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Tata Motors launches CHANDIGARH, Jan 22: Tata Motors announced the launch of new Indica Xeta, the entry-level petrol car in Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana..........more Tribunal
declines NEW DELHI, Jan 22: A tribunal has declined domestic computer major HCL's claim for a Rs six lakh refund from the Customs Department, which it . ....more Concern over procurement prices due to glut in oilseeds output NEW DELHI, Jan 22: The bounty rainfall in oilseeds growing areas has brought with it apprehensions amongst farmers who fear they may not get .. ....more Poor
network burns NEW DELHI, Jan 22: Ahead of its 4.5 billion dollar GSM expansion tender, state-owned BSNL has taken private telecom equipment suppliers Ericsson and Nortel to task, saying the poor quality of their network had caused .. .........more |
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Cut CRR by 50 basis NEW DELHI, Jan 22: ASSOCHAM has said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its forthcoming third quarterly policy review slated for January 24, ...........more ''Grey
Goose'' vodka MUMBAI, Jan 22: ''Grey Goose'', a leading Vodka brand, has arrived in the Indian market at price of Rs 3,100 per bottle. .. .......more After Jet-Sahara deal, something's more in the air NEW DELHI, Jan 22: A few days after the Jet-Sahara deal, three small airlines -- Kingfisher, GoAir and Indigo -- are playing with the idea of forming ..............more PowerGrid-Reliance JV line to ease power problems in the North NEW DELHI, Jan 22: The transmission line, to be jointly set up by PowerGrid and Reliance Energy between the 800 MW Parbati with the 800 MW Koldam hydro electric power projects will pump electricity to northern states from Himachal Pradesh. .................more |
Tata Motors launches Indica Xeta CHANDIGARH, Jan 22: Tata Motors announced the launch of new Indica Xeta, the entry-level petrol car in Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana. S Krishnan, Head Car Group of Tata Motors , while talking to media persons here yesterday said that the beige interiors are the standard features in Xeta and is available in five colours--Existing Corbon Black, Arctic Silver, Salsa Red, Lagoon Blue and Palm Green, adding that the cost is Rs 2.96 lakh for AC model Ex-showroom price in Chandigarh. Mr Krishnan said that Xeta range is equipped with a 1396 CC emgine with 70 PS power output @4800 rpm and 12.4 kgm of torque @ 2600 rpm, which delivers a high fuel efficiency of 14 km per litre under standard test conditions. (UNI) |
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Tribunal declines relief to HCL Infinet NEW DELHI, Jan 22: A tribunal has declined domestic computer major HCL's claim for a Rs six lakh refund from the Customs Department, which it had to pay on account of an error in filing wrong product code not exempted from duty. The Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) did not give any relief to HCL Infinet, the company's telecom infrastructure division registered as an Internet Service Provider (ISP) stating it had not challenged the assessment order. HCL Infinet had purchased Routers, a communication device for its internet operations from US in 2001. The company had claimed that while filing tax exemption forms before the customs department, it had mentioned a wrong product code due to which the assessing authority imposed a 15 per cent duty asking it to pay Rs 13.73 lakh. HCL had contended the product had been bought to India by dismantling it in six parts and instead of terming it as a single unit was referred as spare parts of Router which were not exempted under the Duty provision. The company had submitted that by standard custom duty HCL was eligible to pay only Rs 7.7 lakhs at five per cent duty rate. However, the Tribunal was not satisfied with the company's saying "refund claim contrary to assessment order is not maintainable without order of assessment having been modified in appeal". The bench also said that HCL's plea was time barred. (PTI) |
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Concern over procurement prices due to glut in oilseeds output NEW DELHI, Jan 22: The bounty rainfall in oilseeds growing areas has brought with it apprehensions amongst farmers who fear they may not get the remunerative price due to higher acreage that could tranlsate into an estimated three per cent rise in output this year. Since a major share of edible oil is imported, it is felt these stocks coupled with high oilseeds production may deter high offtake of fresh arrivals from the growers. When contacted, Agriculture Ministry officials said they would put in the mechanism to start procurement of oilseeds from next month onward to allay apprehensions of oilseed growers. Since the government is keen to encourage domestic oilseeds production to reduce dependence on imported edible oil, "we will do everything to protect farmers interest", the officials