Advertising & Marketing
Gullible consumers?
SPECIALISATION in sub-divisions of subjects such as economics, sociology, psychology and management was perhaps the most characteristic feature of the academia in the latter part of the 20th century. On topics such as `Communication', `Motivation' and `I ncentives', volumes of writings have been flooding the market. It is no wonder then that the advertisement, a marketing tool, has assumed the status of an independent discipline of study, offering scope for extensive research. What with the phenomenal gr owth of various media, such as the TV, the means available to advertisers have correspondingly increased.

Agriculture
New range of weedcutters launched
BANGALORE: Ratnagiri Implex Pvt Ltd, Bangalore, has introduced a range of weedcutters -- Oleo-Mac from EMAK of Italy.

Developed nations increasing agri subsidies: Minister
EVEN as developing countries, including India, are being forced to reduce their subsidies on agriculture, developed countries are taking advantage of loopholes in the WTO agreements and are on the contrary, increasing their subsidies, according to Mr Aji t Singh, Union Agriculture Minister.

Airlines
Shourie in `no hurry' for new AI sell-off models
THE Union Minister for Disinvestment, Mr Arun Shourie, said here on Monday that he was in no hurry to come up with alternate models for divestment in Air-India if the current exercise came a cropper.

Air France to assess situation
AIR France (AF) is to ``assess in the next few days'' the situation arising out of Singapore Airlines' (SIA) withdrawal from the joint bid with the Tatas for picking up a stake in Air India (AI).

Lufthansa not to bid for AI
LUFTHANSA, the German international airline, has rejected any interest in bidding for equity in Air India, whose disinvestment is facing endless hurdles.

Lufthansa to operate weekly 3 flights from Bangalore
Lufthansa would operate three flights a week from Bangalore, which would be the fourth gateway of the airline from India. Lufthansa would operate Airbus 340-300 aircraft leaving Bangalore on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays with its corresponding flights from Frankfurt coming to Bangalore on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Automobiles
Hero Honda sales rev up in August
HERO Honda Motors Ltd continued on a high-growth path with August sales rising 35.35 per cent year on year, a company statement has said. Sales in August were 108,369 motorcycles, up from 80,068 in August 2000.

Drive down for Bajaj
Two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto Ltd suffered a 2.52 per cent dip in overall sales in August, although it continued to show impressive growth in motorcycles through its new launches, according to provisional sales figures by the company.

Car sales improve in Aug
manufacturers, particularly Hyundai Motor India Ltd, bettering their July sales, provisional data released by companies today indicated.

Banking and Finance
ANZ gets FIPB nod for NBFC
THE Australian and New Zealand Banking group, ANZ, has said it has received FIPB approval to set up a non-banking finance company (NBFC) in India to be known as ANZ Capital Private Ltd.

Breweries
SAB to pay Rs 82 cr for Mysore Breweries
IN the largest negotiated deal in the domestic beer market in recent times, South African Breweries Plc (SAB), the fifth largest brewery company in the world, valued at 4.2 billion pounds, will acquire a 75.77 per cent stake in Mysore Breweries Ltd (MBL) at a negotiated deal for Rs 81.87 crore.

Coal
AP green signal for Singareni proposal
THE Andhra Pradesh Government has issued no objection certificate to the State-owned Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL), to offer six mining blocks for prospecting and exploitation to private developers for captive consumption.

Commodities
Marginal drop in cardamom prices
CARDAMOM prices witnessed a marginal slide last week for want of buying support while the arrivals were also thin.

Corporate
DHL to open purse with `a more direct call'
GLOBAL air express major DHL, currently enjoying leadership in the domestic market through its tie-up with AFL, is looking for avenues to invest more directly in India.

Alfa Laval meet to take up merger plan
THE board of the Pune-based Alfa Laval India Ltd (ALIL) is meeting on September 7 to consider among other things the amalgamation of Alfa Laval Financial Services ltd, (ALFSL) a 100 per cent subsidiary, with the holding company.

Tata Power sells stake in TLL to Emerson
TATA Power Company Ltd today decided to sell its stake consisting of 45 lakh shares in Tata Liebert Ltd (TLL), at Rs 170 per share, to Emerson Electric (Mauritius) Ltd.

