Daily Excelsior...Business

MARC launches appliances
in Jammu market

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 6: MARC-one of the leading manufacturer of ISI water heater and fans in the country, launched its product in Jammu. The company has appointed Kanwal Sales Agency,.........more

Govt plans financial assistance, labs for honey farmers

NEW DELHI, Oct 6: The Government is planning to promote the honey production in the country through financial assistance .........more

'38.6% of kerosene subsidy being diverted from black marketing'

NEW DELHI, Oct 6: An estimated 38.6 per cent of the Rs 15,000 crore kerosene subsidy, meant for the targeted group ...........more

Savita Chemicals gets shareholders nod for 2:3 bonus issue

MUMBAI, Oct 6: City-based Savita Chemicals has received approval from its shareholders to ........more

Shriram Overseas gets HC nod for merger

MUMBAI, Oct 6: Chennai-based Shriram Overseas Finance Ltd has received approval from the Madras High Court for the merger of Shriram Recon Trucks Ltd with itself...........more

Cipla sets up subsidiary in Dubai

MUMBAI, Oct 6: Pharmaceutical firm Cipla today said it has set up a wholly owned subsidiary in Dubai in a bid to explore export opportunities in the mideast countries...........more

SAIL to announce Q2 results on Oct 30

MUMBAI, Oct 6: State-owned Steel Authority of India Ltd today said it will announce the unaudited financial results of the company for half year and quarter ended September 30, 2006 on October 30.......more

ICICI eyes licence from Qatar financial centre

DUBAI, Oct 6: India's second largest bank, ICICI, plans to seek a licence to operate from the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC).The joint ...........more

Ford unveils Fiesta Durasport

Instant messaging, e-mail next big target for Nokia in India

US tech spending will slow down in 2007: Expert

Mcdowell’s completes amalgamation process of eight group Cos

MARC launches appliances in Jammu market

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Oct 6: MARC-one of the leading manufacturer of ISI water heater and fans in the country, launched its product in Jammu. The company has appointed Kanwal Sales Agency, Gandhi Nagar and Asia Trading Corporation, Exchange Road and Pappu Electronics, Shalimar Road as authorised distributors.

Speaking on the occasion, Nitin Jain, director of the company, who came all the way from Chandigarh, said that philosophy of the MARC is to give quality products with complete in house production at competitive rates to its valued customers.

MARC has widest range of water heater available in different sizes and colour to match colour of the houses. Water heaters are available in metal and ABS plastic body. The company also has widest range of fans, decorative ceiling, portable and exhaust fans.

The company also launched its appliances range of oil filled heaters, halogen, quartz heater and different range of irons in Jammu market.

The company is in Jammu market for the last six years and its products are well accepted by valued customers and have grown at a very fast pace.

Govt plans financial assistance, labs for honey farmers

NEW DELHI, Oct 6: The Government is planning to promote the honey production in the country through financial assistance to people engaged in bee-keeping and setting up of testing laboratories to improve its quality.

These are part of a host of measures for promotion of apiculture, the cultivation of bees for commercial purposes, being considered by the Ministry of Agriculture after taking control of the National Bee Board, sources said.

NBB, which was previously a consortium of small farmers, was reconstituted earlier in August this year with appointment of the Union Agriculture Secretary Radha Singh as its new chairman.

"The Government wants to promote beekeeping to generate self employment, for which very minimum investment is required," said an official.

One does not need land for bee keeping and the only investment required is to purchase some boxes where bees pollinate, he added.

Some state governments, such as Himachal Pradesh, are already giving financial assistance to farmers for getting boxes.

The government will simultaneously promote honey consumption in the country, which is very low compared to Europe and America, the official said.

The per capita consumption of honey in India is 205 gram per year whereas it is more than one kilogram in developed countries, he said.

In India, honey is mostly used by the pharma companies for producing medicines, he said.

There is a plan to set up four small honey testing laboratories in the four regions besides a major one in Delhi, the official said, adding it will improve quality of the product.

Honey export is likely to get a major boost with the measures planned by the government for the bee keeping farmers. Currently, India produces around 55,000 tonnes of honey, out of which more than 15,000 tonnes are exported.

The country's honey export registered a growth of 70.24 per cent to Rs 116.21 crore in 2005-06, from Rs 68.26 crore in the year-ago period. (PTI)

'38.6% of kerosene subsidy being diverted from black marketing

NEW DELHI, Oct 6: An estimated 38.6 per cent of the Rs 15,000 crore kerosene subsidy, meant for the targeted group through Product Distribution System (PDS) disbursement for 2006-07, is totally being diverted for black marketing and adulteration, a study said here today.

Industry today Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM), which conducted the survey, also welcomed the initiative of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry to introduce a new system to mark kerosene with a dye to prevent its use as an adulterant in petrol & diesel.

The cost of its exchequer works out to be Rs 5,700 crore for the current fiscal itself, said the paper on the 'Need for urgent Adjustment of Prices and Taxes on Petroleum Products'.

