Tuesday, July 13, 1999
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B U S I N E S S | Tuesday, July 13, 1999 |
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India has joined East Asian Tigers: UNDP
Industrial recovery strengthens:
CMIE |
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Governor opens SBP branch Dhumal opens Samtel plant Satyam Computer net up 52.7 per
cent PAL MD challenges warrants Relax WTO pact: India FIPB clears 30 proposals Amend land ceiling laws in Punjab |
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India has
joined East NEW DELHI, July 12 (PTI) — India has for the first time moved into “medium development category”, ranking 132 among 172 nations graded by UNDP’s human development index report, an improvement of six points since the last assessment. Till last year, India was in the “low development category” of the index, measured on the basis of achievements in terms of life expectancy, educational attainments and adjusted real income. “Right through the 90s India has been charting a fresh course by adopting new economic policies and an open trade approach and has joined the newly industrialising East Asian tigers,” the united Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident representative in India, Dr Brenda Gael McSweeney, told reporters today after releasing the report. This year’s report, dedicated to the late Dr Mahbub-ul-Haq, former UNDP Director and creator of the Human Development report, notes that India has joined the Asian Tigers, linking into global markets, attracting foreign investments and taking advantage of technological advance. It credits India for reducing its tariffs from an average of 82 per cent in 1990 to 30 per cent by 1997. The report lauds the Finance Ministry for its bid to increase transparency by providing public information on websites. It also applauds the country for making foray in the information technology by innovating with the Internet. Canada topped the annual list for the Sixth year running, followed by Norway, the USA Japan and Belgium, all developed countries. In South Asia, only Sri Lanka ranks ahead of India at the 90th position, reflecting higher standards of living among the island republic’s populace despite a crippling 13-year old civil war. Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh are ranked 138, 144, 145 and 150 respectively. At the bottom of the list stood five Nations-Burundi, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Niger and Sierra Leone. India together with Sri Lanka and Pakistan is among 74 countries grouped in medium human development category. Forty-five nations are in the high human development and 35, including Nepal and Bangladesh, in low human development categories. Foreign direct investment in India rose from $ 91 million in 1988 to $ 300 million in 1994 and to $ 3 billion in 1997, the report said, attributing it to the removal of restrictions on ownership, loosened regulation of currency transactions, speedy clearance of foreign investment and increased import of new technology. The report also ranks countries on two significant gender-sensitive indices — the gender-related development index (GDI) and gender empowerment measure (GEM). In GDI, measuring achievements in basic human development from a gender perspective, India ranks 112 out of a universe of 143 countries for which data was available. It ranked 95 out of a
universe of 102 countries in GEM, which measures gender
inequality in economic and political opportunities. |
Governor
opens SBP branch SHIMLA, July 12 — The Governor, Mrs V.S. Rama Devi, inaugurated the newly built fully computerised branch of the State Bank of Patiala here today. The Managing Director of the Bank, Mr A.K. Batra, said that the banking hours of the branch have been increased by two hours. The bank will function from 10 am to 4 pm on week days and from 10 am to 2 pm on Saturdays. With complete renovation of the branch here, the bank now has 76 fully computerised branches whose number will be increased to 125 by March 2000. The bank has a continuous record of earning profit every year since its inception. The bank is helping Himachal Pradesh in strengthening its infrastructure by giving financial assistance through its various state development agencies like HPSEB, HRTC, HP Forest Corporation and HP State Civil Supplies Corporation. The Governor, has called upon banks to formulate new schemes for women and other weaker sections of the society, especially in the rural areas. Such schemes would help in ameliorating the lot of these sections by generating economic activities for them nearer to their homes, besides facilitating development of rural areas. She suggested banks should start schemes for helping the families of the martyrs of Kargil and also the injured soldiers who may not be able to keep in the Army because of their injuries. She also stressed on
maintaining proper CD ratio so that the money was
available in circulation for the benefit of maximum
number of people possible. |
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NEW DELHI, July 12 (UNI) — The 1999 Human Development Report brings out how drug multinational companies have been fleecing India. The report released here today says in India, multinational companies have sometimes charged two, four or even 10 times the price they would charge for inputs in Europe and the USA to avoid controlled low prices. They have little interest in pricing drugs for the market in developing countries because they are maximising global, not national profits and do not want to set a low-price precedent. In 1995, two researchers at the University of Mississippi Medical Centre were granted the US patent for using turmeric to heal wounds. But in India this has been a long-standing art, common knowledge and practice for thousands of years. To get the patent
