EKSPORTIR INDIA BERALIH KE EURO
Selama kira-kira setahun, industri India khususnya eksportirnya – yang memperoleh sekitar
US$50 miliar devisa bagi negara dalam setahun dan yang memperoleh keuntungan atas
depresiasi selama 10 tahun sebelumnya – semakin merasakan tekanan apresiasi Rupee
terhadap dolar.
"Kami akan menghadapinya dengan peningkatan ekspor," kata mereka. Dan seperti yang
dikemukakan oleh L Mansingh, director-general of the Department of Foreign Trade, India barubaru ini bahwa mereka memiliki alasan untuk optimistis, karena "pada akhirnya, industri itu
sendiri melakukan restrukturisasi, pengurangan biaya, menjadi lebih kompetitif dan
keseluruhannya akan menghasilkan peningkatan ekspor yang akhirnya menyeimbangkan
Rupee".
Namun sekarang, kelihatannya bahwa India telah angkat tangan. Peningkatan nilai Rupee, yang
telah terapresiasi sekitar 4 persen selama 13 bulan terakhir, ketimbang 5 persen depresiasi per
tahun waktu sebelumnya, telah menekan secara hebat perusahaan-perusahaan domestik,
demikian disebutkan dalam sebuah studi yang dilakukan oleh industri kepada Federation of
Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI).
Studi tersebut meliputi 100 importir, eksportir dan bank, mengatakan bahwa profit 59 persen dari
responden telah terkena, sementara 49 persen percaya bahwa perkembangan-perkembangan
terakhir telah mengena kompetitif mereka di pasaran internasional.
Dalam upaya menyeimbangkan pengaruh negatifnya, perusahaan-perusahaan telah mengambil
langkah-langkah seperti penghematan untuk mempertahankan tingkat profitabilitas dari apresiasi
rupee, pengenalan terhadap sistem-sistem dan mekanisme baru untuk meningkatkan tingkat
efisiensi mereka dan merambah pasar-pasar baru. Namun yang sangat penting adalah, eksportir
India sedang menghindari dollar untuk berpindah ke beberapa mata uang lainnya seperti Euro,
Yen dan Pound.
Perpindahaan ini terbukti lebih menguntungkan ketimbang hanya mematok rupee terhadap dollar
yang sedang jatuh nilainya. Karena sementara Rupee terus meningkat nilainya terhadap dollar,
Rupee juga mengalami penurunan terhadap nilai mata uang-mata uang besar lainnya. Misalnya,
Rupee telah menurun 27 persen terhadap Euro, 10 persen terhadap Yen dan 9 persen terhadap
Pound dalam setahun ini. Lebih pula, pasar mengharapkan Rupee untuk jatuh lebih jauh
terhadap mata uang-mata uang ini. Oleh karenanya, bagi sebuah eksportir India, sementara
pembayaran dalam dollar mengurangi 5 persen dari pendapatan, sebuah perpindahan yang
sederhana dalam mata uang akan menghasilkana perbaikan yang signifikan secara keseluruhan.
Studi FICCI menambahkan pula bahwa 77 persen dari responden beranggapan bahwa Rupee
akan terus terdepresiasi terhadap Euro, yang mana saat ini muncul sebagai mata uang yang
paling diminati di India. Sementara di lain pihak, dalam kaitan dengan masuknya dollar ke dalam
negeri, surplus current account yang tinggi, pembayaran dollar yang tinggi dalam bentuk tidak
terlihat (kontrak dalam tahunan yang akan dibayar pada akhir masa kontrak) dan 3-4 persn
perbedaan suku bunga di pasar antara USA dan India, ditambah dengan resesi di USA, kondisi
Rupee terhadap dollar agaknya akan terus mengalami kecenderungan seperti ini terus-menerus
ke depan, demikian menurut FICCI.
