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Allahabad Bank to Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 21: Allahabad Bank, the oldest joint stock bank with a history 137 ......more Dr
Jitendra Udhampuri inaugurates Akar IT Excelsior Correspondent UDHAMPUR, Oct 21: Dr Jitendra Udhampuri, Station Director, Radio Kashmir Jammu today inaugurated a computer......more AIBEA
leader vows SHIMLA, Oct 21: All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) general..more |
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BHEL bags order for Bariapada sub-station NEW DELHI, Oct 21: Outbidding leading equipment manufacturers, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has bagged a Rs 25-crore contract for a 400 kv grid sub-station in Orissa. .......more Call
rate easy, G-secs MUMBAI, Oct 21: The interbank call money rate ruled easy at sub-repo level amid abundant liquidity and higher demand for funds in the beginning of the reporting fortnight today. .....more Govt
rules out change NEW DELHI, Oct 21: The Government today ruled out diluting the norms for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the real estate sector. ...........more |
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Aurobindo Pharma gets US patent for Ceftiofur, to file ANDA .... IT hardware sector on recovery path ...... |
Excelsior Correspondent JAMMU, Oct 21: Allahabad Bank, the oldest joint stock bank with a history 137 years, today announced its Initial Public Offer (IPO) of ten crores equity of Rs 10 per share aggregating Rs 100 crores. The issue will open for subscription on October 23, 2002 and will remain open till October 31, 2002. Though, as on 31st March 2002 the adjusted EPS of the Bank was Rs 4.25 and the book value was Rs 30.30 equity shares are being offered at par. After the issue, the holding of government of India will come down to 71.16 percent. The Bank, which has a large network of 2052 branches and extension counters spread throughout the country, will use the proceeds primarily to finance its future growth plan. The Bank has also 32 specialised branches to cater to the need of industry and small scale industries. The IPO proceeds will also further enhance its Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR). The Bank currently has a comfortable CAR of 10.62 percent as on 31-03-2002, as against the RBI’s stipulated norm of 9 percent. After the IPO, the CAR will further increase to 11.5 percent. The total deposit of the Bank grew by 12.7 percent to Rs 22666 crore as on March, 2002 from Rs 20106 crore as on March 2001. The credit grew by 14.5 percent to Rs 11815 crore as on March 2002 from Rs 10316 crore as on March 2001. The average cost of deposit works out to 7.36 percent which is one of the lowest in Banking sector. The Bank has been able to maintain a net interest margin of 3.26 percent during the fiscal. The net NPAs has also come down from 15.09 percent in 1997-98 to 10.57 percent as on March 2002. Allahabad Bank is the first nationalised bank in Eastern India to be depository participant; the Bank is thus able to offer demount and other related services to its customers. |
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Dr Jitendra Udhampuri inaugurates Akar IT Centre at Udhampur Excelsior Correspondent UDHAMPUR, Oct 21: Dr Jitendra Udhampuri, Station Director, Radio Kashmir Jammu today inaugurated a computer centre—"Akar Information Technology Centre" at Dhar Road near here. The centre is working for the promotion of Urdu language under the guidelines of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of Secondary and Higher Education, Government of India. It is having about 150 branches all over India and is providing a commendable services to the mankind in general and weaker section of society in particular with just Rs 250 per month. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Udhampuri said that in the present times when the science is changing the society very fast, the knowledge of computer is essential. He further said that time has come when every individual should possess some knowledge about computers so this computer centre in Udhampur will be more beneficial for the upliftment of Urdu language among the general masses by providing them multilingual education and also for flourising the national language. He appreciated the efforts made by Mr Parshotam Bhardwaj, Director of the Centre for initiating this step for the welfare of the weaker section of the society. While giving details about the courses run by the Centre, Mr Bhardwaj thanked Dr Jitendra Udhampuri and other guests for attending the inaugural ceremony and encouraging the Director AITC for upliftment of weaker section of the society by promoting computer education in the region. He also thanked Dr Hamidullah Bhat, Director NCPUL for granting Centre to Akar. |
