Daily Excelsior...Business

Gokak launches premium Merinocot fabric range

Govt postpones bidding date for 57 oil & gas blocks

SDF slams Medha Patkar for her stand on Dzongu hydel project

No need to reveal basis for cheap petrol
through cards: CIC

NEW DELHI, Apr 18: The Central Information Commission (CIC) has refused to direct petroleum companies to reveal the basis for providing incentives to consumers using credit cards for buying petrol, saying oil majors were free to adopt strategies to promote their business.

"There is no justification for disclosing the details of basis for providing incentives to the consumers that are critical for promotion of business," Information Commissioner M M Ansari said, rejecting an RTI appeal.

Delhi resident Subhash Chandra Agrawal had sought details from the public sector oil companies for providing concessions for purchase of petrol through credit cards.

Pocket money of children rose by 6 times in 10 yrs: ASSOCHAM

NEW DELHI, Apr 18: With the rise in income level of parents, pocket money of school children has risen by about six times to Rs 1,800 per month from Rs 300 per month over the last ten years, a study by industry body ASSOCHAM said.

In its study ‘Trends of Pocket Money in Urban Areas’, Assocham said the spending habits of children, under the age group of 10-17 years, have evolved due to technological revolutions and changing eating habits.

Of the 2,500 children respondents living in urban areas, majority spend their pocket money on fast food, soft drinks, clothing, gift articles, mobile recharge coupons, chocolates, cosmetics, magazines, computer games, movies, it said.

"The children receive a hefty amount as parents choose to spend a part of their income on children without questioning them," ASSOCHAM secretary general D S Rawat said.

He said the school children have different spending habits and tastes compared to their counterparts ten years ago. At present, children spend about 73 per cent of the pocket money on sweets and chocolates, while 63 per cent of it is spent on drinks.

"Children should have the realisation that parents are toiling hard for their education and well-being and hence money should be handled with a reasonable amount of prudence," Rawat added.

He said pocket money of 24 per cent children increase once a year. The rise in pocket money depends on occasions like birthdays and examination results as well as gender and age, the study said.

Children in the age group of 15-17 years, receive an average salary of Rs 350 per week compared to Rs 200 of 12-15 years children. "Older children are also more likely to get weekly pocket money than the younger children," he added. (PTI)_

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No need to reveal basis for cheap petrol through cards: CIC

Delhi resident Subhash Chandra Agrawal had sought details from the public sector oil companies for providing concessions for purchase of petrol through credit cards.

The Information Commissioner said oil companies are free to determine the extent of incentives and concessions that may be given to the consumers for promoting business and earning profit.

"They are free to conduct businesses in a manner that assure their competitiveness in the free market economy. For convenience, some companies have arrangements with financial institutions like banks for selling petrol through credit cards, which entitles the consumers of specific discounts," the CIC said.

It, however, directed the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) to reveal the list of banks with which they had an arrangement for selling oil through credit cards, giving consumers discounts up to five per cent. (PTI)

Gold gains as oil trades near record, boosting inflation hedge

SINGAPORE, Apr 18: Gold climbed in Asia as crude oil traded near a record, boosting demand for the precious metal as a hedge against inflation.

Bullion for immediate delivery gained 5.80 dollar to 944.60 dollar an ounce, 0.6 per cent higher than late in New York yesterday. The precious metal touched 952.83 dollar yesterday, the highest in almost a month. Silver rose 0.9 per cent to 18.405 dollar an ounce.

Oil traded at 115.10 dollar a barrel, after touching 115.54 yesterday, the highest since futures in New York started in 1983.

Gold has advanced 13 per cent this year, while crude oil has gained almost 20 per cent, raising concerns that higher energy costs may spur consumer prices and attract more investment to commodities as a store of value.

Gold’s resilience in spite of a rally in the dollar against the euro was particularly notable. The dollar rose following reports that quoted Luxemburg Finance Minister Jean-Claude Juncker as saying financial markets misunderstood the Group of Seven’s position on currency volatility.

Gold has advanced 2.1 per cent so far this week, the biggest weekly rally since March 14, partly on expectations growth may rebound in the world’s biggest economy after the Federal Reserve started pumping cash into the banking system. Copper, a metal used in wires and pipes, also rose to the highest ever at 8,880 dollar a metric ton in London.

Gold for June delivery gained 0.4 per cent to 946.90 dollar an ounce in after-hours electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold for February 2009 delivery was little changed at 3,128 yen a gram (950 dollar an ounce) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. (Bloomberg) (AGENCIES)

Wipro posts 12% higher consolidated net profit at Rs 3,283 cr

BANGALORE, Apr 18: Wipro Ltd, the country’s third largest software exporter, today reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,283 crore for 2007-08, 11.57 per cent more than the same period last year.

It had earned a consolidated net profit of Rs 2,942.3 crore for the year ended March 31, 2007.

