The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Cement prices increase up to Rs 50 per bag as demand rises Post-monsoon construction activity driving prices; Ludhiana, Delhi see sharpest increase Sanjeev Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 20 Cement prices have gone up by Rs 5-50 per bag over the last few days across regions (except Southern India and Gujarat) as the monsoon nears an end. According to a research note by IIFL, sharp price increases have been reported in institutional segments in Ludhiana, Lucknow, Delhi and Kolkata. Price increases in the North are due to the demand improvement post-monsoon and reduction in fight for market share with the capacity of new producer Jaiprakash Associates largely absorbed in the market. Here, dealers indicate that prices have risen Rs 10-50 per bag in the last few days and the sharpest increases were seen in Ludhiana and Delhi. Dealers feel that cement producers will further hike prices, adds the note. Demand was improving in the infrastructure segment in Uttar Pradesh (pre-election spending) and in the housing segment in the NCR region. Dealers said that cement producers had stopped institutional segment discount in Ludhiana, which resulted in prices moving up by Rs 50 per bag. The current price range is Rs 210-245 per bag in Delhi, Rs 210-235 in Jaipur and Rs 250-260 per bag in Ludhiana. In the Southern region, discounts have started to the tune of Rs 5-10 per bag in Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore markets as demand continues to be sluggish. In the west, prices have increased in Mumbai but fallen in Gujarat as rainfall has continued. Mumbai dealers were skeptical of the price increase sustaining as sand shortage has crippled construction activity in the city. In the central region which includes Uttar Pradesh, prices have gone up by Rs 15-40 per bag due to improvement in demand from government projects post-monsoon and this is likely to sustain owing to the state elections in mid-2012. STICKy Prices The current price range is Rs 210-245 per bag in Delhi, Rs 210-235 in Jaipur and Rs 250-260 per bag in Ludhiana. Despatch growth is likely to be strong for the current month owing to re-stocking demand after the monsoons.
	Andhra Pradesh launches new loan scheme for women self-help groups Suresh Dharur Tribune News Service Hyderabad, September 20 At a time when microfinance industry is facing a crisis, the Andhra Pradesh government has launched a new scheme to cater to credit requirements of poor women in rural areas — ‘Stree Nidhi'. The scheme provides for an exclusive bank for women Self-Help Groups (SHG) to provide them access to micro-credit within 48 hours of applying for a loan. The bank is an apex co-operative credit society and a joint venture between the state government and the Mandal Mahila Samkhyas (MMS) of SHGs. With an authorised capital of Rs 500 crore, Stree Nidhi would lend Rs 1,000 crore to women members of SHGs in the first year. The corpus would increase to Rs 4,000 crore by 2014, Principal Secretary of Rural Development Department Reddy Subrahmanyam said. “The MFIs in the state would have to compete with us at low interest rates,” an official said. The loans would be extended to rural women to set up their own business units and also for education and health. The members of MMS, who are actually from among the same SHG community would do the due diligence and asses the need and repaying capacity. The average size of loan is Rs 15,000 for a year with monthly repayment . "They will be given 1 per cent commission to do the due diligence, Including this and other costs, it is viable to extend loans at 13 per cent," Subramnayam said. If the repayments were prompt, a nominal 3 per cent interest on subsequent loans will be charged, he added. "We have categorised the existing mandal samakyas into four groups based on their previous performance and the credit limit available to them would be determined accordingly," the official said. CREATING HOPE The loans would be offered at 13 per cent interest, almost half of what is being charged by Micro Finance Institutions With an authorised capital of Rs 500 crore, the scheme would lend Rs 1,000 crore to women members of SHGs in the first year
	Nissan rolls out petrol Sunny at Rs 5.75 lakh New Delhi, September 20 Japanese automobile manufacturer Nissan’s Indian subsidiary on Tuesday launched its sedan car Sunny priced between Rs 5.75 lakh and Rs7.68 lakh (ex-showroom). "We are certain that Nissan Sunny will redefine the dynamics of the Sedan segment in India," said Gilles Normand, corporate vice president, Africa, West Asia and India, Nissan Motor Co. The new car would compete with other mid-size sedans like Verna Fluidic, Ford Fiesta, Honda City, SX4 and Fiat Linea. “We have been able to aggressively position it thanks to localization in excess of 85 per cent, which also reiterates our commitment to India,” said Normand. “Sunny with 16.95 km per litre of fuel economy will be available to customers across the country without any waiting period for delivery,” it said. — PTI Talks with Bajaj on Nissan today scotched rumours that its alliance with Bajaj Auto for developing an ultra low-cost vehicle was on a shaky ground, saying it is in talks with the company.
