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Foodpreneurship has finally arrived in India,reports Economic Times!After taking a decision on outright sale of ailing Scooters India Ltd (SIL), the government proposes to follow a similar model for disinvestment of HMT Bearings and Tyre Corporation

Foodpreneurship has finally arrived in India,reports Economic Times!After taking a decision on outright sale of ailing Scooters India Ltd (SIL), the government proposes to follow a similar model for disinvestment of HMT Bearings and Tyre Corporation of India-the sick units considered to be beyond revival. State-run Oil India is on the government's radar for disinvestment in the current fiscal and discussions are currently on to work out the modalities of a further public offer of the PSU, sources said. On the other hand,Government is planning to relax exit norms for not-for-profit companies to allow them to de-register without having to follow cumbersome regulations. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will hold a meeting to resolve inter-ministerial differences relating to environment clearances for coal and power projects after the Group of Ministers meet on July 14.Meanwhile,Overseas investors invested Rs 6,460 crore ($1.45 billion) in Indian stock markets in just five trading sessions of July and analysts feel the positive trend will continue in the coming months as well.


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Palash Biswas

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Foodpreneurship has finally arrived in India,reports Economic Times!After taking a decision on outright sale of ailing Scooters India Ltd (SIL), the government proposes to follow a similar model for disinvestment of HMT Bearings and Tyre Corporation of India-the sick units considered to be beyond revival. State-run Oil India is on the government's radar for disinvestment in the current fiscal and discussions are currently on to work out the modalities of a further public offer of the PSU, sources said. On the other hand,Government is planning to relax exit norms for not-for-profit companies to allow them to de-register without having to follow cumbersome regulations. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will hold a meeting to resolve inter-ministerial differences relating to environment clearances for coal and power projects after the Group of Ministers meet on July 14.Meanwhile,Overseas investors invested Rs 6,460 crore ($1.45 billion) in Indian stock markets in just five trading sessions of July and analysts feel the positive trend will continue in the coming months as well.

As on 30 June 2011, the 50 Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) listed on the stock exchanges contributed about 22% of the total market capitalization.

Company Market Capitalisation
(Rs.crore)
COAL INDIA LTD.

2,47,854.14

OIL & NATURAL GAS CORP.LTD.

2,34,377.65

NTPC LTD.

1,54,066.50

NMDC LTD.

1,01,001.14

BHARAT HEAVY ELECTRICALS LTD.

1,00,182.72

MMTC LTD.

91,235.00

INDIAN OIL CORP.LTD.

81,979.82

STEEL AUTHORITY OF INDIA LTD.

56,784.56

GAIL (INDIA) LTD.

55,488.12

POWER GRID CORP.OF INDIA LTD.

50,602.90


Click here for Market Capitalisation of all CPSEs

Disinvestments through Public Offers-Highlights

  • CPSEs constitute 21.68% and 22.15% of the total market capitalisation of companies listed at BSE and NSE respectively (as on 30 June 2011)

  • The CPSE with the highest market capitalisation is Coal India Ltd. at Rs. 2,47,854 crore (BSE) and Rs. 2,48,138 crore (NSE) (as on 30 June 2011)

  • VSNL was the first CPSE to be divested by way of a Public Offer in 1999-00

  • ONGC Public Offer in 2003-04 has been the largest CPSE FPO, raising Rs. 10,542 crore

  • Coal India Public Offer in 2010-11 has been the largest CPSE IPO, raising Rs. 15,199 crore

  • The maximum number of applications received in a PSU IPO/FPO since 2003-04 was in CIL (15.96 lakhs)

  • Total disinvestments proceeds from CPSE Public Offers in the Current Financial Year is Rs. 1144.55 crore (as on 10 July 2011)

Disinvestment Policy

The present disinvestment policy has been articulated in the recent President's addresses to Joint Sessions of Parliament and the Finance Minister's recent Parliament Budget Speeches.

The salient features of the Policy are:

(i)

Citizens have every right to own part of the shares of Public Sector Undertakings

(ii)

Public Sector Undertakings are the wealth of the Nation and this wealth should rest in the hands of the people

(iii)

While pursuing disinvestment, Government has to retain majority shareholding, i.e. at least 51% and management control of the Public Sector Undertakings


Approach for Disinvestment

On 5th November 2009, Government approved the following action plan for disinvestment in profit making government companies:

(i)

Already listed profitable CPSEs (not meeting mandatory shareholding of 10%) are to be made compliant by 'Offer for Sale' by Government or by the CPSEs through issue of fresh shares or a combination of both

(ii)

Unlisted CPSEs with no accumulated losses and having earned net profit in three preceding consecutive years are to be listed

(iii)

Follow-on public offers would be considered taking into consideration the needs for capital investment of CPSE, on a case by case basis, and Government could simultaneously or independently offer a portion of its equity shareholding

(iv)

In all cases of disinvestment, the Government would retain at least 51% equity and the management control

(v)

All cases of disinvestment are to be decided on a case by case basis

(vi)

The Department of Disinvestment is to identify CPSEs in consultation with respective administrative Ministries and submit proposal to Government in cases requiring Offer for Sale of Government equity



Archives

Vision

Promote people's ownership of Central Public Sector Enterprises to share in their prosperity through disinvestment.

Mission




http://www.divest.nic.in/


Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased equities and debt securities worth a gross amount of Rs 26,004 crore so far this month. However, they also sold shares and bonds worth Rs 19,544.3 crore in the same period, resulting into a net investment of Rs 6,460 crore for the period, according to the information available with market regulator Sebi.

Market experts said investors were coming back due to decline in inflation and crude oil prices. "Situation has been improving in the last few trading session as investors are again coming back to equity market due to cooling inflation and decline in crude oil prices," CNI Research Head Kishor Ostwal said.

Investors had shunned emerging markets such as India in the first half of this year as these countries battled inflation. Besides, high interest rate was also considered as a risk to these countries.

FIIs were interested in the debt market in the first six months of the year, making a net investment of Rs 9,948 crore during the period while their investments in stocks stood at Rs 2,670 crore.

Analysts believe that FIIs will bring more money in the coming six months. "In the long-term, FIIs will remain bullish on the Indian market. Moreover, in the next six months market will witness more inflows than last six-months,"Geojit BNP Paribas Research Head Alex Mathews said.

In 2010, foreign investors purchased stocks and bonds worth Rs 10 lakh crore, a record high for a year. During the same period, FIIs sold shares and bonds worth Rs 7,80,000 crore, which translated into a record net investment of over Rs 1.75 lakh crore for the year.

The number of FIIs registered with Sebi marginally rose from 1,718 as of December 31, 2010, to 1,730 as of July this year. Besides, the number of registered sub-accounts has climbed from 5,503 in December 31, 2010 to 5,898.

23 JAN, 2011, 07.41AM IST, ANJAN CHATTERJEE,
Foodpreneurship has finally arrived in India

I Come from a family of scientists and educationists. The word 'catering college' in my scholarly home elicited uninspiring visions of a cook labouring away behind some stove or a waiter taking orders. My father, Late Dr Snehamoy Chatterjee, was an Emeritus Scientist of Epitomology at the Indian Centre of Agriculture. He had high hopes from me, destined to flourish in physiology and zoology. So, my decision to switch to the nearest hospitality and catering institute nearly gave him a heart attack.

We have come a long way since then. Today being known as a chef or a restaurateur is a social compliment. The world looks up to the two occupations as something between a wizard or some practitioner of magic with secret ingredients and recipes, and a suave person of the world who can patronise the food connoisseurs. Welcome to the world of food entrepreneurship.

