New Delhi, December 1
Telecom operators will have to pay a penalty and immediately de-activate a pre-paid mobile connection if they fail to follow the new norms issued by the government to strengthen the subscriber verification system.

As per the norms, if after March 31, 2007, any subscriber’s number is found out to be without proper verification, a minimum penalty of Rs 1,000 per violation would be levied on the licensee, Department of Telecom sources said.

The new norms, issued on November 22, follow a meeting by the DoT on September 27 this year.

Further, the authorised person selling SIM cards would have to record in the application form that he has seen the subscriber and verified his documents with the original. In this regard, the operator would have to make the seller aware about his responsibilities and liabilities in the matter.

Pre-paid SIM cards, which make 80 per cent of the mobile connections, would be activated only after the customer acquisition form has been properly filled and copies of documentary proof submitted by the customer.

The authorised seller, who is directly accountable to operators, would have to verify that all documentary requirements have been completed before activating the SIM card.

The sources said if any discrepancy was found at any stage, the connection would have to be de-activated immediately, but in any case not later than 72 hours.

The sources said it had also been decided to strictly follow that pre-activated SIM cards would not be sold in the market.

"The licensee would have to ensure that information about the subscriber is entered into the licensee's database correctly based on the information in customer acquisition forms (CAF) and supporting documents," sources said.

For this purpose, the licensee would have to nominate officials responsible for entry of subscriber information in the database and cross-checking information from it.

The new norms were necessitated as the licence condition of cellular and unified mobile operators only says that the licensee must ensure "adequate verification" of each and every customer before enrolling his as a subscriber.

The DoT had cracked the whip on mobile companies ever since security agencies raised concern over fake addresses and bulk connections in a single person's name. — PTI 

Mumbai, December 1
RBI Deputy Governor Rakesh Mohan today asked industry chambers not to clamour for tax rate cuts, saying that the rates were already moderate by international standards.

"I was surprised by the chambers asking for more tax reductions while simultaneously asking for more expenditure on infrastructure," he said at a book release function at the Indian Merchants' Chamber here.

Interestingly, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram himself had hinted at further moderation of tax rates while addressing the Economic Editors' Conference last month, but added that this depended on greater tax compliance.

"I have not put any time-frame on moderation of tax rates," Mr Chidambaram had told reporters here yesterday when asked by when the rates would be rationalised.

According to Mr Mohan, there was now need for an efficient and automatic system for collection of taxes. He highlighted the model of tax deducted at source (TDS) as an ideal way of collecting taxes.

Mr Mohan described TDS as a painless method of collecting taxes and urged industry chambers to devise methodologies on the lines of TDS for tax collection. It was always painful to pay taxes after the money came into one's bank account.

Pointing out that not enough attention was being paid to tax administration, Mr Mohan said that presently there were 1,500 items that attracted excise duties as compared to just one in 1870 when excise duty was imposed on salt.

He, however, said that much progress had been achieved in indirect tax reforms with the number of excise rates coming down from 22 to three while customs duties have also reduced from 22 rates to four.

Earlier, V S Krishnan, Central Excise Commissoner of Pune III, whose book was released by Mr Mohan, said the Indian tax scenario comprised a narrow base and emphasised the need for its widening. — PTI

Chandigarh, December 1
Newsmen, public relations agencies, online news portals, wire agencies and all those connected with the news world have a reason to cheer. A company with its roots in the region and known for its information-broadcasting initiatives — IndiaTotal Infoline — has launched a unique service that will disseminate information to target groups as it happens.

The front end of the service, which can be accessed through the website infomailers.com can disseminate news instantaneously to more than 6,000 journalists. A tie-up with Yahoo is on the cards, extending the reach of the service to over 300,000 Indian net users.

According to Mr Narvijay Yadav, Chief Coordinator, IndiaTotal Infoline, the service is already available in English, Hindi and Punjabi and the only corporate news dissemination platform offering services in all three languages. “We are working on introducing these services in other Indian languages in phases”, he said.

The service launched earlier this year boasts of the largest number of membership from the media fraternity, who have consented to receive news items by email.

Mr Armaan Sharma, Technical Head of the company, said “Our objective let companies worldwide use our platform to disseminate their news to regulatory services, financial information systems, conventional and Internet-based news platforms.”

The website ‘infomailers.com’ allows journalists to receive news releases from leading clients of the service. The service is free for journalists, newspapers and other members of the media.

To avail the service, media organisations have to go through one-time registration online at www.infomailer.com or send an email to register@infomailers.com with their particulars, including topics and interests. 

Bangalore, December 1
Chief Mentor of Infosys N.R. Narayana Murthy today supported the joint venture between Bharti Enterprises and Wal-Mart, saying that the Indian partner would benefit from the world's largest retail chain's expertise and technology.

"What's unique about Wal-Mart is its ability to leverage the power of technology for bringing in efficiency..bringing in customer comfort in an unheard of manner", the non-Executive Chairman of the Bangalore-based software major said.

"...that technology..that expertise and that environment will be made available to Indian partner", Mr Murthy said at a press conference on the sidelines of an international conference on 'Managing technology innovation in IT', organised by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) here.

He said the NASDAQ-listed firm drew 15 per cent its revenues from the retail sector, adding that it worked with all 'famous retail names', including Tesco and Wal-Mart.

Mr Narayana Murthy opposed reservation in educational institutions and employment, stressing that providing proper attention and training was the best way to "bring up" people.

