Daily Excelsior...Business

Ram Naik

OPEC rules out special
concessions to India

NEW DELHI, Mar 19: Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) today ruled out any special financial concessions to India for crude......more

Absence of adequate
shipping fleet,
infrastructure bother
shippers

MUMBAI, Mar 19: The absence of an adequate shipping fleet and port infrastructure to support country’s burgeoning ..more

Gold reserves stand
over 40 lakh tonnes

NEW DELHI, Mar 19: The proven reserves of gold in the country stand at 41,78,010 tonnes, Minister of State for Mines J G Patil informed the Rajya ....more

Haryana draws up
plans for disinvestment

NEW DELHI, Mar 19: Haryana Government today said it had drawn up plans for disinvestment of various public sector undertakings in the coming months. ....more

No new taxes in
Rs 2,656.93 cr deficit
Punjab budget

CHANDIGARH, Mar 19: Notwithstanding a huge deficit of Rs 2,656.93 crore, Punjab Finance Minister Capt. Kanwaljit Singh today proposed no new taxes ......more

Vikhe Patil

Purchasing power of
rupee declines to 22.5 paise

NEW DELHI, Mar 19: The purchasing power of a rupee compared to 1980-81 levels has declined to about 22.5 paise...more

Vietnam, Indonesia, India
ranked Asia’s most corrupt

HONG KONG, Mar 19: Vietnam, Indonesia and India were ranked the most......more

Sonia Gandhi

Sonia charges NDA
with making WTO as
alibi for inability

RAJIV GANDHI NAGAR, Mar 18: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today charged the Bharatiya...more

OPEC rules out special concessions to India

NEW DELHI, Mar 19: Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) today ruled out any special financial concessions to India for crude oil imports even as New Delhi pleaded that the cut in production by the organisation would adversely affect its economy.

"OPEC cannot enter into bilateral agreements... We cannot give discounts to any country," OPEC Secretary General Ali Rodriguez Araque told reporters here.

He, however, said that individual member countries can possibly introduce low interest financing on bilateral basis.

India’s proposal for providing extended credit period, price discount and deferred payment facility to developing countries was discussed at OPEC’s meeting last week, but no decision was taken, he said.

Araque justified OPEC’s decision to cut production by one million Barrel Per Day (BPD) to 24.2 million BPD, saying the demand would be dented by a slowdown in United States.

Petroleum Minister Ram Naik, on the other hand, pleaded that the production cut would firm up oil prices to the higher end of the accepted band of 22-28 dollars a barrel because global inventories are lean.

"This level of prices is not affordable and may lead to economic slowdown," Naik said.

India is likely to end the year with an oil pool account deficit of Rs 12,000 crore which would be further burdened by another Rs 5,500 crore due to the fallout of increase in duties on curde and petroleum products, announced in the budget, which have not been passed on to the consumers.

Reasoning the cut in production by OPEC, Araque said seasonal fall in oil demand occurs in the second quarter of the year, brought about by the conclusion of the winter in the northern hemisphere.

"As a matter of fact, different analysts point to a possible drop in demand, of about two million BPD, during this period," he said, adding production cut would not have any adverse impact on prices.

He said there was greater discipline among OPEC members and expected 100 per cent compliance of the production cut decision this time as against 85 per cent compliance last time.

Araque said global demand this year is likely to increase by 1.2-1.3 million BPD to 77.1 million BPD.

"During April-December 2000, OPEC increased production by almost four times to four million BPD and there was an over supply of more than 1.5 million BPD, but the prices continued to soar mainly due to speculative market forces," he said.

OPEC wants to strengthen market stability, araque said adding "we would define a new OPEC basket and create new benchmark that reflects reality of physical market."

Asked about including new members into the group, he said Mexico, Russia, Oman, Kajaksthan and Angola are special invitees to the OPEC but there was at present no proposal to include any of them. (PTI)

Absence of adequate shipping fleet, infrastructure
bother shippers

MUMBAI, Mar 19: The absence of an adequate shipping fleet and port infrastructure to support country’s burgeoning overseas trade is resulting as a huge drain on the national exchequer as the freight goes to foreign lines.

Expansion of India’s overseas trade from 101.9 metric tonnes in 1988-89 to 203.7 mt in 1998-99 has underscored the need to develop an adequate infrastructure of coastal shipping in the country to ensure smooth flow of traffic all over the country. Shipping services are a major forex earning vehicle for any country, specially for a nation like India which always has pressure on keeping the tab of forex outflow.

However, the share of Indian lines in catering to India’s overseas trade has declined from 34.2 per cent to 30.8 per cent between 1988-89 and 1998-99. This is a far cry from the target of carrying 100 per cent of strategic cargoes like petroleum and other hydrocarbons, 50 per cent of dry bulk cargoes and 40 per cent of liner cargoes, shipping industry sources told UNI here.