Food has gone through a quiet revolution. As the family became smaller and smaller, it began to go out for dinners more often. That meant more restaurants. And to cater to the steadily rising need for competent and trained hospitality personnel, catering institutes mushroomed everywhere.

Throughout the world, kitchens gradually transformed into the industrial battleground they are today-where careers and reputations of brands and professionals get made or cooked. Authentic cuisines. Specialised cuisines. Multi cuisines. Fast food chains. Fine dining chains. Food courts... Food has suddenly become one of the hottest and most competitive industries with many formats, categories, brands, etc.

More than just catering to the need of the nuclear family looking for a friendly place for dining out, today's food industry leads the evolution of the palate. I saw my job cut out for me when we started the first Mainland China. We have served five-star experience and authentic cuisines at non five-star prices. And have done our bit to add to the growing transformation of the Indian palate. Today people seek more authentic flavours and exotic culinary arts from all parts of the world in their own city.

Culinary adventurism goes hand in hand with a larger, all encompassing experience of the food-from the ambience, service and location to the format, branding and everything in between. I see the food entrepreneur as a creative person, full of ideas about how to serve an exciting balance of all of them. It is a tricky business because food and taste is such a personal experience and yet has to be served in regularised and consistent ways.

So today, while, food entrepreneurship is going more and more personal with customised privilege services to guests and making them feel special, like at Mainland China, we do have franchisees taking the cause forward, from top metros to second metros and beyond. The revolution is spreading.

The tier II towns are also waking up to the flavour of food entrpreneurship. There is a McDonald's in Nanded and a Mainland China in Nashik. Why not! From the branded vada paav to the five-star restaurant, food entrepreneurship has truly arrived in India. You can feel it on your taste-buds everywhere.


(The author is a leading Indain food entrepreneur.)
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/business/foodpreneurship-has-finally-arrived-in-india/articleshow/7345274.cms


"The Department of Heavy Industry has prepared a proposal for a complete sell-out of these two companies as they are beyond redemption," an official told PTI.

These two units have been draining the government resources as they have reported losses for the last several years, he added.

During 2009-10, HMT Bearings' net loss was at Rs 15.31 crore, while Tyre Corporation of India registered loss was Rs Rs 14.67 crore.

HMT Bearings, which is located in Hyderabad, manufactures ball and roller bearings. It is a subsidiary of government controlled HMT Ltd , which holds its 97 per cent equity shares.

Kolkata-based Tyre Corporation of India (TCIL), engaged in manufacturing and marketing of automotive tyres, is wholly-owned by the government.

However, since 2002, the company which is awaiting revival from the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) has been doing 100 per cent jobbing work for other tyre manufacturers like Ceat , Birla Tyres due to shortage of working capital.

Sources said, the proposals for outright sale will be sent to the BIFR for its clearance.

In May, the government had decided to divest its entire 95 per cent in Scooters India Ltd (SIL), which primarily manufactures three-wheelers, aimed at reviving the company that has been incurring losses since 2002-03.

As on March 2010, there were 59 sick Central Public Sector Enterprises including Hindustan Salts, NEPA Ltd, Cement Corporation of India and HMT Machine Tools.

"Negotiations are currently on (between the disinvestment department and the Petroleum Ministry) to work out the details through further stake sale. They will have to work out on what is their capital requirements," official sources told PTI.

Oil India, the country's second largest oil exploration company, which had earlier hit the market with an initial public offer in September 2009 mopped up over Rs 4,900 crore. As part of the IPO , the government offloaded its 10 per cent equity, while company issued 11 per cent fresh equity.

Besides Oil India, the government has already identified RINL, MMTC and NBCC for stake sale and would be required to add more companies to the list to achieve Rs 40,000 crore target during 2011-12, sources said.

The Cabinet has so far given approval for the disinvestment of four state-run firms - PFC , SAIL, ONGC and HCL, expecting to garner a little over Rs 15,000 crore through follow -on offers of the identified four PSUs.

The government has already raised Rs 1,162 crore by divesting five per cent stake in Power Finance Corporation in May. The follow-on public offer of SAIL is likely to hit the market next month and ONGC in July. Share sale programme of Hindustan Copper (HCL) is yet to take a concrete shape.

The government had proposed a disinvestment target of Rs 95,000 crore from sale of shares in public sector companies over the next three fiscals, including Rs 40,000 crore in the current fiscal.

Against the same Rs 40,000 crore target set for the last fiscal, the government is estimated to have raised only Rs 22,400 crore by way of disinvestment in PSU companies. The gap could have been bridged a little more had the movement of the market not been topsy-turvy towards the end of the last fiscal. 

Keep up to date with these results:


Currently, the total receipts stands at Rs 99,738.92 crore from the government's various disinvestment programmes, ever since they begun in the financial year 1991-92, as per the data available with the Department of Disinvestment.

The government's disinvestment policy states that the government has to retain majority shareholding of at least 51 per cent and management control of the PSUs.

The policy also calls for listing of unlisted CPSEs with no accumulated losses and having earned net profit in three preceding consecutive years.

"The Ministry has been receiving representation from various stakeholders to develop a procedure for strike off name under section 560 of the Companies Act, 1956 of companies (non-profit companies) which have been granted licence under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956," the MCA said in its proposal.

Section 25 companies are those which normally receive contribution in the form of donations, contributions among others for charitable activities.

According to the proposed guidelines, a company should have passed a resolution in general meeting to apply to Registrar of Companies to strike off name and which should have been approved by all members/shareholders of the company.

Further, for being eligible, the company should not have commenced any activity or operation since its incorporation or should have stopped activities for more than 3 years, or not received any donation, grants or contribution from anyone other than its members.

In case, a company has obtained any special status from any authority such as Income Tax, Commissioner of Charity or any organisation or Department of Central Government , State Government, Municipal Body or any recognised authority, then a "No Objection Certificate" has to be obtained from the concerned authority.

Besides the existing assets, if any new asset has to be transferred to a similar company before applying to RoC for striking off the name; the company should have filed its all upto date balance sheets and annual returns, and latest balance Sheet should not have any sssets or liabilities.

The directors have to file an affidavit and indemnity as required under present exit guidelines and confirming above compliances, a certificate from practising Chartered Accountants or Company Secretary or Cost Accountant certifying the above compliances by the company, the proposal said.

As per the company law, when such a company winds up, any asset or property is transferred to "any other such company having objects similar to the objects of this company". Members or the High Court can determine the company to which the assets have to be transferred.

The government has invited comments on the proposed guidelines by July 15, 2011.

"The Group of Ministers meeting is scheduled on July 14. So depending upon the outcome of that, the PM's review meeting will be held," a senior coal ministry official said.

The official added that the dates were yet to be decided for the meeting, which has been postponed four times since May.

Besides reviewing the performances of key sectors like coal and power, the PM's meeting is likely to deliberate upon solutions to resolve the tussle between environment, coal and power ministeries on the contentious issue of green clearances for infrastructure projects.

Earlier, softening its stance, the Jairam Ramesh-led ministry had cleared in June six coal blocks, which included five coal blocks falling in 'no-go' mining areas for three major power plants in Orissa.

Among these, three coal blocks (Meenakshi-A, Meenakshi-B and Meenakshi Dipside) have been allocated to the Ultra Mega Power Plant (UMPP), while two coal blocks (Manoharpur and Manoharpur Dipside) have been allocated to the 1,320 MW power plant of Orissa Power Generation Corporation (OPGC).

One coal-block (Dulanga) has been allocated to NTPC's 1,600 MW power plant.

As per the government data, performances of both power and coal sectors have not been satisfactory so far in the current Plan period and the reason often attributed for this is non-availability of coal in adequate quantities.

