Andhranews

Mumbai, Sept. 1: The Life Insurance Corporation on Friday announced that it is targeting a growth of 40 per cent in its individual premium to Rs 24,400 crores and in the group premium Rs 3,000 crores, in the current fiscal. Among the new initiatives planned in the Golden Jubilee year are the BIMA Gold Policy which will be launched on September 4, 2006, and a micro-insurance plan which will be announced as soon as it fine tunes the product.

“With the total investment of Rs 4,65,100 crores, LIC is the largest single investor in India and the second-largest investor among the insurers in Asia. The corporation is also the largest single financial institutional investor in the equity market with an investment of over Rs 46,000 crores in equity (book value). Moreover, it has also invested around Rs 59,000 crores in infrastructure projects,” said Mr T.S. Vijayan, chairman, LIC.

LIC plans a total investment of Rs 90,000 crores in the current fiscal. It will also shortly enter the credit card business, for which it is scouting around for partners. LIC, which registered a growth of 182.26 per cent in premium income, increased its market share by 3.5 per cent to 77.51 per cent by July 2006, outperforming the industry growth rate of 177.44 per cent. As on August 15, 2006, the corporation’s new premium stands at Rs 10,381.57 crores showing a growth of 191 per cent over the last year.

The corporation has also sold 15,000 policies last year, through its three international branches in Mauritius, Fiji and UK. According to Mr Vijayan, LIC has settled 1.8 crores claims for Rs 28.512 crores, which incidentally is more than the number of policies in force taken together of all its peer companies in the country.

“With a marketing strength of 10.44 lakh individual agents, 27 banks, 103 brokers and +660 corporate agents, LIC is poised to continue its onward march in new businesses,” added Mr Vijayan.
LIC’s total assets were Rs 5,52,000 crores as on March 2006.

Mumbai, Sept. 1: The Committee on Fuller Capital Account Convertibility has said that foreign institutional investors should be prohibited from investing fresh money raised through participatory notes or PNs. Existing PN-holders may be provided an exit route and phased out completely within one year.

The report of the committee was released by the Reserve Bank of India on Friday.
The committee was set up by the RBI in consultation with the Government of India to revisit the subject of fuller capital account convertibility in the context of the progress in economic reforms, the stability of the external and financial sectors and accelerated growth and global integration.

Among other recommendations are:
* Non-resident corporates should be allowed to invest in the Indian stock markets through Sebi-registered entities including mutual funds and
portfolio management schemes who will be individually responsible for fulfilling various norms. The money should come through bank accounts in India.
* Other institutions/corporates should be allowed to raise rupee bonds (with an option to convert into foreign exchange) subject to an overall ceiling which should be gradually raised.
* The limits for borrowing overseas should be linked to paid-up capital and free reserves, and not to unimpaired Tier I capital.
* Overseas investment by mutual funds should be raised in three phases. The overall ceilings should be raised from the present level of $2 billion to $3 billion in Phase I, to $4 billion in Phase II and to $5 billion in Phase III.
* Sebi-registered portfolio management schemes should also be permitted to avail of the above facility. The annual limit should be successively raised to $50,000 in Phase I, $100,000 in Phase II and $200,000 in Phase III.
* Where current account transactions are restricted, i.e., gifts, donations and travel, these should be raised to an overall ceiling of $25,000 without any sub-limit.
* Non-residents (other than NRIs) should also be allowed access to the deposit schemes presently enjoyed by NRIs. Since NRIs enjoy tax concessions on FCNR(B) and NR(E)RA deposits, it would be necessary to provide FCNR(B)/NR(E)RA deposit facilities as separate and distinct schemes for non-residents (other than NRIs) without tax benefits.
* The present tax regulations on FCNR(B) and NR(E)RA deposits for Non-resident Indians should be reviewed by the government.

New Delhi, Sept. 1: The government on Friday claimed that prices of wheat, sugar and pluses, that registered an upward trend in last few months, have been stabilised.
Mr L. Mansingh, secretary, consumer affairs, said removing licensing requirement, stock limits and movement restrictions on specified foodstuff including wheat and sugar has to some extent stabilised the prices.

“As far as the price of sugar is concerned, it has started falling,” added Mr Mansingh. Mr Mansingh said that to make available wheat prices at par with the ruling international prices, the government had decided to import the foodgrain for ration shops at zero duty. Mr Mansingh said from now on, 6-7 lakh tonnes of imported wheat would be hitting the Indian shores on a monthly basis till January next year, which would ensure that prices are under control.

Mr Mansingh further said that as far as pulses are concerned, only the prices of urad and moong dal had been on the rise. But the government is aggressively importing pulses to fill the gap between the demand and supply. Against the contracted quantity of 49,300 million tonnes of urad and moong, around 73 per cent of pulses has already been received.

