Sugar production estimated to decline in SY14: ICRA

Apart from lower sugar production in UP, lower rainfall in Tamil Nadu is likely to impact sugar production and the output is expected to decline by 15 percent, ICRA said. Further, there has been a delay in the commencement of crushing across the country due to a delay in the fixing of the cane prices.

Domestic sugar production is estimated to decline in SY'14 (sugar year beginning October) due to excessive rains in Uttar Pradesh and previous year's drought in Maharashtra, according to a report by ICRA. "ICRA expects the domestic sugar production to decline in SY'14 following a lower sugar production in UP on account of excessive rains and diversion of crop to alternate sweeteners while sugar production in Maharashtra is likely to get affected by the previous year's drought," the report said.

In addition to this, lower rainfall in Tamil Nadu is likely to impact sugar production and the output is expected to decline by 15 percent, ICRA said. Further, there has been a delay in the commencement of crushing across the country due to a delay in the fixing of the cane prices.

However, high opening stock of 8.5 million tonnes coupled with limited scope for exports with continuing low global prices are likely to result in continuation of sugar surplus in the country in SY'14, the agency said. "Notwithstanding the expected decline in the domestic sugar production during SY14 and lower imports, surplus sugar in the market coupled with the suppressed export scenario due to low global sugar prices, ICRA expects the domestic sugar prices to remain subdued in the near term," ICRA Senior VP, Co-head corporate sector ratings Sabyasachi Majumdar said.

He said even as the government has announced export subsidy of Rs 3,333 per tonne for 4 million tonnes of raw sugar for February - March 2014, ability of the sugar mills to sell the raw sugar in the international markets remains critical as the global prices are declining. Going forward, with the continuing cost pressures and declining sugar prices in the international markets, the rationalisation of the cane costs remains critical for the profitability of the sugar mills.

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Lanco Infratech bags Rs 3,960 cr contract

Lanco emerged as the successful bidder for the contract which has been awarded by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd. With this contract, the group's order book now stands at Rs 27,005 crore.

Diversified  Lanco Infratech has won a contract worth Rs 3,960 crore related to a power project in Tamil Nadu. The Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for 660 MW super critical Ennore thermal power station expansion project is worth Rs 3,960 crore, the company said in a statement.

Lanco emerged as the successful bidder for the contract which has been awarded by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Ltd. With this contract, the group's order book now stands at Rs 27,005 crore.

According to the statement, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa handed over the confirmation letter to Lanco Infratech's Executive Chairman L Madhusudhan Rao. "The Letter of Intent would be issued shortly as confirmed by Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corp Ltd," it added.

Lanco Infratech stock price

On February 25, 2014, Lanco Infratech closed at Rs 6.30, down Rs 0.28, or 4.26 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 14.25 and the 52-week low was Rs 4.96.

The latest book value of the company is Rs 15.09 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company was 0.42.

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Last date for filing ITR-V for 3 AYs extended till March 31

This final opportunity is being extended to the taxpayers to regularise their returns where refunds continue to remain pending for Assessment Years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 for want of valid ITR-V Form

The revenue department has extended till March 31 the time-limit for filing ITR-V Forms for Assessment Years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12, for returns that have been e-filed with refund claims.
     
An assessee gets the ITR-V (Verification) Form when the return is e-filed without using a digital signature. After receiving the ITR-V, the assessee has to sign the copy and submit to the Income Tax Department at CPC, Bengaluru to complete the filing process.
     
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has extended the time-limit for filing ITR-V Forms for the three Assessment Years till March 31, for returns e-filed with refund claims within the time allowed under relevant section the Income Tax Act, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
     
"It may be noted that this final opportunity is being extended to the taxpayers to regularise their returns where refunds continue to remain pending for Assessment Years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 for want of valid ITR-V Form," it added.
     
Therefore, the Ministry said, taxpayers concerned are advised to take benefit of this relaxation so as to enable the tax authorities to further process their otherwise valid refund claims.
     
In past also the time for submitting ITR-V Forms for the three Assessment Years was extended.
    
The date has been extended again as some electronically filed returns with refund claim still remain pending with the the tax department due to non-submission of ITR-V within the prescribed time-frame, the ministry added.
     
The taxpayer whose ITR-V has yet to be received at CPC, Bengaluru "must submit" a duly signed copy of the Form by speed-post. Whether the ITR-V has been received by the CPC can be ascertained at the website of the Income Tax Department.

