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| 5 Cong splinter
groups form ‘progressive alliance’ NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Five splinter groups of Congress, all allies of the ...more Sikkim Govt decides NAMCHI
(South Sikkim), Dec 10 : In its bid to industrialise..more MUMBAI,
Dec 10: Equities
resumed on a higher note on.....more NEW
DELHI, Dec 10:
There were 42 incidents of airmisses....more NEW DELHI, Dec 10: The Government is working.....more |
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Lok
Sabha approves Bill for re-introduction of Rs 1000 notes NEW
DELHI, Dec 10: Lok Sabha today passed a Bill paving the way
for re-introduction of . .....more NEW
DELHI, Dec 10: Dixon
Utilities and Exports Limited has signed manufacturing,
......more NEW
DELHI, Dec 10: Civil
Aviation Minister Ananth Kumar today acknowledged in the
Lok Sabha that...more |
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Sikkim Govt decides to go hi-tech NAMCHI (South Sikkim), Dec 10 : In its bid to industrialise the state and solve unemployment problems at one stroke, the Sikkim Government has decided to go hi-tech. Sikkim plans to soon establish a hi-tech educational institution for computer, Information Technology (IT) and communication technology in collaboration with Bangalore-based Nettur Technical Training Foundation. The tiny Himalayan state, lacking major industries, has decided to impart quality education in keeping with the emerging trends of technology, Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling said here. Laying the foundation stone of the state’s first opthalmic lense manufacturing unit at Ghurpesey near here, Mr Chamling said setting up of a hi-tech industry will not only provide direct employment to the educated youths but also usher in industrialisation. "Our thrust would be on employment generation and to maintain the green state policy, our aim will be in promoting small and medium precision industries." He said the project cost would be around Rs 3.20 crore. The ‘Sikkim precision industry’ would produce state-of-the-art 34 lakh pieces of opthalmic lenses every year with imported equipment and raw materials from Europe and South Asian neighbours, he said. Toxic emission being negligible the unit will be eco-friendly, he added. The government plans to manufacture other precision products once the market share of the glass and plastic lenses stabilise, Mr Chamling said. (UNI) |
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Equities resume higher on FIIs buying spree MUMBAI, Dec 10: Equities resumed on a higher note on Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) buying spree on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) today. Operators cooled down as FIIs turned net buyers for the last couple of days, indicain the market was undergoing a correction or bull market conditions had set in. FIIs were reported to have picked up shares of Hindustan Lever, Britannia, Novartis, Glaxo, Telco among others. The BSE-30 share Sensitive Index opened strong at 2972.83 and moved slightly up to quote at 2976.29 at 1100 hours against yesterday’s close of 2950.21. Among the top ten traded scrips, Satyam Computer jumped to 538.75 (534.25 previous close), Reliance to 119.00 (118.10), ITC to 713.00 (708.50), Pentafour Software to 504.00 (500.00), Telco to 136.20 (133.10), Zee Telefilms to 553.00 (548.25), State Bank of India to 157.30 (156.60), Hind. Lever to 1709.00 (1687.75), Glaxo to 633.25 (627.50) and Castrol to 666.00 (663.00). (PTI) |
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42 airmisses over Indian sky in 33 months NEW DELHI, Dec 10: There were 42 incidents of airmisses over the Indian sky between January 1996 and October this year, Lok Sabha was told today. In a written reply, Civil Aviation Minister Ananth Kumar said while 12 incidents took place in 1996, 14 occured in 1997 and 16 occured till this October and added that there was no loss of life or property. Incentive: Government is considering a proposal to provide incentives or concessions for operating small aircraft - upto 55-seaters, he said. Airports authority of India has earned over Rs 13,000 crores from 28 private airlins in the last financial year, compared with about Rs 12,000 crores in 1996-97. Airports: A Maharashtra Government proposal for setting up of a domestic airport at Navi Mumbai is likely to be decided upon by an experts committee by July 1999, he said. Pawan Hans: Government is considering a request of Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited to write off dues worth about Rs 265 crores claimed by Finance Ministry over Westland Helicopters, Kumar said in reply to another question. Losses: Air India incurred a loss of Rs 129.08 crore between April and September this year, while Indian airlines suffered a loss of Rs 34.9 crore, he said. Employees: No category of employees has been identified as excess in Air India and Indian Airlines but the employee-to-aircraft ratio in both airlines is higher than other reputed airlines. A voluntary retirement scheme is yet to be finalised by either airlines, he said. (PTI) |