Revenues jumped by 33 per cent year-on-year to Rs 19,957 crore, Azim Premji, Chairman of the Bangalore-headquartered company, told a press conference.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2008, the New York Stock Exchange-listed company earned 32 per cent higher revenues at Rs 5,700 crore, while net profit grew by three per cent to Rs 880 crore.

Wipro expects its combined IT service revenue to be approximately 1,060 million dollars for the quarter ending June 2008.

"During FY’08, we saw robust growth in all our key verticals and differentiated service lines. Both the Global IT and India, Middle East and Asia Pacific businesses leveraged on each other in delivering transformational solutions to our customers," Premji said.

Chief Financial Officer Suresh Senapaty said that during the fourth quarter, energy and utilities, financial services and retail grew ahead of the company average.

Wipro declared a final dividend of Rs 4 per equity share on shares of Rs 2 each (200 per cent). This, coupled with an interim dividend of Rs two per share, would take total dividend to 300 per cent at Rs six per share, company officials said.

On standalone basis, the company reported a net profit of Rs 827.3 crore for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 as against Rs 818.4 crore a year ago, the company told the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Total income increased to Rs 5,368.1 crore for the quarter from Rs 3,874.4 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.

For the financial year, on standalone basis the company reported a net profit of Rs 3,063.3 crore and a total income of Rs 17,819.5 crore. (PTI)

Ramesh says power equipment imports not in nation's interest

KOLKATA, Apr 18: Import of power equipment was not in the interest of the nation, even though 20 per cent of the total requirement for capacity addition during the 11th Five Year Plan would be met from from China, Minister of state for Commerce and Power Jairam Ramesh said today.

Ramesh said such imports would jeopardise manufacturing capacity of Indian companies such as Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL), the public sector power equipment maker.

The minister said that import is needed now since the state-run BHEL is having capacity constraints and it would not be possible for the PSU to meet the entire equipment need for adding 78,000 MW during the 11th Plan period.

Instead of exporting equipment to India, Chinese firms should set up manufacturing units in the country, Ramesh told reporters here.

He said once BHEL increased its capacity from 10,000 MW per year to 15,000 MW per year by 2011 and with other companies such as L&T setting up units, all equipment would be sourced domestically and no imports would take place during the 12th Plan period.

L&T units would have a capacity of 4000 MW per year and would start operations from 2010. (PTI)

Plan panel, FinMin rapped for tendency to slash funds

NEW DELHI, Apr 18: A Parliamentary Committee has criticised the tendency of Finance Ministry and the Planning Commission for imposing cuts on the money sought by the Department of Shipping for achieving nine per cent growth during the 11th Plan period.

"The Committee strongly deplores the tendency of the Planning Commission and Ministry of Finance for imposing cuts on the amount demanded by the Department as per is pressing needs," the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture said in its recent report.

The Department had projected a requirement of Rs 68,971.48 crore for the entire 11th Plan period. Against this, the Planning Commission approved an allocation of Rs 6,717.40 crore for carrying out major activities, including development of ports, procuring dredgers, improving inland water transport and executing the ambitious Sethusamudram Ship Canal Project.

"The Committee feels that if the Department of Shipping has to attain the national growth of nine per cent in the 11th Plan period, it will require huge and well-planned spending. The Committee, therefore, strongly recommends that the Department should be provided with Rs 67,8971.48 crore ...And ensure that no project proposed by it would languish for wants of funds," the panel observed.

The Parliamentary panel said it was perturbed to note that the Department had projected Plan outlays of Rs 4,271.27 crore during 2007-08 which was drastically reduced to Rs 3,075.34 crore at the Revised Expenditure stage and ultimately the Department failed to utilise the reduced amount too. (PTI)

Gokak launches premium Merinocot fabric range

BANGALORE, Apr 18: Gokak Textile (GTL), a 120-year-old textile company, today announced the launch of its premium bottom weight fabric range ‘Merinocot’ to cater to the higher end cotton bottom wear and cotton suiting segment in the Indian, Eruopean and American markets.

Merinocot is a premium fabric made of high quality cotton dyed yarn with special finishes that will be suitable for different seasons.Merinocot will be available for sale to the local market, Gokak Textile’s CEO and Executive Director, H S Bhaskar, told reporters here.

"We do not have any immediate plans for exporting the fabric", he said. However, he said, the company plans to come out with its own brand in one of the segments shortly.

The estimated market size for bottom weight fabric is more than USD 16 billion, he said.

The company,which has invested Rs 160 crore over the past three years in its factories located at Gokak falls and Marihal village in Karnataka, also "plans to come out with 12 releases next year", he said.

The company plans launch innerwear, followed by outerwear. This would include thermal suits, knitted bermudas, sleepwear, he said.

