• RCom acquires African firm for $5 mn: Report
• Coal India plans global bids to develop, operate mines
• Walt Disney investing Rs 805 cr in UTV
• Madhya Pradesh attracts investments worth Rs 100 bn
• Power Finance Corp to raise $4 bn to fund projects
• Airtel now has over 60 million subscribers
• Airtel now has over 60 million subscribers
• IT revenues grow@33%, to hit $64 bn
• India's first eco-tourism society scheduled to be launched
• China, India poised to contribute to global workforce
• Employment increases in unorganised sector
• No trickling effect
• Lord Paul second richest in British Midlands

• 'Budget is a clear indication of early election'
• Bhave takes charge as SEBI Chairman
• West Bengal, fastest growing IT hub in India
• Slow world economy won't hamper India's growth
• Micro Technologies marks foray in Sri Lanka
• 'India to ensure greater private sector role in defence'
• 'India, China may overwhelm US economy'
• NE roses attract foreign buyers
• 'India fast emerging as prominent hub for innovation R&D'
• Booming real estate pushes up salaries of architects, even expats are in demad
• India: Huge opportunities available for doing business with India, mr. Matti
• India has the potential
• Prudent approach

A populist budget providing for a massive farm loan waiver, income tax sops across the board and no additional burden on the corporate sector today prompted widespread speculation that Lok Sabha polls may be held before the end of the year, probably by October or November. Apparently the fast-tracking of the implementation of the debt waiver and relief scheme by June this year led to political parties, including those on the side of the government, and the industry predicting that elections are not not far away.Short of announcing the date for elections, everything else has been announced, said leader of the Communist Party of India Parliamentary Party in Lok Sabha Gurudas Dasgupta, whose party supports the government. Dubbing the budget as "election manifesto", Bhartiya Janata Party vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said "it is a clear signal that elections are being held early. The nature of the budget is virtual declaration of mid-term elections." Sharing this view, noted industrialist and Rajya Sabha member Rahul Bajaj said the budget has clear indicators for early elections. In the central hall of Parliament, Congress MPs were discussing the possibility of early polls and joking with colleagues of other parties to get ready for the battle. However, CPI MP D Raja does not not feel it points to early elections, though he concedes that the budget does have a short-term perspective on several issues. Finance Minister P Chidambaram, the hero of day, dismissed all talk of elections saying in India elections take place every year and the budgets can be described as election budgets. "If you have nothing else to say about the budget, then you can call it election-budget," he said in a tone tinged with sarcasm at the customary post-budget briefing.

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, February 29, 2008

Back to Index

Anil Ambani group company Reliance Communications is understood to have acquired an African company for close to $500 million (over Rs 2,000 crore), through which it plans to offer telecom access services in Uganda. This is the third global acquisition for the company after FLAG in 2003 and Yipes in 2007, and first international acquisition as far as services are concerned. According to industry sources, the acquisition agreement is believed to have been agreed upon late last evening in London and the total deal size is likely to be higher than the $211 million for FLAG and $300 million for Yipes. Formalities of completing the acquisition are expected to be completed during the day. Reliance has recently been allowed to offer GSM technology based mobile services in India along with its existing CDMA operations through out the country. Reliance Communications Officials when contacted declined to offer any comment on the development. However, yesterday the company had indicated it is open to evaluate inorganic growth opportunities in emerging markets like Asia and Africa. The move comes a day after the announcement of formation of Reliance Globalcom, the umbrella brand for all its international businesses. Earlier, RCom Chairman Anil Ambani had said the company would be investing over $6 billion in capex next fiscal. Merchant banking sources indicate that around 35 per cent of this amount would go in expanding the global business, around $200 million in expanding the footprint of ethernet services and $300 million in data centres. Shares of the company were trading up 0.88 per cent at Rs 590.30 in morning trade on the BSE.

Courtesy: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com, February 21, 2008

Back to Index

Mr Bhave who has been appointed for a three-year term, was Chairman and Managing Director of the National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL). Mr M. Damodaran whose term as SEBI Chairman ended on Sunday, February 17, handed over the charge to Mr Bhave at SEBI Bhavan at BKC in the morning. Besides having meeting with senior officials, Mr Bhave also attended the weekly Market Surveillance Committee meeting. BSE and NSE officials were present at the meeting. Incidentally, SEBI Board, which comprises of eight members and takes all the key decisions on the capital markets, will have quite a few new faces in near future. Of the three whole-time members, Mr G. Anantharaman and Mr V.K. Chopra will be completing their terms shortly. While the other member, Mr T.C. Nair has more than a year to go. It was only last month that Dr G. Mohan Gopal, Director, National Judicial Academy, Bhopal joined the SEBI Board.

Other members
Besides the Chairman, other members of the present SEBI Board include Mr K.P. Krishnan, Joint Secretary (Capital Markets), Dept of Economics, Ministry of Finance; Mr V. Leeladhar, Deputy Governor, RBI; Mr Venu Srinivasan, Chairman & MD, TVS Motor; Mr Anurag Goel, Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Courtesy: www.thehindubusinessline.com, February 19, 2008

Back to Index

Coal India plans to float a global tender for private participation in development, operation and maintenance of eight coal blocks on a long-term basis, by end-February. Global mining companies including those from China have shown keen interest in the project during the pre-bid meetings. According to a CIL official, "The tender document is in the final stages of preparation and may be floated for participation in another 10 days' time." The interested companies will take complete responsibility for exploration in these blocks and developing and operating the mines on a time-bound basis.

