|
|
Chopper service for NEW DELHI, Nov 14: The 40 per cent cap on foreign equity in the national carrier Air India as suggested by the Disinvestment Commission could be ...more NEW DELHI, Nov 14: Air India, which has cut down its net loss from Rs 122 crore in the first six months of last fiscal to a mere Rs 5.5 crore in the ...more Indian farmers plans NEW DELHI, Nov 14: A delegation of Indian farmers will be at the Seattle world trade talks this month-end to protest against a proposed regime that ..more Inflation drops NEW DELHI, Nov 14: After four weeks of steady increase, inflation....more |
 |
India all set to quicken NEW DELHI, Nov 14: Reaffirming that India is all set to ....more
NEW DELHI, Nov 14: Bullion prices moved narrowly, sugar.....more DoT to introduce Internet NEW DELHI, Nov 14: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT).....more India to reduce customs NEW YORK, Nov 14: India would lower its customs duties ....more |
 |
|
NEW DELHI, Nov 14: Air India, which has cut down its net loss from Rs 122 crore in the first six months of last fiscal to a mere Rs 5.5 crore in the first half of this year, is in urgent need of infusing additional capacity, senior AI officials said today. The national carrier also mopped up a profit of Rs 8 crore on its operating account and increased its revenue by Rs 40 crore in the first half of the current financial year, they said. Stressing the need for immediate induction of new aircraft for replacing its ageing fleet, they said though there still is a long way to go for an actual turnaround, consistent efforts are being made by AI to up revenue by severely cutting down costs. They said disinvestment of the national carrier’s stakes and finalisation of a strategic partner was an urgent necessity. After the National Democratic Alliance returned to power at the Centre, the Government had said it would expedite finalising a strategic partner for AI and start the process of acquiring new aircraft only after consulting it. New Minister of State for Civil Aviation Chaman Lal Gupta had recently told PTI that replacing of AI fleet was an absolute necessity, but it will depend on how much money we have in our kitty. Asked whether disinvestment of AI would come first or the purchase of planes, the minister had said when we have to search for a strategic partner for AI, then all these issues should be decided upon on the basis of consultations with that party. The partner may say we already have some planes which can be used by AI. Civil Aviation Secretary Ravindra Gupta also hinted at an expeditious decision on disinvesting AI stakes saying that a mixture of options, including search for a strategic partner and raising resources from the capital market, is likely to be proposed to bring the airline out of the financial rut. For this purpose, expeditious appointment of a global advisor to recommend measures regarding disinvestment of AI was immediately required, he said. The ministry had already prepared a note for the Union Cabinet in this regard and that was pending with new Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav for his approval, ministry sources said. On the role of the strategic partner, top ministry officials have also expressed the view that while management responsibility could be given to the partner, ownership control of a national carrier had to be with the Government. They said nowhere in the world had ownership and control been passed on to the foreign partner. The controlling shares have always remained with the national carrier, whether in United Airlines which has given out 25 per cent to foreign partner or the Emirates (26 per cent) or some airlines in the European Union with 40 per cent, he said, adding that the highest percentage of stakes given to a strategic partner was 40 per cent. Stating that injection of finances into AI was of utmost importance, ministry officials point out that despite recommendations of Disinvestment Commission for infusion of Rs 2000 crore into AI, it was difficult for the Government to inject massive amounts of funds. Therefore, a mixture of options should be considered to raise resources for the ailing airline, they said, adding the options would include looking for a strategic partner, raising resources from financial market and institutions and giving out stakes to the employees. Investment should bear a relationship with requirement, they said. Along with steps towards disinvestment, several steps towards optimal utilisation of the high-cost resources of AI would also need to be ensured, they said. Elaborating on steps taken by ai to cut costs, AI officials said optimum utilisation of fleet led to enhancing of revenue. Curtailing of expenditure on manpower, accounting for one-fourth of the total costs, also played a significant role in cost reduction. While AI became the first public sector unit to bring down retirement age to 58 years, it has frozen all vacancies for three years. Vacancies in operational areas were being filled up by shifting trained manpower from non-operational areas to operational ones. At overseas stations wherever laws permitted, exit policy had been introduced and required manpower taken on contract from outside, they said. External factors like a good booking profile and assured passenger load during the peak winter season, a stable market and recovery of the East Asian economies from the recession also contributed to reduction of costs, they said. Several product-upgrade measures were introduced and some were also in the pipeline to attract customers, they added. (PTI) |