The company has 300 different products in various categories including industrial fabrics, lifestyle, defence, automotive, clinical, and facilities in Karnataka and Indonesia. GTL also manufactures knitted garmets and has been exporting textile goods to various European and American markets.A part of the Forbes group, it was acquired by the Shapoorji Pallonji Group in January 2002. (PTI)

Govt postpones bidding date for 57 oil & gas blocks

NEW DELHI, Apr 18: The Government has postponed to May 16, the date for bidding for 57 oil and gas blocks under the seventh round of New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).

The decision to postpone the bid date from April 25 to May 16 was done to allow room for clarification from Finance Ministry on tax breaks for oil and gas exploration and production, an official said.

Bids for NELP-VII were originally due on April 11, but was rescheduled for April 25 to allow firms more time to view data.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram had, in the Budget for 2008-09, announced end to income tax holidays for refineries commissioning after April 1, 2009. The Budget also mentioned tax breaks under section 80-IB(9) would be available for production of ‘mineral oil’, which was defined as not to include petroleum and natural gas.

This created a lot of confusion among investors and a fear of poor response took Petroleum Minister Murli Deora to Chidambaram earlier this week. The Finance Minister is believed to have assured Deora that tax breaks for oil and gas production would be restored as it was a sovereign commitment to companies investing in the nascent sector.

Excluding petroleum (oil) and natural gas from the ambit of mineral oil would leave only water for availing tax breaks. Besides, it was also pointed out that oil and gas cannot be looked at separately due to the fact that they occur together.

The official said it was the Government’s sovereign commitment made in six successive licensing rounds since 1999 to give tax breaks to firms investing in oil and gas hunt. Tax holidays have also been committed in the seventh round.

Without the tax breaks, production of natural gas from deep sea would have become less profitable.

The tax proposal is awaiting Parliamentary approval, and an appropriate amendment may be introduced to restore tax holidays for E&P sector. (PTI)

SDF slams Medha Patkar for her
stand on Dzongu hydel project

GANGTOK, Apr 18: The ruling Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) today criticised social activist Medha Patkar for lending support to the opponents of the hydroelectric power projects in the state, including one at Dzongu in North Sikkim and said her utterances were ‘politically motivated’ at the instance of the opposition parties.

Patkar has ‘always been against the development and prosperity of the country’ and her recent visit to Sikkim during which she voiced her opposition to the hydel projects, including one at Dzongu was ‘politically motivated’ at the instance of the opposition parties and their leaders, the SDF said in a release here.

Her meeting with the activists of the Affected Citizens of Teesta (ACT) smacked of political conspiracy at the instance of the opposition parties with an intention to tarnish the image of the Himalayan state, it said.

The ruling party also questioned the expertise of the social activists and the spearhead of the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) to question the viability of the Dzongu Hydel Project and said that she was neither a historian nor an expert on the environment-related issues.

On Patkar’s charges that the State Government led by Chief Minister Pawan Kumar Chamling was insensitive to the grievances of the ACT on Dzongu Hydel project, the party said that the State Government had held several rounds of dialogue with the Lepcha protesters.

On the ecological damage to the Dzongu region, inhabited by the indigenous Lepcha community due to acquisition of their land for the purpose of the hydel project, it said that the State Government had purchased only 52 acre land and paid a compensation of Rs. 18 per feet. (PTI)

30 chemical industries on strike

MUMBAI, Apr 18: Around 30 chemical industries located in the Roha industrial estate here have gone on a day’s token strike to protest against the ‘harrasment’ meted out to them by the local political parties and leaders.

"Since two years certain group of people under the garb of social responsibility and justice for the locals have been fueling personal and political ambitions by using coercive tactics against the industries," Roha Industries Association, which called the strike said.

"In the past one year, six instances of threatening or physical assaults against industry employees have occurred. Due to this, many senior officers have left their jobs or are thinking in the same direction," R R Gokhale, General secretary of the association said.

Each company faces to incur losses amounting to Rs 8 crore following a day’s closure of production and despatch, the association said.

Due to this harrasment several of the industries have diverted their investments to other states. The association further states that the State Government has not taken any action to help the industries.

According to Gokhale the allegations that the industries are polluting the environment are false and insisted that Roha has the best managed industrial estate.

The chemical industries was established more than 40 years back, when the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) established a chemical industries estate in Roha situated in Raigad district of Maharashtra.

The Roha industrial estate holds several chemical companies including Dharamsi Morarji Chemicals, Clairant Chemicals, Sudharshan Chemicals, Excel Chemicals and Rhodia Chemicals.

These companies generate a sales turn over of about Rs 2,300 crores per year with about Rs 1,200 crores in exports, stated the association. The general secretary further stated that about 10,000 people, most of them local, are directly employed in the Roha chemical industries.

He added that sizeable amounts are paid by these companies as revenue in form of taxes and levies to the local Gram Panchayats, State and Central Government. (PTI)