Sangat jelas bahwa sektor industri yang melakukan perpindahan ini adalah software, yang
terhitung menghasilkan US$10 billion out of the country's $50 billion in exports. Perusahaan
perusahaan pembuat software terkemuka seperti Infosys dan Wipro mengatakan bahwa bahkan
jika hanya 1 persen apresiasi pada Rupee terhadap Dollar akan memberi pengaruh sampai
sekitar 40-50 poin. Angka antisipasi Rupee pada akhir tahun fiskal 2003-2004 berarti untuk
perusahaan-perusahaan terkemuka pembuat software akan berpengaruh antara 120-170 poin.
Wipro, Infosys, Datamatics, Mastek, i-flex dan MphasiS-BFL telah mulai melakukan tanda tangan
kontrak pembayaran dalam mata uang lokal dari negara tempat tujuan ekspor mereka.
Diskursus Antara Demokrasi dan Pembangunan
India mungkin salah satu negara yang saat ini sedang dalam jalannya untuk membuktikan bahwa
demokrasi mungkin tidak akan menjadi sebuah halangan permanen ketika datang pada
peningkatakan ekonomi, R Jagannathan menjelaskan bagaimana keberhasilan kunjungan
Perdana Menteri India ke China telah menimbulkan perbandingan antara kedua negara yang
mana hampir seluruh perbandingan tersebut menunjukkan kekalahan bagi India.
Apakah dalam hal pendapatan per kapita, indicator sosial, infrastruktur, tingkat kompetitif bidang
manufaktur atau penanaman modal asing, China kelihatannya telah mencapai lebih dari India.
Mendasari perbandingan ini adalah pertanyaan: apakah demokrasi memperlambat
pembangunan?
Majalah The Economist, dalam analisanya mengenai demokrasi menampik bahwa demokrasi
memperlambat pembangunan. Adalah korupsi dan birokrasi yang membuat India lambat. Mantan
menteri Keuangan India, P. Chidambaram, menguatkan hal ini. Menurutnya, tidak ada penalti
mutlak adanya pembangunan bila sebuah negara menganut demokrasi. Tetapi, jika demokrasi
yang demokrasi yang lebih baik akan menghasilkan pembangunan yang lebih baik. Adalah logis
untuk menerima kenyataan bahwa demokrasi memang benar memperlambat efisiensi ekonomi
jika kebebasan dilihat sebagai suatu halangan bagi percepatan pembangunan, inilah argumen
yang mendukung sandaran otokrasi.
Demokrasi bukanlah sebuah sistim yang didisain untuk sebuah perkembangan yang cepat.
Lembaga-lembaganya dimaksudkan untuk melakukan pengecekan konsentrasi kekuasaan yang
berlebihan di beberapa pihak. Ketika tiba pada membuat pilihan ekonomi, demokrasi
membutuhkan waktu yang lama untuk memutuskan secara tepat karena sangat banyak orang
yang dibutuhkan untuk diyakinkan dan kepentingan-kepentingan sepihak lainnya yang harus
dinetralisir.
Sejarah negara-negara 'Macan-macan Asia' memberi kita pengetahuan bahwa peningkatan yang
tinggi dan reformasi-reformasi adalah selalu lebih gampang dilakukan pada lingkungan yang
otokratis — Korea Selatan, Singapura, Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia dan China.
Ketika negara-negara ini sedang dalam jalan mereka menuju 'Macan', mereka seluruhnya
otokratis. Beberapa diantara mereka sampai sekarang masih tetap otokratis.
Pada sisi positif, demokrasi adalah lebih sedikit dalam membuat kesalahan-kesalahan fatal —
demikian yang disebut dalam buku 'Great Leap Forward' . Seperti yang telah disebutkan oleh
Amartya Sen, demokrasi memberikan keyakinan akan adanya kondisi kelaparan yang lebih kecil.
Kita membutuhkan demokrasi karena segi positifnya, tapi kita tidak bisa lari dari segi-segi
negatifnya. Demikian pula dengan India yang saat ini sedang dalam jalannya untuk membuktikan
bahwa demokrasi bukanlah menjadi sebuah halangan bagi pembangunan, tapi tidak bisa
menghindari unsure negatif yang inheren di dalamnya.