Due to the absence of an adequate national tonnage, traders in developing countries also have to pay out higher freight as against their counterparts the developed nations. As per the UNCTAD review of maritime transport 1999, there is a large variation in the freight cost ratios of the developed and the developing world.

The state of port infrastructure remains equally dismal as lack of adequate draft and lower productivity prohibits major shipping lines from making a call to the Indian ports. All major ports in india are today functioning far beyond their capacity, with 271.8 mt cargo handled during 1999-2000 as against a capacity of 258 mt at the end of March, 2000.

Lack of port infrastructure is going to be the major bottleneck for the growth of India trade as, in a recent report "The vision 2000" published by rites, port traffic in India has been envisioned to reach 356 mt by 2001-02, 537 mt by 2005-06 and 1,273 mt by 2020. Port infrastructure in India has to be modernized and expanded at a fast pace if we have to equip ourselves in meeting this burgeoning traffic, in the absence of which berthing delays will continue and our imports and exports will continue to remain uncompetitive, the sources said.

According to the sources, though India has been gifted with a coastline of about 6,000 km and a geographic location on one of the world’s major trade routes, the Asia-Europe ring, the country has, however, not been able to leverage on this advantage and india still have to be a major player in the world.

India ranks at a dismal 17th position on the world maritime nations fleet ownership table. Indian tonnage remains stagnant at around seven million grt for the last few years and a lot has to be done if we have to achieve the target of nine million grt set in the ninth five year plan, the sources said.

Inspite of the fiscal importance of the maritime industry to the Indian economy, this industry is yet to receive due recognition from the Government. The Government has from time to time appreciated the fiscal and strategic relevance of the maritime industry, but this has not translated into concrete steps in providing a conducive environment for placing the Indian maritime industry at par with their international counterparts, they said.

Tonnage tax, open and dual registries, cargo reservation and such parameters are the area where the Indian industry is at a disadvantage. While these issues have repeatedly been raised at all foras, the Government is yet to accede to the industry’s demands. (UNI)

Haryana draws up plans for disinvestment

NEW DELHI, Mar 19: Haryana Government today said it had drawn up plans for disinvestment of various public sector undertakings in the coming months and that it would speed up the process of closure of sick PSU’s.

Haryana Chief Secretary L M Goyal told an interactive session, orgnised by PHDCCI, that the state would start the process by disinvesting its stake in tourism properties.

Goyal also said Haryana had started negotiations with various central power utilities to buy additional 500 mw of power in the next few months.

Besides, the 210 mw Panipat thermal power station was also set to be synchronised next month thereby providing an additional 50 lakh units everyday, he said.

Haryana would also purchase 200 mw of power from West Bengal through Power Trading Corporation.

Goyal said in order to improve the availability of power supply in the state, Government had invited National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to carry out a feasibility study for setting up power plants adding that Haryana was prepared to make available Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) for setting up power stations at Yamunagar and Hisar.

It had also negotiated with HUDCO for a loan of Rs 750 crore for upgrading highways, arterial and village roads.

Goyal announced that the state has already closed down several sick public sector undertakings. (PTI)

No new taxes in Rs 2,656.93 cr deficit Punjab budget

CHANDIGARH, Mar 19: Notwithstanding a huge deficit of Rs 2,656.93 crore, Punjab Finance Minister Capt. Kanwaljit Singh today proposed no new taxes in the 2001-2002 budget proposals presented in the Assembly here today.

Capt. Kanwaljit Singh, presenting his budget for the fifth consecutive time, the last before the next Assembly elections due early next year estimated revenue receipt at Rs 11,299.30 crore during the new fiscal while revenue expenditure at Rs 13,956.23 crore.

He, however, proposed to levey sales tax on stone crushers on a lump sum basis from April one.

The Finance Minister said that the new financial year will open with a deficit of Rs 262.25 crore and after recoveries, earnings from small savings, GPF, GIS, calamity, relief fund, civil deposits, the year would close with a net deficit of Rs 262 crore. The Finance Minister estimated capital expenditure at Rs 1,454.83 crore, public debt incurred at Rs 9,657.05 crore, payments at Rs 6,488.78 crore, loans at Rs 411.53 crore, recoveries at Rs 121.36 crore, public accounts like small savings, GPF, GIS, calamity, relief fund and civil deposits at Rs 1067.38 crores.

Capt Kanwaljit Singh, announcing priorities in his budget proposals said the lion share of Rs 979.80 crore had been allocated for the social services and Rs 792.91 crore for general services.

With power sector engaging Government’s greater attention, he said Rs 625.85 crore had been allocated for the energy sector, Rs 297.20 crore for irrigation and flood control, transport, agriculture and allied activities too among the priorities gets 207.49 crore and Rs 191.09 crore respectively.

Being an agrarian state, the State Government would be spending Rs 151.27 crore on rural development and Rs 59.89 crore on special area programme.

The Finance Minister proposed the State Government’s annual plan for the next fiscal at Rs 3,357 crore against the current plan size of Rs 2,700 crore approved by the Planning Commission.

