Government to monitor monetary situations
NEW DELHI, March 13 — The measures announced by the Government in the Union Budget for 1999-2000 and the subsequent steps taken by the RBI will start showing results soon, the Union Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, said here today.

No separate Rail Budget needed: Opposition
NEW DELHI, March 13 — Opposition members in Lok Sabha today demanded scrapping of a separate Railway Budget saying its purpose had been lost and there was no secrecy involved.

India, Israel trade rises
TEL AVIV, March 13 — Indo-Israeli bilateral trade is rising appreciably with India’s export going up about five times while imports have nearly trebled in recent years, according to figures released by Indian Embassy here.

Sinha assures acrylic dyers LUDHIANA, March 13 — The Union Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, has assured a deputation of the Dyeing Factories Association of some relief on the imposition of the Central Excise duty on the dyeing of acrylic yarn at the time of presentation of the Finance Bill.

Centre to convene CMs’ meeting
NEW DELHI, March 13 — Centre would shortly convene meeting of Chief Ministers and State Finance Ministers shortly to discuss steps for boosting exports, Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde has said.

Gold test centres in metros soon
NEW DELHI, Mar 13 — Facilities to officially test and “hallmark” the quality of gold used in jewellery will be set up in metros soon, Food and Consumers Affairs Minister S.S. Barnala said here today.

Ludhiana gets Indicas
LUDHIANA, March 13 — The first lot of three Indica cars, manufactured by Telco, was formally released here yesterday by the Mayor of Ludhiana, Mr A P Grewal, at a simple ceremony.

FIPB clears media proposals
NEW DELHI, March 13 — Foreign Investment Promotion Board today cleared a number of media proposals that include Sony Pictures and Walt Disney.

  Portfolio picks

Government to monitor monetary situations
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, March 13 — The measures announced by the Government in the Union Budget for 1999-2000 and the subsequent steps taken by the RBI will start showing results soon, the Union Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, said here today.

Talking to reporters after a post-Budget meeting with the RBI Board here, Mr Sinha said the measures taken by the Government and the RBI would be reflected in the performance of the economy in the coming few months.

Mr Sinha said the RBI Board was happy with the fiscal measures announced in the Budget. “RBI is satisfied with the recent developments in fiscal and monetary policies”, the Minister said.

He said the government would closely monitor developments in the monetary, fiscal and external situations.

He said the RBI’s decision to cut bank rate by one per cent to eight and reduction in Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 50 points to 10.5 per cent and cut in Repo rates to 6 per cent would also help the economy.

The RBI Governor, Mr Bimal Jalan said the meeting was to take note of the post-budget situation in the economy and the recent changes in the monetary policies.

He felt the various measures announced in the Budget would have a positive impact on the economy.

Referring to the increasing Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) in the banking sector, Mr Jalan said this issue was also discussed in the meeting but no concrete decision emerged. High NPAs in the banking sector was an issue for concern, he added.

He said the RBI had also announced various incentives for the export sector and in future too the central bank would take note of the exporters needs when the situation arises.

On the Gold Deposit Scheme announced in the recent Budget, the RBI Governor said the central bank was looking at the policy aspect for floating of the scheme by banks.

“RBI officials are devising the guidelines for floatation of Gold Deposit Scheme” he said. He, however, did not disclose the time frame for the announcement of the policy.

The Minister of State for Finance, Mr M.Janardhanam, the Finance Secretary, Mr Vijay Kelkar, Chief Economic Advisor, Dr Shankaracharya and Revenue Secretary, Mr Javed Choudhary, were among those who attended the meeting.

No separate Rail Budget needed: Opposition

NEW DELHI, March 13 (PTI) —Opposition members in Lok Sabha today demanded scrapping of a separate Railway Budget saying its purpose had been lost and there was no secrecy involved.

Initiating the debate on the 1999-2000 Rail Budget presented on February 25, Congress member P Uprendra said a separate Railway Budget was started in 1920 to give freedom for the expansion of the network.