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Govt for changing existing statutes NEW DELHI, Dec 10: The Government is working "vigorously" towards changing several existing statutes such as Patents Act, Trade and Merchandise Marks Act, Design Act and Copyright Act, Industry Minister Sikander Bakht today said. Though a time frame has not been set for changing the statutes, Mr Bakht told newspersons here that the Government is working at a good pace towards this end. "Intellectual property is a creation of human mind and like all other properties it also needs protection. In India, we have provided the protection through these acts. However, in the changed scenario, there is a need to have a fresh look on the statutes as to their conforming to the requirements of its users and also to fulfil social obligations," he added. Earlier addressing a meeting organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), Mr Bakht said the Government is also working on how to fulfil the international obligations emanating from the trips agreement of the WTO agreement with a view to ensuring a balance between the rights and obligations. The Government is also working on modernisation of the intellectual property administration systems. While projects relating to modernisation of patent information services and trade marks registry have already been implemented, the Government has now approved a Rs 75-crore project to modernise the patent office. The broad elements of the project are computerisation of patent granting procedure, providing office and required and qualified manpower, clearance of backlog of around 29,000 applications awaiting examination. (UNI) |
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Lok Sabha approves Bill for
re-introduction NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Lok Sabha today passed a Bill paving the way for re-introduction of one thousand rupees notes with Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha asserting that the step was aimed at overcoming currency shortage and that it would in no way help black money generation. The high denomination bank notes (demonetisation) amendment bill seeks to amend the 1978 Law withdrawing Rs.1000 notes from circulation in the country. Replying to a two-day debate on the Bill, Sinha sought to allay apprehensions of members that Government’s move would lead to introduction of Rs 5000 and Rs 10,000 notes facilitating black money generation and havala operations. "The intention of the Government is to print only Rs 1000 notes at this point in time. This will release capacity and pressure on smaller notes", he said. On members’ concern over Pakistan’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) indulging in counterfeiting Indian currency and using them for financing terrorist activities, Sinha asserted that Government has initiated a number of steps in consultation with intelligence agencies to nip the mischief in the bud. Sinha assured the members that Rs 1000 notes will be printed within the country and additional capacity generated to remove the shortage of currency note papers. Enumerating Government’s decision not to print any further currency notes of Rs One, two and five, Sinha said those possessing soiled and torn notes of these denominations could have them exchanged for coins at the nearest RBI currency chest. On Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee’s concern over circulation of Bhutanese currency in North Bengal, the Finance Minister said the Enforcement Directorate was already taking steps to stop it. He informed the house that mints in Hyderabad, Bombay and Calcutta would now work for 54 hours a week instead of 48 hours and steps were afoot to have two shifts as against one in the modern printing press at Noida in UP. These moves are being initiated in consultation with respective unions, he said. Sinha said the Government favoured consensus on major issues keeping in view the fragile polity and fractured politics in the country. He recalled that in April 1994, RBI had suggested re-introduction Rs 1000 notes and the then Congress Government had taken a decision in principle to go ahead with it. Even the United Front Government had considered heissue but had failed to introduce a bill, he said. Earlier, Congress member Prithviraj Chauhan said Government should take stringent steps to effectively meet the unconventional economic warfare being waged by certain neighbouring countries over pushing into India fake currency. Shailendra Kumar (SP) suggested that Government should also print Rs 200 notes and improve the paper quality. (PTI) |
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NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Dixon Utilities and Exports Limited has signed manufacturing, marketing and brand licencing agreements with Japanese multinational Casio to expand its telecommunication division. The Noida-based Dixon hopes to sell five lakh Casio basic telephone sets next year, said Mr Sunil Vachani, the company’s Chairman and Managing Director. "This is a conservative estimate as 25 lakh lines are expected to be added every year in the near future," he said. "We have commitments from at least two major private basic telecom operators to buy in bulk," he added but declined to identify them. The company’s association with Asahi Corporation, a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of the five billion dollar Casio Computer Company Limited, dates back to last year when it sold 35,000 answering machines. It also marketed 10,000 cordless phones with built-in answering machines. Next month, Dixon will introduce basic phones and caller Identification (ID) phones in the markets of India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Casio will supply phone moulds worth 500,000 dollars (about Rs 21 crore) in terms of investment. A team of Casio officials is visiting India next month to explore the possibilities of supplying basic phones to other private operators. Dixon recently introduced Casio’s 25-channel cordless phone with a unique feature of a lighted keypad that flashes when an incoming ring is present, Mr Vachani said. The keypad also lights up if any key is pressed. Dixon is the largest Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) for Colour Televisions (CTVs) in the country. It makes 2.5 lakh CTVs annually for Thomson, Akai, Daewoo, Philips, Shivaki and Singer. The company has three manufacturing plants — two at Mohali in Punjab and one in Noida in Uttar Pradesh. It bagged the Department of Electronics (DoE) Award for excellence in electronics in 1996-97. For the current fiscal year, Dixon has projected a sales turnover of Rs 230 crore, up from Rs 200 crore in 1997-98. By the year 2000, it hopes to clock an annual turnover of Rs 350 crore. (UNI) |
