.

Konka to foray into
telecom and white
goods sector next year

NEW DELHI, Dec 22: Aiming to clock Rs 300 crore turnover, Konka Electronics India Limited will launch a range....more

Tea industry advocates repealing of TMCO

CALCUTTA, Dec 22: A steep decline in production coupled with lower all India average prices realisation ...more

Urban Development Ministry’s bifurcation highlights of 1999

NEW DELHI, Dec 22: Bifurcation of the Urban Development Ministry to pay special....more

Vijayawada Muncipal Corp embarks new web-site

VIJAYAWADA, Dec 22: The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation has undertaken a novel .....more

The Essar Group and the Hutchison Whampoa Group announced today that Hutchison Telecommunications ...more

ASSOCHAM seeks counter guarantee to Cogentrix

NEW DELHI, Dec 22: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) today said.....more

TATA sells half of ACC holding to Guj Ambuja

MUMBAI, Dec 22: TATA group has sold about half of its nearly 14 per cent holding in Associated Cement Companies......more

Microsoft will launch Windows 2000 on Feb 17

GURGAON (HARYANA), Dec 22: Microsoft Corp will launch its latest version of operating.....more

Konka to foray into telecom and white
goods sector next year

NEW DELHI, Dec 22: Aiming to clock Rs 300 crore turnover, Konka Electronics India Limited will launch a range of new products in digital colour TVs and diversify into telecom and white goods sector next calendar year.

The company would raise its publicity budget from the current Rs six crore to Rs 30 crore next year and would Start TV advertisements from April, Konka Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Puri told here.

However, the company would not take the help of brand ambassador as career of personalities swing over time, making product popularity vulnerable at times, he said.

The company expects to receive 90 per cent of the projected turnover from CTVs and will introduce eight new models of digital colour TVs in the range of 14 to 34 inches, beginning January, Rajeev Puri said.

The new range will also include four models of flat digital TVs, which are called ‘digital mirror series’ in the company’s terminology. MRP of products will range from Rs 7,990 for 14 inches to Rs 800,000 for 42 inches.

The existing 23 brands of CTVs include plasma model in 42 inches. MRP of the new as well as current products will range from Rs 7,990 for 14 inches and Rs 800,000 for 42 plasma brand.

With introduction of new models, the company’s range of models in CTVs would increase from 23 to 28 as three existing variants would be phased out as well.

Konka expects to record Rs 60 crore turnover for the five month period ended December 30, capturing around 11 per cent of the market that the company currently operates in. The Konka products are currently available in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Western parts of UP. This constitutes 32 per cent of the total market.

The company will cover the entire country by August end next year.

In terms of volume, the company expects to sell around 300,000 units of CTVs during 2000, capturing about six to seven per cent of the colour TV market.

On phasing out of round colour tubes as is being planned by many CTV companies, including national Panasonic and Sony, Mr Puri said it is not possible in the immediate period as recovery period for investment in colour tubes takes on an average eight years.

Meanwhile, the company has postponed introduction of telecom instruments to January and washing machines to some time in May-June.

Earlier, Konka had stated that it will introduce telecom products in October and washing machines in November. When asked about the reasons of delay, Mr Kapoor said the company would first like to stabilise sales of CTVs before foraying into any other sector.

While five kinds of telecom instruments would be launched, three models each of semi-automatic and automatic washing machines would be introduced.

Besides, the company would come out with six models of refrigerators in August, three models of microwaves in October and eight models of air conditioners in December. While four ACs will be of split variety, as many will be window types. The option of winter AC would be available in each of the models.

The two-billion-dollar Konka Group of China has 70 per cent stake in Keil, while Wittis of Hong Kong owns 30 per cent shares. The company earlier had three partners, but hotline later decided to opt out of it and sold its 25 per cent stake to these two companies in November. While Konka purchased 19 per cent shares, Wittis bought six per cent shares. The last month’s restructuring also resulted in shift of shares from the Hong Kong subsidiary of Konka to the parent company. This was done to fund the company’s requirement in India. The company will invest Rs 500 crore in its NOIDA plant next year. (UNI)

Tea industry advocates repealing of TMCO

CALCUTTA, Dec 22: A steep decline in production coupled with lower all India average prices realisation compared to last year has pushed the domestic tea industry to walls, which strongly advocates that Tea Marketing Control Order 1984 (TMCO) is repealed forthwith to encourage producer packeters.

The decline is of serious concern to the tea industry, feels India Tea Association (ITA) as the lower crop has seriously affected cost of production by way of labour wages, higher foodgrains subsidy and major import costs coupled with re-imposition of central excise duty.

To compound the problem, the auctions are reflecting no bids for a large spread of teas and significant percentage are coming out as outlots, sources in the industry said.

