Coimbatore's Responce For Buget

The industries in Coimbatore have expressed disappointment that some of their demands have not been met in the State Budget even as they welcomed announcements on subjects such as infrastructure. The Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), Coimbatore, has called the State budget “trade-friendly” and said the long-pending demand of reducing Sales Tax on certain items was met in the budget.

The chamber had represented that manufacturers whose turnover was less than Rs. 5 lakh and traders with less than Rs. 10 lakh turnover between January 1, 2007 and March 31, 2007 should be given benefits under Value Added Tax (VAT). This was accepted and about 10,000 small-scale manufacturers and traders would benefit. The chamber president Mahendra Ramdas urged the State Government to persuade the Central Government to reduce the Central Sales Tax to one per cent from April 1, 2009.

Coimbatore District Small Industries Association president K. Ilango said in a release that there was however, no proposal to meet the immediate power crisis. The Government had not announced any measure to improve the situation for micro and small-scale units in the State. Further, capital subsidy was available only to micro, small and medium enterprises in industrial estates and industrially backward areas. The scheme should be available for all units, irrespective of the location. More funds should be allocated for infrastructure facilities in Coimbatore to meet the needs of this economically growing city, he said.

President of the Southern India Engineering Manufacturers’ Association Jayakumar Ramdas has said in a release that the association welcomed the announcements on setting up of new colleges and creating more infrastructure facilities. The Planters’ Association of Tamil Nadu said the budget had not addressed “the dichotomy of a higher rate of four per cent VAT levied on teas sold by the corporate sector tea producers at the tea auction centres at Coonoor and Coimbatore.”

Pricol Has Reported Net Loss Of Rs 16.62 Cr

Pricol has reported a net loss of Rs 16.62 crore in the third quarter ending December 31, 2008 against a net profit of Rs 3.62 crore in the same period last year. Net sales declined by 8.2% to Rs 137.30 crore (Rs 149.56 crore). In the first nine months, the company has reported a net loss of Rs 27.54 crore against a net profit of Rs 13.83 crore during the same period last year. However, the net sales saw an increase of 5.22% at Rs 466.8 crore (Rs 443.66 crore).

In a statement, company CMD Vijay Mohan said, "the loss of market share due to illegal strike during last year has not been regained." Further he added, Increase in raw material and component prices on account of exchange fluctuation has affected the profits for the quarter ended December 31, 2008. "The company incurred Rs 8.21 crore loss consequent to re-statement of foreign currency loans and export receivables. Also, the company lost Rs 8.72 crore consequent to actual settlements," he said.

More Bonus From RPLI

The Rural Postal Life Insurance (RPLI) is giving more bonus on the sum assured as against the traditional insurers. According to a release, traditional insurers give bonus in the range of Rs. 45 to Rs. 50 for every Rs. 1,000 of sum assured, but the customers of RPLI get a better return. An insurant having an RPLI policy of Rs. 1 lakh will now get a bonus of Rs. 5,500 a year as against the Rs. 5,200 earlier (provided the policy term is below 10 years.)

The enhancement of bonus makes RPLI more attractive option as compared to endowment assurance scheme. The RPLI is a pioneer insurance scheme available in rural areas covered by a vast network of rural post offices functioning in all base villages. The PLI directorate has recently declared simple reversionary bonus of RPLI for the period 2004-05 as follows : Whole Life Insurance (WLA) Rs. 60 per thousand of sum assured, Endowment Assurance (EA) Rs. 55 per thousand of sum assured and Anticipated Endowment Assurance (WLA) Rs. 50 per thousand of sum assured.

Actions To Stop Forgery In Insurance Claims

Faced with losses in health insurance segment due to bogus claims, insurance companies were making efforts to prevent the misuse of the schemes, a top official of Oriental Insurance Co Ltd said today. As a first step, the insurance companies had approached the union Health Ministry to streamline various norms so that the scheme cannot be misused, M Ramadoss, Chairman and Managing Director of the company told reporters here.

Stating that the company registered Rs.120 crore loss in the segment during 2007-08, Ramadoss said the health insurance segment was witnessing a growth compared to other segments. The general insurance as a whole was witnessing decline in growth due to economic slowdown across the globe, he said adding that premium from motor vehicles has also went down, since only 17,000 heavy vehicles were manufactured this year as against 55,000 last year.