Making a general comment on the Sachar Committee report, he said India had done "reasonably alright" in higher education thanks to Jawaharlal Nehru's vision and initiative in starting premier institutions in engineering, technology, science and medicine.

"But at the primary education level, we have not been as successful as we would like... whether it's one religion or another. It's again a reminder to us that we have a lot of work to do in the area of basic education," Mr Murthy said.

He said reservation was not the best way to bring up people. "You have to provide all inputs. First, make your primary education platform successful and then make your secondary education platform successful, and people will be able to compete," he said.

Murthy said Infosys and the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, in fact, were currently conducting an experiment to demonstrate that providing an efficient training programme to young men and women is a better way (to reservation). — PTI

Chandigarh, December 1
Cooperative farming is the only way to make farming sustainable in India, said Mr Rajesh Srivastava, Regional Head, Rabobank International, Asia, and Managing Director of Corporate and Commercial Banking, Rabo India Finance (a 100 per cent subsidiary of Rabobank International). He was in the city to participate in Agro Tech 2006, where Rabobank is a knowledge partner. He said the cooperative movement, except for in the dairy sector, has not really picked up in India.

The cooperative banks are not doing good business, and thus the Government of India has now come up with a Rs 15,000-crore fund for recapitalisation of these banks. Those states, which have decided to withdraw their control over the cooperative banks and bring these banks directly under the RBI, will be recapitalised. Mr Srivastava said in order to have an increased flow of credit in the agriculture sector, India needs to have cooperative institutions in place and this scheme would go a long way in enhancing agriculture growth.

He said Rabo India Finance (RIF) has set aside $75 million for its India operations. RIF offers sector-specific, knowledge-based customised solutions in core competencies like food and agribusiness, telecom, renewable energy and corporate finance. They have been helping the sugar industry in Uttar Pradesh, by extending credit for procurement, and are now preparing a Agri Vision Strategy for the Rajasthan Government.

“Recently, we have also submitted a vision document for 2015 to the Union Ministry of Food Processing, where we have highlighted the steps to be taken for the processed food industry in the country to grow from Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 30,000 crore by 2010.”

New Delhi, December 1
Ranbaxy today announced the acquisition of South Africa's fifth largest pharmaceutical firm Be-Tabs Pharmaceuticals (Pty) Ltd for $70 million (about Rs 315 crore).

"This is the eighth acquisition we have done this year,” Ranbaxy CEO and Managing Director Malvinder Mohan Singh said.

The company would utilise Be Tabs' manufacturing facility in Johannesburg to produce drugs, including anti-retrovirals not only for the South African market but also to cater to the African continent.

Be Tabs is the 5th largest generics player and the biggest penicillin manufacturer in South Africa. It has a strong over-the-counter (OTC) portfolio with significant brand recognition, he said.

Earlier in the year, Ranbaxy had acquired Romania's Terapia for $324 million.

The acquisition of Be Tabs would catapult Ranbaxy to the top five generic producers in South Africa.

Mr Malvinder Mohan Singh said Ranbaxy's acquisition of Be Tabs would help in providing effective disease management solutions in support of the South African Government's objective to make healthcare affordable to a wider cross-section of its population.

The company said the transaction was valued at 2.2 times of sales and 7.7 times of EBITDA multiples of Be Tab.

The combined sales of Ranbaxy and Be Tabs would be around $55 million in South Africa.

South Africa is the largest pharma market in Africa, valued at close to $2 billion, with a high potential for generic growth. — PTI 

Mumbai, December 1
India's largest motor cycle maker Hero Honda plans to foray into manufacture of four wheelers and auto parts, as the company seeks to diversify its portfolio.

The group will foray into four-wheeler manufacturing as and when it gets a good partner, company Managing Director Pawan Munjal said here today.

"As a group, there has been a natural progression for us... we started with bicycles and it makes sense for us to get into four-wheeler business," he said.

"As and when, there is a good partner, we could get into that..." Mr Munjal added.

Meanwhile, Hero Honda Motors is set to redefine the 100cc entry segment with the launch of its 'New CD De luxe and New CD Dawn' with stunningly attractive looks and a new engine priced at Rs 34,900 and Rs 31,900 (ex-showroom Delhi), respectively.

Announcing the launch here, Mr Pawan Munjal said :''The two new launches in 100cc entry segment seeks to fill the need gap of customers looking for value-for-money products with attractive looks.'' With this, Mr Munjal said, Hero Honda has already launched six new models, including variants. Two more launches are in the offing. 
— Agencies

New Delhi, December 1
Chennai-based chemical company Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation Ltd (SPIC) will invest $200 million to double the manufacturing capacity of its Jordanian joint venture.

Indo-Jordan Chemicals Company Ltd, a joint venture between SPIC with 52 per cent stake and Jordan Phosphate Mines Company with 35 per cent stake, manufactures phosphate which is then imported to India.

"The JV proposes to double its capacity from the existing 2.5 lakh metric tonnes per annum for which the company would make an investment of $200 million," SPIC Chairman A.C. Muthiah said here.

The combined export revenue after the new unit is commissioned would go up to $160-180 million from the existing $80-90 million, he said. — PTI

Mumbai, December 1
Anil Ambani group company Reliance Communications Ltd, the second largest telecom firm on the bourses, today consolidated its position as its market value rose to more than $20 billion. In line with the record-breaking rally in stock markets, RCL shares gained more than 3 per cent (Rs 13 a share) to close at an all-time high of Rs 442.05. The company's market capitalisation stands at Rs 90,400 crore ($20.19 billion). — PTI