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Talks on for ownership DEHRA DUN, May 3: On the second day of the budget session of Uttaranchal today, Mr Munna Singh Chauhan, an opposition MLA, raised the.....more INTUC
shows signs NEW DELHI, May 3: The Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) today indicated the possibility of an early settlement of the BALCO dispute......more Maiden budget of Uttaranchal presented DEHRA DUN, May 3: The maiden budget of Uttaranchal has put the deficit at Rs 1061.03 crore and an annual plan expenditure of Rs 1429.50 crore.....more 89
anti-dumping NEW DELHI, May 3: India, a leading user of anti-dumping measures, initiated a total of 89 anti-dumping cases against ....more |
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India
not opposed to NEW DELHI, May 3: India is not opposed to the launch of a new round at WTO provided....more Panel
for 15 pc cut in NEW DELHI, May 3: A parliamentary panel has asked the Government to reduce export prices......more Bottled
water drinkers may GENEVA, May 3: Drinkers of expensive bottled mineral water may be simply pouring.......more ‘Govt
not to be blamed for NEW DELHI, May 3: Government today distanced itself from the recent rejection....more |
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INTUC shows signs of early settlement of BALCO issue NEW DELHI, May 3: The Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) today indicated the possibility of an early settlement of the BALCO dispute saying the matter could be resolved if the Sterlite management of the aluminium major assured the workers that there would be no retrenchment for the next ten years. Talking to reporters here today, INTUC secretary Chandidas Sinha however said the final decision in this regard would be taken tomorrow at a joint meeting of the trade unions fighting for the cause of BALCO workers. Significantly the BALCO management has expressed it willingness to amend the shareholders’ agreement with the Centre assuring workers that no retrenchment would be done for all times to come. "We have filed an undertaking before the Supreme Court that there will be no workers’ retrenchment for all times to come," Sterlite Chairman Anil Agarwal told UNI on telephone from his London office. Addressing a press conference on the occasion of the 55th foundation day of INTUC, Mr Sinha said they had also urged the Government to insert a clause in the BALCO deal which could empower it to buy back two per cent shares from the Sterlite if the Government was not satisfied with the functioning of the new management. This would ensure a proper functioning of the company and an opportunity for the Government to take over the reins in case of any malfunctioning by Sterlite, he added. Responding to a question, Mr Sinha however said their fight against the Government’s reckless disinvestment policies would continue. Disinvestment of the public sector units is acceptable to us only upto 30 per cent, he added. Mr Sinha accused the Vajpayee Government of being an anti-farmer and anti-labour establishment and added that even the Sangh Parivar outfits were openly coming against the Centre’s "anti-people" economic policies. To a question he said INTUC would like to have a greater cooperation with the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) in its fight for the protection of rights of the workers in the country. Mr Sinha also criticised the Government’s proposed "anti-labour" amendments in the Contract Labour Act and the Industrial Disputes Act, saying all trade unions would fight the move jointly. He said the All India Congress Committee (AICC) at its Bangalore session had already expressed its opposition to such measures. (UNI) |
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Maiden budget of Uttaranchal presented DEHRA DUN, May 3: The maiden budget of Uttaranchal has put the deficit at Rs 1061.03 crore and an annual plan expenditure of Rs 1429.50 crore. The budget of the interim Government was presented by State Finance Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal this afternoon. The financial burden inherited by Uttaranchal from UP is Rs 2600 crore. Every year, the interest burden resulting from this would come to Rs 530 crore, the Finance Minister said. The Government has allotted Rs 35 crore for tourism amenities and beautification of shrines in the new state. The Government will focus on education, health, water supply, roads and bridges, self employment and village development in the current fiscal year, Mr Pokhriyal said. The budget has allotted Rs 35 crore to the Jal Vidyut Nigam for electricity generation, while Rs 25 crore has been provided as a loan for its distribution. Roads and bridges have been provided with Rs 220 crore. Repair and maintenance of roads in the hill state has received Rs 42 crore while Rs 14.35 crore is earmarked for strengthening bridges in the state. Rs 180 crore has been allotted for public health. Alternate sources of energy will get Rs 15.67 crore and three crore has been earmarked for the information technology sector. The total revenue receipts are Rs 2532.85 crore, the capital receipts are Rs 1193.43 crore and non-plan expenditure is Rs 3076.25 crore. Tourism villages will be developed and special emphasis has been laid by the budget on development of adventure tourism in the state. Bank loans would be provided up to Rs ten lakh with a subsidy of 20 per cent to units interested in tourism development. An amount of Rs 6.60 crore has been proposed for promotion of computer education. No new direct taxes has been proposed in the budget. The budget proposes Rs 3.56 crore for the promotion of the primary education scheme in the state, Rs ten crore for construction and maintenance of primary schools. An amount of Rs 12 crore has been proposed for sports and youth welfare in Uttranchal. A dairy development scheme has been proposed for women. (UNI) |
