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British Airways looks for tieups for flights to HyderabadHere\'s evidence of India emerging as a lucrative market for airline companies. At a time when airlines around the world are struggling for survival, UK\'s flagship airline British Airways wants to link Londoin directly to Hyderabad becoming the first airline to launch five weekly nonstop flights between London and Hyderabad.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 10 Dec 2008 | 4:53 pm Global meltdown slows IPO appetite of entrepreneursEntrepreneurs who are looking to raise funds by selling stake in their businesses are in for a tough time. A study by Barclays Wealth shows that the appetite for IPOs has flagged, and buyers are not willing to open their purses.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 10 Dec 2008 | 4:25 pm Beating the slowdown, GMR shops for coal mines abroadThe economy may have slowed down, but that has not stopped power companies from picking up coal mine assets abroad. It\'s now GMR\'s turn to inch close to acquiring a coal mine abroad.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 10 Dec 2008 | 4:12 pm Rico Auto Ind eyes 2022% growth in FY0910Arvind Kapur, MD, Rico Auto Industries said it is very important that the US government must support the big three auto companies and their survival is very critical for the industry. He sees an overall growth of almost about 1920% this year. He sees the company growing by another 2022% for FY09FY10.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 10 Dec 2008 | 3:59 pm SAP ruling unclear; sugar mills may approach SCAfter dragging its feet for weeks, the Allahabad High Court has rejected Uttar Pradesh Sugar Mills\' plea on state administered price for cane and has upheld SAP at Rs 140 per quintal for this fiscal.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 10 Dec 2008 | 3:18 pm SAP ruling aftermath: Sugar output to decline by 8 mtAfter dragging its feet for weeks, the Allahabad High Court has rejected Uttar Pradesh sugar mills\' plea on stateadministered price (SAP) for cane and has upheld SAP at Rs 140 for this fiscal. CNBCTV18s Commodities Editor Manisha Gupta gives her perspective on how the spot and sugar markets have reacted.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 10 Dec 2008 | 3:18 pm RComm may buy back $1 bn FCCB maturing 2012: SourcesSources said Reliance Communications expects to buyback 1520% of its USD 1 billion FCCB, or foreign currency convertible bond, maturing 2012. The company may spend USD 150200 million on the buyback. The stock currently is trading at a 3035% discount.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 10 Dec 2008 | 2:08 pm Pros and cons of investing in corporate depositsWith liquidity being tight, India Inc is resorting to corporate deposits to raise funds. So, what are the pros and cons of investing through this route? Corporate deposits require a minimum deposit, meanwhile, bank deposits, including FDs, are insured up to Rs 1 lakhSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 10 Dec 2008 | 1:50 pm Don\'t see any job losses in BPO, ITES sector: NasscomThe National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) strongly feels it is unlikely to see any job losses in the BPO or ITES (Iinformation Technology Enabled Services sector), rather there could be some additions to the jobs.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 10 Dec 2008 | 1:47 pm Oberoi Group may hike stake in EIH to over 50% in 6 monthsOberoi Group Chairman PRS Oberoi said that they are looking at their hiking stake in EIH to over 50% in the next 6 months. Oberoi said that he is not looking at buyback seriously and there are other options.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 10 Dec 2008 | 1:38 pm Auto bailout bill not yet a done deal - CNNMoney.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:32 pm OVL to fund Imperial buy via domestic loans - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:32 pm China to spur slowing economy, European data bleakLONDON (Reuters) - China pledged fresh measures to revitalise its economy on Wednesday after exports tumbled and domestic demand shrank, with bleak figures from Europe showing how badly its major economies were faring.Source: Reuters: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:29 pm World Bank predicts worst recession since Great DepressionThe world could go through its worst recession since the Great Depression as a massive financial crisis has slashed global investment and sharp drops in commodity prices severely hurt poor-country exportsSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:29 pm AXA, Metlife,Prudential,CIC in AIG unit talks - sourcesTOKYO (Reuters) - Insurance firms Axa SA, MetLife Inc and Prudential Plc, and China's sovereign wealth fund CIC are all in talks to buy a unit of U.S. insurance firm AIG in a deal that is likely to fetch $10.8 billion, financial industry sources said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:26 pm Decks cleared for setting up 20 new IIITsDecks have been cleared for setting up of 20 new IIITs in the country after differences between industry bodies and the government over the issue of autonomy were resolvedSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:26 pm Nifty crosses crucial 2850 level; short-term rally on cards - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:23 pm Auto exports up by 61.88% in November - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:23 pm India terror strike could tilt investor focus to China: WelchThe worst-ever terror strike in India's financial capital Mumbai could well tilt the focus of foreign investors towards neighbouring ChinaSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:20 pm GMR Infra’s 370 MW plant in AP start power generationNew Delhi: GMR Infrastructure has said that its 370 MW gas fired power plant at Vemagiri in Andhra Pradesh has started electricity generation. “Vemagiri Power Generation Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of GMR Energy has commenced power generation at its 370 MW gas fired power plant in Andhra Pradesh,” GMR Infra informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The gas has been diverted from another plant under an arrangement with by Andhra Pradesh Transmission Company. Vemagiri Power Generation Ltd would continue to operate on this diverted fuel at a plant load factor of 60% till 31 May, 2009. Meanwhile, RIL’s KG basin gas is also expected to be available in the first quarter of calendar year 2009, it said. The shares of GMR Infrastructure today closed at Rs63, up 4.48% on the BSE. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:18 pm Growth forecasts may be revised lower - RBIKOLKATA, India (Reuters) - India's growth projections for the current financial year ending in March 2009 may be revised downwards and 2009/10 may be a "more difficult year", the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) chief Duvvuri Subbarao said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:14 pm No plans to cut jobs in India: SonyNew Delhi: Japanese electronics major Sony, which has announced a massive layoff of 16,000 employees across the world has said that it has no plans to cut jobs in India given the strong business growth in the country. “The Tokyo-headquartered firm is reviewing its business in each country for the announced cost-cutting programme, but the Indian business is unlikely to see any job cuts given a ‘healthy business growth’,” Sony India Managing Director Masaru Tamagawa said in an email statement. Tamagawa was responding to a query on whether India would be impacted from Sony’s planned cost-cutting measure to eliminate 8,000 full-time staff and another 8,000 temporary employees from its global workforce. “Based on expectations of the future economic environment and the electronics business, Sony Corporation is enacting various measures, such as lowering fixed costs and reducing headcount at a macro level,” he said. “Our Headquarters is now starting to review each country’s, business, and sales operation. However in India given our healthy business growth, we do not foresee any manpower reduction,” he added. Yesterday, the Japanese firm announced the job cuts as part of a billion-dollar cost saving exercise in a bid to improve profitability and enhance operational efficiency in its electronics businesses. Besides, under the corporate restructuring measures, Sony is planning to reduce investment in the electronics business by about 30% by fiscal 2010, compared to its mid-term plan. The electronics giant also plans to reduce the total number of manufacturing sites by 10% from the current total of 57 by 31 March, 2010. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:14 pm Amas Bank buys 40 pc stake in Chennai broking firm - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:13 pm Coke ties up with Akshay's movieSoft drink major Coca Cola is understood to have tied up with Akshay Kumar's movie, 'Chandni Chowk to China', to promote its brand Thums Up.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:08 pm India's first electric car to roll in IsraelIndia's first electric car, Reva, is set to roll into Israel soon as a leading firm of the country has been granted the franchise to import the battery-operated vehicle.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:01 pm Jet sacked 1,000 workers in SeptemberMuch before its sack order to 1,900 employees turned into a publicity nightmare, Jet Airways had handed marching orders to 1,000 workers and even managed to keep it under wraps.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:58 am Amas plans India private equity, funds in 2009MUMBAI (Reuters) - Swiss bank Amas plans to launch India-dedicated private equity and offshore mutual funds in January, a senior official said on Wednesday, as it expects a strong bull market to return by end of next year.Source: Reuters: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:57 am CRISIL to sell 90 pct stake in UK unit - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:57 am Hero Honda, Ford cut India vehicle prices !Hero Honda Motors Ltd, India`s leading motorcycle maker, has reduced the prices of its products after the government cut a tax as part of a stimulus package.Source: Zee News : Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:55 am Yahoo to sack 1,500; hire in India!Yahoo Inc will tell 1,500 employees on Wednesday they are losing their jobs, after announcing in October that layoffs would occur by Google Chrome IT mega-vendors year`s end, a person familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.Source: Zee News : Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:55 am Poor British economic data points towards deep recession!The latest round of poor British economic data signalled Tuesday the country will experience a deep recession that could spark even more sharp interest rate cuts, analysts said.Source: Zee News : Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:55 am Global airlines face worst crisis in 50 years, many face collapse: IATA!Global airlines are heading into their worst business crisis in 50 years with carriers facing possible collapse, IATA has said.Source: Zee News : Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:55 am Deal reached in principle on $15B auto bailout!Democratic congressional leaders and White House officials agreed on a USD 15 bn bailout for automakers.Source: Zee News : Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:55 am World Bank forecasts grim `09, Canada in recession!The World Bank has offered a grim outlook for 2009 of just 0.9 percent growth for the global economy, while a recession was declared in Canada.Source: Zee News : Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:55 am Sensex up 200 pts in early trade!Sensex on Wednesday extended its gains and surged by another 200 points in early trade on heavy buying by funds and retail investors on cues of a firming trend in other Asian markets.Source: Zee News : Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:55 am ONGC Videsh to