The widening demand and supply gap for coal is expected to reach 142 million tonnes in 2011-12, with domestic availability of only 554 MT against the requirement of 696 MT, according to a Planning Commission projection.

Coal and power ministries put the blame on environment ministry for delaying approvals by citing green norms, thereby affecting key projects in their sector.

The Environment Ministry's guidelines have defined 'no--go' areas for mining as those with over 30 per cent gross forest cover or over 10 per cent weighted forest cover.

Moreover, the 12-member panel of ministers -- headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee-- in its July 14 meeting is likely to try and resolve issues hurting coal production in the country.

Six coal projects-- allotted to firms like ADAG, Essar, and Aditya Birla Group for fuelling their thermal power plants-- which have been stalled due to pending green approvals, are likely to be taken up in the upcoming meeting.

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Disinvestment Alert: The List of State Run Companies Where Stake Sale May Happen

Thursday, January 28, 2010 Posted by Ankit Agarwal 

The Indian Government has been keen on its disinvestment plans since late last year. On the back of a slowly recovery economy and a growing burden on the government treasure chest, it seems justified that the government offloads a small stake in profit making PSU's.

The government wants profitable listed public-sector companies, where its stake is more than 90 percent, to have at least 10 percent of their shares held by the public. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's administration also plans to sell Shares in some profitable unlisted companies


 

We have already seen a few state run companies being disinvested. Most of the stake sales have happened via placement of fresh IPO's or FPO's. The investor interest has also been pretty favorable for a PSU stock which is evident from the success of Religare PSU fund.

Here is a list of some companies where the government might be going in for disinvestment.

Company

Government Stake (Present)

Expected Disinvestment Value 

( Rs. Bln)

NMDC

98.4%

160

NTPC

89.5%

100

Rural Electrification

81.8%

44

Engineers India

90.4%

12

Hindustan Copper

99.6%

40

Power Grid Corp. of India

86.4%

47

Steel Authority of India

85.8%

45


 

These are a few companies that might be ripe for some disinvestment this fiscal. There are a few more companies on the government's radar which might also be considered for disinvestment sooner or later.

You can download the complete list as provided by Bloomberg here Disinvestment In India

The government looks all set to get a good lump sum of cash out of the stake sale. Only wonder if they will utilize it judiciously to take the economy forward.

What do you think? Is Disinvestment in profitable state run companies a right strategy?

http://www.gettingmoneywise.com/2010/01/disinvestment-alert-list-of-state-run.html


The Department of Disinvestment was set up as a separate Department on 10 December 1999 and was later renamed as Ministry of Disinvestment from 6 September 2001.
 
From 27 May 2004, the Department of Disinvestment is one of the Departments under the Ministry of Finance.
 
Mandate 
As per the present Allocation of Business rules, the mandate of the Department is as follows:

1. a.

All matters relating to disinvestment of Central Government equity from Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).

b.All matters relating to sale of Central Government equity through offer for sale or private placement in the erstwhile CPSEs
(inserted through amendment Notification dated 28 June 2007).

Note: All other post disinvestment matters, including those relating to and arising out of the exercise of call option by the strategic partner in the erstwhile CPSEs, shall continue to be handled by the administrative Ministry or Department concerned, where necessary, in consultation with the Department of Disinvestment.

2.

Decisions on the recommendations of the Disinvestment Commission on the modalities of Disinvestment, including restructuring.

3.

Implementation of disinvestment decisions, including appointment of advisers, pricing of shares, and other terms and conditions of disinvestment.

4.

Disinvestment Commission.

5.

CPSEs for purposes of disinvestment of Government equity only.

6.

Financial Policy in regard to the utilization of the proceeds of disinvestment channelized into the National Investment Fund (inserted through amendment dated 12 January 2006 to the Allocation of Business rules)

http://www.divest.nic.in/Mandate.asp

Cabinet okay for BHEL divestment next week

Business Standard - Mansi Taneja - ‎Jul 4, 2011‎
Initially, BHEL was not originally part of the government's list for disinvestment in this year. Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Steel Authority of India Ltd, Hindustan Copper, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd and National Buildings Construction Corp are to ...

PK Bajpai is new Director Finance of BHEL

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A Mechanical Engineer from IIT, Kanpur; MBA from the University of Leeds, UK and AICWA from the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India, Mr Bajpai joined BHEL as an Engineer Trainee in 1977, a company release said. ...

BHEL dips nearly 5% on bourses; m-cap erodes by Rs 4500 cr

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BHEL opened on a weaker note on the Bombay Stock Exchange and slipped to a low of Rs 1944.05, down 4.96 per cent from its previous close, after media reports surfaced that the Union cabinet is likely to approvedisinvestment of 5 per cent in the ...

BHEL down nearly 5 pc on share sale reports

Economic Times - ‎Jul 5, 2011‎
Shares in power equipment maker Bharat Heavy Electricals fell nearly 5 percent on media reports the Union Cabinet was likely to approve disinvestment of 5 percent stake in the state-run firm next week, several dealers said. "BHEL was down on worries ...

BHEL dips 3% in morning trade on bourses on disinvestment news

Economic Times - ‎Jul 5, 2011‎
MUMBAI: Shares of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) fell nearly 3 per cent in opening trade on the bourses today after news reports surfaced that the Union Cabinet is likely to approve the disinvestment of a 5 per cent stake in the state-run power ...

BHEL slips 2 on disinvestment news

Moneycontrol.com - ‎Jul 4, 2011‎
Cabinet is likely to approve 5% disinvestment in the company, reports Business Standard. It was trading with volumes of 4806 shares. In the previous trading session, the share closed down 0.20% or Rs 4.00 at Rs 2045.70.

Bhel dips 4.5% on FPO pricing woes

Financial Express - ‎Jul 5, 2011‎
The government is expected to raise R4,500 crore through the divestment of Bhel after which the government's stake would come down to 62.72%. On Tuesday, the stock price closed at R1,954, down R92, or 4.49%. According to market participants, ...

BHEL slumps on disinvestment reports

India Infoline.com - ‎Jul 5, 2011‎
Shares of Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) fell as much as 5% on BSE amid media reports that the Union Cabinet is likely to approve the Government's plan to disinvest a 5% stake in the state-run power equipment major next week. At 1:52 pm (IST), ...

Disinvestment of India�s Public Sector Units
L M Bhole, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences
  

 

 

The role of the State vs. Market has been one of the major issues in development economics and policy. In a mixed economy such as India, historically the public sector had been assigned an important role. However, in the year 1991 the national economic policy underwent a radical transformation. The new policy of liberalization, privatization and globalization de-emphasized the role of the public sector in the nation�s economy. The faculty at IIT-Bombay has been studying various aspects of the New Economic Policy such as financial sector reforms, fiscal implications of reforms, and of globalization.

To date several arguments have been proffered by the apologists of market-oriented economic structures:

  • the government must not enter into those areas where the private sector can perform better

  • market-driven economies are more efficient than the state-planned economies

  • the role of the state should be as a regulator and not as the producer

  • government resources locked in commercial activities should be released for their deployment in social activities.

It is also contended that the functioning of many public sector units (PSUs) has been characterized by low productivity, unsatisfactory quality of goods, excessive manpower utilization, inadequate human resource development and low rate of return on capital. For instance, between 1980 and 2002, the average rate of return on capital employed by PSUs was about 3.4% as against the average cost of borrowing, which was 8.66%. Disinvestment (or divestment) of the PSUs has therefore been offered as one of the solutions in this context.