The balance quantity of the two pulses is likely to be shipped within this week. Mr Mansingh said that till date, NAFED has disposed 9,965 million tonnes of the imported pulses. He said that big corporates like ITC, Cargill and AWB bought only about 15 lakh tonnes and that it was not a cause for concern. On the government’s decision to encourage anti-hoarding measures by state governments, Mr Mansingh said this action may be warranted only if there is abnormal level of stock holding by the market manipulators.

Hyderabad, Sept. 1: In what is stated to be the first partnership of its kind, Arvind Brands Ltd, a subsidiary of Arvind Mills Ltd, said on Friday it has agreed to form a joint venture with VF Corp. of the United States, for marketing in India various brands owned by VF Corp.

Arvind will hold a 40 per cent stake in the JV, to be called VF Arvind Brands, while VF Corp. will hold the majority 60 per cent. VF Corp. will pay $33 million for the 60 per cent equity in the new company, a spokesman for the Bangalore-based Arvind Brands said.

"The existing business including intellectual assets and existing licenses from VF for Lee, Wrangler, Nautica, Jansport and Kipling brands, currently held by Arvind Fashions Ltd, will be transferred to this JV,” the spokesman said in a statement. The new company will be handling the designing, sourcing and marketing of the existing licensed brands and in the future may add a few more brands belonging to VF Corp.

The retailing and the stores infrastructure will continue to be held by Arvind. Mr Darshan Mehta, currently president of Arvind Brands, will be CEO of the new company. Mr Jayesh Shah, CFO and director of Arvind, said, “The transaction further strengthens the relationship Arvind shares with VF Corp. and is a pointer to the faith in the future of branded retailing in India.”

Hyderabad, Sept. 1: Painting a bullish outlook for the Indian aviation sector, Mr Dinesh Keskar, senior vice-president (sales, commercial planes) of the Boeing Company, said the industry is poised to grow at 20 per cent for the next five years but warned that low-cost fares are not a healthy sign and could be the cause for a tailspin for the booming sector.

Delivering his keynote address at the TAAI-organised Indian Travel Congress here on Friday, Mr Keskar said that with the surge in air travel and the boom in the industry, consolidation is inevitable in the next 12-18 months which would make the aviation sector healthy, leaner and better equipped for the next stage of growth.

However, Mr Keskar, a 25-year veteran of the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, had a word of caution for low-cost flying. “Low fares have to go as yields of carriers are taking a hit and with high ATF prices, the effect on the numbers of the companies is more pronounced,” Mr Keskar said.

As Indian carriers, including low-cost carriers drive the demand of new aircraft for Boeing, Mr Keskar pointed out that there still existed enough opportunity for aircraft manufacturers. “From 123 aircraft in 2003, the Indian aviation industry is 224-aircraft strong now and has placed orders for 384 planes. This shows why India contributed to 20 per cent of sales for Boeing last year,” Mr Keskar explained, adding that
he had never been so bullish and ecstatic of the Indian aviation sector as he was now.

Earlier speaking at the inauguration of the 4-day Travel Agents Association of India event, Ms Renuka Choudhary, Union minister of State for child & women development, who was the Union tourism minister not long back, asked the tourism industry to hedge
itself from future losses in the form of terrorism and natural disaster.

Whereas, Mr Ashwini Kakkar, president of the Travel Agents Association of India, in a speech full of energy requested the government to look into the option of services being included in VAT and arrange for visa on arrival, which would have a multiplier effect on the tourism sector.

Hyderabad, Sept. 1: The India Service Centre of UBS, the Swiss financial services giant, expects to be the global human resource hub for the parent, planning to eventually send its people to work with investment and private banking operations around the world. The ISC, which began operations in Hyderabad in June, was in the process of “accessing and developing talent” which can be deployed in UBS operations worldwide, says Mr Vipul Khanna, Chief Executive Officer of UBS ISC.

Speaking to this newspaper, Mr Khanna said that the ISC, which handles the “knowledge process outsourcing” for UBS’ global investment and private banking operations, had started the exercise of training people who could be deployed in other parts of the world.“Eventually, we expect to develop the expertise in our people to function in the investment and private banking operations,” he said. UBS, which posted a net profit of $7.2 billion on an operating income of U.S. $30.45 billion in 2005, will be investing a total of $40 million in its ISC centre here.

