The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Sistema Shyam wins spectrum in 8 circles for Rs 3,639 crore New Delhi, March 11 Sistema Shyam TeleServices, the Indian mobile phone unit of Russia’s Sistema, won airwaves in eight cellular zones in the country with its sole bid of Rs 3,639 crore (36.39 billion), Telecom Secretary R. Chandrashekhar stated here on Monday. The government is using spectrum auctions and stake sales in state-run companies to contain its deficit to within 5.2% of GDP this fiscal year and 4.8% in the next fiscal year that starts in April. The country is struggling, however, to sell airwaves to carriers stressed by heavy debt loads and who have mostly shunned the bidding process, complaining that base prices set by the government are too high. The government raised less than a quarter of its $7.4 billion target in a November auction and had initially planned to sell airwaves worth at least $7.9 billion at Monday's auction. It had to scrap the sale of two key frequency bands that are used by operators of the popular GSM technology and account for about 85 percent of the total value of the airwaves due to lack of participants. The government is expected to cut prices for the unsold airwaves at the next auction, the details of which have yet to be finalized. Sistema Shyam TeleServices, which saw its permits revoked in 21 service areas after an Indian Supreme Court ruling covering a scandal-tainted award process in 2008, won the airwaves at the minimum bid price, which had already been cut by about half after no companies bid for the band in November. Sistema Shyam, which operates on the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) platform, had earlier said it would cease operations in 10 zones and bid in select areas. Sistema Shyam won three blocks of airwaves in Delhi, Kolkata, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh (West) and West Bengal. The company did not bid for Mumbai, Maharashtra and UP (East) zones and said it would shut down operations in those zones and will ask customers to shift to other carriers. The firm said it would be allowed to offset against the auction payments Rs 16.26 billion it had paid for previous permits that were ordered to be revoked. It will pay the remainder in 10 annual installments starting March 2016. The government expects revenue of Rs 408.5 billion from airwave surcharges, auction of spectrum and licence fees in FY2013-14. — Reuters
	Exports up 4.25%, govt to offer sops in trade policy New Delhi, March 11 Reflecting some recovery in the global markets, India's exports for the second straight month in February grew by 4.25 per cent to US $26.26 billion. With a view to boost exports, the government will announce incentives for exporters in the forthcoming foreign trade policy (FTP). Exports had entered positive zone after a gap of eight months, recording a 0.82% growth in January. "Europe is performing better now. The decline has been arrested. Sectors which have large weightage especially engineering has started performing better and refined oil too. There is also a marginal improvement in textiles exports," Commerce Secretary S.R. Rao told reporters here. Other sectors which performed well include rice, oil meals, pharmaceutical and chemicals. Rao said the ministry is intensely engaged with stakeholders for the forthcoming FTP, expected to be announced by end of this month. "We’re actively involved in consultations with chambers, export promotion councils, various departments and state governments and trying to arrive at a package of incentives which would be announced shortly," he said. Special economic zones, which are export hubs of the country, may also get incentives along with the FTP. Imports rose by 2.6% to $41.18 billion in February, leaving a trade deficit of $14.92 billion from $14.93 in February 2012. Last month trade deficit had widened to around $20 billion, the second highest figure ever in a month. "We certainly expect that trade deficit to narrow as exports are picking up," Rao said. However, during the April-February period, exports declined by 4% to $265.95 billion. Imports during the 11-month period grew by a mere 0.25% to $448 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $182.1 billion. Crude oil imports during April-February 2013 grew by 11.9 per cent to $155 billion from $139 billion in the same period last year. In February, it grew by 15.45%. The sectors which registered high growth in imports during the 11-month period include cotton, vegetable oil, petroleum and ores and scraps. Gold