The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Sugar industry wants to export; govt apprehensive of price spurt Vibha Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 28 Just ahead of the festive when the demand for sugar is at its peak, the industry has escalated its demand for allowing export of the commodity, basing its arguments on availability of surplus stocks This is likely to lead to a spurt in prices, especially with the Maharashtra government all set to pay higher prices to farmers in the key cane producing state, as reported yesterday. Claiming that exports will not effect retail prices of the essential commodity, the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said the government should allow export of at least 4 million tonnes of sugar under the open general licence. This too, should start from the beginning of the new sugar season, in October. They say that that the season is expected to open with an estimated opening stock of 5.8 MT. However, Food Ministry headed by KV Thomas does not seem too convinced even though it has agreed to reconcile the discrepancies in the production figures projected by the Agriculture Ministry and his ministry and promised to take steps to maintain price stability both for industry and consumers. Firm on its earlier projected figure of around 26 MT production in the new season despite the Food Ministry last week pegging the sugar output at a much lower 24.6 MT, ISMA said an estimated increase of 4 per cent in cane area the new season would result in increase sugarcane production. The discrepancy in figures is a bone of contention between the Agriculture Ministry headed by Sharad Pawar and Thomas. Pawar recently pegged the production around 25.5-26 MT on the basis of good monsoon. “The estimated sugar cane crush during the next sugar season 2011-12 will be around 264.5 MT, which translates into a sugar production of 26 MT. The total availability of sugar, therefore, works out to 31.8 MT. The domestic consumption would be around 22 MT and therefore sugar mills will be left with 9.8 MT of surplus sugar,” ISMA argued. A sour season for sugar? The industry contends that to save sugar mills from the crisis of surplus sugar, the government should allow export of at least 4 MT in the new season beginning October In the current year, 24.3 MT sugar was produced, while the annual demand is around 21.5 MT.
	India, Pak to double trade to $6 billion Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 28 The Commerce Ministers of India and Pakistan have agreed to jointly work to more than double bilateral trade within three years, from current levels of $2.7 billion a year to about $6 billion dollars. A joint statement issued after the meeting between Commerce Minister, Anand Sharma and visiting Pakistan counterpart, Makhdoom Mohammad Amin Fahim announced several measures to boost trade ties. The statement said this goal will be facilitated through the Memorandum of Understanding signed today between the India Trade Promotion Organisation and the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan. This is the first visit by a Pakistan Commerce Minister to India in 35 years. Accompanying the Minister is a high level official delegation including the Commerce Secretary of Pakistan; and more than fifty business delegates from Pakistan. The ministers agreed that their countries would cooperate for preferential trade relations under the framework of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) and all mutual obligations contracted under SAFTA would be implemented with full sincerity. On the roadmap laid for trade liberalisation, the Commerce Secretaries in their meeting in November will shall lay down specific timelines to normalize all trade relationships including dismantling of all non-tariff barriers. Full implementation of SAFTA obligations was also mandated. Customs arrangements have also been significantly synchronised and both sides are vigorously addressing issues of infrastructure, to further promote bilateral trade through the land route of Attari-Wagah.
	Intel partners Asus, RCom to offer netbooks at Rs 9,999 New Delhi, September 28 Global chip maker Intel today said it has partnered computer maker Asus and telecom services provider Reliance Communications (RCom) to offer netbooks in the country at Rs 9,999. Intel said the move is aimed at helping people, who do not own a PC yet, to gain access to computing and the Internet. Intel has collaborated with Asus to produce entry-level netbooks designed for the first time buyers, students and people on the go. Both RCom and Intel aim to increase device footprint among internet subscribers through joint retail promotions and selling Intel processor-based devices through RCom stores. “We aim to bring new levels of affordability to the netbook category without compromising on performance, usability or aesthetics,” Intel South Asia Director (New Platforms Business Group) Prashanth Adiraju told reporters here. Asus has launched its Eee PC X101, which will come pre-loaded with ‘MeeGo’ open source operating system along with applications for email, social networking, entertainment etc. “Reliance is delighted to support Intel's cloud driven Meego OS and offer a package of affordable computing and wireless broadband access to bridge the digital divide in semi-urban and rural India,” RCom Senior Vice President (Data and Devices) Kaushik Pillalamarri said. — PTI
	Kingfisher Airlines to exit low cost service Shubhadeep Choudhury Tribune News Service Bangalore, September 28 Debt-ridden industrialist and Rajya Sabha member Vijay Mallya today announced exiting low-cost airline Kingfisher Red. The Group will now focus on the more expensive Kingfisher Class service. The Air Deccan fleet was renamed Kingfisher Red by the Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) after Air Deccan, the pioneer low cost airlines, merged with KFA in 2007. “Yes, we are doing away with Kingfisher Red. We don’t intend to compete in the low-cost segment. But all is not gloom and doom”, Mallya told reporters on the margins of the Kingfisher Airlines Ltd’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) . Claiming that margins of the company’s more expensive service known as Kingfisher Class were higher than the low-cost operations, Mallya earlier told the shareholders that he was exiting Kingfisher Red as it did not make any sense to compete in the budget segment. “We believe there are more than enough guests who prefer to travel the full-service Kingfisher Class. And that shows through in our own performance where load factors in Kingfisher Class are more than in Kingfisher Red,” Mallya said at the AGM. Kingfisher’s move, however, comes at a time when demand for low-fare air travel continues to grow in India.Its rival Jet Airways recently said it was planning to introduce low-fare flights to short-haul overseas destinations. Responding to concerns over Kingfisher's capability to stay afloat, Mallya said it was the “most awarded” airline in the country, with a substantial market share. “Aviation demand remains strong and Kingfisher is still the single largest airline in India with a market share of approximately 20 per cent. Kingfisher is also India’s most awarded airline, recognised for the quality of its product and service and its vast network”, Mallya, chairman of KFA, told shareholders. He also rebutted “recent sensational articles in the media” saying the airline would need to infuse more funds to remain afloat and efforts were underway in that direction. Kingfisher, which began operations in May 2005, has never posted a net profit, hit first by a slowdown in air traffic and then by losses on its international operations. “As you would appreciate, in a volatile global economic environment and with oil prices as high as they have been, raising funds is not an easy task,” Mallya said. Last month, Kingfisher Airlines informed the Bombay Stock Exchange of infusing fresh capital by raising Rs 2,000 crore through a rights issue.