Buy-back at fixed price
CIL will fund the capital expenditure for the projects on condition that the entire production would be sold back to the Indian major at a contracted price. The initiative is part of its effort to increase coal production in the country. Though the possibility of striking joint ventures with interested companies was not ruled out, CIL sources said that the 'develop, operate and maintenance route' was preferred by the global mining companies to minimise their investment risks. Meanwhile, at a meeting held this week, the Union Coal Ministry had asked CIL to accelerate the process of inviting private participation in creating washing capacities. The scheme aims at supplying washed coal from the open cast mines to all non-pithead power stations. All the CIL subsidiaries except Northern Coalfields Ltd, dispatching coal primarily to pithead power stations, are under the purview of the scheme. "Some of our subsidiaries will start floating tenders inviting private participation in setting up washeries and running and maintenance of the same on a long-term basis, beginning March. The entire process would be completed in three months," the official said. Coal India will finance the cost of setting up the washeries and will enter into a long-term washing agreement with the private partner.

Cost reduction
Preliminary estimates suggest that the capacities of each such washery may vary between 2.5 million tonnes and 5 million tonnes, leading to a substantial reduction in washing cost from the existing Rs 240 per tonne.

Courtesy: www.thehindubusinessline.com, February 19, 2008

Back to Index

With West Bengal aiming to become one of the top three IT states by 2010, contributing 15-20 per cent of the country's total IT revenue, a number of IT majors are today doing significant business in Kolkata. Announcing the results of a survey report on the state's IT and ITeS sector in Kolkata on Monday, Indian Chamber of Commerce president Harsh K Jha said, "Between 2002-05, West Bengal has been recognised as the fastest growing IT destination in the country with more than double the national average growth rate." "The ICC carried out the survey by gathering feedback from prominent IT companies operating in the state, including TCS [Get Quote], Cognizant, IBM, Wipro [Get Quote], on issues like infrastructure, investment scenario and future business prospects," he said. According to the survey, an overwhelming 80.6 per cent of the respondents affirmed that the state was a competitive destination for IT and ITeS companies to set up shop. "Majority of the companies were thus found to be upbeat about Bengal's prospects as an IT hub owing to the various advantages of the state such as skilled human capital pool, low attrition and government's focus upon IT," Jha observed. He also asserted that an impressive 58.06 per cent of the respondents felt that the government's ambitious plans to emerge as one of the top three IT states by accounting for 15-20 per cent of the country's IT revenue was achievable. However, he warned that majority of the companies felt that IT and ITeS remained a 'Public Utility Service' only on paper, with a resounding 74.19 per cent opining that the sector in the state could not operate on 24x7x365 model, as it was being frequently disrupted by strikes and bandhs. Further enumerating the results of the survey, the ICC president said, "We also prepared a Destination IT Index, after taking into consideration parameters like IT infrastructure, government policy, availability of skilled manpower, cost of operations and potential of software exports." Jha said that Karnataka continued to dominate other Indian states in terms of attractiveness as an IT destination and Bangalore still seemed to be at the topmost, despite concerns of growing pollution and over urbanisation. Andhra Pradesh, backed by the emergence of Hyderabad as a major IT hub, ranks second in the index, followed by Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, while West Bengal had ranked fifth among the 17 states into consideration, he added. "This is quite impressive, particularly because Bengal has ranked higher than Delhi (6th), which possibly offers better quality physical or IT-related infrastructure. Besides, among the top ten states in the index, two more states from the Eastern and Northeastern parts of the country feature -- Orissa (7th) and Meghalaya (10th)," he asserted. The encouraging investment-promotion policies and focus on IT and ITeS had contributed to Orissa's ranking among the top ten states, while Meghalaya had done fairly well beacuse the sector's potential in the NE was significant, owing to factors like high literacy rate, good English-speaking skills of the youth, employable population and conducive climate, Jha stated.

Courtesy: www.rediff.com, February 19, 2008

Back to Index

Walt Disney has offered to invest Rs 805 crore to increase its stake to 32.1 per cent in media and entertainment company UTV. The California-based family entertainment and media enterprise, at present, has 13.7 per cent stake in UTV. The number of shares to be issued as part of the transaction is 93.52 lakh at a price of Rs 860.79 each; this is based on the preferential allotment pricing formula as per regulatory norms, with a five per cent premium. Disney will be making this investment through its subsidiary Walt Disney Co (Southeast Asia). Disney will also invest with UTV in UTV Global Broadcasting Ltd (UGBL) by acquiring a 15 per cent stake worth Rs 119 crore (about $ 30 million). Mr Ronnie Screwvala, founder-promoter and CEO of UTV, is also consolidating promoters' stake with an issue of 45.32 lakh warrants at the same price of Rs 860.79, investing Rs 390 crore. Walt Disney's investments in UTV and UGBL, together with the warrants to be issued to Mr Screwvala's promoters group, makes this total deal size about Rs 1,314 crore.

Open offer
The transaction will require a Public Announcement to all UTV shareholders, a company release said. Mr Andy Bird, Chairman, Walt Disney International, said "We are pleased with our initial investment in UTV, which has strong local brands and media properties that provide complementary growth platforms to Disney's existing branded efforts." Along with Walt Disney's investment of Rs 119 crore in UGBL for a 15-per cent stake, UTV will also invest Rs 240 crore for a 75-per cent stake in UGBL. The remaining 10 per cent will continue to be held by Mr Ronnie Screwvala's promoters group. UTV will be holding an extraordinary general meeting of the members of the company on March 17 to seek approvals for these proposals. Merill Lynch is the advisor to UTV. It is expected the deals will be completed within the next two to three months.

