Auto industry drives out of recession
NEW DELHI, June 25 — A blanket ban on sales in the National Capital Region during May notwithstanding, car companies led by Daewoo and Telco saw higher sales during the month even as Maruti witnessed a marginal drop in retails of its passenger cars.

Property prices to go up
NEW DELHI, June 25 — The demand for international quality property in the Capital is set to increase by four times in the medium to long term as the Indian economy deregulates, a study by an international real estate consultant company has pointed out.

Kuber is ready to refund deposits
NEW DELHI, June 25 — Kuber group of finance companies Chairman P.K. Sharma, arrested here on June 3, yesterday told a city court that the company would now consider payments of those investors whose deposits have matured till date.

Nalco profit halves to Rs 248.25 crore The net profit of Nalco has halved to Rs 248.25 crore in 1997-98 against Rs 546.97 crore in the previous year.

Rents fall in Delhi
NEW DELHI, June 25 — Rentals for Delhi’s residential property have declined by Rs 75,000 since mid-1998 due to the absence of speculation and demand-supply gap driving prices down, according to a report by property consultants Chesterton Meghraj.

Auto industry drives out of recession

NEW DELHI, June 25 (UNI) — A blanket ban on sales in the National Capital Region (NCR) during May notwithstanding, car companies led by Daewoo and Telco saw higher sales during the month even as Maruti witnessed a marginal drop in retails of its passenger cars.

The total passenger car industry grew by 22 per cent year on year. Scooters, however, failed to perform while motor cycles led the rally in the bi-wheeler category, latest figures released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) reveal.

While mopeds recorded a growth in sales, the multi-utility vehicle and three-wheeler categories closed the month with a drop in retails.

The new fiscal seems to have brought cheers for the commercial vehicle manufacturers as the segment moved out of the recessionery phase to record a 34 per cent sales growth during the month.

In the passenger car segment, Telco, riding on the huge demand for its small car “Indica”, saw a spurt in sales. It closed the month with a total sales of 2,437 cars against a meagre 243 units a year ago.

Ind Auto sold 1,619 units of Uno over 414 units last year and Daewoo recorded a collective sales of 2,250 units of Matiz and Cielo against 903 units of Cielo in May 1998.

Hindustan Motors and Mercedes Benz were the only other players to have recorded a growth in sales during the month.

Maruti Udyog Limited sold 33,680 units of passenger cars during May 1999, down 0.2 per cent from 33,762 units in the same month last year.

Premier Automobiles saw its sales hitting a major stonewall during the period. Retails dropped 94 per cent from 324 units in May 1998 to 17 units in May 1999. General Motors’ Opel Astra sales dropped 49 per cent at 180 units. Ford India also sold 180 units of Escort, down 46 per cent over the previous year.

Honda Siel, which has been witnessing a good steady demand for its City since the car’s launch here, saw sales dropping by 15 per cent in May to touch 726 units from 859 units a year ago.

During the month, total passenger car sales stood at 47,578 units from 38,698 units a year ago.

Bajaj Tempo and Mahindra and Mahindra were the only manufacturers to have recorded a growth in sales. Bajaj Tempo’s MUV sales grew 23 per cent during the month followed by Mahindra at 5.5 per cent.

Telco’s MUV sales dropped 36 per cent during May 1999 followed by Maruti Udyog, which witnessed a 31 per cent drop, and Hindustan Motors with a 7.9 per cent slide. The MUV industry closed the month with a total sales of 8,782 units, down 11 per cent from the previous year.

Ashok Leyland saw a 61 per cent growth in sales during the month followed by Telco, with a 60 per cent growth in retails.

The light CV category ended with a 10.6 per cent surge in sales during the month. Ashok Leyland led the pack in this segment as well with a 191 per cent growth followed by Mahindra and Mahindra and Bajaj Tempo. Swaraj Mazda was the only player in the segment to have closed the month with a negative growth in sales.

Property prices to go up

NEW DELHI, June 25 (UNI) — The demand for international quality property in the Capital is set to increase by four times in the medium to long term as the Indian economy deregulates, a study by an international real estate consultant company has pointed out.

“As the Indian economy deregulates and liberalises, Delhi will assume a commercial significance to match its political importance. In the medium and longer term, the demand for international quality property, particularly commercial property, is set to increase enormously, perhaps by a factor of four from current levels,’’ the study of the city said.

