| |
IIM
Entrepreneurship Cell Joins Hands with
Singapore University
|
| |
|
N
S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial
Learning (NSRCEL) at the Indian Institute
of Management, Bangalore (IIMB) on Thursday
signed a memorandum of understanding with
Universitas 21 Global (U21Global), Singapore,
for launching a joint certificate programme
on Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise.
Targetted at entrepreneurs and owners
of family run business houses, the programme
is scheduled to commence by end of 2006,
S Sunderarajan, chairperson of NSRCEL
told reporters. "This is the first of
its kind programme being offered by any
management institute in the country. We
aim to provide new opportunities to learners
around the world to work collaboratively
in a learning environment that will help
them develop their understanding of global
issues," he said. This joint certificate
programme, collaboratively designed by
NSRCEL and U21Global, would be delivered
in a blended format comprising both online
sections and face-to-face classes. The
course, spread over four terms, will be
of 18 month duration. The candidates will
be selected through a national level entrance
test and interviews. Though there is no
strict qualification to enroll for this
programme, entrepreneurs with graduation
will be preferred. Initially 60 candidates
will be selected to undergo the programme
and later it will be offered simultaneously
to 1,000 persons, Sunderarajan said. The
course fee will be worked out based on
a survey being conducted by the NSRCEL.
Conducted through part-time study, the
programme would result in the award of
a joint post-graduate certificate in Entrepreneurship
and Family Enterprise and will bear the
crests of both Indian Institute of Management,
Bangalore and Universitas 21 Global. Michael
Goldberg, chief academic officer, Universitas
21 Global said, "Start-up and family-run
businesses today require modern management
skills to compete with professionally
run enterprises. This programme is specially
designed for building their managerial
and analytical skills so that they can
not only survive, but thrive, in today's
fierce globally competitive business environment."
Courtesy:
Business Standard, December 23, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
The
BPO Revolution, Now is the Time for KPOs
|
| |
|
The
term KPO stands for Knowledge Process
Outsourcing and promises to be the next
big thing in the outsourcing sector. BPO
sector has been always looked at, by all
as a quick-money area. Even well educated
people like IT graduates move to this
sector just because of the monetary aspects.
KPO is a new sector which promises to
provide long-term jobs for intellectual,
analytical and knowledgeable people with
a pay scale much higher than the BPO sector.
India has proved time and again that it
is a pool of intellectually and creatively
brilliant individuals. But even erudite
people face a number of obstacles to get
a well paid, decent job of their interest
and caliber. Though being capable of much
more because of this they move to the
BPO sector, which seems to be an easier
and safer choice. The basic difference
between BPO and KPO is that BPO mainly
deals with customer care and technical
support through communication, transaction
processing, telemarketing etc. KPO is
off-shoring of knowledge intensive business
processes that require specialized domain
expertise. It involves high-end processes
like valuation, research, investment researches,
patent filing, legal and insurance claim
etc. For such tasks KPO requires people
with a good educational background. According
to Sameer Walia, Director of The Smart
Cube, "There is a vast pool of people
who work for us include MBAs, CAs, economists
and engineers. In The Smart Cube, employees
get to work on high-end research for leading
clients. It is comparable to the work
done at leading international consulting
companies. The difference is that it is
done out of India. Those with good education
and analytical abilities can look forward
to a fantastic career in KPOs." According
to a report by 'Global Sourcing Now' the
KPO business is supposed to reach up to
$17 billion by 2010 of which at least
70% or $12 billion is to be outsourced
to India! There will be over 3 lakh new
jobs from the current just 25,000. Chennai
and Bangalore have a strong advantage
of being the main KPO centres in the country.
Both cities are near education hubs. They
have large number of graduates with specialized
analytical skills, superior English, and
IT acumen. They also have a natural flair
for mathematics, science and research.
High-end outsourcing work has very good
payouts and use Indian skills and brains
for world-class jobs. WPP and Group M
have also announced a data analytics knowledge
process outsourcing entity, Meritus. It
will work from Covansys' office in Bangalore.
GVK Biosciences has a strong KPO centre
in Chennai and Delhi. It is providing
R&D services to 20 pharma and 7 biotech
companies.