Cara yang terbaik untuk menganalisa beberapa tahun belakangan dari beberapa pemerintahan
koalisi India adalah melihat mereka sebagai suatu consensus awal yang tidak bisa dihindari
dalam proses reformasi. Tentunya akan lebih membantu bagi India jika pada tahun-tahun
tersebut memiliki pemimpin yang kuat, diterima secara luas serta memiliki kekuatan persuasive
yang mempercepat pembentukan sebuah konsensus.
Sebuah consensus yang membuat masyarakat bersatu dalam sebuah tindakan akan
membutuhkan waktu, upaya dan komunikasi tanpa henti. Hanyalah lingkungan yang benar-benar
ekstrim yang akan membantu mendorong perubahan secara cepat, seperti contoh pada tahun
1992 ketika Manmohan Singh meluncurkan reformasi secara besar-besaran. Jika dilihat dari
situasi perpolitikan India selama 10 tahun terakhir, maka reformasi tersebut adalah sebuah
kemajuan besar. Sektor perminyakan telah mengalami deregulasi. Demikian juga dengan sektor
kelistrikan. Untuk sektor telekomunikasi, paling tidak dari segi konsumen merupakan sebuah
kesuksesan. Meskipun dalam prosesnya sampai saat ini masih terdapat beberapa
permasalahan. Program-program pembangunan jalan tol begerak pesat. Usahawan-usahawan
India — mulai dari farmasi sampai infotek dan manufaktur — semuanya dalam transisi menjadi
pemain-pemain global. Transparansi dalam lingkungan korporasi meningkat, tingkat korupsi
mulai menurun. Satu-satunya wilayah dimana korupsi tidak menurun hanyalah dalam bidang
politik. Tekanan bagi perubahan hal ini (politik) akan datang dari sebuah kombinasi dari sisi
kepentingan bisnis yang terancam oleh ketidakdisiplinan politik dan kemarahan publik yang
meluas.
Sebagai rangkuman, India tidaklah perlu meminta maaf atas demokrasinya atau perubahannya
yang lambat karena yang satu menjadi bagian dari lainnya. Namun demikian, hal ini tidaklah
berarti India tidak dapat meningkat lebih cepat; tidak pula berarti bahwa India tidak bisa
melakukannya tanpa meyakinkan banyak orang mengenai pentingnya hal tersebut. Hal ini
merupakan sebuah tujuan yang penting didalamnya. Kalau tidak, kenapa harus repot-repot
menjadi sebuah negara demokrasi?
Today concern-mongering is outshining government-bashing to become our reigning
passion, with rural India offering itself as a cinch laboratory for developmental
philanthropy. Still, the concept of leveraging information and communication technologies
(ICTS) to empower this vast swathe wrestles unremitting scepticism. Not without reason,
for the flurry of activity—from computers thrown in schools to training centres doled out
to rural women—has occasioned precious little beyond photo-ops. That Indian villages—
7,00,000 of them with 740 million people and a Rs 6,00,000-crore GDP—are starved of
basic infrastructure has tempted ICT detractors to equate the idea with the French
airhead’s famously incurious "Let them eat cake" riposte.
Not to belittle their potential to democratise knowledge, free computers are no dice with a 12 per
cent electricity deficit and a 20 per cent peak power shortage, the brunt of which is conveniently
passed on to rural India. Internet programmes are futile with a 3 per cent teledensity as against
the world average of 15. Notwithstanding the phone boom the direct dialling system brought
in its wake, of the 44.6 million direct exchange lines in the country, villages account for a
meagre 9.6 million, while public telephones exist in 5 lakh villages. Web content makes
sense to a mere 5 per cent English-conversant population. A country of over a billion has
only 11 million PCs, mostly in offices and institutions, and only 35 lakh Internet
subscriptions, which translate into 10.5 million users at an average of three users per
connection. Many need to dial long-distance calls to the cities to get connected. With poor
telephony and modem speeds, getting connected is like watching paint dry. For a modest
7 per cent broadband reach, India ranks 18th among 20 major nations of the world. Quite
distinct from lofty political balderdash, rural India continues to be anaemic in
infrastructure.
Yet, come to think of it, even the advent of the now-ubiquitous television in the country had invited
scepticism. But two decades thence, the rural market is already accounting for 70 per cent of total
colour television sales.
