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projects run up Rs 29,234 cr in cost escalation NEW DELHI, Aug 20: Delays in the completion of about 54 ongoing public sector thermal and hydro ......more
NEW DELHI, Aug 20: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has achieved a major milestone with the......more CAG pulls up CBDT for Rs NEW DELHI, Aug 20: Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has rapped Central Board of....more CII against publishing NEW DELHI, Aug 20: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) today requested the Government to .....more |
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‘Cotton as
a catch crop’ in banana fields of TN COIMBATORE, Aug 20: Summer cotton is an additional supply source and potential production system in cotton deficit Tamil Nadu, according to a senior scientist in Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) here. .....more SPSUs surpass FIs, NEW DELHI, Aug 20: State Public Sector Undertakings raised about Rs 3,800 crore through private......more Anti-dumping duty on NEW DELHI, Aug 20: The Commerce Ministry has imposed anti-dumping duty on all imports of ......more ICI open to acquisitions NEW DELHI, Aug 20: ICI India Ltd, a subsidiary of British multinational ICI PLC, is open to.......more |
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NEW DELHI, Aug 20: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has achieved a major milestone with the successful commissioning of its 300th hydro generating set at Ranjit Sagar Hydro Electric Project in Punjab. The hydro set of 150 mw capacity is the first unit commissioned at this project which will have a cumulative capacity of 600 mw on completion. Starting with the commissioning of its first hydro set of 33 mw at Obra in 1970,bhel has achieved the landmark of 300 hydro sets in just three decades. Today, BHEL hydro sets contribute 12,320 mw, which constitutes about 51 per cent of the total all-India installed hydro generating capacity. It has installed another 30 hydro sets aggregating to 1277 mw outside india in countries like New Zealand, Malaysia, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan. (UNI) |
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CAG pulls up CBDT for Rs 3400 cr loss during 1998-99 NEW DELHI, Aug 20: Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has rapped Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for lower tax collection besides under-assessment that caused a revenue loss of over Rs 3,416 crore during 1998-99 financial year. "Total tax collections from various direct taxes for 1998-99 decreased by 3.48 per cent at Rs 46,600 crore, despite increase in the overall number of assessees," CAG said in its report presented to Parliament last week. Direct tax collection fell to Rs 46,600 crore in 1998-99 as against Rs 48,280.40 crore in 1997-98 despite an additional Rs 334.55 crore from Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme, it said. There was also a rise in number of assessees from 1.35 crore to 1.75 crore, it added. The CAG report attributed decline in tax collection to under-assessment of tax in 16,792 cases involving a revenue loss of Rs 3,416 crore. There were 72 cases of over-assessment effecting revenue of Rs 28.40 crore in 1998-99, it added. While incorrect computation of business income in 3,933 cases led to under-assessment of tax amounting Rs 1,045.76 crore, irregular set off of losses led to a revenue loss of Rs 824.94 crore. A sum of Rs 432 crore was lost due to non-assessment of income, the report said. With decrease in direct tax collection by 3.48 per cent, the cumulative tax arrears increased by 7.06 per cent to Rs 44,143 crore in 1998-99, the report said. CAG said that tax amounting to Rs 44,143 crore could not be collected as these cases were "kept in abeyance" in courts, tribunals and revenue appellate authorities. Total pendency of assessments under income tax increased alarmingly by 53.6 per cent to 98,76,147 during 1998-99. The Ministry of Finance in a action taken report had said that they would endeavour to see that the targets for settlement of audit observations are achieved. However, a large number of audit observations made in 1998-99 and earlier years are yet to be settled, CAG said. According to figures in the CAG report, over 66,650 cases involving a revenue loss of Rs 7,686.57 crore were pending for final action. "Despite CBDT’s instruction for according priority for speedy disposal of both summary and scrutiny assessments, the total pendency in assessments has increased," CAG said. All these factors led to a sharp fall in tax buoyancy measured in terms of ratio of growth in tax collection to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to negative 0.26 per cent in 1998-99 from negative 0.01 per cent in the previous year. (PTI) |
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CII against publishing remuneration of employees NEW DELHI, Aug 20: Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) today requested the Government to dispense with the requirement of publishing remuneration of employees in the company annual reports saying it lead to "poaching" of employees. In a statement, CII said publication of the names of employees with respective remuneration in the annual report has been breeding unhealthy competition among corporates leading at times to "poaching" of employees. "The provision was also not required for the corporate governance and disclosure, nor does it in any way enhancce shareholder value," the chamber said. Section 217 (2A) of the Companies Act requires the annual report of a company to show the name of every employee of the company who draws (I) Rs six lakh or more in the case of an employee who was employed for the full year or (II) Rs 50,000 or more per month in the case of an employee who was employed for only a part of the year. CII therefore suggested that Section 217 (2A) of the Companies Act be amended and the need to furnish such a statement of emoluments be withdrawn. (PTI) |
