The Tribune Online

NEW DELHI, Feb 7: Indian Farmers Fertiliser cooperative (IFFCO ), world's largest fertiliser cooperative, has emerged as the premier enterprise in terms of sales, networth, profitability and fixed assets in the recent survey of large unlisted companies conducted by ET Intelligence group (ETIG), an Economic Times initiative.

IFFCO topped the ETIG ranking list owing to its sales worth Rs 7224 crore during 2004-05. The cooperative major was ranked fourth in terms of profitability with net profit touching Rs 320 crore in a year that was marked by droughts and erratic rainfall.

The fertiliser cooperative has hogged the second ranking in terms of networth and gross fixed assets. By 2004-05, IFFCO's networth touched Rs 3282 crore while the cooperative's gross fixed assets were valued at Rs. 4572 crore.

The ETIG Survey has put IFFCO ahead of Hyundai Motors,Tata Internationals, HCL Infinet and Citibank in terms of sales achieved by unlisted companies during 2004-05. In terms of net profits, the cooperative enterprise has been ranked above Reliance Utilities and Power,ABN Amro, Balco, NSE and Wipro BPO solutions.

As far as the gross fixed assets are concerned, Tata Teleservices is the only unlisted company that has surpassed IFFCO, the ETIG concluded. As per ETIG Survey, the one single driver in the fertiliser sector is IFFCO.

IFFCO has earlier been ranked second amongst the 60 leading fertiliser producers in urea, di-ammonium phosphate and complexes production. The Society was placed second in a survey of UK-based agency Integer Research Ltd., world's premier research and consultancy firm.

It may be mentioned that IFFCO, as the largest cooperative icon, has 37,441 cooperatives as its members. Its accumulated reserves of Rs. 2879.84 Crore as on March 31, 2005. The cooperative has interests in general insurance, commodities trading, collateral management, farm forestry, cooperative and rural development apart from fertilisers. Its net worth as on March 31, 2005 stood at Rs. 3301.15 Crore.

The company has won several laurels during the year 2004-05 including the prestigious Best Managed Work Force Award instituted by Hewitt Associates and CNBC TV18.

NEW DELHI, Feb 2: IndianOil, India's flagship oil company, has retained its numero uno position by sales in the latest corporate rankings released by the Economic Times. The ET500 report goes on to add, "IndianOil has been the largest Indian company by sales for as long as anyone can remember".

Apart from sales, the ET 500 ranking lists companies based on market capitalisation, net profit, price-earnings ratio and return on net worth, etc.

In the above listings, IndianOil is also ranked No. 6 by both market capitalisation and net profits respectively. These rankings assume significance considering that India's downstream majors in the petroleum industry have been bearing both subsidy and under-recovery burdens owing to a steep rise in global crude oil prices throughout the year 2005, thus affecting both net profit and market capitalisation.

NEW DELHI: Keeping the glut in global market and fall in international and domestic prices, the Indian cotton farmers lobby has urged the Government to increase the import duty and give significant incentives for exports to protect the farmers.

It is being suggested that the Government now should embark on procurement at high speed at remunerative prices and give significant incentives for exports. At least 75 lakhs bales must be exported to mitigate the hardship to the farmers.

It is also being suggested that the Government must put NAFED, CCI, MARKFED and such agencies in procurement, storage and export of cotton with targets fixed for each of these. Similarly, these agencies must enter into the market immediately to procure cotton from farmers so that farmers are not forced to resort to distress sale of cotton this year.

It may be mentioned that a series of developments both in India and in the international market are now creating an explosive situation for cotton farmers in India. The international cotton market has been flooded with 15 per cent increased production globally over the previous year. The major cotton producing countries are US, China, India, Pakistan and Uzbekistan.

Additionally, the world cotton production is estimated to cross 25 million tonnes in cotton season of 2005-2006 against the consumption of only about 22.5 million tonnes. This would mean a surplus of 2.5 million metric tonnes of production over the consumption. Added to that is the stock of about 10 million metric tonnes which were there in the beginning of the season and this will show the monumental size of the surplus and the burgeoning problem.

The US subsidy to its farmers has also hit global cotton prices. The USA, the largest producer of cotton in the world, has been giving huge subsidies to the cotton farmers and also additional subsidies to the domestic users of the US cotton. The subsidies would be in the region of US $ 4.5 billion this year. These subsidies work out to almost Rs 50 per kg on the total crops produced by the US farmers.