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BPCL raises Rs 1,240 crore from overseas bond sale

The notes are rated at the same level as BPCL's issuer default rating of 'BBB-' as they will constitute direct, unconditional, unsubordinated and unsecured obligations of the company, says Fitch

State-run oil marketer  Bharat Petroleum today said it has raised 175 million Swiss francs (around Rs 1,240 crore) through an international bond sale at a coupon of 2.988 percent.

"We raised 175 million Swiss francs (around Rs 1,240 crore) through an overseas bond sale programme today at a competitive coupon of 2.988 percent, which is 235 basis points above the Swiss mid-swap rate, in a 5.75-year money," a BPCL spokesman told PTI here.

The RegS issue has been raised to meet working capital requirement of the company, he said.

Also read: BPCL growing better now than in H1FY14: MD Varadarajan

Lead bankers to the issue were BNP Paribas, Deutsche Bank, RBS, and UBS, he said, adding this is the first Swiss franc issue by an Indian corporate since February 2012. International rating agency Fitch has assigned BBB-/ stable rating to the issue.

The notes are rated at the same level as BPCL's issuer default rating of 'BBB-' as they will constitute direct, unconditional, unsubordinated and unsecured obligations of the company, Fitch said in a statement from Singapore.

BPCL stock price

On February 26, 2014, Bharat Petroleum Corporation closed at Rs 377.75, up Rs 5.80, or 1.56 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 428.45 and the 52-week low was Rs 256.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 66.24 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 5.7. The latest book value of the company is Rs 230.04 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.64.

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Britain considers visa auctions for millionaires

Visas to settle down in Britain could be auctioned to some of the wealthiest bidders under new proposals being considered by the UK government.

Under the proposal, overseas millionaires will be invited to bid for a limited proportion of investor or Tier 1 UK visas that allow holders and their families to live indefinitely in Britain.

The proposals have been put forward by the UK's Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) in response to concerns that the existing investor visa route fails to benefit the UK.

Indians have ranked fifth on the scale of such investor visas since 2008.

Also read: Visa-on-arrival for all, except 8 countries

The majority have gone to Russian or Chinese nationals - 433 and 419 respectively - followed by US citizens 93, Egyptians 46, Indian 44, Kazakhstanis 41, Iranians 38, Pakistanis 38, Australians 36 and Canadians 36, out of a total of 1,647.

The cost has remained unchanged since the scheme was introduced in 1994 and the MAC has now recommended doubling the minimum investment to 2 million pounds and auctioning slots with a reserve price of 2.5 million pounds.

The changes recommended in its report released here today would apply to settlement rights only and not citizenship. It would be the first scheme of its kind anywhere in the world, but the decision on whether to implement it rests with UK home secretary Theresa May.

"Some people say 'isn't it awful to sell off visas? Well, it is better than giving them away, which is what we are doing now," said MAC chairman Professor David Metcalf. "The Brits get very little out of this at the moment. The migrants get a huge amount," he added.

The existing Tier 1 route allows rich individuals accelerate the process of being allowed to settle in the UK by between two and five years depending on how much is invested.
Applications have been running at about 600 a year to apply under this route, which allows applicants to be able to circumvent the usual criteria of having a reasonable command of the English language or a job in the UK.

A total of 560 overseas millionaires applied for investor visas in the 12 months to last September and 50 of them were turned down.

Immigration lawyers have attacked the idea of auctioning off UK visas with some warning against creating an "eBay culture" which will leave a bad taste with the British public.

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NSEL pays Rs 50-lk against Rs 86.02cr; default no. 28

The bourse has settled Rs 322.6 crore so far against Rs 5,500 crore that it owes to investors.

Embattled spot commodity bourse National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL) today paid Rs 50 lakh against scheduled payment amount of Rs 86.02 crore, defaulting for the 28th straight time.
     
The bourse has settled Rs 322.6 crore so far against Rs 5,500 crore that it owes to investors.
     
"The total amount being disbursed today in a proportionate manner is Rs 50 lakhs," NSEL said in a statement.

Also read: MCA finalises NSEL, MCX, FT probe report: Sources
 
NSEL had previously defaulted 27 times. The spot exchange was unable to make any payment on its 7th and 13th pay-out date. The exchange had availed a bridge loan of Rs 177.23 crore from its promoter Financial Technologies (FTIL) to make payments on a priority basis to small investors.

