Accountancy
Joint problems!
MYSELF and my wife bought a house in our joints names. The acquisition of the house was partially financed out of loan taken by my wife from her employer. She has quit her job. If I take a fresh loan in my name, will I get the tax rebate under Section 88 ?

Agriculture
World grains market may see supply tightness
GLOBAL market for wheat and coarse grains is likely to witness supply tightness in the current year following weather induced production declines. With forecast global production trailing global consumption requirement by about 60 million tonnes, a consi derable drawdown of stocks will occur.

Exit policy for agriculture
`Exit policy for agriculture' is a right concept and needs to be pursued by all.

Airlines
Jet Airways flight launch delayed
NEW DELHI:A new Jet Airways service linking Delhi with Ludhiana, which was scheduled to be launched on September 2, has been postponed due to non-receipt of requisite approvals.

Automobiles
Honda scooter sales rise 22 pc in Aug
INTEREST in Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt Ltd's (HMSI) newly launched 100-cc Activa scooter improved in August with the monthly sales improving by 22 per cent over July, a company official said.

Banking and Finance
PFs, trusts can hold G-secs in demat form
PROVIDENT funds, trusts and other retail investors can now hold Government securities in dematerialised form, following the Finance Ministry's decision to permit such a facility for non-Subsidiary General Ledger (SGL) account-holders.

OBC, PSB cut deposit rates
ORIENTAL Bank of Commerce (OBC) and Punjab and Sind Bank (PSB) have announced reduction in deposit rates.

Good response to SBI fund drive in Gulf
BANKS in West Asian and South East Asian markets have responded favourably to State Bank of India's schemes to raise funds overseas for premier Indian institutions and the bank is currently receiving positive feedback for its roadshows to promote its new assignment to raise the equivalent of $100 million in Japanese yen for the Housing Development and Finance Corporation of India, according to a senior bank official.

Capital adequacy ratio -- RBI probing NBFCs' arrangement with banks
THE Reserve Bank of India is probing cases where banks have been helping non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to meet the RBI stipulations on capital adequacy ratio (CAR) requirements only at the time of reporting and not maintaining the CAR throughout, RBI sources said.

IFCI hopeful of Rs 600-cr capital infusion by Oct
IFCI Ltd is in advanced talks with its institutional shareholders to finalise modalities for the infusion of Rs 600 crore capital as part of the Rs 1,000 crore recapitalisation package cleared by the Government earlier.

LVB to raise Tier-II Bonds in pvt placement
IN a bid to support accelerated asset expansion as also enhance its capital adequacy ratio (CAR), the Karur-based Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) is raising Tier-II Bonds in private placement.

Bank management
The Krushi Bank episode should open the eyes of public who, for the sake of meagre savings, keep their hard-earned money in the banks that do not have any long-standing record. The co-operative banks and other small private banks should be monitored regu larly, especially their financial management. The fund management should be perfect and streamlined through transparency to reduce NPAs.

Book Review
Fighting and winning
What is stress? Response to change, says the expert. If that is so then the modern world is a hot bed of stress. If you just look at your workplace, you will find changes taking place everywhere. In the corporate world workers from production lines to ma nagement suites face new theories of organisation, streamlined production, downsizing, mergers, acquisitions, consolidation and cost-cutting measures, and transitions from salaried employees to temporary hires and consultants.

A trade-off?
For almost a decade now there have been several discussions, publications and documentaries on the consequences of participating in the liberalised global economy. And the world has been taking hesitant/careful steps towards the same.

Meeting the Ethical Challenges of Leadership
This book identifies the unique ethical demands of leadership and equips students to meet those challenges. Written in an informal, accessible style, it takes an interdisciplinary approach to leadership ethics that will appeal to readers from a variety o f academic backgrounds. Blending research theory with practical strategies, the book also looks at a leader's inner life including character development and values.

Work Like Your Dog
This is an inspiring call to `come out and play' at work. Dogs seem to have endless energy and tackle tasks with enviable enthusiasm. By learning to play more at their jobs, workers can face difficult challenges, take pleasure from tasks previously dread ed, reduce stress levels, and recharge their creative skills. This book is a launching pad for fifty fun lessons about frolicking your way to success.

Commodities
Gold likely to be swayed by economic moves
LAST week gold bounced around the middle of its $270-280 per ounce range, with traders eyeing movements in the currency markets for any direction. Official Friday price was $273/oz (London PM fix), largely unchanged from the previous week's close. Silver was quieter than gold.