As a result of this, the international prices have crashed last year by 35 per cent and this trend is expected to continue even in this cotton year due to the massive surplus. Apart from over production in India by almost 20 per cent, that is from 177 lakhs bales to a minimum of 213 lakhs bales, Indian farmers had to face the world over-supply and the crash in the international prices of the cotton. As a result, the Indian prices of cotton have also crashed by almost 30 per cent. The increase in the cost due to delay of monsoon last year, requiring re-sowing of cotton seeds and the effect of the untimely rains in the current period affecting the standing crops has also added to woes of the cotton farmers in India.

The question being asked is whether the Government has done enough to mitigate this hardship to the farmers. The crisis was created in India when the Cotton Advisory Board announced as early as in Sept 2004 that the Indian cotton production would be in the order of 213 lakhs bales. This affected the sentiments of the trade and the buyers shied away from buying any cotton in the hope that the prices will continue to crash, as domestic consumption was much lower than availability.

The farmers lobby then also urged the Government to increase the import duty of cotton to protect cotton farmers and declare a remunerative minimum support price and pick up a large quantity of cotton from the farmers. As this has not been done earlier, over 90 per cent of the arrivals of cotton went into the hands of traders at substantially lower prices. However, the government later procured cotton at the minimum support price.

Meanwhile, the traders who had purchased the cotton stocks from cotton farmers at distress prices subsequently went and sold the same cotton to CCI and Maharashtra Monopoly Cotton Purchase agency.

While the traders made a killing last year, both the farmers and the Government Procurement Agencies incurred heavy losses. It is being suggested that there was high probability of this being repeated even this year unless the Government intervenes and saves the situation for the farmers as this year the cotton production in India is expected to be 250 to 270 lakhs bales.

IFFCO's JV Indo-Egyptian Fertiliser Company launched in Egypt

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Nov 23: World' s premier fertiliser cooperative, IFFCO, in collaboration with EI Nasar Mining company (ENMC), has launched Indo Egyptian Fertiliser Company (IEFC ) in Egypt for setting up a state of the art Phosphoric Acid Project.

The IFFCO's Managing Director, Mr US Awasthi, said the project is being set up at an estimated capital cost is US$ 325 million. He said it would be financed with the debt equity ratio of 70:30. IFFCO is the major stakeholder with 76 per cent equity while the balance 24 per cent will be held by ENMC.

Egypt's largest rock phosphate mining company will supply rock phosphate, the basic raw material for the project, while IFFCO will buy back the entire Phosphoric Acid for its DAP Plant at Kandla.

After the first Board Meeting of the Joint Venture Company in Cairo on Monday, Mr Awasthi said that the necessary land for construction of the Project at Edfu near the rock phosphate mines has been allotted by the Aswan Governorate and the Project has been accorded Free Zone status by the general authority for Investments and Free Zones, Egypt.

He disclosed that discussions with International Financial Institutions for syndication of about US$ 220 million loan for the Project are in progress. He further informed that with the commissioning of the project scheduled for early 2009, IFFCO will have assured supply of about one million tonne bulk Phosphoric Acid for its Kandla Plant.

Mr Awasthi said that Mr Surinder Kumar Jakhar, IFFCO Chairman, has also been elected Chairman of Indo Egyptian Fertiliser Company (IEFC).

Reliance says it paid no surcharge for Iraqi crude

MUMBAI, Nov 17: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has said the Volcker Committee report had stated that no payment of any surcharge was paid or committed to anybody by the company.

In respect of allocations by State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) of the Government Iraq under the Oil-for-Food arrangement of United Nations, no payment of any surcharge was paid or committed by RIL to anybody, the company said on Wednesday referring to the Volcker report.

RIL has been buying various grades of crude oil for its Jamnagar Refinery 1999 onwards. One of the crude purchased and processed by RIL between 2000 and 2003 included Basrah Light Crude Oil, an Iraqi crude that was at the time sold by SOMO. Only UN-registered parties were able to buy crude from Iraq and Reliance Petroleum Ltd (since then merged with RIL) had registered itself with UN for buying Iraqi crude.

The Oil Overseers, under Security Council Resolution 986 (1995) of United Nations, had confirmed registration of Reliance Petroleum Ltd as national oil purchaser.

Between April 2000 and May 2002, Reliance bought 30.6 million barrels of Basrah Light Crude from various trading companies on a negotiated, market competitive price based on declared `official selling prices' approved by the UN, the company release said.

UN authorisation documents with complete audit were submitted in each case to Customs authorities prior to clearing the cargo as required by the prevailing regulations. All payments made by Reliance were through normal banking channels to the account of the relevant trading parties and no other payments of any kind were involved, the release said.

