Friday, August 11, 2006

 

Business News Aug 11th,2006

Centre aims to stop ‘treaty shopping’
India-Mauritius Tax Pact

New Delhi, Aug. 11: The Indian government is trying to put in new provisions in the India-Mauritius double taxation avoidance treaty to put an end to “treaty shopping”. “The government is discussing with the Mauritius government the possibilities of strengthening the mechanism for exchange of information on tax matters and also incorporate provisions in the double taxation avoidance treaty for prevention of ‘treaty shopping’,” the minister of state for finance S.S. Palanimanickam told the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Friday. Finance minister P. Chidambaram, when asked about the issue outside the Parliament, said the move will be meant for those companies that are not genuine but have been taking unfair advantage of the treaty.

He said, “We have strong and historic relations with Mauritius. They are sensitive, so must proceed carefully. But we are confident that we can move forward and ensure that taking unfair advantage of the treaty is stopped.”

“We are not against the genuine companies,” the finance minister said and added that the effort was not to review the entire pact but to strengthen parts of it. Experts point out that the India-Singapore Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) also has many tax exemption provisions, but there is an important clause which says only bonafide companies that have a bonafide existence in Singapore can claim tax exemption.

The government now wants to bring in similar provisions in the Indo-Mauritius tax pact to prevent misuse. As per the double taxation avoidance treaty, business profits of a Mauritius company are taxable in India only if the company has a permanent establishment in India or vice-versa.

Also, capital gains on sale of shares of a company are taxable in the country of residence of the investor. Many foreign institutional investors, to take advantage of the loopholes in the law, register themselves in Mauritius, using dubious methods, to take advantage of the treaty.

Mr Palanimanickam also said, “The Central board of direct taxes has made consistent efforts over a period of time to revisit the India-Mauritius double taxation avoidance convention.” Finance ministry officials said that the move will be basically aimed at preventing non-genuine companies from registering themselves in Mauritius just to misuse the provisions of taxation, including exemption in the capital gains tax.

Keeping the Singapore agreement in mind, the government is expected to bring in several clauses governing “investments” to prevent the misuse of the India-Mauritius tax pact, said experts.



RPL to raise $1.5bn term loan

Hyderabad, Aug. 11: Reliance Petroleum Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd, said on Friday it has mandated a group of lead arrangers to arrange a $1,500-million syndicated term loan facility.

The funds will be used to build a 580,000 barrels-a-day refinery and a unit to make 0.9 million tonnes of polypropylene a year in Gujarat. The loan consists of $950 million for seven-and-a-half-years and $550 million for 10 years and the syndication is expected to be closed in October, the company said in a statement.

The new refinery is expected to take about two-and-half-years to begin operations and will be located adjacent to RIL’s existing refinery at Jamnagar, Gujarat. The company informed that this landmark fund raised by RPL represents the largest offshore syndicated loan financing ever from India, and the final maturity of ten years represents the longest maturity for any corporate term debt issuance out of India.

“The facility’s door-to-door tenor of 10 years will open a new window for Indian corporates, since the maturity profile for the offshore syndicated loans has been largely restricted to 5-7 years,” Reliance Petroleum, which had an IPO in April, said.

“Syndication will be launched today (Friday). The original mandated lead arranger group will invite banks around the globe to participate in this fund raising by the borrower. General syndication is expected to be closed in early October.”



Professional directors face Sebi chief heat

Bangalore, Aug. 11: Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) would soon make public the names of those people who have joined the board of some companies as ‘professional directors’ without meeting the stipulated guidelines to occupy those posts, a top official said on Friday.

“The so called professional directors on the boards... not professional directors in terms of a Director (Finance) or Director (Materials) or Director (Human Resources) but men and women who have made it their profession to be directors on boards,” Sebi Chairman, Mr M. Damodaran said.

He said that these people have joined the boards without owning a single share and making any effective contribution to the company. “I don’t mind if they are on a number of boards provided they read the papers...think about the issues and contribute effectively rather than get into a large number of boards,” he said at a programme.

“But I certainly mind when these people get on boards and become permanent entities...more permanent than the furniture in the boardrooms,” Mr Damodaran said. The Sebi chief was speaking at the inaugural address of an orientation programme for company directors and other professionals on ‘New Frontiers of Corporate Governance’, organised by the National Law School of India University in collaboration with the National Foundation for Corporate Governance.



CSE tells Coke: Prove safety of products

New Delhi, Aug. 11: The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) refuted the claims of Coke that its soft drinks are safe as measured by stringent standards of the Central Science Laboratories (CSL) — the government lab in the UK.

It said that all tests in this prestigious lab show that Coca Cola soft drinks are below the European Union (EU) criteria for pesticide residues in even bottled water. The CSE said, “We assert that the products tested by our lab (CSE lab) do not meet the norms as claimed and are unsafe.” CSE has said that despite all its claims, Coke has “failed to disclose any test results to prove the safety of its products”.

Ms Sunita Narain, director of the Centre of Science and Environment, which came out with the pesticide allegations against the Cola majors said it would only be believable if Coke puts out such data for all to see. Ms Narain has further said, “Our demand to the government is that it should notify the finalised standards of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for carbonated beverages and make the regulation for this product mandatory.”

Coca-Cola India has also said it supported a move by the government to adopt a clear criteria for pesticide residues in soft drinks, which are based on scientifically-validated testing methods. “We are working with relevant government bodies in India to develop and finalise the criteria along with their associated testing protocols for pesticide residues in soft drinks,” it said.



Hyundai plans diesel Sonata

New Delhi, Aug. 11: Disappointed with dismal sales of its top-end premium sedan Sonata, Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL) will launch a diesel variant of the model this October, while it is readying to introduce a CNG-driven small car by early next year.

“Currently, we sell about 50 units of the Sonata and I am quite disappointed with it. Our target is to sell about 2,000 units a year,” HMIL managing director, Mr Lheem told reporters here. “By early October this year, we will be launching a diesel variant of the Sonata and expect to boost sales,” he added.

He said the company has not yet worked out as to how much will be the price difference between the existing Sonata and the diesel variant, but said the company expected to sell about 200 units a month. With rivals Maruti coming out with LPG WagonR, Hyundai is also working on alternative fuel small cars.

“We have our plans to introduce CNG powered small cars by early January next year. The process of development is on at the moment,” Mr Lheem said. The company is also on track to launch the “twin small car” by October next year, he said. “The pilot production and testing is on. We have shipped about 100 units produced from the Chennai plant to Korea for further testing,” he added.

Hyundai is also working to give its premium hatchback Getz a facelift, but no timeframe has been fixed for its introduction. “Getz needs a makeover as it has been almost three years that it has been around. We are in the process of giving it a makeover,” he said, adding a diesel variant of the model has also not been ruled out.



Manufacturing slows industrial growth

New Delhi, Aug. 11: Slowdown in manufacturing sector and electricity generation pulled down India’s industrial growth during June 2006 to 9.6 per cent, as against 12.2 per cent in the same month of last fiscal.

Growth in the mining sector also remained stagnant at just 4.8 per cent during the month, according to the data released by Central Statistical Organisation on Friday.
Manufacturing growth declined to 10.5 per cent as against 13.2 per cent in June 2005, while power generation rose by a mere 4.5 per cent from a strong 9.6 per cent in June 2005.

During April-June, however, manufacturing sector growth was at the same level of 11.2 per cent, helping arrest the slide in the overall Index of Industrial Production to 10.1 per cent as compared to 10.4 per cent in the corresponding period of 2005-06.

Electricity growth was lower at 5.1 per cent during the first quarter this fiscal compared to 7.7 per cent and mining production rose by only 3.5 per cent as against 4.3 per cent in the same period of last fiscal. In terms of industries, as many as 13 out of the 17 industry groups have shown positive growth during June 2006, as compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.

The sectoral group ‘Other Manufacturing Industries’ recorded the highest growth of 25.8 per cent, followed by 22.9 per cent in ‘Transport Equipment and Parts’ and 19.5 per cent in ‘Basic Metal and Alloy Industries’. However, ‘Wood and Wood Product; Furniture and Fixtures’ posted a negative growth of 25.5 per cent, followed by 7.7 per cent in ‘Leather and Leather Products’ and 2.1 per cent in ‘Food Products’.



Telecom sector continues to grow

New Delhi, Aug. 11: The rising trend in the number of new telecom subscribers continued to be maintained in the month of July 2006 with a net addition of about 5.14 million phones — an average daily addition of 1.66 lakh lines. The Northeast, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra ranked high in the growth rate.

