Incentives on paper only
SHIMLA: The Industrial sector in Himachal Pradesh is upset over the move of the state government to oblige Delhi by selling its electricity at a reduced rate of Rs.2.15 per unit,but to supply it to the already recession hit industries here for Rs.2.70 per unit.

Survey fails to activate sensex
MUMBAI, Feb 25 — Equities continued to fluctuate narrowly in dull activity on the stock market today as operators remained cautious ahead of the Union Budget which is expected to be harsher than market anticipation.

Labour trouble hits OCM mill
AMRITSAR, Feb 25 — Labour unrest in OCM Woollen Mills here escalated today with workers of other mills observing a day’s hartal in sympathy with the striking workers of OCM in protest against the alleged lifting of striking workers of this mill by securitymen of the management.

Website on Khalsa celebrations
CHANDIGARH, Feb 25 — A website on tercentenary celebrations for the Khalsa and the Anandpur Sahib Foundation was launched by Mr Parkash Singh Badal here today.

Milkfed launches website
CHANDIGARH, Feb 25 — Mr K. S. Janjua, Financial Commissioner (Cooperation), Punjab today launched the website of Milkfed on the Internet and said it would improve the national and international competitiveness of Milkfed.

Revenue sharing is not legal: Jagmohan

NEW DELHI, Feb 25 (PTI) — Union Communications Minister Jagmohan today said revenue sharing instead of licence fee system in telecom services in the country mooted by a section of the industry is legally and constitutionally wrong.

"Revenue sharing is legally and constitutionally wrong", Jagmohan told reporters on the sidelines of a telecom conference organised by the ‘Telematics India’ here.

However, to a question whether the Group on Telecom (GoT) which is currently seized of the matter would decide against revenue sharing, he said "I do not want to speculate on that".

Earlier inaugurating the two-day conference he said if at all there was a favourable decision on revenue sharing, it could not be implemented retrospectively.

"If it is done, then the question of participating those who have left out in the bidding will come up", he said, pointing out that none of the operators talked about revenue sharing at the time of bidding three years ago.

Mr Jagmohan criticised the private basic operators for not providing telephones in rural areas as promised in the licence agreement.

He said the government was keen on giving top priority to telecom in the country which is evident from the fact that Rs 90,000 crore was earmarked for the Department of Telecom in the Ninth Plan. 

Jagmohan said the Department of Telecom would provide more than two crore lines during the plan period and the entire resources for meeting this would be raised internally.

Jagmohan said he had ordered for a complete audit of the Department of Telecom by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) to find out any irregularities in the purchase and tenders during the last few years.

Chairman and Managing Director of the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) S. Rajagopalan said his company was slowly moving away from the circuit switching to packet switching in order to make the network faster.

Voice of the small sector-III
Incentives on paper only
From S.P.Sharma
Tribune News Service

SHIMLA: The Industrial sector in Himachal Pradesh is upset over the move of the state government to oblige Delhi by selling its electricity at a reduced rate of Rs.2.15 per unit,but to supply it to the already recession hit industries here for Rs.2.70 per unit.

The industrial sector at Baddi-Barotiwala and Parwanoo is facing the pinch of the sharp increase in electricity tariff. Many of the units in these industrial estates had come to Himachal in view of various incentives provided by the Centre. However, these incentives were abruptly withdrawn plunging the industry in uncertainty.

The state government has been making only announcements regarding incentives to the industry,but hardly any of these is implemented. The decision to start a single window system for trouble-free transfer of land for the industry has remained just on paper. The tiring land laws have become a hurdle in the way of industrialisation.

A prominent industrialist of Baddi,Mr A.R. Singh, suggests that the government should prepare a long term power tariff policy under which the tariff should increase in consonance with price index.Developmental blue print for the next 20 years for the area should be planned.

Mr Singh also suggested that a mass rapid transport system to and fro Chandigarh from the area should be developed, as also a software park using environs of hills and proximity to Chandigarh as synergy.

Baddi-Barotiwala has come up on the industrial map of the country as many of the top spinning houses have set up their units in the area. The general complaint of unit owners is that infrastructure is not being provided.

Another industrialist said that the impact of recession has hit Parwanoo more as the capital is shying away from the State in the wake of stiff competition from the neighbouring States which have launched a virtual "incentive war" and active escort service.The number of sick units is multiplying at an alarming rate.

Most steel mills have either closed down or are on the verge of shutdown as raw material is not available locally.They have to invest huge amounts for bringing raw material from Punjab.