Disinvestment involves the sale of equity and bond capital invested by the government in PSUs. It also implies the sale of government�s loan capital in PSUs through securitization. However, it is the government and not the PSUs who receive money from disinvestment.

The fixation of share/bond price is an important aspect of disinvestment. Now, the Disinvestment Commission determines the share/bond price. Disinvested shares are listed, quoted and traded on the stock market. Indian and foreign financial institutions, banks, mutual funds, companies as well as individuals can buy disinvested shares / bonds.......more on next page

http://www.ircc.iitb.ac.in/~webadm/update/archives/August_2003/disinvestment1.html

  1. Disinvestment in India: Policies, Procedures,Practices - Google Books

    books.google.com/books?hl=en&id...disinvestment...

  2. Disinvestment in India: Policies, Procedures,Practices

    gbr.sagepub.com/content/5/2/247.full.pdf+html
    by RK Mishra - 2004
  3. [PDF] 

    Disinvestment and Privatisation in IndiaAssessment and Options1 R ...

    www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/Consultant/TAR-IND.../nagaraj.pdf
    File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
    by R Nagaraj - Cited by 3 - Related articles
    Naib, Sudhir (2004): Disinvestment in India: Policies,Procedures and Practices, Sage India, Delhi. Nagaraj, R (1999): How are Public Sector Enterprises ...

  4. _ Pacgfic Aflairs: Volume 73, No. 2 — Summer 2005

    www.jstor.org/stable/40023945
    by C Wadhva - 2005
    DISINVESTMENT IN INDIA: Policies, Procedures,Practices. By Sudhir. ' Naib. New Delhi, Thousand Oaks (Colzfomnt), London (UK): Sage Publications. ...

  5. The disinvestment debate

    www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2110/stories/20040521001107500.htm- Cached
    21 May 2004 – The disinvestment debate. C.T. KURIEN.Disinvestment in India Policies, Procedures, Practices by Sudhir Naib; Sage Publications, New Delhi, ...

  6. Disinvestment in India: Policies, Procedures,Practices > Naib ...

    www.saujanyabooks.com/details.aspx?.../Disinvestment-in-India_Po... - Cached
    Disinvestment in India: Policies, Procedures, Practices. ...Saujanya books, indian books, books from india, tibetan books, tibetan texts, ...

  7. Disinvestment in India : Policies, Procedures,Practices

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    Disinvestment

    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
    This article is about a form of political sanction. For the privatization of state assets in India, see Privatization in India. For the routine business practice, see divestment.

    Disinvestment, sometimes referred to as divestment, refers to the use of a concerted economic boycott, with specific emphasis on liquidating stock, to pressure a government, industry, or company towards a change in policy, or in the case of governments, even regime change. The term was first used in the 1980s, most commonly in the United States, to refer to the use of a concerted economic boycott designed to pressure the government of South Africa into abolishing its policy of apartheid. The term has also been applied to actions targeting Iran, Sudan, Northern Ireland, Myanmar, and Israel.

    Contents

     [hide]

    [edit]Targets

    [edit]Nations

    [edit]Iran

    Eighteen American states have passed laws requiring the divestment of state pension funds from firms doing business with Iran.[1]

    [edit]South Africa

    Main article: Disinvestment from South Africa

    The most frequently-encountered method of "disinvesting" was to persuade state, county and municipal governments to sell their stock in companies which had a presence in South Africa, such shares having been previously placed in the portfolio of the state's, county's or city's pension fund. Several states and localities did pass legislation ordering the sale of such securities, most notably the city of San Francisco. An array of celebrities, including singer Paul Simon, actively supported the cause.

    Many conservatives opposed the disinvestment campaign, accusing its advocates of hypocrisy for not also proposing that the same sanctions be leveled on either the Soviet Union or the People's Republic of China. Ronald Reagan, who was the President of the United States during the time the disinvestment movement was at its peak, also opposed it, instead favoring a policy of "constructive engagement" with the Pretoria regime. Some offered as an alternative to disinvestment the so-called "Sullivan Principles", named after Reverend Leon Sullivan, an African-American clergyman who served on the Board of Directors of General Motors. These principles called for corporations doing business in South Africa to adhere to strict standards of non-discrimination in hiring and promotions, so as to set a positive example.

    [edit]Northern Ireland

    There was also a less well-publicized movement to apply the strategy of disinvestment to Northern Ireland, as some prominent Irish-American politicians sought to have state and local governments sell their stock in companies doing business in that part of the United Kingdom. This movement featured its own counterpart to the Sullivan Principles; known as the "MacBride Principles" (named for Nobel Peace Prize winnerSean MacBride), which called for American and other foreign companies to take the initiative in alleviating alleged discrimination againstRoman Catholics by adopting policies resembling affirmative action. The effort to disinvest in Northern Ireland met with little success, but theUnited States Congress did pass (and then-President Bill Clinton signed) a law requiring American companies with interests there to implement most of the MacBride Principles in 1998.

    [edit]Cuba

    Though in place long before the term "disinvestment" was coined, the United States embargo against Cuba meets many of the criteria for designation as such — and a provision more closely paralleling the disinvestment strategy aimed at South Africa was added in 1996, when the United States Congress passed the Helms-Burton Act, which penalized owners of foreign businesses which invested in former American firms that had been nationalized by Fidel Castro's government after the Cuban revolution of 1959. The passage of this law was widely seen as a reprisal for an incident in which Cuban military aircraft shot down two private planes flown by Cuban exiles living in Florida, who were searching for Cubans attempting to escape to Miami.

    [edit]Sudan

    During the late 1990s and early 2000s several Christian groups in North America campaigned for disinvestment from Sudan because of the Muslim-dominated government's long conflict with the breakaway, mostly Christian region of Southern Sudan. One particular target of this campaign was the Canadian oil company, Talisman Energy which eventually left the country, and was supplanted by Chinese investors.[1][2]

    There is currently a growing movement to divest from companies that do business with the Sudanese government responsible for genocide in Darfur. Prompted by the State of Illinois - the first government in the U.S.A. to divest - scores of public and private-sector entities are now following suit. In New York City, Councilman Eric Gioia recently introduced a resolution to divest City pension funds from companies doing business with Sudan.

    The recent divestment of assets implicated in funding the government of Sudan, in acknowledgment of acts of terrorism and genocideperpetrated in the Darfur conflict. In the United States, this divestment has taken place at the state level (including Illinois, which led the way, followed by New Jersey, Oregon, and Maine). It has also taken place at many North American Universities, notably Cornell University,Harvard University, Case Western Reserve University, Queen's University, Stanford University, Dartmouth College, Amherst College, Yale University, Brown University, the University of California, the University of Pennsylvania, Brandeis University, the University of Colorado,American University, University of Delaware, Emory University, and the University of Vermont. The Sudan Divestment Task Force [3] has organized a nationwide group which advocates a targeted divestment policy, to minimize any negative effects on Sudanese civilians while still placing financial pressure on the government. The so-called 'targeted divestment approach' generally permits investment in Sudan, and is thus radically different from the comprehensive divestment that ended apartheid in South Africa. Because targeted divestment permits investment in hundreds of multinational corporate and private-equity firms that support, lend legitimacy to, and pay taxes and graft to the government of Sudan, policy experts suggest that this "feel good" approach will have little impact on the Sudanese government's sponsorship of terrorism and genocide. Because of the massive deficiencies in the so-called 'targeted divestment approach,' human rights advocates recommend the more comprehensive approach to divestment that has been taken by the State of Illinois.[citation needed] Under this approach, sponsored by State Senator Jacqueline Collins, public pensions are prohibited from investing in any corporation or private equity firm that conducts business in Sudan, unless authorized to do so by the U.S. Government.