Around 38.6 per cent of it is totally diverted for ulterior gains by PDS owners throughout the country, of which the share of non-household use is estimated at 18.1 per cent, black market 17.9 per cent and those of non-card holders 2.6 per cent, adds study.

The Rangarajan Committee, which recently submitted its report to the government, estimates the LPG subsidy burden on the government at Rs 11,000 crore and that of kerosene at Rs 15,000 crore.

'The central government, particularly the Ministries of Finance, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, should collectively take measures to ensure that the targeted subsidy reach the intended group, as in the absence of corrective measures, the black marketers would be causing the government kitty a net loss of Rs 5,700 crore on account of kerosene subsidies extension,'' Assocham President Anil K Agarwal said.

He added that the study also shows that kerosene use has taken an altogether new dimension as there has been a change in the usage of kerosene in the last 35 years. In the early 1970s, the kerosene consumption was 32.8 lakh tonnes which rose to 94 lakh tonnes in 2005-06, an increase of 2.86 times.

In the same period, however, LPG use has increased 60 times from 1.7 lakh tonnes to 102 lakh tonnes. With the increased use of LPG, the uses of kerosene should have come down but statistics show otherwise, says the study.

In Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, the increase of LPG consumption has been around 60 times whereas it has risen by 15 times in Delhi, Gujarat and Maharasthra. Karnataka, West Bengal and Orissa have seen an increase of 30 times in LPG consumption.

While, increased use of LPG led to its higher production and even higher imports, in the case of Kerosene, its production declined to 9 per cent in 2003-04, 2004-05 and its import declined by 10.27 per cent.

It is estimated that 30 per cent of PDS kerosene was diverted for black marketing and adulteration in 1994. The same figure has now been revised to 38.6 per cent, an increase of 28.6 per cen in 11 years.

In terms of monetary figures, diversion of kerosene is estimated to be worth over Rs 10,000 crore annually, supplied through PDS for adulteration of petroleum products.

Kerosene imports nearly doubled to 6,65,000 tonnes in the first seven months of 2003-04 as opposed to 3,96,000 tonnes in the previous year.

The huge year-on-year difference was widely used for adulteration in diesel by taking advantage of price differences between imported kerosene and diesel.

The Chamber has recommended that there should be a check on the flow of kerosene, by introducing IT systems to monitor the movement of trucks carrying the kerosene and monitoring the fuel tanks, as suggested by the Rangarajan Committee report.

It has further suggested that there should be a check on adulteration on methods suggested in the Rangarajan Committee and added that distribution of kerosene should be minutely monitored.

ASSOCHAM is also of the view that timely completion of rural electrification project should be ensured. (UNI)

ICICI eyes licence from Qatar financial centre

DUBAI, Oct 6: India's second largest bank, ICICI, plans to seek a licence to operate from the Qatar Financial Centre (QFC).

The joint Managing Director, ICICI Bank, Kalpana Morparia, said that the bank has made an application with the Reserve Bank of India for the go-ahead to operate from QFC.

"If we get RBI's green signal, we will approach QFC for the licence", she added.

Morparia, who was here for talks with QFC, met Hussein Alfardan, Managing Director of Commercial Bank, with which ICICI already has a successful tie-up.

She said that low-cost transaction platform had enabled the bank to service thousands of NRIs across the Gulf and also build a robust platform in rural India.

Adding on the positive note she said that she was optimistic about getting the RBI go-ahead and the QFC license.

ICICI has enhanced its presence in the region by setting up a branch in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). It also has Representative office in the UAE.

Talking about bank's plans for alliances with regional banks, she said, "That's the model in our international strategy. We don't believe in going to a particular country for setting up a huge branch there," Morparia said. (PTI)

Ford unveils Fiesta Durasport

CHENNAI, Oct 6: Ford India today unveiled a limited edition of "Fiesta Durasport" to mark the one year success of its Ford Fiesta.

Ford Fiesta would complete one year on Indian Roads next month. Fiesta Durasport had been priced aggressively at Rs 6.05 lakh (ex showroom Chennai).

A company release said here, this special edition Fiesta Durasport was available in two colours, moon dust silver and panther blac. It would be available at Ford showrooms during the upcoming festive season in two petrol versions - 1.4 petrol EXi and 1.6 petrol ZXi.

Unveiling the new Fiesta Durasport, Vice-President Marketing Sales and Service, Scott McCormack said, Fiesta was Ford India’s largest selling model that took the market by storm since its launch in November 2005.

The new Fiesta Durasport was a sporty and adventurous version of the Fiesta, presenting an ideal combination of style and performance, he added.(UNI)

Instant messaging, e-mail next big target for Nokia in India

MANILA, Oct 6: Mobile handset leader Nokia sees instant messaging and consumer e-mail as the next big growth drivers that would help the company retain its lead in the Indian market and is looking to partner with domestic Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to unveil these features.

"Already today, we work closely with Yahoo on instant messaging side. But we would also very much look at local players in India who are strong in instant messaging and consumer e-mail.

"These are the ISPs who would be interested in working with us in this space," Nokia Asia-Pacific Vice President (Sales and Market Operations) Alex Lambeek told PTI here.