Corporate
Crown the customer
Picture this -- a true story. You've just spent 25 hours flying from Mumbai to Washington DC. You escape from customs ill-fed, ill-rested, disoriented, dishevelled and downright cranky. You scan the crowd looking for a way out. And, behold! You see a vis ion. Waiting amid the chaos with a serene smile is a representative from your hotel. You know because she carries a placard from The Mayflower with your name on it. She takes you to a waiting cab, gives you a few particulars of the drive -- distance, tim e, interesting monuments/scenic spots en route, even the name of the driver.

Zee to take on Big Mac with idlis
MR Subhash Chandra of the Zee Group plans to take the field with idlis and sambhar to match McDonald's burgers through its family entertainment centres, to begin with.

Radhakrishna Hospitality gets ISO 9001
MUMBAI: Radhakrishna Hospitality Services Ltd, a joint venture with Compass Group Plc, UK, has been awarded the ISO 9001 by Bureau Veritas Quality International, London.

Economy
Has global recession arrived?
THE ANSWER must be yes, if recent headlines are any indication. Last Friday, The Economist (August 25, 2001) put recession on its cover and this Friday, it was the turn of Japan. The juxtaposition is hardly an accident. Japan defines the issue. Independe ntly, Financial Times got a leaked copy of the World Economic Outlook of the International Monetary Fund which is not due for release until some weeks from now.

Eichel and Sinha face similar problems
THE Finance Minister, Mr Yashwant Sinha, is not alone in his dilemma about reining in the fiscal deficit, especially during an economic downturn. Mr Sinha faces the dismal prospect of a decrease in Government revenue, both on corporate and personal incom e tax as also from indirect imposts, such as Customs and excise. Expenditure continues to rise.

Pre-shipment inspection snags may hit exports to Bangladesh
AN exporter of dry fish to Bangladesh has drawn the attention of Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), eastern region to the differences in c.i.f. value given in the provisional certificate and the CRF (Clean Report Findings) Certificate, as assessed by Inspectorate Griffith (IG) of Bangladesh.

Time to change lanes
Venugopal C. Govind on rejuvenating the country and reorienting the profession.

Editorial
PM's spring-cleaning
THE DECISION OF Singapore Airlines to abandon Air-India on the day the Prime Minister was twiddling with the pecking order in the Union Cabinet can be taken as a sample of the foreign perspective on India's reforms. The two events were surely not meant t o synchronise but even an insider will find it hard to fault Singapore Airlines, given the uncharitable bitterness of political parties over the disinvestment in Air India. But will the realigning of chairs in the Union Cabinet, termed by many as signifi cant, matter any for reforms?

Environment
Concern over TNPCB moves
PLASTIC products manufacturers expressed serious concern over the `anti-plastic' campaign by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB).

Floriculture
Floriculture bodies to join forces -- To seek Govt, FIs aid
THE floriculture associations of South India (SIFA), Western India (WIFA) and Northern India (NIFA) are coming together to form a Federation of Indian Floriculture Associations so as to plead their case unitedly with the Government and financial institut ions.

Foreign Trade
To prevent flooding of Chinese goods -- India wants rules of origin clause in treaty with Nepal
THE Commerce Ministry is trying to include a clause in the Indo-Nepal treaty to strengthen the rules of origin regime. This is to prevent indiscriminate movement of Chinese goods through Nepal into India, according to Mr R. Gopalan, Joint Secretary, Comm erce Ministry.

Gearing up to fight the Chinese dragon
CONVENING in the time of slowdown means deliberating on how to get over the economic impasse. Specially the Chinese dragon that looms large over Indian industry and threatens its very existence.

Health
Turn to healing zones
In his book, A Different Kind of Health, Dr Blair Justice speaks about Kim Nelson who attended his therapy-workshop in the Colorado Rockies to cure her rheumatoid arthritis and now enjoys a more normal physical life.

Information Technology
Tech wreck
A NOVEL kind of conference held at Aspen, Colarado (US) took note of the hollowness typical of the hardsell of tool-kits, both for better corporate governance and smoother computer performance. The theme chosen for the conference was succinctly and succu lently titled `Tech Wreck'. It was a gathering of those who had been in the grip of a state of alarm for some time over their being taken for a ride by untested `solutions' for various real or supposed problems arising in executive suites in managing cor porates or in SOHOs (small office home offices) grappling with the misbehaviour of computers.

Netspionage coming of age -- II
William Boni and Gerald L. Kovacich on business, crime and security in the 21st century global marketplace.

Management
India, here we come...
Entrepreneurship, free thinking and creativity -- the spirit of Silicon Valley is being brought to India. More and more American universities are choosing the Indian IT industry to send their students for internship.

Miscellaneous
A global medley
As world music unveils its global talent, Indian artistes are finding innovative ways to showcase their talent on the world stage. Chitravina exponent Dr Ravikiran, who began his career as a child artiste, has today made a name for himself on the world m usic scene. His musical concept, Melharmony, a unique music technique that reconciles melody and harmony, has been hailed as an interactive platform of music expression for ethnic music forms.

