January 5, 2002 keralamonitor.com
Chartered Accountants asked to strive for reforms -UAE Arabic Daily Blasts Turkish Government for dual policy on Iraq -Emirates Businesswoman Award to encourage women -ZU signs pact with Tejari -ZCCF releases book on e-tech. in trade war, wars -50,000 nationals in job mart every year -DDF posts 23 per cent sales growth -Exports of agrochemiicals exceed Rs.1350 Crore
Exports of agrochemiicals exceed Rs.1350 Crore
39th annual session of Pesticides Association of India
Shri S.S. Dhindsa, Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers has said that the Agro-Chemical Industry have shown impressive export growth over the last five years exceeding Rs.1350 crores by 2001-02 despite steep competition and constraints faced by the India Pesticides industry in the overseas market. He said India is now the largest manufacturer of basic pesticides among the South Asian and African countries with a total installed capacity of over 1.28 lac MT and meeting 95 per cent of the domestic demands of pesticides.
Speaking on the occasion of the 39th Annual Session of the Pesticides Association of India here today Shri Dhindsa said that the transition from a protected regime to a delicensed, liberalised era has exposed the industry to international competition resulting in declining prices and profit margins. In addition, the industry is faced with low investments in R&D, few proprietory molecules, few product patents, large idle capacity, intense competition, small scale operations and price under cutting. Besides, due to dry spell and lower rainfall last year the industry has to contend with lower domestic demand for pesticides. Pesticides industry will have to make concerted efforts to increase the export of pesticides and capture higher share in the world market, he added.
Shri Dhindsa said that the Indian Pesticides Industry may see a major shake out on account of mergers taking place between Multi National Companies. Besides, manufacturing standards are likely to be implemented more rigorously which would ensure that only plants with recognized GMP continue to exist. The movement towards Integrated Pest Management (IMP) will grow and this may well result in the introduction of new bio-pesticides. The issue of monitoring of pesticide residues in food and agricultural commodities will occupy an important position both in domestic sales and export of agro-based products, he said.
Referring to the issue of manufacture and sale of spurious/duplicate pesticides Shri Dhindsa said that this not only affects the farmers but also affects the reputed manufacturing companies. He said Central Government have notified insecticide inspectors to work in addition to the inspectors notified by the State Governments to ensure flow of only quality pesticides to the farmer. However, internal vigilance and monitoring by the industry is the real answer to this problem, he said. He assured the industry to look into the problems being faced by the Pesticides industries like delay in securing registration from Central Insecticides Board, environmental clearance, high incidence of excise duty and high rate of sales tax in certain States and inadequacy of testing facilities in laboratories of certain States.
Chartered Accountants asked to strive for reforms
Shri Sharad Yadav, Minister for Food and Consumer Affairs has asked the Chartered Accountants to strive for bringing accounting and financial reforms in their efforts, particularly in case of municipality and tertiary level accounting and financial reporting. He said that it would lend the Government a helping hand in finding out the remedies to the problems faced by the different quarters of the economy. Speaking at the Valedictory Function of the 15th All India Conference of Chartered Accountants, which was organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) here today, Shri Yadav said that the credibility of not only an enterprise but the entire nation was critically dependent on the work of the accountants.
Shri Yadav refereed to several proactive initiatives taken by ICAI in the wake of fast-changing economic scenario and hoped that it would make Indian accountant enable to meet the emerging needs of the Indian economy. The Minister suggested that the recommendations of the Naresh Chandra Panel, set up by the Government to examine various issues relating to corporate governance, should be thoroughly examined by the Institute and the outcomes should be used in further strengthening of the existing audit function. "Considering the internationalization of trade and commerce and the global dimensions in which modern companies operate, it is important to ponder at the harmonization required in the financial reporting requirements and techniques", he added.
Shri Yadav appreciated the role of the Chartered Accountants and said that they are the key instruments to the process of the economic growth. He described the phenomenal growth of this profession as a reflection of the confidence and trust which the industry and public at large has in them. He complimented the ICAI for the successful completion of the Conference.
