Look back at cellular tariff: TRAI
NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — Telecom Regulatory Authority of India said today that the tariff proposed by Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd for its cellular services needs to be examined for cross-subsidisation and other related issues.

WWICS to set up IT college
CHANDIGARH, Nov 4 —Worldwide Immigration Consultancy Services has decided to set up a college in the country which will offer North American degrees in information technology.

Will import of powder sour milk?
NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — An apex body of Indian milk producers has protested against the Government’s plan to import 10,000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder with zero import duty, saying it would kill domestic industry and put “Operation Flood’ in the reverse gear.

Cement output up 10 per cent
NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — Cement production by big plants grew by 10 per cent to touch 6.85 million tonnes in October this year over the same month last year.

Exporters befool JDGFT
NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — The Comptroller and Auditor General of India has castigated the Commerce Ministry for paying an excess amount totalling Rs 2.04 crore to companies availing deemed export benefits.

Maruti 800 prices to go up by 25,000
NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — Maruti Udyog will hike the price of its “bread and butter’ car Maruti 800 by Rs 25,000 to Rs 2.16 lakh from next month or early next year, company officials said today.

Canadian loan for Chamera project
NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — National Hydroelectric Power Corporation today signed a $ 175 million (Canadian) loan agreement with the Export Development Corporation of Canada for financing of Canadian goods and services for the 300 MW Chamera Stage II hydroelectric project in Himachal Pradesh.

Jain TV business news from November 7
NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — Jain TV today announced the launch of its business news form November 7, which would focus on the markets and provide insight on scrips as trading goes on.

Look back at cellular tariff: TRAI

NEW DELHI, Nov 4 (PTI) — Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) said today that the tariff proposed by Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) for its cellular services needs to be examined for cross-subsidisation and other related issues.The cost-based tariff that was specified by TRAI was based on costs submitted by service providers using a different technology — Group Speciale Mobile (GSM), the TRAI Chairman Justice S.S. Sodhi, said.

“With a change in policy that now allows provision of cellular services using CDMA technology (being offered by MTNL), there is a need to re-examine the cost basis to consider whether there is a major difference with respect to the previous situation,” he said.

Addressing an open house on MTNL’s tariff proposal for cellular mobile services, Justice Sodhi said consumers’ interests were supreme but at the same time if a particular tariff was found to be below cost and thus not sustainable, consumer benefits from the low tariff were likely to be short-lived.

Private cellular operators said that tariff fixed by MTNL for the mobile services was likely to create undue financial pressure on the existing service providers.

The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), however, demanded that MTNL should not be allowed to retain the local call component of Rs 1.20 a call made from the cellular system.

For local calls originating from mobile phones to fixed lines, existing cellular mobile telecom service operators (CMTS) have to pay Rs 1.20 per three minutes as interconnect access charges to MTNL or Department of Telecommunication (DoT) for such calls terminating at the fixed networks.

“In order to allow fair and equitable inter-connection terms which are non-discriminatory between MTNL and existing CMTS operators, the MTNL cellular network should not be allowed to retain the local call component,” T.V. Ramachandra of COAI said, adding that this was leading to cross-subsidisation of services.

MTNL, in response to TRAI’s consultation process, submitted that the issue related to cross-subsidisation should be deferred to a later stage as it was providing only 9,000 lines to begin with.

MTNL also pointed out that no floor price mechanism was prescribed either in the Telecom Tariff Order (TTO) 99 or in any of the TRAI orders and thus the reported tariff was fully compliant with TTO 99.

On the entry fee, COAI demanded a higher entry fee from MTNL because of advantages of MTNL like significant market power in fixed line operations in Delhi and Mumbai, well developed cellular market and entering the market with choice of technology.

MTNL said it was an existing player and only revenue sharing at 15 per cent would be paid to DoT as in the case of other service providers.

Light a candle and see child labour on Divali

MUMBAI, Nov 4 (UNI) — About 1.10 crore children in India are forcibly employed in hazardous industries, develop respiratory diseases and are unable to find employment later in life.

The industries include bangle making, carpet weaving, construction, agriculture and fireworks. In the fireworks industry at Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu about a lakh and a half children have to inhale substantial quantity of gunpowder during the manufacture stage daily.

Child Relief and You (CRY), a non-governmental organisation working for the welfare of such children in association with a street theatre group, Naujawan-e-Hind, organised in South Mumbai last evening to create awareness against the use of crackers during Divali.

“Light a Diya...give a child a future” was the theme of the two-hour function which children from various schools in the city participated.

Ms Irene Tayshete, all India co-ordinator of CRY’s youth wing, said the event was held to build awareness about child labour in the fire works industry.

“CRY is not against crackers but would like to create awareness about the issue. We believe that without the participation of the public, we will not be able to achieve our goal, she said.

Child labour is difficult to prove. “It is very difficult to go to factories and talk to children. We are now talking to factory owners to provide education to children and also for better wages for their work”, she added. Child labourers can be found mostly in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Sivakasi (Tamil Nadu).

The people gathered at the function lit DIYAS as a symbolic show of support and to stress and the fact that it is possible to celebrate Divali without crackers. Street plays were conducted by four schools on the theme “the child labour at Sivakasi”. Ms Tayshete said a fact-finding team from the campaign against child labour visited Sivakasi on October 26 and 27 for a first hand report.

It was found that almost all 260 dwellings, which comprised about 10,000 families in Pasumpon Nagar of Sivakasi, were involved in the fireworks industry.

The common practice adopted by the industry is to give an advance to the families and later adjust this amount against the wages of the working children.