Ab Baazi Kiski?
A couple of weeks ago, during one of the innumerable soaps that are currently on air, a struggling scriptwriter was shown poring over a pile of papers in desperation. Most of her scripts had been rejected, and an elderly relative who was trying to help o ut, advised her to get hold of a `tagda' (strong) story if she wanted her script to succeed. She suggested something along the lines of `Pati, Patni or Woh' -- Woh, not one extra-marital affair, but two, with both the husband and the wife cheating on eac h other.

Paint away as you potter
The upmarket locality is all quiet roads and big bungalows. You ask the security at an ornate gate and an idling auto chap for directions to this new place where you can paint on pottery. They seem to think the Sun hasn't been treating you kindly and you are beginning to wonder if they could be right. Till you come up to this cute little artistic signboard, just off Chennai's pretty Taylor's Road, which says discreetly `Potter About'. Too discreetly perhaps!

Breaking a silence
Narsamma's fingers expertly move the knobs on a mixer to regulate the sound of folk music being played. It's an engaging song sung by Arya Dora, a beggar. ``We met him one day in the nearby village of Pastapur and asked him if he could come to the studio and sing for us,'' she says.

CIE tests for students
BANGALORE, Sept 2 CAMBRIDGE International Examinations (CIE), the International Assessment Division of the University of Cambridge, UK and Schoolnet India Ltd have announced the launch of diagnostic testing services called Checkpoint, in India.

Mutual Funds
Focus on index funds
LAST week, one had the privilege of watching the new UTI boss in action. Mr M. Damodaran was at his comforting best, assuring all the while that investors would get back their money's worth -- and more -- if only they were patient enough. Read the soundb ite at the end of this column to catch the essence of his hour-long delivery.

PSU
Panel calls for core sector status to BEML
PARLIAMENT'S Committee on Public Undertakings (COPU) has recommended infrastructure status to Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML) to provide the company a level playing field in its competition against multinational companies.

Pharmaceuticals
Dr Reddy's brand value up 221 pc
THE brand value of Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd (DRL) has registered a growth of 221 per cent at the end of fiscal year 2000-01 compared to the previous year.

`No basis for reports on pharma sector slowdown'
INDIAN Pharmceutical Alliance (IPA) is a consortium of eight leading companies in the Rs 20,000-crore domestic pharmaceutical industry. The aim of the association has been to bring together research-based companies and it has been very active in taking u p the industry's main concerns with various authorities.

Plastics
Efforts on to promote plastic exports to US
THE Commerce Ministry, through the Plastics Export Promotion Council (Plexconcil) sponsored by it, is looking at expanding plastic exports to the US over the next three years, according to Mr S. Ramasundaram, Joint Secretary in the Ministry.

Policy
Plans for debt management office put on the backburner
IN the early part of 2000, a couple of officials from the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India undertook a trip to a couple of countries to take a look at their management of public debt.

A ray of hope for the urban poor, courtesy PM
TEN years through reforms and the Government is still unsure as to whether the benefits have percolated down to all sections of the society, especially the poor. Data on this score collated by various private organisations have time and again revealed th at, over the years, the ``trickle down'' effect has simply not worked.

Air safety top priority
The new Civil Aviation Minister, Mr Syed Shanawaz Hussain, on assuming office on Sunday, said the Government would soon finalise the details of a new aviation policy. Mr Hussain said the thrust of the policy would be on air safety.

Foodgrain subsidy, allocation to be based on utilisation -- States given 3 months to identify BPL families
IN an effort to increase the offtake of foodgrains by the States, the Government has issued the Public Distribution System (Control) Order, 2001, under the Essential Commodities Act, which makes it mandatory for them to identify the families below the po verty line (BPL) within three months and plug all loopholes in the PDS.

Power
Power distribution reforms in Karnataka -- Consultants told to revise interim report
THE Karnataka Government has differed with the interim report of the consultants on reforming the electricity distribution sector in the State.

FINER opposes hike in demand charges by ASEB
THE Federation of Industries and Commerce of North-Eastern Region (FINER) has strongly opposed the recent hike in demand charges imposed by the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) and decided to take its next course of action after a meeting of all the important associations of the region.

Shipping
NMP registers increase in traffic throughput
NEW Mangalore Port (NMP) has registered a traffic throughput of 71.99 lakh tonnes during the first five months of the current financial year compared to 70.68 lakh tonnes during the corresponding period last year.

States
Calibrated, digital taxi meter project launched in Kolkata
CENTRAL Electro Vation Pvt Ltd, a little-known company engaged in high-tech innovations, has set up calibrated, digital taxi meter project here in Kolkata at a nominal investment of Rs 15 lakh.