“The purpose of a separate Budget has now been lost. There is no secrecy involved since the difference in fares and other rates will have to be paid.

“Time has come to explore whether it is worthwhile at all to have a separate Budget as expenditure on defence for example is almost the same,” he said suggesting a status paper with regard to railways would suffice.

Attacking the government for failure to tackle basic problems in the railways, he said the Railway Board needed to be reorganised and a chairman not belonging to the railways should be appointed to offset rivalry among various departments.

Regretting that myopic policies had led to railways losing out on passenger and trade traffic to roadways, Upendra said that while in the 1950s, 80 per cent of freight moved by wagons, in 1997-98 the share of railways was only 40 per cent.

In passenger traffic, only 20 people now travelled by trains while 40 years back it was just the reverse, he said.

Quoting Budget papers, Upendra said a project loss of Rs 1,056 crore in rail earnings and withdrawal of additional funds to meet pensionary liabilities showed bankruptcy in the sector.

He said the decision not to exempt foodgrains, fodder and other essential items from the increase in freight rates was bound to lead to hike in prices of general commodities.

Maintaining that average speed of trains was low, the congress member said there had been no addition to passenger coaches since 1993-94 and the number of goods wagons was now less than what it was in the early sixties.

He charged the government with failing to remove three major broad gauge-metre gauge bottlenecks which were seriously affecting transhipment of goods.

Upendra wanted the government to take concrete steps to better passenger safety as robberies in trains were on the increase, and said armed policemen should be posted in all important trains.

Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda demanded the new railway zone in Bangalore, for which Rs 10 crore had been already spent, should not be scrapped and an additional zone should be created in Hubli in Karnataka on the lines of a new zone in Bilaspur in addition to that in Jabbalpur in Madhya Pradesh.

Mr Gowda said any move to disturb the zone in Bangalore could lead to serious law and order problems.

India, Israel trade rises

TEL AVIV, March 13 (PTI) —Indo-Israeli bilateral trade is rising appreciably with India’s export going up about five times while imports have nearly trebled in recent years, according to figures released by Indian Embassy here.

In 1998, the country’s exports to Israel stood at $ 343.8 million while imports amounted to $ 334.4 million as compared to $ 75 million and $ 127 million respectively in 1992.

In 1998, India’s export surpassed import figures and trade balance stood at $ 9.4 million in India’s favour.

The bilateral trade has been going up steadily since 1992 after the establishment of full-fledged diplomatic relationship between India and Israel.

Major exports to Israel include gem and jewellery, cotton yarn, fabrics, drugs, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, inorganic, organic and agro-chemicals, cashew, handicrafts and sesame and niger seeds.

Excise hike on tractors hits farmers
From P. N. Andley
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, March 13 — The hike in excise duty on heavy duty tractors proposed in the Union Budget has added to the woes of Punjab farmers suffering from three successive years of unfavourable climate and rising cost of production.

The government has raised excise duty only on high horsepower tractors which account for over 90 per cent of the tractor population of Punjab. The duty on small horsepower tractors has been kept unchanged at 8 per cent. The budget has proposed to raise excise duty on tractors from 13 per cent to 16 per cent.

Farmers’ bodies in Punjab allege that the decision to levy higher duty on higher horsepower tractors was the result of intense lobbying by a company which specialises in manufacture of lower horsepower tractors. “Our farmers have to invest huge amounts when they sow the crop”, said a spokesperson of the Punjab Kisan Raksha Samiti in identical letters sent to the Union Finance and Agriculture Ministers.

“Because of unfavourable climatic conditions, farmers are unable to get returns while harvesting the crops. Water logging in the field has become a major problem in most parts of Punjab and the problem was most serious in South Punjab”, according to the spokesman.