Currently, the centre has 300 employees, most of them chartered accountants and business school graduates, he said, adding that the headcount is expected to go up to 500 by end-2006. Apart from the KPO operations, the ISC is also involved in high-end BPO work and in IT infrastructure management for UBS, Mr Khanna said. The management includes network security. Mr Khanna said the ISC was also considering to offer “presentations outsourcing” for UBS around the world. “This is at a nascent stage, but the idea is to offer to make presentations for executives of UBS from around the world, for a fee,” he said.

Various UBS divisions were now beginning to use the ISC’s services, not only because of the labour cost factor, but the expertise of the ISC, he said. UBS is planning to begin work on a second block at the ISC. “There is a lot of traction in the business now, so we expect to add a 1,000-seat facility in the second block,” Mr Khanna said.

Chennai, Sept. 1: Buoyed by a strong growth in motorcycle sales, TVS Motor Company has sold 135,533 units two-wheeler in August 2006 against 103,063 units during the same period last year, recording a growth of 32 per cent.The total motorcycle sales in August 2006 stood at 83,014 units compared to 59,675 units in the same period last year, recording a growth of 39 per cent.

According to a company statement, StaR and Apache continue to be the drivers of motorcycle sales and the company is enhancing its production to meet the demand especially with the festival period on the anvil. Apache continued to be the number 2 brand in the premium segment and its popularity has increased manifold since its launch, the company claimed.

TVS’ Scooty sales recorded 23,118 units in August 2006 compared to 21,873 units last year. The recent launch of pink colour Scooty Pep+ has attracted a great deal of interest among young girls. The company will soon bring out unique options to the customer
where they could choose their own colour. To begin with, this project will be launched in Bangalore. The company has recorded its highest ever exports of 11,008 units in August 2006, at a growth of 71 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Hyderabad, Sept. 1: Setting aside issues such as supplies being delayed due to flood and rain in August, car majors have reported good growth in sales for the month. The market leader, Maruti Udyog Ltd sold 48,259 vehicles in the domestic market in August 2006, a 15.68 per cent growth from the 41,717 vehicles it sold last August. Overall “Maruti sold 51,855 vehicles in August 2006 which includes 3,596 units of exports,” a company statement said on Friday.

On the other hand, the country’s second biggest car manufacturer Hyundai Motor India recorded a combined sale of 26,374 units achieving a growth of 8.5 per cent over the same period in August 2005. The number of vehicles sold in the domestic market for the month was 16,101, a growth of 8 per cent over August’05. Hyundai’s exports grew by 9.2 per cent with sale of 10,273 units in August’06 over the corresponding month in year 2005. Further, Hyundai’s sales for the calendar year so far was 198,625 vehicles, a growth of 19.2 per cent over the January-August sales in 2005.

Elsewhere, Chennai-based Ford India sold 2,699 cars in August, realising a growth of 88 per cent compared to August 2005. During the period January – August ’06, Ford India sold 29,470 cars, registering a growth of 93 per cent over the same period last year. “It is a very exciting period at Ford India. With the launch of the new Fusion and the Ford Fiesta diesel EXi, Ford is all set to extend its leadership in the Indian market,” Arvind Mathew, president and managing director of Ford India, was quoted as saying in a statement issued by the company.

But General Motors India reported a 14 per cent dip in domestic sales for August 2006, at 2,720 units sold as against 3,159 units in the same month last year. “The performance has been up to our expectations keeping in mind the flood situation in Gujarat and Maharashtra which affected production, despatches and delivery of vehicles,” GM India V-P Mr P. Balendran, said.

Many parents are understandably worried about their wards’ Internet habits, fearful that websites with inappropriate content would play havoc with their children’s view of the world. Apparently, to address these concerns, Microsoft has released in Beta a Windows Live service, which aims to give parents control over their children’s web surfing. The new service has been launched in the US and expected to be eventually launched in India sometime soon, given the importance of the Indian market for the software giant.

It’s called OneCare Family Safety, and aims to provide web filtering and activity reports. The service was formerly called Family Safety Settings. According to TechWeb, the filtering feature lets parents chose “allow, block or warn” settings for a range of content categories. Unique settings can be applied to each member of the household. Parents can adjust settings anytime from any Internet-connected PC. Parents can also access activity reports for each family member, to stay on top of their children’s web browsing.

Renewed attack

While on Microsoft, according to two network security companies, an upswing in activity related to a potential Windows Server vulnerability dubbed with a most-dangerous label in early August has been detected. “That earlier vulnerability came to light August 8, amid Microsoft’s release of a dozen security bulletins. These included MS06-040, which patched a critical vulnerability in Windows’ Server service. At the time, security analysts warned that the bug might be exploited by a network-attacking worm, ala MSBlast. Although several exploits appeared, their impact was minor,” says TechWeb.