repealed the claim had to be backed by written evidence
— an ancient Sanskrit text was eventually presented
as proof and the patent removed — but this only
highlighted the absurd imposition of the cultural system
on another culture’s tradition. |
Satyam Computer net up 52.7 per cent MUMBAI, July 12 (UNI) — Satyam Computer Services today said its net profit went up by an impressive 52.7 per cent to touch Rs 23.35 crore in the first quarter of the fiscal 1999-2000 from Rs 15.29 crore for the same quarter a year ago. Total income in April-June was Rs 121 crore, up 53.3 per cent from Rs 78.91 crore a year ago. Satyam’s net profit in April-June, taking into account the three subsidiaries merged with the company recently, was Rs 26.79 crore, up a healthy 72.5 per cent from Rs 15.53 crore a year ago. The three subsidiaries of Satyam to be merged with the parent are: Satyam Enterprise Solution, Satyam Renaissance Computing Ltd. and Satyam Spark Solutions. Satyam Computer’s income from software exports moved up to Rs 120.6 crore from Rs 78.78 crore last year. Significantly, the company’s depreciation almost doubled to Rs 14.2 crore this year from Rs 7.5 crore last year. Chemplast profits double Chemplast Sanmar on Monday announced an over 100 per cent rise in pre-tax profits for the first quarter of 1999-2000 at Rs 9.11 crore as against Rs 4.33 crore recorded a year ago. As per unaudited results released here, the company had a sales income of Rs 88.18 crore during April-June this year as compared to Rs 116.72 crore in the last fiscal. According to audited annual results, the company made a net profit of Rs 28.38 crore during 1998-99 compared to just Rs 3.89 crore a year ago. Infotech Enterprises Infotech Enterprises Limited, a provider of computer-based geographical information solutions, on Monday announced that its net profit went up by a whopping 150 per cent to touch Rs 2.3 crore in the first quarter of this fiscal from Rs 92 lakh a year ago. Net sales in April-June almost doubled at Rs 8.24 crore, up 182 per cent from Rs 2.92 crore a year ago, the company said. According to unaudited
financial results (provisional), the total expenditure of
the company stood at Rs 5.29 crore this year from Rs 1.85
crore last year, a jump of 185 per cent. |
Industrial recovery strengthens: CMIE MUMBAI, July 12 (PTI) — Industrial recovery, as seen in early months of the current fiscal, has strengthened further with positive trends spreading to more industries, the Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE) said. Production statistics indicate a notable rise in the output of steel, cement and aluminium with despatches matching production and on a higher price plane, the CMIE stated in its latest issue of the monthly review of the Indian economy. The cement production, during the first two months (April and May) has grown by 20 per cent and initial reports indicate a continuation of this trend in June also. For the second
consecutive month, the steel sector posted a positive
growth, recording a 13 per cent increase in the output by
primary manufacturers. The Aluminium sector witnessed a
double-digit growth coupled with a price hike. |
Dhumal
opens Samtel plant PARWANOO, July 12 — Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal here today inaugurated the Rs 900 crore Samtel India group’s new plant set up for augmenting the company’s deflection yoke (a precision wire wound device used in colour picture tubes) manufacturing capacity from the present one million per annum to 2.7 million. Mr Dhumal speaking on the occasion, said that Indian industries must gear themselves up for updating their technology and equipment. Now it was a mere matter of time when multinational players entered fields traditionally protected for Indian industries since Indepen dence. Only those companies that enjoyed a competitive edge over these multinational conglomerates would be able to survive. Industrialists must go in for foreign tie-ups in all those cases where indigenous technology failed to deliver the desired results. Emphasising the need for industrial peace — a vital factor in the success of failure of industrial enterprises, he said that he was happy to note that cordial relations existed between the workers and management of the Samtel group. This was largely true of the rest of Himachal Pradesh also. Industries Minister Kishori Lal said that Himachal Pradesh was not only surplus in electric power but was also in a position to offer quality supplies without any shutdowns and cuts. The Chairman of the Samtel group, Mr Satish Kaura, said that his group had seven units spread in five different northern States and currently enjoyed the status of being the largest producer of picture tubes in the country. Starting with a turnover of a mere Rs 7 lakh, the group achieved a turnover of Rs 900 crore during 1998-99. It exported picture tubes and deflection yokes worth Rs 100 crore to different South Asian markets during the same period. Mr Kaura said that Samtel India had largely depended upon technological prowess in fabricating production machinery. This has enabled the company to keep its production costs down to the minimum — an important factor in successful marketing of the company’s products. He said his company
planned to go in for another major expansion and increase
its production of deflection yokes to seven million per
annum in the next two years. |
