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11 lakhs mobile subscribers of BSNL to be added in WB Circle in FY11 Kolkata, Sep 1 (UNI) Union Minister of State for Communication and Information Technology Sachin Pilot today said about 11 lakhs mobile subscribers of public sector BSNL would be added in West Bengal Circle during the current financial year.
Speaking at a press conference here, Mr Pilot said, the BSNL, which presently had 41.76 lakhs mobile subscribers in the Circle, would add 339 mobile towers (800 BTSs) this fiscal, taking the total number of towers in the state to 3,821, to ensure that mobile services were delivered to the remotest locations of the state.
Informing that as many as 34,555 villages had already been provided with telephones, the minister said 3,956 village public telephones would be added in the curreat financial year to ensure that villages enjoy the same level of connectivity as the urban areas.
In areas where conventional connectivity was not possible, 83 satellite phones were proposed to be installed in 44 places in West Bengal, he said, adding 3G services had already been launched in 44 places in the state.
Broadband services would also be delivered to rural areas through WiMAX technology, Mr Pilot added.
All queries of CAG duly and promptly replied: says DoT New Delhi, Sep 1 (UNI) The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) today described as "incorrect and misleading" reports that it had delayed or evaded queries of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the issuance of Universal Access Service (UAS) licences and spectrum allotment.
''DoT neither delayed the replies at any stage nor evaded from replying the queries of audit. Since some of the documents relevant to the points raised in the queries are in the custody of the CBI, DoT only reserved its right to modify the reply, if required after verification, once the documents are received back from CBI,''a spokesperson of the Ministry for communications and IT said in a statement.
''The Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications and IT has clarified that the Director General Audit, Post and Telegraph, in continuation of their earlier queries, have issued a 'Draft Report' on July 19, 2010 to DoT for comments. The Department thereon sent its detailed para-wise comments on July 27, 2010 itself though two weeks were given to the Department for reply.
On subsequent communication received from DG Audit, P&T, comments of DoT were sent on August 31, 2010. The factual and the legal position of the Department on the decisions taken on the issuance of Universal Access Service (UAS) licences and spectrum allotment have been duly apprised to the Audit for considering the broad Government policies as enunciated in the National Telecom Policy (NTP), 1999, Five Year Plans and TRAI recommendations,''the spokesperson said.
Further, it said that in view of the misconceptions created in certain sections of the media, the Department had also clarified that all queries have been duly and promptly replied in time and no further CAG audit para as such has been received in DOT on this issue.
The spokesperson stated that the promptness shown by the DoT in replying to the audit had been confused with the reference sent to the Law Ministry for other clarifications.
''It is clarified that only after the reply was sent to the audit the reference to the Law Ministry has been made on policy issues of the Government. Hence the attempt by media to confuse as if DOT hides behind CBI to avoid CAG is incorrect,''the spokesperson added.
Continental cap hike causes Schaeffler H1 net loss MUNICH, Sep 1 (Reuters) Auto parts supplier Schaeffler pledged to lower its sky-high debt that threatens a merger with Continental AG after posting first-half results battered by writedowns on the value of its Continental stake.
Schaeffler controls just over three-quarters of tyre and brakes maker Continental, so its ability to cut debt is a key concern for credit rating agencies judging Continental's default risk ahead of a planned junk bond issue.
Schaeffler intends to merge its business with Continental, which it acquired via a leveraged takeover last year, but Chief Executive Juergen Geissinger on Wednesday backed away from committing to a deal any time soon.
''Naturally, we want a merger of the two companies, but at the moment we have the time to think about how that may in fact look at some point in the future,'' Geissinger told reporters.
''All the questions that certainly must be considered and illuminated have not been discussed, so unfortunately I cannot give any answers yet.'' Geissinger's hands are still somewhat tied for now.
The two German companies were at odds for months, and any major move has to be approved by five banks that loaned privately held Schaeffler 12 billion euros ($15.2 billion).
Schaeffler, based in sleepy Herzogenaurach, published its first earnings report ever on Wednesday.
But management declined to discuss the financial health of its holding company, which has a further 5 billion euros in debt in addition to the liabilities at the operating company.
The balance sheet of Schaeffler alone improved by the end of June thanks to a sharp recovery in the auto parts industry this year from the depths of the global economic crisis.
Its leverage ratio dropped to a more manageable level and free cash flow reached almost 340 million euros in the half.
Schaeffler had burned through cash a year earlier even before spending billions for the Continental stake in January 2009.