Now, both Symantec and the SANS Institute’s Internet Storm Centre alerted users that they had detected a significant increase worldwide in activity on port 139, one of the two ports which an exploit against the MS06-040 vulnerability would use to attack systems.

Helmet headset

This one, I guess, is something you can ask that long-forgotten cousin in Rochester to send you. The item is a Bluetooth SCALA-Rider FM wireless communications hands-free headset, developed by Cardo Systems, Inc. The Bluetooth headset, according to the company, allows motorcyclists and other helmet wearers to use their cellphones and enjoy their favourite FM radio stations. The device fits virtually any motorcycle helmet and is fully weather protected.

Mumbai, Sept. 1: Hinduja TMT said on Friday that it will demerge its Information Technology and IT Enabled Services undertaking into a separate entity, which would get listed in the fourth quarter of current fiscal. The board of directors after discussing the recommendations of the committee of directors, pursuant to a scheme of arrangement, approved the demerger of its IT/ITES undertaking.

The demerger would come into effect from October 1 and the new entity would be called HTMT Technologies. Pursuant to the demerger, post restructuring of share capital, a shareholder of the company holding two equity shares of Rs 10 each prior to the demerger would receive one equity share of Rs 10 in HTMT Tech and one equity share in the company after the d emerger.

The company is also looking at some major acquisition opportunities for HTMT Technologies in the ITeS sector in the US, to add to its geographical reach and domain competencies. The acquisitions would be backed substantially from the funds received from the sale of Hutch stake within the current financial year, it said. The board also took on record a scheme of arrangement for merging 2Cable, its broadband subsidiary and InNetwork Entertainment, its content subsidiary, into IndusInd Media and Communications (IMCL). With this, the various media subsidiaries would be consolidated with Hinduja TMT.

New Delhi, Sept. 1: Petroleum and antural gas minister Murli Deora on Friday urged officers of oil public sector units to help boost production and drop plans for any strike. Urging oil companies to “endeavour to enhance production in their respective companies instead of going on any kind of strike,” Mr Deora said the state-owned oil companies had been facing challenging situation due to volatile international oil prices and saddled with large under-recoveries during 2005-06 which would further increase this year.

“In such a case, management and the officers of various companies have a special role in retrieving the situation,” said Mr Deora who was speaking at a function held here by Indian Oil Corporation (IndianOil) to mark the Indian Oil Day.The minister assured them that the government was sympathetic to the concerns of the workers of State-owned companies.

The Oil Sector Officers’ Association, the representative body of executives of state-owned oil companies, had earlier this week announced plans of going on indefinite strike from September 5, to press for resolution of all pending issues including hike in salary at par with that of multinational companies.

New Delhi, Sept. 1: The government on Friday said it is expecting 94 Special Economic Zones (SEZs) to become operational in the next 18 months. “In 18 months 94 SEZs are expected to come up of which 22, which have already been notified, would be running in next six months,” commerce ministry officials said.

At present, 150 SEZs have got approval from the government while applications for 225 are pending before the board of approval. The proposals that are pending before the board include those by Posco and one in Haldia. These are likely to be taken up at the next meeting.

According to officials, the country needs up to 300 SEZs. They said that the SEZs are expected to attract investment of up to Rs 1,00,000 crore, a quarter of which would be foreign direct investment. The commerce ministry is also of the view that the number of jobs created by the SEZs would be to the tune of 5,00,000 by December 2007. The officials also contested the argument that the SEZs would lead to a tax loss of Rs 70,000 crore in direct taxes and said in fact the government stands to gain Rs 45,000 crore annually from them.

“The study undertaken on the tax loss through SEZs assumes that the entire incremental growth in country’s exports will come from these SEZs,” they said. According to officials, if the loss in direct tax loss is Rs 70,000 crore than the profits of units in SEZs should be more than Rs 3,50,000 crore and turnover should be five times the profits. The commerce ministry officials said the incremental economic activity generated by these zones would ensure that the government earns Rs 45,000 crore every year as taxes.

Besides, the officials said even the Reserve Bank of India has observed that the SEZs would act as catalysts for growth and facilitate large flow of foreign and domestic investments. Moreover, RBI has also noted that simplification of procedures for development, operation and maintenance of the SEZs and the fiscal incentives was expected to spur investment and industrial activity, they said.

The officials also dismissed claims that SEZs were degenerating into a land scam and that farmers' land was being acquired, saying the 225 new proposals pending before the board of approval required only about 75,000 hectares. This constituted a minuscule 0.000625 per cent of the 120 million hectares of total cultivable area in the country, they said. To ensure that the SEZs do not become a real estate business opportunity, the rules does not allow any sale of land and all land allotted to the developers were on lease.