said. India consumes about 11 million tonne edible oil and half of its consumption is met through imports from countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Brazil. As per the latest Agriculture Ministry updates, oilseeds acreage recorded 3.25 per cent increase during the current rabi season that would translate into higher output. Abundant monsoon rains in oilseed growing areas especially in September when sowing was in full swing, is also a pointer towards higher output, officials say. As per first advanced estimates by Central Organisation of Oilseeds Industry and Trade (COOIT), oilseeds production in Rabi of 2005-06 is estimated to be at 101 lakh tonnes as against 98 lakh tonnes during the previous year's season. Mustard production has been estimated at 67 lakh tonnes while groundnut production has been pegged at 16 lakh tonnes. Oilseeds acreage rose to 103.2 lakh hectare in the Rabi season from 99.78 lakh hectare in last season. Sowing of the main oilseed crop rapeseed/mustard stood at 72.73 lakh hectare against last year's 68.36 lakh hectare. Groundnut acreage stood at 5.88 lakh hectare. (PTI) |
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Poor network burns hole in BSNL's pockets NEW DELHI, Jan 22: Ahead of its 4.5 billion dollar GSM expansion tender, state-owned BSNL has taken private telecom equipment suppliers Ericsson and Nortel to task, saying the poor quality of their network had caused massive revenue losses in just two months. The Principal General Manager of Calcutta Telephones, in a letter to the top management, has asked them to issue instructions to both Ericsson and Nortel to resolve all problems and "till such time, withhold all payments to both the vendors. Stopping of payment is absolutely necessary to recover the loss of revenue caused to Calcutta Telephones." Ericsson is the supplier of IN (Intelligent Network), while Nortel has supplied Mobile Switching Centre (MSC) and Home Location Register (HLR) in various parts of the country. According to PGM of Calcutta Telephones, "today the service being offered is not of commercial quality and severe interruptions are being observed frequently creating utmost dissatisfaction to our customers and churning of about 30,000 customers in last two months." BSNL is not in position to attract more customers and SIMs are lying unutilised in most of its counters. This type of scenario has occurred for the first time in Calcutta Telephones Division since launching of CellOne, BSNL's mobile service. Similar complaints have also been received from some other parts of the country like Punjab. Due to Ericsson's IN network the pre-paid services have been affected badly, the official said. Some of the problems being faced by subscribers were failure of coupon recharge facility for pre-paid mobile, sudden reduction in pre-paid amount and negative balance, the Calcutta Telephone Division said, adding that the cases were unresolved till recently. The success rate of incoming call had fallen to dismal 20 per cent while for outgoing calls the rate was 30 per cent from pre-paid mobile connection. BSNL's Calcutta Division also shot off a letter to Ericsson, mentioning about the malfunctioning of its IN system in the East zone. Senior officials of BSNL in Delhi too said that they encountered problems due to expansion of operations and they are talking to the private vendors to ensure that quality networks were supplied. Efforts were on to rectify the problem. (PTI) |
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Cut CRR by 50 basis points: ASSOCHAM NEW DELHI, Jan 22: ASSOCHAM has said that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in its forthcoming third quarterly policy review slated for January 24, should cut the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by atleast 50 basis points to inject the much-needed liquidity into the banking system, which is facing an acute resource constraint. The surging demand for corporate loans is expected to tighten the liquidity situation further. Moreover, the redemption of the India Millennium Bonds in December-end, that pulled out over Rs 33,000 crore from the financial system, has worsened the situation, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) said. Where the growth in bank credit in 2005-06 was recorded at 30.6 per cent against 30.4 per cent during 2004-05, the deposits grew only by 17 per cent against 14.8 per cent, during the same period. The Credit-Deposit (CD) ratio is at present around 69 per cent against the Investment-Deposit (ID) ratio which is at 37 per cent. Bank investments grew only by 0.2 per cent for the current year 2005-06. The credit growth in the banking system during April-December 2005-06 was by Rs 2,52,054 crore while the deposits in the system, rose by Rs 2,40,496 crore only. Even though, RBI has on an average been pumping in Rs 20,000 crore daily into the system through its repo window and comfortable position of foreign exchange reserves available at around 137 billion