So now, as several rural ICT initiatives, mostly local pilots, are bearing the first fruits,
those in the know are quashing the normative European trajectory of industrial
development, swearing by multi-sectoral and non-linear progress, and pledging
themselves to weed out unequal access to information, dubbing that as the root cause of
inequality within countries.
In all measure, ICTs haven’t yet arrived for the hinterland, much less for the 40 per cent
below the poverty line, and the empowerment gabfests are far from outwitting socialist
rhetoric. The digital divide is as much a social dilemma today as a technological reality.
Let the hype not beguile us into over-expecting. Notwithstanding our long craving for
quick-fix solutions to problems all and sundry, technology is no magic wand. Warns Ken
Keniston, professor of human development at MIT: "ICTs are neither a panacea, nor
necessarily the first line of attack in combating poverty, injustice and misery." Explains
Walter North, director, usaid-India: "Unless we make investments in basics like education,
ICT will remain an icing."
Yet, rural demands must grow to force improved provisions. Technology must re-scale itself to
the local needs of end-users. Development agencies must stop assuming too much on behalf of
the people at the grassroots. Information services must cease being supply-driven and
unidirectional.
Organisations must embark upon technology audits to transcend policy directives and
mission statements and assess the maturity, timeliness, quality, cost-efficiency and userfriendliness of their technologies. Says Akhtar Badshah, executive director, Digital
Partners, a Seattle-based non-profit institute: "The rural masses need a different
computing power than what we are providing them." Not mere ardour, but empirical data
is required to govern this headway. Keniston avers: "The most creative uses of ICTs in
development may not entail computers, e-mail, websites or Internet access, but the use of
computer-based technologies, including embedded chips and satellite-based information,
to better meet local needs." Rakesh Kumar, CEO, TARAhaat, grimaces: "ICTs have the
power to give a lot, but ICT technicians don’t have the imagination to make that happen."
Mercifully, the first steps have been taken—towards technologies that interact with the masses in
their tongue. The local language software market in India has surged from $0.5 million in 2000-01
to $11 million and is expected to rise to $64 million by 2005. More importantly, e-governance
initiatives could be amounting to 55 per cent of this market by the end of 2003, what with as many
as 140 ICT packages being implemented currently by the central and various state governments.
Tech research group Gartner says the government spent $1.008 billion in 2002 on e-governance
initiatives, accounting for 9 per cent of the total IT spend, a share that can go up to 12-15 per cent
by 2005. Figures read encouraging. But is anyone crunching figures to substantiate the efficacy
of these investments?
Money is less of a deterrent for social entrepreneurs as well. Micro-finance models may still be
evolving in India, but, states Naina Lal Kidwai, MD and vice-chairperson, hsbc Securities and
Capital Markets, "A quasi-Grameen Bank model is beginning to work and people are trying to
replicate its success. Financial institutions are realising that the right model to lend is through the
community, in some cases women’s self-help groups, rather than the individual. This has
dramatically improved loan paybacks."
It’s crucial to strike commercially viable combinations of communication technologies. Says
R.R.N. Prasad of TRAI: "Bridging the digital divide in India essentially means bridging the
teledensity divide between rural and urban areas." That mandates a synergy of the telecom and
the IT sectors. While the telecom market crossed a turnover of $9 billion in 2002, the IT industry
is expected to grow to $20 billion by 2008. The country’s exalted ascent as an IT superpower and
the monetary gains thereof haven’t trickled down, barring niche initiatives by the likes of Infosys,
Wipro, tcs and Satyam. India still needs to cover ground in terms of regulatory environments
conducive to technology development, private participation in infrastructure augmentation and
basic literacy to keep billions from falling through the net.
Yet, says Arun Shourie, Union minister for disinvestment, communications and IT, "We must
realise that everything cannot be left to the government, although it is true that the state
apparatus in India needs to change to keep pace with technological creativity. There’s still
resistance to technology, but our heckling is not going to stop time. We must learn to spot
business opportunities, like Amul finding one in a woman milking a cow or Sulabh International
finding another in a person defecating along railway tracks."