and silver imports grew 15.23% in the 11-month period while the imports fell 7.6% to $52.4 billion in the month under review. In the foreign trade policy, sectors that are expected to get sops include leather, engineering, carpet and textiles. SEZs, which contribute about 30% in the country's overall exports, are losing sheen due to the imposition of minimum alternate tax (MAT) and dividend distribution tax. — PTI Rupee retreats on dollar strength The rupee fell on Monday, retreating from an over one-week high hit earlier in the session, as relief from domestic trade data showing a rise in exports failed to offset the global strength in the dollar after a stronger-than-expected US jobs data. ndia's exports rose 4.25% in February from a year earlier, narrowing the trade deficit to US $14.92 billion and alleviating some concerns about the current account deficit. Investors are gearing up for the RBI's policy review on March 19, and industrial output data due on Tuesday and wholesale price inflation on Thursday will be important in setting expectations. Some concerns that the central bank will remain hawkish on interest rates remained after RBI governor D. Subbarao on Friday rejected the notion that high inflation is the "new normal." "There is greater comfort on the current account deficit given the dilution in headwinds from external sector," said Moses Harding, head of asset liability management at IndusInd Bank. "The risk for rupee at this stage is from RBI's hawkish guidance on monetary policy and general dollar strength against major currencies." The partially convertible rupee closed at 54.41/42 per dollar versus its previous close of 54.285/2950. The rupee rose to as high as 54.17 during the day, its highest since February 28, after the trade data. However, the rupee was unable to sustain the gains as the dollar held near a 3-1/2-year high against the yen and was steady against other major currencies on Monday after US jobs data last week added to optimism about the world's largest economy. — Reuters
	Govt working on common KYC norms for FIIs Tribune News Service New Delhi. March 11 Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said Monday the government was working on converging “Know Your Customer” (KYC) norms for foreign institutional investors to attract more overseas investments into the country. “The government will soon come out with a new set of norms that will have common KYC norms across various regulators, be it pension, banking, stocks or insurance. There should be one KYC,” he told the Rajya Sabha. “If a new FII applies in India, it goes through due diligence and once registered it has to go through KYC norms”, he said, replying to members' queries when the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Amendment) Bill, 2013, was taken up for consideration and passage in the house. The bill, which sought appointment of a retired high court judge having held the position for seven years for heading the Securities Appellate Tribunal, was passed by voice vote. As per existing provisions, only a serving or retired Supreme Court judge or chief justice of a high court can head the tribunal, but the government was finding it difficult to fill the slot. Meanwhile, the minister said the cumulative investment graph of foreign institutional investors in India was rising.During the year 2012, there has been an investment of $31 billion by FIIs in India. During the current year from January 1 till date, there has been an investment of $10 billion by FIIs,” he said, adding the stock markets have risen by 25% and given good returns. “I’m confident that with more investment coming in from FIIs, the [BSE S&P] Sensex and [NSE] Nifty will continue to be on an upward trajectory and give good results,” Chidambaram said. At present 1,756 foreign institutional investors are registered in the country. The rising graph of FII investment in the country were indicators that Indian markets were well regulated, he said. Chidambaram also assured of serious action in matters of insider trading and said the capital markets regulator has been asked to step up systems and surveillance to deal with such matters. “We take a serious view of insider trading, which is a serious offence. They are clever people. We have to be cleverer than the perpetrators of the fraud. We are trying to become cleverer. I have told SEBI to improve the surveillance. As we move forward, we will improve our systems and surveillance," he said. From April 1, 2009 to February 28, 2013, SEBI had suspended trading in 1,125 companies, he added.
