The Pradhan Mantri Bharat Joro Pariyojna (PM-BJP) has finally taken off. Bidding was completed for seven sections worth Rs 2,799-3,110 crore on Tuesday. PM-BJP covers 10,000 km or roughly Rs 40,000-crore worth of road projects. Sources told ET that since no single company is to get more than one project, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is likely to award the Meerut-Muzaffarnagar to NCC-Mytas and the Bharatpur-Mahua project to Madhucon-Srei. Three bids have come in for the Rs 250-crore, 55-km Bharatpur-Mahua (Rajasthan) project. Madhucon-Srei JV has asked for the least capital grant of Rs 96 crore, with Rs 61 crore as the NPV grant. Apollo-JIL-DSC-LOR JV has asked for a total capital grant of Rs 175 crore, with an NPV grant of Rs 97 crore. Gammon has bid a figure of Rs 267 crore for the total grant and Rs 162 for the NPV grant. Four JVs have bid for the Rs 483-crore, 110-km Mahua-Jaipur (Rajasthan) project. IJM is the likely winner, having bid a total grant of Rs 99 crore and NPV grant of Rs 66 crore. Gammon has asked for a total grant of Rs 177 crore and an NPV grant of Rs 108 crore. NCC-Mytas JV has bid Rs 232 crore as total and Rs 148 crore as NPV capital grant. Apollo-JIL-DSC-LOR JV has the highest bid of Rs 318 crore as total capital grant and Rs 177 crore as NPV grant.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 15, 2004

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After lapping up Alpharma to make an entry into France, the Ahmedabad-based pharma major Zydus Cadila Healthcare is now surfing the Spanish market for an acquisition. The company is learnt to have initiated talks with some small-sized generic companies for the proposed acquisition. Sources familiar with the developments said Zydus Cadila is currently holding negotiations directly with the companies and has not appointed any merchant banker for assisting it in the proposed acquisition. Sources close to the company said Zydus is looking for a company with a reasonably big product basket so that it could start off its operations there straight away with some market share. Besides this, Zydus Cadila is planning to file dossiers for another 10-12 products in France this year. Besides the Spanish acquisition plans, Zydus is also learnt to be negotiating with the German pharma major Altana Pharma for expanding the scope of the business of their 50:50 joint venture, Zydus Altana Healthcare Ltd. Zydus currently supplies only the intermediates for Altana's protonix drug. Sources said Zydus is now negotiating for bagging the supply of the API (active pharma ingredients) for this drug as well.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 15, 2004

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On Tuesday, software major Infosys officially became a billion dollar company. Or $1.1 billion to be precise. For those more comfortable with crores, that's over Rs 4,800 crore in revenue for the year 2003-04. While declaration of corporate annual results are normally boring affairs, Infosys did it with a flourish few could have matched. The company brass, from chief mentor and chairman N.R. Narayana Murthy down, turned up in blue T-shirts that carried the legend - Infosys: A Billion Dollar Company. For once, the usually reserved Narayana Murthy let fly the superlatives. "With an income of just $40,000 in the first year and $120 million in 1999, we have become the fastest IT company to reach this goal," he said. Founded in 1981, Infosys went public in 1993 when there were few takers for its shares. Narayana Murthy explained: "If you bought one share for Rs 95 in 1994, at present rates it would be something like Rs 88,000."

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, April 14, 2004

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Reliance Group has emerged as India's largest wealth creator in the private sector for the financial year 2003-04. The group has increased its shareholders' wealth in terms of market capitalisation by Rs 50,606 crores. Its market capitalisation has increased from Rs 44,362 crores as on March 31, 2003 to Rs 94,968 crores as on March 31, 2004. RIL, in a statement issued here said that, according to a study carried out by the Centre For Monitoring Indian Economy, the Tata Group and the Bharti Group are second and third amongst the 'Largest Wealth Creators' in the private sector.Tata Group's market capitalisation increased by Rs 36,964 crores while that of telecom major Bharti Group rose by Rs 23,463 crores. The "Top 10 largest wealth creators" for the year 2003-04 together added market capitalisation worth Rs 1,80,391 crores. In the 'Individual Companies Category', Reliance Industries Ltd has emerged as the 'Largest Wealth Creator' amongst the private sector companies. During the 12 month period ended March 31, 2004, RIL - the flagship company of the Reliance Group, has seen its market capitalisation surge by Rs 36,529 crores. Its m-cap has increased from Rs 38,603 crores as on March 31, 2003 to Rs 75,132 crores on March 31, 2004. At the second position, Bharti Tele-Ventures Ltd. has added wealth in terms of m-cap to the tune of Rs 23,417 crores followed by Tata Motors at the third slot at Rs 11, 866 crores.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, April 14, 2004

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Close on the heels of acquiring Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Co in Korea, Tata Motors has signed an agreement with a Russian company to assemble 5,000 trucks annually in Russia. The company signed the agreement on Monday with Russian company S K Prom, an automobile manufacturer in Sverdlovsk region, for the assembly of trucks at the Urals plant. "The plant plans to assemble 400 Tata-407 and Tata-613 trucks before the end of 2004," the company's general director Pavel Chernavin was quoted as saying by news agency Interfax. The agency said that the first trucks should be ready by May. Tata Group's V Krishnan told UNI on phone from Mumbai that the initial deal for 400 trucks was valued at $3.5 million. However, he said exact details about the agreement can be known only after the company's team returns from Russia. He said, the agreement marked a major foray of the company in Russia where currently it does not export vehicles.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, April 14, 2004

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At a time when US, Inc. is gripped by poll fever and stricken by the BPO backlash, the $3 billion Qualcomm, global pioneers in CDMA technology, is hiring afresh in India. San Diego-based Qualcomm is locating a brand new software development centre in Hyderabad and putting in place a 100-member local developer team. Qualcomm, at present, has a business development arm in India that operates as an international division of Qualcomm's California-based business development group headed by Mr Jeff Jacobs, son of Qualcomm founder and CEO, Mr Irwin Jacobs. Qualcomm officials said, "The upcoming Hyderabad software complex will be involved in writing software that goes into Qualcomm's CDMA chipsets which run all CDMA handsets worldwide." Incidentally, Qualcomm's offshore development centre in Hyderabad will be a division of Qualcomm Inc. It will directly report to Qualcomm's chipset division in the US, which accounts for more than 50 per cent of Qualcomm's $3 billion global revenues. Company sources said the Hyderabad centre will be involved in designing BREW-enabled software applications. BREW (Binary run time & environment in wireless) is the latest CDMA digital wireless technology platform that is slated to power bulk of all future CDMA mobile phones worldwide. Qualcomm has recently inked agreements with Tata Teleservices and Reliance Infocomm for developing and implementing BREW-based applications on CDMA mobile phones, a Qualcomm source said.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 14, 2004

