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CBI charges Usha
chief with fraud India eyes more
oil blocks in Sudan Reliance
customers allege harassment Airtel cuts
roaming charges Wipro, TCS are
Aviva’s partners Jagadhri metal
units facing crisis |
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NIIT approves
spin-off of software unit Nicholas buys
partner’s stake in joint venture
Indraprastha Gas opens at Rs
110
Graphic: Wholesale Price Index
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CBI charges Usha chief with fraud
New Delhi, December 26 A CBI spokesman said the Rai brothers allegedly connived with the executives of the IFCI in connection with sanction and disbursement of non-convertable debenture (NCD) facility of Rs 50 crore and rupee-term loan of Rs 18 crore by the financial institution. The CBI alleged that the money was divested for purposes other than for which it was sanctioned. The spokesman said Executive Director, IFCI, Tapan Ganguli and Chief General Manager of the industrial group C.D. Ghosh were allegedly involved in the conspiracy. He said all of them had been chargesheeted for their alleged participation in the conspiracy for defrauding the IFCI and the IDBI in the matter of sanction and disbursement of rupee-term Loan of Rs 20 crore. The CBI had registered a case on August 1, 2001, and had also carried out raids at the premises of the Rai brothers and other places of the Usha group. Income tax has also filed a case against the Usha group for making out of book sales.
— PTI |
India eyes more oil blocks in Sudan Khartoum, December 26 But what has really stamped Indian presence in Africa's largest nation is the visionary decision of the ONGC, whose tentacles are spreading globally, to buy a 25 percent stake in the Greater Nile Oil Project (GNOP) — a venture that is fuelling poor Sudan's dream of becoming a major oil-exporting power. India is getting 3 million tonnes of crude from Sudan through the project—in which Chinese and Malaysian oil companies also have substantial stake — and is looking at building on its current investment of $670 million in this country to obtain around 8 million tonnes of oil annually. The ONGC's overseas arm OVL (ONGC Videsh Ltd.) bought the stake from Canada's Talisman in the multinational consortium after the latter had to pull out following criticism from church groups and human rights organisations. At that time the ONGC's decision was criticised back home. But with peace moves afoot between the country's rival factions and President George W. Bush offering to preside over a conciliation ceremony at the White House, India's strategic stake in Sudan may not have come at a better time. "Oil is emerging as an instrument of determining frontiers in international relations and for India to have taken equity in a Sudan oilfield shows great foresight," said Abdal Mahmood Abdalhaleem Mohammmad, the country's Ambassador to India. "It is a turning point in the history of Sudan," says Ashok Kumar, India's Ambassador here, about the ongoing peace talks in the Kenyan city of Naivasha. "If the peace process succeeds, it will unleash the floodgates of development in the country and that will present a huge opportunity for India," Kumar told IANS here. "And given the tremendous goodwill that India enjoys in Sudan, Indian companies will have a better chance." India and Sudan have not only old historical linkages but also strong political bonds, going back to the days of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru who, along with Sudan's first prime minister Ismail al-Azhari, was a founder member of the Non-Aligned Movement. But it was oil and India's participation in its prospecting that really gave the ties a larger strategic dimension. It was a historic moment for both countries when the first shipment of 80,000 tonnes of crude was received by India's Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani at the Mangalore port last summer. Now India is seeking to enhance its stake in Sudan by not only picking newer oil exploration blocks but investing another $750 million in the modernisation of the country's state-owned refinery and building a pipeline from the Khartoum Refinery to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. Complementing its equity investment in oil, the ONGC is seeking to demonstrate its philosophy of social responsibility through a series of community participation programmes in health, agriculture, information technology and sports. Appropriately called ONGC Nile Ganga BV, the wholly owned Sudanese subsidiary has earned tremendous local goodwill by sponsoring the highly popular Merreikh football club, a project that is being hailed as an "unprecedented partnership" between a sports club and an oil company. With three top Sudanese ministers, including the defence and energy ministers, visiting India this month and an Indian ministerial and parliamentary delegation due to visit this country in the next four weeks, bilateral ties reflect what the Sudanese envoy says is "India's political and economic investment in the strategic gateway of Africa". Sudan is located in the Horn of Africa with common borders with as many as nine countries. "With its presence in Sudan, India can promote cooperation in diverse fields like petroleum, agriculture, railways and sugar industry not just with Sudan but with its neighbours as well," says Rajen Harshe, political science professor at the University of Hyderabad who was here to attend an India-Sudan seminar organised by University of Khartoum. "It can open up large untapped markets for India in north and sub-Saharan Africa, besides giving the country a strategic foothold in an important region."