He said low penetration of e-mail and instant messaging made them an attractive proposition for Nokia to target. "Imaging and music on phones has taken off over the last couple of years. I think the next big area would actually be instant messaging and consumer e-mail".

Lambeek said the low penetration of the services in India would help the company create demand and tap it too. "I see a big opportunity here," he said, adding that a lot of people in India would like to have an e-mail but cannot afford to have a personal computer or a laptop.

"So why could not this first e-mail experience be through the mobile phone, or the instant messaging experience," he argues.

Early this year, the Finnish mobile giant started manufacturing phones in India at its facility in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, where it is investing 150 million dollars.

At the time of beginning operations, the company had said that apart from meeting the domestic demands, the India facility would also be gradually scaled up as an export hub for Nokia phones, catering to South Asia requirements.

Asked whether the company planned to introduce new low-cost phones in the market to support its new initiatives and strategies, Lambeek said apart from the instruments, the cost of data and operators also needed to be low to push the services.

"We need to make sure that the branded cost of the phone is acceptable, but so is the cost of actually using the data on the network. So we need to partner with the operators to make sure that the overall cost of e-mail and instant messaging is acceptable to consumers. All the things go hand-in-hand," he said.

Lambeek said to ensure that the new initiatives went down well with the targeted consumers, Nokia was working on a variety of factors which were crucial to its success.

"We have to make sure that the experience on these types of mobile phones is good. As good an instant messaging experience as an SMS experience. Also, getting the languages developed on the user interface is also important so that instant messaging experience is good," he said.

Giving an example, he said the company was working to ensure that consumers don’t need to go very deep in phone functions to find the instant messaging client. "It has to be easy to use.

"We know that if we compromise on these issues, we fail," Lambeek said, adding that partnering the "right companies" was also an important factor before offering the two services.

"So there is a lot of work going on to make the sure that instant messaging as well as the e-mail experience is going to be one delightful experience to consumers," he said.

Lambeek said India was an important and high-growth market for Nokia worlwide and the company would introduce new technologies as well as phones in the market. "I do not know how many products we will launch, but clearly we will launch different products for different consumer segments," he said. (PTI)

US tech spending will slow down in 2007: Expert

BANGALORE, Oct 6: Tech spending in the US would slow down in 2007 owing to current account and budget deficits and rising interest rates, although its effect on Indian firms would be ‘neutral’, a leading research expert has said.

"A US slowdown will happen in 2007", George F Colony, Chairman and CEO of influential leading technology research firm Forrester Research said, citing ‘many strains’ in the US economy.

"I don’t think it will increase or decrease. It will be a neutral effect to outsourcing companies here (in India)," he said when asked about the impact on Indian companies.

Colony, a thought leader widely respected for his technology predictions, however said the recession would be ‘very mild’ and it would happen before what he called the "fourth wave" in technology trends begins in 2008-09.

The first wave saw the rise of mainframe computers beginning in 1956.

According to Colony, in the fourth wave, which would dramatically change the computing world, the web would be replaced by a different technology and it would be driven by what he called ‘Executable Internet’, ‘Extended Internet’ and ‘Social Computing’.

Dwelling on ‘Extended Internet’, Colony said 715 million devices were now connected to the Internet, and the figure would touch 14 billion by 2012 and around USD 2.7 trillion would be invested in Internet devices and services by then.

"It is bridging the physical world to the Internet world. Extended Internet is happening now," Colony, who delivered a lecture on ‘Emerging Technology Trends’ at a Wipro-organised round-table here last night, said.

Colony also proposed a new term - ‘Business Technology’ (BT) - to replace Information Technology.

He said he did not think that Indian IT companies could sustain their present net margins saying, "it (margins) is very high".

He observed that the Government had to improve the education system to ensure better quality labour and also provide better infrastructure. (PTI)

Mcdowell’s completes amalgamation process of eight group Cos

MUMBAI, Oct 6: The UB group’s flagship company, Mcdowell and Company Ltd today said it has completed the amalgamation process of eight group companies with itself.

The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the companies concerned have filed the orders of High Courts of Karnataka and Bombay with the Registrar of Companies, Karnataka at Bangalore and the Registrar of Companies (ROC), Maharashtra, at Mumbai and Pune.

The scheme of composite arrangement would have become effective upon filing of the court orders with the registrar of companies. The firm said the transferor companies would stand dissolved without winding up.

After the filing of the court order with the ROC, the composite scheme became effective from October 5, Mcdowell and Company said.

It also said the demerger of Mcdowell and Company’s investment business into McDowell India Spirits Ltd and the amalgamation of eight operating companies with itself would be on a restrospective effect from April 1, 2005.

The eight companies that got amalgamated were-Phipson Distillery Ltd, United Spirits Ltd, Herbertsons Ltd, Triumph Distillers and Vintners Pvt Ltd, Shaw Wallace Distilleries Ltd, Baramati Grape Industries Ltd, United Distillers India Ltd and McDowell International Brands Ltd.

Shares of Mcdowell and Company were trading at Rs 617.90, up 0.10 per cent at the BSE. (PTI)