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TCS unaffected by terror attacks on Taj: S RamadoraiThe dramatic attack on the Taj, Colaba, on November 26 seems to have had a minimal or no effect on its IT and outsourcing partner Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) bpo. That\'s according to TCS\' CEO S Ramadorai, who told reporters that TCS bpo will remain unaffected by the loss of business at Taj, Colaba.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Dec 2008 | 5:00 pm Unfair to suggest admin charges for highest 3G bid: COAICOAI has informed the Department of Telecom that the imposition of additional administrative charge of 2% is retrograde. They said it was \'illogical, incorrect unfair\' to recommend administrative charges.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Dec 2008 | 4:36 pm HCL Info arm launches \'safe state\' post Mumbai terrorHCL Security, a 100% subsidiary of HCL Infosystems is launching \'safe state\', a technology enabled security system. Commenting on the same, Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman and CEO, HCL Infosystems, said our objective is to provide complete safety solutions to the state, country, and world.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Dec 2008 | 3:29 pm RIL, SBI, ICICI Bank announce Q3 advance tax nosInitial advance tax numbers from big corporate houses like Reliance, SBI and HDFC show increased payout. The State Bank of Indias Q3 advance tax stands at Rs 1,700 crore versus Rs 1,088 crore (YoY), reports CNBCTV18, quoting sources.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Dec 2008 | 1:59 pm Rupee appreciates 27 paise against dollar!The Indian rupee on Monday appreciated 27 paise against the US currency in opening trade on dollar selling by exporters amid surging trend in Asian stock markets.Source: Zee News : Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:27 pm `Japan`s economy may shrink next year`!Japan`s Central Bank chief has warned that Asia`s biggest economy may contract in the next fiscal year starting in April, according to a newspaper report Monday.Source: Zee News : Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:27 pm Auto bailout not ready yet: Bush!President George W Bush said on Monday an announcement on auto industry rescue was not imminent.Source: Zee News : Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:27 pm Sensex up over 220 pts in early trade!The BSE benchmark Sensex on Monday opened higher by over 220 points on sustained buying by funds.Source: Zee News : Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:27 pm Ireland announces euro 10 bn bank rescue!The Irish government on Sunday announced a euro 10-billion (USD 13 billion) rescue of Ireland`s six main banks.Source: Zee News : Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:27 pm IBA announces housing stimulus package, cuts interest rates!Working in tandem with the government to resurrect the economy and boost growth, the Indian Banking Association on Monday decided to reduce the interest rates on home loans.Source: Zee News : Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:27 pm Oil rises to $47 as OPEC prepares production cut!Oil prices rose to above USD 47 a barrel on Monday in Asia as investors anticipated OPEC will announce a large production cut at its meeting this week.Source: Zee News : Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:27 pm Petroleum ministry may seek Rs30,000 cr oil bonds this yearNew Delhi: Petroleum ministry is likely to seek an additional Rs30,000 crore worth of oil bonds this fiscal to compensate public sector oil companies for losses on fuel sales. Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum are projected to lose Rs1,14,500 crore on sale of petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and PDS kerosene in 2008-09 fiscal, 70% of which the petroleum ministry wants the government to compensate through issue of oil bonds. “With fall in international crude oil prices, the ability of upstream companies like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to bear part of the fuel subsidy has greatly diminished,” a top ministry official said. “In our opinion, ONGC along with GAIL and Oil India cannot pay more than Rs30,000 crore to subsidise fuel. The rest of the under-realisation (on fuel sales) will have to be made good by the finance ministry through oil bonds,” he said. The government has so far decided to issue bonds worth Rs44,967 crore to the fuel retailers to cover for the under-realisation on fuel sales for the first half of 2008-09. For 2007-08, the government issued oil bonds worth Rs35,289.50 crore. ONGC, GAIL and OIL have contributed Rs25,929 crore in April-September and if oil ministry’s proposal is accepted they may have to contribute just over Rs4,000 crore the remainder part of the fiscal. The official said the ministry was seeking larger quantum of oil bonds as IOC, BPCL and HPCL, who were to originally absorb Rs22,000 crore of revenue loss on fuel sales, have reported Rs14,431 crore of net loss in first half, thereby reducing their ability to absorb any of the losses. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:15 pm 3G spectrum to be introduced in 29 cities of AP: BSNLHyderabad: 3G Spectrum mobile services, likely to be launched by March in 29 cities of Andhra Pradesh, will pave way for several value added services mostly in entertainment and video conferencing, BSNL Chief General Manager (AP telecom circle) T.N. Sudhindra Kumar said. He said that it will be a value added service and both BSNL and MTNL are likely to capture the market in the segment. The 3G spectrum will increase bandwidth and help in video screening in mobile in a better manner than televisions with a faster pace and better quality. He said that presently AP telecom has 27.4 lakh mobile customers with a market share of 18.9%. “At present, the equipped capacity is 19.6 lakh connections. Additionally, 15 lakh new connections are planned for the financial year,” he added. About their increased market share, he said that the BSNL is doing its best to increase the market share. “Presently we have some excellent plans including power pack plan and were able to sell 1.5 lakh connections last month itself in the prepaid segments,” said Kumar. About the proposal to have a portable migration facility in mobile as earlier recommended by TRAI, which facilitates a user to switch to any service provider of his choice with the same number, Kumar said that providing such facility is still under consideration and yet to be introduced. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:12 pm India Rupee Strengthens as Stocks Gain on US Carmaker Bailout - Bloomberg
Source: Google News India - Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:08 pm Petroleum Min may seek Rs30,000 cr oil bonds this yearPTI New Delhi: Petroleum Ministry is likely to seek an additional Rs30,000 crore worth of oil bonds this fiscal to compensate public sector oil companies for losses on fuel sales. Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum are projected to lose Rs1,14,500 crore on sale of petrol, diesel, domestic LPG and PDS kerosene in 2008-09 fiscal, 70% of which the Petroleum Ministry wants the government to compensate through issue of oil bonds. “With fall in international crude oil prices, the ability of upstream companies like Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to bear part of the fuel subsidy has greatly diminished,” a top ministry official said. “In our opinion, ONGC along with GAIL and Oil India cannot pay more than Rs30,000 crore to subsidise fuel. The rest of the under-realisation (on fuel sales) will have to be made good by the Finance Ministry through oil bonds,” he said. The government has so far decided to issue bonds worth Rs44,967 crore to the fuel retailers to cover for the under-realisation on fuel sales for the first half of 2008-09. For 2007-08, the government issued oil bonds worth Rs35,289.50 crore. ONGC, GAIL and OIL have contributed Rs25,929 crore in April-September and if oil ministry’s proposal is accepted they may have to contribute just over Rs4,000 crore the remainder part of the fiscal. The official said the ministry was seeking larger quantum of oil bonds as IOC, BPCL and HPCL, who were to originally absorb Rs22,000 crore of revenue loss on fuel sales, have reported Rs14,431 crore of net loss in first half, thereby reducing their ability to absorb any of the losses. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:08 pm Crude Oil Rises as OPEC’s El-Badri Says Sizeable Cut Is Needed - Bloomberg
