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Pramod Jain does not hold any stake in GTC: Sanjay DalmiaPramod Jain and Pranidhi Holdings have made a voluntary open offer for 20% in Sanjay Dalmia promoted Golden Tobacco. In an interview with CNBCTV18 Sanjay Dalmia categorically stated that Pramod Jain does not hold any stake in GTC. He also spoke about the company plans in the real estate sector.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Nov 2009 | 6:28 am Tata Steel to swap convertibles, extend repaymentTata Steel, the world\'s No 8 steelmaker, on Thursday approved a new convertible bonds offer in exchange for an existing USD 875 million securities, in an effort to reduce costs and ease repayment obligationsSource: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Nov 2009 | 5:54 am GM chief apologises for the handling of Opel, Magna deal!The chief executive of US automaker General Motors has apologised and expressed "deep regret" for the company`s handling of a sale of its subsidiary Opel to Canadian manufacturer Magna and Russian investment bank Sperbank.Source: Zee News : Business | 12 Nov 2009 | 5:34 am RBI asks banks to update list of terror funding entities!Banks and financial institutions have been directed by the RBI to scan all existing accounts to ensure that these are not to the UN list of terrorists or terror-related organisations.Source: Zee News : Business | 12 Nov 2009 | 5:34 am American Airlines says TPG could invest in struggling JAL!Private equity firm TPG could partner with American Airlines on a minority investment in Japan Airlines to prevent its defection to a rival airline group, the chief financial officer of American parent AMR Corp said.Source: Zee News : Business | 12 Nov 2009 | 5:34 am HP to buy 3Com for 2.7 billion dollars!US computer giant Hewlett-Packard has announced that it has agreed to buy networking company 3Com for 2.7 billion dollars.Source: Zee News : Business | 12 Nov 2009 | 5:34 am Oil prices up in Asian trade, NY crude above 80 dollars!Oil prices on Thursday rose in Asian trade, boosted by positive showings on regional equities markets and a strengthening Chinese economy, analysts said.Source: Zee News : Business | 12 Nov 2009 | 5:34 am Infosys BPO to acquire US co McCamish for initial $38 mn!Infosys Technologies on Thursday said its subsidiary Infosys BPO will acquire US-based McCamish Systems for an initial payment of USD 38 million (about Rs 176.6 crore).Source: Zee News : Business | 12 Nov 2009 | 5:34 am Yuan can be alternative reserve currency in 15 yrs: WB !World Bank president Robert Zoellick has said in 15 years the Chinese yuan can become an alternative to US dollar as a global reserve currency, with China`s fast economic growth and efforts to internationalise the currency.Source: Zee News : Business | 12 Nov 2009 | 5:34 am Mkt turns bearish, Sensex dips after positive opening!After a smart rally yesterday, the market turned bearish with the BSE benchmark Sensex slipping down 49 points in late morning trade on Thursday due to profit booking by investors amid mixed Asian trend.Source: Zee News : Business | 12 Nov 2009 | 5:34 am Reliance may sell stake in foreign blocks!Energy major Reliance Industries may sell stakes in some of its overseas exploration blocks, Executive Director PMS Prasad told reporters on Wednesday.Source: Zee News : Business | 12 Nov 2009 | 5:34 am Air India losses more than $1bn !Burdened by high fuel and labour costs, cash-strapped Air India suffered a net loss of Rs 5,548 crore in 2008-09, as its total revenue declined by around Rs 2,000 crore compared to the previous fiscal.Source: Zee News : Business | 12 Nov 2009 | 5:34 am Infosys arm buys insurance BPO McCamish Systems for $38mThe BPO arm of Indian IT major Infosys has acquired USbased insurance BPO McCamish Systems in an all cash deal of USD 38 million, companys Head of BPO division Amitabh Chaudhary confirms.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Nov 2009 | 4:40 am Bajaj Auto hopes to sell 1 lakh Discovers/monthBajaj Auto is playing the role of a developer and manufacturer in the Renault joint venture (JV), says Managing Director Rajiv Bajaj, in an interview with CNBCTV18, adding that the branding and positioning will be done by Renault as it has marketing, sales and distribution expertise.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Nov 2009 | 4:19 am Apollo Tyres to raise output 60% in next fiscalWith a view to becoming one of the top tyre makers in the world in the next five years, Apollo Tyres said it will increase its production by 60 per cent in the next fiscal.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Nov 2009 | 4:10 am Jyothi Lab eyes Rs 25crore turnover from laundry serviceJyothi Laboratories, which started its doortodoor laundry service with the launch of Fabric Spa, is looking at a Rs 25crore turnover from the new service in the next one year.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Nov 2009 | 4:08 am GSPC may go for 5% private placement to raise Rs 1000crHaving received the formal approval for its KG basin gas field development plan from the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas on November 8, the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation may soon go ahead for fresh issue of 5% shares for private placement to Gujarat PSUs, banks and FIs, according to sources.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Nov 2009 | 4:05 am TVS Logistics acquires UK\'s Multipart HoldingTVS Logistics Services has acquired a Rs 500crore logistics solutions provider in the UK, Multipart Holding, in the process increasing the companys turnover to about Rs 1,000 crore, a year earlier than originally envisaged.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Nov 2009 | 4:01 am RNRL not allowed to enter gas selling biz: RILReliance Industries (RIL) told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the Anil Ambanipromoted Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) was trying to enter the gas selling business despite the Reliance business empires demerger scheme expressly demarcating that territory exclusively for the Mukesh Ambani group.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Nov 2009 | 3:56 am Ministry signals cheaper digital TV optionConsumers will soon get a cheaper option of watching digital television with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting proposing to charge zero annual licence fee from Headend In The Sky (HITS) service providers.Source: Moneycontrol Top Headlines | 12 Nov 2009 | 3:51 am Sensex ends lower; realty, metals down - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Nov 2009 | 3:20 am BSE Sensex provisionally closes down 0.8 pctMUMBAI (Reuters) - The BSE Sensex provisionally fell 0.8 percent on Thursday as investors booked profits in stocks such as State Bank of India and ICICI Bank that had rallied this month. Weak global markets also weighed.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Nov 2009 | 3:15 am Obama tops Forbes list of world's most powerful peopleSINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - U.S. President Barack Obama can add another accolade to his already long list of awards after being named the world's most powerful person in an inaugural ranking by Forbes magazine.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Nov 2009 | 3:09 am Sensex trading volatile, Asian markets in redIndian equities markets were trading dull Thursday afternoon even as the benchmark index ruled in a volatile zone. Other Asian markets were no different with key indices ending in the red.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 12 Nov 2009 | 3:04 am Delhi Metro chief justifies fare hikeDelhi Metro chief E. Sreedharan Thursday said the fare hike in metro rail services was due to increase in the organisation's expenditure. The 36 percent hike comes into effect Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 12 Nov 2009 | 3:03 am Indian students welcome guests: Australian PMA day after India reiterated its concerns over recent attacks on students from here down under, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Thursday said they were welcome guests in his country.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 12 Nov 2009 | 3:03 am We will continue to support US dollar: Australian PMDespite concerns over the falling US dollar, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd Thursday said his country would continue to support the currency.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 12 Nov 2009 | 3:02 am Metro's Noida link flagged offThe Delhi Metro entered another state for the first time when its link to Noida in adjoining Uttar Pradesh was flagged off Thursday. The link will open to the public Friday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 12 Nov 2009 | 3:02 am Didn't Mukesh know of Ambani family pact, asks apex courtReliance Industries Ltd (RIL) can't say it had no knowledge of the Ambani family pact between brothers Mukesh and Anil, which was brokered by their mother Kokilaben, the Supreme Court observed Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 12 Nov 2009 | 3:01 am Sensex ends 0.76 percent lowerA benchmark index of the Indian equities markets closed 0.76 percent lower Thursday with realty, metal and banking stocks coming under selling pressure.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 12 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am Constellation of satellites needed for disaster management Mumbai: The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has stressed on the need to have a constellation of satellites with multisectral sensors to predict, mitigate and manage disasters. “Exactly how many satellites an effective constellation would need is still open for debate. No single satellite can hope to meet all these needs. Rather, what disaster managers need is a constellation of satellites carrying a range of sensors,” Director, Space Application Centre Isro, Ranganath Navalgund said from Ahmedabad Thursday. The constellation plan is a part of the ‘Umbrella Plan’ of the organisation, he said. Disasters come in all shapes and sizes, needing varying data during the disaster cycle of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery, Navalgund said. Many studies suggest at least eight satellites, with dual capability sensors can collect both high and low spatial resolution data, and an equal split between optical (including thermal) and microwave instruments. “The satellites should also be agile, they should allow rapid changes in camera orientation so that a disaster area can be kept in view longer,” he said. However, India currently makes use of data from different satellites which are already operating for disaster management. Even yesterday’s cyclone ‘Phyan’ in Arabian sea was tracked by INSAT-3A Kalpana and recently launched Oceansat-2 with KU band and scatterometer, he said. Crucially, different situations need data collected in different wavebands — like optical and near infrared data can map land use or assess agricultural droughts. “But to track a cyclone’s eye, or monitor flooded areas beneath cloud, microwave sensors are needed,” Navalgund said. In flood monitoring, this can pose a real problem. Low spatial resolution data can map out large inundated areas, but relief efforts really need more detailed, yet still timely, data on infrastructure, like submerged bridges, drains and roads,“ SAC director said. A constellation of polar-orbiting satellites, equally spaced around a sun-synchronous orbit to provide continuous coverage over any given place, could solve this, he said. Such a constellation, designed primarily for disaster management, could offer more frequent data in the right part of the spectrum and India is planning on these lines. Geostationary satellites, predominantly designed for weather forecasting, are good at spotting a cyclone’s forming, tracking its movements, and predicting land fall points. But they don’t usually carry microwave sensors, which are needed to estimate a cyclone’ Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 2:59 am Govt borrowing going on smoothly - RBI deputyNEW DELHI (Reuters) - The government's borrowing programming is going on in a non-disruptive manner, Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Shyamala Gopinath said on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Nov 2009 | 2:47 am Geithner says exit policies may vary globallySINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday that the timing of stimulus exit policies would vary between countries, but business confidence and the financial system would need to be restored first.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Nov 2009 | 2:45 am Shree Precoated Steels gallops on change of guard - India Infoline.com
