Gurgaon, October 21
Striking workers at the Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, Suzuki Motorcycles India, Suzuki Powertrain India and Suzuki Casting plants called off their strike following a marathon tripartite meeting with officials of the company management and the Haryana government here on Friday.

The employees had been on strike since October 7 to press their demand to re-absorb the casual and contractual workers at Maruti Suzuki’s Manesar plants. The 14-day-long strike at is estimated to have cost the company over Rs 700 crore.

The dispute was settled through discussions initiated by officials of the district administration and the state labour department. The employees will now resume work with immediate effect from October 22.

Several rounds of discussions and negotiations were held to resolve the crisis. Eventually a settlement was reached after a 42-hour-long tripartite meeting that concluded Friday morning.

Haryana labour commissioner Satwanti Ahlawat, additional labour commissioner Nitin Yadav, Gurgaon deputy commissioner PC Meena, subdivision magistrate (Gurgaon-North) Satyender Duhan and assistant police commissioner Manesar Tejbir Singh played a crucial role in forging a compromise agreement.

According to the terms and conditions of the settlement, the status of the workers engaged on contractual basis would be the same as it was on August 29, 2011. Bus services for workers would be resumed and 64 Maruti Suzuki employees involved in the stir will be reinstated unconditionally. However, 30 other employees, who will face an internal inquiry by the management, will remain on suspension. Legal action will be taken against those found guilty of instigating the strike and the findings of the probe will have to be acceptable by all. Employees undertook not to hold demonstrations, tool-down or sit-in strikes even if disciplinary action was taken against any worker.

The agreement states a workers welfare committee, comprising members from the Maruti Suzuki management as well as employees, would be set up. However, the workers against whom disciplinary action has been taken during the period of the strike would not be eligible to become members of the committee.

Similarly, a grievance-redressal committee in which a labour officer will be a permanent invitee, besides representatives of management and workers, will also be set up . The officer will regularly review actions taken by the management on the complaints of workers.

It was also decided the workers would not proceed on strike whenever there was a tool-down or sit-in strike in any other sister company or unit. Abiding by the principle of “no work, no pay”, striking workers would not get remuneration for the number of days of the strike and, in addition, a day’s wages would be deducted as penalty. All previous disputes would also be deemed settled and, after this agreement, it would be considered no issue remained between the two sides.

Mumbai, October 21
The Reserve Bank of India is likely to raise interest rates again on Tuesday, but that doesn't necessarily mean it should. This would be the 13th rate rise since March 2010 for the Reserve Bank of India. It defies the growing case for standing pat as local and global conditions worsen, adding to the prospect it may be forced soon to reverse direction.

Nearly half the respondents in a recent Reuters poll expect the RBI to begin cutting rates in 2012, most likely beginning in the first quarter of the fiscal year. More than half — 17 of 30 —expect a 25 basis point rate rise, while the rest expect a pause. The RBI has come in for criticism from economists and investors for not acting more decisively earlier in the fight against inflation.

Continuing to raise rates delivers diminishing returns in the fight against inflation, which has remained above 9 percent for ten straight months, some say.

"It’s like a disease which has developed complete resistance to a certain antibiotic, so an additional dose is not going to do much good," said Rupa Rege Nitsure, chief economist at Bank of Baroda in Mumbai.

The RBI has lifted repo rate to 8.25 percent, its highest since just before the global financial crisis of 2008, but has been powerless to curb inflation driven in large part by supply bottlenecks, global commodity prices and loose fiscal policy.

It has, however, managed to crimp big-ticket spending on cars and housing, and, more ominously, capital spending that would add the capacity India needs to accommodate its ambitions for double-digit growth without overheating. Investment has also been curbed by a slowdown in project approvals caused by political gridlocks. Bank lending grew at 19.5% annually in late September, above central bank projections of 18% but below the 24% peak seen in December last year.

"Whatever capex or term loans disbursements are happening, most of these were tied up some time back," Paresh Sukhtankar, executive director of HDFC Bank, told reporters Wednesday. — Reuters

Mumbai, October 21
The Reserve Bank has deferred operationalisation of its credit default swap (CDS) guidelines for corporate bonds by a month till November-end to give market participants like insurers and mutual funds more time to clarify details on documentation and operational aspects.

"Market participants have asked for certain clarifications regarding documentation, operational aspects and the arrangement for the necessary institutional framework... The matter has been reviewed and it has been decided to operationalise CDS guidelines... by the end of November, 2011," the RBI said in a notification.

The central bank had finalised the guidelines in May and they were scheduled to be operationalised from October 24. It said the exact revised date for implementation of the CDS guidelines for corporate bonds. — Agencies

Chandigarh, October 21
Trade between India and Pakistan is expected to jump at least threefold once Pakistan grants India Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status. As the two sides work out the modalities for granting the status to India, governments of both countries should also explore opening more trade routes through land between India and Pakistan.

Both countries should also explore how they could simplify the norms for granting visas to businessmen from the two sides. Granting of multiple entry and multiple city visas would also give a fillip to trade relations between the two sides, and help the businessmen in exploring opportunities across the border.

