‘Not chucked out by telecom operators’
NEW DELHI, June 9 — A day after being shifted from the Communications Ministry to Urban Affairs, Union Minister, Mr Jagmohan, today put up a brave front and denied reports that his change of portfolio had anything to do with his tough approach towards private telecom operators.

• Jagmohan’s posers

Badal invites PM to unveil Thein project
NEW DELHI, June 9 — Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today called on Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and invited him to the State to inaugurate the 600 MW Thein Dam project and also lay the foundation stone of the 500 MW Goindwal Thermal project.

Wind-up notices to 163 companies
NEW DELHI, June 9 — In an attempt to punish erring companies Bombay Stock Exchange has decided to issue winding up notices to 163 companies and has also constituted awards for companies adopting best investor friendly policies.

Investment outlook to stay bleak: CMIE
MUMBAI, June 9 — The outlook for investments in the country would continue to be bleak in the current fiscal also, despite signs of recovery shown by the economy during the first two months, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy has said.

BSE card costlier
NEW DELHI, June 9 — With the upsurge in stock markets, the value of Bombay Stock Exchange’s membership card is also on the rise and has crossed the Rs 1.4 crore mark.

400 crore of exports blocked
NEW DELHI, June 9 — Indian carpet export proceeds worth over Rs 400 crore are locked with American and German buyers due to delays in payments and fraud committed by some foreign purchasers, the Carpet Export Promotion Council said here today.

‘Not chucked out by telecom operators’
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, June 9 — A day after being shifted from the Communications Ministry to Urban Affairs, Union Minister, Mr Jagmohan, today put up a brave front and denied reports that his change of portfolio had anything to do with his tough approach towards private telecom operators.

“Nothing of that sort”, the minister said when asked whether he was paying the price for being tough with private telecom operators.

Mr Jagmohan had been at the centre of controversy for his “no-nonsense” approach towards cellular and basic telephone operators. The operators, who had bid extravagant amounts for securing licences to operate cellular and basic telephone, were finding it difficult to meet their commitments as their earning capacity was far less than what they had expected.

With their pending dues mounting to around Rs 4,500 crore, Mr Jagmohan had asked them to “pay up” or lose the bank guarantees they had furnished to the government at the time of bidding for the licences. His tough approach had earned the government over Rs 1000 crore locked up in dues. Mr Jagmohan had also terminated the licences of JT Mobile, Koshika and Aircel Digilink, thereby sending strong signals to the industry that they could not escape the contractual obligations.

Several operators had moved court against the Department of Telecommunications but in most cases the courts had upheld the government’s decision.

At the behest of the Prime Minister’s Office, the Minister had shown some leniency and he set out a deadline for the operators to make at least one-fifth of the outstanding payments.

Mr Jagmohan was, however, more forthcoming in his speech at the seminar where he said “no Government can afford to bend rules and still expect foreign and domestic investments to pour in”.

He admonished the existing players in the telecom industry for not coming forward to pay their dues inspite of being themselves responsible for creating the current tangle.

He said he was not convinced that all the existing players were losing and despite attempts by the government to make them pay 20 per cent of their dues, the operators had not fulfilled their obligation.

The telecom industry, however, heaved a sigh of relief at the shifting of the Communications Minister. Several players agreed that the Minister had made a point by standing his ground but then he had failed to take ground realities into account.

They, however, pointed out that the privatisation of telecom operations in the country had run into problems right from the beginning when financiers found it difficult to lend money to the projects as they had nothing tangible to have as security. The only security was the projected demand. It took some time for the Government to resolve the problem and over a period of time the licences were made assignable.

The DoTs should have viewed the latest developments in the same spirit as the entire industry was in the process of learning.

The Minister should have adopted an approach that would have made telecom revolution a reality rather than sticking to his principles, an expert said.

Jagmohan’s posers

“Who made the bids and who signed the contracts? Were you not aware of the tender conditions? Who has created the problem? Is it possible for any government worth its name and which is fair and just to make any concessions?” Mr Jagmohan asked delegates at the Assocham seminar in New Delhi today.

“If a cricket match is going on, are the rules changed suddenly to benefit one team just because its five players get bowled over quickly? Sure, there is a problem in the telecom industry today but the solution has to be within the framework of the rules”.

“I am not convinced that all telecom operators are losing money. The industry must come up with a creative solution which is within the framework of rules and regulations. The solution must also satisfy everyone and not just a few players”.

First Euro II Santro delivered in city
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 9 — The first Euro-II model of the Santro car rolled out here today from Ultimate Hyundai, the authorised dealer of Hyundai Motor India Limited.

The lucky recipient of the first Euro-II model was Dr Santosh Kumar Garg of Sector 24. The keys of the car were handed over to Dr Garg by Mr Pankaj Tiwari of Hyundai Motor India Limited. The Managing Director of Ultimate Hyundai, Ms Geeta Talwar, was also present.

Badal invites PM to unveil Thein project
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, June 9 — Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today called on Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and invited him to the State to inaugurate the 600 MW Thein Dam project and also lay the foundation stone of the 500 MW Goindwal Thermal project.

Mr Badal also met the Union Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar and urged him to expedite the various railway projects in the State including Chandigarh — Ludhiana rail link, Abohar — Fazilka, Beas to Tarn Taran railway link.

The Punjab Chief Minister also urged the Union Railway Minister, to release Rs 10 crore for Domoria Bridge at Jalandhar and reschedule the railway route of Delhi- Ferozepur train via Moga with additional bogies to facilitate the trading community and general public in the area.

Wind-up notices to 163 companies

NEW DELHI, June 9 (PTI) — In an attempt to punish erring companies Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has decided to issue winding up notices to 163 companies and has also constituted awards for companies adopting best investor friendly policies.