dollars, the liquidity situation has continued to worsen. The central bank may in order to ease the pressure on liquidity and to check the upward trend in the interest rates should cut the CRR - the minimum amount of deposits - in the form of cash, which commercial banks have to maintain with the RBI. The CRR is at present at 5 per cent level. Even a marginal reduction, say by 50 basis points would case the existing tight liquidity situation in the system. The Central bank may also make use of moral suasion policy, by convincing the commercial banks to monitor and keep their credit dealings under limits to overcome the present tightened situation. The policy review is expected to come out with some sort of relief for the Indian industries. No major hike is expected in the signal lending rates--the bank rate, repo rate or reverse repo rate-- well ahead of the Union Budget, which is due next month and which is more a politically -sensitive issue before the Assembly elections which are due in the next few months. (UNI) |
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''Grey Goose'' vodka enters Indian market MUMBAI, Jan 22: ''Grey Goose'', a leading Vodka brand, has arrived in the Indian market at price of Rs 3,100 per bottle. Grey Goose is very popular in the United States and is right now available in 20 countries. A whopping 1.4 million cases of Grey Goose were manufactured and sold in 2004, Grey Goose Global Brand Manager Paul H Francis claimed. Grey Goose was first introduced in India five months back. It is being marketed by Bacardi through selected retail stores and pubs and leading five star hotel bars. Created in the famous Cognac region of western France, Grey Goose manufacturers claim it is the world's best tasting Vodka due to state-of-the-art manufacturing process that it goes through. Cognac and the surrounding regions excel in the production of luxury foods, wines and spirits; and Grey Goose Vodka manufacturing is no exception, claimed Paul. ''Grey Goose is created with 100 per cent fine French wheat sourced from Beauce region of France. A five-step distillation process then ensures the production of a smoother, softer and more refined vodka,'' says cellar master Francois Thibault, a key figure in the creation of Grey Goose. Pure spring water, naturally filtered through Champagne limestone, is then blended with the spirit under the watchful eye of Francois, who was in Mumbai to promote the brand and speak about his craftmanship -- the fine art of wine and spirit making. ''Grey Goose has a round aroma with a hint of sweetness, reminiscent of fine French almond pastry. Moreover, there is no alcohol ''hit'' and the non-aggressive aroma is in harmony with the taste,'' claimed its global brand ambassador, Dimitri Lezinska, famous bartender, whose celebrity customers include Robert de Niro, Brad Pitt, David Beckham, Madonna, Robbie Williams and Beyonce Knowles. Lush-smooth taste that dissolves and melts in the mouth with a long lasting and satisfying finish, it is an ultimate reflection of the nobility of the pure wheat source, added Dimitri Lezinska. (UNI) After Jet-Sahara deal, something's more in the air NEW DELHI, Jan 22: A few days after the Jet-Sahara deal, three small airlines -- Kingfisher, GoAir and Indigo -- are playing with the idea of forming an alliance to lobby with the Government for a level-playing field. Industry experts say the move is aimed at fighting Jet's dominant position where it may control airfares in crucial metro destinations. It may be called cartel, or just corporate understanding, or competitive win-win, or price arrangement. But the new airlines are already getting together to protect margins -- rather than outdoing each other in the marketplace. And that's something which has never happened before in the Indian aviation sector. The Jet-Sahara combine will account for 85 per cent of the flights in lucrative Delhi-Mumbai route that accounts for half of total domestic traffic. Jet Airways will also have 50 per cent of all parking bays while Indian (Airlines) will have about 35 per cent. Post-acquisition, Jet will dominate the country's two busiest airports where it will control nearly all flights -- and that too at peak hours. "For new airlines wishing to launch services between Mumbai and Delhi, overnight parking slots will be required," said Kingfisher Airlines' chairman Vijay Mallya. "However, they will be severely constrained and will have to be satisfied with the limited expansion that is taking place." (UNI) PowerGrid-Reliance JV line to ease power problems in the North NEW DELHI, Jan 22: The transmission line, to be jointly set up by PowerGrid and Reliance Energy between the 800 MW Parbati with the 800 MW Koldam hydro electric power projects will pump electricity to northern states from Himachal Pradesh. The two companies would sign a joint venture agreement for the development of a Rs 800-crore transmission line between the two hydel power projects, Koldam and Parbati. In the venture