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| BHEL bags 5 major contracts from NTPC worth Rs 2,700 cr NEW DELHI, Dec 17: Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has secured five major contracts worth over Rs 2,700.........more Maruti to
up prices LUCKNOW, Dec 17: India’s largest carmaker Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) has said it will hike prices by 2-3 per cent in......more Chief
Minister’intervention CUTTACK, Dec 17: Orissa State Financial Corporation (OSFC) Employees Union has urged Chief Minister Naveen....more ICRA
assigns A1 rating NEW DELHI, Dec 17: Credit Rating Agency ICRA has assigned an A1 (a one) rating, to the short term debt programme of......more |
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Indo-Pak businessmen keen on resuming trade ties WAGAH, Dec 17: A large number of Indian and Pakistani businessmen have expressed keenness to resume trade ties....more Pvt
consortium THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Dec 17: A private consortium will be floated to put together the estimated investment of Rs......more NATCO
pharma launches MUMBAI, Dec 17: In it’s pursuit of redefining economics of cancer treatment, NATCO Pharma Ltd has announced the....more Igate inks
outsourcing MUMBAI, Dec 17: Igate Global Solutions Ltd today announced a significant information technology outsourcing deal with....more |
BHEL bags 5 major contracts from
NTPC NEW DELHI, Dec 17: Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has secured five major contracts worth over Rs 2,700 crore from National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to set up three power projects with a combined power generating capacity of 1,710 megawatt. The projects are Sipat Super Thermal Power Project (STPP) stage II (2 x 500 Mw), Kahalgaon STPP stage II (1 x 500 Mw) and Feroze Gandhi Unchahar Thermal Power Project stage III(1 x 210 Mw). It is the first time that NTPC has awarded such a large number of contracts to BHEL. Of these, the four contracts (two packages each) for Sipat and Kahalgaon STPP have been received against international competitive bidding. BHEL’s scope of work in these contracts envisages manufacture, supply, erection, testing and commissioning of steam turbines, generators, boilers, associated auxiliaries, balance of plant and electricals besides modern controls and instrumentation, electrostatic precipitators and switchyard (only for unchahar project). The turbine generators and boilers will be manufactured at BHEL’s Haridwar and Trichy plants while the C and I system will be supplied by its electronics division in Bangalore. The company’s Hyderabad plant will manufacture the coal mills and boiler feed pumps and the electricals and switchyard equipment will be supplied by BHEL’s Bhopal and Jhansi plants. The company’s Ranipet plant will manufacture and supply the ESPs. For NTPC, BHEL is presently executing contracts at Kahalgaon STPP (1,000 Mw) in Bihar, Vindhyachal STPP (1,000 Mw) in Madhya Pradesh, Talcher STPP (2,000 Mw) in Orissa, Rihand STPP (1,000 Mw) in Uttar Pradesh and Ramagundam STPP (500 Mw) in Andhra Pradesh. All the projects are progressing on schedule, according to a BHEL statement released here today. (UNI) |
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Maruti to up prices by 3 pc in January LUCKNOW, Dec 17: India’s largest carmaker Maruti Udyog Limited (MUL) has said it will hike prices by 2-3 per cent in January 2004. "We will revise the prices upward by 2-3 per cent next month," MUL marketing and sales director Kinji Saito told UNI here. Markets have been abuzz with reports of price hike which Maruti said would be formally announced by December-end. Attributing the rise to increase in input costs, especially steel, Mr Saito said: "Prices were not revised when we introduced refurbished Wagon R and Zen models in October last. But it has to be done now since the production cost has witnessed a steep hike in the past." Steel prices have risen by more than 20 per cent in the last few months. Maruti sources steel from South Korea, Japan and domestically from Bhushan Steel. "We hope our customers will appreciate our stand," he added but refused to comment on rivals’ similar announcements. Tata Motors and Ford Motor India have already announced their decision to increase prices in January while general motors has said it will increase prices by 2-3 per cent next month in view of the spurt in input cost. Maruti has 40 variants across its models which include the largest selling 800-CC car, Wagon R, Zen, Alto Omni van and the Esteem. He said the increase in car sales, across segments and makes, this year was due to a number of factors, including easy and cheap finance options with people, he said adding favourable monoon this year had also contributed to the boom. "The general economy that was near stagnant about two years back is on a roll at present and there seems no stopping," said Mr Saito. He, however, observed that the country needed to break from A and B segment cars and mature towards high end luxury vechiles. Mr Saito was here yesterday to address a dearler’s meet in the state capital. He also said Uttar Pradesh was one of the largest markets for Maruti vehicles. On MUL’s grand vitara XL 7, that was unveiled in New Delhi recently, he said the Suv vehicle would be sold directly through special teams formed for the purpose. "A team of representatives from Maruti dealers would be imparted specialised training for the task, so as to highlight the unique features of the vehicle before prospective buyers," he said. Vitara carries a price tag of around Rs 17 lakh (ex-showroom in Delhi), he informed. MUL is also upbeat about the present economic health of the country, which it said was "conducive to growth of industry in general, cars being no exception." "The policy of liberalisation being persued of late promises to bring more good to the economy, where consumers would be the real benefactor," he said. "There has been a paradigm shift in Government policies since it reduced the excise duty on passenger cars in the last budget," said the MUL official. (UNI) |
