Articles by Hansavivek

Impressive Turn Round Hansavivek MUKAND IRON AND STEEL WORKS has staged an impressive turn round in its performance during 1985-86 and has returned to the dividend list after an absence of two years. Gross profit has soared to an all-time high figure of Rs 10.29 crore from previous year's mere Rs 14 lakh following increase in sales from Rs 115 crore to Rs 214 crore. These figures reflect a substantial widening of profit margins. After depreciation, there is a net profit of Rs 5.08 crore against a net loss of Rs 3.90 crore The recommended distribution on the capita] enlarged by conversion of debentures is covered 4.80 times by earnings.

Bhopal's Lone Survivor Hansavivek UNION CARBIDE INDIA faced as many as 2,898 law suits in the Court of District Judge, Bhopal, with total value of claims amounting to Rs 161.6 crore besides a representative suit claiming Rs 1,250 crore filed against it and the parent company, Union Carbide Corporation, USA. In terms of the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster (Processing of Claims) Act, 1985, Government of India applied for being added as co-plaintiff. All these suits have been consolidated and stayed by the District Judge, Bhopal, on December 31, 1985. In the 16 suits filed against the US company in the US, one was dismissed and 13 were transferred to the Southern District Court in New York, while two suits are still pending in the State Courts in the States of Texas and Connecticut. The 13 suits were dismissed by Judge John F Keenan on May 12, 1986 on grounds of forum non convenient. Appeals have been filed against Judge Keenan's judgment before the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeal in The Week's Companies New York. The remaining two suits are still pending in the State Courts in the US and are being contested by the company.

Opening New Areas for Growth Hansavivek TATA CHEMICALS has once again produced good working results for the year ended March 1986 with a gross profit of Rs 38.49 crore against Rs 33.09 crore in the previous year following sales of Rs 136.57 crore against Rs 111.51 crore. Net profit is Rs 21.68 crore (Rs 20.97 crore). Dividend is maintained at 25 per cent on the enlarged capital and is covered 3.18 times as against 6,01 times previously. It may be pointed out that the company had made a change in 1984-85 in the method of accounting for interest on borrowings for capital expenditure. The board has decided to revert to the practice consistently followed before 1984-85. Accordingly, the additional interest capitalised in 1984-85 has been written back and will now be accounted for as and when it falls due. As a result of this adjustment, there is no effect on the profits for 1985-86, as an additional transfer of Rs 198 lakh made to the Investment Allowance Reserve and Rs 175.80 lakh transferred to general reserve number 2 have become free and have therefore been written back.

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states; Jawaharlal Nehru, in a remarkable volte face, went along, as did the rest of the Congress party: accession to power contributes greatly to charity of thought. By 1948 it was decided that sorry, it was all a misunderstanding, residuary powers in the Union of India will be with the Union, not, as earlier settled, with the states. B R Ambedkar was a decisive man; he did not believe in leaving things vague. In a thundering speech in November 1948 in the Constituent Assembly, he was forthrightness personified in his exposition of the imperial order that was India: "The Drafting Committee wanted to make it clear that though India was to be a federation, the federation was not the result of an agreement by the states to join in a federation. The federation is a union because it is indestructible. Though the country and the people may be divided into different states for convenience of administration, the country is one inte grated whole, its people a single people living under a single imperium derived from a single source." There you are. B R Ambedkar so ordained, and the Constituent Assembly acquiesced: we are a single people under a single imperium derived from a single source. Imperium is Latin for empire. This empire, B R Ambedkar decreed, is not one built on the agreement of the states, it is based, by implication, on force, force "derived from a single source". Under the circumstances, this "single source", who could doubt, could only be the British, who had passed on the baton.