You can block telemarketers from April 1
New Delhi: The proposed do-not-call (DNC) registry is expected to come into effect from April this year and customers who enroll for the DNC registry can opt for a blanket ban on all telemarketing calls or can select the kind of calls they wish to receive.

For instance, a member of this registry can opt to receive only telemarketing calls related to home loans or FMCG products. Trai, in its guidelines on the DNC registry, will specify that subscribers will only have to inform their service provider to enroll. It will then be the operators' responsibility to register these subscribers' numbers in a central DNC registry that will be maintained by an independent agency. The guidelines will be announced next month.

However, Trai officials say that the DNC registry would not offer a 100 pc solution to the menace of telemarketing calls and will solve the issue by about 75 pc. They say they need new laws in place to address this issue completely. For instance, even after the DNC registry is operational, Trai cannot impose financial penalties on violators as the telemarketing sector comes under the category "other service providers", the guidelines for which can be issued only by the Department of Telecom.
Back to News Review index page  

Inflation drops marginally
New Delhi: Inflation dropped to 5.95 pc for the week ending January 13, against 6.12 pc in the previous week.

The negligible dip in inflation could be attributed to the base effect, as the index for all commodities moved from 208.2 to 208.3 for the week ended January 13. For the corresponding period in 2006, the index went up by 0.4.

While year-on-year inflation (comparison of prices of the week ending January 13, 2007, to the corresponding week of January 2006) of primary articles stood at 9.28 pc for the week, inflation for manufactured products fell from 5.9 pc in the previous week to 5.59 pc.

To fight rising prices of manufactured products the government cut customs duty on edible oils by up to 12.5 pc and froze the tariff values at the July 2006 levels. The duty on refined bleached and deodorised palm oil, palmolein and other refined palm oils have come down to 67.5 pc from 80 pc.

Earlier in the week, the Centre reduced import duty on cement, capital goods, steel, aluminium, copper and other industrial raw materials.

Even as the move is expected to take care of supply-side constraints, economists feel interest rates may have to be hiked to address the demand-side pressures.

The wholesale price index (WPI) figures released on Thursday show the prices of pulses declined by 1.1 pc vegetables by 3.9 pc fruits by 0.5 pc and cereals by 0.1 pc. In the manufactured products category, food items like rice bran oil fell by 4 pc and oil cakes, gur, sugar and imported edible oil by 1 pc each. Among metals, prices of basic metal alloys declined by 0.2 pc.

However, the prices of barley, moong, condiments and spices and fish (marine) moved up by 1 pc each. The prices of urad went up by 3 pc, bajra by 2 pc and arhar and gram by 1 pc each.
Back to News Review index page