Reliance Energy would hold 74 per cent equity, while the balance 26 per cent would be held by state-owned transmission company PowerGrid. The transmission lines that would link the two hydel projects will pump electricity for northern states especially Punjab. The lines will connect the 800 MW Parbati hydroelectric project being developed by NHPC and the 800 MW Koldam hydroelectric project being developed by NTPC, to Ludhiana. Northern states like Punjab, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi faced with huge power shortages would be the major beneficiaries once the line comes through, PowerGrid sources said. The project will be developed on a build-own-operate-transfer basis for 25 years as the Parbati and Koldam hydro stations are expected to come into operation in 2008. PowerGrid Corporation would also have a similar pact with Jayaprakash Hydro for the installation of a transmission line for the Karcham Wangcho hydro project. The project would entail an investment of Rs 300 crore in which PowerGrid would hold 26 per cent equity and the balance 74 per cent will be with Jayaprakash Hydro. It would also be implemented in the 70:30 debt equity ratio. These ventures are expected to start a new public-private partnership in the power sector. (UNI) CII to launch 'India Everywhere' at WEF's Davos meet NEW DELHI, Jan 22: The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will launch its project 'India Everywhere' at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos from January 25-29, 2006 with a view to promoting India as the fastest growing free market democracy. The participants from India comprise a cross-section of political, social and business leaders, including Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Minister of State for Tourism Renuka Chowdhury and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. The WEF's Annual Meeting in Davos is the most important business event in the world where over 2000 global leaders would be meeting to shape global, regional and industry agenda and to find solutions to global challenges. Captains of Indian industry like ITC Chairman and CII President Y C Deveshwar, Reliance Industries Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani, who is also co-chairing the WEF Annual Meeting and Infosys Technologies CEO, President and Managing Director Nandan Nilekani would also accompany the political leaders at the meeting. The India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF) and Ministry of Tourism are spearheading a focused communication campaign to enhance 'Brand India' at Davos through special events and promotions. This includes an advertising campaign to position India as the fastest growing free market democracy. The 'India Everywhere' campaign intends to focus on the unique value proposition India offers to the world by ensuring a continued and sustained Indian presence in major global events throughout 2006. Emphasizing the need for such an approach and the relevance of Davos, CII President Y C Deveshwar said, ''Every CEO needs to grasp the forces that are shaping the world. And the Davos meet is a quick way of engaging with the world community and all its diversities. India can bring home valuable lessons; and it also helps to benchmark the country against its peers globally''. 'India Everywhere' Chairman Nandan Nilekani said, '' I think that Davos today is widely recognized as the forum for global leaders to exchange ideas. As India becomes increasingly prominent in the global economic context, the World Economic Forum at Davos is the ideal place for us to project ourselves.'' The 'India Everywhere' campaign is built on three pillars, India's vibrant democracy, growing market, and its promise of assured returns for global investors. Recognizing India as one of the biggest opportunities for most global companies, special sessions such as 'Emergence of China and India', 'China and India's rising demand for natural resources,' and 'India & the world: Scenario to 2025' have been organized for global leaders to get insights into the economic and social drivers of the country. (UNI) IDFC to launch USD 400 million equity fund by March 06 MUMBAI, Jan 22: Infrastructural Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) is planning to launch its second private equity fund worth US dollar 400 million by March 2006 to invest in infrastructural funds. "We are close to come out with a second private equity fund of USD 400 million by March 2006 and the fund will be invested in infrastructure," IDFC Managing Director, Rajeev Lal told PTI. The company in 2005 calender year has invested Rs 4,000 crore to generate 3,000 MW of additional capacity, which is 20 per cent of the debt required, Lal added. IDFC has also submitted an expresssion of interest for the Navi Mumbai Special Economic Zone. They are also looking at financing the Trans-Harbour sealink project connecting Sewri and Nhava-Sheva. "We are also involved in the task force created by the state