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Economy & Business   

Minister of Company Affairs 
releases concept paper on the 
new Companies Act

What is India News Service, August 05, 2004, 2000 hrs IST


Concept paper retains ban on multi-layered subsidiaries, removes quota for women directors. The concept paper on the new Companies Act has retained some of the controversial provisions in the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2003, including appointing about 50 per cent independent directors on a company's board and prohibiting multi-layered subsidiaries. 

Ministry open to board set-up: The main gain for the board members is that the Government has decided to drop the proposal of prescribing a retirement age for directors. 

Reliance finds more gas off east coast: Reliance Industries has made two gas discoveries, one of them major, in exploration blocks off the east coast of India. The announcement of these discoveries was made on Tuesday by Niko Resources, Reliance's 10 per cent partner. 

Niko strikes gas: Canadian-firm Niko Resources Ltd today announced a major gas discovery in the D-6 block in the Krishna-Godavari basin and another gas discovery in the NEC-25 block off the Orissa coast.

Commodity prices turn bullish: Prices of various commodities\97 from grains to milk to edible oils\97 are turning bullish since June-end, when monsoon began to play truant. Though monsoon has revived since last week, fears of lower productivity still haunt the market. 

Animation, next BPO break: Going by the contracts that Indian companies have been getting in recent months, India looks set to grab the next opportunity in outsourcing, to wit, 3D animation. 

Prescriptions may go generic: Taking a cue from UK's National Health Service (NHS), the Government is looking at the option of asking the medical fraternity to prescribe generic drugs, in order to bring down the prices of essential drugs. 

HDFC rate hike sets others thinking: Cutomers of home-loans will soon start feeling the pinch of higher interest rates charged by banks and financial institutions. It is now clear that interest rates have not only bottomed out, but have started rising.

Frontline infotech stocks crumble: Spikes in oil prices, steel prices, and even the interest rate on fixed rate loans by HDFC, appear to have been the major drivers of activity in the markets on Wednesday. 

Unrelated diversification the new mantra: According to analysts, hedging the risks involved with being present in just one or two businesses seems to be the primary motive behind companies mapping into new areas with potential for growth.

Coffee grower-members to get Rs 1,000: Coffee growers subscribing to the price stabilisation fund (PSF) scheme unveiled by the Government in April 2003 will be the first beneficiary as 2003 has been declared a distress year for coffee.

More channels to ride wave of spirituality: After ETC Networks Ltd and the Times Group announcing plans to start religious channels, several such channels are set to be launched shortly. Among the prominent ones are Mata Amritanandmaya's channel called Amma.

PSEB shortens cuts on industry:The Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) today gave a relief to the state industry by reducing the weekly day off from two days to one day per week. Besides this, the peak load restrictions on medium- and large-scale consumers have been reduced from four to two hours everyday.

HDFC raises fixed loan rates:The Housing Development and Finance Corporation (HDFC), India\92s largest housing finance company, has raised interest rates on fixed rate home loans by .25 per cent. The increase comes amidst reports that all banks are set to raise interest rates after years of offering cheap credit. 

Oil companies not to be merged: The government has no proposal to merge HPCL, BPCL with ONGC and neither have the oil companies stopped the release of LPG connections, said Petroleum Secretary S.C. Tripathi here today. 

Mergers if shareholders say 'yes': The Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI) Ltd will not agree to any consolidation and merger proposal in the foreseeable future if it hurts the interests of the IDBI shareholders. 

Fiat launches Petra, plans rejig: After writing off losses of Rs 1,300 crore in its Indian subsidiary, Italian auto-maker Fiat is preparing a blueprint to rejig its business in the country, officials said today. 

Adding Spice to handset market: Spice Telecom, today entered the cellular handsets business by launching its first dual band GSM handset model \97 Spice Q 515. 

Motorola to enhance service network: Motorola is in the process of implementing a programme to augment its service network in India for mobile phones, which will be completed by the end of this quarter. 

Crude oil prices cross record $44 per barrel: The record high of oil prices was triggered on Tuesday, when the head of the OPEC producers\92 cartel said there was no spare oil available to cool red-hot prices. 

Rs 1,000 relief to coffee growers: The objective of the Price Stabilisation Fund Scheme is to provide financial relief to the growers when the prices fall below a specified level. 

IT industry likely to touch $55 b by 2008- IDC: The higher growth is likely to come from the BPO or IT-enabled Services which is expected to grow at a high compounded annual growth rate of 36 per cent. 

Cable & Wireless to invest Rs 45 crore in India: Cable & Wireless (C&W), a global provider of telecom and network services, plans to invest $10 million (Rs 45 crore) for expansion of its network and global support centre in India over next 12 to 18 months.

Textiles readying for post quota regime: In the post quota regime after January 2005, Indian textile manufacturers will see increased competition from China and with this in mind, the Budget 2004 has made far-reaching announcements for the revival of the textiles.

Taj Hotels' foray into wildlife tourism: Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces has entered into a joint venture with Conservation Corporation Africa (CC Africa) and Cigen Corporation, part of the Chaudhary group. 

DHL's new facility at Hong Kong airport: The express and logistics company, DHL, today opened its new Central Asia hub, a dedicated purpose-built air express cargo facility, at the Hong Kong International Airport. 

Fresh buying lifts Sensex by 39 points: Fresh buying in the markets have pushed the index to higher levels. The Sensex rallied to a high of 5,213 and is now at 5,208, up 39 points. The Nifty is up 11 points at 1,638.

Overall:

Companies Act retains controversial provisions: Concept paper retains ban on multi-layered subsidiaries, removes quota for women directors. The concept paper on the new Companies Act.

Reliance strikes fresh oil: Has made gas discoveries, one of them major, in exploration blocks off the east coast of India. 

Commodity prices climb higher: Prices of various commodities, from grains to milk to edible oils are turning bullish since June-end, when monsoon began to play truant.