	GE lines up investment of Rs 1,000 crore in India Ruchika M. Khanna Tribune News Service Chandigarh, September 28 General Electric (GE) plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore in its India operations. The company is also looking at expanding its appliances business in the country. The company is setting up a new multi-model facility at Pune. The company plans to start production of healthcare equipments, gas engines and also assemble and test wind turbines, mainly for the Indian market. As the economy of scale grow for its appliances in India and with localisation in production being the new mantra at GE, the company is also looking at starting production of its appliances here. The company has been importing its appliances from Korea and China, for retailing in India. Himamshu V Prasad, president and CEO, Appliances and Lighting, GE Lighting, said that GE had launched its appliances business in India in June last year. “We have doubled the volume of appliance business in India (between year 2010 and during the first eight months of 2011). As we expand our business, we are looking at increasing our footprint across the country. So far, North India has been the biggest market for our products,” he said. So far, GE Appliances has been retailing its products through multi brand retail outlets. Of the 300 outlets that sell its appliances, 200 are located in North India and 60 in Southern states. Prasad, who was in town to inaugurate the company’s first Experience Centre (its own retail outlet), said that they plan to open four more centres this year — three in Delhi and one in Jalandhar. “We have been retailing in refrigerators, air conditioners, washers and dryers. But in the next six months, we will be launching our other products like small capacity dryers and washers, cook tops, chimneys, wall ovens, microwave ovens, dish washers and garbage disposal systems, for the Indian consumer,” he added.
	India committed to zero tolerance towards corruption Tribune News Service New Delhi, September 28 India is committed to greater transparency and accountability in governance as also to the policy of "zero tolerance" towards corruption, President Pratibha Patil said today. The President said that the Indian economy will grow,. “We will continue to pursue an inclusive growth strategy, that includes an ambitious programme for the expansion of our social and infrastructure sectors.” “We recognise that corruption is a hurdle towards these endeavors and that it must be removed,” she said after inaugurating the Seventh Regional Conference of the ADB-OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific Region. The President said that any approach to combating corruption would need to be multifaceted, as the problem itself has a number of dimensions. “Governments would have to constantly look at and review existing laws, systems and procedures for ensuring their effectiveness,” the President said. She added that this would require strengthening institutions, removing loopholes, stringently implementing laws and making every institution more transparent in its functioning. She empahsised that tackling corruption requires the need to look at individual behaviour as well as societal norms.
	BSE gets approval for SME Exchange Mumbai, September 28 The Securities & Exchnage Board of India (SEBI) today granted permission to the Bombay Stock Exchnage (BSE) to launch much-touted SME Exchange that will offer a platform to small and medium companies to raise funds from the primary as well as debt markets. On the development, BSE Managing Director and Chief Executive Madhu Kannan said, "We are glad to have received approval from Sebi to launch the new exchange for small and medium enterprises. This is a great boost to our efforts in offering multiple asset classes to investors. "With this, we are doing our bit to contribute towards the governmental agenda of greater financial inclusion and allowing promising enterprises of future to access retail capital." The millions of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have always been complaining of difficulty in accessing both debt and equity capital. The government has taken steps access to credit. The BSE SME Exchange, which will function like the AIM of London, the TSXV of Canada, the GEM of Hong Kong, the Mothers of Japan, the Kosdaq of Korea and the Nasdaq of the US, Kannan said. — PTI
	BP CEO sees RIL gas block output rising from 2014 New Delhi, September 28 BP expects output from Reliance Industries' gas blocks off India's east coast to rise from 2014, and is working for approvals from the government to develop satellite fields, the British group's chief executive said on Wednesday. Reliance, controlled by India's richest man Mukesh Ambani, has been under fire in recent months from the regulator, investors and analysts over slowing gas output from the Krishna Godavari (KG) D6 block. BP acquired a 30 percent stake in 23 oil and gas blocks from Reliance earlier this year, in a deal worth $7.2 billion, and the collaboration is expected to boost gas output. "We are hopeful to get these approvals this year so we can begin engineering and by 2014 get gas production rising again," BP CEO Bob Dudley said after meeting government officials. Earlier this month, India's upstream regulator said Reliance was currently producing 44 mscmd (million standard cubic metres a day) of gas from the D6 block, down from 60 mscmd a year earlier and far off the planned peak capacity of 80 mscmd. — Reuters