When asked about mmediate revival of the sector, Ramadoss said instead of concentrating of usual segments, the company was looking at the insurance cover like household articles and insurance against terrorist attacks and also rural infrastructure development. On new products, he said that a policy was in the offing in which there would be no depreciation for renewal of vehicles.

18,000 Lorries In Strike At Coimbatore

Over 4.5 lakh lorries in Tamil Nadu were off the roads on Monday following the strike call given by the All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC). AIMTCspokesperson R Sukumar said more than 50 lakh workers were affected by the strike to press for demands like reduction of diesel price by Rs 10 and VAT by 4%, reduction in tyre prices by 35% and cut in import duty on tyre and reduction in National Permit levy from Rs 5,000 to Rs1,500. He added the truckers have submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister M Karunanidhi seeking his intervention to end the strike by accepting their demands,

Reports from Coimbatore, the textile and engineering products hub of the country, said about 18,000 lorries in the district participated in the strike. The Coimbatore District Lorry owners association secretary, Kaliyaperumal said the government increased the price of diesel thrice as crude oil prices rose to touch $147 a barrel. “What prevented it from reducing the price when the international oil prices have crashed to the new low of $37’’ , he asked.

The truckers strike, if continues, will hit not only trade and industry but also the everyday life of ordinary citizens as vegetables and other domestic consumer goods would become scarce and costlier. The impact would be harsher as the Tamil festival of Pongal is fast approaching, he added. Exporters would be the worst affected. They are already reeling under the recession and power cuts. Chairman of Tirupur Exporters Association (TEA) A Sakthivel said, “The strike will create a lot of trouble for the exporters who are already facing problems due to cancellation of orders and reduction of prices for the garments exported.

The major concern is that if the garments are not shipped in time there will be cancellation of present and future orders. The exporters are already struggling to cope with the ongoing recession in the US and the EU and reduction of orders from these markets, increased prices of inputs including transaction cost’’. He has sought the intervention of the Prime Minister and finance minister Manmohan Singh “to settle the issue amicably and save the export industry’’. Tamil Nadu Mini Lorry Owners and Suppliers Association went on an indefinite strike from Monday by suspending lorry services from midnight.

Addressing a press conference here, association president T Jesudas said the lorry owners in Tamil Nadu, while supporting the All India Motor transport Congress, Delhi, also demanded the government to bring down the prices of diesel with immediate effect. Despite a steep decline in the oil prices in the international market from 147 dollars a barrel to 42 dollars, both the Central and State governments have not brought down the prices of diesel, he bemoaned.

The association also blamed the government for not maintaining the roads properly and the result was damage to the lorry tyres and the vehicle also. While demanding an end to unnecessary road toll systems, the association wanted the Centre to abolish service taxes on lorries and trucks. Moreover, there should be a crackdown on buses transporting goods, he said. “The buses are for transporting people and not goods and they dont have to pay taxes for this, said A Ganesh Bangera, general secretary of the association. The safety of the lorry drivers on the highways should be ensured and the law enforcement agencies should stop foisting cases on them, he added.

3% Wages Hike For Textiles Workers

Textile units in Tirupur, the town in Tamil Nadu known as the industry’s export hub, have raised employee wages by 3% effective 1 January even as they battle slowing demand in key markets. A garment stitching factory in Tirupur. The export hub has about 350,000 workers in some 6,000 units. The textile industry’s troubles have been aggravated by a power crisis that has pushed up costs. The raise is part of an agreement signed in December 2006 between industry lobby Tirupur Exporters’ Association, or TEA, and five trade unions.

“We are honouring our commitment,” said A. Sakthivel, president of TEA. “It is a four-year agreement; in the first year, there was a hike of 10%, second year, 4%, for the third and fourth years, 3% each.” Tirupur has about 350,000 workers in some 6,000 units engaged in knitting, dyeing, garment making, printing, embroidery and other related work. Exports fell to Rs9,950 crore in 2007-08 from Rs11,000 crore in the previous year, and are expected to be hit by recession in key Western markets this fiscal.

