• Exports Jump 21% in Jan '06
• Cognizant in JPMorgan Chase Top Vendor List
• ONGC Ties up With Norways's EMGS For Deep Water Drilling
• VSNL Completes $239 mn Teleglobe Acquisition
• India's Embedded Tech Sector Poised to Grow: Experts
• China, India to Lead Asia Pacific Business Travel Market
• Bharat Forge Open to More Acquisitions
• India to Overtake China as World's Largest Cell Market
• India-Gulf Trade May Topuch $25 bn
• Tata VSAT to Explore West Asia
• Clinical Research Market May Grow to $1.5 bn by 2010
• Aurobindo Buys UK Generic Drug Company
• IT & ITeS See $36 bn Revenue in FY06
• Ayurvedic Cancer Drug Under Trial in US And India
• PNB to Set up Branch in Pakistan Soon
• GM to Out source $ 15 bn in Information Tech
• Infosys is Globally Compititive Says AMR Report
• India Major Market For Video Conferencing Equipment
• Dr. Reddys in US$ 567.3 Million Bid For Betapharm
• Indian Hotels' Foray Into Australia
• Satyam Enters Into Strategic Ties With Denmark Firm
• India to Debut in Zinc Export
• 'India is The Biggest Media Market in World'
• Britain Seeks Indian Investment in Defence

• Fastest Growth of Bottled Water Sales is in India
• Domestic Cos Stealing a Global March in Efficiency Bench Marks
• China-India Trade at Record US$ 18.71 Billion
• United Phosphorus Buys Dutch Seed Firm For US$ 119 Million
• Ranbaxy Set For $400 mn FCCB
• BHEL to Set up Thermal Project in Sudan
• India to Have One Million Hydrogen Fuel-Run Vehicles by 2020
• Foreign B-Schools Eyeing Desi Recruits
• Islamic Banks Wants in on India Story
• India Touted to Emerge as Global Auto Leader
• Foreign Cos Crazy Over Indian BPOs
• Avaya to Make India Its Operational Backbone
• India Fastest Growing Market For IBM
• Pakistan to Replicate Amul Storey
• L&T Bags Rs. 114 cr Order From UAE
• MNCs Headhunting Indian Brains For Global Roles
• Robust Economy Lures Global Financial Majors
• Wipro Bags $300-Million Deal From GM
• Electronics Growth to Propel Chip Demand to US$ 36.3 Billion
• D-Link Sees India as Global Manufacturing Hub
• Two - Wheeler Firms Joins Race
• 'ONGC to Buy Brazil Oil Field For $1.5bn'
• India Leads Global Milk Output in 2005
• India at Par With The Great Call of CHINA

The fastest growth in the consumption of bottled water in the world has been recorded in India, according to a new study that questions the rising thirst for bottled water. The study, conducted by the US-based Earth Policy Institute, says the global consumption of bottled water has grown by 57 per cent over the past five years, despite the fact that the product is often no healthier than tap water and costs up to 10,000 times more. Emily Arnold, the author of the report, complains that the $100 billion spent each year on bottled water is nearly seven times the sum invested in providing safe drinking water in developing countries. According to the study, the US is the world's largest consumer of bottled water and Italians drink the most per person. But the fastest growth is coming in developing countries, with consumption tripling in India and more than doubling in China over the past five years, according to the report. Arnold alleges that a Coca-Cola water bottling plant in India has caused water shortages in 50 surrounding villages. However, the company has said that an independent investigation found it was not to blame. The report highlights increasing scrutiny of bottled water producers such as Nestle, Danone, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo by environmental and human rights activists, especially in places where water is scarce. Arnold says in the report that 40 per cent of bottled water comes from a municipal source rather than a natural spring, including leading US brands such as Coke's Dasani and PepsiCo's Aquafina.

Courtesy: The Times of India, February 15, 2006

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Country's exports increased by 21 per cent during January 2006 to $8.457 bn compared to $6.963 bn in the same month a year ago. Cumulative exports so far this fiscal have risen by 18.8 per cent to $74.978 bn as against $63.076 bn during April-January 2004-05, according to the latest trade date released by government today. Imports during January stood at $113.67 bn as against $102.69 bn last fiscal. Trade deficit rose to $33.82 bn during April-January 2005-06 compared to $22.82 bn in the corresponding year last fiscal.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, February 15, 2006

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EVEN as China continues to steal the show in the global manufacturing scene with India being relegated to the sidelines as merely a service hub, Indian companies are increasingly setting efficiency benchmarks across some of the core manufacturing sectors. While Tata Steel is among the lowest-cost steel producers in the world, domestic cement majors led by Gujarat Ambuja are setting new cost efficiency benchmarks, beating global biggies such as Lafarge, Holcim, Heidelberg, and Cemex in terms of overall profitability. A number of Indian manufacturing majors are also leveraging on economies of scale to emerge cost-competitive. Bharat Forge, which operates one of the world's largest forging capacities, and Essel Propack, the world's largest manufacturers of laminated tubes, are among the most efficient producers of the product globally. The Indian manufacturing sector's reliance on quality parameters to achieve efficiency is also borne out of the fact that Indian companies are the second largest Deming Award winners outside of Japan. In the steel sector, Tata Steel has managed to emerge as one of the lowest cost producers, beating global biggies such as Usinor, Baosteel, China Steel, and Nippon Steel Severstal in terms of overall efficiency levels as per World Steel Dynamics (WSD) data. This has been possible largely because it has its own ore and coking coal reserves and through better operational management. Indian cement majors are turning to cost efficiency measures through the adoption of improved plant processes and innovative cost-cutting measures to emerge among the most profitable firms.

Courtesy: www.thehindubusinessline.com, February 15, 2006

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Nasdaq-listed IT services firm Cognizant today announced that JPMorgan Chase has selected it as one of its top eight suppliers for 2005. An official release issued by Cognizant said it was the only IT systems integrator to receive the honour from among thousands of suppliers that help JPMorgan Chase's business on a daily basis. "Our single-minded passion to build stronger businesses, dedicating our global resources, systems expertise and vertical industry intelligence, we believe, has helped us provide superior solutions to JPMorgan Chase globally," Lakshmi Narayanan, president and CEO of Cognizant, said. "The supplier of the year award acknowledges the best of the best who have contributed to our goal of being the best financial services company in the world. Thanks to the help of partners and advisors like Cognizant, which made it to this select list by providing high quality, innovative and value-added solutions, we are able to serve our clients, shareholders, communities and employees more efficiently," Bill Patrizio, chief procurement officer at JPMorgan Chase, said in the statement. JPMorgan Chase & Co is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $1.2 trillion and operations in more than 50 countries. It has 98 million credit cards issued and serves consumers and small businesses through over 2,500 bank branches and 7,100 ATMs.