Talking to The Tribune here on Friday, Nisir Ud Sheikh, chairman of the Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerces & Industry, said the stringent rules needed to be relaxed so as to give a boost to trade relations between two sides. “One of the major problems in trade with India is that there are just two approved land routes for trade — via Wagah and through Jammu & Kashmir. In case more land routes for trade are approved it would help trade grow phenomenally and also bring down freight costs,” he said.

Sheikh added that with the grant of MFN status, a negative list will be drawn out, and both sides are working on drawing this list, which will help protect the domestic industry in both countries. “Presently, under SAFATA , free trade is allowed for 800 to 900 items, which we would want to raise to 2000 items,” he said.

Lauding the international trade fairs for giving a big boost to trade between the two sides, and the growing participation of Pakistani entrepreneurs in fairs organized in India, Sheikh said that businessmen from Pakistan would also like to participate in a much bigger way — not just in B2C segment, but also in B2B segment.

Mumbai, October 21
Five years after making a grand foray into retail, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries is nowhere close to the scale he had hoped his company, India's largest listed group, would achieve in a fragmented and fast-growing industry.

With retail giants Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Carrefour circling India in anticipation of a rule change that would allow foreign investment in supermarkets, Asia's richest man is scrambling to capitalise on his early mover advantage.

Over the past few months, Reliance has accelerated store openings, brought in a management team from Wal-Mart China and launched wholesale operations that serve the small mom-and-pop players dominating the $450 billion Indian retail sector. It has also rolled out its first large-format hypermarket outlets selling everything from food to furniture.

"In retail they’re still a long way off," said Michiel van Voorst, portfolio manager for Asia-Pacific equities at Robeco Hong Kong, which is considering buying into the stock it sold off three years ago, tempted by its 22% decline in 2011.

"The business will still require a lot of investments, and there’s no synergy to any of other activities of the firm”, said van Voorst, whose firm manages $2 billion in Asia.

Reliance battles the same problems that have thwarted faster growth for organised retail in Asia's third-largest economy, including expensive real estate and opposition from politically powerful small shop-owners, farmers and middlemen. At the launch of the retail arm in 2006, the energy-focused conglomerate set out to build a $20 billion revenue business by 2011.

For FY2011 ended March 31, however, retail sales were just Rs 56.77 billion, according to two analysts' estimates, a 27% rise. — PTI

New Delhi, October 21
Senior officials of the telecom companies in the country met Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal here today protesting the penalties being levied on them by the department of telecommunications (DoT).

Led by the umbrella organizations of both the GSM and the CDMA operators COAI and AUSPI, respectively, the telecom operators also raised the contentious issue of the intra circle 3G sharing arrangements that have been objected to by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and DoT.

The issue of intra circle 3G sharing arrangement was raised with the minister within a day of Sibal saying DoT was looking into the roaming deals very carefully and minutely and there could be some flexibility on it.

TRAI has established that 3G roaming agreements between telcos violated licence conditions. An internal wing of DoT has also stated that 3G roaming agreements between Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular were “illegal”.

With no telco bagging pan-India 3G airwaves in last year's auctions, the leading GSM operators — Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular — had entered into an alliance that enables them to offer high-end data services on a pan-India basis.

While Bharti, Vodafone and Idea had won 3G airwaves in 13, 9 and 11 circles, respectively their roaming pacts ensured that customers of these companies access high-speed data services even in the regions where they don't hold 3G airwaves.

The telecom operators led by their CEO’s raised the reservations and understanding of DoT on the intra circle roaming arrangements for 3G spectrum. They were of the view that 3G intra circle roaming is not an infringement of the licence conditions but is well within the ambit of the licence as clarified by DoT at various foras.

Commenting on the minister’s statement on 3G roaming arrangement, COA director general Rajan S Mathews said: “We extend our gratitude towards Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal for his positive approach and initiatives towards the well-being of the Indian telecom industry and for looking into the vital concerns at a time when the industry is at peril. The minister has promised to address the concern areas at the earliest."

Hyderabad, October 21
Notwithstanding political turmoil due to the prolonged Telangana agitation, Andhra Pradesh has been able to retain its edge as a leading investment destination and is hopeful of achieving an economic growth rate of around 9.5 per cent to 10 per cent during the 12th Plan period.

The investments to the tune of Rs 3.07 lakh crore have either already come or in the pipeline, officials said. Major investments include Bharat Dynamics’ units at Anantapur for maufacturing missiles, NTPC-BHEL power plant equipment project at Mannavaram, Srikalahasti and Bharat Electronics Ltd’s unit at Anantapur.

Meanwhile, according to a report by Knight Frank, a global property consultant, AP is among the top five manufacturing destinations in the country along with Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

The output of six major sectors — petroleum, food processing, cement, chemicals, metal and electrical machinery in Andhra would soar to around Rs. 6 lakh crore over the next five years from the existing Rs 2.31 lakh crore.

Terming the petroleum sector as Andhra’s “ leading light”, Knight Frank said the sector would help the state chart a growth going forward, thanks to the 28% compounded annual growth rate, stimulating the state’s petroleum sector output to Rs 2.07 lakh crore in 2015-16 as against Rs 59,400 crore in 2010-11.

The report estimated the total manufacturing output of these five states to touch Rs 49.4 lakh crore by 2016 from the present Rs 19.35 lakh crore, a 21% annual growth rate.