    [edit]Israel

    Main article: Disinvestment from Israel

    [edit]Others

    Myanmar (formerly Burma) has also been the target of disinvestment campaigns (most notably one initiated by the state of Massachusetts.) Divestment campaigns have also been directed against Saudi Arabia due to allegations of "gender-apartheid." The University of California, Riverside's Hillel chapter has a Saudi Divestment petition circulating as of 2007.

    Since 2007, several major international and Canadian oil companies had threatened to withdraw investment from the province of Albertabecause of a proposed increase in royalty rates.[4][5]

    [edit]Industries

    [edit]Companies

    • Talisman Energy - because of its status as the main Western oil company in Sudan in the early 2000s.

    [edit]Criticism

    Some hold that divestment campaigns are based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how equity markets work. John Silber, former president of Boston University, observed that while boycotting a company's products would actually affect their business, "once a stock issue has been made, the corporation doesn't care whether you sell it, burn it, or anything else, because they've already got all the money they're ever going to get from that stock. So they don't care." [2]

    Regarding the more specific case of South Africa, John Silber recalled:

    ...when the students were protesting the South African situation, I met with them, and they said BU must divest in General Motors and IBM. And I said, "Why should we do that? Is it immoral to own that stock?" Absolutely immoral to own it. And I said, "So then, we're supposed to sell it to somebody? We can't divest unless we sell it to somebody. And if we burn the stock, that just helps General Motors, because it reduces the amount of stock outstanding, so that can't be right. If we sell it to somebody, we have just gotten rid of our guilt in order to impose guilt on somebody else." [2]

    The common perception about the effectiveness of divestment lies in the belief that institutional selling of a certain stock lowers its market value. Therefore, the company's networth becomes devalued and the owners of the company may lose substantial paper assets. In addition, institutional divestment may encourage other investors to sell their stocks for fear of lower prices, which in turn lowers prices even further. Finally, lower stock prices limits a corporation's ability to sell a portion of their stocks in order to raise funds to expand the business.

    [edit]References

    1. ^ The Pension Fund Attack On Iran, Niv Elis, 10.16.09, Forbes
    2. ^ a b The Lion in Winter - Boston Magazine

    http://www.genocideintervention.net/

    [edit]See also


ONGC overtakes Coal India to become most valuable PSU

State-owned Coal India's market capitalisation took a sharp hit last week, with its valuation declining to Rs 2.2 lakh crore, paving the way for oil and gas major ONGC to move up as the top PSU by m-cap.

Coal India Ltd (CIL) fell sharply on heavy sell-offs in metals and mining firms after the Centre cleared a draft bill proposing that they share profits with the people displaced by their projects or pay them royalty.

CIL valuation dipped Rs 13,927.58 crore to Rs 2,28,652.23 crore, pulling it down to the fourth position from the second after Reliance Industries as on July 1. ONGC sailed past TCS, which was at the third position, to capture the CIL spot in the overall ranking as of last Friday.

CIL was also the biggest loser among the country's top-10 firms. It tanked nearly 6 per cent during the week to end at Rs 362. On Friday alone, the scrip plunged 8.12 per cent.

Last week, a ministerial panel, headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee , approved the proposed Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2011, according to which coal miners would have to share 26 per cent of their profits and non-coal miners will have to pay 100 per cent royalty to the projects-affected people.

ONGC managed to regain the second spot after nearly two months. However, despite grabbing the coveted CIl position, ONGC saw a minor dip of Rs 85.55 crore from its m-cap, which stood at Rs 2,36,302.36 crore.

RIL continued to rule the chart despite shedding Rs 2,510.72 crore from its valuation, at Rs 2,79,740.81 crore.

IT major TCS, FMCG giant ITC and top private lender ICICI Bank were the other companies that saw m-cap losses.

TCS saw its valuation declining by Rs 2,906.44 crore to Rs 2,29,285.98 crore, while ITC lost Rs 1,122.03 crore from its m-cap which stood at Rs 1,54,955.45 crore. Similarly, ICICI's valuation declined by Rs 3,993.34 crore to Rs 1,22,120.48 crore.

In contrast, Infosys Technologies , SBI, NTPC and Bharti Airtel witnessed gains.

IT bellwether Infosys added Rs 2,503.42 crore to take its m-cap to Rs 1,70,985.06 crore, while country's biggest lender SBI saw its valuation swelling by Rs 3,654.37 crore to Rs 1,57,391.8 crore.

Power producer NTPC added Rs 3,215.73 crore, to reach Rs 1,56,581.29 crore m-cap, while Bharti's valuation surged by Rs 5,563.37 crore to Rs 1,51,179.27 crore.

Bharti last week unveiled major restructuring of its India and South Asia operations, combining various segments, including mobile and digital TV into two separate business units to improve efficiency.

During the week, the BSE 30-share benchmark index Sensex gained 95.24 points to end at 18,858.04.

Seven of top-10 firms added over Rs 21K cr in m-cap last week

The combined market capitalisation (m-cap) of seven of the country's top-10 firms increased by Rs 21,345.28 crore last week, with state-owned companies SBI and NTPC emerging as the best performers.

The market cap of the country's biggest lender SBI rose by Rs 4,971.97 crore to Rs 1,46,860.49 crore, while that of power producer NTPC shot-up by Rs 4,576.23 crore to Rs 1,43,800.82 crore.

Another major highlight was FMCG major ITC, whose market valuation surged by Rs 3,443.46 crore to Rs 1,49,770.93 crore.

State-owned coal behemoth Coal India Ltd ( CIL )) added Rs 2,242.3 crore to its m-cap which reached Rs 2,47,474.98 crore.

IT bellwethers - TCS and Infosys Technologies - together added Rs 3,756.86 crore. TCS m-cap stood at Rs 2,25,694.52 crore, while that of Infosys reached Rs 1,61,534.29 crore.

Telecom giant Bharti airtel also saw its valuation advancing by Rs 2,354.46 crore to Rs 1,43,717.14 crore.

In contrast, Reliance Industries , ONGC and ICICI Bank witnessed loss in their respective m-cap.

India's most valued firm RIL lost Rs 3,301.16 crore from its market cap, which stood at Rs 3,06,477.72 crore, while oil & gas major ONGC's valuation dipped by Rs 2,609.42 crore to Rs 2,39,510.66 crore.

Late last week, at its 37th AGM, RIL failed to live up to the market expectations of unfolding a blueprint for an entry into financial services, and giving guidance on as to when the falling output at its eastern offshore KG-D6 fields will be arrested. RIL shares fell by 1 per cent last week to settle at Rs 936.15.

India's top private lender ICICI Bank too witnessed a decline of Rs 2,327.06 crore from its m-cap which stood at Rs 1,20,822.81 crore.

Meanwhile, the 30-scrip Bombay Stock Exchange index, Sensex, rose last week by 110.38 points to settle at 18,376.48 on Friday.

US suspends $800 million military aid to Pakistan
WASHINGTON: Angered by Pakistan's reluctance to go full throttle in the war against teror, the US today disclosed that it has suspended USD 800 million worth of military aid to it, reflecting months of bickering between the allies.

The White House Chief of Staff Tom Donilon while confirming suspension of the aid, described the relations with Pakistan as "difficult" and that it "must be made to work overtime".

MI5 mistakenly tapped innocent people's phone numbers: Report

LONDON: Britain's internal spy agency MI5 tapped innocent people's phone numbers in secret surveillance mix-up, according to a government report.

Officers from the Security Service -- mainly concerned with the UK's internal security -- and Serious Organised Crime Agency mistakenly tapped the wrong telephones in as many as 30 cases, says the report.

