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Indian
goods well accepted Excelsior Correspondent New Delhi, Aug 31 : A seminar on Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA) organised by CII, was held here on Wednesday.....more
Govt converts DTS NEW DELHI, Aug 31: Government today decided to convert Department of Telecom Services....more
EFC submits NEW DELHI, Aug 31: The 11th Finance Commission (EFC) today submitted to President.....more |
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Chennai
telephones CHENNAI, Aug 31: The Chennai telephones is all set to make a foray into two major areas - internet service and mobile phones - by the year end and proposes to add 2.75 lakh lines of equipped capacity and provide 1.50 lakh new lines during 2000-2001........more Upper Assam-a GUWAHATI, Aug 31: More than four lakh kgs of green tea leaves area burnt daily on the way side of national highway in Upper Assam as slump in market price have wrought havoc amongst the small tea growers’ threatening to change the fragile peace of the sensitive area.......more Govt further liberalise NEW DELHI, Aug 31: The Government today further liberalised Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules allowing hundred per cent investment through automatic route by foreign investors, Non-Resident Indians and Overseas Cororate Bodies in the special......more Maheshwar Project NEW DELHI, Aug 31: Shree Maheswhari Hydel Power Corporation Limited today denied as absolutely baseless reports that some parties.......more States oppose Centre’s move on iodised salt NEW DELHI, Aug 31: Almost all states have rejected the Centre’s move to lift the ban on sale of non-iodised salt, describing the proposal as retrograde |
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Govt converts DTS into corporate body NEW DELHI, Aug 31: Government today decided to convert Department of Telecom Services (DTS) into a corporate under the name Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd for which it will contribute Rs 5000 crore as equity capital. Announcing a decision of the cabinet presided over by the Prime Minister, Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley told reporters that the new corporation would come into existence from October 1, 2000. Communications Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said the interest of DTS employees would be fully protected after corporatisation and that Government was now negotiating with unions on various staff-related issues. "Financial viability, pension to employees after retirement and job security were the three demands raised by employees. The issues have been discussed by a group of ministers (headed by himself). We are going to have more meetings at GOM level," he said. Stating that authorised capital of BSNL would be Rs 10,000 crore, Paswan said initially Government would subscribe Rs 5000 crore as equity but did not elaborate on the remaining capital. The decision to corporatise telecom services, barely a week before Prime Minister Vajpayee’s scheduled visit to the US, assumes significance in the wake of opening up of the sector for private participation. Initially, there had been stiff resistance from employees to the Government move pronounced last year and some structural changes were executed in the Communications Ministry in the recent past. While the Government created DTS last year, it further decided to bifurcate DTS with creation of Department of Telecom Operations (DTO) a few months ago. (PTI) |
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EFC submits supplementary report NEW DELHI, Aug 31: The 11th Finance Commission (EFC) today submitted to President K R Narayanan its supplementary report that is believed to have evolved weightage formula for fiscal discipline in the devolution package for states from the central taxes. Chairman A M Khusro told PTI that the supplementary report dealing with the additional terms of reference was sent to Narayanan, thus meeting the month-end deadline. Khusro, however, declined to give any details of the report saying he could discuss it only after it is considered by Finance Ministry and tabled in Parliament. Asked if it had addressed the demand of the aggrieved states by recommending more grants for the performing states in the face of reduction in their percentage share, Khusro said, "all I can say now is that the report is a very small one and deals with only the additional terms of reference." To a pointed question if there would be more devolution to the progressive states as demanded by them, Khusro merely said "it will be same for everybody". Meanwhile, reports indicate that the Commission might release some supplementary grants to the aggrieved states which have submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister demanding a review of the devolution formula saying the progressive states have been "punished" for carrying out fiscal reforms. The supplementary report is expected to impose stringent conditions on states to qualify for additional non-plan revenue grants to ensure that they meet the target for eliminating fiscal deficit by 2005. The Commission’s devolution formula is valid for a five-year period from 2000-05. The additional terms of reference laid down by the government is for reviewing fiscal conditions of State Governments and suggest measures to improve them. This itself is a departure from the earlier terms of reference of all Finance Commissions. The final report was submitted in July. Though the aggrieved states have demanded revision of the devolution formula, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha had ruled out any review saying the recommendations made by a statutory body were always final. Spearheading the campaign of progressive states, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandra Babu Naidu had said the EFC should adequately compensate the aggrieved states through its recommendation in its supplementary report. Naidu also suggested creation of some special funds by the centre to offset the disparities of the EFC recommendations. "Various states have stretched themselves to a great extent for mobilisation of resources to meet the developmental goals and expected proper relief from the Commission’s report," he said. (PTI) |
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Chennai telephones all set to make foray into major areas CHENNAI, Aug 31: The Chennai telephones is all set to make a foray into two major areas - internet service and mobile phones - by the year end and proposes to add 2.75 lakh lines of equipped capacity and provide 1.50 lakh new lines during 2000-2001. Addressing a meeting of the telephone advisory committee here, Chief General Manager C V Rajan said the internet nodes for introducing internet services, hitherto provided by Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL), would be ready in a month’s time and a cellular exchange for mobile phone services by this year end or January next. The cellular phone exchange would be installed with an initial capacity of 4000 lines and would later be expanded with 30,000 to 40,000 lines capacity, he said. The tariff structure for mobile phone service would be competitive. He said Wireless in Local Loop (WLL) exchange with 5000 lines capacity would be made ready in six months’ time. Chennai telephones had already provided 35,596 new lines till July 31 he said and expressed confidence about achieving the 1.50 lakh target. Mr Rajan said orders have been issued for telephone connections for all those who had applied before March 31, 2000. Last year alone, 1.42 lakh new connections were given and 7000 applicants who were issued allotment orders, were yet to be given connections because of the delays in cable laying work, he added. Besides this, 43,000 applicants were on the waiting list, he said. Exchange capacity was available and after the cable works were completed, these applicants would be provided connections at the earliest, he added. Telephone was now available on demand in many of the exchanges and the department was striving to wipe out the waiting list by March 31, 2001. "We want to have zero waiting list on March 31, 2001", he added. As of now the total equipped capacity was 9.68 lakh lines and there were 7.68 lakh lines, he said. (UNI) |