He claimed that power availability is grim and incidence of small industry being forced to pay for line costs for connections as small as 10 kw is not uncommon.

The sales tax laws have been made complicated in the name of simplification and even the officers of the Sales Tax Department are unable to decipher the plethora of notifications issued from time to time. Sales tax is being viewed in isolation as a means to squeeze additional revenue. This has led to many industries avoiding certain taxes through stock transfers to other States which has resulted in revenue loss.

It is alleged that new industrial units acquiring land of sick industries are exploited by the authorities who provide the land at the enhanced current price.

The Industries Department has pinned its hopes on the Baddi-Barotiwala area of the Solan district which has a number of textile and spinning units coming up. Top textile houses, including the Vardhmans, Malwa Cotton, Birla Textiles, the Oswals, Arihant, Pashupati and Winsome have already set up their units.

An export promotion industrial park is being developed at Baddi-Barotiwala.

Getting purified water in trains

By Pushpa Girimaji

DURING the last quarter of 1998, the Indian Railways decided to keep a check on the quality of bottled mineral water served in their trains, and sold at their railway stations. And thus began the process of picking up samples and testing them. The results of such testing could be seen in the fact that the Northern Railway cancelled its contracts with four companies supplying mineral water on the ground that the quality did not conform to the standard prescribed by the Director General of Railway Health Services.

I quote this to draw attention to the fact that the promised amendment to the Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act bringing bottled water mandatory quality certification is yet to come through. Apparently the draft notification is stuck in the Law Ministry, which is expressing certain reservations about it on the ground that water is excluded from the definition of food under the PFA Act. But surely the Law Ministry does not need so many months to take a decision or suggest an alternative?

It was in 1994 that the Health Ministry, following large number of complaints about the quality of mineral water sold in the market, first brought "natural mineral water and fortified mineral water" under the PFA Act, thereby stipulating certain quality standards for mineral water. The water, for example had to be safe from pathogens, and the presence of heavy metals had to be within permissible limits. But the amendment failed to serve the purpose because manufacturers began to escape the provisions of the law by dropping the word "mineral" and claiming that they were selling only purified drinking water.

Expressing concern over the lack of quality control on such bottled drinking water, the Central Committee for Food Standards, an advisory body constituted under the PFA Act, recommended in November 1997, a further amendment to the Act to bring bottled or packaged drinking water too under the PFA Act. And while the earlier amendment of 1994 required manufacturers to ensure that the mineral water sold in the market was of the standard prescribed under the PFA Act, the 1997 recommendation called for mandatory quality certification from the Bureau of Indian Standards. In other words, BIS would certify the quality of bottled or packaged water sold in the country and any manufacturer who marketed the product without the mandatory ISI mark would be liable for prosecution. And this time packed water would include not just water sold in plastic bottles, but also in pouches and bulk packs, as per the Committee’s recommendations.

Now, why is it so important to ensure the quality of drinking water or mineral water sold in bottles, pouches and other bulk containers? The answer is simple. If the water is not properly treated, bottled and sealed, it could carry any of the disease-causing micro-organisms that cause for example, gastroenteritis, cholera, typhoid or hepatitis. Or the water could contain any of the harmful heavy metals like arsenic, mercury or lead in quantities higher than what is permissible. And after paying a steep price of Rs 10-15 for a bottle of water, the least one should expect is safe water. In fact the very purpose of buying bottled water would be defeated if it is not rendered absolutely safe and potable.

In the meanwhile, here are a few tips for consumers: (a) Once ISI certification becomes mandatory, you can just look for the quality seal, but till then, it would be advisable to go in for mineral water instead of purified drinking water because mineral water comes under the purview of the PFA Act. Even here, it is better to choose well-known brands. Unfortunately, till now, no manufacturer of bottled water or mineral water has bothered to take the ISI mark voluntarily. (b) Always check the seal to ensure that it is intact, because once the water is exposed to outside air, its shelf life gets reduced and its quality deteriorates. (c) Always crush and destroy the bottle before discarding. Remember, there is a thriving "spurious" brand industry and these bottles could well get recycled and sold under well-known brand names to unsuspecting consumers.

Hike in freight rates untimely, says industry

NEW DELHI, Feb 25 (PTI) — Industry today flayed the Railway Budget for 1999-2000 saying the across-the-board 4 per cent hike in freight charges was "untimely" as it would further cripple industrial growth.

The across the board hike in freight rates, especially at a time when the economy and the industry was facing a slow down and would have a cascading impact, said CII in a statement.

