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Govt liberalises cement import
Inflation slips to 5.77 pc
FM proposes cut in tax burden
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15-yr-old develops anti-theft device for mobiles
RIL can’t sell gas committed to RNRL: HC
ACC to invest Rs 540 cr
Call for less-water consuming paddy
Bajaj to launch cheaper 125 cc motor cycle
Sidhu favours SEZ in Amritsar
CORPORATE RESULTS
India disappointed over draft paper
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Govt liberalises cement import
New Delhi, May 4 As per the liberalised rules, the cement import would be freely allowed unlike in the past when only the end users were allowed this facility. The condition that the imports must be on a continuous basis has also been done away with. In the backdrop of severe scarcity of the commodity and rising prices, the directorate-general of foreign trade has notified these changes that will remain in force till March 31, 2008. However, the imports will remain subject to the condition that it is procured from a manufacturing facility that is certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The BIS has already certified manufacturing facilities of 11 companies in Bangladesh, Bhutan and UAE. Chidambaram yesterday announced changes in the excise regime for cement, putting ad-valorem rate of 12 per cent as against the specific duty of Rs 600 per tonne for the cement sold at a retail price of above Rs 190 per 50 kg bag. This would result in reduction in excise burden by Rs 7 per bag. India has already allowed duty free import and more than 525 tonnes of cement has already landed in Mumbai from Pakistan. — PTI
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Inflation slips to 5.77 pc
New Delhi, May 4 Official data released today showed that prices of major food products like eggs, meat, fish, urad, wheat, jowar and arhar declined, while those of fruits, vegetables, poultry chicken, masur, gram and barley moved up. Within manufactured category, food products became cheaper with decline in prices of sunflower oil, imported edible oil, and unblended black tea leaf. However, prices of coconut oil and gingelly oil went up. Wholesale prices index remained unchanged at its previous week's level of 210.9 per cent. |
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Company accommodation to be cheaper
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 4 In his reply to the debate on the Finance Bill, Chidambaram said the valuation of perquisite in the nature of rent-free or concessional rent accommodation owned and provided by the non-governmental employer to his employee is proposed to be reduced. Ravindra Sharma, a chartered accountant, explained that the government fixes a notional rent on such “rent-free” accommodations as they are considered as a perquisite. Such a notional rent is added on to the income of the employee while calculating the personal income tax. He said this new measure would bring in much-needed relief to those living in company-provided accommodation as the finance minister has structured the benefit according to the population of the city. Rather than a standard addition of 20 per cent of the notional value of the accommodation in the income of the employee, Chidambaram has come out with three rates, while reducing the peak rate to 15 per cent. At present, the valuation is 15 per cent of salary (for cities having population of not more than 4 lakh) and 20 per cent of salary for (cities having population of more than 4 lakh). The finance minister has reduced it to 7.5 per cent of salary (for cities having population of 10 lakh and below), 10 per cent of salary (for cities having population of more than 10 lakh, but not more than 25 lakh) and 15 per cent of salary (for cities having population of more than 25 lakh). The amount paid or recovered from employee for the rent of the accommodation will get reduced from this valuation. Finance Minister expressed the optimism that every employee will get substantial relief as the benefit would be from retrospective effect to the reduction from financial year 2005-06, which is the year when the 20 per cent rate was introduced. On service tax on renting, finance minister said, “It is a value-added service. It is liable to service tax. That is the universal practice. Renting is also an activity that goes into the calculation of GDP.” He said service tax had been introduced only for those renting out large commercial properties. Small shops and establishments are exempt because of the enhanced threshold exemption of Rs 8 lakh for the service provider, the landlord in this case. Chidambaram said residential properties are exempt from service tax. Exemptions have also been granted for properties used for education and religious purposes and land used for sports and entertainment. Service tax would have to be paid in respect of large shopping malls or commercial complexes, but the service tax paid can be set off as input credit against service tax or excise duty payable, he added.