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Nov 2009 | 2:36 am The Playcast: A digital brand index, the Nokia Forum and more tweepleOn this weeks playcast, we have a couple of interesting interviews and two new segments lined up for you on the show. To start with, Sidin Vadukut deconstructs the Brandtology digital brand index with the help of Bob Grove, Asia Pacific Director of Technology,Edelman - the people behind the index. we introduce a brand new section specially designed to help you avoid work The head of Forum Nokia Purnima Kochikar tells us about the Nokia development Community in India and Sidin Vadukut returns with a brand new edition of beautiful tweeple Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 2:35 am IEA says global oil demand returns to growth in Q4LONDON (Reuters) - Global oil demand will grow in the fourth quarter of 2009, its first year-on-year increase in fuel use since the second quarter of 2008, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Nov 2009 | 2:29 am Delhi Metro enters Noida, thousands to benefitNew Delhi: Delhi Metro on Thursday achieved another milestone when a brand-new train chugged into the satellite city of Noida for the first time paving the way for thousands of commuters in east Delhi and adjoining areas to enjoy the new age transport system. The 13.1 km Yamuna Bank-Noida line was inaugurated by Union urban development minister S Jaipal Reddy in the presence of chief minister Sheila Dikshit at the newly-built Akshardham station here. Reddy flagged off the first train with destination to Noida City Centre (Sector-32). This is the first time a Metro train formally enters Noida. The line, which will be opened for public from 6 am Friday, is expected to bring a paradigm shift in the travelling habits of thousands of people in east Delhi and trans-Yamuna areas. The Noida corridor, built at a cost of Rs630 crore, is completely elevated and will be integrated with the existing 34.3 km Yamuna Bank-Dwarka Sector-9 segment,extending total length of the Line-3 to 47.4 km. The line is also the first where the DMRC missed its deadline. The corridor was scheduled for opening in October. DMRC has projected that about 53,000 passengers daily are expected to join the new age transport system after the opening of the Noida corridor. The DMRC will run eight brand-new broad gauge trains, procured from Bombardier, on the line presently. Decks were cleared for the DMRC to cross Delhi and enter NCR in July when Parliament passed a Bill to give legal cover for construction, operation and maintenance of the metro rail system in the NCR and other metro cities. The Metro stations on the Noida corridor will have a completely new and modern look. Parking facility has been provided at all stations till New Ashok Nagar and in Noida at Botanical Garden and Noida City Centre stations. Akshardham station on the section will be one of the most aesthetic stations so far as it has been designed to match the look of the Akshardham Temple located nearby. The station will also be the tallest Metro station built so far, having six levels and standing 16.5 m above the ground and 21 m from the basement. Earlier, the Kashmere Gate station at 15 m above the ground was the tallest. In order to make sure that the station blends well with the locale which houses the sprawling Akshardham Temple, DMRC decided to use Dholpur stone on the exterior of the station structure as has been done in the temple too. Provision has also been made at the upper ground and concourse levels of the station for commuters to enjoy the magnificent view of the temple. The station will be connected to the Commonwealth Games Village by a road being constructed by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) from the front entrance of the station. The DDA is also constructing a bus shelter near the front entrance of the station for the convenience of commuters using the public transport. After flagging off the train, Reddy said it marks the extension of “legendary” Delhi Metro into UP and all the projects of the Phase-II will be completed before the Commonwealth Games. “(DMRC managing director) Sreedharan is confident that DMRC will fulfill all promises absolutely,” Reddy told reporters. Noting that the DMRC is “one of the greatest achievements” in India in the recent years, he said, “we have decided that Metro facilities can be introduced in all cities which have the population of more than two million.” The minister said Haryana and UP demanded during Wednesday’s meeting of NCR Planning Board that the Metro services should be extended to Ghaziabad, Faridabad and other places. “We would like to go as far as possible provided the routes are economically viable. Economic viability is an important criteria and these demands will be taken up as soon as possible,” Reddy said. “We will repeat the performance of Delhi Metro in other cities. Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai Metro projects have already started and such a facility in Kochi is in the pipeline,” he added. Dikshit said it was an “exciting day as the Delhi Metro will step out of the capital and enter the state of UP”. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 2:24 am Australia reaches out to India with climate aidNew Delhi: Australia said it will invest $50 million to develop green technologies in India, in a sign Canberra was trying to bridge differences with New Delhi over climate change negotiations. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made the announcement during a visit that was also aimed at soothing bilateral relations strained after several Indian students were assaulted in Australia, sparking an outrage in India. “Our challenge is to work together and shape a common future for us all, requiring real action on part of all countries.” India has slammed the so-called “Australian Proposal” on climate change that seeks to remove the distinction between rich and poorer nations, calling on both sides to cut emissions. Developing countries led by India and China say negotiations should be based on a previously agreed UN framework that requires rich nations to take deep emission cuts while putting no such restrictions on poorer countries, Indian officials say. India is also unhappy Australia refuses to supply uranium to nations that have not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty, undermining an India-US civilian nuclear deal which allowed uranium to be supplied to India for the first time in decades. “What Australia is trying to do is reduce disputes and build on whatever opportunities that exist. Issues like climate change, attacks on Indians and the nuclear deal are a few,” said Naresh Chandra, former ambassador to the United States. Representatives from about 190 countries will meet in Copenhagen next month to discuss a new climate change pact. “The Australian proposal is already facing opposition from China, G-77 and other developing countries. India is saying no to the proposal and Australia would definitely want India to dilute its stand,” said K. Srinivas, a Greenpeace climate change expert. The Australia Prime Minister made the investment announcement in Delhi after a meeting with Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 2:23 am J&K to set up cable car project to connect heritage sites Jammu: A Rs30 crore cable car project has been proposed by the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) government to connect heritage sites across the city. “A cable car project (Gandola) will be set up at a cost of Rs30 crore to connect heritage sites of Bagh-e-Bahu, Mubarak mandi, Mahamaya temple, Bawe Temple and Peerkho temple for catering to the pilgrims visiting Vaishnodevi and also tourists,” Pawan Kotwal, divisional commissioner Jammu said. The blue print for this project was first prepared in 1995 and initially the cable car was to take off from Mubarak Mandi, but after the declaration of Mubarak Mandi and Bahu Fort as heritage sites, the project had to be relocated. “A committed has been constituted for identifying new sites for constructing lower and upper terminals for the proposed ropeway,” he said. He called for making the project self-sustainable by generating its own revenue. Kotwal also asked for designing the project in such a manner that it can retain the tourists for more time in the city of the temples by developing attraction sites at Manda, Peerkho, Bagh-e-Bahu, Aquarium, Mahamaya temple and Sidhra Golf course. He said that this would improve the economy of the region by creating varied avenues for the people associated with the tourism industry. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 2:22 am US most important country for climate deal: UN chiefUnited Nations: Stressing that failed action on climate change could have catastrophic consequences, UN chief Ban Ki-moon has asked the US to take a leading role in ensuring a successful outcome of the Copenhagen conference next month. “No country is more important than the US in resolving this climate change issue,” Ban said, after meeting with Congressional leaders and Washington’s top brass including US Senators John Kerry, Richard Lugar and Joe Lieberman. “All eyes of the world are looking to the US and to this august body, the US Senate,” he said, adding that the Copenhagen Climate Conference should yield “a robust, global agreement that can serve as a foundation for a climate treaty.” Around 192 countries that will meet in the Danish capital next month are expected to hammer out a climate treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol since the first commitment period under this treaty ends in 2012. Ban underlined that battling climate change would involve economic costs to all nations in the short-term but delaying action would leave all of humanity suffering in the long-run. “Inaction will mean a weakened economic recovery, a loss of global competitiveness, increased global instability and further human suffering,” Ban said. “A global agreement on the other hand will unleash investments that will do more than any single other action could do to jump-start and sustain global economic recovery,” he noted. While US President Barack Obama has termed climate change as a big challenge, the American position in Copenhagen depends largely on the treatment of the domestic Climate Change Bill, which is pending in the US Senate and is not expected to be passed before the conference in Denmark. “From what I heard today, there is great support in the Senate for action on climate change,” said Ban “But for some, there are lingering doubts about whether we can afford to take action during this hard economic crisis.” The UN chief highlighted that Obama had shown initiative in addressing the climate problem, and the US President’s signal of participating in Copenhagen sent the right message to build political momentum. “Copenhagen offers us all an unprecedented opportunity. We must use our time before that historic gathering for maximum effort,” he added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 2:19 am Strong Indian industry data adds to stimulus debate - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Nov 2009 | 2:14 am Clinton urges Myanmar to free Suu KyiManila: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called again on Thursday for the unconditional release of Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, but suggested there could be high-level contacts with the country’s military leaders at a summit this weekend. She said that Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi, who has been in detention for 14 of the last 20 years, had every right, as any person should have to participate in the active democratic life of her country. “We believe that her detention over so many years is baseless and not founded on any concern other than she is the leader of the political opposition,” Clinton said at a news conference in the Philippine capital, Manila. Clinton called for the opposition to be allowed to take part in the reclusive state’s planned 2010 election. But she also said that there could be high-level contacts with the former Burma’s junta at a meeting this weekend of Southeast Asian states to be attended by US President Barack Obama—though no formal bilateral meeting was planned. “First of all there is no meeting,” she said adding: “There may very well be an opportunity for the leaders, including myself, including the president, to meet the leaders of Burma, something that we have not done before.” The Obama administration decided in September to pursue deeper engagement with Myanmar to try to spur democratic reforms. Obama will be at the summit in Singapore on Sunday, where Lieutenant General Thein Sein, Myanmar’s Prime Minister, will also be present. Myanmar’s military government is shunned by the West over its rights record, which has kept previous US presidents from meeting all 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a part. Clinton said of next year’s planned election: “I will underscore our scepticism about an election that does not include all of the people or their representatives who are in opposition.” There were no plans, she said, to drop US economic sanctions on Myanmar. “We have made it very clear we are not lifting sanctions on Burma but we are trying to encourage Burma to conduct the kind of internal dialogue with all the stakeholders, including Aung San Suu Kyi, that could lead to there being fair, free and credible elections next year.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 2:10 am Midsession: Markets extend losses to 1%; banks fallMumbai: Indian shares extended losses to more than 1% on Thursday afternoon, as traders booked profits in stocks such as banks that had rallied this month. At 2:45pm, the 30-share BSE index was down 1.13% at 16,659.08, with two-thirds of its components declining. The 50-share NSE index was down 1.2% at 4,942.20. Indian shares were trading 0.5% lower in choppy trade in the afternoon as Asian markets reversed gains and investors locked in profits after the previous day’s rally. Leading lenders State Bank of India, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank led the losses, after they had rallied this month. The sector index shed 1.5%, but is still up 9.5% since the end of October. State Bank was down 2% at Rs2,331 while ICICI and HDFC Bank shed 2% and 0.7% respectively. By 11:52am, the 30-share BSE index was down 0.51% at 16,763.83, after rising 2.5% on Wednesday. Seventeen of its components declined. The 50-share NSE index was down 0.7% at 4,969.40. The benchmark is still up 5.4% so far in November. “There is resistance as we are moving higher, which is why the market is fluctuating but the undertone is bullish,” said Mehul Dedhia, assistant vice president of sales at Sharekhan. Tata Steel shed as much as 3.5% after the company approved a new convertible bonds offer in exchange for an existing $875 million securities and lowered the conversion price. “I think the company was not confident of its stock reaching that price, which means it would face a big redemption in a single year,” said Pawan Burde, sector analyst at Mumbai-based PINC Research. “This probably reflects their concerns over growth amid the downturn in the global steel industry,” he said. The stock was later down 2.9% at Rs511.20. Infosys Technologies rose 0.3% to Rs2,318.40 after its business process outsourcing arm said it was in a pact to acquire US-based McCamish Systems. In the broader market, losers outpaced gainers in a ratio of 1.1:1 on volume of 253 million shares. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 2:08 am Delhi Metro chief justifies fare hike - Times of India