|
Indian farmers plans protest against world trade regime NEW DELHI, Nov 14: A delegation of Indian farmers will be at the Seattle world trade talks this month-end to protest against a proposed regime that they say seeks to introduce fancy patent and subsidy concepts that are sure to hit the farming community in the third world. The eight-member delegation feels that international trade rules have been influenced by the interests of rich nations and giant companies and "undermines the world’s poorest people’s ability to grow, eat, sell and buy food." According to the leader of the delegation, Mr Devinder Sharma, a Delhi-based food and trade policy analyst, they have joined hands with international charity, Actionaid which launched its campaign on Thursday urging the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to undertake a substantial review of the effect its rules have had on the world’s poor. "The WTO has forced developing countries to open up their markets to subsidised goods from affluent states which protect their domestic markets," says Actonaid where focus for the Seattle meeting is on agriculture and food. In this context, it cites the example of Jamaican dairy farmers who have "suffered due to cheap, subsidised European imports." "Besides, the poorest nations, who are now worse off under the WTO agreements, have received no compensation promised by the richer nations at the WTO’s Marrakesh declaration in 1994," it points out. To support the developing countries, the charity stresses the need to amend the WTO’s patent rules to specifically rule out the possibility of patenting of plants and plant varieties. Referring to the patenting of plants and indigenous knowledge, Mr Devinder Sharma says it is "the phenomena of boipiracy". "Patenting of Indian neem, basmati and ayahuasca by multinationals are some of the better known examples in this regard," he adds. The Indian farmers’ delegation, presently visiting Britain, hosted by Actionaid and iceland, urged the wto to look at the impact of its agreements on the world’s poorest people before agreeing a whole new set of issues to negotiate. Iceland was instrumental in establishing the supermarket for the Non-Genetically Engineered Organism (non-GM) products in Europe as the first UK retailer to buy GM-free soya from the Rio Grande Do Sol region in Brazil. Referring to Actionaid study in Kenya,the charity’s Indian chapter analyst Ruchi Tripathi says "three in four Kenyans depend on farming for their income. But cheap subsidies imports from rich nations - allowed by the WTO - have undermined the market for domestic agricultural products and put kenyans out of work." Developed countries and big business look set to "sleepwalk in seattle away from the real issues. Without a review, there is no chance of more equitable trade rules, Ms Tripathi says. Presenting his report on the negative impact of the wto agreement on agriculture in India, Mr Devinder Sharma says liberalisation of imports for edible oils has badly hit both the Indian farmers and consumers including domestic trade and industry besides causing a slump in the oilseeds production. At the 134-member WTO meeting in Seattle on November 30, agriculture, particularly the system of farm subsidies, in places in the European union and other countries like Japan, has created a controversy. While the US and other countries of the 15-nation cairns group in the WTO want the farm subsidies to go, the EU, Japan and South Korea say farm products should not be treated like industrial products keeping in view the food security and protection of the environment and the rural culture. (UNI) |
|
Inflation drops to 2.78 per cent NEW DELHI, Nov 14: After four weeks of steady increase, inflation rate recorded a 0.17 percentage points fall to 2.78 per cent for the week ended October 30, despite marginal increase in the overall price index. The annual rate of inflation, based on the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), declined to 2.78 per cent (provisional) from 2.95 per cent (provisional) in the previous week and a high of 8.64 during the corresponding week last year. The drop in inflation rate was mainly on account of marginal decline in indices of food products and non-metallic mineral products, which fell 0.3 and 0.3 per cent respectively. Inflation rate had maintained an upward trend for the last four successive weeks, following the hefty hike of 35 per cent in diesel prices. The WPI for all commodities (base: 1981-82=100) recorded a marginal increase of 0.1 per cent during the week to 369.8 (provisional) compared to 369.4 (provisional) in the previous week. The final Wholesale Price Index for all commodities’ for the week ended September 4 stood at 365.9 as against 363.3 calculated provisionally. The final annual rate of inflation for the same week was 2.7 per cent compared to 1.9 per cent