Courtesy: www.business-standard.com, February 15, 2006

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Sino-India bilateral trade during January-December 2005 set a new record at US$ 18.71 billion, up 37.64 per cent over 2004 when it was US$ 13.59 billion. At this rate, the target of $20 billion in bilateral trade by 2008 set by the two governments would be achieved this year, two years in advance, diplomatic sources said. In 2000, Sino-India bilateral trade was just $3 billion while it touched $5 billion in 2002. Meanwhile, India's trade surplus with China in 2005 has shrunk by more than half to $843.16 million from an impressive $1.74 billion in 2004, latest Chinese customs figures indicated. Indian exports to China last year grew by 27.47 per cent to $9.78 billion. In 2004, India's exports to China amounted to $7.67 billion, according to the General Administration of Customs of China. India's imports from China witnessed rapid growth last year when $8.93 billion worth of goods were shipped from Beijing, registering a 50.82 per cent hike. Chinese exports to India in 2004 amounted to $5.92 billion. Thus, India's trade surplus shrunk to $843.16 million in 2005 compared to $1.74 billion in 2004. China's total foreign trade volume hit a record $1.4 trillion in 2005, up 23.2 per cent over the previous year. Thus, the growth in Sino-India bilateral trade at 37.64 per cent was much higher than China's surging foreign trade globally at 23.2 per cent.

Courtesy: Rediff.com: February 15, 2006

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ONGC has entered into a tie-up with Electromagnetic Geoservices (EMGS) to improve its prospects of recovering oil and gas through deep water drilling. The tie-up will give ONGC access to the Norwegian company's pioneering technology in this area. The partnership, which was finalised a fortnight ago, is expected to improve ONGC's low success ratio in deep water drilling, part of which is attributed to lack of access to appropriate technology. EMGS' patented technology, 'sea bed logging', is particularly suited for extracting, what is termed in oil industry parlance as 'difficult oils.' "The new technology is expected to be particularly useful for improving the success ratio of our deep water campaign in blocks off the east coast. These include the Krishna Godavari basin, Mahanadi basin and the Bengal basin," ONGC sources told ET. Incidentally, as the country's first upstream operator to acquire sea bed logging technology, ONGC will also be in a position to reduce the cost of its deep water campaign by use of this technology.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, February 15, 2006

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United Phosphorus Ltd (UPL) has announced that it has acquired a seeds company called Advanta Netherlands Holdings BV for a total consideration of US$ 119 million. UPL has acquired this company through its subsidiary in Mauritius. "With this acquisition, UPL is transforming itself from a crop protection company into an integrated bioscience company," said Mr Aditya Sanghi, Country Head (Investment Banking), Yes Bank, which managed the deal. Advanta's presence in Argentina, Australia, and Thailand (apart from India) provides UPL with an international platform. It has a significant presence in these countries, Mr Sanghi said. It would also help UPL consolidate its position in crop protection and bioscience and facilitate it to look at more acquisitions. Advanta is a leading supplier of seeds and seed technologies to major global and regional markets, providing added value to farmers, downstream industries, and consumers by combing superior genetics with essential technologies and techniques. "Advanta's R&D consists of superior breeding programs and bioscience techniques that have driven the development of a portfolio of elite, proprietary, and highly differentiated germplasm," said UPL in a notice to the BSE.

Courtesy: The Hindu Business Line: February 15, 2006

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Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) announced on Tuesday, the completion of its acquisition of Teleglobe International Holdings Ltd, for about $239 million, comprising payment of $4.50 per share to Teleglobe shareholders and assumption of net debt. The new combined company will own and operate one of the world's largest international mobile, data, and voice networks with coverage to more than 240 countries and territories. VSNL International will leverage Teleglobe's network and capabilities to further expand services with multi-technology connectivity, commercial flexibility and managed services. "The Teleglobe acquisition is a critical step toward our vision to become a global industry leader providing customers with converged communications solutions. Our complementary networks and capabilities will further drive mobile, data and voice innovation for our enterprise customers," said Mr N. Srinath, executive director, VSNL. With this acquisition, the company's wholesale customers will benefit from superior network reach, and scalability from a single partner worldwide for voice, data and mobile services. The combined company will operate under the name of VSNL International. VSNL will have access to Teleglobe's global, robust and scalable network capacity and seamless connectivity.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, February 15, 2006

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Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd is set to announce a $400-million foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) issue as it braces up for a couple of acquisitions in Europe. Besides the much-touted Betapharm Arzeniemittel GmbH bid in Germany, the Indian pharmaceuticals major is close to acquiring Romanian firms, Terapia and Sindan. Ranbaxy executives declined to comment but a pharmaceuticals industry source close to the development said, "The top executives of the company have been virtually shuttling between Romania and Germany." The $400 million worth of FCCBs are expected to be part of the war chest Ranbaxy will need for the Romanian targets and for Betapharm if it wins the bid. Ranbaxy is believed to have offered the owners of Betapharm, 3i Group, as much as ¤500 million, 50 million more than Dr Reddy's bid at ¤450 million. Deutsche Bank and Citibank have been appointed to take care of the FCCB issue. "Even though the bids have not been opened and the winner is not known, Ranbaxy is issuing this FCCB as money cannot be raised at the press of a button. With three possible acquisitions in the offing (one in Germany and two in Romania), the company seems confident that at least one to two deals will pass muster," explained a financial analyst. For long, acquisitions have been on Ranbaxy's radar and the efforts to grow inorganically seem to have intensified with Malvinder Singh taking over as the chief executive officer and managing director of the company. Singh, in the past, expressed the intention to make Ranbaxy grow inorganically and have the company among the top five generic players worldwide.

Courtesy: www.business-standard.com, February 14, 2006

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India's embedded technology sector is booming with experts predicting a $8-11 billion growth for the industry by 2008. "In 2004, Indian IT companies had earned around $2.3 billion from product engineering services, including embedded software and offshore products," George Johnson, Director of Infinite Exposition, organisers of the three-day global conference on embedded technology being held here said, quoting a Nasscom study. According to Nasscom-McKinsey report, the current global potential was estimated to be around USD 25 billion and is fast growing at 20-30 per cent, he said. "The embedded technology in India is witnessing a parallel increase with the growth in consumer goods, cell phones, computers and automotives," according to Ganesh Guruswamy, Director and Country Manager, Free Scale Semicondcutor India Limited. With India being one of the largest consumer markets, the application of embedded technology in the growing consumer goods sector had boosted this industry in a major way. "India was also one of the largest producers of two wheelers, which meant ample scope for incorporation of embedded technology in this sector. The four wheeler industry which was constantly introducing new products in the market had also seen the application of the technology through the features like the anti-lock break system, engine control system among others," he said. Another sector, which was embracing the technology in a massive way, was the toy industry, said Jayaram Krishna, CEO and Director, American Megatrends India. The defence sector was another area where the technology had been incorporated to meet the growing demands for security and modernisation of equipment.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, February 14, 2006

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INDIA would build a 500 MW thermal power project in Sudan to help the African nation meet its power needs. The 500 MW thermal power project would be built in 44 months by Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) for $457 million, of which India has extended a concessional line of credit of $350 million. Mr Sontosh Mohan Dev, Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, laid the foundation stone for a mega power project at Kosti in the White Nile State of Central Sudan on Saturday, an official release said here. "The Kosti project, when completed, will be the single largest power project in Sudan. Given its strategic geographical location, the project will cater to power needs of all the regions of Sudan. Thus it is conceived as a national integration project for Sudan," the release added. Commenting on the development, Mr Dev emphasised the growing friendship and economic ties between the two countries. He said that ONGC and BHEL were already working in Sudan.

