Ludhiana, May 30
Major cycle manufacturing units of Ludhiana such as Hero and Avon Cycles have been approached by the Bihar government for establishing plants and ancillary units in Hazipur and Muzafarpur. Smaller city-based cycle units are shifting out of Ludhiana to the state.

The Bihar government’s scheme for providing 12 lakh cycles in the current year under the "Chief Minister Balik-Balika Yozana" is also serving as a stimulus to encourage cycle companies to set up new plants in the state.

Hero Cycles Director SK Rai said the Bihar government had invited his company’s officials and he was examining some proposals.

“It was their first visit and nothing has been finalised yet,” added Rai.

Nova Cycles Managing Director HM Pahwa added: “The process has begun and let's see how many units from the city opt for setting up their units in Bihar. The incentives offered are no doubt, sounding lucrative," he said.

Sensing that Bihar's gain could be Punjab's loss, the Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertaking (CICU) has urged the Punjab Chief Minister to grant a stimulus package to retain prominent cycle makers of Ludhiana.

CICU joint secretary Upkar Singh said city-based cycle units should be impressed upon to go for expansion of their plants in Punjab rather than investing in Bihar for establishing new units.

“There is no labour problem in Bihar. Land is also cheaper. All these factors compel the industry to invest in Bihar,” said Avtar Singh, CICU general secretary.

New Delhi, May 30
Tax defaulters beware! With tax recovery to the tune of more than Rs 1 lakh crore held up for lack of information about the whereabouts of defaulters, the Income Tax (I-T) department is working on plans to publish their names in newspapers.

The problem has been further compounded with several of the tax defaulters having created ‘benami’ assets to escape the dragnet.

The I-T department is embarking on this ‘out of box solution’ of bringing the names of tax defaulters in public domain in a bid to expose them.

The department, according to the official proposal, will publish in newspapers the names of those defaulting assessees who are either not traceable or whose assets are not identifiable.

Informants, in such cases, will also be given incentives which may include cash rewards, the proposal said.

The assests, according to I-T sources, are not identifiable as either they are being created and invested under 'benami' heads or are not ascribed directly to the defaulting taxpayer, and are on the name of their extended family members or friends.

The latest data of the I-T department, out of a total outstanding arrear demand of Rs 2,29,032 crore (till March 2010), an amount of Rs 9,476 crore is unrealised or held up as the assessee is ‘not traceable’ while Rs 92,360 crore is stuck as there are "no assets".

The annual conference, inaugurated by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, was attended by the top brass of the investigation, intelligence, recovery and other enforcement wings of the I-T department.

Important deliberations, including this issue, discussed during the conference are subsequently taken forward and implemented as policy issues by the I-T department.

"The proposal will be implemented after weighing all the pros and cons about the scheme and studying the prevalent practises in other tax systems about such issues across the world," a senior I-T officer said.

The department is also planning to give wide publicity to its scheme of tapping and encouraging "informants" to unearth tax evasion and gain tip-off on the whereabouts of absconders who have evaded huge taxes. — PTI

New Delhi, May 30
Bangalore may lose its status as the Information Technology (IT) capital to cities like Gurgaon, Noida and Chandigarh, which are fast emerging as preferred destinations for IT services companies.

An ASSOCHAM survey states that Bangalore is losing its sheen due to crumbling infrastructure, compelling many companies to head towards more convenient and industry-friendly centres.

The survey adds that the growth explosion in Bangalore has pushed the city towards a serious civic crisis. Frequent power outages, erratic water supply, poor sanitation and unmanageable traffic on roads is causing software companies not to expand operations.

ASSOCHAM interacted with around 800 directors, CEOs, CFOs and CMDs of Indian and multinational companies in various verticals with a choice of five cities to relocate their businesses to garner more revenues.

Around 30 per cent top-ranked officials of IT companies based out of Bangalore said they prefer to shift to Gurgaon, 25 per cent respondents said that they would shift their base to Noida or Greater Noida — fast-growing software and BPO hubs.