The total number of telephones in the country crossed 158.32 million, as against a total of 153.18 million as on June 30, 2006, a growth of 3.3 per cent. The growth in July 2006 was 49 per cent over that of July 2005. Almost the entire growth registered was in the wireless segment — with GSM contributing 3.6 million and CDMA contributing 1.46 million respectively. The additions in the fixed line segment during the month was about 0.08 million.

The overall teledensity improved further to 14.12 per cent in July 2006 from 13.68 per cent in June 2006 and from 9.60 per cent as on July 31, 2005. The Northeast and Madhya Pradesh telecom circles recorded the highest growth rate (8.4 per cent) in the GSM segment, followed by the WB and Andaman & Nicobar telecom circle (6.8 per cent).

In the CDMA segment, the total subscriber base registered a growth of 4.75 per cent with a net addition of 1.46 million subscribers. Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh telecom circles contributed the maximum to this addition. Maharashtra alone added five lakh subscribers during the month. Public sector service providers has reached 388 cities.

Under Bharat Nirman Programme, of the targeted 66,822 villages remaining to be covered in November 2004, a total of 27,481 villages have been provided with public telephones. However, the remaining 39,341 villages having more than 100 population and not lying in thick forest area are yet to be provided with a public telephone.



Mittal pursues both projects in India

Kolkata, Aug. 11: Mittal Steel on Friday said it was serious about setting up greenfield projects both in Orissa as well as Jharkhand and has shortlisted three probable sites for its 12 million tonne plant in Jharkhand.

“We are seriously pursuing the projects both in Jharkhand and Orissa, and will begin work in whichever State (that) fulfils our requirement first,” Mittal Steel India Chief Executive Officer (Jharkhand project), Mr Sanak Mishra said here. Out of six probable sites in Jharkhand, the company has shortlisted three — Saraikela, Galudi and Torpa — and a final decision on this would be taken in four weeks, he said.

Asked about how much land the company required for the project, Mr Mishra said: “We are assessing the land requirement. Roughly, we need about 10,000 acres. We are planning to create a green belt around the plant and put up residences.”



Wanbury files case against Novartis

Hyderabad, Aug. 11: Wanbury, a pharmaceutical firm, on Friday filed a criminal case against pharma giant, Novartis, alleging that they had cheated and violated a marketing and distribution agreement. Mr Daniel Vasella, chairman and CEO, Novartis International AG and Mr Erwin Schllinger, chairman, Novartis India Ltd, are among other directors and executives of the company named in the suit, Wanbury said in a statement.

Wanbury, a producer of Metformin, an anti-diabetic drug, alleged that Novartis had entered into an exclusive eight-year agreement with it to market and distribute its product, Triaminic, but had deliberately not honoured the agreement due to which Wanbury had suffered a loss of Rs 70 crores.

The dispute, revolving around three brands of the product Triaminic, already involves a court case. Wanbury had entered the agreement with Novartis to market and develop the Triaminic brand and in lieu has given some rights and assets to Novartis including Wanbury’s brand “Numenic” and its leased commercial premise at Worli, a prime location in Mumbai.

Wanbury then filed a merger petition in the Bombay HC in 2004 to effect a merger of Wander with Pearl Organics Ltd finally changing the name to Wanbury. Novartis then sent Wanbury a notice terminating the eight-year contract, citing non-compliance to the agreement.

While the case was still sub-judice, the release said, Novartis allegedly repackaged Triaminic as T-minic, claiming it was the same as Triaminic. Novartis circulated literature among doctors and clinics mentioned that T-minic would be marketed under the Novartis name “till such time some legal points on Triaminic are clarified.”



Zensar to hike headcount

Hyderabad, Aug. 11: Zensar Technologies Ltd, a software services and BPO firm, will be increasing its headcount by 800 people in 2006-07, even as it launches its development centre in Hyderabad, Mr Ganesh Natarajan, the company’s deputy chairman and managing director, said here on Friday.

Mr Natarajan said the Hyderabad centre will have about 200 people initially, but its headcount will be ramped up to 500. Zensar, which has been focusing on the BFSI and telecom verticals, would be entering the utilities and manufacturing verticals, he said. Zensar currently has 3,220 employees. Mr Natarajan said the company planned a capex of Rs 43 crores in 2006-07, including Rs 23 crores for its expansion plan.

Meanwhile, Zensar has launched its Global Delivery Platform in Hyderabad to support academic institutions in Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh. The Hyderabad centre will serve as a hub to set up technology development centres in participating academic institutions linked to it. Students from each TDC will be linked to Zensar experts and will be able to access Zensar’s technology.

“This will create hubs of intellect engaging over 100 engineering colleges across 25 towns in Andhra Pradesh, where there colleges would function as virtual training and development hubs of Zensar’s own software development campus,” a company release said.


 

Andhrapradesh Regional News, Aug 11th,2006

Efforts to admit dropouts to school

Guntur, Aug. 11: The District Primary Education Programme would start a unique scheme from September 5, which would last till the month-end to admit dropouts to schools.

An informant would get Rs 58 per dropout if the dropout’s particulars are given. Explaining the intention of the programme, assistant project coordinator Srirama Murthy said by the time the programme starts, the field staff of DPEP would have finished the enrollment of all dropouts promptly.

“So, in other words, we leave no stone unturned in making efforts to absorb all dropouts into residential bridge schools and also to non-residential bridge schools,” he said. It is aimed to achieve total literacy and stable attendance through DPEP and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan scheme, he said. “The SSA aims at achieving universal primary education by 2007 and universal elementary education by 2010,” he said.

“According to the statistics available by July-end, there are 15,228 dropouts and also children who were never enrolled. We arrived at this tentative figure with village–wise survey in all mandals,” he added. When the children below 10 years age were considered, the number would be roughly 4,000.



West needs Rs 310 cr for repair works

Rajahmundry, Aug. 11: West Godavari administration has come up with estimates for carrying out repair works to the damaged structures due to incessant rains and floods on a permanent basis at a cost of Rs 310.5 crores.

For carrying out restoration of 321 damaged structures (some temporary) in irrigation circles in both Eluru and Dowleswaram, it was estimated to cost Rs 61.2 crores, panchayat raj works including roads and buildings at Rs 125.29 crores, roads and buildings works including surface damages, scours, breaches and others at Rs 37.2 crores, rural water supply works at Rs 11.7 crores, APTransco works at Rs 40 lakhs and public health pertaining to municipalities at a cost of Rs 70.6 crores would be taken up.

The district suffered seven deaths in total as per official records. About 37 villages were inundated in the floods affecting 2,065 houses fully and 4,574 partly. About 43,886 people from 13,816 families were evacuated to safety and 29 relief camps held to provide immediate relief to the affected. Flood banks suffered 20 breaches and 28 medium irrigation sources were affected.

Agriculture department suffered crop loss to an extent of Rs 211.5 crores where paddy, sugarcane, maize, cotton and pulses were damaged in 29,700 hectares. Horticulture crops like banana, vegetables, papaya and beetle leaves suffered damages in 4,947 hectare land cuasing an estimated loss of Rs 112.7 crores.

Fisheries department also suffered loss to the tune of Rs 22.5 crores. In order to provide medical care to the flood affected victims, 37 medical teams were despatched to the affected areas in the district.



Migrant’s death shatters family

Karimnagar, Aug. 11: Cheekodu is a village in grief. A pall of gloom descended on the village located 65 kms from Karimnagar in the drought-prone Mustabad mandal, as the villagers mourned the tragic death of one of the migrant workers of the village, G Mallaiah, in a bomb blast in the war ravaged Iraq.

Mallaiah, is one among the many unemployed persons of the village, who had migrated to different Gulf countries in search of livelihood. With her hopes shattered due to the gory death of her husband in Iraq, Vijaya, the grief-stricken wife of Mallaiah, wailed inconsolably at her hut along with her two sons, Mahesh and Madhu, throughout the day.

Her misery has further compounded when some of the co-workers of Mallaiah reportedly told her family members over phone that the body was so badly mangled that it is most unlikely to reach home.

“He had borrowed a loan of Rs 1.5 lakh on hefty interest rate and left for the alien land last year in search of livelihood little realising about the risky life ahead,” wailed Ms Vijaya. Speaking to this newspaper, she said, “My worst fear came true when I received the phone call from Iraq about his death on Thursday,” she said with tears in her eyes.