Courtesy: www.thehindubusinessline.com, February 19, 2008

Back to Index

The Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, on Friday alleyed all fears of disruption in the Indian growth story because of a slowdown in the world economy. "Any slowdown in the world economy would not slow the growth rate of our economy by more than half a per cent. In the worst case, it could be one per cent, but that appears to be highly unlikely," Ahluwalia said at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in the Capital. Expressing his optimism of a growth rate of 8-9 per cent this year, Ahluwalia said that the Indian economy was on a stronger footing. But he also said that there was a need to pay heed to the institutional development in the financial sector. "The government has set up a high-level committee to look into the different aspects of the finance sector and accordingly suggest corrective measures along with the roadmap for the next 10 years," Ahluwalia informed. "The development of a healthy financial system is much more important than the interest rates. We need to see whether the financial sector is moving with the required pace or not," Ahluwalia added, admitting that the pace of change has been slow in India. Underlying the role of agriculture in the country's overall economic growth, Ahluwalia mentioned that the focus must be on multiple products. "There is no quick fix solution to the slow growth rate in agriculture sector that is suffering from structural weaknesses for several years. We must think in terms of transferring technology to the farmers," he said. Given the scope of role to be played by the private sector role in agriculture, Ahluwalia said that they should actively involve themselves in managing the perishable agro-products. "A four per cent growth rate in the agriculture sector depends upon private partnership. We need to diversify agriculture at a large scale. Let's think of contract farming," he said.(IANS)

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, February 16, 2008

Back to Index

The Madhya Pradesh government on Friday signed numbers of Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) at an investors' meet in the city that would bring investments to the tune of Rs 103.1 billion ($2.6 billion) to the state. The MoUs were signed in the first session of the two-day meet which was participated by about 300 investors. Inaugurating the third state-sponsored Global Investors' Meet, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan called upon investors to come forward to take advantage of the state's industry-friendly policy. He assured the investors that they would not have any problem at any level once they commit to invest in the Madhya Pradesh. Speaking at the meet, Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumarmangalam Birla said, he had a 50-year relationship with Madhya Pradesh ever since his forefathers launched their first man made fibre plant at Nagada in Ujjain district. Although his group had not signed any MoU at the meet so far, he said it was "all set to make huge investment in Sagar, Jabalpur and Rewa". His company Hindalco Industries, one of the largest aluminium producers in the country, will set up a plant in Madhya Pradesh, he added. The MoUs signed includes two in the energy sector, two in cement and one for iron-ore industry. DB Power Ltd signed an MoU for 1,000-MW power plant worth Rs 60 billion at Shahdol district and Sanghi Energy Ltd signed an MoU for 405-MW power plant worth Rs 16.2 billion at Satna. Similarly, two MoUs signed in the cement sector included one for Rs 8.9 billion signed with Mysore Cements for the expansion of its existing plant at Damoh and the other an investment of Rs 7 billion in a cement plant that Sandhya Prakash Pvt Ltd proposes to set up in Satna district. The fifth and the last MoU signed was with Euro Brand Industries for setting up of iron-ore based industry at Shoria in Jabalpur at a cost of Rs 11 billion. The state government had invited more than 700 industrialists from within and outside the country. Of them, about 300 arrived Jabalpur to participate in the meet on its first day, out of which more than 170 were from outside the state. This is the third investors' meet organised by the state government in the past two years. The previous meets at Khajuraho and Indore have already attracted MoUs worth Rs 1,05,000 crore and Rs 1,14,200 crore, respectively. The meet also showcases an exhibition entitled "Vikas Priyadarshani" (Development Exhibition) organised by the state industries department at the historical Garrison Ground to display the development of state. A special theme pavilion to showcase the progress and investment opportunities in the state was the main attraction of the meet.

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, February 16, 2008

Back to Index

Micro Technologies India Limited (MTIL) has signed a strategic agreement with Colombo-based real estate and construction company I-systems to market its security products and licences in Sri Lanka. The inking of the agreement has been informed to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Friday. Speaking to media in the state capital, managing director of I-systems, Kavinda Jayasooriya said that the Sri Lankan market at present offers good opportunities for MTIL's security products and licences. The two firms would focus on the absence of global system (GSM) for mobile and security systems in Sri Lanka. The companies also want to focus on the home security segment, "the hottest segment for making forays into Sri Lankan market", said Mukund Gupta, chief operating officer of MTIL. MTIL is the country's leading security and life-support systems provider.

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, February 15, 2008

Back to Index

Power Finance Corp (PFC), a dedicated power sector financing institution, will raise $4 billion from the domestic market in 2008-09 to fund several power projects in the country. "We will raise $4 billion from the domestic market to fund several power projects," V K Garg, chairman and managing director of PFC, told reporters on the sidelines of an event in the city Thursday. "It's easier to raise funds through the domestic market as the risk factor, as far as currency risk is concerned, is lower," he said, adding there was no slowing down of the power sector and there is a very good liquidity in the market. PFC is also expecting a disbursal of $6.5 billon in 2009 and this year's amount is likely to reach $4.5 billion. Garg said 52,000 MW of power projects were now being executed and about 25 percent would be in operation by next year. Of the total 52,000 MW power project, 20 percent would be funded by PFC. "PFC will also float a company to give investment proposals to viable power projects in the country," he added. During April-December 2007, PFC raised Rs 90 billion and it was targeting to raise an additional amount of Rs 40 billion by March 31 2008. In the same period, PFC has sanctioned Rs 460 billion in loans and the figure is expected to reach Rs 500 billion by the end of the fiscal year. PFC's disbursements in April-December 2007 stood at Rs 115 billion and the amount is likely to go up to Rs 200 billion by March 31 this year.