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AIBEA leader vows to oppose privatisation of banks SHIMLA, Oct 21: All India Bank Employees Association (AIBEA) general secretary Tarakeshwar Chakraborty today vowed to oppose the Government’s proposed move to privatise banks in the country as it was against national interest. "Any attempt to privatise the banks will be immediately answered by strikes, including indefinite strike by all the nine unions of bank officers/employees under the banner of United Forum of Bank Union", he said, addressing a press conference here. He said under the auspices of AIBEA a 40,000 strong morcha of bank employees drawn from all States would be led to the Parliament for submission of a 3-crore strong petition to the President on November 27 to demand among other things withdrawl of the privatisation move and recovery of more than Rs one crore bad loans. He said it was learnt that bank’s privatisation bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 13,2000 in the face of firm opposition of all opposition parties and since then pending with the standing committee on finance, was likely to be re-introduced in the forthcoming winter session of the parliament for its adoption. Mr Chakraborty said what was very important for banks was not the ownership issue but recovery of the bad loans. For effective recovery of ever-increasing portfolio of bad loans, he demanded publishing the list of defaulters, doing away with secrecy clause in banks and attaching properties of the wilful defaulters and rigorous penal steps to be taken against them, he added. He said no bank credit should be given to any enterprise of a group whose one or the other account had become defaulter and demanded total depoliticisation of banking system. Mr Chakraborty said the Government had recently re-promulgated an ordinance to be once again placed before the next Parliament session relating to realisation of securities and Assets Reconstruction Company (ARC). "While we welcome the belated securitisation ordinance we totally oppose the assets reconstruction company which is nothing but a hoax. We demand the scrapping of the chapter dealing with arc", he added. He said the so-called "reforms", characterized by indiscriminate sell out of public sector enterprise, disinvestments, free import,unfettered free entry of foreign capital and goods, increased borrowings, large-scale joblessness, widespread closure of indigenous factories had heaped miseries on the masses. He said the reforms were against the interest of the nation and must go back lock stock and barrel. (UNI) |
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BHEL bags order for Bariapada sub-station NEW DELHI, Oct 21: Outbidding leading equipment manufacturers, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has bagged a Rs 25-crore contract for a 400 kv grid sub-station in Orissa. The order by Powergrid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) is for setting up a sub-station at Baripada. This will be associated with the 400kv single circuit Kolaghat-Rengali transmission line. The project, aimed at improving the power supply in Baripada and adjoining areas, will be commissioned by BHEL in 20 months. BHEL’s scope of work envisages design, manufacture, erection, and commissioning of current and capacitive voltage transformers, 400 kv circuit breakers, disc insulators and associated auxillaries, besides civil works. The current and capacitive voltage transformers will be manufactured by BHEL’s Bhopal and Jhansi plants, while the disc insulators and circuit breakers will be supplied by BHEL’s units at Bangalore and Hyderabad, respectively. (UNI) |
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Call rate easy, G-secs slip on profit booking MUMBAI, Oct 21: The interbank call money rate ruled easy at sub-repo level amid abundant liquidity and higher demand for funds in the beginning of the reporting fortnight today. The call rate opened flat at 5.65-75 per cent and remained stuck in a narrow band below the repo rate throughout the session. Despite the typical higher borrowing in the first week, liquidity remained abundant as Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rejected over Rs 10,000 crore in its repo auctions. The rate closed at 5.65-5.75 per cent, unchanged from its Saturday’s close. The RBI today accepted Rs 9,119 crore in its one-day repo auction out of a total of 12 bids worth Rs 13,025 crore while in 11-day repos, the Central Bank accepted Rs 6,919 crore, out of a total of Rs 13,820 crore it received in 7 bids. The cut-off rate was 5.75 per cent in both the auctions. Government securities, which opened flat, later drifted lower towards the afternoon session as traders booked profits after the sharp gains in previous weekend. The underlying sentiment remained bullish in the run up to the monetary and credit policy announcement with players expectating a cut in repo rate and bank rate and the continuous drop in inflation rate for the three straight weeks, players were reluctant to take positions at the current higher levels, dealers said. Bonds were trading marginally lower by 02-05 paise as compared to their Saturday’s close. (UNI) |