	IPO norms for life insurers in a week Mumbai, September 20 The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) today said it would come out with guidelines for Initial Public Offering (IPO) of life insurance companies within a week. “We will be approaching for the gazetting sometimes later this week,” IRDA Chairman J Hari Narayan said on the sidelines of Assocham’s Global Insurance Summit. For life insurance companies, the clause mandating a three-year track record of profitability as a precondition for tapping the capital markets has been removed in the draft guidelines. As per the draft norms, only insurance companies that have completed 10 years of operation and have strong financial will be allowed to access the capital market. Insurance firms planning public offers have to seek ‘formal approval’ from IRDA and then approach the market regulator for approval, draft norms had said. The regulator is also planning to come out with guidelines in schemes guaranteeing high net asset value, Hari Narayan said, “We are examining it because my concern is that the highest Net Asset Value (NAV) guaranteed product may lead to miscommunication. We are understanding the entire issue.” — PTI
	Automatic service tax refund for exporters mooted: CBEC New Delhi, September 20 In a move that will bring cheers to exporters, the government today said it is working on a system to automatically transfer service tax refunds in their accounts. “We are at a very advanced stage of preparing a software which would provide refunds of service tax to exporters automatically, based on (pattern of) duty drawback. We would come out with it in the next 15-20 days,” V K Garg, Joint Secretary in Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), said at a PHD Chamber event here. Currently, the duty drawback is directly credited to accounts of exporters maintained at customs houses, but exporters have to file claims separately to get service tax refunds. Exporters complain that many a times there are unusual delay in refund of the levy. Welcoming the move, Fieo Director General Ajay Sahai said exporters would now get a faster refund of service tax. "It will not only speed up the disbursement, but also reduce cost for exporters," he said. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (Fieo) is the apex body of Indian exporters. Speaking at the PHD Chamber event, Garg also said that the CBEC was getting feedback on the draft "negative list" for service tax and another concept paper would be released next month after scrutinising the comments. "We might come out with a fresh and improvised concept paper on the negative list of services post September 30, once the feedback arrives," he said. The government levies the tax on limited number of services, but the ambit would increase significantly once the proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) becomes operational. The Finance Ministry recently released a draft paper on negative list of services. The negative list approach means that the services that are not included in it would be taxed. — PTI
	Italy downgraded, IMF says Europe behind the curve Rome/Athens, September 20 Standard & Poor’s cut Italy’s credit rating on Tuesday in a surprise move that increased strains on the debt-stressed euro zone, and the International Monetary Fund said Europe's leaders were failing to act decisively enough to resolve the crisis. Analysts said the one-notch downgrade, citing poor growth prospects and political instability, was ominous and would add to mounting strains on European banks as talks to avoid a Greek default dragged on. S&P’s rating is now three notches below rival agency Moody's, putting Italy below Slovakia and on a par with Malta. "There is a wide perception that policymakers are one step behind the action, markets,” IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard told a news conference after the Fund warned that both Europe and the US could slip back into recession. “Europe must get its act together,” he said. Italy’s downgrade overshadowed signs of progress in Greece’s negotiations with international lenders to avoid running out of money. Brazil was willing to pump in $10 billion through the IMF to aid Europe. — Reuters
	IMF trims growth forecasts for India, China Washington, September 20 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday said it was trimming its forecasts of economic growth for India, China and other Asian developing economies due partly to slower growth in the rest of the world. “Asian growth remains strong, although it is moderating with emerging capacity constraints and weaker external demand,” the IMF said in its latest World Economic Outlook. The IMF said it expected China's economy to grow 9.5 percent in 2011 and 9.0 percent in 2012. That's down from its June forecast for China of 9.6 per cent economic growth in 2011 and 9.5 per cent in 2012. Inflation pressures remain in China, but efforts to withdraw credit stimulus and to rein in property price inflation "have been gaining traction," the report said. Both property price inflation and credit growth "have softened from recent record levels," it said. The report forecast Chinese consumer prices to rise 5.5 per cent in 2011 and 3.3 percent in 2012. For all developing Asia, it pegged inflation at 7.0 per cent in 2011 and 5.1 per cent in 2012.
	Facebook apps create 2.3 lakh jobs New York, September 20 Social networking website Facebook, known as a platform for connecting with friends and acquaintances, also seems to be helping create lakhs of jobs, says a new study. According to the study by the University of Maryland's Robert H Smith School of Business, the proliferation of various Facebook-related applications could have created more than two lakh jobs this year alone in the US with salaries totalling more than $15 billion. Facebook applications have created up to 235,644 new jobs and contributed an estimated up to $15.71 billion in wages and other benefits to the US economy, it said. The study pegged the minimum number of such jobs at 1,82,000 and added more than 53,000 new jobs have been created in software companies alone. — PTI