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, February 15, 2008

Back to Index

New Delhi: India plans to make its defence offset policy open, transparent and less rigid and ensure bigger participation of private players in the military hardware business, a top government official said today. "India has gradually liberalised its defence trade by allowing 100 per cent private investment by domestic companies and increasing the number of licences granted to private players," Secretary (Defence Production) Pradeep Kumar said. He was speaking at the fourth India-Britain Defence Industry Symposium organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Defence Manufacturers Association of Britain in New Delhi. According to Kumar, the symposium would provide Britain with a platform to understand India's foreign direct investment (FDI) policy in the defence sector. "Our defence equipment companies are competitive and global biggies are outsourcing their work to Indian firms," he pointed out. Kumar also called on industry to promote small and medium enterprises as they acted as a vital link with large organisations. Deputy British High Commissioner Creon Butler said, "India should raise the FDI limit in defence sector to 49 per cent from 26 per cent." Butler hoped that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's recent visit to India would take the relationship between the two countries to a new level. "The Tata-Corus and Hutch-Vodafone deals demonstrate our close engagement," he said.

While pointing out British companies investment in India, Butler said his country "provides the best climate to Indian companies for foreign direct investment". "India plans to meet 70 per cent of its defence equipment needs domestically. Thus there are tremendous possibilities for partnerships with the Indian industry," Butler said, adding that British companies were working closely with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and other R&D organisations of India. Air Vice-Marshal Gavin Mackay, senior military adviser to the British Defence Export Services Organisation, said, "India and the UK share a passion for engineering. We need new alliances to compete in the new world order. We can take advantage of each other's technological skills. We are willing to enter joint licenced production arrangements with Indian companies." In his welcome remarks, Atul Kirloskar, chairman of the CII national committee on defence and chairman and managing director of Kirloskar Oil Engines said, "The participation of the British companies in the symposium is quite encouraging. There is an excellent climate for collaboration in the field of defence between India and the UK." He further hoped that defence ties would be the key pillars of India-UK ties. Rear Admiral Rees Ward, director general of Britain's Defence Manufacturers Association, said, "India and the UK should encourage defence trade for mutual benefit. The Indian market is very competitive and is poised to emerge as an important force in the global defence market." "India has a viable manufacturing hub which can meet the needs of the global market," he added. In his concluding remarks, CII director Lt Gen (retd) S S Mehta said, "I expect lots of things moving from India to Britain." He also urged Britain to share dual-use technology, saying, "Defence is needed to maintain peace and prosperity. India needs injection of technology to attain inclusive and sustainable growth."

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, February 15, 2008

Back to Index

At a time when the Annual Financial Statement - Budget - is due to be tabled in the Parliament later this month and speculations regarding the timings for the next general election already in air, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today assured that the Indian economy would witness a growth of 9 per cent in the current fiscal (2008-09). Speaking at the 80th annual general meeting of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) in the national capital on Friday, Singh said, "The economy is ticking smoothly after having registered a growth of 9.6 per cent last year and there is every chance that it will touch 9 per cent this fiscal." PM's statement in the context of the rate of GDP growth holds importance, as various financial organs, both from within and outside the country, have been freezing the rate of growth for current fiscal to be around 8.5 per cent. The PM assured that the economy would grow at a satisfactory pace despite the global economic slow down. However, the PM did not fail to caution against the slow down by citing an example of similar slow down during 1997- 2002 when the Indian economy could not carry forward the above 7 per cent growth consistently, and could manage only 5.5 per cent growth in that period (Indirectly taking a pot shot at the BJP led NDA government). "There was a similar optimism in the 90's when a consistent 7 per cent growth was achieved for some years, but the then government did not made any attempt to make our growth more broad based and inclusive," PM said. Emphasising over the fact that India has to travel a long way in increasing the level of education in comparison to the modern economies, who generally have at least 80 per cent literacy rate, the PM said that his Government is taking various measures to improve the statistics on that front. "Government has made education a priority area for public policy. Also the share of the expenditure in the central growth budgetary support is going up from 7.68 per cent to 19 per cent in the 11th Plan," he said, adding that the government has planned to set up 30 new central universities, 370 new colleges, 6000 top class schools along with 8 new IITs, 20 IIITs and 7 IIMs across the country. Commenting on the health schemes proposed by the union government, which are aimed at improving service standards and changing health care scenario in the rural areas, PM stated that there is a concern about the affordability of health care and public health provision in India. "Private health care cannot address all the health needs of the people. Hence, government is looking at new models of affordable health insurances in India," Singh said. Earlier, FICCI's outgoing President, Habil Khorakiwala speaking on the occasion urged the Prime Minister to extend some schemes for the exports industry so that the affect of the strengthening rupee can be allayed. He even stated that exporters are under pressure due to the declining margins and it is a serious concern for the Indian industry.