If an underserved rural market contributes 50 per cent of the national income, it’s not hard to
explain why the private sector is animatedly drawn towards a potential market of 750 million
people, many netting savings as high as 25 per cent of the family income. Ved Prakash Sharma
of the National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management, Hyderabad, says: "The growth of
the Indian rural economy will provide a large number of customers for technology companies." So
while Hewlett Packard is developing special products for rural markets to make IT accessible to
vernacular users, improve connectivity options and provide affordable devices, Microsoft is also
developing training packages for regional audiences.
That apart, India has not been able to harness the rich experiments well, maintains Keniston,
although "there is more creativity in India than anywhere else". Agrees Motoo Kusakabe, former
VP, World Bank: "The fragmented approach to ICT development in India needs to make way for
comprehensive programmes." What we need is a managerial rather than an administrative
approach to ensure that technology does not become dominant, believes NASSCOM chairman
Kiran Karnik. "It is the application of technology that must drive the process. The technology itself
must be need-based, not merely imitative or commercially driven."
The accent of most ICT projects is on incubating business models for social entrepreneurs.
However, with subsidies and grants having killed the need for long-term sustainability, the ngos
are now being put through their paces in driving home the idea of viability. Satish Jha, chairman
of the Digital Partners South Asia initiative, reasons: "There’s more passion than capacity in the
ngo space. Capacity-building takes one through various generations of learning about technology
and, given that this debate is only a few years old, they haven’t had enough time to do that."
Profit ambitions cannot be an anathema if the ICT initiatives are to be spared the plight of staterun welfare schemes. Deepak Amin, investor and senior VP, Streamserve Inc, chides the
sceptics: "Profitability isn’t a capitalist way of looking at a cause. Those not talking about it are
missing the point. By giving people things, you are making them dependent. That’s not the goal."
So if the government is strapped for resources and ngos are far from the necessary capacities,
can the corporates help? Notably, India’s private sector is more aggressively involved with
installing ICT kiosks than anywhere else. But the contribution of most corporates remains limited
to funding.
We are tempted to conjecture: wouldn’t the most compelling model be where the government
builds the infrastructure, social entrepreneurs cognise rural needs before buckling down on ICT
ventures, corporates mentor them to inculcate the rigours and processes that help businesses
succeed, financial institutions develop effective micro-financing frameworks, and the community
sheds its indifference to technology to contribute to the bottomlines of these ventures? Through
all this, ngos would be required to play a primary role—of demystifying technology, of auditing
progress, of helping investments reach a critical mass, and, most importantly, of sharing success
stories in milieus most characterised by lack of precedents, although India has the world’s highest
number of local ICT promoters. A business-like approach to social change, based on revenues
rather than grants, is becoming indispensable.
Technology may have helped us confront certain issues, but it has also thrown up many of its
own. However, to lose sight of its promises would only set us back in time. Wasted, poorly
utilised, or unspent resources in IT applications are only reinforcing popular scepticism. Gartner
also warns that India’s enthusiasm for e-governance in 2003 may not be matched by its ability to
provide online services. It’s important to look beyond investing in technology for technology’s
sake. Development conclaves resembling grand picnics may deliver little.
As scientist Michael Dertouzos said: "ICTs can be of use in reducing the digital divide if only we
commit to that goal the same intelligence and imagination that has gone into creating the
technologies themselves."
SEATTLE/BANGALORE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp., is starting to shift U.S.based jobs to India as it seeks to lower technical support and development costs,
the world's largest software maker said on Wednesday.
Microsoft, long seen as a growing company immune to job losses, is now
considering cutbacks in the United States while increasing staff in India, which
turns out tens of thousands of English-speaking software engineers each year.
"With lots of English-speaking talent, we were thinking of a better way to tap into
that," S. Somasegar, Microsoft's Vice President of Windows Engineering
Services, told Reuters.
Boosting its employee ranks in India also became a priority for the company after
its Chairman Bill Gates announced $400 million in Indian investments over three
years during a visit to the world's second-most populous nation in November.
So far, Microsoft has about 200 engineers developing software in the south India
city of Hyderabad where it opened its first non-U.S. product development center
five years ago.