Terribly upset over the news that even the body may not reach home due to its bad condition, she said, “Had livelihood opportunities are available here he would have not gone there,” she lamented. “The government should at least ensure that his body reaches home to enable us pay our last respects,” she said.

Meanwhile, one more Gulf migrant from the district died in a firing incident in Kuwait about a week ago. According to sources, Syeed Hussain, 40, a resident of Khanpura in Karimnagar, died in the firing while going to a town bordering Iraq. His body reached home at Khanpura on Friday morning.



Project named after Boddepalli

Srikakulam, Aug. 11: The State government issued orders christening Vamsadhara project after noted Congress leader Boddepalli Rajagopala Rao. Rajagopala Rao made a mark for himself in the region in 60s and was active till his death.

In a release, the executive engineer of the project, K. Sudhir, said hereafter all transactions would be made under the new name. All the five division under the circle were named after him.

They include project construction division at Hiramandalam, investigation division Amudalavalasa, project division No. 1 in Amadalavalasa and project maintenance division in Narasannapeta.




Corrupt officials loot temples

Nellore, Aug. 11: Poor inspection by the endowment department led to large-scale irregularities in temple administration in the district. The department’s laxity led to revenue loss amounting to lakhs of rupees to historic Kamakshi Thai temple in Jonnawada. The administration had not maintained account of assets and offerings made to the temple by the devotees.

The annadanam scheme became a money spinner to corrupt officials. Temple staff swindled money in the auction of saris. Contrary to the entries in account books, enquiry officials found more than 3,000 saris, most of them silk, lying in the temple.

As many as eight employees of the temple have been suspended after initial enquiry proved their role behind the unprecedented irregularities. There are allegations that the endowment department failed to mention the details of the gold kept in the SBI in their hurry to submit the details to the Assembly. Temple EO Yanadi Settee, who joined duties recently, said that the gold was properly accounted and kept in SBI.

He said that he had to verify the records to find out whether it was mentioned in the list sent to the Assembly. Meanwhile, the temple committee of historical Prasanna Venkateswara-swami temple located at Konda Bittragunta levelled serious charges against the present and former executive officers of the temple.

Temple committee chairman P.T. Jagannadhan raised several issues in his recent representation submitted to the assistant commissioner endowments seeking a probe into the misdeeds. He alleged that the former EO kept a large number of gold articles offered to the God in his possession and failed to submit them to the endowment inspection officer during his visit last month although he handed over the gold kept in a bank locker.

Interestingly, the official handed over the gold kept with him to the assistant commissioner along with an abstract when he conducted an inquiry in the temple on August 8. He questioned why the gold was not handed over to the inspection officer earlier. He suspected the veracity of the abstract while stressing the need to verify the same with hundi registers from 1992-2005.

“We wonder how such huge quantities of gold articles can be held by the temple authorities without proper appraisal for 14 years,” the chairman said. He said that the then EO never disclosed the expenditure pertaining to Brahmotsvams organised in 2005 despite repeated requests for obvious reasons. Even the present EO was not forthcoming in disclosing the income and expenditure accounts, he said.



Focus on exports, weavers told

Chirala (Prakasam), Aug. 11: Handloom Exports Development Promotion Council (HEDPC), Chennai, has decided to focus on the exports of handloom products from the State, which is one of the leading manufacturers of handloom products in the country.

In spite of having high production capacity, the State is far behind in exporting textile products to other countries compared to other South Indian States. Of the 2,000 odd exporters in the country, less than 20 exporters have been registered from the State. On the other hand, over 800 traders registered from Tamil Nadu and more than 400 traders registered in Kerala.

Most of the traders from the two States purchase handloom products from Andhra Pradesh and export to other countries with their brand names and registered trademarks. As a result, handloom traders and labourers in the State are losing profits. To export handloom products directly from Andhra Pradesh, the HEDPC has decided to educate local traders and weavers.

Mr Matthi Vathanan, IAS, executive director, HEDPC, has visited Chirala and addressed the workshop on Friday organised by HEDPC with the association of AP Handloom Weavers Co-operative Society. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Matthi Vathanan said that weavers and traders should learn rules relating to export of textiles.

He made it clear that success could be achieved by maintaining quality, competitive price and timely execution of business orders.
Mr Jayaraj, managing director of IRTS, the wing of the Apco, Mr Satyanarayanaraju, AD, Ongole Handlooms and Textiles department and others spoke on the occasion.




Threat of disease haunts victims

Rajahmundry, Aug. 11: With flood water receding in the affected villages, district administration has taken up measures on a war-footing by despatching me-dical and para-medical teams with supplies of medicine to contain possible outbreak of epidemics in East Godavari district.

The Godavari floods affected many villages in several mandals, mainly in Amalpuram division while a few villages were also affected due to overflowing rivulets following incessant rains in the Agency mandals of Devipatnam, Indukuripalem, Korukonda and Seetanagaram and others.

With flood water slowly receding from the villages, the people are facing a new problem to deal with the stinking smell emanating from the bodies of humans and carcasses of livestock. Hundreds of heads of cattle and other animals perished in the flood waters during last week. Now, their bodies are being found entangled in bushes, to pol-es and elevated structures in a decomposed condition.

A large number of flies and mosquitoes hovering around is causing panic to the people. Though the flood-affected people are able to withstand hardshipsearlier, now they face a gigantic task to see that they should not fall prey to epidemics like gastro-enteritis, diarrhoea, jaundice, Japanese encephalitis, skin diseases, viral fevers like malaria, flu and water-borne diseases.

The district medical and health administration has come up with cases related to diarrhoea-1, dysentery-15, skin diseases-136, eye diseases- 91, ear diseases-60 and about 49,000 people received treatment for minor ailments at the medical camps and relief centres held in the last few days in the district.

Medical camps are being held with 50 doctors, 450 para-medical staff and 320 medical relief camps are being held in the affected zones. In all, 20 vehicles have been pressed into service for distribution of medicines and transportation of medical teams.

About two lakh chlorine tablets were being distributed and blea-ching powder is being spr-ayed in the villages. At the medical camps, people are being given paracetamol, anti-influenza, anti- inflammatory and other tablets. APVVP hospitals doctors have also formed into teams to render medical services to the affected people. Instructions were given to the medical teams to conduct post-mortem to the bodies on the spot and prepare a report.

District medical and health officer Dr D. Jaya-ram said, “We are creating awareness among the people on health tips through the public address system in the villages. The villagers are being advised not to take contaminated water and ad-ulterated food besides keeping their environs clean by spraying disinfectants like bleaching powder.”



Minister promises pucca roads

Amalapuram, Aug. 11: Minister for major irrigation Ponnala Lakshmaiah said repair works to the breached bund at Sane-pallilanka and other bunds would be taken up once the flood water recedes.

Taking part in a review on the rehabilitation and rest-oration works here on Friday, the minister said that if the flood water level at Do-wleswaram barrage recedes to 13.75 feet, it would be possible for taking up rep-air works to the breached bund at Sanepallilanka which affected several ma-ndals marooning thousands of villagers for several days in Konaseema region.

He said that they were expecting the flood water to come down to 13.75 feet by Saturday evening at the barrage and added that it could help take up restoration works.

Referring to breaches to bunds at Mundepilanka and P. Gannavaram, the minister said that if the flood water recedes, they would take up formation of ring roads on a permanent basis. The minister also said that they would provide seeds at a subsidy to the affected farmers.

The minister earlier stated that they were providing 20 kg of rice and five litre of kerosene to each flood-affected family in addition to supply of potable water and milk.




DSP takes bribe from his driver, caught

Nizamabad, Aug. 11: Sleuths of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Friday trapped and caught a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) red-handed while taking a bribe from his driver.

According to Nizamabad ACB DSP Koteswara Rao, M. Williams, who took charge as Nizamabad DSP here recently, had demanded a bribe of Rs 20,000 from his driver, T. Srinivas, an Armed Reserved Force constable, for not framing tough charges against him in a dowry harassment case. The shocked driver bargained for Rs 15,000 and informed the ACB about the deal.

“The driver’s wife, Vijaya Kumari, had lodged a complaint with police in July against her husband under the SC and ST Atrocities Act and the Dowry Harassment Act. She also approached superintendent Mahesh Chandra Laddah for the arrest of her husband. Mr Laddah instructed the DSP to probe the matter,” Mr Rao said.