borrow USD 1 bn from Indian banksONGC Videsh is likely to borrow the equivalent of USD 1 billion in rupees to part-fund the buyout of Imperial EnergySource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:48 am Terror attack casts shadow on RIL gas productionThe Mumbai terror attacks may derail Reliance Industries' plans to start natural gas production from its eastern offshore D6 field from January 2009, as several ex-pats have refused to returnSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:47 am Indian cos 4th worst bribe payers, globallyIndian firms are ranked as the fourth-worst bribe payers across the world, with companies based in emerging economies routinely engaging in bribery while doing business abroadSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:46 am See further cuts in repo, CRR by mid '09: Barclays - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:45 am National Football League to cut 150 jobsNew York: National Football League, one of the America’s most successful sports leagues that is known for player contracts worth billions of dollars, has also resorted to layoffs in its bid to cut costs, a report said. The league’s commissioner Roger Goodell has announced that he would be cutting 14% of its staff, accounting for 150 jobs, to help cut its costs by about $50 million, The Wall Street Journal reported. The job cuts, to be implemented over the next two months, are said to be in places such as New York, New Jersey and Los Angeles, but would not affect the individual teams controlled by various clubs. Earlier this year, US business magazine Forbes named NFL as the richest and “the strongest sport in the world.” The publication said that the net worth of an NFL team on an average has crossed $1 billion, making them the first ever sports league to surpass that mark. Thousands of jobs are being axed almost daily in the wake of a deepening economic crisis across the world. Beginning with banks and financial services firms, the job cuts have spread to other services and manufacturing sectors. The earnings of sports leagues are also said to be hit by the crisis, as the companies are cutting down their advertising expense, among other factors. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:45 am Jet sacked 1,000 workers in SeptemberNew Delhi: Much before its sack order to 1,900 employees turned into a publicity nightmare, Jet Airways had handed marching orders to 1,000 workers and even managed to keep it under wraps. According to informed sources, Jet Airways CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer had told investors that the company was able to synergise better between full service Jet Airways and budget airlines JetLite after trimming its staff. “On the staff numbers, we have reduced the headcount in September by further 1,000 entries and now able to synergise the operations between Jet and JetLite,” the sources said quoting Prock-Schauer. Despite repeated attempts to elicit comments, Jet Airways spokesperson did not respond. During September, Jet Airways had announced that JetLite offered voluntary separation scheme to 687 employees. In the same month, Jet and JetLite executed a code share agreement aimed at offering better connections and wider connectivity, besides having a common reservation system. The carrier, which has a total of 13,000 employees, played out the sacking-and-reinstatement drama of 1,900 employees in October, with chairman Naresh Goyal ‘overruling’ its board decision to fire the employees. “I apologise for all the agony you had to go through for two days. You can all come back to work from tomorrow. We have decided to take back all the employees,” Goyal had said in a midnight press conference. Jet came under attack from various ministers and agitating employees for the sudden decision to sack so many people immediately, especially ahead of Diwali. It, however, defended itself stating that the decision was taken to save the jobs of the other 11,100 employees and would result in savings of $1 million a month. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:44 am Reliance Inds gets $400 mln from JPMorganMUMBAI (Reuters) - Reliance Industries Ltd has signed an agreement for a $400 million financing facility from JPMorgan, the U.S. financial firm said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:43 am BSE Sensex rises 5.4 pct as foreign funds returnMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex rose 5.37 percent on Wednesday to its highest close in a month, led by Reliance Industries as foreign funds picked select blue chips, but investors remain worried by a deteriorating economic outlook.Source: Reuters: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:36 am Elegance meets rustic earthiness in Dhanjal's collectionTaking inspiration from the earthy tones of nature, designer Priyanjali Dhanjal has unveiled her autumn/winter collection that has a rustic feel to it and elegantly blends nature's earthiness with an understated look.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:32 am Wipro offers disaster recovery service to enterprisesWipro Infotech will offer a disaster recovery assurance service to enterprises in India and the Middle East to meet the desired recovery objectives when disasters occur, the IT bellwether said Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:32 am Foreign airlines gain as Indian carriers cut international servicesIndian air carriers are continuing to cut flights on international routes as part of their cost-cutting measures, leading to foreign airlines operating in the country eating into their passenger load, a government official said Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:31 am Kolkata residents suffer as private buses go off roadsIt was the common man who suffered most as all private and mini-buses kept off the roads Wednesday in support of a 24-hour shutdown called by the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist's (CPI-M) trade union arm across West Bengal.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:30 am Regional TV advertising on the rise: reportAccording to a report by AdEx India, a division of TAM media research television advertising by the retail sector has risen by 40% during the period January-Oct0ber 2008as compared to the same period in 2007. Of this entire rise, ‘Independent Retailers’ garnered a high share of 89% of overall advertising of retail sector during this period. Pantaloons Retail India Ltd spent the largest share on TV advertisement that amounted to 10%, followed by Chennai Siks Group at 6% and Subhiksha Trading Services Ltd and Sarvana stores at 5%. A number of new advertisers shed money on this form of publicity. Hot Spot and Hash 10 Telecom Pvt Ltd, the new cell phone retail chains were top among such companies. Charts show that 73% of these companies prefer advertising on regional channels than national ones. Tamil Nadu has the largest visibility of such ads, followed by Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, states where regional programmes have a wider audience. Click here to read report Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:30 am NDTV Imagine enters movie production in SouthNDTV Imagine Film Company today announced its foray into movie production in South India with a Tamil action thriller titled 'Madhurai Sambhavam'.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:09 am Pak raids aimed to deflect pressure: Indian expertsNew Delhi: Pakistan’s crackdown on terrorists blamed by India for the Mumbai attacks may just be an attempt to deflect international pressure, Indian officials and diplomats said on Wednesday, calling for more decisive action. Pakistan is under more pressure than ever before to act swiftly because the United States sees cooperation in the Mumbai attacks investigation as part of Islamabad’s commitment to the global war on terror, the experts said. “Now is the time when they have to establish this is not just business as usual,” a senior Indian government official, who asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters. “This is an eyewash. We want action that meets our concern.” New Delhi wants Islamabad to hand over 20 men it blames for terrorist attacks, including the one on Mumbai, and has urged the UN Security Council to proscribe a Pakistani charity group it says is a front for a banned militant organisation. Pakistan has ruled out handing over the men India wants. “There is no modicum of doubt about the complicity of elements of Pakistan, including the ISI,” the official said, using an abbreviation for Pakistan’s feared spy agency, Inter Services Intelligence. India has not reacted formally to the arrest of Pakistan-based terrorists, including two members of the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist group named by India as suspects in the conspiracy behind last month’s attack on Mumbai which killed 179 people, including 26 foreigners. Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarrar Shah were being held for questioning after the Pakistani military raided a Lashkar camp. But India is not satisfied because it says the ISI’s links with jihadi groups fighting Indian rule in disputed Kashmir region raised doubts that investigations would be transparent. Distrust also stems from past experience. Lashkar and another militant group, Jaish-e-Mohammad, were blamed for an attack on the Indian parliament in 2001. “At that time Pakistan banned both groups and Azhar and (Lashkar founder) Hafiz Saeed were arrested to show the world they are taking action,” said B. Raman, former head of India’s external spy agency. “Once global attention waned, they quietly let all of them go. This time also Pakistan will be hoping once the world forgets then they can be back to doing what they have been doing.” But some analysts say pressure on Pakistan this time is much more than in 2001. “This time foreigners were killed, Israelis were killed, and there is tremendous pressure on the United States to keep up the pressure on the Pakistani government and the military,” said Shashank, former Indian foreign secretary. “How much Pakistan will deliver will depend on how much pressure there is from the West, which may not be seeing the Mumbai attack in isolation from its wider war on terror.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 11:09 am Sensex rally on foreign funds, ends 492 pts upThe benchmark Sensex ended 5.37% higher on Wednesday, 10 December on selective buying by foreign funds. The 30-share BSE index gained 492.28 points at 9,162.62 points, rising on realty and capital stocks earlier in the day. The wide-based 50-issue National Stock Exchange Nifty NSE index rose to 2,928.25 points. Buying sentiment in the market has prevailed since government announced measures to boost Indian economy on Sunday. Reserve Bank of India also further announced interest rate cut by 100 base points. Realty sector led the rally by 12.56%, followed by metal and oil and gas that surged 8.38% and 6.97% respectively. DLF topped the list of gainers rising 18.93% to Rs41.80, followed by Mahindra and Mahindra (15.47%, Rs38.40), Garsim Industries (13.66%. Rs132.05), Tata Steel (10.92%, Rs21.40) and Reliance Communication Limited (10.24%, Rs21.20). Meanwhile Asian stocks rallied more than 3% as US reached tentative deal on the bailout plan for auto industry in crisis. Hong Kong’s share index Hang Seng closed 5.6% higher, where as Nikkei rose 3.2% to hit a one-month closing high. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 10:53 am Indian soyoil extends gains on firm global cues - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 10:47 am Mukesh Ambani named among world’s top chemical kingsNew Delhi: Billionaire businessman Mukesh Ambani, who heads the country’s most valued corporate group, has been ranked sixth among the world’s 40 most powerful faces in the chemical industry. In a list compiled by international chemical business information provider ICIS, Ambani has moved up four positions in this year’s list, topped by German chemical major BASF chairman and CEO Jurgen Hambrecht. Ambani is the only Indian on the ICIS Top 40 Power Players list for 2008, where he follows Dow Chemical’s Andrew Liveris (second), Saudi Arabian firm Sabic’s CEO Mohamed Al-Mady (third), Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Co’s CMD Maha Mulla Hussain (fourth) and China’s Sinopec Chairman Su Shulin (fifth). According to the report in the weekly magazine ICIS Chemical Business, under Ambani’s leadership, “Reliance Industries continues to dominate the Indian petrochemical scene and to push forward with diversification and globalisation plans”. In the report, ICIS stated that these people have changed the face of global chemical industry through mergers and acquisitions, policy leadership, innovation or financial performance. Although Reliance Petroleum’s new world scale refinery- cum- polypropylene (PPP) complex at Jamnagar progressed ahead of schedule, the start-up has been delayed due to the slump in the markets, it added. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 10:47 am POLL - Oct industrial output seen up 2.2 pct yr/yrNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's industrial output probably grew a weak 2.2 percent in October from a year ago, sharply down from September, and analysts said slowing demand and deepening recessions in major economies threaten further slumps.Source: Reuters: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 10:41 am ‘Indian firms rank fourth in bribery’New Delhi: Indian firms are ranked as the fourth-worst bribe payers across the world, with companies based in emerging economies routinely engaging in bribery while doing business abroad, says a report. According to civil society organization Transparency International’s 2008 Bribe Payers Index (BPI), emerging economic giants show high levels of corporate bribery overseas. The latest index ranks 22 leading international and regional exporting countries, out of which five of the worst bribe payers across the world are from emerging economies such as Russia, which has an average score of 5.9, China has 6.5, Mexico (6.6), India (6.8) and Brazil (7.4). The higher the score for a country, the lower the chances that companies from this country would engage in bribery while doing business abroad, and vice-versa. Meanwhile, Belgium and Canada shared first place in the 2008 index with a score of 8.8 out of a thoroughly clean 10, indicating that Belgian and Canadian firms are seen as least likely to bribe abroad. The Netherlands and Switzerland shared third place on the index, each with a score of 8.7. “The BPI provides evidence that a number of companies from major exporting countries still use bribery to win business abroad, despite awareness of its damaging impact on corporate reputations and ordinary communities,” Transparency International chair Huguette Labelle said. The index also shows public works and construction firms to be the most corruption-prone when dealing with the public sector and most likely to exert undue influence on the policies, decisions and practices of governments. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 10:29 am Mumbai terror strike may tilt investor focus to China: Jack & Suzy WelchNew York: The worst-ever terror strike in India’s financial capital Mumbai could well tilt the focus of foreign investors towards neighbouring China even as the sub-continent’s response to the attack would be the biggest challenge, according to business gurus Jack and Suzy Welch. “... all foreign companies can do right now is boost security for their people and wait. Meanwhile, many investors will be thinking about tilting the balance to China,” they wrote in a recent column for American publication BusinessWeek. Noting that the possible slant towards China is understandable, the column said, “Despite persistent worker protests, the Olympics this summer left little doubt of the country’s ability to manage itself.” However, the business gurus said that China is really not the biggest economic challenge at the moment for India. “How its leaders respond to the Mumbai attacks will tell the business world what it wants and needs to know. Not just whether to pull back from India but how risky pushing forward will be,” Jack and Suzy Welch wrote in their column published online. The terror attack in Mumbai last month took the lives of nearly 200 people and caused severe damage to well-known luxury hotels -- Taj Mahal Palace and Oberoi. According to the duo, the terror strike in India’s financial hub showed how risky doing business in the country might become. “What will be news in the months ahead is how the government responds. Because the attack in Mumbai, striking as it did at India’s financial heart, showed just how risky doing business in India may become,” the business gurus said. Pointing out that ”India is being tested as never before,” the column said that in the coming months, global business community would be watching whether India can tackle obstacles to advancement. “... in the coming months, the world, and in particular the global business community, will be watching for the answer to a crucial question: whether India can overcome its greatest obstacles to advancement, which include both terrorism and India itself,” Jack and Suzy Welch noted. Nonetheless, the column asserted that if other countries serve as any indication, “India’s future remains bright.” When the 9/11 strike happened in America, the country had a multi-pronged response and similarly Spain and Britain came back strongly from the brutal attacks in 2004 and 2005, the column said. “Their governments redoubled anti-terrorism measures, and their people rallied,” Jack and Suzy Welch said and added, “Expect Indians to rally, too. They will find the will to fight back... The changes required in homeland security will be massive.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 10:04 am Adani Group Introduces Post Graduate Programme in Infrastructure ... - TopNews
Source: Google News India - Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 10:03 am Equity markets extend gains in afternoon tradeIndian equities markets Wednesday built on morning gains, with a key index rising 4.2 percent or about 385 points two hours before the closing bell.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 10 Dec 2008 | 10:00 am Car sales dip nearly 24 percent in NovemberCar sales dipped 23.7 percent in November as compared to the corresponding month last year, data released by the auto sector's representative body said Wednesday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 10 Dec 2008 | 10:00 am GM India slashes prices by up to Rs30,500New Delhi: Automobile manufacturer General Motors Corp. on Wednesday, 10 December, cut prices of its vehicles by up to Rs30,500, following the government reducing excise duty. With immediate effect, the company has reduced the prices of its small car Spark by Rs8,000-10,200, GM India vice-president P. Balendran told PTI. The prices of hatchback Aveo U-VA has been cut between Rs12,000 and Rs16,000, while that of entry-level sedan Aveo is slashed by Rs16,700-21,000. Likewise, the company’s multi-utility vehicle Tavera would be cheaper by Rs16,500, Balendran said. “These price cuts are in addition to the discounts offered by the company between Rs20,000 and Rs58,000 on our different models,” he added. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 9:56 am Hollywood fears piracy may thrive in recessionWashington: Copyright piracy could take a bigger toll on US movies in the current global economic slowdown, including in China where nine out of 10 DVDs sold are pirated, Hollywood’s top lobbyist said on Tuesday. “This is a high priority issue,” said Motion Picture Association of America head Dan Glickman, who expressed concern that the dire financial situation would make pirated movies more popular on the streets and online. “If you look at the situation, the current economic crisis makes this problem much more serious than before,” he told a forum. “If we don’t protect IPR (intellectual property rights), our economic losses will be far worse.” US studios are saddled with $6 billion in annual losses due to piracy but the total global cost to the motion picture industry is three times as high, said Glickman, a former Democratic congressman and agriculture secretary in the Clinton administration. Film and television drive about $60 billion in annual US economic activity and support 1.3 million American jobs, he said at the forum held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Unlike the burgeoning US trade deficit in goods, Glickman said American movies ran a surplus with virtually every country, with about 60% of box office and home video receipts coming from outside the United States. Citing the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace as an example, Glickman said 70% of the $500 million grossed as at last weekend came from overseas after it dominated five weeks of global box office. “The film premiered in London and opened in more than 60 countries - China to Chile to the Czech Republic - all before premiering in the US,” he said. Glickman urged China to step up its crackdown on copyright piracy and allow more US movies into the world’s most populous nation, saying greater access would enable US studios to invest more in local ventures. Of the hundreds of US films released annually, “no more than 20 are permitted to be seen in Chinese theatres,” he said. “This fuels the black market for these essentially ‘forbidden´ films,” he said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 9:53 am Inflation worries are not yet over, says Pronab SenNew Delhi: The inflation worries are not yet over though the rate of price rise has come down from a peak of 12.82% in August to 8.40% for the week ended 22 November, says India’s chief statistician Pronab Sen. “We can’t really say that we are completely out of the woods yet,” he told the news agency pointing out that inflation in the manufacturing and food prices will continue to be there. “Anybody who is saying that inflation would go below 3% or negative ... I think is wishful thinking,” Sen said. The Reserve Bank of India, too, had recently said that record rise in retail prices (Consumer Price Inflation) in September and October “... is possibly owing to firm trend in food article inflation”. Some research agencies such as Edelweiss Capital had earlier pointed out that inflation will be near zero in the second half of 2009 on account of economic slowdown and falling commodity prices. “...with falling commodity prices and economic slowdown inflation will be near zero in certain periods of 2009,” Edelweiss chairman Rashesh Shah had said. The wholesale price-based inflation soared after the government increased the petroleum prices in June and peaked to 12.82% for the week ended 9 August. The rate of price rise, however, started declining with fall in commodity and crude prices in the international market. Falling crude prices, which dipped to about $42 per barrel from a high of $147 a barrel, prompted the government to reduce per litre price of petrol and diesel by Rs five and Rs two respectively, in the first week of December which is expected to have a benign impact on prices. Noting that inflation has come down mainly on account of moderation in prices of commodities such as oil, iron and steel, Sen said, “Secondary inflationary effects, which is the effect that passes through the manufacturing sector, continues.” It is only when the secondary effects moderate, the inflation would come down, he said, adding “Even at 8.5 per cent inflation is too high”. Talking about the variation in inflation for wholesale and retail prices, Sen said, “WPI captures the entire range of production, the full value chain, right from the raw material to the finished product. CPI, on the other hand measures inflation only at the last point, which is the product that is directly sold to the consumer”. He further said, “If there is an inflationary impulse at an upstream stage of production, it will show up first in the WPI. So, what you got is a situation where the WPI peaked at 12.9% a month ago and then it started coming down. The CPI hasn’t peaked yet. It is still going