Thursday, November 4, 1999
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B U S I N E S S | Thursday, November 4, 1999 |
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Experts call for raising
retirement age to 65 |
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Omni van prices increased Govt may reduce stakes in banks Max India jv on insurance Bank of Punjab net rises 39 per
cent |
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Experts call for raising retirement age to 65 NEW DELHI, Nov 3 (UNI) — Experts today called upon the Government to ensure that adequate safety nets and social security measures were in place before launching the second generation reforms to ensure protection to weaker groups. Such projection to the marginalised groups was essential, as the South Asian experience had demonstrated. The poor and fixed income groups in these countries had suffered enormously during the crisis because of inadequate protection large-scale unemployment had affected them badly.This was the consensus which emerged at a three-day international conference on social security policy: challenges before India and South Asia “which concluded here today. Nearly 80 experts, including officials of the World Bank, ILO, Asian Development Bank, senior government officials, policy-makers, academicians and financial market specialists from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Malaysia and Australia deliberated on various dimensions of the issues. The conference was organised by the International Centre for Development Research and Cooperation of the Research and Information System for the non-aligned and other developing countries (RIS), a New Delhi-based think tank in collaboration with the World Bank Institute, Washington. The summing up of the conference was done by Dr V. R. Panchamukhi, Director General, RIS, Mr Surendra Dave, Chairman, expert committee for developing a pension system for India, Dr Robert Hollzmann, Director Social Protection, World Bank, Dr Michele Ribound, Manager, Human Development, World Bank Institute. Dr Panchamukhi said it was essential that social security policy did not destroy cultural ethos. Conceptual aspects of social security were important. In the Indian case the role of the family should be kept in perspective while implementing social security measures. Dr Panchamukhi said social security was more an attitudinal problem. Society should be caring and not competitive. Financial time-bomb: It was argued that the pension systems in the government sector and under provident fund constitute a financial time-bomb for the country. For instance, there has been a steep rise in pension obligations faced by the Government with regard to employees in the Railways and Defence. The retired employees in these two ministries comprise 80 per cent of the total number of retirees and about 75 per cent of the total payments of the Central Government. With increasing life expectancy and increasing average age of employees of these sectors, the pension burden in these sectors will grow rapidly and will constitute a high and increasing percentage of the revenue budget of these ministries. The Government would thus face a choice between granting a sharp increase in the budgets of these ministries or risk a relative decline in their developmental expenditure with adverse consequences on their productivity. Among the proposals made
at the conference were evolving an integrated social
security police framework, increasing, in phases, the age
of retirement to 65 by 2010, revising the Pension Act of
1995 to revert to defined contribution system with
annuities., movement towards funded individual accounts
for the pension system for government employees and
organised sector enterprise employees with greater role
of the individual account holders with regard to
investment of the funds in individual account, and
developing institutional structure and information system
for better utilisation of the working abilities of the
elderly. |
Traders serve ultimatum on
government LUDHIANA, Nov 3 — Trade and industry in Punjab are poised for their first major confrontation with the cash-strapped Badal Government in the post-parliamentary election period over what it describes as the “black law” providing for jail terms for those found violating various provisions of the Sales Tax Act. Mr Inderjit Singh Pardhan and Mr Avatar Singh, President and General Secretary of the Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings, which claims to represent 36 bodies of trade and industry in the State today served an ultimatum on the Government to either withdraw the “black law” by November 15 or face agitation in the form of strikes, dharnas, demonstrations and hunger-strikes all over by the State. He told newsmen that different beopar mandals which had yesterday announced plans to launch a separate agitation on the issue had agreed to join hands with CICU for a common stir. “It is a do or die struggle for”, he declared. Some of the points agitating the trade and industry include :
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Max India today announced its entry into the life insurance sector in a joint venture with New York Life International (NYLI). Max India, promoted by Analjit Singh of Maxtouch Fame, will hold the majority stake of 74 per cent while NYLI will hold 26 per cent according to the norms specified by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) Bill, 1999. The new company, Max New York Life, will seek licence for offering life insurance services in India once the Bill has been passed in both Houses of Parliament, Vice-Chairman of Max Analjit Singh told reporters here. While the minimum statutory capital is Rs 100 crore, Singh said considering the nature of the business both the parties would be infusing a substantial amount of funds in excess of the minimum requirement. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of NYLI Gary Benanav said that mutual funds would be a natural outgrowth of the insurance business and at some point they would also be entering it. ATCO Industries Ltd is making a foray into information technology and is planning to acquire critical mass through mergers and takeovers. The company was entering IT, in line with its recent policy of taking to contemporary, knowledge oriented technological businesses, the company said. Roofit Industries Ltd, the flagship company of the Rs 300 crore Motwani group has reported a 100 per cent growth in net profits for the first quarter ended September 30, at Rs 7.2 crore. Sudarshan Chemical Industries reported a 10 per cent higher net profit at Rs 4.88 crore during the half period ended September 30, 1999 as against Rs 4.45 crore of the corresponding period of the last year. IEC Software has registered a 48 per cent rise in its net profit for the second quarter ended September 1999. Net profit at the end of the second quarter of the current fiscal stood Rs 37.32 lakh. Income of the company has increased from Rs 152.8 lakh in previous year to Rs 260.33 lakh in the current fiscal, a release said. SQL Star International
Limited on Wednesday said it has taken a 7.5 per cent
stake in Solution Technology International Inc, a United
States based company involved in building and deployment
of web-based process infrastructure for insurance
providers. — agencies |
Omni van
prices increased NEW DELHI, Nov 3 — Conforming to Euro-II emission norms comes for a price. Maruti Udyog customers will now have to cough up more for the new Omni models which are equipped with a multi point fuel injection (MPFI) system. The ex-showroom price (Delhi) of Omni 5-seater is now fixed at Rs 2,02,377 - up from Rs 1,94,378.The Omni 8-seater model will now cost Rs 1,90,676 - an increase of Rs 7,000 from the earlier price of Rs 1,83,676. Maruti Udyog has issued a circular to its dealers to plan for an increase in prices. The company also announced the launch of a new model Omni XL (both 5-seater and 8-seater versions). The new model is a high
roof version of the company’s best selling Omni.