"In each case, a representation was made to Reliance that the allocation was in accordance with UN's Oil-for-Food Resolution 986 and did not involve payment of any surcharge," the company said.

RIL also got direct allocation from SOMO in 1992. Under this allocation, RIL bought 2.8 million barrels of Basrah Light Crude Oil directly from SOMO, all payments having been made to a designated UN escrow account through letters of credit and no surcharges were paid, a fact, clearly reflected in Volcker Committee report itself.

Following is the entire text of the company's clarification: "Our attention has been drawn to reports appearing in a section of the media today (Wednesday) relating to a complaint having been filed with the Enforcement Directorate, New Delhi, against us relating to the purchase of Iraqi crude.

"Whilst the complaint states that it is based on the report of Volcker Committee, several 'facts' stated in the complaint are distorted and several other 'facts' are completely false.

"At the outset, the company wishes to clarify that the Volcker Committee Report itself, in no uncertain terms, states that in respect of allocations by State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) of Iraq to us, no payment of any surcharge was paid or committed to anybody.

"Reliance Industries Ltd has been buying various grades of crude oil for its Jamnagar refinery since 1999. One of the crude purchased and processed by RIL between 2000 and 2003 included Basrah light crude oil. Basrah light crude oil is Iraqi crude which was at the time sold by State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) of the Government of Iraq under United Nations Oil-For-Food Arrangement.

"Only UN-registered parties were able to buy Iraqi crude oil from Iraq. Reliance Petroleum Limited (since then merged with RIL) had registered itself with UN for buying Iraqi crude oil. The Oil Overseers, Under Security Council Resolution 986 (1995) of United Nations had confirmed registration of Reliance Petroleum Limited as national oil purchaser vides its message to Permanent Mission of India to the UN on November 18, 1999.

"Between April 2000 and May 2002 RIL bought 30.6 million barrels of Basrah light crude from various trading companies on a negotiated, market competitive price based on declared official selling prices approved by UN.

"All these trading companies got their allocation either directly from SOMO or bought the crude from a party having such direct allocation, under proper UN authorisation. UN authorisation documents with complete audit were submitted in each case to custom authorities prior to clearing the cargo as required by the prevailing regulations.

"All payments made by Reliance were through normal banking channels to the account of the relevant trading parties and no other payments of any kind were involved. In each case a representation was made to Reliance that the allocation was in accordance with UN Oil for Food Resolution 986 and did not involve payment of any surcharge.

"In 2002, RIL also got direct allocation from SOMO. Under this allocation RIL bought 2.8 million barrels of Basrah light crude oil directly from SOMO, all payments for which were made to a designated UN escrow account through letters of credit and no surcharges were paid, a fact, clearly reflected in Volcker Committee report itself.

"Apart from the quantities of 33.4 million barrels of crude oil mentioned above, RIL has not directly or indirectly purchased any crude of Iraqi origin during the period in question.

"RIL reiterates that all purchases of Iraqi crude were for use in Jamnagar refinery only and RIL has not traded any quantities of Iraqi crude in international market.

"The complaint based on conjectures and surmises appears to be an attempt to drag RIL's name into controversies with which it is not concerned in any way with an intention to falsely malign the company for reasons best known to the complainant."

Meanwhile, for the first time since the Volcker Committee findings on Iraq oil pay-offs were made public, Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday said the government has asked a few Indian companies that figured in the report to 'share' records and information.

"We have asked a few companies to share with us some records and informations. Beyond that, I don't want to say anything," the finance minister told the annual Economic Editors Conference in New Delhi.

"It is premature to disclose anything about the investigation," he said, when asked whether the tax department was looking into the books of 125 Indian companies named by Volcker for evasion.

NRIs top in remittances: WB

WASHINGTON, Nov 17: International migration can generate substantial gains for migrants and their families, as well as their origin and destination countries, if policies to better manage transfer of remittances are pursued, says the World Bank Global Economic Prospects (GEP) report for 2006.

The report which forecasts that South Asia will be receiving some $32 billion in remittances this year says that with recorded inflows of $21.7 billion in 2004, India received the most in terms of remittances. Remittances recorded worldwide in 2005 are estimated to exceed $232 billion. Of this, developing countries are expected to receive $167 billion, more than twice the level of development aid from all sources, the report said.

The figures for South Asia are even more striking, with the region expected to receive an estimated $32 billion in remittances or a 67 per cent increase from 2001. India is followed by China and Mexico at $21.3 billion and $18.1 billion respectively, the report said. "With the number of migrants worldwide now reaching almost 200 million, their productivity and earnings are a powerful force for poverty reduction," said Francis Bourguignon, World Bank Chief economist and Senior Vice- President for Development Economics.

