Excelsior... Nation

Ansari, ISI darling,
now the biggest enemy!

NEW DELHI, Feb 24: Aftab Ansari, the prize catch of the CBI in the Kolkata American Centre attack case, has become a target of Pakistan’s ISI after he ......more

"The ball is in Govt’s
court", says Justice Venkataswami

NEW DELHI, Feb 24: Initially set-up to finish its probe into allegation of corruption in defence deals within four months, Venkataswami Commission, . ...more

Distrust continues to characterise Indo-US partnership, says book

NEW DELHI, Feb 24: Even though they share intellectual, economic and strategic interests in many areas, a sort of residual distrust continues to...more

Alembic to focus on
generic, basic drug
formulations, OTC segment

MUMBAI, Feb 24: The Vadodara-based pharma major Alembic Limited has identified three major growth areas—generic, basic drug formulations and ..more

Housing and tourism
can revive growth in
the economy: CII

NEW DELHI, Feb 24: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has urged the Government to provide a boost to housing and tourism sectors in the budget ....more

Common man wary of
being the "centrepiece"
of the budget

NEW DELHI, Feb 24: The man on the street is apprehensive of to having to do more belt-tightening after the coming budget, brushing aside Finance....more

Delhi Metro to be operational from Dec 1

NEW DELHI, Feb 24: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) declared that the first part of the first phase of the Delhi Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), ....more

BALCO Emp Union seeks review of SC order on disinvestment

NEW DELHI, Feb 24: Citing dishonour of commitment by Sterlite Industries which bought the majority stake in Bharat Aluminium Company (BALCO), ....more

Ansari, ISI darling, now the biggest enemy!

NEW DELHI, Feb 24: Aftab Ansari, the prize catch of the CBI in the Kolkata American Centre attack case, has become a target of Pakistan’s ISI after he spilled the beans by exposing the hawala racket used to send funds to sponsor anti-national activities.

A wireless intercept suggested that ISI has directed some of its conduits in the country as well as neighbouring Nepal to eliminate Ansari a cost, intelligence sources said.

Ansari, presently in the custody of Rajkot Police in Gujarat in connection with a spate of kidnappings in the region, has been provided additional guards while being taken to the court of first class Judicial Magistrate in Radhanpura, the sources said.

The wireless message intercepted in Jassar area of Gujarat suggested that some professional killers from the underworld gangs had been hired to kill Ansari.

Ansari had revealed to CBI his connection with hawala operators in the national capital, Bhopal, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata and Lucknow.

The CBI’s special investigating unit had picked up three hawala operators - Sharda Bajrang Dal, Purushotam Das Gupta and Javed Mansoor - for examination after raiding their premises on February 19 following a tip off from Ansari.

The CBI had also seized cash of over Rs 40 lakh from the premises of Bajrang and Gupta, the sources said.

The three hawala operators were claimed to have supplied money sent by Ansari to his henchman Aqib Ali for paying for an arms consignment that was smuggled into the country from Pakistan. Ansari revealed during interrogation that many of his men had moved into Dhaka where he managed to get a visa for them to travel to Pakistan or Dubai.

He also admitted to his links with militant leaders of Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islamia (HUJI) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

About his links to the American Centre attack, Ansari admitted to having called the Kolkata Superintendent of Police and other newspapers in the metropolis on phone to say that the attack was carried out by his men. However, he denied having masterminded the attack.

The accused has already admitted his links with Omar Saeed Sheikh, one of the accused arrested by Pakistan Police in connection with the kidnapping and killing of Daniel Pearl, reporter of Wall Street Journal. (PTI)

"The ball is in Govt’s court", says Justice Venkataswami

NEW DELHI, Feb 24: Initially set-up to finish its probe into allegation of corruption in defence deals within four months, Venkataswami Commission, which has already got two extensions, may have to seek another if the Government delays producing its evidence on the alleged "financial motives" behind the Tehelka expose.

"The Government is yet to produce its evidence and witnesses on the financial aspects of the Tehelka expose. They have been maintaining that the investigation in the various facets of financial motives was taking a lot of time," Justice K Venkataswami told PTI.