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Govt rules out change in FDI norms for real estate NEW DELHI, Oct 21: The Government today ruled out diluting the norms for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the real estate sector. "We want that foreign expertise and capital should come in large projects like integrated townships. "If foreign companies just implement small projects, the country will not benefit and no new urban infrastructure will come up," Union Urban Development Minister Anant Kumar said here in response to demand from some quarters to scale down the size of the projects where 100 per cent FDI is allowed. "Indian developers are world class and foreign expertise can be hired but we want technology transfer in urban infrastructure sector," he told newspersons on the sidelines of the two-day global convention on agenda for urban infrastructure reforms, organised here by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). "We want the country and companies investing here to benefit," Mr Kumar said. The townships that these foreign companies would set up would contribute to stopping migration to big cities, he said. Already one proposal for FDI in real estate sector had been cleared and many more were in pipeline, the minister said, adding that on its part the Government had sanctioned construction of 60 lakh houses. For the improvement of infrastructure in cities across India, Rs 22,000 crore was needed but only Rs 5,000 crore was available and to bridge this gap the city councils had been asked to look at alternative sources, he said. "Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Bangalore have issued bonds for raising money. Other cities too can resort to bonds and other instruments," the minister said. Mr Kumar called for a model for urban development that integrated seamlessly with our overall development objectives of the country. "We may go on harping about the growth potential of the cities but for overall development we need to see the holistic picture," Mr Kumar. He said for developing infrastructure in the cities, innovative models that were relevant at least regionally should be developed fast. "The reforms in urban infrastructure should be democratically sustainable and viable and long-term and short-term plans should go hand in hand," the minister said. He said that community should participate in the development of urban infrastructure and we have to train ourselves for it. "Apart from vision we need to learn to manage and reform," Mr Kumar said. The minister also launched India Chapter of Commonwealth Good Government scheme to promote best practices. Minister of State for Urban Development O Rajagopal said that politics sometimes marred the smooth working of city councils and called for a change of mindset. "We will have to take people into confidence by transparency and working together as a team," he said calling for innovative ways to meet the problems of funds. Secretary in the Urban Development Ministry S S Dawara, advocated regulatory reforms for fund raising and other kinds of private participation in urban development. FICCI president R S Lodha while stating that urban India was larger market than US in terms of numbers, also called for change in laws to enable private players to provide municipal services. "Absence of suitable laws was the biggest hurdle in private-public partnership in urban infrastructure sector," he said. (UNI) |
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Aurobindo Pharma gets US patent for Ceftiofur, to file ANDA NEW DELHI, Oct 21: The United States patent and trade marks office has granted drugmaker Aurobindo Pharma a patent for its sterile cephalosporin drug — Ceftiofur — to enter the 1.5-billion dollar market. The Hyderabad-based company will file an Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) through the US-based Cefazone Pharma Llc, a joint venture between Aurobindo and Med Pharmex, according to sources. The joint venture company makes Sterile and Oral Cephalosporin, the sources added. Aurobindo has developed a non-infringing process for the preparation of Ceftiofur, a cephalosporin antibiotic useful in the treatment of bovine respiratory disease, using a novel bromo or chloro intermediate. The process consists of cyclising a new bromo or chloro intermediate with thiourea, a lustrous white crystalline compound, in the presence of selected solvents to produce ceftiofur of high purity. Aurobindo is a known leader in the semi-synthetic penicillins (SSPs), cephalosporins, anti-virals and certain life style disease drugs. Sterile cephalosporins involving complex chemistry, known to have entry barriers, constitute more than 15 per cent of the company’s revenues. Though the branded sterile cephalosporin market size is estimated at 1.5 billion dollars, the real benefit will depend on the patents, competition and the number of companies that will foray into the market, the sources aadded. (UNI) |
