Industrial Updates - Transformational World of Economics

Nokia becomes new victim on Apple web page

2010-07-22T00:30:00.000-07:00

Nokia becomes new victim on Apple web page

Apple chief Steve Jobs has been rebuked by many in mobile industry for pointing fingers at other brands on the antenna reception following the reception complaints about Apple iPhone 4. Despite this Apple seem to be more defiant and on an offensive mode now.

To support its claim that the problem is shared by the entire industry, Apple's new Antenna web page has started targeting all brands with its test results.

Now, Apple's new target is Nokia. The Apple site has already reported Antenna reception problem in BlackBerry, HTC and Samsung models, which the companies denied too.

The new video on the Apple Web page shows the N97 mini’s signal strength bars drop from eight down to two over the course of a minute. The demonstration shows yet another smartphone succumbing to the same issue that has been the focus of iPhone 4 complaints, and also underscores the fact that there isn’t any standardization in how cell signal strength is represented from phone to phone.

Test results as claimed by Apple:

BlackBerry Bold 9700 dropped from 5 bars to 1 bar when held in a way that attenuated the signal.

HTC Droid Eris dropped from 4 bars to 0 bars when held in a way that attenuated the signal.

Nokia N97 mini dropped from 7 bars to 2 bars when held in a way that attenuated the signal.

Samsung Omnia II dropped from 4 bars to 1 bar when held in a way that attenuated the signal.

iPhone 3GS dropped from 3 bars to 1 bar when held in a way that attenuated the signal

Also read: Nokia makes fun of Apple iPhone 4

Last week Apple chief Steve Jobs had rejected any suggestion the iPhone 4's design was flawed on the reception issue and claimed the problem was shared by the entire industry.

However, the Job's claim has been strongly denied by Blackberry and Samsung. After Apple put up antenna reception test result of Samsung Omnia II, Samsung said that it had not received significant customer feedback on any signal reduction issue for the Omnia II.

Similarly, Jobs' argument was also swiftly rejected by RIM, which charged Apple of trying deliberately to distort the issues surrounding the iPhone 4's antenna design by asserting RIM's BlackBerry had similar reception problems.

Apple's Antenna web page claims that every smartphone has a cellular antenna. And nearly every smartphone can lose signal strength if you hold it in a certain way. Further, Apple boasts that it has invested more than $100 million building its advanced antenna design and test labs.

It may be recalled here that Nokia's official blog had recentely sought to make fun of Apple's suggestion to iPhone 4 users on defining positions to use the phone, indirectly though, without even mentioning the iPhone 4.

Ref: http://ciol.com

Airtel to ring iPhone4's tune in September

2010-07-19T22:42:00.000-07:00

Airtel to ring iPhone4's tune in September

The much hyped iPhone 4 would soon hit the Indian mobile market if all goes well between the country's largest telecom operator, Bharti Airtel, and the handset maker, Apple.

"We are working with Apple. Hopefully in the September-October time frame we would launch the phone," Sanjay Kapoor, Chief Executive of Bharti Airtel (India and South Asia), told reporters on the sidelines of a CII conference.

Earlier in June, Vodafone Essar had spoken of its plans to launch the iPhone 4 in India, without specifying a timeframe for the same.

On the rollout of Broadband Wireless Access services in four circles - Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kolkata and Punjab - which it bagged for Rs.3,314.36 crore, Kapoor said they were still to decide on the technology that will be used.

Airtel, which won 13 circles in the auction of airwaves for third generation (3G) telephony spectrum, shelling out Rs.12,295.46 crore ($2.73 billion), has also started gearing up its network to enable a quicker rollout of such services.

Bharti Airtel already sells iPhone 3GS in India priced at Rs 35,500 for the 16 GB model and Rs. 41,500 for the 32GB model.

Apple had last month announced the launch of the iPhone 4 with a sharper screen and video-chat features in an attempt to ward-off competition from devices running Google's Android software.

"As far as 3G is concerned, a very large amount of the network is 3G ready. We are working towards an aggressive timeline," said Kapoor.

Ref: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Airtel_to_ring_iPhone4s_tune_in_September_-nid-69824.html?utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Subscriber

Indian Electronics Products A $100 Billion Opportunity

2010-06-04T04:06:00.000-07:00

Indian Electronics Products A $100 Billion Opportunity
Author: Sajay Nayak
Co-founder and CEO, Tejas Networks

Despite the fact that Indians have contributed immensely in building many successful global high-tech product companies, we still don't have globally successful, high-tech product companies from India. Indian companies have gained significant success over the last 20 years in the global IT and ITeS industry. However, we still don't have innovation-driven, globally successful, high-tech product companies from India; despite the fact that people of Indian origin have contributed immensely in building many successful global high-tech product companies and no one doubts the technological and entrepreneurial caliber of Indians.

According to a recent report by Ernst & Young, the Indian domestic demand for electronics products is expected to reach $125 billion by 2014, up from the current level of $45 billion annually. The primary demand drivers are sectors like telecom, defence, IT and e-governance, automotive, consumer electronics, and energy. At these demand levels, unless India creates its own electronics product industry, the imports of such products will create the single largest trade deficit item, which would even be larger than petroleum products. On the other hand, if this unique opportunity is utilized, it can create a large industry catering to domestic consumption, which will help achieve self reliance in strategic sectors like telecom and defence, while leading to large exports.

Most leading countries in the world have nurtured their domestic electronic industry that has not only met their domestic and strategic needs, but also created successful businesses that export several billion dollars worth of products around the world. For instance, electronic products form an insignificant part of our GDP, whereas they contribute to over 22 percent of GDP of Israel and over 15 percent for Korea and Taiwan. Also, as a global player, U.S. has over 40 percent share of global electronic products markets and China has 15 percent, whereas the share of India is close to nil.

Today India has the two most important ingredients that can enable us build global product companies ? a huge domestic market and a large pool of highly talented technical and managerial workforce. In addition, we also have venture capitalists who have the financial resources to provide the necessary funding for capable product startups. Given these ingredients, what is missing and why don't we have the likes of Cisco, Apple, Nokia, or Huawei from India?

For building an Indian product industry, it is important to focus on activities that contribute to highest amount of value-addition and also lie in the sweet-spot of our core strengths. The majority of value-addition in electronic products comes from R&D, IPR creation, hardware, software, and product design, and then marketing, branding, and sales activities. Fortunately, R&D and IPR creation is a knowledge and people-driven activity, in which India has a global edge that we must leverage, and which requires relatively less capital investments. Due to sophisticated Electronic Design Automation (EDA) tools and emergence of high capacity programmable devices, even hardware design has become similar to software development, an area in which India has established global leadership. The actual manufacturing that requires huge investments in basic infrastructure and logistics can be outsourced to global Electronic Manufacturing Services (EMS) companies that have economies of scale. Once we have Indian product companies, it will have a pull-through effect to create a vibrant eco-system of EMS, semiconductor, and component industries in India.

So far the low-cost of Indian technical workforce has been used as a cost-arbitrage for building a profitable IT services industry. Indian product companies can use this cost advantage to do a lot more R&D and innovation for the same investments. This 'innovation leverage' is a sustainable competitive advantage for Indian companies against their peers in the U.S., Europe, and Japan, who are facing severe competitive pressure from the Chinese companies, and are being forced to cut-back on R&D due to reduced profitability. In fact, this also creates an opportunity for Indian companies to partner and become 'product developers' for global companies who can continue to leverage their existing brands and sales channels to provide market access to Indian products globally.

For hardware products, unlike software, a volume-base is required to become cost competitive, without which it is impossible for companies to compete successfully against global players who are much larger and have a large volume and cost advantage. This is where the Indian government must step in and use the large domestic market to provide 'market-pull' for Indian companies that develop world-class telecom products. The government must mandate that a certain percentage of the Indian domestic demand is reserved for Indian product companies that meet global technical and quality standards. This volume-base will enable Indian companies reduce their production costs and become globally competitive. In addition, they will build credibility with customers in India who can be used as references, when Indian companies start selling internationally. There are several large government projects (on broadband, rural connectivity, education, as well as e-governance) that are on the anvil and can be used as incubators for stimulating the development of Indian products. The fact that the Chinese government has successfully leveraged their domestic demand to support the creation of global product companies from China, is well documented.

While the domestic market will provide the initial success for Indian products, it is crucial that they turn this success into a global one. This will require a sustained investment to build the brand for Indian electronic products in the international markets. Since this activity requires deep pockets, a government intervention is required, especially to promote 'made-in-India' electronics products globally. In addition, the government should make electronics product exports a thrust area for bi-lateral trade. The Chinese government has effectively used bi-lateral trade promotion for their telecom equipment exports, while the U.S. and Israel have been using this successfully for defence products. An added advantage for Indian product companies in the telecom sector is the fact that many Indian telecom operators are now becoming global players, especially after their overseas acquisitions, and can become effective vehicles for globalization of Indian products and brands.

Electronics being a high-tech sector with rapid changes in technology, it requires sustained investment and a focused policy support to develop world-class capabilities. While venture funding is available in India, most of the funding is going to the middle and late stage companies. Lack of adequate early-stage funding is still an issue for product companies, especially since many first time Indian entrepreneurs are unlikely to have adequate financial resource of their own to sustain and fund their companies, even during the proof-of-concept stage. While the VC and angel funding mechanism falls into place, the government should immediately step in to provide R&D funding to create Indian products and IPR, especially since India's investment in R&D, at less than one percent of GDP, is amongst the lowest in the developed and emerging countries. There are lessons to be learned from the success of early-stage funding of R&D in other countries. In particular, the funding model used in Israel by the Office of Chief Scientist (OCS) has played a very vital role in Israel's emergence as a global leader in electronics and security products.

India has been a great success story in the IT services industry and we now have a great opportunity to create our own electronics product industry, which will help us move up the value chain and create global technology brands. We are now at a threshold of a decisive phase in our growth where, if the government and entrepreneurs take concrete steps we can create a $100 billion electronics product industry from India in the next 10 years.

Ref:

http://www.siliconindia.com/guestcontributor/guestarticle/313/Indian_Electronics_Products_A_100_Billion_Opportunity__Sajay_Nayak.html

Hewlett Packard plans to cut another 9,000 jobs

2010-06-01T23:11:00.000-07:00

Hewlett Packard plans to cut another 9,000 jobs

Hewlett Packard, the world's top computer maker, is in the midst of a major restructuring that would affect around 9,000 jobs over the next few years.

The new job cuts will be over and above the 6,700 jobs the company slashed last year.

HP, which is investing $1 billion in its enterprise services unit over the next few years, said it expects an annual saving of $500-$700 million post restructuring.

HP is planning fully automated, standardised, state-of-the-art commercial data centres and said the job cuts will mostly be the result of productivity gains and automation.

The data centres will be built on HP's converged infrastructure and operated by its industry-leading management software.

HP is planning a wholesale shift to the new infrastructure leveraging on its experience in its own IT transformation. HP said it would help clients to migrate their applications to these modernised infrastructure platforms that are faster and more efficient.

Palo Alto, California-based HP last month announced a 13 per cent jump in its fiscal second quarter net revenue at $30.8 billion.

HP's enterprise storage and servers (ESS) reported total revenue of $4.5 billion, up 31 per cent. Industry standard server revenue increased 54 per cent, while storage revenue increased 16 per cent with the midrange EVA product line up 3 per cent. Business Critical Systems revenue declined 17 per cent, while ESS blade revenue was up 45 per cent.

Operating profit was $571 million, or 12.6 per cent of revenue, up from $250 million, or 7.2 per cent of revenue, in the prior-year period.

GAAP diluted earnings per share (EPS) was $0.91, up from $0.71 in the prior-year period. Non-GAAP diluted EPS was $1.09, up from $0.86 in the prior-year period.

Second quarter revenue was up 11 per cent in the Americas to $13.5 billion. Revenue was up 11 per cent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and up 19 per cent in Asia Pacific to $11.8 billion and $5.5 billion, respectively. When adjusted for the effects of currency, revenue was up 9 per cent in the Americas, up 7 per cent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and up 10 per cent in Asia Pacific. Revenue from outside of the US in the second quarter accounted for 66 per cent of total HP revenue, with revenue in the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) increasing 25 per cent while accounting for 10 per cent of total HP revenue.

HP's enterprise storage and servers (ESS) reported total revenue of $4.5 billion, up 31 per cent. Industry standard server revenue increased 54 per cent, while storage revenue increased 16 per cent with the midrange EVA product line up 3 per cent. Business Critical Systems revenue declined 17 per cent, while ESS blade revenue was up 45 per cent.

Ref: http://www.domain-b.com/companies/companies_h/hewlett_packard/20100601_plans_2.html

HP sells HR firm ExcellerateHRO to Xerox affilifte ACS

2010-06-01T23:03:00.000-07:00

HP sells HR firm ExcellerateHRO to Xerox affilifte ACS

Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), which the $22-billion Xerox acquired in February 2010, today said that it is acquiring ExcellerateHRO, LLP, a global benefits administration and relocation services provider, from Hewlett-Packard Company. The transaction is expected to close following the conclusion of the customary closing conditions.

The purchase of ExcellerateHRO establishes ACS as one of the world's single largest pension administrators and solidifies its role as a leading provider of outsourced health and welfare and relocation services. ExcellerateHRO's client list includes a broad selection of Fortune 500 clients and growing mid-market customers, who are served by more than 1,800 human resources specialists.

"This acquisition clearly demonstrates Xerox's commitment to invest in human resources services that will ultimately benefit all our clients," said Ann Vezina, ACS executive vice president and group president, ACS Human Resource Services. "This acquisition, coupled with our increasing investments in new products and services, broadens ACS' customer base, strengthens our capabilities and consistency to an expanding sector."

The acquisition complements ACS' $50-million investment in client-focused innovations in its human resource services business in the past 18 months and builds upon its ability to provide specific solutions to clients' needs, particularly in the employee benefits sector, such as pensions and 401(k) plans. The ExcellerateHRO transaction will also be the first acquisition by ACS since it was acquired by Xerox in February 2010, providing ACS with a broader global footprint as well as access to Xerox's extensive research and development capabilities.
Rohail Khan, executive managing director, ACS, said the acquisition of ExcellerateHRO broadens ACS access to new industries and markets, allowing the company to introduce its proprietary technology platform and business processes to an expanding marketplace.

"This acquisition will accelerate the pace of an unprecedented level of product and service innovation for clients seeking consistent service in a rapidly evolving human resources market," said Khan. "This transaction also features the inclusion of a leadership team that will provide additional deep domain expertise to our growing delivery platform."

ACS' services cover the entire spectrum of the human resources function, and are provided to more than 5.5 million employees and retirees in more than 80 countries worldwide in 20 languages. ACS administers $75 billion in defined contribution assets to 1.7 million participants. ACS' breadth of comprehensive HR solutions include: HR outsourcing services, total benefits outsourcing, learning management services and Buck Consultants.

Ref:http://www.domain-b.com/companies/companies_h/hewlett_packard/20100526_excelleratehro.html

Abbott Labs pays 3.7 bn dollars to buy into Mumbai's Piramal Healthcare

2010-05-22T04:12:00.000-07:00

Abbott Labs pays 3.7 bn dollars to buy into Mumbai's Piramal Healthcare

US drug giant Abbott Laboratories has bought into the domestic business of India's Piramal Healthcare for a whopping 3.7 billion dollars.

Fending off competition from other drug companies like Britain's GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi Aventis and Pfizer, Abbott won the auction bid for Piramal. The deal reflects the heightened interest Western firms have displayed in the rapidly growing Indian drug market.

"It's a race. These markets are so significant in the future growth sources for our industry that it's important for us to be there early and in a meaningful, strong way," the Daily Express quoted Miles White, CEO of Abbott, as saying.

Piramal will retain its manufacturing business which supplies other drug makers around the world, as well as other operations including consumer products and bulk drugs manufacturing.

Ref: http://sify.com/finance/abbott-labs-pays-3-7-bn-dollars-to-buy-into-mumbai-s-piramal-healthcare-news-news-kfwnOcbgjhj.html

After 3D camera, Fujifilm launches 3D Print System

2010-02-22T08:33:00.000-08:00

After 3D camera, Fujifilm launches 3D Print System

Fujifilm has announced the development of the new "3D Print System" which achieves high-quality and natural 3D print captured with a 3D digital camera. This new system, the printer and a PC, is ideal for on-location 3D photography at tourist spots, theme parks, events, and other locations that offer photo printing services on site because it is easy to set up and requires small foot print, announced Shigetaka Komori, President and CEO of Fujifilm. Thanks to this new development in the field of 3D imaging, the enjoyment of 3D images will be more accessible to a wider audience than ever before. This new 3D Print System is scheduled to be available from 2nd Quarter of 2010.

Featuring Fujifilm's "Image Intelligencee" technology, the system employs a printing method that uses thermal sublimation to transfer images directly onto lenticular sheets to create a 3D effect. Prints will be available in four different types from 4x6 inches (10.2 x 15.2cm) to 6 x 9 inches (15.2 x 22.9cm). In addition, varieties of 3D prints are available including 3D composite prints using 3D templates.

This has been called the first year of 3D, with predictions for rapid mass-appeal of 3D image enjoyment, from sales of 3D televisions to the popularization of 3D images and contents.

Fujifilm pioneered 3D in the photographic industry in 2009 with the successful launch of the "FinePix REAL 3D W1" 3D digital camera and the "FinePix REAL 3D V1" 3D Digital Viewer allowing users, for the first time, to capture and view 3D images without wearing 3D glasses. Fujifilm has also been providing a 3D printing service for images taken on its camera.

These exciting launches in 3D have positioned Fujifilm as an industry leader in 3D photography. Now, with the new "3D Print System", Fujifilm will continue new product development and promotion initiatives in the marketplace, with a view toward even further expansion of the 3D imaging field.

Ref: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/After_3D_camera_Fujifilm_launches_3D_Print_System-nid-65639.html/1/1

Internet will make you smart or dumb?

2010-02-22T08:22:00.000-08:00

Internet will make you smart or dumb?

A survey of nearly 900 Internet stakeholders reveals that internet enhances and augments human intelligence. The Pew Internet/Elon University study shows fascinating new perspectives on the way the Internet is affecting human intelligence and the ways that information is being shared and rendered.

The web-based survey gathered opinions from prominent scientists, business leaders, consultants, writers and technology developers. It is the fourth in a series of Internet expert studies conducted by the Imagining the Internet Center at Elon University and the Pew Research Center?' Internet and American Life Project.

"Three out of four experts said our use of the Internet enhances and augments human intelligence, and two-thirds said use of the Internet has improved reading, writing and rendering of knowledge," said Janna Anderson, study co-author and director of the Imagining the Internet Center. "There are still many people, however, who are critics of the impact of Google, Wikipedia and other online tools."

Anderson and co-author Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, asked a number of questions in the survey. Some of the most compelling responses were answers that extend the debate over criticisms leveled by tech scholar and analyst Nicholas Carr in a 2009 Atlantic Monthly magazine cover story titled "Is Google making us stupid?"

"What the Net does is shift the emphasis of our intelligence, away from what might be called a meditative or contemplative intelligence and more toward what might be called a utilitarian intelligence. The price of zipping among lots of bits of information is a loss of depth in our thinking," says Carr.

This is what a Google employee had to say, "Google will make us more informed. The smartest person in the world could well be behind a plow in China or India. Providing universal access to information will allow such people to realize their full potential, providing benefits to the entire world," said Hal Varian, Chief Economist, Google.

Ref: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Internet_will_make_you_smart_or_dumb-nid-65661-cid--sid-.html

Virgin Mobile GSM Arrives in Maharashtra

2010-02-19T01:58:00.000-08:00

Virgin Mobile GSM Arrives in Maharashtra

After expanding its GSM Services in the southern Indian states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Chennai, Tamil Nadu and Kerala circles, Virgin Mobile has announced the launch of the same in the Maharashtra and Mumbai circles. These circles were already covered by Virgin Mobile's CDMA network, and now they are looking for a pie in the GSM market.

As always, Virgin Mobile offers competitive packages to its target audience - most of which are the youth. Subscribers across Maharashtra and Mumbai will be charged 20 paise per minute for Virgin-to-Virgin calls across any circles. For other networks, the rates would be 40 paise per minute for local and 50 paise per minute for STD calls. These are the standard rates without any additional "special" plans. Another option the consumers have is to opt for another plan that provides all local and STD calls at 1 paise per sec with a recharge of Rs. 12 and with a talk time of Rs. 10.88, which is valid for 365 days. The charges for SMS are 50 paise for local and Re. 1 for national. All calls on roaming are charged at 60 paise per min. Apart from these, Virgin is also offering two SMS pack options priced at Rs. 33 and Rs. 69.