“Our cotton belt is already ruined and farmers are unable to pay their loan instalments to banks. Excessive and unseasonal rains, drought, storms and fog have compounded the Punjab farmers’ problems”, he said.

Various other farmers’ bodies have also echoed the views of the Punjab Kisan Raksha Samiti who say that the duty has come at a time when bankers, commission agents and dealers of farm equipment and inputs like seeds, fertilisers and insecticides are knocking at the doors of farmers for repayment of loans and supplies made under credit.

The duty hike on tractors has quickly followed a diesel price hike. The excise duty hike would increase tractor prices by Rs 6,000 to Rs 9,000. The farmers’ bodies has requested the government to exempt tractors from the proposed hike in excise duty.

According to agriculture experts, the 35 HP tractor is the most suited machine for farmers having an agricultural holding of between 4 and 20 hectares. Studies by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) have shown that this is the average land holding of most farmers who can afford to, and who do, buy a tractor. The higher horsepower segment has 60 per cent of the Indian tractor market.

“This will lead to a shift in favour of the less efficient lower horsepower tractors which enjoy lower excise duty and thus result in lower revenue realisation”, said a banker. He said there was no need to give further encouragement to the lower horsepower tractors as this class of tractors was already being subsidised to the tune of Rs 30,000 per tractor under a Government of India subsidy scheme aimed at promoting modernisation of agriculture.

Sinha assures acrylic dyers
From Our Correspondent

LUDHIANA, March 13 — The Union Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, has assured a deputation of the Dyeing Factories Association of some relief on the imposition of the Central Excise duty on the dyeing of acrylic yarn at the time of presentation of the Finance Bill.

Recently, an 11-member Action Committee led by Mr B.D. Sharma met Mr Sinha and Mr Javed Chowdhary, Secretary of Tax Research Units, along with Lala Lajpat Rai, a member of the Rajya Sabha, and handed over a memorandum highlighting the problems being faced by the industry due to imposition of the Central Excise duty at the rate of Rs 5 per kg.

Centre to convene CMs’ meeting

NEW DELHI, March 13 (PTI) — Centre would shortly convene meeting of Chief Ministers and State Finance Ministers shortly to discuss steps for boosting exports, Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde has said.

Rationalisation of duty drawback rates for garment exporters was under review, he said at the 19th annual general meeting of Gurgaon Chamber of Commerce and Industry here yesterday.

The government was considering a proposal to establish inland container depot at Gurgaon, Hegde said.

An all-India programme to promote export consciousness among the middle and lower level functionaries of the government departments would also be considered, Hegde said.

Gold test centres in metros soon

NEW DELHI, Mar 13 (PTI) — Facilities to officially test and “hallmark” the quality of gold used in jewellery will be set up in metros soon, Food and Consumers Affairs Minister S.S. Barnala said here today.

The centres will be set up jointly by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the body that provides the ISI mark in India, and World Gold Council, the international body responsible for the management and assaying centres.

“The system will be voluntary in nature and will enable the common man to verify the quality of the gold and gold products and also enable to distinguish between the vast majority of honest manufacturers and handful of black sheeps,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion of Rajiv Gandhi National Awards presentation ceremony, Barnala said there had been an increased demand from various importers for obtaining BIS certification for their products especially in cases where BIS certification is mandatory for sale in India.

BIS was in the process of formulating suitable schemes so these products could be certified, he said.

He said Rajiv Gandhi National Quality Award had been constituted on the lines of Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award of USA, Deming Prize of Japan and European Quality Awards.

Several major industrial nations have undertaken quality audits before giving away such awards.

The award has encouraged both large and small scale units.

“I will be pleased if these awards enthuse maximising customer satisfaction and meeting the challenges of global competition,” he said.

Barnala presented the “best of all” awards for years 1997, 1996 and 1995 to Larsen and Toubro Ltd, Bangalore and Ammunition Factory, Pune, (jointly); Tata Bearings, Kharagpur; and ITC Ltd, Anaparti.

