The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Ambani for referee role for govt Reliance Industries chief says corruption cases being maturely dealt with, calls for equitable income generation New Delhi, June 14 Billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani has said that an equitable income generation was a must for the country’s economic growth, even as he shrugged off the cynicism that recent corruption cases were major deterrents. Ambani, who leads of the country’s leading corporate houses Reliance Industries group, also said that the country was dealing with the recent cases of corruption maturely. “Although India is marching on a prosperous path, there is a need to do this in an equitable manner – the benefits spreading far and wide.” “If income generation does not happen in an equitable way, the demographic dividend that India has can work against its growth aspirations,” Ambani said in an interview to global investment banking major Morgan Stanley. Asked whether the recent cases of alleged corruption scandals have led to things turning grim for the country and whether capital investments would slow down, he replied in negative. “I do not agree that things have turned grim for India. We should not really deprecate ourselves. We have a vibrant society, a vigilant media, an independent judiciary and are dealing with our problems in a mature way.” Pitching for integration of fuel prices in India, the industrialist has suggested the government should act like an ‘umpire’ rather than getting itself involved in the business. “The government has to be more of an umpire or the tournament organiser as opposed to getting involved in the game,” Ambani said, while speaking about necessary policy changes in the energy space. “We need disruptive policies, which will help India leapfrog and realise the growth potential — speedily and sustainably,” he said in an interview to global investment banking major Morgan Stanley. Without specifically mentioning the policies that cap fuel prices at low levels, he strongly pitched for removal of ‘artificial and unjustifiable’ differentials in prices. “We have started on the journey of systemic reforms to reduce corruption. The Old India is making way for the New India. The transition will not be an easy ride, but I have no doubt that we are moving in the right direction,” he said. Ambani’s comments have come at a time when various cases of corruptions are coming to light, including those involving some big corporate houses and some politicians. The government auditor CAG has rapped oil ministry and its technical arm DGH for allegedly favouring Ambani-led RIL by allowing it to double gas field costs, but the company has vehemently denied the charge. Ambani exuded confidence that the India growth story was unstoppable and the country was headed to become the third most economically powerful country in the world, from a Third World country. “With the help of the right policies, it is certainly possible to accelerate growth and, simultaneously, to make available the fruits of growth to all sections of the society," he said. “I believe that India will be a $5 trillion economy in the next 10-15 years. What is important is to note the rate of change,” he concluded.
	Cut import duties on automobiles, components: Tata Says ties with FIAT Auto need review New Delhi, June 14 Tata Group chairman Ratan Tata has said that the partnership between Tata Motors and FIAT Auto needed to be critically reviewed. “I have to admit that so far, the venture with Fiat has not been as active as we had thought,” Tata said in an interview to the market research firm JD Power. In the same interview Tata called for cutting tariff on vehicles and components coming from overseas. He said such high import duties are unrealistic and create an artificial barrier of protection for local companies. favoured cutting tariff on vehicles and components coming from overseas. He added does "not have an automobile industry" as "we have assemblers of foreign brands" and only Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors actually develop and manufacture products in the country. “...I also think that the very high rates of import duty should be reduced. They're unrealistic and create an artificial barrier to protect the manufacturers in India,” Tata said. Similarly, the import duty on components should dramatically come down so that manufacturers based in India can source components globally at affordable rates, he added. — PTI
	Duty cut on Chinese silk hits Karnataka growers Shubhadeep Choudhury Tribune News Service Bangalore, Jun 14 Chinese silk has become a bane for the sericulturists of Karnataka, which accounts for almost 70% of the country’s silk production. To add to their woes, the central government reduced the import duty on Chinese silk from 31 per cent to 5 per cent in the 2011-12 Budget, which has seriously affected the livelihood of Karnataka’s sericulturists. Consequent to reduction of import duty, prices of raw silk and cocoons have slumped in the state. The Karnataka government is planning to take an all-party delegation under the leadership of Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa to Delhi to urge the centre to hike the import duty on silk from China from the 5 per cent to 31 per cent. The state government has released Rs 17 crore to the Karnataka Silk Marketing Board to procure cocoons from growers. The Chief Minister has promised to release another Rs 10 crore on June 13 to arrest fall in raw silk and cocoon prices. A meeting on this was on today at the time of writing of the report. Every step of silk cultivation — from buying eggs or worms to fertilizers, even water — runs on informal credit. Indebtedness is endemic among farmers, who have seen prices crash from Rs 380 a kg of cocoon in January to the current Rs 120. The first suicide by a sericulturist couple was reported in April. Prices stabilised around Rs 220 until May 17 when markets recorded a steep dip to Rs 150. There has been no respite since. Silk reelers too are having it rough. The price of raw silk plummeted from Rs 3,200 a kg in December 2010 to between Rs 1,800 and Rs 2,100 in April.
