Daily Excelsior...Business

Aurobindo's ARV products included in WHO's list

MUMBAI, Dec 19: Aurobindo Pharma Ltd today said its Anti retro viral (ARV) products have been included in World Health Organisation's pre-qualification list.

The products included on the list were----Efavirenz tablets - 600 mg, Lamivudine oral solution - 10 mg/ml, Lamivudine and Zidovudine tablets - 150/300 mg, Stavudine capsules - 30 mg, Stavudine capsules - 40 mg, Zidovudine oral solution - 50 mg/5 ml, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Following this inclusion the total number of the company's ARV products on WHO's pre-qualification list has gone up to ten, it said.

An important first line agent in the treatment of HIV, AIDS, Efavirenz tablets, have appeared for the first on the prequalification list of WHO, it added.

Previously Zidovudine tablets 300 mg, Lamivudine tablets 150 mg, Lamivudine tablets 300 mg and Nevirapine tablets 200 m tablets, had been included in the list. (PTI)

Assam Company to increase FII limit to 49 pc

MUMBAI, Dec 19: Assam Company Ltd has decided to increase the FII limit to 49 per cent from the existing 24 per cent.

The board would seek shareholder approval at the forthcoming EGM on January 17, 2006 for increasing the FII limit to 49 per cent, the tea company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange.

At the recently held meeting the board also recommended issuing 2.70 crore share warrants of Re 1 each at a premium of Rs 22.25 each, totaling to Rs 23.25 per warrant, on a preferential basis to various Foreign lnstitutional lnvestors.

Mauritian FIIs, Investment India (Mauritius) Ltd, Lotus Global Investments Ltd, Mavi Investment Fund Ltd, would be allotted the share warrants, subject to shareholder approval. (PTI)

Mustard expeller oil up on stockists buying

NEW DELHI, Dec 19: Barring marginal rise in mustard expeller, oil prices generally remained unalatered in the wholesale oils and oilseeds market today due to fresh selling by stockists against sluggish demand from retailers, and finished in negagtive zone.

Traders said apart from stockists buying, higher advices from producing regions helped mustard expeller oil prices to improve.

They said, however, activity in other edible as well as non-edible oils remained negligible due to paucity of funds, with the result prices remained unchanged.

Mustard expeller oil traded Rs 10 higher at Rs 3830 per quintal on some support.

Following were today's quotations per quintal:

Oilseeds: Mustardseed 1500-1730, sunflower 940-980, Cottonseed 750-900, groundnut 1750-1900 and sesame white 2150-2450.

Vanaspati ghee (15 litres tin) 600-735.

Edible oils: Groundnut mill delivery 4600, Groundnut Solvent refined (per tin) 840-865, Mustard Expeller 3830, Mustard Pakki ghani (per tin) 640-655, Mustard kachi ghani (per tin) 705-830, Sunflower 4400, Sesame mill delivery 4200, Soyabean Refined mill delivery 3620, Soyabean degum (Delhi) 3500, Crude Palm Oil (Ex-kandla) 3300, Cottonseed mill delivery 3420 palmoline (RBD) 3860, Rice bran (phy) 3000 and coconut (per tin) 780.

Non-edible oils: linseed 3750 Mahuwa 3250, castor 3350-3450, Neem 2550-2650, Rice bran 2450-2500 and palm fatty 2700-2800.

Oil cakes: groundnut dehusk 770-820, Sesame 900-1100, Mustard 670-680 and Cottonseed 725-825. (PTI)

Quiet conditions at steel market

NEW DELHI, Dec 19: Quiet conditions prevailed in the wholesale steel and iorn market today with most of prices after moving in a tight range on some deals, settled around previous closing.

Arrivals and offtake remained at a low ebb with the result volume of business also dropped.

Traders said negligible demand from stockists due to tight money market conditions mainly kept prices unchanged.

Following were today's quotations per tonne:

CTD saria (kamdhenu) 8-mm, 24,950, 10-mm, 24,550, 12-mm 23,950, 16-20 mm 24,350 and 25-mm Rs 24,450.

Rathi tor steel : 8-mm 24,700, 10-mm 24,300, 12-mm 23,700, 16-20 mm 24,100 and 25-32 mm 24,200.