According to Sakthivel, export orders may shrink by 20% from January-end onwards. The industry’s troubles have been aggravated by a power crisis that has pushed up costs and reduced productivity. “We have to give the hike since we have agreed to it earlier. It is not that only the textile industry has been hurt; all the industries have been affected. New orders may be slightly lesser but the wage hike will not affect the margins that much,” said S. Duraisamy, promoter and chief executive of Prem Group of Companies, which is engaged in making cotton-knitted garments. The wage increase will apply to the entire textile industry workforce of Tirupur.

Workers at textile units that have no union may not be paid the increased wage unless the workers demand a hike, said K. Ramakrishnan, a leader of the Labour Progressive Force, one of the unions. “If we are requested to step in, we will help them get their hikes,” he said. Workers engaged in cutting, tailoring, ironing and packing get paid the highest in the textile industry, and their basic salary after the hike would be Rs113.96 per shift of 8 hours, while their overall wage, including allowances, would work out to Rs175.24.

A Tirupur-based non-governmental organization called Social Awareness and Voluntary Education, which is studying the impact of the global economic slowdown and the power crisis situation on the Tirupur industry, says the increase doesn’t cover the cost of living. “The wage hike is very meagre compared to the increase in living expenses in the area. We have been critical of this agreement since it was signed,” said A. Aloyisus, director of the group.

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Launched New Product

As part of meeting specific needs of consumers, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance on Monday launched a new product to help them meet current health care expenses and also invest for future health care. The 'Health Saver' is claimed to be the first of its kind reimbursement-based hospitalisation cover, with the benefit of a health savings fund, Mr Minoo Ratan Sinha, Assistant Vice President of the company told reporters here.

The product was designed to enable consumers cope with the ever rising cost of healthcare and allowed claims against out-patient treatment, diagnostics and dental care amongst others after three years, Mr Sinha said. On key benefits, Mr Sinha said that Health Saver has the guaranteed coverage up to age 75 for the person and his family against medical expenses incurred due to hospitalisation and also coverage against pre-existing illness and conditions after two years subject to acceptance of the company.

This is the only health savings product offering tax benefits under section 80D on the entire premium paid, he said Stating that customers could select annual hospitalisation cover limit for the family and a suitable premium, he said the product provided comprehensive cover by allowing reimbursement for health expenses not covered by the hospitalisation benefit after three years.

Max New York Tied Up With Alegion

Max New York Life Insurance has announced a strategic business alliance with ALEgION Insurance Broking wherein, the latter would sell Max Vijay in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In the first phase, operations will cover Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and Palakkad, Thrissur and Ernakulum in Kerala. This new relationship provides greater access to new markets in South India and thus enhances the reach of ‘Max Vijay’. Under the first of its kind distribution initiative, ALEgION will distribute ‘Max Vijay’ through a fleet of Maruti vans, which would be used as mobile financial service distribution offices.

U.S. Will Recover In A Year

Andrew Solocha, Professor of Finance at the University of Toledo, speaking at a function organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Coimbatore Management Association on Saturday. The U.S. is likely to recover from its current financial crisis in a year and the financial sector in India is expected to recover along with it, Andrew Solocha, Professor of Finance at the University of Toledo, said here on Saturday.

Talking on the “US Financial Crisis and Indian Markets” at a meeting organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, and the Coimbatore Management Association, he said that the financial crisis and the problem for automobile companies in the U.S. started about three years ago. Explaining the impact of the crisis in the U.S. on other countries, he said that Canada and Mexico would be badly affected, and this would be sector-specific.

Much of Canada’s exports to the U.S. were automobile components and in Mexico, components from the U.S. were assembled and sent back. With the automobile companies in the U.S. in trouble, the related sectors in Mexico and Canada would be hit. While the automobile companies were likely to take a longer time, recovery from the financial crisis was expected in a year or two.

Very large banks that were into speculative activities were in trouble in the U.S. However, there were a number of small and medium-scale ones that were flush with funds. These were not lending now due to the uncertainty. It might take a while for these banks to lend, and when they do so it would stimulate the companies in other sectors, he said. Almost once a decade the U.S. faced a financial crisis and recovered after a short period. Countries such as Russia were relying on commodities such as natural gas and oil and were not diversifying their economies. These countries might be affected due to this. China and Japan had problems such as aging population and large exports, he said.