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Nov 2009 | 2:06 am Slum Redevelopment scheme way behind scheduleMumbai: Maharashtra government’s initiative of making Mumbai a slum-free city by 2015 is way behind the schedule with hardly 1.5 lakh houses constructed over the past 14 years against the targeted 8 lakh. “So far, we have made 1.5 lakh units and 2.5 lakh units are still under construction. We need to develop 5 lakh more units,” State Housing Department secretary Sitaram Kunte said. The Rs32,000-crore Slum Redevelopment Authority (SRA) scheme was introduced in 1995 by the then Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government with a view to rehabilitate millions of slum-dwellers in the city. The global economic downturn resulted in an overall slowdown in several redevelopment projects of the state government, including the SRA scheme and the Dharavi Development Project, Kunte said. However, he declined to give further information on the Rs5,600-crore Dharavi project—the world’s largest slum rehabilitation programme. “The private developers were not too keen during the economic slump (to take up projects) and hence the slow progress. It was even considered unviable in some of the suburbs as the sale rates were less than Rs2,000 per sq ft,” Kunte said. ”However, the department is hopeful that with the economy showing signs of recovery, more private developers will come forward,“ Kunte said, adding the government is only a facilitator and more public-private-partnership is required for the execution of the projects. Under the SRA, every slum structure existing as on 1 January 1995, or before is eligible to benefit from the rehabilitation scheme. Also, nearly 70% of the residents of any slum should agree before a developer can redevelop their plot by constructing seven-storey buildings where each family will get a flat measuring 225 sq ft free, he said. The remaining land can be used to build commercial or residential spaces for sale. Out of the total project amount, Mumbai alone will require nearly Rs16,000-crore. “To further facilitate the project, the government should modify the existing rules and increase the Floor Space Index (FSI) to 4 from the existing 2.5, which the developers do not find viable,” he added. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 2:06 am Gold at record highs spur more scrap salesMumbai: India gold powered to another record high on Thursday helped by a weak dollar overseas, spurring scrap sales as consumers cashed in on the price surge, but weakness in the physical offtake continued, dealers said. “There are 15-20 people lined outside my shop for scrap sales, and we expect around 50-60 of them to come in by evening,” said Jitendra Kantilal, partner at Zaveri Bazaar-based Jugraj Kantilal & Co. “Around 500-600 kgs of scrap (gold) must have landed in bazaar last week,” Kantilal added. Kantilal offered to buy scrap at Rs17,000 per 10 grams. The most-traded gold December contract on the Multi Commodity Exchange struck a fresh record of Rs16,884 in the afternoon trade, erasing the morning high of Rs16,860. However, spot demand continued to remain weak as traders were reluctant to place fresh orders in the middle of the weddings season, which will last till December. “I haven’t booked a single deal for local jewellers since morning,” said a dealer with a state-run bullion dealing bank in Mumbai. “There could be good domestic demand if prices go below Rs16,500 (per 10 grams) or $1,080 an ounce,” said the dealer. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 1:50 am Gold at record highs spur more scrap salesMumbai: India gold powered to another record high on Thursday helped by a weak dollar overseas, spurring scrap sales as consumers cashed in on the price surge, but weakness in the physical offtake continued, dealers said. “There are 15-20 people lined outside my shop for scrap sales, and we expect around 50-60 of them to come in by evening,” said Jitendra Kantilal, partner at Zaveri Bazaar-based Jugraj Kantilal & Co. “Around 500-600 kgs of scrap (gold) must have landed in bazaar last week,” Kantilal added. Kantilal offered to buy scrap at Rs17,000 per 10 grams. The most-traded gold December contract on the Multi Commodity Exchange struck a fresh record of Rs16,884 in the afternoon trade, erasing the morning high of Rs16,860. However, spot demand continued to remain weak as traders were reluctant to place fresh orders in the middle of the weddings season, which will last till December. “I haven’t booked a single deal for local jewellers since morning,” said a dealer with a state-run bullion dealing bank in Mumbai. “There could be good domestic demand if prices go below Rs16,500 (per 10 grams) or $1,080 an ounce,” said the dealer. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 1:50 am E-filing of service tax to be mandatory in 2 months: CBEC New Delhi: The government will make electronic filing of service tax mandatory within a couple of months, said a senior official of the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). “Electronic filing of service tax will be made compulsory in the next two months,” CBEC member Y.G. Parande said. Parande expressed hope that the government would meet service tax collection target during the fiscal despite impact of stimulus package on revenue realisation. The government proposed to collect Rs65,000 crore as service tax during the year. The service tax collection during the first seven months has gone down by 5.4% to Rs28,926 crore compared with corresponding period last year. Attributing decline in revenue collections to incentives given by the government to help the economy combat the impact of global slowdown, Parande said: “Certainly, the stimulus packages have had the effect (on indirect tax collections), particularly because rates were brought down.” The indirect tax collections, including customs, excise and service tax, declined by 21.6% to Rs1,26,903 crore during the April-October period. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 1:49 am Strong industry data adds to stimulus debateNEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's industrial output grew a faster-than-expected 9.1 percent in September from a year earlier, helped by stimulus measures and adding to the debate over when the government should pull back from its aggressive policies to drive growth.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Nov 2009 | 1:46 am ONGC-Mittal merge trading JV with explorationNew Delhi: Oil and Natural Gas Corp on Thursday said its energy trading joint venture with steel tycoon Lakhsmi Mittal will be merged with their exploration tie-up, but did not tell why it failed to make equity contribution in the venture. ONGC had in 2005 formed two joint ventures with Mittal - ONGC Mittal Energy Ltd for acquisition of oil properties and ONGC Mittal Energy Services Ltd for trading and shipping of oil and gas, including liquefied natural gas. “The co-promoters have since mutually decided to collapse OMESL into OMEL, with a view that any trading and shipping activity in the future can be undertaken through OMEL itself,” ONGC said in a statement. It said OMESL was to trade and ship oil and gas, primarily those produced from properties owned by OMEL. “While OMEL is currently having a producing oil asset in Syria and exploratory blocks in Nigeria, OMESL has been a dormant firm as the co-promoters mutually consented not to pursue purely trading and shipping activities,” ONGC said. ONGC, however, did not say it had not contributed its share of $5 million towards equity of OMESL and the company had survived till now only on Mittal’s equity share. Also it did not say that Mittal had in August 2006 written to the Government against ONGC’s attempts to derail the venture. A source in ONGC board said the new management did not want to pursue the venture after the exit of its flamboyant chairman Subir Raha in 2006. Though ONGC said the decision to merge the two companies was jointly taken by ONGC and Mittal Investment Sarl, the holding company of Mittal family, the statement only mentioned ONGC’s board giving clearance to the proposal at its meeting on 29 October. “The regulatory requirements for merger of OMESL with OMEL would be completed in due course,” it said. “The decision to merge the two separate JVs into one entity are only for convenience of regulatory compliances and management in a more effective manner.” ONGC Videsh, the overseas arm of the state-run firm, had 49.98% stake in OMEL, while ONGC directly held 49.89% in OMESL. Mittal Investment Sarl held 48.02% stake in each and the balance was with SBI Caps. Sources said OMESL was left with almost no employee after its CEO S K Sharma moved to Mittal Investment two years ago before quitting in September 2008. “What is left to merge? The company did not transact any business ever. Probably, they want to merge the papers left,” a source said. OMESL was folded up because it could not get business anywhere. OMESL offered to export petroleum products from Mangalore Refinery, a subsidiary of ONGC, directly to the customers but the process did not move beyond the initial registration for receiving tenders. Other state-run firms like Indian Oil refused to even register OMESL citing lack of experience. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 1:45 am APEC to back "market-oriented" currenciesSINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asia-Pacific governments were expected on Thursday to stick with economic stimulus plans and make a joint call for market-oriented exchange rates to ensure the fragile recovery under way can be sustained.Source: Reuters: Money News | 12 Nov 2009 | 1:37 am Industrial growth up at 9.1% in September, 6.5% in first halfAlthough September figures are slightly lower from August's over 10% growth, analysts said industry is on the mend and it is showing a steady trend.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Nov 2009 | 1:34 am A keen sense of observation gives Bartz edge - Economic Times