Courtesy:
Hindustan Times, December 23, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
4
Indians Among World's Top 50 Business
Gurus
|
| |
|
Four
Indians figure amongst the world's top
50 management gurus, according to The
Thinkers 50 2005 - a ranking by the European
Foundation for Management Development.The
four Indians on the elite list are University
of Michigan professor C K Prahalad (ranked
3rd), CEO coach Ram Charan (ranked 24th),
Tuck Business School professor Vijay Govindarajan
(ranked 30th), and Harvard professor Rakesh
Khurana (ranked 33rd). Michael Porter,
who heads Harvard Business School's Institute
for Strategy and Competitiveness, has
been voted the world's topmost living
management guru. Bill Gates, the co-founder
of the world's largest software company
Microsoft, is considered the second most
influential management guru in the world.
The list names only four women amongst
the top 50 business gurus. INSEAD professor
Renée Mauborgne is ranked 15th, followed
by Harvard professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter
at 19th slot, London Business School's
Lynda Gratton at 34th position and the
No Logo author Naomi Klein at 46. Scott
Adams, cartoonist and creator of comic
strip Dilbert, has been ranked the 12th
most influential management guru. GE's
former chief executive Jack Welch, marketing
expert Philip Kotler, Virgin boss Richard
Branson, Dell Computers founder Michael
Dell too find a place in the list. The
Thinkers 50 ranking is based on votes
of businessmen, consultants, scholars,
and students. Peter Drucker, who died
on November 11, had been ranked the world's
top business guru for the past two years.
The European Foundation for Management
Development says that the list would also
have included London Business School's
Sumantra Ghoshal had he been alive.
Courtesy:
www.rediff.com, December 22, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
'Organised
Retail Industry to Touch Rs 1,09,500 cr
by 2010'
|
| |
|
The
size of the organized retail industry
in India is expected to rise over three-fold
to touch Rs 1,09,500 crore by 2010 against
Rs 35,000 crore in 2004-2005, says a study
done by a Crisil subsidiary. "Organized
retailing in the country is expected to
triple its revenue by 2010 entailing an
investment of approximately Rs 3,100 crore
per year," Crisil information Services
Ltd (Cris Infac) head research Nagarajan
Narasimhan told reporters. The industry
is following high growth trends and is
expected to grow at 25-30 per cent per
annum in next five to six years, he said.
Food and Grocery revenues in the organized
sector will grow the fastest, multiplying
five times, taking their share to 30 per
cent from present one per cent, he said.
The report suggests that retail opportunity
in metros is six times more than that
of small cities. "Share of mini metros
is estimated at 85 percent of the total
organized retail. While the penetration
in these cities is still estimated at
14 percent, "Narasimhan said. Cris Infac
CEO Ajay Dwivedi said the report favours
the hypermarket retail format against
the other formats including department,
food and apparel stores.
Courtesy:
The Hindustan Times, December 22, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
India
5th in Cross Border Deals: KPMG
|
| |
|
India
was the fifth most targeted nation for
cross-border deals and the seventh most
active acquirer in Asia in 2005, according
to a KPMG report on mergers and acquisitions
(M&A) based on data supplied by Dealogic.
According to the report, India's contribution
to the global M&A activity was about 1%
by deal value - 394 deals valued at $10
billion, during 2005. There was a 52%
rise in the number of deals over last
year. Globally, 24,806 M&A deals with
a combined value of $2,059 billion have
so far been completed this year. The Indian
M&A scenario has seen an inflection point
in its upward trend, seeing volatile movement
between 2000 and 2004, reaching a high
of 440 deals valued at $9.75 billion in
2000 and falling to a low of 259 deals
valued at $5,722 billion in 2004, the
KPMG report states. "What is particularly
pleasing is the equally strong upturn
in deal numbers which provides the bedrock
for a vibrant M&A marketplace," KPMG India
country managing director Ian Gomes said.
