The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	DoT not in favour of spectrum trading Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 2 Despite pressure from the telecom operators, who are facing a financial crunch, the Department of Telecom (DoT) is not in favour of allowing spectrum trading as of now and has asked the telecom sector regulator Telecom regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to reconsider its recommendation on the same. The DoT panel, which had reviewed the TRAI report on forthcoming round of spectrum auction and other spectrum-related issues, has done a detailed review of the TRAI recommendations and given them to the Telecom Commission, country’s highest decision making body in the sector. The Telecom Commission is expected to review the recommendations tomorrow and give its views on the subject. In its report to the Telecom Commission, the DoT Committee has called for a holistic view by the Government before allowing trading of spectrum. The DoT is of the view that spectrum trading in the present scenario may not serve the purpose and to the contrary, it may have some unintended consequences until a holistic view is taken by the Government. It has asked the Telecom Commission to get a detailed view from TRAI on the issue before giving its nod. At present, the government only auctions the spectrum for the individual use by the telecom operators but does not allow any trading in it. Although the National Telecom Policy 2012 does give its clearance for spectrum trading, which has been a major demand of the operators as it allows them to raise finances by mortgaging the spectrum with the banks and financial institutions, the government has still not given its go-ahead for the same. The legal framework under which it can be treated transferable and tradable in whole or parts is still to be worked out. According to the Committee report, conformity of such framework with Supreme Court Order in 2G case and Presidential Reference is required on the same. The committee has also pointed out that there was a need for assessment of market value of spectrum as that would assume more importance in M&A cases and the code to control the fly-by-night operators entering just for trading benefits. Last month, DoT had sought TRAI views on spectrum trading. It had sought TRAI’s views on conditions and timing for permitting trading of spectrum obtained through auction, quantity of spectrum for trading by an operator, revenue payable apart from legal, regulatory and technical framework. spectrum of analysis The DoT panel has done a detailed review of the TRAI recommendations and given them to the Telecom Commission The Telecom Commission is expected to review the recommendations on Thursday and give its views on the subject In its report, the DoT Committee has called for a holistic view by the Government before allowing trading of spectrum The DoT is of the view that spectrum trading in the present scenario may not serve the purpose and may have some unintended consequences until a holistic view is taken by the Government
	Schneider Electric in talks with BEE for energy conservation New Delhi, October 2 French firm Schneider Electric's Indian arm Schneider Electric India has said it is working closely with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency towards promoting energy efficiency endeavours in the country. "We are in contact with BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) in terms of providing our feedback from a business perspective and also in terms of looking at the business deal in energy efficiency," Anil Chaudhry, Country President and Managing Director (India) Schneider Electric told PTI. "Areas like technology development, innovation and deployment that is where companies like Schneider Electric will come in, we are very strong solutions provider," he said. He said the company, which is completing its 50 years in India, has an Energy Efficiency Group that facilitates the company's endeavours towards energy efficiency. "We have an Energy Efficiency Group within the company, that becomes a point of contact for inter-facing with the government," Chaudhry said. That Group also takes up pilot projects for energy conservation. "With the solutions that our company provides we can save upto 30 per cent of the energy in the sectors like industry, buildings, data centres etc," he said, adding that if you are using 100 units and each unit costs Rs 7, so with these energy efficiency measures we can bring the usage down to about 70-80 units thereby cutting down the bill. BEE which was established by the government in 2002, is engaged in developing programs which will increase the conservation and efficient use of energy in India. Schneider Electric India employs over 18,000 employees across 40 cities in the country. Meanwhile, Schneider Electric India conducted the study with AEEE (Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy) on the energy consumption profile of the Indian business and drivers for clean energy investment, last month. The survey which was conducted in four metros — Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata and 8 Tier II cities — Jaipur, Ludhiana, Rajkot, Nasik, Lucknow, Vijaywada, Kochi and Patna, observed that nearly 80 per cent of the respondents expect up to 15 per cent of their electricity coming from renewable sources in the next 3 to 5 years. The 300 respondents belonged to various fields including manufacturing, building and construction sector, textiles, food and beverages, automobiles, pharma, etc. — PTI
	IDBI Bank hopeful of recovering 80% of Kingfisher dues Mumbai, October 2 Public sector lender IDBI Bank is hopeful of recovering up to 80 per cent of its Rs 800 crore exposure to Kingfisher, even as the revival of the grounded airline remains uncertain. "We are quite hopeful of recovering our dues from Kingfisher Airlines. In all, we expect to recover 70-80 per cent of our total loans to the airline," a senior IDBI Bank official told PTI here. The official said the bank's total exposure stands at around Rs 800 crore. "We have already recovered Rs 70-80 crore by way of selling pledged shares," the official added. IDBI Bank is one of the five lenders in the SBI-led core group, which was set up early this year to recover over Rs 7,500 crore in principal alone from the Vijay Mallya-promoted airline. The company has not been servicing these loans since January 2012. The airline took loans from as many as 17 banks. While SBI has the maximum exposure with Rs 1,800 crore, the other major lenders to the grounded airline include PNB (Rs 800 crore), BoI (Rs 650 crore), Bank of Baroda (Rs 550 crore), United Bank of India (Rs 430 crore), Central Bank of India (Rs 410 crore). UCO Bank has an exposure of Rs 320 crore), Corporation Bank (Rs 310 crore), State Bank of Mysore (Rs 150 crore), Indian Overseas Bank (Rs 140 crore), Federal Bank (Rs 90 crore), Punjab & Sind Bank (Rs 60 crore) and Axis Bank (Rs 50 crore). "There is enough collateral to cover the dues of all the lenders," the official said, adding, "also, the Kingfisher brand still has a lot of value." Declared collaterals include the Kingfisher House in Mumbai worth about Rs 150 crore, the Kingfisher Villa in Goa worth around Rs 90 crore and brand Kingfisher whcih had a notional value of over Rs 4,000 crore when pledged. — PTI