2008 Investments A Review

If 2008 was a bad year for stocks, it was brutal for funds that rode high on the bull run posting big gains last year. Equity mutual funds (MFs) that logged in returns between 70% and 110% in 2007 and emerged on top have put up a dismal show during the current market meltdown. Top MFs in 2007 have significantly underperformed the benchmark indices posting some of the biggest losses this year, data with Value Research, a firm that tracks MFs shows.

In all, 14 funds that were in the top 40 list last year have ended up at the bottom of the ladder, the analysis shows. JM Basic, Canara Robeco Infrastructure, State Bank of India Magnum COMMA and Midcap are some of the funds that have registered huge declines after growing more than 70% last year. Most of these funds invested mainly in engineering, construction, commodities, small and mid-cap stocks — all of which did well during last year's bull run. But with commodities prices falling sharply and real estate impacted by the demand slowdown, stocks in these sectors have taken a heavy beating.

In fact, engineering (32.76%) , construction (18.22%), steel (27.01%) and refineries (9.8%) are among the sectors that have shown the steepest fall in value terms for MFs in November. While large-cap stocks have offered some stability mid and small-cap heavy portfolios have been badly hit in a falling market. Several fund houses have started paring their exposure to mid-cap stocks and have gone in for large cap ones. Interestingly, funds that did badly during the last year have come up with a good performance in 2008. Many of these funds had exposure in communication, FMCG, healthcare and diversified segments. MFs, which have remained conservative putting money in debt and short term instruments, too fared well. The sensex posted a 47.1% growth in 2007 and slipped 52.25% (up to December 23).

Mutual Funds Trimming Their Exposure

Mutual funds (MFs) are trimming their exposure to equity and are increasingly holding on to cash looking for the best opportunity to invest. Cash holdings of diversified equity MFs have almost doubled to 21% of the total net asset value (NAV) of funds since April. In all, funds have Rs 12,404.3 crore as cash holdings in November. Equity exposure peaked to 89.3% in April when the total NAV of funds hit a high of Rs 98,912 crore, data shows. Funds have increased their cash holdings by about 7% since August.

Escorts Tax Plan, Sundaram BNP Paribas Select Focus, Reliance diversified power fund and UTI long term infrastructure advantage fund are some of the funds sitting high on cash. They have more than 40% of their holdings in cash and cash equivalents. Some fund managers are waiting for the uncertainty to end before making any new investments. "We are looking for some improvement in the overall sentiment. Since there is a lack of clarity it is not possible to take a risk and invest," says R Srividhya who manages Sundaram Select Focus and Capex Opportunities funds. "We have been investing gradually.

There would be some clarity when results are out in January," she says. "Funds are waiting for an opportunity to buy good undervalued stocks. There has been a lot of volatility in the markets with a downward bias and so they are holding cash," says a senior official with a fund house. "This (higher cash) reflects the tendency to take advantage of the expected weakness in markets," HDFC Securities analyst Tiju K Samuel said in his research note.

Capital flows to emerging markets are hit by financial crisis in the US. But after the recent rate cuts and the dollar's weakness, fund managers expect things to improve slightly in the near term. Sensex and Nifty fell by 7.1% and 4.5% in November. Some funds, which are high on cash, have managed to escape the precipitous fall in markets. Reliance Equity Fund, Escorts Growth, IDFC Imperial Growth and UTI Infrastructure Advantage, which have a high exposure to cash, fared better than their peers in the past three months.

Equity MFs have also upped their exposure in public sector banks, pharmaceuticals and personal care product firms and power generation companies. Predictably, they have reduced their exposure in private sector bank, refineries, construction, auto, steel and entertainment scrips in the past month.Mid-cap funds have started investing in large-cap stocks in a highly volatile market. Now, 5 out of their 10 holdings are in the large-cap segment.

Unaccounted Money Seized From KK Chavadi Checkpost

Unaccounted money worth rs.11,000 was seized from the sales and comemrcial tax checkpost at K K Chavadi during a raid conducted by Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC) squad, today.Four officials were arrested in this connection, police sources said. The raid, led by DVAC DSP, Shanmughapriya, was conducted at around 7.30 to 1 PM, during which some documents have also been seized, the sources said.

