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Business
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Tax Cut by States Can Boost
Tourism: Jagmohan (Go
To Top) NEW DELHI: Tourism Minister Jagmohan has said that the Centre has asked the State Governments to provide tax relief to boost the tourism sector in the country. Inaugurating the 4th International Travel and Tourism Mart in New Delhi on Friday, September 27, 2002, the minister said, "As we have rationalised taxes like service tax and expenditure tax for the tourism sector, we have asked the State Governments to provide similar relief to promote tourism across the country." He added that despite violence in Jammu and Kashmir or Gujarat, "India is still very safe and secure destination for tourists. Something happening in a certain area does not mean the entire country is unsafe." He said that a recent survey among foreign tourists had revealed that not a single tourist had complained of any feeling of insecurity in the country. Also, foreign tourist arrival had increased by 14 per cent and domestic by 42 per cent over last year. ICICI Sells
16 per cent Stake to Foreign Groups (Go
To Top) MUMBAI: India's largest private sector bank, ICICI, has sold about 16 per cent of its stake to a group of investors, including Canada's Lombard and funds managed by the Government of Singapore, a senior official said on Thursday. Other buyers of the shares included Prudential Portfolio Managers and some other foreign funds. The official said that the stake was sold at Rs 130 a share or Rs 13.18 billion. The bank made a capital gain of Rs 11.93 billion on the transaction. Supreme
Court Asks Himachal Pradesh Govt to Pay NEW DELHI: : The Supreme Court has asked the Himachal Pradesh Government to pay Rs 1 cr for neglecting ecology by allowing companies to paint advertisements on eco-fragile rock faces on both sides of the highway from Rohtang to Manali. The money would form part of a Rs 5 cr corpus to be utilised for restoration of ecology. A three-judge Bench comprising Chief Justice BN Kirpal, Justice KG Balakrishnan and Arijit Pasayat said, " It is unfortunate that such large-scale vandalism has been taking place with State Governments taking no action to check the same". The court had taken a serious view of a number of advertisements painted by MBD Books (78), Coca-cola (44), Pepsi (8) and Birla White (10) on the rock faces. This was bought to the court's notice by Solicitor-General Harish Salve in his capacity as Amicus Curiae in forest matters. The court also issued notice to the Karnataka Government for similar rock advertisements in and around Bangalore painted by ACC, Koramandal King, Rasna, Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore, Alpine and Indotech. Notices have also gone to these companies. In an earlier order, the Supreme Court had imposed a fine of Rs 2 lakh each on Pepsi and Coca-Cola companies and Rs 1 lakh each on ten other organisations for the environmental damage they caused to the rocks in Kullu-Manali. The ten other organisations included MBD, Fena Detergent, Birla White Cement, State Bank of India, Sleepwell matresses, Nestle India, Annapurna Hotels. The valley of Kullu-Manali in Himachal Pradesh is a very popular tourist destination. Kishen Lal, an environmentalist in Kullu, said that these advertisements were damaging the ecology. They also posed danger as they distracted the attention of drivers resulting in accidents. Another
Multi-crore Bank Scam Hits Maharashtra (Go
To Top) MUMBAI: Another co-operative bank scam has come to light in Maharashtra involving a fraud of more than Rs 40 crore. Allegations of complicity have been made not only against the bank chairman but also a state minister and two MLAs. The Akola District Sugar Mill received Rs 42 cr as loan over a period of 10 years from the local cooperative bank - Akola District Central Cooperative Bank. Now, other account-holders have alleged that the cooperative bank is involved in a scam. The police has charged bank chairman Santosh Kopare, Maharashtra State Transport Minister Subhas Thackeray, two MLAs and 42 others with financial irregularity. "To conduct our inquiry we have asked the deputy director of the cooperative bank to send us the audit report. The time span is that of 10 years, the sugar factory has stolen Rs 42 cr and that too over a span of time", said Deven Bharati, superintendent of police, Akola. The latest scam is the sixth multi-crore scam to hit the cooperative banking sector of Maharashtra. Foreign Exchange Reserves Fall
(Go