Faridabad, May 30
The Haryana government has decided not to set up new industrial estates, including the Industrial Model Townships, through its agency, the HSIIDC. It will instead use the (public private partnership) PPP model, Haryana Industries Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala has said.

Addressing industrialists at the 58th AGM of Faridabad Industries Association, Surejwala said that three industrial estates — one between Rohtak and Jind, at Sonepat and at Narnaul- would be set up under the PPP model. The process would begin within six months.

He added the decision would boost growth in several other areas of Haryana. Farmers’ land would not be acquired by the government.

He asserted that the HSIIDC would complete the industrial estates, including IMT projects which it had already undertaken, within an year.

He asked private firms to adopt at least one IT1 in the state and invest in it for development of skilled manpower.

Chandigarh, May 30
Havells India will soon enter the consumer electronic appliances market. The company hopes that the launch of this new business vertical will add Rs 200 crore to its sales turnover by the end of this fiscal.

The company will start retailing electrical appliances like mixer grinders, irons, toasters, electrical kettles and hand blenders by the end of June. Talking to The Tribune, Anil Bhasin, vice-president, Havells India, who was here to launch a Havells Galaxy store, said the company is getting into this business through vendor-based manufacturing. He said the company would invest Rs 30 crore in this vertical.

“We will retail these electrical appliances through our new format of retail stores, Havells Galaxy and Havells Galleries. By tying up with vendors in Baddi and Mumbai, we intend to be a national player and hope to clock sales worth Rs 200 crore by the end of this fiscal,” he said.

Bhasin said last year Havells Sylvania managed to achieve a turnover of Rs 5,600 crore.

He said they were hopeful that the company’s turnover would reach Rs 5,000 crore and the group’s turnover (including its European arm Sylvania) would reach Rs 8,000 crore. “We are also going to expand our stand alone stores - Galaxies - from 89 as of date to 200 by the end of this year. Besides, we are also putting up a new factory for lighting material at Neemrana, with an investment of Rs 15 crore,” he added.

New Delhi, May 30
Investments made in liquid funds, which invest in short-term debt instruments, offer better returns for retail investors than parking money in savings bank account, says a study.

A study by CRISIL FundServices has found that liquid funds not only offer higher post-tax returns but also provide a reasonable degree of safety in terms of the principal invested.

Liquid funds invest in short-term debt instruments with a maximum maturity of 91 days. They can be redeemed within 24 hours and have no exit load, CRISIL said.

"Beyond returns, liquid funds also have advantages in terms of liquidity, safety and portability," CRISIL Research senior director Mukesh Agarwal said.

Over the last five years, liquid funds rated by CRISIL have given an annualised post-tax return of 5.78 per cent, compared to 3 per cent given by a savings bank account.

"Liquid funds are not totally risk-free and an investor must carry out basic checks before investing. Factors such as the fund house and the scheme vintage, consistent performance over a longer period and comparison of the scheme with appropriate benchmarks can be looked at for selecting the right fund," CRISIL Research director (capital markets) Tarun Bhatia said.

Within liquid funds the dividend option is more tax-efficient. — PTI

Mumbai, May 30
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd today reported a 6.36 per cent increase in net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2011 at Rs 606.54 crore.

BRIEFLY

MTS offers half paisa per second tariff
New Delhi: Shyam TeleServices Ltd (SSTL), which operates under MTS brand, on Monday offered tariff of half-a-paisa per second to all its customers to make a call on any telecom network in the country. Existing MTS mobile customers can avail this offering for Rs 191. On the other hand, new customers need to pay Rs 203. Both existing and new customers will also get a talk time of Rs 50. — PTI

Maruti MD to meet Modi today
Ahmedabad: Maruti Suzuki India's MD Shinzo Nakanishi will meet Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday to discuss and possibly finalise a deal to set up its 7th manufacturing plant in the state, a senior government official said on Monday. — PTI