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Nov 2009 | 1:32 am RBI asks banks to update list of terror funding entitiesMarket regulator SEBI had directed all stock exchanges and other securities intermediaries to keep a strict watch on UN-listed terror funding entities.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Nov 2009 | 1:19 am Industrial production up 9 percent in SeptemberIndia's industrial production grew 9.1 percent in September, compared to 6 percent in the corresponding month last year, according to the latest official data released Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 12 Nov 2009 | 1:04 am Raids on leading Orissa mining companyOrissa's vigilance department, probing an alleged multi-crore mining scam in the state, raided the offices of a leading mining company here and found irregularities in running of several mines, a senior official said Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 12 Nov 2009 | 1:03 am India's annual food inflation rises to 13.7 percentIndia's annual food inflation, based on wholesale prices, moved up to 13.68 percent for the week ended Oct 31 from 13.39 percent for the week before, as per official data released Thursday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 12 Nov 2009 | 1:02 am Infosys BPO to acquire US company McCamishIT bellwether Infosys Technologies said its subsidiary Infosys BPO will acquire US-based McCamish Systems for $38 million (about Rs 176.6 crore) and would shell out another $20 million if the firm meets certain targets.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 12 Nov 2009 | 1:01 am Strong industry data adds to stimulus debateNew Delhi: India’s industrial output grew a faster-than-expected 9.1% in September from a year earlier, helped by stimulus measures and adding to the debate over when the government should pull back from its aggressive policies to drive growth. The increase in industrial output topped expectations in a Reuters poll, and August’s annual growth was revised up to 11% from 10.4%, data showed on Thursday. “It’s extremely strong. Month-on-month it has grown about 17% annualised after seasonal adjustments. If this pick-up is not because of consumption then it won’t sustain,” said Ramya Suryanarayanan, economist at DBS in Singapore. “The rise is mainly on account of pent-up demand,” she said, expecting the rate of industrial output growth would moderate in October and November. Yields on the 10-year bond rose 2 basis points following the data release. Consumer durable goods output surged by an annual 22.2% as stimulus measures, festivals and wage back-pay to government staff boosted demand. Manufacturing production in Asia’s third-largest economy rose 9.3% in September from a year earlier, while mining output was up 8.6% and power generation rose 7.9%. “It is much above expectations, even if you adjust for the positives ahead of Diwali in October. It is reiterating the fact that the policy environment continues to support industrial growth,” Jyotinder Kaur, economist at HDFC Bank in New Delhi. “I think the RBI will hike the repo and reverse repo rates at the January policy, but banks are not likely to immediately follow by raising lending rates. That will maintain sweet spot for industrial growth,” Kaur said. India’s industrial output growth, which expanded for the ninth consecutive month, still lagged neighbouring China’s 13.9% growth in September. On Wednesday, China reported October factory output growth surged to a 19-month high of 16.1%, a sign the world’s third-largest economy had put the worst of the global downturn behind it. The October purchasing managers’ index for India showed the pace of manufacturing activity picked up as domestic demand and factory orders rose. Bad Monsoon Faster output at factories, mines and utilities has helped offset a decline in farm output after the weakest monsoon in nearly four decades and then floods in parts of the country hurt crops and pushed up food prices. Price pressures in recent months have strengthened the view the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) could start tightening from early next year. Economists think the first policy shift could be an increase in the cash reserve ratio for banks in the December quarter. On Sunday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the economy could still grow by 6.5% in 2009-10 (April-March), compared with 6.7% last year and 9% or more in each of the previous three years. Officials have said the country still had to wait before unwinding stimulus efforts as the economy was not operating at full capacity, and said the inflationary impact of India’s stimulus measures was likely to be minimal. Last month, RBI kept its key lending rate unchanged after cutting it by 425 basis points between October and April as the global downturn hit the economy harder than expected. It also slashed banks’ reserve requirements and pumped liquidity into markets. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:52 am Annual food inflation rises to 13.7%India's annual food inflation, based on wholesale prices, moved up to 13.68% for the week ended Oct 31 from 13.39% for the week before, as per official data released Thursday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:51 am India's annual food inflation rises to 13.7 percent - Sify
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:42 am Indiabulls Real sees block deals of a total 64.7 million sharesThe company had told the stock exchange last week that inter se promoter transfer of 64.7 million shares or about 16% of the company's equity.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:37 am Rupee extends losses tracking weak sharesMumbai: The Indian rupee edged further down on Thursday afternoon tracking weak domestic shares and dollar demand from oil refiners but the dollar’s fall versus major units prevented a sharper decline. At 1:10pm, the partially convertible rupee was at Rs46.46/47 per dollar, off a low of Rs46.5175 but still 0.4% below its close of Rs46.29/30 on Wednesday, which was it strongest level since 20 October. Local shares were trading 0.3% lower in choppy trade as Asian markets reversed gains and investors locked in profits after the previous day’s rally. Foreign fund flows into shares are a key factor determining the direction for the rupee. They have bought a net $14.5 billion of shares so far in 2009, after selling more than $13 billion last year. Dealers said the dollar’s losses against major units were preventing the rupee from slipping further. The index of the dollar against six major units was 0.2% lower. Oil is India’s biggest import and refiners are the largest buyers of dollars in the local currency market. In the currency futures market, the most traded near-month contracts on the National Stock Exchange and MCX-SX were quoting at Rs46.48 and Rs46.4825 respectively, with the total traded volume on the two exchanges at about $1.6 billion. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:35 am EU mulls US access to Europeans' bank dataThe agreement would run for one year, to January 2011, and that the Swedish presidency wanted EU governments to sign off on the deal before December 1.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:34 am British Airways, Iberia nearing merger agreementBritish Airways PLC and Spanish airline Iberia could announce a merger agreement as early as this week.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:31 am UPDATE 1-Infosys BPO buys U.S. firm, to pay $38 mln upfront - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:02 am Yahoo!, Cisco eye role in unique ID projectNew Delhi, Bangalore, Nov 11 Along with a bouquet of flowers, the global CEO of Yahoo! Inc, Ms Carol Bartz, offered the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, whom she met on this morning, help with the Unique Identification (UID) programme being putSource: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am MFs online trading platform likely by MarchMumbai, Nov. 11 The common online trading platform for mutual funds may be ready for investors by March, said the Chairman of the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI), Mr A.P. Kurian.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Exports decline 11.4% in OctoberNew Delhi, Nov. 11 The country’s merchandise exports shrank to $12.5 billion – down by 11.4 per cent, for the thirteenth month in a row in October due to sagging overseas demand on the back of the economic slowdown in the developedSource: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Rising excise, Customs revenues signal economic pick-upNew Delhi, Nov. 11 Signalling a pick-up in the economy on the back of a good festival demand, the Centre’s excise duty collections inched up in October to Rs 8,952 crore. This represented a 4 per cent increase over the Rs 8,591 croreSource: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am FIIs continue buying; focus on mid- and small-cap segmentsKolkata, Nov. 11 Foreign institutional investors are continuing their shopping spree since the beginning of the new Indian trading year on October 16, the Diwali day.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Day Trading GuideInitiate fresh long position in DLF only if the stock moves beyond Rs 395, with tight stop-loss. Negating our prior view ICICI Bank moved up in the last trading session. Fresh long position can be initiatedSource: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Indian Hotels Company (Rs 88.6): BuyWe recommend a buy in Indian Hotels Company from a short-term perspective. The stock’s 5 per cent jump on November 11 has reinforced its intermediate-term uptrend that has been in place since its March low of Rs 34. With this gain theSource: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am ‘Virtual bench’ turns into real seats at mid-size IT cosMumbai, Nov. 11 The concept of a ‘virtual bench’ for non-billable employees may soon be a thing of the past at mid-size Indian IT companies, thanks to the gradual improvement in demand for softwareSource: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Ministry signals cheaper digital TV optionNew Delhi, Nov. 11 Consumers will soon get a cheaper option of watching digital television with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting proposing to charge zero annual licence fee from Headend In The Sky (HITS) service providers.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Tropical Cyclone Phyan crosses coast near MumbaiThiruvananthapuram, Nov. 11 Tuesday’s deep depression over east-central Arabian Sea tracked north-northeast to intensify as a cyclonic storm, named Phyan.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 12 Nov 2009 | 12:00 am Infosys BPO buys U.S. firm, to pay $38 mln upfrontBANGALORE (Reuters) - The back-office services unit of Infosys Technologies Ltd, India's No. 2 software exporter, will acquire U.S.-based McCamish Systems for an upfront payment of $38 million to boost its service offerings.Source: Reuters: Money News | 11 Nov 2009 | 11:59 pm China looms as key challenge on Obama's Asia tourWASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama leaves for Asia on Thursday with the U.S. economy, jobs and a yawning trade deficit with China looming large on his agenda.Source: Reuters: Money News | 11 Nov 2009 | 11:55 pm Infosys BPO to acquire US-based McCamish SystemsBangalore: The back-office services unit of Infosys Technologies Ltd, India’s No. 2 software exporter, will acquire US-based McCamish Systems for an upfront payment of $38 million to boost its service offerings. Infosys BPO will pay an additional $20 million to the sellers on meeting certain financial targets, its chief executive Amitabh Chaudhry said, but declined to disclose the targets that have been set. McCamish Systems, which posted $38.2 million in revenue in 2008, provides business process outsourcing solutions to the insurance and financial services companies in the United States. It counts 10 of the 20 top insurers among its clients. “This acquisition gives us the ability to pitch for bigger deals in the insurance sector,” Chaudhry told Reuters in a phone interview. He said the deal would be completed later this year and revenue would start flowing from January. Shares in Infosys, which the market values at $29 billion, were up 0.5% at Rs2,319.95 by 0655 GMT in a flat market. The stock had risen 1.7% in opening deals. McCamish has 260 staff, and Chaudhry said the employees would become part of Bangalore-headquartered Infosys BPO, whose offerings include finance and accounting, human resource and legal services outsourcing. Indian outsourcing firms have thrived by providing Western firms with services such as processing insurance claims, managing payrolls and customer support. The boom in business process outsourcing, or BPO, is built on a large, skilled and cheap English-speaking workforce, but a global economic slowdown has crimped spending by companies. Infosys BPO, which was set up as a separate unit of Infosys in 2002, is looking to buy firms in the United States and Europe, Chaudhry had said on Monday, adding the size of any deal would be between $50 million and $100 million. Infosys, which has shied away from large acquisitions in the past, has built up a cash pile of $2.8 billion and is now looking for buys to establish its presence in new markets and add new service lines. In 2007, Infosys signed a $250 million outsourcing contract with Royal Philips Electronics, and bought three of the Dutch firm’s back-office centres to expand its presence in fast-growing European markets. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 11 Nov 2009 | 11:47 pm Tata Steel okays exchange offer for $875mn securities - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 11 Nov 2009 | 11:37 pm Bhel's marketing office coming up in KazakhistanBhel had already signed an MoU with TGR of Hungary for exploring opportunities for supply, renovation and maintenance of boilers in European and Commonwelath countries.