Economy & Business 7 THE ECHO OF INDIA SILIGURI Thursday October 16, 2014 BSE, NSE closed for the day MUMBAI, OCT 15 /—/ The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the National Stock Ex- change (NSE), Forex, Money, MCX, NCDEX and all major commodity markets will re- main closed on Wednesday on account of Assembly polls in Maharashtra. (PTI) Switzerland co-operating with India on tax matter: Envoy NEW DELHI, OCT 15 /—/ As India’s government and tax officials meet their counterparts in Switzerland, Swiss Ambassador Linus von Castelmur on Wednesday said his country is fully co-operating with the authorities here on tax matters. An Indian delegation, led by Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das, is in Berne today to meet Swiss officials as both sides look to resolve tax matters, including those related to alleged illicit wealth stashed by Indian citizens in banks in Switzerland. Emphasising that Switzerland is “fully co-operating with Indian authorities” on tax matters, Castelmur said the issues of the past should be addressed in a pragmatic way while respecting international obligations. About the meeting of delegations from two sides in Berne, Castelmur said it is about cooperation in the economic field between the two nations. “We are very happy that Das is in Berne today and we wish him very good and for dialogue between the two delegations. We wish them well that issues will be solved... I think problems in the future would be solved very easily,” the Swiss Ambassador to India said here. The visit comes amid Swiss government refusing to share information on list of names obtained by Indian authorities through other nations, namely France and Germany, saying they figured in lists stolen by certain ex-employees of the banks concerned and that no details can be shared on the basis of illegally-obtained information. “We still have problems of the past and cannot make undone 20, 30, 40 years of the past. I think we have to work on that in a pragmatic way in respecting our international obligations but also our eternal rule of law,” Castelmur said. Noting that Swiss authorities are fully co-operating with India, he said, however, there is a problem about requests on stolen data. “Switzerland is working on a case to case basis with Indian authorities. When there is a case when a request is placed, we will cer tainly examine that matter,” he noted. The Ambassador was speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar organised by industry body Assocham. (PTI) Mahindra launches Arjun Novo EOI CORRESPONDENT KOLKATA, OCT 15/--/ Mahindra & Mahindra today announced the launch of the new Arjun Novo, the technologically advanced and stylishly designed tractor in West Bengal. The new Arjun Novo is based on a whole new platform developed at Mahindra & Mahindra's state of the art R & D facility, Mahindra Research Valley in Chennai. The new Arjun Novo offers options of both open station as well as an air conditioned cabin, a unique offering in the sub 60HP tractor segment in India. The tractor will be priced at Rs 7.80 lakhs including accessories and Aux valve (ex-showroom Kolkata). Speaking on the occasion Ravindra Shahane, Vice President, Marketing, Farm Equipment Sector said "The new Arjun Novo is designed & developed keeping in mind the needs of high tech farming in all Indian states. It offers many unique features that are the farmers' dream. The new Arjun Novo can effectively do over 40 key farming ap- Ravindra Shahane, Vice President, Marketing, Farm Equipment Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd--EOI PIKS plications. It has the precision hydraulics system for potato farming, high lift capacity of 2200 Kg for using heavy implements like 3 board MB plough & advanced synchromesh 15F + 3R transmission that gives ideal speed for use of any implement - an excellent value proposition at a great price. This launch will help grow the higher Horse Power category and be a trend setter." Manish Arora, Sr. Gen- Irda to align corporate MCCI organises interactive governance, disclosure norms session on India-Slovenia ties NEW DELHI, OCT 15 /—/ Insurance sector regulator Irda will align its corporate governance and disclosure norms in accordance with the new Companies Act, 2013. For this, the Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (Irda) has set up a 12member committee under its member R K Nair. “In order to bring harmony between the corporate governance and disclosure requirements of the Authority and the Companies Act, 2013, the Authority has decided to constitute a working group harmonising Irda Cor- porate Governance Guidelines and Disclosures with Companies