"Remittances, in particular, are an important way out of extreme poverty for a large number of people. The challenge facing policymakers is to fully achieve the potential economic benefits of migration, while managing the associated social and political implications," he added.

IFFCO forays into power sector

By Sushma Arora

NEW DELHI, Nov 6: The fertiliser giant, Indian Farmers Fertiliser Co-operative Limited ( IFFCO), has signed a share holders agreement with the Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board (CSEB) paving way for the incorporation of a Joint Venture Company named IFFCO Chhattisgarh Power Ltd. (ICPL).

The IFFCO Managing Director, Mr U S Awasthi, and the Chairman CSEB, Mr Rajib Ranjan, signed an agreement to this effect on November 3 here. Earlier IFFCO had signed an MoU with Government of Chhattisgarh and Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board (CSEB) for setting up a mega power project of 1000 MW in District Sarguja, Chhattisgarh.

Revealing details of the project, Mr Awasthi Mr Ranjan said that the estimated cost of the power project would be Rs. 4,500 crores and the project financing will be on 70: 30 debt--equity pattern. IFFCO and CSEB will share the equity in the ratio of 74 per cent and 26 per cent respectively. The financial closure of the project is targeted to be achieved by December 2006. The project will start generating power from year 2010.

CSEB will off-take up to 90 per cent of power generated from the project. It is worth mentioning here that it is a pit head thermal power project which shall provide livelihood opportunities to the people of under developed area of district Sarguja.

Mr Awasthi further added that IFFCO, under its expansion programme Vision 2010, has decided to make a foray in the field of power so as to provide another important input -- electricity to the farmers, apart from fertilizer and seeds.

30 Indian firms in Forbes Top 2000 list

NEW Y0RK, Nov 3: Oil and Natural Gas Corp, the State Bank of India Group and Indian Oil lead the Indian charge in the list of Forbes Global 2000 'corporate titans', occupying the 265th, 269th and 279th positions respectively.

The magazine has listed 30 Indian companies among its Top 2000 worldwide firms that have performed well in the past fiscal. American multinationals Citigroup and General Electric are right on top of the list.

Among the other Indian companies high in the list are Reliance Industries, National Thermal Power Corp, ICICI Bank, Steel Authority of India Ltd, Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, Tata Consultancy Services, Punjab National Bank, GAIL India and Infosys Technologies. The companies were evaluated according to four criteria - sales, profits, assets and market value.

While Indian energy and banking sector companies proved to be the leaders, the top 10 performers in the list show that this phenomenon is not exclusive to the Indian business scenario. The top 10 in the list include three names from the banking sector and three industries from the energy sector followed by two players from the insurance sector.

Following are the Indian companies that made it to the list:
Oil & Natural Gas (rank 265, sales $9.78 billion, profits $2.16 billion)
State Bank of India Group (269, $12.09 billion, $1.28 billion)
Indian Oil (279, $26.08 billion, $1.73 billion)
Reliance Industries (309, $11.82 billion, $1.19 billion)
National Thermal Power Corp (486, $4.5 billion, $0.92 billion)
ICICI Bank (757, $3.18 billion, $0.36 billion)
Steel Authority of India (831, $5.14 billion, $0.60 billion)
Bharat Petroleum (914, $12.77 billion, $0.47 billion)
Hindustan Petroleum (1,011, $12.03 billion, $0.46 billion)
Tata Consultancy Services (1,167, $1.64 billion, $0.37 billion)
Punjab National Bank (1,186, $2.32 billion, $0.28 billion)
GAIL India (1,250, $2.75 billion, $0.43 billion)
Infosys Technologies (1,250, $1.12 billion, $0.29 billion)
Canara Bank (1,260, $2.15 billion, $0.32 billion)
Tata Iron & Steel (1,302, $2.57 billion, $0.41 billion)
ITC (1,336, $1.59 billion, $0.37 billion)
Wipro (1,362, $1.35 billion, $0.24 billion)
HDFC (1,364, $0.75 billion, $0.22 billion)
Bank of Baroda (1,370, $1.89 billion, $0.24 billion)
Bank of India (1,371, $1.74 billion, $0.24 billion)
Tata Motors (1,519, $3.15 billion, $0.21 billion)
Union Bank of India (1,618, $1.23 billion, $0.16 billion)
Bharti Tele-Ventures (1,648, $1.15 billion, $0.13 billion)
Oriental Bank of Commerce (1,811, $0.93 billion, $0.16 billion)
Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (1,835, $1.41 billion, $0.27 billion)
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (1,907, $1.85 billion, $0.15 billion)
Ranbaxy Laboratories (1,936, $0.97 billion, $0.16 billion)
Indian Overseas Bank (1,959, $1.04 billion, $0.12 billion)
Hindalco Industries (1,982, $1.89 billion, $0.23 billion)
Larsen & Toubro (rank 1,996)