CII said rationalisation of freight rates on the lines of passenger fares would have reduced subsidy on certain commodities which is a long term objective of the railways.

Assocham President K.P. Singh said the hike would particularly affect power sector since coal formed about 40 per cent of the entire freight traffic of Indian railways.

"The increase would add substantially to the costs of power stations and steel plants which are major coal consuming sectors," he said.

The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the hike in freight charges has come at a time when the railways has already lost sizeable freight to roadways due to excessively high tariff.

The exporting community criticised government for not coming up with any special scheme for movement of export cargo.

The negative effect of the hike on exports would be much higher than additional revenue of Rs 900 crore expected by the Ministry, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Navratan Samdria said.

Lack of benevolence on the part of the Railway Minister, Samdria said would add to the cost of exports, which were already on a downhill.

"If at least 5 per cent rebate to export cargo is not allowed in the present situation, Indian exporters will be in a disadvantageous position vis-a-vis the South East Asian exporters," he said.

Survey fails to activate sensex

MUMBAI, Feb 25 (PTI) — Equities continued to fluctuate narrowly in dull activity on the stock market today as operators remained cautious ahead of the Union Budget which is expected to be harsher than market anticipation.

The BSE sensitive index opened marginally down at 3276.91 and moved in a range of 3311.84 and 3269.39 before closing at 3281.29 as against yesterday’s close of 3287.53, showing a small loss of 6.24 points. The BSE-100 index, however, edged up fractionally to 1454.59 from previous close of 1454.17.

Dealers said the market did not react strongly to the 4 per cent uniform increase on freight rates of all commodities in the Railway Budget presented during the session as it was expected by the broking fraternity.

The Economic Survey which was termed by the operators as "not so encouraging", too failed to have any impact on the market sentiment as they were eagerly awaiting the Budget proposals to be presented on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Unit Trust of India and some mutual funds were reportedly buyers in RIL, HPCL, BPCL, Exide, Corporation Bank, and SBI in small quantity while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were totally sidelined.

Calcutta operators, however, were said to be sellers in several counters, particularly some index based scrips. 

In the specified group, HPCL, Dabur India, BPL Ltd and Sesa Goa hit the upper circuit band following good buying support while Bombay Dyeing hit the lower price band.

The market will remain dull till Budget day and operators are also not willing to take any risk in the light of political uncertainty arising out of the Bihar issue as the Telgu Desam Party (TDP), the key partner in the coalition at the Centre, is still to announce its support to the Vajpayee Government.

The BSE-200 closed fractionally up at 336.77 and the Dollex at 131.96 from their yesterday’s close of 336.30 and 131.77 respectively.

The total volume of business on the Bold system was remarkably low at Rs 1047.84 crore compared to yesterday’s turnover of Rs 1346.19 crore.

Among the top five traded scrips, RIL was the most active with a turnover of Rs 119.70 crore followed by Pentafour Software Rs 84.88 crore, Zee Telefilms Rs 73.27 crore, Tata Tea Rs 62.50 crore and Satyam Computer Rs 54.30 crore.

RIL dropped by 2.40 to 139.20, Pentafour Software by 15.25 to 815, Tata Tea by 8 to 431 and Satyam Computer by 16.75 to 905.25. Zee Telefilms, however, hardened by 13.25 to 637.50.

Labour trouble hits OCM mill
Tribune News Service

AMRITSAR, Feb 25 — Labour unrest in OCM Woollen Mills here escalated today with workers of other mills observing a day’s hartal in sympathy with the striking workers of OCM in protest against the alleged lifting of striking workers of this mill by securitymen of the management.

The call for hartal was given jointly by AITUC, CITU, the Punjab Mazdoor Dal and the Hind Mazdoor Sabha. The striking workers organised a march and later a rally in the Chheharta area close to the OCM mills.

The OCM management alleged in a press statement that staff and workmen of the mill were being "terrorised and harassed" by CPI workers under the leadership of Mr Satyapal Dang. The workmen have either taken shelter within the mill or have out of fear abstained from work.

The management claimed that OCM is the only mill which has survived the onslaught of the "comrades" till now due to its labour-friendly policies. OCM is one of the mills which has implemented the minimum wage policy and has revised wage structure from time to time. The mill is not only giving adequate compensation to workmen but also providing excellent canteen facilities, including meals at a subsidised rate of rupee one.

The management said trouble began when four workmen, who had beaten up their co-workers last week were charge-sheeted by the company. The approached CPI-affiliated local Textile Mazdoor Ekta Union leaders who in turn "terrorises" more 2,000 workmen by beating and intimidating them and their families.