Courtesy: www.thehindubusinessline.com, February 14, 2006

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China and India will lead Asia Pacific business travel market, according to Carlson Wagonlit Travel survey released Monday. The survey showed that business travel is expected to grow this year. Some 45 percent Chinese interviewees said they will travel more frequently than the previous year. The business travel market continued to grow. This year will see tremendous growth in Asia Pacific region, said Berthold Trenkel, chief operating officer of Asia Pacific of Carlson Wagonlit. According to the survey, 28 percent of the interviewees think airport security inspection is the main negative factor of the business travel, and 23 percent of them think of plane delays. Trenkel said Japanese preferred online reservation, while only 23 percent of Chinese did the same. According to latest statistics, China has four to five billion U.S. dollars of business travel spending every year. Compared with other markets, the potential is huge. Experts said the statistics will double in five years. Enditem

Courtesy: Xinhuanet.com: February 14, 2006

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India is ready with a roadmap for use of non-conventional resources with one million Hydrogen powered vehicles expected to run on the country's roads by 2020, Non-Conventional Energy Resources Minister Vilas Muttemwar has said. "We have been slow to respond to face the challenge of our energy requirements, but we are fast catching up and if powerful nations like America, China, Japan, Canada and Germany have a roadmap for Hydrogen energy, so have we. By the year 2020, we will have one million vehicles on our roads running with Hydrogen fuel," he told a BBC Hindi programme on Sunday night. "We have huge resources of renewable energy in the country. To begin with we have a potential of five trillion Mega Watts of solar energy, seventy thousand MW of wind energy and more than two lakh MW of Hydrogen energy.We are now tapping this potential to meet our requirements," the minister said. Admitting India's lack of planning in the energy sector over the years, Muttemwar said due to this the country was presently facing a gap between its energy needs and resources, and a change in the mindset was essential to understand the importance of renewable energy resources if the country was to overcome the challenge in the sector. "Keeping in mind the country's population and our energy needs, there has been a lack of planning in the energy sector over the years. That is why we are facing such a challenging situation, but we can overcome this challenge if we change our mindset and positively move ahead with the renewable sources of energy," he said.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, February 14, 2006

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Pune-based Bharat Forge (BFL) has set a target to become the global leader in its business by 2008, for which it is open to more acquisitions to complement organic growth. However, according to BFL chairman and managing director Baba Kalyani, it does not make a business case for Indian auto component companies to acquire the assets of troubled US automotive component giant Delphi. "We want to achieve global leadership by 2008. Part of that will be organic growth and some inorganic," Kalyani told Business Standard. In December last year, Bharat Forge, India's largest auto-components company, gained control of its counterpart in China, a division of First Automobile Works, the country's largest vehicle manufacturer. The deal with FAW Forging boosted BFL's capacity by 1,00,000 tonne, taking the total to about 6,00,000 tonne, second only to Germany's Thyssen Krupp. After the acquisition - Bharat Forge's sixth in four countries in the past two years - Kalyani said that his company's global strategy was complete, creating the widespread impression that its appetite had been satiated. Far from it. "Our strategy is complete in the sense that we are now present in all the important markets of the world: North America, Europe and China. In each market, we now need to consolidate and grow," clarified Kalyani. However, Delphi, in whose assets numerous Indian companies have shown interest, is nowhere on Kalyani's wish list. "It does not make sense. Delphi will only sell where there is maximum legacy cost (high wages, healthcare and pension costs)," said Kalyani. Moreover, he pointed out, Delphi won't sell businesses with a future, which have technology and innovation capabilities. "Why buy?" he asked. BFL's acquisition strategy is guided by garnering customers and getting closer to its big markets. Besides, the outfit being acquired must have enough high technology to complement BFL's low-cost production base.

Courtesy: www.business-standard.com, February 14, 2006

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This is the season for academic tourism. Over the past few months, India has played host to a steady stream of university officials and students from overseas. What was once only a hunt for students has now become much more: today, institutes abroad are looking beyond, at academic and corporate tie-ups in India. Recently, a team headed by Paul Danos, dean of the Tuck School of Business , travelled through Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore meeting prospective students as well as employers. "We look forward to giving our graduates access to the opportunities for outstanding positions in Indian-based companies, because there is no doubt that those companies are growing toward full competitiveness across the board," said Dean Danos "We believe that there will be an increase in demand for top executive talent among the leading companies in all the major economies of the world, far beyond the long-established US and European based companies," he added.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, February 13, 2006

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China may be large, but India is fast. After catching up with China in mobile subscriber growth in December '05, India is set to surpass the dragon to become the world's fastest growing cellular market. India will add a whopping 358m mobile subscribers between '06 and '11, says new research. China, the largest mobile market now, will rope in 354m users during the period, becoming the second fastest growing market, according to Portio Research's study on 'Top 25 Mobile Growth Markets Worldwide'. "In '06, we expect to see the Asia Pacific region break the magic 1bn subscribers mark, the Middle East should cross over 50m and Europe pass a total of 700 m subscribers across the entire region," it said. China has been adding about 4-5m mobile users per month. India achieved this landmark in December '05 when the mobile subscribers addition reached around 4.5m in a single month for the first time since the launch of mobile service in the year 1995, according to telecom regulator Trai. "Thus, India has really caught up with China in mobile growth," Trai said. China began mobile services in 1988. If the first eleven years of performance is considered, the performance of the Indian mobile sector appears to be better than China's, according to the regulator. The mobile user base in India as on December-end stood at around 76m while it was 388m in China. India also has one of the lowest per minute tariffs of around 2.5 cents while the charges in China are 3.5 cents for a minute. According to Portio Research, after India and China, Brazil, Indonesia and Nigeria share the third slot. "The next is the US market, where Portio forecasts almost 66m net adds over the five-year period. "The USA is not an emerging market, but in fact the world's richest economy and these 66m new subscribers are likely to generate vast new revenues for mobile operators and other players in the value chain," the study noted.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, February 13, 2006