WWICS to set up IT college
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Nov 4 —Worldwide Immigration Consultancy Services (WWICS) has decided to set up a college in the country which will offer North American degrees in information technology. An agreement to this effect has been signed with Canada’s Georgian College, offering a bachelor’s degree in technical courses.

Chandigarh will be the headquarters for this college and other major cities in India will have franchise operations.

Announcing this at a press conference here today, the WWICS Chairman, Col. B.S Sandhu, said that WWICS has successfully helped over 2,500 Indians to migrate and settle in Canada. There are more than 3,000 clients at present.

He said Canada is known as a country of immigrants where anybody from anywhere can immigrate provided he qualifies the selection criteria of Canadian immigration.

Later a seminar on “Career opportunities in Canada” was organised at Tagore Theatre which was conducted by Colonel Sandhu and Mr Curtis Panke, Director of Global Placement Services, Canada.

Mr Panke listed various categories of qualified professionals who can immigrate to Canada. Professionals from IT, engineers from all disciplines, accountant or finance managers, MBAs (marketing and advertising), medical transcriptionists, veterinary doctors, OT nurses, pathologists and physiotherapists are in great demand in Canada, he added.

Will import of powder sour milk?

NEW DELHI, Nov 4 (UNI) — An apex body of Indian milk producers has protested against the Government’s plan to import 10,000 tonnes of skimmed milk powder with zero import duty, saying it would kill domestic industry and put “Operation Flood’ in the reverse gear.

According to official sources, the negotiations for the imports with zero import duty through the open general licence with milk surplus countries, including Australia, European Union and New Zealand, are in the final stage.

The indiscriminate imports, the industry says may result in distress sale of milk by domestic farmers.

Cement output up 10 per cent

NEW DELHI, Nov 4 (PTI) — Cement production by big plants grew by 10 per cent to touch 6.85 million tonnes in October this year over the same month last year.

Dispatches of the basic construction material in this period at 6.69 million tonnes showed a growth of 7 per cent over shipments in October last year, according to Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) data.

Cumulative production and dispatches for cement in the first seven months of 1999-2000 stood at about 52 million tonnes showing a 18 per cent rise as compared to April-October, 1998-99, the CMA said.

Cement production in September this year stood at 6.68 million tonnes while dispatches during the period came to 6.69 million tonnes.

Exporters befool JDGFT

NEW DELHI, Nov 4 (PTI) — The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has castigated the Commerce Ministry for paying an excess amount totalling Rs 2.04 crore to companies availing deemed export benefits.

“The Joint Director General of Foreign Trade (JDGFT) had paid Rs 2.04 crore to the exporters on account of claims which were either time-barred or liable to reduction for late submission prescribed under the export-import policy”, CAG said in its report for the year ended March 1998.

Even the verification unit working under the JDGFT, required to examine all such payments failed to detect these inadmissible payments, the report said, adding that the Ministry had asked the firms concerned to refund the amount.

Maruti 800 prices to go up by 25,000

NEW DELHI, Nov 4 (PTI) — Maruti Udyog will hike the price of its “bread and butter’ car Maruti 800 by Rs 25,000 to Rs 2.16 lakh from next month or early next year, company officials said today.

The Rs 25,000 hike (ex-showroom) in Delhi will be effected either from December 1 or January 1 to absorb the additional cost to make the popular car compliant with Euro-II emission norms.

Zen models will be costlier by up to Rs 20,000, officials said. The company is working on details for exact price hike and the date from which the hike would be effective.

MUL Chief General Manager (Marketing) Rohtash Mal declined to comment on the price hike but said “our capability of absorbing large cost increase due to Euro-II norms compliance is indeed not there as it was in the past and car prices will have to be increased”.

Canadian loan for Chamera project
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) today signed a $ 175 million (Canadian) loan agreement with the Export Development Corporation (EDC) of Canada for financing of Canadian goods and services for the 300 MW Chamera Stage II hydroelectric project in Himachal Pradesh.

The agreement was signed by the Chairman and Managing Director of NHPC, Mr Yogendra Prasad, Vice President, Engineering and Professional Services of EDC, Ms Sherry Noble and Financial Services Manager of EDC, Ms Christiane De Billy.

Jain TV business news from November 7
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Nov 4 — Jain TV today announced the launch of its business news form November 7, which would focus on the markets and provide insight on scrips as trading goes on.

The seven-hour telecast will provide live quotes from BSE and NSE prices of various agricultural commodities, important business news as they develop, Dr J.K. Jain, the head of the organisation, said here.

The channel will carry live quotes of 300 scrips from BSE/NSE, daily GDR/ADR information, debt market, forex rates, bullion rates, quotes of selected scrips from other bourses nationwide, commodities rates and closing rates of global stock markets, he added.

“The channel will provide business and other important news which affect the market with an Indian perspective,” Dr Jain said.

Forex
US $ Rs 43.40/41
Stg £ Rs 71.29/31
Euro Rs 45.52/54
Jap yen (100) Rs 41.36/39

Brown rice
BATHINDA, Nov 4 (TNS) — The Confederation of Agro Industry of Punjab has urged the Punjab Government to review its decision of contributing brown rice instead of polished rice in the Central pool. Mr A.R. Sharma, Convener of the confederation pointed out that if the proposed decision of Punjab Government of contributing brown rice was implemented, number of industries would face of shortage of raw material.

Contest prize
PATIALA, Nov 4 (FOC) — Mr Madan Lal Sharma of Patiala won a Bajaj Spirit for choosing Jonty Rhodes as the most spirited fielder. Mr S.S. Bajwa, Area Sales Manager, Bajaj Auto handed over the keys of Bajaj Spirit to Mr Madan Lal Sharma.