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India telecom ministry sees no delay to 3G auctionNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's telecoms ministry has begun the process of appointing an agency to conduct a global auction for third-generation (3G) wireless spectrum and does not expect the auction to be delayed, a government spokesman said.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Aug 2008 | 2:08 pm HAL to make 57 more jet trainers for IAF, navyThe Indian defence acquisition council has approved procurement of 57 additional Hawks, the advanced jet trainers (AJTs), for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the navy from the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Air Chief Marshal F.H. Major said here Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Aug 2008 | 2:00 pm Sun Pharma subsidiary gets nod to buy out Israeli firm TaroThe US Federal Trade Commission has allowed city-based drug maker Sun Pharma to go ahead with its open offer to shareholders of Israeli firm Taro, a company statement said here Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Aug 2008 | 2:00 pm Inflation rises to 12.44%India's annual rate of inflation swelled to 12.44 percent for the week ended Aug 2 as compared to 12.01 percent the week before goading the finance ministry to say it was disappointed.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Aug 2008 | 1:55 pm Wall St opens lower on inflation, jobs worryNEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday following data that showed consumer price pressures mounted in July and the labor market weakened, clouding the corporate profit outlook.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Aug 2008 | 1:48 pm Indian inflation jumps in early Aug, policy seen tightNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian inflation accelerated faster than expected in early August to a new 13-year high of 12.44 percent, and analysts said sustained price pressures would force the central bank to maintain its tightening bias.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Aug 2008 | 1:41 pm First HAL-built Hawk-MK132 aircraft handed over to IAF - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 Aug 2008 | 1:36 pm Trade unions dissatisfied with pay hike - Hindu Business Line
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 Aug 2008 | 1:35 pm CBI raids LIC, bank officials in Rs.5 mn insurance fraudThe Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Thursday swooped on offices and officials of the Life Insurance Corp of India (LIC) and the Bank of Karad Ltd in Pune, in connection with an alleged Rs.5 million insurance fraud.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Aug 2008 | 1:31 pm President calls for ever-Green RevolutionAt a time when India's Green Revolution in agriculture was derided overseas, President Pratibha Patil Thursday pushed for its second version to ensure the country's food security and development.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Aug 2008 | 1:30 pm Iran's oil industry turns east for financeTEHRAN (Reuters) - Asia can provide the finance Iran needs to develop its oil and gas reserves, the world's second largest, limiting the impact of U.S. sanctions and pressure, a top Iranian oil official said on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Aug 2008 | 1:30 pm Etihad to fly to 2 more Indian destinationsEtihad Airways, the national airlines of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), intends to increase flights to and from India, said a top company official here on Thursday.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Aug 2008 | 1:30 pm INSTANT VIEW - Indian annual inflation at 12.44 pct on Aug2NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's wholesale price index rose 12.44 percent in the 12 months to Aug. 2, above the previous week's annual rise of 12.01 percent, government data showed on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Aug 2008 | 1:27 pm Centre, ICRISAT join hands for research on transgenic cropsPTI Hyderabad: ICRISAT, a non-profit body that works in the area of ecological farming, today said it has joined hands with Science and Technology Ministry to set up a platform for carrying out research on transgenic crops near Hyderabad. The DBT-ICRISAT Platform for Translations Research on Transgenic Crops (PTTC) recently got approval from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and has received a funding commitment of Rs 248.79 million (USD 6.25 million) for five years starting 2008 till 2013. The joint effort would focus on transgenic technology (or genetic modification on engineering) to improve crop output, which involves importing genes from another organism to improve crop resistance to pests or diseases. “The PTTC will strengthen transgenic research for crop improvement by providing a platform, building synergies among institutions, ICRISAT Director General William Dar said. “ICRISAT will continue to harness transgenic research to solve problems that cannot be solved through conventional breeding,” he added. ICRISAT (International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics) and the Centre will set up a Department of Biotechnology at Patancheru, near Hyderabad for the project. The mission of PTTC will be to “translate transgenic technology and harness its products to meet the needs of agriculture growth,” an ICRISAT release said here today. ICRISAT is a non-profit and non-political research organisation serving the poor in the semi-arid areas of the developing world. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 1:20 pm Inflation rises to 12.44 percent, finance ministry 'disappointed'India's annual rate of inflation swelled to 12.44 percent for the week ended Aug 2 as compared to 12.01 percent the week before, goading the finance ministry to say this was a major disappointment.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Aug 2008 | 1:00 pm Iron ore shortage closes 25 units in ChhattisgarhA shortage of iron ore Thursday forced 25 sponge iron units in Chhattisgarh to stop production, and an industry official said Thursday that more of them could follow suit.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Aug 2008 | 1:00 pm Idea defers open offer to Spice shareholdersIdea Cellular, India's fifth largest private telecom operator, has deferred its open offer for an additional 20 percent stake in Spice CommunicationsSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:59 pm Citi strengthens equity research teamAs part of strengthening its coverage of Asian markets, Citigroup has expanded the equity research team with the hiring of 12 new analysts, the US banking giant said in a statement.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:54 pm Pay hike not to impact inflation, say economistsNew Delhi: Pay hike for central government employees is unlikely to have any major impact on inflation but it will certainly have a telling effect on interest rates and fiscal deficit, which has already come under pressure due to rise in various unbudgeted expenditure, feel economists. “The pay increase for government employees won’t make a great difference (on inflation) as inflation is a supply side problem,” said M Govinda Rao, Director, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) and member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. However, he added, government’s fiscal deficit would go up by around 0.4% of the GDP as Centre would have to garner additional resources to foot higher wage bill. Government on 14 August announced implementation of the modified recommendations of the sixth pay commission which would cost the exchequer over Rs22,000 crore during this fiscal. The government has also decided to pay 40% of the arrears of pay during 2008-09 and the remaining 60% in the next fiscal. “If there are no other countervailing measures in terms of tax collection then both revenue and fiscal deficit will go up be around 0.4% of GDP”, Rao said. Pointing out that high fiscal deficit does not put much pressure on inflation, he said, “it (higher fiscal deficit) will put pressure on interest rates.” Another economist Rajesh Shukla, senior fellow of National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) opined that,“inflation has been caused by external factors and pay hike will not result in any significant pressure on prices.” Although the pay panel award has come at a time when the inflation is ruling at 13-year high level of 12%, Shukla said, “with festival season round the corner, the pay hike will only boost consumer expenditure without putting additional pressure on inflation.” Higher purchasing power of the salaried class, he added, would also be good for the industry which is witnessing a demand slowdown. However, the pay panel award, he added, “will certainly have an impact on fiscal deficit. The government expenditure will go up and we will have to see how the government manages additional outgo. The government plans are not yet clear.” Another economist Rajiv Kumar, Chief Executive, Icrier, however, took a different view on impact of pay hike on inflation by pointing out, “If the government is paying out (arrears) in cash it will further worsen the inflationary situation.” More problem could be seen next year as the Centre would be paying 60% of salary arrears to government employees, he added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:48 pm Rel submits dev plan for more discoveriesReliance Industries has submitted development plan for eight more gas discoveries in its prolific eastern offshore KG-D6 block.