Meanwhile, a JP Morgan report on M&A stated
that India contributed 5% of overall Asia
M&A volumes this year and strong interest
in Asian assets, abundance of capital
and limited supply of target companies
will drive prices up. Among the sectors,
the KPMG report said that the Indian utility
and energy sector grabbed the top slot
by deal value followed by the telecom
sector. The energy sector saw 11 deals
valued at $2.23 billion including the
largest deal of acquisition of Dabhol
power by Ratnagiri Gas & Power. In 2004,
the energy sector had witnessed 16 deals
valued at $350 million in 2004.
Courtesy:
The Financial Express: December 20, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
IT
Exports Set to Log in 32 per cent Growth
|
| |
|
The
Indian Information Technology (IT) sector
is expected to touch the US$ 22 billion
mark in export revenue by March 2006,
compared with US$ 17 billion in 2004-05,
clocking a 32 per cent growth rate. The
hardware sector, however, is expected
to grow by a mere 15 per cent to cross
the Rs 10,000-crore milestone in export
revenue by March 2006 against Rs 8,750
crore in 2004-05. On the domestic production
front, IT and electronics together are
expected to touch Rs 1,90,000-crore revenue
in 2005-06, compared with 1,47,610 crore
last year, registering a growth of 29
per cent. "Together, domestic production
revenues of the IT and electronics sector
are estimated to grow by 29 per cent to
Rs 1,90,000 crore by March 2006," senior
government officials told Business Standard.
Of the total IT & electronics revenues,
while the hardware sector will grow by
20 per cent to reach Rs 60,000 crore in
2005-06, compared with Rs 50,000 crore
last year, the software sector is estimated
to grow by 33 per cent to Rs 1,30,000
crore against Rs 97,860 crore last year.
"The hardware sector lags behind the software
sector primarily due to poor infrastructure
and a small domestic market which makes
its production a less attractive proposition.
The sector has great potential if the
three issues are addressed by the government,"
said Vinnie Mehta, director, Manufacturers
Association of Information Technology.
The software industry is also estimated
to employ an additional 250,000 staff
in 2005-06, taking the total number of
employees to 1.3 million, compared with
1.045 million in 2004-05. "The IT industry
is likely to increase its employee strength
to 1.3 million by March 2006 against 1.045
million in March 2005," Mehta added. Estimates
are that the industry is likely to add
another 900,000 employees in two years,
taking the total employee strength to
2.2 million by March 2008.
Courtesy:
Business Standard: December 20, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
Bharat
Billionaires Beat China: Forbes
|
| |
|
India
is getting wealthier! At least some Indians
are, according to the Forbes' annual 40
richest Indians list, which saw the number
of billionaires double since last year.
There are as many as "27 billionaires,
which is more than double (of) last year's
count," Forbes latest data said. With
a cut off net worth of 590 million dollars
to feature in the list, as many as seven
new Indians made it to the list of the
40 richest, Forbes said. Even more interesting
is that the collective net worth of the
40 richest Indians outstrips that of Asian
rivals China by as much as four times.
According to Forbes' data, the collective
net worth of Indian billionaires stood
at 106 billion dollars as against just
26 billion dollars of their Chinese counterparts.
When it comes to the minimum net worth
of the their wealthiest citizens in the
top 40 list, India's is 590 million dollars,
while that of China is worth just 321
million dollars. In terms of number of
billionaires also, India leads China by
a mile with 27 billionaires as compared
to just 10 of the latter. The figures
give India the "bragging rights" considering
the fact that China's GDP stands at 7.3
trillion dollars with a growth rate of
9.5 per cent as against India's 3.3 trillion
dollars and a growth rate of 7.3 per cent.
In this year's list of the richest Indian,
steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal continued
to lead the list with a net worth of 20
billion dollar, followed by Wipro's Azim
Premji with 11 billion dollars.
Courtesy:
www.financialexpress.com, December 19,
2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
India
a Major Player in Global Start - Ups
|
| |
|
India
is playing a major role in a growing trend
of new companies that are launched as
global businesses right from the beginning,
a media report said. These businesses,
often in technology sector, set up headquarters
in Silicon Valley to take advantage of
funding and ideas, but have major operations
in places like Bangalore, giving them
access to overseas markets as well as
an increasingly innovative pool of talent.