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Chennai, April 13: India's business process outsourcing (BPO) segment, a virtually non-existent space a few years ago, has grown to $2 billion now. The industry expects a steady growth in this segment, as India is still a favourable destination for back office jobs because of its well-developed communication infrastructure, stable business environment and highly skilled technical talent pool. According to a recent study by the BPO committee of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Assocham) and International Data Corporation (IDC), certain limitations of countries competing in this space have put them a shade behind India. China has limitation in terms of English-speaking capability. Mexico is good for low-end jobs. Canada and South Africa are costlier than India. In order to overtake India in BPO, they will have to overcome these disadvantages. The question, however, is: How long can the Chinese power be curbed? It has the potential to become a major BPO power in the world, according to ICRA. The main strengths of China in the global outsourcing market are its manufacturing prowess and rising IT competence. The Chinese Government is proactive towards the BPO sector. For instance, it has invested over $5.4 billion in nine universities to promote English language and other skill sets. Today, most clients want to look at offshoring. The obvious reason is to reduce operating costs, by up to 50 per cent in some cases, since hourly rates for workers in Asia and other emerging markets are anywhere between 30 and 75 per cent lower than they are in the U.S. According to an estimate by Forrester Research, 3.3 million U.S. service-industry jobs will go offshore in the next 15 years. Phaneesh Murthy, CEO, iGATE Global Solutions, feels jobs will migrate to where it can be done best. There are, no doubt, factors that benefit Indian companies. What will this mean to India in the next 2-5 years? According to a few IT analysts, global sourcing is causing downward price pressure on all service providers, domestic and foreign. To compete on the price front with Indian companies such as Infosys Technologies and Wipro Technologies, the U.S. service providers will need to open centres in India and elsewhere.In spite of added advantages, the industry still feels a threat to the Indian BPO. The fact is that workers' unions in the West have begun a huge campaign against jobs being shifted to low-cost centres. This pressure is also proving a major threat to India. In the present scenario, Indian companies should continue to deliver value to customers and further improve upon that by way of productivity and effective gains, says Shiva Ramani, Chief Executive Officer, Slashsupport. The focus should be on quality and not the cost being the driver for new businesses, he feels. Going forward, BPO, in which companies contract for services ranging from HR record keeping to basic accounting and airline reservations services, will explode, from $ 110 billion in 2002 to $173 billion in 2007, according to Gartner. In the future, the focus will be less on offshoring discrete processes within a department and more on moving the entire (all of HR, for example) offshore. In future, the situation for BPO companies is going to be tough, says the Assocham-IDC study. The players will have to deal with business-critical issues such as the upfront capital requirements, increasing competition, declining pricing and the much needed market reach in prominent geographies. To hedge their bets, smart companies will focus on developing a true global delivery model, hiring multiple vendors in multiple locations, depending upon which can provide the best quality at the best price for each service.

Courtesy: The Hindu, April 14, 2004

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United Nations has accredited the Netherlands-based Det Norske Veritas (DNV) to validate projects in developing countries, which are targeted at reducing green house gas emissions. Such projects, upon validation, would become eligible to receive funds from the developed nations. C Kumaraswamy, Green House expert and Product Manager, DNV, Bangalore, said at a press conference here today that the company was the first to get the accreditation from UN's Climate Change panel. Climate change had emerged as a major international concern and all the countries that signed the Kyoto Protocol on clean development mechanism had agreed to reduce their emission levels by five per cent from the levels persisting since 1999, he said. The protocol had also provided for extending financial assistance to projects in the developing countries, which emit less gases, he added. To be eligible for the assistance, the projects had to be validated and certified by authorised bodies like DNV he said.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 13, 2004

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EDS, one of the world's largest outsourcing services companies, and Tata Consultancy Services, Asia's biggest software services firm, are in the race to buy US insurance giant Phoenix's 100 per cent stake in its Bangalore-based BPO outfit Phoenix Global Solutions, industry sources said. EDS, which already has a large operation in the country, is believed to be conducting due diligence of the outfit's operations and financials. "They are close to it, but TCS is also there," the sources said, adding that EDS may well pip the Indian software giant and clinch the deal. The development comes in the wake of consolidation in the domestic BPO industry, sparked off last week by IBM's acquisition of Daksh, the Gurgaon-based BPO firm. Global companies eager to acquire capacities to take advantage of the boom in outsourcing are targetting small and medium-sized firms, who lack financial muscle to withstand competition. Sources said the Indian outfit is a leading player in the financial services sector, especially insurance, with facilities in both Hartford and Bangalore. The US parent has been looking to sell its stake in the Indian outfit for more than two years now. Mindtek, owned by TAIB Bank, was in talks to buy the firm through a share swap in 2002, but the talks did not lead anywhere.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 13, 2004

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Close to $5billion worth non-performing assets (NPAs) are expected to be resolved by banks in the next 12-18 months, said a Ernst & Young (E&Y) study. In its latest 'Global non-performing loans report '04,' E&Y has said that the development of a framework for asset management companies and a strong potential for economic growth in the country, India could see NPA transactions worth $5bn over the next 12-18 months. By many measures, India appears to be succeeding in addressing its NPA problem, when compared with other Asian countries. As far as the Asian region is concerned, E&Y estimates that the region has succeeded in removing NPAs worth more than $1trn since the late '90s crisis.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 13, 2004

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India is set for record harvests after the best monsoon in a decade and Asia's third largest economy is on the cusp of higher growth, thanks to low interest rates and rising capital inflows. The government's quarterly economic statement released on Friday said prospects for the agriculture sector, which directly supports almost 70 per cent of Indians, brightened considerably after last year's above normal June-September monsoon. "The estimated food grains production this year is set to cross the peak performance of 212.02 million tonnes and is poised to touch 212.20 million tonnes," the statement said. "The production of crops such as pulses and oilseeds has improved considerably." The report forecast oilseeds production at a record 24.9 million tonnes - a shot in the arm for the world's largest importer of edible oils.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 13, 2004

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The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, in its study "Fair Globalisation" claims that contrary to the general belief, India, after a decade of reforms has become "a more open economy than the world's two largest economies: the United States and Japan." The assertion is based on the increase in the share of merchandise and services export in the GDP. The share of India's external merchandise trade in GDP has gone up from 11.7% in 1991 to 22.6% in 2002. During the same period the share of external services trade has increased from 3.3% to 7.7% of GDP. For the US, the share of external merchandise trade as percentage of GDP was 15.5% in 1991 and 18.2% in 2002, while external services trade moved from 4.1% to 4.7%. While for Japan, the share of share of external merchandise trade as percentage of GDP was 15.8% in 1991 and 18.9% in 2002, while external services trade moved from 3.7% in 1991 to 4.3% in 2001. The FICCI study does reveal that Indian economy has integrated rapidly into the global economy since the reforms of 1991. FICCI president YK Modi said, "India's extent of integration with the global economy has gone up sharply since early nineties." Talking about the rationale of this study, Mr Modi said, "We decided to carry out this research as India was often referred as a closed economy, which has not opened up much. The research certainly beats that myth."

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 13, 2004

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Domestic demand boosted by the best monsoon rains in a decade helped India's industrial output to soar in February and analysts said factories would continue to enjoy strong growth in the months ahead. Government data released showed industrial output in February was 7.4% higher than the same month a year before, when growth had registered at 7%. Output was also 7.4% higher in January '04 and analysts say the February figures show the sector is on course to achieve a 7% growth estimate for the year to March. Industry accounts for nearly a quarter of India's gross domestic product (GDP). The capital goods sector, which reflects the level of industrial activity, grew by 24.7% in February compared with a 5.1% rise in February '03. The manufacturing sector was 6.7% larger in February compared with 7.1% growth in the year-ago period. "The manufacturing sector is performing much better than the previous years," said Indranil Pan, economist with Kotak Mahindra Bank. Between April and February, industrial output grew 6.7%, compared with 5.8% growth in the same period one year before. The economy is on a high, estimated to have grown by 8.1% in the year to March '04, boosted by a rebound in the farm sector and solid growth in manufacturing and services. Nearly 70% of Indians depend on the farm sector, so a bumper harvest puts more money in their pockets to splurge. Demand for mobile phones, cars, televisions have shot up as consumers also enjoy decades-low interest rates and attractive hire-purchase schemes.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 13, 2004

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Automakers have every reason to be excited by the burst in consumer spending in the just concluded fiscal year. The biggest gainer in real numbers in FY '03-04 was the compact car or B segment where some 70,000 more cars were sold. The numbers rose from 2,99,525 in FY '02-03 to 3,69,600 cars, translating into a 23% growth. Following in close succession is the mid-size C segment cars where some 46,700 units have been added to the previous year's tally. It has raced up by 50% from 92,638 to 1,39,400 units in FY '03-04. The third area of significant opportunity is the relatively young executive sedan segment. Also called the D segment, it has leapfrogged by 101% from 8,237 cars in FY '02-03 to 16,576 units. The rise in the sales of the Maruti 800, India 's first small car, is another indicator of the regular upgradation of two wheeler users to an entry level car, driven largely by softening of prices and ease of car finance at attractive terms. Similarly, among the mid-size cars, the Accent and Indigo are the clear leaders, ahead of competition by miles. In fact, the difference in numbers between the Hyundai (28,231) and Tata (28,000) cars is very marginal. The Honda City, powered by its new look model, has surged ahead from 11,992 units in FY 02-03 to 18,384 units, while the Ikon has grown from 14,961 to 20,881 units. Honda Accord has topped the charts among the premium or E segment cars with sales of 2109 units.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 13, 2004