Reliance Q2 net jumps 42 pc, product prices leap

MUMBAI, Oct 27: India's top private sector petrochemicals firm, Reliance Industries Ltd., posted a better-than-expected 42 percent rise in quarterly net profit, boosted by better petrochemical prices and good refining margins.

The flagship of the Ambani family's Reliance group runs a 660,000 barrel-per-day refinery that produces high-quality products from cheap, heavy sour crude and earns more than half of Reliance Industries' profits.

Shares in Reliance, a top maker of polyester fibre, yarn and paraxylene as well as owner of the world's third-largest refinery in a single location, dropped 1.7 percent to 751.20 rupees in a falling Mumbai stock market on Thursday. Reliance said July-September net profit rose to 24.81 billion rupees ($551 million) from 17.52 billion a year ago, while total income rose 27 percent to 209.39 billion.

Analysts' consensus forecasts were for net profit of 22.06 billion rupees on sales of 190.64 billion. The increased sales for April-September reflected a 23 percent rise in product prices and a 4 percent rise in volumes from the same period a year ago, the company said in a statement. Net profit for the full-year to end-March is forecast to rise 30 percent to 86 billion rupees.

The company told analysts that its gross refining margins for the quarter were $10.40 a barrel, up from $8 a year ago but down from $11.40 the previous quarter, after paying state-mandated discounts of about 3 billion rupees to state-run refiners.

"The strong performance in petrochemicals was partly offset by a weaker performance in refining," Reliance said. Other income in April-September fell 35 percent to 4.16 billion rupees due to the rise in crude oil prices, which the company was unable to absorb fully because it competes with government-subsidised Indian fuel prices. Exports rose 51 percent to 151.76 billion rupees.

The refinery operated at 96 percent capacity and processed 15.87 million tonnes of crude in April-September. In a presentation to analysts, Reliance said 68 percent of its revenues in July-September came from refining and 30 percent from petrochemicals businesses.

The company said it sold a total of 7.72 million tonnes of petroleum products, of which 110,000 tonnes was through its 850 retail outlets. Reliance said its refinery expansion to 1.2 million barrels per day, nearly double its current capacity, was on track to be complete by the second half of the fiscal year to March 2009.

The company has also started a planned shutdown of its Jamnagar refinery complex for eight weeks in October-November. Reliance's shareholders on Monday approved plans to hive off its interests in telecommunications, energy and financial services as part of a deal to settle a dispute between the two sons of the group's founder Dhirubhai Ambani.

Under the settlement, Mukesh Ambani will still control Reliance Industries, while younger brother Anil will manage the demerged business that includes Reliance Capital Ltd. Reliance Energy Ltd. and Infocomm.

Shares in Reliance, with the heaviest weight of 11.75 percent in the top-30 BSE index and a market value of $23.4 billion, rose 24 percent in July-September, beating a 20 percent gain in the Mumbai benchmark index and a 16 percent rise in the sector index.

Haryana govt, RIL join hands for SEZ

By Deepak Arora

CHANDIGARH, Oct 17: The Haryana government on Monday agreed in principle to set up a Special Economic Zone in collaboration with Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries.

The RIL chairman, Mr Mukesh Ambani, on Monday met the Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and other top officials of the state administration in connection with the setting up of the proposed SEZ.

Emerging out of the meeting, Mr Hooda told newsmen that the government was in the process of working out the details of the proposed SEZ.
Later on, an official spokesman said that Mr Mukesh Ambani and Mr Rajeev Arora, managing director, Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation, in the presence of Mr Hooda, signed a statement of intent to this effect.

Mr Ambani also called on the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, and discussed future prospects of investment in Punjab, a government spokesman said.

Taking part in the deliberations, Capt Singh said his government was working in the direction to attract and promote more investment in the state to make its economy a dynamic and self-sustaining one.

An empowered committee on mega projects had cleared 60 mega projects so far with an investment of Rs 17,000 crore, he noted.
The chief minister also informed that Punjab had an untapped potential in the fields of agro-processing and biotechnology. Efforts were afoot to promote agro-based industries and BT sector in a big way. On his part, Mr Mukesh Ambani stressed the need for adding value to agricultural produce to rejuvenate the state's economy.