"If the Government does not proceed and finish early with the financial aspects then we may have to seek another extension otherwise as of now all other aspects can be covered by March 24, the day commission’s second extension expires," he said adding "now the ball is in the Government’s court."

The Government had filed an affidavit alleging that ‘operation westend’ was not a "bonafide journalistic endeavour’" and was a result of the conspiracy entered into between first global owner Shanker Sharma, who is one of the share-holders in buffalo network (owner of tehelka.Com), editor of Tehelka news portal Tarun Tejpal and his employees Aniruddha Bahal and Samuel Mathews.

Ruling out any possibility of an interim report, Justice Venkataswami said, "I will only submit the report in its final shape. The report is going to be voluminous."

"I will think about another extension only after March 10 after reviewing the progress made so far," he said adding "as of now I think we will be able to cover all aspects and work towards the making of the report."

Headed by the retired judge of the Supreme Court, the Commission was set-up in March and began its hearing in June.

It has had more than 100 hearings so far and besides recording evidence of witnesses of cross-examination notices, the Commission has also examined some of the notices including defence officials, allegedly involved in the Tehelka expose, as of now.

The Commission is presently hearing the arguments of Government Counsel Additional Solicitor General Kirit N Raval and Sharma’s Counsel Ram Jethmalani regarding the cross-examination of one Government official Devinder Gupta, on the basis of whose affidavit a notice was issued to Sharma.

The Commission is yet to cross examine the crucial notices including Defence Minister George Fernandes, former Samata Party president Jaya Jaitely, former BJP president Bangaru Laxman and the Tehelka team. (PTI)

Distrust continues to characterise Indo-US partnership, says book

NEW DELHI, Feb 24: Even though they share intellectual, economic and strategic interests in many areas, a sort of residual distrust continues to characterise the evolving partnership between India and the United States, says a new book.

However, keeping in view the evolutionary direction of their partnership, the two countries will be forced by a realistic assessment of their national interests to moderate their expectations from each other, the book five decades of Indo-US relations, written by eminent social scientist and historiographer Harinder Sekhon, says.

The unfolding dynamics of this process of realistic expectations will go a long way in removing whatever little irritants are perceived in this relationship, the book, released by Vice-President Krishan Kant at a function recently, says.

The 188-page book says that despite remarkable scholarly output, India continues to remain a target of disdain for the average American. Traditional stereotypes predominate American perceptions of India and for them India even today is a land of beggars and sacred cows.

It says the end of the cold war has certainly created a climate for vastly improved relations between the two countries. A growing recognition of converging geopolitical interests and shared democratic and secular values has begun to replace mutual distrust resulting from differing perceptions of the soviet threat. Belying prophecies of its imminent collapse, India has demonstrated its capacity for political renewal and stability and this fact has not been lost on the US.

The book recalls that during the Clinton administration, there was a gradual thawing in Indo-US relations and the improved ambience was also visible during the then Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao’s visit to Washington in 1994.

In the economic sphere, India has reluctantly embarked upon an ambitious programme of reforms that is bound to pave the way for increased foreign trade and greater foreign investment. In this atmosphere of liberalisation, India and the US can look forward to mutually beneficial economic ties as India has been identified by the US as one of the ten biggest emerging markets around the world , it added.

The book says some issues, like the question of human rights abuses in Punjab and Kashmir, India’s refusal to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and its fervent efforts to develop the inter-continental ballistic missiles system continue to cause discomfort in Indo—US relations. But a positive basis for improvement exists due to their shared commitment to the goals of an open, pluralistic, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, democratic society at home and to external environments that are peaceful, non-threatening, non-fanatical and conducive to commerce and prosperity.

It says that with America’s commitment to forging an anti-terrorist alliance on a global scale after the September eleven terrorist attacks, the humankind has entered a new epoch. The subsequent terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament on December 13 has made America realise the need to find a correct balance in its relationship with India.

There appears to be a definite convergence of strategic interests between India and the US as also a genuine desire to eliminate the extremists, who seek to harm India and destabilise the international coalition against terrorism.

In this scenario, the increasingly overlapping perspectives between Indian and American academicians can help generate the kind of knowledge which will ensure that the positive aspects of Indo-US relations are nurtured and a mature understanding arrived at, which will assist in the building of a new world order based on mutual trust, it adds.