up. Basically, there is a lag”. In view of the time lag, Sen said, “CPI should start falling somewhere between two and three months”. The RBI also pointed out that, “Consumer price inflation, too, can be expected to soften in the months ahead”. Referring to the oil prices, Sen said, the expectation that crude oil prices in the international market can go down to $20 a barrel is “wrong” and based on the assumption that oil prices will not go up again. “Oil prices at $43 dollars to the barrel is just too low. That has happened simply because there were extra stocks floating around in the system. People had to offload them, the speculative element vanished, so all of that happened. But, soon or later that’s going to stabilise,” he said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 9:28 am March qtr hiring seen at 3-½ yr low - surveyNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian firms are likely to slow their hiring to a 3-½ year low in the March quarter, a survey showed, adding to evidence the global economic slowdown was taking its toll on Asia's third-largest economy.Source: Reuters: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 9:21 am India stimulus may not spur manufacturing - survey - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 10 Dec 2008 | 9:19 am India demands ban on JUD and freezing of its assetsUnited Nations: India has put in a formal request to the UN Security Council seeking a ban on the Jamaat-ud-Dawaah, suspected to be involved in the Mumbai terror attacks, and Pakistan promptly promised to do so if the Council decides to proscribe the group as a terrorist outfit. Describing the terror groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba and its front organisation JUD as “merchants of terror”, minister of state for external affairs E. Ahamed said time has come to eliminate such outfits. He said that by unleashing terror attacks in Mumbai, these groups had brought about a “qualitatively new and dangerous escalation of terrorism”. “India has had experience of such machines which need to be eliminated,” Ahamed said, adding that the nexus between state—or elements within the state—and terror outfits must be broken and groups or individuals that indoctrinate, organize, plan and finance terror have to be uprooted along with other measures. Pakistan ambassador to the UN Abdullah Hussain Haroon on Wednesday, 10 December, handed out an assurance to the council that Islamabad would proscribe the Jamaat-ud-Dawah and freeze its assets on the request of the UNSC. Islamabad has also assured the world body that all training camps of Lashkar-e-Taiba or any entity of this nature would not be allowed on its territory. Earlier, Ahamed said, “All those who were in any way responsible for the Mumbai terror attacks, wherever they may be, should be brought to justice.” He said the JUD and other such groups “need to be proscribed internationally and effective sanctions impose against them”. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 9:16 am Sam Pitroda on India’s FutureThis is Kamla Bhatt. We bring you part 2 of our conversation with Sam Pitroda, father of Indian telecom and currently head of India’s National Knowledge Commission. In this episode he talks about his second innings in India.  Sam: So I decided to come back. I talked to then Narsimha Rao, he did not want me to come back and leave. I talked to Deve Gowda he also said, “Don’t leave.” They were all very nice to me. I must say every Prime Minister in India has been exceptionally good to me. Kamla: But what went wrong then? Sam: I will tell you. I mean with great respect I must say that they all have been more than generous to me. What went wrong in the whole thing is I ran out of money. I could not raise my hand to somebody and say that give me some money to feed. So I had to come back to US. But when I came back I didn’t have a visa to come back. I had given up my US nationality. So I came back as a tourist, but I could not work as a tourist. I had to restart my life and I did some of that. My father had died, my mother was with me. They lived with me for the last 20 years of their life. I had to rebuild my life and I did that. Now, my children are grown up and settled. My son, he went to Harvard, went to have IT, works in New York, I have a daughter who went to Michigan, worked with me for a while and now makes movies in Hollywood. So now in the last election I decided to campaign for the Congress party. Kamla: Why? Sam: Because I felt that my help was needed. I saw on TV time and time again people kept saying Congress did not do anything for 50 years and we did everything for 5. I just could not take it. I said this is really not true. Our founding fathers had great wisdom in setting up universities and IIT labs and IT’s and all that. We can’t ignore their contribution. These things take time. So I then called Sonia Gandhi and I said, “Look, I want to come and campaign.” So my wife and I went and campaigned for 6 weeks for the party. When the Congress party formed the government a national advisory council was set up headed by Sonia Gandhi. I was one of the members of the council, where I was asked to look at science and technology and education. As I started digging more and more into it, I realised that what we did in Rajiv Gandhi’s time in telecom, IT, software it took 20 years to see something concrete. What is that we could do now which would take another 20 years to give us a next revolution? And I realised that it could be knowledge. So I did little work on it, made a presentation to Sonia Gandhi, made a presentation to the Prime Minister and Prime Minister immediately said “Sam we want to setup a knowledge commission” and I am sure he was thinking about it and others had told him about it I am sure. And then we setup a National Knowledge Commission to look at all aspects of knowledge in terms of infrastructure and institutions that India would need in the 21st century to take competitive advantage. Kamla: But can we wait 20 years for the next revolution to unfold when half the population of the country is under the age of 21, they will be 40-42 at that time? Sam: But that is what it takes. These things don’t happen overnight. If you start a new university by the time universities mature and right kind of students come out it is a 10-15 years cycle. Today from my perspective there are 3 fundamental challenges in India. Disparity - which is of great concern to lots of us, disparity between rich and poor, urban-rural, educated-uneducated, Demography, like you said, 550 million below the age of 25, 750 million below the age of 35. And development. Everything is happening in India, but not happening fast enough. We are building schools, but not fast enough. We are building roads, but not fast enough. Modernising airports, but not fast enough. So how do we make an impact on these 3 major challenges? And The Knowledge Commission looks at really 5 aspects of knowledge. It looks at access to knowledge, which relate to things like literacy, languages, translations, broadband networks, hotels, reservations, quotas, affirmative action programmes. Then it looks at all knowledge concepts. Kamla: Before you complete the 5, I quickly want to interrupt and ask you this one question. What is different about the 3 points that you outlined when compared to when you were in this country in the 1980’s? The only difference that I see is the demographics, the development and the disparity were there then and they exist today. Sam: I think on top of that there is also a big difference in terms of mindset. Today there is a different mindset, there is willingness to change. Privatisation has taken roots, there are various success stories. India has confidence. Then we had billion dollar foreign exchange reserve, now we have three hundred billion dollars. We have lots of multinational corporation of our own. So, I think India has been able to build confidence as a nation. That is a big difference. Kamla: But could that confidence also blind us because we are so confident that we may not address some of the basic questions? Sam: No, I have great faith in Indian diversity. It could blind some, but it cannot blind everybody. Those who are making money and feeling good and are on the top of the pyramid might get blinded saying we have a right. But those who are at the bottom and at the middle will put us on track. Kamla: So, I interrupted you. You said there were these 5 points, one was education and access to education. Sam: No, the first one was access to knowledge, second one is concepts, which is education - primary education, secondary education, distance learning, vocational education, higher education, open course where teachers’ training, all of that. Third area is knowledge creation. Who creates knowledge? How is knowledge created? This includes science and technology, patents, copyrights, innovation, entrepreneurship. Fourth area is application of knowledge in agriculture, health and small and medium scale industries and traditional knowledge. We have great deal of traditional knowledge, which is lost some place. I tell a lot of my western friends in public speeches that look, my mother had 8 children. They were all delivered at home in a tribal little village, which had no running water, no electricity and they are all healthy. They all did well. There must be something that they did then. We have forgotten all this. Today to think of delivering 8 children in a village without hospital is unthinkable. India has great deal of heritage and history of traditional knowledge that we need to harness. Whether it is in ayurveda etc. Kamla: Aren’t you involved with some kind of a health institute in Bangalore? Sam: I started a foundation with Darshan Shankar called Foundation for “Revitalisation of Local Health Tradition” where we document all of the twelve thousand herbal medicinal plants, which are unique to Indian climate. It has taken us 15 years to do that. But that is what it takes. These things don’t get done in two years. When we had started, nobody was ready to give us any money. Finally, I got some money from the Danish government, and then I started the foundation. Now, we have lots of money. TATA foundation just gave us some Rs. 35 crores or something. But, it took 15 years to get there. Going back to knowledge, the fifth area is use of knowledge to improve governance-state, federal, district and there we are focused on e-governance. So we have about 30 different topics to look at. Kamla: You made a point somewhere about e-governance. You said that bureaucracy has just moved online. Sam: Yes, I think we need to do more in e-governance. I firmly believe that information brings about openness, accessibility, connectivity, networking, democratisation, decentralisation and as a result social transformation. By computerising a lot of the stuff you can take that human interface little bit away and that is the process we are going through in India right now, whether to file income tax, to get your birth certificate, death certificate, school records, passport, and whatever. So I think e-governance is very important, but we have a long way to go in e-governance. So on all of these 30 difference subjects we have working groups. They go off, have discussions-debates in the country, give us a white paper we debate that, discuss it and at the end of it we produce a three page letter from me to the Prime Minister saying Dear Mr. Prime Minister in library these are the 10 recommendations. And then these recommendations go to various ministries and implementation starts and the discussions start. The bottom line is as a result of all that we have done and the need today, government has decided to spend $ 67 billion on education in the expand. Five times more money than ever in the history of India. 