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After hedge funds, a new class of investors is bullish about the India story. Islamic banks - they operate on the basis of "zero interest" - have begun to commit a big money to the Indian stock market. Sources told ET that Islamic banks are buying equity of Indian companies from both the primary and secondary markets. In the recently concluded Federal Bank GDR issue, Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB), a leading commercial bank in the UAE has picked up 2-2.5% in the Kerala-based private bank, said sources. DIB committed $50m (Rs 220 crore) to the overseas Federal Bank float. The issue closed on January 31 and generated a gross demand of $600m from investors across the globe. DIB's commitment, therefore, works to 8.3% of the demand generated. Federal Bank mobilised $80m by selling GDRs, which were listed on the LSE. Each GDR (equivalent to one share of Federal Bank) was priced at $3.97, which worked out to around Rs 175 per share. The bank's paid-up equity capital increased to Rs 85 crore, from Rs 65 crore. Courtesy:

The Economic Times, February 13, 2006

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The two-ways trade between India and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) has the potential to touch a level of $25 billion by 2010, which is currently pegged at $16.3 billion, according to a study by The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham). Of the projected estimates, the share of India's exports will touch $15 billion, while their imports to India will go up to $10 billion by 2010. India's trade with GCC countries in terms of its exports have registered an increase of 33.04 per cent between 2003-05 from an export figure of $7 billion to over $9.4 billion. Indian imports from GCC countries went up by 115 per cent from a little over $3 billion to $6.9 billion during the same period. Crude oil import from GCC countries will form a major contribution in India's import trade basket as manufacturing in the domestic industry will accelerate substantially, and lead to higher energy demand for the domestic industry, says the study. India is projected to replace South Korea and emerge as the fourth-largest consumer of energy after the US, China and Japan.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, February 13, 2006

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With both automobile and auto component sectors witnessing impressive growth in the last decade, India is all set to emerge as global automobile giant. According to the latest India trade outlook report from DHL, "The automotive industry has emerged as one of the prominent manufacturing sectors of the Indian economy, contributing four per cent of the GDP and providing direct employment to about 4.5 lakh people." While the report states that the global market offers immense opportunities to Indian automobiles' exporters, it cautions that they faced competition from Chinese counterparts, whose exports have grown phenomenally over the last five years. The report points out that the number of vehicles manufactured in India has risen from 2.4 million units in financial year 1994 to 8.7 million units in 2005. On the export front, the industry registered a growth of almost 18 per cent since 1998 and exports stood at $ 1.4 billion during last fiscal. On the other hand, Sri Lanka, which accounted for 13.2 per cent of India's total exports of automobiles last fiscal, has emerged as the largest export destination among 150 counties. Algeria, UK and Italy's share in India's automobile export were more than seven per cent each in the same year. DHL has highlighted that the auto policy announced by the government in 2002, that opened sector to 100 per cent FDI and removed the minimum capital investment norms for fresh entrants, has fuelled this growth. Besides, the abolition of licensing and removal of quantitative restriction has also helped the auto industry to restructure, absorb new technologies and align itself to global development.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, February 13, 2006

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Cost-effective VSAT service provider, Tata Indicom VSAT Services plans to explore opportunities in West Asia and East Asian countries through key project implementation, company's top official said. The company has already completed implementation of one such project in Bhutan and is in negotiations for some projects in West Asia. "We forayed into commercial market in post deregulation era around 2003, despite starting our services for the Tata group in 1995. Now, we being the late entrants to the scene have advantage of beginning our services with much advanced technology as well as cost effectiveness," Tata Indicom VSAT executive director Zal Engineer said. The Rs 400-crore VSAT industry in the country, is presently poised for a big switchover, as the National Telecom Policy 2006 (NTP) is expected to grant many of its long pending demands like lowering the revenue share from 10 per cent to six per cent. "This would eventually lead to lower cost for the customers," he added. Expecting high hopes from the NTP 2006, Mr Engineer said presently most of the VSAT operations are done on the KU band frequency. "However, considering that technology is rapidly moving towards the KA band, which would reduce the cost of hardware and services, we are waiting for some decision in this regard," he said. Tata Indicom VSAT Services, a Rs 60-crore company, has a share of around 10 per cent in the VSAT market in the country. The company is working on a rural initiative for providing communication services to small villages. "We are looking for providing communication services to villages located at the remotest areas and with meagre voice traffic, where even installing a GSM tower is not cost effective. VSAT could provide good alternative at such junctures," Mr Engineer said.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, February 13, 2006

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West Bengal's chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has just discovered an unlikely rival for IT investments in his state: Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Both leaders are out to woo S Ramadorai, CEO of Tata Consultancy Services, India's No 1 IT company, to set up its call centres in their respective regions. Indian states like West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana and Gujarat are suddenly waking up to a new reality - when it comes to fresh investments in IT and BPO services, the competition is truly global.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, February 11, 2006

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The clinical research market in India, which clocked $200 million in 2005, is expected to grow to $1.5 billion by the year 2010. Stating this at a seminar on 'Nurturing entrepreneurship in biotechnology', a special session sponsored by TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs), Anish Bhatnagar, vice-president, Titan Pharmaceuticals Inc, US, felt that the clinical research organisation (CRO) market in India matured significantly with the entry of indigenous players. The second day of the session was held as part of BioAsia 2006 at the National Academy of Construction auditorium here on Friday. "India still focused on low-risk opportunities, and venture capitalists have many reasons for being averse to risk investment," Bhatnagar felt. Sanjay Sehgal, East West Capital Partners of US, said, "Entrepreneurs expect too many miracles from venture capitalists." He suggested that one should work jointly with the venture capitalist (VC).

Courtesy: www.business-standard.com, February 11, 2006

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Avaya, a leader in IP telephony, voice messaging and contact centres, focussed on building intelligence into communications networks, is introducing the command centre concept at its Pune centre. Additionally, it plans to build and support its entire technology footprint at its centre in Pune, which is also its major backbone. "We want to build the Indian operation as the backbone. We are building the service desk - the front end - wherever there is need, but the backbone will not be built globally.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, February 11, 2006

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The Hyderabad-based Auro-bindo Pharma Ltd. said on Friday that its subsidiary in the United Kingdom, Aurex Generics Ltd., has acquired Milpharm, a generic formulations manufacturer. This is Aurobindo's first acquisition in the highly regulated European market, a company release said. It said Aurex Generics Ltd has entered into a share purchase agreement with Whyte Group Ltd and Iracot Ltd buy Milpharm Ltd, which is also based in the United Kingdom. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The release said that Milpharm owns over 100 approved marketing authorisations by Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency of the U.K. According to the release, the MAs are well diversified into various segments - CNS, CVS, GI, diabetology, anti fungal, anti bacterial, oncology, macroliads, cephs and SSPs, anti diabetic, NSAIDS etc. Milpharm recorded a sale of £7.7 million for the 12-month period ended September 30, 2005. The acquisition is to be funded through the $60 million issued Aurobindo Pharma had raised through a Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds (FCCBs) issue in August last year.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, February 11, 2006