According to the DSP’s report, the driver was suspended, but it was stayed by the High Court. Later, the SP ord-ered the arrest of Srinivas under the SC and ST Atrocities Act. Srinivas, then, met the DSP and requested him against writing a tough chargesheet. However, the DSP demanded a bribe, which got him in the ACB trap, Mr Rao said.



BJP to submit report on floods

Nizamabad, Aug. 11: State BJP general secretary Dr K. Lakshman said that a party delegation would meet Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy on August 14 and submit a detailed report on the damages caused by the floods in the State.

He said that five teams from the State BJP have been touring the flood-hit districts in the State to assess the damage caused by floods and they would complete their tour by August 13.

As part of the tour, a two-member team including K. Lakshman and party Medak and Nizamabad zonal in-charge Bheem Rao arrived here on Friday to assess the crop damage and console the flood victims. Senior BJP leader Baddam Linga Reddy, district BJP chief Yendla Lakshminarayana and others accompanied the team in the tour.

Later, speaking to newsmen, Mr Lakshman said that the State government should waive all crop loans and sanction fresh loans to farmers. He said that party president Rajnath Singh is likely to visit the flood-affected districts in the State on August 13.

He said that the BJP president will conduct an aerial survey in East and West Godavari districts and interact with flood victims. Mr Rajnath Singh will also address a press meet in Hyderabad.




Bhadradri citizens cry for water

Khammam, Aug. 11: Though the flood water receded in almost all the villages, snakes and siltage turned out to be a curse to the flood victims to return to their villages. In Bhadrachalam, the local people staged a dharna seeking drinking water as the water supply was not restored and the pump houses which was submerged in the flood waters is still under water. Water is being supplied to some localities through tanks.

Many villages remained in the dark due to lack of power. Power was not restored in 50 villages in seven mandals of VR Puram, Kunavaram, Chintoor, Bhadrachalam, Charla, Venkatapuram and Vazedu. APTransco was directed to revive the lines on a war-footing.

Mud and mire precipitated on roads and houses after water receded and as a result, the villagers are facing hardships to reach their destinations. They are cleaning the roads and their houses with the water. The snakes which protected themselves by hanging to branches of trees are moving around the houses. The villagers are lighting a fire to keep the reptiles away from their houses. It is stupendous task for drivers to ply the vehicles on Kunavaram, Chintoor and Venkatapuram roads because of the accumulated mud on the roads.

Payam Kondamma, a housewife from VR Puram, said that she noticed five snakes in her house. She said it took at least 15more days to settle down. D. Sanker, a driver, said that his vehicle slipped in the mud and it was difficult to ply the vehicle on the roads. On the other hand, flood victims of various villages are complaining that the officials were not coming to their villages though the water receded.

K. Ramulu of Sivapuram under Velierpad mandal said, “We faced hardships for the last five days but no official turned up in our village. He said that he did not get any help from the officials.



Maize sales to touch record high in State

Guntur, Aug. 11: Sale of maize is set to touch a record high this year with huge stocks being accumulated at the AP Markfed godowns. Market watchers predict a steep rise in prices of maize because of the increase in global demand.

To make good use of the situation, the State government engaged Dwacra women and self-help groups in Guntur and Warangal to purchase and stock the maize. Thanks to the support of the government, Dwacra women made it a big success. As the purchases were made by paying remunerative prices, it also made the farmers happy.

The State has now emerged as the largest procurer of maize in India. Demand for maize had spiralled because of the growth in meat and poultry consumption. Maize is used as livestock feed in many places. Besides this, maize is also used for manufacturing starch, flour, liquid glucose and also by paper and pharmaceutical industries.

At present, the price of maize is hovering around Rs 700 per quintal at Warangal, Karimnagar and Nizambad and around Rs 670 per quintal at Guntur, Pedanandipadu and Kollipara. Markfed sources said that if auctions were held at these prices, an income of Rs 5,000 crore could be generated.




Agency areas worst hit by floods

Visakhapatnam, Aug. 11: All efforts were being made to extend the relief to the flood affected areas in the district, district collector A.K. Singhal said. The floods caused extensive damages to the houses, agriculture, roads and other basic infrastructural facilities and took a toll of 17 lives. The worst hit were Agency areas which includes the landslide at Kodupunjuvalasa where 17 were crushed under the mud slide. Six persons were still missing and efforts were on to trace them.

About 45 persons suffered injured in the four-day rains. An amount of Rs 50,000 as ex gratia was given to the family of each dead and Rs 5,000 to the injured persons. Singhal said that 900 houses were damaged either completely or partially in the district due to the floods and gales caused by the deep depression. So far 180 tonnes of rice, 47,000 litres of kerosene and Rs 38 lakh worth clothes and utensils were distributed to the affected persons, he said.

Regarding loss to the agriculture sector, the collector said 50 per cent of the crop was destroyed in 286 hectares. Drinking water supply scheme was badly affected and Rs 42 lakh was sanctioned for taking up immediate repairs.

Same amount was sanctioned for roads under R&B department. The gale also dislocated the power supply system. Supply was affected in 1,125 villages and resumed in 1,084 villages. About 336 transformers were destroyed and of them 176 were replaced. He said Rs 59.5 lakh was sanctioned for taking panchayat raj department works which include roads, school buildings and other government units.

“In all Rs 38 crore was needed to bring back total normalcy in the district,’’ Singhal said. He added that governing body meeting of DRDA would be held on August 14 and IDTA on August 20.



MDO blamed for lapses

Makkuva (Vizianagaram), Aug. 11: A mandal development officer was pulled up by A.K. Sinha, the project officer of Integrated Tribal Development Agency, on Thursday for irregularities in the implementation of the Rural Em-ployment Guarantee Sche-me and his failure to conve-ne a meeting of sarpanches to discuss the implementation of the scheme.

According to sources, Mr Sinha had asked MDO G. Shankar Rao to convene a meeting of all sarpanches in the ma-ndal on Thursday to discuss about the REG scheme. However, Mr Sinha found neither MDO nor sarpanches, when he arrived at 11.45 am on Thursday at the MDO office.

Angered by the MDO’s recklessness, the project officer summoned office staff and verfied the records on the implementation of the scheme, in which he found many irregularities. Subsequently, the MDO entered the room only to be pulled by the project officer for the irregularities and asked him to go off the room. Threatening him of suspension, Mr Sinha asked the MDO to explain the reasons for spending only Rs 9 lakhs out of Rs 50 lakhs sanctioned for the scheme.

The project officer said: “Why was the implementation of scheme irregular in the entire mandal? Why did you spend only Rs 9 lakhs out of Rs 50 lakhs sanctioned. I will recommend your suspension.” The project officer said that the implementation of the sch-eme had completely took back seat in the mandal .


 

Hyderabad News, Aug 511h,2006

CM seeks more than PM grants


Hyderabad, Aug. 11: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday announced an immediate assistance of Rs 200 crores as flood relief to Andhra Pradesh from the National Calamity Contingency Fund, even as he acknowledged that the State is combating the second largest flood in its history.

However, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy sought additional help for construction of a Rs 1,000-crore bund project covering Godavari, Krishna, Vamsadhara and Nagavali rivers. The Chief Minister , who presented a memorandum detailing flood damages to the tune of Rs 1,014 crores to Dr Singh during a review meeting at Hyderabad airport, said that the bunds would help avert such flood ravages in the future.

In his appeal to the Prime Minister Dr Reddy said, “Sir, we are sorry to bother you, but this is a national calamity and without your assistance the State will be crippled. We crave your indulgence and we are thankful for all your help you have done.” Dr Singh, who surveyed the flood-ravaged areas in Maharashtra (Nanded) and Andhra Pradesh (Adilabad and Nizamabad), was moved by the plight of the people and said the Centre would not allow natural calamities to affect the productive capacity of the State’s fertile lands.

He promised Rs 1 lakh each to the kin of the 110 persons who died in the floods and heavy rains.
“Over 110 people have died in the State and I feel sad about this,” said the Prime Minister.
“Godavari river has been flowing at unprecedented levels, causing extensive flooding and damage in the rich rice bowl of the State,” the Prime Minister said after the meeting.

“Many cities and towns and over 5,000 villages have been flooded and lakhs of families have lost their homes and belongings.” Dr Singh had reviewed the flood damage with Governor Rameshwar Thakur, Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy, revenue minister Dharmana Prasada Rao, APCC president K. Keshava Rao, minister for information and public relations Mohammed Ali Shabbir, chief secretary J. Harinarayan and other senior officials at the Hyderabad airport.