RATING AGENCIES WARY ''Our financing situation has eased significantly in the first half. We will further reduce our net financial debt in the coming few years. De-leveraging is a key priority for us,'' finance chief Klaus Rosenfeld said.
Schaeffler dramatically improved earnings at the operating level but took a near-400 million euro loss on paper related to a capital increase at Continental.
Continental this year sold shares to investors at a price well below what Schaeffler had paid for its stock. That forced Schaeffler to write down the value of the shares in its books.
Now the book value is about 63 euros a share, still well above the stock's current price of 48.565 euros by 1330 GMT, up 1.8 percent after having gained more than 30 percent this year.
On the eve of the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008, Schaeffler launched a hostile takeover bid for Continental that valued its three-times-larger rival at 75 euros per share. It had borrowed billions for the deal from a handful of banks led by the later partly nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland.
Engulfed by the financial crisis, Continental shares plunged to around 10 euros while liquidity and funding dried up.
Rupee bounces back by 27 paise to 46.80 against Dollar Mumbai, Sep 01 (UNI) The Rupee today strengthened by 27 paise to 46.80 against the Dollar on selling of the greenback by exporters and positive trend on the local stock market, traders at the Interbank Foreign Exchange (FOREX) said.
The Indian unit, which was recorded at 47.07 per USD, a month's low yesterday, jumped up by 15 paise in the opening trade on fresh capital inflows into the stock market by foreign funds. At the end of the day, the Rupee further rallied to finish at 46.80 against the American Currency following the surging trend in the equity market, dealers said.
Similarly, a weak Dollar against other major currencies too impacted the sentiment, they added.
An oscillation was seen in the domestic unit as it registered the day's high and low at 47.00 and 46.79 per USD respectively.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today fixed the reference rate for the Dollar at Rs 46.87, down by 21 paise from its previous rate of 47.08.
The Euro rose by ten paise to Rs 59.60 per unit compared to its previous close of Rs 59.50 per unit, a RBI release said here.
Six month forward dollar was registered at 4.90 per cent against 4.75 on previous day, and one year was recorded at 4.23 per cent compared to 4.13 per cent, the previous day.
The Euro dollar was recorded higher at Rs 60.12 against Rs 59.78 per unit against the Indian currency.
Reinsurers left exposed by low premiums-Fitch LONDON, Sep 1 (Reuters) The reinsurance sector is vulnerable to a significant insured loss from the Atlantic storm season as their reserve capital has been used to offset low premiums, Fitch Ratings said, as Hurricane Earl threatens to hit land.
As Earl lingers as a category 3 storm off the east coast of the United States, Fitch Ratings told a reporters on Wednesday insured losses from catastrophes in the first half, which were the highest on record, have already started to erode reinsurer's catastrophe budgets for the year.
The reinsurance sector needs a modest Atlantic hurricane season in order to prevent revisions to earnings guidance having to be made, Fitch said in its global reinsurance review.
Overall pricing had not been hit despite catastrophe losses from such events as the Chilean earthquake and European windstorm Xynthia in February, and the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico, but some businesses and regions have been affected, Fitch said.
Property catastrophe rates in Chile increased by 40 to 70 percent in response to earthquake losses in February, while for the sector as a whole, rate reductions were an average 5 to 10 percent.
''Abundant capacity -- and even overcapacity -- remains for many lines of business, and reinsurers' strong capital positions continue to provide a buffer that may allow rates to be cut further before economic profitability targets are compromised,'' said Fitch.
In addition to powerful Earl, the U.S. National Hurricane Center is monitoring two other tropical systems in the Atlantic.
Hurricane Earl could make landfall somewhere between North Carolina and New England, and this will dictate whether it is a market changing event or not, said Chris Waterman, managing director in Fitch's Insurance rating group.
''I would expect a $30 to 40 billion loss (from a catastrophe) to have a material impact on the premium rating environment,'' he said.
Premium ratings could also be affected by the new insurer solvency rules being introduced in 2013, which are expected to boost demand for reinsurance, said Fitch.
''Reinsurance capacity is an effective tool for managing capacity,'' said Waterman, adding that capital intensive business lines, such as credit insurance and non-proportional reinsurance lines could see premium rates rise.
As the reinsurance industry gears up for the reinsurance gathering in Monte Carlo next week, Fitch reaffirmed its stable outlook on the industry.
Waterman said it was unlikely the industry would be upgraded to a positive outlook, despite strong underwriting earnings and the sector's resilience though the course of the financial crisis.
''Should trends improve, a move to positive rating outlook is unlikely due to the ease with which capital can enter of leave the sector,'' he said.
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