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London, May 4 The development comes within days of media baron Rupert Murdoch making a $5 billion hostile bid for US-based media giant Dow Jones group, which also owns news brands like The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones News wires and Associated Press. Shares of Reuters soared by over 30 per cent to a five-year high of 646.75 pence, while taking the company's market capitalisation to close to £8 billion (about $16 billion). While Reuters did not disclose the name of the bidder or the value of the bid, market rumours this morning put the bid value at 600 pence a share or £7.5 billion and identified Rupert Murdoch as one of the potential bidders. "The board of Reuters confirms it has received a preliminary approach from a third party which may or not lead to an offer being made for Reuters," the London-listed company said in a regulatory statement here. The company further said the board has noted the recent move in its share price, while adding that there was no certainty an offer would be made or necessary approvals would be granted, including those required under the company's constitution. As per the company's constitution, the Reuters Founder Share Co, which is run by 15 trustees, can block any hostile bid with a single "golden" share.— PTI
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15-yr-old develops anti-theft device for mobiles
New Delhi, May 4 “The main feature of my device is that in the event of theft or loss of mobile, the original owner can lock his stolen mobile by sending a message from any other mobile phone,” explains Mayank. He says as soon as the stolen or lost mobile will receive the message, it will produce a sound similar to a police siren following which no other key, except the switch-off key, will function. Simultaneously, the screen of mobile will flash owner’s name, address and contact numbers. It will also flash “Please return it to the original owner” message. “Even if the mobile is switched off and re-started, the siren will get activated again and the instrument will remain locked. If SIM card os changed, the device will send messages to pre-defined numbers and the owner can know the number of new SIM working in his mobile and can reach the thief. The original owner can use it as before and also come to know who all were trying to contact him during the period,” Mayank claims, adding that as far as his software is concerned, the service provider is not involved in any part of the process. Son of a senior executive member with the ONGC, Mayank aims to join IIT and has also applied for intellectual property rights for his invention. He has also contacted DuPont, US-based leaders in the fields of inventions, innovations and patenting.
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RIL can’t sell gas committed to RNRL: HC
Mumbai, May 4 In an interim order, Justice A M Khanwilkar restrained RIL from entering into any contract for supplying to a third party the 28 million standard cubic metres of gas per day committed by RIL to RNRL under the 2005 separation agreement between the two brothers. While RIL, in a statement, said that it would appeal against the order before the division bench of the High Court, Anil Ambani group declined to comment. The court also directed that RIL would not sell off the 12 million standard cubic metres of gas per day, to be supplied to RNRL in the event of RIL's deal with the NTPC falling through. Last November, RNRL moved the court against RIL for execution of the gas supply and purchase deal between them that provides for RIL to supply 28 mmscmd at $2.34 per million British thermal unit — the price at which RIL was to supply gas to NTPC. —
PTI |
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ACC to invest Rs 540 cr
Kolkata, May 4 After unveiling its new product ‘Foundation to Roof’ cement, ACC business head (east) Ramit Budhraja said, “ The current capacity of Bargarh factory is 1.2 million tonne and after the expansion is over we will have an additional one million tonne. Our board has already approved the investment plan.” The Chaibasa factory in Jharkhand is already undergoing expansion with an investment of Rs 300 crore, he added. —
UNI |
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Call for less-water consuming paddy
Chandigarh, May 4 Talking to TNS here today, Sunil Bakshi, president of KBRL India, said they have launched the campaign in over 100 villages of Sangrur and bordering Patiala. With Sangrur now being considered a dark area (with water level going down drastically), the need of the hour is to diversify the paddy cultivation from PUSA 44 as it requires watering 10 times a month and matures only after five months. On the other hand, PUSA 1121 requires watering only three times a month and matures in just 120 day. Figures available from the Agriculture Department, Punjab, show that more than 70 per cent area under paddy cultivation is under PUSA 44. In Sangrur, 74 per cent of the 3.59 lakh hectares area under paddy cultivation is under PUSA 44, while only 2.58 per cent area is under basmati varieties. Bakshi said as part of their efforts to wean away farmers from the PUSA 44 variety, they were holding awareness camps in villages and offering paddy seed at discounted rates. He said with KBRL having a production of 150 tonne per hour, the creating of a basmati and other high-yielding varieties of paddy zone near their Dhuri plant (in Sangrur) will also help the company cut costs for transportation of these varieties from the other states.