However, on grounds of national security, none of the victims have been identified or told their phones were wrongly intercepted, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

But the report by the Interception of Communications Commissioner Sir Paul Kennedy has made it clear that the cases involved were only a fraction of thousands of interceptions authorised by British Ministers each year.

Sir Paul's report said that in January 2010 the Security Service made at least two errors "where an incorrect digit was used when warrantry paperwork was completed, due to human error".

It said: "This resulted in incorrect phone numbers being intercepted. On each occasion, the officer involved was briefed again on the importance of accuracy and cross-checking when completing warrantry applications."

MI5 also wrongly acquired data belonging to 134 phone numbers following a failure in software, the report added.

"These errors were caused by a formatting fault on an electronic spreadsheet which altered the last three digits of each of the telephone numbers to '000'," the report said.

Sir Paul said that the intelligence agency destroyed the material and fixed the "technical fault".

Search histories from another 927 internet connections were obtained by the Security Service without authorisation from sufficiently senior staff, according to the report.

Mukesh Ambani critical of Western charity ethos

Mukesh Ambani on Sunday criticised Western philanthropy as counter-productive and said his own country's approach to charity gave more self-respect to the needy.

Ambani, who heads petrochemical giant Reliance Industries , said that rapidly-growing India could create a more sustainable model in which businesses were an beneficial part of society.

Speaking in New Delhi, he described corporate charity in the West as "a system where the more privileged is able to share a certain proportion of their wealth with the less privileged".

"I fundamentally believe that that kind of charity is by and large a disempowering tool. It increases dependency and reduces initiative and enterprise," he said.

"It doesn't create the necessary human capacity to make communities self-sustaining and independent."

Ambani, whose fortune is estimated at $27 billion, said India should look instead to its own traditions of voluntary service and anonymous giving.

"Whatever we give should be for our own satisfaction, it should never be for publicity," he said. "That is where we are different from the Western world."

Ambani is known for speaking out in favour of more equal distribution of growth in India, where hundreds of millions of people still live in desperate poverty.

But critics point out that Ambani recently built a 27-storey skyscraper in Mumbai as his own private residence, thought to be the world's most expensive home.

Mukesh and his brother Anil, who have publicly ended a feud over the division of the vast conglomerate left by their father, are hugely respected figures among India's ambitious professional classes.

"There is awareness in India that growth has to be sustainable, inclusive and environmentally friendly," he said. "CRS (corporate social responsibility) has to be an integral part of every business.

"Businesses should be measured on social returns together with financial returns."

Indian, Chinese cos pool efforts to market agro-chem in Russia

Moscow . India and China, the world's two biggest producers of agro-chemicals, have agreed to hold buyer-seller meets here on an annual basis to pool their efforts to market products in Russia , which is the biggest consumer in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

A first-ever "International Crop Science Conference and Exhibition (ICSC 2011)" was organised here last week by the Pesticides Manufacturers & Formulators Association of India (PMFAI), with the cooperation of CHEMEXCIL and the China Crop Protection Industry Association (CCPIA) and the support of the Russian Union of Crop Protection & Manufacturers and the Russian Grain Union.

The two-day ICSC 2011 and linked Buyer-Seller Meet inaugurated by Indian ambassador Ajai Malhotra was attended by 68 Indian companies (45 members of PMFAI and 23 of CHEMEXCIL) and 19 Chinese companies (all CCPIA members) with the aim of attracting new Russian buyers and partners.

According to an Embassy release posted on Facebook, PMFAI members alone picked up an additional USD 4 million worth of orders at ICSC 2011 and got many good business leads to follow-up.

CHEMEXCIL members also secured good orders and trade enquiries.

Satisfied with its outcome, the organisers have decided to make the trilateral Conference and buyer-seller meet an annual feature in Moscow.

Mukesh Ambani calls for adopting Indianised approach for CSR

Reliance Industries' Chairman Mukesh Ambani today asked Indian corporate houses to adopt a new business model which should be measured on "social returns together with financial returns", while imbibing the country's ethos and value systems.

"Businesses will not only have to act as the trustees of their shareholders or owners but will also have to care for the society by the virtue of of the license given to them by the society itself. The businesses should be measured on social returns together with financial returns," he said here.

Delivering a lecture on corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, organised by an NGO -- Madhya Pradesh Foundation, Ambani said that it needs to be "an integral part of the DNA of a company, so much so that it has be to be an organic part of the business".

Advocating for an Indianised approach towards CSR initiatives, he further said that the business houses need to adopt an Indianised approach, incorporating Indian ethos and value systems.

"We will have to move from the model of CSR to a model of continuous social business through enterprise and entrepreneurship...where societal needs and gaps are seen as duties as opposed to just business opportunities," the RIL Chairman said.

He added that this kind of business model would integrate 400 million marginalised Indians into mainstream social and economic fabric in the coming decades.

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who was also present, suggested a new model of CSR initiative for the corporate houses in which at least one year sabbatical is given to the young entrants, who are willing to work for a social cause or in an NGO.

"I think surprising number of them (young entrants) would take that option and I think that the corporates would find that bringing in the people with that background will be actually enormously useful in the longer run.

"So here is the suggestion for adopting a non-charity and different kind of CSR initiative, and I do hope that people will start experimenting in those directions in near future," Ahluwalia said.

9 JUL, 2011, 08.28AM IST, DEVIKA BANERJI,ET BUREAU
Centre mandates state social audit for NREGS
NEW DELHI: The government will set up statelevel independent bodies to carry out financial and social audits of its flagship rural employment guarantee programme, which critics say is riddled with corruption. The rural development ministry will also make it mandatory for state governments to submit a report on the social audit, which unlike other government audits, allows beneficiaries of the scheme to register complaints.

The move to increase transparency in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and give beneficiaries a greater say in its functioning follows reports of embezzlement of funds allocated for the programme in Orissa and Jharkhand. The Supreme Court has already ordered a probe by federal investigators.

MGNREGS guarantees 100 days of work a year for rural households . It is largest of the government's welfare schemes, costing 1% of GDP, and credited for winning the Congress-led coalition a second term at the Centre. The state-level audit body, to be called directorate of state, will be headed by the Comptroller Auditor General of India (CAG) and have representatives from state governments , chartered accountants, and village-level officials. The groundwork will primarily be done by non-government organizations and grassroots-level activists . "The entire NREGA audit structure will be headed by CAG. The big move is that an independent audit body, which will constitute various stakeholders, will now do social audits," said an official in the ministry of rural development. "Earlier, social audits were the exclusive domain of Sarpanchs of Gram Sabhas," he added.

The government has also deleted para 13(b) of Schedule 1 of the NREGA - an amendment that prevented intervention of "outsiders" or grassroots-level activists in social audits, leaving the audits in control of Gram Sabhas and the local administration. "There has been a lot of opposition to the amendment and the government has recognised them and the move has been taken as a necessary step to enhance transparency in the system," the official said. United Progressive Alliance ( UPA )) chairperson Sonia Gandhi has suggested that social audits be extended to all welfare schemes. Civil society organizations like the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS) have welcomed the move. "This is a very significant step and we welcome it.

The significance lies in the fact that social audit has been elevated and recognised as a branch of audit as a whole. This will facilitate spread of social audits in the country," said Nikhil Dey, a rights activist with MKSS. The social audit structure is based on that in Andhra Pradesh, where it has boosted the scheme's efficiency. According to the government's guidelines, funds for establishing directorate of audit and carrying out the audit will be provided by the Centre. States will only have to facilitate the audits every six months.