The category award winners for the year 1997 are Bhilai Steel Plant, Vikram Cement, Wipro Ltd (Infotech Group), Sharp Tools (Pump Division), Nulife Pharmaceuticals and Auto Shell Moulders Ltd.

Ludhiana gets Indicas
Tribune News Service

LUDHIANA, March 13 — The first lot of three Indica cars, manufactured by Telco, was formally released here yesterday by the Mayor of Ludhiana, Mr A P Grewal, at a simple ceremony.

According to Mr K S Ahluwalia, General Manager, Concorde, the 50-50 joint venture between the Tata group of companies and Jardine International Motors, the Ludhiana office has already received the first list of 331 vehicles. A subsequent list of 1610 bookings has also been received. The first list of deliveries would be completed by May, 99 and the subsequent list by January, 2000.

FIPB clears media proposals

NEW DELHI, March 13 (PTI) — Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) today cleared a number of media proposals that include Sony Pictures and Walt Disney. Today’s clearance will amount to Foreign Direct Investment worth Rs.500 crore.

The media proposals, pending for some time with the board, were cleared based on the comments of Information and Broadcasting Ministry, FIPB sources said.

The board had kept these proposals on hold waiting for a policy decision on investment in media.

Other media proposals cleared today included Bloomberg Data Service, Chaitra Leo Burnett, Mudra, Optima, Zen Communications and R.K Swamy.

FIPB also cleared the proposal of Powergen Plc to increase its stake in Gujarat Torrent from 27.77 per cent to over 74 per cent by bringing in an additional investment of Rs 330 crore.

The Indian subsidiary of Powergen would be picking up the additional equity of 46.34 per cent of the Torrent group. Powergen Plc UK holds 27.77 per cent in the power company.

Among the media proposals, Walt Disney has been allowed to enter cartoon film making and marketing of air time in the country. However, the US company would not be allowed activities related to broadcasting, the sources said.

Royal Dutch Shell has been allowed to set up a 100 per cent subsidiary in the country to manufacture photo voltaic cells for non-conventional energy systems, the sources said.

Shell would initially invest about Rs 10 crore in the project.

Japanese multinational Marubeni has also been allowed to increase the capitalisation of its Indian subsidiary from $ 5 million to $ 15 million.

Another proposal by Hoechst Schering Agroevo SA France to set up a joint venture with MIL for agrochemicals was also cleared by FIPB.

by Ashok Kumar
Pharma sector main Budget beneficiary

THE market always reacts in a knee-jerk manner to Budget pronouncements. It was evident this year too as the BSE Sensex kept flip-flopping with every pronouncement. Finally, when the Budget speech was concluded, marketmen took stock and decided that the Budget was actually not all that bad. And then began an almost unstoppable stockmarket rally which saw the BSE Sensex surging by an amazing 300 odd points within two post-Budget trading sessions. Adding fuel to the stockmarket rally was the RBIs strategically timed interest rate cut announcement. At the end of the day, it seems that the same sectors that had been doing well will continue to do so. One of the major Budget beneficiaries has been the omnipotent pharma sector, and Pfizer is one of the frontrunners engaged therein. Let us then zero in on this company to try and comprehend what really makes it tick.

Pfizer planned a strategy to free as many drugs of the DPCO purview as possible to boost sales and profits. This was done through various ways including transferring of brands of small scale units, re-classification of products as food products, and recategorisation of the drugs by dropping ingredients which were under DPCO. And Pfizer’s strategy proved to be a phenomenal success. From about 90 per cent of its output under DPCO in 9203, just 10 per cent of its products were under DPCO purview in 9703. Meanwhile, as a part of its restructuring programme, Pfizer’s is in the process of relocating its headquarters in Mumbai to Jogeshwari, a suburb, from Nariman Point. The company has already leased out a major portion of the premises at Express Towers, which is expected to fetch a hefty revenue in the coming years besides effecting saving in overheads.