Microsoft, whose Windows operating system and Office desktop software run on
more than 90 percent of the world's personal computers, is recruiting people for a
customer support center being launched in Bangalore as part of a pilot program.
Initially, Microsoft is hiring 150 people but industry sources said the center could
easily be scaled up to at least one thousand people in about two years if the pilot
plan is successful.
"To meet the needs of our customers worldwide, we expect to continue to invest
in a technical work force in India to assist us with our expanding product
development, information technology and customer support functions," a
spokeswoman of Microsoft in India said.
The software giant is betting on India's vast pool of low-cost technical workers
and engineers who can be hired for roughly one-fifth what their counterparts earn
in the United States.
Somasegar said Microsoft could increase the number of software developers in
India to as much as 500 by 2005, while it was still evaluating whether to expand
its support staff.
That's a key question for U.S. Microsoft employees who work in product and
technical support at several U.S. locations.
Last week, Microsoft cut 161 jobs from its consulting services business and on
Tuesday, unionized workers warned that Microsoft was planning to cut at least
800 employees from a facility in Texas.
Microsoft, which is also advertising aggressively for jobs in Bangalore, did not
comment on the Communications Workers of America report.
"There may be some impact to U.S. sites, but no decision has been made at this
time," said Microsoft spokeswoman Stacy Drake.
India is of strategic importance to the company as the nation's booming $9.5
billion-a-year software services export industry emerges as a key battleground in
the tussle between Windows and its rival Linux operating systems.
AGRICULTURE/Besides being a source of edible oil, the hardy Simarouba
helps to check soil erosion, improves ground water balance and generates
large scale rural employment
India is one of the major producers of oilseeds in the world with a production nearing
25.68 million tonnes from an area of about 27.45 million hectares (1998-99). The
growing population of the country has increased the demand for edible oil. To meet
this demand, there is a need to increase production of oilseeds in the country.
Attempts are being made to adopt new avenues like biotechnology and tissue culture
to improve the productivity of oilseed crops and to make them better adapted to
rain-fed conditions. A progressive step in this direction is the identification of
Simarouba glauca DC as a source of oil. Also called oil tree, Simarouba glauca
(paradise tree) is an evergreen tree growing up to 15 meters height . The flowering
is annual, beginning in December and continues up to following February.
The seeds of the plant contain 60-75% edible oil which can be used in the
manufacture of Coco Butter Substitute (palmito-stearin), vegetable oil (oleic-lnoleic
fraction), fat (vanaspati) and/or margarine. As an industrial oil it is well suited for
the manufacture of quality soaps, lubricants, paints, polishes, cosmetics,
pharmaceuticals etc. The presence of substances like quassine/
simarubin/glaucarubin in the cake make it useful as manure (N - 8.0%; P2O5 1.07%; K2O - 1.24%).
The fruit pulp rich in sugars (about 11%) can be used in the beverage and/or
fermentation industry. The left out fruit pulp along with leaf litter is ideal for
vermicomposting. The shells (endocarp) can be used to manufacture particle-board
or they can be pulverised and added to enrich the compost as they contain about
1.2% potash. The extract from leaf and bark is useful in curing amoebiasis,
diarrhoea and malaria. The light wood is useful in making light furniture, toys,
packing material, pulp (for paper industry), matches and as fuel.
Oil tree is a tropical tree which grows upto 1000 meters above sea level in all types
of moderately well drained soil with pH 5.0-9.0 and annual rainfall of 300-4000 mm.
The plants can be grown as orchards in (waste lands) and/or as avenue trees.
Pollination is by wind and honey bees.
In a natural population there is segregation into staminate (male), andromonoecious
and pistillate (female) plants. As only some female trees are heavy bearers, it is
necessary to plant more of high yielding females or transform the male and
andromonoecious plants into females. By top-working and crown grafting (in situ)
male plants can successfully be transformed into females. Similarly low yielders can
be transformed into high yielders. Generally cattle and goats do not browse on
simarouba. It has no major pests and diseases at present in its native.