arrived on provisional index. Inflation rate based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Industrial Workers fell to 2.1 per cent in September this year from 3.1 per cent in August and a high of 16.8 per cent during the same month last year. While the index for primary articles registered only a marginal during the week, manufactured products’ index rose by 0.1 per cent. The index for fuel, power, light and lubricants continued to rise for the fourth week in a row as the indirect impact of the diesel price hike affected the prices of mineral oils. Prices of commodities which fluctuated substantially during the current week included raw rubber (up 12 per cent), foundries for casting and forging and structurals (up 4 per cent), pulp (up 3 per cent), gur (down 3 per cent) and ragi (down 2 per cent). Index for primary articles moved up marginally to 402.1 (provisional) during the reference week from 401.9 (p) in the previous week. Food articles’ index rose by 0.1 per cent to 478.3 as against 477.9 a week ago on account of the increase in prices of vegetables and poultry chicken (2 per cent each) and gram, eggs and condiments and spices (1 per cent each). However, prices of ragi (2 per cent) and bajra, maize, barley, milk and fish (1 per cent each) from the same sub-group eased during the week. (PTI) |
|
Chopper service for Vaishno Devi from Dec 15: Gupta NEW DELHI, Nov 14: The 40 per cent cap on foreign equity in the national carrier Air India as suggested by the Disinvestment Commission could be lowered, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Chaman Lal Gupta has indicated. Mr Gupta said the disinvestment process of the two national carriers, Hotel Corporation of India and Pawan Hans was very much on, but there were a few differences which needed to be sorted out. "After we get the Cabinet to accept it in principle, we will go ahead with the disinvestment", he said during a chat with newspersons. Regarding a strategic partner for Air India, the Minister said there was no move to stop those foreign airlines which operate in India from participating in the open bid. In the coming days, a deadline would be fixed to take a decision on the strategic partner for Air India, he added. Mr Gupta hinted that the foreign airline would not be allowed 40 per cent holding in Air India as has been recommended since major investments had been made by the Government and it may not be feasible to give it away . A decision regarding this would also be taken soon, he said. The Minister said acquisition and replacement of aircraft was linked with the strategic partner and the entire process of disinvestment and this would be the major thrust of the new civil aviation policy to be tabled in the winter session of Parliament. As regards Indian Airlines, Mr Gupta said the domestic carrier would have to go in for smaller aircraft to take on the challenge posed by Jet Airways and Sahara which had gone in for 70-seater and 30-seater planes for regional use. He said major cities in various states, like Uttar Pradesh, would have to be linked up and for this smaller aircraft would be required for Indian Airlines. Mr Gupta said the boards of Air India and Indian Airlines would be constituted soon with representation from all sectors. Ten airports in North India had been identified by Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav which needed upgradation. For example, Agra would be provided with night landing facilities so that charters could go there directly. The runways at Jammu and Srinagar airports would also be extended. Airports which could be leased out to private parties were also being identified. He said meetings were being held with engineers at Delhi airport to see that the problems caused to flights because of the fog in winter were sorted out. The Minister was confident that the Pawan Hans helicopter service from Jammu to Katra for Vaishno Devi pilgrims would be commissioned from December 15. The Shrine Board had begun work on the helipad, he added. New tenders had also been floated for the Haj pilgrimage for which the Government provided a subsidy of Rs 125 crore, the Minister said. (UNI) |
|
India all set to quicken pace of economic reform NEW DELHI, Nov 14: Reaffirming that India is all set to quicken the pace of economic reforms, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Murasoli Maran today said foreign investors need not worry about delays in implementation since a stable Government is in saddle in New Delhi. Calling upon the champions of the industry to make india the "most desired destination" for foreign investment, Mr Maran asserted that the world will henceforth see India move ahead very fast on the path of economic reforms. Prime Minister Atal BEhari Vajpayee has said "the best way to realise India’s enormous potential is by accelerating reforms," he said while inaugurating the 18th India International Trade Fair here. He said the Government was working on a scheme to reform the present process so as to facilitate faster flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) through automatic route, except for a small negative list covering the Small Scale Industry (SSI) sector etc. Referring to the UNCTAD report on world