Dr Singh arrived at Hyderabad by a special IAF aircraft and immediately left by helicopter for Nanded in Maharashtra. On his way back, the Prime Minister and his entourage conducted aerial survey of parts of Godavari and Penganga basins in Nizamabad and Adilabad.

Terming Andhra Pradesh the granary of South India, the Prime Minister told mediapersons at Hyderabad airport that the floods were the second biggest in history to hit the State. “We will do all that is necessary to support rescue and relief operations,” he said. The Prime Minister said that a Central team would be sent to assess the damage and provide further assistance.

The team, he said, would work jointly with the State government to restore the damaged canals and irrigation system. With the Rs 200 crores, promised by the Prime Minister, the total Central assistance to the State went up to Rs 400 crores. Union home minister Shivraj Patil had visited the flood-hit coastal districts along with Congress president Sonia Gandhi two days ago and had announced Rs 200 crores as assistance from the Calamity Relief Fund (CRF).

Chief secretary J. Harinarayan later told this correspondent that the Rs 200 crores announced by the Prime Minister was grant from the Centre while the assistance announced by the Union home minister was the State’s share of the CRF. According to the memorandum submitted by Dr Reddy, Visakhapatnam recorded the highest death toll at 24 followed by 13 each in Vizianagaram, East Godavari and Khammam, eight in Nizamabad and six each in Srikakulam, Karimnagar and West Godavari.

Five people died in Krishna district while in other districts the death toll was below five. In all, 5,680 villages in 447 mandals of 16 districts were hit by the floods. It had affected 2.61 lakh people, destroyed 15,457 houses and partially damaged 55,200 houses. The State government has sought financial assistance of Rs 1,014 crores for taking up restoration work. Of this, Rs 210 crores would be for repairing damages in irrigation sector and Rs 296 crore would be to construct houses. Mr Manmohan Singh complimented the government and the army for working hard to restore normal life in flood-affected areas.

HC okays immersion in Tank Bund


Hyderabad Aug. 11: The State government convinced the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday that if the Ganesh idol procession was diverted or prevented, terror outfits might exploit the ensuing disorder. According to the affidavit, diverting or preventing the immersion would provoke the processionists and the situation would be exploited by ISI-backed outfits.

Following this, the High Court permitted Ganesh idol immersion in Hussainsagar for this year. The court, however, directed the State government to ensure the safety of Hussainsagar. In its affidavit, the State government pointed out that security concerns were high in its mind in the context of the recent train blasts in Mumbai and other similar happenings.

The government made this submission before a division bench comprising Chief Justice G.S. Singhvi and Justice G.V. Seethapathy hearing a petition complaining about Hussainsagar being polluted by immersion of idols. In its counter-affidavit, municipal administration secretary Veena Ish detailed steps being taken to prevent pollution of the lake. Even the Central pollution control board had pointed out that the immersion caused only marginal pollution, the affidavit said.

The government said that concentration of heavy metals was within permissible limits and added that the idols would be removed soon after the immersion. Pollution would not spread to whole lake but would be limited to immersion points, the affidavit said. Advocate-general C.V. Mohan Reddy drew the court’s attention to a report in few dailies which said that the court had banned immersion.

Taking note of this, the judges said that reporters should not mislead people. The bench added that it choose to ignore comments made by small-time politicians on the issue. “We refuse to give importance to them,” the judges said. Mr Mohan Reddy said that the statements were made on the basis of the misleading reports which appeared in some sections of the media. In reply, the Chief Justice said that the court would leave it to society to deal with irresponsible persons.

Airport on Qaeda terror list


Hyderabad, Aug. 11: The Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Hyderabad is also in the list of targets of Al Qaeda. Following an Intelligence Bureau alert regarding this, authorities at the airport are conducting thorough checks. Bottles carried by passengers are being scrutinised carefully in the wake of the unearthing of a plot to blow up aircraft using liquid explosives in the United Kingdom.

More CISF commandos have been deputed to guard the airport. A senior Special Branch official said that the Investigation Bureau alert on a possible terror attack on the airport was received days before the UK incidents. “In fact, we are on alert since the Mumbai blasts,” he said. “Security has been beefed up at all entry and exit points,” said an official of the Airports Authority of India. “Special checks are being carried out,” he added.

According to an Airport Authority of India official, only one hand bag was allowed per passenger. “Food items in liquid form are being permitted only after a thorough check.” he said. “We are checking mobile phones too”. Airport officials are leaving nothing to chance and are even clearing garbage from dustbins at quick intervals. Security was all the tighter in the airport on Friday because of the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.



State extends ban on Maoists


Hyderabad, Aug. 11: The State government on Friday extended ban on the CPI (Maoist) and six of its frontal organisations for one more year. A decision to this effect was taken by the State Cabinet here on Friday. The ban on Maoists, which was to end on August 16 this year, will be in force till August 16, 2007.

Apart from the CPI (Ma-oist), six frontal organisations — Radical Youth League, Radical Students Union, Rythu Coolie Sangham, Singareni Karmika Samakhya, Viplava Karmika Samakhya and All India Revolutionary Students Federation — are also banned. The Cabinet, however, exempted the Revolutionary Writers Association (also known as Viplava Rachayitala Sangham or Virasam) led by Vara Vara Rao and Kalyan Rao.

The ban on the erstwhile CPI (ML) People’s War was in force during the Ch-andrababu Naidu regime. After the Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy government took over, it allowed the ban to lapse on July 22, 2004, in the wake of its negotiations with the Naxalite groups in October, 2004.

For the first time, top Naxal leaders Ramakrishna, Sudhakar, Ganesh, Amar and Riyaz came out of the forests and participated in the talks with government representatives. During the course of negotiations, the People’s War metamorphosed into CPI (Maoist), by merging with the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) of Bihar.

The talks, however, failed to make any headway, resulting in a bitter war between the police and the Maoists. Two days after the Maoists gunned down Congress legislator C. Narsi Reddy on August 15 during the Independence Day celebrations at Makthal, the government announced reimposition of ban on the Maoists and seven of its frontal organisations including Virasam. Subsequently, the Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy government lifted ban on Virasam, but continued it on the other Naxal organisations.



State to bear 80% cost of pumpsets


Hyderabad, Aug. 11: The State Cabinet on Saturday decided to replace the existing agricultural pumpsets with ISI-marked pumpsets, along with other energy conserving devices like frictionless footvalves and high-density polyethylene pipelines, in a phased manner by March 2008.

The installation of ISI-marked pumpsets and other devices are part of the World Bank-sponsored po-wer sector reforms in the State and are mandatory for farmers, under new power policy, to get free power supply. Chief Minister Y.S. Raja-sekhar Reddy told his Cabinet colleagues that the government would bear 80 per cent of the total cost of the pumpset and other devices and the remaining 20 per cent would have to be borne by the farmer.

Dr Reddy said average cost of each ISI-marked pumpset would be around Rs 15,000 and with associated equipment, the total cost would be Rs 18,000. “Farmers, who are already battered with drought and floods year after year, cannot afford to purchase the new pumpset and other equipment. Therefore, the government will bear 80 per cent of the cost,” he said, amidst applause from the ministers.

He expressed confidence that the farmers would avail of this opportunity. “Despite a hue and cry raised by the Opposition parties, the farmers had complied with the government’s order on installation of capacitors to their pumpsets,” he said. Dr Reddy said farmers would have to surrender their old equipment to APT-ransco, while installing the new pumpsets.

The total expenditure for bearing 80 per cent of the cost of the pumpset and other energy saving equipment would be around Rs 4,000 crores spread over two years. However, this would be beneficial to APTransco in the long run, as it would save 20-30 per cent of po-wer on an average each ye-ar due to the devices, which could save huge amount of money for APTransco.



State acts against SE, EEs for project payments


Hyderabad, Aug. 11: The State government on Friday suspended superintending engineer and two executive engineers of Devadula lift irrigation project in Warangal district for their alleged involvement in the payment of money to the contractors for the entire project without completing the work.

The decision was taken based on a report submitted by irrigation department joint secretary Padmaja, who conducted on-field inquiry into the scandal, which was exposed in these columns on July 23.

She reported that superintending engineer B. Sewa and executive engineers Sambaiah and Chittibabu were responsible for issuing addendum to the original agreement with the contractors with respect to Devadula phase-II project and releasing Rs 300 crores to the contractors for fabrication of pipes for 100 km, though they laid pipelines only for 22 km. With regard to Deva-dula phase-I, full payments were made without even issuing an addendum to the agreement.