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IBM India on Thursday said that it had recorded a stupendous 55 per cent in its topline growth in 2005 as against 45 per cent recorded in 2004, making this the fastest growing region for IBM. However, it declined to reveal specific financial figures. Dataquest reported a turnover of Rs 4,219 crore for IBM in 2004-05. Going by the, IBM's turnover in Indian during calendar 2005 should be around $1.5 billion. The company added 16,500 people during 2005, taking its India strength to 38,500. With this, IBM's workforce in India is its second largest in the world, after that in the US. According to industry estimates, close to 50 per cent of the workforce is in business transformation outsourcing, a practice which IBM ramped up by acquiring Daksh during early last year. Shanker Annaswamy, MD, IBM India said: "With the SMB (small and medium business) market in India growing around 17 per cent year-on-year and contributing 60 per cent of total IT spending, IBM India's SMB business is fast outpacing the market growth rate, fuelling domestic revenue for the company." "India is also a major hub for IBM, along with China and Brazil, in housing major global delivery centres as its drives down costs and adds value for its global customers," added Annaswamy. The launch of the Application Management Services centre in Hyderabad, infrastructure management facilities in Bangalore, India Research Lab in Bangalore and IBM Daksh centres in Pune, Chandigarh and Kolkata have underlined IBM's India focus and growing business strength.

Courtesy: www.business-standard.com, February 10, 2006

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The Indian IT and IT-enabled services sector is on track to grow by 28% and mop up over $36bn in revenue in FY06. Out of this, software and services exports will bring in $23.4bn (a growth of 32%), while hardware will contribute $6.9bn and the domestic market will account for $6.1bn. The share of the booming sector in India's GDP is also increasing steadily. The IT and ITeS sector contributed about 4% of GDP in '04-05 and is expected to reach 4.8% in FY06, according to the Nasscom Strategic Review '06. "Inspite of the growth, it is estimated that less than 10% of the addressable market for globally sourced IT-ITeS has been captured till date, indicating significant headroom for growth," Nasscom's president Kiran Karnik said, ahead of the Nasscom India Leadership Forum. The apex industry body is aiming for $60bn in exports by '10, provided the sector continues to grow at the current rate of 20-25%. In '05, the BPO sector contributed $5.2bn, of which $4.6bn were exports and the rest came from the domestic market. It is expected that domestic market will grow at 22% in the current fiscal.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, February 10, 2006

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Pakistan would like to follow the footsteps of India in dairy co-operatives and hopes to replicate the Indian success story of Amul. Pakistan is also keen to get its farm community trained at Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA). A Pakistani delegation of 15 members are on a visit of Gujarat to understand the Amul model, which is a major success in dairy cooperatives across the world. The group believes that if such model is successful in India than surely it will also succeed in Pakistan. "Our team consist of 15 members coming from various dairies, some government officials and along with us some farmers have also come to visit Amul. These farmers are expected to motivate other farmers to expand the network," informed Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad, secretary, Livestock Department,Punjab, Pakistan. He further added that they also wish that their personnel should gettechnical training from IRMA. Adding to the figures, Baz Mohammad Junejo, secretary, Livestock

Courtesy: www.business-standard.com, February 10, 2006

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An Ayurvedic drug for treatment of cancer, manufactured by city-based Dr Sankunnis Ayurvedic Research Foundation (SARF) Pvt Ltd, in an advanced stage of trial, both in the US and in India would be released in the market in the next few months. In the US, 15 patients were undergoing treatment with the new drug called "Tumortart," while in India a dozen were under treatment. "The result of animal studies on this drug has proved to be positive," SARF's Managing Director Rajan Balakrishnan told reporters here after the launch of two new products. Variants of 'Epidermend Skin ointment,' which was launched today, would also come out soon, he said adding that 15-20 new products were undergoing various stages of trials and would be released before 2010, when SARF completes a century of existence.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, February 09, 2006

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Larsen & Toubro Ltd on Tuesday said it has bagged Rs 144 crore order from the Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA), UAE, for the construction of transmission lines. The order is for construction of 85 km long 220 kV transmission lines and has to be completed in 24 months from January 2006, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange. Mott MacDonald is the project consultants, it said. "In the Middle East, L&T has a strong presence in electrical business segment. This repeat order from a quality conscious organisation like ADWEA, is testimony to the global technology standards of L&T and its international competitiveness", L&T Senior Executive Vice President K V Rangaswami said.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, February 07, 2006

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Punjab National Bank (PNB) has said it is planning to set up its first branch in Pakistan and is awaiting official nod for the project. PNB was awaiting the approval of RBI and Pakistan government to set up their branch in Pakistan, SC Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director of PNB said, adding the bank had 25 offices in Pakistan before 1947. PNB has also received RBI's approval for setting up its offices in UK, Canada, Hong Kong and Singapore. The bank is in the process of upgrading its offices in Almaty (Kazakhstan) and London (UK) into subsidiaries. Gupta also said it would not raise the lending rates till March 2006. "We do not have any plans to increase our interest rates on any kind of lending till the end of this fiscal," he added. Projecting a growth of 18-19 per cent to be achieved in next fiscal, PNB plans to garner a total business of Rs 2.2 lakh crore by the end of March 2007. "We will be finishing this fiscal with the total business including advances and deposits of Rs 1.90 lakh crore. And we expect that we will be having a business of Rs 2.2 lakh crore in the next fiscal with growth rate between 18-19 per cent," the PNB CMD said.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, February 04, 2006

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As global majors grapple with a severe crunch for top-level talent, India is fast becoming a hunting ground for global companies. While MNCs have been moving Indian managers through internal transfers for assignments abroad, top Indian leadership talent is today being sought directly by companies abroad. Not only are headhunters being told to look at Indian managers, they are also being told which Indian companies to look at. "We are seeing a situation where multinationals like Citigroup, Axa, ING, Merill, Colgate, DHL amongst others are seriously looking at hiring external Indian talent for leadership roles, especially in the Asia-Pacific region. We expect this activity to be more pronounced in the coming months and could perhaps further accentuate the already serious talent crunch in the local market," K Sudarshan, managing partner, EMA Partners International, a global executive search, told ET.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, February 04, 2006