On the India-Pakistan problem, the book says that the americans perhaps overestimate their influence on the two South Asian countries in bringing about an amicable solution to the Kashmir problem which remains the most immediate regional flashpont. (UNI)

Alembic to focus on generic, basic drug formulations, OTC segment

MUMBAI, Feb 24: The Vadodara-based pharma major Alembic Limited has identified three major growth areas—generic, basic drug formulations and Over The Counter (OTC) healthcare medicines— to enhance its Rs 500-crore turnover by over 20 per cent in the next two years.

Alembic’s whole-time Director, Mrs Malika Amin, told UNI that the company is in the process of restructuring its marketing strategy by setting up four specialised divisions—cardiovascular division, franchise division for aging products, generic division and the general products division.

It has also plans to venture into the biotechnology business in a big way through upgradation of its Research and Development (R&D) Centre, she said.

The company has invested about six per cent of its turnover in R&D development activities and also is in the process of building brands of its popular medicines mainly in healthcare such as cold and cough, Hormone Replacement Theory (HRT), nutraceuticals, respiratory and anti-diabetic segments.

Alembic, which suffered a setback in its profitability in the year 2000-01, has appointed the consultancy firm, accenture, for guiding the firm in improving its operational efficiency and productivity.

The company is trying to join hands with some leading generic manufacturers as an associate supplier to make forays into the multi-million dollar generic world market.

Similarly, it is also working on introducing new products in the Rs 22-crore hrt market.

Alembic, an ISO-9002 and ISO-14001 company, has earmarked a sum of Rs 30 crore for seeking approval of the formulation process from overseas regulatory bodies such as medicines control agency of UK, Medicines Control Council of South Africa and the Food and Drug Administration of USA.

It is also in the process of revamping its leading cough syrup—glycodin—by leveraging awareness about the brand.

Recently, it launched a new product called "Isovon" for the treatment of pre-menopausal and menopausal symptoms. Isovon, made from natural soy isoflavones, claims to reduce the frequency and severity of menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats. (UNI)

Housing and tourism can revive growth in the economy: CII

NEW DELHI, Feb 24: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has urged the Government to provide a boost to housing and tourism sectors in the budget for the year 2002-03 as these sectors have the potential to bring back growth in the economy.

Both these sectors, CII has elaborated, have been recognised as major vehicles to produce and create wealth, generate employment and earn foreign exchange. However, these critical sectors are still at a nascent stage of development. India has vast opportunities in both the sectors but little has been done to tap their potential.

Housing, the Confederation has pointed out, constitutes the basic building block to a settled social life and this sector has forward and backward linkages with as many as 280 industries. Though it forms a crucial component of all construction activities, the housing industry in India is still in its infancy compared to other developed economies.

According to a CII estimate, the current housing supply-to-demand ratio in India stands at a dismal 1:3 with an official estimate of housing shortage at 22.9 million, while the unofficial figure is as high as 40 million units.

It has pointed out that the share of investment in this sector to total investment in the economy has actually declined from 34.2 percent in the first five year plan to a mere 9.7 percent in the eighth five year plan.

Hence, the chamber feels, that a boost in housing activities is essential for sustainable and high growth of the economy. According to CII, a 10 percent increase in spending on construction sector can raise the growth-rate of India’s GDP by three percent.

If the housing sector is provided adequate impetus, it would be endorsed by all because this sector directly addresses one basic need of the society, that is shelter, CII has added.

To meet this end, CII has suggested that infrastructure and industry status should be accorded to the housing sector.

One of the critical issues confronting this sector is the severe mismatch between the demand and supply of land as the biggest hindrance to the growth of housing activity. It is, therefore, imperative to develop policies that ensure the smooth supply of land. The archaic and outmoded legislative framework of the country is perhaps the largest factor inhibiting the development of this sector.

CII has pointed out that housing being a state subject, a need for constant interaction and coordination between the centre and state is of paramount importance and also stressed on the need to bring about legislative reforms.

All states must also repeal the Urban Land Ceiling Regulation Act (ULCRA) as it has resulted in artificial shortage of land, CII added.