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Indian pharma companies, in the herbal and ayurvedic segment, eager to tap the $60 billion herbal drug market may soon have to pass a new regulatory hurdle for export of their medicinal plant based products. A new quality code, Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (GACP), has been drafted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to ensure production of herbal medicines which are of good quality, safe, sustainable and which would not pose any threat to either people or the environment. It would soon be imperative for the governments to enforce GACP in their drug regulatory system before permitting any such drug to be marketed in their respective countries. "The GACP guideline is a result of a long-term need for the promotion of organic cultivation of the plants that would ensure better quality of raw materials. WHO has recognised that herbal medicines, popularised in the international markets by India and China, could be the natural answer to many ailments. However the international body has tracked a significant rise of patients experiencing negative health consequences caused by the use of herbal medicines. In addition to patient safety issues, WHO has taken note of the fact that there is a risk that a growing herbal market and its great commercial benefit might pose a threat to biodiversity through over-harvesting of the raw materials for herbal medicines and other natural health care products.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 13, 2004

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Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is learnt to have joined the race to acquire Hughes Software Systems, the Delhi-based telecom software services company, in which its existing promoters News Corp has invited bids to divest its entire 55 per cent stake. The stage is now set for an aggressive fight between potential bidders for Hughes Software management control since several multinational firms, both strategic and financial investors, have shown interest in acquiring the company. Sources familiar with the development said that TCS is pitching in with an aggressive bid since the company is keen to develop its telecom practice which already contributes to over 20 per cent of its total revenues with clients like British Telecom, Singapore Telecom and NTT of Japan. Hughes Software is a leading player in the IT outsourcing market which provides services to more than 180 customers worldwide, in the telecom infrastructure, communication service provider and business process outsourcing sectors.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 12, 2004

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The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Ltd has discovered gas reserves at Khedabari village in Sonamura sub-division of West Tripura district with a production capacity of over two lakh cubic metre per day, Director (Exploration) of ONGC, Y.B Sinha today said. The discovery of gas is very important in view of the 280 MW power plant coming up in the area near Monarchak being established by North-East Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO), he said. Sinha said the ONGC would soon start seismic survey in Mizoram and striking oil in Nagaland. He said more than 300 tonnes of Oil were produced every day from Nagaland but the activity of ONGC was stopped during 1994-95 due to Naga insurgency, but it would resume soon. The Director said the ONGC had discussed the matter with the Central Government and Chief Minister of Nagaland and both have shown interest in this regard. He said the latest business stewart survey has recognised ONGC as the biggest wealth creator (Rs 22630 crores) in the country over the period 1998-2003. Sinha said disinvestment of 10 per cent equity share has made the ONGC more stronger which according to him is a very successful experiment.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 12, 2004

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The country's largest carmaker Maruti Udyog is getting aggressive about its diesel project now. The company is learnt to be in negotiations with Peugeot of France to set up a dedicated facility to manufacture diesel engines for passenger cars and sports utility vehicles. Peugeot already supplies diesel engines to Maruti for the Zen and Esteem models. However, shortage of Peugeot engines have affected sales of the Zen diesel in the past. Suzuki officials have, meanwhile, said they want Maruti to have its own capability for the production of diesel engines. Though details of the project can't be confirmed, the unit is most likely to be set up as a joint venture with French vehicle maker. The proposed unit is learnt to have the blessings of Maruti's parent, Suzuki Motors of Japan, as well. It will not only meet Maruti's requirement but will also service other vehicles manufacturers in India and exports. "The project would be similar to what Hindustan Motors is trying to do," says a source close to the development. Hindustan Motors' has emerged as one of the largest suppliers of engines and power trains in India and its client list includes Ford Motors and General Motors India (GMI). At present, diesel-powered vehicles account for just 5% of Maruti vehicles sold in India against the industry average of 15%. The company plans to narrow this gap.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 12, 2004

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If the Hindi blockbuster Border popularised the lines Subhe ka nashta Jaisalmer mein, Dopahar ka khana Jaipur mein aur Raat ki daawat Delhi mein, Bangalore-based Karuturi Floritech is seeking to do the same in the floriculture industry through a trucking service which aims to provide farm-fresh flowers in distant markets like Nagpur and New Delhi. The new service which has already run once from Bangalore will connect key floriculture centres. "The service aims to make available fresh flowers to both wholesalers and retailers. While trucking costs were 20% less than that of air freight, the flowers sent by truck fetched around 40% premium as dispatches by air suffered from a break in cold chain, leading to loss of freshness. The company aims to source produce also from only areas adjoining Bangalore but also from other regions like Kolhapur and Sangli besides Himachal Pradesh and Punjab.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 12, 2004

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With an eye on the international pipeline projects Gail (INDIA) Ltd has entered into a marketing pact with DuPont India. Accordingly, DuPont will help Gail in identifying international customers specially in Turkey, Iran, China and other Asian countries for its pipeline projects, in return, Gail will use the three layer polyethylene pipe coating system in India and abroad. The agreement will see Gail using DDG system as a preferred choice for all its pipeline projects in India and abroad. Gail is already using DDG system in its Dahej-Vijaipur pipeline project. DDG system comprises DuPont Fusabond adhesive products, DuPont Nap-Gard epoxy powder and Gail's high-density polyethylene resin all of which are used in pipe coating. "DuPont and Gail have been working together for the past few months to develop customised polyehylene compounds and resins offered under the alliance," said Proshanto Banerjee, CMD, Gail (India). The DDG three-layer polyethlene system is one of the most advanced and widely used coatings for steel pipes. It is also considered to be environment friendly.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 12, 2004

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India's traditional industry of pickle is set to get a major boost with the government considering establishment of a food park here to facilitate business in the sector. A food park will go a long way in giving a fillip to the sector", Delhi's industry minister Mangat Ram Singhal said here. He assured that around 300 acre land will be earmarked to develop a pickles food park which will ensure that all units and related set-ups function under a single roof. He said there had been a major upswing in exports which have risen a massive 45.4 per cent to 56,384 tonnes in 2002-03 from 38,758 tonnes in the previous fiscal. This year exports are expected to be over 65,000 tonnes. According to the latest official data, the value fetched have also been on the rise and was a significant Rs 154.16 crore during the period against Rs 120.34 crore in 2001-02, an increase of 28.3 per cent.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 12, 2004

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Prof Jagdish N Sheth needs no introduction. He's spent close to quarter of a century teaching in the US with institutes like MIT, University of Illinois and Columbia University. Known as the father of relationship marketing, he is, at present, professor of marketing at the Emory University. He was in New Delhi to deliver a lecture on 'The New Frontiers in Brand Building'. Here are his views on the strengths and weaknesses of Brand India.

What is your perception of the current feel-good factor that apparently is making India shine?

It is for the first time since Independence that a conscious effort has been made to bring in a semblance of national identity in India. All this while, India has had a diffused identity. There may be a degree of hype in the current feel-good factor, but personally, I welcome it because in the current phase of a marketing-led global world, nations do need to have a distinct brand identity. And they do need to make concerted efforts to expand the awareness of their brand.

What steps does India need to take to strengthen its brand appeal globally?

India must reposition and restructure its economy to be globally competitive. No country has become an economic superpower without strong exports. The key to their success has been exports to the most demanding markets. However, to succeed in the most demanding markets, a country has to be globally competitive, which in turn means having better products and services at competitive prices. India should identify the sectors or industries it could develop a global edge in. It may also need to align itself with one of the triad powers - US, European Union or ASEAN for a strong market to push its products in.

Given the fact that EU is a self-sustained group and ASEAN isn't too keen on India, does India have too many options on this count?