BIFR confirms RBL wind-up
THE Board for Industrial and Financial Restructuring (BIFR), continuing its job of tackling the problem of sick companies, has confirmed its prima facie opinion of winding up RBL Ltd.

Cona products fail in lab tests
CONA Industries, manufacturer of three-pin plugs, has decided to halt production of its `Royal model' 6 and 16-amp three-pin plugs. This was intimated to the Ahmedabad-based Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS), after the consumer body failed t he brand in its laboratory tests. The CERS study carried out earlier this year showed that all the 11 brands, including Cona, had failed to meet the requisite standards.

Mining projects -- Thapar group keen on venture with Coal India
THE Thapar group has no hesitation in saying openly that it is keen on joining hands with the state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL) for setting up greenfield joint venture coal mining projects.

Greaves gets Rs 31.5 cr for Piaggio stake
GREAVES Ltd informed the Bombay Stock Exchange on Monday that it has received the consideration of Rs 31.5 crore in full, against the divestment of 1,66,60,000 equity shares being its 49 per cent shareholding in the joint venture Piaggio Greaves Vehicles Ltd (PGVL).

VSNL scrip falls 19.8 pc on BSE
VIDESH Sanchar Nigam Ltd today fell 19.8 per cent on BSE, its scrip falling by Rs 56.15, to close at Rs 226.45 per share, while it quoted at Rs 277.8 per share on the National Stock Exchange.

Film-makers dub RBI's funding norms a tragedy
INDIA'S film industry -- the world's largest in terms of number of productions -- is likely to remain framed in the ``underworld'' matrix despite the RBI opening the doors for bank financing.

Subash Ghai hikes stake in Mukta Arts
MR Subhash Ghai, Chairman and Managing Director of Mukta Arts Ltd (MAL), has acquired a total of 20,000 shares in MAL through open market purchases, the company has informed the stock exchanges.

Economy
Pant assails political doublespeak on reforms
THE Planning Commission Deputy Chairman, Mr K.C. Pant, today conceded that rapid implementation of the economic reforms agenda was being hampered by competitive politics.

Price comparison: India & China

Why there is so much poverty in Asia
WIDESPREAD POVERTY and excessive inequality remain the principal challenges to the legitimacy of the globalisation process that has been underway the last two decades. Even as economies and governments adjust to afford a larger role for markets and reduc e the role of the state in development, the importance of public action to deal with poverty and vulnerability has only increased.

Import duty hike likely due to lag in revenue
A MID-YEAR rationalisation of import duties on a host of products may be on the cards to rein in fiscal deficit. Following the massive shortfall in customs collection, the Finance Ministry has initiated an exercise to identify those products where there is scope to hike duties, said a senior official.

Mandarins and babus: A study in contrast
JULY 1997. Essel Packaging Ltd (as the company was then called) obtains a licence to set up a laminated tube manufacturing plant in Guangzhou, China. And, four months later the plant commences production. Even as the company officials are happy at having got the project off the ground so quickly, a surprise awaits them. The local bureaucrat hands over a cheque for 1,20,000 yuan to the company in appreciation of it starting production ahead of schedule.

Editorial
Barely sweet
ONE MORE SUGAR season will soon come to an end and another will begin, but the sector has never been at a more critical juncture as now. Stocks at the end of the year are likely once again to be burdensome at about 110-120 lakh tonnes. Sugar production i n the new season is expected to dip from the record 182 lakh tonnes of this year, but is unlikely to alter substantially the demand-supply equation or bring any significant relief to the mills burdened with inventories. At about 10 lakh tonnes, sugar exp orts this year have surely helped ease the inventory-related problems of the mills, but only to a limited extent.

Fast track
Pessimism prevails in tech sector
THROUGH August, the depressed sentiment in the Indian stockmarkets continued, with both the BSE Sensex and the broadbased BL-250 index dipping by 2.53 per cent and 1.55 per cent respectively.

Food & Dairy Products
Holy cow! Do Indians eat a lot of beef?
WHICH is the meat that is most widely consumed in the country? The common perception, of course, is that Indians are predominantly vegetarian and meat-eating is something `alien' to the country's tradition. Meat consumption as part of one's regular diet would, then, be restricted essentially to select socio-religious groups. Non-vegetarianism, in general, would not extend beyond the consumption of eggs and fish or the occasional savouring of a broiler chicken/lamb preparation.