of Maharashtra along with World Bank for creating a master plan for the city of Mumbai," Lal added. This infrastructure company is also involved in variety of private-public partnership projects. IDFC is also participating in the Hyderabad Airport project, and the Built-Operate-Transfer road projects for which the Government provided funds on annual basis. (PTI) Temasek, Aegon eye entry into Indian mutual fund space MUMBAI, Jan 22: Buoyed by the success of international mutual funds in India including Fidelity, Deutsche Mutual Fund and ABN Amro, more international players including Temasek and Aegon are likely to follow suit in the coming years. "Aegon, Temasek and one or two are coming.... They have to take SEBI permission and then they register with us as a member," Association of Mutual Funds of India (AMFI) Chairman A P Kurian told PTI here today. They are all talking to us and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and will take their own time, he said, adding that Quantum from India was also in the race for starting a new mutual fund. While Temasek is an Asia investment company headquartered in Singapore, Aegon is a financial company with operations in US, UK and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, the apex body for the mutual fund industry is pitching for mutual fund investments in pension funds. "We are working very closely with Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and we have made our proposals to them," Kurian said. AMFI has made our pitch to them saying that MFs should be allowed to invest in pension schemes... But all this is tied up until the bill is passed, he added. (PTI) Video conferencing facility from BSNL next week NEW DELHI, Jan 22: As many as 94 cities, including the national capital, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Thiruvananthapuram, can avail of the video conferencing facility from state-owned telecom company BSNL's new scheme, slated to be announced next week at a cost of Rs 10 per minute. BSNL joins the bandwagon as most of the telecom operators in the country have already launched or are on the verge of introducing the service. Other places include Coimbatore, Shillong, Noida, Agra, Jaipur and Gurgaon. BSNL is all set to launch video conferencing services by the end of January 2006 to enable its customers to hear and see each other from the comforts of their homes or work place. Subscribers will be required to install a video end-point, H.323 standard, widely available in the market. PC users are at an advantage because they can download a software called 'PVX' from BSNL's Web portal to avail of the video conferencing facility with their webcam. Individual subscribers will find it expensive as they will require an ISDN line. This service is available with a non-refundable one time registration fee of Rs 200 and a minimum rental of Rs 400 per month. BSNL will also charge Rs 10 per minute for the service. BSNL is also offering the facility at its customer service centres across 94 cities to help customers who do not wish to pay a monthly rental. Specially-designed studios with a 786 MBPS bandwidth have already been set up in these centres. This is the first time that video conferencing is being made available for retail users in the country. Meanwhile, BSNL is also planning to cut its long distance rates as it would announce fresh rates under the uniform STD tariffs - IndiaOne - where a 70 per cent cut is likely to take place for basic telephony segment. At present, BSNL call charges for distance beyond 50 kms is Rs 2.40 for a 30 second pulse rate effectively making Rs 4.80 for a minute inter-circle (STD) call for its basic telephone users. Intra-circle rates below 50 km is also charged at Rs 2.40 but for a 90 seconds pulse. For Cellular users of BSNL, under various Plans there are different STD rates for a 60 second pulse. Under Plan 225, the cell-to cell STD rates are Rs 2 a minute for a 60 second pulse while under Plan 325 and Plan 525, it is Rs 1.80 for the pulse for same duration. Rentals would remain same. In another related development BSNL is to open, a 4.5 billion dollar tender to add a whopping 60 million GSM lines, billed as one of the largest telecom tenders announced globally. In this tender process Telecom equipment company Huawei will not be barred from participating in the forthcoming 4.5-billion dollars GSM tender of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL). Therefore, the Chinese company is learnt to be in talks with US-headquartered Motorola to be a part of the BSNL tender. Huawei was recently in the line of fire for being blacklisted from participating in tenders in India after the Chinese company in a joint venture with HFCL failed to supply equipment to BSNL for a recent Rs 140 crore CDMA contract. The PSU cancelled the deal, and sent a showcause notice to the Chinese company asking why it should not be barred from participating in future tenders. (UNI) |
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