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, February 15, 2008

Back to Index

The US economy and foreign policy are at a risk of being overwhelmed by cosmic economic shifts driven by immense rapidly industrialising societies like India and China, an American senator has warned. "Neoclassical economics analysed economic growth in terms of capital, labour, and technical progress. But I now think, it is more enlightening to view the fundamental drivers as energy and ideas," Republican senator ,Dick Lugar, said on Wednesday, citing Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf. "If Wolf is correct, and I believe he is, our economy and our foreign policy are at risk of being overwhelmed by forces that are receiving far too little attention within our government," said Lugar at a Senate Foreign relations committee hearing on the State Department budget. Principal among these forces are the burgeoning demand for energy from China, India and elsewhere, and the cosmic economic shifts that are being driven by these immense, rapidly industrialising societies, he said. "The immediate effect is rising energy prices, but long term effects include accelerating climate change and shortages of hydrocarbon supplies, both of which could become sources of conflict," the senator said. Lugar cited the US agreement with India on civilian nuclear power and with Brazil on biofuels Lugar said, "These are the examples of how our strategic alliances can bring together our foreign policy, energy security and climate change interests". Congratulating Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, for moving towards a much-needed reinvigoration of US international energy diplomacy, hoping that she would soon appoint an International Energy Coordinator. Energy "is a really important part of diplomacy", agreed Rice. "In fact, I think I would go so far as to say that some of the politics of energy is warping diplomacy in certain parts of the world," she added, announcing her intention to appoint a special energy coordinator for the Central Asian and Caspian region. Later, at a hearing of the House Foreign Affairs committee, Rice said the US had increased significantly the resources for public diplomacy. Changing the way the State Department operates, she planned to re-deploy people, "many of them out of Europe and into growing places like India and Brazil and to China." Noting that the US almost have as many Foreign Service officers in Germany as it has in India, Rice said, "It seemed important to have that redeployment. But even with those redeployments, it is absolutely the case that the Foreign Service is too small." Over four years, 2,000 Foreign Service officers have been added, she said. This year's budget asked for about 1,100 more Foreign Service officers as well as 300 people for USAID, Rice said. "And I think it is very important that we rebuild this civilian strength."

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, February 14, 2008

Back to Index

India's leading telecom operator Bharti Airtel Limited today announced that it has now more than 60 million mobile, fixed-line and broadband subscribers. Speaking to media in the state capital on Wednesday, chairman and managing director of Bharti Airtel, Sunil Mittal said, "To be among the top global telcos is a significant achievement not only for us but also for the Indian telecom industry." The company in a statement released on Wednesday said that the 60-million base has put Bharti Airtel into the global club of top telecom operators. The company crossed the 50-million customer mark in October, 2007. It added the next 10 million customers across mobile, fixed-line and broadband in a record period of four months. The telecom giant had crossed the 10 million customer mark in January, 2005 and the 25 million customer mark in July, 2006.

Courtesy: www.headlinesindia.com, February 13, 2008

Back to Index

Roses cultivated in the North East are all set to explore the Valentine Day market. This time, New Zealand and several Gulf countries have come forward to buy roses from this region for the ensuing Valentine Day. The demand for roses in foreign countries is very high during the Valentine Day. And, the demand was earlier met by Japan and many South Indian countries. But now North East India has been able to draw the attention of the foreign buyers through its variety of roses. According to official statistics, nearly 15,000 to 20,000 rose plants are produced daily in the region. These are generally cultivated in Mizoram, Nagaland and some parts of Meghalaya. In view of the growing demand for roses in various foreign countries, the area of production has been expanded. "Our roses have already made a strong presence in Dubai and UK. And, this time New Zealand and Middle East countries have placed their orders for the Valentine Day," Rajesh Prasad of Zopar Exports told this correspondent today. He further said that during the Valentine Day, the demand for roses is very high in the domestic and foreign markets and the company is gearing up to explore the market. "But, the excess cold weather has badly hit rose production in the country. In the North East, our production has dropped to nearly 40 per cent in the current season," Prasad said, adding that in spite of that Zopar is ready to appease the customers. Buoyed by the response from the foreign market, floriculture has been picking up in the region. According to available statistics, about 500 farmers are now closely associated with the floriculture sector with active support from the Centre. Providing more information in this regard, Prasad said that rose and anthurium cultivated in the region have good demand in the international markets. "Dubai is said to be one of the major flower markets in the world for which several Indian companies are now exploring the market by their variety of products. But, anthurium in the region has a special demand. During the Valentine Day the prices of anthurium generally go up", he added. Meanwhile, to encourage rose cultivation in the North East, the Ministry of Commerce has granted Rs 2.50 crore. "We have already released 60 per cent of the funds in this regard," Bidyut Baruah of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) told this correspondent. In this context, he said that the Centre is also exploring possibilities to encourage tube rose production in the region. "The demand for tube roses is very high across the globe and hence this region can explore the market," he said.

Courtesy: www.assamtribune.com, February 12, 2008

Back to Index

The Indian IT and BPO industry is expected to clock revenues of 64 billion dollars by the end of fiscal year 2008, registering a growth of 33 per cent, according to a study. The software and services exports are expected to reach 40.8 billion dollars, while the domestic market is expected to touch 23.2 billion dollars in FY08, the 'Strategic Review 2008' by IT industry body Nasscom said. It said the industry would also meet its target of 60 billion dollars software exports, and overall software and services revenues of 73-75 billion dollars by 2010. "The Indian IT industry has been rapidly evolving, the growth is on track to achieve, if not exceed the targets for 2010. The trends indicate that the domestic market is poised for growth with IT spends trending upwards, particularly by the government," Nasscom President Som Mittal said in a release. However, there are global macro economic challenges --talent, manpower and infrastructure issues -- that will need to be addressed, collectively, he added. The contribution of Indian technology sector to the GDP is expected to increase to 5 per cent in FY2008 from 1.2 per cent in 1998, Nasscom said. "The robust growth of the Indian IT-BPO industry by over 33 per cent in the current fiscal year reinforces the confidence of global corporations in India. As we move towards 2010, trends indicate that the industry is firmly poised for broad-based growth across industries and service lines," Nasscom Chairman Lakshmi Narayanan said. It is estimated that every rupee earned in the Indian IT-BPO sector induces nearly another rupee of economic spending in the rest of the Economy and every job created in the sector induces the creation of four more jobs in the Economy, Nasscom said.