Political alignments are increasingly being determined by economic concerns. And since EU is more or less a consolidated group, India won't fit in there. ASEAN also, doesn't look very assuring. The US is certainly a very good option and India has already started making the right moves to get close to the economic superpower. The incumbent government seems to have zeored in on the US. And it serves the purpose for both the countries as their economies can complement each other in more ways than one.

Which are the sectors India can attain a global edge in?

Information Technology sector has fared well so far, but that's because of the cost advantages that Indian companies enjoy. The second phase of evolution for the IT industry may be difficult as it will require huge investments as well as consolidating on core competencies. Nevertheless, IT remains an industry Indian companies can do well in. India, however, must focus on its export strengths. Diamond industry, dairy, processed food, pharma and textiles are some areas where Indian manufacturers can score. In services, organised retail looks like an attractive proposition but the sector may soon be overpowered by American and British retailers. WalMart is already keenly looking at India. However, India may tighten its hold on R&D, healthcare and hospitality.

Why is Brand China's perceived value greater than that of India globally?

China has a very strong army of brand ambassadors in the form of non-resident Chinese. This group is not only selling China well outside, but is also a major investor in the Chinese economy. As is known, three-fourths of the FDI that China gets is thanks to non-resident Chinese. Whereas India has completely failed in tapping this resource. NRIs, till the recent past, were a completely detached group. The incumbent government has taken some welcome steps to strike a friendly chord with them. NRIs in the US and Europe are a very resourceful group, both economically and politically, and their strengths, if leveraged judiciously, will open up an additional channel to access these markets. But that's not the only strength that China has. The country is pretty much stronger than India on infrastructure and manufacturing fronts. Their quality standards are much more superior. India needs to set global production and manufacturing standards instead of domestic ones if it wants to compete globally.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 12, 2004

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India 's coffee export for 03-04 fiscal is estimated to have increased by 5.72% in value terms and by 6.10% in terms of quantum as compared to fiscal 02-03, according to the provisional Coffee Board statistics. In quantum terms, the Coffee Board estimates that at least 220,000 tonnes were exported during the 03-04 fiscal, up from 207,333 tonnes shipped out during 02-03. The final figure could even be higher as the Coffee Board issued shipment-permits for 236,241 tonnes during fiscal 03-04, as compared to permits for 208,126 tonnes during the previous fiscal of 02-03. Figures of actual shipments for '03-04 fiscal are provisional since exporters take a few weeks to submit proof of shipments to the Coffee Board. In value terms, the Coffee Board estimates that a dollar-value realisation of 247.28 million could have been achieved during 03-04, up from $233.88 million for the previous fiscal.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 09, 2004

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It's India's turn to get rich by caring for the world's sick and needy. A Rs 10,000 crore opportunity in 'medical tourism' lies in wait for upmarket hospitals in exotic locations around the country, a report from CII and McKinsey says. Many hospitals are well placed to position themselves as ideal health spots for those who fail to manage expensive healthcare accounts in the developed world, the report says. It estimates a Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore market for ''upmarket tertiary hospitals'' by 2012, or 3 to 5 pc of the existing healthcare delivery market. In a break from tradition, CII and McKinsey do not limit this potential revenue-earning to bio-medicine or naturopathy. Says Dr Naresh Trehan, chairman of CII's National Healthcare Committee, ''Compared with most developed countries such as the UK or the US, treatments like those for dental problems or major procedures like bypass surgery or angioplasty in India come at a fraction of the costs elsewhere.'' Cardiac Surgery in India, for instance, costs one-tenth of the bills many foot for a similar procedure in North America. Medical tourists are already visiting India, the report highlights, but its size is small and largely confined to patients from West Asia and South Asia. It could grow rapidly if the industry re-orients itself to actively attract non-Indian patients. Were Indian hospitals to also provide health insurance, an additional Rs 390 billion could be gathered in from the rich and middle classes. Also, public spending could double from Rs 170 billion. And if the pharma industry does as well as it is expected to, the healthcare market here could expand to Rs 2,320 crore from Rs 1,030 today, it finds.

Courtesy: The Indian Express, April 09, 2004

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ONGC Videsh (OVL), which has been on an acquisition spree last year, has done it again. This time round, OVL has struck black gold in Angola. The company has acquired a 50% stake in a deep-water offshore block in the west African country by buying out Shell's entire equity for $600m. OVL and Shell Development Angola BV on Thursday announced that they have reached an agreement for OVL to acquire Shell's entire interest (50%) in the deep-water offshore block 18 in Angola, including the Greater Plutonio development. Oil industry sources say that OVL, a 100% subsidiary of ONGC, was competing with China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to acquire Shell's stake in the block. "Although several leading energy majors were in the fray in the first round, the final competition was between the Chinese energy major and OVL," sources said. ONGC CMD Subir Raha told ET, "It's the oil hot spot in the world today and we are glad to have made a foray there." The African crude is already being used by Indian refining companies like IOC. Says an oil industry source, "IOC is already using the Cambinda oil found in Africa for its refineries."

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 09, 2004

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Surveys by revenue authorities across the country to track service tax defaulters appears to have yielded results. Over 1.5 lakh new service tax assessees have been added to the existing base and revenues have doubled to Rs 7,750 crore in fiscal '03-04. Actual revenues so far are Rs 550 crore lower than the revised estimate of Rs 8,300 crore. With data still being collated - given that several banks are yet to report collections - the total realisation may turn out to be higher than Rs 7,750 crore. A shortfall vis-a-vis revised target, at best, could be marginal, reckon officials. With 1.5 lakh new assesses added to the list till the end of March this year, the total assessee base is now close to 3.8 lakh. Ten new services were brought under the net last fiscal and the government originally fixed the revenue target at Rs 8,000 crore. This was 60% higher than the budget target of Rs 5,000 crore in '02-03. According to latest estimates, service tax revenues in '03-04 touched Rs 7,750 crore compared to the actual collection of Rs 3,855 crore in '02-03. Bulk of the revenues still come from telephones, stock exchange and insurance which were brought under the net when the tax was imposed for the first time. Revenues from telephone services and insurance were estimated at Rs 3,024 crore and Rs 1,044 crore in the revised estimates for '03-04. Among telehone service companies, BSNL's contribution has been substantial, with the company paying up over Rs 728 crore as service tax.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 09, 2004

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Tata Motors registered 42.9 per cent growth in sales at 3.14 lakh units in the year 2003-04 against 2.19 lakh units in 2002-03. "This is the highest-ever sales achieved by the company in a fiscal year. Total sales for the month of March '04 were 34,714 units, an increase of 26 per cent over 27,547 units sold in March '03," the company said. Commercial vehicle sales in March '04 stood at 17,803 vehicles, an increase of 51.2 per cent over 11,772 vehicles sold in March last year. Cumulative sales stood at 1,52,282 vehicles in the domestic market during the fiscal, representing an increase of 43.7 per cent over 1,05,960 vehicles sold in last fiscal. In the passenger vehicles, the company registered its highest-sales ever in the domestic market in the month of March at 15,065 units.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, April 09, 2004

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Canadian insurance major Sun Life Financial Inc plans to invest over $100 million in its life insurance and asset management joint ventures in India to tap business opportunities and said it was open to acquire Indian mutual funds at "right price". The financial sector company would also scout for pension funds business in India, dwelling on the performance of life insurance business, he said "the life insurance JV with Aditya Birla group has shown aggressive performance till now and we are raising targets and would invest further to support business". Sun Life had invested about $100 million in the country and could double it in the next few years, he said, adding "we are eager to raise our stake in insurance JV from current 26 per cent to 49-51 per cent as when the Indian regulations permit for higher foreign holding".

Courtesy: The Times of India, April 07, 2004

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Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) crossed the $10 billion-mark in turnover in 2003-04 on the back of six oil and gas discoveries and a turnaround of its subsidiary Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals. As a group, ONGC's market capitalisation exceeded $28 billion. The company's overseas arm ONGC Videsh acquired 49 per cent stake in two exploration blocks in Libya, and 60 per cent interest in one exploration block in Syria. A major gas discovery was made in January in Myanmar 's offshore Block A-1, in which OVL holds 20 per cent equity.

