Sugar imports from Pakistan stopped
LUDHIANA, July 13 — India has stopped the import of sugar from Pakistan. This is the first fallout of the Kargil crisis on India’s trade relations with Pakistan.


India’s competitiveness goes down by 2 points
GENEVA, July 13 — India’s position went down by two notches in the ranking of world competitiveness, according to the Swiss-based World Economic Forum.


Incan staff blame it on management
JALANDHAR, July 13 — Regional officials of the controversial firm, Incan Mutual Benefit Ltd have said its management, including Chairman, Manjit Singh Aujla, has landed the company in a mess and gone underground leaving them to face the public’s wrath.

Cotton production likely to decline
NEW DELHI, July 13 — Cotton production is likely to decline during 1999-2000 from last year’s level of 13.28 million bales due to the reduction in cultivation area in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, Agriculture Ministry officials said today.

FICCI to offer jobs for Kargil families
The FICCI is taking up a major initiative in providing financial support and employment for the families of the Kargil soldiers who have done supreme sacrifice for the nation.

Silverline net up
Silverline Industries Limited has recorded a 69.6 per cent surge in net profit during the first quarter of the current fiscal to touch Rs 14.21 crore as against Rs 8.38 crore a year ago.

‘Keep offices open on election day’
NEW DELHI, July 13 — The CII today appealed to the Government to keep offices and industrial establishments open on election days.

QC equipment installed
CHANDIGARH, July 13 — Baddi-based MJ Enterprises Limited has installed quality control equipment which was opened by Punjab and Sind Bank CMD S.S. Kohli.

Sugar imports from Pakistan stopped
From Sarbjit Singh
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, July 13 — India has stopped the import of sugar from Pakistan. This is the first fallout of the Kargil crisis on India’s trade relations with Pakistan.

The Union Commerce Minister, Mr Ramakrishna Hegde, who was here to participate in a seminar on export’s, said that he had directed the authorities concerned to stop the import of sugar from Pakistan.

The import of sugar from Pakistan was ordered only to promote friendship with Pakistan through trade. Mr Hegde added. India had no shortage of sugar but it was only a goodwill gesture on the part of India to import sugar from Pakistan as a request in this connection was made by Mr Nawaz Sharif.

Asked whether the Indian Government had imported sugar from Pakistan to serve the interests of Mr Nawaz Sharif’s family which owns big sugar mills near Lahore, Mr Hegde said that he was not aware that Mr Sharif’s family was in sugar manufacturing business. There would be no problem on the sugar front with the stopping of imports from Pakistan as India had enough sugar stocks and in fact it had last year exported sugar.

Asked whether India’s trade relations with Pakistan had soured, Mr Hegde said it was up to Pakistan to decide what sort of relations it wanted with India.

The Kargil crisis had no adverse affect on Indian exports, Mr Hegde asserted. In April the export growth was to the tune of 12 per cent highest in the recent months. The over-all export growth rate is also near 8 per cent which is fairly good. “Our aim is to touch a figure of 12 per cent in two years.” he added.

The Indian economy was showing signs of a good health. The inflation rate had come down to 2.5 per cent which was minimum in the past 20 years. The rupee had not been devalued for the past several months and foreign exchange reserves were soaring. All this indicated that the Indian economy was in a fine shape. Mr Hegde said India had moved to the WTO’s dispute settlement committee against anti-dumping duty, subsidies and other measures initiated by the European Union to discourage exports from India. Asked what the government would do to protect steel exports to the USA, Mr Hegde said an appropriate decision would be taken in this connection soon.

Asked about giving special status to Ludhiana for the promotion of exports, Mr Hegde said that a proposal in this connection had been prepared but an announcement at this stage could not be made as elections had been announced.

India’s competitiveness goes down by 2 points

GENEVA, July 13 (UNI) — India’s position went down by two notches in the ranking of world competitiveness, according to the Swiss-based World Economic Forum (WEF).

The country stood at the 52nd position this year against 50th position a year before, according to the 1999 Global Competitiveness Report, an annual economic survey of close to 4,000 business executives, compiled by the WEF. The survey revealed the ranking of 59 countries.

Singapore retained the top ranking, while the USA moved up to second position as compared to the third spot last year. Hong Kong stood at second position against third ranking the previous year.

Incan staff blame it on management

JALANDHAR, July 13 (PTI) — Regional officials of the controversial firm, Incan Mutual Benefit Ltd have said its management, including Chairman, Manjit Singh Aujla, has landed the company in a mess and gone underground leaving them to face the public’s wrath.

“We are only paid employees and our money as well as that of many of our relatives was also deposited with the firm. “The entire blame for the misdeeds that broke the company should lie at the door of the management which is now underground,” Lt Col (retd) Tarsem Singh, Regional Head of Incan and three Branch Managers of Adampur, Bhogpur and Kapurthala told reporters here.

Incan, engaged in para-banking and accepting deposits, had nearly 40 branches in Uttar Pradesh and 67 in Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Jalandhar areas. The company, which collected Rs 55 crore from the northern region, became a defaulter in March this year when it failed to pay back the depositors even after dipping into reserve liquidity funds.

The Branch Managers said even funds for staff salary or rent for various premises were not being received.

The investors are slapping several cases against the field staff. We are in no way partners or beneficiaries of the deposits and investors must sue the management at head office in Lucknow if they wanted their money back”, Branch Managers Daljit Singh (Adampur), S S Bajwa (Bhogpur) and P P Singh (Kapurthala), said.

FICCI to offer jobs for Kargil families

The FICCI is taking up a major initiative in providing financial support and employment for the families of the Kargil soldiers who have done supreme sacrifice for the nation.

FICCI President Sudhir Jalan will tomorrow unveil the details of the programme to pay the homage to “valiant army jawans, who have laid down their lives for the nation in Kargil”.