— IANS |
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Reliance customers allege harassment Solan, December 26 A number of cases have come to light where despite depositing the required amount of about Rs 500 for procuring a pre -activated handset customers have neither received the set nor any receipt of the payment. This is despite a lapse of more than two months. They told The Tribune that they had filled in the forms provided to them by Shankar, a Shamti-based agent who had promised to provide them sets soon. Since no receipts were issued to them at that time, they are now left with no proof to substantiate their claim. Mr Raj Kumar, who then filled in another form through a Solan-based GS Technologies agent, said he was planning to go to a consumer court. People residing at Nauni and its vicinity who have bought Reliance connection complain of being misled. Mr R.K. Sharma, employed at Dr Y.S. Parmar University, said after having bought the set he came to know that the company was not planning to cover Nauni in the initial stages. This, he said, was confirmed through his various communication with the company. Producing copies of e-mails received from the company he said it was regrettable that connections were sold in an area where the company was not proposing to launch its services. Similar sentiment is echoed by scores of other customers who have invested in the Reliance mobile schemes. Not only this, the customers have received phone bills of Rs 361 much before the activation of the phones. With Chandigarh numbers being provided to them they are now forced to make and receive all calls in roaming, putting an additional strain on their pockets. Tarun Sharma denied having any sub-agent at Shamti. He said if they were received bills the before the activation of the services there could be ignored and likewise instruction had been issued from the company. The customer care centre of Reliance India said services would soon be launched at Nauni and these were the teething problems which would be taken care off. |
| Airtel cuts roaming charges Chandigarh, December 26 Airtel, however, has imposed a daily roaming rental of Rs 5, subject to a maximum of Rs 25 per month, for roaming on networks other than AirTel. New charges will be effective from January 1, 2004. While roaming, new incoming call rate will be Rs 1.99 a minute as compared to Rs 6.44 per minute at present, the local outgoing calls will cost Rs 1.99 per minute on any other network while the STD call on fixed and WLL network will cost Rs 1.99 for 50-200 kms distance, Rs 2.99 for 200-500 km and Rs 3.99 for over 500 kms distance slab, said Vinod Sawhney, CEO of Airtel. Last week Reliance’s decision to offer roaming at no extra charge had prompted cellular operators like Hutchison and MTNL to announce new lower roaming charges.
— PTI |
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Wipro, TCS are Aviva’s partners
New Delhi, December 26 Aviva had announced earlier this month that it would create 2350 jobs in India in 2004 for its UK business which trades as Norwich Union. Now it has emerged that TCS and Wipro have won the outsourcing contract. Aviva IT director Alex Robinson said, ‘’I am pleased to share with you that our selected IT offshore suppliers are Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), based in Mumbai, and Wipro IT Services based in Bangalore.’’ Of the 2,350 jobs Aviva will create in India during, 2004, around 350 of these will be in the call and claims processing centres in Delhi and Bangalore. The remaining 2,000 roles will be administration, processing and IT jobs. These “back office” roles will handle administration and some IT services for the Norwich Union general insurance and life insurance businesses. Staff will be based in Delhi, Bangalore and Pune and work will be transferred to these new locations over the course of 2004. Aviva had said in a statement that approximately 80 per cent of the jobs created in India to support the UK business would be accommodated in the UK by a combination of expansion, current vacancies, anticipated staff turnover and voluntary measures.
— UNI |
Jagadhri metal units facing crisis Yamunanagar, December 26 Mr Desh Raj said Jagadhri is known for the metal ware and brass/copper sheets industry for the last one century, but now the industry is in dolldrums and people are either closing down their units or migrating to neighbouring states. Mr Rajeev Vasudeva, general secretary of the association said the finished products of duty-free brass and copper sheets were being imported from Sri Lanka and Nepal. The local industry could not compete with them. He said the state government had declared this industry as small scale industry whereas the Central Government did not provide any such facilities under the SSI. This industry was paying heavy duty so it could not compete with the large scale industries. |
NIIT approves spin-off of software unit New Delhi, December 26 Post spin-off 75 per cent stake in NTL will be held by existing shareholders of NIIT Ltd and the balance 25 per cent will be held by demerged NIIT Ltd through a wholly owned subsidiary. In lieu of every 100 shares of Rs 10 each held by shareholders of NIIT Ltd, they will receive 50 shares of demerged NIIT Ltd and 75 shares of NTL, both of face value of Rs 10 each. After spin-off NIIT will have Global Education, Learning Solutions, Knowledge Solutions and Education Software Businesses. The Board of NIIT Ltd has also constituted a Committee of Directors to execute formalities associated with implementation of the Scheme including necessary fillings, and seeking such approvals as may be necessary. —
UNI |
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Nicholas buys partner’s stake in joint venture
Mumbai, December 26 Sarabhai Piramal Pharmaceuticals Private Ltd., is a joint venture between two pharma majors, namely Ambalal Sarabhai Enterprises Limited and Nicholas Piramal India Limited. At the board meeting today, the directors have also fixed January 12, 2004, as the record date for determining the entitlement of NPIL shareholders to receive shares to be issued by Kojam Fininvest Ltd under the Scheme of Arrangement.
— UNI |
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Gold crosses Rs 6,200 Inflation rises Merger okayed PSWC awarded New Rs 50 notes NIIT awarded Canara pays 25 pc LIC in Muscat EIH-Hilton pact |
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