"The only thing is that this is the first time any country is trying it. We are in a phase of learning, and what might work in one state or district might not work in another . However, by and large it a positive step," Dey added. The proposal for a social audit for MGNREGS gathered pace after October 2009, when a similar audit in Bhilwara district of Rajasthan revealed corruption. The rural development ministry tried making social audits mandatory in all districts of Rajasthan , but faced resistance from Sarpanchs. Under pressure from panchayats and state governments , the Centre then introduced the amendment in the NREGA, restricting outsiders from participating in social audits conducted by the Gram Sabhas and making Sarpanchs accountable for their own work.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/centre-mandates-state-social-audit-for-nregs/articleshow/9158703.cms


17 MAY, 2011, 07.00AM IST,
Undernutrition, poverty & NREGS

In the hue and cry over minimum wages under NREGS, battle lines have been drawn between those who favour central government hiking minimum wage rates to the state minimum, and others asserting that the two must be delinked.

While the former invoke 'a right to livelihood', the latter point to the NREGS being 'the employer of the last resort and the imperative of better targeting'. While these views have some merit, both sides seem to gloss over why benefits to the poor remain so low despite frequent wage hikes.

Our analysis, for example, shows that (net) transfer benefits under NREGS (net of opportunity cost of time)/ household income were barely over 7% in Maharashtra, about 10% in Rajasthan and under 17% in Andhra Pradesh. The roots of the malady lie in its design and implementation aberrations. Undernutrition is not just an effect of poverty but also its cause.

In an agrarian economy with surplus labour and efficiency wages, nutrition-poverty traps tend to exclude the undernourished from remunerative employment and perpetuate their poverty. Rationing of employment favours those with physical dexterity and stamina.

NSS and NCAER agricultural wage and employment data over 1993-94 to 2004-05 reveal a grim story of pervasiveness of nutritionpoverty traps that foreclose an easy exit from poverty. Does this reasoning apply to NREGS? Our research (including that with Shylashri Shankar of CPR, Delhi) confirms that the undernourished were less likely to participate in it, work for long spells and earn substantial amounts. These findings are based on a survey of about 500 households in Rajasthan in 2009-10.

As the work under this scheme is physically strenuous and (mostly) a piecerate system - analogous to efficiency wages - is used to determine wages, those endowed with greater stamina and dexterity have a clear advantage. Using the body mass index (BMI) as a nutritional criterion, the individuals are classified into underweight, normal and overweight.

Cross-classifying them by poverty status - acutely poor, moderately poor, moderately non-poor and others - the proportion of underweight fell while that of normal rose across these groups. More generally, the BMI rose with income/expenditure but at a diminishing rate.

Over 81% of the male and about 71% of the female participants in NREGS were normal while most of the remaining were underweight. Our analysis shows that the higher the NREGS wage relative to agricultural wage rate at the village level, the higher was the participation rate and correspondingly the share of normal participants. Two distortions showed up consistently: one was exclusion of the poor and, related to that, of the underweight /undernourished.

If these findings have general validity -similar findings of unsatisfactory targeting are obtained from surveys in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh -the NREG minimum of .100 per day is already much too high, relative to slack period market wage rate. Far too many poor and undernourished are 'crowded out'.

The number of days worked in a year was considerably higher among normal participants compared to the underweight. Not just the mean number of days worked was higher among the former but also significantly higher proportions worked for 50 days or more.

In a piece-rate system, the earnings are likely to be much higher for normal participants even if the days worked do not vary much. The mean earnings were, in fact, substantially higher (about Rs 3,100 per normal participant, compared with about Rs 2,700 per underweight participant).

Besides, the proportions of normal participants in the upper ranges of earnings (> Rs 5,200 per annum) were considerably higher. A policy insight is that to the extent that acutely poor overlap with the underweight, as they do, their prospects of climbing out of poverty are bleak.

While the piece-rate system allows flexibility to female participants, and is meant to ensure more productive employment, assessment of work is fraught with corruption and delays. Non-existent worksites and large-scale embezzlement of wages were rife in our surveys. Although a time-rate system has its own difficulties - especially high supervision costs - it is not self-evident that it would be necessarily far worse. Indeed, if supervision capacity exists, a more flexible mode of wage payments may work better.

The current debate on wage hikes seems misplaced, especially when the benefits to the poor and undernourished are so small. Legislating higher wages risks greater distortions. Whatever the verdict of the Andhra Pradesh High Court, careful attention to enhancing awareness of some components of NREGS (eg, wage payments ), proper maintenance of muster rolls, and social audits may do more to transform the lives of the poor than misguided social activism.

Raghbendra Jha, Raghav Gaiha & Manoj K Pandey

(Jha is Rajiv Gandhi Chair Professor, Australian National University (ANU); Gaiha is Professor of Public Policy, Faculty Of Management Studies, University of Delhi; and Pandey is Research Scholar, ANU)
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/guestwriter/Undernutrition-poverty-NREGS/articleshow/8382606.cms


7 JUL, 2011, 08.24AM IST,
Does food inflation hurt the poor?

Raghav Gaiha & Nidhi Kaicker


The UPA government's poverty discourse is schizophrenic. While there is a rising crescendo of universalising food subsidy on the grounds that food is a basic entitlement, there are emphatic pronouncements that the continuing food price surge with slight weakening in recent weeks is unavoidable given the global surge. Whether intended or not, the presumption that the poor are not likely to be hurt much or, if hurt, cannot be protected against rising food prices is specious, if not perverse.

A recent World Bank study (M Ivanic, W Martin and H. Zaman , 2011, 'Estimating the Short-Run Poverty Impacts of the 2010-11 Surge in Food Prices' , Washington DC: Policy Research Working Paper 5633, April) throws valuable light on the nature of the food price surge, why it differs from the previous surge that peaked in 2008, and their poverty impacts . Of particular interest are the likely poverty impacts of price surge in India. First, a brief review of the differences in the two food price crises is given. The more recent price surge (June-December 2010) is more broad-based across food groups.

A confluence of weather shocks in large producing countries and export restrictions contributed to a 75% increase in wheat prices while maize prices rose about 73% due to downward revisions of crop forecasts and use of maize for biofuels. Rice prices, by contrast, rose moderately (21%). However, unlike the previous surge, other food commodities' prices also shot up - sugar (76%) and edible oil (soyabean oil and palm oil prices were up by 54%) - as a result of supply shortfalls. Another important difference is the stronger links between crude oil prices (or, more generally, energy prices ) and agricultural markets since 2005, with the passthrough elasticity rising from 0.22 for the pre-2005 period to 0.28 more recently. Of key importance is the emergence of biofuels as a commercially viable source of energy that raises the demand that agricultural resources and productivity must meet.

While there has long been a partial link between energy prices and food prices through production costs, this demand-side link is worrying. In particular , energy prices have been more volatile in the past decade . A price link between energy and food implies that this volatility will spread to food prices in the future, as current evidence seems to indicate. This may impair prospects of higher agricultural investments. What is crucial for understanding the impacts of global food price surge is transmission to domestic prices. Several factors determine this transmission . For food importing countries, the key factors are the exchange rate, trade policies and the speed of adjustment .

For countries that are not so dependent on food imports, market conditions - local crop conditions, supply costs and policy measures - matter more. Available evidence suggests that international grain prices and domestic prices moved in tandem but over a very wide range. Specifically, global wheat prices doubled (in the eight months to February, 2011) but the rise in domestic prices in Asia generally did not exceed 70%. India , China and Pakistan were the few exceptions where the domestic prices rose by 10-20 %. The fact that food is assigned a high weight (46%) in consumer prices in India, however, implies that food price inflation drives general inflation and thus impacts poverty.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/comments-analysis/Does-food-inflation-hurt-the-poor/articleshow/9133135.cms


Over 60,000 trees to be felled for road widening
HAZARIBAGH (Jharkhand): Union forest and environment ministry has permitted to fell tree on 135.77 hectares of forest land to National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) for construction of four-lane of NH-33 between Hazaribag and Ranchi on the NH-33, a senior government official said.