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 11 Nov 2009 | 11:36 pm Electric cars need govt support: Nissan-Renault CEOShanghai: Electric cars could help China and other countries reduce their dependency on oil but the government must provide incentive to make the shift, Nissan and Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn said Thursday. Car makers need backing as they respond to the growing consensus among consumers that zero-emission vehicles are necessary to cope with the environmental crisis, Ghosn told an auto forum in Shanghai. “With electric power, countries would no longer have to rely on one single commodity — crude oil — to supply all their transportation needs,” he said. “For many countries that are net importers of crude oil, such as China, that is a strategic consideration.” Ghosn, who is also president of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association, said all major makers were investing in hybrid, clean diesel, electric cars and not one felt “they could stay on the sidelines.” Japan’s Nissan Motor and its partner Renault SA of France plan to release their Leaf electric car, which runs on a reusable lithium-ion battery, in the United States and Japan next year and globally in 2012, he said. Ghosn added that the alliance was in talks with officials in the central Chinese city of Wuhan and the southern province of Guangdong for pilot projects involving the Leaf. He pointed out that the US, French and Japanese governments were already offering about $7,500 to consumers who bought zero-emission cars. “The Chinese government is conscious of the fact that in order to promote electric cars they have to give something to the consumer, because there’s no way electric cars are going to become mass marketed products unless you give something to the consumer,” Ghosn said. Chen Qingtai, a researcher for China’s State Council Development Research Centre, said electric car development should be a priority for China, which was last year the world’s second largest importer of oil. “The cheap oil era has come to an end,” Chen told auto industry executives, academics and reporters attending the forum at the China Europe International Business School. He said China’s conventional car market was growing exponentially — outpacing the US, with a record 10 million units sold in the first 10 months of 2009. “For the electric car industry it’s opposite, currently we don’t have economies of scale,” Chen said. “If we increase the size of production, then the cost per unit will drop tremendously.” Chen said Beijing should present a comprehensive package of incentives to promote the electric car industry. These could include measures such as rebates, requiring government agencies to buy more electric cars, tougher compulsory fuel efficiency standards and carbon dioxide consumption taxes. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 11 Nov 2009 | 11:26 pm 45 quintals of explosives meant for Maoists seizedGaya: In a huge haul, about 45 quintals of explosives meant for Maoists were seized by the Special Task Force of Bihar police from two places in naxal-hit Gaya district in the wee hours today. Acting on a tip off, police raided a shop at Gaulakhshni area here and seized 29 gunny bags containing the explosives, superintendent of police S M Khopade said. The STF also raided a house of Hari Yadav, suspected to be having links with ultras, under Delha police station and seized 70 sacks of explosive materials, mostly ammonium nitrate, Khopade said. Each of the sacks contained 40 to 45 kg of explosives, he said, adding huge quantity of naxal literature was also recovered during the police operation. The explosives were highly inflammable and forensic experts have been called from Patna to test the material, the SP added. It is believed that the explosives were meant for the Maoists, who planned to use the material to disrupt the upcoming Assembly polls in neighbouring Jharkhand, official sources said. The Bihar Police had earlier seized 30,000 live cartridges of .315 bore, two AK-47 rifles, four Insas rifles and a huge quantity of explosives from a house on November 10. The STF had on November eight seized liquid explosives, 14 carbine-manufacturing equipment, two pistols, 7,221 live cartridges and 50 detonators from a place in the state capital. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 11 Nov 2009 | 11:21 pm India's food dilemma: High prices or shortagesIndian farms are failing to attract capital or talent, either from rich landlords or the 21,000 students who graduate from India's 50 agricultural and veterinary universities.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 11 Nov 2009 | 11:20 pm India's food dilemma: high prices or shortagesNEW DELHI (Reuters) - For a man who will inherit vast tracts of fertile farmland in Punjab, India's grain bowl, Jaswinder Singh made what seemed to him a logical career move -- he took a job with a telecoms company in New Delhi.Source: Reuters: Money News | 11 Nov 2009 | 11:13 pm India’s food dilemma: high prices or shortagesNew Delhi: For a man who will inherit vast tracts of fertile farmland in Punjab, India’s grain bowl, Jaswinder Singh made what seemed to him a logical career move — he took a job with a telecoms company in New Delhi. “I can’t go back to the village after an MBA. Delhi has more money, better quality of life. The job is more satisfying, and you don’t depend on the weather or prices set by the government,” said Singh, who earns rent from his farm, while a tenant tills the land. Singh’s choice reflects a growing and worrisome trend in the nation’s agriculture sector: Indian farms are failing to attract capital or talent, either from rich landlords like Singh, or the 21,000 students who graduate from India’s 50 agricultural and veterinary universities. “At present, most of the farm graduates are either taking jobs in the government, or financial institutions, or in private sector industry. They are seldom taking to farming as a profession,” a report by the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation said. The views of the foundation — set up by M.S. Swaminathan, who led India’s Green Revolution in the 1960s that helped make this vast nation self-sufficient in food — were echoed in a poll by the National Sample Survey Organisation, a government body. The survey showed 40% of Indian farmers would quit farming, if they had a choice — an alarming revelation for a country where two-thirds of the billion-plus people live in villages. Slow Growth India’s farm sector has changed remarkably little since the advent of the Green Revolution, while other industries have been transformed over the past two decades. As a result, agriculture’s share of the Indian economy shrank to 17.5% last year, from nearly 30% in the early 1990s. “We are not realising that farming is becoming an increasingly less profitable profession. There was a time when farmers had very little choice. Things have changed. Farmers would like to make a shift,” said T.K. Bhaumik, a leading economist. This has raised concerns that India’s farm output could lag demand and the country — which ranks among the world’s top three consumers of rice, wheat, sugar, tea, coarse grains and cotton — will become a large food importer unless yields jump. “The increase in yields in the past decades have been insignificant. India sorely needs another Green Revolution,” says Kushagra Nayan Bajaj, joint managing director of Bajaj Hinduthan, India’s top sugar producer, which is importing raw sugar after a drought ravaged the domestic cane crop. But the next revolution faces a tougher challenge — in part because of the environmental damage done by the previous one. Back then, abundant groundwater was available and the soil was not degraded by pesticides and fertilisers, which initially helped boost productivity. P.C. Kesavan, distinguished fellow at the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, said chemicals used in agriculture had destroyed the sustainability of productivity in the long run. “Yes, a second Green Revolution is indeed very essential — the very need of the hour. But, it should not be the same kind of Green Revolution that the first was,” he said. In Punjab, the flagship of India’s Green Revolution, groundwater is declining rapidly. “The water table of Punjab is falling at an alarming rate, especially in the central districts, due to excess drawing of groundwater,” said Karam Singh, an agricultural economist at the Punjab State Farmers Commission. Sardara Singh Johl, an economist and former chairman of India’s Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, said there would be very little water available for farming in the state. “This could severely compromise the food security of India. Government should realise the gravity of the situation and allocate funds for research to conserve groundwater,” he said. To prevent food shortages, economists and scientists are calling for a range of policy initiatives, such as allowing genetically modified crops, greater investment in irrigation, better economics in farming and greater government attention to agriculture. Weather Risk With 60% of Indian farms depending on erratic rains, it took just one failed monsoon to force India to import 5 million tonnes of sugar in 2008-09, after exporting a similar quantity a year earlier. The drought, after the worst monsoon rains in 37 years, is also expected to slash rice output by 17%, encouraging India to begin importing rice, after being a leading exporter of the commodity for decades. Last year, when rice stocks dwindled in many countries, India’s panic move to ban exports helped push global rice prices to a record, and the country can potentially rattle the world market again. L.S. Rathore, head of the agricultural meteorology unit of the government’s weather office, said, if the monsoon fails again next year, the country would face a shortage. “Higher imports will be the only answer to the food management issue then,” he said, adding that it was unlikely that monsoon rains would fail in two consecutive years. Still, changes in weather patterns are a major cause of worry. This year, drought-prone, arid regions of Gujarat and Rajasthan received good rainfall, while traditionally flood-prone areas in eastern India endured a drought. “Climate change could exert devastating impact on growth and productivity of several crops, particularly the food grain crops,” said Kesavan of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. He said agriculture in India had always been a “gamble with monsoon” and millions of poor farmers did not have the resources to cope with the uncertainty of monsoons. Tough Choices Analysts say agricultural economics need to improve significantly to retain farmers like Jaswinder Singh, who handed over his farm to a tenant and works in New Delhi. But this is not easy in a country where inflation is always an election issue and a state government was voted out because onion prices soared. “This is a million-dollar issue,” said Bhaumik, the economist. “If you want to make farming more profitable, the price for farm products needs to be more remunerative. Will the middle class accept this?” He said the government may have to allow genetically modified crops in order to improve farm revenue. “I think they will have to allow it. There are limitations on the supply side. Productivity improvement is the crux of the issue. That is why we need to have an understanding of GM foods. You have a crisis at hand,” he said. India so far has allowed genetically modified seeds only for cotton, which has boosted productivity, but use of such seeds for edible crops has always evoked strong protests. Last month, a government panel recommended commercial cultivation of genetically modified brinjal (a type of eggplant), evoking sharp protests and a quick clarification from the government. “Strong views have already been expressed on the Bt-Brinjal issue, both for and against. My objective is to arrive at a careful, considered decision in the public and national interest,” environment minister Jairam Ramesh said in a statement last month. Bhagirath Choudhary, a New Delhi-based representative of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agribiotech Application, said the case for using genetically modified seeds was compelling. “You cannot do without this technology in agriculture — even today, and more so in the future. We are unable to increase the production because productivity is not being increased,” he said. Others are not convinced. “My personal view is that it has so far been more glorified for what it has delivered. It is commerce-driven, more than science-based,” said Kesavan of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation. “Time is ripe now to have a large-scale brainstorming on the social, environmental and economic impact of GM crops on resource-poor, small and marginal farmers.” Source: Home - Livemint.com | 11 Nov 2009 | 11:04 pm Rising unemployment casts shadow over world trade: LamyQueues of the unemployed have jumped across the industrialised world since the global economic crisis erupted a year ago.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 11 Nov 2009 | 11:00 pm HP to buy 3Com for $3.1 bn; Cisco rivalry heats upNew York / San Francisco: Hewlett-Packard Co is making a move into the network equipment market by striking a $3.1 billion deal for 3Com Corp, in a major challenge to Cisco Systems Inc. The deal is the latest sign that technology giants from IBM to Oracle Corp are increasingly encroaching in each other’s markets as they seek to become one-stop shops for computing, networking and data storage. Cisco itself this year pushed into the server market, of which HP is a major player. HP, which also reported higher-than-expected preliminary earnings on Wednesday, said it would pay $7.90 per share for 3Com, a 39% premium over its closing price. The deal values 3Com at $2.7 billion excluding its net cash. “Cisco and HP are going to compete more and more,” said Jayson Noland, analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co. “We’re headed to a world where each of these large companies can give you everything you want.” By buying 3Com, HP will be competing with Cisco on a wider range of network equipment, including routers and switches. 