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TRAI lifts freeze on cable distribution rates

What is India News Service, August 14, 2004, 2000 hrs IST


The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has lifted the freeze on cable distribution rates. This has been done to incorporate the 10 per cent service tax imposed on cable companies by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the Budget. 

Besides this the regulator has also allowed the cable companies to incorporate other local taxes in the cable Bill. The regulator had imposed a freeze on cable distribution rates in December last year. The ban was for the time till the government finalised its policy regarding the conditional access system. 

DoT supports hike in FDI cap: The Department of Telecom (DoT)said that there was no change in the proposal to increase foreign direct investment in the telecom sector from 49 per cent to 74 per cent, which was announced by the Finance Minister in his budget speech.

ITC, hotel subsidiaries to merge: ITC Ltd has decided to consolidate its hotels business and has accordingly proposed to amalgamate its wholly owned ITC Hotels Ltd and other hotel subsidiaries with the main company. 

Traders unhappy with proposed VAT: Trade leaders from across the country expressed their dissatisfaction with the proposed Value Added Taxation (VAT) law in its present format.

Margin-trading norms being reviewed: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is reviewing margin-lending norms to generate better response to the system. 

OMCs may need govt nod to hike prices: Oil-marketing companies (OMCs) will have to seek the government\92s approval as crude prices continue to increase in the international market. The present trend suggests that price hike would breach the \91limited freedom\92 band given to them. 

Don\92t misuse PSUs, warns PM : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has cautioned his ministers against the misuse public sector undertakings (PSUs) and asked them to strictly follow the guidelines on appointments of senior officials. 

Revenue share model for FM radio unlikely: Private FM radio operators' demand for switching over from existing licence fee regime to a revenue share arrangement may not see the light of the day. 

Hong Kong woos Bollywood: Hong Kong is eyeing Bollywood and has put on offer a number of exotic locales for the Indian producers and directors to take advantage of.

BPL plans co-branding exercise with Sanyo: BPL Ltd, which hived off its mainstay colour television (CTV) business into a 50:50 joint venture with Japan's Sanyo, said it will enter into a co-branding exercise with the global giant.

Inflation rises further to 7.61 per cent: The annual wholesale price index-based inflation rate touched a three-and-a-half year high of 7.61 per cent for the week ended July 31, mainly due to a surge in the prices of fruits and vegetables, edible oil and some manufactured products.

Lodha not to offer for reappointment in Indo Gulf Fert:  Chartered accountants firm Lodha & Company will not offer itself for re-appointment as auditors of Indo Gulf Fertilisers Ltd at the ensuing annual general meeting.

Crude oil import bill jumps 51 pc in first quarter: The country's crude oil import bill climbed 51 per cent to Rs 29,551 crore in the first quarter of this financial year because of rising global crude oil prices. 

PHDCCI urges Punjab to identify SEZs: The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry ( PHDCCI) has urged the Punjab Government to identify suitable Special Economic Zones ( SEZs) in the state so as to provide a platform for creating infrastructure and integrating the state economy with the global market. 

New look ONGC logo from today: India's largest company Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has slated to unveil it new logo on August 14.

FDI inflow zooms to $814 m in Q1: The foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow during the first quarter of the current financial year has shot up to $814 million compared to $349 million during the same period of the previous year.

Charges of insider trading in Global Trust: The Bhartiya Janata Party has charged that two crore shares of the collapsed Global Trust Bank (GTB) had been sold through a foreign entity just before the Reserve Bank of India declared a moratorium on the bank on July 24.

Reliance Infocomm slashes tariffs: Reliance Infocomm announced a reduction in pre-paid tariffs by 60 per cent, even as the private telephony major launched a new colour LG handset. 

Farmers to get relief as Act to be revived: The Maharashtra Cabinet today cleared the decks for reviving the Maharashtra Debt Relief Act, 1971, (MDRA), that bars private moneylenders in the state from recovering outstanding owings from farmers. 

Car sales rise 18 pc in July: Passenger car sales continued to see robust growth during July helped by new variant rollouts, discounts and attractive finance schemes. 

Japanese minister unhappy with inter-state trade barriers: The inter-state trade barriers in India, poor infrastructure, especially in transport and power sectors, have discouraged the Japanese companies to invest in India.

Auto sector in buoyant mood: The Indian auto industry is in a buoyant mood, maintaining its high growth in the month of July, backed by increasing affordability, easy finance opportunities, and manufacturers cost-cutting initiatives.

Sensex continues to register losses: Higher inflation rate and firm international crude prices appeared to haunt the secondary markets on Friday. 

Warburg Pincus lowers stake in Bharti: Private equity fund Warburg Pincus has reduced its stake in Bharti Televentures by 3.35 per cent to bring its stake down to 15.17 per cent.

Products patents Bill soon: A new products patents Bill in conformity with the WTO mandate is expected to be taken up by the Union Cabinet shortly. 

Overall:

Trai lifts ban on cable distribution: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has lifted the freeze on cable distribution rates to incorporate the 10 per cent service tax imposed on cable companies. 

Don\92t misuse PSUs, warns PM: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has cautioned his ministers against the misuse public sector undertakings (PSUs). 

Farmers to get relief as Act to be revived: The Maharashtra Debt Relief Act, 1971, (MDRA) has been revived which bars private moneylenders in the state from recovering outstanding owings from farmers.