India, with its booming tech economy and
wealth of engineering talent, has become
one of the biggest participants in the
'global garage', the San Jose Mercury
Newspaper reported on Sunday. In the past
three years, venture capitalists have
invested more than $400 million in US-based
start-ups (new businesses) operating in
India, according to TSJ Media, a VC tracking
firm in Chennai. According to Ash Lilani,
head of global markets for Silicon Valley
Bank, the model was used in Israel five
or six years ago. In the past 15 months,
Silicon Valley Bank has helped as many
as 50 valley start-ups set up offices
in India, he told the paper. Managing
the far-flung business is not simple,
but companies have no choice, as India
and China become major economies. However,
Rafiq Dossani, senior research scholar
at Stanford University and an expert on
India's tech explosion, has some doubts
about the global start-up concept. "You
can't have 10 people sharing ideas --
the serendipity you have from people sitting
around talking," Dossani said. "It can't
be planned through a WebEx call."
Courtesy:
Hindustan Times, December 19, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
Sky's
The Limit: Aviation Industry is in Take-Off
Mode
|
| |
|
The
writing was on the wall much before the
figures came in. Airports are bursting
at the seams, tickets are no longer available
when you want them most and the infrastructure
itself is clogged. So it does not come
as a surprise that the domestic aviation
industry is waking up to its second straight
year of double-digit growth. Sample the
'05 statistics so far: domestic travel
shot up 25%, while international traffic
rose 17%. At around 20%, last year was
the first big year of growth for the airline
industry after the rout it faced post-9/11.
The industry grew by a paltry 3% in '02
and 7% in '03. Indicators suggest that
the trend is expected to continue next
year as well, given the new found appetite
for air travel, low-priced tickets and
better connectivity. Close to 25m passengers
took to the air during the year and since
the penetration level is still low, the
sky is the limit, says Ankur Bhatia, MD,
Amadeus India. It's not as if only the
low-cost airlines (LCA) grew this year.
In fact, the new generation carriers grew
less than the 35% registered by the domestic
legacy carriers like Indian, Jet Airways
and Air Sahara, Mr Bhatia said. "The projections
for the next year look healthy as we are
buoyed by the success of the low cost
airlines and the sizeable plane orders
placed by the likes of IndiGo, Kingfisher
and Air-India," he added. Kapil Kaul,
CEO India and Middle East, Centre for
Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), agrees.
"CAPA foresees that the Indian aviation
industry will continue to grow by about
25% every year till the year '10 and add
5m passengers every year till then. The
number of air travellers will grow up
to 50m by '10 and of this 50% will travel
by low cost airlines," he said. International
travel will also grow by 18-20%, he said.
As regards the trends to look out for
in '06, Mr Kaul says there could be some
consolidation in the industry and the
low-cost space will be dominated by three
to four players with a fleet size of 60-70
planes.
Courtesy:
The Economic Time, December 18, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
It's
Official: Tata Steel Buys Thai Co For
$404m
|
| |
|
Tata
Steel, on Thursday, announced the acquisition
of Thailand-based Millennium Steel (MSC)
in a deal valued at $404m. ET had reported
in its Thursday edition that the deal,
amounting to $400m, will be announced
on December 15. The equity value of MSC
is approximately $175m, while the company's
debt has been valued at $229m. Tata Steel,
the largest steel manufacturer in India
in the private sector, informed the BSE
that it has signed an agreement with Cementhai
Holding Company, which is a Siam Cement
Group Company, to acquire approximately
40% of the former's holding in MSC for
$73m. According to the terms of the agreement,
Tata Steel has to purchase an additional
24.9% for approximately $60m by fresh
issue of equity shares in MSC, subject
to shareholders' approval. The company
will also make an open offer to the shareholders
of MSC. Tata Steel shares were down 2.6%
at Rs 368.4 on the BSE on Thursday. While
Tata Steel will first acquire 40% from
Cementhai Holding Company, its equity
holding in the company will increase to
55% of the enlarged equity after infusing
the additional 24.9%, giving the company
a majority stake in MSC. Following the
equity infusion, the company will make
an open offer for the remaining 45% as
Thai regulations require the acquirer
to make an open offer for the entire remaining
holding, unlike 20% as per Sebi takeover
guidelines. Standard Chartered Bank was
the exclusive financial advisor to Tata
Steel on the transaction. White & Case,
Bangkok and AZB & Partners, Mumbai, were
the legal advisers to the transaction,
while Deloitte & Touche Bangkok were the
accountants to the transaction. MSC was
formed through a merger of three operating
companies - The Siam Iron and Steel Company,
The Siam Construction Steel Company and
NTS Steel Group - in '02, and is now the
dominant steel producer in Thailand.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, December 17, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
30
Car Models to be Launched in India in
2006
|
| |
|
Come
new year, the model line-up on Indian
roads will be hotter than the ramps of
Milan and Paris. The car industry is planning
to roll out some of its hottest debutantes
over the next 12 months. Calendar 2006
will be chockablock with at least 30 new
launches, spanning everything from affordable
hatchbacks to mid-size models to super
luxury high-end cars and SUVs. On the
anvil are brand new models, platform variants,
next generation avatars and debutante
badges. Here's what the line-up will look
like: 2006 will kick off with the Audi
A4 launch in January followed by the Q7
SUV in June-July and the RF4 by the year-end.
