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HSPCB prohibits CHANDIGARH, Nov 19: The Haryana State Pollution Control Board has prohibited the usage of plastic bags or containers for storage or packaging of .......more Asia comprises a bulk of individual gold hoardings WASHINGTON, Nov 19: More than 2,227 tonnes of gold were hoarded by individuals around the world between 1993-2000, Asia comprising a bulk of ....more Egurucool.Com
to KOLKATA, Nov 19: Egurucool.Com, the leading elearning company, today announced to appoint 100 more franchises for imparting educational.....more Small size LPG domestic cylinders to hit market soon PANAJI, Nov 19: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Ram Naik today said Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) connections with five-kilogramme ....more |
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Uttaranchal’s entry in IITF: fruit juices, pickles and tears NEW DELHI, Nov 19: The first-time participation by Uttaranchal in the ongoing India International Trade Fair (IITF) 2001, was marked by the......more ‘Mahindra
and Mahindra’ NEW DELHI, Nov 19: The Rs 3000 crore corporate giant Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (MML) got a boost with the Supreme Court affixing its stamp of .......more Meet
on commodity KOCHI, Nov 19: The seventh regional round table meeting on commodity development in Asia and the Pacific region was inaugurated here today by. ..........more TN
ban on Gutka, CHENNAI, Nov 19: Close on heels of banning of smoking in public places by the Supreme Court, Tamil Nadu Government’s ban on .........more |
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Asia comprises a bulk of individual gold hoardings WASHINGTON, Nov 19: More than 2,227 tonnes of gold were hoarded by individuals around the world between 1993-2000, Asia comprising a bulk of it, a new study commissioned by the World Gold Council (WGC) has said. The international consultancy firm Gold Field Minerals Services (GFMS), which conducted the study, said the impression created in recent years about the little interest in gold as an investment medium was largely because the focus was on markets in Europe and North America. Contrary to this impression, individuals throughout the rest of the world had managed to hoard over 2,100 tonnes of bullion during the 1993-2000 period, with the bulk of this hoarding occurring in Asia, WGC head of retail investment Albert Cheng said yesterday. Most of the demand from retail investors in Asia came from Japan, India, Vietnam and China, he added. The study attributed the lack of strong investment in Europe and North America to several factors, including lack of promotion, a reduction in political tensions, low inflation and the boom in the value of other financial assets, especially equities. Given this litany of undermining influences, it is reassuring to see that gold investment in the other regions had remained balanced and positive during the years, the study said. It also said that factors that contributed to the weakening interest in gold in Europe and North America have lessened or been reversed. That meant that the ground had been set for a potential resurgence in gold investment, Cheng said. He said that the study had shown that the actual level of net retail investment in 1993-2000 was quite stable, holding in a fairly narrow range of 240-390 tonnes a year, excluding a 117 tonne anomaly in 2000. "Ihis underlying stability was all the more remarkable, given that the period covered the Asian financial crisis and the ‘Y2K’ scares," he said. Cheng said the report struck a note of caution and that people should not overstate the relative importance of retail investment to overall gold demand - in that it only accounted for around seven percent of the total in 1993-2000. The study also pointed out that retail gold investment - the annual value of which did not reach five billion dollars in 1993-2000 — was but a fraction of the size of other investments. Cheng said, "however, one should consider the exciting potential and opportunities that this situation affords investors and the market. Consider only a small shift in private investment portfolios will have a dramatic impact on gold demand and the price." He said there were many reasons to consider gold retail investment in a positive light. "Many people kept looking at the bearish implications of central bank selling. But it should be considered that during the 1993-2000 period in question, official sector sales were only 20 per cent higher than retail investment." The study also delved into an area never fully researched before — an estimation of total private investor stocks and their distribution by country. This showed how private investor stocks of bullion bars and coins had increased to reach a total estimated at 22,000 tonnes at the end of 2000. The majority of this privately-held bullion is located in a handful of countries — France, the United States, Japan, Switzerland, Germany, India, Turkey and Taiwan. Cheng said the report was probably the first comprehensive study to measure the retail sector’s importance to the gold market. "The more uncertain world since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11 could herald further buy-side interest in the years ahead. (UNI) |