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‘Cotton as a catch crop’ in banana fields of TN COIMBATORE, Aug 20: Summer cotton is an additional supply source and potential production system in cotton deficit Tamil Nadu, according to a senior scientist in Central Institute for Cotton Research (CICR) here. The off-season cotton raised during summer is a nature’s unique gift to the state and among the summer cotton system, ‘cotton as a catch crop,’ in banana fields would be a potential low cost technique, Dr Ramamurthy, senior scientist (agricultural economics), told PTI. Of the 50,000 hectares (ha) of summer cotton grown in Tamil Nadu, 78 per cent was shared by MCU-5, while MCU-7 shared 12 per cent, LRA5166 five per cent and the rest collectively shared by MCU-9 and Anjali, he said. Of the 28 districts, where cotton was being cultivated, summer cotton was grown in 14 districts, with 70 per cent area covered in Tirunelveli, Madurai, Namakkal and Erode districts. Saying that MCU-5 variety was being predominantly cultivated in the summer tract in the state for its versatile characteristics and high level adoptability, Ramamurthy said that MCU-7 was the next important summer variety, familiar in and around Tanjavur, Tiruchirappalli and Pudukottai, which fitted well in between two crops in rice fallow tracts, for its short duration. LRA-5166 and MCU-9 were popular in Erode and Namakkal districts, he said. Ramamurthy said that during a CICR survey among the summer cotton tracts in the state, a special type of growing summer cotton as a ‘catch crop’ in the banana fields was noticed in and around Tiruchirappalli tract. Farmers, after cultivating one or two ratoon crops of ‘Nendran’ banana, start cultivating cotton as catch crop in the fields and cotton seeds were dibbled in february in between the banana rows, Ramamurthy said. ‘As the cotton crop comes up, simultaneously the matured banana crop will be cleared. Practice of cultivating cotton in banana filed is locally called as ‘Azhivazhai Paruthi’. In this method of cultivation, zero tillage practices are followed, saving preparatory cultivation cost and uptaking the surplus nutrients available as residues in the banana fields, he said. Saying that there was practically no irrigation cost in this method, Ramamurthy said that farmers, besides saving money, also enhance the utility of the land and nutrients. As most of these catch crop cotton farmers were tenants, this practice was discovered by the tenant-farmers, in order to extract the soil nutrients and utilise the land to the maximum at the limited time, CICR scientist pointed out. On comparative economics of summer cotton (MCU-7), Ramamurthy said that direct cost for the conventional MCU-7 was Rs.17,815 whereas for the catch crop it was only Rs.7,263 per ha. (PTI) |
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SPSUs surpass FIs, banks in pvt placement of debt in Q1 NEW DELHI, Aug 20: State Public Sector Undertakings raised about Rs 3,800 crore through private placement of debt which is 16 per cent more than that was mopped up by Financial Institutions (FIs) and banks in first quarter of 2000-01. Reliance was the only corporate figuring among the top 10 debt mobiliser mopping up Rs 893 crore through private placements, prime database, which monitors the Indian primary market, said. Of the total Rs 10,304 crore raised through private placement of debt in first quarter of 2000-01, the share of state PSUs went up to Rs 37 per cent at Rs 3,799 crore while FIs and banks raised Rs 2,158 crore, it said. "Most of the funds raised by state PSUs have been for infrastructure sector mainly power, roads and water resources," Prime, monitoring primary market in India, said. Gujarat State Government utility GEB mopped up Rs 500 crore while VIDC (Rs 450 crore) and GMIDC (Rs 375 crore) were other major debt mobilisers between April-June 2000, it said. Rajasthan State Electricity Board raised Rs 400 crore and HPROIDC of Himachal Pradesh placed Rs 310 crore in debt. State PSUs had mopped up Rs 16,526 crore in 1999-2000, which is 30 per cent of the total funds raised through private placements, Prime said. Although ICICI, raising Rs 887 crore, and IFCI (Rs 371 crore) were major players in primary debt market in first quarter, the aggregate amount raised by FIs and banks was only 21 per cent of total debt raised in first quarter, it said. Central PSUs mopped up Rs 1,415 crore which constituted 14 per cent of the total debt raised in the first quarter of this year, Prime said. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd raised Rs 500 crore while Indian Oil Corporation was able to mop up Rs 300 crore during the period April-June 2000. Prime said Government organisations, FIs and banks put together continued to dominate the primary debt market, mobilising 72 per cent of the total Rs 10,304 crore in the first quarter while 37 private companies raised a total Rs 2,932 crore, Prime said. The share of financial sector dominated the debt market mopping up Rs 2,968 crore while power ranked second (Rs 1,887 crore) followed by water resources sector with Rs 1,374 crore, it added. (PTI) |