CII further elaborated that the Land Acquisition Act specifically dealing with urban areas has hindered speedy acquisition of land at reasonable prices, resulting in cost overruns in housing housing and infrastructure development. It has stressed the need to amend this act along with modernisation of existing land records and amendments in the revenue laws for speedy clearances of the housing projects.

Another factor hampering the growth of this sector is that the existing Rent Control Act has virtually stopped private investment in the housing sector as it tends to protect existing tenants at the expense of prospective tenants.

CII suggested that amendments should be brought about on the prevailing rent control laws to ensure flexibility in the facilitation and promotion of housing activity.

The existing laws relating to foreclosure of mortgage is not only cumbersome but also time consuming. Moreover, the laws are oriented towards the borrower, which places the lenders at a disadvantageous position leading to hampering of the mortgage market as well as its securitisation.

CII feels that there is an urgent need to modify the existing laws to provide speedy recovery in case of default, which will not only put the recovery system on sound lines but also act as a deterrent for willful defaulter.

On the financial front, in order to enable housing finance institutions provide affordable long term housing loans to individuals and to avoid an asset liability mismatch, it suggested that the benefits associated with the infrastructure financing should also be provided for housing finance.

The Confederation further recommended that housing finance should be granted the same fiscal concessions as are available for infrastructure financing. CII is of the opinion that housing finance institutions meeting certain eligibility criteria should also be permitted to raise funds in a tax free basis for onward lending for housing loans thus enabling the home buyer to avail the finance at a much lower interest rate.

CII also recommended that the current rate of three percent of incremental bank deposits for housing finance should be increased to five per cent. The absence of sound mortgage finance with moderate interest rates for long term loans make housing finance a difficult issue and retards the growth of this sector.

According to CII, the rate of interest for housing loans should be brought down to 10 per cent from the existing rate ranging between 13.5 per cent to 16 per cent.

With inflation reigning at 2.47 percent (wholesale price index) and 2.62 percent (consumer price index) the rate of interest on loans for housing needs a downward revision, the Confederation has suggested.

Among the other measures recommended by CII are the fiscal incentives for foreign investors and making FDI policy more transparent.

According to CII, FDI should be allowed in building technologies like precast technology and low cost housing, in tune with the Governments housing and habitat objectives. Ten per cent of the project cost should also be reserved for houses for poor section of population at low cost.

The Confederation has recommended to establish a national network of testing and evaluating facilities at the state level. This would encourage the use of innovative design and material, a knowledge base on latest designs and building techniques as required in each city, CII pointed out.

With regard to tourism, CII has reiterated that the anticipation of the private sector in the industry has become a pre-requisite and the development and maintenance of the infrastructure facilities and non-core activities in airports, railways and bus terminus should be opened to the private sector for efficiency and productivity.

At the same time, the Government must facilitate larger flow of funds to tourism infrastructure and create a tourism development fund to bridge the critical infrastructure gaps, CII stated.

Resources for tourism development fund can be allocated from the existing taxes on tourism has been done in South East Asian countries, CII suggested.

The plan outlay for tourism, CII has pointed out, has been abysmally low and its share has gone down from 0.19 per cent in 1991-92 to 0.13 per cent in 2000-01. The Confederation has suggested that the Government must increase the share of outlay for tourism to at least five per cent of total plan outlay in the tenth plan.

The Government expenditure on tourism in India is only 0.9 per cent as compared to China’s 3.8 per cent, Sri Lanka’s 4 per cent, and Singapore’s 9.1 per cent.

With regard to the tax structure, a well-coordinated uniform tax structure is essential to make India a competitive destination in the world market and a cap of 20 per cent inclusive of all taxes should be imposed on tourism, CII suggested.

The multiple tax structure has a cascading effect and add up to 30-40 per cent of the hotel bills as compared to the overall 5-20 percent combine taxes in Southeast and East Asian countries, thereby making these countries cost effective destinations.

According to CII, there is a need for uniformity in the rates of the sales tax amongst different states. The high rate of duty imposed on imported alcohol encourages smuggling and the Government should reduce the custom duty on liquors so that the foreign tourists get it at the same rate as available in other countries.