The relocation is expected to result in a net savings of nearly Rs. 3 crore annually. Moreover, Pfizer is reportedly planning to outsource some of the key ingredients including bulk drugs instead of importing them. With the domestic prices of these drugs being substantially lower than their imported prices, this would result in substantial savings Pfizer. Meanwhile, the sale of Pfizer’s Ankleshwar unit, once through, will substantially improve its cash flow. Pfizer will not have much problem disposing of this unit due to its location and state-of-the-art machinery.

In fact, if has reportedly transferred a substantial portion of its manufacturing operations at Ankleshwar to third party contracts. Some observers, however, feel the sale of the Thane unit could have fetched a much higher sum for Pfizer and also resulted in substantial savings due to the higher operational costs there. Nevertheless, the sale proceeds from the Ankleshwar unit could be utilised for aggressive marketing of its existing as well as new drugs. The parent’s decision to hike its present 40% stake to 51 per cent also augurs well for Pfizer as it indicates the increasing interest of the $ 11.3 bIn, (1996) research-based global pharmaceutical company in it. Pfizer, US has a major presence worldwide in six key therapeutic areas, cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, central nervous system disorders, allergy and arthritis. However, there is some concern about the parent’s intention to set up a 100 per cent subsidiary in India. Moreover, the parent is also considering the possibility of acquiring a 51 per cent stake in Duchem Laboratories (with balance 49 per cent remaining with the Pfizer) which may result in bifurcation of focus on Duchem at Pfizer’s cost. Yet, the long term prospects of this company are fairly bright.

Finally, a small poser — was it necessary to bail out UTI at the cost of the Indian corporate sector, most of the companies wherein are struggling to maintain their bottomlines ?And as for the great Indian middle class which will bear the brunt of the proposed surcharge on Income-Tax — well, forget about complaining — most Finance Ministers simply care a damn about your existence !

by R.N. Lakhotia

Q: I am an employee of Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. I retired from Gurdaspur Research Station after superannuation on 30.11.97. I have been provided with the salary statement for the financial year 1998-99. Form 16-A has not been received from the DDO, Gurdaspur Research Station till this day.

(a) Can I submit the IT return without Form 16-A? If not, what is the procedure that needs to be followed?

(b) I received the following payments besides my salary upto 30.11.97.

(i) Leave encashment Rs 1.07 lakh.

(ii) Survival benefit on LIC Rs 7500, and

(iii) Repurchase value of MEP-92 units from UTI after deduction of I.T. at source Rs 9296.

Please clarify whether all these payments are to be included in salary as taxable income.

— Dr H.S. Sukhija, Pinjore

Ans: In case you have not yet received the tax deduction certificate in Form No. 16-A from your employer, you are advised to file the Income-Tax return without the said Form No. 16-A. However, it is also advisable to enclose with your IT return the copies of the letters written by you to the employer asking for salary certificate. Leave encashment at the time of retirement as also survival benefit received from LIC are not taxable u/s 10. As regards the repurchase value of MEP 92 the same will be liable to be included in your income. However, you will get the benefit of tax deducted at source on the same.

Q: Can depreciation be charged in the current year and not to be charged in the next year or vice-versa, at the sweetwill of an assessee?

2. I and my wife are IT assessees. We are living in a house (covered area more than 800 sq. ft.) owned by our Hindu undivided family (HUF). Is our HUF also liable to file form 2C prescribed by the Income Tax Department?

— Mahesh Kumar, Ludhiana.

Ans. Normally a tax payer will like to charge depreciation year after year on constant basis. However, if the tax payer is not interested to charge depreciation for a particular year, he may do so and again start claiming depreciation in the subsequent year. On the facts stated by you the Hindu undivided family is required to file Income-tax return.

Q: The small assessees who were paying tax Rs 1400 u/s 115-K, if they show net profit more than 5 per cent whether they are required to maintain account books and whether balance sheet, trading account, personal account, profit and loss account is compulsory to attach with the return.