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MUMBAI, July 12 (PTI) — Mumbai High Court today admitted a petition filed by Maitreya Vinod Doshi, Managing Director of Premier Automobiles Ltd (PAL), who challenged the validity of Section 27 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, under which various consumer fora in the country had issued arrest warrants against him. Admitting the petition, Justice N.J. Pandya and Justice S.S. Parkar also confirmed their ad-interim order of July 16 restraining police from executing arrest warrants against Doshi. The matter would be finally heard on September 12. The arrest warrants were issued after Doshi allegedly failed to comply with orders of consumer fora in Kottayam, Amritsar, Thiruvananta-puram, Coimbatore and New Delhi which directed him to refund the booking amounts collected from public for non-delivery of Premier 1.38-D and Uno cars manufactured by PAL in collaboration with foreign companies. Additional Public
Prosecutor D.A. Nalawade argued that consumer fora were
empowered under the Act to issue arrest warrants and
refuted the petitioner’s claim that the action
against him was illegal or unconstitutional. |
Relax WTO
pact: India NEW DELHI, July 12 — India is in favour of additional flexibilities in the provisions of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement on agriculture, it has been officially stated. In a paper presented to the Committee on Agriculture of the WTO, India has argued that the additional flexibilities would enable developing countries to pursue their legitimate non-trade concerns such as food security which involves self sufficiency in food production to meet domestic needs as well as access to food. According to the Commerce Ministry, India has also stated that developing countries should be allowed to provide domestic support in the agriculture sector to meet the challenges of food security and to be able to preserve rural employment which is different from trade distortive support and subsidies. The agreement on Agriculture, entered into by WTO countries with effect from January 1, 1995, would be coming up for review and further negotiations by the end of this year. As a run up to the
review, the WTO Committee on Agriculture has instituted a
process of Analysis and Information Exchange (AIE)
whereby informal papers are presented by member countries
highlighting problems of implementation as well as areas
of the agreement which might need amendment or further
clarity. |
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NEW DELHI, July 12 (UNI) — The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) today cleared 30 proposals, including that of $ 6.5 billion Taiwanese Computer major Acer Group and Swedish white goods giant AB Electrolux, involving FDI of Rs 175 crore. The board gave nod to Acer to set up a 100 per cent owned subsidiary for manufacturing and assembling the company’s branded personal computers, notebook computers and providing computer services, FIPB sources said. The Taiwanese computer major would bring Rs 50.20 crore of FDI through its Singapore-based subsidiary: Acer Computer International Limited, for the new venture, to be set up in Bangalore. Acer had applied with FIPB to set up the subsidiary following dissolution of its joint venture with Wipro in April this year. Wipro had bought out the 45 per cent stake of the Taiwanese giant in the venture. A proposal by AB Electrolux to increase paid up capital by about Rs 45 crore in Electrolux Kelvinator Limited (EKL), formerly known as Maharaja International Limited, was also approved. With this, total paid up capital will increase to Rs 124 crore. However, equity
structure in EKL will remain unchanged with AB Electrolux
holding 55.8 per cent of shares, while the remaining
equity is shared by Maharaja International and public. |
Amend land ceiling laws in Punjab NEW DELHI, July 12 (PTI) — Punjab should encourage diversification in agriculture and create a climate conducive for industrial investment by providing linkages between agriculture and industry, a regional chamber said today. The Government should amend the land ceiling laws in the state to enable farmers to avail the benefits of large scale farming, the PHDCCI has said in a paper on “agriculture development in Punjab”. “Punjab has tremendous surplus of wheat and rice and it can offer these commodities as raw materials to processing industry on a long term basis,” the Chamber said. Stating that Punjab had good scope for fruits and vegetables processing industry, the PHDCCI said there was a need to set up a post-harvest handling system to take care of the agro products from the farm to retail markets. “This comprehensive system should consist of process of picking, cleaning, storing, grading, pre-cooking, processing, packing and transporting, resulting in the reduction of wastage as well as increase in value addition at farm itself,” it said. The Chamber said Punjab currently was exporting large quantities of agricultural produce to other states for processing and in effect turned out to be market for processed products from other states. The Chamber has also asked the State Government to ensure laying of a cold stores chain that will provide food processing industry facilities like pre-cooling, cold storages, refrigerated transportation and refrigerated outlets. “Private participation may be invited to build up a system of cold stores chains, which will address the problem of scarcity of warehouses and cold storages in the State,” the PHDCCI said. Considering the perishable nature of fruits and vegetables, there was a need to make efforts to undertake research and development for sophisticated yet low cost and hygienic packaging technology within the State. Advocating creation of a
research and development centre in Punjab, the PHDCCI
said such a centre will be able to find solutions to the
day-to-day problems faced by the domestic industry. |
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