To give a boost to tourism, free inter-state movement for tourist vehicles should be permitted through composite permit to facilitate easy travel, CII suggested. (UNI)

Common man wary of being the "centrepiece" of the budget

NEW DELHI, Feb 24: The man on the street is apprehensive of to having to do more belt-tightening after the coming budget, brushing aside Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha’s assurance that the "common man" will be the centrepiece of his exercise.

The talk of cut in subsidies, reduced interest rate on savings, inability to galvanise the economy in the backdrop of growing unemployment, VRS and retrenchments and the fear of higher rate of inflation in the coming months have given a foreboding of doom.

Given the large borrowings of the Government, Mr Sinha is on a tightrope walk to kickstart the flagging economy by giving sops to the consumer goods sector and pump in huge investment in the ailing infrastructure sector.

The reason for the common man’s disillusionment also emanates from the fact that past records do not give much confidence to this section of the people. Fewer people believe that the budget 2002-03 will benefit them.

For Dulal, a rickshawpuller from Bihar, the budget is an exercise in abstraction. His only concern is that the moneyorder rate is not hiked as he has to regularly send his paltry income home.

"I am in the capital because pulling a rickshaw here gives me better income as compared to Samastipur."

Mr S Sundaram, a senior bank officer opposed to unbridled liberalisation of the economy, says, "will Mr Sinha declare employment as the main objective of the budget? with Indian companies like JK Tyres and Benaras Silk House setting up shops in China and other neghbouring countries, there will be hardly any employment creation .

Says Mrs Daya Singha, wife of a retired IAS officer: "Budgets in recent times have been extremely punishing for the salaried class. Businessmen can always find some avenue to hide their incomes. But the salaried class people are always at the receiving end who have to pay taxes at the source. We have been lowering our standard to meet our requirements."

It is painful that the Government’s annual expenses on international travel of its employees grosses Rs 750 crore. The Government also spends a whopping Rs 32,000 crore on the wage bill of its bloated bureaucracy. But there is little for people in terms of services - poor infrastructure, shabby roads, power tripping, inadequate water supply, she points out.

Echoing similar sentimnents, Mrs Shalini Singh, a senior teacher in a public school, Bemoans: "I have been told by my chartered accountant that tax planning for me is difficult as most of what I have to pay gets deducted by way of TDS.

In fact, the biggest concern of the middle class is whether there will be any exemptions or tax reliefs for them in the budget. They are reading with dismay newspaper reports that rail fares and freight are in for an increase.

The common refrain of the salaried tax payers, who are agitated over the lower returns on their savings, is that the Government must not squeeze them further by imposing a "war tax" in view of a tense military standoff on the borders. They also want the Gujarat earthquake surcharge, imposed in the previous budget, to go.

Pensioners, who depend heavily on interest incomes, are perturbed that Mr Sinha will further bring down interest rates on contractual savings, followed by the central bank bringing down the bank rate, as it happened last year.

Says Mr Jamna Singh, a retired railway official: Where do we put our money? we have been brought up in a culture that hard earned money should be put in fixed deposits and post office savings.

"The stock markets are casinos. Small investors like me are reluctant to put our money even in financial instiutions after what happened in the US-64 scheme. Mutual funds are also quoting below par. The Government plans to give even provident fund to the private players.

There is concern among the people of more and more consumers being thrown out of the Public Distribution System (PDS) and its growing leakage. The common man is now gradually being exposed to the vagaries of market forces and made to fend for themselves. With a poor social security system, this fear appears genuine.

Even a section of the economists argue that the current attraction of national savings scheme instruments will get reduced once the tax breaks are withdrawn or modified alongwith further cut in interest rates.

In determining an appropriate rate of interest on small savings, which constitutes the bulk of household savigs in India, the key price indicator to be considered is the expected rate of inflation rather than the current headline rate. By all counts, the expected rate of inflation over the next five years is more likely to be around five per cent rather than the present two per cent, says dr nagesh kumar, a senior researcher at the Research and Information System for the non-aligned and other developing countries (RIS).