— Adesh Agnihotri, Advocate, Tarn Taran

A: Yes, the retail traders who are having net profit more than 5 per cent and who want to show like that are required to maintain books of account and balance sheet and are also compulsorily required to attach the profit and loss A/c and balance sheet with the IT return.

Q: Recently, I had gone abroad for a 6 months training programme. My funding was done by a trust based in India. The amount was taken by me in foreign exchange from India after due permission of RBI. A small amount was saved during my stay there, will the same be taxable when it is brought back from abroad? The money was for use as as a stipend during training. I have made enquiries from several sources here but to no avail. I could think of no better person than you to answer this question.

— V. Singh, Ludhiana.

Ans: The amount saved by you while you are abroad will be liable to tax in India. You are advised to include the same in your total income.

Q: On 28th June Tax & You in your reply to Mr Pathak of Chandigarh, (1) You stated that the income received from Unit Trust of India is not treated as dividend income.

— What is the reason of this step-motherly treatment especially when the dividend income from the companies is exempt. Do you agree with this formula?

(2) This year’s Budget has been presented late, from which date of the month, it will be enforced?

(3) Kindly confirm that the IT exemption limit and other rebates etc available to an individual are also available to HUF.

— L.C. Gupta, Ambala Cantt.

Ans: The income received from Unit Trust of India is not treated as dividend income. There is no question of step-motherly treatment in respect of UTI income because the section which exempts dividend clearly states that the dividend received will be exempt which has been received from a company. This year’s union Budget although has been late, but it will be applicable for the whole of the financial year 98-99.

However, certain provisions are applicable from different dates, each amendment to the finance Bill contains the details about the date from which it is applicable. The exemption limit for the Financial Year 98-99 for individual as also for Hindu undivided family is Rs 50,000.

by Praful R. Desai
Reference

Q: Can Government refuse to refer the matter holding the dispute as not a fit case? Can Government go into the merits of the disputes?

Ans: A question was posed before the Bombay H.C. in Bombay Port Trust Employees’ Union v Union of India (1999-I-LIJ. 175) wherein the H.C. expressed the view thus:

The petitioner — Bombay Port Trust Employees’ Union served a strike notice on the Chairman, Bombay Dock Labour Board pressing for the demand that promotional post of Tindel in chipping and painting section should be filled from amongst the mazdoors of the said section on the basis of their seniority as per the practice and any action of the second and four respondents, depriving senior mazdoors of their right to promotional post of Tindel be held illegal and unjustified.

The Concilliation Officer and Assistant Commissioner of Labour, Bombay held concilliatory proceedings but ultimately the Concilliation Officer submitted a failure report to the Central Govt.

By order dated 18.1.1955, Central Government refused to refer the industrial dispute for adjudication on the ground that it did not find the proposed dispute fit for reference for adjudication. Hence, the present writ petition before the Bombay H.C. challenging the above.

The H.C. said that it is well settled that while exercising the power U/s. 12 (5) of the I.D. Act, 1947, the appropriate Government cannot go into the merits of the industrial dispute and if it finds that the industrial dispute arises, then such industrial dispute needs to be referred for adjudication to the competent Tribunal.

With the result, the H.C. held that the observation made by the Central Government that dispute is not fit for reference cannot be sustained. Accordingly, writ petition was allowed and made absolute in terms of prayers (a) and (b) of the petition.

Portfolio picks

Birla 3M

BIRLA 3M was incorporated in ‘89 as a trading company and is a joint venture between 3M and Zenith Ltd, an Ashok Birla group company. 3M is a majority shareholder with a 51 per cent stake followed by the Ashok Birla group with a 33 per cent stake. The balance is held by the public. Birla 3M now has one unit in Bangalore and is proposing to set up another at Pune in during the current year.

