Airlines
Draft aviation policy lays stress on pvt investment
THE Government is planning to frame guidelines for utilisation of vacant land belonging to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and also attract private sector investment in non-aeronautical activities near airports to boost revenue, as part of the new
aviation policy.
Airports lease: Contracts likely by year-end
THE Government hopes to be in a position to award contracts for long-term leasing of the four international airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Calcutta by the end of the year, the Secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, Mr. N.K. Singh, said here to
day.
Automobiles
Auto industry told to upgrade technology
THE Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Mr. Manohar Joshi, has called on the domestic automobile industry to take the lead in the adoption of environment-friendly technologies.
Banking and Finance
Karnataka Govt stock oversubscribed
THE Rs. 200-crore 10-year Karnataka Government stock was oversubscribed over eight times at the auction held here on Tuesday.
Review of interest rate cut ruled out
THE Finance Ministry has rejected the demand of State Governments to review the cut in interest rates on small savings, even as it has directed all public sector banks and post offices to commence accepting deposits under the small savings scheme and Pub
lic Provident Fund (PPF) from January 24 instead of February 1, 2000.
CLB appoints board of directors for RBF Nidhi
THE Company Law Board on Tuesday passed ex parte orders appointing a six-member board of directors for Chennai-based RBF Nidhi Ltd, in supercession of its existing board with immediate effect.
ICICI Bank drops deposit rates
ICICI Bank today reduced deposit rates by one percentage point (100 basis points) for longer term maturities and 0.5 percentage point (50 basis points) for shorter term maturities.
`NOF: No extension of time for NBFCs'
THE Reserve Bank of India has said it has not extended the time-limit for non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to comply with its guidelines on the net-owned funds (NOF).
Corporate
Negative list for FDI soon: Maran
A NEGATIVE list relating to foreign direct investment (FDI) is expected to be announced by the Government within a fortnight. This would imply that barring a few sectors such as defence, atomic energy, narcotics etc., FDI in the rest of the sectors would
be permitted through the automatic route.
RESULTS
MUMBAI: Global Tele-Systems Ltd (GTL) has reported a 53 per cent rise in net profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 1999, at Rs. 26.99 crores as against Rs. 17.62 crores in the corresponding period last year.
`TDL merger will add to Alstom's reserves'
THE scheme of amalgamation proposing transfer of all assets, rights, properties etc, of Kerala-based Alstom T&D Distribution Transformers (TDL) to Alstom Ltd, okayed by shareholders at a court-convened meeting here on Tuesday, will result in a credit bal
ance of Rs. 3.4 crores, besides tax benefits of Rs. 1.3 crores, for the loss-making Alstom.
RESULTS
MUMBAI: Cipla Ltd has reported a marginal 5 per cent increase in net profit at Rs. 34.82 crores for the third quarter ended December 31, 1999, as against Rs. 33.08 crores in the corresponding period last year.
Tata Tea GDR issue to get Ministry nod
THE Finance Ministry is set to clear the proposal of Tata Tea Ltd for a Global Depository Receipts (GDRs) offering aggregating 50 million pounds ($ 80 millions), which will help the company part finance its acquisition of brands of Tetley, UK.
PFC to buy-back 20% equity before current fiscal ends
POWER Finance Corporation (PFC) is planning to buy back 20 per cent of its equity from it sole owner, the Government, before the end of the current fiscal, according to the PFC Chairman and Managing Director, Dr. Uddesh Kohli.
Aditya Birla group ties up with Lawson Software
THE Aditya Birla Group today announced the formation of an alliance with the US-based Lawson Software.
LG to infuse $50 m into Indian arm
LG Electronics of Korea is pumping around $50 millions into its wholly-owned subsidiary, LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd. (LGEIL), as part of its expansion programme.
Economy
Excise exemption restored for cigarette units in N-E
IN a major volte-face, the Finance Ministry has restored the excise duty exemption granted to units manufacturing cigarettes and other tobacco products in the North East.
CII sees scope to scrap surcharge on corporate I-T
THE Government can eliminate the 10 per cent surcharge on corporate income-tax in the Budget for 2000-2001 without any adverse consequence on revenue collections, as the buoyancy in corporate sales and profit before depreciation interest and tax (PBDIT)
is likely to continue in the next fiscal, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has said.