The inquiry also revealed that bills had been paid for fabrication of pipes for 61 kms without doing the concrete lining on the outer side of the pipe and non-corrosion paints on the inner side of the pipe. But the contractor fabricated the pipes with steel.



ACB arrests State auditor in assets case


Hyderabad, Aug. 11: Sleuths of the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested State audit department’s senior auditor K. Shantappa on Friday after they unearthed disproportionate assets worth Rs 68 lakhs. The ACB had conducted simultaneous raids on Mr Shantappa and his brother’s residences at Vanasthalipuram Phase-1.

According to ACB officials, “Shantappa owns five houses, two plots, a car and a two-wheeler in addition to a three-acre agriculture land in Velchala village of Ranga Reddy district.” “The Anti-Corruption Bureau also found Rs 29,000 in cash and the details of several bank accounts. His locker is yet to be opened. The value of all these, as per the documents, is about Rs 63 lakhs. The real value will be many times higher,” the Anti-Corruption Officials said.

According to the officials, Shantappa, 54, was arrested under the AP Prevention of Corruption Act. Deputy superintendent of police in the ACB A. Krishna Kumar and inspector of police S. Trimurthulu led the raids.



Constable arrested in kidnap case


Hyderabad, Aug. 11: Cyberabad Special Operation Team, along with Chandanagar police, on Thursday arrested a gang of four kidnappers including a police constable and seized hand grenades and Rs 5 lakh from them.

The cop arrested was identified as S. Indra Reddy, a police constable of Nalgonda who deserted police force and stole hand grenades of Naxals during a crossfire. The other accused are K. Shiva Krishna, a resident of Manoharabad, T. Srinivasa Reddy, a lorry driver of Nalgonda and T. Bal Reddy a farmer of Manoharabad in Medak district.

During the chase, the kidnappers hurled a hand grenade on the police party but it did not explode.The gangsters, who kidnapped a realtor of Chandanagar, had demanded a ransom of Rs 60 lakh. The realtor, Adusumilly Yesu Babu, finally paid them Rs 6 lakh. Indra Reddy was an accused in a criminal case in Neredcherla in 2004.



State told to ban 15-yr-old vehicles


Hyderabad, Aug. 11: A division bench of AP High Court on Friday directed the government to issue a notification imposing ban on plying vehicles over 15 years across all the Corporations in the State. The bench voiced satisfaction at the steps taken by the government in this regard. The bench directed that the ban should go into effect from November 1.

Plea on new schools rejected

A division bench of AP High Court while dealing with poor facilities in schools refused to vacate an order where it had directed the government not to permit establishment of new schools without proper infrastructure. The court also directed the government to release Rs. 200 per month to the Headmasters of all government schools to ensure availability of drinking water.



Bill to retire judges okayed


Hyderabad, Aug. 11: The State Cabinet approved a draft Bill seeking to give compulsory retirement from service to judges, whose performance is not up to the mark, as decided by the High Court.

The Bill seeks to amend Section 3 (1A) of AP Public Employment (Regulation of Age of Superannuation) Act of 1984. This section stipulates that every member of AP State Higher Judicial Service or AP State Judicial Service shall retire from service on attaining the age of 60 years.

However, the Supreme Court of India gave direction that the performance of the judicial officers must be assessed and evaluated and if they are found unfit, they shall be given compulsory retirement from service in public interest before they attain the age of 50 years, 55 years or 58 years or 33 years of qualifying service. Such judges would be given three months’ notice in writing or three months of pay and allowances.



District, a unit


Hyderabad, Aug. 11: The State Cabinet approved the delimitation of the graduates, teachers and local bodies constituencies for AP State Legislative Council to be constituted shortly. According to the proposal, district would be taken as a unit and population as per the 2001 Census, as the basis for determining the constituencies.

For teachers’ constituencies, it was decided to approve the qualifications equivalent to graduation and the institutions not lower in standard than that of a secondary school. The other decisions of the Cabinet include: allotment of 12.34 acres of land to Lal Bahadur Sastri Memorial Trust to run the LBS Institute of Management at Vattinagulapalli in Rajendranagar mandal at a cost of Rs 1.50 lakh per acre.




 

Business News, Aug 10th,2006

‘Core sector to drive India growth’

Chennai, Aug. 10: India’s growth strategy for the next two decades will be in the manufacturing sector with a focus on export, which will generate ample employment opportunities, Mr Kamal Nath, Union commerce and industry minister, said here on Thursday. Addressing the Engineering Export Promotion Council’s award presentation function, Mr Nath said that currently India’s manufacturing output is in the range of 17-18 per cent to the GDP.

“We are aiming to raise the manufacturing contribution to the GDP at least 24 per cent by 2012 and 30 per cent by 2020, which is critical the to economic fundamentals of the country,” he said. According to Mr Nath, the government’s decision to allow the setting up of the SEZs by the private sector would help in creating jobs. “We are thinking in terms of having manufacturing investment regions, which will be specialised areas of over 100 sq. km, where world-class infrastructure will be provided,” he added. The ministry is exploring possibilities of having single-window clearance facilities and flexibility in labour laws within these investment regions.

Quoting from the Research and Information Systems for developing countries, Mr Nath said exports generated additional direct employment of 1.4 million in the country in 2004-05. Against an export of $80 million in 2004-05, India had generated 16 million employment opportunities. In 2009-10, it is estimated that the overall exports would be $165 billion, which will generate a total of 21 million jobs.

He said the incremental employment generation, as a result of the additional exports, is expected to be 21 million between 2004-05 and 2009-10. Pointing out that India’s global competitive ranking has improved by 10 steps from 39 to 29 in 2006 out of a sample of 61 countries, he said that the government was taking steps to improve competitiveness and productivity of manufacturing industries.



Kerala ban on Coke, Pepsi arbitrary: Ficci, CII

New Delhi, Aug. 10: Ficci and CII on Thursday separately came out strongly against the ban imposed on cola giants, Coca-Cola and Pepsi, by the Kerala government alleging that the state government has not followed the laid-down procedures and has acted in an “arbitrary manner”. On Wednesday, Kerala’s LDF government had barred Coca-Cola and Pepsi from manufacturing or selling their products in the state. Karala has also scrapped the licences of both the companies.

Addressing a press conference, Ficci’s general secretary Dr Amit Mitra said that the way the Kerala government has banned Coca-Cola and Pepsi will not send good signals to foreign investors. Dr Mitra further added, “We are not defending Coca-Cola and Pepsi but are against the way the state government has behaved.”
Coca-Cola and Pepsi had been under pressure since three years ago when the NGO, Centre for Science and Environment, had allegedly found traces of pesticides in Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

Recently, the NGO had again repeated its claims of pesticides being found in the two major soft drinks. Soon a number of States, including Karnataka, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh, had ban-ned aerated drinks in their colleges and schools. But Kerala was the first state that has banned the sale of Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Speaking on the controversy, CII’s president Mr R. Seshasayee said that such actions, on reports based on “proposed” standards that have not even been notified under the law of the land, will “enormously impact the country’s image and credibility”.



HC on Hutch, Essar: Go for arbitration

Mumbai, Aug. 10: The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed that an arbitration tribunal should be set up to settle the disputes between telecom players, Essar and Hutchison, on the issue of the termination of the sale of the BPL Mumbai circle by Essar. The High Court said that both agencies, Essar and Associates and Hutchison Essar, can go in for arbitration in the matter. However, the court has also said that the two parties could settle the matter out of court if needed before the creation of the tribunal. Both parties refused to comment in court whether it was possible.

Earlier, Essar had called off the deal to sell its BPL Mumbai Circle to its telecom joint venture Hutchison-Essar saying that it had not yet received the necessary government approvals. The high court has directed that the tribunal should be set up within a period of 30 days to deal with the dispute and also restrained Essar from selling the BPL circle to a third party until the matter was resolved by the tribunal. The tribunal will decide whether the injunction order on Essar preventing it from selling BPL to a third party is valid or not. Essar had offered to return the Rs 1,617 crores taken as deposit in lieu of selling 97.5 per cent stake in BPL’s Mumbai circle to Hutchison-Essar.



Centre desirous of 49% insurance FDI

New Delhi, Aug. 10: The government on Thursday said it is desirous of hiking Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) cap in insurance sector from 26 to 49 per cent, as the companies need more money to sustain business. “To enhance the quality and reach of the services to the people, that we, the government, are desirous of taking the foreign equity from 26 per cent to 49 per cent,” minister of State in the ministry of finance P.K. Bansal told Rajya Sabha winding up the discussion on Actuaries Bill.