13% of Indian budget today is associated with education. My god, that is big money! That is the commitment this government has on education but there are two other pieces. One is deregulation and public-private partnership and we have not made much head way in these two areas. I must compliment UPA government and Manmohan Singh in particular. That government has been able to put huge amount of resources on education. We are going to be starting 30 new national universities, 400 new colleges, 4000 new schools, and 65 million mid day meal programmes. These are huge commitments. Kamla: What happens when there is a government change and when there is a new government in place and a new set of policy makers in place? What happens to the knowledge commission and what you have outlined so far? Sam: I believe any government- Congress, BJP or anyone else would recognise the importance of education, would recognise all the work we have done. One thing you will find in India is that parents are committed to children’s education. The demand for education is very high in India today, but supply is not there. So I am not concerned about the new government. Whosoever comes in would pick up pieces they may not continue in the same format but the task is laid out. An agenda is already on the table of the country and I don’t think you can walk away from that agenda. Kamla: I have 2 questions. One is related to innovation. You know that is the buzz word all over the world: innovation, innovation, innovation. Second: because of the telecom revolution that was unleashed I believe there is some kind of a fund that the government has that comes out of the mobile. When you pay your bill there is certain amount of tax money that is collected by the government and that is some huge amount that is available and apparently that money is going to be made available for technological advancement and innovation. Could you tie both these pieces together and share your thoughts on the mobile revolution in India and 3G. Sam: First of all when I entered India we had 2 million phones for 700 million people. Today we are adding close to 10 million new telephones every month. So we have made a huge difference in connecting India. Connecting rural India to urban India, connecting urban India to the world and really transforming the way Indians communicate. And it’s empowering, where a villager can pick up phone and call up his MP he feels the power of democracy. Kamla: Does it happen? Sam: Absolutely, it happens all the time. I get calls from India from some fellow who figures out where my number and I get a call in Chicago saying “Mr. Pitroda what about this what about that. “ Great! I think that is the power of communication. So we have made substantial difference and also the STD PCO’s have made telecom accessible to the poorest of poor where you don’t have to have a telephone to make a call. So that is one side. Innovation is definitely a buzzword all over the world because people want to be competitive in this globalised world. The only way to be competitive is to innovate. If you don’t innovate, you are going to die. So everyone is talking about innovation and I have different theories of innovation of my own. I believe diversity is very critical to innovation and we have the diversity that you need in the country. We have been an innovative country in a very different way. We have been innovative in our food, in our music, in our culture, in our dance, in our art. But the innovation people talk about is only about a product. When you look at the innovations in the last 50 years you realise that almost all major innovations have come from the US. Everything from laser to transistor to microprocessors to software to all that. I think that is going to change now. India and China, will begin to make a big dent on innovation. India and China will change innovation model to some extent, because today innovation is multi disciplinary and it requires collaboration and it is happening faster than ever before. My view is that the innovation model of the past also unconsciously has assumed the US model of consumption. Buy more, produce more gadgets, and produce more goods so when the shopping season in US is bad everybody is depressed in China and India and everywhere else. I think that model is no longer sustaining. So the innovation model will have to rely on a different model, which doesn’t focus only on conspicuous consumption. There are lot of problems to be solved at the bottom of the pyramid. Unfortunately the world over best brains are busy solving problems of the rich who really don’t have problems to solve. Kamla: But there has been a paradigm shift in the last couple of years where the bottom of the pyramid argument advanced by C K Prahlad… Sam: Yes but not much is happening. It is an argument. It is a discussion because there are no products, there are very few services. But something is happening and it will happen at a faster pace and that is where I bring China and India. Kamla: But, mobile is a great example. Sam: It happened because the cost structure changed. Earlier per line cost was thousand dollars for 40 years, when cost per line went to hundred dollars or less than hundred dollars the mobile revolution took off in emerging markets. So the innovations are coming out of China and India will have a different business model and will reduce cost and those are the real innovations, which I think would help at the bottom of the pyramid. Those innovations probably would never come out of the US because the traditional mindset is very different, requirements are very different. But again there is a big debate. I don’t think many people are clear on it yet. Kamla: What about that fund? The mobile fund I talked about? Sam: There is a fund…we have similar fund in the US also. This fund is in over some billion dollars in India. This fund was earlier supposed to be used for the rural connectivity and all. Now the government has been thinking about using it for innovations and all. I think it is a great idea. I think it will be good. Kamla: You think that money will be deployed in a constructive and effective way? Sam: Time will tell. But I think the fact that this money is going to be allocated is a great step forward. Kamla: There is a company you would have probably heard of it called the VNL. It’s a Swedish Indian company. A couple of months ago they rolled out a rural GSM based station based on solar power. What kind of innovations do you think are required in the mobile sector in India to take it to that next level of interconnectedness that you talked about? Sam: I think the real next revolution according to me is all about applications. It is not about connectivity. Connectivity is given its done, voice is free essentially. The question is what other applications you put on the telephone? Kamla: The data…? Sam: Data is a transport, application. I will give you one example. We have been looking at employee guarantee scheme programme where we have to pay 200 million people minimum wage for 100 days as national employment guarantee scheme programme. Today this payment is done through manual means where somebody goes there with book register, cash, whatever. Is there a way to pay them through mobile phone? That is an application, can we cut them and bypass the system and reduce the leakage and get to the person who is supposed to receive it? So there are lots of interesting applications whether it has to do with health, education, financial services. I think application is going to drive now. Kamla: But the showstopper for applications is the regulatory environment. Say for instance when you talk about mobile payment there are certain regulatory environment policies that the Central Bank of India has… Sam: So they will change. So it will have to be changed. Kamla: Who is going to drive that change? Sam: You will need change agents. To drive all change requires change agents. Without change agents there is no change Kamla: So where are the Sam Pitrodas? Sam: Well, I am sure they are there and much smarter than I was when I was doing this they are all there. Somebody has to just go do it. Kamla: What you describe on papers is fantastic. The vision is fantastic, but when you have to execute it there are going to be challenges and I think that is the point I am trying to get to. Sam: I agree with you 100%. The biggest challenge in India today from my perspective is leadership at all level to get things done. Not just political level, leadership in schools, colleges, universities, in villages, in institutions, NGO’s, you want large number of people to go get it done and not wait for somebody to do it. Not get more down into procedures and beaurocracies and bottlenecks. When we tried to do this in telecom we had to do all of this against many odds. And there are the man and woman who will get things done. Today if we want to build 30 new universities we have problem finding 30 new vice chancellors, who are really change agents we don’t want to do the same thing over and over again we don’t want to build 30 new universities which are very similar to the existing universities is an example. So we really want change agents to think out of the box and get things done. Kamla: How are you going to create those change agents? Sam: I don’t know. I don’t have the answer. I think when I look back and see what Nehru did. Nehru hand picked some of these people and brought them back from the US and Europe. We need to do similar things today. I think there is a need to bring thousand people back and put them in right place to do things. Some would be right some would be wrong. But you need those catalyst, you need those change agents. Not that people are not there in India, but I think once you are in India for 10-15 years you get locked into the Indian system, which sucks you in and you can’t do certain things. When you are from outside you bring in fresh way at least for a while. You need that today because if you want to keep up with this pace of growth out biggest challenge is going to be human resource. We know already that we have skill shortages of all kinds. We can’t get bus drivers, we can’t get mathematician, we can’t get software people but more importantly, we need leaders who are mountains. That is the challenge. Kamla: This is a question I had asked but we didn’t get to answer. What is your view of 3G network in India? Sam: To me it doesn’t mean anything. It is just high speed data. It is more applications more data and it is all buzz words. Kamla: You have painted a very comprehensive picture of some of the changes that you are thinking about. It reminds me in some ways of the four modernizations that the Chinese government underwent in the late 1970’s. It took 30 years for that government to push through and achieve what China has achieved today. Has a similar thought crossed the Indian politicians mind or may be your mind? That you need a comprehensive plan to take this country forward? Sam: I think there have been some discussions at some levels in the party with right kind of people. One piece of the puzzle is privatisation, which is going on sometimes stopped sometimes it moves forward. But in a collision government you can’t push through some of these agendas. Look what we have gone through in this nuclear deal the amount of hassle the amount of jhagda-lafda. India needs energy. This is not about nuclear deal to me. To me it is about lighting the lives of poorest of the poor in India. It is about giving lamp to a child in village who doesn’t have lamp to read. Happens to be nuclear. So I think when you look at these big pieces you have privatisation, you have energy but you also need whole series of things on basic needs: water, sanitation, agriculture, food, housing, the big piece on infrastructure-roads to airports to trains. There is just too much work in India. There is work cut out for 50 years. It is not about creating more billionaires. It is not about more Bangalore and software companies, more Infosys and TCS’s and Wipros. It is about people at the bottom of the pyramid. If you really want to build a nation you got to take that 400 million with you. You can’t leave them. And you can’t count on the trickling down effect only. So I think disparity is a big challenge. And whatever big plan we have that plan must take into consideration basic human needs. That is the challenge and it requires strong political will to get lot of these things done. It is