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General Motors Corp said on Thursday it would outsource up to $15 billion of information technology work as it tries to cut costs and restructure operations. Five-year contracts were given to Electronic Data Systems Corp, Hewlett-Packard Co, International Business Machines Corp, France's Cap Gemini, the Compuware Covisint unit of Compuware Corp, and India's Wipro Ltd. About half of the $15 billion in five-year contracts were awarded on Thursday, GM said. The world's largest automaker said the initiative was driven by the end of a deal with EDS that expired in June, 10 years after EDS was spun off from the No 1 automaker. GM said EDS would have less business with its former parent. Plano, Texas-based EDS said it had won about $3.8 billion in contracts over five years. HP estimated that it had won over $700 million in business over five years. Wipro said its share of the business was worth an estimated $300 million. GM declined to disclose how much the automaker, which is struggling to cut costs and shed excess capacity, would save through the outsourcing of information technology work. The outsourcing work will include computing operations and application support for areas such as automotive product development, manufacturing and supply chain, as well as GMAC financial services.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, February 04, 2006

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With the Indian financial sector on fire due to record breaking action on all fronts, including mutual funds, stock markets, FII inflow, private equity deals, a number of global funds and financial service majors are setting up their shop in the country. Names include the likes of Och Ziff Capital Management, Arisaig, Lloyd George and Notz Stucki Group among others. Most of these manage multi billion dollar funds globally. The rush of financial biggies to open an India office is being fuelled by the increased capacity to absorb investments with the growth in the economy coupled with high returns that investors have been reaping from the market. In some cases, large financial majors have had an exposure in the Indian market but were routing their investments through their operations in other countries like Singapore and Hong Kong in the Asia Pacific region. Now the same companies are setting up dedicated India office to get a close look at investment opportunities and direct the investible funds. "With increasing investments and focus on Indian markets, foreign investors are posting their teams in India, to be closer to the action. Mumbai is emerging as an important destination on the global financial map," said Ravi Sardana, vice president, ICICI Securities. The entrants are engaged in various forms of asset management. For instance Notz Stucki Group, which has set up its office in Mumbai offers portfolio management services to private individuals. Then there are others like Arisaig which has had an exposure to India for the last few years through its $400m Arisaig India Fund but has now set up a local office.Lloyd George has also been present in India through its LG India Fund but has now set up its India office.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, February 03, 2006

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Infosys Technologies announced that it has been positioned as the only IT service provider to the retail industry, with capabilities to compete head to head with both global and offshore service providers in the recently released AMR Research report, An Executive Guide to Selecting Retail Service Providers. Infosys' ranking can be attributed to a strong suite of retail offerings as well as the company's thorough domain expertise and ability to tailor solutions to address customers' unique business requirements. It has continually evolved its retail industry IT service practice, significantly increasing the amount of business consulting it does for retail organisations. In doing so, Infosys has made the transition to a provider of end-to-end services that help retail companies implement solutions that deliver both immediate and long term business value. "Infosys leverages high-level relationships within retail clients based on successful technology engagements to lead more business process-driven engagements," said Mr Robert Graf and Mr Lance Travis in the AMR Research Report. AMR specifically cited Infosys' industry-specific applications as a key differentiator.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, February 03, 2006

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Size does matter. If the previous year saw the beginning of huge deals coming India's way, then here's some momentum. As part of its cost cutting measures, General Motors has awarded one of the largest contracts to Wipro for providing systems integration services to the former's extended enterprise. Based on today's rates, GM is expected to spend approximately $15 billion over the next five years, where it will transition the work between suppliers and implement innovative technologies to support its global enterprise. Of this, Wipro's total contract value estimate is in excess of $300 million.

Courtesy: The Times of India, February 03, 2006

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The widespread popularity of distance learning, coupled with stronger thrust on e-governance and administration of justice, will make India a promising market for video conferencing equipment, felt experts at a round-table conducted here on Wednesday. While the utility of the equipment was obvious for the corporate sector, it is more relevant for speedy, efficient and low-cost administration of official systems, the experts opined at the meet, Video Conferencing: Bridging Distances. According to Alok Shende, director (ICT Practice) at consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, the video conferencing equipment market was currently estimated at US$ 10.8 million and was expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 24.9 per cent to reach the US$ 50 million mark by 2011. Conferencing solutions have become a business need in almost all verticals, government, education, corporate or health care. Sharing the segment wise break up, Shende said, "The government is the largest spender on these solutions, accounting for 38 per cent, followed by corporate at 37 per cent, healthcare at 14 per cent and education at 11 per cent." Commenting on the potential of Indian market, Yugal Sharma, country manager - India for California-based Polycom Inc, said, "India is the second largest contributor to the company's sales, accounting for 22 per cent of revenue in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region." India comes next only to China, which accounts for over 30 per cent of our revenues in the region, he pointed out, adding "India is the fastest growing market for the company and we expect it to account for over 30 per cent of our revenues, in the next two years." Sharma said the company hoped to double its clientele for its video conferencing solutions in the coming year. "Polycom has over 62 per cent of the market share in the audio/ video conferencing applications market. We have over 500 clients using our video conferencing solutions and we expect to double this to a 1,000 clients in this fiscal." Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited (MKCL) which was set up with the brief to expand the scope of using technology for e-learning and e-governance, has demonstrated the efficacy of video conferencing in extending education services in the state's hinterland.

Courtesy: The Business Standard, February 03, 2006

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The Consumption of electronic equipment in India is set to increase to US$ 363 billion by 2015 from US$ 28.2 billion in 2005, pushing the total market for semiconductors to a whopping US$ 36.3 billion by 2015. According to semiconductor market research reports launched by India Semiconductor Association (ISA) and Frost & Sullivan on Thursday, the semiconductor-driven industry is expected to create over 3.5 million jobs by 2015. During this period, the gross domestic product (GDP) contribution from this sector would grow to more than 12 per cent in 2015, from about two per cent in 2005 - creating a much larger induced impact on the economy of the country. "India's rapidly expanding GDP over the next several decades will boost electronics demand in the public and private sectors. Its per capita income will also rise substantially, which is an advantage for consumers in the electronics market. On the policy front, the Indian government is developing India as a IT hardware hub, following the country's success in custom software and IT services. It is actively encouraging foreign investment to build India's IT hardware industry," the reports said. The first report titled 'India Semiconductor Market, 2005-15: Growth, Trends and Forecasts', is a detailed analysis of the rapidly growing semiconductor content in the electronic equipment end-user markets and its impact on the semiconductor market in India. The second report - 'India Semiconductor and Embedded Design Market, 2005-15: Growth, Trends and Forecasts' - comprises analysis and forecasts of the semiconductor and embedded design market and outlines engineering manpower costs and future requirements. The ISA-Frost & Sullivan reports outlined that the Indian electronics equipment production grew at 25 per cent in 2005, and is slated to touch a growth rate of 50 per cent in 2010 and 34 per cent in 2015. The reports cover all the end-user products and capture their individual contribution to the total market, with market and technology trends. The second report reveals the semiconductor and embedded design (including chip design, hardware board design and embedded software) industry in India generated revenues of US$ 3.25 billion in 2005, and could reach US$ 43 billion by 2015 growing at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 30 per cent during the forecast period. On the industry potential to create jobs, it said that the industry has been able to generate 0.52 million jobs (including semiconductor and electronic equipment manufacturing, semiconductor and embedded design) in 2005. "The entire industry (semiconductor and embedded design, electronic equipment manufacturing and semiconductor manufacturing) is expected to generate revenues of US$ 73.92 billion by 2010, and generate employment for 1.85 million employees. In 2015, the industry revenues are expected to increase to US$ 202.57 billion, which is expected to generate employment for 3.58 million workers," it added.