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Egurucool.Com to appoint 100 more franchises KOLKATA, Nov 19: Egurucool.Com, the leading elearning company, today announced to appoint 100 more franchises for imparting educational assistance to students studying CBSE, IIT, Medical and Cat curriculums. Company sources said the 100 more franchices would be in addition to the network of 60 learning centres already existing till date. With these tution centres we will provide all the necessary support to students who are studying for various exams. The company offers excellent business opportunities for any one willing to join the elearning revolution, Mr Vivek Agarwal, CEO, egurucool.Com said today. Zhang also noted that after the September 11 strikes in the US, Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan had spoken on phone with External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh. Zhang said consensus was reached between Singh and Tang on combating international terrorism. Commenting on the recent meeting between Singh and Tang in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Zhang said the two sides exchanged views on bilateral ties and current international situation. Singh, who had postponed his scheduled trip to Beijing in October told Tang that he would visit China at a convenient time next year, the spokeswoman said. Asked about Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji’s postponed trip to India, Zhang said both sides were holding consultations through diplomatic channels on this issue. Zhu postponed his maiden official visit to India in view of the uncertainties arising out of the September 11 terrorist incident. (PTI) |
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Small size LPG domestic cylinders to hit market soon PANAJI, Nov 19: Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Ram Naik today said Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) connections with five-kilogramme domestic cylinders would be made available over the next five months. Talking to reporters here, Mr Naik said the centre had already decided to introduce small-size cylinders of five kg for domestic purposes, which would be affordable to low-income groups. Stating that introduction of small-sized cylinders would help cut down consumers’ capital expenditure on deposit, he said that on account of convenience in transportation, new connections could be made available even in hilly terrain and remote villages. Throwing light on the availability of LPG, the minister said lpg connections were now available on demand at almost all retail outlets. While there was a waiting list of 1.10 crore in October 1999, the Government had released 1.95 crore connections over past two years, he said, adding that steps had already been taken to set up more rural distributorships. (UNI) |
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Uttaranchal’s entry in IITF: fruit juices, pickles and tears NEW DELHI, Nov 19: The first-time participation by Uttaranchal in the ongoing India International Trade Fair (IITF) 2001, was marked by the celebration of Uttaranchal Day at the fair premises here. Uttaranchal Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari and Finance Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal yesterday visited the state’s pavilion, which is drawing large crowds. The state’s fruit juices and pickles have found many takers in the national capital, which is being exposed to many of Uttaranchal’s products. Juice of Rhododendron, which also has medicinal value, caps made of wood of ‘Ram Bans’, jackets and photographs from Badrinath, Kedarnath and Almora were very popular. Stalls of paintings, snaps and documentaries aimed at luring tourists to the hill state. Mr Koshiyari also graced an evening of folk dances and music organised here by the State’s Culture and Tourism Department. Former State Chief Secretary Ajay Vikram Singh, eminent film Director Muzaffar Ali and Uttaranchal Tourism and Information Secretary N M Prasad were also present. Dances from Kumaon and Garhwal enthralled the audience in the hour-long programme that included ‘Sandhya Geet’, ‘Thadiya Chaufala’, ‘Neelima-Neelima’ dances from the Garhwal hills, Tandi dance from the tribal area of Jaunpur and Jaunsar, the famous ‘Chapeli’ and ‘Ghasiyari’ dances of Kumaon. The evening ended with the martial dance form of Uttaranchal — the ‘Choliya’. (UNI) |
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‘Mahindra and Mahindra’ prevails over ‘Mahendra and Mahendra’ NEW DELHI, Nov 19: The Rs 3000 crore corporate giant Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd (MML) got a boost with the Supreme Court affixing its stamp of approval on a Bombay High Court order restraining a paper mill from using a deceptively similar name ‘Mahendra and Mahendra’. "The division bench of the Bombay High Court cannot be faulted for confirming the order of injunction passed by the single judge of the High Court," said an apex court bench comprising Justice D P Mohapatra and Justice Shivaraj V Patil. Mahindra and Mahindra stated that in August 1996 it came to know the existence of a company named Mahendra and Mahendra Paper Mills Ltd after it came across a prospectus in repect of the latter’s public issue. The MML contended that the words used by the paper mill were phonetically, visually and structurally almost identical and in any event deceptively similar. MML said the paper mill by using such a deceptively similar name intended to "pass off or likely to pass off its business and products as those of MML by trading on the goodwill and reputation of MML". Justice Mohapatra, writing the judgement for the bench, agreed with the contention of MML while dismissing the appeal filed by the paper mill against the order of the High Court and imposed a cost of Rs 15,000 on the paper mill. However, the bench said the question whether MML’s claim of "passing off action" against