Courtesy: The Times of India, April 07, 2004

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Vizag Steel has registered a record turnover of Rs 6,174 crore with a 22 per cent growth over the previous year and a highest ever net profit of Rs 1,521 crore during the financial year 2003-4. The gross margin increased by 84 per cent to Rs 2,023 crore while the net profit (Rs 1,521 crore) rose by 192 per cent over Rs 521 crore earned last year. The domestic sales rose by 21 per cent to Rs 5406 crore while exports increased by 28 per cent to Rs 768 crore during the year. On the production front, 4.05 million tonnes of hot metal, 3.51 mt of liquid steel and 3.17 mt of saleable steel were produced during the year to mark the best yearly performance since inception, a company release said here on Sunday. The company, which became a zero-debt one since November last and contained interest outgo to Rs 50 crore, also achieved marked improvement in labour productivity to 262 tonnes per man year, the best among the Indian integrated steel plants, it said. The company, having a plant capacity utilisation of 110-120 per cent, aimed to utilise inherent untapped potential by investing in different areas to produce growth oriented products as also in expanding production capacity in future. It also focused on widening its product-mix and stabilisation of special steels production, it said.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 06, 2004

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Indian exports to Germany registered a 3 per cent increase in euro terms to 2.65 billion euros or about Rs 14,000 crore during the last calendar year. Exports to Germany have increased despite constant decrease in the demand of handmade carpets, silk or home furnishings and shoes in Germany, according to a release by Indo-German Export Promotion Project (IGEP).

Courtesy: The Pioneer, April 06, 2004

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Mahindra & Mahindra has posted a 34.8 per cent rise in sales for the fiscal 2003-04 at 1,15,782 vehicles as against 85,835 in 2002-03 while its flagship sports utility vehicle Scorpio at 23,976 units posted a whopping 103.3 per cent rise over the previous fiscal. The utility vehicles sales including Scorpio rose 32.7 per cent at 91,436 vehicles during 2003-04 against 68,858 during the previous fiscal, the company said in a release. The light commercial vehicle (LCV) sales for 2003-04 were slightly higher at 7,003 vehicles against 6948 vehicles during the previous year. Sales in the three-wheeler segment during the last fiscal stood at 17,343 vehicles as against 10,029 in 2002-03. Utility vehicles sales in March 2004 were 9,029 units as compared to 8,879 in the previous fiscal while the LCV sales stood at 811 vehicles as against 517 units in March 2003. Scorpio sales were up at 2,259 vehicles during March 2004 over 1,792 vehicles in the comparable period of the previous fiscal while three-wheeler sales rose to 1,660 vehicles as compared to 1,220 in March 2003, the company said.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 06, 2004

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MMTC's group turnover, including its subsidiary MTPL, Singapore, is all set to reach Rs. 10,000 crores in 2003-04 while its profits are projected at Rs. 75 crores. Briefing media persons on the provisional annual results, the Chairman and Managing Director, S. D. Kapoor, said MMTC itself would record the highest ever turnover of Rs. 9,200 crores, a growth of 48 per cent over last year when it registered Rs. 6,226 crores. On the export front, the company is expected to record an earning of Rs. 1,930 crores. Export of mineral products increased to Rs. 1,443 crores during the just ended fiscal from Rs. 1,245 crores last year. Export turnover from jewellery exhibition was estimated at Rs. 50 crores. Significantly, Mr. Kapoor said that imports turnover at Rs. 6,770 crores was the highest ever by the company and higher even than its total turnover in 2002-03. Domestic business of Rs. 500 crores spurted by 213 per cent over the last year. The company sold metal products in the domestic market to net in Rs. 404 crores against Rs. 65 crores last year.

Courtesy: The Hindu, April 06, 2004

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Corporate India employs just about as many software professionals as the software industry itself. The number of employees working in captive or in-house IT departments of user organisations which are non-IT firms, is around 280,000. As compared to this, the 'pure' IT sector - the IT companies - employ about 288,000 employees, according to Nasscom . If one looks at demand for IT professionals from just the domestic market, the user firms are clearly the big employers. The number of IT professionals in IT firms catering to domestic market is only 28,000 or one-tenth of those employed in captive IT departments. Interestingly, the employee strength of this captive segment is marginally higher than the number of employees in pre IT companies catering to the global market. This indicates that there is considerable potential for business process outsourcing (BPO) for domestic companies in case the companies having captive IT departments decide to outsource. The number of employees in captive IT departments have been growing at a high compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 per cent in the last four years.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 06, 2004

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State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) made six oil and gas discoveries in 2003-04, the year when the gross turnover of the company and its subsidiaries crossed $10 billion. "During the year, ONGC made six discoveries - East Lakhibari (oil) in Assam, Sonamura (gas) in Tripura, Degam (oil) in Gujarat, Sitarampuram (gas) in Andhra Pradesh, NMT-2 (gas) in Western Offshore and G-4 in Bay of Bengal," a company press release said. The onshore finds are being brought into production, and development plans were being prepared for the offshore ones. Offshore discoveries in D-1 and Vasai East fields in Western Offshore and G-1 and GS-15 finds in Eastern Offshore are under development, with deliveries to commence in 2005-06. Service contracts have been awarded for eight marginal onshore oil fields, with development beginning in 2004-05. "With these awards, ONGC will monetise 1.8 million tonnes of oil in-place worth Rs 870 crore," it said. Nineteen marginal oil and gas fields in Western offshore have been offered for service contracts. The fields are likely to be awarded by September 2004 and development work scheduled to begin before monsoon 2005.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 06, 2004

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Global rating agency Standard & Poor's is sanguine on the country's external sector and GDP growth, though it is concerned about the combined fiscal deficit of the centre and the states, estimated at around 10% of the GDP. "Clearly in terms of growth, external sector, it is a positive story. India 's GDP growth was 10.4% higher in the October-December quarter of fiscal 2003-2004 compared to same period a year earlier, overtaking China as the fastest growing economy in the world. Most rating agencies have placed India 's sovereign rating on junk status primarily because of its inability to rein in its fiscal deficit. India has an investment grade 'Baa3' rating from Moody's Investor service for its growth and robust external health. But S&P and Fitch put its debt at junk status, with ratings of 'BB' and 'BB-plus' respectively. The government estimates to contain fiscal deficit at 4.8% of GDP in 2003-04 on the back of higher revenue receipts. Direct tax collections are set to surpass the revised target of Rs 1,03,255 crore. Excise duty receipts in 2003-04 stood at 91,000 crore and customs duty at 48,600 crore - around Rs 1,400-1,500 crore lower than the revised estimates.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 06, 2004

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Reliance Infocomm has launched international roaming services that would allow Reliance Indiamobile (RIM) customers to roam internationally on GSM networks across 300 mobile networks in 172 countries. The facility would be initially offered through Reliance Webworlds--Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Pune with other major locations being covered over the next few weeks, president Wireless Products and Services of Reliance Infocomm S P Shukla said. A monthly rental of Rs 99 would be charged for the service and charges for the calls made or received while roaming shall be as levied by the foreign network selected by the customer as per standard global roaming norms, he added.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, April 06, 2004

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State Bank of India has embarked on a journey which no Indian bank has ever dared to undertake. The country's largest bank, often considered as a proxy for the Indian economy by foreign investors, is in the process of acquiring a bank in the US, the world's biggest financial market. The due diligence process is currently on. If negotiations are fruitful and all approvals including regulatory ones are obtained, the deal could be completed in the first half of this fiscal. Significantly, SBI is not prowling around only in the US market. SBI, with assets aggregating over Rs 375,800 crore, is training its sights on acquisition targets closer home in Asia and Africa as well. Industry officials also view Sri Lanka as a potential destination for acquisitions. SBI's overseas strategy is being driven by the fact that Indian corporates are also expanding their activities abroad through acquisitions and joint ventures. SBI wants to position itself to tap this potential. It feels acquisition in the overseas markets makes more sense than expanding branch network abroad. SBI has plans to expand its overseas offices to 75 in 38 countries by March '05. At present, the bank has a network of 52 offices spread over 28 countries. Its US subsidiary, SBI California, has four offices in California and there are plans to open one more soon. Besides, SBI also has two branches in New York and Chicago and an agency in Los Angeles.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 06, 2004