To Top) MUMBAI: Foreign exchange reserves have recorded a decline of $ 45 m at 62,021 m, according to a Reserve Bank of India statement for the third week of September. Mallya to Buy San Motors Stake
(Go
To Top) MUMBAI: San Storm sports car may soon be a Kingfisher make. Vijay Mallya's United Breweries is likely to buy 26 per cent stake in the car unit. Production of the car has been suspended pending the finalisation of the deal. San Storm's technology is backed by Renault of France. The car, which has a 1200 cc petrol engine, now costs Rs 5.5 lakh. Plan
to Slash 5,600 Jobs in ONGC, BPCL : Ram Naik (Go
To Top) TOKYO: Petroleum Minister Ram Naik has said that the Government plans to cut about 5,600 jobs at state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation to help both the companies to become more competitive as the country opens its oil market to global competition. The ONGC will lay off 5,000 workers out of the total strength of 38,000 and BPCL will lessen the number of its employees from 11,000 employees by 600, he stated here. "This will help both the companies to become competitive and more streamlined in their operations," Naik said. The minister said that the Government has also been talking to Iraq, Iran and Myanmar to secure stakes in oil and gas fields. The Goverment had a few days ago decided to postpone voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for the two PSUs. The two companies will now re-submit improved VRS proposals. Coke
Gets More Time (Go
To Top) NEW DELHI: The Government has allowed Coca-Cola Holdings Pvt Ltd time till February 28, 2003 to complete disinvestment of 49 per cent equity in favour of private investors, business partners and employees in India. The earlier deadline was August 16, 2002. A Government statement said that the decision followed an undertaking by the company to abide by the disinvestment conditions. Though the original approval for operations to Coca-Cola's Indian subsidiary was granted on the condition of Indian participation, the company had recently tried to circumvent the clause by making representations to the Government for deletion of the clause. 'Sunsilk
Bridal Asia' to be Held in 4 Metros (Go
To Top) NEW DELHI: Services International, organisers of Bridal Asia, the continent's biggest exposition for all bridal finery, apparel and products, announced on Friday its partnership with Sunsilk, the leading hair-care brand to create `Sunsilk Bridal Asia'. With this five-year arrangement, the event is set to expand to Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore, in addition to the annual extravaganza in New Delhi. Divya Gurwara, the spirit behind Bridal Asia, said, "The response to Bridal Asia both from visitors and participants over the years has been tremendous. Sunsilk's partnership with Bridal Asia is an endorsement of the success and marks our entry into the next phase of growth for Bridal Asia." Traditionally, the event has been a three-day exhibition in New Delhi. With the all-new Sunsilk Bridal Asia, there are plans to have two-day 'City Spectaculars' in New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore. Each 'City Spectacular' will consist of bridal themed sub-events such as complete bridal make-overs, dedicated workshops on hair care and styling by renowned experts in the field, special interactive sessions on beauty, skin care and grooming for young brides-to-be, professional advice on planning and executing weddings and other such activities. Summons
to HLL (Go
To Top) MUMBAI: Summons have been issued to Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) and five of its former directors for alleged violations of insider trading in the merger of Brooks Bond India Ltd with Hindustan Lever. The five directors included former HLL chairmen SM Datta and KB Dadiseth. Meanwhile, the company has issued a statement that "it is aggrieved by the order and would take appropriate legal steps to protect its position. New
Maruti 800 with AC Launched (Go
To Top) NEW DELHI: Maruti Udyog Limited on Friday announced the launch of a new Maruti 800 variant with air-conditioner. It will have all the features of a Maruti 800 Standard (Bharat Stage 1), an AC and tinted glass, costing about Rs 2.15 lakh (ex-showroom, Lucknow). The price varies from state to state. The company recently reduced the prices of Maruti 800 by Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,000. This was followed by a special limited edition of the Maruti 800. The new Maruti 800 variant will be available in all markets in the country where Bharat Stage 1 emission norms apply. The Maruti 800 DX will continue to be available to customers across the country. Taj