Virgin Mobile has tied up with Tata DoCoMo to offer its GSM services in the country. For its CDMA network, they have a tie up with Tata Indicom. Virgin Mobile yearns to garner 10% of the market in the urban youth segment. Its CDMA services started in 2008 and currently both platforms only offer prepaid connections. They have also roped in Ranbir Kapoor and Genelia D' Souza as brand ambassadors for the GSM platform.
Ref: http://www.techtree.com/India/News/Virgin_Mobile_GSM_Arrives_in_Maharashtra/551-109396-613.html

Nokia Siemens bags $700 Million contract from Bharti

2010-02-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

Nokia Siemens bags $700 Million contract from Bharti

Bharti Airtel and Nokia Siemens Networks have further strengthened their strategic partnership with a $700 million network expansion contract. The contract includes network planning, implementation and project management, handling of local logistics and materials, as well as system integration for the base station sites.

This GSM network expansion will cover the eight existing circles of Mumbai, Maharashtra and Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand, Orissa, Kolkata and West Bengal where Nokia Siemens Networks already provides equipment and managed services for Bharti Airtel. With close to 60 percent of Airtel's monthly customers coming from rural regions, this contract will enable Airtel to further aggressively expand its footprint into rural India.

"Airtel continues to drive innovation and leadership in the telecom sector. This expansion will not only expand our networks deeper into the rural hinterland but will also allow us to deliver a rich end-user experience, and satisfy the increasing demand for top-quality services," said Sanjay Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer - Designate, Bharti Airtel. "We are delighted with Nokia Siemens Networks' proven expertise and deep understanding of our requirements along with the assurance of network infrastructure that helps us sustain our leadership edge in India."

"The unprecedented growth in the Indian telecommunications sector is compelling telecom operators to offer compelling solutions," said Rajeev Suri, Chief Executive Officer at Nokia Siemens Networks. "With this upgrade, Bharti Airtel can enhance network efficiency for a better end-user experience and, just as importantly, reduce the overall cost of owning and operating its network."

Nokia Siemens Networks will deploy its energy-efficient network solutions, including Flexi multi-radio base stations, packet core platforms and microwave solutions for new and legacy networks to boost performance at a lower total cost of ownership and reduced carbon footprint.

The project will result in improvements to network capacity and spectral efficiency by employing a full range of services comprising network planning, implementation and optimization. Nokia Siemens Networks will also provide an operations and business management platform for the effective monitoring and management of the network. In addition, the company will ensure that Bharti Airtel's core and transport network is 3G-ready in order to reduce time to market and enable the fast rollout of 3G services at a later date.

Nokia Siemens Networks already supplies Bharti Airtel with a wide spectrum of solutions, including device management, mobile network portability, next-generation fixed-network and an interactive voice response system.
Ref: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Nokia_Siemens_bags_700_Million_contract_from_Bharti-nid-65390.html?utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Subscriber

Wipro to Hire 7,500 Freshers in 2010-11

2010-02-13T06:24:00.000-08:00

Wipro to hire 7,500 freshers in 2010-11

India's third largest software exporter Wipro plans to hire about 7,500 fresh graduates in the next financial year starting April 1, 2010. It will consist both engineering and non-engineering students.

Talking to Bloomberg UTV, Girish Paranjpe, Joint CEO of Wipro Technologies said, "We plan to bring in 7500 engineers for which we plan to go to campus. Not only engineers we are also planning to hire non engineering students."

Currently, the company is busy in making lateral hires. Recently the company had announced gave salary hikes to all its employees. With effect from February 1, employees are likely to get a pay hike in the 8 to 12 percent range with some even getting a 15 percent increase.

In the quarter ended December 31, 2009, the company's net profit rose to Rs.1,203 crore ($263 million) under international accounting rules, from Rs.1,010 crore a year ago. The company expects its revenue grow by 3.6-5.4 percent in the quarter ending March 31, 2010 from the preceding quarter to $1.16-$1.18 billion, after it posted a 4.9 percent sequential rise in the latest quarter.

Ref: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Wipro_to_hire_7500_freshers_in_201011-nid-65374.html?utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Subscriber

Genpact plans to acquire Intelenet Global Services

2010-02-01T22:14:00.000-08:00

Genpact plans to acquire Intelenet Global Services

Pramod Bhasin led Genpact plans to acquire Intelenet Global Services. The company is in talks with Blackstone, which holds a little under 80 percent in Intelenet, to explore a potential acquisition, reports Economic Times.

The acquisition may benefit Genpact, as the company is still dependent significantly dependent on its one-time parent, General Electric (GE). GE contributes around 40 percent of Genpact's revenues. "Intelenet's India business is the chief attraction to Genpact, but Blackstone is not willing to sell that alone," said a person related to the acquisition. The transaction value of the acquisition is likely to be around $600-750 million.

Replying to the mail sent by economic Times, Intelenet's Executive Vice President, Sandeep Aggarwal said, "The information was incorrect and the company was not aware of it." Whereas a senior Blackstone said, "I cannot comment on speculation."

It has not been easy market for Genpact in India, as the company failed to scale up its domestic business. On the other hand, Intelenet has an established domestic BPO business under Sparsh BPO, an acquisition it made in 2006. Alok Shende, Principal Analyst, Ascentius Consulting said, "Slowdown in the western markets has compelled internationally-focussed BPO firms to seriously evaluate risk diversification strategies. Focus will turn to markets that hold innate potential for size as well as growth."

GE which holds 18 percent in the company also plans to exit its holdings. Genpact's GE business has been under strain and its substantial contribution to revenue has been a cause of concern. In 2008, GE extended its master services agreement (MSA) with Genpact, ensuring a committed volume of business to Genpact, but concurrently advanced the expiration date of the provision requiring it to hold a minimum number of shares in the back-office firm from December 2009 to March 2009.

ref: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Genpact_plans_to_acquire_Intelenet_Global_Services-nid-65067.html?utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Subscriber

Mahindra Satyam recalls 2000 virtual pool Staff

2010-02-01T22:12:00.000-08:00

Mahindra Satyam recalls 2000 virtual pool Staff

Following the strong performance in the manufacturing and infrastructure sector in the last six months by Mahindra Satyam, the company plans to hire more number of employees in the running fiscal, and also recalled 2,000 virtual pool employees, reports CNBC-TV18.

Even though the company has witnessed a dip in its headcount by 43 percent since September 2008, it plans to hire up to 200 fresh graduates and 200 lateral employees in FY11. In June 2009, the company had announced a virtual pool programme (VPP) under which about 6,000 employees were sent home.

According to the sources, the top management from the company said that it was engaged in selective hiring in specialized skill sets. However, it wil give priority to the people on virtual pool.

Ref:

http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Mahindra_Satyam_recalls_2000_virtual_pool_staff_-nid-65071.html?utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_source=Subscriber

Whirlpool to launch power products

2010-01-29T02:05:00.000-08:00

Whirlpool to launch power products

Whirlpool of India, part of the global home appliances major, will launch accessories for appliances in the power business, where it has products like inverters. Whirlpool launched its accessories business nearly two years ago and since these are regarded as impulse buys, products are usually priced accordingly between Rs. 150-200.

So far, the company offers additives to soften hard water in the washing machine or lint removers which are rubbed over clothes, etc, with the aim of improving its positioning in that segment.

Shantanu Das Gupta, vice president, corporate affairs and strategy, Asia south, Whirlpool of India, explained that for the energy sector these accessories would be higher priced than the consumer durables they currently offer in the accessories business. He cited the example of spike busters for inverters, adding that some of these products could come in the next few weeks.

Mr Das Gupta was in Pune to kick off the national launch of a range of air conditioners which are being imported from Whirlpool’s global manufacturing site in China. He added that they will spend around Rs. 15 crore in the marketing, service and infrastructure for air conditioners.

ref:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/cons-products/durables/Whirlpool-to-launch-power-products/articleshow/5478436.cms

Idea, Nokia jump on environment bandwagon

2010-01-28T23:40:00.000-08:00

Idea, Nokia jump on environment bandwagon

The Copenhagen summit last month may have failed to persuade world leaders to come up with a global treaty to tackle climate change, but it seems to have inspired Indian advertisers and marketers to jointhe green brandwagon.

Idea Cellular’s latest campaign, ‘What an Idea Sirji—Use mobile, Save Paper’, is designed around fighting deforestation, while Nokia’s ‘Planet Ke Rakhwale’ communication propagates proper recycling of used mobile handsets.

IT companies like Cisco and IBM have already been harping on their respective positions of ‘sustainable planet’ and ‘smarter planet’ for some time now. This reflects the increasing awareness of the perils of global warming — one of the two biggest issues the world is facing along with terrorism, in the words of US president Barack Obama, and one of the most ‘searched’ terms in Google last year.

Market watchers say it is a larger global trend that is mirrored in India.

Rajan Chibba, CEO of advisory firm Intrim Business Associates, thinks it marks the start of a trend. “Green is the next big story in the corporate world and more such campaigns would not surprise many,” he says. He believes that marketers will soon realise that there are environment friendly ways to boost business and make profits. “Companies are at least beginning to talk green. Action shall follow speech.”

Idea Cellular, which launched the ‘save paper’ campaign earlier this month, will run it for another three months, according to its chief marketing officer Pradeep Srivastav.

“We keep coming up with innovative campaigns time and again and this is our latest attempt. The campaign is a simple idea that we have extended. Mobile does save paper and we have tried to convey it,” he says.

Nokia India has also come out with a TV advertisement this month for its mobile recycling campaign.

“Fundamentally we have a responsibility to be mindful of the environment in the way that we work; this is very much within our heritage as a Finnish company and our values as an organization. We also see business benefits in being environmentally responsible,” says Viral Oza, head of activation, media and online sales & marketing at Nokia India.

The company installed recycling bins at all Nokia Priority Dealers and Nokia Care Centers for consumers to drop their old handsets, batteries and chargers a year ago. The first phase of this campaign was carried out as a pilot in Delhi, Gurgaon, Ludhiana and Bangalore, with the company collecting more than three tonnes of waste in 45 days. This drive now covers 28 cities across the country.

Cisco, which highlighted carbon emission in its campaign for Telepresence video conferencing service, claims the strategy has paid off.

“The adoption rate of Telepresence by Indian corporates is high as they understand how it helps them save costs and earn carbon credits too,” says Amit Sinha Roy, VP, marketing, at Cisco India. “Planet sustainability is the underlying theme of all our Telepresence campaigns. It is part of our larger communication strategy and we hope to take this position for the long term.”

However, not everybody is convinced. Some like Santosh Desai, MD and CEO of Future Brands see the recent green campaigns as a cosmetic exercise. “I don’t think that enough serious effort is going at taking society the green way. While it is a good corporate position to take, there is a very small set of consumers who make purchase decisions based on what’s ‘green’,” he says.

“There are other marketers like ITC, which are probably doing a lot in the direction and yet not advertising it. Going green requires serious business reconfiguration, re-engineering revenue models and merely advertising does not suffice,” he adds.

Well, it’s too early to say if the trend will catch on and nobody expects marketers and advertisers to help save the planet, but definitely there is more money on marketing and advertising eco-friendly and energy-efficient products.

Ref: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/advertising/Idea-Nokia-jump-on-environment-bandwagon/articleshow/5502867.cms

Gurgaon will see its first Metro train today

2010-01-28T22:42:00.000-08:00

Gurgaon will see its first Metro train today

That day is not far when Gurgaon residents can keep their cars at home and simply take a Metro to their desired destination.Delhi Metro’s first train will chug into Gurgaon as trial runs on the new line from the train depot at Sultanpur to Huda City Centre metro station begin on Friday.

The trial run is a signal that the line will be opened for the public soon, giving residents of the satellite township a reason to rejoice. ‘‘ Trial runs on the 7.05-km stretch in Gurgaon will be flagged off by Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday. This is the first step towards fullfledged Metro operations in Haryana,’’ a Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) spokesperson said.

The stretch forms part of the 27-km long Central Secretariat-Gurgaon metro line, which will connect with the existing Line 2 (Central Secretariat to Jehangirpuri).DMRC plans to open the Gurgaon line in two parts - first Qutub to Huda City Centre and later the remaining portion from Central Secretariat to Qutub.

The opening of the Gurgaon portion will provide intra-city connectivity to residents of the satellite town, where people rely on private cars in the absence of any mode of public transport. Once the entire stretch is operational , Gurgaon residents will get direct connectivity to important locations in Delhi such as AIIMS, IIT, DU (North Campus ), New Delhi Railway Stations , and Kashmere Gate ISBT and besides getting indirect Metro connectivity to the Delhi railway station and other parts of Delhi and Noida.

‘‘ The travel time between Connaught Place (Rajiv Chowk) and HUDA City Centre will reduce from one-andhalf hours by road to about 50 minutes by Metro.

The total travel time from Jahangirpuri to HUDA City Centre will be approximately 90 minutes once this line is fully operational. The expected daily passenger traffic on Qutub Minar-HUDA City Centre metro corridor is 1.6 lakh commuters in 2011,’’ the spokesperson said.

The Haryana portion has been completed at a cost of Rs 688 crore, the bulk of which was provided by the Haryana government. All metro stations in Gurgaon will have parking facilities.
The AFC gates have slots where faulty tokens will be returned back to the commuters. All the metro stations have lifts and escalators on both sides for easier access and will double up as foot overbridges even for non-Metro users.

‘‘ It will be the first efficient public transport system for the Millennium city, which has nothing in the name of public transport,’’ Bhawani Shankar Tripathy, a resident of sector 23, said.

Sudhir Kapoor, secretary general of DLF City RWA said the metro will also resolve parking problems. ‘‘ Visitors from Delhi, especially those thronging the malls, will benefit as it will save them the hassle of long rides and traffic jams on MG Road,” he said.

R S Rathi, former president of DLF Qutub Enclave RWA, said: ‘‘ We hope that once the Metro line opens in Gurgaon, BPOs and other offices which provide transport facilities to their employees, will switch to the metro. This will decongest clogged roads in the city, especially during peak hours.’’

ref:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/railways/Gurgaon-will-see-its-first-Metro-train-today-/articleshow/5511784.cms

India's first Monorail Car successfully tested

2010-01-27T02:50:00.000-08:00

India's first Monorail Car successfully tested

The Scomi Group has announced the successful trial run of India’s first monorail car for the Mumbai Monorail project. The test run was flagged off by the Honorable Chief Minister of Maharashtra State, Mr. Ashok Chavan.

Commenting on the trial run of the first monorail car in Mumbai, Mr. Suhaimi Yaacob, Country President of Scomi India said, “Scomi is privileged to present the country’s first monorail car for its test run on the auspicious occasion of India’s Republic Day. It is a proud moment for all of us at Scomi as the successful trial reflects the considerable efforts made by our Mumbai and entire international team in Malaysia in making this first step an accomplishment.”

“This test run of the monorail car in Mumbai reiterates our commitment towards meeting our key milestones as per our client requirements. Additionally, it also highlights the expertise and reliability of Scomi in providing high class urban transit systems.

We are now steadily working towards facilitating the commuters of Mumbai with sustainable mobility, reduced urban congestion, improved reliability and comfortable journey through our monorail project” Said Mr. Suhaimi Yaacob, Country President of Scomi India.

Scomi Engineering Bhd (“Scomi Engineering”) and its consortium partner Larsen & Toubro (“L&T”) secured the US$ 545.02 million / RM1.846 billion Mumbai Monorail Project in November 2008. Scomi Engineering and L&T are given 30 months to complete the first Monorail project in India. For this contract, Scomi will deliver a total of 60 cars to make up 15 sets of 4 car trains.

The Mumbai monorail project which is expected to be completed by 2011 is a 20-km route between Jacob Circle and Chembur with one central depot and about 18 user-friendly and highly secured stations. Each monorail with 4 coaches will have a capacity to accommodate about 600 passengers thereby carrying nearly three hundred thousand commuters on a daily basis in the proposed route. Additionally, the Mumbai Monorail is also a green project as Scomi saves 200 tonnes of CO2 a day on the monorail. The structure doesn’t obstruct much sunlight and doesn’t trap excessive emission apart from being quieter than other modes of transportation.

Ref:http://www.constructionweekonline.in/article-5981-indias_first_monorail_car_successfully_tested/

Australia releases dossier on attacks on Indians

2010-01-27T02:43:00.000-08:00

Australia releases dossier on attacks on Indians

The Australian government has released a police dossier of high-profile attacks on Indians over the past year, which shows that nearly half of those arrested since March last year for vicious assaults were less than 18 years old.

The dossier, prepared by Victoria Police, was handed over after Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith telephoned Indian External Affairs Minister SM Krishna on Jan 11 to express his condolences over the Jan 2 murder of Indian student Nitin Garg in Melbourne.

It reveals that nearly half of those arrested between March 2009 and Jan 5 were under 18, The Age reported.

The dossier shows that among the 18 high-profile cases, two cases of attack reported in May and June last year remained unsolved.

"The Australian government initially resisted giving more information to Indians as it deemed racial appearance to be a limited indicator of ethnicity because it was only based on a subjective police assessment," The Age quoted sources as saying.

It claimed people described as Indians could have originated from countries such as Mauritius and Fiji.

The dossier goes on to tell that of the 18 cases, two people were run over by a train and there was no foul play. In the remaining cases, 33 people have been arrested.

The revelations come a day after five youths were charged for assaulting two Indian students in Melbourne on Monday night.

The spate of attacks on Indians in Australia has caused an outcry in India. Two of the vicious attacks proved fatal. The assaults have strained relations between Canberra and New Delhi.

Ref: Hindustan Times
http://www.hindustantimes.com/Australia-releases-dossier-on-attacks-on-Indians/H1-Article1-502148.aspx

Carrefour, Pantaloon close to India deal

2010-01-18T23:29:00.000-08:00

Carrefour, Pantaloon close to India deal

French retailer Carrefour is close to a deal with a unit of Pantaloon Retail, India's largest listed retailer, to set up franchisee stores in India, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday citing an anonymous source.

The French firm is expected to sign the deal for the joint venture by March, the paper said, quoting an unnamed official familiar with the development.

The venture is likely to be part of Future Value Retail, which currently holds the hypermarket chain Big Bazaar and supermarket chain Food Bazaar businesses, the paper said. Future Value Retail is a wholly-owned unit of Pantaloon.

Future Group chief executive Kishore Biyani declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
Indian rules currently allow foreign direct investment only in the cash-and-carry wholesale business. Foreign investment is not permitted in multi-brand retail.

Ref: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/carrefour-pantaloon-close-to-india-deal_436530.html

Cadbury slides as Buffett opposes Kraft bid

2010-01-06T22:29:00.000-08:00

Cadbury slides as Buffett opposes Kraft bid

Cadbury shares fell for a second day in London to trade less than 1% above the value of Kraft Foods’s offer, the smallest spread since theUS food maker’s initial approach on September 7.
Cadbury slid as much as 1.5%, extending Tuesday’s 3.2% drop after Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. went public with opposition to Kraft’s plan to issue new shares to fund its bid. Kraft shares rose 4.9% in New York yesterday, increasing the value of its cash-and-stock offer to about 764 pence per Cadbury share.

Kraft has received acceptances from 1.5% of Cadbury shareholders, the Oreos cookie-maker said today. Kraft on Tuesday pledged to use the net proceeds of its US pizza unit sale to Nestle to boost the cash component of the £10.9 billion ($17.5 billion) offer. Nestle ruled out bidding for Cadbury, while Hershey Co.’s board is divided on whether to make a rival offer, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

“A 900-pence plus bid is a fantasy now,” said Phil Spencer, who helps manage shares including Cadbury for private clients at Brewin Dolphin, which has £20 billion under management. “There’s a feeling of nervousness in the market that this is as good as it’s going to get. Clients are wondering if they should book some profits now rather see Kraft walk away and the shares fall to 700 pence.” Cadbury has repeatedly called Kraft’s offer “derisory” and said it was “contemptuous” of the company’s inherent value. Kraft has maintained it will be “disciplined” on price and has been urged by Berkshire Hathaway, Kraft’s biggest investor, not to overpay by using too many of its own shares. The value of Kraft’s bid didn’t change with the higher cash component.