The survey of the national Capital was carried out by India Property Research (IPR), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chesterton Meghraj, a leading international real estate consultants.

Though Delhi property owners are rapidly adjusting to best international practices, the city suffers from “unacceptable’’ pollution levels, besides strained infrastructure.

Also, the study pointed out that most commercial property remains hugely over-priced for the quality of space and support services provided.

Despite the weaknesses, there are still opportunities in the city. Throughout Delhi, there is refurbished and well managed grade B office space and mid-priced residential property for owner occupiers.

Rents fall in Delhi

NEW DELHI, June 25 (PTI) — Rentals for Delhi’s residential property have declined by Rs 75,000 since mid-1998 due to the absence of speculation and demand-supply gap driving prices down, according to a report by property consultants Chesterton Meghraj.

The sharpest fall has been witnessed in the Vasant Vihar area, with independent houses coming up to Rs 75,000 cheaper and apartments Rs 50,000 cheaper.

In the posh Friends Colony, rentals have fallen by Rs 75,000 for independent houses while those for apartments have held steady.

Similarly, rentals in the posh Greater Kailash I are lower by Rs 50,000 to Rs 25,000 while those in the Haus Khas-Gulmohar Park area have also fallen by roughly the same margin.

However, in certain locations in Delhi, rentals have continued to be steady. These include Golf Links, Malcha Marg and East End-Anand Niketan Sites.

Nalco profit halves to Rs 248.25 crore

The net profit of Nalco has halved to Rs 248.25 crore in 1997-98 against Rs 546.97 crore in the previous year.

Despite the fact that the net profits have fallen by over 54 per cent during the year under review, the company recommended a 12 per cent dividend for 1998-99 against 10 per cent in the previous year.

The company board in a statement said it approved the annual accounts here on Thursday.

The company said the payment on dividend will be to the tune of Rs 77.32 crore after the equity base will be recasted from Rs 1288.62 crore to Rs 644.31 crore.

The book value per share has risen to Rs 44.01 in 1998-99 from Rs 26.21 in the previous year.

As per the approved account, the total turnover of the company stands at Rs 1506.65 crore in 1998-99 against Rs 1853.54 crore in 1997-98.

JK Corp

JK Corp has reported a loss of Rs 169.53 crore for 1998-99 as against Rs 96.80 crore loss during the previous year. The turnover also declined to Rs 663 crore from the 1997-98 figure of 743 crore. The company attributed the decline in profits to labour unrest.

Oil India net zooms

Oil India Limited has reported the highest ever net profit and gross profit of Rs 291.6 crore as Rs 412.6 crore respectively during 1998-99.

The company had declared a dividend of 55 per cent on its paid-up capital amounting to Rs 87.1 crore. This would result a pay-out of 29.87 per cent of profit as against 16.3 per cent during the previous year when the dividend was 30 per cent, a company press release here said.

The net profit of the company was 288.84 crore and the gross profit was Rs 368.84 crore respectively during the previous financial year.

— Agencies

Kuber is ready to refund deposits

NEW DELHI, June 25 (PTI) — Kuber group of finance companies Chairman P.K. Sharma, arrested here on June 3, yesterday told a city court that the company would now consider payments of those investors whose deposits have matured till date.

His counsel submitted before Metropolitan Magistrate K.S. Mohi that it was difficult to pay the all the investors in one day and some methods had to be adopted so that the payments could be made in a reasonable period of time.

The police submitted a list of some investors in the court but the hearing could not progress as hundreds of investors along with some advocates gathered in the court to seek refund of their deposits.

The court adjourned the hearing for July 8 and asked the police to submit a detailed list of the investors on the next date.

He said as per the RBI assessment, the total assets of the company were Rs 212.06 crore while the total liabilities stood at Rs 211.87 crore.

Virus to hit computers
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, June 25 — The dreaded CIH is set to strike computers the world over on June 26, 1999. This virus had created havoc on April 26, 1999, by rendering millions of computers out of order. What makes the CIH virus more dangerous than the Melissa is that it is very destructive. It overwrites most of the data on the computer’s hard drive.

The solution to this virus is easily available and is absolutely free on the Millennium Infcom Technologies’ (MIT) Internet site www. mitclassified. com.