Coimbatore Stock Exchange Derecognized.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has increased the MF borrowing limit to 40 per cent without any publicity. Earlier, the borrowing limit was 20 per cent of net assets of the schemes. The move would prove beneficial for mutual fund industry which is under huge pressure due to global financial crisis. Mutual funds suffered a huge loss in their assets under management (AUM) during the year.

SEBI said in a statement, "In order that the limit for borrowing does not lead to a situation where mutual funds are not able to meet the redemption requests and inhibit orderly redemptions, had enhanced the MF borrowing limit from 20 per cent of net assets of the schemes to 40 per cent of net assets for six months period. This was only for the purpose of redemptions and not for payment of interest or dividend." The regulator termed it as a temporary measure to save the interests of mutual fund industry.

15 mutual fund houses availed the increased limit as of November 10, 2008. The body may allow companies listed with de-recognized regional stock exchanges (RSEs) to seek listing or to provide an exit option to investors. RSE will not allowed to use the word "stock exchange" after de-recognition. Hyderabad, Rajkot, Magadh and Coimbatore Stock Exchange have already been derecognized.

Confed-ITA Insures All Its Members

Confed-ITA has recently insured all its members under accidental policy and cashless hospitalization schemes. All together 1,732 people have been insured for Rs 59.19 cr under this scheme, which includes 660 members of Confed-ITA across 13 associations including Coimbatore, Erode, Dindigul, Vellore, Trichy, Madurai, Salem, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin, Tirupur, Kaniyakumari, Nilgiris and Puducherry. The initiative originated from Tirupur following the death of one of an association member in June this year.

While the Tirupur association came forward to take up the life insurance for all its members, they gathered information on other potentials of insurance that their members could enjoy. Later, they passed on the message to their neighboring IT associations. Finally, with the follow up of Confed-ITA and continued negotiation through Aligion Insurance Broking, Confed-ITA got a rate of Rs. 130 per person per year, which was earlier quoted Rs. 197 per person per year to Tirupur Association.

Confed-ITA, in association with United India Insurance Corporation, has offered free insurance to its members. According to the scheme, two coverages have been given as a single policy. Policy cover (1) contains - accidental death + loss of limbs + loss of eyes + permanent partial disablement + permanent total disablement. Along with this, policy cover (2) has also been clubbed. Policy cover (2) includes hospitalization due to any kind of accident (except Rail, Air and Sea), however, hospitalization has to be for at least 24 hrs or more.

Initially, Confed-ITA proposed the policy (Scheme A) that covered Rs 2 lakh under accidental insurance (Policy cover 1) and cashless hospitalization up to Rs 50,000 (Policy cover 2), for which total cost of the premium per person is Rs.130 per year. However, on members' request for higher coverage (in which the premium difference is to be paid by the members) two more schemes were also included. As per Scheme B, Policy cover (1) is for Rs.5,00,000 and Policy cover (2) is for 50,000 (Total Rs. 5,50,000) at a premium of Rs.300 per year per person.

As per Scheme C, Policy cover (1) is for Rs.10,00,000 and Policy cover (2) is for 50,000 (Total Rs. 10,50,000) at a premium of Rs.650 per year per person. "In all there were 1,279 policies worth Rs 2.5 lakh, 407 policies worth Rs 5.5 lakh and 46 policies worth Rs 10.5 lakh. Around Rs 3.18 lakh has been paid as premium, in which Confed-ITA's contribution is Rs 80,600," informed K Babu, Coordinator for the insurance plan in Confed-ITA. S. Karthikeyan, President, Confed-ITA, said, "It was a small step taken towards providing protection to partners.

The ultimate aim of Confed-ITA is to see that no partner fails. In the first step we have insured the lives of partners, and in the coming years more steps would be taken to ensure welfare for the partners." P. N. Prasad, the present Vice President of Confed-ITA, who is the proposed President of the new team (from 1-1-2009 to 31-12-2009), indicated that he would take further initiatives to raise funds through several means to run the insurance scheme free, and bring in more schemes to benefit the partners. Confed-ITA's step is obviously praiseworthy. It is a notable direction too for other IT associations in the country, especially, in these days of total insecurity.

SEBI Finalises Exit Policy

Capital markets regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is close to firming up an exit policy for regional stock exchanges. SEBI is set to allow any regional stock exchange looking at voluntarily exiting out of this business by derecognising it. However, SEBI is unlikely to renew licences of those regional stock exchanges, where there are hardly any trades or business.

