1,120 per quintal.

The Punjab Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, today approved the increase in purchase tax on wheat and paddy from 4 to 5 per cent, which would fetch additional income of Rs 100 crore to the state exchequer.

Taxes on foodgrain like paddy and wheat in Punjab yield Rs 1,000 crore to the state exchequer.

With the raise in purchase tax, the total taxes on wheat now stand at 13.5 per cent, as against current 12.5 per cent. Apart from purchase tax of 5 per cent, Punjab levies 4 per cent market fee and rural development fund, 2.5 per cent commission and 2 per cent infrastructure cess.

Due to high taxes, no private companies such as Cargill, Glencore and Australian Wheat Board (AWB) have entered the Punjab grain markets for buying the crop since 2006-07. Even the wheat buying from private traders from Punjab has declined to 60,000 tonnes in 2010-11 from 11.44 lakh tonne in 2006-07.

"The taxes including freight, labour cost, etc works out at Rs 250 per quintal in addition to the wheat MSP. Now, this cost will jump by Rs 11 per quintal," Punjab Roller Flour Millers Association President Naresh Ghai told PTI.

Central procurement agency FCI, which lifts crop for the central pool, said that it would seek the approval of the Centre for the payment of additional purchase tax on wheat.

Govt nod to Rs 4,500 cr FDI infusion into Hero Group
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 29
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved the proposal of Hero Investments Private Ltd (HIPL) for induction of Rs 4,500 crore of foreign equity to buy 26 per cent stake of Honda in Hero Honda. The move would allow the Japanese automaker to chart its independent way in India.

According to the proposal cleared by the government, HIPL will receive FDI amounting to Rs 4,500 crore approximately from Bain Capital and Lathe Investment Private Ltd.

The proposal was recommended by Foreign Investment Promotion Board in February, 2011. FIPB had recommended that the proposal be considerd by the CCEA, as the capital infusion exceeded Rs 1,200 crore.

HIPL is one of the main shareholders of the country's largest two-wheeler maker Hero Honda. It holds 17.33 per cent stake in the company as on December 31, 2010.

In December last year, the B M Munjal family, who are the promoters of HIPL, had agreed to buyout the entire 26 per cent stake of Japan’s Honda in Hero Honda and announced to pay Rs 3,841.83 crore for it.

Bain Capital and Lathe Investment Private Ltd. will pick 29 per cent stake in HIPL for Rs 3,650 crore. The group said the funds raised from the PE firms will be used to retire a significant portion of debt raised by HIPL.

Reckitt gets approval for Rs 3,300 cr FDI

New Delhi, March 29
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today approved FMCG giant Reckitt Benckiser's plan to invest around Rs 3,300 crore via a subsidiary to fund its acquisition of Paras Pharmaceuticals Ltd. A meeting of the CCEA held here cleared the proposal of Reckitt Benckiser Plc to set up a new, wholly owned subsidiary investing company with a foreign equity of 100 per cent to make a downstream investment to fully acquire Paras Pharma.

“The approval is expected to result in foreign direct investment (FDI) amounting to Rs 3,300 crore approximately in the wholly-owned subsidiary of Reckitt Benckiser Plc UK," an official statement said In December last year, Reckitt Benckiser had agreed to fully acquire Ahmedabad-based Paras Pharmaceuticals Ltd for Rs 3,260 crore.

The shares of the new subsidiary will be 100 per cent subscribed by Reckitt Benckiser (Singapore) (entire equity except 10 shares) and R&C Nominees Limited (10 shares), it added.

Paras Pharma is a privately-owned firm with a portfolio of leading over-the-counter health and personal care brands including, Moov, D'Cold, Dermicool, Krack, Itch Guard and Ring Guard.

It also has a personal care business led by Set Wet, a leading hair gel and deodorant brand. Reckitt Benckiser had acquired the firm as to expand its business in India. — PTI

FCI gets Rs 5,000 crore loan

New Delhi, March 29
The government today approved a short-term loan of Rs 5,000 crore for Food Corporation of India (FCI) to help meet its working capital requirements this fiscal.

The proposal was cleared in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). FCI, the nodal agency for procurement and distribution of foodgrains, will repay the loan in the next fiscal.

The CCEA noted that this arrangement of financing (short-term loan) would be cheaper than the option of hiking the FCI’s cash-credit limit (CCL) to enable it to borrow more funds, as such loans would attract interest at the rate of 10.60 per cent per annum.

CCL is a secured working capital loan given by banks on the basis of turnover, debtors, creditors and stock in hand. Currently, FCI has fully utilised the CCL of Rs 34,495 crore sanctioned by a consortium of banks for meeting its working capital requirements, the CCEA said.

The short-term loan of Rs 5,000 crore to FCI will enable it to carry out its mandated activities of procurement, storage and distribution of foodgrains as per government policy.

— TNS

HCL Infosystems launches tablet at Rs 14,9 90

New Delhi, March 29
Computer maker HCL Infosystems today announced its foray into the tablet space, with launch of its ME range of tabs starting at Rs 14,990. The company has launched three tablets "with localised content" running on Google's Android operating system, which will be priced between Rs 14,990 and Rs 32,990.

"We are excited to launch the much awaited HCL ME Tablet.

The HCL ME Tablet will be available to both individual and enterprise users with our award winning service and support network. We have put in significant amount of research to understand the needs of Indian users," HCL Infosystems CEO Harsh Chitale said in a statement.

Android is a mobile operating system and being an open-source operating system, it allows developers to design applications independent of the handset/tablet maker.

According to analysts, the Indian market tablet PC market is expected to touch about a million devices in sales in 2011.

Since the launch of Apple's iPad, the tablet market is witnessing huge competition with new contenders launching their devices. A tablet PC, though smaller in size, has PC-like functionalities.

Apple's rival Dell has also launched 'Streak' in the country, while Samsung is competing with 'Galaxy'. Homegrown telecom handset makers Spice and Olive have also launched similar devices at lower price points.

With 3G (high speed Internet services) launch on the anvil, device makers are actively looking at various form factors like 3G handsets and tablet PCs, to cash in on the revenue opportunity. — PTI

BRIEFLY

IndusInd Bank
Chandigarh: IndusInd Bank has received the Most Improved Bank Performance of the Year award at the Bloomberg UTV, Financial Leadership Awards 2011 from Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who inaugurated and presided over the awards ceremony. — TNS

IDBI Federal’s scheme
Mumbai: IDBI Federal Life Insurance has launched Wealthsurance Premier Insurance Plan aimed at high net worth customers, the company said. Wealthsurance Premier is a great combination of a wealth and protection plan that assists the customers in wealth creation and management in the long term," G V Nageswara Rao, MD and CEO, IDBI Federal Life Insurance — TNS

UTI Master Value Fund
The UTI Master Value Fund is bullish on financial services sector. The fund, with approximately Rs 700 crore as assets under management, has consumer goods stocks as its second pick. The fund is positioned as a pure-value fund with clearly defined investment criteria. — TNS