“Berkshire Hathaway’s intervention, while embarrassing for Kraft management, is arguably ultimately not unhelpful to their cause,” Martin Deboo, an analyst at Investec in London, said in a note today. “We read Berkshire not as trying to impose a veto, but challenging Kraft’s management to back their convictions with more cash, and hence debt, and less equity.”

Kraft can still afford to make an improved bid of as much as 820 pence a share for the Dairy Milk maker, Deboo said. Cadbury was down 6 pence, or 0.8%, to 773 pence as of 12:45 pm local time. The spread between the shares and Kraft’s bid was 0.9% at the same time.

Hershey’s board met on January 4 without reaching a decision on whether to make a bid for Cadbury, said the people familiar, who declined to be identified because the talks are private. The board has yet to arrange financing for an offer, the people said. Hershey spokesman Kirk Saville declined to comment. Some members of Hershey’s controlling trust, led by former Pennsylvania Attorney General LeRoy Zimmerman, have been advocating a deal, while Chief Executive Officer David West is among those concerned about the debt a purchase would entail, the people said. Tim Reeves, a spokesman for the Hershey Trust, declined to comment.

Ref: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/Cadbury-slides-as-Buffett-opposes-Kraft-bid/articleshow/5418296.cms

46 per cent drop in Indian students application: Australia

2010-01-06T22:21:00.000-08:00

46 per cent drop in Indian students application: Australia

Hit by international student attack crisis, Australia has experienced a huge decline by 46 per cent of Indians applying for student visas in the country last year, country's Immigration Department has said.

The total number of student visa applications around the world also dropped by over 20 per cent.

Department's spokesman Sandy Logan said racism and violence issue against foreign students were not mainly to be blamed for the slide in visa applications.

It was also due to stricter and tougher scrutiny of applications and the immigration department has been rejecting a higher number of applications from India, he said.

"It is correct to say that there has been a decline in the number of student visa applications coming from India," he said.

There's also been a decline though in the number of student visas applications that have been withdrawn by those applicants. In August last year the government announced strengthened checking for high-risk segments of the student visa programme.

"It was a targeted series of checks as a result of analysis which suggested the risk was most significant in India, Mauritius, Nepal, Brazil, Zimbabwe and Pakistan.

Once integrity checking is taken into account a student visa application has been refused," he said.

Ref: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/travel/visa-power/46-per-cent-drop-in-Indian-students-application-Australia/articleshow/5419308.cms

Gulf may launch single currency in 2015

2010-01-06T22:18:00.000-08:00

Gulf may launch single currency in 2015

A single Gulf Arab currency could be launched in 2015 if countries from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) speed up the process, a senior official from the bloc's secretariat said on Wednesday.

Rulers from the world's top oil exporting region endorsed the much-delayed monetary union last month despite the pullout of the United Arab Emirates -the bloc's second-largest economy- and Oman. Policymakers from the other four states -Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain- are currently expected to set a timetable for the creation of a joint central bank, but launching the single currency is still a distant prospect.

"I personally expect the single currency to be launched in 2015, if we step up the efforts and the work of various committees," Mohamed al-Mazrooei, GCC Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs told. Mazrooei's comment is the first from the GCC secretariat that sets a potential new timetable for the single currency's launch after the bloc abandoned an initial 2010 deadline.

"I think it's an optimistic scenario given the slower-than-expected progress that has been achieved up to now," said John Sfakianakis, Calyon's chief economist for the Middle East. "But it's feasible if the political will is there." Striking a power balance in the union remains a challenge as some smaller Gulf states resist the dominance of Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter.

"They need to be steadfast to push it forward. They have to complete various technical tasks such as establishing technical committees, synchronizing statistics, facilitating capital and labour movements, deciding on the peg and then the name of the currency," Sfakianakis added. A few days before it hosted a rulers' summit in December, Kuwait said that it may take up to 10 years to adopt the single currency. The UAE opted out of the monetary union in May in protest over a decision to base the Gulf central bank in Saudi Arabia, dealing a serious blow to the project. Oman withdrew in 2006. The GCC bloc -a loose economic entity that seeks to emulate the European Union's economic and monetary integration -abandoned last year an initial deadline for issuing common notes and coins in 2010, saying a joint monetary council would determine a new timetable for its issuance. Oman said earlier this month that it has no plans to review its decision to withdraw now or in the future.

Ref: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Gulf-may-launch-single-currency-in-2015/articleshow/5417114.cms

Aircel to sell 17,000 Towers by mid-February

2010-01-06T04:24:00.000-08:00

Aircel to sell 17,000 towers by mid-February

Telecom service operator Aircel has said that it will finalize a buyer for its 17,000 telecom towers across the country in the next six weeks, reports PTI.

Aircel, has about 38,000 towers, and out of this, nearly 17,000 towers are owned by the company. "We have not concluded the deal. We are in the final stages of discussions with three players and will finalize a buyer in the next 4-6 weeks," said Aircel CEO Gurdip Singh.

Singh, however, declined to name the three players or details about valuations. According to sources, Tata Quippo and GTL Infrastructure are among the two main players which are in the fray to buy the towers. On whether the company will go public this year, Singh said, "We may think about it after finalizing our tower deal. We have enough cash in our balance sheet right now."

Malaysia's Maxis Communications, which holds 74 percent in Aircel has already come out with an IPO last year. Mobile phone firms are leasing out infrastructure instead of setting it up themselves to control costs as it spares them the need to keep spending on capital expenditure.

Ref: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Aircel_to_sell_17000_towers_by_midFebruary-nid-64336-cid-7-sid-27.html

TCG Lifesciences, Pfizer sign drug research deal

2010-01-06T04:20:00.000-08:00

TCG Lifesciences, Pfizer sign drug research deal

Contract drug research firm TCG Lifesciences Tuesday said it has tied up with pharmaceutical major Pfizer to develop a portfolio of drug molecules.

The two-and-a-half-year deal would involve Pfizer pumping in funds for the project, according to TCG Managing Director Swapan Bhattacharya. However, TCG, a privately-held company promoted by non-resident Indian Purnendu Chatterjee and having units in India, Europe, Japan and the U.S., plans to execute the project by an earlier date. "We would take the research to the animal testing level and then Pfizer will take it to the drug production stage on a commercial level," Bhattacharya said.

Pain, inflammations and infectious diseases would be the focus of the research project. TCG already has an agreement with Pfizer, but this is restricted to providing research services. In comparison, the new deal is more comprehensive as it provides opportunity to harness intellectual property, Bhattacharya said.

With the primary market yet to revive, TCG has no immediate plans to resurrect its move to come out with its maiden public issue. "The IPO market has not revived, there is only interest in the secondary market," he said.

In 2007, the company had filed a draft red herring prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an offer of 9.5 million equity shares, but put the proposal on the backburner when the markets went into a tailspin.

Ref: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/TCG_Lifesciences_Pfizer_sign_drug_research_deal-nid-64329-cid-7-sid-28.html

IBM developing Energy and Retail Technology of the future

2010-01-06T01:42:00.000-08:00

IBM developing energy and retail technology of the future

Working with several hardware partners, IBM is developing systems to be hopefully taken up by retailers and energy suppliers. This work is a part of the Smarter Planet strategy - about connecting different kinds of technology to come up with more useful, efficient and environmentally friendly systems.

It is developing electronic shelf labels or passive LCD labels made by a Finnish company MariSense, which use e-ink to display prices. E-ink works by an electronic charge activating it to display. This means the labels don't need constant power to work. IBM has integrated the e-ink labels with a central pricing system, which can update what they display. Price guns like these can be used to scan products and then change the price by communicating with a central system, which then sends out a signal to change the price on the e-labels. Moreover, the LCD labels - made by English firm ZBD require power to change what they're displaying, but are more flexible than the e-ink labels as they can include more information in a variety of formats.

IBM is also working with near field communication (NFC) technology. In the demo lab at Hursley software development lab near Winchester, developers have attached RFID tags to items such as DVDs, which, when scanned against this NFC tag, trigger a nearby screen to show a trailer for the relevant film. In this way, each screen in a shop could be used to show relevant information to shoppers in that part of the shop. IBM is integrating its Cognos business intelligence technology into this kind of technology so that items can be traced as they progress through the supply chain.

Another demonstration lab at Hursley focuses on the future of energy use in the home. IBM is talking to several UK power suppliers about how to integrate smart meters into homes in the near future. The devices can monitor the use of energy down to every 15 minutes so electricity and gas suppliers can see how energy is being used and tailor supply to meet demand. These allow people to see how much electricity and gas they are using in their home as well as the current price they are being charged to use it. The hope is that this kind of technology will see more efficient use of energy.

Ref: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/IBM_developing_energy_and_retail_technology_of_the_future-nid-64012-cid-7-sid-25.html

Employers unaware of new eye test legislation, survey finds

2010-01-05T04:03:00.000-08:00

Employers unaware of new eye test legislation, survey finds

More than three-quarters of employers are unaware of new legislation requiring professional drivers to take more frequent eye tests, according to research from Specsavers.

Yet as many as one in three people who drive as part of their job may have substandard vision, the opticians claim.

Recent legislation on eye tests for drivers, passed in the EU Parliament and due to come into force in 2011, will require commercial licences holders to have eye tests every five years. Holders of private licences will have to be tested every 10 to 15 years.

Specsavers’ poll of 2,000 organisations found that more than three-quarters (78 per cent) of employers were unaware of the change, which is aimed at reducing road accidents.

Laura Butler, corporate account manager for Specsavers Corporate Eyecare, said: “It is astounding that more than three quarters of companies have not even heard of this new legislation. We hope to work with HR managers to ensure that basic eye tests are implemented for everyone who drives in the course of their work. For everyone’s safety, this should be a priority now, regardless of the date when the actual legislation will come into force.”
Each EU member state has until 2013 to translate the directive into national law.

Many employers offer subsidised eye tests as a voluntary benefit. Although employees that work with computer screens can legally ask for a free eye test and a contribution towards the cost of glasses, requirements for staff that drive as part of their job are new.

Ref: http://www.peoplemanagement.co.uk/pm/articles/2010/01/employers-unaware-of-new-eye-test-legislation-survey-finds.htm

Indian Firms using Health Cover as Hiring, Retaining Tool

2010-01-05T03:45:00.000-08:00

Indian Firms using Health Cover as Hiring, Retaining Tool

About 41 percent of the Indian companies are considering the health cover as a talent attraction and retention strategy for employees, despite the hike in health premium costs. While 11 percent use it to minimise losses arising out of employee health issues, said a survey.

"Rising premium costs have not reduced the importance of health care cover as an employment value differentiator and that Indian companies continue to use it as a part of their hiring and retention strategy," Watson Wyatt, a global consultancy firm said in its Health Care Benefits survey. Also, the survey found that 74 percent of the companies are stressing on employee education around health care. The survey covered 125 of India's largest employers and from across industries, mainly from the private sector, reporting an average revenue of more than Rs. 400 crore.

According to the survey, most of Indian companies providing health care cover to their employees are grappling with an average 10 percent rise in premiums over the last three years. "Rising health care costs are making corporates strive to strike the balance between increasing premium costs and their talent management strategies," said Watson Wyatt India Head of Benefits Practice, Kulin Patel. The corporates are constantly devising different strategies to control health care costs, the survey said.

Despite rising premium costs, economic turbulence and the difficulty in maintaining an affordable health care cover, 58 percent of the companies surveyed did not deduct any premium costs out of employee salaries, it said.

"Importantly, over 46 percent of those surveyed did not plan to share the costs with the employees even in the coming year," the survey said. It revealed that only 17 percent of the companies cover post retirement medical expenditure. Post retirement medical benefit is mainly provided by companies in the public sector, while a very small proportion of private sector companies provide such long term benefits.

Ref: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Indian_firms_using_health_cover_as_hiring_retaining_tool-nid-64148-cid-7-sid-28.html

Satyam Poaching Seniors from Rivals

2010-01-04T22:24:00.000-08:00

Satyam poaching seniors from rivals

Software firm Mahindra Satyam is aggressively hiring senior executives from larger rivals as it attempts to win back clients, and is returning to offering pay hikes of up to 20 percent, reports LiveMint

Since October, Mahindra Satyam has hired at least three senior executives from IBM, Infosys and Wipro, and is looking to recruit more senior people to strengthen its presence in key geographies and verticals, a company executive said.

Another executive in the firm said that, after concluding its appraisal process for 2009-10 in mid-December, Satyam has offered employees salary hikes of 7-20 percent and hefty retention bonuses as it struggles to stem its steep attrition rate.

After B. Ramalinga Raju, Founder and Former Chairman of Satyam, confessed on 7 January 2009 to having doctored the firm's accounts to the tune of Rs. 7,136 crore, several employees quit. In fact, some of the senior executives walked away with key customers.

According to industry and market analysts, the company's recent hiring appears to be strategic. Without reliable, audited financial data, the company cannot participate in competitive bidding for large contracts yet, but it can after 30 June, by when it has to submit its restated accounts.

Current Chairman Vineet Nayyar had said in May, that the firm had lost 35 percent of its clients since January. Satyam had around 600 clients in September 2008. Industry experts say that most of the clients who left Satyam early last year gave their business to rival Indian IT firms.

In the past three months, Mahindra Satyam has hired Bobby Gupta, previously IBM's Asia-Pacific Head for telecom expenses management, as its Business Development Head for Australia and New Zealand; Sudhir Nair, who was an Assistant Vice-President, infrastructure management at Infosys, to head the same business segment at Satyam; and Vijayanand Vadrevu, formerly a Vice-President at Wipro heading the life sciences practice, as its Head of Strategic Initiatives.

"The very fact that senior employees of our peers are joining us is an indication that Mahindra Satyam evokes confidence as an organization that holds promise for a tremendous future, personally and professionally," a Satyam spokesperson said by email.

But, according to company executives Mint spoke with, the firm's attrition rate continues to be as high as 20-25 percent. As per the company's estimate, it now has around 30,000 employees, down from around 52,000 before Raju's revelation.

As a measure to retain the employees, the firm has introduced retention bonuses of up to 90 percent of an employee's annual compensation package, staggered over four years and paid half-yearly, for those in middle management. Junior employees will be given a one-time retention bonus and those in senior management, stock options.

Ref: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Satyam_poaches_seniors_from_rivals_offers_employees_pay_hikes-nid-64289.html

Healthcare sites may see a funding boost

2010-01-02T12:27:00.000-08:00

Possibility of electronic health records linked to the unique ID project make medical portals attractive to investors

The nascent healthcare portals industry is up for a funding boost, given its attractiveness for private equity, or PE, and venture capital, or VC, investors, as well as the Unique Identification Number, or UID, project that will collate digital data on the nation’s population.

“The holy grail in this space would be personal medical records,” says Alok Mittal, managing director at VC firm Canaan Advisors Pvt. Ltd, referring to the automation of hospital records, a possibility through the UID project.

The Apollo Hospitals group has offered to manage health records through the Nandan Nilekani-led Unique Identification Authority of India. It has also invested in a company called Health Highway that, according to group executives, connects doctors, hospitals and pharmacies who would be able to communicate with each other and access health records.

Sangita Reddy, executive director (operations) at Apollo Hospitals, cites the hypothetical case of a car accident victim being rushed to a hospital emergency room.

“You could physically identify who that person is but you wouldn’t know his blood group, his allergies or anything about his health,” Reddy says. “Whereas, if his UID number was linked to a UHID (unique healthcare identification number), and there was something called emergency access, you could go into that and identify his complete record. So, there are all kinds of instances as to how we could use this to help save lives and improve quality of care and reduce cost.”

Apollo Hospitals has written to the Unique Identification Authority and to the Knowledge Commission to link the Unique Identification Number with health profiles of those provided the ID number, and offered to manage the health records, Business Standard reported in August.

Formed this year, the authority under Nilekani, co-founder of software services firm Infosys Technologies Ltd, is tasked with building a database of details on every Indian citizen.

“A lot of hospitals are making a fair amount of investment in information technology for improving the efficiency of workflow management and data processing or management,” says Amit Chander, investment head (healthcare and education), Baring Private Equity Partners India Ltd.

Healthcare portals that maintain electronic health records will thus play a critical role.

The industry is divided into four broad categories: firms that maintain electronic health records such as Yoscare.in and Healthizen.com; those that provide diet, fitness and nutrition counselling such as NutritionVista.com; firms that are focussed on disease management such as Wellinformed.in; and online doctor-patient consultation firms such as Healthcare Magic and online health content firms such as WebMD in the US.

Some VC firms that invested in such firms early on include Accel Partners, which put $2.5 million (Rs11.68 crore) in HealthcareMagic in February, and Seedfund, which wagered $1 million on Healthizen.com in January last year.

The technology is already in use in Bangalore, where YosCare Technologies has launched smart cards that, when swiped at a hospital, fax the holder’s medical history to the hospital.

“We are already in talks with the RTO (road transport organization) in Karnataka to issue Yos smart cards as driving licences,” said Vijaya Verma, founder of YosCare Technologies.

Muralidharan Nair, partner (lifesciences practice), Ernst and Young Pvt. Ltd, said healthcare had caught the fancy of many investors given that healthcare reform is going to be big on state governments’ agendas.

“Also, in terms of demand assessment there is a lack of credible health information, so to have comprehensive health information and records system would be sought after,” he said, but added that healthcare portals would be an area of interest more for venture capital firms than private equity.

PE firms which provide growth capital are more likely to invest in hospitals or diagnostic centres, while VC firms are more likely to invest in technology-driven start-ups that they can associate with from the beginning.

“Companies which embrace this model (of maintaining electronic health records) first will be able to build a big brand around it,” says Chander. “Not only will it reduce the problem of data storage but later on when it (the model) is fully developed they can run analytics on the data and use it for preventive measures.”

Chander also points out that while the global marketplace is overcrowded, with US-based WebMd and Google Health being key players, India has the option of customizing content for local needs.

However, a number of obstacles still remain.

Kunal Sinha, founder of Healthcare Magic, which provides patients a 24/7 interface where they can chat live with a doctor, admits that starting off was not easy. “I had to convince doctors to work for a start-up rather than a hospital. They were on my (company’s) payroll. So, right from Day 1, it was capital intensive.”

Market and consumer acceptance is another issue. “The need to maintain health records is not immediate and important for people as of now, so it is difficult to educate them and make them aware,” says Anand Anupam, founder of Healthizen, which maintains electronic health records that can be accessed anywhere.

Tie-ups with insurance firms, such as the one that HealthCare Magic has with ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd, are also critical, since this allows access to a much larger pool.

Healthizen provides value-added services such as diet planning or skin care to holders of specific policies of ICICI Lombard and Royal Sundaram Alliance Insurance Co. Ltd.

Low Internet penetration is another obstacle, but that is more easily overcome.

Chander argues that the mobile phone is to India what the Internet is to the US, and that an application that can be accessed via mobile phones would enable these portals to increase their reach.

Ref: http://www.livemint.com/2009/12/29203506/Healthcare-sites-may-see-a-fun.html?d=2

Advertising expenditure looks likely to grow 15-20% in 2010

2010-01-02T12:23:00.000-08:00

Advertising expenditure looks likely to grow 15-20% in 2010

The advertising industry globally has contracted by 10-11%, it has seen single-digit growth in India, where the traditional medium, the TVC (television commercial), still reigns, says Charles Cadell

Focusing more on online advertising and moving away from the current commission-based remuneration system will be the key challenges for the Indian communication and advertising industry in 2010, says Charles Cadell, chief executive officer of Lowe Lintas India Pvt. Ltd. Cadell, a British and New Zealand citizen, has worked in India for about two years and has earlier been in several crucial South-East Asian markets such as Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

The avid outdoorsman, who counts sailing and diving as his current hobbies, recently lost his pilot’s licence as he had to devote more time to his job. In an interview, Cadell talks about the challenges facing the industry and how his firm is gearing up to tackle them. Excerpts:

You have been in the Indian market for two years. How does it compare with other South-East Asian markets you have worked in earlier?

I was in Thailand in 1998 when that (Asian financial) crisis hit, then subsequently moved to Hong Kong where it followed. This time around, I am lucky to have been in the right place. While our industry globally has contracted between 10-11%, in India we have had single-digit growth rates. I would rather be here than anywhere else.