Rs 5 crore relief fund

The Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) has set up a Rs 5 crore relief fund for the families of soldiers killed or seriously wounded in the Kargil conflict.

Pharma industry

Pharmaceutical Industry has offered assistance worth Rs 2 crore to the soldiers affected in the Kargil conflict. President of Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association (IDMA) Dr Gopakumar G. Nair, who met the Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister S.S. Barnala here, said the industry would contribute Rs 1 crore in monetary form and provide medicines worth Rs 1 crore. Nair presented a cheque of Rs 30 lakh and two token boxes of medicines to the minister, an official release said here on Tuesday.

— Agencies

Cotton production likely to decline

NEW DELHI, July 13 (PTI) — Cotton production is likely to decline during 1999-2000 from last year’s level of 13.28 million bales due to the reduction in cultivation area in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, Agriculture Ministry officials said today.

The Ministry has estimated a 25 per cent shortfall in the area under cotton in the northern States due to insufficient rain and refusal of Punjab to release water to Rajasthan and Haryana from the Bhakra Nangal reservoir, the officials told PTI.

Inadequate water supply has affected planting of cotton in these States as the crop is completely irrigation dependent.

While a total of 36 lakh hectares are estimated to have been covered under cotton as against 29 lakh hectares last year, there is a shortage of about four lakh hectares in the three major cotton producing States in the North.

According to Agriculture Ministry estimates, India produced 13.28 million bales (of 170 kg each) of cotton last year covering a total area of 89 lakh hectares.

Agriculture Commissioner C.R. Hazra said there was about a 25 per cent shortfall in the area under cotton so far in comparison to last year, but exuded confidence that the shortfall will be covered during the remaining sowing period.

Farmers in Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana had preferred rice to cotton for early plantation this year as they had suffered losses last year following waterlogging and attacks of curl leaf virus.

The Ministry is also concerned about shortfall in rain in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra which can determine the overall prospects of cotton production.

The three States together account for more than 2 million bales of cotton in the country’s production.

While Haryana produced about 1.13 million bales of cotton from 6.4 lakh hectares in 1997-98, Punjab is estimated to have produced 9.4 lakh bales from 7.3 lakh hectares.

According to the estimates, cotton production in Rajasthan in 1997-98 was 8.7 lakh bales covering 6.4 lakh hectares.

In contrast to the Ministry’s estimates, the Trade and Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) of the Textiles Ministry always pegs cotton production at a higher level.

Silverline net up

Silverline Industries Limited has recorded a 69.6 per cent surge in net profit during the first quarter of the current fiscal to touch Rs 14.21 crore as against Rs 8.38 crore a year ago.

Net sales during the three-month period were at Rs 40.73 crore, up 81.5 per cent from Rs. 22.44 crore in the same period last year.

Birla Ericsson Optical Limited has reported a net profit of Rs 3.05 crore during the quarter ended June 30, 1999, which was 246.58 per cent higher in comparison to Rs 0.88 crore in the same quarter last fiscal.

Vindhyas Telelink has reported 16.72 per cent jump in net profit during the quarter ended June 30,1999. Company’s profit stood at Rs 7.12 crore during the quarter against Rs 6.10 crore in the corresponding quarter previous year. Gross profit shot to Rs 13.25 crore (Rs 10.25) after making interest provision of Rs 1.40 crore (Rs 1.76 crore).

Hindustan Lever Ltd has postponed its Board meeting to July 26. The meeting, which was earlier scheduled for July 21, has been postponed because of certain “unavoidable circumstances”. The Board will take on record the unaudited financial results for the quarter ended June 30 in the meeting.

— Agencies

‘Keep offices open on election day’
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, July 13 — The CII today appealed to the Government to keep offices and industrial establishments open on election days.

In a letter to the Home Minister, Labour Minister and the Chief Election Commissioner, the President of CII, Mr Rahul Bajaj, said the authorities should consider amendment of the practice which provides for closure of offices and industry establishments on the day elections are held.

Mr Bajaj said every eligible citizen should be given time on the day of the election to cast his or her vote, but closure of offices and industrial establishments on election day was unwarranted.

Recommending a code of practice, Mr Bajaj said that adequate voting time can be ensured while avoiding unnecessary losses in production.

QC equipment installed
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, July 13 — Baddi-based MJ Enterprises Limited has installed quality control (QC) equipment which was opened by Punjab and Sind Bank CMD S.S. Kohli.

The company’s CEO, Rajiv Bhatnagar, has been nominated to the board of Agro-Packaging, Kotkhai; on the management of the Palampur University and a Director of the Wage Board by the Himachal Pradesh Government.

The company caters to clients like Nestle, Godrej, GE Appliance, GPI, Dabur and Hawkins Cookers.

Forex
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Essma
AMRITSAR, July 13 (TNS) — The Essma Woollen Mills has launched new products which are targeted at all segments of the society. Apart from the basic range of lohis and shawls, made out of previous pashmina wool and angoora fibres.

Refinery
CHANDIGARH, July 13 (TNS) — Panipat Refinery commissioned its diesel hydro desulphurisation unit (DHDS) to reduce extra low sulphur diesel with a sulphur content of less than 0.25 per cent yesterday. The unit was constructed at a cost of Rs 306 crore.

Duaco Equip
CHANDIGARH, July 13 (TNS) — Duaco Equipment (P) Ltd — a Delhi-based manufacturer of bank security items, fire-resisting cabinets and office steel furniture has opened its area sales office here.

NFL donation
NEW DELHI, July 13 (TNS) — NFL has contributed Rs 50 lakh for the National Defence Fund. Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, and NFL Chairman Dinesh Kumar, presented a cheque of Rs 50 lakh to Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, on behalf of the company on Tuesday.