Courtesy: www.financialexpress.com, February 11, 2008

Back to Index

With a rapidly developing scientific and technology base, India is fast emerging as a prominent hub of innovation R&D for global as well as local Indian manufacturing companies, speakers said at the Innovation Technologies for Manufacturing (ITM) 2008 Expo, here. The exhibition, which concluded today, displayed innovative technologies from 88 companies within the country and 100 overseas companies in sectors like automation, engineering technology, auto-components, auto accessories, agro and food processing, pharma, bio-technology, electronics, electrical engineering, energy and environment, packaging, information and communication technology among others. The Ministry of Food Processing is proposing to start special technoparks for food processing industry which will benefit farmers, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Food Processing, Government of India, Subodh Kant Sahai, said. Presently, around eight to ten per cent of food is being processed in India whereas abroad 70 to 80 per cent is being processed in overseas. India needs to make more investment in innovative technology, Sahai added. The All India Association of Industries also signed a MoU with the Department of Economics and Science, Government of Saarland (Germany) and with the head of Economic and Foreign Affairs Ministry, Government of Romania for fostering technological alliances.

Courtesy: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com, February 10, 2008

Back to Index

India's first eco-tourism society is scheduled to be launched soon and possibly at the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India's National Tourism Awards in January 2008. The aim of the society is to create awareness about eco-tourism, upgrading visitor experience through conservation, and extending financial and other benefits to the local community. Speaking exclusively to Express TravelWorld, Mandip Singh Soin, one of the founding members and president designate of the society and founder and managing director of Ibex Expeditions, said, "The society aims to guide the industry about operating in environmentally-fragile areas and to engage the local population in the entire process. We would like the society to play the job of an awakener, a guide and a watchdog. Our aim is to work towards harmonising all the elements of eco-tourism that will help in successfully running the projects, ensuring their sustainability, and concentrating on issues like local architecture, etc." The society will look at the possibility of introducing an environmental law course in association with the World Wildlife Fund, CII, PATA and other trade associations in India in the near future. The society will be open for all be it an association, individuals, states or corporates, including airlines. The society is keen to admit serious members and will ensure that the governing council of the society follows a stringent process of scrutinising every entrant. The society will conduct regular workshops and sessions with eminent environmentalists and eco-tourism gurus who would help the society and its members to contribute in the most valuable way. Further, it was decided that one member from the ministry of environment and one from the ministry of tourism, would be invited to be part of the governing council. This decision has been taken specifically to ensure that there is better co-ordination between the society and the key ministries.

Courtesy: www.expresstravelworld.com, January 08, 2008

Back to Index

The corporatisation of the realty sector has come as a windfall for young architectural grads who are reaping the dividends of an unprecedented demand from the industry. Freshers today are commanding salaries at least 3-4 times of their predecessors while hiring volumes too, have gone up manifold . In fact, so great is the demand that even expats are being wooed by the top guns of the industry. DLF, Unitech, Housing Development &Infrastructure (HDIL) and many other leading players have increased their team of architects by 4-5 times over the last couple of years, industry observers said. Even the IT sector is knocking on the doors of young professionals for CAD and architectural design outsourcing projects. "We have seen salaries offered in the range of Rs 3.5 lakh to 6.5 lakh. There is no dearth of opportunities with more and more new companies coming into the sector and great expansion plans of existing giants," says IIT-Kgp's vicepresident (technology students gymkhana) Kunal Kashyap. School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) director Ranjit Mitra said many planning and architecture grads and post-grads who'd earlier move to places like the Middle-East or Singapore are now choosing to stay back in India because of the exposure and packages available here. "Students are getting lucrative opportunities in planning and from property consultants. Salaries range anywhere between Rs 20,000-50,000 per month, a huge jump from even two-three years ago when Rs 8,000-10,000 was considered good," said Mr Mitra. The India experience is also helping architectural grads bag plum roles abroad.

Courtesy: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com, February 08, 2008

Back to Index

With their economies growing rapidly, China and India are playing increasingly large roles in business - not just as huge consumer markets, but as significant sources of global talent. China and India are poised to contribute 65 million and 142 million new workers respectively to the global workforce by 2020. Both countries offer large, educated, relatively low-cost workforces, and as the worldwide quest for talent continues, many see China and India as key elements in global workforce strategies. China's workforce brings a variety of strengths to the table beyond sheer size. The country's excellence in producing technical and engineering talent is well known, as is its relatively low-cost manufacturing workforce and 90% literacy rate. With the rapid opening up of the Chinese market, the country's workforce has shown that it has the ability to adapt quickly to changing business needs. And the Chinese government has invested heavily in infrastructure, logistics, and telecommunication networks to make it easy for foreign companies to access this talent. There are, of course, challenges in ensuring that China's supply of talent keeps up with burgeoning demand. For example, there has been a shortage of leadership and management talent, and that issue is being actively addressed through changes in the educational system. More schools have opened, and programs have been expanded to cover management skills. And the government has encouraged private investment in education, so that today there are more than 60 joint venture MBA programs in China, many involving top U.S. and European business schools. Beyond skills and training, the Chinese talent pool also provides some less tangible strengths, For example, the Chinese people have a track record of adapting products, processes, and ideas from other countries to meet their own needs. In addition, learning is an important part of Chinese culture, and multinational companies have found that people here are constantly seeking development opportunities. These factors are shaping a Chinese talent pool that will help companies build the agility and innovation needed to compete globally. On the other hand two traits characterise India's workforce: skill and experience. In the last few years, India's workforce has become known around the world through the country's offshore call-centre activities-but this is just one aspect of India's talent pool. Today, companies looking to India for talent are finding much broader opportunities than they did just a few years ago. India offers a large number of educated, skilled, English-speaking workers. Increasingly, companies have been drawing on the Indian workforce for quality and innovation, as well as for lower costs. In the offshoring sector, for example, companies are now relying on Indian resources for complex processes such as software development and business analytics, as well as the basic transactional work. Along the way, India has developed a growing cadre of managers, and has established the management practices that enable a competitive, effective workforce. A unique strength of the Indian workforce is its significant experience in global business. The offshoring industry has created a workforce that is familiar with the nuances of working across cultures. What's more, numerous skilled Indian workers have emigrated to other countries over the years-and now, many are returning to India to take advantage of the country's growing opportunities, bringing their global knowledge and experience with them. As India has pioneered offshoring and globalisation , the country's workforce has shown that it can support complex, sophisticated global businesses. In the years to come, companies worldwide will continue to draw on this experienced workforce as a vital resource in the ongoing quest for talent.