Interestingly in India, while the media business has been shedding staff, the (advertising) agencies haven’t been (doing so). Obviously, they have been managing costs in other ways.

That is a crucial difference compared with the other markets where I have worked, where at the first sniff of tough times, businesses will go for (a reduction in) the headcount.

Also, the rush into the marketing services discipline, which has happened in other Asian markets, I don’t see that in India. Digital, direct and basically any one-to-one marketing will go through the roof during tough times. That didn’t happen to the extent I thought it would.

In India, the traditional media, the TVC (television commercial), is still god. This is in contrast with the developments happening in other parts of Asia and the rest of the world. In the UK, for instance, digital already has overtaken TV and other traditional media and (the same) would have happened in America if not for the slowdown.

Digital is still less than 5% of the total spends because of the insignificant broadband penetration in India. The market is not yet ready for it. But that is the way for the future and we (India) will go that way too.

At Lowe Lintas, we are trying to integrate digital into the very fabric of the agency. Even if its time has not yet come, even if it does not make financial sense, we will still go ahead. This is because when the change will come, it will be very rapid and sudden. India will do to broadband penetration what China did to the telephony market. India will most likely skip landline-based broadband to mobile broadband.

The current commission-based remuneration system also encourages traditional media. So there are several challenges in the Indian market.

Newspapers suddenly seem flush with advertising. Has there been a resurgence in print media advertising in the past two months. Is it sustainable?

I hope that the uptick is for real and sustainable. Across the board there is cautious optimism. Depending on what source of data you use, an Adex (advertising expenditure) increase of 15-20% looks likely in 2010.

That is what the main media companies are saying publicly. It is not irrational exuberance, it is based on some solid data, including sales.

How have advertising rates behaved in print and television the past couple years?

There has been some very serious discounting, which has happened specially in the print media. But I wouldn’t have detailed data and the right person to respond to that would be Lynn (Lynn De Souza, CEO of Lintas Media Group).

Your chairman and chief creative officer R. Balakrishnan (Balki) has spent more time in the recent past directing movies like ‘Cheeni Kum’ and ‘Paa.’ Has that been a handicap?

India is unique in the sense that three great creative guys run the top three agencies. Specific to Balki, he is a brilliant guy and one of the best creative persons I have ever worked with.

In terms of our own work, we produced more stuff in the last 8-12 weeks than we did in the last six months. Mind you, Balki was away during this time. What I am saying is that there is plenty of talent in the industry.

Ref: http://www.livemint.com/2009/12/30205740/Advertising-expenditure-looks.html?d=2

Kingfisher in deals for bio jet fuel R&D

2010-01-02T12:15:00.000-08:00

Kingfisher in deals for bio jet fuel R&D

If the plan succeeds, the carrier can cut reliance on costly aviation fuel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

India’s second largest airline by passengers carried, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, has signed an agreement with three international firms to explore development and production of an alternative jet fuel to reduce carbon emissions.

Regular jet fuel or aviation turbine fuel (ATF), a colourless refined kerosene, accounts for up to 40% of the total operating cost of airlines in India.

“We have already signed up with three companies to develop the biofuel. We are working on the cost-benefit analysis for the project,” said a senior Kingfisher Airlines executive who did not want to be identified as he is not authorized to speak to the media.

He did not disclose the names or details of the international companies that will develop the bio jet fuel for his carrier. If the experiment succeeds, the airline will be able to reduce its dependence on high-cost ATF and pare its carbon footprint or greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Rival carrier and the country’s largest airline Jet Airways (India) Ltd said it is closely monitoring global research and development (R&D) into alternative fuels while national carrier Air India is not immediately looking at bio jet fuel, but is reducing carbon emissions through various operational techniques.

In an unrelated development, European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. NV (EADS), the parent company of aircraft manufacturer Airbus SAS, is in talks with a few Indian biotech firms to explore joint partnerships in biofuels.

Jean Botti, chief technology officer at EADS, had told Mint in December his company is talking to some institutions in India but declined to name them.

Green craft: A February 2008 photo of a Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747 plane that was partially powered by biofuel derived from a mix of babassu and coconut oil, a first for commercial aircraft. Gill Allen / Bloomberg

Many international carriers have been in talks with specialized firms that are developing alternative jet fuel using renewable oils including those derived from agriculture, algae, animal fat and waste greases.

On 15 December, 15 international airlines including American Airlines Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and Deutsche Lufthansa AG signed a pact with AltAir Fuels Llc and Rentech Inc. for the supply of alternative aviation fuel by 2012.

Indian carriers, however, have not reached such a stage as yet.

AltAir Fuels, set up in 2008 to develop projects for the production of jet fuel from renewable and sustainable oils, said there is no specific interest from Indian carriers.

Julie Dawoodjee, vice-president, investor relations and communications at Rentech would only say that members of the International Air Transport Association, or Iata, have expressed interest in alternative aviation fuels and the association would like its 230 member carriers to use 10% alternative fuels by 2017.

Air India, Jet Airways, JetLite (India) Ltd and Kingfisher Airlines are members of Iata.

Ref: http://www.livemint.com/2010/01/02000041/Kingfisher-in-deals-for-bio-je.html

Marico eyeing acquisitions of beauty firms in Asia, Africa

2009-12-29T23:17:00.000-08:00

Marico eyeing acquisitions of beauty firms in Asia, Africa

Marico and rival Godrej Consumer Products Ltd are rumoured to be eyeing UK-based skin care brand ‘Simple’

Fast moving consumer goods company Marico Industries is scouting for acquisitions in Asia and Africa in the beauty and wellness segment, chairman and managing director Harsh Mariwala said.

“We will try and look for acquisitions in the beauty and wellness segment. Broadly, we are looking at Asia and Africa. We may look at larger countries in terms of population like Egypt or South Africa, but a lot depends on the options available,” Mariwala said.

Although he did not specify the amount earmarked for acquisitions or the nature of funding, Mariwala said valuations have still not corrected.

Mariwala, however, said that the company would be “a little hesitant to enter Britain because that market is different” and only emerging markets allow it to leverage its growth experience in India better.

BSE-listed Marico has a significant presence in most categories like coconut oil, hair oils, post wash hair care, anti-lice treatment, premium refined edible oils and niche fabric care among others.

The Rs2,390-crore company has decided to increase spend on marketing and overall packaging for brands like Revive and Medicare, he said.

The FMCG major markets well-known brands such as Parachute, Saffola, Sweekar, Hair & Care, Nihar, Shanti, Mediker, Revive, Manjal, Kaya, Aromatic, Fiancee among others.

“We are actually spending a lot in Revive. We have launched Revive Liquid, we are prototyping Revive Blue, which is a combination of a blue and starch in Kerala and West Bengal. Medicare is also being invested in and it is a growing brand,” Mariwala said.

The company will, however, not up marketing spend in edible oil brand Sweekar due to low margins on the product.

“We are recording a more or less double digit volume growth for our products and most of them except Sweekar have a good margin profile. Sweekar is a brand in which we are not spending much in terms of marketing investments because the margin profile is very low,” Mariwala said.
Despite pricing pressures led by high cost of raw materials, Marico has ruled out an increase in product prices.

“There is some degree of upturn in prices but its not much. At least in the next quarter we don’t see a price increase,” he said.

Ref: http://www.livemint.com/2009/12/17171109/Marico-eyeing-acquisitions-of.html

2009 round-up: FMCG and Retail, a Study in Contrast

2009-12-29T23:01:00.000-08:00

2009 round-up: FMCG and Retail, a Study in Contrast

2009 has proved to be a turning point for the retail industry. Mindless expansion brought trouble knocking on their doors. But the FMCG space has a different story — one where they managed strong growth despite a recessionary environment. CNBC-TV18’s Tanvi Shukla and Priyal Guliani get the roundup for the consumer sector.

“I think 2009 came in and gave a slap on our face,” says Kishore Biyani, Chairman, Future Group. And why not? 2009 began on a disastrous note for the retail industry, with one of the biggest value chains — Subhiksha — going bust in January. Complete mayhem followed. Several players had to resort to shutting down a myriad of stores and lay off employees en masse. All because a recessionary environment played spoilsport and kept consumers away. The bursting of the real estate bubble added to the trouble with not even 10% of the malls promised being delivered. And with retailers cutting back on expansion plans, even these found few takers.

“We all got carried away in 2008 and when you get carried away, you tend to start making mistakes, you tend to start assuming that the consumer is there and India is going to grow,” Biyani says. “We have to understand the consumer, the consumer will have to understand us, the categories have to be understood deeply. You can’t go in for blind growth, costs have to be considered.”

Experts had expected a consolidation in 2010 — but this was forced on them a year earlier. Vishal Retail applied for its corporate debt to be restructured and international brands like Etam exited the Indian market. Retailers Spencers and Aditya Birla Retail decided to go the hypermarket way, and shut down loss-making stores. Reliance Retail carried out a restructuring process to reposition itself.

Sanity has now returned. 2009 is closing on an upbeat note with most categories registering double-digit growth and store launches coming back in fashion. Listed players like Pantaloon and Shoppers Stop have got their funding in place and others are in active talks with several private equity players. Some like Dominoes and Cantabil are getting ready for initial public offerings.

But even as retailers struggled to come to grips with the slowdown, the FMCG sector maintained a sunny disposition. Thanks to strong rural demand, most domestic firms grew at more than 25-30% over the year. And ad spends touched peaks in the last two quarters of 2009. This strong growth came despite the price hikes implemented in 2008 taking a chunk out of volumes for giants like HUL. However, experts say that rising food prices will mean higher raw material costs, and so advise caution.

“We've to wait and watch what’s going to happen in the next few months especially those companies dependent on food whether it’s milk or sugar. They would experience some pressure on bottom-line,” said Harsh Mariwala, Chairman of Marico.

There is another reason to exercise caution, say experts. A bad monsoon in 2010, and falling consumer spending could hit FMCG volumes in the coming quarters. And while soap and biscuit makers close 2009 with a smile, 2010 could well give the cause to mutter and frown.

Ref:http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/cnbc-tv18-comments/2009-round-up-fmcgretailstudycontrast_432981.html

Now, get a color mobile phone for $10 in India

2009-12-28T21:40:00.000-08:00

Now, get a color mobile phone for $10 in India

India based Gee Pee Infotech has geared up to launch a color mobile phone at just $10 (Rs. 500). Gee Pee has already launched wide range of user friendly dual sim low cost mobile handset in Kolkata and Eastern markets in India with good customer supports. Presently Gee Pee mobile phones range from Rs.1000 to Rs.6000, reports Telecom Talk.

The company makes sure that it follows the after sale grievances and has set up "Gee Pee Care" in various parts of the country. Gee Pee's aims is to reach the all round sector in the market thereby providing mobiles at an affordable price to every customer. Based on the current growth trend and the rate of mobile users, Gee Pee aims to get five percent of the total mobile market in the country.

With the present reputation built in West Bengal, Gee Pee has been contemplating to expand its presence across India and after the launch of such cheaper phones it might soon attain its target.
Ref:

http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Now_get_a_color_mobile_phone_for_10_in_India_-nid-64120.html

Infosys, Patni Contenders for Rs. 10K Crore Power Contract

2009-12-27T23:50:00.000-08:00

Infosys, Patni Contenders for Rs. 10K Crore Power Contract

Indian government is planning to invest Rs. 10,000 crore in modernizing the power sector with the help of Information Technology (IT) in order to help the country's ailing power distribution and production units become more efficient and competitive. Infosys Technologies and Patni Computer Systems are among 14 firms eligible to bid for India's power sector modernization plan, which is worth almost Rs. 50,000 crore, reports Economic Times.

This heavy investment is a part of the Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (R-APDRP). The second list of empanelled vendors for the implementation of the power reforms project will allow these vendors to compete for the tenders being put out by state electricity boards (SEBs) for modernization and implementation of IT. These vendors will be able to bid for different parts of the tender depending upon the category they have been empanelled for.

"We have already been empanelled as a system integrator. But we also wanted to be empanelled as an MDA solution provider because this allows us to bid for these solutions even when another vendor is the systems integrator," said Binod HR, Senior Vice President and Head, India business, Infosys.

The empanellment is in four categories - system integrator, GIS (geographic information systems) solution provider, network solution provider, and MDA (meter data acquisition) solution provider. Patni has been empanelled as a system integrator and the GIS solution provider, while Infosys has been empanelled as an MDA solution provider.

"Earlier, our focus on India was not so strong. But now we have re-structured our operations and India is a strategic focus market. The empanellment will allow us to participate in what is the largest IT programme under the 11th Five Year Plan," said Deepak Khosla, President, SAARC of Patni. He said Patni's target was to grow its India business to six percent of its revenues in three years.

KPMG had carried out the selection process. "Many government projects require the vendors to have worked on similar projects in the country. But this is a reforms programme and I believe this kind of initiative has not been undertaken in India before. It required us to demonstrate our global expertise in this area and we were able to do that," Khosla added. He said Patni was a strategic IT vendor to one of the U.S.' largest distribution companies.

West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, have already awarded IT tenders, but 29 other SEBs are yet to do so. A single vendor can only work on a maximum of five projects. Vendors such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have already won three projects from SEBs.

Ref: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Infosys_Patni_contenders_for_Rs_10K_Crore_power_contract-nid-64083.html

India fast losing BPO jobs to Philippines

2009-12-27T23:44:00.000-08:00

India fast losing BPO jobs to Philippines

For about a decade, it was India's call centre boom, that defined it as the 'world's back office', much like neighboring China, which has been immortalized as the 'world's factory.' However the situation seems to be changing, as Philippines is fast upstaging India's back office supremacy, with BPO service providers and customers seeming to favor this country as a better place for 'voice-related' work, reports Economic Times.

"India has lost tens of thousands of jobs to the Philippines. The caliber of English is better and companies don't have to put up with the mess (that exists in India) there," says Pramod Bhasin, President and CEO of Genpact.

Some of the major hassles that India poses, include arranging transport for employees, security, power back-up in offices, and basic infrastructure that firms can take for granted in the Philippines. The country has become a preferred destination, especially with the U.S. companies, many of which are more comfortable with the English accent spoken there. U.S. customers account for over 50 percent of the global outsourcing business.

Ananda Mukherji, MD and CEO of BPO provider Firstsource Solutions, says that costs are more or less similar in both countries. This means the accent proficiency in the Philippines tips the scales in its favor.

According to the Economic Times, many of the Philippines' advantages are due to the U.S. rule, which bequeathed the English language to that country with its distinct accent along with a robust telecom and broadband network laid out by the U.S. defense forces.

Prabhakar Bisen, Head of the Philippines operations of WNS says, "Apart from affinity to the U.S. culture and English-speaking skills, the country's time zone advantages make the Philippines a natural choice for providing 24x7 service to global companies, particularly those based in the U.S."

Genpact, Wipro BPO, Intelenet, Aegis BPO and Firstsource are all ramping up their operations in Philippines. Genpact has about 2,000 employees there and expects to scale up operations by 40-50 percent in the next 12 months. Firstsource has about 500 staff in Manila, while WNS has increased staffing to 1,100 from 200 in the past 18 months, providing a mix of voice and back-office services for telecom, consumer products, travel and financial services clients.

In the past 12 months, Wipro BPO has set up a 1,000 seat centre in the Philippines' Cebu City, with staff there engaged in telecom, healthcare, energy and utilities-related tasks.

Ref: http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/India_best_BPO_destination_Lose_thousands_of_jobs_to_Philippines_-nid-64084.html

ExlService to set up two call centres in Noida & Jaipur

2009-12-26T01:38:00.000-08:00

ExlService to set up two call centres in Noida & Jaipur

Nasdaq-listed ExlService Holdings Inc, one of the country's leading BPO firms, plans to open two new facilities in Noida and Jaipur. The two new centres, which will be opened sometime next year, will be in the special economic zones (SEZs). Rohit Kapoor, co-founder and president, EXLService told FE that the company will be investing close to $11 million in these two facilities. While the Noida centre will be a 900-seater one with a capacity of housing 1,600 employees, the Jaipur facility will house 450 employees.

EXLService, which currently has 12 delivery centres globally, will be opening another one in Romania by 2010. Moreover, its recent acquisition of American Express' global travel service centre will add another facility in Gurgaon to its list. Kapoor added that the company is also hiring for its facilities in Philippines and Czech Republic.

Having made two acquisitions in the last one year, Kapoor said the company is scouting for more buyouts. "We have $120 million of cash on our books and we are considering US onshore companies along with several captives," said Kapoor.

For the BPO firm, the insurance sector is the largest vertical contributing around 50% to its revenues. The company is also quite big in the utilities space with 30% of its revenues coming from that vertical itself. Kapoor said that these verticals will be the top priority for the company from an acquisition point of view. The firm is also trying to increase its presence in the banking sector, which currently contributes not a very significant amount to the company's balance sheet unlike other BPO firms.

"There are several captive BPOs in the banking space, which are on the block right now. We are looking at them," he said. Kapoor added that US onshore companies are willing to sell out at five to seven time multiple of EBITDA right now. "Valuations have significantly come down and are at a reasonable level currently," he said.

Ref: http://in.biz.yahoo.com/091224/50/bautco.html

Mobile Number portability set to miss date

2009-12-26T01:21:00.000-08:00

Mobile Number portability set to miss date

Mobile number portability (MNP), which allows consumers to change their mobile operator without having to give up their phone number, is unlikely to roll out from January 1.

Most operators say they are not prepared to the offer the service from January 1, as instructed by the telecom sector watchdog Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

A senior official, who did not wish to be identified, said most operators including state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) have not yet upgraded their network to facilitate MNP. The telecom department had given licences to Telcordia and Syniverse to implement MNP. Telecom operators were to upgrade their networks for this.

Ref: http://in.biz.yahoo.com/091225/32/bautep.html

Dabur goes green in war on carbon

2009-12-26T01:18:00.000-08:00

Dabur goes green in war on carbon

Consumer goods major Dabur India (DABUR.NS : 162.95 -0.2) has chalked out plans to emerge as a carbon-neutral enterprise. The company is setting up new boilers, gasifiers and biogas generators at its manufacturing units in India and Nepal to re-use wet herbal waste from the facility as fuel. The company also commissioned this month a new gasifier at its Nepal unit that would generate steam by using rice husk as fuel, thus saving on the energy costs. At its Katni unit in Madhya Pradesh, the company has substituted furnace oil with petcoke - a byproduct of crude refining - as fuel. Similar initiatives are also underway at its units in Newai (Rajasthan), Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), Sahibabad (Uttar Pradesh) and Nepal. The company would invest around Rs 5 crore towards these programmes.

Ref: http://in.biz.yahoo.com/090316/50/batblj.html

Pennsylvania Walmart Sued for Videotaping Employees, Customers in Bathroom

2009-12-25T23:31:00.000-08:00

Pennsylvania Walmart Sued for Videotaping Employees, Customers in Bathroom

Surveillance Camera Secretly Placed in One Store's Bathroom

A Pennsylvania Walmart Supercenter videotaped employees and customers in a unisex bathroom, several former and current Walmart employees alleged in a lawsuit filed this week.

Several former and current employees at a Walmart in Easton, Pa., have filed a lawsuit against the retailer because a surveillance camera was discovered in one of the store's bathrooms.

(AP Photo)Seven former and current employees from the Tire and Lube department at the Walmart in Easton, Pa., filed a lawsuit in county court against the Arkansas-based corporation and four local managers Dec. 21.

Several employees discovered an "off-the-shelf" video camera in a store bathroom March 31, 2008, according to the court filing. The unisex bathroom, which also served as a changing room, was used by employees and customers. Customers and employees were not notifed of the surveillance, according to the court filing.

"I am incredulous that anyone would think that it's appropriate conduct for any reason to photograph people in a changing room and bathroom," said Erv McLain, the plaintiffs' attorney.
Walmart said two workers were responsible for the camera.

"Two associates were terminated for placing a camera in an associate dressing room bathroom," Walmart spokesman Greg Rossiter said. "When store management learned of the camera, it was immediately removed."

The company declined further comment.

According to the court filing, the camera was installed by Walmart's loss-prevention unit.

The camera was used to monitor employees for possible theft and it is unclear how long the surveillance took place, McLain said. None of the plaintiffs, however, were accused of stealing from the store.

A store manager acknowledged the existence of the surveillance camera only after employees produced a photo of the camera, McLain said.