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Anti-dumping duty on imports of Vitamin C NEW DELHI, Aug 20: The Commerce Ministry has imposed anti-dumping duty on all imports of Vitamin C from Russia and European Union. The decision was taken by the ministry following an investigation conducted by the designated authority under the ministry on receipt of complaints from some firms. "Imports from Russia and EU have been at a price below the selling prices of the domestic industry. These parameters collectively and cumulatively indicate that the petitioner has suffered material injury due to the dumped imports," the designated authority said. The anti-dumping duty on Vitamin C from Russia will be the difference between 12.67 US dollars per kg and the landed value of imports, it said. For Vitamin C imports from German company Basf Originating from Basf Health and Nutrition of Denmark, the authority has fixed the anti-dumping duty as the difference between 11.29 US dollars per kg and the landed value of imports. In the case of all other exporters from the EU, the anti-dumping duty will be the difference between 12.67 US dollars per kg and the landed value of imports. The designated authority in its preliminary findings on January, 2000 had accepted that exporters from Russia and EU had dumped Vitamin C into India and recommended anti-dumping duty. Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises of Baroda had filed a complaint with the designated authority that Russia and EU had been dumping Vitamin C into India forcing it to sell its product at a price significantly below its non-injurious price resulting in financial losses. Another company Jayant Vitamin Ltd that had created capacities for manufacturing Vitamin C had since closed its operations leaving Ambalal Sarabhai as the sole producer. Based on its investigation, the authority concluded that production by the domestic company fell from 303.713 metric tonne in 1997-98 to 283.84 mt in the period of investigation as against the total demand of about 1200 mt. In contrast, imports from EU rose from 42.8 mt in 1996-97 to 107.58 mt during 1998-99 while imports from Russia was 30 mt during the period of investigation compared to nil during previous years. Ambalal Sarabhai’s capacity utilisation also fell from 109 per cent in 1996-97 to 66 per cent during the period of investigation even as it had to reduce its staff strength from 482 in 1996-97 to 311 during the period of investigation, it said. It added that import price of Vitamin C from EU was 3.66 US dollars per kg in 1996-97 and it fell to 2.78 US dollars per kg in 1998-99 while import price from russia was 2.61 US dollars per kg during the period of investigation. Based on the normal value of Vitamin C and its export price, the authority concluded that dumping margin in case of russia was 122.82 per cent while for Basf, Germany it was 49.2 per cent. For other EU exporters, the dumping margin was calculated at 134.73 per cent. (PTI) |
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ICI open to acquisitions in paints segment NEW DELHI, Aug 20: ICI India Ltd, a subsidiary of British multinational ICI PLC, is open to acquisitions of brands and companies that synergise with its core competency and portfolio, a top company official has said. "We will keep our options open for acquisitions if it fits with the existing portfolio in our paints business but would prefer organic growth in the segment," Aditya Narayan, Managing Director ICI India Ltd told PTI. He said organic growth in paint segment, which constitutes over 30 per cent of company’s revenues, itself offered immense opportunities in the country. In developing countries like Thailand, per person consumption of paints is in excess of 10 litres while in India, it stood at only half a litre per person. "Organic growth itself offered plenty of opportunities", Narayan said adding that growth in the paints sector was directly proportional to the economic growth. "If you look at the growth rate projected, we could see a similar growth in the paints business also in the country," Narayan said. ICI India is present in decorative and industrial paints segment and its brands include Dulux, Velvette Touch, Duco and Tukay. The company is also looking at forming alliance in speciality chemicals and starches segment to outsource manufacturing. "We are in the process of conducting market studies to launch new products in starch and speciality chemicals segment," he said. Elaborating on expansion plans in the starch segment, Narayan said that company was holding back new launches as food laws in the country were still not at par with the global laws. "We are hopeful that the laws would soon be in line with the global standards. We would launch a host of new products soon once the food laws are in place," Narayan said ICI PLC’s fragrances and flavours division quest is planning a strategic expansion in the sector and will launch a whole a range of new products. "Currently, the company is conducting market study for these products which are expected to hit by next year," he said. The company has an alliance with Reliance and Hindustan Lever Ltd for supply of speciality products. During the first quarter ended June 30, 2000 the company recorded a net profit of Rs 13.88 crore on a turnover of Rs 210.69 crore. (PTI) |
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