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:43 pm Desh ab bhi Jawan hai on Radio Mirchi 98.3 FM - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:40 pm World Bank supports India’s Elementary Education ProgramNew Delhi: The government on Thursday signed an agreement with the World Bank for a Rs2,500 crore soft loan, 11% of the cost of the second phase of its flagship programme in education aimed at putting every child in school. The second phase of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan plans to increase the number of children of the 6-14 age group enrolled in school as well as improve the quality of education provided in state-run schools. The last independent study, by research agency Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB), put the count of uneducated Indian children at 13.4 million in July 2005, a figure that created grave concern. Government statistics have since said number of out-of-school children has dropped steadily, reaching 7 million by 2007. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:35 pm Govt pay scales to still lag pvt sectorNew Delhi: The average pay hike of 21% for over 50 lakh central government employees announced on 14 August notwithstanding, their median salary would still fall behind private sector by more than Rs1 lakh per annum. The median salary for central government employees in India currently stands at Rs250,092 per annum, while the same for those working with private sector companies is Rs 408,605, according to the world’s largest online salary database firm PayScale. After adoption of Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, which was approved by the government on Thursday, the salaries would rise by an average 21%, with retrospective effect from January 2006. Taking into account this average hike, the median salary for central government employees would rise to Rs 302,611 per year — which would still leave a gap of over Rs1 lakh compared with that of the private sector companies. However, the gap would decrease by close to Rs 50,000 per annum after the revised government pay scales. But, a number of private sector companies tend to revise their pay scales after adoption of government pay commission reports, as has been the case in the past. This could again expand the gap between the salaries of private and public sector employees. The minimum entry level salary of a government employee has also been increased to Rs7,000 per month, consequent to which the total emoluments of an employee at the lowest level would rise beyond Rs10,000 per month after including the allowances. At the entry level, the average salary at private sector companies is already less than the government employees and the starter-level pay hike announced by the government would further expand the gap. Besides, the government employees with less than one year of experience also gets a higher average salary than their counterparts with the private sector companies and the gap would increase even further after adoption of Sixth Pay Commission recommendations. According to data compiled by Washington-based PayScale, the median salary for central government employees with up to one year of experience currently stands at Rs 212,424 per year in India, while the same for private sector companies is Rs 208,962. It is at the medium and higher levels of experience, where the private sector employees mostly enjoy a huge salary advantage over the government employees. The hiked salary would be given to the central government employees beginning next month and the arrears from January 2006 would be given in cash in two installments -- 40% this fiscal and 60% in 2009-10. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:35 pm Oberoi Group to open 10 more hotels by 2011 - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:34 pm EIH to invest Rs.6.5 bn on two new hotelsHospitality major EIH Ltd, which operates the Oberoi chain of hotels, will invest Rs.6.5 billion ($165 million) to set up new projects in Goa and Bangalore, said a top company official here Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:30 pm Indian rupee falls past 43/dlr to 1-month low on oilMUMBAI (Reuters) - The Indian rupee fell to its lowest in a month on Thursday, slipping below the 43 per dollar mark as a rebound in global oil prices raised expectations of a worsening trade deficit.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:25 pm DoT rebuts FinMin's charges; says spectrum Cabinet compliant - Hindu Business Line
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:18 pm India pvt pension funds can invest more in sharesNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India on Thursday said private pension funds would be allowed to invest a larger-than-expected 15 percent of their assets in stock markets from April 1, 2009, from the current 5 percent.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:04 pm RBI to transfer Rs 15000 cr surplus profit - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:04 pm Single-window clearance for tourism projects in HimachalAll mega tourism projects involving an investment of over Rs.500 million will go through a single-window clearance authority in Himachal Pradesh, an official said Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:02 pm Over Rs.9 bn sanctioned for leather industry developmentThe government Thursday sanctioned over Rs.9.12 billion for implementing the Indian Leather Development Programme (ILDP).Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:01 pm Sensex closes 369 points downIndian equity markets closed deep in the red Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:01 pm Oil edges above $116 after rise on U.S. dataLONDON (Reuters) - Oil rose above $116 a barrel on Thursday, extending gains after a $3 rise the previous session following a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude and gasoline inventories.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Aug 2008 | 11:58 am EIH to invest 6.5 bln rupees on new hotelsKOLKATA (Reuters) - EIH, part of the Oberoi Group that runs a chain of five-star hotels, plans to spend 6.5 billion rupees to expand in Bangalore and Goa and has secured land in both the locations, a top official said on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Aug 2008 | 11:49 am Pay hike not to impact inflation, say economists - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 Aug 2008 | 11:37 am SCI to buy vessels for up to $3 bnBy PTI New Delhi: State-run Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) plans to purchase 40 vessels, including four very large crude containers, worth $2.5-3 billion in the next three years. “By 2011, we will place orders for about 40 ships worth $2.5 to 3 billion,” SCI chairman and managing director S Hajara told reporters here last night. While 20% of the cost of acquiring vessels would be met by internal accruals, the rest of the money would be raised through borrowings. “We will invest 20% on our own while the rest of the money would be raised through external commercial borrowings,” Hajara said. The deliveries of these vessels would continue uptil 2014. SCI has already placed orders for 32 vessels worth $1.88 billion. It has 79 ships at present. By 2014, the total cargo carrying capacity of the PSU would be about 10 million tonnes. Also, the company, yesterday, signed a deal with South Korean shipyard STX to acquire four panamax bulk carriers for $238.2 million. The public sector unit had recently received the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approval for acquiring four panamax bulk carriers of about 80,000 dead weight tons (dwt) at $59.55 million each. SCI plans to raise up to 80% of the contract price of each vessel from the domestic or international market while the balance amount would be paid from its internal accruals. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 11:29 am End of the road for the SUVsdays of the huge SUVs such as the Hummer, Porsche Cayenne and Audi Q7 are numbered as high fuel prices and a bad eco-image are causing sales to plunge.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Aug 2008 | 11:21 am BSNL to install WiMax BTS in 1,000 blocks by this fiscalBy PTI New Delhi: To an effort to boost its rural broadband plan, state-run telco BSNL today said it is planning to install WiMax base stations in 1,000 blocks across India by the end of this fiscal that will provide high-speed internet access to 25,000 villages. “We will be installing WiMax BTS in 1000 blocks out of country’s 6000 blocks by the end of current fiscal,” said BSNL CMD Kuldeep Goyal. Rural India is divided into 6000 blocks of population. BSNL has rights to 1000 blocks and has invited tenders for installing a WiMAX base station in each of those blocks to provide connectivity to villages. By the end of this year, the company expects to provide high speed internet access to 25,000 villages through Common Service Centres (CSCs). At present, BSNL is actively holding discussions with few vendors for BTS (Base Transceiver Station) equipment and the pilot project is on. “The proof-of-concept is being installed and will be completed in few months,” added Goyal. At present, BSNL’s WiMAX equipment is being supplied by US vendor SOMA Networks. The CSCs are telecom kiosks to be set up in the villages and are equipped with infrastructures like PCs, printers, software and staff for delivery of e-governance services related to health, education and agricultural information. As a government run company, BSNL has two distinct programmes in terms of rolling out WiMAX, one to provide commercial broadband services, another to connect rural India to government services online. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 11:19 am Flagstone Re keen to enter Indian non-life insurance sectorHyderabad: The Bermuda-headquartered global reinsurance firm Flagstone Reinsurance Holdings Ltd plans to enter the Indian non-life insurance sector, buoyed by the fast growing economy and low penetration of insurance in the subcontinent, said its Chairman, Mark Byrne. “We are currently in talks with some prospective Indian partners for a joint venture and should firm up the venture shortly,” he told reporters at Hyderabad on Thursday after inaugurating the company’s underwriting support services centre. He said the company expects to complete the deal and begin Indian primary insurance operations in non-life segment within a year and plans to invest $30 million in the venture to begin with.” Though we are keen to hold 49% in the venture, which is yet to be permitted by the Indian regulations, we will not wait for the change in regulations,” he said. The New York Stock Exchange listed reinsurer that reported $577 million revenues for the year ended December 2007 also plans to expand its Indian reinsurance operations and opened a representative office at Mumbai in June. Stating that Flagstone is upbeat on the growth of Indian reinsurance market, he said the Indian market is expected to grow four times in size in the next 10 years. ”We currently have limited exposure of around $30 million to the Indian reinsurance market and plan to significantly enhance our business here,” said David Brown, the chief executive officer of Flagstone. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 11:13 am Indian shares fall 2.4 pct, snap 5 weekly riseMUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian shares fell 2.4 percent on Thursday and snapped a run of five weekly gains, as oil prices rebounded to $117 a barrel rekindling inflation concerns and further monetary tightening.Source: Reuters: Money News | 14 Aug 2008 | 11:09 am EIH to pump Rs650 crore in two own hotel venturesPTI Kolkata: East India Hotels, the flagship company of Oberoi group, today said it would invest around Rs650 crore in its two properties in Bangalore and Goa. Based on an investment of Rs1.4 crore for each room, the total project cost for both the properties would be around Rs 650 crore, EIH chairman and chief executive P R S Oberoi told reporters after the AGM. Bangalore will be a 400-room property on an eight-acre plot while Goa will have both hotel and villas on a 50-acre plot. “Work in both the projects would begin as soon as they get final requisite clearances,” Oberoi said. Speaking on the financing of the projects, Oberoi said it would have a mix of debt-equity ratio of about 2:1 and as “we are a cash rich company, financing would not be a problem”. He, however, did not say by when these properties would be operational. In line with the strategy to expand its operation by management contracts, the company will be managing seven new upcoming hotels in both domestic and international locations. “Our focus stays in managing hotels rather owning them,” Oberoi said. EIH has also entered into joint ventures for a second hotel in Bangalore and another in Hyderabad. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 11:01 am Faculty shortage: IITs to go on a global hunt - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 Aug 2008 | 10:46 am Russia says no reason to delay WTO membership bidMoscow: There is no reason to delay Russia’s World Trade Organisation membership over the conflict in Georgia, a senior Russian official said, adding its accession could give the body a boost after global trade talks collapsed. A senior US official said on 13 August that Russian integration into international institutions such as the WTO was at stake because of Moscow’s military operations in Georgia. “There are no formal reasons to stop these (accession) talks,” the senior Russian official who is close to the membership negotiations said on 14 August. “The statements that our accession should be delayed because of events in Georgia sound strange,” the source said. “It contradicts basic logic, common sense and promises that were given by the governments of Western countries to Russia.” The source said Russia’s accession could provide a fresh impetus to the trade watchdog after the collapse of the Doha trade talks last month. Russia is the world’s 10th largest economy and by far the biggest country still outside the WTO. “After the July crisis, Russia’s accession could have provided support for the organisation, which is experiencing serious systemic problems,” the source said. The official also said Russia was unlikely to resume trade negotiations with Georgia, already a WTO member, which earlier blocked the accession talks over ex-President Vladimir Putin’s order to establish closer links with its breakaway regions. “In this situation I do not think that this (resumption of talks with Georgia) is possible. Therefore we will look at other ways of solving the problem,” the source said, adding that WTO rules provided a mechanism for such cases. Georgia and other ex-Soviet neighbour Ukraine are the only WTO members with whom Russia does not have a bilateral deal. Before fighting between Russian forces, Russia was nearing the end of its decade-old bid to join the WTO. The more Western-friendly camp in Russia’s government saw membership as an important way to strengthen ties with the West. Russia is now facing growing international criticism over its military action in Georgia, which may damage its standing in the world and strain relations with the West for years to come. US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has called for a review of Russia’s bid. US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said on 13 August that Russia still had some work to do before it was ready to join. Russia, which currently mostly exports energy and raw materials, seeks WTO membership to gain better access to global markets for the higher added-value goods it hopes to produce after it diversifies the economy away from natural resources. The West seeks better access to Russia’s domestic market as rising incomes fuel demand for Western consumer goods, services and technology. The WTO sets the rules for global trade and provides a mechanism for the resolution of trade conflicts. “All sides are set to lose (due to a delay of Russia’s accession). Who will lose most is difficult to say,” the source said. The source said that only when accession talks resume in mid-September would it become clear whether other countries were trying to complicate the negotiations process, and that it was too early to say how Russia may react. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 10:44 am Rate sensitives drive market lower - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 Aug 2008 | 10:37 am Sensex tumbles 369 points by closeNew Delhi: The markets ended weak on all-round selling with the benchmark index ending down 2.4% or 369 points at 14,724 levels. It touched an intra-day low of 14,686 levels, Similarly, the National Stock Exchange benchmark Nifty skidded 98 points to 4,431 levels. Stock brokers said reports of weakening trend in global markets and lower economic domestic growth forecast for 2008-09 mainly dampened the trading sentiments. “Oil rebounded on low US inventory and closed above $116 though lower demand has kept the rally in check. The US markets have dropped further on financial sector concerns and Banks and sharply rising oil prices have weighed down Europe,” said a technical analyst with Religare Securities. Realty counters witnessed heavy sell-off with Indiabulls Real Estate plunging 13.9% or Rs49. Akruti City, DLF Limited, Parsvnath Developers, Unitech Limited and Omaxe Limited were some of the other key losers. Profit booking was also visible in baking counters. Canara Bank, Union Bank, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank and Indian Overseas Bank lost considerable ground in this space. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 10:36 am Govt hopeful of record foodgrain production this yearPTI Berhampur: Despite deficient rainfall recorded in several regions during this monsoon, farming in most of the states have been satisfactory and if the trend continues the country could produce a record quantity of foodgrain this year. Shortfall was recorded in monsoon rain in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and several other states, Union Agriculture Secretary P K Mishra said here. However, the recent rains have revived paddy farming in full swing and if the trend prevailing now continues, the country could achieve the target in food grain production, he said. The central government has targeted to produce 235 million tonnes of foodgrain this year. Last year the country had produced 231 million tonnes of foodgrain, the record quantity of production. Last year we had produced the record quantities of the foodgrain in the country, despite the crops being destroyed in Bulandkhand areas, he said on the sidelines of a seminar on Horticulture Production and Post Harvest Management in Orissa. The agricultural growth rate last year was maintained at 4.5% in comparison with the two per cent growth rate in the previous year, he said adding that during 2006-07, the foodgrain production in the country was 217 million tonnes. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 10:33 am Orchid invests in Diakron to develop anti-coagulant drug candidate - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 14 Aug 2008 | 10:31 am Hindustan Sanitaryware aims Rs2,500 cr turnover by 2013-14PTI New Delhi: The Somany Group flagship company Hindustan Sanitaryware is planning a major expansion of glass and ceramic sanitaryware divisions, besides seeking acquisitions abroad. The company is also planning a four-fold increase in annual turnover to Rs2,500 crore by 2013-14, Rs575 crore up from last fiscal, on the back of setting up of a Rs250-crore greenfield glass manufacturing facility in Andhra Pradesh and expansion of ceramic and sanitaryware business. “We are targeting a turnover of Rs1,000 crore by 2010-11, and then would take it further to Rs2,500 crore by 2013-14. The increase would come on the basis of our expanding business in both our glass and ceramic businesses,” Hindustan Sanitaryware Joint Managing Director Sandip Somany told PTI. He said the new facility for making glass containers would become operational by the first half of 2009 and would have an annual production capacity of 80 lakh tonnes. “This would take our total glass production to 18 lakh tonnes. Our existing glass facility, also in Andhra Pradesh, has an annual capacity of 10 lakh tonnes,” Somany said. In addition, the company has two ceramic divisions in Andhra Pradesh and Haryana with a joint capacity of 30-lakh tonne, annually catering to its various bathroom products, home appliances and sanitaryware brands, he added. The company has one glass container brand under the name of AGI and various brands of ceramic products including Rassi (low end), Hindware (middle end), Hind Italian (lower middle), Hindware Art (upper middle) and Keramag (premium) catering to diverse segments in lifestyle and home products. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 10:07 am Web Exclusive | Creativity in tradigital timesMumbai: While the economy is showing signs of a slowdown, digital communication continues to come up in client-agency discussions indicating a first hint of a fixed digital communication budget. Tradigitial creatives is a term used by David Armano to capture the transition generation that is the most watched category in the ad space today. These are folks who are unlearning the analog creative ways and donning a digital mindset. For the sake of establishing a better understanding, there are three different camps: * The traditionalists (TV-hai-toh-idea-hai-guys) * The digitalists (new-kid-new-medium-new-creatives) * The tradigitalists (analog-roots-digital-wings-guys) The traditionalists are the big orchestraters in the agency today but are unlikely to define the creative signposts of the future. The digitalists are few in number. They mostly thrive in digital agencies and can be found in marketing companies, mobile content/ VAS companies, etc. They are unlike analog agency creatives. They might still be a small tribe, with a minority voice in analog ad agencies, but they surely are the voice of tomorrow. Which is why it becomes crucial to figure out how tradigital creativity will be different from its traditional variant. Voices not Eyeballs - The biggest paradigm shift in ‘tradigitalism’ is to stop treating people as eyeballs! On the internet and the mobile consumers are living, breathing and thinking voices with a scarcity of time and trust. Voices have their own stories (user-generated-content) which often are more interesting than branded communication. The tradigitalists are learning to listen to them and having an open, honest conversation without corporate spiel. Consumers expect their favourite brands to be in constant twitter mode. Experience not Messages - Tradigitalists fret about creating brand experiences not merely brand messages. Because the consumer is saying out loud – ‘I do not only want to hear you, I want to interact, play and do-my-own-thing in the environment which you/ I have created.” Community not Communication - The new digital creative is about creating the community not just communication. And communities generally don’t form to discuss shampoo and cola brands. They do to discuss music, movies, sports, politics, relationships and life. The tradigital creative must not only ask how can I build a community around my brand (client brief) but instead should focus on whether her brand is worth being in an existing community. What role would it play there? Would her brand be a listener, a facilitator or an active participant. Utility and Solutions not Cleverness- The tradigital creative spends more time making the creative product more useful to the consumer rather than fret over whether the idea is ‘clever’ and ‘never-done-before’ The most important shift is one from ‘great-copy-small-font-size-laid-in-beautiful-artwork’ creativity to ‘creative business solutions’. In the digital world, simplicity, utility and navigability works best and not layered, clever creativity alone Collaborative not Silo Thinkers - The tradigitalists need to be fast collaborative thinkers and not silo-smarts. Waking hours must be spent in seeding ideas, scaling up an existing idea, conversing with the consumers in real time, co-creating the next campaign. Even strong brands like Vodaphone with brilliant TVCs and OOH campaigns must learn to converse equally well. The repetitive 30 secone one-way messages easily bore and tire the 1% influencer digital audience. Tradigital creatives on such accounts then will have to focus equally on micro-conversations that the brand can have with the influencers. Manish Sinha, SVP, Mudra Marketing Services and head of strategy, Tribal DDB Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 9:56 am Maruti rides on old cars to push new salesPTI New Delhi: At a time when car sales have started moving southward for the first time in nearly three years, country’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki is turning to 15-20-year-old cars to push new ones through exchange. The company has tied up with scrap dealers across India to dispose of old cars exchanged for new cars and is welcoming customers to come with old cars of any make for exchange. “We have tied up with 15-20 people dealing in scraps in each of the cities that we are present,” Maruti Suzuki India Chief General Manager (Sales Support) Ravi Bhatia told PTI. The company has started giving offers to customers worth up to Rs40,000 while purchasing a new car through exchange, while inviting bids from scrap dealers at the same time for the old cars. He said the move has helped the company in pushing sales significantly through its pre-owned car business ‘TrueValue´. “Ever since we have started accepting 15-20 year old cars, exchange has gone up from 12% to 20% and it has helped an entry level product like Alto to become a replacement model,” Bhatia said. Earlier Alto has been considered to be the car for the first time buyer. The exchange offer has helped about 12% of total sale of new Altos coming from it. Initially, TrueValue accepted only Maruti cars, which were not older than 10 years and ran less than one lakh kms. Recently, it has extended the scheme to all cars of any manufacturer and of any age. “When we did a market study, we saw a latent potential where people wanted to exchange their old cars but did not know where to go and was not getting good value from scrap dealers as well,” Bhatia said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 9:26 am Pay hike impact on inflation factored in: FMPTI New Delhi: Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said that the impact of revised pay scales on inflation was taken into account when the government cleared the recommendations and the Budget deficit targets would also be adhered to. “Both the Union Budget and Railway Budget have a capacity to bear the burden on account of implementation of revised pay scale for central government employees,” the Finance Minister told reporters after the Cabinet meeting. He said the burden on Union Budget will be Rs15,717 crore and Rs6,414 crore on Railway budget for 2008-09. When the Budget for 2008-09 was prepared, impact of Pay Commission’s recommendations was taken into account. “The pay out is not a new development. It has been factored into when Budget was prepared and Prime Minister’s EAC and RBI gave their estimates,” the Minister said. He said the Budget deficit targets for 2008-09 will be adhered to. When asked about off-budget liabilities, he said they are separate liabilities. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 8:28 am Govt approves Sixth Pay Commission recommendationsPTI New Delhi: The UPA Government has announced an average increase of 21% in salaries of over 50 lakh government employees with effect from 1 January, 2006, adopting the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations. “The wage hike would increase the financial implication for the Centre by Rs17,798 crore annually and the arrears with effect from January 2006 would cost Rs29,373 crore,” Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi told reporters after the Cabinet meeting. The government increased the minimum entry level salary of a government employee to Rs7,000 against Rs6,660 recommended by the Commission headed by Justice B N Srikrishna who submitted the report in March this year. Consequently, it would push up the total emoluments of an employee at the lowest level beyond Rs10,000 per month including allowances. It also increased the rate of annual increment from 2.5% to 3%. In the defence sector, it approved at least three assured promotions for all defence forces personnel and civilian employees under the modified Assured Career Progression scheme. While civilians would get this after 10, 20 and 30 years of service, defence forces jawans would be promoted under ACP after 8, 16 and 24 years. The hiked salary would be given to the employees beginning September this year and the arrears from January 2006 would be given in cash in two installments — 40% this fiscal and 60% in 2009-10. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 7:58 am BHEL lines up $2.5 bn investment in next 4 yearsPTI New Delhi: Power equipment maker BHEL has announced an investment of $2.5 billion (over Rs10,000 crore) in the next four years to ramp up capacity to meeting the growing electricity needs. “We will be investing Rs5,000 crore in the first phase till December 2009 to reach 15,000 MW capacity. Besides, the Board has also approved an investment of similar amount to take the capacity to 20,000 MW by 2012,” BHEL CMD K Ravi Kumar told PTI. The investment is in line with the order book of the company, which has crossed the Rs1,00,000 mark and is still growing. On the issue of delay on part of BHEL to supply the equipments, Ravi said, BHEL was not responsible for it as most of the projects which have been facing time overrun are due to changes in the parameters. “Any change in the parameters requires a complete redesigning of the project and that causes delay sometimes,” he said. On the overseas expansion, the company is looking for acquisitions and is likely to appoint global consultants to advise them. Earlier BHEL had set aside Rs10,000 crore for overseas expansion and were scouting for companies on its own. BHEL had earlier formed a separate unit for the same but the company did not take off, “Our model was perhaps not right, we should have a global consultant to advice us,” Kumar said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 7:50 am Resurgere Mines IPO subscribed 1.2 timesReuters Mumbai: Resurgere Mines and Minerals Ltd received bids for 1.2 times the shares on offer in its initial public sale that closed on Wednesday, bankers to the issue said. The 4.45-million-share offer was fully subscribed on its last day, according to data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE). The shares were offered in a price band of Rs263-272 each. Resurgere, in which Merill Lynch holds more than 12% stake, is raising the funds for its extraction and crushing facilities and to purchase six railway wagons. “It is a small issue. So, it didn’t have a problem in sailing through,” a banker connected to the issue said. Most bids were received at Rs272, the upper end of the price band, data from the NSE web site showed. The offer will raise about Rs1.2 billion at this price. “Qualified institutional buyers subscribed 1.3 times and high networth individuals about 2.4 times the issue,” bankers said. The retail portion was subscribed 0.4%. “The company is expected to finalise the price on Monday, which is likely to be at the upper end,” the banker said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 7:36 am Facebook dethrones MySpace to become No1 SNSAFP San Francisco: Latest industry figures indicate that Facebook has dethroned MySpace to become the world’s most popular social networking website. Slightly more than 132 million people visited Facebook in June as compared to the approximately 117.5 million that went to MySpace that month, according to industry tracker comScore. Facebook seized the social networking crown from News Corp-owned MySpace in April, comScore reported. Facebook’s moves to tailor versions of its website to languages other than English is credited with giving it a boost in international users that pushed it to the top of the social networking heap. Has leveraged its brand internationally “Facebook has done an exceptional job of leveraging its brand internationally during the past year,” comScore vice president Jack Flanagan said in a release. “By increasing the site’s relevance to local markets through local language interface translation, the site is now competing strongly or even capturing the lead in several markets where it had a relatively minor presence just a year ago.” Ranks of social network users grew 9% in North America but leapt 25% globally to 580.51 million people, according to comScore. The number of people using social networking websites climbed 66% in the Middle East-Africa region and 35% in Europe. Twice as many people visited Hi5 in June as did in the same month a year earlier, while visits to Orkut, Bebo and Friendster increased by more than 30% at each of the social networking websites. “During the past year, many of the top social networking sites have demonstrated rapid growth in their global user bases,” comScore reported. “Facebook’s recent ascension to become the top global social networking site has been spurred by its substantial growth across worldwide regions.” Visits to MySpace were up 3% in the month over month comparison. While North America has 49 million Facebook users, Europe is “quickly catching up,” according to comScore. The number of people that visited Facebook in Europe in June was 35.2 million; more than triple what it was in the same month last year. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 6:47 am Facebook dethrones MySpace to become No1 SNSAFP San Francisco: Latest industry figures indicate that Facebook has dethroned MySpace to become the world’s most popular social networking website. Slightly more than 132 million people visited Facebook in June as compared to the approximately 117.5 million that went to MySpace that month, according to industry tracker comScore. Facebook seized the social networking crown from News Corp-owned MySpace in April, comScore reported. Facebook’s moves to tailor versions of its website to languages other than English is credited with giving it a boost in international users that pushed it to the top of the social networking heap. Has leveraged its brand internationally “Facebook has done an exceptional job of leveraging its brand internationally during the past year,” comScore vice president Jack Flanagan said in a release. “By increasing the site’s relevance to local markets through local language interface translation, the site is now competing strongly or even capturing the lead in several markets where it had a relatively minor presence just a year ago.” Ranks of social network users grew 9% in North America but leapt 25% globally to 580.51 million people, according to comScore. The number of people using social networking websites climbed 66% in the Middle East-Africa region and 35% in Europe. Twice as many people visited Hi5 in June as did in the same month a year earlier, while visits to Orkut, Bebo and Friendster increased by more than 30% at each of the social networking websites. “During the past year, many of the top social networking sites have demonstrated rapid growth in their global user bases,” comScore reported. “Facebook’s recent ascension to become the top global social networking site has been spurred by its substantial growth across worldwide regions.” Visits to MySpace were up 3% in the month over month comparison. While North America has 49 million Facebook users, Europe is “quickly catching up,” according to comScore. The number of people that visited Facebook in Europe in June was 35.2 million; more than triple what it was in the same month last year. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 6:47 am Fin Min approves SBI-SBS mergerBy PTI Mumbai: Country’s largest lender State Bank of India today said the Finance Ministry has approved the merger of State Bank of Saurashtra (SBS) with itself. “The Ministry of Finance has passed an order for acquiring of SBS by State Bank of India,” SBI said in a filing to the BSE. The merger would be effective from the “date as may be notified by the Govt of India in the official Gazette”, the filing added. Earlier this month, the Union Cabinet had approved the merger of SBS with SBI. The boards of both the banks had given their approval for the merger in August last year. SBS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the SBI. After getting Cabinet approval, the finance ministry has finished the groundwork for repealing the State Bank of Saurashtra Act, 1950 and amending the SBI Subsidiary Act, 1959 to affect the merger. Government would have to present a new bill called the SBI Subsidiary Bank Amendment Bill, 2008, in Parliament during the monsoon session for final approval on the merger. All the references to the SBS Act would be deleted from the SBI Subsidiary Act, 1959, through the proposed Bill. The merger would pave way for the amalgamation of other six associate banks of SBI with itself and help the country’s largest lender take on the competition, particularly from private and foreign lenders, in a better manner. The merger would also enable State Bank to scale up its business in terms of footprint, manpower and resources. Shares of SBI were trading at Rs1,495.90, down 3.82% in the morning trade on the BSE. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 6:45 am Sun Pharma gets US FTC nod for Taro open offerPTI Mumbai: Sun Pharmaceuticals has got US Federal Trade Commission (US FTC) approval for the open offer made by it to shareholders of Israeli firm Taro. In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Sun Pharma said the FTC has granted early termination of the anti-trust waiting period for the previously announced tender offer by its subsidiary Alkaloida Chemical Company Exclusive Group Ltd. Last month the Mumbai-based firm had launched an open offer at a price of $7.75 per share to acquire all outstanding shares of Taro, including all of the founders’ shares. “The open offer, which opened on 30 June, is scheduled to expire on 2 September, 2008, unless the offer is extended,” the filing said. Sun’s open offer followed Taro’s ‘unilateral´ termination of the $454 million merger agreement signed between the two firms. Greenhill & Co LLC is acting as the dealer manager and MacKenzie is acting as the Information Agent for the tender offer, the company said. Sun reiterated that Alkaloida exercised its option under the agreement, to acquire all the shares held by the controlling shareholders of Taro under the option agreement signed with Taro when the merger deal was struck last year. Merrill Lynch and Yigal Arnon & C and Skadden Slate Meagher & Flom LLP are assisting the Taro board in evaluating Sun’s offer. Shares of Sun Pharma were trading at Rs1,443, up by 0.44% in the morning trade on the BSE. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 6:11 am GM’s rechargeable car, Volt is on scheduleBy TAP Michigan: Early versions of the Chevrolet Volt’s battery packs are powerful enough to run the high-stakes rechargeable car, but dozens of issues remain before General Motors Corp. can start selling the revolutionary vehicle in 2010 as planned. The Volt’s chief engineer is on a tight schedule to figure out how the car will handle the batteries’ weight, dissipate their heat and mechanically transfer their power to the wheels. That’s not to mention the list of issues that have nothing to do with the fact that the car plugs in to the wall for recharging. But the 47-year old veteran GM engineer, who was recruited from a GM post in Germany to run the high-profile project, is driven by knowing the entire company’s future could rest with it. Concept car Work on the Volt, introduced as a concept car at the 2007 Detroit auto show, has taken on a more urgent pace with gasoline hovering near $4 per gallon and the U.S. auto market dramatically shifting from trucks to cars. The car is designed to run on an electric motor powered by a battery pack. Drivers will recharge the vehicle from a standard home wall outlet. The Volt will be able to travel 40 miles (64 km) on a full charge, and a small gasoline engine will recharge the batteries to keep it rolling on longer trips. GM says the vehicle will get the equivalent of 150 miles (240 km) per gallon. But for now, as a new commercial airing during the Olympics touts the Volt as the pinnacle of GM’s fuel economy improvements and hybrid lineup, Farah and hundreds of other engineers are working to deal with the inevitable glitches from new technology. Battery issues may delay launch Simultaneously, other GM workers are testing batteries to make sure they last at least 10 years or 150,000 miles (240,000 km). It would cost more than $10,000 to replace them. Other workers are making the Volt more functional, giving it the room and feel of a regular car “such that the vehicle is not just a battery on wheels,” Farah said. The early concept, a low-riding, sleek silver hatchback, was uncomfortable to sit in and not very functional, Farah said. The new five-door hatchback version more resembles a normal car, a little larger than a Honda Civic. Late last year, it looked like the Volt’s schedule would be derailed by battery delays. Two competing battery makers - Compact Power Inc. of Troy, Michigan, which is working with parent LG Chem of Korea, and Frankfurt, Germany-based Continental Automotive Systems, working with GM and A123 Systems Inc. of Watertown, Massachusetts fell 10 weeks behind on delivering the power packs. GM engineers used the time to work on the mechanical connections. Batteries arrived in January at GM’s sprawling Warren, Michigan, technical centre, and the team has nearly erased the 10-week deficit, Farah said. To hit the market by 2010 Although GM has promised to begin selling the Volt in a little more than two years, experts wonder if it will be ready in time, whether enough batteries will be available to sell the cars in significant numbers, and whether the cost can be reduced to make the car affordable to the masses. GM has said the Volt will cost $30,000 to $40,000, and that it expects to sell 100,000 per year starting in 2012. While ambitious, that’s still 81,000 fewer than the number of Prius gas-electric hybrids sold by Toyota last year. Brett Smith, assistant director for manufacturing and technology at the Center for Automotive Research, said even in small volumes, the Volt is a game-changer. “It’s an entirely different technology. It’s an entirely different powertrain layout. It’s a huge step forward,” he said Tuesday at an industry conference in Traverse City. Will recapture technology leadership Much of GM’s push on the Volt is designed to recapture the technology leadership image from Toyota, which has led the way in alternative powertrains with its Prius gasoline-electric hybrid car, Smith said. High gas prices already have forced a major lifestyle changes in the U.S., with people taking fewer vacations or weekend trips. Americans drove 53.2 billion fewer miles (85 billion fewer km) as gas prices climbed from November through June than they did over the same eight-month period a year earlier, the Federal Highway Administration said Wednesday. The Volt, Farah said, can keep people mobile with only the adjustment of having to plug in a car at night. “It’s an opportunity to change the way we consume energy without significantly changing our lifestyle,” he said. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 5:58 am Ready the telescopes: partial lunar eclipse on SaturdayAFP Paris: People across the world will have a chance to see a partial eclipse of the Moon on Saturday. In a lunar eclipse, the Sun, Earth and Moon are directly aligned as the Moon swings into the cone of shadow cast by our planet. Observers on Earth will see a Moon that is partly light and partly dark, with hints of colour that depend on terrestrial conditions. Lunar eclipses are visible wherever the Moon is above the horizon. This one will be best seen from most of Africa, Eastern Europe, central Asia, India and the Middle East. From Western Europe and the United Kingdom, the Moon will rise during the eclipse. It begins at 1823 GMT, when the Moon enters the lightest part of the Earth’s shadow, the penumbra. Soon after the Moon will have a slight yellowish hue. It enters the darker part of the terrestrial shadow, the umbra, at 1936 GMT. Maximum eclipse occurs at 2110 GMT, when more than 80% of the visible side of the Moon will be within the umbra and the remainder within the penumbra. The Moon leaves the umbra at 2244 GMT, and the eclipse finishes when it exits the penumbra at 2359 GMT. During the eclipse, the Moon lies in front of the stars of the constellation of Capricornus, with the planet Jupiter to its right. Unlike an eclipse of the Sun, a lunar eclipse is safe to watch and needs no special equipment. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Aug 2008 | 5:00 am SEBI board reviews P-Notes data but takes no decisionTimeline taken for rights issue reduced to 43 days. Mumbai, Aug. 13 The much-debated issuance of Participatory Notes by foreign institutional investors was taken up by the SEBI board on Wednesday, but there was nothing by way of any decision ...Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:00 am EAC pegs GDP growth at 7.7% due to slowdownNew Delhi, Aug. 13 Global slowdown in growth, tightening of credit and equity markets following the US sub-prime crises and sharp elevation in global commodity inflation haveprompted the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC) ...Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:00 am Public sector cos not following norms on bulk depositsCompetitive bids still being called: Chidambaram. New Delhi, Aug 13 The Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, on Wednesday said that Central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) appear to be violating Government departmental guidelines on ...Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:00 am Maharashtra extends Subhiksha licence suspensionMumbai, Aug. 13 Retail company Subhiksha’s woes are far from over with Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) increasing the suspension period of its licence to 20 days, starting August ...Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:00 am IT cos unfazed by rise in debtor days‘Rise is marginal, nothing to do with global slowdown’. Chennai, Aug 13 In difficult times, quicker collections from clients for services rendered could strengthen a company’s balance sheet. ...Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:00 am Gammon India (Rs 244.85): BuyWe recommend a buy in Gammon India from a short-term perspective. From the charts of Gammon India, we notice that its intermediate-term downtrend, which began in early January from a high of Rs 845 had come to an end in early August, with the ...Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:00 am Dell excited about India, to invest moreSees $1-b revenue next year; unveils laptops with longer battery life. New Delhi, Aug. 13 Upbeat about India — a market where it hopes to hit $1 billion revenue next year, Mr Michael Dell, Chairman of world’s second largest PC ...Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideAfter forming a bearish engulfing candlestick pattern, the stock fell 3 per cent in the last trading session. We recommend a sell in the counter. ...Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:00 am Outlay on farm research scant, says RBI studyDeclining farm size and environmental stress pose threats. New Delhi, Aug. 13 Notwithstanding the high concern over reversing the decline in agricultural investment, credit and irrigation by the authorities in recent years, public expenditure ...Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:00 am Banks waiving penalties on foreclosure of loansTight liquidity, high cost of funds prompt move. Bangalore, Aug . 13 With certificates of deposit (CD) headed to breach the 11-per cent mark on the back of tight liquidity, banks have started waiving penalties for loan ...Source: Business Line - Home Page | 14 Aug 2008 | 12:00 am Rio Tinto, NMDC set to join hands for buyoutsNational Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) is striking an alliance with Rio Tinto Group, the world's third-largest mining company, to jointly acquire iron-ore assets in India and abroad.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Aug 2008 | 11:09 pm Subhiksha licence for 2 warehouses suspendedFood and Drugs Administration of Maharashtra has suspended licences for two warehouses of retail chain Subhiksha Services Ltd for 20 days for unhygienic conditions.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Aug 2008 | 11:04 pm Dell eyes $1 bn sales in IndiaDell Inc is eyeing revenues in excess of $1 billion by fiscal 2009-10 from India, its fastest growing market, on surging demand for laptops and increased focus on consumer market.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Aug 2008 | 10:57 pm Spanco bets big on 'call drop' solution bizSpanco Telesystems, a Mumbai-based telecom solutions provider, is betting big on demand for in-building solutions (IBS) from all telecom carriers in India.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 13 Aug 2008 | 10:56 pm Lessons from a research bureauSo Google Inc. now is pushing further into the business of content. Founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page confront the universal question of the information business: How do you add value? The proximate example is Wikipedia, which adds value by collating facts. Wikipedia bends over to be objective and to reject elitism. Its hallmark is that anyone may contribute, or edit anyone else. As a result, Wikipedia’s pages are fact-rich.  Hard facts: James Petroba When it comes to ideas, though, Wikipedia sometimes falls short, featuring a duel instead of a conversation. The rest of the Web, too, seems less about uncovering truths than about cornering an opponent in a “gotcha” moment. Other, less obvious, models of value creation exist. One is a private non-profit office with an old-fashioned name: the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). NBER officers don’t talk about NBER in these terms, but the Massachusetts, US-based organization is, in its way, an anti-Wikipedia. The story of NBER starts during World War I when the US was just becoming a national economy. Or at least thought it was, because in those days there were few official numbers. Enter two men. The first, Malcolm Rorty, was a statistician at American Telephone and Telegraph. The second was Nahum Stone, a government tariff expert and labour arbitrator. The men shared a goal: better standards and numbers. They decided to create an office that would generate the missing data. An old timer’s description of their purpose sounds similar to Wikipedia’s: “The crucial question was how to obtain objective knowledge and—also essential—how to assure the public would accept it as objective.” Universities supported them, and in 1920 NBER was born. From its start NBER did two things. The first was to tap experts to do number-crunching. The mysterious business cycle got attention from scholars. NBER’s director of research, Wesley Mitchell, led a study of national income, generating early versions of the US’ gross domestic product. NBER researchers thought of work in years, not days, or page views. Even today, NBER scholars are rigorous—their papers stick to the topic. Google’s very formula rewards popular sites by moving them up in the queue. NBER papers aren’t afraid to take unpopular views; if they’re interesting, NBER promotes them. The second thing that NBER did was provide a culture of collegiality. Scholars came to NBER to try out ideas. Martin Feldstein, NBER president until June, widened its net to include more scholars from different universities. Disagreement under Feldstein got encouragement. His successor, James Poterba, now also plays such a host role. The result has been splendid success. NBER’s method created value appreciated even by anti-elitists. Across the nation, NBER papers are viewed as among the most authoritative by economists. NBER helped Washington officials learn how to keep the books on the national economy—not always perfectly, of course, but still with more science than when lawmakers operated in the dark. And NBER has become the umpire of the business cycle. The No. 1 domestic economic question today is whether the US is in recession. It is NBER that will make that call. Many thousands of policy words are being spent analyzing whether NBER’s definition of recession—“a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months”—is right. But few question the umpires’ authority. Financial market television hosts, the Drudge Report, the US treasury—all hang on NBER’s word. The NBER sanctuary has become important because of a general impoverishment of the policy debate. As Adam Bellow, a publisher at HarperCollins, wrote recently of the post-Cold War decline in discourse, conservatives once talked about principles such as communism and free markets. But now, “metaphorically speaking, the Berlin Wall had been replaced by the Jersey Turnpike”—topics such as John Edwards’s infidelity dominate. Any hunt for a philosophy of content ought to include a range of sources. Some of the answers that the new media world seeks lie in cyberspace. Others can be found in the old Bureau. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 13 Aug 2008 | 8:19 pm TCS, Infosys, Wipro will be top of heap by 2011: GartnerNew Delhi: India’s top three software services companies will continue to build on their presence in technology and back-office markets to rank alongside industry leaders such as IBM Global Services, Accenture Ltd and Electronic Data Systems Corp. (EDS) by 2011, research firm Gartner Inc. has predicted.  Big players: The TCS office building in Noida. TCS, Infosys and Wipro are the top-ranked Indian technology vendors by revenue. Photograph: Harikrishna Katragadda / Mint Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, or TCS, Infosys Technologies Ltd and Wipro Ltd—collectively called ‘India-3’ by Gartner—are the top-ranked Indian technology vendors by revenue but are dwarfed by IBM Global Services, a division of International Business Machines Corp. with some $50 billion (Rs2.13 trillion) in revenue. “The India-3 have leveraged their strong success with meeting client needs to achieve record growth levels during a long period of time (30 quarters continuously) and have outperformed the incumbent megavendors by almost a 3:1 margin in growth rates,” Gartner said in a statement. “The market capitalization of the Indian providers is significantly higher than that of EDS, and almost on par with Accenture, which are much larger companies in terms of revenue.” The “emerging megavendors” have more than doubled their revenue in four years, with the 2007 revenue being 2.6 times that of 2004, said Partha Iyengar, vice-president at Gartner. “This level of growth differential has continued even as these vendors have become multibillion dollar enterprises. To put this in context, there are just 100 service enterprises globally with more than $1 billion in revenue.” Yet, one of the challenges facing the Indian vendors is the revenue generated by each employee at these companies. The average revenue per employee across the three firms for 2007 was some $46,143.33, compared with $143,816.66 for the three global firms. “The Indian providers will have to address the issue of moving away from resource-intensive revenue growth to a model that provides higher leverage and increases revenue without a linear relationship to head count, which is the situation that exists today,” Gartner said. “They will have to achieve similar levels of revenue per employee benchmarks to truly achieve megavendors status.” Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 13 Aug 2008 | 7:44 pm Tesco dips cautious toes into IndiaUK supermarket operator Tesco Plc. has finally announced a deal to open shop in India. That’s an important step for a retailer with global ambitions. The company needs to be in India’s $350 billion (about Rs15 trillion) market. But it’s a long-term game. More important for the next few years is Tesco’s quiet progress in countries such as Turkey.  Click here for breakingviews.com Tesco, the world’s third largest food retailer by revenues, announced on 12 August that it will start a wholesale cash-and-carry business in India. It will make an initial investment of up to £60 million (Rs485 crore) in the next two years. Tesco also said it was entering into an exclusive franchise agreement with Trent Ltd, the retail arm of the Tata group. Under the terms of the agreement, for which Tesco will receive a fee, Trent will use Tesco’s experience to develop Star Bazaar, its hypermarket chain. Tesco’s wholesale business will supply Star Bazaar.  