	Dynamic real-time security checks of power grids still on drawing board New Delhi, October 2 More than a year after the country's worst ever electricity grid failures, POSOCO is still working on ways to have the capability for real-time security assessment of the transmission grids. Power System Operation Corporation Ltd (POSOCO), a wholly-owned subsidiary of state-run transmission utility Power Grid, oversees operations of electricity grids. The high-level enquiry committee that looked into the grid disturbances last year had called for dynamic security assessment capability to assess the "system security in real time" as well as vulnerability condition of system. It had also suggested carrying out periodic dynamic security assessment at the control centres. "As per information from POSOCO, present system does not have dynamic security assessment capability. New systems are being developed/planned for the future," according to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA). The observation is part of the latest update on the status of action taken on implementation of recommendations of Grid Disturbance Enquiry Committee. CEA is the apex planning body for the power sector. In one of the worst collapses, the Northern grid had tripped on July 30 last year resulting in massive outages. The very next day, Northern, Eastern and North Eastern grids had failed. Following the failures, the Power Ministry along with other stakeholders have implemented various measures to ensure safety and smooth functioning of electricity grids. Meanwhile, a real time security desk has been set up at the National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC) -- which has the mandate to keep a tab on electricity loads on different grids across the country. — PTI
	Many will slash festive budget by 40% this Diwali: Survey New Delhi, October 2 Rising inflation, fewer employment avenues and dwindling earnings seem to have taken a toll on the spending capacity of middle and lower income families in India, with a sizeable among them slashing their festive budget by a staggering 40 per cent this Diwali, says a survey. "Over 72 per cent respondents from middle and lower middle income families would be forced to slash their Diwali expenditure by 40 per cent and on an average spend nearly 25 per cent of their monthly salary on Diwali," according to a survey conducted by industry body Assocham. Revision in interest rates by banks have also sent most Indians' EMIs (equated monthly instalments) soaring, thereby eroding their monetary power, it added. "Even gold, the much sought after item during the festive season, is in the range of Rs 30,000 per 10 gm compared to Rs 22,000 last Diwali," Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat said. However, the high income group remains unaffected from the rupee fall and double digit food inflation, the survey said. Out of the 72 per cent respondents, 57 per cent said they will buy only on sale or discounts, whereas 12 per cent will buy fewer gifts and the rest 2 per cent will buy a group gift. However, only a small portion of them feel that festivals are the time to splurge, even as discounts remain the biggest attraction for most buyers. — PTI
	ADB cuts India’s growth forecast to 4.7% Sanjeev Sharma Tribune News Service New Delhi, October 2 The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has cut India’s growth forecast for this financial year to 4.7 per cent from the earlier estimate of 6 per cent. An ADB report released today said uncertainty over the Fed stimulus has “sparked the recent exodus of foreign capital from emerging markets including India and Indonesia”, causing nervousness and contributing to lower-than-expected growth. The report said the Indian economy has been under pressure with the recent depreciation of the rupee and capital outflows adding to structural constraints which are weighing heavily on its prospects for returning to a high growth path. “The recent financial market turbulence is a timely reminder of the need for structural and fiscal reform not just to ensure long-term growth but also to keep financial markets stable in the short run,” said ADB Chief Economist Changyong Rhee. With Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the first quarter of FY2013 (which ends March 2014) expanding at its slowest pace since the global financial crisis, ADB revised down its growth forecast to 4.7 per cent from 6 per cent projected in April. For the year after, it sees some moderate improvement, with growth estimated at 5.7 per cent but below the previous forecast of 6.5 per cent. The government is estimating much higher GDP growth rate of around 5.3 per cent while several foreign brokerages have lowered estimates to 4.5 to 5 per cent and some even below 4 per cent. Citing the recent government reform measures, ADB said though these measures are useful to alleviate the immediate pressures in the financial and currency markets, proper macroeconomic policies should be continued. “Containing inflation pressure, consolidating fiscal positions by reducing general subsidies, and managing well recently passed reform bills to keep fiscal pressures in check should receive high priority. The authorities should allow exchange rate flexibility to ensure sufficient stock of foreign reserves while balancing its impact on inflation and corporate foreign liabilities,” according to ADB. Elections and a new government next year may help give fresh impetus to resolving structural problems, the report adds, while the softer currency and expected pick-up in economic activity in major markets should see exports grow at a faster pace.