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89 anti-dumping cases
initiated by India, NEW DELHI, May 3: India, a leading user of anti-dumping measures, initiated a total of 89 anti-dumping cases against exporting countries between the period 1992-2000 with China topping the list with 41 cases. The second highest number of cases were initiated against the European Union with 21 cases, according to the first annual administrative report 2000-01 of the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD). Korea with 15 cases and Japan with 13 cases occupied the third and the fourth spot respectively. The report also points out that the number of cases being initiated by India every year is on the rise. While a mere two cases were initiated in 1992-93 a whopping 26 cases were initiated in 2000-01, the highest in any given year. As per the WTO report of 2000, India was the most active member during the year 1999 in terms of initiation of anti-dumping investigations followed by the EU, USA and Argentina, the report said. A product-wise breakup of the cases bring out that 39 cases were initiated against chemicals and petrochemicals, nine cases initiated against pharmaceuticals, eight cases against steel and steel products and FDS. Of the total 89 cases initiated by India, final anti-dumping duties were recommended in 64 cases, provisional duties were recommended in 19 cases and in six cases the investigation is yet pending for recommending provisional duty. (PTI) |
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India not opposed to launch of new round at WTO: Sinha NEW DELHI, May 3: India is not opposed to the launch of a new round at WTO provided its concerns and those of other developing countries are taken care of, Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha said here today. Talking to reporters after addressing a meeting here, Mr Sinha said there was no difference of opinion between the Ministry of Commerce and him on the launch of the new round. There is, however, a need to do all the groundwork in advance before such an initiative is taken, he said. The question of a new round was discussed in Seattle itself, he said. The Finance Minister said, I have said very clearly in various forums that there is no point in having a new round which is going to fail like it failed in seattle. That is going to be very bad for international trade. We have talked about excluding some of the new issues being brought on the table. We have talked about implementation of issues which have to be discussed before we go into the new round that is India’s stated position. We are generally against bringing into the trade round any non-trade issues which are going to create non-tariff barriers, he said. Mr Sinha said the developed countries were losing sympathy on issues they are insisting upon. Some issues which are of interest to the us are not of any sympathy with the European Union and vice versa. Similarly issues of interest to Japan may not find sympathy with EU and US’. Mr Sinha said if the developing countries put their act together and speak in one voice they have a great chance of succeeding in the next round whenever it takes place. The Finance Minister said the question of India being put on the priority watchlist under Super 301 did not come up in his discussions at all during his recent visit to Washington. Asked about lifting of sanctions by the US, Mr Sinha said it needs legal action on their part and it will take some time. He said he cannot give any assurance or any time frame regarding the matter. He however, said during his visit, I did notice a desire on the part of US administration to look at the issue positively and afresh. Answering questions on interest rate reduction, Mr Sinha said the RBI had indicated a softer interest rate regime. However, the timing has to be decided by the central bank. Mr Sinha said he was criticised for lowering interest rates as it was hitting pensioners, he said high interest rates are unsustainable coupled with high Government borrowings. Mr Sinha launched a frontal attack on the prophets of doom who were forecasting a slowdown in the Indian economy and asserted that a growth rate of over six per cent would be maintained this year. Others (countries) are confident. The world is confident, but we are nor confident, when asked whether india would sustain its growth rate in the face of the slowdown of the US economy. He did not anticipate any serious impact on the Indian economy due to the us slowdown. Noting that the US’s annualised growth rate had stood at two per cent instead of the abysmal one per cent forecast which would have a minimal impact of the Indian economy. It was regrettable, he said, that while people abroad were very buoyant about Indian economy, the same did not hold good within the country where certain people remained pessimistic about the economic outlook. Mr Sinha declined to comment on the US decision to put India on the watchlist under Super 301, saying it was for the Commerce Ministry to react. Mr Sinha said there was no slowdown in the FDI flows to the country and if at all there was small impact it was due to global flows themselves getting affected. Earlier, addressing the AGM of the FICCI Ladies Organisation, Mr Sinha said savings rate would have to increase substantially from the present level of 22 to 23 per cent to achieve higher growth rate. He said to get higher investment it was absolutely essential to get back the small investor back to the share market. This calls for good corporate goverance. Mr Sinha said corporates should not do anything which puts the fully justificable process of liberalisation and globalisation suspect. He said time and again company defaults which come to light weaken this process. Companies should aim to increase the income of the shareholders. (UNI) |