Reliance gives Rs 1 cr relief; sends Team to JK

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Oct 17: The earthquake in Jammu and Kashmir has inflicted untold hardships on the people and has created unprecedented havoc in the region. The industry has come forward to assist and contribute towards efforts of the Government, Indian Air Force and NGOs to rush aid and relief to the people of the state.

Reliance Industries Limited has allocated Rs 1 crore for dispatch of relief material to the state. The relief material which includes 10,000 blankets, 10,000 tarpaulin/ tent/ dwelling units, 10,000 units of food items and five thousand units of woolen clothes will be transported and distributed in the quake affected areas of Tungdhar and Uri by the Indian Air Force.

Reliance Industries has also sent their disaster relief team, which did commendable work during the earthquake of Bhuj, Gujarat to streamline and coordinate relief efforts with the state government and other organizations. The team will also assess the situation on the ground and draw short-term and long-term plans for providing relief and assistance. More funds will be allocated as needs are assessed.

IFFCO lends a helping hand to JK quake victims

By Sushma Arora

NEW DELHI, Oct 17: Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO), one of the significant players of India's agricultural development revolution and globally acclaimed largest fertilizer cooperative, has donated 11,600 woollen jerseys worth Rs 10 Lakh to provide relief and assistance to the earthquake victims of Jammu & Kashmir. The donation was made by IFFCO Kisan Sewa Trust.

Expressing his sympathy at the loss of lives and devastation caused by earthquake, the IFFCO's Managing Director, Mr. U S Awasthi, said, "IFFCO has always been extending help hand at the time of any natural calamity and this time also IFFCO will take all possible measures to reach out to the grief stricken."

IFFCO always been in the service of farmers and has catered to the needs and interests of the Nation. It has always undertaken a host of developmental activities not as a part of its "Corporate Social Responsibility", but as its "National Duty".

Whether it was giving a new home to the Gujarat earthquake victims or coming to the rescue of the Tsunami struck people, IFFCO has always tried to be a source of strength and support in the face of calamity.

Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir Cabinet on Sunday reviewed the ongoing relief and rehabilitation work in the earthquake-ravaged areas of the state.

The Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, expressed its grief and condolence on the loss of precious lives and property in several areas due to devastating earthquake that struck Jammu and Kashmir and its neighbourhood on October 18.

It also observed two minutes silence to express sympathies with the affected people.

The Cabinet placed on record its appreciation for exceptionally quick response to the tragedy by the armed forces, the Air Force, the civil administration, the state Police, the Health and Food Supplies and Public Distribution departments and other agencies concerned.

It also observed that the Public Health Engineering and Power Development departments had demonstrated quickness in restoring disrupted essential services.

The Cabinet expressed gratitude to all voluntary organisations and the general public for donating relief material to the affected people and appreciated contributions made in terms of tents, blankets and medicines by the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation and the Red Cross.

It directed all executive agencies to ensure efficient, honest and transparent distribution of relief and rehabilitation in earthquake affected areas.

It said large number of tents, blankets, medicines, rice, atta, sugar, sweaters and clothes have been dispatched to the affected areas and further supply of essential commodities and other material was in process on a war-footing basis.

The Cabinet also observed that one month's free ration would be provided to the affected areas of Poonch district.

It said 1,199 people lost their lives, 6004 were injured while 37219 houses have been damaged in Uri, Tangdhar and Poonch in the deadly earthquake.

India dispatches third relief consignment to Pak

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, Oct 17: In its bid to help its neighbour in this hour of need, India is sending the third consignment of relief material to earthquake victims in Pakistan by train on Monday morning.

The consignment totals about 170 tonnes which includes 100 tonnes of fortified biscuits. The rest includes medicines, tents and blankets, according to Mr Navtej Sarna, spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs.

Earlier, the first consignment of 25 tonnes of relief material was sent by air on October 10 and the second consignment of 68 tonnes by train on October 14. India has also allowed private groups, NGOs and international agencies to send relief material to Pakistan via Wagah.

On Saturday, the spokesman also confirmed that the trial run of the Amritsar-Lahore bus service, initially scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed in the wake of the devastating earthquake.

The technical level talks for the Amritsar-Nankana Sahib bus service scheduled for October 25 and 26 have also been postponed, he said. New dates will be worked out with mutual consultation, the spokesman said.