It takes seven years for a company to break even, he said, adding that a new company has to pump in money for seven years because the claims would start coming immediately. “There has to be enough money with those companies so that investment is attracted,” Mr Bansal said. Pointing to low (3.5 per cent) insurance penetration, he said the government had warned that insurance sector must be expanded and their coverage must be vast in the country. He sought support of the members for the bill, which will further open up the insurance sector. With the expansion of the sector, the number of services and products to suit different pockets, situations and eventualities would be available, he added.

To increase FDI cap to 49 per cent, the IRDA Act needs to be amended. Private and foreign insurance companies have been demanding increase in FDI in insurance for a long time. Industrialist and MP Rahul Bajaj, whose company Bajaj Auto owns 74% stake in Bajaj Allianz Life also supported hike in FDI to 49 per cent.



Mumbai airport gets new logo

Hyderabad, Aug. 10: Mumbai International Airport Private Ltd, the company awarded the mandate to modernise and upgrade the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, on Thursday unveiled a new brand identity for the airport. “Providing CSIA an identity of its own is a significant step towards showcasing it to the world. The new brand identity represents CSIA’s Indian roots with a contemporary look and feel that matches the best of international standards,” said Mr G.V. Sanjay Reddy, managing director of MIAL. “Our vision is to make CSIA a global benchmark,” added Mr G.V. Krishna Reddy, chairman of MIAL.

According to statement from MIAL, the new identity is derived from the form of a peacock feather, into which the acronym CSIA has been woven. “The endeavour was to find a symbol that was universally identified with India and create an identity base on India’s rich heritage,” it said. The identity has been designed by Ray & Keshavan, a branding firm. It will be rolled out in a phased manner across various aspects of user interfaces at the CSIA. MIAL is a joint venture between a consortium led by the Hyderabad-based GVK Industries and a South African airport management company and the Airports Authority of India.



Grant us stable rates, pleads plastic sector

Mumbai, Aug. 10: The plastic processing industry has appealed to the government to ask the polymer manufacturers like Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), IPCL and GAIL to keep prices of polymers stable for at least a month, indicate availability of polymers statewise and review the distribution pattern immediately. Mr Ajay Desai, speaking to this newspaper, said that the prices of polymers like LDPE/LLDPE/HDPE etc have experienced prices rising three to four times a month and 10 to 11 times since April 2006. He said that polypropylene, for instance, has gone up from Rs 63,200 per tonnes on April 2, 2006 to Rs 78,600 per tonne on August 1, 2006, that is Rs 15,400 in less than four months. Similarly, HDPE has gone up by Rs 14,240, LLDPE by Rs 13,910 and LDPE by a massive Rs 19,360 per tonne.

Mr Desai said that the polymer manufacturers have also been throttling the processing industry from Kanpur to Chennai by stopping supplies. He said that prior to increasing prices, the polymer producers stop supplies and this causes huge problems for the plastic processing people who cannot fulfil their commitments. He said that the industry is fully aware of the price volatility of petrochemical raw materials as well as polymers. But they have been nurtured by the government through various concessions and heavy protection by customs duty in the past.

They should now consider the plight of the small and medium processing industry which consists of around 20,000 units. Mr Desai said that they also expect the government to take immediate remedial steps like:

* Restricting exports of polymers.
* Postpone review of the anti-dumping applications made by polymer producers for PVC resin and reduce excise from 16 per cent to 8 per cent.



IBM launches new Rational Version 7 products

Hyderabad, Aug. 10: International Business Machines Corp. on Thursday launched 12 new IBM Rational Version 7 products, the new suite of software delivered through the IBM Software Development Platform. “The new IBM Rational Software Development Platform products enable greater innovation by automating the software testing process and tracking changes made to software code,” an IBM statement said. “With the IBM Rational Software Development Platform team products, IBM introduces a level of business discipline that allows even the least-technical executives to exercise appropriate management to make sure that business objectives are being met — even at the developmental level of the organisation.”

 

Andhrapradesh regional news Aug 10th,2006

Kurnool faces flood threat

Kurnool, Aug. 10: With the floods to Tungabhadra, the Krishna river is also brimming with floodwater. The officials were releasing 25,800 cusecs of floodwater from Tungabhadra dam at Hospet into Tungabhadra river on Thursday. Meanwhile, the floodwater force went up at Sunkesula barrage and the officials were releasing 45,655 cusecs of water into Krishna river. Official sources in the irrigation department said that the release of water would go up further.

As the floodwater inflows have gone up, there was every possibility of floods to Krishna river. At least 4.51 lakh cusecs of water reached Srisailam reservoir by Thursday evening, while 5.56 lakh cusecs of water was released into Nagarjunasagar. The irrigation authorities lifted seven gates of Srisailam reservoir to a height of 33 feet and releasing water downstream.

Meanwhile, around 2.50 lakh cusecs of water is reaching Krishna river from Bhima river, which further increased the flood threat to Krishna. With the water level in Krishna river is likely to touch 6 lakh cusecs, several low-lying areas in Kurnool district headquarters, which are near to Krishna river are likely to be submerged.

It may be recalled here that last year also, same situation prevailed and several low-lying areas were submerged with floodwaters. The water that reached Krishna river from Narayanpur, Almati and Jurala reservoirs resulted in floods to the river submerging several low-lying areas in Kurnool city. A similar threat pervades the city now. In order to avoid the submergence, the authorities are planning to release more water into Nagarjunasagar from Srisailam reservoir. The Srisailam reservoir has a capacity to store 280.20 tmc ft of water, while it has 236.60 tmc ft of water presently.



Red sanders seized, man held

Railwaykodur, Aug. 10: The forest officials on Wednesday evening seized 18 red sander logs weighing 507 kg being transported in a car at Balupalle Checkpost in the mandal and arrested the smuggler. Forest ranger M. Krishnaiah said that the seized red sanders were worth Rs 1.5 lakhs. He said that the car was seized and Sheikh Rahim Basha of Venkatagiri in Chittoor district, who was transporting the red sanders was arrested.

Mr Krishnaiah said that the forest officials have been conducting combing at Kangumadugu, Desettipalle, Balapalle Checkpost, Papanasanam and other areas under the Balupalle forest range to prevent smuggling of red sanders. An iron watch tower was established at the Balupalle Checkpost to prevent red sander smuggling. He urged people to inform forest officials on phone Nos. 9440810305, 08566-245777 about red sander smuggling and promised that informants names would be kept secret. Balupalle Checkpost forest section officer V. Durgaiah, Balupalle section officer K. Sudhakar and others were present.




Rain leads to fever outbreak

Warangal/Karimnagar, Aug. 10: After the rain havoc, people are under the threat of viral fevers and chickungunya. Three persons, including two children, died of viral fevers in separate incidents in Mahadevpur mandal in Karimnagar district on Wednesday night. According to officials, the moist weather conditions are also contributing to the outbreak of the viral fevers on an epidemic proportion.

The viral fevers are also spreading due to unhygienic conditions and contamination of drinking water. Rampant absenteeism among medical staff is adding to the woes. The statistics released by the district authorities in Warangal have indicated that a total of 1.4 lakh people in the district were affected by viral fevers.

Though the official figures reveal that more than one lakh people were affected by viral fevers, the actual number of sufferers would be more than three lakh in the district. The district and city authorities, who were concentrating on viral fevers including suspected chickungunya till recently, had shifted their focus to flood relief aggravating the outbreak. The death of an 11-year-old boy due to the encephalitis at Somidi area in Kazipet also exposed the poor sanitation in and around Warangal city.

The officials and medical staff were quick to blame poor hygienic surroundings, but reluctant to take up responsibility. In Nizamabad, the officials have instructed to take precautionary measures to contain outbreak of viral epidemic.



Villages face epidemic threat

Adilabad/Nizamabad, Aug. 10: Flood-affected villages in 14 mandals in Adilabad district are facing drinking water problems as drinking water sources such as borewells and open wells were submerged in the recent floods. There is a possibility of communicable diseases spreading due to possible water contamination.

According to official sources, water sources were affected due to floods in 50 villages in the district. More villages were affected in Jainad, Bela, Khanapur, Tiryani, Rebbena, Kagaznagar, Wankidi, Nirmal and Thamsi mandals. Open defecation is the general practice in villages and floodwater gets contaminated due to this leading to spread of communicable diseases.