"The filming of anyone, including employees, is not something that is unheard of in the industry," McLain said. "But to do it in a changing room and bathroom is totally unprecedented and it could border on criminal activity."

The retailer's "Security and Privacy" policy states that at "some stores and clubs [Walmart] may record your presence on security monitors for safety and security purposes," according to court documents.

Ref: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/walmart-sued-secret-bathroom-surveillance/story?id=9418710

Bafna Mahaveer Chand, Chairman and Managing Director, Bafna Pharmacuticals Limited

2009-12-17T02:46:00.000-08:00

Bafna Mahaveer Chand, Chairman and Managing Director, Bafna Pharmacuticals Limited

Bafna Mahaveer Chand, Chairman and Managing Director, Bafna Pharmacuticals Limited, is a Chemistry Graduate from Madras University and has more than 26 years of experience in the trade of manufacture, export of pharmaceuticals and sale of formulation in Domestic and International Market. He is the main promoter of the company and has started his career as a trainee in Kemko Pharma for a period of one year and thereafter he formed his own proprietary concern and started dealing in pharmaceutical products. He has vast experience in institutional supplies and was instrumental in getting significant supply contracts of the central government, several State Governments (including Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and West Bengal) besides ESI Corporation and supplies to Sri Lanka Ukraine and other countries.

BAFNA started business in 1981 with the embodiment of the noble notion "Quality medicines for the needy suffering millions, at an affordable price". BAFNA was started as a proprietary concern in 1981 by Bafna Mahaveer Chand in the name of BAFNA PHARMACEUTICALS and has been engaged in the business of manufacturing pharmaceutical formulations of Betalactam and Non Betalactam products. During the year 1995, BAFNA PHARMACEUTICALS LIMITED was incorporated and it acquired the entire business of the proprietary concern. The Madhavaram unit is WHO GMP certified and also ISO 9000 certified. The products manufactured in this factory cater to the markets of Srilanka, Ghana and Ukraine.

While speaking to Anurag More of India Infoilne, Mr. Bafna says, "We set our standards and are continuously thriving upwards to redefine our own standards in accomplishing our position as the most preferred one stop source for all product development"

What prospects are you seeing for the pharma industry in India?

Indian pharmaceutical industry has grown leaps and bounds, emerging as a global hub and a destination of choice; several initiatives are successfully taken to bring the Indian industry to the forefront of the global pharma industry. The Indian pharma industry today is among the top ranked research-based pharma industries with wide ranging capabilities in the complex field of drug manufacturing.

Despite the global slowdown, the Indian pharma industry has maintained commendable growth. A highly organized sector, the Indian pharma industry is estimated to grow at the rate of 14% per year. The US$20 billion Indian pharmaceutical industry has been growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 9%. The sector is likely to grow to US$50bn by 2015. It is one of the largest and most advanced among the developing countries. So, the Indian pharma industry is a success story.

Brief us about your products?

Our focus is mainly on lifestyle products. The company presently manufactures 126 formulations under various therapeutic segments such as - anti-infective, antihypertensive, cholesterol lowering agents, analgesic and antipyretic, anthelmintics, appetite stimulants, cough & cold preparations, antiulcerants, hypoglycemics and vitamins etc.

The manufacturing facilities of the company are adaptable i.e. the facilities can produce multiple products using a combination of process.

What would you describe is your core strength?

The MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency) approval for Bafna Pharmaceuticals has opened gates for the company to market its products in the European market. This certification will act as a catalyst for the organization’s growth. Our undivided concentration is on product development through R&D.

Bafna has a modern plant which meets International quality standards. Given our facility and R&D, we are determined to make a mark.

What would your focus be?

Comment on your exports?We set high standards and are continuously thriving to redefine ourselves. We hope to emerge as one of the most preferred one stop sources for all product development and contract manufacturing activities for the regulated markets and across the pharma value chain.

We have increased exports from 30% of total revenue to 50%. This year we look forward to export seven variations and in the next two years 17 products will be ready for launch in European countries.

We have a very strong presence in Sri Lanka, Africa and CIS regions. Recently we got the approval for our first branded product Olmesartan Medoxomil. With this, we have started directly marketing our own brands in Sri Lanka.

Bafna presently has 336 product licenses and has 72 products registered in various countries such as Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Ghana and Lao. The company has registered a few of its brands in India as well.

Tell us about your manufacturing units?

Are they USFDA approved?The company has a WHO-GMP certified manufacturing facility in Madhavaram, which is a 100% Export Oriented Unit (EOU). The facility at Grantlyon, Chennai is accredited with Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency, UK (MHRA). This accreditation has made Bafna Pharma has opened the gates for exploring markets of the European Union. Apart from this, few innovator companies and few renowned European and Indian companies have audited & approved this site for the contract manufacturing. Our plan is to enter the US market in the next 18 months.

What growth do you see in the Indian pharma industry?

While it is generally believed that the pharma industry is recession proof, the fact of the matter is, people do cut down even on healthcare expenses when faced with an economic crisis. Most Indian companies are therefore building a hybrid portfolio i.e. a presence in more than one sub segments - Generics, NCE, CRAMS, and domestic market, in order to diversify risks emerging from a single segment. This is certainly a good strategy going forward.

The vision of the Department of Pharmaceuticals is to enable Indian pharma industry to play a leading role in the global market and to ensure abundant availability, at reasonable prices within the country, of good quality pharmaceuticals of mass consumption.

Brief us about your R&D initiatives?

With advanced manufacturing equipment, testing instruments and process control facilities, the formulations R&D center is equipped to manufacture new products from laboratory scale to validation batches.

The R&D center has qualified and competent research scientists, who have developed many innovations, to meet the various requirements of the global market.

The R&D facility is designed and equipped to meet the stringent international standards. It will be operational by Q4 FY10.

Any new segments you plan to enter?

We would like to enter into a niche segment like Immunosuppressant. Also, we would like to expand from being present in Antibiotics to drugs in the lifestyle related illness.

What makes you different from other players?

Small size for Flexibility.
Multi product capability
Strong F R and D
Focused Markets
Competitive pricing
Efficient, prompt and friendly customer service

Brief us on your financials. What is the outlook?

Bafna Pharmaceuticals reported a net profit of Rs1.24 crore in the quarter ended September 2009 as against a net loss of Rs 0.24 crore during the quarter ended September 2008. Sales rose 81.51% to Rs 16.88 crore in the quarter ended September 2009 as against Rs 9.30 crore during the previous quarter ended September 2008.

The company posted a profit after tax (PAT) growth of 10.55% amounting to Rs 107 Lakhs in the FY 2008-09, as against a net profit of Rs 120 Lakhs in the previous fiscal year. The company recorded sales amounting to Rs 4525 lakhs during FY09 as against net sales of Rs 4038 lakhs during FY08.

The company aims to achieve a turnover of Rs500 crores by 2013 by focusing on prescription drugs in the ROW market. We also plan to target Contract Manufacturing opportunities and intend to file dossiers in regulated markets.

What will be your future business strategy?

The trend is changing; today the global pharma companies are looking forward to join hands with smaller pharma companies who are quality conscious and have the required approvals. At Bafna, we believe that quality is the road to success and foreseeing that we have got the required GMP certification.

We have also managed to get the MHRA certification for the European markets. Going forward, our strategy would be to maintain and deliver World Class Quality products with competitive pricing coupled with efficient, prompt and friendly customer service.

Which are the countries you export your products to?

At present, we export our products to Sri Lanka, CIS and Africa. We have plans to introduce our own branded generic products in Sri Lankan by early 2010. We hope this will boost our revenues.

What is the promoters' stake?

Any plans of adding or diluting stake?The promoter group is holding close to 60% shareholding and 40% is with the public.

In India medical facilities are still out of reach for many. What suggestions would you give to improve this situation?Rural marketing to the nano level, health cover for all and health literacy are some of the ideas that can improve this situation.

Tell us about your domestic-international mix?

Where do you see more growth?Currently, the revenues from domestic and exports are equal. Going ahead we intend to penetrate deeper into the European markets. We have already acquired six clients in Europe for contract manufacturing and have applied for seven variations. We also plan to introduce more branded products in Sri Lanka and other Asian countries.

What advice would you give those who wish to join this industry/company?

Typically what kind of people would you look for from the B-Schools? Ultra specialization with a good knowledge about all the departments- A task force type. AND EVER WILLING TO LEARN.

What do you think B-Schools need to do to make their students ready for the job?

Compulsory Practice School Training along with the curriculum.

What are your hiring plans etc.?In R&D and other dept we will add more recourse. People are our asset.

Ref: http://www.indiainfoline.com/Research/Recommendations/Default.aspx?ReportNo=878

Google India announces Search Zeitgeist for 2009

2009-12-17T02:37:00.000-08:00

Google India announces Search Zeitgeist for 2009

The 2009 year- end India Zeitgeist gives us a glimpse of events, moments and trends that shaped the year that was.

Google India has announced its year end Google Zeitgeist for 2009 -- a reflection of what Indians were searching through the year. The 2009 year- end India Zeitgeist gives us a glimpse of events, moments and trends that shaped the year that was.

“The end of the year is a time when most of us look back in retrospect on moments and patterns that defined our year. The Google India Zeitgeist provides a reflection of what was on people's minds in 2009. Besides serving as a great indicator of what made news through the year, Zeitgeist 2009 also provides a unique perspective on what clicked with people and the way they consumed information on the Internet. Considering our mobile search traffic for 2009 has quadrupled as compared to the last two years put together, this year we have put additional focus on users who access Internet through their mobile phones,” said Vinay Goel, Head of Products, Google India.

To compile the 2009 Year-End Zeitgeist, Google studied the aggregation of billions of queries people typed into Google search in 2009. We used data from multiple sources, including Insights for Search, Google Trends and internal data tools. We also filtered out spam and repeat queries to build out lists that best reflect "the spirit of the times." All of the search queries we studied are anonymous - no personal information was used. Except where noted, all of these search terms are most popular for 2009 - ranked in order of the queries with the largest volume of searches this year. In some cases, we list the "fastest rising" queries, which means we found the most popular searches conducted in 2009 and then ranked them based on how much their popularity increased compared to 2008.

A look at Google Zeitgeist 2009 shows that global economic downturn and local implications were clearly on India's mind as Budget 2009 and Satyam share price emerged as the fastest rising queries. Connecting with friends continued to be top priority for Indians as social networking sites attracted significant interest on the mobile as well as the web. Young politicians such as Rahul Gandhi and Sachin Pilot were hailed as the new face of political leadership in the country. With corporate woes and recession news, more people looked for ways to meditate and concentrate. Romance scored over action, fantasy and drama - with Love Aaj Kal emerging as the most searched movie of the year. Katrina Kaif ruled the minds of Indians for the second straight year while 'mobile' Indians keyed in queries on cricket to stay abreast with their favourite sport.

Google Zeitgeist 2009 is a real reflection of the spirit of the nation which saw all the ups and downs and yet remained true to its love for entertainment, peace and hope!

Ref: http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/News.aspx?NewsId=20622

Bharti Airtel rings on acquisition reports

2009-12-16T04:47:00.000-08:00

Bharti Airtel rings on acquisition reports

Bharti Airtel gained 1.88% to Rs 322.75 at 13:09 IST on BSE on reports the company is set to buy a 70% stake for $900 million in Bangladesh's fourth-biggest telecom company Warid Telecom.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was up 22.42 points, or 0.13%, to 16,899.58 On BSE, 7.71 lakh shares were traded in the counter as against an average daily volume of 26.81 lakh shares in the past one quarter.

The stock had hit a high of Rs 323.80 and a low of Rs 315.20 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 495 on 19 May 2009 and a 52-week low of Rs 229.50 on 27 November 2009.

The large-cap stock outperformed the market over the past one month till 15 December 2009, rising 5.11% as compared to the Sensex's 0.17% rise. However it had underperformed the market in the past one quarter, falling 23.86% as compared to the Sensex's return of 2.57%

The company's equity capital is Rs 1898.42 crore. Face value per share is Rs 5.

The current price of Rs 322.75 discounts the company's Q2 September 2009 annualized EPS of Rs 24.20, by a PE multiple of 13.33

Meanwhile, a Bharti Airtel spokesperson, speaking to a news agency, declined to comment on a possible deal to buy Bangladesh's Warid Telecom adding that the company will keep evaluating international opportunities from time to time. He added that Bharti Airtel it is looking at acquisitions in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region, especially in Bangladesh. The eight-member SAARC region includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan.

Cellular Operators Association of India data showed that Bharti Airtel retained the numero uno position adding 28 lakh users in November 2009 to reach a total of over 11.6 crore users. The company had added 27 lakh users in October 2009.

In late October 2009, Bharti Airtel unveiled its per second billing plan, 'Freedom Plan'. The subscribers of this plan will be charged one paise per second for all local and STD calls on Airtel networks while for other networks local and STD call charges will be 1.20 paise per second.

Meanwhile, the auction of radio bandwidth for third generation, or 3G, mobile phone services is on schedule, the union minister for telecommunications said recently. Earlier, the government had missed an 8 December 2009 deadline for inviting applications or inviting prospective bidders to participate in the proposed bandwidth auction for 3G mobile telephony services.

The department of telecom (DoT) is scheduled to launch electronic auctions on 14 January 2010 to allot four slots of bandwidth for 3G mobile phone services in most parts of the country, and three slots of bandwidth for broadband wireless Internet--or WiMax-- services.

On 10 December 2009, the Reserve Bank of India made a concession in the foreign borrowings policy for telecom companies seeking to fund their acquisition of 3G spectrum.

In November 2009, Singapore Telecommunications, or SingTel through its wholly owned subsidiary, Pastel, executed a conditional share purchase agreement with the Bharti Group to hike its stake in Bharti Telecom, promoter company of Bharti Airtel.

Under this agreement, SingTel will acquire additional 7.30 lakh shares in Bharti Telecom, which holds 45.30% stake in Bharti Airtel as at end September 2009.

Following this deal, SingTel's effective stake in Bharti Telecom will stand increased to 36.16% from the current level of 32.81% while its effective stake in Bharti Airtel will go up by 1.52% to 31.95%.

SingTel will make an estimated payment between Rs 1,807.3 crore and Rs 3,008.4 crore over a period of more than a year for this acquisition. The move will enable SingTel to maximize value of its existing businesses.

Bharti Airtel's net profit surged 43.1% to Rs 2296.94 crore on 7.6% rise in net sales to Rs 8901.66 crore in Q2 September 2009 over Q2 September 2008.

Bharti Airtel provides mobile telecommunication services in India. It also provides fixed-line, VSAT, Internet and broadband services.

Ref: http://www.indiainfoline.com/Markets/News/News.aspx?NewsId=360409

Salman Khan Foundation -Being Human: Salman Khan Helps Poor Villagers

2009-12-11T11:03:00.000-08:00

Salman Khan Foundation -Being Human: Salman Khan Helps Poor Villagers

Salman Khan Helps Poor Villagers

Mumbai: Trust Salman Khan to lend a helping hand to the needy. DNA found out that the large hearted actor recently helped out a couple of unemployed villagers by providing them with decent jobs. These men were desperate to feed themselves as well as their families and happened to come into contact with Salman.

A friend of the actor reveals: "Salman arrived on the sets to shoot for his forthcoming film Veer when he spotted a couple of villagers who were trying to approach and talk to him. When he asked what the fuss was about, he was told that they desperately needed help as they were unemployed and hungry with families to feed. Salman was very disturbed after hearing their plight and immediately decided to speak to them. He told them that he would help them but offered to find them employment because he thought that they'd get offended if he simply offered them money."

So Salman came up with a wonderful idea. "He told them he was hiring them to act alongside junior artistes for few days and that they would be paid the same amount the others got. They did not have any dialogues in those scenes and were basically part of a group of soldiers. So overwhelmed were they by Salman's gesture that they started crying."

Eros International's Vijay Galani confirms: "They were paid between around Rs 1000 a day for their work, in keeping with the rates of the Junior Artistes Association. Salman also gave away footwear, saris and clothes for their families. It was a wonderful gesture that touched us all. Even in Rajasthan, where we were initially shooting, he helped many people with money, food and clothes."

DNA managed to speak to Salman about the episode and he said, "There is no bigger joy than seeing people who have a smile on their face. I always try to help the really needy and hate to make a show out of it. We (Bollywood stars) should all try to lend a helping hand whenever possible to those who need it the most. It is a great feeling to see people satisfied -- I feel complete as a human being."

Wipro on an expansion drive: Looks at new verticals

2009-12-11T10:56:00.000-08:00

Wipro on an expansion drive: Looks at new verticals

Wipro is keen on breaking its shackles and establishing a presence in new regions. This, of course, means expansion of not just existing facilities and special economic zones, but new verticals as well. CNBC-TV18’s Kritika Saxena reports.

Expansion—that's the buzz word driving the Wipro dynamo these days. While it is looking to expand into new verticals like hospitality, pharma and insurance, it is also keen on a bigger footprint in existing verticals, and also a presence in newer geographies.

For this last bit, it has earmarked about Rs 200 crore this year and special economic zones are high on the agenda.

Suresh Senapathy, Chief Financial Officer, Wipro, said, “All new investments that we are making are in special economic zones. That has been our approach for the last several years and that is what we will do going forward. So every new location that we are building on will be in SEZs. So that is the clear mantra that we will be looking at as far as our IT business is concerned.”

The plan is to set up shop on recently-acquired land in new cities like Rajasthan and Cochin. Wipro will build infrastructure at these sites, and developed them into a technological base.

“States, if you look at, we are sort of having land where we need to be building, in terms of Rajasthan, in greater Noida, we have Cochin as well as Coimbatore. We are still about to start building in some of those places,” Senapathy said.

And this expansion, of course, means that Wipro will soon go on a hiring spree to staff the new centres. This expansion plan does not leave out existing facilities in Pune, Nagpur, Hyderabad and Bangalore. These will also be given their due, and will see expansion-oriented investments.

Ref: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/cnbc-tv18-comments/wipro-onexpansion-drive-looks-at-new-verticals_430433.html

Volkswagen, Suzuki plan small car for India

2009-12-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

Volkswagen, Suzuki plan small car for India

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Germany's Volkswagen and Suzuki Motor plan to develop a new small car that would cost between $4,300 and $5,400 for the Indian market, following this week's tie-up between the firms, the Economic Times reported on Friday.

Suzuki is the parent of Maruti Suzuki, India's leading passenger car maker, and the new car could replace the best-selling Alto model, the Indian firm's chairman told the newspaper.

"At some point we will need a replacement for the Alto. That price range is the entry level for Indian customers today, so we can't leave that segment open," R.C. Bhargava told the business daily.

The paper said the car would be priced between 200,000 and 250,000 rupees, about double the price of Tata Motor's Nano, the world's cheapest car which was launched earlier this year.

Under a deal announced this week, Volkswagen will buy a one-fifth stake in Suzuki for $2.5 billion, tapping the Japanese firm's expertise in small cars and dominance in India as VW seeks to become the No. 1 automaker.

Officials at Volkswagen and Suzuki Motor could not immediately be reached for a comment on the newspaper report. A spokesman for Maruti Suzuki in India did not respond to phone calls when contacted by Reuters for a comment.

The Economic Times said the planned new car would be priced at $4,000-$5,000 in the European market, well below the $8,800 price tag for the Up, the cheapest car in Volkswagen's stable.

"Volkswagen will be greatly interested in a car below the price segment of the Up ... and that is something we will need to check in our future together with Suzuki," Fabian Mannecke, the spokesman for Volkswagen, told the newspaper.

Mannecke said Volkswagen was not targeting the Nano segment.

Ref: http://in.biz.yahoo.com/091211/137/bauqna.html

Jet's November passenger traffic up by 33%

2009-12-11T09:58:00.000-08:00

Jet's November passenger traffic up by 33%

Mumbai, Dec. 8 -- With a slew of restructuring measures paying off and the economy rebounding, Jet Airways has reported a 33 per cent increase in its domestic passenger traffic for the month of November 2009, as compared to the same period last year.

The airlines' international passenger traffic has also registered a growth of 19 per cent on a seat factor of 81.9 per cent in November 2009, the airline said.

JetLite, the wholly owned subsidiary of Jet Airways has also done well in increasing its passenger traffic by 22 per cent and a seat factor of 76.7 per cent in the month of November 2009.