Meanwhile, the Sikh community donated truckloads of quake relief items to Pakistan. Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Aziz Ahmed Khan saw off the Pakistan-bound Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee's (DSGMC) relief convoy carrying 16,000 blankets, 1,500 tents, 22,000 metres of sheets and medical aid.

Aziz thanked the Indian people and the government for their sympathetic response to the disaster. "My country appreciates this humanitarian gesture," he said.

The spokesman said India's gesture has been widely welcomed in Pakistan. "This is obvious from the press reports in Pakistan." He said the Indian High Commission in Islamabad was also in constant touch with the Pakistani authorities to enquire about the welfare of the Indian citizens who had travelled by the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus and had been there.

While five of the Indian citizens who were stranded in PoK have now returned to India, two others were getting medical treatment in Islamabad and two more are expected to return soon, he said.

IFFCO buys Oswal's Paradeep plant

NEW DELHI, Sept 19: In one of the largest deal in fertilizer sector, IFFCO, a fertiliser cooperative major, has acquired Oswal plant at Paradeep in Orissa, according to highly placed sources.

The deal, stuck between IFFCO and Oswals for a sale consideration of Rs 2180 crore, includes acquisition of the DAP, NPK and phosphoric acid facilities from Oswal Chemicals & Fertilisers Ltd.

The consideration includes banks and financial institutions exposure of Rs 1915 crore. Sources said the asset sale includes the entire Oswal township at Paradeep on "as is where is basis". It is learnt that IFFCO has already advanced Rs 250 crore to Oswals against the deal.

IFFCO's three-member team led by its Executive Director K.L.Singh has reached Paradeep in Orissa to commence joint operation process. Oswal Chemicals & Fertilisers promoted by Abhay Oswal will hold its AGM on September 24 followed by a board of directors meeting on September 25 to ratify the deal.

IFFCO has convened a meeting of its board of directors on September 28. All the IFFCO directors have already been onsulted on the proposed takeover.

As many as 17-banks and FIs consortium led by IFCI, IDBI, ICICI and SBI have exposure in Oswal Chemicals & Fertilisers. Both Oswals and IFFCO have already sounded out the lead banks and FIs on the deal.

The Oswal facilities include a two million tonne capacity to produce both DAP and complex fertilizers annually. It also has a phosphoric acid plant along with railway siding facility.

On 100 percent capacity utilisation, production cost of phosphoric acid has been projected to be $ 415 - 420 per tonne. This is much lower than the $ 445 per tonne prevailing in the international market.

The acquisition of DAP, NPK & Phosphoric Acid facilities is in addition to the cooperative's recent announcement to make investments worth $ one billion on setting up green fields projects in India and abroad.

NEW DELHI: A high-level Dubai delegation is here on a five-city road show to woo larger Indian investment in its various free zones and upcoming hubs like the Outsource Zone to be operational by June next year.

"Our intention is to address over 800 Indian companies over the next few days to create wider awareness of Dubai's dynamic business environment," said Khalifa Ali K. Buamaim, manager overseas promotion of Dubai's Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM).

Buamaim said "our aim is to market Dubai not only for tourism but also for investment and highlight the opportunities for Indian companies to be part of the Emirate's growth. We are targeting manufacturing and IT companies ready to set up operations in new markets."

In this regard, DTCM on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to strengthen commercial ties between the two countries.

As per the agreement, the two organizations will work towards stepping up bilateral economic and industrial initiatives in key economic areas such as information technology, business process outsourcing, precious metals, pharmaceuticals, aviation, food processing, consumer durables and fast moving consumer goods.

Commenting on the agreement, Buamaim said "we see immense potential in this partnership. The CII represents the interests of Indian companies and Dubai offers a vast range of lucrative investment opportunities. Businesses from across the world have done exceedingly well and have prospered from the liberal and progressive business environment in Dubai. We are very confident that Indian businessmen too will be able to carry further the strong tradition of business between the two countries and benefit substantially from their commercial activities in Dubai."

Buamaim said "we are presenting Dubai as not only a window to the region but also to the world. It is accepted fact that Dubai is a hub for the East and the West."

The 10-member high-level delegation includes representatives from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI); Dubai Outsource Zone; Dubai Silicon Oasis; Emirates Airlines; Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority and Dubai Ports, Customs and Zone Corporation (JAFZA-Dubai Business Hub), which is part of the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority.

Besides Delhi, the team is holding its biennial road shows in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai.

Dubai Outsource Zone Director Ismail Al Naqi said "our zone is the world's first free zone dedicated for outsourcing industry. Our strategy is to position Dubai as an outsourcing destination for banking and finance, insurance, IT and health care industry." Ismail said companies from India could look at the zone as destination where they can have business continuity centers and disaster recovering centers for their operation in India.