Group Acquires Regent Hotel (Go
To Top) MUMBAI: The Indian Hotels Co Ltd, which runs the Taj group of hotels, has acquired the 5-star Regent hotel in Bandra. The property has been renamed Taj Lands End. The Taj acquisition amounts to 19.9 per cent equity worth Rs 24 cr. The ICICI Trustee Services will acquire the remaining 80.1 per cent for Rs 95 cr Blue
Dart, DHL Form Alliance (Go
To Top) NEW DELHI: Blue Dart Express Limited, the country's largest domestic courier company, has formed a marketing alliance with DHL Worldwide Express which will be effective from October 1, a day after Blue Dart ends an existing tie-up with FedEx Corp. Clyde Cooper, Managing Director of Blue Dart, however, declined to estimate what revenue the alliance would bring or reveal the nature of revenue sharing between the two companies. Meanwhile, DHL said it would continue to invest in India, but did not give any details. IT
Industry Shows Signs of Revival in India (Go
To Top) HYDERABAD: Indian Information Technology (IT) professionals, who had been struggling in the recession-hit United States, are flocking back to India where the software industry is showing signs of revival. The industry in the US had been going through an extremely lean period post-Septmber 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre towers. Prior to last year's September 11 attacks, the IT professionals in Hyderabad used to wait for years to get a visa to go and work in the United States. However, the scenario has changed dramatically in the last one year. "I went to the US for my masters. I was jobless there for 5 months. So, I came back. It was a better choice than working in a gas station there. There are better job opportunities here," said Suman Gaud, who struggled for a decent living in the United States for five months before packing his bags. Indian universities turn out nearly 2,50,000 IT graduates every year. Skilled, English-speaking high-tech workers in India are paid considerably lower wages than they would be in the United States. During the recent technology boom, the US software firms recruited Indian professionals in large numbers. However, the IT industry went into a slump following the attack on the World Trade Centre on September 11 last year. At least 40 Indians from Andhra Pradesh died during the attacks. In over a year, about 100 computer professionals have returned to Hyderabad. "Certainly many people have come back because there is lot of instability in the US and other advanced countries. Everybody is trying to cut down rates. For example, Intel laid off many employees in the US, but at the same time hired 200 people in India. So this is a successful model that people are trying to have," said JA Chowdhary, chariman of Indo-American Chamber of Commerce. The Indian software sector has shown strong growth compared to the rest of the world in the past year. The country's software exports grew by 29 per cent to 7.5 billion dollars in the past year to March 2002, of which some 60 per cent went to the United States. Several global technology giants, including Microsoft Corp, Intel and Oracle, have also set up software development centres in India to tap the country's large pool of low-cost and high-quality engineers. HPCL,
BPCL Sale Shelved (Go
To Top) NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment has postponed privatisation of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) for three months. The meeting on September 7 was attended by the Prime Minister. The decision was a victory for the group in the Government led by Petroleum Minister Ram Naik who wanted the ONGC to be allowed to bid for HPCL and BPCL. (IOC was allowed to bid for IBP) On the other hand, Disinvestment Minister Arun Shourie argues that one public sector undertaking bidding for another does not amount to disinvestment. BSNL
Launches Mobile Phone Service(Go
To Top) NEW DELHI: Telecom giant Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has launched a nation-wide mobile phone service aimed to grab the world's fastest-growing market this decade. "The company is hoping to attract 2.5 million customers through its 'Cell One' brand by the end of the first year of operations", BSNL officials told a press conference. The service will cover 350 cities initially and roll out to the rest of the country by December 2003. Country's five billion mobile phone sector, divided into 22 zones, has eight million users spread across about 1,500 cities and more than 60,000 villages. -ANI & India Overseas |
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