	Nokia victorious in patent row with Apple Helsinki, June 14 Nokia notched up a rare victory against arch-rival Apple was the iPhone maker agreed to settle a long-running row over patents. Nokia said on Tuesday the deal would boost second-quarter earnings, having warned at the end of May that it would miss targets. Shares in the struggling cellphone maker rose 3 per cent. Analysts welcomed the news and said it would help Nokia concentrate on core business at a time when it faces huge challenges. "This is the first positive news from Nokia for a long time. They can both focus on their businesses now, and the dispute was settled to Nokia's advantage," said Mikael Rautanen, analyst at Inderes in Helsinki. Analysts said Nokia could be estimated to get between 1-2 per cent of iPhone revenues, which are seen at around $43 billion this year according to a Reuters poll. Nokia may have won a legal victory, it still faces a daunting task to catch up with Apple in the high end of the smartphone market, where it has fallen behind both Apple's iPhone and Android. — Reuters
	ED sends out references to track transactions in 2G scam Sanjeev Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 14 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is examining foreign direct investment (FDI), issuance of foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs), joint ventures and wholly-owned subsidiaries abroad as part of its investigation to track money transactions in the 2G Spectrum scam. The ED has been tracking all the money transactions for all entities and companies considered to be involved in the 2G scam. As part of the investigations, it has recorded statements of 52 persons and obtained information and material. To obtain information in the matter, ED has sent out references to 12 countries and five letters of request have been issued by the designated court to foreign jurisdictions. The ED is also examining details of deposits and withdrawals of huge amounts (Rs 1 crore and above) in bank accounts of telecom companies and named entities in the scam related case. Some of these transactions have been identified and letters have been issued to banks. The ED implements the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) and Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
	Wipro bags contract for Punjab’s tax management Tribune News Service Bangalore, June 14 Wipro Ltd today announced that it has been selected by Excise and Taxation department, Punjab government for computerisation of the tax management regime across the state. Wipro will also manage the solution for five years. There are 23 tax districts in Punjab for which there are about 100 offices . The revenue is collected in the shape of various levies such as taxes, excise duties and fees etc. The department proposed a scheme for computerisation of sales tax procedures in July 2000. Wipro will be responsible for design, implementation and management of IT infrastructure and outsourced transaction processing along with other support activities. This includes procurement, deployment, operations and maintenance of the department’s IT infrastructure at various project locations as well as data migration.