He said Dubai Outsource Zone offers a lot of incentives such as 50 years tax break, 100 per cent ownership, access to multiple pools of talent, residential facilities and world-class telecom infrastructure. He said phase one of the project would be ready by June 2006.

Besides India, Ismail said the main countries we were targeting include Germany, the UK and the US. "We plan to bring know how from India, business from the West and merge them in Dubai."

"India has emerged as Dubai's leading trade partner with bilateral trade in the region of $8.7 billion. Of this, Dubai's imports from India stand at $4.8 billion, exports to India at about $574 million and re-exports of Indian products from Dubai about $3.2 billion," said Carl Vaz, Country Manager, DTCM India.

Carl Vaz said "the five city road show will provide an open forum for Indian businesses to acclimatize themselves with various opportunities available to expand their businesses in Dubai, a gateway to the Gulf region, and other parts of the world. The road show is also a platform for corporate to gather first hand information on Dubai's segment specific free zones relating to manufacturing, IT & BPO industry."

"In trade, India is seen as next only to China, while in investment we see tremendous complimentarily. Of the 70,000 companies registered at the Dubai Chamber, about 15 percent are Indian," said Sultan Majid Lootah, business promotion manager of DCCI.

Jamal Bin Marghoob, Assistant Regional Manger (Asia and Pacific) of Jafza, said "we not only offer excellent infrastructure to our clients but also do business matchmaking for them in other countries. Our motto is if the client succeeds, we succeed."

Commenting on the MoU, Arun Patankar, Principal Advisor, CII, said, "DTCM has played a stellar role in promoting and transforming Dubai into a truly international business centre of global significance and it is today a preferred destination for doing business. Dubai has established itself as the most important regional trading hub in this part of the world and India is a very important trading partner of Dubai."

New Delhi, Sept 1: The Indian Government is studying a proposal to expand the range of duty free import of fuel for exporters and also working towards making the product group or industry wise norms more realistic as per actual requirements.

The Ministers of Commerce and Petroleum Ministries have recently discussed the need to tackle the problems being faced by the exporters in accessing the entitled duty free fuel.

Under the Advance Licensing Scheme, duty free fuel is allowed as per quantities indicated in the relevant Standard Input-Output Norms (SION).

However, as the number of products where fuel has been included in the SION is very limited, a product group wide categorization has been done which enables duty free import of fuel in a range of 3 to 7 per cent of the FOB value of exports. It may be mentioned that all these imports are under actual user condition.

Under the Duty Free Replenishment Certificate (DFRC) Scheme, where otherwise the entitlement is transferable, fuel is again allowed under the same general norms as fixed for Advance Licences but with certain conditions.

Under this scheme, the fuel imported is ordinarily with actual user condition and since this is a post export benefit, the import entitlement may be transferred only to companies which have been granted authorization to market fuel by the Petroleum Ministry.

The exporter community has represented to the Government that the general norms of 3 to 7 per cent of various products groups are highly insufficient to meet actual requirements.

There are certain industries like aluminium based where fuel and energy requirement constitutes 60 per cent of the product cost. Similarly, chemicals, textiles, leather and ferrous engineering have requirements much higher than the highest permitted 7 per cent. This, the exporters say, is adding to visible cost disabilities to Indian exports and making them non-competitive.

The Commerce Secretary in a letter to his counterpart in the Petroleum Ministry has proposed a fresh look at the product group or industry wise norms to make them more realistic as per actual requirements.

To make the entitlement further focused, it is essential to make sub-categories inside every product group. Since this was a technical exercise which needs to be quickly done, the Petroleum Ministry was being associated with this task.

Earlier, exports were able to avail duty free fuel from all dispensing stations nominated by oil companies. This permitted even small exporters who had entitlements under the Advance Licensing Scheme and DFRC Scheme to utilize their requirements without practical difficulties.

They used to present Advance Release Order (ARO) issued against Advance License or DFRC to the dispensing station in lieu of duty free procurement of fuel of the commensurate quantity.

However, of late, the oil companies have withdrawn the facility and duty free fuel is only available at the refinery level. This has been causing difficulties to exporters as they are unable to utilize the benefit given to them due to logistic problems as well as the fact that small exporters cannot buy full tanker loads.

It has been suggested that the oil companies revert to the earlier system of honouring AROs tendered by exporters at any of their dispensing stations. The dispensing stations could collect all AROs and have these accounted against issue of duty free fuel of the corresponding quantity from the refinery.