Act, 2013,”Irda said in a circular. The ter ms of reference of the working group include recommending any changes that need to be made to insurance regulations specifically on corporate social responsibility, related party transactions or financial statements. It will also undertake a comprehensive view of the extant guidelines on corporate governance related with composition of board and its committees, provisions relating to independent direc- tors, provisions related to remunerations of CEO, managing director or whole time directors. The working group is expected to complete its task within four months. The new Companies Act, 2013 was notified on August 30, 2013. The new act has brought in significant changes in several aspects of corporate organisation such as appointment of directors and key management persons, appointment of auditors, corporate governance and financial reporting requirements. (PTI) KOLKATA, OCT 15 /—/ MCC Chamber of Commerce & Industry o n Tuesday org a n ised an interactive session on ‘Exploring Opportunities : India-Slovenia Bilateral ties focusing on West Bengal’. While interacting, Darja Bavdaz Kuret, ambassador of the Republic of Slovenia in India, emphasised on Slovenia’s ‘strategic position - as the logistic gateway to Europe connecting 500 mn consumers’, ‘access to the Adriatic Transport Route’, ‘linkages with 5th and 10th PAN-European Corridor’, ‘hinterland road connections’, ‘f avourable tax structure such as corporate income tax at 17percent, tax relief up to 100 percent of the amount invested in R&D, capital gains tax at 0-20 percent, VAT at 22 percent – standard rate and 9.5 percent – reduced rate’ which are few of the facilities that Slovenian markets offer to its investors. As Slovenia is ranked 19th in Bloomberg’s Global Innovation Index, 2014 – standing 17th in R & D intensity, 23rd in productivity and 19th in manufacturing capability - Kuret opined that these would be the key parameters in developing the future synergy between Indian and Slovenian economy. “Slovenian technology and innovation can be used by India in Indian local as well as international market’’ – she added. Her Excellency invited India’s cooperation in the field of Energetics, Renewable resources, Energy renovation of buildings, High-voltage energy connections, Broadband networks etc. Other than this, Transport & Logistics, Green Energy & Recycling, Automotive In- dustry, ICT & Nanotechnolog y, Pharmaceuticals & Chemicals Industry, Wood-processing industry etc a few of more economic sectors with comparative advantages which are opened for Indian investments in Slovenia. With one of the prestigious techonology in ‘renewable energy’ and ‘purification of water and water management’, Slovenia can offer mutual cooperation to India. Bagaria, Honourary Consul of Slovenia in Kolkata said that the location of Slovenia itself offers a great possibility to connect with other European countries. He invited Slovenian co-operation and collaboration in Bengal’s SME sector, Tourism, IT, Petrochemicals, Steel & Allied Industries, Foundry, Engineering and others. Sanjay Agarwal, president, MCCI, in his welcome address expressing concern over the declining bilateral Indo-Slovenia Fund raising via institutions SBI customer climbs to Rs 20K-crin H1 FY15 to enjoy unlimited Veteran actress Vyjayanthimala Bali (3rd from left) launching pure "Mysore Silk Saree' carrying a price tag of Rs 1.5 lakh after inaugurating Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation's Exhibition Cum Sale, in Chennai on Wednesday. Sebi approves upto Rs 1,600cr rights issue of Future Retail NEW DELHI, OCT 15 /—/ Kishore Biyani-promoted Future Retail has received market regulator Sebi’s approval to raise up to Rs 1,600 crore through rights issue. The company had filed its application with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for the proposed rights issue in July. Sebi issued its final observations on the draft offer documents on October 10, according to the latest update by the market regulator. The regulator had received the draft offer documents on Jul y 22 through its lead manager Axis Capital Limited. Issuance of ‘observations’ on offer documents by Sebi is considered as a clearance to the issuer to go ahead with the share issues through routes like IPOs, FPOs and rights issue. Earlier in August, Sebi had sought clarification from the merchant banker of Future Retail regarding the company’s Rs 1,600 crore rights issue. (PTI) NEW DELHI, OCT 15 /—/ Fund raising via institutional investors seems to be gaining traction among Indian firms, with the total amount mopped-up through this route crossing Rs 20,000 crore-mark in