investment for 1999 that Multinational Companies (MNCs) often failed to transfer the front-line technologies along with FDI, the Commerce Minister suggested a two-pronged strategy to overcome this difficulty. He said the Indian industry should move aggressively to ensure MNC’s give cutting-edge technologies and encourage domestic business to upgrade fast. "Our priority should be more aggressive acquisition and development of technologies alongwith FDI," he emphasised. Referring to the fair, Mr Maran said in the past 18 years, it has matured into "a microcosmic depiction of Indian industry in its diversity." Over the years, it has evolved as a worthy barometer of India’s industrial progress, he said. Special focus is being given in IIFT’99 to technology exports and development. The ‘technology export pavilion’ organised jointly by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) and the Department of Science and Industrial Research should help explore opportunities for exporting technologies from India, he observed. Similarly, efforts made by the National Small Industries Corporation in putting up ‘techmart pavilion’ and the ‘indtech pavilion’ set up by Indian small and medium enterprises would further help in giving the much-needed focus to technology assimilation by Indian trade and industry, he added. The challenge for India during the coming decade is "how fast we can shift from our inward focus for two generations on self-sufficiency to an outward focus on integration with world economy." "Therefore," he said, "India needs to upgrade its competence base to ensure that it catches up with the industrial nations in terms of research and development, quality, manufacturing and marketing. Minister of State for Commerce Omar Abdullah, in his address, said the ‘mela’ aspect of the fair has been considerably toned down due to the numbing tragedy in Orissa. He said this year IIFT has attracted 71 participants from 16 countries. (UNI) |
|
Pulses, oils display mixed
activity NEW DELHI, Nov 14: Bullion prices moved narrowly, sugar suffered a setback while pulses and oils displayed a mixed activity in commodities markets during the week ended November 13. Diwali festival passed off without impacting much in the bullion markets because of overheated prices. Gold prices improved merely by Rs 10 at Rs 4,550 per ten gms as advises in the overseas markets moved northwards and prices in London remained around the 295 dollar mark during the week. Gold registered a gain of Rs 10 per ten gms during the course of the week while silver declined by Rs 50 per kg. Gold, standard, ornaments and bittur, recovered by Rs 10 at Rs 4,150, Rs 4,400 and Rs 4,540 per ten gms respectively during the week under review as compared to last week’s closing price range. Sovereign did not change. Silver .999 ready shed Rs 50 at Rs 7,750 per kg and weekly delivery by Rs 45 at Rs 7,765 per kg compared to last week’s price level. Silver coins, however, declined by Rs 200 at Rs 11,000 for buyers and Rs 11,200 for sellers per 100 pieces. Sugar: Sugar mill delivery and spot prices declined at both the levels as demand for diwali festival was over. Gur also suffered a setback. Sugar mill delivery prices lost Rs 15 to Rs 25 to close the week at Rs 1380/1440 per quintal. Sugar M-30 and S-30 varieties displayed a dip of Rs ten to Rs 20 each at Rs 1550/1565 and Rs 1530/1550 per quintal during the week under review. Gur declined by Rs 50 at both the levels on mounting inventories and lack of buying activity. Khandsari desi variety shed Rs 75 at the lower level and Rs ten per quintal at the higher level to close the week at Rs 1325/1400 per quintal. Grains: Wheat desi and dara prices moved up during the course of the week while rice gained, course grains and pulses traded mixed during the week under review. Wheat desi gained Rs 50 at both the levels at Rs 850/1150 and wheat dara improved by Rs five at the lower level at Rs 710/715 per quintal. Rice parmal sela went up by Rs 50 at the lower level at Rs 900/1050 and ir eight gained Rs 25 at the lower level at Rs 825/850 per quintal on support from bulk buyers. Prices of other rice varieties remained unchanged. Bajra gained Rs 50 at both the levels at Rs 550/650, maize was up by Rs 50 at the higher level at Rs 550/650 on tight arrivals while jowar declined sharply by Rs 250 to Rs 400 at Rs 550/900 per quintal on mounting inventories coupled with lack of demand. In pulses, gram recovered by Rs 30 at the lower level and Rs 25 at the higher level to settle at Rs 1380/1400 while gram dal lost Rs 50 at the lower level to close the week at Rs 1500/1800 per quintal as compared to last week’s closing price range. Oils: Industrial oils displayed a weak trend while edible oils prices traded mixed and vanaspati suffered a setback during the week under review. In non-edible oils, castor declined by Rs 50 at Rs 3550, rice bran slipped by Rs ten to Rs 30 at Rs 1320/1370 and acid oil lost Rs 50 at both the levels at Rs 1300/1350 per quintal on increased offerings coupled with lack of matching demand. Linseed, mahuwa and neem remained intact. In edible oils, groundnut moved up by Rs 150 at Rs 3800, sunflower by Rs 100 at Rs 2450 and mustard expeller by Rs 50 at Rs 3450 per quintal on tight stock position while soyabean lost Rs 80 at Rs 2270, rice bran Rs 30 at Rs 1850 and palmolein slipped by Rs ten at Rs 2260 per quintal on poor demand as compared to last week’s trend. Vanaspati suffered a setback of Rs 50 at the lower level and Rs 30 at the higher level at Rs 430/500 per 15 kg tin as against week’s rates. Mustard oilseeds moved up by Rs 50 at Rs 1550/1650 per quintal on emergence of demand. Oilcakes remained intact as demand matched supplies. (UNI) |