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The domestic market undeniably belongs to gold. But, step outside and it is only India 's diamonds that glitter. According to the gem and jewellery export data, nearly 80% of exports is on account of cut and polished diamonds, while plain gold jewellery contributes roughly 15% to exports. While India is the largest source of cut and polished diamonds, it is the world's biggest consumer of gold jewellery with an annual demand of 500 tonne. In value terms, exports of cut and polished diamonds stands at $7,100m and that of gold is at $1,512m in '02-03. Exports of diamonds have reached this scale over the last 40 years. From just $13m in '66-67, diamond exports reached $2,500m in '91-92 and has been growing rapidly since then. On the other hand, gold jewellery exports was quite insignificant till the '90s and has only now picked up momentum. Experts feel that Indian gold jewellery is not hot abroad because of design constraints. The chunky Indian jewellery designs are hardly suited to the large export markets of the US or the UK . An ICRA report on jewellery says, "The export business has been constrained by an inability to compete in global markets on pricing and design."

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 06, 2004

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GAIL (India) Ltd, Tata Power and British Petroleum today signed an agreement to jointly bid for acquiring Dabhol power plant and the adjacent LNG terminal in Maharashtra. "GAIL, Tata Power and BP will now jointly engage with Dabhol stakeholders and other decision makers to understand and structure an economically viable solution for the project," a statement issued by GAIL said here. Earlier Tata Power, Gail and BP had submitted separate expressions of interest to Industrial Development Bank of India for the potential sale of sponsor's equity in 2001, the statement said.

Courtesy: The Hindu, April 06, 2004

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The Union government has opened a bigger piece of the international sky for the private domestic airlines, Jet Airways and Air Sahara. The government has formally communicated to the two airlines that they can fly to Nepal and Bangladesh. The government had last month allowed private domestic airlines to fly on international routes for the first time by giving permission to operate services to Sri Lanka.Jet Airways and Air Sahara have hailed the government's decision and will soon start service between Delhi-Kathmandu and Kolkata-Dhaka. "The government is gradually opening up the sky for the private players of India.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, April 05, 2004

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What seemed impossible till last month has happened. For the first time, Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), the public sector Steel Authority of India Ltd flagship unit, has earned a record profit of Rs 2,000 crore in the last financial year. The net profit for the previous fiscal was Rs 735 crore. The plant has surpassed its own best-ever annual production. Only a fortnight back, the plant, grappling with its worst-ever coal crisis, had to cut down its hot metal and crude steel production by as much as 35 per cent. BSP uses 80 per cent of high quality coal, mainly imported from Australia and three coal majors in Australia have stopped supply of coking coal to the plant. It's saleable steel production, which touched the 4.08 MT mark, reflects a substantial 13 per cent growth over the previous year. Riding on buoyant steel prices and benefits of higher volume production, BSP's net profit had crossed Rs 1,483 crore in the the first nine months (between April 2003 to December 2003). There was a record 21 per cent growth in the steel export and supply of high-quality rails to the Indian Railways.

Courtesy: The Indian Express, April 04, 2004

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The year 2003-04 has seen a resurgence of investor interest in equities, and mutual funds too have not been left behind. According to fund managers, a positive outlook on the Indian economy and hence the equity market, combined with fresh investor inflows in both existing and newly-launched equity schemes led to a surge in mutual funds' equity trades. According to data released by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, mutual funds, for the first time in the last four financial years, were net buyers of equities for the year-ended March 2004. Net equity purchases of mutual funds for the year ended March 2004 stood at Rs 13.08 billion against net sales of Rs 20.67 billion the previous year. Particularly indicative of the focus on equities are their gross figures. While gross purchases in 2003-04 saw a massive 152 per cent jump to Rs 366.6358 billion from Rs 145.2089 billion a year earlier, gross sales surged 113 per cent to Rs 353.5567 billion in 2003-04 from Rs 165.8759 billion a year ago.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, April 04, 2004

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India's foreign exchange reserves increased by $319 million to cross record levels of $110 billion during the week ended March 26. Fresh inflows and revaluation of the dollar vis-a-vis other currencies, enabled forex reserves to grow by $319 million to $110.317 billion, according to the Reserve Bank of India's weekly statistical bulletin released here today. Foreign currency assets also rose by $319 million to $106.125 billion, it said. Gold reserves and special drawing rights remained static at $4.190 billion and $2 million respectively. India's Reserve Tranche Position (RTP) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) fell by $5 million to $1.305 billion, the central bank said adding, the RTP might change from time to time due to India's transactions with the IMF as well as changes in SDR exchange rates vis-a-vis rupee and the dollar.

Courtesy: The Hindu, April 04, 2004

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With official statistics indicating that the economy grew at a whopping 10.4 per cent during October-December 2003, the Union Finance Minister, Jaswant Singh, is convinced that India is shining. More than that, he feels that the high growth rate will surely benefit the common man, particularly the farmer who the Opposition alleges has been left out of the `feel-good' loop. The Hindu: The 10.4 per cent growth is a big boost. It is, without doubt, gratifying because 10.4 per cent for one quarter is perhaps the highest ever and is certainly the highest in the world today. It is much higher than [that of] our eastern neighbour. But the big boost is from agriculture, which went up from a negative 9.8 per cent to a positive 16.9 per cent. Compared to the previous year's third quarter, industry has improved from 6.9 to 7.4; mining has dipped from 7.6 to 4.2... Take agricultural growth. It is a movement from minus nine per cent to plus 17 per cent growth. That is 26 per cent growth... 26 per cent growth in what? It is in agriculture produce, produced by the common man. What has the common man done with it? He has sold it. So the common man has an additional income of 26 per cent. It is total fallacy that the common man has not benefited. Agriculture and agriculture growth has always driven our industry, demand, production... also our manufacturing... so much of the service sector is related to agriculture. There has been job enhancement, only it has not kept pace with expectations and that is the dilemma that not only this Government, but all earlier Governments since 1952 have faced. It is a major challenge. Job availability has not been able to keep pace with expectations. There is a second thing that has to still happen. Jobs are equated with Government service. There is this study by a management school in London, and I have asked for details, which has come out with a figure that I am very gratified with - that in the last one year, new start-ups have contributed 17.7 million jobs. Now, all the infrastructure work that has started, the highways, the ports, are areas where jobs have been created.

Courtesy: The Hindu, April 04, 2004

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India's current account surplus has improved to $1.8 billion in Q3 '04 (third-quarter of 2003-04) on the back of record NRI remittances and a surge in software exports. However, the overall balance of payments (BoP) surplus was slightly lower at $7.2 billion on account of outflows against Resurgent India Bond (RIB) redemptions. Current account includes the current expenditure and receivables like trade flows and services income in the external sector, while BoP captures the capital flows over and above the current account. Total NRI remittances are at $5.5 billion in Q3'04 as against $4.8 billion in Q2 of `04 and $4.1 billion in Q3'03. While software exports were $3.5 billion in Q3'04, as against $2.9 billion in Q2'04 and $2.4 billion in Q3'03. The one-time RIB redemption amounted to $4.2 billion. Net foreign in foreign investment inflows reached their highest level in Q3'04 at $5 billion in comparison with the previous quarters. This was mainly on account of foreign institutional investors. Net inflows in the form of foreign direct investment (FDI) remains stable and broadly at the levels of previous quarters.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 02, 2004