"Our improved performance in November 2009 is largely due rise in domestic and international travel following the recovery in the economy and a series of restructuring exercise undertaken recently," Nikos Kardassis, CEO, Jet Airways told Hindustan Times.

"We have also seen rise in the yields. For December and January we have seen encouraging bookings and expect these months to be better than November," he said.

Ref: http://in.biz.yahoo.com/091209/32/bauq60.html

Google Makes a Second Real-Time Search Announcement

2009-12-10T12:05:00.000-08:00

Google Makes a Second Real-Time Search Announcement

By Chris Crum
This may be the year of real-time search, but this week alone has captured much of the attention related to the subject. Yahoo is rolling out something close to real-time search today, and of course the big news is that Google has begun incorporating real-time search results right into its regular SERPs.

Google has now made another real-time search-related announcement in that they are now offering Twitter integration with the Google Search Appliance. Google Search Appliance can now show users tweets next to their internal Search Appliance results.

"Social information is important for businesses: employees searching for information needed to do their jobs benefit from real-time news too," says Cyrus Mistry, Product Manager, Google Enterprise Search. "They might be developing a new breakfast cereal, or designing a marketing plan for a clothing line, or writing strategy report for a political campaign. In all of these cases, understanding what is being said just as Twitter users are saying it can be invaluable."

"Customers have told us that placing web results next to intranet ones often allows employees to think differently about a particular topic and approach it in new ways," says Mistry. "By integrating enterprise search with more of the information that exists in the cloud, like tweets, employees can more easily leverage the wisdom of the crowd."

Google says it should take no more than fifteen minutes to get the Twitter box up and running on Google Search Appliance. The option is available to enable it for only some users, or you can set up to let all users have access. You can also set it up to let users choose for themselves whether or not they want Twitter results.

Ref: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/12/10/google-makes-a-second-real-time-search-announcement?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WebpronewsTopNewsRssFeed+%28Top+News+Items+-+WebProNews%29&utm_content=Twitter

India to create new state

2009-12-10T05:02:00.000-08:00

India to create new state

AFP - India announced on Thursday that it planned to create the country's 29th state, after a hunger strike by a regional leader and escalating protests from supporters.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram said the government would begin work to found the separate state of Telangana, which will be carved out of Andhra Pradesh in the southeast.

"The process of forming the state of Telangana will be initiated," Chidambaram told reporters.

Since the partition of British-ruled India in 1947, various separatist and state movements have raged across the vast nation.

Three new states were created in 2000, when Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were divided to give rise to Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand.

Violent separatist insurgencies also cause regular unrest in Kashmir, Assam and Nagaland.

The proposed birth of Telangana, which covers much of Andhra Pradesh's poor tribal belt, follows an 11-day hunger strike by K. Chandrasekhar Rao, chief of the main party campaigning for the new state.

His deteriorating health sparked violent student protests in the region over the past week.

"We are concerned about the health of K. Chandrasekhar Rao. We request him to withdraw his fast immediately. We also appeal to all students to withdraw their agitation to help restore normalcy," Chidambaram said.

In the Andhra Pradesh state capital Hyderabad -- which may become part of Telangana -- Rao expressed thanks from his hospital bed.

A separate Telangana state has been a long-standing demand of many locals who allege government neglect of the drought-prone, deprived region.

But its creation is expected to take years with approval required from both the Andhra Pradesh state assembly and India's national parliament.

Formed in 1956, Andhra Pradesh is India's fifth largest state in terms of territory and sends 42 MPs to India's 543-member parliament.

Agriculture has been the state's economic mainstay but in recent years Hyderabad has emerged as an information-technology hub, earning it the nickname "Cyberabad".

India comprises 28 states and seven federally administered territories, which include the capital region New Delhi.

Ref: http://www.france24.com/en/node/4945142

Daimler says 37,000 jobs are safe until 2020

2009-12-10T03:51:00.000-08:00

Daimler says 37,000 jobs are safe until 2020

AFP - German luxury car maker Daimler has told 37,000 workers that their jobs are safe until 2020 and that the group will create about 2,000 new ones.

An accord reached with workers' representatives rules out firings for economic reasons at the Mercedes-Benz site in Singelfingen, southwestern Germany for the next 10 years, a Daimler statement said.

Earlier this month, Daimler decided to shift production of its new C-Class cars to northern Bremen and to plants in the US state of Alabama, China and South Africa from 2014 to lessen negative foreign exchange effects on profits.

Sindelfingen is to continue making more expensive Mercedes' E- and S-Class models, along with the SL sport coupes and hybrid motors, Daimler said.

The move "is the best way to conserve sustainable jobs in Germany," Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche explained.

The group has been hit by a slump in the market for premium automobiles and drew up a cost-cutting plan aimed at saving four billion euros (billion dollars), an amount that will likely be surpassed before the end of 2009.

Workers at Daimler and some parts suppliers were angered by the decision and staged several protests to express their views.

On Thursday, the head of Daimler's works committee, Erich Klemm, said: "We are happy that despite the decision, which is a poor one in our opinion, jobs have been guaranteed for such a long period."

Ref: http://www.france24.com/en/node/4945040

Volkswagen to buy up to 20% in Suzuki

2009-12-09T01:32:00.000-08:00

Volkswagen to buy up to 20% in Suzuki

By Reuters
Volkswagen AG is close to announcing plans to take a stake of up to 20 per cent in Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp, three sources with direct knowledge of the negotiations said on Tuesday.

One of the sources, who asked not to be identified because the information is not public, said Volkswagen's stake could "easily" rise to a controlling stake of more than one-third down the line.

"An announcement could come as early as this week," the source said. "This is the first step."
A 20 per cent stake in Suzuki would be worth about 250 billion yen ($2.8 billion) at current prices.

Spokesmen at Volkswagen and Suzuki had no comment.

Ref: http://in.biz.yahoo.com/091209/50/bauq72.html

Essar arm buys Impact Retail

2009-12-09T01:27:00.000-08:00

Essar arm buys Impact Retail

Mumbai, Dec. 8 -- Essar Group promoted The MobileStore (TMS) has acquired Impact Retail Private Ltd for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will help the company enhance its business portfolio and it will now retail consumer durables and IT (CDIT) products too. Impact Retail runs seven retail stores selling CDIT products under the X-Cite brand.

The acquisition is aimed at expanding product portfolio and penetrating the estimated
Rs 80,000 crore strong CDIT market.

"Post the slowdown we are consolidating our operations," said Rajiv Agarwal, CEO and Director, The MobileStore. "The timing is good and CDIT is one area where we see an opportunity. We have just signed the deal and plan to use the entire TMS footprint to sell the consumer durable and the IT products to our customers."

TMS, when launched two years ago, had set a target of Rs 5,000 crore by 2010. It is now doing a business of Rs 125 core a month with a growth of 15 per cent year on year. It has 1,300 stores across 200 cities. TMS's strategy is to leverage the presence of large and medium format stores (large formats are 150 and medium are 500 in numbers) to sell the CDIT products along with its existing lineup. The other stores will promote the X-cite range. The product range would includes television and music system, cameras, home and kitchen appliances, mobiles, personal care and computers.

Ref: http://in.biz.yahoo.com/091209/32/bauq5n.html

Suzlon to supply 15 units of wind turbines to RSMML

2009-12-09T01:15:00.000-08:00

Suzlon to supply 15 units of wind turbines to RSMML

By Agencies
Wind power turbine maker Suzlon Energy said it has bagged an order from Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals for suppling 15 units of wind turbines to be installed at the Tejuva site in Jaisalmer, for an undisclosed amount.

The company would supply 15 units of S88-2.1 MW wind turbines, which would generate 31.5 MW of energy, Suzlon said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (^BSESN : 17150.24 -77.44).

This is the seventh order secured by the company from Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals Ltd (RSMML).

"We are pleased to continue our partnership with Suzlon.

Their turbines are reliable and they provide satisfactory service," RSMML Managing Director Sanjay Malhotra said.

Rajasthan State Mines and Minerals is a public-owned company involved in production and marketing of non-metallic minerals. The company entered the renewable energy sector to achieve 100 MW of wind power capacity by 2010.

Shares of Suzlon Energy were trading at Rs 86.05 on the BSE, up 1.24 per cent from its previous close.

Yahoo Deepens Integration With Facebook

2009-12-05T07:40:00.000-08:00

Yahoo Deepens Integration With Facebook

By Mike Sachoff
Yahoo said it is expanding its integration with Facebook to allow users of both sites to share more content.

Yahoo said its deeper integration with Facebook will roll out in the first half of 2010. Users will be able to connect with Facebook friends on Yahoo, view a feed of their friends' activity on Yahoo, and share content such as photos from Flickr or comments on news stories.

"With this integration, we are opening the door for two of the Internet's largest online communities to make it easier for people to stay connected," said Jim Stoneham, vice president of Communities for Yahoo!.

"It also enables us to further the Yahoo! Open Strategy, which is aimed at making experiences dramatically more open, social and personally relevant for the more than 500 million people that visit Yahoo! each month."

The partnership moves beyond Yahoo's current Facebook Connect integration which allows Facebook users to access their stream and update their status from the Yahoo homepage, along with a "Share on Facebook" option across Yahoo, and allows Facebook to access Yahoo Contacts.

People using both Yahoo and Facebook will be able to share updates on both networks, creating an improved social experience by connecting a variety of Yahoo content and services with their friends on Facebook.

"As one of the largest sites on the Web, Yahoo! is an ideal partner to integrate with Facebook Connect, enabling users to share meaningful content with their friends on Facebook from Yahoo's wide range of category-leading properties," said Ethan Beard, director of Facebook Developer Network.

Ref: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/12/02/yahoo-deepens-integration-with-facebook

Google Shares Search Predictions

2009-12-05T07:32:00.000-08:00

Google Shares Search Predictions

By Chris Crum
This time of year everybody likes to start making predictions about where industries are heading. This is especially true in the search industry. My guess is that we will see quite a few pieces this month regarding where search is going in 2010. These can make for entertaining reads and get the mind going with regards to how we are going to have to plan for an ever-changing future of search engine marketing.

When Google itself comes out with predictions for where search is headed, things get even more interesting. This is obviously because Google is such a huge and critical part of the search landscape. Google's Matt Cutts discussed some of his own predictions for search in a recent upload to Google's Webmaster Central YouTube channel.

One thing Matt stressed is that Google is always looking for new types of data to search. He gave examples of searching email with Gmail, books with Google Book Search, and patents with Google Patent search. He predicts Google will continue this trend and find more data sources to provide search functionality for.

Another prediction he gave was that Google will continue to improve search over harder problems. Specifically, he noted things like determining what is really going on with the words in documents and in queries - semantic search if you will.

"A lot of people think that if you type in 'A B C,' all Google does is crawl the web and return pages that match 'A,' 'B,' and 'C'. And that's not it," says Cutts. "We do a lot of sophisticated stuff. Think about synonyms, morphology...all sorts of ways where we can kind of find out, 'oh, this is really related to them conceptually.' Whether you want to call it semantic stuff or statistical processing, we do a lot of stuff to try and return relevant documents."

As part of this prediction, Cutts says Google will continue trying to find new ways to extract "good data" from the web. He mentions Google Squared (which is still in an experimental stage) as an example of doing so. Google Squared, in Google's words, takes a category and creates a starter 'square' of information, automatically fetching and organizing facts from across the web.

Cutts also predicts that people will get more comfortable with storing their data in the cloud. He expects more people will migrate their data from their hard drives to different cloud services, and that this will make it easier and better for search, and contribute to the delivery of more relevant results.

He also mentions real-time and mobile as playing significant roles in the future or search. No surprise there.

"It's going to be a lot of fun. Search is nowhere near done, and every time we make search better, people ask us harder and harder questions, " he says. "So the nice thing is knowing that we'll pretty much always have more to do to make search better."

Cutts recently discussed the possibility that page speed could play a role in search engine rankings. He made no mention of this in this set of predictions, but that is another thing to consider as we get ready to move into 2010.

Ref: http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/12/05/google-shares-search-predictions?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+WebpronewsTopNewsRssFeed+%28Top+News+Items+-+WebProNews%29

Burger King opens unit No. 12,000

2009-12-04T23:30:00.000-08:00

Burger King opens unit No. 12,000

By: Ron Ruggless
BEIJING (Dec. 4, 2009) Burger King reached a milestone this week with the grand opening of the chain’s 12,000th restaurant, the first in downtown Beijing.

Peter Tan, president of Burger King’s Asia-Pacific division, said the opening of the 25th Burger King in China “demonstrates our commitment to expanding our presence in China and throughout the entire Asia-Pacific region.”

The latest restaurant is in Beijing’s Joy City and is the first Burger King in the busy downtown Xidan area. Burger King has units in Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Xiamen and Suzhou.

“We opened more restaurants in the region in 2009 than during the last four years combined, and we plan to open even more new restaurants this year,” Tan said, adding that “we have significant growth potential for our brand in this particular market.”

Burger King in November opened a Whopper Bar BK spin-off in Singapore and plans to open another there in the next few months. China is a well known strong hold of quick-service competitor Yum! Brands Inc.

The new Beijing BK restaurant features an MP3 music corner that offers the latest music hits from the West and a gallery wall to display works by Sino-American artists and local arts groups. The franchised unit is operated by Burger King (Beijing) Restaurant Co. Ltd.

Burger King has units in 74 nations.

REF:http://www.nrn.com/article.aspx?id=376676&menu_id=1368

Kraft Expected to Post Cadbury Bid Friday

2009-12-04T23:17:00.000-08:00

Kraft Expected to Post Cadbury Bid Friday

Kraft Foods (KFT) will post its offer document to Cadbury Plc (CBRY) shareholders on Friday, triggering a two-month 9.8 billion pound takeover fight, sources with knowledge of the situation said on Thursday.

The American food giant has until December 7 to publish its offer document, but the sources said it was expected on Friday, and would be at the same cash and shares terms Kraft first unveiled to the British confectioner back in early September.

"Kraft is ready to go so sees no reason to wait until Monday, and is expected to publish late morning on Friday," said one source with knowledge of the situation.

Cadbury rejected Kraft's bid, forcing the U.S. group to turn hostile in early November and prepare to go directly to Cadbury shareholders in its aim to create the world's largest confectionery group.

The current terms of 300 pence in cash and 0.2589 new Kraft shares for each Cadbury share value the British group at 715 pence, compared Cadbury's closing share price in London of 800p.
"They see no reason to change the terms as Kraft will have 46 days to consider a higher bid," said another source.

If Kraft does post the offer document on Friday that will become day 1 in a 60-day timetable under UK takeover rules. It will have until day 46, the middle of January, to raise its bid for the Dairy Milk chocolate maker. Cadbury will have until day 14 to publish its defence document.

Cadbury shares have been boosted by hopes of a higher Kraft offer and potential bids from rivals such as Italy's Ferrero and Hershey Co (HSY) of the U.S., and possible interest from Nestle (NESN) in a joint bid with Hershey, analysts said.

"The deadline is Monday. I can assure you we'll meet that deadline," said a Kraft spokeswoman.
Cadbury declined to comment.

(Reporting by David Jones, additional reporting by Brad Dorfman, editing by Will Waterman)
REF: BNET, LONDON (Reuters UK)

Walmart's Web Site Has a Smooth Black Friday: Q&A With Keynote

2009-12-04T23:07:00.000-08:00

Walmart's Web Site Has a Smooth Black Friday: Q&A With Keynote

On Black Friday consumers weren’t just packed into shopping centers at early hours looking for deals. They sat behind their computers looking for bargains. One Internet testing and management firm Keynote Systems (KEYN), tracked the performance of many major retailers’ Web sites to see how they held up during the cyber rush. A report the firm put out on Black Friday found that Walmart operated the most stable site, and other strong performers were Best Buy and Sears Holdings. As a sector, apparel stores performed the most poorly. Though the industry’s Web sites held up better than last year, Keynote found that issues still came up in the early morning, when stores were featuring their “doorbuster” deals. Ben Rushlo, Keynote’s director of competitive research, spoke with BNET Retail about the retail experience online during Black Friday.

BNET: How did retail sites perform in general during Black Friday?
Ben Rushlo: The similar conditions we see every Black Friday were present in this period as well. We saw a few sites that had some major meltdown issues, sites where users wouldn’t have been able to get on the site successfully or would have had performance issues that were very significant. By meltdowns, we mean that users would be able to understand the site was having major problems. It could be that there were error pages coming up saying to try back later or the site was very slow compared to others on the Internet. There were a few of those, and there always seems to be a few of those every Black Friday. It surprises us because the sites that we measure are all major retailers, and Black Friday doesn’t surprise anyone. It’s always the same every year. It’s surprising, though it’s becoming less and less surprising.

As a whole — and we measure 30 sites on this index — I would say Black Friday was pretty average. I think people did O.K. Most sites slowed down somewhat, but those sites didn’t melt down, they just slowed down and had periods of errors. There was one apparel site when they posted their deals that day at 5:30 a.m. Eastern when the doors opened, and they were down for about a half hour, and then the rest of the day they were O.K. It was a mixed bag overall. On whole, it was probably better than last year and the year before. Previously we had seen Walmart and Best Buy have issues, but this year they did very well.

BNET: Since Black Friday happens every year at the same time, why are there still these hiccups? Is there just too much traffic for tech departments?
BR: That’s the excuse you’ll hear from these retailers. You’ll hear that the volume was greater than they anticipated. Right, now, in 2009, that’s just fundamentally false. Some of the retailers that failed, it’s not like they were offering deals on Xbox’s or products that were very limited. These were your normal retail sites, so I don’t think you could say it’s related to special products. Fundamentally, what is happening at these retailers is poor planning, execution and process. It’s all the things you think about that go into any sort of meltdown, even outside of the industry. They probably didn’t do enough load testing, stress their architecture or had some gaps in their monitoring and measuring. All the things that make these sites successful are probably lacking at some of these other sites.

BNET: Why did Walmart do so well compared to years past?
BR: Walmart is one of our customers. They do plan very well. They do load testing where they actually do synthetic volume on their site to make sure that when these big volumes come up on Black Friday they can handle that. They do very aggressive external monitoring with our company as well. They have a culture that’s shifted and really now cares dramatically about the performance and quality of their site. I’m not saying that wasn’t the case three years ago, but they’re very obsessed with quality, and I think that’s made a difference. Other retailers that didn’t do so well, we’ve talked to them, and they’re still figuring out the baby steps of measuring performance from the Internet and had a homegrown monitoring solution that showed everything was up. If you have that sort of thing, it’s good, but it’s sort of like 1990 technology, trying to manage sites that are clearly 2009.

BNET: Why do apparel sites tend to lag in performance?
BR: You tend to have less of a technical process. A lot of these folks are coming from the brick and mortar and putting their sites on the Internet, and I think there’s less expertise there than there would be on the electronics side. Obviously, there are a few in apparel, like Zappos.com, that did very well. Their whole business is online, but for a lot of these other ones, their business is probably still focused on the stores that are in the malls, and they’re probably not as online savvy.

BNET: For years there was an opinion that brick and mortar e-commerce was way behind the online-only retailers. Has that changed?
BR: Apparel is lagging in that area, but overall, retailers are treating their online channel as a full channel, so they manage it just as they would their brick and mortar channel. The sites like Amazon that had a competitive advantage because they started out virtual, that advantage is gone. I think there are sites that are actually outperforming Amazon. Walmart is a good example, and Best Buy is in there is well. They had better quality on Black Friday than Amazon. Maybe the advantage that Amazon had five years ago in terms of their expertise has shrunk or is nonexistent.

BNET: What were the differences between Black Friday and Cyber Monday?
BR: Interestingly enough, we saw many more issues on Cyber Monday. Instead of being at the malls, people are shopping at home, and you’d expect there’d be some additional pressure on sites. We saw a total of six sites that we would classify as meltdown, and on Black Friday we had two. We also had nine sites with major slowdowns. It was worse. There were many more issues, and apparel was again lagging.

Ref: BNET

Telenor to launch mobile operations in India on Thursday

2009-12-02T21:56:00.000-08:00

Norwegian telecom firm Telenor will become the 12th operator in the Indian market when it launches its operations on Thursday, a company statement said.

Intense competition has been a hallmark of the telecommunications industry in the world's second-most populous country, where it is driving drastic cuts in call charges.

Last year Telenor bought into a nascent telecom firm floated by Indian realty Unitech Ltd, and it will launch its services under the Uninor brand in different parts of Asia's third-largest economy.
Telenor's move into India is likely to be followed by new launches by United Arab Emirate's Etisalat and Bahrain's Batelco, as existing firms scramble to sign up users by drastically dropping call charges.