UAE Arabic Daily Blasts Turkish Government for dual policy on Iraq
The UAE Arabic newspaper "Al Ittihad" severely criticised the contradictory stances between the statements of the Turkish Government and what its army is carrying out, not only in northern Iraq, but also in the innermost of the Iraqi territories. "This clear contradiction between the Turkish statements and actions became crystal clear in the statements made by the Turkish Prime Minister, Abdullah Gul during his current Middle East tour. " Gul said that his current tour is designed to ensure a peaceful resolution to the standoff between Iraq and the Unites States, while the Turkish army has deeply penetrated into northern Iraq, which had been for more than a decade now out of the control of the Iraqi Central Government. We understand that it is the right of every state to take appropriate actions in order to safeguard its borders and protect its people from any potential disorder or tumult that might take place next door, but the Turkish government has no justification or reasonable grounds that allow it to trespass the sovereignty of a neighbouring country and threaten the unity of its territories and its citizens. All international resolutions had confirmed the necessity of preserving the unity and safety of the Iraqi territories in any present or future solution for the Iraqi cause and this matter is fully known by the political and military leadership in Turkey, the daily pointed out. (keralamonitor.com)
Emirates Businesswoman Award to encourage women
ABU DHABI, Jan 5, 2003 The Professional Women's Subgroup of the Dubai Quality Group recently held a presentation at the DQG headquarters to raise awareness of the Emirates Businesswoman Award. The award is aimed at recognizing women's contribution in the business and professional world and will be presented annually to recognize UAE women - both nationals and expatriates - for excellence in performance. The meeting was attended by 16 members of the Professional Women's Sub-Group comprising business professionals and owners, bankers, and senior executives representing small and large organizations from various sectors.
Khulood Al Rostamani, Chair of the DQG- Women's sub-group, who presided over the meeting, lauded the objectives of the UAE Businesswomen Award and exhorted women to be proud of their achievements. "Women in the UAE have been making their presence felt in business and professional circles over the past few years. The Emirates Businesswomen Award is a valuable framework for assessing and measuring performance on a composite of key indicators of performance. The Award is an excellent opportunity to experience the criteria of excellence and take the challenge to self assess one's business performance and improve accordingly. The criteria used for performance excellence, which has been established in association with the UKQC consultancy company, are unique in addressing important critical elements of the performance system," said Al Rostamani.
"The time has come for a greater empowerment of women to enable them to use their talent and abilities to conduct constructive self assessment of themselves and their business, while at the same time keeping in mind their responsibilities as mothers and home makers. UAE women have been striking a wonderful balance between the two roles and it is now time to celebrate their excellence in these dual roles through this award." The sub-group discussed the key features of the award and expressed their satisfaction that it would go a long way in increasing the involvement of women in business and spurring them to aspire for greater contribution to society. Submitting an application for the award offers valuable benefits as the feedback report that every applicant receives contains opportunities for improvement including important inputs that can assist in improvement. (keralamonitor.com)
ZU signs pact with Tejari
ABU DHABI, JAN 5, 2003 () --Zayed University has signed a cooperation agreement with Tejari in Dubai yesterday. The agreement was signed by Dr Hanif Al Qasimi, Vice-President of ZU, and Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Tejari, in the university's Smart Square located in Dubai Internet City, according to reports in the UAE's dailies. Dr Qasimi said that the agreement aims at benefiting from the services of Tejari in e-commerce services and modern techniques to develop purchasing orders, tenders and other procedures related to this field, as well as applying new techniques in the field of e-commerce which coincide with the administrative systems used in the university." He said that this was not the first time the university had signed an agreement with Tejari.
"We signed an agreement last year to deliver training and development initiatives to Tejari officials by the university's Institute for Technological Innovation located in Dubai Media City." Sheikha Lubna praised ZU's role in advanced education and its efforts in submitting programmes and courses applied in modern technologies. She pointed out that ZU is the first university to go online and access Tejari as a market place to transact any business. Tejari will conduct training of the staff of the university on using the methods and techniques of purchasing and e-commerce, as well as the administrative and financial procedures, she pointed out.