hard in a coalition government. Kamla: What went through your mind and this is my last question. Today you are in Silicon Valley, you flew from Chicago to Silicon Valley and you recounted an experience of a gentleman sitting next to you, who is in his 20’s and was going to Cisco (San Jose). He had no clue who you are. What goes through your mind when you look back and see what you did for India in terms of the telecom revolution and the larger picture that you have painted today. Why did you go back to India the second time? Yes, you did say that you looked at the congress party and you wanted to set the story right. But what was it that really drove you back the second time around considering you lost, you had to get a tourist visa to come back to this country, restart a life again? It is not easy. Sam: That is true. But you don’t do this for anything else except the fact that it needs to be done. I feel it needs to be done. I don’t do it for anybody else. I don’t need any glory. I had my best times. I don’t need any clapping any more. I am done. I believe this is a great opportunity to be part of India’s dream. I had my first innings, now I am in my second inning. I had two bypasses, I had second bypass recently. I had cancer. So, I have not been very lucky in life, but I have been very lucky in terms of having an opportunity to make a dent. I am still the product of early 1940s. So when I was growing up as a little kid, Gandhi, independence movement was very fresh. We were the idealists. We believed in simplicity. We believed in truth and we believed in all the old values, which are not in fashion today. But, we were stuck with it. So I believe I have been very fortunate to have this opportunity to do things in India and people of India have been just absolutely great to me. Loving and caring, and I can’t ask for anything better and it is an exciting thing to do. You get to solve bigger problems. You get a chance to look at knowledge for one billion people? Who would give you that job? Even if I had to pay $ 10 million a year … I would pay for this job. I think it is romantic to get involved in these kind of things and get the support of the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi and others. So it is a great thing. So while going good keep it up. It may not last too long. So keep at it. Kamla: Mr. Pitroda, it was a pleasure talking to you today. Thank you for such a lovely conversation. Sam: Thank you very much, Thanks. You were listening to Mr. Sam Pitroda head of India’s National Knowledge Commission and father of Indian Telecom. If you missed you might want to listen to Part 1 of our conversation where he talks about his early years in India. This is Kamla Bhatt and this interview is brought to you in association with Live Mint Radio and as always thank you for tuning in. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 9:07 am US to send top diplomat to New DelhiMumbai: The US, keeping its focus on South Asia in the wake of deadly Mumbai attacks, is sending a top diplomat to New Delhi to discuss fallout from the violence and Pakistan’s response, a US official said. Deputy secretary of state John Negroponte was expected in New Delhi later this week, according to a US official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited New Delhi and Islamabad last week. The announcement came a day after police released names and photographs of suspected Islamic militants who staged the bloody three-day siege of Mumbai and said they uncovered new details about the gunmen—including hometowns in Pakistan. The new information, if confirmed, would bolster India’s claim that the attack was launched from Pakistan and was released on Tuesday, 9 December, as the Pakistani government announced more arrests in raids on Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group that India blames for the assault on its financial capital. Indian officials maintained a sceptical silence about the reported crackdown and arrest of an alleged mastermind of the Mumbai assault, which killed 173 people, raised fears of war between the nuclear-armed neighbours and eroded US hopes for a regional push against al-Qaida and other extremists. Mumbai’s chief police investigator Rakesh Maria showed photographs of eight of the nine slain attackers—some from identity cards, but three were gruesome pictures of maimed faces. The body of the ninth was too badly burned, he said. The 10th gunman, previously identified as Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, was captured alive. Maria said all 10 attackers were from Pakistan and between the ages of 20 and 28. He did not say how police knew their hometowns, although they have been interrogating the lone surviving gunman. In Russia, meanwhile, the head of that country’s federal anti-narcotics agency said India’s most notorious gangster, Dawood Ibrahim, had helped the gunmen. “The information that has been received indicates that the well-known drug trafficker Dawood Ibrahim provided his logistics network for the preparation and implementation of the attacks,” the government daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta quoted Viktor Ivanov as saying. Ibrahim, who India says fled to Pakistan after staging a series of Mumbai bombings in 1993, has been accused by Indian police of involvement in the drug trade. As is often the case when Russian law enforcement officials talk about terrorism, Ivanov gave no details and provided no actual evidence. The attackers, who apparently landed by boat on the Mumbai coast the night of 26 November, were led by Ismail Khan, 25, Maria said, describing him as a battle-hardened Lashkar veteran. The picture released shows a broad-shouldered man with a square, determined face. As they split up to attack different targets, Khan went with Kasab to a crowded train station where they emptied assault rifles at helpless passengers before escaping. Khan was eventually shot dead and Kasab captured, but not before they had killed the head of Mumbai’s Anti-Terror Force and several other officers. Another picture showed Babar Imran, a gunman who has been described as “hauntingly calm” while holding six people hostage at a Jewish center. Imran, with his long thin face and sleepy eyes, used the alias Abu Akasha, Maria said. During the time he held Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, Holtzberg’s wife Rivka and four other visitors to the centre, Imran repeatedly answered Holtzberg’s mobile phone, talking to representatives of the Chabad movement in New York. Imran spoke softly, said P.V. Viswanath, who translated the phone conversations in Urdu for Chabad officials. “I think that shows something about his state of mind, it was very calm and collected,” Viswanath told the AP in New York, where he is a finance professor at Pace University. Viswanath, who grew up in Mumbai and is an Orthodox Jew, said Imran didn’t display any anger or hatred for Jews. “He didn’t say anything about Israel or make any anti-Semitic comments.” Commandos who stormed the Jewish centre after two days found all six hostages dead. The Holtzbergs’ two-year-old son Moshe survived when he was whisked out of the building by his nanny and another worker. The youngest attacker was identified as 20-year-old Shoaib, alias Soheb. He was among those who fought off Indian commandos for three days at the luxury Taj Mahal hotel, Maria said. Faiez Ahmad, a senior police official in Multan, Pakistan, where two of the gunmen allegedly came from, said authorities will check into the information if it is officially communicated to the Pakistani government. With India and the US pressing Pakistan to crack down on Lashkar, Pakistani authorities shut some of the group’s offices and detained 20 more people on Tuesday, officials said, though they ruled out extraditing any to India. A day earlier, the Pakistani government said its troops raided a Lashkar camp in Pakistan’s portion of disputed Kashmir on Sunday and arrested Zaki-ur-Lakhvi, the reputed planner of the Mumbai attack, along with 11 other suspected militants. On Tuesday, troops raided at least five more Lashkar offices, acting on information gleaned from Lakhvi, a senior Pakistani security official said. A Lashkar official confirmed there had been more raids on the group’s offices, but declined to elaborate. Both he and the security official insisting on speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the issue. India’s foreign ministry again declined to comment. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 8:58 am Sensex trade upward, gains over 300 ptsMumbai: The benchmark Sensex surged over 300 points late afternoon on Wednesday, 10 December on buying by funds in realty and metals stocks. The 30-share index gained 330.25 points at 9,492.87 at 2:05pm with Grasim, DLF, SAIL and Tata Communications leading. The wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty shot up by 100 points at 2,884 at the same time. Buying sentiment in the market has prevailed since government announced measures to boost Indian economy on Sunday. Reserve Bank of India also further announced interest rate cut by 100 base points. Meanwhile Asian stocks rallied more than 3% on hopes of governments rescuing economies with new measures. Hong Kong’s share index Hang Seng closed 5.6% higher, where as Nikkei rose 3.2% to hit a one-month closing high. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 8:48 am Economic crisis takes toll on Kerala liquor salesThe economic downturn has affected almost every sector in the country and liquor sales are no exception. So much so, Kerala, one of the leading liquor consuming states in the country, has seen sales dropping by over 7 percent in October and November.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 10 Dec 2008 | 8:33 am POLL - Inflation seen at 8.0 pct on Nov 29MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's annual inflation rate is expected to have fallen to its lowest in eight months in late November, following a decline in prices of manufactured products and lower fuel prices, a Reuters poll showed on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 8:31 am Fog sets in, Delhi airport not fully equippedAir travellers in New Delhi had a tough time Wednesday morning as the first fog of this winter set in, delaying over a dozen flights, but the Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) is yet to operate surface movement radars that are essential in low visibility conditions on its new runway.