“We have already filed winding up petition against 163 companies which have not paid the listing fees and have a large number of investor complaints against these companies,” BSE President Anand Rathi said here.

For the companies adopting bad corporate practices, BSE has set up a separate group, “Z-category” on the exchange.

However, BSE would not delist the companies violating the listing norms from the exchange as this would not be in the interest of investors of these companies.

He said under the Z-category, the exchange has already put 300 companies in this segment.

The exchange has also constituted three awards for companies adopting best corporate governance practices and creating value for its shareholders.

These three awards include – company with best corporate governance, most investor friendly company and firm maximising wealth for shareholders.

Investment outlook to stay bleak: CMIE

MUMBAI, June 9 (PTI) — The outlook for investments in the country would continue to be bleak in the current fiscal also, despite signs of recovery shown by the economy during the first two months, the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) has said.

Political instability following the loss of confidence of the Vajpayee Government and the military action in Kashmir did not augur well for India’s balance of payments (BoP) situation, CMIE said, terming the rupee’s weakening in the wake of Kargil air strikes as an “unfavourable development”.

However, the overall BoP position remained strong with the forex reserves going up by $1 billion to $30.6 billion as on May 28, CMIE said in its monthly review of the Indian economy for June.

Net investments by FIIs remained high at $ 600 million during April-May 1999, as compared to $ 243 million in the same period of 1998, according to the review.

The industrial sector has signalled a recovery during the initial months of the fiscal as major industries, which have been languishing for a long period, posted handsome gains, CMIE said.

Cement production increased by 27 per cent while steel, which recorded a 1.8 per cent decline during 1998-99, showed a positive growth of 1.5 per cent during April.

Car catches fire
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 9 — What do you do when your new car suddenly catches fire? Shocked, naturally. And pained if the company and the dealer dither on its replacement.

A diesel Fiat Uno bought by Mr Kawal Kishore, a businessman, on March 17,1999, for about Rs 4 lakh, suddenly caught fire while he was driving it in Sector 5 a few days ago.

A Sector 17 fire brigade team rushed to the spot and controlled the fire. An FIR was registered by the owner.

Mr Kawal Kishore contacted Mr R. Rossini, a top official of Fiat India in Mumbai. He sent a team of technical experts comprising Mr G.S. Ahluwalia and Mr Kulkarni.

According to the owner, the experts today examined the car at Anbros Motors, a local dealer of the company, to determine the exact cause of the fire.

Anbros Motors officials made themselves unavailable when reached for their version.

BSE card costlier

NEW DELHI, June 9 (PTI) — With the upsurge in stock markets, the value of Bombay Stock Exchange’s membership card is also on the rise and has crossed the Rs 1.4 crore mark.

“We have few enquiries for buying a BSE membership card, and we expect the price to be above Rs 1.4 crore,” BSE President Anand Rathi said.

Last month, a BSE member sold the card at Rs 1.4 crore, the highest ever price to the broking arm of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (ILFs).

A BSE card is sold either by the member directly with the exchange’s permission or is auctioned by the exchange directly to recover the pending payments from a defaulter member.

According to Manoj Vaish, Director, Corporate Development of the Exchange, the card value has been on the rise and has increased by Rs 10 lakh per card in the last three BSE tickets sales.

400 crore of exports blocked

NEW DELHI, June 9 (PTI) — Indian carpet export proceeds worth over Rs 400 crore are locked with American and German buyers due to delays in payments and fraud committed by some foreign purchasers, the Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) said here today.

Importers get the consignments released by fraudulent methods without actually making payments to the banks concerned, CEPC Chairman Shreedhar Mishra told PTI.

He said Indian banks send payment documents of the Indian carpet exporters to foreign banks in the USA and Germany so that buyers can get the delivery of the product after paying to these banks.

But in the process, sometimes different methods are used to get the product without payments.

With the involvement of some shipping line officials and bank staff, importers produce duplicate copies of the payment orders to the shipping authorities to get the consignment released.

Forex
US $ Rs 43.06/07
Stg £ Rs 69.08/11
Euro Rs 45.07/09
Jap yen (100) Rs 36.08/10

KKS Chauhan
NEW DELHI, June 9 (UNI) — Dr K.K.S. Chauhan, former Managing Director of Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited (Kribhco) died here early this morning of cardiac arrest. He was 65.

Motorola
CHANDIGARH, June 9 (TNS) — With the launch of the V3688, Motorola today announced the introduction of its V- Series of cellular phones in India. This cellular phone is the world’s smallest and lightest GSM dual band phone. Weighing a mere 83 gram and smaller than a standard business card, it qualifies to be the ideal lifestyle communication device.

Morepen
NEW DELHI, June 9 (PTI) — Morepan Laboratories today announced the launch of its consumer care division, in line with plans to foray into new areas in over-the-counter (OTC) pharmaceutical market. The first product of be launched under the consumer care division is flavoured fruit salt antacid “DAB”.

Spice Telecom
CHANDIGARH, June 9 (TNS) — Referring to PHDCCI President Ashok Khanna’s statement in the news item, “DoT jams cellular service, draws flak” published on June 5, Spice Telecom, Punjab, has clarified that its services have not been affected by DoT. “Spice Telecom (Punjab) has met all licence requirements in terms of network expansion. DoT has supported us with uninterrupted connectivity,” said a company release.

Beopar mandal
LUDHIANA, June 9 (FOC) — A deputation of the Punjab Pradesh Beopar Mandal today met the Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Mr C.L. Bains, and the Sales Tax Commissioner, Mr Sudhir Mittal, who assured the traders that the purchase return policy would not be implemented without consulting them.