Saria Jai bharat (iso 9002) 8-mm 24,900, 10 mm 24,500 12-mm 23,900, 16 to 25 mm 24,300.

Amba saria (iso-9002) 8-mm 24,900, 10-mm 24,500, 12-mm 23,900, 16-20-mm 24,300, 25mm 24,400.

Amba shakti: (TMT) 8mm 23,800, 10 mm 23,200, 12 mm 22,800, 16 to 25 mm 23,200-23,300.

M S Angle: (50x5) (50x6) 21,500, (25x3) (32x3) (40x3) 21,600, (40x5) (40x60) 21,900. Angle capital (ISI) (50X5) (50X6) 21,900, (40X5) (40x6) 22,000, (35X5) (65X6) 22,300.

Girder (joist) (150x75) 22,100 (175x85) 22,500 (200x100) 22,500 (125x70) 22,100.

T-IRON (40X5) (40X6)(50X6) 22,400.

Ingot and Scrap: Mill heavy 12,800-12,900 Turning boring 12,750-12,850, Cast Iron 15,600-15,700, Motor parts 13,300-13,400, Rail re-rolling 15,200-15,300 and ingot Bhivari 17,900. (PTI)

Labour unrest rattles auto industry's success in 2005

NEW DELHI, Dec 19: One of the most violent labour unrest, which shook the entire country, rattled the success story of the Indian automobile industry in 2005, a year which saw the high growth rates peter down and players grapple with rising input prices.

After being credited with reviving the Indian scooter market and hailed as one of the big success stories in the auto industry, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India went through possibly one of its worst times after a worker strife at its factory in Haryana took a turn for the ugly.

As the gory images of Haryana Police personnel mercilessly beating up scores of the company's striking employees were played out non-stop on television screens and newspapers, the incident snowballed into a big political controversy.

The episode saw a knee-jerk reaction from the Japanese Ambassador, who said it could affect the country's foreign investments to India, prompting the Indian Government to dub it as an "isolated" incident. The matter was finally resolved, but not before nationwide protests and debates, and intervention by none other than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The strike at Honda was not an isolated incident of discontent in the industry with other companies like Omax Auto, Apollo Tyres, Toyota Kirloskar and Mico Bosch also struggling on the industrial relations front.

The tough times due to these unwanted aberrations, notwithstanding, the year had its own share of highs, one of them being the statement of Finance Minister P Chidambaram at the annual convention of Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

The Finance Minister came up with a sure booster dose when he hinted at tax incentives for small cars. "We will revisit the question of taxation on small cars at the earliest opportunity," Chidambaram told CEOs of automobile firms.

"Small car manufacturers are looking at making India a base for the global market. We have to keep pace with plans aimed at having small-car plants," he said, in between cheers from the industry captains.

The Government taxes automobiles at 24 per cent, which is the upper end of the excise duty structure. To this are added other taxes, including natural calamity cess, education cess and VAT.

The year also saw a blockbuster model hitting the Indian roads in the form of Suzuki's Swift. Positioned in the premium hatchback category, the car proved to be a darling for new car buyers, the high demand even catching Maruti by surprise.

The company had to increase production for the model that captured the imagination of aspiring Indians and saw as many as 18,000 bookings within two weeks of launch.

But even while Swift was the runaway success of the year, 2005 again saw some of the world's top luxury brands queuing up for the market. The grandeur of Rolls Royce made a return to India after a gap of 50 years with the company bringing in the 'Phantom', sporting a hefty price tag of Rs 3.5 crore.

Other high profile launches of the year included Bentley Motors' 'Continental Flying Spur' (Rs 1.7 crore), Audi's A6 version (Rs 42.5 lakh) and German car major Porsche AG's convertible sports car 911 Carrera Cabriolet (Rs 75 lakh plus).

A summary of 2005 would, however, be incomplete if the controversy surrounding German car major Volkswagen's is missed. The company, negotiating with the Andhra Pradesh Government for setting up its plant in the state, was caught on the wrong foot when its pointsman for the country Helmuth Schuster was accused of corruption.