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Bajaj to launch cheaper 125 cc motor cycle
Mumbai, May 4 “We will upgrade the 100 cc bikes and will come up with new 125 cc bikes, which will be cheaper,” Bajaj Auto vice-chairman Madhur Bajaj said. “Our R&D department is working on the upgrade. It could be a couple of months from now for the launch,” he added. The company’s 125 cc motorbike is currently priced between Rs 45,000 to Rs 46,000 while its 100 cc version costs Rs 33,000, Bajaj Auto general manager (marketing) Amit Nandi said. The move could be seen as a measure to revive the company’s dipping sales in motorbikes. —
PTI |
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Sidhu favours SEZ in Amritsar
Amritsar, May 4 Addressing newsmen here today, Sidhu said although SEZ had encountered hurdles during last two years, it would be his earnest endeavor to not to dilute the mandate of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who had announced the project. He said he had been doing ground work along with various departments, local administration and developers to find suitable place for this mega economic force multiplier project, which would become a pivot for the industrialisation in this beleaguered border city. Clarifying his visit to Goindwal, a dying industrial township which was once touted as nucleus industrial complex in the 80’s, Sidhu pointed out that he has taken up the cause of entrepreneurs of the township, who had suffered due to wrong industrial policies. He stated that he had apprised the present Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal about the problems of these entrepreneurs and the CM has deputed his principal secretary and some senior officers to make a presentation about their woes. During Badal’s three-day visit to the holy city, the CM has lined up meetings with organisations relating to trade and industry, and power presentation would be made to him. Sidhu is hopeful that he would announce formation of Amritsar development authority, overriding numerous local bodies for responsible for the urban chaos.
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Corporate Results
Mumbai, May 4 The company produced 3,13,000 tonnes of copper cathode during 2007 as compared to 2,73,000 tonnes in the previous fiscal, said the annual financial report. Ashok Leyland
Ashok Leyland today clocked a 28.5 per cent increase in its net profit at Rs 171.51 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31 as against Rs 133.45 crore during the same period last year. In addition, its total income rose to Rs 2,307.89 crore for the quarter ended March 31 from Rs 1,743.34 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Hindalco Industries Hindalco Industries today posted a 15.16 per cent increase in net profit at Rs 721.3 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31. The company, which became the world’s largest aluminium rolling firm after the acquisition of Novelis, had recorded a net profit of Rs 626.3 crore for the same quarter ended March 31, 2006. The total income grew by 30.56 per cent to Rs 4,872.2 crore for the quarter from Rs 3,731.7 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago, Hindalco informed the BSE. The board of directors had declared an interim dividend of 170 per cent aggregating to Rs 177.3 crore together with corporate dividend tax of Rs 24.9 crore and decided not to recommend any further dividend and to treat the interim dividend declared earlier as the final one. Aditya Birla Nuvo Aditya Birla Nuvo, an Aditya Birla company, has posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 281.2 crore during the financial year ended March 31, 2007, up by 38 per cent over the previous fiscal. Among its segments, the telecom segment recorded a net profit of Rs 503.3 crore against Rs 211.8 crore earned the previous year. It has shown growth in revenue from Rs 2,965.5 crore to Rs 4,366.4 crore, up by 47 per cent. Cognizant’s net up Cognizant’s revenue in Europe grew by 84% from the first quarter of 2006, continuing to out pace the company average. The quarterly revenue increased to $460.3 million, up by 61% from the year-ago quarter revenue of $285.5 million. The GAAP net income was $75.4 million, up by 60% from the year-ago quarter net income of $47.2 million Helios & Matheson IT major Helios and Matheson has declared a 20 per cent dividend to celebrate the company’s 15th anniversary. During the fourth quarter ended March 31, the company’s income was Rs 109.42 crore, an increase of 75.7 per cent over the corresponding quarter in the previous year. Net profit increased to Rs 16.98 crore and earnings per share for the quarter ended March 31, were Rs 33.94. — Agencies, TNS
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WTO Doha Round
New Delhi, May 4 Reacting to the draft paper circulated at a special session of WTO in Geneva on April 30, commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath said, “While concerns of all the developed countries have been taken fully on board in a spirit of mutual accommodation, the sensitivities of developing countries with millions of resource poor farmers, have been left effectively unaddressed.” “India strongly feels that any outcome of the Doha development round, which tends to perpetuate structural flaws and distortions in agriculture trade and does not address the sensitivities of agriculture of the developing countries and least developing countries (LDC), will run counter to the Doha mandate and risk another failure of the recently resumed negotiations,” Nath warned. While it proposes that effectively, the overall trade distorting support of one of the major agricultural subsidisers could remain at least 50 per cent above its actual levels of subsidies disbursed last year. Such a step would also lead to the impairment of the reduction commitments to the high tariff regimes of another group of developed countries. It also leaves the question of removal of subsidies relating to cotton by a major developed country, which has caused serious problems to many African LDCs, largely unanswered,” he said. “India will work together with the G-20, G-33 and G-90 group of developing countries to put forward a common response to the proposals and options presented in the paper,” Nath said.
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Amritsar, May 4