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IT hardware sector on recovery path NEW DELHI, Oct 21: Desktop PC market in the country has started recovering as 5.08 lakh units were sold in the first quarter of the current fiscal, about 63 per cent of the sales recorded in the first half of last fiscal. If the trend continues, there is all possibilities that the sales will be more than 19 lakh units during this fiscal, an increase of 15 per cent as compared to 1.65 million units sold last year. According to a half-yearly industry performance review, conducted by IMRB (Indian Market Research Bureau) for mait, the apex body of the hardware, training and research and development sectors in the information technology sector, the buying segment in the market has started improving as compared to a severe recessionary trend that had adversely affected the hardware market last year. In the first quarter of the current fiscal, desktop PCs, notebooks, dot matrix and laser printers have recorded close to two-third of their sales during the first half of last fiscal. Products like servers, ink jet printers and ups have registered around 50 per cent of the sales recorded during the first six months of last fiscal. In the PC market, among the business segment, it was primarily the banks, educational institutions, government, IT sector and IT-related companies that have provided the recovery thrust to the hardware manufacturers and vendors, while in the household segment, reduced prices coupled with increased selling efforts like schemes, promotions and loans have been instrumental in bringing in the recovery. Replacement demand of PCs is also expected to enhance growth in this market. New technology and new features, and application, better suited to run latest machines, are likely to drive the replacement market. Notebook sales are still largely confined to business market and hence this segment would drive the current and future demand, the study pointed out. Households are yet to emerge as a major market, mainly due to higher cost. The server market has been restricted to the corporate segment. A significant replacement demand does not seem imminent either. Sales in the second-half of last fiscal were characterised by increased sales to smaller towns and cities and the trend continued in this quarter also. In the case of most products, sales to the smaller towns have increased and consequently the share of top four metros and next four metros have dipped. The study suggested that the government should focus on a conducive policy framework for it consumption, expedite implementation of e-governance and intervene in evolving educational initiatives. It wanted the manufacturers to reduce cost and ensure availability of better support and service from hardware vendors. Mait Executive Director Vinnie Mehta said the IT market was expected to perform better. However, to ensure that IT reached grass root level, there was a pressing need to bring down the prices of IT products, he said. "Though the Governments had earmarked two to three per cent of their annual budgets for IT spends, we were yet to witness that happen", he said. (UNI)
Sharma appointed as Postal service board member NEW DELHI, Oct 21: Mr T R Sharma, an officer of 1967 batch of Indian Postal Service, has been appointed as member, postal services board. Mr Sharma was earlier working as Principal Chief Postmaster General, Rajasthan. He had also worked as Postmaster General, Himachal Pradesh, Trichy, Punjab and Chief Postmaster General, Haryana. Mr Sharma had done his post-graduation in ‘training and development’ from Manchester University, UK, and has worked as UN consultant in training field in 1988. (UNI)
Indian telecom to be showcased in Mediterranean NEW DELHI, Oct 21: In a major move to position India’s IT and telecom prowess in the European markets and the Mediterranean region, strategise business partnerships and investment opportunities, Communications and Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan is leading a high-level delegation to Italy from October 24-28. Showcasing India as the "gateway hub for IT and telecom opportunities," the visit will focus on highlighting India as a preferred location for investment in IT and telecom, highlighting the policy initiatives undertaken by the Government to position India as a strategic locale for collaboration, partnership and joint ventures. Mr Mahajan will be interacting with key principals within the Government and the industry during his stay. One of the major highlights of the visit will be the inauguration of the ‘Smau 2002’ international exhibition on information and communications technology and consumer electronics by the minister. The inaugural will be held on 24th October at Milan. Mr Mahajan will inaugurate the exhibition along with the Italian Minister for Innovation and Technologies Lucio Stanca. Smau is the second largest ICT exhibition in the world and Italy’s premier event on Information Communications Technology. For the first time, India has been given the status of a guest country at Smau. During his stay, Mr Mahajan will have extensive discussions with entrepreneurs representing a wide section of the IT and telecom industry in Italy. For this purpose, a special conference is being hosted on Italy-India business opportunities . (UNI) |
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