Talent paradox 1: Large population, insufficient talent pool
Though China and India have, over the years become global suppliers of talent with their own phenomenal growth being based on an endless labour supply and wage rates a fraction of those in the West, suddenly, this pool of talent doesn't look quite so vast and is no longer as inexpensive. The struggle for talent and sustainability is large and rapidly growing, and employees are increasingly looking for great career opportunities and a strong sense of accomplishment in their workplace. We are also living in a seller's job market, where employees and potential employees are actively pursued by other organisations offering extremely attractive opportunities and packages. Both countries now face a gruelling war for talent Both China and India are plagued by skill shortages. China faces a higher leadership crunch at 50% as compared to India at 26%, but India faces a higher shortage of specialist and technical skills. Client management skills shortage is higher in China and this could be to do with the communication and language issue that China faces.

Talent paradox 2 - Low cost country, increasingly expensive workforce
Workforce is becoming expensive in both markets - and at a time when both are under significant pressure to optimise costs. It would be limiting to think about India and China as destinations for cheap labour. India reported salary increases of 14.8 %, up marginally from 14.4 % in 2006. Salaries in China rose by 8.6 %, up from 8.3 % last year. While organisations are being driven to increase their spend on compensation as a result of the ongoing attraction and retention challenges they are facing in these two countries, many of them are reassessing their human resources strategies and broader business goals to ensure they are getting the most out of their talent and increasing productivity.

Talent paradox 3 - Abundant business opportunities, limited career opportunities
Not only do we have a shortage of skilled talent but talent is leaving the country too. The two top reasons for talent attrition in both China and India are cited as 'external inequity of pay' and 'limited career opportunities'. Odd, given that both India and China are experiencing high economic growth leading to abundant career opportunities and high salary increases. In 2007, India generated 11.3 million net new jobs on an average, while China generated 7 million jobs. It is also interesting to see that both China and India identify the same reasons in the same order. This is an indicator that the talent markets of both these countries are under similar pressures.

Courtesy: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com, February 08, 2008

Back to Index

Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, during his call on the Finland Prime Minister, Mr. Matti Vanhanen, informed that India is a vibrant economy and huge opportunities are available for doing business with India. India has a large skilled human resource base, which can be combined with Finland's technology and investment to create a win-win situation for both sides, he added. Shri Kamal Nath stated that initiative for cooperation in renewable energy sectors needs to be encouraged. The Commerce Minister also reiterated that India looks forward to early conclusion of comprehensive trade and investment negotiations with European Union (EU), as these agreements provide building blocks for successful economic relationship. During the interactions with Finland Prime Minister, Shri Kamal Nath underlined the areas of bilateral cooperation in the areas such as, energy including renewable & clean development mechanism, forestry & forest industries, information technology, civil aviation, environment, science & technology, air services, ports & shipping, culture, tourism and financial cooperation. As regards the multilateral trade, Shri Kamal Nath stated that India remains committed to a rule-based multilateral trading system and informed about the current state of play in the Doha Round. India has been engaging constructively and actively with other fellow member countries of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) towards achieving an early conclusion of the round. Bilateral trade between India and Finland during the year 2006-07 was to the tune of US $ 804 million as against US $ 782 million in 2005-06. The main exports to Finland were drugs, pharmaceuticals & fine chemicals, RMG cotton including accessories, manufactures of metals, coffee, machinery and instruments etc. while the main imports from Finland were electronic goods, machinery except electrical & electronics, computer software, paper board & manufactures, transport equipments etc. In the comparative list of countries for FDI approvals, Finland ranks 42nd and actual FDI inflows during the year 1991 to June 2007 was US $ 54.2 million.

Courtesy: www.fibre2fashion.com, February 8, 2008

Back to Index

The population below poverty line has come down with the rise in workers in unorganised sector, a report submitted by National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector said. In January 2005, the total employment in Indian economy was 457 million, of which the unorganised sector accounted for 395 million, or 86 per cent of total workers, the report submitted by the committee headed by MP Arjun Sen Gupta said. The total employment increased from 397 million to 457 million between 1999-2000 and 2004-2005. The Commission has estimated that in the organised sector, employment increased by 8.5 million while in the unorganised sector it increased by 8.6 million. The increased employment in unorganised sector has brought down the percentage of population below poverty line, increasing informalisation of employment in the formal sector, indicated the report. The report also mentioned about socio-economic plight of workers from unorganised sectors. Low level of education and poor access to land denies workers access to good jobs in organised sectors. Commission also found that 40 to 50 per cent of men and 81 to 87 per cent of women workers get wages below the standard minimum wages. Maharashtra government has organised a workshop at Pune on February 8 based on this report. "Action programme suggested by the report will be discussed by the state planning board, trade unions and social activists", Executive Chairman of Planning Board Ratnakar Mahajan said.