Also due in the first quarter is the Aveo
launch from General Motors. GMI will roll
out the Aveo in both hatch and notch versions
giving premium compact cars such as Swift
and Getz a run for their volumes. Also
due from General Motors-a sporty variant
of the Chevy Optra to add to its existing
line-up. GM, of course, won't be the only
badge to roll-out volume debutantes. Maruti
is planning a premium mid-size car this
year to be positioned above the Baleno.
And with the diesel plant up and running,
Swift will roll-out with a diesel option
giving Indica some tough competition.
Arch rival Hyundai will also roll-out
a premium mid-size model. The Verna, due
in the third quarter of calendar 2006,
will be positioned between the Accent
and the Elantra to offer the just-launched
Ford Fiesta some stiff competition. The
company will also launch the next generation
Getz facelift, but only in early 2007.
Adding to the mad rush for mid-size marketshare
will be the Honda Civic, due mid-2006.
The Civic, which will be in the Rs 9-10
lakh category, will give some competition
to Toyota Corolla and Skoda Octavia. Skoda,
for its part, is planning two new Octavia
variants on the VW A5 platform that will
offer the range some more variety. But
the real McCoy from Aurangabad will be
the much-awaited Fabia, due for launch
late-2006. While local autocos M&M and
Tata Motors are planning facelifts of
their existing models this year, Toyota
is likely to roll in the Fortuner SUV
on its IMV platform to give the Innova
some company. Ford too is likely to bring
its Focus sedan, positioned between the
Fusion and the Mondeo in the increasingly
crowded lower-D segment.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times: December 16, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
Auto
Spares Exports Hit US$ 1 Billion in Fiscal
'04
|
| |
|
Some
high-profile global auto components dealers
have set their sights on India. The US-based
Textron Fastening Systems is one of the
market leaders in fastening and assembly
products, while Precision Castparts is
a diversified manufacturer of complex
metal components and products for the
aerospace, power generation, automotive,
general industrial and other markets.
The Canada-based Magna International is
a supplier of technologically-advanced
automotive systems, components and complete
modules. It is a big supplier of automotive
systems and components for Original Equipment
Manufacturers (OEMs). With 60,000 employees
working at 160 sites in 28 countries and
annual sales of E10.7bn, France-based
Faurecia is a big name in the automotive
industry. According to a leading Delhi-based
components maker, "Since Tier I suppliers
control the global components industry
the cost advantage should be leveraged
into attracting these global players to
set up manufacturing bases in India. However,
low-cost labour is not a factor for long-term
competitiveness as improvement in scale,
quality and technology in critical processes
are necessary to sustain cost competitiveness."
The prospect of exports from India is
also a major attraction. The global majors
are interested in exporting back low-cost
good quality products to their global
factories and other markets to reduce
overall costs, said industry sources.