Fruitlets from the plant are depulped, washed, sun-dried and can be stored for some
time before transported for processing. After decortication, oil is extracted from the
kernels. The crude oil is then refined, bleached, deodorised (RBD), if necessary
fractionated, packed and marketed.
Impact of cultivating Simarouba:
The oil tree can, in the long run help to attain self sufficiency in edible oil production
and save valuable foreign exchange. Its cultivation could also rejuvenate sick oil
mills which are suffering from the non availability of raw material.
Cultivation of the oil tree can provide employment to millions of rural women and
check their migration to urban areas. It would also create enormous off farm
employment opportunities in terms of processing, marketing etc. Its cultivation not
only gives good returns to the farmers but also encourages the development of
several ancillary industries (beverage, vanaspati, margarine, bakery, fertilizers,
paints, soaps, pharmaceuticals, value added products etc.) thus promoting additional
employment opportunities.
With its well developed root system and evergreen canopy the oil tree efficiently
checks soil erosion, improves ground water balance by effective recharging. It
prevents overheating of the soil surface in the wastelands during summer. It has got
fast biomass producing potential and thus improves bioproductivity and economic
productivity of wastelands.
The oil tree has now adapted itself to various ecological conditions and soils of India.
The Social Forestry Department of Maharashtra has cultivated oil trees in about 100
ha in problematic salinity affected soils. Farmers in Bijapur, Davanagere and Sangli
districts have cultivated it successfully in black soils. Oil tree can be grown
successfully in the marginal/wastelands of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Chattisgarh, and Gujarat. Its cultivation can be easily extended
to over 10 million hectares of marginal/wastelands in these states to cover the deficit
in oil production and in about two decades time we can hope to make the nation selfsufficient.
The Technical Mission on Oilseeds, Pulses and Maize (TMOP&M), Indian Council of
Agricultural Research (ICAR), National Oilseeds and Vegetable Oil Development
(NOVOD) Board and Directorate of Oilseeds Research (DOR), Hyderabad (AP) have
recognised the importance of oil tree cultivation and are supporting many research
and development activities in this direction. They also organise training programmes,
seminars and bring together the researchers, farmers and the industrialists for
developing an efficient marketing framework. The Oil Technological Research
Institute, Anantpur (Andhra Pradesh) has standardised the oil processing
technology.
Future prospects:
An integrated approach in linking production and processing including by-product
utilisation and marketing will increase the income from oil tree cultivation and
provide the necessary incentive to the farmers to adopt to it. Adopting to new
technologies for cultivation will ensure more availability of edible oil in the long run.
Dollar (buy/sell) 46,27/46,40
Gold std (10 grm) 5375 (-15)
TYRE makers in the country are now a happy lot. They can now resort to dutyfree natural rubber imports under the advance licence schemes (ALS). Nearly
two months after the Supreme Court verdict, the Director-General of Foreign
Trade (DGFT) has now issued a circular that would facilitate issuance of such
advance licences, tyre industry officials said. Imports under advance licences are
duty-free as they are made against exports of value-added products.
"It's good move for the tyre industry. Advance licence route has been restored.
We have been told that the intent of the circular is to remove the ban on import
of natural rubber under advance licence schemes," the Director-General of
Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA), Mr D. Ravindran, told
Business Line here.
The domestic tyre industry has, in the last few years, been making a case for
revocation of the ban on use of various types of advance licences for import of
natural rubber.
Even though the latest DGFT circular, issued on July 3, has not explicitly
mentioned the withdrawal of the earlier circulars, it does advise its licensing
authorities to "decide admissibility of import in the light of the High Court
decision and the Exim provisions and procedures."
In May, the Supreme Court upheld the Bombay High Court order, vacating ban
on import of natural rubber under the ALS.
Dismissing a special leave petition filed by the Centre challenging the Bombay
High Court order, a two-member bench comprising Mr Justice Santosh Hegde
and Mr Justice B.P. Singh, had said that the Government could not approach the
court to change its own policies.
The Bombay High Court, on a petition from Mr Narendra Udeshi, an exporter of
rubber products, ruled that the ban imposed by the DGFT on duty-free import of
natural rubber through ALS was null and void.