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IA needs modernisation,says Ananth NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Civil Aviation Minister Ananth Kumar today acknowledged in the Lok Sabha that the Indian Airlines (IA) fleet was old and needed modernisation. Replying to a starred question, he said some of the A-320 airbus and Boeing-737 crafts with IA were about 15 years old, even though the average age of the fleet as a whole would be lower. The average age of the entire ia fleet is about 11 years and nine months, he added. The minister reassured Mr Murali Deora that even an ageing fleet could be made viable through better maintenance. He pointed out that the aircraft’s age and maintenance factors accounted for only 19 per cent of the air mishaps while 62 per cent of the accidents was blamed on human error factors. When Mr P M Sayeed pointed out that the IA had resorted to shutting down the Cochin-Laccadives air route after the recent Dornier accident at Cochin airport, the minister said the flight in the sector would be resumed soon. The minister told Mr Subramanian Swamy that mats landing system aid and security survelliance radar at the Delhi airport control tower would be operational by next February. That would improve the landing safety environment in Delhi airport considerably, he added. (UNI) |
India rules out fresh WTO negotiations NEW DELHI, Dec 10: India today said it will not agree for fresh round of negotiations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) until developing countries are allowed to enjoy a fair share of economic benefits of global trade. Developing nations will have to codify the special and differential treatment clauses under the Uruguay round and allow developing countries to get a feel of it besides its impact. Only after that fresh round of negotiations can be considered, Commerce Secretary P P Prabhu said at a G-15 symposium here. Though provisions had been made for special and differential treatment at the Uruguay round of talks on General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT), which led to WTO formation, it was yet to be extended to developing and least developed countries, he said at the symposium of special and differential trees for developing countries in Uruguay round agreements. Stating that returns of benefits to developing countries had been below expectations despite giving major concessions in area of market access, Prabhu said significant tariff barriers and high variance still affected exports interests of third world. In particularly agricultural tariffs, which resulted principally from tariffication, are much higher than the average industrial tariffs, he said. (PTI) 5 Cong splinter groups form ‘progressive alliance’ NEW DELHI, Dec 10: Five splinter groups of Congress, all allies of the ruling BJP including the Trinamool Congress, today floated a ‘progressive alliance’ to act as a "watchdog" of the Government, but ruled out going back to the parent party. "We have respect for the Congress... But we are not bonded labourers ... They had expelled us when it suited them. We are not going back anywhere," Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, who was made the alliance chairman, told reporters after a meeting of leaders of the five groups. Replying to questions, Banerjee said the alliance was "not satisfied" over the performance of the Vajpayee Government and would act as its watchdog and "whenever there is any mischief, we will raise our voice". In this regard she justified her decision to resign from the coordination committee of BJP and its allies on the issue of price rise. At the same time, she said the alliance wanted stability at the Centre. While Banerjee parried a question on whether BJP is a "progressive" party, Suresh Kalmadi, MP and leader of the "Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi", said the alliance did not consider Congress as a "like-minded party". Besides, the Trinamool Congress and the Aghadi, other groups which form part of the alliance are Loktantrik Congress led by Uttar Pradesh Energy Minister Naresh Agarwal, Manipur State Congress and Sardar Congress. The alliance has 10 members in Parliament — eight of Trinamool Congress one of Manipur State Congress and one from Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi. While Kalmadi is a member of the Rajya Sabha, the rest are members of the Lok Sabha. At today’s meeting, the alliance made Agarwal its vice chairman and Kalmadi the convenor. Dinesh Trivedi, former MP, leading the Sardar Congress, would act as its spokesman. Banerjee said the next meeting of the alliance would be held here on December 22 when other like-minded regional parties as also former Congressmen would also be invited. Kalmadi said the new front would hold state-level conventions beginning from Calcutta on January 28. It will be followed by such meets at Kanpur, Pune, Imphal, Ahmedabad and a national convention at Delhi. T Chaoba Singh of Manipur State Congress, Sudip Bandopadhyay of Trinamool Congress and Loktantrik Congress leaders who are Ministers in UP also attended today’s meeting. A representative of the Lok Shakti was invited as an observer. (PTI) |
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