He claimed that Punjab’s ninth plan expenditure was likely to be around Rs 8,220.60 crore during the first four years against the actual expenditure of Rs 6.819.39 crore.

Capt Kanwaljit Singh said as a result of the progressive policies pursued by the SAD-BJP Government there was a sharp upturn in the rate of growth from 2.97 per cent in 1997-98 to 4.24 per cent in 1998-99, but it was still lower when compared to the national growth of 6.8 per cent.

He, however, said that rate of growth of the state at 6.9 per cent during the current financial year was not only a record high in recent past but also higher than the national average of six per cent after a gap of many years. This performance has been made possible by a spectacular growth in the agriculture and allied sectors, which grew by 8.30 per cent during 1999-2000 against just 2.5 per cent in the previous year. (UNI)

Purchasing power of rupee declines to 22.5 paise

NEW DELHI, Mar 19: The purchasing power of a rupee compared to 1980-81 levels has declined to about 22.5 paise this January, it was stated in Lok Sabha today.

As per official figures, Kolkata was the cheapest among the four metropolises with the rupee value being recorded in January at 21.9 paise, followed by Chennai with 20.9 paise, Delhi with 19.5 paise and Mumbai 19.34 paise, Minister of State for Finance Balasaheb Vikhe Patil said in a written reply.

Debt: India’s external debt for 1999 stood at 94.3 billion dollars compared with 98.2 billion dollars in the previous year, Patil said, adding that total foreign capital inflow increased from 2.7 billion dollars in 1998 to 4.04 billion in 1999.

FM: There was no proposal at present to privatise news bulletins and current affairs programmes which still remain with All India Radio despite privatisation of FM broadcast, Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj said.

Private FM stations are allowed to broadcast music, education, entertainment, information on subjects like business, markets, airline and railway schedules, traffic, sports and weather.

Insurance: Reserve Bank of India is examining guidelines for cooperative banks for entering the insurance sector, Patil said.

Narcotics: The International Narcotics Control Board report for 2000 speculates that the Indo-Myanmar border could become a major illicit drug producing area, Minister of State for Finance G N Ramachandran said.

He said smuggling into India from Myanmar though on a "very small scale" had recorded a "slight increase" in the past three years.

Currency: Instances of circulation of Bhutanese currency ‘Ngultrum’ have been noticed in some districts of North Bengal bordering Bhutan and RBI has taken up the matter with civil and police officials of West Bengal, Patil said. (PTI)

Vietnam, Indonesia, India ranked Asia’s most corrupt

HONG KONG, Mar 19: Vietnam, Indonesia and India were ranked the most corrupt countries in Asia in a survey of businessman working in the region published today.

At the other end of the scale, Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong were ranked the least corrupt countries in the survey by Hong Kong-based analysts, the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC).

Seven hundred businessmen in 12 Asian countries were asked to grade countries on a scale of zero to 10, with zero being the best grade and 10 the worst.

The annual survey found corruption had worsened in a number of the lower-ranking countries over the past four years, indicating that the lessons of the Asian economic crisis had not been learned, PERC said.

Vietnam scored 9.75, followed by Indonesia with 9.5 and India with 9.25. Close behind came the Philippines with 9, Thailand with 8.55 and China with 7.88. South Korea scored 7 and Malaysia and Taiwan both got scores of 6.

Singapore was voted the least corrupt country in Asia with a score of 0.83, beating the scores of two marker countries brought in to put the survey into perspective - the United States which scored 1.77 and Australia which scored 1.72. Japan ranked second with 2.5 and Hong Kong third with 3.77.

A spokesman for PERC told the Hong Kong Mail today that the survey showed corruption remained a major problem for businessmen in many Asian countries.

"One would have hoped the economic crisis that hit the Asia region in 1997 would have been a wake-up call to the problem of corruption,"he said.

"Unfortunately, our survey indicates that the problem, as those working in the countries of the region perceive it, has not really improved much during the past four years." (DPA)

Sonia charges NDA with making WTO as alibi for inability

RAJIV GANDHI NAGAR, Mar 18: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today charged the Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance Government at the Centre with making the World Trade Organisation as alibi for its incompetence and its inability to deal with farmers problems.

In her presidential address at the plenary of the AICC here she said farmers all over the country were facing acute distress. Prices of most agricultural produce and commodities had collapsed. Referring to the problems created by imports of agriculture items she said right through the 80s and till the mid-90s, agriculture exports boomed bringing prosperity to the farming community. But in the last few years, in the absence of stable policy, the exports of farm products had stagnated.

Ms Gandhi said the country was confronting a tragic paradox of full godowns but empty stomachs. The NDA Government had doubled the prices of foodgrains for the poor leading to a decline in their purchasing power. Foodgrains stocks had mounted to almost 50 million tonnes, but on the other hand in the face of poverty and malnutrition there had been no no effort to launch a massive food for work programme. This is what we would have done as a matter of the highest priority if we were in power. (UNI)