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 10 Dec 2008 | 7:31 am India's Nov car sales plunge, worst fall in 8 yearsNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Car sales in India plunged by nearly a fifth in November, the worst fall in eight years, as high borrowing costs, tight credit and a slowing economy dragged down demand, an industry body said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 10 Dec 2008 | 7:18 am More mobile phone makers back Google’s AndroidSan Francisco: Fourteen of the world’s largest mobile phone and chip makers, including Sony Ericsson, Vodafone Group Plc and ARM Holdings Plc , joined the Open Handset Alliance on Tuesday to support the Android mobile device platform developed by Google Inc. The new members’ pledge to back the Android software is a significant feat for Google in the mobile phone industry, as its T-Mobile G1 phone takes on rival Apple Inc’s popular iPhone 3G. But despite the big-name additions to the Open Handset Alliance, analysts say what matters is whether the new members introduce more Android-supported smartphones in 2009 and 2010 to edge out competitors who also use open-source Linux software for mobile phones, such as Nokia-owned smartphone software maker Symbian. The first company set to introduce a mobile device that uses the Android operating system is Sony Ericsson, a joint venture of Japan’s Sony Corp and Sweden’s Ericsson. The company said on Tuesday it plans to introduce the Android-supported mobile phone in mid-2009. “Android is set to become a significant application framework for mobile phones,” Ericsson’s head of mobile platforms, Robert Puskaric, said in a statement. The Open Handset Alliance said on Tuesday that each of its members commits to developing applications and services for mobile phones and handsets using the Android platform or designing Android-compatible mobile devices. Taiwan’s Asustek Computer Inc, Toshiba Corp and Garmin Ltd also pledged their support, bringing the total number of companies in the Open Handset Alliance to 47, the Alliance said. These companies join earlier members of the Alliance, such as the world’s biggest chip maker Intel Corp and mobile phone makers Motorola Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd . Both Google and Apple have wooed developers to create applications for their mobile devices, but Apple keeps a tight grip on the iPhone’s hardware and operating software. Google’s Android is open to being changed by outside developers. The addition of new members to the Open Handset Alliance gives Google-developed Android more heft in the battle over who will dominate the mobile phone software market in coming years. Android’s biggest competitor is Symbian, which controls half of the market and was acquired by Nokia , the world’s biggest mobile phone maker, earlier this month. Nokia contributes Symbian’s assets to a not-for-profit organization similar to the Open Handset Alliance, the Symbian Foundation. Members of the Symbian Foundation have royalty-free access to Symbian’s software. So far, 59 companies have said they plan to join the Symbian Foundation, including Japan’s third-largest wireless carrier, Softbank . Android also competes with Microsoft’s Windows Mobile operating system, which has been gaining ground. With a range of companies jumping into the Alliance, such as portable navigation device maker Garmin Ltd, Android has the potential to be featured on devices other than mobile phones. Each mobile phone maker also can modify the Android open source software, which leaves the opportunity open for many future mobile phones. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 6:04 am Retail chain HotSpot banks on gizmo craze to beat meltdownHotSpot, a multi-brand retail chain offering a wide range of mobile handsets and accessories, is banking on the craze for gizmos to beat the financial meltdown, and is planning to open between 100 to 150 outlets by the month-end.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 10 Dec 2008 | 6:01 am Fog in Delhi delays over a dozen domestic flightsAir travellers in Delhi had a tough time Wednesday with over a dozen flights being delayed due to a thick fog descending on the airport.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 10 Dec 2008 | 6:00 am Intel to challenge South Korea antitrust rulingSeoul: Intel Corp said on Wednesday it had filed a formal complaint to overturn an earlier South Korean antitrust ruling that found the world’s biggest semiconductor maker had abused its dominant market position. Intel said in a statement its filing to the Seoul High Court asserted that the Korea Fair Trade Commission made substantial factual and legal errors in formulating its final opinion. The KFTC said in June that Intel offered rebates to South Korean personal computer makers in return for their not buying microprocessors from rival Advanced Micro Devices . Intel was also fined about $18 million. “The KFTC failed to understand the dynamics, pricing and competition in the microprocessor market,” Intel said in a statement, adding that the South Korean regulator either misinterpreted or ignored evidence of benefits to consumers from cheaper, improved Intel chips. Intel denies “artificial price protection,” but “competes aggressively,” said Nick Jacobs, an Intel spokesman. The KFTC declined to comment. It said in June Intel’s rebates limited the choices of domestic PC makers in selecting business partners and forced local consumers to buy PCs at higher prices. Intel is also facing competition charges from the European Commission and an antitrust investigation by the US Federal Trade Commission. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 5:23 am Hero Honda, Ford cut India vehicle pricesMumbai: Hero Honda Motors Ltd, India’s leading motorcycle maker, has reduced the prices of its products after the government cut a tax as part of a stimulus package. The reduction ranges between Rs1000 rupees to Rs2000 across its product portfolio, it said in a statement issued late on Tuesday. Ford Motor’s Indian unit has also cut prices of its cars by Rs17,500 to Rs54,000. The government on Sunday announced a 4% cut in central value-added tax on all products other than petroleum, as part of a stimulus package to boost the slowing economy. No. 2 bike maker Bajaj Auto and car makers Maruti Suzuki India, Hyundai Motor India and Honda Siel Cars India announced price cuts earlier in the week. Hero Honda, in which Japan’s Honda Motor Co holds 26%, saw its sales rise 0.5% in November from a year earlier. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 4:30 am Asian shares advance to one-month highHong Kong: Asian stocks hit a one-month high on Wednesday on hopes for government-led help for key sectors such as technology, which encouraged risk-taking to the detriment of assets perceived as safer, such as the yen. Oil rebounded more than $1 a barrel to above $43, after slumping nearly 4% on Tuesday, though expectations that slow global demand for commodities will pressure prices remains. US stock futures meanwhile edged higher after officials said the White House and congressional Democrats reached an agreement in principal on a proposal for bailing out US automakers. The advances in riskier assets came despite broader signs of caution elsewhere, with investors on Tuesday sending yields in US Treasury bills to zero as they look to safeguard their money before the end of the year. “What we are seeing right now may be a gradual turnaround in global stocks as liquidity in financial markets is seen slowly improving, helped by the latest moves by governments,” said Jun Ji-won, a market analyst at Kiwoom.Com Securities in Seoul. The MSCI index of Asia-Pacific stocks outside Japan rose 2% as of 7:45am (IST), after earlier hitting its highest level since 12 November. Japan’s Nikkei average gained 1.1%. The Asia-Pacific index is now up more than 20% since hitting a five-year low on 21 November, but remains down more than half for the year. Shares in Hynix Semiconductor rose sharply on expectations of an imminent $560 million in funding from shareholders, which analysts said would help keep the chip maker afloat for a while. In Taiwan, struggling ProMOS, the smallest of the local three DRAM memory chip makers, was said to have applied to the government for assistance, sending shares up 6.5%. Main indexes in South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong rose more than 2% each, with smaller gains seen in Australia, Singapore and Shanghai. The gains in stocks helped pushed down the yen against the dollar and the euro. The Japanese currency has strengthened this year as investors, shunning most types of risk, unwound trades that had used the low-yielding yen. Still, plenty of concerns remain, casting doubts on a sustained rebound in global markets. A report on Wednesday showed Japan’s core machinery orders fell a bigger than-expected 4.4% in October, underlining a weakness in corporate capital spending in an economy mired in recession. Companies worldwide are responding to the threat to their corporate profits by cutting jobs and slashing spending. Sony Corp shares fell 1.5% a day after the company said it aims to cut $1.1 billion in costs in its struggling electronics operations. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 10 Dec 2008 | 3:20 am Russia offers discount on new N-reactors, fuel for existing plantsNew Delhi, Dec. 9 Russia has offered a sweetener in the form of a 30 per cent discount on the $2-billion price tag for each of its new nuclear reactors under discussions for sale to India. Besides, the Russians are open to deputing its nuclearSource: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am India to be one of Magna Intl’s largest engineering centresChennai, Dec 9 Magna International Inc, a well-known name in the global automotive industry, makes components as well as fully built cars for third-party OEM. It has four joint ventures in India, but in an interview with BusinessSource: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Renault, Nissan scale down Chennai car project planMumbai, Dec. 9 The economic slowdown in India has prompted global allies Renault and Nissan to go in for one shift, rather than the initially planned two, at their Rs 4,500-crore Chennai car project.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am IL&FS Investment closes second India realty fund, raises Rs 4,475 crMumbai, Dec. 9 IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd (IIML) has announced the closure of IL&FS India Realty Fund – II (IIRF2) at $895 million (about Rs 4,475 crore), exceeding its target of $750 million (Rs 3,750Source: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideSource: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am IT cos may reduce capex to counter meltdownMumbai, Dec. 9 Indian IT companies seem to be going slow on their capital expenditure or capex plans as they seek to conserve cash to withstand the global economic downturn.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am YES Bank (Rs 67.80): BuyWe recommend a buy in Yes Bank stock from a shortterm trading perspective. It is evident from the charts of Yes Bank that it was in a medium-term downtrend from its early September peak of Rs 149 to its 52-week low of Rs 55 recorded in lateSource: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am IPI: A pipeline of risksThe Iran-Pakistan-India (IPI) gas pipeline project often called the ‘peace pipeline’ is seen as a “win-win-win” project for all the three countries and a confidence-building measure and stimulus for regionalSource: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am The new Finance Minister: economist or politician?New Delhi, Dec. 9 The Capital was rife with speculation on Tuesday about who would be the next Finance Minister. At one point it was even thought that the swearing-in ceremony would be held today. The rumours picked up pace when the PrimeSource: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Bike prices to come downNew Delhi, Dec. 9 Two-wheeler companies such as Hero Honda, Bajaj and Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India, announced that they would lower their bike prices in the range of Rs 1,000-2,100 across different models.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 10 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am R-Com to buy back FCCBsTo be the first firm to take advantage of new RBI ruling.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 9 Dec 2008 | 7:29 pm Sarin tipped to be Yahoo CEO: WSJThe Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that former Vodafone Group Plc CEO Arun Sarin is among the people being considered to succeed Yahoo! Inc Chief Executive Officer Jerry Yang.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 9 Dec 2008 | 6:35 pm Scope for another fuel price cut, says oil ministryLast weeks fuel price cut will impact margins of oil companies such as Indian Oil Corporation less severely than it did when prices were last reduced in February 2007, giving the governmentSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 9 Dec 2008 | 6:34 pm SpiceJet overhauls top managementDelhi-based low-cost carrier SpiceJet is looking at restructuring its core leadership team as part of US investor Wilbur Rosss strategy of turning around the company.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 9 Dec 2008 | 6:32 pm Busy PM seeks full-time finance ministerReplacement for I&B portfolio also on the cards.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 9 Dec 2008 | 6:30 pm Mutual funds industry needs fresh infusion of moneyMumbai: Indian mutual fund industry’s average assets under management have eroded by one-third since May to about Rs4.02 trillion in November, an 18-month low. Redemptions have contributed to this. To make matters worse, equity funds are not seeing any fresh inflow. The capital markets regulator has recently tightened norms for the fixed maturity plans (FMPs) but retail investors are still shying away from putting money in mutual funds.  