Tata Teleservices, the No 6 operator, was the first to launch per-second billing earlier this year, deviating from the industry norm of per-minute billing. The offer was a roaring success.

Mobile services leaders Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Vodafone Essar have all followed suit and launched the per-second billing that, analysts said, will significantly dent profit margins of the operators.

Last month, Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas said the company would price its call charges in India competitively but would not be the most aggressive. The company is aiming for an 8% share within five years of the India launch.

India has more than 480 million wireless subscribers and the market is growing rapidly with an average 14 million new users a month this year.

Google Rejects Awesome People So It Doesn't Hog All Of Them

2009-12-02T10:52:00.000-08:00

How selflessly cool is Google? Every now and then the company removes from consideration one of its superhuman job candidates, to avoid an over-concentration of brilliance. Google, you see, doesn't want to become a black hole of awesome.

Google VP Bradley Horowitz (pictured) explained things at the annual Supernova conference in San Francisco the other day. He said the company intentionally (and selflessly!) leaves some brainpower outside its walls, according to the Register.

"I recently had a discussion with an engineer at Google and I pointed out a handful of people that I thought were fruitful in the industry and I proposed that we should hire these people...

But [the engineer] stopped me and said: 'These people are actually important to have outside of Google. They're very Google people that have the right philosophies around these things, and it's important that we not hire these guys. It's better for the ecosystem to have an honest industry, as opposed to aggregating all this talent at Google.'"

This is very generous of Google, given that it hires "the world's best engineers" via a grueling interview process, complete with quizzes. Some of its best employees had to short-circuit the system, but that only makes it more perfect, right?

Thankfully, Google is using this system for good, rather than evil, by turning down job prospects, for being too awesome. Now that's Christmas spirit: It's a sort of gift to the world. Not to the possible hires, of course, but in this economy they'll be working for an awesome company like Google in no time, right??

Ref: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-rejects-awesome-people-so-it-doesnt-hog-all-of-them-repost-2009-12

Yahoo Outsources All That Social Nonsense To Facebook

2009-12-02T10:43:00.000-08:00

Yahoo Outsources All That Social Nonsense To Facebook

Yahoo continues their strategic defeat from the front lines of innovation. Earlier today they announced that they’d be “deeply integrating” with Facebook Connect, allowing Yahoo users “to see your Facebook friends’ activities on Yahoo! and share Yahoo! content – ratings, photos, article comments, and more – directly on your Facebook stream.”

In other words, they’ve given up on their idea of leveraging all the known social connections among Yahoo email, address book and messenger users. Instead, they’ve outsourced all that social nonsense to Facebook.

In April 2008 Yahoo unveiled it’s plans to “re-wire Yahoo from the inside out…as part of this, we are going to make the consumer experience at Yahoo social throughout, and provide hooks for that for developers to do the same.” This was the centerpiece of Yahoo’s go-forward strategy. The company boasted 10 billion social connections among users, and they’d leverage that in the new Yahoo.

As recently as two months ago Yahoo confirmed to me that they were still behind this social strategy, and would be making announcements soon. And their recent re-hire of Daniel Raffel convinced us they were being sincere:

Since returning in late August, Raffel has been serving as a senior product manager under Cody Simms, the senior director of product management for Yahoo Open Source (Y!OS), we hear. He’s apparently working on mainly off-network projects such as making the Yahoo authentication platform more seamless. That might not sound sexy, but the bigger picture may be involve Yahoo building out its own platform product to better connect Yahoo with the rest of the web. Yes, think Facebook Connect, Google Friend Connect, and the like. The chance to get into this hot space and play a critical role in building a “Yahoo Connect,” may have also enticed Raffel to come back, but that’s pure speculation at this point.

Little did we know that Yahoo had already decided to give up on social in the same way they gave up on search – by outsourcing it to someone else.

Sure, search may be the most lucrative advertising platform ever imaged, but it was just too capital intensive for Yahoo to continue to compete. They wanted to focus their resources on their core business, which they said, still centered around turning Yahoo into a social platform that leveraged all those 10 billion mail/messenger connections.

Which makes some sense, sorta. Social seems to be the future, and Facebook just may do to Google what Google is doing to Microsoft (ripping apart their core business), if they ever find the right way to monetize it. Social graph monetization may be the next huge wave of revenue growth on the Internet.

But it sure won’t be Yahoo monetizing it. Because they just gave all that away to Facebook.

More and more Yahoo, still with half a billion monthly unique visitors, looks to be a site that cares little for technology. All that hard stuff can just be outsourced, obviously. And Yahoo seems very inclined to do it. They were 0-4 on social network tries until today. By my count, they’re now 0-5.

This company has no fight left in it.

CrunchBase Information
Facebook
Yahoo!
Information provided by CrunchBase

Dubai crisis: Which Indian companies may be affected

2009-11-27T02:05:00.000-08:00

Dubai crisis: Which Indian companies may be affected

With dark clouds gathering around the global economy once again on concerns that two of Dubai-owned companies may default on their debt obligations, fledgling corporate India, which has begun spreading its wings globally in recent years, is feeling some impact here. India infrastructure companies especially have exposure to the Dubai economy and its once-booming real estate business.

Let’s run a status-check on which companies, especially in the infrastructure sector, are exposed to Dubai and how it may impact their businesses.

Nagarjuna Construction

YD Murthy, Executive VP - Finance of Nagarjuna Construction, said that the company has only one venture in Dubai, a 440-apartment project, and is going slow on it.

The company is also doing a Rs 100-crore water pipeline project at Dewa, Dubai. “There is no default payment problem at the Dewa project,” Murthy said. “The company’s Middle-East exposure is mostly to government-owned agencies,” he added.

Larsen & Toubro

Larsen & Toubro has exposure in multiple segments in Middle East, R Shankar Raman, Executive VP - Finance told CNBC-TV18. “The company has exposure in the hydro-power segment. Our total exposure to the Middle-East over the last two years is to the tune of USD 200 million,” he added.

Punj Lloyd

The infrastructure player has no exposure to Dubai or real estate exposure in UAE, Luv Chhabra, Director of Corporate Affairs at Punj Lloyd said. “We are doing only oil & gas projects in Abu Dhabi where there are no concerns at all,” he said. “40% of our order book comes from West Asia. The crisis has particularly hit the real estate sector in Dubai. No impact is expected in other states like UAE capital, Abu Dhabi.”

Voltas

MM Miyajiwala, Executive VP and CFO at Voltas, said the company is executing a Rs 900-crore project in Dubai as part of a joint venture where Voltas has 37% stake. “We are executing the project for Emaar and the client has fully funded the project. Thus, we are not anticipating any delays,” he said. “Our order book is primarily from Abu Dhabi and Qatar. Dubai also has not defaulted on any of our payments.”

Bank of Baroda

Bank of Baroda has some real estate exposure to Dubai accounting to 5–6% of its loan book but CMD MD Mallya there won’t be any impact. “Interest on all loans in Dubai have been paid till last due,” he said. “Bank of Baroda has 10 branches in the Gulf region. It has small banking exposure, mainly for remittances in the region.”

Mallya added that the bank also has exposure in Abu Dhabi, Ras-Al-Khaimah and Bahrain.

Unitech

The company said it had not exposure to Dubai real estate.

DLF

DLF has no exposure to Dubai, it said.

Indiabulls Real Estate

The company does not have any direct/indirect investment in Dubai and West Asia, it said. “Any of the Indiabulls Group companies and in particular Indiabulls Real Estate doesn’t have any direct or indirect investment in Dubai or Middle East,” the group stated in a release.

Hiranandani Group

The unlisted group is constructing a project in Dubai, 97% of which was already sold and 65% payment had been received, Chairman Niranjan Hiranandani said. “The Dubai market crash won’t have any negative impact on the company.”

Hiranandani added that Indian property prices should go up because of the Dubai market crash.

Omaxe

Omaxe is likely to exit its two real estate projects in Dubai. “We will soon decide on exiting the Dubai realty projects,” Dow Jones quoted Omaxe Chairman Rohtas Goel as saying.

“We had planned a Rs 2,850 crore investment in Dubai,” he said. “We have already paid Rs 50 crore to Nakheel as first instalment and may seek refund if we exit the Dubai project.” He added that Omaxe was yet to receive possession of any land from Nakheel.

HDIL

HDIL has no exposure to Dubai, it said.

SpiceJet

Dubai World’s investment arm, Istithmar, holds 13% stake in SpiceJet

Aban Offshore

The oil exploration company has deployed six rigs in West Asia.

Ref: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/brokerage-recos-fo/dubai-debt-crisis-indian-companies-that-may-takehit_427638.html

Gail to Complete 11 Projects by 2010

2009-02-06T21:39:00.000-08:00

Gail Ltd plans to complete 11 of its exploration and production program in 2010.

These projects are:

Dahej to Vijaipur pipeline
Vijaipur to Dadri pipeline
Chainsa-Jhajjar-Bamnoli pipeline
Chainsa to Jhajjar spurline (Sultanpur-Neemrana)
Jhajjar to Hissar pipeline
Dadri to Bhawana pipeline
Bhawana to Nangal pipeline
Compressor stations at Jhabua (phase I & II)
Compressor stations at Vijaipur (phase-I & II)
Compressor stations at Kalaras
Compressor stations at Chainsa

Sources said that Gail expects to complete all these projects by October 2010.

The details of some of these projects are as under:

With the additional R-LNG supplied from Petronet LNG terminal at Dahej, Gujarat and other sources like Reliance, the capacity upgradation of the Dahej to Vijaipur pipeline project will meet the additional demand of customers en route the existing DVPL and GREP pipelines.
The Vijaipur to Dadri pipeline project, on completion will enhance the capacity of the GREP pipeline system.
The Chainsa-Jhajjar-Bamnoli pipeline will supply natural gas from various sources to consumers in Haryana, Rajasthan and Delhi.
The Chainsa to Jhajjar spurline project will meet the gas demand of consumers in Haryana and Rajasthan, at various locations like Chopanki, Bhiwadi, Dharuhera, Khushkhera, Neemrana, Gurgaon, Khandsa, Manesar and Banmoli.
The Jhajjar to Hissar pipeline will supply natural gas or R-LNG will cater to Jhajjar and Hissar, again in Haryana. Feed to this pipeline will be made through the Chainsa to Jhajjar spurline which is connected to Vijaipur to Dadri at Chainsa near Faridabad.
The Dadri to Bhawana pipeline project will supply natural gas mainly to the PPCL-Bawana power plant to meet the power requirements of the NCR for the Commonwealth Games 2010.
The Bhawana to Nangal pipeline aims to supply R-LNG to Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
The compressor station at Jhabua will cater to gas demand at desired pressure to various customers en route Dadri-Bawana-Nangal and Chainsa-Jhajjar-Hissar pipeline systems and upgrade the DVPL pipeline system.
Similarly, the compressor stations at Vijaipur, Kailaras and Chainsa will meet the gas demand of customers of the 2 pipeline systems and also upgrade the GREP pipeline.

(Sourced from Project Monitor)

Recession Reports - Alcoa Outlines Severe Measures

2009-02-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

Following are the actions announced by Alcoa Inc to address the economic downturn:

Primary aluminum smelting cuts to reduce output by more than 750,000 tonnes per year, or 18% of annualized output.
Alumina production to be cut to a total of 1.5 million tonnes per year.
Total headcount cut by more than 13,500, or 13 percent of Alcoa's worldwide workforce, by the end of 2009. An additional 1,700 contractor positions will be eliminated.
A global salary and hiring freeze.
Procurement action to lower costs for energy, coke, caustic soda and aluminum fluoride.
Initiatives to secure raw materials from alternate suppliers.
Divesting four non-core downstream businesses: Electrical and Electronic Systems; Global Foil; Cast Auto Wheels; and Transportation Products Europe.
Cutting capital expenditures in 2009 by half to USD 1.8 billion.
Cost reductions in global primary metals and alumina operations, affecting approximately 2,600 employee and contractor positions.
Restructuring and downsizing of Mill Products businesses in Europe and North America resulting in reduction of 900 positions.
Elimination of 235 positions in the US and Europe in Alcoa's global hard alloy extrusion production operations.
Realignment of Russian operations affecting 18% of workforce.
Planned sale of Electrical and Electronic Systems will reduce positions across North America and Europe by 6,500.
Exiting the auto cast wheel business and consolidation of the Beloit, Wisconsin facility employing 265 by June 1, 2009.
Alignment of Power and Propulsion business has resulted in the layoff of 1,100 people.
Elimination of 260 corporate staff and contractor positions.

Source Steelguru

Neeraj Bhargava Resigns as CEO of WNS

2009-01-28T01:20:00.000-08:00

Bhargava will remain in his current role until the board of directors has identified a successor. The board will conduct a global executive search to select the chief executive who will take WNS to the next stage of its development.

"I have been with WNS since its inception and have spent the last five years as the CEO. I have worked closely with the board of directors, employees, clients, advisors and partners to achieve tremendous growth during this time. However, at this point, I am ready to take on a less intensive role, transitioning from an operating executive to an advisor," said Bhargava

Starting his career with WNS as co-founder, president and CFO in 2002, Bhargava was appointed group chief executive in December 2003.

Source CXOtoday

Explosive Details: Raju's Dark Side Known Since 2002

2009-01-28T01:03:00.000-08:00

Hidden under layers of dust and grime at a non-descript income tax office in Hyderabad, a can of worms in the Satyam saga is waiting to explode. A six-year old report, buried in a labyrinth of files, maps out an intricate web of companies and ‘benami’ — or anonymous — bank accounts allegedly used by Satyam’s former chairman Ramalinga Raju and his relatives to move money around and carry out trading in Satyam shares.

In 2002, the I-T department stumbled upon a complex layer of transactions when its Hyderabad office noticed a number of “Form 15H” filings, a category of I-T returns used by senior citizens where exemption is sought for not deducting tax at source.

These forms were associated with accounts created without proper documentation. “Except for the name and signature, nothing was obtained in the name of documentation,” the report said.

The tax sleuths initially focused their probe on a transfer of Rs 19.5 crore by Satyam promoters to various family members. These included Ramalinga Raju’s father, the late B Satyanarayana Raju, his mother B Appalanarasamma, two brothers and their wives, sons B Pritam Teja and B Rama Raju, and other relatives.
The report, put together by Hyderabad’s I-T department in 2002 but on which no action was taken, says the Raju clan essentially carried out two kinds of transactions.

First, advances were made by the Satyam promoters to a category of individuals and proprietary firms which the report describes as “end-depositors.” These entities and individuals then used the funds to open fixed deposits. These fund transfers were carried out through a layer of intermediaries.

Source Google

Italian Company’s Indian Subsidiary to Invest Rs 125 Crore in Plant

2009-01-27T00:45:00.000-08:00

Italian Fomas group's Indian subsidiary Bay Forge is bullish on scaling up its Indian business of open die forgings and seamless rolled rings for critical applications in sectors such as aerospace, thermal and nuclear power generation, Oil and Gas and defence.

In 2008, globally, Fomas clocked revenue of Euro 650 million with almost equal share from open die forgings and rings, its two main divisions. Of this, Bay Forge generated Euro 22 million. As part of its strategy to focus on key markets such as India, Fomas has chalked out an investment an investment plan of Euro 250 million between 2008 and 2012.

Bay Forge, based in Chennai, clocked revenue of 140 crore in 2008 and it plans to invest Rs 125 crore till 2012. As part of expansion, on Friday it inaugurated at its plant in Kanchipuram district a 2000 tonne forging press. It will augment capacity for open die forgings. The plant is also equipped with a 3500 tonne press used for making larger forgings and rings. Speaking to ET, Fomas Group CEO, Jascopo Guzzoni said, "We entered India in 1996 during difficult times. But, we continued to pour investments as we saw huge opportunities. Bay Forge has grown to become an undisputed leader in the realm of open die forgings and large seemless rings in India".

"We are in a niche forging segment and are a pioneer in large-volume critical forgings and ring-rolling in India. We focus on very high levels of quality, high integrity of products and on-time delivery as critical parameters. We consider India and China as two big markets, where we want to expand through Bay Forge," he said.

Mr Guzzini said Bay Forge serves clients like VSSC, BARC, BHEL and Siemens, Alstom power, Vatech,Triveni, Toshiba, DRDL, ASL, RCI and HAL. Its in-house laboratory facilitates quality control tests on samples and test coupons, helping it to meet stringent international quality norms. A ring rolling mill is able to roll out rings of 5.5 m in dia and 20 tonne in weight, one among the most powerful in the world.

Bay Forge has a 19-year sole supplier contract with its most prestigious client Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre. "We have supplied over 1,000 rings for the Chandrayaan space programme. Every space shuttle has our component," said Bay Forge MD Nicola Boletta. Since 2005, it would have executed orders worth Rs 21 crore to VSSC. Bay Forge has built a land bank of 65 acres at Palayanoor on Vedanthangal road by acquiring an additional 50 acres. This could be a flagship investment by an Italian company in the metro. "We are here on a long-term basis. We intend reaching an overall capacity of 14,000 tonnes for the year with plans to almost double up open die forging and rings capacities," he added.

The Chennai plant, employing 250 plus people, is also emerging an export hub with the company expecting to double earnings this year to 20%, Mr Boletta said, estimating an overall growth of 45% for Bay Forge.

Though financial crisis has impacted all markets world-wide, the group is confident that focus on quality, innovation and technology would assist it to stay ahead. "Worldwide the necessity for energy and power generation is still ever demanding, particularly in India, which is a fast-growing market," said Bay Forge deputy MD Nandan Mehta. He pegged the Indian market for open die forgings to be in excess of 80,000 tonnes.

Source Economic Times

Voltas' Burj Tower Project to be Completed on September 2009

2009-01-23T01:42:00.000-08:00

Voltas Q3 net sales were up 30% at Rs 870.13 crore versus Rs 664.76 crore on YoY basis. Its OPM was at 6% versus 8% on YoY basis. Its PAT was up 6.2% at Rs 42.41 crore versus Rs 39.9 crore.

Commenting on the company's results, MM Miyajiwala, Executive Vice President and CFO, Voltas, said the company’s expenses have gone up substantially YoY and also in the nine months, primarily because of substantial order book in West Asia." Also, material cost has gone up, he said, as many projects are under execution. "Our Burj Tower project in Dubai slated for inauguration on September 9 is nearing completion.”

Here is a verbatim transcript of the exclusive interview with MM Miyajiwala on CNBC-TV18. Also watch the accompanying video.

Q: Would you attribute the higher raw material cost this time around which has gone up by about almost 63% year-on-year (YoY) to have impacted your margins?

A: You will see that most of our expenses have gone up very substantially as compared to the previous year’s quarter and also in the nine months and this is primarily because we have a very substantial order book in Middle East. It stands at about Rs 4,300 crore now.

Q: What is your total order book?

A: Total order book is about Rs 5,300 crore, out of which about 1,100 crore would be in India and balance is international. Because of this large number of projects under execution, relatively the material cost has gone up. So, if you compare it with the kind of projects we are executing, it is not really high.

Q: You have announced a bit of news yesterday that you are indeed transferring your chemical trading business to unit of Zurich’s DKSH holding for a sum of about Rs 20 crore, have you exited that business completely?

A: We are in the process of exiting that business. We have chemicals business in other segment and it doesn’t form part of our main segments of electromechanical engineering and consumer products. It was a small business; it has tremendous potential going forward. But because it did not fit in with engineering background of the company, we thought it is better that it goes to a better parent who can develop and grow that business. So, we have transferred that business.

Q: So the performance of that business was good?

A: In relation to overall company performance, it was very small business. It is about a percent of the total turnover of the company.

Q: By when will this entire transfer and you exiting the business be complete?

A: We have to go in for the postal ballots with the shareholders as per the requirements of law. So, that process may take about two months time. The moment we have the shareholders’ approval, it will go through.

Q: This is for a sum of Rs 20 crore?

A: That is right.

Q: How would you utilize this sum?

A: We have various plans of our own for further growth, subject to economic conditions and also bad economic times are very good times for further investments, so we will look at various opportunities available.

Q: Could you tell us about the projects that you have currently the Bahrain City center, INOX Leisure in Pune, can you give us a status check on these projects and when will these be completed?