"The new agreement is an integral part of the cooperation agreement with ZU implemented one year ago," she said, adding it also seeks to benefit both parties specially in the field of organising workshops, seminars related to e-commerce and modern administrative procedures, creating awareness and dissemination of information about Dubai e-government initiative, delivering training in management in support of the latest trends and technology application in business, leveraging Tejari expertise to enrich the educational process within the university. She disclosed that Tejari has over 1,300 members so far and has conducted over $400 million of transactions since its inception three years ago. "We are now looking at expanding our services to other GCC and Arab countries in the region," she said.. (keralamonitor.com)
ZCCF releases book on e-tech. in trade war, warsAbu Dhabi, Jan.5, 2003 () -- The Zayed Centre for Coordination and Follow Up (ZCCF) has published a new book titled ?the Role of Electronic Technology in Contemporary Trade and Military Wars?. The study analyses the tremendous technological developments that have occurred in the science of electronics and its role in decision making in civil and military matters. It is an established fact that building of a scientific and technological base is of pivotal importance for achieving economic growth. Today, capabilities are no longer viewed as a result of an individual genius work or due to a chance product but they are measured as part of an organized productive process. The study reviews, various aspects of technological developments in general. It takes stock of what is known as the age of electronics, and computers. It covers all the developments that have been witnessed in the field of digital circuits and calculators. This has reflected in various aspects of civil and military life especially with the production of equipment and weapons used in air, land and sea defences. The book reviews among various other things, different uses of laser technology including the use of Laser in different manufacturing stages for military purposes including combat weapons, communications systems or development of technology in air defence systems and ballistic missiles. Besides, it also probes its uses in surveillance, electronic photography through launching of satellite etc. The book explains the role of technology in decision-making with particular reference to the USA. It presents some technological applications of the Second Gulf War that helped the allied forces in inflicting heavy losses to the enemy resulting in the total defeat of the Iraqi forces. The study also focusses on America?s controversial anti-missile defence system, which has been a bone of contention for America?s friends as well as foes
SudaTel set for UAE listingABU DHABI, Jan. 5, 2003 ()--Sudan's telecom and Internet provider (SudaTel) will soon be listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market (ADSM), bourse sources said. Sources at the Emirates Securities and Commodities Authority (ESCA) said the body had assessed the situation of the Sudanese and that a report will be sent to the ADFM to set the date of listing. SudaTel shares were listed on Khartoum Stock Market (KSM) in 1997 and on Bahrain Stock Market (BSM) in 2000. ''The successful launch of SudaTel shares on KST and BSM has encouraged us to think seriously for another active market,'' a SudaTel official has said recently. The sources expect the stock market will see more listings during 2003, bring the total listed companies to 45 from 24 at present. Shares of Dubai Commercial Bank are also expected to be quoted soon on Dubai Financial Market. Last year the stock market saw the listing of ten companies with ADSM taking 9 out of them. Total companies quoted at the official bourses stand at 37. Analysts hailed the SudaTel's move but played down its tangible influence on tradings. ''It is a positive step, but it will not have much impact on the market as local investor focuses his attention on local shares,'' said financial analyst Mohammed Ali Yasin, citing the poor performance of Qatar Telecom (Q-Tel), which was listed on ADSM in June 2002, Tradings on its shares stood at Dh 14 million. ''Political stability in the region holds the key to robust tradings in 2003.Uncertainities over the date of war (US war on Iraq) and its aftermath make the market feels negative mood,'' he said on expectations for 2003. But that mood, he expects, will soon change after the end of war and the visibility is become clear when new funds from dividends of companies find their way back to the stock market. Trading volumes at local bourses shot up 122 per cent in 2002 to Dh 4.8 billion compared to Dh 2.1 billion in 2001
.
50,000 nationals in job mart every year
ABU DHABI, Jan 5, 2002 () --About 15,000 UAE nationals graduate high school every year to enter the UAE's labour market. However, there's no statistics on how many of them are actually employed, according to Matar Humaid Al Tayer, Minister for Labour and Social Affairs and chairman of National Human Resources Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia). Tanmia has a database of 6,000 unemployed UAE national graduates, he said, while launching Tanmia's Arabic and English website for national job-seekers and employers, according to a report in +Gulf News.+ Al Tayer said Tanmia has begun concentrating on human resource development for Emarati graduates by outsourcing them from amongst the local training solution providers. "Currently we are subsidising training facilities for job seekers. We do not have the intention to set up our own training centre, yet," he said. "What we are planning to do is to regulate the training sector so that we have quality training providers. There are a number of training centres in the UAE which are qualified enough to carry out training programmes as needed." Al Tayer said the website developed by IBM, is comprehensive, and has been designed to bolster Tanmia's efforts of enhancing Emarati participation in the labour market. The website offers Tanmia's services, objectives, branches while allowing the user to download forms, look for employment opportunities, training facilities, post a C.V. and register online with Tanmia for future employment without having to physically visit its office. The website also allows the employers to search the database and generate a fit-to-job specification from the database of candidates against posted vacancies, schedule interviews and record results
