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Cabinet okays mandatory 20% public
procurement from small industries
Greek referendum plan sends global stocks crashing
Exports up 36% in Sept to $25 bn
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Oil retailers hike jet fuel prices
HPCL slips into red in Q2, posts
Rs 3,364 cr loss
Surya Pharma chalks out
Rs 850 cr expansion
Maruti Oct sales plunge 53% to 55,595 units
Mobile tariffs may fall, TRAI for zero termination charge
SMS limit raised to 20 a day per SIM
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Cabinet okays mandatory 20% public
procurement from small industries
New Delhi, November 1 The policy has set an annual target of 20 per cent procurement for the central government departments and public sector units from micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Within this limit, four per cent of the orders should be placed with “scheduled castes and tribes” entrepreneurs and 16 per cent for others. Briefing reporters after the cabinet meeting, the Information & Broadcasting minister Ambika Soni said the decision was in line with the Congress party manifesto. Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Minister Virbhadra Singh said with the announcement of the new policy public sector undertakings are expected to buy goods worth Rs 35,000 crore from the MSMEs, of which a business of Rs 7,000 crore would go to units belonging to “scheduled castes and tribes.” However, the procurement policy would be voluntary in nature for three years. It would be made mandatory after three years. Micro, small and medium enterprises, which account for 45 per cent of the country’s manufacturing output and 40 per cent of exports, have also been hit by rising input costs and interest rates. The sector employs 60 million people in 26 million units producing over 6,000 products. The central ministries and public sector units will continue to procure 358 items from MSMEs, which have been reserved for exclusive purchase from them. For enhancing participation by enterprises belonging to “scheduled castes and tribes” in government procurement, the central ministries/public sector units will take necessary steps including organizing special vendor development programmes and buyer-seller meets. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said the clearance of the public procurement policy will offer a much needed and less optimally used avenue for increased consumption of MSME products by government departments and PSUs. More importantly, it will signal a message of confidence and faith in the potential and capabilities of the MSME sector, according to the apex industry chamber. According to a CII study on worldwide procurement policies, many countries around the world have formulated such policies which have enabled small and medium enterprises to compete even in adverse economic conditions. In India, public sector units procuring a percentage of their goods from MSMEs was not mandatory, but this policy would help transform the authorities’ mindset that goods manufactured by micro, small and medium enterprises are good enough for public sector undertakings and the government, CII added. |
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Greek referendum plan sends global stocks crashing
London, November 1 An unexpected fall in PMI data for China's manufacturers also hurt investor risk-taking sentiment as did Monday's failure of U.S. trading firm MF Global Holdings Ltd due to euro zone debt exposure. European stocks were down close to 3 percent and MSCI's all-country world stock index shed 1.7 percent. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou's announcement on Monday that he will put Greece's bailout to a referendum immediately cast doubt on the euro zone's plan to hand Athens 130 billion euros and arrange a 50-percent write-down on its huge debt. It raised the possibility of a disorderly default on its debt if Greeks vote against the plan. But more broadly it also threw into chaos the euro zone's wider attempts to stop the debt crisis spreading to more significant economies such as Italy. Attempts to get countries such as China and Brazil to fund an enhanced euro zone rescue fund, for example, will have hit a major barrier, given that it is not clear that the euro zone's grand compromise agreed last week will stand. "The risk is that a 'no' from the Greeks will competely derail the rescue efforts," one Paris-based trader said. — Reuters US, Asian stocks tumble, gold dives
US stocks slid at the open on Tuesday as the deal to rescue Greece and prevent a wider sovereign debt crisis was thrown into disarray and as Asian economic data reignited fears of a global slowdown. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 259.93 points, or 2.17%, to 11,695.08. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 33.41 points, or 2.67%, to 1,219.89. The Nasdaq Composite I ndex fell 78.24 points, or 2.91%, to 2,606.17. Asian shares and commodities fell, With Japan's Nikkei share average closing down 1.7%. Meanwhile, gold buckled under pressure from a stronger dollar on Tuesday.— Reuters |
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Exports up 36% in Sept to $25 bn
In September, 2010, the country's outbound shipments were valued at $18.2 billion. India's imports also registered growth in September, rising by 17.2% in comparison to the corresponding period of the previous year to $34.5 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $9.7 billion, the commerce ministry said Tuesday. Though down from the 44.2% growth rate recorded in August, the rise in exports in September can be considered robust, given the economic woes in the US and the debt crisis in Europe. The US and Europe are the two biggest markets for Indian merchandise, accounting for about 30% of total shipments. Commerce secretary Rahul Khullar has said that total exports in the current fiscal may reach $290-300 billion. During the April-September period, India's exports grew by 52% to $160 billion from $105.2 billion in the same period last year. During the first half of this fiscal, the sectors that registered healthy growth include engineering (103%), petroleum and oil lubricants (PoL) (53%), gems and jewellery (23%), ready-made garments (32%), marine products (48%) and drugs (33%). — PTI
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Oil retailers hike jet fuel prices
New Delhi, November 1 The hike comes on back of a marginally 0.5 per cent cut in rates to Rs 58,271 per kl effected from October 16. Prior to that OOC, the nation's largest fuel retailer, and other state retailers, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum, had on October 1 and September 16 and raised jet fuel prices by 2.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively, mainly because imports had become costlier due to fall in rupee against the US dollar. ATF in Mumbai, home to the nation's busiest airport, will cost Rs 2,950 per kl more at Rs 61,984 per kl from tomorrow as against the old price of Rs 59,021 per kl. Jet fuel makes up for 40 per cent of an airlines' operating cost and the steep hike in prices will raise burden on the cash-strapped airlines. No immediate comment was available from airlines on the impact of the price hike on passenger fares. — PTI
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HPCL slips into red in Q2, posts
Rs 3,364 cr loss
New Delhi, November 1 The fuel retailer had posted a net profit of Rs 2,089 crore for Q2 of the 2010-11 fiscal, HPCL finance director B Mukherjee told reporters. HPCL and the two other state-owned fuel retailers, Indian Oil Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd, sell diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene at rates way below market prices, as dictated by the government. This loss is partially made up by assistance from upstream firms like ONGC and a cash subsidy from the government.