the first half of the current fiscal. According to a report by Prime Database, companies have raised a total of Rs 20,589 crore through Qualified Institutional Placements (QIPs) and Institutional Placement Programme (IPP) routes during April-September period of the current fiscal (2014-15), higher than a meagre Rs 5,402 crore garnered in the year-ago period. Of the total fund raised, a massive Rs 20,171 crore were raked in through QIPs and remaining Rs 418 crore via IPPs. In the first six months of 2014-15, funds were garnered through as many as 20 issuance (19 QIPs and 1 IPP) as compared to 13 (3 QIPs and 10 IPPs) in the April-September period of the preceding fiscal. According to industry estimates, the total funds raised this year could be more than Rs 30,000 crore. “It is interesting to note that all QIP issuances in the first half of 2014-15 took place after the election verdict was announced on May 16, thus clearly showcasing the revival of investor sentiment, backed by a strong secondary market. “There was a pent up demand for capital, which is now being released,” Prime Database Managing Director Pranav Haldea said. He further said, “The pipeline too is extremely robust, comprising issuers from the private sector as also several banks which have announced QIP plans to raise additional capital, all of which is likely to materialise in the near future.” The largest QIP was from Reliance Communications of Rs 4,808 crore while the largest and only IPP was of Muthoot Finance for Rs 418 crore made to comply with Sebi’s guidelines on minimum public shareholding. (PTI) 12 cos launch public offers in Sept, highest ever in a mth MUMBAI, OCT 15 /—/ Tapping strong investor sentiments, as many as 12 small and medium enterprises came out with their IPOs in September — the highest in a single month since the launch of dedicated SME platforms in March 2012. The SMEs, most of them to be listed on BSE SME platform, had come out with their initial public offering (IPO) to together raise at least Rs 81 crore. Top bourses — the BSE and the NSE — had launched dedicated platforms for SMEs in March 2012 to enable the listing of these firms and help them raise equity capital for growth and expansion in a cost-effective manner. Among the 12 firms that hit the capital markets with their IPOs in Se ptember, Momai Appar els topped the chart with Rs 30 crore initial share sale. The firm is the only one proposed to be listed on NSE’s platform for SMEs — NSE Emerge, among the 12 companies. The remaining 11 IPOs — Naysaa Securities, Sirohia & Sons, Encash Entertainment, Ultracab (India), Aryaman Capital Markets, Atishay Infotech, Dhabriya Polywood, Starlit Power Systems, Vibrant Global Capital, Powerhouse Fitness & Realty, and ADCC Infocad — would trade on the BSE SME segment. According to market experts, current market conditions are favourable for companies looking to mop up funds through the IPO route. BSE Managing Director and CEO Ashish Kumar Chauhan had recently said that as many 100 companies were expected to be listed on the exchange’s SME platform by the year-end. Currently, 70 companies are eligible for trading on the BSE SME platform and have an aggregate market capitalisation of a little over Rs 7,563 crore. On the other hand, five firms are listed on the NSE. According to the SME list- ing norms, a company would be eligible for listing if it has not completed 10 years after incorporation, and its revenue has not exceeded Rs 100 crore in any of the financial years. In addition, the company should have got an investment of at least Rs 50 lakh by an alternative investment fund, or a venture capital fund, or by a merchant banker, or an ang el investor, or a specialised international multilateral a gency, or a public financial institution, among other such investor s. The data for September has been gathered through information available on the Sebi’s website. (PTI) ATM transactions if A/C balance is above Rs 25K NEW DELHI, OCT 15 /—/ The nation’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) has good news for customers who maintain over Rs 25,000 balance. SBI will offer unlimited ATM transactions on its home ATM for customers who maintain this balance in their account in a month on an average. While for customers having a balance less than Rs 25,000 SBI will allow only four-time usage on its home ATM while for thirdpar ty ATM the usage has been restricted to three, as per a financial daily report. The RBI in August had said that the number of free ATM transactions for savings bank account customers at other banks’ ATMs would be reduced from the present 5 to 3 transactions per month (inclusive of both financial and