Suggestion: Kurian says once the sentiment turns around, people will invest; those with a long-term perspective will certainly start now. Abhijit Bhatlekar / Mint Is this the biggest crisis Indian mutual fund industry has ever seen? In a way, yes. But it has not been due to any problem within the industry. Due to a liquidity crunch in the market, the corporations wanted money to run their own businesses. As they were not getting enough credit from the market and other regular sources, they started withdrawing from mutual funds. But we were able to bounce back. That clearly shows the securities which these mutual funds held were top-class, investment-grade securities. Are some of these papers illiquid? There was illiquidity created out of lack of liquidity in the market. These were all CDs (certificates of deposits, issued by banks) and CPs (commercial papers, issued by companies). In respect of CPs, nearly 90-92% of them are top rated as on 30 September. So, there was nothing to be anxious about from an investor’s point of view. The prices fell because of lack of liquidity and absence of buyers. The industry was not prepared to meet the crisis. There’s nothing to be prepared (for). What can we do? We had the best quality securities and a robust risk management system. Pricing (of bonds) is done by a third party. All this was going on smoothly. If these external things hadn’t happened, we would have had the same growth as before. We had reached Rs6 trillion (average assets under management) in May. Then it started coming down. So even before the crisis, it started coming down? That was because the equity market started falling. Therefore, what we require is inflow of fresh money. In debt (segment), inflows are coming in from November. But again in December, there will be a problem due to advance tax outflows. There are almost no inflows in equities. Once the sentiment turns around and a fear of further fall is stopped, people will start coming in. Investors with a long-term perspective will certainly start investing now. Why has Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) asked Amfi for a paper on mutual funds? The paper is only in respect of promoting mutual funds to retail investors. This crisis has thrown up unertain issues which are in a way welcome. Issues like FMPs (fixed maturity plans), the question of early exits and whether redemptions would hurt those who remain invested. Sebi wanted our views. There is debate on introducing different share classes for mutual funds. We have a committee that is examining the whole thing and we expect to complete the work by the next month. The committee is looking at the US and Europe—which have different share classes. Each class has its own characteristics. The committee is examining whether it is appropriate for us to have such different class shares. We are always on the path of refining and updating the standards in every area. These are available in developed countries and we wanted to look at that. The mutual fund industry lags behind banking and insurance... We need to understand the mindset of people and their risk-averse nature. About 50-55% savings goes to banks. A mutual fund is something which does not promise a return; doesn’t even guarantee your capital. You look at the number of demat accounts. How many people are investing in the securities market? It is indeed a challenge. People talk of the US where every second person is a MF holder, but the industry there started in the 1930s. All the 35 fund houses are opening new branches, establishing franchise system(s) and channel partners and we are continuously training people. Still, we have less than a lakh distributors against two million insurance agents. Any serious plan to educate investors? We have an educational programme and all members of Amfi are spreading this. All sales people and the mutual fund CEOs go around the country. They have regular meetings with distributors... About 90-95% of business is registered through distributors. They have to be updated, trained, talked to about different types of schemes. This is going on. Any plan to increase retail participation? The fund houses will have to do that. For instance, UTI Asset Management Co. Ltd is present in 450 out of 600 districts in the country. Reliance Capital Asset Management Co. Ltd is also doing it in a big way. Banks are coming into this now. Over the past three years, over 116 banks are registered with us. There are 150,000 post offices in India. Who will motivate them to sell? The fund houses are doing this. Do you have any data on the investor base? We are working on a market information bureau. We are examining what Amfi can as a body do to share more data. If we have the micro-data (on region-wise fund flow), it will help players in deciding on the location of branches. We are also looking at standardizing the application forms and account statements that fund houses send (to the investors). There is no uniformity as some give the number of units, some others costs, net asset value, market value, and so on. We are looking at whether this can be standardized so that the investors get essential information in a uniform manner across funds. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2008 | 5:18 pm Airline losses in 2009 may halve as fuel costs fall: Iata Geneva / London: Airline industry losses in 2009 may shrink to half this year’s level as a decline in fuel costs more than makes up for a reduction in the number of people flying. Carriers may lose a total of $2.5 billion (Rs12,300 crore) next year, compared with $5 billion in the current 12 months, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said on Tuesday in a press briefing in Geneva, where the trade body is based. Iata had predicted a $4.1 billion loss for airlines in 2009 as recently as 3 September, based on an average oil price of $110 a barrel. With crude on Tuesday trading at $43.46 and Iata estimating a price of $60 next year, costs have eased for those carriers that were hardest hit in 2008 after struggling to secure hedging positions. The improvement is due to an extraordinary situation for North American carriers, Iata chief executive officer Giovanni Bisignani said. With very little hedging, they were hit with the full impact of high fuel. To cope, they cut capacity early and are now benefiting from the full impact of low spot prices. The predicted loss of $5 billion for 2008 is also lower than the previous estimate of $5.2 billion, which assumed an average oil price of $113 a barrel. During the year, the loss projected by Iata has ranged as high as $6.1 billion in a worst-case scenario. While Iata’s loss estimates have eased, the industry group now forecasts that international traffic may decline 3% next year, the first drop since 2001, after earlier predicting a 2.9% increase. “The situation is clearly an awful lot better than when oil was at $147 a barrel,” said Nick Cunningham, an analyst at London-based Evolution Securities Ltd, referring to the record price for crude reached on 11 July. “However, the macroeconomic situation is dreadful and traffic is dropping very, very fast.” Bisignani said 2009 would still be another gloomy year. North American carriers, likely to suffer a combined loss of $3.9 billion in 2008, will next year post a profit of about $300 million, still less than 1% of revenue, he said. feedback@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2008 | 4:27 pm Walt Disney to air Indian firm’s animated seriesLondon: Walt Disney Television has entered into an agreement with India-based DQ Entertainment for airing animated programmes in several countries including India and Pakistan. Under the licensing agreement, Walt Disney Television International (WDTVI) (India) would air three animated series of the Indian firm. The shows--Twisted Whiskers, Ratman and Sandra--would be telecast in the coming months for South-Asian audiences, including India and Pakistan, DQ Entertainment said in a regulatory filing to the London Stock Exchange on Tuesday, 9 December. “We are happy that the Disney multiplex of channels has acquired three of our properties for broadcast. “This is a landmark deal for us and heralds a new beginning for the licensing of our properties in this region,” DQE Group chairman and CEO Tapaas Chakravarti said. DQE, which is headquartered in Hyderabad, produces animation for films, television series and console based games for a number of international production houses. The company has at least 80 clients including WDTV Animation, NBC-Universal and BBC, among others. Shares of DQE were trading at 84 pence, up 12% on the LSE. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2008 | 2:53 pm Indian duo’s ‘Kosmix’ to take on GoogleLondon: Two Indian engineers, who missed chances twice to buy Google nearly 10 years ago, have now raked in funds for their own site to rival the search engine giant. The Indian duo have received funds worth $20 million from media and entertainment conglomerate Time Warner for their search site ‘Kosmix’. “Anand Rajarman and Venky Harinarayan, the Indian internet entrepreneurs, have received $20 million of funding from Time Warner for their site,” The Telegraph reported. Way back in 1998, Google founder Sergey Brin offered fellow Stanford University PhD students Anand Rajarman and Venky Harinarayan the chance to buy the now search engine giant for about one billion dollars (675,000 pounds). “They said no,” the report published online said. The very next year, the Indian pair with Amazon backing offered £300 million (about $443 million). But Brin and Google co-founder Larry Page had refused to accept less than $1 billion dollar, the publication noted. Now Kosmix has also got the backing of Motorola Chairman and Chief Executive Ed Zander and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. “Google works if you know exactly what you’re looking. But if you have only got a vague idea, it can be quite hard to find the answer,” Rajarman was quoted as saying. “Kosmix allows you to browse a whole topic and suggests areas that it thinks you might be interested in,” he added. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2008 | 11:41 am ACS to invest $15 mn in Noida facility over 12-18 mnthsNew Delhi: In line with its expansion plans, world’s largest business process outsourcing firm Affiliated Computer Services will invest up to $15 million in the next 12-18 months in its upcoming facility in Noida. ACS, which recently announced its plans to recruit 1,000 people in the next 6-8 months in the country, is aiming to make its Noida facility a hub for providing Human Capital Management Solutions (HCMS) to its clients. “ACS will invest about $10-15 million over the next 12-18 months in the Noida facility which would start operations from January 2009,” ACS executive MD Human Capital Management Solutions Rohail Khan said. The economic crisis is sending companies scrambling to cut costs and manage their employee base, which is providing ACS opportunity to offer its services for managing the situation. “Financial meltdown has actually provided us with opportunities to offer our human capital management solutions, BPO services among others to the troubled companies which are looking to contain their costs,” Khan said. ACS India is in the process of setting up a new facility in Noida, while it already has offices in Bangalore, Kochi and Chennai and the total employee strength of the company is around 5,000 in the country. Bangalore operation has a capacity of about 2,800 people and around 1,800 people are stationed in Kochi. The company had said recently that it would ramp up its headcount by 1,000 employees in India in next 6-8 months, out of which about 500 would be employed at Noida facility. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 9 Dec 2008 | 11:36 am
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