	Facebook looking at initial public offer New York, June 14 Facebook is preparing to file for an initial public offering as early as October or November that could value the popular social networking site at more than $100 billion, a new report has said. Goldman Sachs is leading the chase to manage the lucrative offering, which could come in the first quarter of 2012, CNBC said. Facebook, whose chief operating officer last month called an IPO "inevitable," declined to comment. Professional networking site LinkedIn Corp launched its own IPO last month, valuing the company at about $7 billion. Earlier this month, daily deals site Groupon Inc filed to raise up to $750 million in an IPO, fueling speculation that Internet valuations have become too rich. — Reuters
	Air India turnaround plan before GoM soon Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 14 The turnaround plan for cash-strapped Air India, including restructuring of its massive debt, would come up before a Group of Ministers (GoM) for approval in a few weeks. Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi today said the plan had been approved by bankers and would now go to a GoM. "It should happen very fast ... within the next couple of weeks," he added. On further equity infusion in the cash-strapped carrier, Ravi said the Ministry was in the process of holding "regular dialogue with the Finance Ministry. We will continue this dialogue and go to the GoM when necessary". All issues, including routes from which Air India had withdrawn, were under discussion and would be taken up by the GoM, he said. The government has already set aside a provision of Rs 1,200 crore in the Budget for infusing equity in the ailing national carrier this fiscal. With the airline announcing plans to become operationally profitable in four years, nearly 20 of its lenders (banks) have indicated that they were willing to consider recasting its entire Rs 40,000-crore debt. Its annual interest payment on this debt is around Rs 1,800 crore. Under the turnaround plan, Air India has set a target of enhancing revenues by Rs 5,000 crore and slash costs by Rs 4,000 crore per annum, making it operationally profitable by 2015. The airline is saddled with a debt of about Rs 40,000 crore, of which Rs 18,000 crore is working capital loans taken from a consortium of banks.
	Inflation rises to over 9%, RBI may hike interest rates again New Delhi, June 14 Driven by rising prices of fruits, milk, petrol and manufactured goods, headline inflation surged past the 9 per cent mark in May, raising the expectations of another hike in key policy rates by the Reserve Bank later this week. Inflation rose to 9.06 per cent in May from 8.66 per cent in April, prompting Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (PMEAC) Chairman C Rangarajan to describe the trend as "upsetting" and pitch for tightening of the monetary policy by the RBI to cool rising prices. The RBI would try to balance the need to tame inflation and promote industrial growth, which has slipped to 6.3 per cent in April from 13.1 per cent a year ago. "I think the inflation numbers are in a sense upsetting... We need to address the issue of inflation even more strongly. We need to use more monetary and fiscal policy to contain inflation," C Rangarajan told reporters here. According to Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data released by the government today, several essential items, including rice, fruits, petrol, edible oils, cotton textiles and iron and steel products, became more expensive during May in comparison to April. Inflation, according to Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, "is a problem (but) we still remain hopeful... It has gone up, which is not unexpected, because the preliminary indications said it would go up." — PTI
	15.34 million mobile subscribers added in Apr Tribune News Service New Delhi, June 14 Telecom operators added 15.34 million mobile subscribers in April this year, taking the total number of telephone users in the country to 861.48 million. According to figures released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the mobile subscriber base increased to 826.93 million at the end of April from 811.59 million in the preceding month, growing 1.89 per cent. TRAI said that the overall tele-density (telephones per 100 people) in the country reached 72.08 per cent, although the number of active mobile subscribers, according to the visitor location register (VLR) data, stood at only 583.22 million. BSNL and MTNL hold 82.44 per cent share of the wireline market. Broadband subscription reached 12.01 million in the reported month from 11.87 million in March, growing 1.17 per cent. Growth in the wireless sector was led by Anil Ambani owned Reliance Communications, which added 2.93 million subscribers. Idea Cellular added 2.45 million new users to take its user base to 91.95 million. Bharti Airtel added 2.41 million subscribers to take its subscriber base to 164.61 million. Vodafone added 2.40 million users, taking its user base to 136.97 million. Aircel added 1.10 million users, while Tata Teleservices added 1.24 million users in April. — PTI
	Honda City prices cut by up to Rs 66,000 New Delhi, June 14 Honda Siel Cars India today said it has cut the prices of its flagship sedan City by up to Rs 66,000 after implementing various cost reduction measures. The car will now be available between Rs 7.49 lakh and Rs 9.89 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). “In anticipation of bigger volumes resulting in economies of scale from the second half of current year, we have achieved considerable cost reduction and are passing on the benefit to the customers with immediate effect,” HSCI Senior Vice President (Sales and Marketing) Jnaneswar Sen said. ‘City’ sales have been facing stiff resistance from other models in the segment such as Hyundai Verna, Maruti SX4 and Volkswagen Vento. — PTI