Food processing draft policy to be sent to Cabinet
THE draft National Policy on Food Processing will be sent shortly to the Cabinet for its clearance, Mr D.P. Tripathi, Secretary, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, said here on Monday.

Foreign Trade
FICCI, Korean trade body sign pact to boost ties
THE Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Korea International Trade Association (KITA) today signed an agreement for promotion of trade and investment between India and Korea. The agreement was signed by Mr Chirayu R. Amin, P resident, FICCI, and Mr Jae Chul Kim, Chairman, KITA, here today.

Impact
Ranbaxy: Helpful dosage
THE Ranbaxy Laboratories' stock may show firm trends in the wake of a clearance for a drug in the US market.

Tata Power: The power of cash
THE prospect of a sizeable one time cash inflow for Tata Power could enthuse market sentiment for the stock. Tata Power plans to sell 45 lakh shares in Tata Liebert at a price of Rs 170 per share.

Insurance
LIC scheme for tobacco growers
LIFE Insurance Corporation of India Ltd (LIC), the public sector insurance major, on Monday announced the launch of a special scheme targetting the tobacco growers in the South Central Zone, covering the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Miscellaneous
Off to work
A monkey gears up for another day of hard work on Mumbai streets.

Wax treat
Creative candles on display at an exhibition in Bangalore. These candles within the price range of Rs 20 to Rs 400 are exported to Dubai and other Gulf countries.

Mutual Funds
UGS-10000 windows open till Sept 10
MUMBAI: Unit Trust of India (UTI) has reopened for sale and repurchase its interval fund, Unit Growth Scheme-10000 (UGS-10000) between September 3 and 10. The net asset value (NAV) of the scheme as on August 29, 2001 was Rs 9.55.

UTI mess
The Unit Trust of India muddle has focussed attention on many other failures of the Finance Ministry, and the Finance Minister is under attack on many counts. The article An economist for a finance minister? (Business Line, August 22) has subtly pointed out that it would be better to have a professionally competent economist to handle the portfolio.

PSU
PSUs working on contract labour supply
AT least four PSUs are planning to get together to set up a joint venture with a private sector company for supply of contract labour.

`Efforts to revive sick PSUs not always successful'
THE Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Mr Manohar Joshi, has said that efforts to revive sick public sector units (PSUs) have not always met with success.

Petroleum
ONGC enters refining sector
THE ONGC, principally an oil and gas exploration and production company, has entered the refining sector too with the commissioning of the Tatipaka mini-refinery in East Godavari district on Monday, Mr Ram Naik, the Union Petroleum Minister, has said.

Plantations
UPASI annual meet on Sept 11
COIMBATORE: The 108th annual conference of the United Planters' Association of Southern India (UPASI) is scheduled to be held on September 11 at Coonoor.

`Protests not to affect tobacco consumption'
DESPITE the growing anti-tobacco campaign worldwide, global consumption of tobacco is likely to grow steadily at around 1.2-1.5 per cent per annum.

Policy
MPs' salaries
The three-fold increase in the salary-structure of Members of Parliament is totally uncalled for and unjustified and is being effected at the cost of the general public. The Government is running Parliament at huge cost while failing to provide jobs to u nemployed youth. In addition, due to the effects of a global slowdown, many are losing their jobs. In addition to their salaries, MPs can avail themselves of a number of facilities. Even if MPs are not given their salaries, they would prefer to remain in power.

Politics
``Things are (not) changing''
OVER the past three months or so, West Bengal has had a new Chief Minister who has let it be known in his own inimitable way that he is bent on turning over a new leaf as far as the State's industrial scene is concerned. The consensus is that Mr Buddhade b Bhattacharjee is doing a good job: Not only has he conveyed the message to industrialists and potential investors that he is trying his best to change things for the better, he has also sent a firm indication to the workforce that he is a Chief Ministe r with a difference (compared to his distinguished predecessor, Mr Jyoti Basu) despite the fact that he remains a committed Marxist.

Trouble in the House
Even the unlettered are aware that the Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies are revered simply because these are the fora where the problems and the needs of the people are discussed and laws enacted. Somehow, it has become India's curse that the excelle nt traditions maintained by our political stalwarts have been ignored, and the once-prevailing air of decency and dignity have given way to public displays of anarchy and rowdyism by the representatives of the people.