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Upper Assam-a bonfire of tea leaves GUWAHATI, Aug 31: More than four lakh kgs of green tea leaves area burnt daily on the way side of national highway in Upper Assam as slump in market price have wrought havoc amongst the small tea growers’ threatening to change the fragile peace of the sensitive area. About 25,000 tea growers have already blocked the national highway as tons of green leaves have been burnt along the national highway with the big tea companies either refusing to buy or offering lower prices for the lot. ‘The issue of market slump is an eyewash, their maneuver is to remove the 25,000 odd small tea growers from the scene as they have become major players before a handful of tea companies which have traditionally dominated the market,’ said Mr Gangadhar Saikia, president of the All Assam Small Tea Growers Association (AASTGA). But the Assam Branch of Indian Tea Association (ABITA) put the entire crisis due to continous sliding down of the tea price in the auction market. "Price is going down with each sale from may this year and will continue further," said Mr Robin Barthakur, secretary ABITA. However, in this stand-off the crisis has threatened to go out of hand as the small tea growers are the strongest economical force of Assam and hundred per cent of them are indigenous qualified youths who instead of seeking Government jobs have opted for tea cultivation not only changing the entire economy of Upper Assam in the past decade but bringing down a curtain on the militancy in the region. The price of green leaves from the peak Rs 12.50 per kg has now come to Rs 2.30 per kg, forcing the growers to burn most of their produce as they neither have storage capacity nor the adequate machinery to process the tea. (AGENCIES) |
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Govt further liberalise rules for FDI NEW DELHI, Aug 31: The Government today further liberalised Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rules allowing hundred per cent investment through automatic route by foreign investors, Non-Resident Indians and Overseas Cororate Bodies in the special economic zones and certain sub-sectors of telecommunications like internet service providers (not providing gateways), voice mail and electronic mail. The cabinet also fixed the payment of two per cent royalty for exports and one per cent for domestic sales under the automatic route on use of trademarks and brand-names of the foreign collaborator without technology transfer. Moreover for royalty payment and venture capital funds and companies have also been liberalised by the Government. (UNI) |
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Maheshwar Project denies reports NEW DELHI, Aug 31: Shree Maheswhari Hydel Power Corporation Limited today denied as absolutely baseless reports that some parties have disassociated from it on various grounds In a release here,the MHPCL said Siemns was very much part of the project, stated to be the biggest of its kind being exceuted in Madhya Pradesh. There was absolutely no change in the status of its association with the project, the MHPCL said. A spokesperson for Siemens in a statement said it was the equipment supplier to the project and reconfirmed its commitment to complete it as scheduled. It had tied up finances, including finances necessary to procure equipment from Siemens, and reached an advanced stage of implementation,the spokesperson said. He also asked the people not to be misled by some NGOs saying they were spreading rumours. (UNI) |
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States oppose Centre’s move on iodised salt NEW DELHI, Aug 31: Almost all states have rejected the Centre’s move to lift the ban on sale of non-iodised salt, describing the proposal as retrograde and against the interests of public health. Barring Bihar and Kerala, other States and Union Territories today clearly told the Government that iodisation of salt should be compulsory in the wake of widespread Iodine Deficiency Disorders (IDD) in India and the success they have achieved in reducing IDD ever since salt iodisation was made compulsory. The State Health Ministers were speaking at a meeting presided over by Health and Family Welfare Minister C P Thakur and attended by senior Health Ministry officials. Gujarat, India’s major salt manufacturer, also offered its cooperation to other states to make iodised salt available cheaply — at as low a price as re one per kg — so that it can be sold through the Public Distribution System (PDS). The near-unanimity in the states’ opposition to the Government notification issued on May 10 seeking to lift the ban on sale of non-iodised salt, is a shot in the arm of medical experts who have sharply attacked the Government’s proposal, saying it was ignoring internationally recognised Indian scientific research on the subject. Gujarat set the tone for today’s discussion, saying public awareness on the need for compulsory salt iodisation is necessary in view of the seriousness of IDD. Iodine deficiency leads to under-production of the thyroxine hormone by the thyroid gland. This leads to abnormal enlargement of the gland in the neck, slow physical and mental growth, and life-long brain under-development in children. Pregnant women with iodine deficiency run the risk of giving birth to physically and mentally stunted babies. Gujarat said iodised salt should be made available to all through the Public Distribution System (PDS) and offered to sell iodised salt at re one per kg to all states "from the next month itself". Most of the other states punched holes in critics’ arguments that IDD are not a major problem in India, iodisation increases the price of salt and makes it less affordable and accessible to poor people, and that iodisation should be a voluntary rather than mandatory exercise. Himachal Pradesh, an endemic state that first drew the country’s attention to the seriousness of IDD in 1950s, said it has "almost eradicated" IDD after making consumption of iodised salt compulsory. Iodised salt is available cheaply even in the remotest hills of Himachal, its Health Minister said, adding that that voluntary choices on public health issues cannot be left to poor and illiterate sections of the society who are not aware of the implications. (PTI) |
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