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Watch out children! The way things are moving, India will soon have its own Mickey Mouse. Padmalaya Telefilms (PTL) which signed a mega $14m animation deal with MondoTV of Europe just a couple of days ago, has now sealed a tripartite deal worth $5.2m with Mallard Media of Scotland and Ealing Animation of UK. A subsidiary of Zee Networks, PTL's success in animation is significant in the light of the June launch of Zee children's channel. According to Mr Sangari, the project also heralds a new chapter for Indian companies - of negotiating on equal footing with international partners. The Mondo TV project entitles PTL to just 20% of the rights though there is tremendous scope in creativity and production.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 02, 2004

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Steel Authority of India (SAIL) notched up a 7% rise in sales in '03-04 on the back of a resurgence in steel sector, in a year that also saw the company register a 6% growth in saleable steel production, at 11m tonnes. The company's sales of 10.8m tonnes last fiscal was also the highest in recent years, during which the steel industry went through a severe downturn. SAIL sold an additional volume of five lakh tonnes in the domestic market during '03-04, while its exports were up 36% over the previous year at 1.16m tonnes. This was fuelled by higher industrial activity, particularly in steel-consuming segments like construction, capital goods, automobiles, consumer durables, which boosted domestic consumption during the year.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 02, 2004

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Steel Authority of India on Thursday said its steel production touched an all-time high of 11 million tonnes in 2003-04 and the firm sold 10.8 million tonnes in domestic and overseas market. SAIL exported 1.16 million tonnes of steel in 2003-04, 36 per cent more than the previous fiscal, a company release said here. The state-run firm cut its debt by Rs 4,000 crore to Rs 4,500 crore, thereby reducing the outgo on interest payments by Rs 400 crore in 2003-04. Besides saving on overall energy consumption, its cost of production reduced by more than four per cent. SAIL also slashed its manpower by around 5,000 through a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) in 2003-04, resulting in improvement in operational efficiencies and labour productivity growing by 9 per cent, the release added.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 02, 2004

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Tata Steel has ended the fiscal ended March 31, '04, with a 3.8% increase in the production of saleable steel. The company produced 4.09m tonnes of saleable steel. In a press release on Thursday, Tata Steel stated that its hot metal production for the fiscal at 4.47m tonnes is an all time high. The company produced a record 4.22m tonnes of crude steel, 3% higher than the previous best of 4.1m tonnes during the fiscal ended March 31, '03. Tata Steel has further stated that saleable steel dispatches reached 4.09m tonnes, an increase of 4.5 % over the previous fiscal's dispatch figures.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 02, 2004

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Scholars of Indian origin won two prized appointments in the United States this week, attesting to their growing influence in academia. Management scholar Yash Gupta has been named Dean of the University of Southern California's Marshall School of Business. An alumnus of Punjab University who later studied management sciences in England, Gupta has been Dean of the University of Washington's business school for the last five years. Gupta was the first person of Indian origin to head a US business school, and was followed by Dipak Jain, who was named Dean of the Kellogg School of Business in May 2001. Several top business schools have a significant contingent of Indian teachers, sometimes more than ten per cent of the faculty. Meanwhile, the influential Asia Society is slated to name Indian arts scholar and performer Vishakha Desai as its new president. The Ahmedabad-born Desai is an alumnus of Bombay University. She will be the first woman and the first Asian-American to head the organisation founded by John Rockefeller in 1956.

Courtesy: The Times of India, April 02, 2004

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Gearing up for its foray into the US formulations generic market, the Ahmedabad-based drug maker Zydus Cadila has filed 10 abbreviated new drug applications (ANDA) with the US FDA. The Zydus group, which had started the process in November '03 with two ANDA filings, has rounded off the year with 12 filings. This is the largest number of ANDA filings by an Indian pharma company in the very first year, the company said in a statement. As part of its strategy to step up the momentum by improving the speed of filing ANDAs, Zydus Cadila has set a target of 16-18 ANDA filings in the year '04-05. On the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) front, the group has filed 12 drug master files (DMFs) so far, and plans to file 16-18 more DMFs in the coming year. The group expects to market its products in the US from July '05. Zydus Cadila which aims to be amongst the top ten global generic players has set up a strong infrastructure for filings of ANDAs and DMFs. Proven chemistry capabilities, an extensive talent pool and a world-class manufacturing base have buoyed Zydus Cadila's strategic plans to enter the US generic market, where an estimated $40bn worth of branded drugs will be going off patent over the next five years.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 02, 2004

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Leading car manufacturer, Maruti Udyog Ltd ended the fiscal with annual sales at 4,72,122 units, the highest ever since the company started operations 20 years ago. This includes exports of 51,175 units, the highest-ever since Maruti began exporting cars in 1988. Maruti recorded a 30 per cent growth in annual sales against the last fiscal. Sales in March 2004 grew 13.1 per cent to 52,700 units against 46,611 units in March-03. This includes 8,282 units exported in March 2004. This is the highest-ever sales and exports in a month by a company. In the premium compact segment--the Alto, Wagon R and Zen, sales rose 46.1 per cent to 1.76 lakh units in this fiscal against 1.20 lakh units in FY-03.

Boom time for 2-wheelers

The two-wheeler industry has much to cheer about with leading manufacturers--Hero Honda, Bajaj Auto and TVS registering high sales growth this fiscal and surpassing their own set targets. Hero Honda recorded annual sales over 2 million in 2003-04 backed by the success of the new motorcycles launched this year, claiming to close the year with 3 per cent increase in market share from 44 per cent last year to 47 per cent in FY-04. The company sold 20.17 lakh units in 03-04, a 23 per cent growth over annual sales of 16.77 lakh units last year. The company increased its exports by 72 per cent at 39,255 units in FY-04. Meanwhile Bajaj Auto Ltd has clocked a 3.1 per cent growth in two wheeler sales for the fiscal ended March 31, 2004 at 12.88 lakh units against 12.49 lakh units in 2002-03. Sale of two and three wheeler grew 5.2 per cent in FY-04 at 15.17 lakh units against 14.42 lakh units last fiscal. Bajaj registered a 65.5 per cent jump in exports at 1.56 lakh units (Rs 550 crore) in 2003-04 against 94,241 units last year. The Bajaj three-wheeler sales grew 18.2 per cent at 2.29 lakh units during FY-04 against 1.93 lakh units in FY-03. In March 2004, Bajaj two wheeler sales grew 26.2 per cent at 1.18 lakh units over 94,067 units in March 2003. TVS Motor Co closed the financial year with a 2.5 per cent growth over last year sales, crossing the 1 million mark for the second time consecutively. March 2004 sales grew by 18 per cent to 1 lakh units against 85,008 units sold in March 2003. While motorcycle sales jumped 11.5 per cent to 62,060 units in March-04 (55,659 units in March 2003), scooterette sales grew 83.5 per cent to 15,512 units and moped sales surged 10 per cent to 23,019 units.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, April 02, 2004

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Ford India has achieved the highest ever sales in March 2004. Last month, total sales of Ford models doubled over last year to 3,200 units, inlcuding 3,035 Ford 'Ikons', 185 Ford 'Endeavours', and 12 'Mondeos'. It was also a record breaking year (2003-04) for Ford India with total sales of over 21,700 units, a growth of 41% compared with the 20% growth reported by the passenger car sector in the country.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 02, 2004

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In the end, the last month of fiscal '03 turned in a traffic-stopping performance. Big volume carmakers clocked top-gear growth, led by market leader Maruti. At 52,700 units (including export of 8282 units), March saw Maruti clocking its highest monthly sales ever, taking the fiscal tally to 4.7 lakh units (including export of 51,175 units), the highest in the company's 20-year-run. MUL's domestic sales tally for March, at 44,418 units, though, was up just short of 5% over last March's 42,398 units, mostly due to the abnormal surge last year after the excise cut. Segment-wise, the company clocked the highest growth in the B-segment this fiscal. At 176,132 units, B-segment sales of the Zen, Alto and WagonR grew 46% from 120,516 units notched in the last fiscal. The company's bread and butter M800 grew 17% at 167,561 units, while the C-segment models, Baleno and Esteem, grew more than 28% to 14,173 units. Maruti isn't the only carmaker to be cheering. Ford India notched its highest sales ever this March, at 3200 units, double of last-March's 1,519 unit tally. The haul comprises 3,035 Ikons, 185 Endeavours and 12 Mondeos. Cumulative fiscal sales was up 41% at 21,700 units, compared to 15,300 units sold last year.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 02, 2004