Supply of safe drinking water by the Rural Water Supply (RWS) Department has not been reached to most flood-affected villages in the district, but the RWS officials claim that they have been supplying drinking water in packets. With road links to many villages cut off, there is little possibility for supply through tankers. Power supply is worst hit in flood-affected villages as electricity poles have fallen down and lines have snapped. People can also get electrocuted if they come into contact with live wires lying in the water or on the earth.

District collector Ravala Subbarao said that their first priority was supply of safe drinking water and restoration of power supply in flood-affected villages. In Nizamabad, district panchayat officer Zameer Ahmed directed village secretaries in the district to keep villages dirt-free as there was a danger of spread of viral fevers and waterborne diseases in flood-affected areas.

The DPO also directed the extension officers to frequently visit flood-hit areas and arrest leakages at drinking water sources and clean drainages. He said that the village secretaries should ensure chlorination of all drinking water sources, removal of garbage, spraying of DDT at drainages and alerting hoteliers in the villages on the need to maintain clealiness at their places to prevent diseases.



Farmers thrash robber to death

Nizamabad, Aug. 10: Farmers killed a robber who tried to steal an electric transformer from Chandrayanpally of Dichpally mandal in the wee hours of Thursday. The incident came to light when Chandrayanpally villagers informed this to the Dichpally police on Thursday morning. Dichpally SI G. Srinivas told this correspondent that one Azeez, 25, a native of Nirmal, along with 10 others had gone to the village to steal the transformer near the NH No. 7. Azeej tried to remove the iron bolts of the transformer while his accomplices were waiting in a jeep on the highway.

Farmers, who were sleeping near the transformer, awoke after they heard sounds and caught Azeez red-handed. His accomplices fled. The farmers tied Azeez to the window of the village panchayat office and severely assaulted him with sticks. Later, they informed the matter to the Dichpally police. Azeez died while being shifted to the Nizamabad Government hospital by the police.

The farmers had been guarding the two transformers in shifts after thieves had stolen them two months ago from the same place.
The SI said that a case was registered and investigation was on.




Floods cause widespread crop damage in Khammam

Khammam, Aug. 10: Floodwaters from various rivulets and tributaries of the Godavari damaged cro-ps in 48,000 acres in Khammam district. Preliminary estimates ha-ve put crop damage at Rs 25 crore. Crop damage was reported from 12 mandals in the district and the heaviest losses occurred in Veli-erpad, Kukkunoor, Charla, V R Puram, Chintoor, Kun-avaram, Venkatapuram, Dammapet and Aswar-aopet.

About 23,000 farmers have suffered losses in the floods and the government has promised to give them assistance. Agriculture joint director J. Balaiah said that the government was planning to give seeds to the farmers on subsidised rates. Farmers who had lost 50 per cent of their crops wou-ld be given compensation, he added. Crops such as cotton, chilli, maize, paddy, banana, watermelon, red gram, green gram and palm olive were damaged in the floods.

Chilli and cotton fields in Kunavaram, Chintoor and VR Puram mandals were submerged in flood waters and banana and watermelon farms of Dammapet, Veli-erpad and Aswaraopet mandals were also badly damaged. Revenue and agricultural officials are now conducting a survey to assess the crop loss which occurred in the floods. However, they are still un-able to enter many villages because of water logging. Meanwhile, water level in Godavari at Bhadrachalam has touched 53 feet and has been termed stable.



Diviseema faces flood threat

Vijayawada, Aug. 10: The district administration is ge-ared up to face the increasing floods to river Krishna from Thursday. Basing on the discharges at Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar reservoirs, the officials here are expecting an inflow of over seven lakh cusecs of water in the next two days which would ma-roon several villages both in the upstream and downstream of Prakasam Barrage. The officials have discharged over 4.28 lakh cusecs of water from the barrage on Thursday.

Further, they are expecting nearly seven lakh cusecs of water by Friday evening as 5.46 lakh cusecs was discharged at Srisailam in addition to 5.18 lakh cusecs of water discharged at Nagarjunasagar. The officials of the irrigation department lifted 70 gates at Prakasam Barrage and were discharging 4.28 lakh cusecs of water which would go into the sea passing through the Diviseema. If the discharge crosses 6.50 lakh cusecs of water by Friday, several habitations would have to be cleared in the downstream, particularly in Challapalli, Mopidevi, Avanigadda, Koduru and Nagayalanka mandals.

In the upstream too, people from the low-lying habitations of Chandarlapadu, Nandigama, Ibrahimpatnam and Jaggaiahpet would have to be shifted to the relief camps if the inflows from Srisailam and Nagarjuna-sagar join the river. The ad-ministration opened relief camps in these mandals for the flood-hit areas. District collector Navin Mittal, who reviewed the flood situation with the officials on Thursday asked them not to allow people to go back to their houses or venture into the river.

Meanwhile, speaking to mediapersons, the collector said that the administration would require Rs 16.70 cro-res to take up relief works on permanent basis in the district. He said that they have sought Rs 4 crores for immediate repairs and relief operations.

He said that Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy had promised to provide 15,000 houses for the flood victims. The administration had already acquired 90 acres at Gollapudi and Jak-kampudi villages for these houses, besides constructing over 2,000 houses at the Vambay Colony. Joint collector S. Suresh Kumar and municipal commissioner N. Gulzar were also present.




Software firm dupes employees

Visakhapatnam, Aug. 10: A victim of a dubious software company allegedly ran away with more than Rs 2 crore. A complaint in this regard was lodged with the Fourth Town police station on August 8 and on August 9 against D. Ravi Kumar, honorary president of Software and Data Entry Entrepreneurs Association, who ran the entire show.

Fourth Town Station House Officer D. Ravi Prakash told this correspondent that one of the victims V. Ramkoti Bhaskara Rao, in his complaint, on August 8, said Ravi Kumar took Rs 20,000 from him offering work and did not return the amount.

He mentioned in his complaint that Ravi Kumar might have fled with more than Rs 1.5 crores. Another complaint was lodged by B. Kiran Babu that Ravi Kumar owed him Rs 20,000. Other victims requesting anonymity said Ravi Kumar himself became victim of a dubious software company Log Sanchar and lost good amount of money. Perhaps taking cue from the Tamil Nadu-based cheat, who ran Log Sanchar and currently languishing in Vizag jail, Ravi Kumar himself started an organisation with the help of software professionals. Initially, it was a unregistered organisation but in April 2005 the association was registered as SADEEA.

He was getting works from abroad and distributing am-ong the members. The profits accrued from the project works was to be distributed equally among members. But projects were completed and the members were never paid the money.

There were about 1,200 members and 50 employees in the Association. “A major work was obtained from Singapore-based Vertix Infrastructure and it was uploaded as per the schedule. But when the members demanded the money, Ravi Kumar replied that the work was delayed and hence the company refused to pay the money,’’ a victim told this correspondent. SHO Ravi Prakash said no arrests were made and the case was still under preliminary investigation. Meanwhile, Ravi Kumar gave an advertisement in local newspapers stating that he was staying in Hyderabad and did not runway with money.



Vizag police to promote Maoists’ surrender

Visakhapatnam, Aug. 10: The Vizag range police changed the tack to contain the strength of the Maoist movement in north coastal Andhra. More than arrests and encounters, the police now focus on surrender and rehabilitation of the cadre ranging from commanders to grassroot workers.

“Our idea is reduce their numbers and bring them back to mainstream,” Visakha range deputy inspector general Govind Singh said. The arrest of woman Maoist M. Ramani at Pal-asa on Wednesday which was later shown as surrender was first of its kind in north coastal Andhra. Talking to reporters here on Thursday, Govind Singh said the new policy would run parallel to the operations.

He said the arrests involved cumbersome process of prosecution, trial and imprisonment which ultimately served no purpose. In case of surrender, the Maoists would get benefits accrued to them under the government policy which could establish them in the mainstream. It was not necessary that the rehabilitation process would change their attitudes.

“In many cases they would be having contacts with the Maoist groups but never dare to go underground,” Govind Singh said, and, assured that the surrendered Maoists would not be harassed by the police for information on activists and hideouts. The DIG paraded eight Maoists who surrendered on Thursday.

They include deputy commander of Korukonda special squad Korra Krishna Rao alias Mohan, 20, deputy commander Palakajeedi Muvvala Ranga, 20, Murla Laxmi, 30, Korra Saduno alias Rajanna, 27, Sendu Pangi, 15, Chikkudu Laxmana Rao, 22, Vanthala Lakku, 38, and Dure Rama Rao, 28.


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