The Tribune...Business

	B U S I N E S S	Tuesday, July 7, 1998
weather n spotlight today's calendar

Panel to examine IT
action plan
NEW DELHI, July 6 (PTI) — The government today constituted a four-member inter-ministerial committee to examine an information technology (I.T) action plan to create a million jobs and increase annual software exports to $50 billion in 10 years.

Composite securities
law suggested
MUMBAI, July 6 (PTI) — The Justice D.R.Dhanuka Committee has suggested amalgamation of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 and the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, into a composite securities law and making Sebi the sole regulatory agency for the securities market.

Disinvestment from Sept: FM
NEW DELHI, July 6 (PTI)— Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha today indicated that the first of the four public sector undertakings scheduled for disinvestment this year would begin in September.

Govt clears Hero Cycles proposal
NEW DELHI, July 6 (PTI)— The government has cleared 68 proposals for foreign direct investment (FDI), totalling about Rs 4,277 crore, including those of multinationals like Ford Motors, GE Caps, ABB and AB Electrolux.

Panel to examine IT action plan
NEW DELHI, July 6 (PTI) — The government today constituted a four-member inter-ministerial committee to examine an information technology (I.T) action plan to create a million jobs and increase annual software exports to $50 billion in 10 years.
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee constituted the committee comprising the Union Ministers for Finance, Communications, Defence and HRD soon after the receipt of the action plan from a national task force on I.T and software development.
Jaswant Singh, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission who is also the head of the task force, submitted the report to the Prime Minister on July 4 which primarily seeks to remove bottlenecks in the path of rapid

growth of I.T. in India.
Briefing newsmen on recommendations of the task force, the Co-Chairperson, Prof M.G.K.. Menon, a former Union Minister, said as a next step a draft national informatics policy with the aim of enabling India to emerge as an infotech superpower in the next decade would be submitted by August-end.
The task force has asked the government to advance the time frame by three years for acceding to wto information technology agreement (ITA) schedules including zero duty on all I.T. Products to 2002 from 2005.
Some of the measures to remove bottlenecks suggested 100 per cent depreciation on all I.T. Products in two years, I.T. Industry be treated as a priority sector for five years and tripling the working capital requirement of the industry to Rs 1200 crore by 2000.

The task force, constituted on May 22, by the Prime Minister, also recommended allowing private internet service providers (ISP) to set up own gateways, thus ending the monoploy of government-owned Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) in the sector.
To check access of intruders into networks of sensitive establishments, the action plan envisages an information security agency to play the role of Cybercop.
It also recommended drafting a national policy and Act on information security, privacy and data protection within six months, N. Seshagiri convener of the task force, said.
All software developers and exporters be exempted from physical and customs bondings at various promotion schemes such as software technology parks and export processing zones.

The other “pathbreaking” recommendations include internet access to all district headquarters by January 26, 2000, conversion of STD/ISD booths into “Information kiosks” offering E-mail, voice mail and Internet, and using fibre optic networks of captive agencies like the Railways, defence and elecricity boards to provide service to the public.
At the government level, all departments have to earmark 3 per cent of the budget for I.T., each Ministry will prepare a five-year action plan, create a Rs 700 crore fund to tackle the year-2000 (Y2K) problem in various government agencies and I.T. literacy be made essential for all future government jobs.

Composite securities law suggested
MUMBAI, July 6 (PTI) — The Justice D.R.Dhanuka Committee has suggested amalgamation of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 and the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, into a composite securities law and making Sebi the sole regulatory agency for the securities market.
The committee, set up by Sebi on February 28, 1997, to examine deficiencies in the Sebi Act, the SCR Act, the Depositories Act and the

Companies Act, has in a draft securities Bill, 1998, called for regulating the Unit Trust of India (UTI) as a mutual fund notwithstanding provisions of the UTI Act, 1963.
It has suggested that Sebi be made the sole regulating authority of the securities market including certain provisions of the Companies Act and spot deliveries strictly regulated. Hence, “share shoppes” should be prohibited unless licensed.
Regarding the Depositories Act, 1996, the amendments recommended include barring consumer fora from disputes in dematerialised securities and exemption from stamp duty in respect of issue and transfer of such securities.
The committee report also said the Depository Act should override the memorandum and articles of association of companies.
Recommendations to confer wide-ranging powers on Sebi to deal with erring plantation companies, have been made by Justice D.R. Dhanuka committee.
The committee has noted that some of the existing plantation companies are stated to have disappeared or frittered away the assets.
Adequate powers should be conferred on Sebi to take over the management of collective investment schemes (CIS) and entity sponsoring CIS, appoint nominee director in such companies, direct freezing of assets and seek winding up of such companies, it said.
The committee’s draft securities Bill provides for "restriction" of professionals practising in the securities market including advocates and chartered accountants, who act as experts, if they are found to be guilty of malpractices.