Mr Satyapal Dang, however, denied the management charges and said that it was a well-known fact that he had left trade union work long back but he was concerned about the dispute going on in the OCM Mills which is the biggest textile mill in Punjab with about 3,000 workers and had written to the Punjab Chief Minister and Labour Minister Balramji Das Tandon for intervention.

He said the management had thrown out more than 2,000 workers after a small dispute. The terms and conditions of service of this Birla company are the worst in the entire Birla empire. The wages are the lowest and the workers are abused and slapped often. Even minimum wages fixed by the Punjab Government are denied to many workers.

He said that the trouble arose after the management increased workload on workers constantly.

He said the management has been forcibly keeping about 300 workers inside the mills for the last four days. Their relatives are approaching the Textile Mazdoor Ekta Union to get them out.

The Textile Mazdoor Ekta Union in a statement alleged that some workers who were squatting on the other side of the GT Road in front of the OCM Mills gate were lifted by securitymen of the mill yesterday. This was brought to the notice of the Deputy Commissioner and the police chief.

The SSP, Mr G.S. Sahota, denied that the police was involved in the lifting of these workers.

The Joint Labour Commissioner, Mr Hardev Singh, has arrived here for reconciliation. The Labour Commissioner Punjab, is also expected to intervene.

Website on Khalsa celebrations
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 25 — A website on tercentenary celebrations for the Khalsa and the Anandpur Sahib Foundation was launched by Mr Parkash Singh Badal here today.

This is the only official website giving authentic and authorised details about historical places around Anandpur Sahib and arrangements for stay and facilities of transportation etc for reaching Anandpur Sahib. Details about expeditions, Gurbani concerts, including by singers like Lata Mangeshkar, a laser show and the great Khalsa march are available on the website which will be updated daily. The website can be accessed through www.nic.in/apsf.

Milkfed launches website
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 25 — Mr K. S. Janjua, Financial Commissioner (Cooperation), Punjab today launched the website of Milkfed on the Internet and said it would improve the national and international competitiveness of Milkfed.

Mr Amrik Singh, MD,Milkfed exhorted all the milk plants to take advantage of the new technology. The investment by Milkfed should result in good returns and should be put to optimal use.

Mr G.S. Babehali, Chairman, said that Milkfed would always be eager to adopt the modern technologies.

MDs of milk plants and the senior executives of Milkfed and Cooperative Department witnessed the demonstration of the webpage. It was explained in detail by National Informatics Centre’s Technical Director and Chief Executive, Mrs M. Surekha.

The website contained all the information regarding the activities of Milkfed and business requisites like prices and details of its products and production activities along with the turnout for the present and past years.

The site address and information of Milkfed can be accessed through — URL:http://www.nic.in/milkfed.

Punjab’s offer 
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Feb 25— The Union Minister of State for Industry, Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal, today offered to send a team of experts from Punjab Agricultural University to Mangolia to study the potential for a tie-up in this sector. Mr Badal made the offer when the Mangolia Ambassador to India, Mr Nyamdavan Oldov called on him here. Mr Oldov said there was immense scope to cultivate wheat and vegetables in Mangolia.

Oil bill

NEW DELHI, Feb 25- The Government today said that the Indian Oil Corporation will undertake distribution of 50 per cent of the products under the "controlled" category of Reliance Petroleum and Essar Refineries to contain the oil import bill. Replying to supplementaries in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas V.K. Ramamurthy said that domestic production will also be encouraged.

Gold recovers

DELHI, Feb 25 (PTI) — Silver coins declined further on the bullion market today on lack of buying support in the face of easy availability of stocks and closed with another notable loss. The quotations: Silver .999 (ready) 8200 and delivery 8150, coins buyer 10,500 and seller 10,600. Standard gold 4400, ornaments 4250 and sovereign 3800.

Commodities
From Our Correspondent

AMBALA, Feb 25 — The daily market rates of agricultural commodities prevailing in various markets in India would soon be available on-line on computers. This was disclosed by Mr Ved Pal, Chairman of the National Council of State Agricultural Marketing Boards (COSAMB) while talking to this correspondent here today.

Reliance

NEW DELHI, Feb 25 (PTI) — Reliance Industries Ltd has asked the government to impose anti-dumping duty on import of PTA (purified tetraphthalic acid), a raw material for making polyster, from Japan. The company, which filed its petition for imposing the anti-dumping duty with the Commerce Ministry, has alleged that large scale imports of PTA from Japan had depressed domestic prices, industry sources said.