The long-term average rate of inflation in India between 1960 and 1990 was about eight per cent or so. The 1990s have witnessed a lowering of this rate from the double-digit level it had hit at the beginning of the decade to around five per cent in recent years.

Hence, Dr Nagesh contends: "The Government policy on administered interest rate should be based on the expected inflation rate of five per cent as households making savings decisons are likely to be guided by this number."

Mr Ramesh Dujari, a trader of electrical goods in the walled city, says, "we are in no position to compete with Chinese goods. The Government must put some deterrent taxes on such foreign goods and strengthen anti-dumping measures."

Regrettably, most small businessmen and traders visualise a bleak future for themselves, particularly in the context of ongoing recession. They cite across-the-board discounts given by the companies as evidence of a prolonged economy slowdown.

They believe that the budget, even if it benefits Indian industry, will do so for big businessmen or foreign companies having immense lobbying power. They see the small-scale industry heading for an unsure future.

The general perception about the budget is that it is a panacea for all ills. However, this is not true. It is the document which identifies where the centre would get its resources and how it would spend.

Any Finance Minister’s dilemma is governed by the fact that 50 per cent of the expenditure goes by way of paying interets on small savings bonds, G-SEC, provident fund and commercial borrowings. India’s public debt is around Rs 13,20,000 crore on which it pays 1,15,000 crore as interest. A large part of it goes towards non-plan expenditure like subsidies, salaries and defence. About 15 to 20 per cent is plan expenditure from which all investments are to be made in specific projects.

The common man gets affected in several ways. These include movements of stock markets, the huge fiscal deficit and its impact on inflation, improvement of life through better infrastructure, safety of citizens’ money and strengthening of national security. In all fairness, Mr Sinha will have to be judged on these parameters. (UNI)

Delhi Metro to be operational from Dec 1

NEW DELHI, Feb 24: Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) declared that the first part of the first phase of the Delhi Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS), would be operational from December 1.

Talking to reporters here, DMRC Director (Project and Planning), C B K Rao said, a strech of 8.3 km from Shahdara to Tis Hazari would be "in operation from coming December."

He said, "82 per cent work in this section has already been completed and we are committed to our deadline."

"The entire project, which started in 1998 would be completed by Mar 31, 2005," said Mr Rao adding "our officials are working overtime to ensure it."

He said once completed the MRTS would solve the traffic problem in the city.

"We are also tying up with the DTC to provide bus service from each and every station to various parts of the city," he informed, a media party yesterday.

Regarding the fare structure Mr Rao said, "fares would be higher than the DTC buses for the first eight kms after which fares would be cheaper."

Commenting on the displacement as a result of the MRTS project, the Director said, "3000 people who have been displaced have been provided with plot and schools."

Earlier, DMRC Chief Project Manager Lalit Meghnani said the first phase would comprise metro corridor (underground) of 11 kms and surface corridor (partly elevated and partly on the ground) of 41 kms.

The metro corridor would connect Delhi University with Central Secretariat and the elevated portion would connect Shahdara with Barwala and also Trinagar with Nangloi, he added.

The total project would cost around Rs 8,000 crore — 56 per cent of which is provided by Japan as a soft loan and the rest jointly shared by the centre and Delhi Government on an equal sharing basis, Mr Meghnani said there is a ten year moratorium on the Japanese loan, with a repayment period of 30 years.

He said the coaches have been imported from Korea and the German made drilling machines are not causing any disturbance to the citylife.

"Each stations would be different in size depending on the traffic flow and we would also be providing private security personnel apart from the presence of Delhi Police," Mr Meghnani said.

"We are expecting nearly two million passengers every day after the completion of the project," he said adding "trains would be available every three minutes."

"ISBT station, where metro corridor and surface corridor meets would be the busiest station in the world with a passenger inflow of 150,000 everyday," he added.

Belying all apprehensions regarding the damage an earthquake may cause to MRTS, Mr Meghnani said, "all precautionary measures have been taken and infact extra money are being spent."

Chief security expert of the project, Ian Carter from UK said the Delhi MRTS match international standards and is infact technologically superior to the Kolkata metro.

DMRC is a joint venture of the Central and Delhi Governments and the first MRTS of its kind in the capital. (UNI)