— PTI |
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Surya Pharma chalks out
Rs 850 cr expansion
Chandigarh, November 1 The firm has earmarked a budget of Rs 850 crore for its new acquisitions during this fiscal. The firm is now also looking at entering the highly competitive packaged drinking water and seabuckthorn juice business, with the launch of these products in the coming fortnight. Talking to The Tribune here on Tuesday, Rajiv Goyal, chairman and managing director of Sura Corp, said by the yearend the firm would be acquiring an FMCG and nutraceuticals company in the US, which would help them retail their products in major US retail chains, besides importing some of their products to India. “Talks for the acquisition of this US based firm are underway, and this acquisition would cost us Rs 700 crore. We will also be acquiring two pharma retail chains — one in the eastern part of the country and another in South India, for almost Rs 150 crore,” he said. The company recently acquired a retail pharma chain, MediMart, in Hyderabad for Rs 15 crore. “Our pharma retail chain, Viva, now has a presence in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, UP, Andhra and Maharashtra. This business is adding Rs 50 crore to our topline. With the acquisition of two new retail chains, we hope to have 300 Viva retail stores and achieve a topline of Rs 200 crore,” he added.
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Maruti Oct sales plunge 53% to 55,595 units
New Delhi, November 1 "The labour unrest at company's Manesar plant during October this year adversely impacted the production and sales numbers. The company lost production of over 40,000 units (at the Gurgaon and Manesar plants) in the month," it added. The Manesar facility rolls out Maruti Suzuki’s high volume compact car Swift, which currently has undelivered booking orders for about 100,000 units. The plant also produces hatchback A-Star and sedan SX4. — PTI |
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Mobile tariffs may fall, TRAI for zero termination charge
New Delhi, November 1 Termination charges, a part of Interconnection Usage Charges, are a levy paid by one operator to another on whose network a call ends. Any change in it will have impact on mobile tariffs. At present, termination charge is 20 paise per minute and it forms a part of mobile tariffs. In its submission to the Supreme Court, Trai has submitted a number of models for calculating IUC, but it has suggested that termination charges should be completely removed by 2014. "It is felt it would take another two years for asymmetries in traffic flows to converge to some form of equilibrium between new and old operators, especially with an enabling termination charges regime with termination charges set at lower levels than at present," Trai said in the affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court. A final decision on the issue will be taken by the Supreme Court. GSM operators are on one side opposing any move to reduce termination charge, while the CDMA players, and new operators together on the other hand are supporting any move for complete removal of the levy. The move to reduce the fee has been opposed by incumbent operators as they stand to lose revenue. But new players are in favour of a low termination rates because for them the net outflow of traffic is more than incoming calls. TRAI is of the opinion there should be a progressive reduction in termination charges finally converging to zero termination charges i.e. bill & keep (BAK) at the end of two years from now, it added. TRAI said establishment of a clear three-year outlook for IUC would provide regulatory predictability and enable service providers to plan their networks and businesses accordingly. Meanwhile, TRAI is of the view that the termination rates arrived at through pure long run incremental cost method may be made applicable now which will glide towards BAK in two years’ time. “This will give sufficient time to operators to adjust to changes in the termination regime and will ensure a smooth transition," it said. — PTI
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SMS limit raised to 20 a day per SIM
New Delhi, November 1 "TRAI has received representations from some of the service providers and consumers to raise the limit of 100 SMSes a day per SIM. TRAI has considered these representations and decided to raise the limit of 100 SMSes per day per SIM to 200 SMSes per day per SIM, effective from Nov 1," TRAI said Tuesday. To deter unsolicited SMSes by telemarketing firms, TRAI had earlier restricted the number of noncommercial SMSes that can be sent from a SIM to 100. There was no restriction on commercial messages sent through telemarketing firms registered with TRAI. —PTI |
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Greece's shock decision to hold a referendum on its euro zone bailout package sent investors scurrying for safer investments on Tuesday, hammering stocks and punishing the euro.
New Delhi, November 1