India heading for debt trap: Moody's
New Delhi: International credit rating agency Moody's has warned that India was heading towards a debt trap due to the government's inability to rein in its huge public sector deficit.

"The current trend of public finances is leading inexorably to a debt trap," Moody's said in its new annual report on India.

Another reason contributing to the outlook was lack of progress on fiscal reform and "crowding out of the private sector from the credit markets."
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Sinha files defamation case against Jindals
New Delhi: Finance minister Yashwant Sinha has filed a criminal complaint against Jindal Aluminium Ltd chairman S R Jindal for allegedly defaming him by making statements accusing him of favouring Hindalco.

District and Sesssions Judge H R Malhotra, who had issued a bailable warrant against Jindal, granted him bail on furnishing a bond of Rs 50,000 after he appeared before the court.

The court has fixed February 20 for further hearing of the case.

In his complaint, Sinha had requested the court to "punish the accused person in accordance with law" for deliberately harming his "personal, social and political" reputation.

Jindal, in a press conference on 28 July last year, had accused Sinha of being instrumental in increasing the import duty on aluminium ingots by 25 per cent in collusion with Hindalco.
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Court frames charges against Videocon
Mumbai: A local court has framed charges against Videocon International and its six directors under the provisions of Maharashtra Ownership of Flats Act.

The charge was framed on 5 February by additional chief metropolitan magistrate B P Kamble who adjourned the matter to 6 March for recording of evidence.

Videocon International is in the construction business and had offered for sale flats located on Fergusson Road near Worli in central Mumbai.

BSI applied for six flats and letters of reservation were drawn up between the companies. As per the agreement between the two, BSI Ltd paid Rs 3.45 crore as advance towards price of the flats in February 1995.

The possession was to be handed over in February 1998.

However, BSI, on enquiries, learnt that the construction had not yet begun and the time for handing possession of the flats had expired.

It, therefore, asked for refund of the money along with nine per cent interest. As Videocon refused to pay the sum, a case was filed against the company.
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Krushi Bank director arrested
Hyderabad: K Sreedhar, an absconding director of the scam-tainted Krushi Cooperative Urban Bank, was arrested here by CID sleuths investigating the multi-crore bank scam.

With this, 14 of the 16 directors have been arrested so far and are still in judicial remand.

Sreedhar, who was carrying a reward of Rs five lakh on his head, went underground immediately after he surfaced in August last year.

The scandal pertained to misappropriation of investors money to the tune of Rs 30 crore by the bank chairman and directors.

Interpol have been alerted to trace chairman of the bank K Venkateshwar Rao who left India on 17 July for London a month before the scam was unearthed.
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Nasscom to draft white paper on Chinese IT
Mumbai: The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) will publish a white paper on Chinese information technology sector and its emergence as a potential competitor to India.
Mckinsey Consultants would help Nasscom in preparing the paper, which would focus on Chinese market size for IT, the pattern of MNC operations in that country and also assess the level of preparation of its educational institutions to provide skilled manpower for the infotech industry.
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Net subscriptions to reach 7.7 m mark
Mumbai: The number of internet subscribers in India is likely to reach 7.7 million with a user-base of over 50 million in the year 2004-05, according to latest survey on internet growth by Nasscom.

The forecast assumes that personal computer prices would decline by nearly 40 per cent and its penetration would be 13 per 1,000 persons.

According to the survey, global spending on information and communication technology was increasing at an astonishing rate and to maintain its competitiveness globally, India must invest in building its telecom infrastructure and increase PC and Internet penetration.

The report says Indian internet market grew steadily in terms of subscribers and the number of active subcribers is projected to touch 1.5 million by end of this fiscal, up by 30 per cent as compared to 1.1 million in March 2001.

In order to increase internet penetration, Nasscom has highlighted some drivers like availability of mobile phones, set-top boxes and hand held devices at prices not more than Rs 3,000 and monthly access costs less than Rs 500-700.
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Nasscom signs MoU with Italian IT agency
Mumbai: The National Association of Software Services Companies (Nasscom) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU ) with Ente Gestione Mostre Comufficio (SMAU), the leading industry association for IT in Italy.

The MoU will help the two industry organisations to jointly explore the cooperative projects for developing the IT industry in both the countries.

Indian software and service exports to Italy stood at $15 million in 2000-01 and is projected to go up to $20 million in 2001-02.

Both the parties have also agreed to jointly organise an institutional and business delegation from India to Italy at SMAU 2002, the second largest exhibition in Italy, and also send a similar delegation from Italy to India at Nasscom 2003 to foster trade between the two nations.
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Mahatma brand goes to Uncle Sam
New Delhi: The Mahatma Gandhi Foundation has entered into an arrangement with CMG to deal with companies which want to use his name or image commercially.

Mahatma Gandhi Foundation's Tushar Gandhi, the Mahatma's grandson, said anyone wishing to use the Mahatma's name and/or image for a commercial purpose would now have to pay CMG to do so. Out of this, the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation will get a share. It is not a fixed amount and only for commercial purposes. For non-commercial purposes or voluntary work, there is no charge.

CMG represents celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Diana, Princess of Wales, James Dean, Rock Hudson, Oscar Wilde, Mark Twain, Jesse Owens, Florence Griffith Joyner and Malcolm X. It also has on its list surviving celebrities like Sophia Loren, Ivana Trump and Al Joyner. The company also handles the "I Love New York" trademark.
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Car industry logs 3% growth in Jan
New Delhi: The domestic car industry recorded a 3.1 per cent jump in sales in January 2002. Even though car leader Maruti recorded a 7.9 per cent decline in sales in January over January last, Telco more than lifted the morale of the car industry, logging a surge in sales for the fourth consecutive month.

According to the data compiled by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, total car sales rose to 55,453 units from 53,739 units in the year-ago period. Total car sales in January were higher by 51.3 per cent compared to 36,627 cars sold in December 2000.

Cumulative sales (April-January 2001-02) dropped marginally by 1.8 per cent to 4.50 lakh cars from 4.58 lakh cars sold in the year-ago period. Market leader Maruti recorded a 7.9 per cent drop at 31,180 cars from 33,877 cars sold in the year-on-year period.

Commercial vehicles sales drove upwards by one per cent to 12,475 units last month. In January last year sales stood at 12,349 units. Sales of multi-utility-vehicles (MUVs) declined by 3.3 per cent at 10,327 units in January 02 as against 10,681 units sold in the same moth last year.

Three-wheeler sales went up by 21.3 per cent to 17,409 units as against 14,346 units sold in the same month last year.

In the two-wheeler segment, scooter sales dipped by 4.1 per cent to 62,750 units in January while mopeds slipped by 22.4 per cent to 39,191 units.
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Tea plantation cos cut wages by 11%
Kolkata: The tea plantation companies in South India have lowered the wage rate of workers by nearly 11 per cent, besides getting them to sign a productivity agreement along with a penal clause.

The daily wage rate has been brought down from Rs 78.40 to Rs 70.

The variable dearness allowance has been frozen at the existing levels, while the fixed DA has been decided at 0.25 paisa per quarter.

Incentive rates have been raised in the various tasks that are performed within a tea estate. For instance, workers, whose plucking rate is higher, will be given special incentives.
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