DDF posts 23 per cent sales growthABU DHABI, Jan 5, 2003 () --The New Year began on a high note for Dubai Duty Free (DDF) with the announcement of a record annual turnover of Dh1 .1 billion, representing a 23 per cent increase over 2001. Year-end figures also revealed a new monthly sales record of Dh107.7 million which was achieved in December 2002 and surpasses the previous monthly record of Dh102.6 million which was set last October. "Record-breaking sales have been a continual theme for Dubai Duty Free in the past 12 months, with the award-winning operation regularly announcing new retail benchmarks," Dubai Duty Free said yesterday. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation and Chairman of Emirates Group said, the year 2002 has been a tremendous year for the operation both in terms of turnover and industry recognition, according to reports in the UAE's dailies. "The annual target of Dh1 billion sales was achieved several weeks ahead of schedule and the year-end figure firmly places Dubai Duty Free around fifth place in the world in terms of turnover." "With buoyant sales figures continuing in the first few days of 2003, Dubai Duty Free is looking ahead to another strong year. "There is every indication that 2003 will be another great year," said CoIm McLoughlin, managing director of Dubai Duty Free. "We have seen major growth in all categories including strong categories such as gold, which has increased by 18 per cent and electronics, which has increased by 24 per cent. Equally significant is the fact that spend per passenger increased to around $30, which is way above the average global spend." "With such a successful year behind us, I would like to extend my thanks to Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum for his ongoing support and thank the entire team of staff who have worked so hard in the past twelve months," said McLoughlin. The release said by the 31st December 2002, shopfloor transactions at Dubai Duty Free had reached 7.8 million, resulting in a new daily average of 21,000 transactions. From its bonded warehouse, the operation physically transports around 25 million products per year.
Dubai Healthcare City in talks for tie-up with HarvardABU DHABI, Jan 5, 2003 () --Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) held negotiations with Harvard Medical School for a potential partnership with DHCC. The negotiations focused on Harvard Medical School participating in the DHCC project in the area of medical education, according to reports in the UAE's dailies. "DHCC is considered as a significant strategic project to be implemented by DDIA. The project involves setting up prestigious and globally known institutions that specialise in healthcare," said Saeed Al Muntafiq, director general of Dubai Development and Investment Authority (DDIA). "At the core of the DHCC, there will be a University Medical Complex, establishing medical practice, education and research in a academic health centre. In this respect, we are looking at having the world's leading institutions in medical education and research to be involved in the project," he continued. Apart from Al Muntafiq, the meeting was attended by Dr Martin Berlin, DHCC Business Development, Mark Tracey, Consultant Representative for the UAE, Harvard Medical School, and Dr Ahmed Izzeldin Abu el Gasim, Consultant Represen-tative for UAE, Harvard Medical School.
Indian Nuclear Doctrine operationlization
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) met today to review the progress in operationaizing of India’s nuclear doctrine. The Committee decided that the following information, regarding the nuclear doctrine and operational arrangements governing India’s nuclear assets, should be shared with the public.
- 2. India’s nuclear doctrine can be summarized as follows:
- 1. Building and maintaining a credible minimum deterrent;
- 2. A posture of "No First Use" nuclear weapons will only be used in retaliation against a nuclear attack on Indian territory or on Indian forces anywhere;
- 3. Nuclear retaliation to a first strike will be massive and designed to inflict unacceptable damage.
- 4. Nuclear retaliatory attacks can only be authorised by the civilian political leadership through the Nuclear Command Authority.
- 5. Non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states;
- 6. However, in the event of a major attack against India, or Indian forces anywhere, by biological or chemical weapons, India will retain the option of retaliating with nuclear weapons;
- 7. A continuance of strict controls on export of nuclear and missile related materials and technologies, participation in the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty negotiations, and continued observance of the moratorium on nuclear tests.
- 8. Continued commitment to the goal of a nuclear weapon free world, through global, verifiable and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament.
- 3. The Nuclear Command Authority comprises a Political Council and an Executive Council. The Political Council is chaired by the Prime Minister. It is the sole body which can authorize the use of nuclear weapons.
- 4 The Executive Council is chaired by the National Security Advisor. It provides inputs for decision making by the Nuclear Command Authority and executes the directives given to it by the Political Council.
- 5. The CCS reviewed the existing command and control structures, the state of readiness, the targetting strategy for a retaliatory attack, and operating procedures for various stages of alert and launch. The Committee expressed satisfaction with the overall preparedness. The CCS approved the appointment of a Commander-in-Chief, Strategic Forces Command, to manage and administer all Strategic Forces.
- 6. The CCS also reviewed and approved the arrangements for alternate chains of command for retaliatory nuclear strikes in all eventualities.
.jpg)
.jpg)