New Delhi, October 27
While defending the foreign bank account of a family member, Pradeep Burman, named by the government in the affidavit filed in the Supreme Court on black money, FMCG major Dabur India has said that Burman does not hold any executive position in the company.

The otherwise stable Dabur stock reacted sharply after reports of Burman being named trickled in early trade and fell as much as 9 per cent initially while recovering later.

Burman was the only businessman from an established business house named by the government in its affidavit.

Industry body Assocham had yesterday said that the government should not disclose the names of foreign bank account holders prematurely.

Dabur India issued a statement on the matter where it said that the foreign bank account was legitimate and taxes had been paid.

“We wish to state that this account was opened when he was an NRI and was legally allowed to open this account,” a Dabur spokesperson said.

“We have followed all the laws and the complete details regarding the account have been voluntarily, and as per law, filed with the Income Tax Department and appropriate taxes paid, wherever applicable,” he added.

Pradip Burman currently holds no position in Dabur India although he was once a whole time Director of Dabur India.

Regretting that there was a lack of differentiation between legal and illegal foreign bank account holders, the spokesperson further said: “It is unfortunate that every person having a foreign bank account is being painted with the same brush.”

“The Burman family is committed to the highest standards of corporate governance, and encourage ethical behaviour at all levels,” the spokesperson added.

Assocham had called for protecting the secrecy of names. “The double taxation avoidance treaties are important for the Indian residents and corporates which can avoid paying taxes twice. Revealing the names of individuals allegedly holding unaccounted money can make headlines but will surely make India’s battle against the menace weak. Besides, violation of DTATs will deal a severe blow to the country’s credibility,” it said in a statement.

It had also warned of harm to the reputation of individuals. “If names are placed in public domain and those named finally do not get convicted, there would be immense damage to the reputation of the individuals or entities. Impression should not be given as if there is a wild goose chase which can harm the entire jurisprudence,” it said.

JSPL shares slump over 8% on CBI inquiry

n Mumbai: Shares of Jindal Steel & Power fell over 8 per cent on Monday, eroding ~1,198.42 crore from its market valuation, following reports that CBI has started fresh inquiry against unknown officials of the company for alleged diversion of forest land in Jharkhand for mining purposes

n JSPL’s stock tumbled 7.90 per cent to end the day at ~152.70 on the BSE. In intra-day, it was down 8.59 per cent to ~151.55. — PTI

Tata Power Delhi Distribution has reduced distribution losses in power by 80 per cent in its 12 years of operations in north and north-west Delhi. In an interview to Sanjeev Sharma, Praveer Sinha, CEO & ED, Tata Power Delhi Distribution talks about plans for solar energy through rooftops, CSR activities and challenges in the power sector.

What is the viability of solar power in Delhi and other sources of renewable energy?

In the industry today, viability has to be seen not only from a financial perspective but also other factors like the environmental and social. Solar provides an opportunity to make an impact in reducing the peak in an effective and environment friendly manner. It is estimated that the solar rooftop potential is Delhi is close to 2 GW. TPDDL has plans to have around 200MW of solar rooftop in its area of operations and we are doing a feasibility study on this under USTDA Grant.

What has been the performance of Tata Power Delhi Distribution over the years and how it has managed to reduce AT&C losses?

Today, AT&C losses in TPDDL area stand at 10.5% which is an unprecedented reduction of around 80% from an opening loss level of 53% in July 2002. We are collecting more than 60% of our revenue through Automated Meter Reading (AMR) which provides metering information of our commercial and industrial customers on hourly basis. We have replaced all the mechanical meters with electronic meters, above which we have introduced SAP ISU billing system which ensures virtually no error in billing.

What is the preparation for disaster management?

TPDDL has a holistic disaster management plan in place which takes care of the action plan in case of any sort of potential disasters. A recent example of which was the storm faced by Delhi on May 30 this year. The entire TPDDL staff managed to restore 50% power in its area of operation (north and north-west Delhi) in less than 5 hours and 100% restoration of sub-transmission lines and 80% of distribution network within 12 hours of the disaster.

What are the various CSR activities of the company?

We undertake many activities like our innovative CSR model on Women Literacy Centre, support for education, health services, vocational training to slum dwellers and curbing their “need” for theft by enhancing their “capacity to pay” by increasing their income through CSR interventions. TPDDL has created a very unique structure of “earn while learn” wherein women who have been educated and trained in our centres are taken on board as our collection agents and become an earning member of their families.

What are the key challenges facing the power sector, particularly the distribution sector?

It is very evident today that distribution of power is the final and most crucial link in the power sector and perhaps the weakest link in the value chain. The distribution sector is itself plagued with several challenges of high AT&C Losses wherein average loss level is around 26% and with most of the utilities hovering at more than 40%.