The German company, on behalf of which Schuster received money from the Andhra Government, had a tough time in squeezing out of the situation, though it finally managed to mend its relations. (PTI)

Monsoon spells buoyancy for fertiliser industry in 2005

NEW DELHI, Dec 19: As the Government went all out to cut corners on the subsidy front, the fertiliser industry, riding on the Left support to the UPA Government, managed to stave off such moves in the sector during the year.

With monsoon spelling good news for agriculture and the demand for fertiliser likely to increase substantially, the Chemicals and Fertiliser Ministry has decided to seek additional fertiliser subsidy ranging from Rs 6,000-8,000 crore this fiscal from the Finance Ministry.

Officials in the Chemical and Fertiliser Ministry estimate the subsidy bill to cross well over the budgeted level of about Rs 17,022 crore this fiscal. Till November 2005, the subsidy bill had gone up from Rs 15,879 crore to Rs 16,253 crore.

Experts contend that despite the rise in fertiliser consumption level in India, it would still be well below the trend in the developed world. As compared to a consumption level of 98 kg/hectare in India, it is estimated at 300kg/hectare in the US.

The Fertiliser Assocation of India, representative body of the industry, however, attributes the rise in fertiliser subsidy to increase in input costs.

FAI Chairman H C Grover said the Government has been tightening the norms for fertiliser pricing so as to reduce the subsidy without increasing the Maximum Retail Price.

The consequent impact on the health and growth of the industry has been given the go by, he said adding the burden of subsidy has been increasing because the principal cause of rise in fertiliser subsidy still remained unaddressed.

Grover said the availability and prices of basic raw material and intermediates, especially hydrocarbons have witnessed steep increases in price in recent years.

Chemical and Fertiliser Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has assured the representatives that the government will not make any cut in subsidy to fertiliser companies as they are selling fertilisers to farmers at very low prices compared to cost of production.

The agriculture-related subsidies are much higher in developed countries such as the UK and US, he observed during a meeting. The Government provides concession on Phosphatic fertilisers under the Concession Scheme for decontrolled P&K fertilisers.

The concession rates for Phosphatic & Potassic fertilisers are being worked out as per the recommendations of Tariff Commission. The Government had already approved continuation of the scheme up to 31st March 2006 as per approved parameters.

Total production of Phosphatic fertilisers covered under the concession scheme was 120.05 lakh MT during the year 2004-05. The likely production for the year 2005-06 would be about 149 lakh MT as per the production plan indicated by the Phosphatic fertiliser manufacturers.

The revised estimates of subsidy on decontrolled indigenous P and K fertilisers during 2005-06 are estimated at Rs 7,332 crore against earlier Budgetary assessment of Rs 4,000 crore.

On the criticism of the use of chemical fertilisers perse (organic vs chemical fertilisers) and degradation of soils due to use of chemical fertilisers, Grover said: "What critics seem to have completely forgotten or are unaware of is that for best results a judicious combination of all these are required".

He said degradation of soils has occurred due to unscientific and unbalanced use of primary nutrients that is Nitrogen, Phosphatic and Potash and as a result of ignoring the need for using secondary and micronutrients for the crops.

Due to faulty pricing policies there is excessive use of nitrogen in the form of urea, he added.

What is needed, Grover said, is restoring the physical and chemical health of the soil through scientific, balanced and integrated use of primary, secondary and micronutrients along with organic manures and biofertilisers where appropriate.

Due to mechanisation and other factors like highly intensive farming and multiple cropping, the quantitites in which farmyard manure (FYM) are required are simply not available.

According to experts, however, there is no scientific evidence of conversion of paddy land into barren land due to use of chemical fertilisers, which is still at a low level (around 98 kg per/ha).

However, non-judicious and imbalanced use of inorganic fertilisers over years may result into deterioration of soil fertility/health and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research is recommending integrated nutrient management through conjunctive use of both inorganic and organic sources of plant nutrients to prevent such degradation.

With regard to making available adequate fertiliser to farmers, the industry is complaining about the Government's lack of interest in opening new plants or even attending to the problem of revival of sick units with rigour.

At present, there are 57 large fertiliser units in the country manufacturing a wide range of nitrogenous, phosphatic and complex fertilisers.

Of these, 29 units produce urea, 20 units produce DAP and complex fertilisers, seven units produce low analysis straight nitrogenous fertilisers, and the remaining nine manufacture ammonium sulphate as a by-product.

