Wednesday, November 3, 1999
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B U S I N E S S | Wednesday, November 3, 1999 |
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India, Pak among most corrupt: UN UNITED NATIONS, Nov 2 — South Asia, including India and Pakistan, is one of the most corrupt and poorly governed regions of the world where the ruling elite is often too powerful to be accountable, a UN report has said. |
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How-to-govern tips for AP Inc team Floor
prices of HR steel coils cut New
exim policy? PSB
net declines Software
exports up SBP
Y2K compliant Traders up in arms |
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India, Pak among most corrupt:
UN UNITED NATIONS, Nov 2 — South Asia, including India and Pakistan, is one of the most corrupt and poorly governed regions of the world where the ruling elite is often too powerful to be accountable, a UN report has said. As many as 47 approvals are required to construct a building in Mumbai and small-scale entrepreneurs have to deal with 36 different Inspectors each month, the 208-page UN Development Programme (UNDP) report, released yesterday, said citing an example of poor governance. The report, prepared by the Mahbub-ul Haq Development Centre, said the magnitude of corruption in Pakistan alone exceeds Rs 100 billion a year or 5 per cent of the GDP. In Bangladesh, the implicit “private taxes” — cost of corruption — of setting up business comes to 340 per cent of the estimated initial official cost. The report decried nuclear tests by New Delhi and Islamabad, saying they led to an increase of almost 14 per cent in India’s defence budget and 8.5 per cent in the case of Pakistan. It estimated the cost of maintaining arsenals by the two countries at $ 15 billion over 10 years, a sum enough to educate, nourish and provide healthcare to more than 37 million neglected children in the region. The report said poverty is on the rise again in South Asia, despite decrease in poverty in India by 8 per cent between 1988 and 1993. Except in India, poverty of opportunity — defined as lack of access to education, health, employment, sanitation and productive resources — is increasing in all other South Asian countries. Rampant corruption was frustrating the region’s economic and social agenda and costing it billions of dollars each year with the poorest bearing disproportionate burden. To fight corruption, it
called for creation of exclusive corruption courts,
requirement by public officials to declare their assets,
provision of immunity to informers, debating of all major
contracts in parliament and transparent procurement laws.
— PTI |
How-to-govern tips for AP Inc team HYDERABAD, Nov 2 (PTI) — Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu, who has earned the sobriquet “CEO of AP Inc.” for his reformist approach, is all set to give a corporate touch to governance through a series of training modules to sharpen the administrative skills of State Ministers and bureaucrats. In true corporate style, a brisk training schedule has been devised to hone the skills of time management, personality development, decision-making among the Ministers and officials while developing strategies for good governance and optimum utilisation of emerging concepts of information technology. To herald a new work culture in the top echelons of administration, all the 37 Ministers, including Naidu, undertook a rigorous three-day orientation course covering a gamut of administration and constitutional provisions, role of people’s representatives vis-a-vis bureaucrats and interpersonal relationships. The course, that concluded on Sunday, was spread over 12 sessions, during which the Ministers were given inputs on various subjects by experts from across the country, followed by interactive sessions. The training programme was organised by the Marri Channa Reddy Human Resources Development Institute here. In the next phase, officials of the State Secretariat would be updated on the best international management practices. Director General of the Institute and senior IAS officer P.V.R.K. Prasad said: “The uniqueness of this programme is that it helps build a good team that has clarity of vision, strategy and commitment for overall development of the State”. The vision-2020 document, prepared by the Naidu Government detailing sector-wise road map for development with specific targets, forms the basis for deliberations with the Chief Minister himself acting as one of the resource persons at the orientation course. The emerging concepts of good governance to make it more transparent and citizen-friendly and strategies to herald electronic governance and knowledge in society were the focus of the programme with Naidu giving an overview of his Government’s initiatives in reforming the administration. The ruling Telugu Desam legislators are also set to undergo training in personality development that includes yoga, meditation, dietary regimentation and spiritualism. The programme, being organised at the party headquarters here from November 10, is aimed at helping the MLAs to keep themselves fit and healthy and develop a positive attitude. A separate training
programme is being planned for party MPs later this month
to enhance their understanding of parliamentary
practices, constitutional nuances and articulation of
people’s problems. |