MIT’s solution is capable of retrieving 100 per cent data as opposed to other solution providers who can retrieve approximately 5 to 7 per cent only, of the lost data, according to Mr Kamal Rustogy, Vice President, Technical Development at MIT.

Dealing with the enemy within & outside

IT was a beautifully crafted piece of furniture. But little did the consumer realise at the time of purchase that it was not so perfect from inside. The consumer took at face value the assurance of the shop keeper that the furniture was made of good quality teak and would last several generations. However, within weeks of purchase, the consumer noticed a strange phenomenon. What looked like fine yellowish powder was falling from the furniture, forming little piles beneath the wood. Surprised, he called up the furniture shop, which replaced the furniture, but only after repeated phone calls and innumerable visits.

Consumer complaints about “white or yellowish powder” falling from wooden doors, windows, cabinets and even furniture are not rare. The powder, which is fine sawdust, indicates the presence of wood borer insect or to be more precise, the larvae of the insect. In fact most consumers are unaware of the threat that the borer insects pose to the quality and stability of wood.

Repeated spraying on the surface can only kill adults as they emerge out of the wood or newly hatched larvae as they attempt to bore into the wood. But it cannot kill the larvae which are in a protected site inside the wood. Experts say that fumigation is the best method of controlling borers inside the wood, but that is expensive and not very practical while treating furniture. The best option is to identify the infected spots from the falling wood dust and inject insecticide into the wood at such spots using a syringe. It’s a laborious process and needs to be repeated to be effective. But those who undertake such operation say that they cannot always guarantee 100 per cent elimination of borers. Besides, the earlier you treat the wood, the better it is.

So whenever you buy wood or wooden furniture, examine it carefully for the presence of any ‘exit holes’ in the wood through which the adult would have flown out. This is an indication of borer infestation. However, with some borers, exit holes are not so easy to detect. Besides, if the larvae are inside and no full grown insect has flown out, then there will no exist holes either. However, after purchase, if you see wood dust falling from it, insist on a refund or a replacement. If the shop keeper offers to get the wood treated, refuse. On the other hand, if the trader or the manufacturer fails to redress your complaint, you can always seek the help of the consumer courts set up under the Consumer Protection Act.

Let me quote a case on the subject decided by the Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Mumbai in 1993..(Dr Jaswantsing D. Patil vs the Managing Director, Kitply Industries, Calcutta (complaint no. 160/92). Here, a young medical practitioner, who was setting up a diagnostic centre, bought plywood worth Rs 1.5 lakh for use in his centre. However soon after, he noticed white powder falling from the plywood. In his complaint before the Maharashtra State Commission, he alleged that even though an official of the company visited the dispensary and found the plywood infected with borers, the wood was not replaced.

The Commission, in its order, pointed out that the manufacturer claimed in his brochure that the ply was resistant to termites, borer insects and other wood eating organisms and was free from them. Yet the ply was found to be infested with borers. Thus the manufacturer had made false claims and had committed an unfair trade practice. Besides, he had also sold a defective product to the consumer. It therefore directed the manufacturer to return the cost of the plywood and also labour charges amounting to Rs 40,000 spent by the consumer in installing the plywood. Since the consumer had paid only Rs 35,000 towards the plywood till then, the Commission directed the manufacturer to pay Rs 75,000 to the consumer, besides Rs 1,000 towards cost of pursuing the complaint.

The complainant, in this case, had sought in addition Rs 5 lakh towards loss of practice on account of the delay in completing the diagnostic centre. The Commission, however, said it was not inclined to award this compensation as the complainant had failed to substantiate his claim.

Bullion
Gold Std Rs 4100
Gold 22-Ct Rs 3950
Silver Ready Rs 7680
Silver delivery Rs 7780

PC Quest
CHANDIGARH, June 25 (TNS) — PC Quest ‘99, an information technology exhibition organised by Cyber Expo, a division of Cyber Media (I) Limited, opened at the CII complex here today. The participants include Intel, Samsung, HP, HCL, Wipro, TVSE,Satyam, Infoway, Newgen and Epson Singapore. The products on display include computer hardware and software.

Office-bearers
CHANDIGARH, June 25 (TNS) — The following have been elected office bearers of the Mohali Industries Association President — Mr S.S. Sandhu; Vice President — Mr B.S. Baidwan; General Secretary — Mr Gurmeet Singh; Joint Secretary — Mr T.C. Bansal; and Treasurer — Mr Subash Mahajan.