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The Delhi-based Bharti Tele-Ventures is close to striking a deal to acquire Hexacom, the cellular service operator in Rajasthan. The deal size could be about Rs 400 crore, according to sources. The promoters of Shyam Telecom currently have a 67.5% stake in the company, after it exercised the first right of refusal and acquired the 27.5% stake held by Telesystem International Wireless (TIW), a Canadian company. Bharti was also in the race for the Canadian company's stake before Shyam Telecom's promoters stepped in.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 02, 2004

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The 27-year-old graduate of IIT, Chennai works for a three-year-old Bangalore infotech company which has been adding jobs at the expense of those of American programmers from San Jose and elsewhere in Silicon valley. She works as a javascript programmer, requiring skills that are actually a couple of pegs shallower than the ones she possesses. But she makes a good living, pulling in close to Rs 5 lakh a year already, with a career path that is all set to take her beyond the Rs 12-lakh-a-year level in less than five years. So what's wrong? Just this: Ravishankar is getting guilt mail in her mailbox every now and then. All of them purport to come from three out-of-work programmers from the US, accusing her and her colleagues of stealing their jobs. All of them present in graphic terms the misery that has befallen those pros who were forced to train Ravishankar and others like her. One of them, according to the mail, is driving a truck and delivering beef across America. A second has given up hope of getting another job. A third is trying to figure out how to use her re-training grant for another job. And all of them are venomous in their allegations against Indians who've "robbed their livelihoods".

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 01, 2004

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Public sector SAIL achieved an all time high steel production of 11 million tonnes recording a six per cent growth in 2003-04. The PSU produced 11 million tonnes of saleable steel and sold a record 10.8 million tonne steel in domestic market, a SAIL release said here. Apart from selling an additional volume of five lakh tonnes in the domestic market, the company exported 1.16 MT of steel recording 36 per cent growth in exports in this fiscal. The improved performance was due to efforts made by SAIL to improve operation, reduce costs, strengthen financials and supported by the resurgence of global steel market, the release said. The company achieved the best-ever production of saleable steel in 2003-04 by setting a new record in production of hot metal (12.9MT) and crude steel (12.1 MT). The four main integrated steel plants of SAIL together produced 12.8 MT of hot metals, 11.8 MT of crude steel and 10.7 MT of steel during the year with average capacity utilisation of 105 per cent.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 01, 2004

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The rupee jumped beyond the psychological 44.00-barrier against the US dollar to close at a 47-month high at 43.65/ 70 on Wednesday on bunched up dollar inflows and negligible central bank intervention, amid volatile trades. Rupee which hit a high of 43.39/ 40 in intra-day trades, closed at 43.65/ 70, its strongest closing since May 8, 2000, and gaining a whopping 40 paise from its from Monday's close of 44.05/ 07, its second highest single day gain after it shot up by 42 paise on Monday. The double digit 10.4 per cent growth in the country gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter of the 2003-04, also gave an additional boost to the rupee which have been rising remarkably on the back of strong foreign fund inflows.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, April 01, 2004

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The third quarter's scorching GDP growth of 10.4 per cent is also partly on account of last year's low base. The GDP had expanded by only 2 per cent in the third quarter last year. Apart from agriculture, manufacturing and electricity did well. Manufacturing grew 7.4 per cent against 6.9 per cent in the same quarter a year ago. The boost to services came from trade, hotels, transport and communication, which jumped 13.1 per cent against 6.5 per cent. The construction segment has surprisingly lacked lustre: growth was down to 5.1 per cent from 7.4 per cent. The key indicators - cement and steel - registered growth rates of 5.6 per cent and 7.1 per cent respectively during April-December 2003-04 against 9.7 per cent and 9.1 per cent in the same period last year.

Courtesy: The Times of India, April 01, 2004

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Along with the appointment of India-born Sanjiv Ahuja as CEO of Orange - mobile phone business of France Telecom - the latter announced structural and managerial changes on its board. It split its business into five operational and five performance divisions under an executive committee headed by CEO Thierry Breton. Ahuja will represent Orange on the executive committee of France Telecom. Orange is a familiar brand in India, for Mumbai in particular. When France Telecom bought Orange Plc of the UK in 1999, it did not get rights over the brand in India.

Courtesy: The Times of India, April 01, 2004

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It could not have been better-timed. Just a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) released its Vision Document foreseeing a double digit growth, came the Central Statistical Organisation's (CSO) third quarter GDP growth figure, which is at an all-time high of 10.4 per cent. This is the highest ever quarterly GDP growth recorded ever since the Government began releasing quarterly figures. In fact, this fiscal has created a history of sorts as it also reported an all-time high GDP growth of 8.2 per cent in the second quarter. However, the 8.2 per cent GDP was once recorded earlier - in the second quarter of 1998-99. With the first quarter GDP growth of 5.7 per cent, 8.2 per cent in the second and 10.4 per cent in the third, economists are of the view that the country would easily achieve a full-year GDP growth of around 8-8.5 per cent. The projections of economists are that GDP growth in the fourth and final quarter of the current fiscal will also be around the 10 per cent mark. A GDP growth rate of 7.5-8 per cent has been projected by Finance Minister Jaswant Singh for the year in his interim Budget. Now the GDP growth, during the first nine months of April-December of the current fiscal, stands at 8.2 per cent as against 4.1 per cent during the corresponding period last fiscal. According to figures released by the CSO, quarterly GDP at factor cost at constant (1993-94) prices for the third quarter of 2003-04 is estimated at Rs 3,86,627 crore as against Rs 3,50,290 crore in Q3 of 2002-03. The manufacturing sector posted a 7.4 per cent growth, electricity, gas and water supply grew at 5.2 per cent, construction at 5.1 per cent, trade, hotels, transport and communication at 13.1 per cent, and financing, insurance, real estate and business services at 7.7 per cent.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, April 01, 2004

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New Delhi: In a vindication of the "feel good" claims of the NDA government, the economic growth of the country jumped to double digit levels at 10.4 per cent during the third quarter of the current fiscal on the back of good performance by industry and agriculture, reports our correspondent. During April-December, 2003-04, the GDP grew by 8.2 per cent as against 4.1 per cent during the same period last year. The GDP growth had stood at 8.4 per cent during the second quarter and 5.7 per cent during the first quarter.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, April 01, 2004

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This is the latest in the series of automotive jobs being outsourced to India. Germany-based Continental AG has decided to scrap existing deals with European and South Korean manufacturers and outsource its entire production of automobile tyre tubes to India. "Metro will now be our only tyre tube supplier to meet the entire demand in Europe. We will be sourcing tyre tubes, branded Continental, for passenger cars, trucks, tractors and light commercial vehicles." According to industry estimates, production costs of tubes in India are almost 30 per cent cheaper than Europe and 10 per cent cheaper than Malaysia.

Courtesy: The Times of India, April 01, 2004

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24/7 Customer, a mid-sized back-office services firm, aims to more than double its staff to 7,000 this year, as it rides an outsourcing boom driven by global clients. India's $3.5 billion back-office services export industry is rapidly growing as overseas companies outsource customer support and claims processing to cheaper locations, creating jobs and an investment boom in the world's second most populous nation. "India is no longer a test bed for business process outsourcing. Today, overseas companies are coming here with a lot of conviction. 24/7 Customer, which has 18 clients in the financial services and telecom sectors, inaugurated a 1,000-seat unit on Wednesday and aims to get it fully occupied in less than two months. India has emerged as a global hub for services such as call centre operations and payroll processing offered over high-speed telecommunications to companies located thousands of miles away, thanks to the cost of labour which is lower than in the West.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, April 01, 2004

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