The consequential delay in sales through the auction system and the added cost of reprinting has adversely affected cash flows and the industry was distressed over the current state of the market, sources claimed.

They said the internal trade, which is governed by the TMCO is an anchronism in that the tea industry is on one hand being asked to gear up for free trade and imports while being fattened on the other in internal controls.

The forces of liberalisation are progressively intensifying and exposing the Indian tea to the volatilities of the international market and under the circumstances there is a need for imparting some flexibility in the order by way of encouraging producer packers while arriving at the auction percentage stipulation, it added.

The industry also advocated for laying down strict conditionalities for import under Special Import Licence (SIL) so that teas imported from other countries could not not be re-exported as Indian tea.

Sources pointed that there had been reports of teas lower than acceptable standards coming into India and being mixed with Indian tea and re-exported as Indian tea, particularly in Russia.

Demanding adequate duty protection of Indian tea industry in respect of imports freed from SIL, i.e., tea sources from SAARC countries, and given the prevailing price situation and the damage inflicted on the vulnerable segments of Indian tea such as South India, the ITA felt that there was a prima facie case for enhancing the customs duty. (UNI)

Urban Development Ministry’s bifurcation
highlights of 1999

NEW DELHI, Dec 22: Bifurcation of the Urban Development Ministry to pay special attention to employment and poverty alleviation and launching of special measures for development of slums were the main highlights of the department during the year.

The National Democratic Alliance-led Government, soon after coming to power, carved out a Ministry of Urban Employment and Poverty Alleviation from the original Ministry.

The new Ministry has been given the responsibility of formulating policies regarding urban employment, urban housing and urban poverty alleviation.

Though these areas are essentially state subjects, the Vajpayee Government at the Centre will play a coordinating and monitoring role and act as a catalytic and supportive force.

Urban housing received a major boost early this year when the state-owned Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) launched its individual retail financing scheme -‘HUDCO Niwas’.

Besides engaging itself in promotion of urban housing, HUDCO took active participation in rehabilitating Orissa super-cyclone victims with the same zeal as it had done in providing shelter to those affected in Latur earthquake.

In the area of poverty alleviation, the Ministry identified its target groups, particularly the urban poor, that is, those living below the urban poverty line.

The Ministry decided to give special attention to women, SC/ST and disabled and launched a house-to-house survey for identification of genuine beneficiaries.

Under the national slum development programme, the Department has decided to provide adequate drinking water, sanitation, primary education, health care, adult literacy and non-formal education facilities.

The scheme also has provision of housing, community empowerment, garbage and solid waste management as well as environmental improvement and convergence of different social sector programmes through creation of sustainable support system.

Out of Rs 385 crore allocated during 1999-2000, Rs 178.81 crore has been released upto September for the slum development programme which is monitored by the Urban Development Ministry.

Urban Development Minister Jagmohan in a candid admission at the recent economic editors’ conference observed that the prevailing conditions in the cities was depressing so much so that it held a potential for disaster in the future. (PTI)

Vijayawada Muncipal Corp embarks new web-site

VIJAYAWADA, Dec 22: The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation has undertaken a novel project where people can directly interact with it from a STD booth like ‘Kiosk’ over a computer linked through the net and seek any information or lodge a complaint.

The Corporation has embarked upon the Rs 2.08 crore web-based project, the first of its kind for any urban local body, under the aegis of the Union Ministry of Information Technology, in technical collaboration with the computer maintenance corporation, to increase efficiency, transparency and accountability.

Talking to UNI here, Municipal Commissioner Arvind Kumar said the pilot project would enable the people to interact with the corporation from the kiosks to ascertain details about property tax and all related taxes and issuance of birth and death certificates.

Information relating to advertisement rules, procedure and rates and the process of applying for advertisement boards, could be obtained by browsing the website:www. Vijayawada com, he said.

Information relating to the departments like Railways, Airlines, State Roadways and also details of engineering works, being taken up in the town could also be had, he added.

Mr Kumar he said people could register their grievances from these Kiosks. Each grievance would be given a unique number and a print-out would be given to the citizen concerned and it would be redressed at the quickest possible time.

The Kiosks would be set up in the city under the ‘revolutionary’ citizens interactive package, called ‘Vijayawada Online Information Centre’ (VOICE). This would go a long way in resolving the problems of corruption, inefficiency and lack of accountability in the corporation, besides making it more amenable to suggestions and grievances of the public, he said.

In the first phase, five Kiosks were set up in different parts of the city, including one each at Bhavanipuram and Patamata, besides the corporation office. Once successful, the number of Kiosks would be increased by leasing them out, he added. (UNI)