Fertilisers
RCF awaits nod for Thal plant capacity expansion
RASHTRIYA Chemicals & Fertilisers (RCF) is awaiting final approval from the Union Government for the capacity expansion of its urea plant at Thal in Maharashtra.
Impact
Max India: The investing angle
THE valuation of the Max India stock may perk up in the short-term on the back of its investments in the IT sector and the dividend announcement. The company has proposed a dividend of 250 per cent. Having just completed the merger of Max Corp (a
wholly-owned subsidiary) with itself, the company is sitting on a pile of cash.
Information Technology
Pentafour Comm net at Rs 21 cr
PENTAFOUR Communications Ltd (officially renamed from today as Pentasoft Technologies Ltd) has recorded a net profit of Rs. 21.15 crores, after the acquisition of the software division from erstwhile Pentafour Software & Exports Ltd, for the quarter ende
d December 31, 1999.
Miscellaneous
India asks US to lift sanctions
INDIA has sought pruning the list of entities to which US exports has been restricted, lifting of the sanctions on lending by international financial institutions for non-humanitarian purposes and resuming the facility of Generalised Scheme of Preference
s (GSP) to a large number of Indian projects.
Partial operations at Haldia dock
THE Calcutta Dock System (CDS) remained virtually paralysed as a sequel to the strike observed by its 11,500 workers while the Haldia dock functioned partially as the unloading of crude and paraxylene could be undertaken mechanically. About 36,000 tonnes
of crude and paraxylene were unloaded. Nearly 4,500 workers of Haldia dock are on strike.
Port workers go on indefinite strike
FIVE port federations representing about one lakh port workers on Tuesday launched an indefinite strike at the 11 major ports in the country after last minute conciliation talks with Government officials late on Monday night failed to arrive at a settlem
ent.
Work at ports in South badly hit
OPERATIONS at Chennai and Tuticorin ports were paralysed due to the indefinite strike called by the five major federations of port and dock workers unions.
Policy
Tannery modernisation scheme launched
THE Government today announced a Rs. 40-crore Tannery Modernisation Fund (TMF) exclusively for the leather sector. The fund would provide financial assistance on soft terms to existing tanneries for undertaking modernisation programmes for technology upg
radation and better capacity utilisation.
States
Idukki farmers facing wildlife problem
LARGE areas of fertile land suitable for cultivation of food crops in Kerala are left unutilised by hundreds of small growers in Idukki district because of destruction of crops by wild animals.
Plantations in TN `caught in a web'
THE plantation sector in Tamil Nadu sees troublesome days ahead because of the steep fall in tea prices on the one hand, the incremental input costs and the bleak future for increasing exports on the other.
AP database for micro-planning
IMAGINE a situation where a State Government plans to deploy Rs. 5,000 crores for development in a focussed manner through micro-level planning.
`Co-ops must seek tie-up with public, pvt sectors'
THE Managing Director of the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), Mr. P.K. Mishra, has said that it is time co-operatives explored the scope of joint ventures with the private and public sectors if they were to keep pace with the developm
ents spawned by the emerging new economic order.
AP clears GAIL's piped gas scheme
THE State Government has approved a proposal by the Gas Authority of India Ltd (GAIL) for supply of piped gas for domestic, commercial and industrial use in the Godavari delta towns of the State. This is considered to be first such move to provide gas th
rough pipelines in the country.
Telecommunications
HC quashes CPP regime -- TRAI directed to devise alternative scheme
THE Delhi High Court on Tuesday quashed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's proposed inter-connection charges for cellular mobile service providers and the proposed calling party pays (CPP) regime, in which incoming calls to mobiles were to be ma
de free.
Cellular mobile services -- Call to bring down entry barrier
THE Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will present its recommendations to the Government by February-end on issues relating to cellular mobile services (CMS) in the country.
Transport
Strike hits 50 pc operations at ports
THE Union Government on Tuesday said that the port workers strike has affected 50 per cent of the normal level of operations at the 11 major ports in the country.
Pvt terminals unaffected by port stir
THE country's major ports came to a near standstill due to the port workers' strike which began on Tuesday, but private terminals remained operational, according to information reaching here.