‘Businessman of Century’ is Ford DETROIT, Nov 2 (AP) — Henry Ford, who transformed the automobile from a rich man’s toy into the working man’s necessity, is Fortune magazine’s “Businessman of the Century”. Ford was selected from a series of profiles on 20th century business leaders published in Fortune over the past six months. The magazine said Ford “was a builder of industry that transformed the very land we live on; the first to create a mass market as well as the means to satisfy it; as great an entrepreneur as we’ve ever seen. His was the kind of genius that endures.” The other three finalists were Alfred Sloan Jr., who as General Motors Corp. Chairman organised the basic structure of what would become the world’s largest corporation; Thomas J. Watson, who built IBM into a computer giant; and Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates, who at 44 is the richest man in the world. Ford founded the Ford Motor Co. in 1903 at age 40. Five years later, he introduced the Model T, which would remain in production until 1927 as its price fell from $ 850 to $ 290. In 1913, he adapted the moving assembly line for automotive production and drastically lowered the cost of cars. At about the same time, Ford paid his workers a then — lucrative $ 5 a day — giving them economic access to the market he was creating. “As Ford adapted
the emerging principles of mass production to the
automobile and hired tens of thousands of workers to put
those principles into practice, he gave rise to an
entirely new phenomenon: the blue-collar middle
class,” the magazine said. |
Floor prices of HR steel coils cut NEW DELHI, Nov 2 (PTI) —The Government today lowered sharply the floor price of imported to hot rolled (HR) coils by $ 52 per tonne, besides reducing it for six other steel items. For HR coils, the minimum import price will not be $ 254 per tonne as against $ 302 previously, an official notification said. For HR sheets, the minimum floor price will be $ 269 against $ 317 previously. For cold rolled coils it will now be $ 351 as against $ 392 earlier. The reduction of floor price was the sharpest on alloy steel bars and rods which has been slashed to $ 580 per tonne as against $ 740. In case of CR coils, it fell to $ 351 per tonnes from $ 392. Tinplates floor price has been cut to $ 620 per tonne from $ 720. In case of defectives,
the floor price has been lowered by 25 per cent uniformly
for all the seven steel items. |
New exim policy? NEW DELHI, Nov 2 — The Government is considering to announce mid-term exim policy to boost exports, Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Murasolli Maran said here today. “We are disappointed with exports in the first six months of the current fiscal”, Mr Maran told reporters here. Earlier, speaking at a
FICCI seminar on the WTO and Indian challenges and
opportunities here, Mr Maran said emphasis should be on
the removal of inequities and imbalances in the existing
agreements. |
PSB net declines CHANDIGARH, Nov 2 — Punjab & Sind Bank has reported an operating profit of Rs 51.57 crore for the first half of the current fiscal as compared to Rs 48.71 crore in the same period last year. The net profit for the first six months ended September 30, however, declined marginally to Rs 31.22 crore as against Rs 31.66 crore in the same period last year. A bank statement attributed the lower net profit to provision for income tax, bonus gratuity, pension, expected wage revision and non-performing assets. The bank has been able
to improve the operating profit despite a decline in the
Prime Lending Rate from 13.50 per cent last year to 12.75
per cent. |
Software exports up NEW DELHI, Nov 2 — The software export revenues grew by 58.3 per cent at Rs 8060 crore for the first half of the current fiscal as against Rs 5090 crore during the corresponding period of 1998-99 even as the Y2K related projects are declining. Software exports of $ 1.87 billion now form about 10.5 per cent of India’s total export of $ 17.4 billion during April-September 1999 as against 8.5 per cent during the first half of last fiscal, Mr Dewang Mehta, president of NASSCOM, said. He said the global consultants McKinsey’s will submit a report on ways to strengthen Indian Software industry in mid-December. The report is expected
to give suggestions to the Government, software companies
and associations on how to sustain and improve the
current over 50 per cent annual sectoral growth. |
SBP Y2K compliant PATIALA, Nov 2 — State Bank of Patiala today inaugurated computerised working at its Faridkot and Sangrur (Main) branches. The bank has computerised 85 branches of the bank. All critical systems of the bank have been made Y2K compliant. Mr R.S. Nanda, General
Mangaer (P&D), SBP inaugurated the computerised
services at Sangrur branch. He said that the bank has set
a target to computerise 100 branches by end of December
99. The bank has to further strengthen inter-connectivity
besides NICNET and are joining RBI’s VSAT Network.
To utilise the SWIFT connectivity effectively, more
branches are proposed to be provided with online
connection. |
Traders up in arms LUDHIANA, Nov 2 — Various trader organisations in Punjab have threatened to launch an agitation, if the State Government does not withdraw the amendments made in the Punjab General Sales Tax Act by November 8, which makes sales tax evaders liable for imprisonment varying from six months to two years. At a press conference
organised jointly by the four Beopar Mandals of the
State, the leaders threatened to take to the streets and
said if the need arose, they would also gherao the Prime
Minister and other ministers in Delhi. |
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