Source: Google News India - Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:05 pm Thirumalai Chemicals restarts operationsThe Rs.5.87-billion Thirumalai Chemicals Ltd Monday restarted production of phthalic anhydride, an industrial chemical used to make paints, at its Ranipet plant near here after nearly two months.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:00 pm Package disappointing, want more cuts: RealtorsSanjay Chandra, Managing Director, Unitech, said the package to reduce interest rates under the Rs 5Rs 20 lakh segment is a good move but added that the subRs 5 lakh segment wouldn\'t help them. Realtors also want more interest rate cutsSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:00 pm Filmmakers queue up to make films on Mumbai terror tragedyPTI Mumbai: Even if the general mood is still sombre in the aftermath of the November 26 terror attacks in the country’s financial capital, filmmakers are queuing up to cash in on the tragedy by making a movie on it. About 20 to 25 proposals of registration of titles related to the Mumbai attacks have already been received, Vice-president of Indian Motion Pictures and Producers Association (IMPPA), Sushma Shiromanee told PTI. Film-makers like B Subhash, Akash Sehgal and Vijay Verma, who have applied for the registration of titles, are awaiting for approval from IMPPA, Shiromanee said adding that the organisation took atleast one month to approve the titles. “When titles are registered, we do not know whether film-makers will commercially cash on the tragedy or make a sensitive film on the effect the tragedy has on the lives on the people. It is upto the filmmakers on how they present the subject,” she said. Shiromanee said making films on real life incidents was not a new phenomenon. “This year there have been films like ‘Mumbai Meri Jaan´,’A Wednesday’,’Shoot on Sight’ while earlier we had ‘Parzania´ and ‘Black Friday´,” she said. However, according to trade sources not all titles registered by the filmmakers are made into films. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:59 am IOC plans to buy sugar mill in BrazilNEW DELHI (Reuters) - State-run Indian Oil Corp is planning to buy a sugar mill and set up a refinery in Brazil to produce ethanol, the Indian government said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:57 am Tighter credit driving auto ind lower: Maruti SuzukiRC Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki, said tighter credit availability is slowing the economy and driving auto industry lower. \"It is inevitable that the global auto industry will slowdown in the current crisis. Financing issues too continue to drag sales downwards.\"Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:53 am Indian regulator asks drug firms to cut prices 2.84 pctNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's drug prices regulator has asked pharmaceutical firms to cut prices by 2.84 percent to pass on a recent tax reduction, the government said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:52 am LPO firms find it difficult to attract talentPTI Mumbai: Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) firms which undertake outsourcing work for law firms from overseas may find it difficult to attract talent as career with an LPO was found to be the least preferred among law students, a survey conducted by ValueNotes, a leading provider of business information said. The survey has noted that,“with the increasing demand for legal services from different sectors , there is bound to be a fight for talent. Though there are about 80,000 law graduates passing each year, the number that is employable is quite low.” The survey pointed out that LPOs will face an even greater problem in the fight for talent as they harbour a negative perception among law students. According to the survey, despite the media hype about legal services outsourcing, a large number of students pursuing law were either unaware of offshore legal services or they did not consider it as a preferred career choice. The survey found that one of the reasons for law students not being enthusiastic about LPO is that many of them feel that work at an LPO is repetitive and highly process driven. There is also a feeling that LPO is no different from a BPO and they may be required to do a monotonous job which requires no skill. The survey has noted that there is a demand for graduating law students from multinationals who are expanding their operations in India and from the Indian companies who are expanding their global footprint. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:51 am UTI Asset Management Company Eager to Divest 26% Strategic Stake - TopNews
Source: Google News India - Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:45 am India set to witness knowledge revolution in 25 years: PitrodaBangalore: Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) Sam Pitroda has said that the country was all set to witness a knowledge revolution in 25 years. “There is no quick fix solution. It is going to be a long hard journey,” Pitroda said, while addressing the National Knowledge Commission Education Series, organised by the All India Management Association. The Commission, set up in 2005 by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to prepare a blueprint for reform of knowledge related institutions and infrastructure, has submitted 200 recommendations to the government on 24 focus areas till 2008. “Some of these include libraries, translation, language, higher education, right to education and vocation guidance,” he said. With reference to vocational education, he said that there was a disconnect between training provided and market requirements. On the one hand there were too many people in some areas and too little jobs, while in other areas, there were too little people for too many jobs. “NKC has recommended the need for expanding capacity through innovative delivery models, including a robust PPP partnership,” he said. Lamenting over the quality of education in the country, he said that except for the top institutions and some islands of excellence like IITs, the overall quality of education was still found wanting in various aspects. Pitroda added: “Graduates are not employable immediately and have to be retrained”. Calling for expansion, execution, equity and access in the spheres of higher education, Pitroda said that the commission has been suggesting setting up of a regulatory authority for higher education. “This proposal has met with a lot of resistance and not been accepted,” he said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:45 am IOC plans to buy sugar mill in BrazilReuters New Delhi: State-run Indian Oil Corp is planning to buy a sugar mill and set up a refinery in Brazil to produce ethanol, the government said on Monday. Indian oil firms view investments in Brazil for ethanol production as highly strategic, the country’s junior food, minister, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, told parliament in a written reply to a question. Another Indian petroleum refiner, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd, was working with Brazil’s Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. for investments in the country to produce ethanol, the minister said. He told lawmakers that India’s ethanol production was estimated at 2,730 million litres in the year to September 2008, down from 2,900 litres a year ago. India, which imports 70% of the oil it consumes and heavily discounts fuel sales, asked oil firms to mix ethanol with petrol to 10% from October, when the new sugarcane crushing season began. Before October, oil firms were mixing 5% ethanol, an alternative fuel made from cane or corn, with petrol almost nationwide. India has set an ambitious target of reaching 20% biofuel use within a decade. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:45 am Mkts end higher led by commodity, realty stocks - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:44 am Hike in salary for State staff - Express Buzz
Source: Google News India - Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:42 am ArcelorMittal to reduce stake in German firm, earn $1 billionLondon: World’s largest steel producer ArcelorMittal today said it would cut its stake in Germany-based plate making firm Dillinger Hutte by 17.85%, a deal by which the L N Mittal-led company would earn about $1 billion. ArcelorMittal has entered into binding agreements to reduce its economic and voting interest in Dillinger Hutte from 51.25% to 33.4% in line with existing governance rights through sale of shares to Struktur-Holding-Stahl GmbH & Co KG aA and Dillinger Hutte Saarstahl AG, a company statement said here. “We have chosen to optimise our stake in Dillinger Hutte in order to bring our economic and voting rights in-line with our existing governance rights in the company. We will continue to be a key industrial partner to Dillinger Hutte,” said ArcelorMittal Group Management Board Member Michel Wurth. Dillinger Hutte enterprise value is estimated to be about $2.6 billion, the statement said and added the combined proceeds from the transaction, comprising sale of shares and the dividend proposed for the year 2008, amount to €777 million ($1 billion). The German firm is one of the leading plate mills in Europe, based in Saarland. The bulk of its production is delivered to the energy sector. In 2007, Dillinger Hutte shipped approximately 2.3 million tonnes of heavy plate. The company currently employs 5,230 staff. Last month, ArcelorMittal had announced a job cut scheme aimed to axe as many as 9,000 jobs globally. The company has had several cross cutting measures such as a 35% output cut amidst decline in demand for steel due to the global economic downturn. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:41 am ArcelorMittal to reduce stake in German firm, earn $1 billionLondon: World’s largest steel producer ArcelorMittal today said it would cut its stake in Germany-based plate making firm Dillinger Hutte by 17.85%, a deal by which the L N Mittal-led company would earn about $1 billion. ArcelorMittal has entered into binding agreements to reduce its economic and voting interest in Dillinger Hutte from 51.25% to 33.4% in line with existing governance rights through sale of shares to Struktur-Holding-Stahl GmbH & Co KG aA and Dillinger Hutte Saarstahl AG, a company statement said here. “We have chosen to optimise our stake in Dillinger Hutte in order to bring our economic and voting rights in-line with our existing governance rights in the company. We will continue to be a key industrial partner to Dillinger Hutte,” said ArcelorMittal Group Management Board Member Michel Wurth. Dillinger Hutte enterprise value is estimated to be about $2.6 billion, the statement said and added the combined proceeds from the transaction, comprising sale of shares and the dividend proposed for the year 2008, amount to €777 million ($1 billion). The German firm is one of the leading plate mills in Europe, based in Saarland. The bulk of its production is delivered to the energy sector. In 2007, Dillinger Hutte shipped approximately 2.3 million tonnes of heavy plate. The company currently employs 5,230 staff. Last month, ArcelorMittal had announced a job cut scheme aimed to axe as many as 9,000 jobs globally. The company has had several cross cutting measures such as a 35% output cut amidst decline in demand for steel due to the global economic downturn. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:41 am PSU banks cut rates on home loans up to Rs 20 lakh - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:32 am Pharma companies asked to reduce pricesThe National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) Monday asked pharmaceutical companies to reduce prices by 2.84 percent following a cut in excise duty on medicine.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:30 am DLF to invest Rs15,000 crore on affordable housingNew Delhi: Buoyed by robust sales in mid-income housing, real estate giant DLF on Monday said it will invest Rs15,000 crore over the next three years to develop various residential projects across the country in Rs15-40 lakh range. DLF, the country’s biggest real estate developer, had last year announced its plan to enter into mid-income housing segment, realising the huge untapped demand in this category. “We will be investing Rs5,000 crore a year over the next three years on mid-income housing projects,” DLF Home Developers vice president A Harikesh told the news agency. “Mid-income homes will be our focus area and will witness significant growth in the coming quarters,” he added. DLF’s investment plans for affordable housing coincides with announcement by public sector banks to boost the segment by cutting home-loan interest rates, putting caps of 9.25% for Rs5-20 lakh and 8.5% for loans of up to Rs5 lakh. Harikesh said internal accruals, advances against sales and capital raised through private equity would take care of the planned investment. DLF had raised Rs1,675 crore as private equity in eight projects in November 2007. DLF Home Developers, the wholly-owned subsidiary of DLF, would construct about 40,000 housing units in the mid-income category, sizes of which would vary between 1,000 sq ft and 1,800 sq ft, he added. The company has witnessed tremendous response for its mid-income housing projects and sold over 7,000 flats so far this year, despite slowdown in the housing demand for the last six months on account of high interest rate and capital value. DLF has launched mid-income housing projects in Bangalore, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Indore, Kochi, Kolkata and Pune. The company would launch similar projects in Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Ambala, Goa and Lucknow within next six months. DLF Homes plans to launch such projects in all 31 cities where the company has presence by 2009-10, Harikesh said. “The price would vary from city to city but majority of the units would be in the price range of Rs2,000-3,000 per sq ft,” he said, adding that in metros, the apartment prices would be higher compared to smaller cities because of high land cost. He noted that the demand for its affordable housing is largely coming from end-users. As part of strategy, DLF is discouraging speculation in its properties by introducing a lock-in-period of one year for re-sale and selling only one flat per family. DLF currently has a land bank of over 750 million sq ft of saleable area. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:27 am Indian exporters lay off 65,500 employees: Labour ministerNew Delhi:Indian export companies, facing a slump in demand in the overseas markets, have laid off around 65,500 employees, a minister said on Monday. A sample study of 121 firms for Aug-Oct 2008, conducted by the Department of Commerce revealed “loss in export orders to the tune of Rs1,792 crores (17.92 billion rupees) and loss of jobs of around 65,500,” Oscar Fernandes, Indian labour minister told Parliament. The minister was answering a question on how employment was affected by slow industrial development, closure of industrial units and global economic recession. In a statement, Fernandes said the government has initiated several fiscal measures to instill confidence in the economy and spur growth. “These measures will prevent large scale job losses,” he said. The survey included export firms from textiles, leather, engineering, gems and jewellery, handcraft, food and food processing, minerals and marine products sectors, he said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:09 am Corus Denies Reports It Plans to Merge With Tata, Move to China - Bloomberg
Source: Google News India - Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:07 am IBM inks outsourcing deal with Rajasthan cooperative bankGlobal IT major IBM has signed a five-year outsourcing agreement with Madhav Nagrik Sahakari Bank, a leading cooperative bank in Rajasthan, the company said Monday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:00 am Markets continue last week's rallyIndian equities markets closed higher Monday as news of state-run banks cutting interest rates on fresh home loans spurred a rally in many housing and infrastructure stocks in a key index.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 15 Dec 2008 | 11:00 am SRF to buy two businesses of SRFP - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 10:59 am More banks reveal Madoff exposureLONDON/TOKYO (Reuters) - Royal Bank of Scotland, Man Group and Nomura on Monday joined a growing list of financial groups acknowledging exposure to the alleged $50 billion fraud surrounding Wall Street trader Bernard Madoff.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Dec 2008 | 10:59 am MRPL, Iran in talks to renew diesel deal - sourcesNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals Ltd is in talks with Iran to renew its diesel supply agreement, which is valid up to end-December, two company sources familiar with the talks said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Dec 2008 | 10:57 am Sensex ends 1.47% up on foreign buyingMumbai: The benchmark Sensex closed 1.47% higher on Monday, December 15, as foreign funds buying continued. Other factors that kept the bullish sentiment intact were the rising Asian markets and the latest announcement of slashed interest rates on home loans between Rs5-20 lakh by PSU banks. The 30-share BSE index ended 142.32 points higher at 9,690.07 points with Reliance industries and IFCI Limited trading the maximum volume. The 50-issue NSE index rose 59.85 points up at 2,981.10. The Nifty also touched 3,000 mark in late morning trading, its first high in months since the meltdown began. India Infoline maintained a lead in Monday’s trade rising 24.51% to Rs48, followed Welspun Guharat Sthal Rhoren Limited (21.06%, Rs119.55), Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation Ltd (20%, Rs38.10) and Biocon Ltd (18.12%, Rs121.75). Indian rupee also opened at its one-month high. Asian markets traded on renewed hopes of US automakers bailout. Hang Seng rose by 2% and Japsn’s Nikkei closed 5.21% higher. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 10:38 am First migrant resource centre opened at KochiMinister of Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi Monday opened the country's first ever migrant resource centre here.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 15 Dec 2008 | 10:30 am Playboy lays off 14% staff; eyes IndiaAdult entertainment magazine publisher Playboy Enterprises, which has cut its workforce by 14 per cent to save costs.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Dec 2008 | 10:29 am BSE Sensex provisionally closes 1.4 pct higherMUMBAI (Reuters) – The BSE Sensex closed 1.37 percent higher on Monday as foreign funds continued buying shares, with gains in other Asian markets also helping sentiment.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Dec 2008 | 10:08 am Railways Tatkal scheme bags Rs356 crore profitNew Delhi: Indian Railways has made a profit of more than Rs300 crore alone from its Tatkal scheme of passengers reservation this year. “The Railways earned Rs356 crore from its Tatkal scheme this year (October 2008). The profit is expected to go up,” a senior ministry official said. The Tatkal (immediate) scheme of reservation was launched by Railways a couple of years back. Under the scheme, passengers can book their tickets five days in advance from the date of boarding by paying additional charges. In 2006-07, railways earned a Rs207 crore profit as compared to Rs396 crore in 2007-08 from the scheme. According to officials, Tatkal booking opens at 8am on five days before of actual date of journey excluding date of the journey. The ministry, apparently happy with the outcome of the scheme is also planning to make service more user-friendly. “The ministry is also considering to extend the number of counters which issue Tatkal tickets, at major stations. It is also considering to open such counters at different other locations,” the official said. The Railway has recently relaxed proof of identity of the passenger seeking reservation under Tatkal scheme neither at the time of booking nor during the journey. “For tickets booked through the internet using railways website or private portals, a passenger has to carry one of the five identity proofs authorised by the railways ministry while travelling,” he said. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 10:03 am Banks cut interest rates on home loans, small units creditState-run commercial banks Monday reduced their interest rates on fresh home loans up to Rs.2 million (Rs.20 lakh/$40,000) with several other benefits like nil processing fee and free life insurance.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 15 Dec 2008 | 10:00 am TCS not too worried by US auto sector for nowMUMBAI (Reuters) - Tata Consultancy Services, India's top outsourcing firm, is not too worried about the impact on its business from last week's failure to reach a deal on a bailout package for the U.S. auto sector.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Dec 2008 | 9:50 am Toyota cuts India output by 30%; no change in investment planGurgaon: World’s largest carmaker Toyota on Monday said it has cut production in India by 30% this month, but is not holding back its planned investments of Rs3,200 crore in the country. The company, which operates in India through a joint venture with Kirloskar Group -- Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM), said the slowdown in the auto market has forced it to revise its sales target in India for this year. “Everywhere else in the world, Toyota has put on hold all investments for expansions, except India,” TKM managing director Hiroshi Nakagawa told reporters here. The company, which produced 2,886 units in November, has decided to cut its production in the current month due to slowdown in the domestic automart. “We will be producing 30% less in December due to falling sales. We will decide about the future productions for January and February depending on the market condition for this month,” Nakagawa said. He said the company has revised the sales target for this year on account of falling sales. “Our latest challenge is to reach last year’s sales volume,” Nakagawa said. TKM had announced a sales target of 60,000 units for 2008. It had sold 54,181 cars in 2007 in the Indian market. The company posted a fall of 48.55% in sales in November this year at 2,087 units compared with 4,056 units in the same month last year. The company is also planning to launch the CNG version of its utility vehicle ‘Innova’. “Currently, we are conducting the trial run of CNG ‘Innova’. We are hopeful of commercially launching the vehicle by the end of January, 2009,” TKM deputy managing director Sandeep Singh said. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 9:49 am India's Infosys wins deal from AstraZeneca - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 9:29 am Infosys wins deal from AstraZenecaMUMBAI (Reuters) - Infosys Technologies Ltd said on Monday it has got an multi-year, multi-million dollar global services deal from AstraZeneca Plc.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Dec 2008 | 9:29 am India spices mixed; jeera, turmeric rise on low stocks - Reuters India
Source: Google News India - Business | 15 Dec 2008 | 9:23 am PSBs cut home loan rates to prop up demandStung by a sagging demand for housing, public sector banks slashed home loan rates for a limited period -- up to June 30, 2009.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Dec 2008 | 9:10 am Markets stabilise in afternoon trade after taking a plungeIndian stock markets stabilised during afternoon trading Monday as a key index posted gains of 1.67 percent over its close last Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 15 Dec 2008 | 9:00 am Fertiliser, power firms drive up naphtha usageAfter being out in the cold, naphtha again seems to be back in the reckoning as a viable feedstock for players in the power and fertiliser sectors.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Dec 2008 | 8:46 am Electrolux cuts 3,000 jobs worldwideStockholm: Swedish appliance maker Electrolux AB on Monday said it will lay off more than 3,000 staff globally because of a slump in the market. Electrolux spokesman Anders Edholm said the layoffs represent around 5% of the company’s total work force of 57,000. Edholm said demand in both Europe and North America has been declining for some time and fell sharply in the second half of November and in December. As a result, Electrolux won’t reach its previous forecast of an operating profit for the year of between $411 million and $486 million. It said operating profit had reached $337 million by the end of November and could be negative in December. The layoffs will come in the fourth quarter 2008 and in 2009. Edholm declined to specify how many people would leave specific plants. The company said it expects to save $137 million a year from 2010 because of the measures. Electrolux said it will also continue its previously announced plans to move production to low-cost countries, which will reduce the number of employees further. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 8:45 am Electrolux cuts 3,000 jobs worldwideStockholm: Swedish appliance maker Electrolux AB on Monday said it will lay off more than 3,000 staff globally because of a slump in the market. Electrolux spokesman Anders Edholm said the layoffs represent around 5% of the company’s total work force of 57,000. Edholm said demand in both Europe and North America has been declining for some time and fell sharply in the second half of November and in December. As a result, Electrolux won’t reach its previous forecast of an operating profit for the year of between $411 million and $486 million. It said operating profit had reached $337 million by the end of November and could be negative in December. The layoffs will come in the fourth quarter 2008 and in 2009. Edholm declined to specify how many people would leave specific plants. The company said it expects to save $137 million a year from 2010 because of the measures. Electrolux said it will also continue its previously announced plans to move production to low-cost countries, which will reduce the number of employees further. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 8:45 am IT firms begin sharing internal green practicesIf you thought IT services firms mouth clichés when they talk about being trusted partners, think again.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Dec 2008 | 8:43 am Tyre makers on rough terrainThese are not the best of times for the tyre sector. The reduction in raw material price is of little cheer to manufacturers as they are up against a huge drop in demand, rupee depreciation and import of Chinese tyres.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 15 Dec 2008 | 8:41 am Bollywood’s new mantra: all that glitters is not goldMumbai: Recession and tight liquidity conditions has forced Bollywood to go for cost cutting and slowdown several projects. Filmmaker Mukesh Bhatt feels that distributors have been severely hit by the recession. “It is difficult to find buyers and committed cost cannot be honoured. Ninety per cent of the films have been put on hold while those on floors have been held up due to the slowdown,” he said. “Production, acquisition and talent salary costs had illogically shot through the roof with no commensurate returns for distributors sitting at the end of the value chain,” said Tanuj Garg, head UK & Europe (International Marketing, Distribution & Syndication) at Studio 18. Besides, banks have also become cautious about lending as film budgets had sky rocketed in the last few months, trade sources said. Blaming the corporates for the situation, Bhatt said, “they are responsible for the ridiculous price-hikes and genuine producers have been affected.” “Cost-control is required and artificial price-hike needed to be revised,” he said. Director Mahesh Bhatt also endorses the view. He feels that corporate who have entered the motion picture business have little knowledge of film industry functioning. “Artistes are paid astronomical amount of money and the corporates do not get any returns,” he said. Also, slowdown has taken its toll on the marketing budget of movies. Due to drastically pruned budgets, promotion of big-budgeted movies like Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Ghajini and Chandni Chowk To China have been extremely low key, sources said. If these three films succeed at the box office, it will have a positive change on the fortunes of the industry, they said. Also, the slowdown has led to negotiation in high-priced projects, Shailendra Singh, MD of Perfect Pictures said. “We are in the process of revising budgets and actors as well as directors are co-operating. We need to create value for money products,” Singh said. Agreeing with Singh, Preeti Puri, vice-president of Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group-promoted Big Pictures, the production arm of Reliance Big Entertainment said,“production houses have become sensitive about costs.” However, the film industry is looking for a positive outcome from the recession. “The bad side is the obvious...workers not getting their dues, there has been loss of work opportunities and some producers taking advantage of the crisis and faking no funds. But the good part is that the bubble of overpricing would burst now and bring sanity to the budgeting of a film,” trade sources said. Now, filmmakers are exploring and focussing newer methods for revenue generation and shifting to newer technologies to reach the audiences … the latest being mobiles and DTH, they said. UTV Motion Pictures is releasing Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! on DTH platforms-Dish TV and Tata Sky within three weeks of the film’s theatrical opening on 27 November, a day after the terror strikes in Mumbai. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 8:23 am Debtor by default? Don't lose heartMore than 2000 flats in and around the city face re-possession by banks as flat buyers, mostly from the IT industry, have defaulted on EMIs on their home loans.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Dec 2008 | 8:05 am Banks cut interest rates on some home loansState-run commercial banks Monday cut interest rates on home loans up to Rs.2 million (Rs.20 lakh/$40,000), with several other benefits like nil processing fee and free life insurance.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 15 Dec 2008 | 8:01 am Maoists attack BSNL, R-Com facilities in ChhattisgarhIn an overnight attack, about a 100 Maoist insurgents destroyed communication towers of telecom operators Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) and Reliance Communications (R-Com) in separate attacks in Chhattisgarh, police said Monday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 15 Dec 2008 | 8:01 am 20% of our bookings have been cancelledHarinder Singh, general manager, The Lalit Ashok spoke about the security measures that hotels need to put in place from now on.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Dec 2008 | 7:54 am Now, it's movie meltdown in KarnatakaGlobal economic recession is now impacting Sandalwood, as the Kannada film industry is also known.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Dec 2008 | 7:33 am Tata Steel to merge Corus to cut costs; jobs at risk: ReportLondon: India’s biggest steelmaker Tata Steel is set to merge its British unit Corus with itself by next year to save costs up to £350 million, and the move is likely to put thousands of jobs at risk, a media report has said. “Corus, the former British Steel, is to be merged with its parent company, India’s Tata Steel, in a move that puts thousands more UK jobs at risk,” TheMail said in its online edition. Corus merger puts jobs in jeopardy as Indian steel giant aims to cut costs in the UK by £350 million, the report added. Tata Steel through this merger aims to create a group that could become the second biggest steel maker in the world after Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal, the report further said. “News of the plan could undermine delicate negotiations in which unions are discussing accepting pay cuts of up to 10% for the workforce of 25,000, including the 1,000 workers at the threatened Llanwern steel works in South Wales,” The Mail added. Quoting Alan Todd, construction and development general manager at Corus, the report said : “Tata Steel’s construction-related assets would benefit from Corus in the UK and the Continent and there would also be huge cost benefits from Tata’s supply of raw materials”. Earlier, on 11 December, Corus was offered by its worker unions to carry out 10% cut in pays for six months in a last ditch to save a factory in Wales from closure. Tata Group had acquired the Anglo-Dutch giant Corus Group Plc for $12 billion last year, pursuant to which Corus became a subsidiary of the Indian steel giant. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 7:33 am Govt banks offer special rates on some home loansMUMBAI (Reuters) - State-run banks will offer special rates on some loans to home buyers and small businesses, as part of a government-led initiative to boost economic growth and shore up confidence amid a global liquidity crisis.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Dec 2008 | 7:07 am Bangalore hotels won't be rocking this New Year eveEvery year, India's silicon valley looks forward to New Year eve partying as hotels organise big bashes and police relax time restrictions for liquor outlets.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 15 Dec 2008 | 7:00 am PSU banks cut rates on home loans up to Rs20 lakhMumbai: Public sector banks on Monday announced that home loans up to Rs5 lakh would be given at a maximum interest rate of 8.5%, while those between Rs5-20 lakh would be offered at 9.25%. Besides, the banks would not charge any processing fees and pre-payment charges for loans up to Rs20 lakh, and would also provide free insurance cover, the Indian Banks Association (IBA) said on Monday. Outlining the new housing loan package in accordance with the stimulus package announced by the government on 7 December, SBI chairman O P Bhatt said the interest rate under the two schemes could come down, but would not go up beyond the threshold limit of 8.5 and 9.25% for a five year period. The offering under the packages would be made till 30 June, next year, Bhatt said, adding that after the lock-in period of five years the borrowers could look in for free or floating rates that could change in accordance with market conditions. To make the package attractive, the public sector banks would give the loans at a margin of 10% up to Rs5 lakh and 15% for loans between Rs5 lakh and Rs20 lakhs, and in either case, banks would offer free insurance cover, Bhatt said. Leading private lenders, including ICICI Bank and HDFC, appeared favourably inclined to cut their rates, with sources saying the two lenders would study the PSU banks’ package before taking a call. The sources said any decision would be taken after ascertaining whether PSU banks are getting any government subsidy for implementing the package. The banks have also decided to cut the lending rates for the micro and medium enterprises by 100 basis points. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 6:30 am Sensex up over 220 points as funds go buyingThe Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex opened higher by over 220 points on Monday, extending last week's gains on sustained buying by funds.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Dec 2008 | 6:18 am UTI Asset close to 26 pct stake sale - papersMUMBAI (Reuters) - UTI Asset Management Co, India's oldest mutual fund, is in advanced talks with global firms to sell a 26 percent stake, Indian papers said on Monday, citing anonymous sources.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Dec 2008 | 5:33 am World Bank to aid Indian banks in new lending planWashington: A $14 billion World Bank lending plan for India, the biggest ever by the global lender to Asia’s third-largest economy, will help recapitalize state-run banks facing liquidity strains and target the country’s poorest regions, a senior Bank official said. In an interview with Reuters, Rachid Benmessaoud, the Bank’s acting country director to India, said some $3 billion of the loan will focus on areas most affected by the global financial crisis, including state-owned and housing banks, small- and medium-sized enterprises and infrastructure. “The capital market is drying up in India and we have seen that a number of commercial state banks are not able to access long-term financing,” Benmessaoud told Reuters on Friday. “Because of the financial distress, certain companies will not be able to repay these banks so their non-performing assets are likely to increase.” He said the World Bank would evaluate the needs of the 27 state-run banks over the next month. The $14 billion injection over three years comes as India’s economy, which was expected to avoid the worst of the global financial crisis, is rapidly losing steam, with industries such as automobiles, real estate and exports reeling as the world’s major economies tip into recession and credit remains tight. Factory output in India fell for the first time in more than 13 years in October, the latest evidence of a rapid economic slowdown. In many emerging market economies, the issue is that global markets have malfunctioned so severely that they cannot quickly access the capital they need, as banks hoard money and refuse to lend to each other. In an attempt to ease the cash crunch in the system, the Reserve Bank of India has cut banks’ cash reserve requirements by 350 basis points since August and lowered its key lending rate. CREDIT CRUNCH Benmessaoud said despite government action to contain the effects of the global financial squeeze, state banks remained reluctant to lend to companies. “As a result some companies may not be able to have access to financing for their investments,” he said. The World Bank’s growth projections for developing countries this week forecast India’s economy would slow dramatically to 5.8% from 6.3% in 2008, with a recovery to 7.7% in 2010. “Growth is a concern,” Benmessaoud added. He said the World Bank lending strategy would target increased assistance to India’s seven poorest states including Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, which account for a large number of India’s poor. Benmessaoud said lending will focus on infrastructure development, especially providing India’s poorest with electricity and water, and strengthening the capacities of local authorities to use federal money more effectively. No Indian city provides water 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and only half the population has access to safe drinking water, while 40% of India’s 600,000 villages are not connected to a road. World Bank funding will also support middle-income states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Gujarat, and Maharashtra by tackling poorer regions, and addressing the challenges emerging from rapid growth, compounded now by the global economic downturn. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 5:11 am India-Pakistan tensions flare at Afghanistan talksParis: Tensions between India and Pakistan over last month’s terrorist attacks on Mumbai overshadowed a conference aimed at fostering cooperation between Afghanistan and its neighbours. Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Indian junior foreign minister Anand Sharma sat side-by-side at a news conference on Sunday following the informal, closed-door talks, but they traded barely concealed barbs. Sharma insisted India has acted “with remarkable restraint and maturity” in responding to the attacks, which began 26 November, and suggested it was up to Pakistan to act to dismantle terrorist networks operating on its soil. “We all know where these terror outfits are and where the perpetrators are,” said Sharma. “The only way forward is to ensure that democracies flourish and the perpetrators of the dastardly attacks are brought to justice quickly.” Qureshi said Pakistan is eager to cooperate with its neighbours in the fight against terror and warned against assigning blame. “We’ve offered cooperation and we mean well,” he said. “It is so easy to get sucked into a blame game, so easy to point fingers, but we don’t want to do that, because that would be counterproductive.” He added, “The question under consideration is: How do we join hands to overcome this menace, how can we cooperate to put an end to this menace?” Asked whether he and Sharma had interacted during the conference, which was held in Paris suburb La Celle Saint Cloud, Qureshi said “Obviously, if you spend the day together you are bound to speak to each other.... It was in a very cordial atmosphere, a very friendly tone.” The historical rivals were among several Asian states taking place in the talks, which also brought together top Russian, US and European officials, including EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 4:40 am ONGC sells Feb Sokol strongerSingapore: India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC) has sold via tender a cargo of February-loading Sokol crude at a stronger premium, lifting the grade from its previous record-low premium, traders said on Monday. The equity producer sold the cargo at a premium of $4.00 to Oman/Dubai quotes, or even above that level, up from a $3.25 premium for a February-loading cargo in its previous tender. Traders expressed surprise at the stronger premium. “I don’t think there is any fundamental change in Sokol economics. Distillates have not improved dramatically, but rather could be a bit weaker. The only reason I can think of is naphtha,” a trader said. “Or it could be arbitrage economics and a cheap freight cost,” he added. Light sweet, middle distillate-rich, Sokol crude has hit a series of record-lows this year on a weakening gas oil crack and a plunging naphtha crack, which fell to discounts in October for the first time since 2001. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 15 Dec 2008 | 3:57 am Bush says auto bailout not readyKABUL (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush said on Monday an announcement on a auto industry rescue was not imminent, leaving the industry's fate clouded in uncertainty for a little longer.Source: Reuters: Money News | 15 Dec 2008 | 2:55 am Fiscal stimulus package: Welcome moves but room for moreThe Government of India has taken action in terms of additional expenditure, tax cuts and coordinated steps by the RBI to relax credit conditions to important sectors. Announcing these decisions, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, PlanningSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Textile cos top distressed list for corporate debt recastMumbai, Dec. 14 The intensive care unit for the distressed constituents of India Inc – the Corporate Debt Restructuring (CDR) Cell – is witnessing an increased inflow of cases seeking debt restructuring.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am CAG may be roped in to audit RCom’s revenue reportingNew Delhi, Dec. 14 The Department of Telecom may rope in the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office to look into accounting issues related to alleged irregular revenue reporting by Reliance Communication.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am IT firms begin sharing internal green practices with clientsBangalore, Dec. 14 If you thought IT services firms mouth clichés when they talk about being trusted partners, think again.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Tyre makers on rough terrainMumbai, Dec. 14 These are not the best of times for the tyre sector. The reduction in raw material price is of little cheer to manufacturers as they are up against a huge drop in demand, rupee depreciation and import of ChineseSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Fertiliser, power firms drive up naphtha usage as prices fallNew Delhi, Dec. 14 After being out in the cold, naphtha again seems to be back in the reckoning as a viable feedstock for players in the power and fertiliser sectors.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Shree Renuka Sugars (Rs 62.05): BuyWe recommend a buy in Shree Renuka Sugars from a short-term perspective. It is apparent from the charts of Shree Renuka Sugars that after encountering resistance at around Rs 140 in early August, it experienced selling pressure and declinedSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Cos broaden job roles to beat tough timesBangalore, Dec. 14 In a global restructuring move at Cadbury in October this year, Mr Anand Kripalu, Managing Director of its Indian unit, became the president of the chocolate maker’s Asian operations. With this, the company eliminated itsSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am Gold futures may consolidateGold futures, ended lower on Friday on profit-taking as all other markets fell after the US Senate rejected an automaker bailout package. The White House moved to calm nerves on Friday afternoon, saying it was considering tapping a $700 billionSource: Business Line - Home Page | 15 Dec 2008 | 12:00 am 'I have learnt to stay away from office'Stephen R Covey's 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People' has been a bestseller for nearly 20 years. The success, he says, "is because it has universal, timeless principles in it, that apply in any country, in any culture, throughout the world."Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Dec 2008 | 10:37 pm Biocon to monetise 2 $250m moleculesCMD Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw is set to monetise at least two candidates from the company's impressive portfolio of novel biologics soon.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Dec 2008 | 10:35 pm Long term, it's red for equitiesStocks have barely managed to beat bond yields over the past 10 years, an analysis of the earnings of indices such as Sensex, the BSE 100 and the BSE 500 show.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Dec 2008 | 10:35 pm Nagarjuna Cons puts two airports on backburnerThe slowdown appears to have had a direct bearing on the two proposed greenfield airports at Shimoga and Gulbarga in Karnataka.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 14 Dec 2008 | 10:34 pm 'Obama's team mulls $1 trillion stimulus'US President-elect Barack Obamas team is considering an economic-stimulus programme of up to $1 trillion to revive the economy, the Wall Street Journal reported, quoting people familiar withSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 14 Dec 2008 | 6:36 pm Food subsidy may devour record Rs 50,000 crore this fiscalThe food subsidy is likely to touch a record Rs 50,000 crore in the current fiscal, nearly Rs 18,454 crore higher than Rs 31,546 crore in 2007-08.??At this level, the subsidy will exceed the budgetarySource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 14 Dec 2008 | 6:36 pm Jobs data may go quarterlyThe National Statistical Commission (NSC) is actively considering a proposal to estimate employment numbers every quarter to bridge a critical gap in real sector data coverage in theSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 14 Dec 2008 | 6:35 pm Cable industry protests as govt moves to relax foreign investment only for DTHThe cable industry, which reaches over 80 million out of Indias 130 million TV-owning homes, is getting ready to strongly oppose the governments move to raise the foreign directSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 14 Dec 2008 | 6:35 pm UTI AMC eyes 26% divestmentUTI Asset Management Company (UTI AMC), Indias oldest mutual fund, is in advanced stages of discussions to divest 26 per cent to a strategic partner.