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| Chief Minister’intervention
sought for the revival of OSFC CUTTACK, Dec 17: Orissa State Financial Corporation (OSFC) Employees Union has urged Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to impress upon the Centre to initiate steps to enable the OSFC, facing a grim financial problem, to stage a successful turn around. OSFCEU general secretary Dhruba Charan Das said the OSFC had a total liability of Rs 607 crore— Rs 350 crore of commercial banks and Rs 257 crore of the Industrial Development Bank of India(IDBI) and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) and was on the verge of closure. Recently the union leader said Centre had declared to compensate SIDBI to the tune of Rs 900 crore against the unrecovered interest from State Finance Corporations and infused Rs 14,000 crores to the share capital of various commercial banks to maintain their capital adequacy and to uphold their international competitiveness. The union leader demanded that such support should also be provided to the State Finance Corporations particularly the OSFC to enable it revive. The responsibility of revitalising, rehabilitating and reorganising State Finance Corportation should not be left to the cash starved state alone. Since it was created jointly by the Union and the Centre, the responsibility of its rehabilitation should also be shared by both, he said. Mr Das said the osfc was created in 1956 to ensure easy availability of high risk capital to people of small means on soft terms with the resources support for the working of the corporation coming from the Centre through various agencies. Fifty per cent of the share capital of the corporation were initially contributed through the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), but later transferred to IDBI after its creation and separation from the RBI. The refinance support was provided by IDBI ranging from 75 to 100 per cent on each loan extended by OSFC to different class of borrowers. The entire refinance liabilities of the corporation were later taken over by SIDBI after its creation and separation from the RBI in nineties. Till the end of final year 2003 the corporation had disbursed a term loan of Rs 1292.44 crores to nearly 18,000 borrowers mostly of small means. During the period the corporation also succedded in making a cumulative recovery of around 1363 crores. Out of the total recovery of Rs 1363 crore, the corporation had paid 1163 crore to IDBI, SIDBI and the commercial banks towards their refinance support leaving little room for the corporation to improve its efficiency and meeting the need of the small and medium enterprisers. IDBI and SIDBI provided resources support in the form of refinance with a thin margin of one to two per cent. It was difficult to survive with such low margin when banks enjoys a minimum margin of 7 to 8 per cent, the union leader said. Mr Das alleged that the corporation under the provisions of the SFC Act had no option but to depend upon SIDBI and IDBI with high cost funds and adhered to the refinance guidelines. But these institutions never bothered to share any risk or responsibility associated with the high risk lending while supporting the small and medioum enterprises. The union leader urged the IDBI and the SIDBI to bail out OSFC from its financial problem currently faced by the corporation. Mr Das said recently IDBI had waived a sum of Rs 3000 crore to Indian charge chrome limited a private sector entity of Orissa to regain its viability. The OSFC, which owed a sum of Rs 257 crore should also be waived to rehabilitate the public sector unit in the interest of the people of the state, he said. (UNI) |
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ICRA assigns A1 rating to Tata Auto Plastic Systems Ltd NEW DELHI, Dec 17: Credit Rating Agency ICRA has assigned an A1 (a one) rating, to the short term debt programme of Tata Auto Plastic Component Systems Limited (TAPS). The rating indicates highest safety in the short term and takes into consideration the company’s preferred supplier status by Tata motors, the strong operating profitability and cash flows of the company largely driven by the successful relaunch of Indica and the overall buoyancy of the domestic automobile industry. The rating is constrained by the large dependence of TAPS for business on Tata motors and more so on Indica. TAPS is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Tata Auto Component Systems Limited(TACO). TACO in turn has been promoted by the Tata group to lead its foray into the auto components segment. TACO has been set up as a holding company to promote ventures including joint ventures for various components and systems. The main components supplied by TAPS include dash boards, bumpers and other interior parts. TAPS’ sales have grown rapidly over the last two years primarily driven by the successful relaunch of Indica. While nearly 70 per cent of TAPS’ sales is to Tata motors and mainly for Indica, the company has also concentrated on developing new customers such as fiat and general motors among others and is actively participating in their indigenisation. It has also started exporting, though the volume is still small. TAPS’ success in these programmes would be critical in diversifying its revenue and customer base. Backed by the continued strong growth in domestic sales, TAPS registered an operating income of Rs 253 million in the first quarter of the current year, on which it earned an operating profit of Rs 36.6 million. (UNI) |