the paper mills would be accepted or not would be decided by the trial court after evidence was led in the suit. MML, in its pleadings, said the trademark of ‘Mahindra’ created through years of hardwork was a popular brand and people associated quality with it. "The name and trademark `Mahindra’ is prominently used and displayed on all its products as also promotional materials," it said, adding the trademark enjoyed high reputation in India and many other countries. After taking note of the rival contentions, Justice Mohapatra said "it is clear that the plaintiff has been using the word `Mahindra’ and `Mahindra and Mahindra’ in its companies/buisness concerns for a long span of time extending over five decades. "People have come to associate the name `Mahindra’ with a certain standard of goods and services. Any attempt by another to use the name in business and trade circles, is likely to and in probability will create an impression of a connection with the mml group of companies," he said. (PTI) |
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Meet on commodity developmentin Asia, Pacific inaugurated KOCHI, Nov 19: The seventh regional round table meeting on commodity development in Asia and the Pacific region was inaugurated here today by Mr Prabir Sengupta, Commerce Secretary in the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Delegates from over 30 countries are participating in the four-day conference, organised by the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, aimed at evolving strategies for improving the production and exports of various commodities- agricultural and non-agricultural-for the socio-economic development of nations. Inaugurating the conference, Mr Sengupta expressed serious concern over the declining trend in commodities exports of developing and under developed countries. Large amounts of domestic subsidies in developed countries and tariff and non-tariff barriers put up by developed countries against primary products had led to this plight of poor farmers in the developing countries where the bulk of the people relied on agriculture for their livelihood. The distribution of world commodity exports from 1970-72 to 1998-99 showed that while the share of developed countries’ exports had increased from 58.8 per cent to 66.3 per cent, those of the developing countries and the under-developed countries had declined from 31.5 per cent to 26.3 per cent and 4.7 per cent to one per cent respectively. Mr Sengupta said while the developed countries were able to pay high levels of both domestic and export subsidies, the developing countries were constrained both by their WTO obligations and also financial resources to do the same. It was necessary to find a formula to embolden participants of trade in commodities to face the challenge with the cooperation of the CFC. Unless investments were made in the areas of new methods of farming and quality improvement and international rules were made more equitable, the efforts in place would not yield the desired result, he added. Dr Rolf W Boehnke, Managing Director of the CFC, in his introductory speech detailed the activities of the CFC set up in 1989 within the framework of the United Nations and operating through the secretariat headquartered in Amsterdam. The CFC, having a partnership of 104 countries aimed at assisting commodity-dependent countries through grant and loan-financed projects. These projects focussed on improving the structural conditions in markets, enhancing long-term competitiveness and prospects for particular commodities, and providing assistance to countries to enable them to function effectively in a liberalised global economy. The topics of deliberation in the working sessions of the conference included the role of commodities in development, functioning of the common fund, criteria and procedures for project submissions and other issues relating to commodities production and exports. Representatives of the FAO, ADB, ESCAP and various other national and international bodies are also participating in the conference, held for the first time in India. The last such meeting was held in Bangladesh in 1998. (UNI) |
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TN ban on Gutka, Pan Masala sale comes into force CHENNAI, Nov 19: Close on heels of banning of smoking in public places by the Supreme Court, Tamil Nadu Government’s ban on sale of Pan Masala, Gutka and chewing tobacco in the state came into effect from today. The ban, which would be for a period of five years, had been brought into force after taking into account the "interest of public health" as studies had indicated that consumption of these products could cause oral cancer, State Health Minister S Semmalai said in a press release here. Expressing hope that the ban, for which the notification was issued yesterday, would be supported by the people of the state, Semmalai said one-third of those affected by cancer in the country was due to chewing of tobacco products. He said the rate of oral cancer affected people had risen to 320 per 10,000 in 1994 from 16 in 1967. Ever increasing oral cancer was due to chewing of Pan Masala, Gutka and chewing tobacco and 85 per cent of those affected by oral cancer were in the age group of less than 35-years, he said. Official sources said the Director of Public Health would be the implementing authority of the ban and food inspectors attached to food (health) authority would conduct raids in the state with the support of the police and seize such products from retail and wholesalers. (PTI) |
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