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 14 Dec 2008 | 6:34 pm MIT: We are very keen to collaborate with BollywoodCambridge, Massachusetts: Storytelling is perhaps as old as civilization itself, and much like the latter, it has evolved over time. Weathering tech storms from the Internet and mobile world, the art form has mutated, but survived. So on 18 November, when the Media Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, announced setting up of a new Centre for Future Storytelling, there were mixed reactions, partly owing to the lab’s reputation for being “futuristic” and also because of people’s strong attachment to the art of storytelling itself.  Technology tales: Ramesh Raskar of the Centre for Future Storytelling showing some of his new-age cameras. Seema Singh / Mint But one of the co-directors of this new centre, Ramesh Raskar, who recently joined MIT from Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories and also heads a group called Camera Culture, argues that Media Lab is not futuristic and is often thought to be so because it tries to create completely new things, rather than work on incremental technologies. In an interview, he explains what this centre, with a $25 million (Rs121 crore) funding from Plymouth Rock Studios, intends to do and how he thinks the entertainment business in India could leapfrog to an entirely new model with “interactive” and “social” storytelling. Edited excerpts: So, what is the future of storytelling? We want to make sure storytelling is democratized, social and improvisational, and for that we want to create tools and platforms that can be diffused into society. Steven Spielberg and James Cameron became who they are, the great storytellers, because they had access to the right resources and were surrounded by the right people. Compare that with the music industry, which until recently required that you have the studio, equipment et al. to release your CD. But that has changed now…you can put your CD on MySpace and become famous overnight. How can we do that for storytelling, moviemaking… Where does YouTube fit in all this? YouTube is an example of part democratization but most of the clips don’t have the context. By creating new tools we can empower individuals to become master storytellers, whether for the audience of one or a billion. The audience of one could be your daughter, and the story could be fiction (trying to put her to sleep) or real (sharing some experience with her). What leap in technology would this require? It could be as simple as you take your flight back to Bangalore and your baggage is delayed, which can be pretty annoying as it happens but could make for a good story once you settle and decide to narrate to your family. But now you don’t have the tools to do this. If we had a camera that was taking the movie all the time, maybe your bag was smart enough to know where it went and so on, then you have this much networked environment which is automatically writing the story. Technology does the bookkeeping and additional software pieces together the story. How much of this is already developed? These are very high-level technologies. For instance, instead of 2D there’ll be 3D cameras; cameras that can analyse your expression and emotion by looking at thermal imaging, or those that can do digital refocusing and use even out-of-focus pictures. Then we have displays, 6D instead of 3D, which not only changes the viewpoint (which happens in 2D or 3D) but even the light position. We have built pieces of these (technologies)…as it’s not one system that solves the problem. It’s like speech recognition—still not solved but people have made sufficient progress in the last 20 years to get very close to make it happen. So, I’m saying it’s 20 years to go from now. Is that the time frame for the ‘future storytelling’ to arrive? Yes. Right now we have funding for seven years and have only one partner. But we’ll get more partners. You look at the history of Media Lab—in the (19)80s it was multimedia; in the (19)90s, it was bits and atoms, and now it’s about intimacy of humans and technology. We don’t work on multimedia any more; we want to work on something that’s far in the future. Will this give rise to a new form of visual art, say holographic TV? Of course. Holographic television is something we are working on. But think how photorealism in painting was a hot topic 200 years ago and when camera came around, creating photorealistic painting became boring because cameras could do a much better job…that totally transformed the field of paintings. The way camera made photorealism painting obsolete, we want to make the next device that’ll make today’s camera obsolete and boring. You also work on personalized camera… It’s a somewhat vague concept—in future you’ll be wearing it all the time, recording all the time… But why would I want to record everything all the time? It’s like saying why do we need (a) 24-hour news channel? People want information, especially about themselves, and process that information for value addition—for measuring one’s productivity, well-being, health, or even for keeping in touch with loved ones. Media Lab is famous for working on futuristic technology, which doesn’t quite pan out in the real world. How realistic is this—crowd sourcing if I may call it? It is crowd sourcing, and it is happening. In visual media we call it ‘visual social computing’. When (adventure aviator) Steve Fossett’s plane went missing in Nevada last year, we saw this happen—everybody was trying to find a piece of the puzzle. Do you think Bollywood will be interested? We are very keen to collaborate with Bollywood and early next year we’ll make a formal trip to India to strike some deals. Seeing how India has leapfrogged the industrial revolution to enter the service model, or has taken to mobile telephony, I think the entertainment business there can come up with a completely new form of storytelling. Bollywood, because of its decentralized nature, is in the right position to propagate new forms of “Indian-style” entertainment. Moreover, storytelling is not only about entertainment—news, education, social messages, interpersonal relationships—are all part of storytelling. So, this is not a centre for future moviemaking. News is a big aspect of it as we already have a Centre for Future Civic Media here. We’ll play a complementary role in building tools for news in local communities. Tools again…can you demystify ‘tools’ and ‘platforms’? Usually when you do research, you don’t create the back end and front end. Research lies somewhere in the middle, pushing the edges of these two ends. So, a tool would be how to add intelligence to a mobile phone camera or a mobile phone display or to the software so that you can tell the story of your delayed baggage. Maybe a camera that is constantly recording, has an accelerometer (an instrument for measuring acceleration) which looks for the shake of it, a software that processes images and does facial recognition. Maybe there’s a platform that tells you—when you are telling the story—what next to show depending on who’s in the crowd or what your emotion is. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Dec 2008 | 6:17 pm Using ‘torrent’ applications can land users in copyright troubleEver felt the urge to grab a copy of your favourite Bond flick even before its video is out in stores? If you did, you could have in your quest come across “torrents”. These are peer-to-peer or P2P file sharing protocols that allow the distribution of large amounts of data on the Web such as films, music, software, games, etc., hosted by an initial distributor on the server in order to enable others to download the same. In order to download a particular file using a P2P program, one can check the software database and connect with another user who may have made the same available for sharing over the Internet. The principle behind the functioning of torrent applications is similar to that of a P2P program, except that the transfer or sharing of files in a P2P program is between two users, with only one distributor, as against a torrent application where a user would be downloading a file from several users. The torrent software essentially connects to all the users downloading a particular file and compiles the file by acquiring parts of it from each user. Though torrent websites maintain files of most films, music albums, games, computer programmes, pornography and e-books, they are rarely uploaded by individuals who have the right to distribute such content. Hence, although torrents may have become a rage among Internet users, the legality of the modus operandi is questionable. Under the Indian Copyright Act, 1957, copyright in a work is said to be infringed when any action, the exclusive right to do which vests in the owner of the copyright, is taken without having been granted the licence to do so by the copyright owner. But using copyright protected content for private use does not constitute a copyright infringement. So users downloading copyright protected content using conventional P2P programs are less likely to attract penal provisions of the Copyright Act as they do not at any stage become distributors of the same. However, when using a torrent, as explained above, a person downloading data even for his private use eventually will become a distributor for other users at the same point and may be committing copyright infringement, punishable with imprisonment for up to three years and a fine of up to Rs2 lakh. Torrents may also be used to download pornographic material. Under the Information Technology Act, 2000, a person can be punished for publishing and transmitting pornographic content. If a P2P program is used to download adult content, a person might not be an offender under the Indian Penal Code or the IT Act as he is not distributing, publishing, transmitting or selling such content and is merely downloading it for private use (though there are no judicial precedents to confirm the same). But by using a torrent application a person unknowingly distributes the content that he may be downloading for private use and hence may be subject to punitive action. So whereas the person who initially uploads the content commits an offence under Indian law, persons downloading such content may also be considered to be in breach of law in the case of torrents, unless they use torrent applications that do not require them to upload the same. So, to be on the right side of law, one can use torrent sites that have the right to distribute such content, or simply buy the original and discourage piracy! Send your comments to lawfullyyours@livemint.com This column is contributed by Ravi Bhasin of AZB & Partners, Advocates &Solicitors. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Dec 2008 | 4:18 pm Laws relating to cybercrime are adequateNew Delhi: Cybercrime in the country is rising, what with the greater number of net users banking and trading in stocks online and buying air and rail tickets, movie tickets, gifts, books and other merchandise and services on the internet. Raghu Raman, CEO, Mahindra Special Services Group, speaks to Namit Gupta on the new methods online crooks are using to cheat you of your money, and what you must do avoid becoming their victim. How serious is the cybercrime situation in India today? While it is difficult to provide accurate statistics there is no denying cybercrime is on the rise in India. There are three key reasons for this:  Cyber care: Raghu Raman, CEO, Mahindra Special Services Group 1.The number of internet users is increasing exponentially 2.This increasing base of users provides fertile ground for cybercriminals to thrive as with little or no effort they now have a much bigger pie of “potential targets” 3.There is no entry barrier, unlike the brick and mortar world, where a new entrant into the world of crime has to deal with the local goon or an existing syndicate. The attacker is practically anonymous on the Internet and therefore much more dangerous. Easy entry is also facilitated by the small infrastructure requirements — all you need is a computer, internet connection and an intelligent albeit devious mind to kick-start a career in crime Which establishments are particularly susceptible to phishing attacks in India? The banking and financial services sector, particularly wealth management services and retail banking, has been targeted. Here I would like to mention that the wider the footprint of the establishment, the greater the susceptibility of its customers to phishing attacks. Let me give you an example. A smaller bank, with a smaller and geographically more concentrated customer base will be in a position to offer RSA tokens to its customers. A larger bank with a more spread out customer base, on the other hand, may not be able to implement such a security mechanism across the board and might typically rely on more conventional two-factor authentication such as the credit card and PIN number or an online user ID and password. Also, phishing isn’t only online and has been attempted on the phone as well (commonly referred to as “vishing”) with so-called call centre executives using very clever means such as free offers and reduced interest rates on outstanding balance to extract credit card and other details from unsuspecting victims. Other industries such as airlines and online subscription services are also susceptible. Is the nature of online frauds also changing? Yes it is. At one time, online phishing would typically involve email messages from a website that mimicked the website of a bank or another reputed establishment and sought personal information such as credit card details from the intended victim. Then you had fake donation sites —one came up only 45 minutes after the tsunami struck. These sites would typically play on the generosity of the internet user, hoping to get him to make a donation using his credit card. Not only would the victim lose his money, but he’d also run the risk of getting his computer infected with a Trojan that would pass on information about every monetary transaction he conducted on the net to some faceless criminal somewhere, without his knowing about it. Other variants include the ‘Letter 419‘ that typically came from some so-called widow or other unfortunate in Africa who had access to a huge sum of money and who was willing to share it with you if you paid something upfront or shared your banking details so that the money could be transferred to your account. Some phishers have been known to offer free pornographic content to adults but not to minors. Their objective is to get the children in the family, if any, to steal the parents’ credit card and use it to access that content. Today, the crime has become even more sophisticated with crooks targeting specific groups or individuals. How do they do that? It’s called “spearing” or “spear phishing” and is a bit more sophisticated than phishing. The modus operandi in phishing is to lay the bait for as many internet users as possible with the expectation that some would bite. Letter 419, donation sites, mimics belong to this category. Spearing is more concentrated. Let’s say you are gay and have your sexual preferences stored on a gay group in a social networking site. Obviously, the information you provide is top secret and only meant for other members in your group. What prevents a cyber-crook from pretending he’s gay if he wants to enter your network? And once he does, he’ll have a focused strategy because he knows whom exactly he is targeting. A smart criminal might want to target IT groups today, given that this group will be actively contacting friends and associates on the internet for new job opportunities and IT contracts in a bad market. What should one do to protect oneself from phishing or spearing attacks? For starters, I would recommend getting the latest version of the more widely used internet browsers—Mozilla, Internet explorer or Firefox— installed on your computer, because they all have anti-phishing alerts, plus the latest versions of the anti-virus and anti-spyware programmes. Other steps one must take include: •Never download or open attachments, whose source you are not certain about. Even if the source is trusted, see if the content is relevant, if not don’t open attachment. •Do not give away your residence or cell number. Be especially careful when you are filling in contest forms, coupons, free gift vouchers etc. more often than not these are gimmicks to obtain your personal details. •Set a limit on the value of a single transaction on your credit card. Purchases made beyond this would be rejected. •Maintain two distinct set of identities on the net—one exclusively for your financial affairs and the other for other dealings on the internet such as memberships on social networking sites. Remember, your acceptance of someone as a friend on a social networking site, usually gives him or her access to your other friends as well. •Never ever transact online at a cybercafé or even a friend’s place. •Always type in the desired URL instead of clicking on links •Check your credit card or bank account statement regularly for any discrepancies •Read about Information security breaches by subscribing to some news letters. In the case of many breaches the only defense is knowledge. Despite this, if you think you’ve been hit, inform your bank immediately. You can at least block your credit card or account and prevent further damage. If the crook is not seasoned, it may also be possible for the bank to track him. You must also file an FIR with the police. How strong is the law in India addressing and controlling cybercrime? The laws, per se, are adequate. The issue is enforcement. The police force needs to be endowed not only with greater numbers in the cybercrime cells, but also needs to be educated in dealing with this category of offences, where the perpetrator does not have a face. However, it is the corporate world—banks, financial institutions and other segments offering online services and whose credibility is at stake if their sites are targeted—that must take the initiatives here. They must realize that security is a high-end and professional game and cannot be left to IT vendors and audit firms for implementation. In fact, security should be treated as a board level issue and not something for the CFO or the CIO to manage. Typically the security apparatus in a company tends to look at procedural correctness instead of the probable outcome of a security lapse. For instance, auditors are usually more concerned about ensuring that the know-your-customer (KYC) formalities have been duly completed at the bank, but rarely explore the possibility of a loan being disbursed on a form that has one person’s name, another’s photograph and the address of a third person. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 14 Dec 2008 | 3:25 pm
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