An estimated 60,012 trees stretched in the forest land would be felled, he said.

The work, which started last year, could not move further following non-clearance of the forest land required to be cleared for widening of the NH-33, he said.

The clearance, however, was given on the condition to plant trees in 271.55 hectares of land, he said and added the forest ministry had also directed Jharkhand forest department to plant three times of the number of trees to be felled to compensate environmental loss in the region.

The union forest ministry asked the NHAI to plant trees in the middle and both sides of the road after completion of the construction work, and be monitored by Jharkhand forest department.

"In order to compensate, the NHAI has to plant 2,98,705 trees in 271.55 hectares of land," DFO, Hazariabagh, Mahendra Prasad said.

14 JUN, 2011, 05.59AM IST, DHEERAJ TIWARI,ET BUREAU
Four sick PSUs on govt's 'fast track' selloff list

NEW DELHI:A government panel will soon review four sick public-sector companies - Hindustan Cable , Richardson & Cruddas, Hindustan Machine Tools and Tungabhadra Steel - to fast track the disinvestment process. The committee, set up by the ministry of heavy industries, will consider outright sale or revival of these units through joint ventures . There are 27 sick companies under the administrative control of the ministry. "We would be looking at all possibilities . In some cases it can be outright sale, while the option of revival through a joint venture will also be explored," said a senior official with the ministry of heavy industries.

The government plans to raise Rs 40,000 crore through divestment in public-sector companies in the current financial year to cut high fiscal deficit. It has been delaying sale of shares in some profitable companies because of stock market volatility. The move to fast-track stake sale is a shift from the earlier government's agenda of disinvestment only through public offers. This year, the government has only managed one public issue -5 % selloff in Power Finance Corp - that brought it Rs 1,162 crore.

The cabinet has cleared another stake sale, that in Scooters India. The government will soon invite expressions of interest for Tungabhadra Steel. "Already two public sector companies, Kudermukh Iron Ore and NDMC , have shown interest. We are hoping that private players will also be interested," the official said. Karnataka-based Tungabhadra Steel's hydel plant generates 5.5 million units of power every year. The company has about 88 acres of prime land. "The company has about 100 employees on its rolls but its operating cost is very high. An outright sale is one option for this company," the official said.

The company, which manufactures hydro mechanical equipment, generates revenues of about Rs 1.5 crore annually from its mini-hydel plant. The case of Richardson & Cruddas is likely to be taken up by the month end. The company has about 73 acres of prime land, mostly in Mumbai. "We will soon hold discussion with the Maharashtra government on the land issue, as a large part of it is under encroachment ," the official said. The company , with accumulated losses of about . 300 crore, was cleared for closure in 2003. The committee will also review the cases of Hindustan Cable, which has been sick since 2002, and HMT Bearings
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/finance/Four-sick-PSUs-on-govts-fast-track-selloff-list/articleshow/8844815.cms


20 JUN, 2011, 01.46AM IST, DHEERAJ TIWARI,ET BUREAU
Govt to push for Concor, Ircon divestment

NEW DELHI: Public sector enterprises under the Railway Ministry could be back on the disinvestment list soon. The Finance Ministry is likely to initiate discussions with the Railway Ministry amid concerns that the government will not be able to meet its disinvestment target for this fiscal. The companies in which the government could dilute its stake are Container Corporation of India (Concor) and Indian Railway Construction Corporation (Ircon).

"All administrative ministries are looking at suitable candidates under their control. We expect the Railway Ministry to soon initiate the exercise," a government official said, requesting anonymity on the ground that the move may also require political consensus. Mamata Banerjee, when she was the railway minister, had opposed disinvestment in railway public sector companies. But following her Trinamool Congress party .s landslide victory in West Bengal elections, she is expected to be more open to the idea of a stake sale in some companies under the Railway Ministry.

The new railway minister is likely to be a representative of the Trinamool Congress party. "In any case, we are talking of sharing the wealth of these public sector units with the people. There should be no opposition to that," the official said. The government holds over 99% stake in Ircon and 63.09% in Concor and may dilute about 10% in Ircon and 5% in Concor. A finance ministry official said the government has strong reasons to list these companies under the current circumstances as small issues, such as that of the National Building Construction Corporation, would not fetch enough money.

"You cannot bring companies where disinvestment was done said that the rise in global crude prices was raising the government's subsidy burden. "In this scenario, we would not like to miss our disinvestment targets," the finance ministry official said. In this fiscal, the government has only raised .`1,162 crore by selling 5% of its stake in Power Finance Corporation . The cabinet has also approved disinvestment in Sail, ONGC and Hindustan Copper. The volatile market conditions have already led to delay in some of the proposed public offers. Last week, Hindustan Copper said there was no pressing need for a follow-on offer as the company has enough funds.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/Govt-to-push-for-Concor-Ircon-divestment/articleshow/8918614.cms


23 JAN, 2011, 07.32AM IST, RAVI TEJA SHARMA & TAPASH TALUKDAR,ET BUREAU
Restaurateurs will boom in GenNext India

Five years ago, Vinod Kapur launched the Keggs brand of eggs to plug a gap in the market. He found that people were willing to pay higher prices for fresh, high quality eggs. Only, they weren't available back then. "The opportunity in this segment was always there but with rising incomes, it has just got underlined," says Kapur, chairman of Gurgaon-based Keggfarms .

His point is well taken. A recent Ernst &Young report 'An appetite for growth' on the food industry says: "An increase in per capita disposable income by 8 percent over the last five years has led to an increase in per capita consumption expenditure on food by 20 percent." An average consumer today spends almost a third of his income on food. "Restaurants is a good business for an entrepreneur today," says restaurateur AD Singh, who owns Olive, Ai and Lap brands. Business has been good for him, and growing, as Indians spend more on the dining experience.

"There is no doubt the market has boomed and many more people are eating out today across all categories and with more exposure," says Singh. To cater to the changing tastes, new entrepreneurs are entering the business with fresh ideas. One such entrepreneur is Anirban Dam, who set up Hijack, a restaurant on a designer double-decker bus in Ahmedabad, during the slowdown in 2008-09. The bus was designed by ex-students of National Institute of Design. "We found that food as a business will survive crisis such as inflation and recession," says Dam, founder of Moist Clay Entertainments. He now plans to start the bus in 15 other cities in India.

Demand is no longer is an issue in the country. "The bigger challenge today is around consistency in supply chain and procurement and ensuring quality. These are the challenges but for entrepreneurs, it's an opportunity too," says Anand Ramanathan, manager, KPMG Advisory Services . Companies like Keggs are finding unique ways to reach the end customer with fresh produce. Keggs has its own delivery system that reaches retail outlets directly. "We identify stores which sell a certain volume of eggs and have the right facilities," says Kapur.

Four years back, entrepreneur Amith Agarwal put his finger on such an opportunity when he and a few partners set up Star Agriwarehousing and Collateral Management, an agri business solutions company that does procurement, warehousing, collateral management and crop insurance. "Today, after IT, agriculture is the next most promising industry," says Agarwal. The biggest opportunity here is that the sector was totally unorganised.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/business/restaurateurs-will-boom-in-gennext-india/articleshow/7345247.cms

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