Due to large accumulated losses, inadequate or no internal accrual and credit squeeze by banks, the discoms have largely failed to procure adequate quantity of power for supply to their consumers resulting in 4-8 hour power cuts in urban areas and above 10-14 hours in rural areas across the country. Further, as banks and financial institutions are now refusing to lend to the financially sick discoms due to which neither long-term capital investments nor working capital are available to them.

According to The World Energy Outlook 2011, 268 million people of rural India and 21 million people of urban India do not have access to electricity (survey figures of 2009). This together constitutes 25% of the total Indian population.

New Delhi, October 27
Industry body Assocham today suggested the government give preference in mines auction to captive block allocatees whose end-use plants were operational at the time the Supreme Court quashed allocations of mines.

The Supreme Court had last month quashed allocation of 214 out of 218 coal blocks which were allotted to various companies since 1993. “Assocham has suggested the government to give preference in allocation of cancelled coal blocks to captive block allocatees who have an operational or soon-to-be-operational end-use project,” the industry body said in a statement.

The auctions should be opened for others only after coal for these projects is secured, it said.

In a note submitted to the Prime Minister Office (PMO), the Chamber stated that coal blocks already allotted for end-use steel projects should be auctioned only for steel projects and similarly coal block allotted for end-use power projects be auctioned only for power projects, it said. The reserve price and upfront payment should be based on actual mineable reserves only (as assessed by CMPDIL/MECL etc) and not on the basis of geological reserves, it said.

Clearances accorded to the existing coal blocks should automatically get transferred to the new allocatees. Obtaining these clearances again will lead to considerable delays in commencement of production from mines and adversely affect the end-use projects, it said.

“Bidding for end-use power as well as steel projects should be on the basis of upfront payment fixed by MoC (Ministry of Coal) and extractable reserve linked payment quoted by the bidder in rupee/tonne,” it said.

It said that auction process should accord Right of First Refusal (RoFR) to the existing allocatees of the coal blocks who have end-use plants either operational or soon to be operational or to the allocatees which have taken substantial effective steps to set up end-use plants. — PTI

Mumbai, October 27
Shares of realty giant DLF slumped over 8 per cent today, wiping-out Rs 1,674.7 crore from its market value, on concerns that the company may face probe by the new government in Haryana.

DLF’s scrip plunged 7.84 per cent to settle at Rs 110.50 on the BSE. During the day, it tumbled 9 per cent to Rs 109.10.

At the NSE, it slumped 8.30 per cent to close the day at Rs 110. Led by the dip in the stock, the company’s market value fell by Rs 1,674.7 crore to Rs 19,690.30 crore.

The fall in DLF shares, to as low as Rs 109.10 in intra-day trade at the BSE, follows a major plunge of 28 per cent in a single day earlier this month after a Sebi order barred the company and six others from accessing the capital markets for three years. The Sebi order has been challenged by DLF before the Securities Appellate Tribunal which would next hear the case on October 30. — PTI

Chandigarh, October 27
In its first-ever financial support to a Farmer Producer Organisation (FPO) in Haryana, NABARD today provided a sum of Rs 10 lakh to Karnal Vegetable Producer Company for setting up an agro-service centre to make farm implements available to farmers on custom hiring basis.

NABARD has provided this support under Producer Organisation Development Fund (PODF) to a FPO, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Chief General Manager DV Deshpande said here today.

Karnal Vegetable Producer Ltd is registered as a company with about 700 farmers as members of Karnal district who are engaged in vegetable production.

NABARD has sanctioned a total sum of Rs 14 lakh to FPO. “The first instalment to this FPO is for setting up of the agro-service centre which will make available agricultural implements like laser land leveller, sowing machines, tractor etc to farmers on custom hiring basis,” he said. The Centre has entrusted NABARD to facilitate promotion of 2,000 producers’ organisations in the next two years in the country.

Deshpande also said a Post Harvest Management Centre is being planned for this FPO for ensuring better quality of vegetables and more remunerative prices to the farmers. — PTI

New Delhi, October 27
Microsoft Devices today launched entry level dual-sim mobile phone ‘Nokia 130’, having built-in music player with up to 46 hours continuous playback on a single charge, for Rs 1,649 in India.

“The Nokia 130 is a perfect device for consumers who are looking for their first mobile phone, or for those looking for a rock-solid backup phone to use alongside their smartphone,” Nokia India Sales Marketing Director Raghuvesh Sarup said in a statement. Nokia India Sales is subsidiary of Microsoft Mobile Oy.

The mobile phone has 1.8 inch color display, promises standby time of up to 36 days. Nokia 130 claims to support 13 hours talk time on 2G network or 46 hours music playback and 16 hours video playback on one time full battery charge.

The phone has the ability to store up to 6,000 songs on a 32 GB memory card. It also comes with Bluetooth-enabled application and USB connectivity for sharing files.

“The Nokia 130 will be available from today in India at a best buy price of Rs 1,649,” the statement added. — PTI