Power
Hudco loan for power project
HYDERABAD: Hudco has sanctioned Rs 85 crore for the 467 MW natural gas-based green field power project being promoted by Konaseema EPS Oakwell Power Ltd in East Godavari district with a capital outlay of Rs 1,377 crore. The project will use gas available from the Krishna-Godavari basin.

Decade of power reforms -- Hardly electrifying
``INDIA'S power sector is a leaking bucket; the holes deliberately crafted and the leaks carefully collected as economic rents by various stakeholders that control the system. The logical thing to do would be to fix the bucket rather than to persistently emphasise shortages of power and forever make exaggerated estimates of future demands for power. Most initiatives in the power sector (IPPs and mega power projects) are nothing but ways of pouring more water into the bucket so that the consistency and q uantity of leaks are assured...''

Shipping
GE Shipping plans preference issue to fund expansion
GREAT Eastern Shipping Company Ltd, which recently announced its second share buyback with a Rs 100-crore budget, plans to go in for an issue of preference shares to raise Rs 95 crore.

States
CAG raps Gujarat for financial irregularities
THE Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) of India has pulled up the Gujarat Government for importing medical equipment up to nearly Rs 200 crore from Philips Medical Systems (PMS) of the Netherlands ignoring proper procedure. While the State Government has created a loan liability of Rs 140 crore towards this project, the equipment is lying unutilised due to poor planning.

LIC Madurai division to improve services
has plans to introduce customer-friendly features to improve services.

Defer VAT introduction, says ICCI
THE Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Coimbatore, has made a request to put on hold the decision to introduce value-added tax (VAT) in the State from April 1, 2002 till the business community in Tamil Nadu has familiarised itself with it.

Steel
Delay in tying up term loan -- Siscol suffers loss of Rs 2 cr per day
THE Coimbatore-based Southern Iron & Steel company (Siscol), promoted by the LMW group and Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO), continues to accumulate a loss of Rs 2 crore per day due to delay in tying up additional term loan and worki ng capital requirements, according to reliable sources.

Stocks
Ruling on price control cheers pharma cos
THE Bombay Stock Exchange's benchmark index, the Sensex, started the week on a sober note. The 30-share barometer ended down 17.83 points or 0.55 per cent at 3,227.12 on Monday, against the previous close of 3,244.95.

Lyons Range
KOLKATA: THE slide in the Infosys counter continued at the Calcutta Stock Exchange on Monday and the scrip closed at Rs 3,390.80. The Wipro stock declined by 6.56 per cent.

Technical Analysis
Downtrend strengthened
MONDAY'S trading witnessed a total domination by the bears for the second successive trading day. The movement in Nifty was around 13 points. It closed with a loss of five points with respect to Friday's close. The day's domination by the bears has stre ngthened the downtrend in Nifty. The market sentiment reading stands strongly in favour of the bears.

Telecommunications
Star-spangled look to stay fresh on top
IT seems to be Phase II of consolidation for Star India Ltd. After placing Star Plus at the numero uno position in the Indian market, Star India is planning to build three other channels -- Channel [V], Star News and Star Movies.

Fourth cellular bidders get more time
THE Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has extended the date for signing of fourth cellular licence agreements to October 5, granting the successful bidders 15 more days for fulfilling the required conditions.

`DoT moved to revenue-sharing regime on specious grounds'
THE Standing Committee on Information Technology has pulled up the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) for shifting from the licence fee regime to revenue-sharing regime for cellular operators.

Textiles
`Textile sector suffers from blinkered vision'
MR B.C. Khatua, Textile Commissioner, is today recognised by every sector of the textile industry as one bureaucrat who knows the pulse of the industry and quite easily as the man (brain rather) behind the conceptualisation of the textile upgradation fun d scheme (TUFS).

Transport
Need for Rlys to rationalise coal freight rates
WHILE the Railway Minister, Mr Nitish Kumar, recently pleaded his helplessness in reducing freight on coal analyses of the freight component in the total cost of coal at various destinations clearly establish the case for reconsideration.

Tyres
Apollo Tyres plans to delist from four SEs
THE Rs 1,450-crore turnover Apollo Tyres Ltd (ATL) plans to delist the equity shares of the company from the stock exchanges at Ahmedabad, Calcutta, Delhi and Ludhiana at an appropriate time.

Source:Business Line