Besides, there are about 62 small and medium scale units in operation producing Single Super Phosphate (SSP).

It is in the fitness of things that Paswan recently called upon the fertiliser industry to join the government efforts in reviving the closed fertiliser units of Fertiliser Corporation of India (FCI) and Hindustan Fertilisers Corporation (HFC).

He said any viable proposal in this regard would be welcomed by the Government and with such collective efforts, India can emerge as a net exporters of fertilisers in the coming years.

The Government is contemplating revival of three sick fertiliser units in West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.

Recently the fertilisers' ministry received a detailed report on revival from the Project and Development India Ltd (PDIL). The units to be revived are Durgapur and Barauni plants of Hindustan Fertilisers Corporation (HFC) in West Bengal and Bihar respectively, and the Sindri units of FCI in Jharkhand.

In its report on the Sindri plant, the PDIL has proposed two options. The first is to make the plant functional on a quick-start basis, which will involve a capital expenditure of Rs 169.26 crore with a running cost of production at Rs 13,024 per MT of urea.

The second option, which the PDIL has given, is for improving the performance and energy efficiency at a cost of Rs 386.95 crore with running cost of production at Rs 11,938 crore.

While addressing the Golden Jubilee Annual Seminar on "Economic Growth through Agriculture and Fertiliser" organised by Fertiliser Association of India earlier this month, Paswan said the government has tried to develop a policy environment conducive to new capacities.

He said the Working Group under the Chairmanship of Dr Y K Alagh to review the policy for urea beyond NPS (New Pricing Scheme) Stage-II would submit its report very soon. He assured the fertiliser industry that they would be consulted before taking a final decision in this matter. (PTI)

ICICI Lomb close to Rs 1,000 cr mark, gen insurance grows 16%

NEW DELHI, Dec 19: Impressive show by two state-run insurers -- New India Assurance and United India Insurance -- along with aggressive growth of private players ICICI Lombard and Bajaj Allianz boosted growth in general insurance industry by 16 per cent during April-October this fiscal.

ICICI Lombard, which is growing by about 100 per cent, is poised to cross the Rs 1,000 crore premium income mark in November, a first among the private insurers.

In terms of rise in premium, ICICI Lombard tops the chart with Rs 466 crore till October, followed by New India (Rs 309 crore), Bajaj Allianz (Rs 287 crore), Oriental Insurance and Iffco-Tokio (Rs 235 crore each).

Amid stiff competition, the 12 insurers collected Rs 11,904 crore till October 2005 compared to Rs 10,266 crore a year ago despite fall in the business of National Insurance and Reliance General, according to data compiled by IRDA.

Market leader New India expanded business by 12 per cent to collect Rs 2,751 crore in premium till October this year and had a market share of 23.11 per cent.

Oriental Insurance knocked down National Insurance from the second spot by logging about 13 per cent growth in business to collect Rs 2,068 crore and cornered a market pie of 17.37 per cent.

National Insurance's continues to see decline as its business further dropped by over seven per cent to Rs 2,058 crore and had a market share of 17.29 per cent.

United India grew its business by 4.43 per cent to collect Rs 1,869 crore during the period, capturing 15.70 per cent of the market.

Private players market share has increased to 26.5 per cent from 19.3 per cent a year ago thanks to robust growth of ICICI Lombard, Bajaj Allianz and Iffco-Tokio.

Export Credit Guarantee Corporation has grown by 13.5 per cent to collect Rs 320.5 crore in premium till October.

Among the private players, ICICI Lombard was at the top by doubling business to Rs 966 crore and had 8.11 per cent of the market. The private player is poised to cross Rs 1,000 crore mark in premium income in November.

Bajaj Allianz had a market share of 6.35 per cent after it logged 61 per cent growth to collect Rs 755 crore followed by Iffco-Tokio, which grew by 91 per cent to collect 492 crore and a market share of 4.14 per cent.

Tata AIG collected Rs 340 crore (2.86 per cent) in premium while Royal Sundaram pocketed Rs 261 crore (2.19 per cent) and Cholamandalam Rs 145 crore (1.22 per cent).

HDFC Chubb and Reliance General had less than one per cent of the market each. (PTI)