The SEBI board discussed this issue at its last board meeting and an exit policy is expected to be outlined shortly, according to sources familiar with the matter. Subsequently, the issue of handling the valuation and distribution of regional bourses’ assets will also be dealt with. The regulator is likely to make public the agenda of the last SEBI board meeting, which also included the discussion on the future of regional stock exchanges on its website on December 15.

About five regional bourses, including Mangalore, Hyderabad, Rajkot, Magadh and Coimbatore Etock Exchange, have already been derecognised, while 15 bourses have demutualised. Some of these exchanges are not keen to shut shop. For instance, the Calcutta Stock Exchange has tied up with the BSE for offering a trading platform to its members while the Madras Stock Exchange has an in-principle approval for a similar agreement with the NSE.

In 2006, a committee headed by G Anantharaman, former whole-time member of SEBI, recommended, among other things, that regional bourses be allowed to self-list, or to bring in a strategic partner who could hold less than 15% voting rights in the exchange. Those regional bourses that wanted to close down should be allowed to do so, and investor protection funds available with these bourses should vest with the regulator, the committee said. Taking into account the future of the subsidiaries of regional bourses, the committee had said such an entity would also have to change its name and style to avoid any representation of any present or past affiliation with an exchange.

’Resham Krishi Mela’ In Coimbatore

Minister for Rural Industries Pongalur N.Palanisamy (third right) presents a mediclaim card to a woman sericulturist at the ’Resham Krishi Mela’ in Coimbatore on Friday. The Central Silk Board, State Government and ICICI Lombard jointly launched here on Friday a medical insurance scheme for women entrepreneurs and farmers in the sericulture sector. The scheme would benefit 1,370 families in the State this year. Each beneficiary would have to pay just Rs. 55.66 of the Rs. 781.60 annual premium. The Central Silk Board would contribute Rs. 642.47 and the State Government Rs. 83.47.

The annual insurance limit is Rs. 15,000 for each policy holder. The beneficiary or her family members (husband and two children) can make use of the insurance and get cashless outpatient treatment and medicines from 139 doctors. If the doctor approached by the beneficiary was not in the network then she could get the treatment and submit claim forms to avail herself of the benefit, according to Balasubramniam, regional general manager of ICICI Lombard.

Launching the scheme, Pongalur N. Palanisamy, Minister for Rural Industries and Animal Husbandry, said mulberry cultivation was one of the profitable agricultural options in this region. The aim was to raise the current coverage in the State from 25,000 acres to one lakh acre. Earlier, marketing cocoon was a problem in the State. Now, the State Government was promoting establishment of reeling units so that farmers could sell the cocoon to the units within the State.

Farmers should also try to achieve higher productivity. The State Government had suggested to the Centre to fix Rs. 200 as minimum support price for 1 kg of cocoon (white cocoon). The country had all the resources to promote sericulture and the Centre should promote bivoltine silk so that imports could stop. One automatic reeling unit was established in the State last year and one more would be set up this year. In the last two years, the State Government disbursed Rs. 36.5 crore assistance to mulberry farmers.

Vishwanath Shegaonkar, Secretary, Handlooms, Handicrafts, Textiles and Khadi Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, said with State and Central Government assistance programmes, silk production had increased substantially in the State in the last two years. About 30,000 farmers in the State would get Rs. 20 crore as annual assistance this year.

The annual raw silk production was 1,500 tonnes. Commissioner of Sericulture Harmandar Singh said the three main challenges for the sector in the State were: labour shortage, high initial investment and fluctuation in cocoon prices. The Directorate was taking various steps to improve mechanisation and help farmers face the labour shortage. Assistance was being given for various sericulture activities.

Tamil Nadu farmers were exemplary as 25 per cent of silk production in the State was bivoltine and cluster programmes were being taken up to promote it. e asked farmers to make use of the soil testing facilities at the Directorate. Farmers should aim for higher productivity too. District Collector V. Palanikumar said Coimbatore, Erode and Salem were the main sericulture hubs in the State. Focus was needed on marketing and farmers should try to bring down the production cost. They should also know the requirements of the customers, he said.