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Panel for 15 pc cut in foodgrain export prices NEW DELHI, May 3: A parliamentary panel has asked the Government to reduce export prices of foodgrains by 15 per cent to increase their off-take in view of the large amount of surplus stocks. "In view of the surplus stocks, Government should reduce the prices by about 15 per cent and allow exports to earn the precious foreign exchange," Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce said. The committee, headed by Sikander Bakht, said the Government should also provide refrigerated godowns in fruit and vegetable growing centres and link them with ports and airports for destination markets. In order to be competitive in the international market, there is need for a long-term consistent policy to promote agri-exports, it said, adding this is particularly necessary in view of the removal of quantitative restrictions. Such long-term policy is also necessary as there is a huge surplus of wheat in the country, it said. The committee further suggested that Government should allow export of 10 million tonnes of wheat in the next two years. On export of fruits and vegetables, the committee said that despite India being the second largest producer, its exports are negligible. It said one of the major impediments in the development of horticulture exports was the incidence of high air freight rates, which pre-empted these products from competitive pricing. (PTI) |
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Bottled water drinkers may pour money down drain GENEVA, May 3: Drinkers of expensive bottled mineral water may be simply pouring their money down the drain as tap water in most developed countries is likely to be just as good, according to a study issued today. Conservationist Group WWF International, which commissioned the report, said consumers of bottled water would not only benefit their wallets by turning on the tap when they wanted a drink, they would also help the environment. "Bottled water may be no safer, or healthier, than tap water in many countries, while selling for up to 1,000 times the price," the Swiss-based group said. The bottled water industry is worth some 22 billion dollars a year yet in many cases the only difference is that the water comes in a fancy bottle rather than through a pipe, the WWF said. "In fact, there are more standards regulating tap water in Europe and the United States than those applied to the bottled water industry," it added. Nevertheless, the WWF acknowledged that piped water suppliers in some developed countries could do more to improve the taste of their water, which was often cited by consumers as one reason for opting for the bottled variety. The group estimated that some 1.5 million tonnes of plastic was used every year by the bottled water industry, with the toxic chemical involved posing a threat to the environment at both the manufacturing and the disposal stage. Furthermore, as around a quarter of the 90 billion litres of bottled water drunk each year was consumed outside the country of origin, the transport involved added significantly to green-house gas emissions, it said. "Bottled water isn’t a long term sustainable solution to securing access to healthy water," said Richard Holland, Director of WWF’s living waters campaign. (REUTERS) |
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‘Govt not to be blamed for rejection of wheat by Iraq’ NEW DELHI, May 3: Government today distanced itself from the recent rejection of two wheat export consignments by Iraq saying it is a matter between the importing country and the company appointed by it to certify its quality. "Grain Board of Iraq (GBI) had directly placed an order with a private exporter and appointed a company to certify the consignment’s quality. However, if it did not turn out to be so, it was a matter between them," Minister for Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Shanta Kumar, told PTI. He said shipments were sent only after the appointed company had certified that the quality of wheat met the Iraqi standards and even after that if GBI had certain complaints they should take it up with the company concerned. Meanwhile, to ensure that the country does not get a bad name due to such incidents, the Government had also asked for the facts of the case from the State Trading Corporation (STC) through which the shipments were sent, he said, adding action would be taken accordingly. But the Centre could not be blamed for the incident as the FCI had left it to the traders to pick and choose the lots they thought were fit for export. All godowns were open for the exporters and different grades were made available to them, so it was entirely their matter of choice, he added. (PTI) |
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