	Lubricants industry sees 2% de-growth Ruchika M. Khanna/TNS Chandigarh, March 11 The poor industrial growth this year has also had a cascading effect on India’s lubricants industry. With the industrial output in the country down over last year, lubricants, too, saw a de-growth of almost 2% in the current fiscal. Though the lubricant manufacturers have managed to retain their net profits by raising the price of lubricants (by Rs 10 per litre), the volume of sales have remained slow throughout the year. The sales volumes have been slow not just because of a fall in demand, but also because of more efficient lubricants now being launched in the market. But the rising prices of lubricants has meant that the industrial consumers of lubricants now have to shell out a much higher amount to purchase these oils, thus hitting their profit margins. On the other hand, the high cost of lubricants supplied by the organized sector to the industry has also led to many consumers shifting loyalties and buying lubricants from the unorganized sector. P.C. Srivastava, head of lubricants business of state-owned Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd, said one of the main reasons for the de-growth in the lubricant business this year was the massive de-growth in the steel industry, which consumes industrial lubricants in a major way. “Growth in the lubricants industry is expected to be just 4% this year as against 6% last year,,” he said. Srivastava, said the company was now focusing on increasing the sales in the automotive lubricant segment, so as to keep up with the sales volumes. Currently, the Indian lubricants market is estimated at nearly Rs 25,000 crore, over Rs 2,000 crore of which is for high quality synthetic and semisynthetic products. Of this, BPCL’s sales from its lubricants business is around Rs 3,000 crore. Srivastava said though last year BPCL has so far netted a profit of Rs 300 crore from its lubricants business, the profit is likely to be marginally lower this fiscal because of sluggish demand.
	Toyota looks at boosting Etios range exports New Delhi, March 11 Toyota Kirloskar Motor is increasing exports of its Etios range of cars from India to Africa, while it also looks to enhance its foothold in the Indian market with the launch of new versions of the Etios sedan and Liva hatchback with prices starting at Rs 4.46 lakh. "Last year, we started exports of the Etios to South Africa and have so far shipped 20,000 units. We’re looking at exporting the model to other countries neighbouring South Africa. We’ve in fact started exporting to Zimbabwe and Mauritius," Toyota Kirloskar Motor MD & CEO Hiroshi Nakagawa said. “Going forward, the company will look to increase its exports further”, he added. — PTI The company has launched the new version of Etios at a price range of Rs 5.45 lakh and Rs 7.08 lakh for the petrol variant and Rs 6.70 lakh and Rs 8.15 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for the diesel variant. The new Etios Liva hatchback will now cost between Rs 4.46 lakh and Rs 5.99 lakh for petrol option and Rs 5.72 lakh and Rs 6.38 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for diesel variant. "There has been an increase in prices of these two vehicles by about 2.1% to 2.5% from the previous version," Toyota Kirloskar Motor deputy MD & COOO (marketing & commercial) Sandeep Singh said. The Etios was launched in December 2010 followed by the Etios Liva in June 2011. Since then, the range has sold more than 1,45,000 units. The company also said it is offering Etios Liva TRD Sportivo, a new 1.5 litre engine as a regular grade. "As a part of our product lifecycle and with the aim to bring newness to the lineup we are launching the new Etios and Etios Liva. We have incorporated customer feedback and are looking forward to delighting more customers with the new vehicles," Singh said. The firm, in its bid to reach out to more customers after the launch of the Etios and Etios Liva, has expanded its dealer network from 97 dealerships in 2009 to 220 outlets currently. "TKM is looking at improving its reach and is setting up new outlets in semi urban and rural areas. The company further plans to expand it to 235 dealerships by the end of March this year," the company said. When asked about the company's plans to set up a diesel engine manufacturing plant in India, Nakagawa said it hasn't been finalised yet. He said the market continues to be difficult but a recovery is expected in the later part of the year if interest rates come down and government takes other steps to lift the consumer sentiments.
	Economic growth in India slowing down: OECD Paris, March 11 The economic outlook in major industrialized economies is improving with the United States and Japan leading the way, the OECD said on Monday, adding activity in the eurozone was also picking up. The figures come after news last week that the US jobless rate had fallen to a four-year low, offering a bright signal on the health of the world's biggest economy. The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development said its latest monthly leading indicator for the OECD as a whole — covering 33 countries — was at its highest level since June 2011. Among the major emerging economies tracked by the OECD, the reading for China pointed to "moderating growth" at 99.0 after 99.1 in December. India saw "growth slowing down", with a reading of 97.2 after 97.3, the OECD said. The composite leading indicator rose to 100.4 from 100.3 in December, which the think tank said pointed to "firming growth". It also brought the measure, which is designed to flag turning points in economic activity, further above the long-term average of 100. — Reuters