DIC Urged The MSME

The District Industries Centre has urged the micro and small-scale unit entrepreneurs to make use of the subsidies available to them under the State Government’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises policy. General Manager of the Centre S. Asokan told that units started in backward blocks in the district, those started by entrepreneurs and agro-based industries could avail themselves of subsidies under different schemes. Those interested should contact the centre for details. After the focus on these segments, any micro or small-scale unit which commenced production after February 22, 2008 could apply for the subsidies. However, second-hand machinery and those into powerloom, spinning, foundry activities, brick making, knitting and saw mills were not eligible.

The district was sanctioned Rs. 1.7 crore for subsidy disbursement under the policy for 2008-09 and so far only Rs. 15 lakh was disbursed, he said. Various awareness meetings and sensitisation programmes had been organised. The subsidies were available only for new units and those going in for expansion. Some of the categories under which assistance was available were: plant and machinery, power subsidy, VAT subsidy and pollution control equipment.

India Has The Resilience To Resist Global Slowdown

Indian economy with its indigenous manufacturing capacity and market demand has the resilience to withstand the global economic slowdown, observed a team of researchers from United Kingdom. A team of four researchers, Neil Mclnroy, Daniel Cox, Jennifer and David Southworth from Norfolk Charitable Trust in UK are on a tour of six countries namely USA, Poland, Mexico, Vietnam, Japan and India. The team is scheduled to visit Vietnam and Japan after touring India. The objective of the research was to ascertain the role of local Governments in supporting the local economy and social growth.

The choice of countries was based on the growing economies and not on popular tourist destinations or fancy locations. Chennai and Coimbatore were chosen for their research. The purpose of the study was to find out the function of Local Governments in extending support and regulatory mechanisms for ensuring the growth and the overall results. When asked about their assessment on whether the slowdown of global economy would hamper India’s economic stability, the researchers said that India has adequate local capital equity, safe borrowing and lending rates and as a nation it had enough wealth. India also has an indigenous local market demand for its products, they added. Unlike other developing countries, India was not largely dependent on popular funds from European Union or developed countries. The researchers also said that Coimbatore was a self-made city and the high level of skills, education and entrepreneurship had led to the success of private industries.

When the researchers began their tour, the economic climate was different and with the slowdown in the economy, the parameters for survey have been amended and as such the study criterions were flexible. As the pattern of Governance differed from country to country, the survey would take those factors into consideration especially the blend of roles played by Government, Private, Community and Society, they added. The survey would also take into account the formal and informal governance involved in economic and social development.

Slackness Of The Authorities Resulted Embezzlement

There is slackness on the part of the authorities in keeping track of the activities at post offices resulting in embezzlement of depositors money, if the couple of incidents that took place recently in Coimbatore and Erode are any indication.Hardly a month ago, there were reports of largescale swindling by a Mahila Pradhan Kshetriya Bachat Yojana (MPKBY) agent at Kovaipudur post office. Acting on complaints, the Senior Superintendent of Post Offices (SSP) placed one of its staff under suspension pending inquiry.

And Fridays incident at Kollampalayam near Erode wherein the depositors besieged the post office demanding return of their money following allegations against sub-post master Sivakumar, who is alleged to have misappropriated over Rs 15 lakh, brings to the fore the sorry state of affairs of the postal department. Senior citizen Ramakrishanan said the public were losing faith in the postal department as the authorities at higher levels were in the habit of washing their hands off their responsibility by playing the blame game.

80% Of The Co-operative Societies Running Profitably

Eighty per cent of the co-operative societies in the district are functioning profitably and 475 societies are catering to the needs of the 13.5 lakh family card holders, Minister for Animal Husbandry and Rural Industries Pongalur N Palanisamy has said. He was speaking at a function organised in connection with the 55th All India Co-operative Week celebrations being observed under the theme “Agricultural Growth and Food Security through Co-operative and Information Technology” recently.

Sixty societies have netted profit and 477 80 per cent profit. Through these societies Rs. 800 crore have been given as advances and have a deposits to a tune of Rs. 1,000 crore. The Minister also gave away welfare aids worth Rs 2.32 crore besides giving away trophies to the best co-operative societies. He also gave away Rs. 30 lakh as Education Development assistance to the Special Officer.