Courtesy: The Hindu Business Line, February 03, 2006

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Dr Reddy's Laboratories has offered US$ 567.3 million for acquiring German generic drugs major Betapharm Arzneimittel GmbH. The deal, if it goes through, will be the biggest overseas acquisition by an Indian pharmaceuticals company. A European company and Ranbaxy Laboratories are also in the fray, though the amount they have bid could not be ascertained. Indian pharmaceuticals major Wockhardt is believed to have backed out. When contacted, Dr Reddy's Managing Director and COO Satish Reddy said, "We have nothing to comment on this now." Dr Reddy's share price yesterday rose to a one-year high of US$ 26.7 but closed at US$ 26.5 today. The UK-based 3i Group is the majority stakeholder in Betapharm, which is the fourth largest generics drug company in Germany. Dr Reddy's always had plans to strengthen its European operations, which is the world's second largest drug market. For this, the company is exploring options in Germany and France. Dr Reddy's has cash reserves of US$ 211.4 million and it will need to raise money to fund the acquisition. This can also be Dr Reddy's second acquisition in Europe. In 2002, the company acquired UK-based BMS Laboratories and its wholly owned subsidiary, Aurigene Discovery Technologies for around US$ 12 million. In November 2005, Dr Reddy's had acquired Roche's active pharmaceutical ingredients business, in Cuernavaca, Mexico, in a US$ 59-million deal. Indian pharmaceuticals majors Ranbaxy, Wockhardt and Nicholas Piramal have submitted bids to acquire Betapharm Arzneimittel. Global majors like Teva, Sandoz and certain Turkish companies, along with private equity players, have also bid.

Courtesy: Business Standard, February 03, 2006

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The US$1.2 billion Taiwan-based networking products major D-Link Corporation is planning to make India one of its manufacturing hubs, from where it intends to market its products across the globe. The company will continue manufacturing at D-Link India's Goa facility. D-Link Corp holds 36 per cent stake in D-Link India. "We have manufacturing facilities in three locations around the world - Taiwan, China and the US - apart from India. At present, the Indian facility manufactures cabling products, switches, modems and IP-phones, among others," said An-ping Chen, global director and CFO, D-Link Corp. Chen, who was in India for the company's board meeting, said the manufacturing operations of D-Link are conducted through its Taiwanese subsidiary Alpha, which was spun off as a separate unit earlier. "We are in the process of identifying the products that could be manufactured in India and marketed across the world. However, this would not be in the immediate future and could take two years," he said. India has a "commendable" research and development talent, apart from a highly educated and English-speaking workforce, which makes the country an ideal location for manufacturing. However, the supply chain in the country - especially when it comes to sourcing of raw material - is a major concern. Logistics, which is also an area of concern, has to be developed for selling finished goods around the world. D-Link India is a vendor to the global networking major that outsources a lot of products, including VoIP products such as IP-PBX, which are designed, developed and manufactured in India. Broadband, wireless and digital convergence products constitute major sales for D-Link Corp worldwide, and the company expects that the emergence of broadband in the country will boost sales of D-Link India's products in a major way.

Courtesy: www.rediff.com, February 03, 2006

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The Indian Hotels Company, which owns and operates Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, has officially opened and launched its newest acquisition, Blue and Wooloomooloo Bay in Sydney, Australia. The 100-room, five-year-old hotel property represents Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces' foray into Australia. According to a release, the acquisition price for the Blue, Wooloomooloo Bay, Sydney was Australian $36 million.

Courtesy: The Hindu, February 02, 2006

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Bike market leader Hero Honda today reported an 8.3 per cent rise in sales in January 2006, including exports, at 249,450 units against 230,280 units in the same month last year. The company said sales in the domestic market saw a similar growth, rising 8.1 per cent to 242,974 units last month against 224,593 units in January 2005. Sales in the domestic market in the 10 months ending January 31, 2006, grew 13.2 per cent to 23,984,53 units against 21,171,33 units in the same period last fiscal. Exports in the April-January 2005 period were up 61.3 per cent at 79,291 units against 49,128 units in the same period last fiscal. In growth terms, Bajaj Auto overtook the market leader, reporting a 28 per cent increase in total two-wheeler sales in January at 181,758 units against 142,294 units in the same month a year ago. The company's motorcycle sales, was up 32 per cent at 173,835 units in January as against 132,028 units in the same month last year, a company release said. Sales of three-wheelers increased 34 per cent during January at 22,019 units as against 16,415 units in the same month a year ago. Total two and three wheeler sales during the reporting month, including exports, increased 28 per cent during the reporting month to 203,777 units compared with 158,709 units in January 2005, it said. Exports of two and three-wheelers combined during the month increased 22 per cent to 18,168 units when compared to 14,930 units in the same period last year, it added.

Courtesy: Business Standard, February 02, 2006

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Mumbai, Feb. 1 (PTI): Satyam Computer Services Ltd. on Tuesday said it has entered into a long term strategic partnership with Denmark-based KMD, a leading IT company, to provide SAP solutions. KMD is owned by the National Association of Local Authorities in Denmark and is a key partner of SAP for building and providing efficiency enhancing public sector industry specific solutions, the company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange. "We are very pleased to partner with KMD on a long-term and strategic level. This partnership reinforces our leadership position in SAP. It will strengthen our presence in Denmark and show our commitment to grow aggressively in Europe," Satyam Head of European Operations Keshab Panda, said. The initiative is designed to allow KMD to offer its customers in the public and utilities sector, a reduced time to market for SAP solutions and to help address the problem of the shortage of skilled SAP personnel in Denmark, it said. The company will support KMD in executing SAP projects with 25-50 company's employees working for KMD from a dedicated offshore centre, it added.

Courtesy: The Hindu, February 01, 2006

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India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. has agreed to acquire oil major ExxonMobil Corp.'s 30 percent stake in Brazil's Campos Basin oil fields for about $1.5 billion, according to a national economic daily. ONGC's overseas arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd., sealed the deal with ExxonMobil a few days ago, the report said quoting investment banking sources. No-one from the company was immediately available for comment. Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras have a 35 percent stake each in the oil fields, the newspaper said. ONGC Videsh has started talks with Shell and Petrobras as they have a pre-emption right to block the deal, it said. The oil property is located off the east coast of Brazil's south-eastern state of Espirito Santo.