	Africa calls for more investment from India Johannesburg, October 2 African officials called for more investment from India as the continent is looking at rapid industrialisation for development, Xinhua reported. Speaking at the third Africa-India trade ministers meeting, African Union chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma on Tuesday said: "India has begun investing in the energy sector as well as mining in Africa, we look forward to these investments contributing to Africa's agenda to promoting industrialisation and value-added products for raw materials." Dlamini-Zuma called for more direct investment from India in Africa, saying "such investments should be diversified and encourage local private sector participation, particularly for women and Africa's growing youth population". Lauding India for its continued contribution to Africa's development at the meeting, South Africa's minister of trade and industry Rob Davies said: "We have been partners for many years and our trade relations continue to grow from strength to strength." He also urged India to help Africa become "industrial producers" by forging a mutual beneficial relationship. "Africa needs to industrialize, and the option of simply producing value-added products and exporting those to the developed world is no longer viable," said the minister. India is currently Africa's fourth largest trading partner, while Africa is India's sixth largest partner. — IANS
	IRCTC earns Rs 29cr from food business New Delhi, October 2 Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has earned Rs 29 crore from its 80 non- railway catering outlets across the country in 2012-13, a jump of Rs 18 crore compared to previous year. "We have now ventured into catering services, starting from food kiosks and cafeterias to food courts in the non- railway sector. There are about 80 such catering units in various government offices, educational institutions and other places," a senior IRCTC official said. Catering in train was primary business of IRCTC before 2010. However, railways decided to divest the corporation of its catering contracts in trains as per the new catering policy in 2010 and as a result IRCTC has to look for new ventures in the non-railway sector. "We explored catering business in government offices and other institutions. Currently we have cafeterias in Shastri Bhawan (New Delhi), Writers' Building and Kolkata High Court (Kolkata), Bhilai Steel Plant, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai and in several other states as well," he said. IRCTC has also recently opened catering units at IIT- Chennai and Trivandrum Medical College, Delhi University, Vadodara Postal Training College, Cochin Info Park and Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow. "We serve variety of food items starting from tea, snacks and other beverages to thali and meal combos in these outlets. People are happy to have hygienic food at affordable price," he said, adding "negotiations are on with some institutions to open cafeterias." During 2012-13, IRCTC achieved a total income of Rs 719.69 crore with a gross profit of Rs 92.41 crore compared to a total income of Rs 554.11 crore with a gross profit of Rs 76.54 crore in 2011-12. — PTI
	Now, LPG cylinders at petrol pumps New Delhi, October 2 Cooking gas (LPG) will now be available at select petrol pumps in metro cities after the Oil Ministry has allowed sale of small 5-kg cylinders at retail outlets. It has also permitted LPG connection portability, allowing consumers to choose or change cooking gas dealer at press of a button, an official statement said. LPG 5-kg cylinders will be available at company-owned- company-operated (COCO) petrol pumps, which make up for just 3 per cent of over 47,000 petrol pumps in the country. However, they will be priced at market rate which is more than double the subsidised price of Rs 410 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi. Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily will launch the sale of 5-kg cylinder at Bangalore on October 5. Initially, LPG cylinder sale will be restricted to COCO petrol pumps in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bengaluru. Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum together have 1,440 COCO pumps all over the country. The number of outlets in the five cities initially chosen for launch of the scheme would be a few dozen. "This will be a boon to migratory population such as students, IT professionals, BPO employees and persons with odd duty timings," the statement said. — PTI
	TV channels move TDSAT over TRAI’s ad cap norm New Delhi, October 2 Some of the television channels have approached appellate tribunal TDSAT against 12-minute per hour cap on advertisements imposed by sectoral regulator TRAI. Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) had earlier withdrawn its petition against the TRAI's regulation on ad cap. Broadcasters Sun TV, B4U Broadband, 9X Media and Polimer Media, which are members of IBF, have approached the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on the ad cap issue. Some entertainment channels such as TV Vision and E24 have also approached the tribunal opposing the cap. TDSAT has asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to file its reply and listed the matter on October 21 for next hearing. The respondent (TRAI) states that it will be filing reply on October 4, 2013, TDSAT said. Reliance Big Broadcasting Pvt Ltd, which is also an IBF member, had also filed a similar petition and the matter is listed for hearing tomorrow. IBF had withdrawn its petition on September 11 against TRAI's Quality of Service (QoS) regulation, which mandates channels to show not more than 12 minute of ad and promotional content per hour. — PTI
	‘Neglect of inflation caused India’s turmoil’ Washington, October 2 India's recent economic turmoil is due to a neglect of inflation and budgetary discipline and "serious" fiscal adjustments are needed to fix the problem, a noted Indian economist has said. "As a result of this domestic instability, India's middle class has been exporting capital in the form of buying gold," Arvind Subramanian, Peterson Institute's Dennis Weatherstone Senior Fellow, said. Subramanian attributed much of India's inflation and currency problems to its growing fiscal deficits combined with easy monetary policy. — PTI