Newer avenues: A Tesco store in Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK. Photograph: Mark Pinder / Bloomberg Tesco opened its first store in Istanbul, Turkey, last week. The UK company’s revenues from Turkey grew 69% in the financial year ended February. Tesco’s Turkish retail chain Kipa will invest $1.5 billion over the next five years as it establishes 100 stores. Kipa has said it expects revenues to reach $5 billion once the new stores are operational. Tesco has opened 28 hypermarkets in Turkey and 57 Express stores in the last five years. After opening in China and the US, moving into India completes a land grab for stakes in the world’s most desired retail markets bar Russia. It also ends a two-year waiting game. In 2006, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. frustratingly beat Tesco to a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises Ltd, the Indian conglomerate. By law, foreign retailers selling a range of brands must have a local partner in India. But in classic Tesco fashion, it’s a cautious deal. Tesco will provide advice to the retail operations of Indian conglomerate Tata. It will also invest £60m by 2010 to open three cash-and-carry outlets. That’s a snip for a company with £51.8 billion of sales and pre-tax profits of £2.9 billion last year. Bharti plans to spend $2.5 billion by 2015 on stores of varying sizes. India certainly has some mesmerising statistics. Its 1.1 billion population is second only to China and is expected to be bigger than China’s in 2025. The Indian retail market is predicted to double to $700 billion by 2015. But Tesco is wise to tread carefully. The Indian retail market is still much smaller than the US market, where the retailer has suffered an uncertain start. India can be also a difficult place in which to operate. Infrastructure is often poor and Wal-Mart has encountered political opposition. That said, Tesco needs new growth to offset flagging sales in its core British market. For the moment, China or Turkey are more important to help Tesco justify its forecast 14 times earnings for 2009. That’s well above a sector average of 12.7 times. Tesco quietly opened a store in Istanbul last week, bringing its total in the country to around 90 in five years. It needs to emulate that success in India and elsewhere to keep up its momentum. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 13 Aug 2008 | 7:41 pm DoT jumped gun on 3G: Finance ministryThe roll-out of 3G or third-generation mobile telephony services, scheduled for this year-end, may be delayed after the ministry of finance strongly criticised the Department of TelecommunicationsSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 Aug 2008 | 6:53 pm Global slowdown fears cool commodity pricesCrude oil is not the only commodity seeing a price correction on fears of an economic slowdown. The same sentiment is driving prices of a range of important industrial metals like copper, zinc,Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 Aug 2008 | 6:53 pm QIP, rights issue norms relaxedSebi sticks to P-note guidelines after review.??In a significant relaxations on Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) changed pricing rules for qualified institutionalSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 13 Aug 2008 | 6:52 pm Yahoo local unit drives new product developmentBangalore: Internet search engine Yahoo Inc.’s local unit says it is driving the development of new products in areas such as video, image, mobile and job search applications helping the firm improve revenue at a lower cost while expanding its reach in the local market. After an unsuccessful takeover bid by Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest software maker, and subsequent internal churn and shareholder activism Yahoo has scaled up its presence significantly in Bangalore and uses local talent to manage products such as Hotjobs and Yahoo Weather. The engineering site in Bangalore also hosts most teams that design key products for multimedia search for the company. “We are creating impactful jobs and that’s helping us to attract people,” said Sharad Sharma, chief executive officer of Yahoo Software Development India Pvt. Ltd. The research and development (R&D) centre in Bangalore is the only one outside of the company’s headquarters in Sunnyvale. It is not only focused on product engineering but also manages products. Yahoo R&D employs 1,500 people in the country. “Major output of the Indian R&D arm has been developing products such as spamguard and SMS (short messages for phones) solutions that have been able to make Yahoo competitive,” said T.R. Madan Mohan, partner of Browne and Mohan, a consulting firm that focuses on strategy and technology. Yahoo is also developing products for the local market, even as it focuses as a hub for global development. “(Focus) on local (market) is a big strategy and we are linking it up with our SMB (small and medium-size businesses) offerings,” said Sharma. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 13 Aug 2008 | 6:31 pm US online ad spending will be slower than expectedSeattle: Internet advertising spending in the US will be lower than expected this year and next, putting pressure on Google Inc., Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp., according to EMarketer Inc. EMarketer plans to cut its forecast for 23% growth in 2008 by “a few percentage points,” said analyst David Hallerman. The New York-based research firm had predicted almost $26 billion (Rs1.1 trillion) in ad sales this year. He said his estimate for 16% growth in 2009 is “also probably too high”. Google chief executive officer Eric Schmidt said for the first time last month that the company faces a more challenging economic environment. Google’s ads tied to Internet search results are still faring better than most of the graphical banner ads sold by firms such as Yahoo and Microsoft, Hallerman said. In March, Hallerman cut his forecast to $25.9 billion from $27.5 billion, citing a floundering economy. Still, in the title of the report, he said ad spending would be resilient as advertisers will shift budgets to Internet from print and TV. Since then, the picture has deteriorated as advertisers accept that “the economy won’t be turning around on a dime”, he said. EMarketer hasn’t released its updated forecast yet. Google’s second quarter earnings missed analysts’ estimates, while Yahoo posted an 18% drop in profit amid increased spending on new projects. LookSmart Ltd, which sells ads on sites such as Ask.com, said last month that some marketers are cutting back on spending. Microsoft’s Internet ad revenue in the latest quarter missed the company’s forecasts. The US economy expanded 1.9% in the second quarter, down from 4.8% a year earlier. Growth was less than forecast as a housing slump and rising unemployment worked against federal tax rebates. Spending on Internet ads grew 18.9% in the second quarter, according to a preliminary estimate from Karsten Weide, an analyst at market researcher IDC in Framingham, Massachusetts. Growth would be 7 percentage points lower than the rate in the year-earlier quarter, he said. Without the slowing economy, sales would have risen more than 20%, Weide said. Chief financial officers typically cut ad budgets first during a slump. Rob Norman, CEO of New York-based GroupM Interaction, which buys online ads for companies such as ATandT Inc. and Dell Inc., said clients are sticking with ads that are closely linked to customer purchases. That benefits Google’s business of selling ads next to Web search results, he said. Still, that means Google may not be able to attract as many advertisers as it would like to the YouTube video-sharing site because clients find it hard to target specific users on YouTube, Norman said. “It’s not going to be the easiest year,” he said. “The queen would call it an annus horribilis.” Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 13 Aug 2008 | 4:40 pm PC at the price of Nano?New Delhi: Surfing the net, uploading snaps, watching movies, now not a ‘click’ but just a ‘touch’ away. HP has launched a new generation of all-in-one PC’s - TouchSmart. Priced at a formidable Rs 88,000, HP’s TouchSmart PC is not for those hunting for a bargain. Satjiv Chehel, Senior VP, Global Marketing, Personal Systems Group, HP, says this product is not for the average Indian consumers. It is targeted at the higher end of the market. But at this price tag, will not an average consumer go for a premium laptop instead of a desktop? Richard Walker, Senior Vice President and worldwide head, Consumer PC Business Unit, HP says that inspite of the mobility that the laptop offers most of the homes still have a desktop. The Touchsmart can sort your music collection in various modes, upload, edit and share photos all by just touching the screen. The TouchSmart even has a built in DVD burner and integrated premium stereo speakers. What’s more, it even has ambient lighting, which illuminates the keyboard in a dimly lit space. But if you want to use word or even email someone, you will have to revert back to using the good old keyboard again! Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 13 Aug 2008 | 4:12 pm
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