Courtesy: www.financialexpress.com, February 01, 2006

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India, a net importer of zinc in recent years, may export the metal this year as new production is set up to grab a share of the metals boom, a senior industry executive said. India is expected to have a surplus in the metal, despite the country's strong economy, according to Sushil Bhatter, chief executive officer of Binani Industries Limited, which owns Binani Zinc, India's second-largest zinc producer. "Domestic demand is growing but the capacity growth planned this year will be at a faster pace," Bhatter said on Tuesday. Traders also said new capacity planned at India's top zinc producer, Hindustan Zinc Ltd. , would help boost export supplies. Hindustan is a unit of London-listed Vedanta Resources Plc. Zinc for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange hit a record high of $2,335 a tonne on Tuesday and has soared 20 per cent this year on concerns over tight world supplies. While Hindustan Zinc has an annual production capacity of more than 400,000 tonne of zinc, Binani's annual capacity is around 38,000 tonne. Bhatter said India's sizzling expansion of 8 per cent could spur double-digit growth in demand for zinc, used as anti-rusting material for steel.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, February 01, 2006

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Global milk production for the year 2005 is estimated to grow 2.4%, particularly led by India and the US. By economic group, milk production in the developing countries is expected to grow over 4% in 2005, compared to less than 1% in the developed countries. As in recent years, much of the dynamism of the dairy industry is stemming from developments in both supply and demand in developing countries. According to Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO), milk production is estimated to grow 2.4% in 2005, after an increase of 1.9% in the previous year, encouraged by high international prices. Among the developing countries, India's output keeps growing strongly on an annual basis as investments continue in the sector, while strong rises in domestic demand sustain prices. A normal monsoon this year has made ample fodder supplies available and production should rise by over 4% in 2005. The country now accounts for over half of the total milk output of Asia and is reinforcing its position as the world's largest single milk producing country. With high international prices, export markets offer potential for further growth. The country with the fastest production growth is China, which has almost doubled its milk output since 2001. However, some reports indicate the rate of growth has subsided somewhat in 2005, under higher costs of production. Production in 2005 is now expected to grow by 20%, down from 26% last year. In Pakistan, which is the world's fifth largest milk producing country, output continues to rise at the rate of 3% per year. The dairy sector accounts for more than 40% of the value of agricultural output and is a critical revenue source. Consumption of dairy products constitutes almost 15% of daily calorie intake. The extent of the impact of the 8 October 2005 earthquake on the dairy sector is not fully known. There are reports stating that as many as 2,50,000 farm animals perished and that many others remained in undernourished conditions. Farmers are reported to be selling livestock assets for slaughter at reduced prices. For Central America and the Caribbean, overall milk output is expected to grow by 2.7% in 2005 as low-cost milk producers responded to the high international prices of the past two years. Costa Rica's output has hit record levels in 2005. In South America, growth continues to be strong, at 3.9%, with particularly high rates expected for Argentina at 4.6% and Brazil at 4.0%. Chile's production continues to expand by over 5%. Peru recorded an annual rate of 3-4% and this is expected to continue with higher prices. Milk output in Uruguay is expected to expand 8% in 2005, after two years of low growth. In Africa, conditions for milk production vary significantly. The problem of locusts has subsided in western Africa and reports indicate that the rainy season this year was favourable.

Courtesy: www.financialexpress.com, February 01, 2006

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"India is the biggest media market in the world perhaps after China," observed Peter May, senior faculty member from the International Institute of Journalism Berlin-Brandenburg. Despite the ceiling of 26 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI), those in the media business globally are bound to make an entry sooner or later because the temptation of the market is too strong. "As a German axiom goes, those who pay will have the say; those who invest the money will decide," Mr.May said delivering a lecture on "Media and the role of multinationals in the context of globalisation" at the Mazdoor Kisan Bhavan here over the weekend. The programme was organised by Jan Vichar Manch on the occasion of Newspaper Day. "It is obvious that they are all coming to India to make money. The basic tenets of journalism are not their concern. Even if they uphold the journalistic principles it will be due to market considerations and profit," said Mr. May, a South Asia expert. "In India where newspapers supported the freedom movement of the country and still consider educating and informing the people a mission, the new crop of newspapers will be rather a shocking change." Mr. May said the entry of foreign newspapers might improve the quality and to some extent content of the newspapers here in general as the existing ones would try to become more competitive. A good number of publications might get closed. There would be paradoxical situations in which the papers, which cannot pay high salaries, may find it difficult to get trained and qualified persons, he said. The newspapers from outside would surely have the advantages of better resources and better networking, besides a more qualified team but their disadvantage would be the absence of a rapport with the readers. "The Indian newspapers will have the local advantage. You know your people more than anyone from outside. Moreover the Indian publishers as well as readers are traditional in their ethos and outlook. They are also proud of their tradition and culture as far as I can see," Mr. May, a regular visitor to Indian cities for training journalists over the past 13 years, noted.

Courtesy: The Hindu, February 01, 2006

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After trailing for years, the Indian cellular sector has finally caught up with its Chinese counterpart in terms of mobile subscriptions, at least for December '05. The mobile subscriber addition in India in December '05 reached around 4.5m. China has been adding about 4 to 5m mobile subscribers per month in the last 5 years. "Thus India has really caught up with China in mobile growth," telecom regulator Trai said in a 'Supplement on Mobile Sector Highlighting Usage, Revenue and Growth Pattern - India catches up with China in mobile growth'. The total handset sales during '05 was higher than the total number of subscribers added during the year. The number of cellular subscribers added in '05 was 28m while handset sales stood at 32m during the year. With soaring monthly additions, the sale of handsets is likely to reach 60-65m in '06, said Trai. The replacement market in India is about 10% of the total subscriber base.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, February 01, 2006

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Britain on Wednesday sought Indian investment in its defence industry and said it was engaged in negotiations for transferring up to eight second-hand Sea Harrier jets to the Indian Navy. Lord Drayson, Britain's minister for defence procurement, said his country was keen on forging collaborations and joint ventures with Indian firms working in cutting edge IT and software to fulfil the long-term needs of the British armed forces. "There is a market potential running into millions of pounds (under Britain's Defence Industrial Strategy)," Drayson told a news conference at the Defexpo 2006 arms fair here that is being attended by the world's largest armaments firms. "Indian industries are currently taking a small proportion of the market," he said, adding there was scope for Indian firms to leverage their "strategic strengths" in IT and software to develop affordable hi-tech weapons for the British military. The Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS), announced by the British government in December 2005, identifies "key gaps" and the major requirements of its armed forces over the next 10 years. "We want the UK defence market to be as open as possible," Drayson said. "This heralds a new era of cooperation between us," said Air Vice Marshal Gavin Mackay, senior military advisor with the British ministry of defence. He said 18 Indian pilots had already completed their training in Britain, and 23 were currently undergoing the course.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, February 01, 2006

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