To accelerate recovery, NSEL has started the process of liquidation of attached assets of defaulting borrowers. As the first step, the exchange has decided to liquidate assets of Mohan India Group and Vimladevi Agrotech, who together owe around Rs 913 crore.
 
NSEL, promoted by Jignesh Shah-led FTIL, is facing the problem of settling dues to 148 members after it suspended trade in July last year following a government order in the wake of violation of trading norms.

The bourse had earlier said it plans to settle all the dues in 30 weeks time, by paying Rs 174.72 crore each for first 20 weeks followed by Rs 86.02 crore each in next 10 weeks.

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Maruti Suzuki sales dip 10% in January

The company said its domestic sales declined by 6.3 percent during the month to 96,569 units as against 1,03,026 units in January, 2013.

Country's largest car-maker  Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) on Saturday reported 10.3 per cent decline in total sales in January at 1,02,416 units as against 1,14,205 units in the same month last year.

The company said its domestic sales declined by 6.3 per cent during the month to 96,569 units as against 1,03,026 units in January, 2013.

Also Read: Bajaj Auto introduces new four wheeler for personal use

Sales of mini segment cars, including M800, Alto, A-Star and WagonR, declined by 17 per cent to 38,565 units as compared to 46,479 units in the year-ago month, MSI said in a statement.

The company said sales of the compact segment comprising Swift, Estilo, Ritz increased by 1.9 per cent to 24,473 units in January this year as against 24,006 units last year.

MSI said sales of its popular compact sedan Dzire rose by 12.7 per cent during the month under review at 19,232 units as against 17,060 units in January, 2013.

The company's mid-sized sedan SX4 registered a decline of 81.1 per cent to 191 units as against 1,012 units in the same month last year. There was no sale of premium sedan Kizashi during the month.

Sales of utility vehicles, including Gypsy, Grand Vitara and Ertiga, stood at 4,763 units in January this year, down 21.9 per cent from 6,095 units in the corresponding month last year.

Sales of vans--Omni and Eeco rose by 11.6 per cent to 9,345 units in January this year as compared to 8,374 units in the same period of previous year. Exports during the month declined by 47.7 per cent to 5,847 units as compared to 11,179 units in January last year, MSI said.

Maruti Suzuki stock price

On January 31, 2014, Maruti Suzuki India closed at Rs 1635.35, down Rs 2.65, or 0.16 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 1864.00 and the 52-week low was Rs 1217.00.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 106.68 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 15.33. The latest book value of the company is Rs 615.03 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 2.66.

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Week that was: Maruti`s idea; Kejriwal`s power woes

SLIDESHOW

Sat, Feb 01, 2014 at 17:07

| Source: Moneycontrol.com

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TPDDL may reduce power surcharge if NTPC cuts costs ahead

Power surcharge in Delhi has now been hiked - the rates have gone up from 6 to 8 percent depending on which distribution companies delivers power. This will effectively take power tariffs higher.

We supply power 24/7 to our consumers. There is no power cut or no load shedding in our area and our availability is 99.6 percent

Praveer Sinha

CEO

TPDDL

It's a major setback for Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Admi Party government in Delhi . Just a few hours after power companies said parts of Delhi will face power cuts of 8 to 10 hours starting next week as they do not have funds, the regulator has stepped in.

Power surcharge in Delhi has now been hiked - the rates have gone up from 6 to 8 percent depending on which distribution companies delivers power. This will effectively take power tariffs higher.

The Delhi government has not taken kindly to the decision of the DERC (Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission) to hike tariffs from February 1.

The government condemns the DERC decision and finds it completely uncalled for, since an audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) into the accounts of private
distribution companies is already under progress. The government is of the clear view that the DERC should have waited for the audit report of the CAG and there was no need of showing a tearing hurry to impose this unnecessary burden on the people.

However, PD Sudhakar, chairman, DERC said that surcharge is reviewed every quarter as per the orders of the Appellate Tribunal on the basis of the surcharge imposed by the generation companies like NTPC .

"Delhi government has not said anything to us on this. This is as per the orders of the Appellate Tribunal which is the final deciding authority. Every quarter a review is done and whatever is the actual, it may be sometimes zero also, it may be 2 percent, it may be 5 percent. So, depending on whatever is the actual claim of the NTPC and other generation companies," he added.

Echoing Sudhakar's comment, Praveer Sinha, CEO TPDDL said the hike in power surcharge is part of the tariff orders that allows any increase in a quarter of power purchase adjustment to be passed through.