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Indo-Pak businessmen keen on resuming trade ties WAGAH, Dec 17: A large number of Indian and Pakistani businessmen have expressed keenness to resume trade ties between the two countries at the earliest. At a convention, organised by Pakistan-India people’s forum for peace and democracy at Karachi last week, businessmen on both sides of the border expressed their desire to resume bilateral trade ties, general secretary of PIFPDP of India chapter Tapan K Bose told PTI here today. Bose said he led a 250-member delegation to attend the three-day convention from Dec 12-14, which was attended by more than 2000 Pakistan nationals including top businessmen, traders, journalists, doctors, politicians, and academicians among others. Participants at the convention discussed various trade-related issues and the loss both sides had to suffer due to the "unhealthy" relations, he said adding they favoured opening road link from Baramullah in Kashmir to Rawalpindi in Pakistan to boost business. (PTI) |
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Pvt consortium to build IFFI infrastructure in Goa THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, Dec 17: A private consortium will be floated to put together the estimated investment of Rs 100 crore needed to build a permanent set up for the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, IIFI director Neelam Kapoor said today. Ms Kapoor, who heads the directorate of film festivals under the Union Information and Broadcasting Ministry, said at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing eighth International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) here that a complex with at least five state-of-the-art theatres, projection facilities, conference rooms and a permanent office for the IFFI would have to be built in Goa. The Central Government would be among the stake holders in the complex. While the venue would be used for IFFI for about ten days in a year, it would be used otherwise for holding conferences, she added. Admitting that "there is nothing in Goa at present" in terms of infrastructure for holding the IFFI, Ms Kapoor said a review meeting would soon be held to guage Goa’s preparedness to hold the next festival. The festival would be moved to Goa only after a proper set up came up, Ms Kapoor stated and indicated that the next IFFI would also be held in Delhi while Goa might host the festival only from 2005. Defending the decision to make Goa the permanent venue for IFFI, Ms Kapoor said the state had a "strong international branding" and a synergy could be built between tourism and good cinema to make the IFFI a truly vibrant festival. Also, with most cities coming up with their own festivals, it was thought that it was time for the IFFI to have a permanent venue instead of roving every alternate year outside Delhi. She listed selection of films, audience participation and the market section as three vital areas for a film festival. Sounding optimistic about the growth of Indian cinema in the years to come, Ms Kapoor said the holding of a number of festivals round the year at different places in the country was "a very healthy trend." Noting that Indian films were being able to find newer markets abroad, she said film festivals could play a very important role in providing a platform for film-makers to sell their works. (UNI) |
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NATCO pharma launches two cancer drugs MUMBAI, Dec 17: In it’s pursuit of redefining economics of cancer treatment, NATCO Pharma Ltd has announced the release of two more cancer drugs - Natfost (amifostine 500 mg injection) and hyurea (hydroxyurea 500 Mg capsules). With these launches, NATCO has established itself as a major player in the oncology segment, with a basket of about ten drugs. The other releases of NATCO are already well placed in the market. This launch consolidates NATCO’s position as a prime player in the oncology segment, a release said. (UNI) |
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Igate inks outsourcing pact
worth 20 million MUMBAI, Dec 17: Igate Global Solutions Ltd today announced a significant information technology outsourcing deal with ing Vysya Bank, one of India’s leading banking institutions and part of the multi-national financial services giant, ing global. The contract was signed by Igate Global Solutions BPO/BSP - head Tiger Ramesh and ING Vysya Bank senior evp, head of operations and technology jean Louis Lemaire. Through this relationship, Igate global solutions will assist in driving the it/is strategy for ING Vysya Bank. Igate global will play a key role in the entire value chain, from hardware identification to procurement, to defining and implementing the technology strategy for the bank. Igate Global will also take responsibility for all the data center operations, systems and network management, and local or remote support at ING Vysya locations. This contract is worth around USd 20 million over 5 years. (UNI) |