Courtesy: www.economictimes.indiatimes.com, February 05, 2008

Back to Index

The GDP growth has been revised to 9.6 per cent in 2006-07. This higher growth trajectory has been maintained despite high international prices of oil and food and turbulence due to sub-prime crises. The basic point is that the growth rate should be maintained around 9 per cent in 2007-08 and in subsequent years on medium term basis. India has the potential of becoming a developed country by the middle of this century, if not earlier. The Planning Commission has indicated that investment in infrastructure needs to be increased from 5 per cent to 9 per cent of the GDP in the 11th Plan period ~ say by about $500 billion. The government is taking initiatives in stimulating investment in infrastructure ~ power particularly ~ health and education and in improving agricultural productivity and connectivity. It is recognised that growth has to be inclusive and poverty alleviation measures are imperative. NREGS, Bharat Nirman etc. are commendable. But as the finance minister said, outlays have to be matched by outcomes. Besides, periodical MIS reports regarding implementation of projects, two Central government officers should be stationed in district collectorates to monitor implementation and regulate functioning of panchayats. This would contribute to money reaching target groups in a greater measure and improved outcomes. The GDP growth rate of 9.6 per cent is one of the highest in the world; the Indian economy has acquired considerable strength and buoyancy and it has the ability to overcome obstacles to growth as they manifest themselves. There is good economic governance and inflation has been brought down to around 4 per cent. The monetary authorities were also able to insulate the economy against the East Asian meltdown in 1997-98. The progress during the last three-four years has been heartening. As Sachin Chaudhuri, member PM's EAC, says, with a few more such years, we may be close to 40 per cent investment rate and that could yield us many years of strong growth ~ such as Japan had between 1955 and 1973, Korea between the mid-1960s and 1991 and China from 1978 to the present.

Courtesy: www.thestatesman.net, February 05, 2008

Back to Index

Undoubtedly, the GDP growth at 9.6 per cent is something to cheer about. However, seen in the context whether this has resulted in promotion of inclusive growth, there is nothing much to cheer about. India is a vast country where the rural areas are so to say cut away from cities and the fruits of development hardly reach them. The so-called "trickling effect" of development has not reached rural areas. Everyone in the UPA government knows that for the benefits to reach rural areas, connectivity is a must by way of pucca roads so that a two-way, mutually beneficial commerce and real rural progress can take place. It has been seen that more than sops by way of subsidies, infrastructure and connectivity usher in development and enhancement of quality of life in the rural areas. Economic growth achieved should give momentum to heavy investments in rural health scheme and education. Populist schemes like NREGS is no solution for development of rural areas. It is necessary to teach a person how to fish rather than give him fish on a platter by way of 100 days employment in a year and then leaving him high and dry to fend for himself.

Courtesy: www.thestatesman.net, February 4, 2008

Back to Index

The GDP growth at 9.6 per cent is definitely something to be cheerful about, both in the macro and micro economic senses. The balanced approach between macro-economic considerations and micro-level grass-roots effects, as undertaken consciously by the RBI, appears to be mature for the interest of a stable economy within a tolerable level of inflationary pressure between 3 to a maximum of 5 per cent. The GDP growth rate could have been higher with reductions in lending rates of banks, unbridled inflow of Foreign Institutional Investments, etc, thereby pumping huge liquidity into the economy and thus risking runaway inflation causing spiralling of price levels of commodities to the detriment of common people. Moderation of the GDP vis-a-vis inflationary risks is a prudent approach. It is increasingly observed that inflationary pressure has started rearing its head worldwide. The US economy with its currency of dollar, with which a good number of other countries are aligned economically, is presently in the vortex of impending recession in the wake of disaster of sub-prime lending mortgage loans. Further, rises in oil prices are also in the immediate horizon. In such a scenario, the RBI's conservative approach, backed by the Union finance minister, is not only prudent but sound in both the short and long terms. Finally, India is yet to evolve the environmentally friendly technology of production. As such, unbridled rises in GDP through increased productions will further add to the huge releases of greenhouse gases endangering the environment that are already assuming alarming proportions entailing uncomfortable changes in the natural environment.

Courtesy: www.thestatesman.net, February 04, 2008

Back to Index

NRI industrialist Lord Swaraj Paul has been adjudged as the second richest in the British Midlands with a family business worth 1.5 billion pounds (Rs 12,000 crore), according to a new Rich List. Lord Paul, British Ambassador for Overseas Business, comes next only to John Caudwell, founder of a mobile communications company, who is worth 1.65 billion pounds. According to The Birmingham Post Rich List , the meteoric rise of the Indian and Chinese economies and their insatiable demand for raw materials has pushed the price of steel through roof. "This has done no harm at all to Lord Paul of Marylebone's Black Country-based-Caparo Group," the report said. "Steel, engineering and property group Caparo, with its major regional office in Oldbury and a technology division on Wolverhampton Science Park, has posted profits of 55 million pounds on sales on 2.7 billion pounds, and continues to expand worldwide. Caparo's success has rocketed Lord Paul 14 places up The Birmingham Post Rich List." The report said that acquisitions and growth - in 2006 alone Caparo acquired no less than 22 companies - have taken the group's employee numbers to nearly 6,000. "Caparo is now made up of more than 40 companies operating on 60 sites in the UK, India, Spain, North America, Canada and Dubai. With business interests mainly centred on the manufacture of steel, automotive and engineering products, the group's other activities include materials testing, film distribution and bespoke furniture."

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, February 03, 2008

Back to Index