In the October-December quarter, the power purchase cost from NTPC and the Delhi genco's and other generating plants have gone up by nearly 10-12 percent. Against that DERC has allowed increase of 6-8 percent for various discoms. For us they have allowed 7 percent, he added.

Sinha further added that if in the next quarter power cost is reduced by NTPC or other generating companies then the cost will go down. This is a pass through mechanism which is applicable in all the states as well as allowed by the appellate tribunal, he said.
 
On CM Kejriwal's blackmailing comments, Sinha said that his company has not defaulted in any payments. "We supply power 24/7 to our consumers. There is no power cut or no load shedding in our area and our availability is 99.6 percent. To that extent, there are no issues as far as Tata Power Delhi Distribution is concerned," he said.

NTPC stock price

On January 31, 2014, NTPC closed at Rs 126.40, down Rs 1.7, or 1.33 percent. The 52-week high of the share was Rs 162.80 and the 52-week low was Rs 122.65.

The company's trailing 12-month (TTM) EPS was at Rs 14.87 per share as per the quarter ended December 2013. The stock's price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio was 8.5. The latest book value of the company is Rs 97.49 per share. At current value, the price-to-book value of the company is 1.30.

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FAA downgrade to impact Jet Air, Air India: Rajan Mehra

The Federal Aviation Administration in the United States downgrading India's aviation safety ranking from Category I to Category II should not come as a surprise because in 2009 audit FAA had nudged India on the extreme shortage of safety inspectors with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and in subsequent audits also they had reminded the India government said Rajan Mehra, MD, Universal Aviation USA, Former Head - Qatar Airways, Finnair, Asiana Airlines in an interview with Shereen Bhan on CNBC-TV18.

"It is a sad day for Indian aviation. It turns the clock back by several months and it is more so regrettable because Indo-US aviation relations were at an all-time high," said Mehra.

According to him, it is bound to not only impact Air India and  Jet Airways but also future projects like Tata-SIA and other airlines that are planning to fly to US. They will have to slowdown their plans he said.

Also the code sharing pacts will be impacted because the FAA strictly goes by its guidelines. "I would be surprised if it didn't affect the Jet-United alliance," said Mehra.

Below are the excerpts Rajan Mehra, MD, Universal Aviation USA, Former Head - Qatar Airways, Finnair, Asiana Airlines interview with Shereen Bhan on CNBC-TV18.

Shereen: How bad is this going to be as far as Indian carriers operating to the US are concerned specifically Air India?

A: It is a sad day for Indian aviation. It turns the clock back by several months and it is more so regrettable because Indo-US aviation relations were at an all time high.

In October Indo-US summer it was attended by almost all the top government leaders of the US aviation as well as from the Indian side by the secretary civil aviation, by the DGCA, by the Airport Authority Director. So, the timing is extremely bad. It makes sure that future projects like the Tata-SIA and other airlines that are planning to go to the US have to slowdown and out on the backburner some of their plans. It is extremely unfortunate.

It will impact Air India, it will impact Jet Airways. Although Jet has an alliance with United Airlines already it would be very interesting to see what happens next.

Shereen: As far as the FAA is concerned it says that code sharing pacts will be impacted because of this downgrade to Category-II. However when we put that question to the civil aviation minister he said that he doesn't believe code sharing pacts will be impacted at all. What is your take?

A: I think it will be impacted. The FAA goes strictly by its guidelines and even if they wanted to I am not too sure they would make an exception in the case of Jet Airways. It would be interesting to see what happens but I would be surprised if it didn't affect the Jet-United alliance.

Shereen: The real victim here is going to be Air India because they are the ones operating 28 flights from India to the US. Jet has 7. You mentioned Tata-SIA and all of that but they haven't even gotten started and Ajit Singh believes that we will be compliant by March or at least we hope to be compliant by March. However the real victim and the real tragedy here is for Air India, is it not?

A: The civil aviation minister is so positive that six months is all it needs. However we must not forget that this has been going on since 2009. In the 2009 audit, FAA had nudged India on the extreme shortage of safety inspectors with the DGCA and in subsequent audits that they did they reminded the India government. It is not something which has come out of the blue.

In the last five years the government has not really been able to put its act together. They have not been able to hire the safety inspectors that were required by DGCA. So, to imagine that all this would happen in the next six months I think it is extremely optimistic.

 KC Singh, Former Secretary at The External Affairs Ministry also spoke on impact on outlook for Indian aviation sector . For more click on the videos.

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