It manufactures speciality tapes, adhesives telecom connectors and autographies at its Bangalore plant. It has a range of over 300 products. Birla 3M sells locally manufactured products and also trades on products imported from its parent. Birla 3M has introduced only a small percentage of 3M’s product portfolio. 3M recently received FIPB permission to acquire a further 26 per cent stake in Birla 3M from the Birlas.

New products may be introduced in Indian markets at a vigorous pace and also could become a centre for global sourcing. Overall, the prospects of this company seem quite bright.

Essel Packaging

THE company which entered into the business of flexible packaging 14 years ago has been riding high on the growth of the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment, particularly the dental care products and cosmetics, owing to its privileged clientele comprising large multinationals, in its business of laminated collapsible tubes. And now that the company has acquired almost a monopoly status in the domestic business segment with a market share of more than 90 per cent, Essel Packaging has set its eyes on the neighbouring countries like China and Nepal. While more than 90 per cent of the sales turnover of the company is generated out of the collapsible laminated tubes segment, it is also into the manufacture of seamless tubes. Overall, the prospects of this company appear to be quite bright and one could consider an investment in its shares at price declines.

Roofit Ind

AT present, Roofit Industries has the capacity to produce 90,000 tonnes per annum (TPA) of roofing sheet plants. Roofit Industries is expected to add an additional capacity of 45,000 tonnes of roofing sheet plant thereto shortly. Its subsidiary, PRPL, has possessed a capacity of 45,000 tonnes of asbestos sheets. Following its proposed merger with the subsidiary, Roofit Industries is set to become a major force to reckon with in the industry. It will match up to competitors like Hyderabad Industries and Eternit Everest. The proposed merger is likely to help Roofit Industries to gain mileage from its brand name in the eastern part of the country. Recently, Roofit Industries has taken up two expansion projects. It is setting up a greenfield plant with a 45,000 tonnes capacity in West Bengal. It is also in the process of expanding its capacity by another 25,000 tonnes. This new plant will put the company on the map of eastern zone, which will earn the company an accelerated rate of growth. One may thus conclude that the prospects of this company are bright.

At 40 the figure remains flawless

BARBIE, the busty blond bomb-shell doll with a minuscule waist and long plastic legs, turned 40 on Tuesday without an extra ounce marring her flawless figure or a grey hair on her head.

The 11.5-inch plastic doll is marketed in more than 140 countries.

“I think she’s aged very well,” Handler told the crowd at FAO Schwarz. “She has been the embodiment of how girls view themselves and their future in the adult world.”

Barbie hit toy stores in 1959 as a miniature teenage fashion model, wedged into a zebrastriped bathing suit, with her strawberry blond hair tied up in a pony tail and her eyes painted with sapphire blue shadow.

Today, at the ripe age of 40, Barbie has come a long way. With her handsome boyfriend Ken doll, 100 new outfits a year, and more than a billion pairs of shoes, Barbie remains one of the most popular, best-dressed women around.

A mistake

NOTED crusader M.R.Pai, during his visit to The Tribune office last Wednesday, had his audience in splits with his jokes. Here is one of the memorable ones:

Once two lions escaped from the Delhi zoo. After a month both were caught and brought back to the zoo. While exchanging notes, one of them said: “I moved around in Rajasthan and managed to get some food. Then I wandered into the area beyond and found neither food nor water. Fed up with hunger, I surrendered at the nearest police station”.

The other said: “I hid in a corner in the Government of India’s Secretariat.

I ate one babu daily and had a fairely good time. Nobody noticed. Then I committed a mistake: I ate a canteen boy. Within 15 minutes I was found out and brought here”.

Reuben — who?

REUBEN Singh is a young man with a difference. At 22 he has breakfasted with Britain’s Prime Minister and is dubbed “Europe’s Bill Gates”. He owns apartments in Manchester, London and New York, drives Rolls Royces and wears a Cartier watch. Last week he sold his fashion business for a cool £ 22 million.