|
DoT to introduce Internet telephony by mid 2000 NEW DELHI, Nov 14: The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) will introduce Internet Protocol (IP) based telephony on a limited basis by mid-2000. Also, the price difference between cellular and basic telecom services will vanish in the next five years or so, Mr P S Saran, Secretary of the newly-created Department of Telecom Services (DTS), has said. "We require large bandwidths to cater to the future demands of internet users. Also, there must be one omnibus act which would cover all aspects of technology convergence and replace the old ones," he said while addressing a panel discussion organised here recently by the Pacific Telecommunication Council (PTC) India foundation. Mr. Saran said the country would witness an "explosive growth" in internet usage. There could be 50 lakh users in the next five years, ten times more than at present. "At the same time, there is plenty of scope for electronic commerce which is bound to mushroom in the coming years as the cost is much cheaper than that of conventional methods." For this E-commerce will require certification, new laws and technical expertise to check frauds and ensure secrecy. Mr Saran said competition will improve the quality of telecom services in the country. In the next 10 years, there will be 150 million phone subscribers compared to 23 million at present. The teledensity of 2.3 per cent is low compared to the world standards. The DoT and private sector must strive to increase these numbers, he added. Making a presentation, Mr D K Ghosh, Executive Chairman of Siemens Public Communications Networks, said the National Telecom Grid must be put in place soon. He said structural reforms in the telecom sector worldwide were being backed by international organisations such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). "Emerging telecom companies are now setting up their own coherent networks, bypassing the incumbent’s in-homogenous networks," Mr Ghosh said. "New technologies are converging data and voice on one hand while television and video on the other." He said the new telcos will provide global end-to-end services. "Liberalisation sparks off new demand for telecom services. The new demand will now drive innovation of new technologies." (UNI) |
|
India to reduce customs duties
to match NEW YORK, Nov 14: India would lower its customs duties further to bring them on par with East Asian levels, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission K C Pant has said. We have negotiated with our major trading partners a phased elimination of all the remaining quantitative restrictions by 2003. Customs duties, which used to be high, have been lowered very substantially and we propose to reduce them further, he said. Addressing the Centre for Research on Economic Development and Policy Reforms at Standford University here, Pant said lowering of industrial tariffs further would mean increased competition for the Indian industry. He said lowering of tariffs by major markets would also mean a greater access to the Indian exporters in those markets. Elaborating on the road map of reform process, Pant said India proposes to expand automatic approval to route Foreign Direct Investments to realise its target of attracting 10 billion dollars FDI annually. We will undertake bolder initiatives aimed at effectively privatising many public sector enterprises in the non-strategic areas, he said. Stating that India was targetting an annual GDP growth of seven to eight per cent, Pant said this would be possible only through rapid growth in infrastructure, especially power, roads, ports and telecom. The challenge before US is to ensure that the growth rate is regionally more balanced and above all, that it succeeds in generating employment at a pace which could absord our growing labour force, he said. Pant said investments in the infrastructure sectors at present were far below the levels needed to achieve the targetted growth rate. High quality of infrastructure services was essential for international competitiveness and export dynamism in an increasingly open economy, he said, adding India was keen to bring in the private sector in all infrastructure areas. India has already begun the process of reforming its financial sector at an early stage by focussing on the banking system and then on the securities markets, he said. The country is upgrading the prudential norms in the banking sector in a phased manner and the quality of services have also increased while the reforms in securities market is also making considerable progress. Pant said opening up of the insurance sector would strengthen the institutional arrangements for long-term or contractual savings. (PTI) |
|