Omni is the second vehicle after the Zen VXI with the
MPFI option.The Omni range of vehicles with the MPFI will
be available in Delhi and Calcutta initially. |
Bank of
Punjab net rises 39 per cent CHANDIGARH, Nov 3 — Bank of Punjab has registered a net growth of 39 per cent in profits after tax. The net profit surged to Rs 11.12 crore during the quarter ending September, 1999 from Rs 8.02 crore in the previous quarter of the same year. Profit before depreciation, tax and provisions, grew by 52 per cent from Rs 11.22 crore during the first quarter ending June, 1999 to Rs 17.04 crore for the 2nd quarter of the financial year 1999-2000. The bank is among the first private sector banks to be fully Y2K compliant. The contingency plan in respect of Y2K matters has already been put in place as per RBI guidelines. The bank has plans to exponentially increase its ATM network including Off Site ATMs enabling the bank’s customers to access their accounts any where in the country. The bank will be shortly introducing Maestro Debit Cards along with the Cirrus ATM Cards for which the bank has made a strategic tie up with Master Card International. The bank plans to open
25 more branches across the country at major metro’s
like Chennai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Bombay and
Delhi during the current fiscal year. |
Govt may
reduce stakes in banks NEW DELHI, Nov 3 — The Government is considering to reduce its stake in public sector banks to below 51 per cent, Banking Secretary Devi Dayal said here today. Necessary amendments would be brought about in the Bank Nationalisation Act to reduce the stakes of the Government below the 51 per cent threshold, Mr Dayal said while addressing a meeting organised by PHDCCI here today. Other legislations like the Sick Industries Companies Act (SICA), the Debt Recovery Tribunal Act and State Finance Corporation Act would also be amended as part of reforms in the financial sector. Mr Dayal said the number of Debt Recovery Tribunals would be increased from 10 to 15 while five Appellate Authorities would be established. In order to facilitate securitisation of debt, the National Housing Bank will be amended and the SICA would be amended in order to empower the BIFR to sell sick firms. Admitting that the customer satisfaction is low and to this end the government is considering and employee stock option scheme to bring in more accountability for the employees. Referring to the financing needs of the construction industry, the Banking Secretary said that SIDBI and IDBI will be asked to finance building projects. The construction segment is likely to be accorded industry status and bill in this regard would be introduced in the next session of Parliament. President of PHDCCI Ashok Khanna said that high lending rates are discouraging new investment and adversely affecting the competitiveness of the trade and industry. Dayal said there was great distortion in certain States on credit deposit (CD) ratio with the credit not flowing adequately into productive sectors. The average CD ratio in the banking sector currently ruled at 49.68 per cent, which is very low, he said adding that at least 60 per cent of the credit should flow into the productive sectors. Welcoming the RBI’s
busy season credit policy, Dayal said “by reducing
cash reserve ratio (CRR) by one percentage point, the
apex bank has reposed its trust on nationalised
banks.”
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PACL to
disburse bonus by December 31 CHANDIGARH, Nov 3 — Mr J.C. Bubber, General Manager (HRD), Punjab Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd, has clarified that the PACL Employees Union had entered into an agreement with the management in 1995 that “the management will continue to pay bonus/ex-gratia in accordance with the provisions of the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965, as amended from time to time. It is also agreed that bonus will be paid to all workmen five days before Divali every year. The management will try to pay bonus by December 31 every year if Divali falls in the month of November during that year”. Mr Bubber added that the
agreement nowhere said that the company would pay bonus
at the rate of 20 per cent. |
PNB
deposits up CHANDIGARH, Nov 3 — Punjab National Bank has registered a 35 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 263 crore in the first half of 1999 compared to Rs 194 crore last year, said Mr S.K. Chawla, General Manager, Punjab National Bank (Punjab Zone) in a statement here today. The total income increased by 13.9 per cent from Rs 2,454 crore to Rs 2,794 crore. Interest income accounted for Rs 2,488 crore registering a 14.7 per cent growth during the period ending September ‘99. Total deposits stood at Rs 44,208 crore, up 16.4 per cent against last year. The staff productivity measured as business per employee improved to Rs 98.20 lakh compared to Rs 82.69 lakh last year. The bank has achieved
Y2K compliance of its computer systems and has already
drawn up to contingency plan to meet any eventuality. |
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