Karnataka: Governing panel of KCCI elected
MANGALORE: The governing committee of the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) for the year 2001-2002 was elected at the chamber's sixtieth annual general meeting held here on August 30.

VRS for farm labourers in Maharashtra
Retrenchment and voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) are no longer the buzzwords of the corporate world. The State Government's agriculture department recently retrenched a workforce over 7000-strong, comprising farm labourers employed on the farms of thr ee State agriculture universities.

Stocks
It's time to walk the talk
THE stock market expects the Government to ``act urgently'' on the economic front rather than ``talk'' on the reforms and do cosmetic changes by shuffling the Ministers.

DSE union alleges foul play in funds transfer -- Seeks SEBI intervention
THE Delhi Stock Exchange Karmachari Union (DSEKU) has alleged that the audit committee of the exchange has okayed illegal transfer of funds from the capital assets funds to the general reserves in this year's annual accounts. It has sought the interventi on of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to take necessary action.

`Regional SEs must adopt to changes'
AT a time when members of the regional exchanges are at the cross-roads due to reduced volumes in the cash markets across the country, it is imperative that they quickly learn the ``tricks'' of trading in the derivatives market, according to the former P resident of the Bombay Stock Exchange, Mr Bhagirat B. Merchant.

`Cabinet revamp won't bait the markets'
THE changes in the Union Cabinet are likely to leave the stock markets unimpressed, say equity market experts.

Taxation
Arm's length price
THE Finance Act, 2001 has, for the first time, introduced in the Income-Tax Act, 1961, the concept of `transfer pricing'. This has been incorporated in Sections 92 and 92A to 92F of the Act. With cross-border transactions taking place on a large scale an d the electronic media taking charge of business transactions worldwide, the need for such provisions in the tax legislation has become inevitable. While the primary responsibility of determining and applying an arm's length price is on the assessee, sub -section (3) of Section 92C empowers the assessing officer (AO) to determine the arm's length price and compute the total income of the assessee accordingly, subject to the conditions provided therein.

Technical Analysis
Correction due in NY cotton
New York Cotton futures posted small gains in an uneventful session of narrow price changes. Trading activity was dominated by light positioning ahead of the Labour Day weekend amid a general lack of fresh market-moving news. After failing to make much h eadway on the downside last week, prices are trying to recover and stabilise at these levels.

Palm oil rise likely after correction
Malaysia's palm oil futures is trying to recover from a correction as several support levels were breached in quick succession. Market participants are divided over whether the current correction is over. Market needs much stronger demand, particularly f rom India, to reverse the current negative trend. As India, the world's largest importer of edible oils, is likely to step up palm oil imports from mid-September ahead of a major Hindu festival there is some glimmer of hope. Much depends now on the Hindu festivals.

Telecommunications
DoT asks Bharti to clear dues in cash
THE Bharti group's plans of rolling out fresh telecom services -- national long distance, basic and cellular -- have run into rough weather, with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) stipulating payment of all pending dues (amounting to over Rs 600 crore with interest) in cash, failing which further licences will not be issued.

`Convergence Bill passage by Aug next'
THE Communications Convergence Bill, 2001 is likely to be enacted by August 15, 2002 at the latest, according to the new Union Minister for Communications, Mr Pramod Mahajan.

Transport
Rail travel woes
This refers to `Rail travel to cost more' (Business Line, August 30). This time it has come as a surcharge to be collected and credited to the newly created non-lapsable Special Railway Safety Fund (SRSF). And there are indications that there may be an upward revision in passenger fares in the ensuing Rail Budget for 2002-03. Why a Rail Budget?

Travel & Places
City of contrasts
Bengt Callinggard, General Manager, SAS, was full of smiles during the bus ride from the Arlanda airport to the city of Stockholm, where he had spent a good part of his childhood. With great ease, he rattled off the fact file on this historic city which stands on 14 interlocking islands between the Baltic sea and Lake Malaren.

Warming up to winter
Thirty minutes on the highway can be heady enough, especially on the Alps, especially in the Tyrolean Alps...

In Nature's own reserve
The Western Ghats, extending from Maharashtra to Kerala, are well-covered by rain forests on both sides. Closer to the Equator, the forest cover is dense and home to a variety of flora and fauna. Since the Western Ghats form a continuous chain, the fores ts receive copious rainfall in June-September. All this make the ghats a treasure trove of biodiversity.

Water Management
AP: 200-cr water supply scheme
HYDERABAD: The Minister for Panchayat Raj, Mr P. Srinivasa Reddy, has said that under sectoral reforms, protected water supply schemes costing Rs 200 crore are being implemented in 1875 villages facing the problem of fluoride and salinity in water.

Source:Business Line