This provision is without prejudice to the Advocates Act as the autonomy of the bar and the Chartered Accountant Act is maintained.
The draft seeks to make dematerialisation compulsory for new issue of securities exceeding Rs 10 crore in value.
It introduces a new chapter for recognition and regulation of self-regulatory organisations (SRO) and right to carry on business as intermediary has been linked to membership of an SRO.
Dwelling on amendments to the Depositories Act, the committee said issuer should not be allowed to resold or withdraw from agreement with depository after dematerialisation of its securities and in case of pledge of dematerialised securities, the provisions of the Contract Act should not be applicable.
Calling for making penal provisions in the Companies Bill deterrent, the committee said listing period should be reduced from 10 weeks to 30 days.

Disinvestment from Sept: FM
NEW DELHI, July 6 (PTI)— Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha today indicated that the first of the four public sector undertakings scheduled for disinvestment this year would begin in September.
After a 45-minute meeting of the Cabinet committee on disinvestment chaired by him, Sinha however declined to say which of the four would be divested first saying it was for the core group to decide.
The four PSUs announced in the Budget are Container Corporation of India (Concor), Gas Authority of India (GAIL), Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Asked if the issue of divesting its equity in hotels figured at the meeting, Sinha replied in the negative
He however did not not rule out the possibility of such non-strategic PSUs being divested of its equity this year.
This was the first meeting of the Cabinet committee constituted recently and Sinha said all the meeting did was to authorise the core group to work out the modalities for the disinvestment.
"The core group would come back to us with proposals for a decision,’’ he added.

Govt clears Hero Cycles proposal
NEW DELHI, July 6 (PTI)— The government has cleared 68 proposals for foreign direct investment (FDI), totalling about Rs 4,277 crore, including those of multinationals like Ford Motors, GE Caps, ABB and AB Electrolux.
Ford will be investing Rs 728.5 crore to increase its stake in Mahindra Ford India Ltd from 50 per cent to 92.18 per cent.
The Rs 200 crore proposal of GE capital services is for a range of financial activities, through its 100 per cent subsidiary, like hire purchase, leasing, merchant banking, financial services, stock broking and mutual fund services.
Swedish white goods maker AB Electrolux is proposing to invest Rs 160 crore to set up a joint venture with Voltas to manufacture household appliances, food service equipment, washing machines and various components.
The company will hold 80 per cent of the equity in the new joint venture.
The application of Swiss heavy engineering giant Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) for investing Rs 110 crore has also been cleared.
Abb holdings South Asia will set up a wholly owned subsidiary in India, which will act as a holding company for ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd,

Switzerland’s investments in India and coordinate management and administration of the proposed investments.
One of the biggest investment proposals cleared was that of GDF International to invest Rs 2,400 crore for developing lng terminals at Dahej in Gujarat and Cochin in Kerala.
The government also cleared the application of Hero Cycles to invest Rs 5 crore to manufacture a complete range of steel strappings along with accessories.
Denso Corporation’s proposal to manufacture and assemble engine management systems and fuel injection systems with a foreign investment of Rs 200 crore has also been cleared by the government.
The other proposals include that of process food manufacturer Indo-Nissin Foods to increase foreign equity from 50 per cent to 90 per cent in the revised paid up capital of Rs 45.5 crore.

Biz briefs

Gold falls
NEW DELHI, July 6 (PTI) — In restricted activities, both the precious metals declined on the bullion market today. The quotations: silver .999 (ready) 7995 delivery 8000, coins buyer 10,600 and seller 10,700. Standard gold 4350, ornaments 4200 and sovereign 3550.

Toubro
CHANDIGARH, July 6 (PTI) — Toubro group of industries has decided to set up a Rs 100 crore integrated chicken processing project near Calcutta. The company will also set up its own poultry farms and hatchery along with a high-tech computerised feed mill to complete the vertical integration, Kanwardeep Singh said.

MRF tyres
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 6 — MRF has introduced Zigma VT tyres in the market for the Maruti 800 and Esteem 1000 cc cars. A TV commercial has been produced for this launch featuring a soccer match between Maruti cars in a space-age stadium.

ICRA ratings
NEW DELHI, July 6 (PTI) — ICRA has assigned “LAAA” rating, indicating high safety, for the Rs 40 crore non-convertible debenture (NCD) programme of Indian Rayon Industries Ltd (IRIL). The rating agency downgraded the Rs 1.67 crore of Phoenix Overseas Ltd from MAA (—) to MA, indicating adequate safety.

Pensions
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 6 — A pension disbursement ceremony under the employees’ pension-scheme, 1995, was organised at the Regional Provident Fund office here today. Mr A.D. Nagpal, a member of the Central Board of Trustees, was the chief guest. Mr M.L. Meena, RPFC (I), said 6762 pension cases under the 1998 scheme had been sanctioned in the Punjab region up to June this year. An agreement has been signed with the SBI for pension disbursement in addition to the arrangement with Punjab National Bank. Mr Shankar Pathak, Controller of Pension, requested the employers to submit form 2 of the employees for early settlement of their pension claims. .