A: As far as the Bahrain project is concerned, it was a very good project. It has almost been completed. We have got an extension order, which is rather small compared to the overall size of the main Bahrain project and that is under execution but it is relatively small.

Most of our projects that we have internationally are located in either Abu Dhabi or Qatar. There are some small businesses of about Rs 200 crore in Singapore, which are high profile projects. But most of these projects that we have are all government supported or government sponsored.

Q: How about the Burj Tower project in Dubai?

A: That project is slated for inauguration on September 9, 2009, so it is nearing completion.

Source CNBC

Bharti Airtel Rural Coverage Crosses 4 Lakh Villages

2009-01-22T02:10:00.000-08:00

Bharti Airtel Limited announced its audited US GAAP results for the third quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2008. It has once again maintained its strong growth momentum.

The consolidated total revenues for the quarter ended December 31, 2008 of Rs.9,633 crore grew by 38% and EBITDA of Rs. 3,945 crore grew by 33% on a year on year basis. The net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2008 was Rs. 2,159 crore, a growth of 25% over last year.

Bharti had 8.83 crore subscribers, as on December 31, 2008, an increase in the total subscriber base of 54% over the corresponding period last year and maintained its leadership position through an improved market share of all India wireless subscribers at 24.7% as on December 31, 2008, up from 23.6% corresponding to the same period of last year.

Commenting on the results and performance, Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharti Airtel Limited, said “Bharti Airtel continues to lead the telecom growth story adding customer and revenue market share despite intense competition. Bharti’s strategy of extensive roll out ahead of competition, especially in new villages, has yielded rich dividends. Our launch in Sri Lanka has received a huge response and despite coming in as the 5th operator we hope to be in a leadership position in the coming years. The customer response to the launch of our world class DTH and IPTV services has been encouraging. Bharti Airtel is well placed to capitalize on the huge telecom opportunity that India offers.”

Source Financial Express

Mahindra and Mahindra Enters Retailing with Mom & Me Stores

2009-01-21T01:25:00.000-08:00

At a time when most retailers are holding back expansion plans, auto company Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has made a quiet foray into the retail sector with the soft launch of its specialty format Mom & Me to sell infantcare and maternity products.

The company, which had announced its plans to enter the retail space more than a year ago, has launched two outlets in Ludhiana and Ahmedabad.

The company has invested close to Rs 100 crore in the venture. An email query to the company seeking details on business plans went unanswered.

Interestingly, Mahindra has been looking at hiring young mothers, as advisors in the stores for a better connect with target customers.

In this segment, Mahindra is likely to have little competition with the only other major player being British brand Mothercare, which entered India in partnership with Shoppers Stop three years ago. Most of the other stores in this segment are part of the unorganised sector.

Mahindra Retail is a part of Mahindra Intertrade, a fully-owned subsidiary of Mahindra and Mahindra.

While announcing its retail foray, the company had said it was a logical extension of its current business, as Mahindra Intertrade had tie ups with Walt Disney, Aqua, Mattel and Lego to market and distribute kids' toys, apparels, accessories in India. Some of the other diversified groups that have entered the retail space include Bharti, Reliance and the Aditya Birla Group.

Source Steelguru

Textile Sector Faces Life or Death Struggle a Mid Downturn

2009-01-21T01:08:00.000-08:00

Neeraj Bhasin's basement factory outside New Delhi is dark and dingy, but there's just enough light to see the dust that has accumulated on the order catalogues sitting on his desk.

At one time Bhasin's 22-year-old textile export company, Eastern Connexion Exports, received regular orders for home furnishings from France, Spain and Scandinavia.

But the economic meltdown in the major export markets of Europe and the US has led to a substantial fall in foreign orders and could be the final nail in the coffin for many of India's small- and medium-sized textile houses.

Now the colorful organza curtains, floor cushions and quilt covers that were once produced in bulk sit in boxes and are piled high on tables as the company's profits have steadily shrunk.

The global financial crisis is more grim news for India's second-largest industry, which has already seen 700,000 workers laid off and is set to shed another 500,000 jobs in the next five months, industry and government figures show.

The textile sector employs almost 38 million workers and accounts for 8 per cent of India's GDP.

In 2007-08 it was worth 22 billion dollars, but even before demand in the US and Europe started falling, the high value of the rupee and a spike in the cost of raw materials left textile exports more vulnerable than other sectors.

Industry representatives responded coolly to a government stimulus package announced in December, which included a 4 per cent cut in value-added tax aimed at bringing textile prices down.

They said such packages would do little to stem the decline in demand in major export markets caused by the economic slowdown.

"This doesn't really get addressed by any new investment," said Subir Gokarn, chief economist of Standard and Poor's Asia-Pacific division.

New economic packages help companies see through the recession by allowing them to hold on to cash they already have or by injecting short-term liquidity, said Gokarn.

"That's some relief but it's not going to make up for the fact that markets are in very sluggish conditions," he said.

Source Steelguru

Gail May Finally Get to Market Reliance KG Basin Gas

2009-01-16T21:49:00.000-08:00

India government owned Gail may get exclusive marketing rights for the distribution of the natural gas produced by Reliance Industries from its D-6 block in the Krishna-Godavari basin. The government may request the Bombay High Court to appoint Gail as the nominee for distributing the gas to fuel starved fertilizer and power units.

An official close to the development, who requested anonymity said that if the court allows, Gail would be asked to sell the gas as per the government approved utilization policy and pricing that is USD 4.20 per million British thermal unit at the land fall. The land fall point for KG gas is at Kakinada. The court said that it could modify the injunction that prevents RIL from selling gas to third parties other than Reliance Natural Resources.

He said that “The gas is a national asset. No individual or company can hold the country to ransom, especially at a time when many fertilizer and power plants are on the verge of closure due to fuel shortage. The India government said that the gas price of USD 4.20 per million British thermal unit at Kakinada will be uniformly applicable to all users. In addition, buyers will have to pay the transmission cost and local taxes.”

The India government hopes that as an interim measure, the court may vacate the injunction that prohibits RIL from selling the gas. He said that “RIL is expected to start gas production from this month and some members in the empowered group of ministers feel the dispute between the contractor and disputed buyers shouldn’t stop production and use of the national asset.”

Another official, who didn’t wish to be identified, said that the India government had held a meeting in this regard with Gail and RIL officials one and a half months ago. He said that “RIL had expressed its reservation on the proposal as this would reduce the company as a mere service provider. However, it had admitted that the government had sovereign rights over the asset.”

Source ET

India Seeks Additional 1 Million Tonne LNG from Qatar

2009-01-16T21:44:00.000-08:00

India has sought an additional 1 million tonne of LNG from Qatar to meet its growing energy needs.

Besides, 1 million tonne of short term LNG, New Delhi has made a plea for 2.5 million tonne of LNG on a long term contract for the 2,150 MW Dabhol power plant in Maharashtra. The additional LNG would help ease the fuel deficit faced by power and fertilizer units in the country.

Mr. RS Pandey Petroleum Secretary on the sidelines of Petrotech 2009 conference said that "We have made a request to them but nothing has been concretized as yet."

Mr. Pandey said that Qatar has so far committed 6 cargoes but we want more. It has committed to sell 6 loose LNG cargoes in H1 of current year and it may export an additional 18 cargoes.

He said that Ras Gas of Qatar currently sells 5 million tonne a year of LNG to Petronet LNG under a 25 year contract. An additional 2.5 million tonne would be supplied under the same contract from September this year.

However, Qatar had last year come to the rescue of beleaguered Dabhol power plant agreeing to supply just over 1.25 million tonne to Petronet, which used GAIL pipeline network to transport the gas from its Dahej import terminal in Gujarat to the power plant on the Maharashtra coast.

Qatar which has the world's third largest gas reserves, in the first 5 years to December 2008 had sold LNG to Petronet at USD 2.53 per million British thermal unit.

Source Steel guru

Hyatt to Invest Rs 1k Crore in Setting up Hotels

2009-01-16T03:43:00.000-08:00

Hospitality major Global Hyatt Corporation on Friday announce an investment of Rs 1,000 crore in setting up six hotel properties over the next three-four years in joint venture with real estate player Emaar MGF.

"Land has already been acquired by Emaar MGF. The development would be completed in next three-four years," Global Hyatt Corporation Head of Real Estate and Development, Steve Haggerty, told reporters here.

The hotels, to be launched under the brand 'Hyatt Place', would come up in Mysore, Lucknow, Indore, Mangalore, Hyderabad and Gurgaon. Apart from these six properties, the company has already signed deals for 14 hotels for a total of 3,600 rooms to be developed in next three-four years.

Ref ET

Kingfisher Gets Nod to Fly to KL, Bangkok & Singapore

2009-01-16T02:03:00.000-08:00

Kingfisher Airlines has received the government approval to fly to Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Singapore. The airline, which already operates flights to London, will start daily services on Bangalore Colombo and Chennai-Colombo routes.

“We have granted permission to Kingfisher to operate daily services on three more international sectors including with immediate effect,” said an aviation ministry official who did not wish to be named.

Kingfisher spokesperson said that the airline had received communication from civil aviation ministry for operating services to various foreign destinations. The ministry has asked the airline to conduct a study on traffic on new routes before announcing the launch.

Ref ET

Fidelity India Launches Wealth Builder Fund

2009-01-14T02:48:00.000-08:00

Fidelity International's Indian asset management company has launched Fidelity Wealth Builder Fund, an open ended fund of funds scheme. offering asset allocation options with three plans. The NFO will be open from January 14 to February 5, 2009. The fund will open for ongoing purchases and redemptions from March 2, 2009.

According to a company release, the fund manager will use a two-tier investment approach - asset allocation and fund selection - to invest in Fidelity's funds. The fund offers three plans with varying levels of exposure to debt and equity that investors can choose from depending on their risk appetite.

Under Plan A, the fund will invest up to 85% in debt schemes and around 15% in equity schemes. Under Plan B, it will invest around 30% of net assets in equity schemes and the remaining in debt schemes and under Plan C, the fund will invest at least 50% of the net assets of the Plan in debt schemes and 50% of the net assets of the Plan in the equity schemes.

The fund will offer growth and dividend options. A dividend is proposed to be declared, subject to availability of distributable surplus, on a quarterly basis under Plan A and Plan B. Under Plan C, the dividend may be declared by the trustee, at its discretion, from time to time subject to the availability of distributable surplus. The fund will have a custom benchmark for each plan created using the CRISIL Composite Bond Fund Index and the BSE 200 in the proportion of the split between debt and equity for each plan.

The fund has no entry load but an exit load of 1% will be applicable for redemptions within a year from the date of purchase. The minimum initial investment is Rs 5,000. Investors can invest in the fund even through the SIP route with a minimum amount of Rs 500 per instalment with the total of all instalments not being less than Rs 5,000. In addition, the systematic transfer and systematic withdrawal plans are also available.

Ashu Suyash, MD & Country Head - India, Fidelity International, said, "Asset allocation decisions can drive as much as 91.5% of investment returns variability, as studies have shown. In the current market conditions of heightened volatility, a fund like the Fidelity Wealth Builder Fund provides investors a convenient route to benefit from disciplined asset allocation. We are in an environment where attractive returns are likely in the bond market and there is potential for bear-market rallies in equities on the back of increasingly attractive valuations."

Ref. ET

Indian Government Considering Cut in Fuel Prices

2009-01-14T02:37:00.000-08:00

It is reported that prices of auto fuels and cooking gas could be reduced by the Government in a fortnight. It is considering reducing the prices of petrol by INR 5 a liter, diesel by INR 3 a liter and INR 25 on every domestic LPG cylinder.

Earlier, the Government had cut prices on December 5th 2008, due to falling international crude prices. Retail selling price of petrol was reduced by INR 5 a liter and diesel by INR 2 a liter.

Mr Murli Deora union petroleum minister addressing a press conference said that “We want to further decrease the prices, give us 10 to 15 days.”

National oil companies can now afford to reduce prices as the crude oil price, which was overheated at USD 147 a barrel in July 2008 has now cooled to about USD 40.

Mr Deora said that from the current quarter, the oil marketing companies could start making profits provided the crude price remains below USD 40 per barrel. If the crude oil price increases beyond $40, then the profits will not happen. He added that there would be no reduction in the prices of kerosene as it is already available at INR 9 a liter, which is the lowest in the world.

Ref. Steelguru

Delhi International Airport in Modernization Plans

2009-01-13T03:13:00.000-08:00

In preparation of the upcoming Commonwealth Games, the Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) has initiated plans to modernize and restructure its systems and terminals. This includes work at the new Terminal 3. DIAL is anticipating more than 34 million passengers per year during the 2010 Commonwealth Games

DIAL has roped in Unisys Corporation as the systems integrator for this project. The work will include design, test, and commission of the overall integration of various disparate airport systems that supply information to the airport community. This includes the airlines, ground handlers, and government agencies such as immigration and customs and franchise operators.

Unisys has been awarded two contracts: Systems integration agreement to work with GMR, the infrastructure leader at DIAL, and a subcontracted systems integration agreement with Larsen & Toubro Limited, the prime contractor for the project.

Prabhakararao Indana, CEO-Airport Development, DIAL said, We are happy to be associated with Unisys, which helps us take a step closer to our dream and endeavor of providing world class facilities to our passengers.

Ref.CXOtoday

Ensuring Continuity of Satyam's Business our Priority: Kiran Karnik

2009-01-12T02:54:00.000-08:00

Former Nasscom president Kiran Karnik, who has been appointed by the government on the board of Satyam Computer Services, says the new three member board's priorities would be to ensure stability and business continuity at the IT services firm.

Prior to joining Nasscom in 2001, Mr Karnik headed Discovery Networks in India. A Padma Shri recipient, he also worked with the Indian Space Research Organisation for over 20 years.

What is going to be the agenda of the first meeting of the new board?

I have no idea. I need to speak with the other board members. We still need to co-ordinate where and when to meet. The effort will be to meet soon. The main priorities will be to ensure stability and business continuity for the customers and the employees. We need to build confidence and see what needs to be done for that.

We don't know what the status on the ground is at Satyam. So, we will be investigating what the company's position is with regards to cash, employees and the legal cases. We have to let the investigations go on and also ensure that the operations continue and the customers and employees have confidence.

What will be your role in the ongoing investigations?

The Company Law Board and the Serious Frauds Office are carrying on investigations. We will see what we can do to assist them.

What role do you see of the existing management going forward?

We have to determine our position with regards to the existing management We have to see how we work with them and also find out if there are people who were involved in the financial fraud.

When will the other board members be appointed?

It's very early to comment on this. I have not received any communication from the government on this matter.

Ref. ET

Mr. V S Sampath Assumes Charge as Power Secretary

2009-01-11T21:54:00.000-08:00

Mr VS Sampath has assumed charge as secretary to the ministry of power of the government of India.

He was earlier secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petro Chemicals in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.

Mr Sampath is the Andhra Pradesh cadre officer of the 1973 batch of the Indian Administrative Service. He has held various significant assignments in different sectors in the Government of India and the Government of Andhra Pradesh including energy sector.

Ref. Steelguru

Mr. William R. Jacob Joins Harsco Metals Group (Americas Region)

2009-01-11T21:51:00.000-08:00

Worldwide industrial services company Harsco Corporation (NYSE:HSC) announced today that William R. Jacob is joining the Company to assume the Americas region leadership of the Harsco Metals business group, effective today.

In his role as President-Americas for the Harsco Metals group, Mr. Jacob will assume senior management responsibility for all Harsco Metals group operations and business growth opportunities throughout North and South America. Following an appropriate transition period, Michel Kratz, who has held the position during his assignment to the Americas, will assume new responsibilities at the Metals group headquarters in the U.K. Harsco Metals is the world's leading provider of on-site, outsourced services to the global metals industry, serving leading producers at approximately 170 locations in 35 countries worldwide.

Mr. Jacob brings to his position over 30 years of direct metals industry experience, most recently as president of North Star BlueScope Steel, an Ohio-based joint venture between Cargill Inc. and Australia's BlueScope Steel. Before that, Mr. Jacob served as president of New Zealand Steel, a division of BlueScope Steel focused on integrated steelmaking, iron production and raw material mining. He has also held executive management responsibilities for integrated logistics services to the metals industry and for marketing and business planning within two large U.S. steelmaking organizations. Mr. Jacob is a graduate of Marietta College in Ohio and has undertaken post-graduate work at Baldwin Wallace College and the Wharton Executive Advanced Management Program.

"Bill Jacob is a skilled executive with an excellent, first-hand understanding of the metals industry," said Harsco president and Metals group CEO Geoffrey D. H. Butler. "As we look to improve the performance of our Harsco Metals business and build ever-stronger relationships with our key customers, Bill's credentials as a proven team-builder with a track record for delivering results should further enhance our momentum."

Harsco Corporation is one of the world's leading diversified industrial services companies, serving key industries that play a fundamental role in worldwide economic growth and development, including infrastructure, metals and railways. The Company employs approximately 22,000 people in 50 countries of operation. Harsco's common stock is a component of the S&P MidCap 400 Index and the Russell 1000 Index. Additional information can be found at www.harsco.com.

The Harsco Corporation logo is available at

http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=361

CONTACT: Harsco Corporation
Investor Contact
Eugene M. Truett
717.975.5677
etruett@harsco.com
Media Contact
Kenneth D. Julian
717.730.3683
kjulian@harsco.com

Mr. Jonathon Allaway Appointed as Director of South American Iron & Steel

2009-01-11T21:43:00.000-08:00

South American Iron & Steel Corporation Limited has appointed Mr Jonathon Allaway as a non executive director with effect from January 7th 2009.

Mr Allaway has experience in business & IT strategic planning, sales force effectiveness improvement, back office rationalization and productivity improvement, mergers & acquisitions, large project planning & program management and enterprise performance management.

He is a director for IntraPower, NetMauritius.com and Saltbush Rural Management. He was a managing partner for banking teams in Singapore, Thailand, India and Mauritius for Accenture.

Mr. Allaway has over 16 years of extensive consulting experience in areas related to Credit, Value Management, Mergers & Acquisitions, Customer Relationship Management and eCommerce. He specializes in managing large scale business and technology change programmes and is often called upon to advise clients on strategic areas related to their business.

Mr. Allaway has held a wide variety of leadership positions and is known as a practical consultant who can translate theories and concepts into effective solutions that work in real life situations.

He is recognized for his ability to help individuals and organizations improve, adapt, and excel. His knowledge runs deep as reflected by his experience. Mr. Allaway graduated with a Bachelor of Economics from Sydney University in 1985.

Ref.Steelguru

Mr Ravi Uppal Joins as CEO of L&T Power Limited

2009-01-10T01:50:00.000-08:00

It is reported that Mr Ravi Uppal who was until recently Head of Global Markets and a member of group executive committee of the ABB Group has joined Larsen & Toubro’s top management team as MD & CEO of L&T Power Limited.

Mr Uppal is credited with the accelerated growth and turnaround of ABB’s business in India and the Asia Pacific region, as its Regional President before taking up his role at the group level. He had earlier established Volvo’s operations in India as its founding MD and personally led the introduction of several new transportation concepts including the highly successful intercity coaches of Volvo.

Mr AM Naik CMD of L&T said that “We are indeed very happy to have a global manager of Ravi’s stature and proven competence to join our top management team. I am sure that his presence will give further impetus to our thrust on the power sector.”

Ref. Steelguru

Mr Kirby Adams appointed as new CEO of TATA Corus

2009-01-10T01:40:00.000-08:00

The board of TATA Steel has appointed Mr Kirby Adams to succeed Mr Philippe Varin as CEO of Corus and of TATA Steel Europe, the holding company of Tata Steel’s European operations. Mr. Adams will re locate to London and commence working from early March 2009. Mr Adams will report to Mr B Muthuraman MD of TATA Steel.

Mr Adams was formerly CEO of BlueScope Steel, headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. He has also served as Chairman of the International Iron and Steel Institute and has a wealth of international experience in the metal and mining industry. He will join the Boards of TATA Steel Europe and TATA Steel, subject to necessary approvals.

Mr Varin is stepping down on April 6th 2009, after six years in the role during which he led the turnaround of Corus. Post Tata Steel’s acquisition of Corus in 2007, Mr Varin has worked closely and effectively with Mr B Muthuraman, Managing Director of Tata Steel to successfully integrate Corus and Tata Steel. The Company is now well placed to achieve its long term objectives.

Ref. Steelguru