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Instanex Skindia DR P/E premimum
indices MUMBAI, Dec 17: The Instanex Skindia Depository Receipts (DR) index declined modestly by 0.82 per cent to 970.41 points on December 16, 2004 from 978.42 points on the previous day. According to the daily update provided by the city-based Instanex Capital Consultants Pvt Ltd, Instanex Skindia DR Index P/E also eased by 0.86 per cent to 18.79 points from 18.95 points. Similarly, the Skindia Index premium, witnessed a major crash, falling by 10.90 per cent to 22.67 per cent from 25.45 per cent during the same period. Out of the 15 ADRs and GDRs, seven (13) gained, eight (two) declined, while none of the scrip (nil scrip) remained unchanged. ITC (GDR), Bajaj Auto (GDR) and ICICI Bank (ADR) were the top gainers, while HDFC Bank (ADR), Wipro (ADR) and Infosys tech (ADR) were the major losers, the release added. (UNI) |
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IIP acquires SFC petroleum testing technique DEHRADUN, Dec 17: The Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) has acquired the Supercritical Fluid Chromatograph (SFC), a modern technique for testing petroleum. Available only at select institutes in the country, the testing facility has been procured at a cost of Rs 34 lakh jointly by the IIP and the Petroleum Ministry’s Centre for High Technology (CHT). CHT Executive Director K S Balaraman inaugurated the facility at the IIP yesterday, IIP senior scientist P V Dogra said. The instrument will be used for determination of total aromatics and polynuclear aromatic contents of diesel fuels as per standard test method ASTM-D-5186-99. The SFC will be functional at the analytical sciences division of Indian Institute of Petroleum, said Mr Dogra. (UNI) |
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Textile exports to quota
countries on the the MUMBAI, Dec 17: The export of synthetic and rayon textiles towards quota countries has registered only to the tune of eight per cent signalling good stead in the coming years, said Union Textiles Minister Shahnawaz Hussain here. Mr Hussain was speaking here at a function organised by the Synthetic Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) recently. "Exports of Indian synthetic and rayon textiles recorded a high performance growth of Rs 7812 crores during the year 2002-03, surpassing all its previous figures. The most remarkable fact is that these exports were directed to 177 countries of the world. Of these, around 32 per cent of the exports went to price sensitive middle east/Gulf countries emphasising the price advantages of Indian products and that 30 per cent of exports were directed to European countries, highlighting the quality of products , Mr Hussain said. "This shows our product’s competitiveness both on the price as well as on quality fronts. Moreover, exports to quota countries were only eight per cent. Such a performance may stand us in good stead in the coming years", the minister added. Mr Hussain said, "quality will be the mark of the post quota regime beginning from the year 2005 vis- -vis reliability will be looked at every stage. The challenge will be to supply consistently quality products at competitive products at competitive prices with unerring reliability". Speaking at the function, Minister of State for Textiles G N Ramachandran said that the textile export is directed to highly quality-conscious European countries with 23 per cent and the price conscious middle east with 32 per cent reflecting the progress of the Indian Synthetic Textile Industry has made in the areas of both quality and price. "While giving attention to specialisation, ‘product focus’ is the key word, our exporters will have to concentrate on manufacture of novel varieties of textiles, finishes and textures. Thus our strategy in the post-WTO era will be to move away from traditional commodity items to production of specialised varieties for the sophisticated up-market requirements", Mr Ramachandran said. (UNI) Vast potential seen for Asia credit card business SINGAPORE, Dec 17: The credit card business in Asia offers vast potential with only a handful of players currently operating at anything near world-class standards, a research group said on Wednesday. From Japan to Australia and India to Hong Kong, the market is dominated by the likes of American express, HSBC, Citibank, Standard Chartered Bank, GE, Cetelem and Abn Amro, according to the London-based Lafferty group. Credit card spending will increase between 2002 and 2005 by over 50 per cent in China, 34 per cent in India, 36 per cent in Indonesia and the Philippines and 15 per cent in Australia and Thailand, Lafferty said. "This indicates a very large opportunity for new entrants with developed specialized skills and, or an opportunity for local issuers to really differentiate themselves in their markets by raising their level of competitiveness and employing world standard best practices," said the research firm’s report in the business times. Setting up credit bureaus in asia is a relatively new phenomenon and was partially responsible for the high losses in Hong Kong, Lafferty said. "An understanding of the total debt picture of a consumer is a necessary tool for all lenders," it noted. (DPA) |
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