non-financial transactions) for transactions done at the ATMs located in 6 metro centres. A customer will be required to pay a fee of up to Rs 20 for using Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) beyond the permitted numbers of transactions in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Hyderabad, it had said. The RBI’s latest directive would be applicable from November 1, 2014. However, the RBI said that banks are free to offer more number of free transactions per month at other bank ATMs as well as their own ATMs in any g eographical location if they desire so. (Agency) eral Manager - Sales - Zone 2 said, "Arjun Novo has been developed through extensive research and insight conducted with over 100 farmers, across 10 states to trade figure from US$ 391 mn in 2012-13 to US$ 330 mn in 2013-14, stressed on the need for urgent re-assessment of the bilateral trade situation. understand the mechanization needs of farmers across India. It offers the highest level of mechanization with agriculture implements like Cultivator, Tractor Mounted Combined Harvester (TMCH), Gyrovator (Rotary Tiller), Primary Tillage and Haulage applications. Moreover, its advanced new engine with effective cooling, 8 inch air cleaner and IPTO with power of 50 HP which makes it an ideal tractor for all applications in extreme weather conditions in West Bengal." The development of Mahindra's new Arjun Novo involved seeding phase, in which a total of 73 tractors were tested for their performance in 40 applications across 8 states for a cumulative 70,000 hours. Addressing the critical aspects innovatively, formed the core of the development ideology behind the new Arjun Novo. The new tractor with its many features will be useful for a wide range of applications - harvesting, straw reaping, puddling, haulage, loading, amongst others. Electrical Installation work of newly constructed three storied college building of Mejia Degree College at Mejia in the dist of Bankura. Tender id2014_PWDE_25870_1 NIT no: WBPWDTE/ EE/BED/ NIT_22/2014-15. Estimated Amount - 34,64,705/-. Documents download/sale start date (Online) : 15.10.2014 from 6 .30 pm. Documents download/sale end date (Online) 25.10.2014, 3.30 pm. For more information visitetender.wb.nic.in Executive Engineer Bankura Electrical Division P.W. Dte. NOTICE INVITING e-TENDER TENDER NO.WBPWD/EE/N24 PRG/ELEC/17/2014-20152nd Call E -Tender (online) is invited by the Executive Engineer, North 24 Parganas Electrical Division, P.W. Dte. Govt. of West Bengal, Kolkata-59 for the Works -Proposed Motel for Tourist Party at Bongaon in the District of North 24 Parganas- E.I.Work. Bid Proposal submission end date:-31.10.2014 up to 05 p.m. Detailsinformationwill be available from this office and also in website: htpp://etender.wb.nic.in. N.I.T. Memo No. 850 Dt. 14.9.14 Sealed tender is invited by the Assistant Engineer, Bidhannagar Electrical SubDivision-II, P.W.D, Purta Bhawan, Salt Lake, from PWD enlisted electrical contractors (Class - I & II) having adequate experience in successfully executing similar nature & volume of work in Govt. Organization. Name of W ork :- Repair, renovation of SPNDBS and rewiring in hostel at Jadavpur University, Salt Lake Campus Phase-III. Job No. 04/TR/ SD-II of 13-14. Last date & time of Application on : 21.10.14 upto 2 Pm. Tender will be received in this office on : 22.10.14 upto 1 Pm. and Opened shortly thereafter. All other information will be available from this office. Assistant Engineer, P.W.D. Bidhannagar Electrical Sub-Division-II. NOTICE INVITING TENDER WBPWD/ EE/ KCD/ NIT- 17E/ 2014-2015 Sealed Tenders are invited by the Executive Engineer, P.W.D., Kolkata Central Division, P.W.D. 3, Commissariat Road (1st Floor), for the following works :- (1) Construction of Gangway from Chandramukhi, Kadambini to Pritilata Bhavan and Office Building of Bethune College during the year 20142015 (R & B) Works. Estimated Amount ( Rs.) :- 8, 35, 872/-. Earnest Money (Rs.) :- 16, 717/-. Time Period of completion :- 45 (forty five days). Eligibility of Bidders to submit tender : Bonafide agencies having credentials showing satisfactory completion of a single work of similar nature of work commencing on or after 01.04.2009 of value not less than 40% of the Estimated Cost of the work applied for. Technical & financial bid proposal submision start date (online) 14.10.2014 from 6.30 PM. Technical & financial bid proposal Submision end date (online) 22.10.2014 upto 1.30 PM. Tender Id 2014_PWD_25755_1 . Details are available in this office Notice Board & Website : http:// etender.wb.nic.in. Further Corrigendum and addendum if issued will be published only above website.