3Com also has a large presence in China and can help HP expand sales into one of the world’s fastest-growing markets. HP is already a dominant force in personal computers, IT services, servers and printers, with recurring revenue streams that have helped it during the economic downturn. 3Com, for its part, has been pushing into the large enterprise market outside China with its H3C brand, trying to take on giants like Cisco. “We wanted to create a powerhouse in the networking industry,” said Marius Haas, senior vice president of HP’s ProCurve networking division, adding that the 3Com deal puts HP in a good position to compete against Cisco. When asked for comment, Cisco said: “While Cisco has a healthy respect for all of our competitors, acquisitions in our industry only validate the fact that networking is becoming the platform for all forms of communications and IT.” 3Com has been an acquisition target before. In 2008, Bain Capital Partners and China’s Huawei Technologies tried to buy 3Com for $2.2 billion but failed to win approval from a US government security panel. Huawei is a privately held company set up by a former Chinese army officer. 3Com shares jumped 35% to $7.66 in after-hours trading. They climbed over 5% on Wednesday ahead of the announcement. HP shares edged 0.8% lower to $49.61. A rise in 3Com shares and call options before the offer was announced sparked talk that the news had been leaked, option traders and analysts said. 3Com would be HP’s fourth biggest acquisition ever. The Marlborough, Massachusetts-based 3Com has 5,800 employees and posted fiscal 2009 revenue of $1.3 billion, more than half of which came from China. Tech Deals Galore Worldwide tech mergers and acquisitions have totalled $109.1 billion this year, down 20 percent from year-to-date 2008, according to Thomson Reuters data. Cisco has been one of the biggest shoppers in tech over the past month, announcing plans to buy videoconferencing company Tandberg, as well as wireless equipment maker Starent Networks Corp -- both deals worth around $3 billion. HP’s move also comes after news earlier in the day that Motorola Inc is looking for a buyer for its unit that sells network equipment to telephone companies. Edward Hemmelgarn, president and chief investment officer at Shaker Investments, said the recent string of deals reflected an improving economy. “Markets have stabilized and companies have more confidence. Large companies see this as a chance to fill in their portfolios,” he said. Goldman Sachs advised 3Com while Morgan Stanley advised HP, which has made more than 45 acquisitions since 2001. HP had been rumoured to be looking at Brocade Communications Systems Inc, a smaller rival to Cisco. Brocade shares fell over 4% after the 3Com deal was announced. Dave Donatelli, general manager of enterprise servers and networking at HP, said the company scoured the networking industry for potential targets before settling on 3Com. “I think very clearly here we bought this to grow, and there’s no two ways about that,” he said on a conference call. HP, which has bought 30 companies since chief executive Mark Hurd arrived in 2005, had $13.6 billion in cash, equivalents and short-term investments as of 31 July. The terms of the 3Com deal were approved by the boards of both companies, but needs shareholder approval. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2010. “This demonstrates that HP is very serious about the networking space. The fact that they are willing to put nearly $3 billon where their mouth is suggests that this is not a fly-by-night strategy,” said Charles King, an analyst at Pund-IT Inc. HP also reported preliminary fiscal fourth quarter profit per share of 99 cents, up from 84 cents a year ago, and raised its outlook for fiscal 2010. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 11 Nov 2009 | 10:48 pm HP to buy 3Com for $3.1 bn; Cisco rivalry heats upNew York / San Francisco: Hewlett-Packard Co is making a move into the network equipment market by striking a $3.1 billion deal for 3Com Corp, in a major challenge to Cisco Systems Inc. The deal is the latest sign that technology giants from IBM to Oracle Corp are increasingly encroaching in each other’s markets as they seek to become one-stop shops for computing, networking and data storage. Cisco itself this year pushed into the server market, of which HP is a major player. HP, which also reported higher-than-expected preliminary earnings on Wednesday, said it would pay $7.90 per share for 3Com, a 39% premium over its closing price. The deal values 3Com at $2.7 billion excluding its net cash. “Cisco and HP are going to compete more and more,” said Jayson Noland, analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co. “We’re headed to a world where each of these large companies can give you everything you want.” By buying 3Com, HP will be competing with Cisco on a wider range of network equipment, including routers and switches. 3Com also has a large presence in China and can help HP expand sales into one of the world’s fastest-growing markets. HP is already a dominant force in personal computers, IT services, servers and printers, with recurring revenue streams that have helped it during the economic downturn. 3Com, for its part, has been pushing into the large enterprise market outside China with its H3C brand, trying to take on giants like Cisco. “We wanted to create a powerhouse in the networking industry,” said Marius Haas, senior vice president of HP’s ProCurve networking division, adding that the 3Com deal puts HP in a good position to compete against Cisco. When asked for comment, Cisco said: “While Cisco has a healthy respect for all of our competitors, acquisitions in our industry only validate the fact that networking is becoming the platform for all forms of communications and IT.” 3Com has been an acquisition target before. In 2008, Bain Capital Partners and China’s Huawei Technologies tried to buy 3Com for $2.2 billion but failed to win approval from a US government security panel. Huawei is a privately held company set up by a former Chinese army officer. 3Com shares jumped 35% to $7.66 in after-hours trading. They climbed over 5% on Wednesday ahead of the announcement. HP shares edged 0.8% lower to $49.61. A rise in 3Com shares and call options before the offer was announced sparked talk that the news had been leaked, option traders and analysts said. 3Com would be HP’s fourth biggest acquisition ever. The Marlborough, Massachusetts-based 3Com has 5,800 employees and posted fiscal 2009 revenue of $1.3 billion, more than half of which came from China. Tech Deals Galore Worldwide tech mergers and acquisitions have totalled $109.1 billion this year, down 20 percent from year-to-date 2008, according to Thomson Reuters data. Cisco has been one of the biggest shoppers in tech over the past month, announcing plans to buy videoconferencing company Tandberg, as well as wireless equipment maker Starent Networks Corp -- both deals worth around $3 billion. HP’s move also comes after news earlier in the day that Motorola Inc is looking for a buyer for its unit that sells network equipment to telephone companies. Edward Hemmelgarn, president and chief investment officer at Shaker Investments, said the recent string of deals reflected an improving economy. “Markets have stabilized and companies have more confidence. Large companies see this as a chance to fill in their portfolios,” he said. Goldman Sachs advised 3Com while Morgan Stanley advised HP, which has made more than 45 acquisitions since 2001. HP had been rumoured to be looking at Brocade Communications Systems Inc, a smaller rival to Cisco. Brocade shares fell over 4% after the 3Com deal was announced. Dave Donatelli, general manager of enterprise servers and networking at HP, said the company scoured the networking industry for potential targets before settling on 3Com. “I think very clearly here we bought this to grow, and there’s no two ways about that,” he said on a conference call. HP, which has bought 30 companies since chief executive Mark Hurd arrived in 2005, had $13.6 billion in cash, equivalents and short-term investments as of 31 July. The terms of the 3Com deal were approved by the boards of both companies, but needs shareholder approval. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2010. “This demonstrates that HP is very serious about the networking space. The fact that they are willing to put nearly $3 billon where their mouth is suggests that this is not a fly-by-night strategy,” said Charles King, an analyst at Pund-IT Inc. HP also reported preliminary fiscal fourth quarter profit per share of 99 cents, up from 84 cents a year ago, and raised its outlook for fiscal 2010. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 11 Nov 2009 | 10:48 pm HP to buy 3Com for $3.1 bn; Cisco rivalry heats upNew York / San Francisco: Hewlett-Packard Co is making a move into the network equipment market by striking a $3.1 billion deal for 3Com Corp, in a major challenge to Cisco Systems Inc. The deal is the latest sign that technology giants from IBM to Oracle Corp are increasingly encroaching in each other’s markets as they seek to become one-stop shops for computing, networking and data storage. Cisco itself this year pushed into the server market, of which HP is a major player. HP, which also reported higher-than-expected preliminary earnings on Wednesday, said it would pay $7.90 per share for 3Com, a 39% premium over its closing price. The deal values 3Com at $2.7 billion excluding its net cash. “Cisco and HP are going to compete more and more,” said Jayson Noland, analyst at Robert W. Baird & Co. “We’re headed to a world where each of these large companies can give you everything you want.” By buying 3Com, HP will be competing with Cisco on a wider range of network equipment, including routers and switches. 3Com also has a large presence in China and can help HP expand sales into one of the world’s fastest-growing markets. HP is already a dominant force in personal computers, IT services, servers and printers, with recurring revenue streams that have helped it during the economic downturn. 3Com, for its part, has been pushing into the large enterprise market outside China with its H3C brand, trying to take on giants like Cisco. “We wanted to create a powerhouse in the networking industry,” said Marius Haas, senior vice president of HP’s ProCurve networking division, adding that the 3Com deal puts HP in a good position to compete against Cisco. When asked for comment, Cisco said: “While Cisco has a healthy respect for all of our competitors, acquisitions in our industry only validate the fact that networking is becoming the platform for all forms of communications and IT.” 3Com has been an acquisition target before. In 2008, Bain Capital Partners and China’s Huawei Technologies tried to buy 3Com for $2.2 billion but failed to win approval from a US government security panel. Huawei is a privately held company set up by a former Chinese army officer. 3Com shares jumped 35% to $7.66 in after-hours trading. They climbed over 5% on Wednesday ahead of the announcement. HP shares edged 0.8% lower to $49.61. A rise in 3Com shares and call options before the offer was announced sparked talk that the news had been leaked, option traders and analysts said. 3Com would be HP’s fourth biggest acquisition ever. The Marlborough, Massachusetts-based 3Com has 5,800 employees and posted fiscal 2009 revenue of $1.3 billion, more than half of which came from China. Tech Deals Galore Worldwide tech mergers and acquisitions have totalled $109.1 billion this year, down 20 percent from year-to-date 2008, according to Thomson Reuters data. Cisco has been one of the biggest shoppers in tech over the past month, announcing plans to buy videoconferencing company Tandberg, as well as wireless equipment maker Starent Networks Corp -- both deals worth around $3 billion. HP’s move also comes after news earlier in the day that Motorola Inc is looking for a buyer for its unit that sells network equipment to telephone companies. Edward Hemmelgarn, president and chief investment officer at Shaker Investments, said the recent string of deals reflected an improving economy. “Markets have stabilized and companies have more confidence. Large companies see this as a chance to fill in their portfolios,” he said. Goldman Sachs advised 3Com while Morgan Stanley advised HP, which has made more than 45 acquisitions since 2001. HP had been rumoured to be looking at Brocade Communications Systems Inc, a smaller rival to Cisco. Brocade shares fell over 4% after the 3Com deal was announced. Dave Donatelli, general manager of enterprise servers and networking at HP, said the company scoured the networking industry for potential targets before settling on 3Com. “I think very clearly here we bought this to grow, and there’s no two ways about that,” he said on a conference call. HP, which has bought 30 companies since chief executive Mark Hurd arrived in 2005, had $13.6 billion in cash, equivalents and short-term investments as of 31 July. The terms of the 3Com deal were approved by the boards of both companies, but needs shareholder approval. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2010. “This demonstrates that HP is very serious about the networking space. The fact that they are willing to put nearly $3 billon where their mouth is suggests that this is not a fly-by-night strategy,” said Charles King, an analyst at Pund-IT Inc. HP also reported preliminary fiscal fourth quarter profit per share of 99 cents, up from 84 cents a year ago, and raised its outlook for fiscal 2010. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 11 Nov 2009 | 10:48 pm Rupee down 11 paise at 46.41 a dollar in early tradeThe rupee ended 20 paise higher at 46.30/31 against the US unit in the previous session after the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex ended over 409 points higher.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 11 Nov 2009 | 10:33 pm Checkpoint targets Rs30-crore revenue in 2009The company, which has around 80% share in the global retail securities solutions market, expects its revenues to go up further to Rs40 crore in the year 2010.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 11 Nov 2009 | 10:30 pm Sensex opens higher, then slips 49 ptsAfter a smart rally on Wednesday, the market turned bearish with the BSE benchmark Sensex slipping down 49 points in late morning trade today due to profit booking by investors amid mixed Asian trend.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 11 Nov 2009 | 10:26 pm Asia shares edge higher, gold hits new recordHong Kong: Asian shares edged up on Thursday as investors continued to favour riskier assets on further signs that the global economy is picking up, while a weak dollar sent gold to another record high. The dollar recovered some losses after hitting a 15-month low early on, but was still down 0.3% against a basket of major currencies. Its weakness encouraged a shift into gold which hit a record high for a second day, at $1,120.30 an ounce, while platinum rose to a record high above $1,376 an ounce. A string of robust economic data from China on Wednesday has added to expectations the world’s fastest-growing major economy can lead a pick-up in global activity. That has further encouraged a shift from the dollar to riskier assets and boosted commodity prices. Asian equities rose for a fifth straight day, though gains were modest. Both the MSCI index of Asia Pacific stocks traded outside Japan and the Nikkei were up around 0.4%. Asian stocks were also underpinned by gains on Wall Street where the Dow Jones index hit a fresh 13-month high, helped by an upbeat revenue forecast from luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc and the Chinese data. “Even though fears of the US economy dipping again are receding, the biggest boosts are the signs that no stimulus measures will be revoked until a recovery is really confirmed,” said Kenichi Hirano at Tachibana Securities in Tokyo. Australia’s equity market was supported by gains in resource-related stocks, which were buoyed by signs of firming Chinese demand, but stocks came off earlier highs after strong employment data for October raised the likelihood of another interest rate rise next month. That along with firmer prices for gold and other commodities propelled the high-yielding Aussie dollar to a 15-month high at $0.9370. “One month of this data you can take with a grain of salt, but two months in a row of positive (employment) numbers is starting to look llke a trend,” said Rob Henderson, head of market economics at National Australia Bank. South Korea’s central bank said recent economic activity showed “clear recovery” but added it would maintain policy easing for the time being and kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at a record low 2%. In Asia, shares of Korean business group Hyosung rallied 13.8% after the company withdrew its bid for a controlling stake in Hynix Semiconductor, the world’s No. 2 memory chipmaker. Hynix shares rose 1.8%. Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index was flat but shares in Bank of East Asia jumped more than 8% at one point, adding to a 15% surge on Wednesday on rumours the lender could be a takeover target for Malaysian conglomerate Guoco Group. The sterling remained under pressure after the Bank of England explicitly called for currency weakness to boost exports and on benign UK inflation data on Wednesday. Sterling was trading at $1.6600, after falling more than 1 % the previous day. Asian currencies, in contrast, are expected to continue to face upward pressure after China signalled on Wednesday it was ready to renew yuan appreciation after an 18-month hiatus Korean authorities were spotted intervening on Thursday to curb the won which was quoted at 1,155 to the dollar, up from 1,157 late on Wednesday. US crude oil futures held steady above $79 a barrel, with the market awaiting the release of government data on crude and refined oil product stocks and other economic indicators due out later in the day for directional cues. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 11 Nov 2009 | 9:53 pm Rupee down 11 paise at 46.41 a dollar in early tradeThe rupee depreciated by 11 paise to 46.41 against the US currency in early trade largely on fresh demand for the US currency from importers.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 11 Nov 2009 | 9:46 pm India rice traders against export price hike-paper - Reuters India
Source: Business - Google News | 11 Nov 2009 | 9:32 pm Ethanol-laced petrol plan hits roadblockThe ethanol programme has been introduced since November 2006 in 16 cities of sugarcane-growing states.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 11 Nov 2009 | 2:43 pm AI scraps performance incentivesAir India on Wednesday decided to drastically cut the salaries of its top management functional and executive directors.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 11 Nov 2009 | 2:36 pm Gulf Air emergency landing causes chaosIt was a day of long wait at Mumbai airport on Wednesday. Departures were delayed on an average by two hours. Nine flights were cancelled and some others combined in wake of bad weather.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 11 Nov 2009 | 2:32 pm 6 pilots derostered for flouting rulesThe DGCA widened the scope of disciplinary action by derostering two pilots each of Air India and GoAir on Wednesday.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 11 Nov 2009 | 2:30 pm Govt asks ministries to ensure fiscal prudenceThe Centre has set in motion the process of finalising provisions for the next Budget by asking ministries and departments to ensure fiscal prudence in planning their resources.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 11 Nov 2009 | 2:28 pm Justice Katju's wife invested in funds of Anil's companyJustice Katju, while recusing himself from the case, in which he heading a Bench had reserved judgment in September, had reasoned that his wife held shares in Reliance Industries.Source: India Business News | Business News - Times of India | 11 Nov 2009 | 2:05 pm Leo Apotheker | I don’t view India as a place for labour arbitrageNew Delhi: Given India’s importance in SAP AG’s global scheme of things, the company is seeking to fill the sudden vacuum following the death last month of Ranjan Das, managing director, SAP Indian Subcontinent. SAP AG chief executive officer (CEO) Léo Apotheker discusses SAP’s strategy in India. Edited excerpts: Can we expect an announcement on new Indian leadership?  On uniform standards: Apotheker says much of the healthcare industry is fragmented, which is why it is costly. Rajkumar / Mint Will there be a revision in SAP India’s growth strategy and will you be adding more people? We have invested substantial resources in the Indian operations here—India is now the third largest country in terms of employment for SAP, right after our home country Germany and the United States of America. The lab here in India is the second largest we have—more than 5,000 people. We have large education capabilities here in India and while the core of the growth strategy will continue, we might consider accelerating that. This year, we took a breather to consolidate our presence—let’s not forget that we are coming out of a few years of crazy growth in India, including in terms of hiring. It was also an opportunity to introduce new methodologies such as lean development so that we can become an even better player in this environment. Hopefully, if things pick up in 2010, we can start looking at new hires. I don’t view India as a labour arbitrage place—that is a fundamental mistake. We view India as a source of very skilled labour so we are looking not necessarily for numbers. Our strategy is to develop high-end capabilities, to use our lab capabilities in India to create complete sets of software products. How embedded is SAP into India’s SME (small and medium enterprises) sector and what sort of customisation is required? What we said was that we wanted to have a way more prominent future in the entire space called small and mid-size enterprises. I should make it very clear that it is not so much very small enterprises but more the little bit larger companies, anywhere upwards of 20 employees. We have a 27% market share, which is a good number. And we keep on pushing to grow that number and we are focusing on this segment by bringing a high diversity of solutions. There are many products we deliver to the mid-size market. At the low end, we have SAP Business One—that is a general purpose business management solution. At the higher end, we have a solution called SAP All In One that encompasses the entire management of business including very precise vertical solution. We are also working on a new on-demand business software service solution, SAP By Design and one of the first markets we have targeted for By Design happens to be in India. In fact, a significant part of that solution has been developed by our lab in Bangalore. Would you consider catering to micro enterprises, say less than 20 employees? With Business By Design, we actually are going to aim for entry points that are even lower in terms of people actually using the system and I believe that in future there will be a capability that will be made available to try to go as low down as possible. Of course, it is also a fact that certain business processes are not required in a company of one—a single proprietorship for instance. For example, you don’t need HR—usually a company of one knows how to manage its human resource. You don’t need sophisticated accounting processes. But you might need good CRM—customer relationship management or some smart marketing capabilities. In the large-cap space, we have 40% market share in India. We have also announced a whole new set of capabilities on the analytic side—with high-speed analytics, high-speed predictive analytics, high-speed natural language analytics that are very important for global companies and there’s a lot interest for these here in India. Which are the newer sectors SAP is tapping into? Financial services, telecom companies and the public sector, which is also becoming more relevant for us now that the Indian government has announced an initiative to go in for e-governance. Given the government’s focus on healthcare and education, are you looking at some sort of a collaboration in that direction? Much of the healthcare industry is fragmented, the standards are not uniform which is why it is so costly. I believe the healthcare industry is going to massively changed by technology—I think it is about to get globalized. For instance, more and more Americans are coming to India to get surgery done. I think we can support some of that though we need to work out how we can support. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 11 Nov 2009 | 12:45 pm iims see better summer - Business Standard