The High Court had said that DGFT had no powers to ban imports either through
notifications or circulars. The court in its ruling in September last had questioned
the DGFT's decision particularly when the Government had allowed duty-free
import under ALS on April 2, 2002 in the Exim Policy.
When the hearing came up in the Supreme Court, the bench had said that the
Government could amend its policy to give effect to the ban under ALS. The
judges also asked the Government why it should approach the court to change a
policy. The bench also refused to go into the merits of the Government's petition.
MUMBAI, July 1
AS anticipated, edible oil imports during June showed considerable decline from
the dizzy volume of the previous month (7.25 lakh tonnes); yet, at 5.4 lt, the
volume of inflow last month was sizeable.
According to quick estimates of import made available to Business Line by the
vegetable oils industry portal Oilmandi.com, June imports comprised mainly 2.37
lt of crude palm oil; 1.38 lt of crude olein; 1.04 lt of degummed soyabean oil;
and about 39,600 tonnes of refined palmolein.
A small parcel of crude sunflower oil (5,000 tonnes) and crude palm kernel oil
(16,000 tonnes) were also received. With this, edible oil imports during
November 2002-June 2003 aggregated 33.14 lt, up significantly from 25.78 lt
during the corresponding period of the previous year.
For July, the projected imports are at the same level as in June, that is around
5.5 lt. However, August and September can witness a rise in imports because of
festival demand.
For the oil year as a whole — November 2002-October 2003 — edible oil imports
are projected at around 53-54 lt, sharply up from 44 lt of 2001-02. Port-based
stocks, which had reached a low level a couple of months ago, have now
improved to an estimated 3.5 lt, although this level is by no means high. Despite
summer months the offtake of edible oils in the domestic market has been
satisfactory.
The Centre on Tuesday extended the deadline for mandatory supply of ethanolblended petrol in nine major sugarcane producing States and four Union
Territories by three months to September 30.
Addressing a press conference here, the Union Petroleum Minister, Mr Ram Naik,
said the extension was necessitated owing to the relative slowness with which
the production infrastructure for anhydrous ethanol was being established in
some states and Union Territories. "It has resulted in inadequate ethanol
supplies," he added.
Mr Naik, however, reiterated the Government's objective to ensure full coverage
of 5 per cent ethanol-doped petrol by 2004.
Elaborating on the progress of the ethanol-doping programme, Mr Naik said that
so far, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Chandigarh and
Dadra & Nagar Haveli have achieved full coverage.
Partial coverage has been achieved in Karnataka, Gujarat, Punjab, Andhra
Pradesh and Haryana while Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry were still finalising their
infrastructure development plans. Meanwhile, Goa and Daman & Diu are slated
to be fully covered shortly, the Minister said.
Mr Naik expressed concern at the high rates of state levies — one of the main
reasons undermining the economic viability of ethanol-doped petrol.
"I have convened a meeting of State Chief Ministers for fiscal concessions for the
environment-friendly fuel besides simplification of excise procedures and
removal of physical barriers to unrestricted inter-State movement of the
product,'' he said.
As part of the first phase, 255 districts in the nine notified States and four
notified Union Territories were to be supplied with ethanol-blended petrol.
"Of these, 157 districts have been covered so far including 13 districts in part. All
the 71 districts of Uttar Pradesh and the 35 districts of Maharashtra now supply
only the blended fuel," Mr Naik said.
In Karnataka, 20 districts have been covered with the remaining seven having
been covered in parts. In Gujarat, 16 out of 25 districts besides another three in
part have been covered. In Punjab, seven out of 17 districts are supplying
ethanol-blended petrol to automobiles.
HYDERABAD: With a view to giving tips on conserving fuel to drivers of heavy
vehicles and buses, Petroleum Conservation Research Association (PCRA), which
works under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Conservation, has decided to
hold free training programmes. "We will demonstrate how we can save up to 20
per cent of fuel," a PCRA press release said.
"Training will be given to drivers in batches, each comprising 10, on the
premises of schools and organisations," it added. Enquiries can be at
pcrah@rediffmail.com.