Who is Reuben Singh ? He is a businessman in Britain. His parents left Delhi to settle in Britain in the seventies. They sold fashion accessories. After working in his father’s sales department, Reuben, aged 17, set up his own shop in 1995 called “Miss Attitude” and sold fashion jewellery, continuing his studies at the same time and sleeping usually for four hours only.

His struggle was rewarded and he went on opening more shops, ultimately building a retail empire. He loves three Cs—clothes, cars and companies. Soon he will have to add a fourth C—a companion.

Pony express

MADHUBHAI PATEL climbs into a sleeper berth on the Gujarat Mail train and, as he has done six nights a week for 20 years, prepares to keep vigil until dawn over a heap of unmarked white canvas sacks.

“Just mail and some small parcels,” says the 47-year-old. Actually, Patel and about 30 equally inconspicuous passengers are on a diamond run. Known as ‘angadias,’ they ferry an estimated Rs 17 crore worth of diamonds daily between Mumbai, where the gems arrive from abroad, and the cutting and polishing centres in Gujarat.

The system is more pony express than Federal Express: no hand-held scanners, no itemised receipts, no questions asked. But the angadias’ overnight efficiency is unrivalled, and that has helped them play a part in building India’s diamond industry into a Rs. 20,000-crore a year business. Eight out of 10 diamonds sold worldwide are cut in India, and angadias transport most of them.

That isn’t all they carry: Angadias deliver mail, contracts, clothing, machinery, jewellery and cash faster, more reliably and usually more cheaply than the postal service.

Angadias say they have been plying the trade routes of India’s west coast since the days of camel caravans. Clan ties ensure trust: Most angadias are Patels. And most hail from villages in Gujarat’s Mahesana district, not far from the town of Palanpur, the birthplace of India’s diamond industry.

Just sleep

NEW Zealanders would rather be in bed asleep, than have a night of sex, according to a survey. UMR Insight asked 400 people to describe what they most desired if they could spend one night doing anything.

The option of making love, even with the most beautiful or desired person on earth, rated much lower than a night at the theatre, an evening of luxury or even watching television.

Less than 1 per cent said that they would like to make love to top model Claudia Schiffer, while 5 per cent would rather go to the pub. However, the interest in sex increased if people had the option of spending a night in the White House Oval Office.

For people under 30, 2.5 per cent said they would like to make love, while 17 per cent preferred to spend an evening with family and friends. No one over 60 admitted to preferring to make love, but 15 per cent said they would like to go gambling.

TimesBank
CHANDIGARH, March 13 (TNS) — Ms Neena Singh, Assistant Vice-President of Times Bank Chandigarh today launched a unique service of cash delivery and cash pick-up for special customers including corporates, traders and individuals. Another new facility being provided is “Free tax advice” for their customers. This is a value added service and will continue till April 24, 1999.

Godrej Foods
CHANDIGARH, March 13 (TNS) — Godrej Foods Ltd has launched Cooklite it’s sunflower oil brand in an attractive 200 ml pack. This effort marks Godrej Foods move into the segment which is fast converting consumers from loose oil to packaged oils.

Wipro
BANGALORE, March 13 (PTI) —Wipro Infotech’s enterprise resources planning (ERP) division has tied up with Siebel Systems Inc, USA, to offer enterprise relationship management (ERM) systems. Wipro would offer ERM services in sales, marketing in India and abroad, a Wipro release said today.

Anchor
CHANDIGARH, March 13 (TNS) — Anchor Electronics and Electricals Limited today launched new Tressa plates and stainless steel plates in Anchor Roma range. Mr S.H. Rattanpal, Country Manager, gave the technical details of the products.

Crisil
MUMBAI, March 13 (PTI) — Crisil has downgraded the Rs 255 million optionally convertible debenture issue of Southern Iron and Steel Company Ltd.