Source: Business - Google News | 11 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm Government to regulate trans fats in packaged foodsThe government has decided to limit the amount of trans fats in packaged foods. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) an autonomous statutory body administered by the ministry of health and family welfare will discuss the matter at a meeting on November 26 and come up with a draft.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 11 Nov 2009 | 11:39 am DoT, defence scrap over 3G spectrumThe inter-ministerial battle over spectrum for 3G telecom services has intensified, with the department of telecommunications (DoT) rejecting a claim by the ministry of defence (MoD) that it has not accounted for 10 MHz of spectrum given to DoT at the end of October in the information memorandum (IM).Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 11 Nov 2009 | 11:38 am Indirect taxes see 22% fallThe green shoots visible in the economy failed to enhance government revenue with indirect tax collections comprising customs, excise and service tax falling almost 22 per cent to Rs 1,26,903 crore in the April-October period this year. It stood at Rs 1,61,954 crore in the corresponding seven months of 2008-09. The overall decline was led by a 32 per cent fall in customs revenue.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 11 Nov 2009 | 11:36 am Online video will be the next killer appNew Delhi: Cisco Systems Inc. recently announced a slew of online services to enable businesses to communicate and collaborate. Earlier this week Mint spoke exclusively to Padmasree Warrior, chief technology officer (CTO) of Cisco Systems, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum’s India Economic Summit 2009. Warrior spoke about WEF, Cisco’s strategic shift, the next phase of the Internet and some key drivers of future technology. Edited excerpts: When you attend an event like the India Economic Summit, what excites the technologist in you? To me what I find most interesting in these sessions are the difference of opinions and diverse viewpoints. I think they get a good collection of people to talk about various topics. What I find most useful is the data driven approach. Some of the data lights up a bulb: How big is an issue? What impact can it have? For instance, Cisco is working on innovations in education; how to use TelePresence in schools. When you sit through a session on education, I am immediately thinking of using this data for that research.  Web of networks: Cisco’s chief technology officer Padmasree Warrior says collaboration will drive the next wave of increase in productivity. Rajkumar / Mint Cisco has a track record of constantly reinventing itself. We’ve done this before. For example, we did this when we moved in VoIP (voice over internet protocol) technology a few years ago. Where we see ourselves right now is preparing for the next five years, for what we call the next phase of the Internet. Where video, collaboration and virtualization will be big application and revenue drivers, and the network will continue to play an enabling role. So all of the acquisitions we have announced, and the companies we are looking to acquire, are to help us fill gaps in this plan we have. So that we are positioned for this transition. But is there a strategic shift away from products to services? Or is this a broadening of portfolio? It is a broadening of portfolio. And we are not moving away from products. Instead, we see us extending our existing leadership in products into systems, solutions, architectures and platforms. More and more customers want us to provide both a technology architecture and a business architecture. So we are looking at our current portfolio and how we can deliver on this broader expectation. Cisco seems to be focusing strongly on this concept of enterprise collaboration. It is a term that comes up often on your website… We feel that collaboration will drive the next wave of increase in productivity. The Web was first used for a lot of transactions and interactions. You had messaging and other text-based communication. In Web 2.0, there were social networks and consumer-level interaction and collaboration. We are thinking of how we can bring these things into the enterprise world. Especially video as a foundation for collaboration. Through this, we think we can increase the productivity in companies and countries by 5-10%. In fact, we just announced a whole series of enterprise collaboration products yesterday. The products you have announced go beyond video. It also includes email and voice. Email is a new area for Cisco. We want to build a platform that brings together video, voice, data and then bring in Web 2.0 concepts. But with policy and security measures so that companies can use them. And then set a platform for the future where I think the focus will be on inter-company collaboration. Now look at Twitter, for instance. It allows anyone from anywhere to connect with other people who share the same interests. This is a very good thing to have within a company. We need to build a system that enables this. During your tenure at Motorola and Freescale Semiconductor, you coined the term “seamless mobility”. Do you see that idea coming to fruition at Cisco? In fact, many companies are making this vision a reality; including Apple for consumers with the iPhone. When I was thinking of the term, I meant it as users having the ability to access applications, video, music and data on any device, anywhere. Take the case of the Flip, which is made by Pure Digital, a company we acquired a few months ago. Now with the Flip, you can shoot HD (high definition) video, plug it into a USB port and share it with anyone immediately. That is what I call seamless mobility. So yes, I see Cisco being one of the companies central to making seamless mobility a reality. You were one of two ethnic Indians short-listed by the Obama administration for the position of chief technology officer for the US. Vivek Kundra went on to become CTO. When do you think the government of India will begin to take technology and information that seriously? Governments all over the world are beginning to take this seriously. I recently read in a report, don’t recall which one, that a 10% increase in broadband penetration can increase GDP (gross domestic product) growth by 1.3%. So I think IT, especially broadband, are key economic growth drivers. And so they need leadership positions in the government, whatever is the title or designation of these leaders, to lead this. And during the summit, we’ve heard many people talk about the importance of IT in health, education and other areas. Governments are taking this very seriously now, including the India government. As a technologist, you stand on the cutting edge. So what is next? What are the next big technology ideas? In the next phase of the internet, like music before, we think video will be the next killer app. We are looking at what this means for all our products? How can we make online video a great experience? Second area is collaboration. The Internet must help companies to interact with people inside and outside its boundaries. The third pillar is virtualization leading to cloud computing. This is the notion that we can separate applications and services from the underlying hardware and deliver them on demand. And lastly, sustainability. In Cisco we are working on an initiative called Smart Connected Communities where we use networks to make buildings smarter and energy efficiently. So not just hardware and data centres that operate cleanly, but also using ICT to make homes and offices efficient. With all these innovations, do you see events such as WEF becoming redundant? With live video and TelePresence, people don’t have to assemble at all. Soon will we be able sit at home or in office and attend a WEF? Actually that is not that far away. I use TelePresence a lot. Recently we used it to connect 19,000 people across Cisco for a sales conference. The key thing is it saves a lot of money. It is also good for the environment and prevents fatigue for participants. We are also extending the technology into healthcare where doctors can use the system to deliver virtual consultation. So how many years away are we from a virtual World Economic Forum? If we had our way, an year or so! But in some cases you really do need to meet and talk. Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 11 Nov 2009 | 10:34 am Uninor may not join tariff war: BaksaasNew Delhi: Telecom firm Uninor, the joint venture between Telenor Group and Unitech Ltd, expected to start services in the third week of December, will stay away from the ongoing tariff war.  Wooing subscribers: Telenor’s Jon Frederik Baksaas says Uninor will focus on better connectivity. Rajkumar / Mint Baksaas admitted there was a need to keep costs in check. “Our business model for India will have to slimmer and leaner—both in terms of capex (capital expenditure) and organizational set-up,” he said. Telenor bought a 67.25% stake in the company from Unitech for Rs6,120 crore, almost four times the Rs1,651 crore that the realty company paid for the licence allotted last year. Uninor, which has invested Rs2,620 crore in its planned roll-out, has also tied up with Wireless-TT Infra Services Pvt. Ltd—a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Teleservices Ltd and Quippo Telecom Infrastructure Ltd—for sharing tower infrastructure. Baksaas agrees with analysts who expect the rate battle to lead to a shake-out and consolidation. Calling it a long-term game, Kunal Bajaj, managing director with strategy consulting firm BDA Connect (India) Pvt. Ltd, said companies that are short on cash will be the first to flinch. “This, however, will take some time as many of the firms have backers with very deep pockets. Rationalization of tariffs will only happen once consolidation starts happening which will take two-three years given the cash-rich promoters. Some operators like Shyam (Sistema) and Reliance Communications (Ltd) have launched tariffs below 1 paisa per second in a few circles. So it doesn’t look like tariffs have bottomed out as yet,” Bajaj said. That may not be a problem for Telenor, which reported a revenue of Norwegian kroner 110 billion (Rs91,700 crore) for 2008 and had a subscriber base of 172 million at the end of the third quarter of 2009, making it the seventh largest mobile service operator in the world. Baksaas sees great potential in the Indian market, where mobile phone usage is growing at the fastest pace in the world. “Real penetration is lower than what is reported in statistics. We are seeing that penetration will continue to grow due to the sheer number of new users in the Indian subcontinent,” he asserts. The rural market, Baksaas said, will be a key focus area for Uninor’s growth, although he refuses to explains how he plans to make inroads into an already crowded market that’s price sensitive. Bajaj said the initial strategy could well be to aim for valuations. “It is difficult to say what the new operators can do. They will have to focus on establishing a sizeable customer base and credibility in the market showing that they can drive competition. So when consolidation comes they will get a good look and valuation for their investment,” he said. Shauvik Ghosh contributed to this story. teejesh.b@livemint.com Source: World Business - Livemint.com | 11 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am A bookmarklet that lets you focusNew Delhi: With most newspapers and magazine still charging nothing for online content, the web is a splendid place to read, bookmark and re-read a wealth of stories. But not all sites are uniformly amenable for prolonged reading. While some are pleasantly coloured and finely fonted, others can be riot of flash ads, videos and other distraction. Which is why when you want to read with focus you need the ‘Readability’ bookmarklet. It is a tiny little shortcut button that works on all browsers. You can drag and drop it into your browser toolbar. And the next time you need to read nothing but the text, just click the button. And voila, everything but the text is gone, and the text is now formatted into a simple, clear chunk of pleasant text. And you can email and print this clean text as well. Great for concentrated research, or even to build a collection of clean stories for printing or later reading. See this week’s edition of Playstream for a full demo. sidin.v@livemint.com Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 11 Nov 2009 | 7:40 am Online activists hijack Facebook groupsSan Francisco: Activists claimed on Tuesday to have seized control of nearly 300 Facebook community groups in a self-proclaimed effort to expose how vulnerable online reputations are to tampering. A contingent that identified itself as Control Your Info (CYI) claimed credit for commandeering 289 Facebook Groups, saying it was simple to get into poorly protected administrative settings at the website. “This is just one example that really shows the vulnerabilities of social media,” said a blog post at controlyour.info. “If you chose to express yourself on the Internet, make sure the expressions are your own and not a spammers. This isn’t some kind of scare tactic, nor is it a hack, it’s a feature that can be used, and is being used, in bad ways.” CYI claimed its motives were pure and that the move was more of a “take-over” than a computer hack of Facebook groups. Facebook Groups are themed chat venues that users of the social networking service can join to socialize online with people who share interests. “Facebook Groups suffer from a major flaw,” said a message on the CYI blog. “If an administrator of a group leaves, anyone can register as a new admin. So, in order to take control of a Facebook group, all you really have to do is a quick search on Google.” Once CYI accessed groups as administrators it had authority to change anything, including pictures, descriptions and settings. CYI fired off messages to the groups telling them they had been “hijacked” and the justification for the attacks. CYI rechristened each group with its name and logo. CYI promised to restore the violated groups to their original conditions after it makes its point. “Our main goal is to draw attention to questions concerning online privacy awareness,” CYI said. “People have even lost their jobs over Facebook content. We wanted to do something about this.” Facebook said there was no hacking involved and there was no confidential information at risk. The groups targeted had been abandoned by their owners, which left doors open for group members to make themselves administrators. “Group administrators have no access to private user information and group members can leave a group at any time,” Facebook said. “In the rare instances when we find that a group has been changed inappropriately, we will disable the group, which is the action we plan for these groups.” Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 11 Nov 2009 | 3:16 am
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