Exports of auto components from India
have grown at a compounded growth rate
of 19% over the past six years. During
fiscal '04, the industry achieved a milestone
of $1bn worth of exports.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times: December 16, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
India-China
Trade to Touch US$ 20 Billion by 2008
|
| |
|
Buoyed
by the progress in their economic and
political relations, India and China have
agreed to speed up resolution of long-standing
border disputes and push up bilateral
trade to over US$ 20 billion by 2008.
"I had very good discussions with Chinese
Premiere Wen Jiabao. We feel the negotiations
(on resolving border dispute) should be
expedited. I think it is possible to move
forward at a faster pace," Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh told accompanying journalists
while returning home last night after
a four-day visit to Kuala Lumpur to attend
the Asean and the East Asian summits.
The first meeting of the special representatives
for border talks were held earlier this
year and the next would be held in January,
the Prime Minister said. Singh, who had
a detailed bilateral meeting with Wen
Jiabao at Kuala Lumpur, said that as the
border dispute was a difficult problem,
a deadline could not be set for its resolution.
The fundamental principles for resolving
the border dispute was mutually agreed
upon during the visit of Wen to India
in April. India had made it clear at that
time that the resolution should be a package
deal and that there could be no sectoral
approach. Emphasising on the need to strengthen
bilateral economic co-operation to realise
its vast potential, Singh said the two
sides agreed to push the ever-growing
bilateral trade from the present level
of $15 million annually to over $20 million
by 2008, he said. The Indian Prime Minister
said the joint working group set up to
explore the possibility of a Sino-Indian
preferential trade agreement has submitted
its recommendation.
Courtesy:
Business Standard: December 16, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
Indian
Hotels Buys Sydney's W Hotel For US$ 27
Million
|
| |
|
The
Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL), which
runs the Taj group, has bought a property
in Sydney for US$ 27 million from Harilela
Group of Hong Kong, the company said on
Wednesday. The acquisition of the 100-room
property called the W Hotel marks the
entry of the Taj group in the Australian
market, said a senior company official.
The property is now operated by Starwood
Pacific Hotels under its `W' brand. Taj
Hotels will re-brand and manage the hotel
from early February 2006. The group is
finalising details of positioning the
property, the official said. The acquisition,
the company's first in Australia, will
be financed with funds raised through
its FCCB issue. Of the $150-million raised
so far, the hotel has unused funds of
$112 million. Addressing a press conference
here on Wednesday, Mr Anil Goel, Senior
Vice-President, Finance, IHCL, said the
company has bought out the entire stake
of Samsara, the company that owned the
hotel. The offshore company is owned by
the Harilela Group. IHCL has been rapidly
expanding its overseas presence to take
the Taj brand international, and, thus,
create brand awareness in its key markets.
In the current year alone, IHCL has expanded
in the US, taking over the management
of The Pierre Hotel in New York in July.
It has also signed management contracts
for leisure properties in Malaysia (Rebak
Island Marina Berhard) and Dubai (Taj
Exotica Resort and Spa, Palm Island) this
year. The Taj group has also expressed
its intention of setting up properties
in China, Russia, and Singapore among
other emerging destinations. With the
acquisition of the Australian Hotel, the
Taj now has 18 international properties
spread across the US, the UK, Africa,
West Asia and the Far East. Besides, it
operates 56 hotels in 39 cities in the
country.
Courtesy:
The Hindu Business Line: December 15,
2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
Manufacturing
Sectors Post 'Impressive' Growth
|
| |
|
The
domestic manufacturing sector reported
impressive growth for the April-September
period of the current year compared to
the corresponding period last year, says
an ASCON-CII survey conducted recently.
Of the total 140 manufacturers sectors
in the country reporting production, 27
sectors recorded growth rate of more than
20 per cent, according to the survey.
Forty-three sectors recorded a growth
rate of 10-20 per cent and 50 sectors
registered growth of up to10 per cent.
Twenty sectors reported negative growth,
according to the survey. Cast iron, pig
iron, sponge iron, switchgears, electric
motors, machine tools, microwave ovens,
drugs and pharmaceuticals and cellular
services sector, among others, recorded
growth of more than 20 per cent, according
to the survey. Paints, capacitors, auto
components, precision tubes, industrial
gases, transmission line towers, motorcycles
and alcoholic beverage sectors, among
others, recorded growth of 10-20 per cent,
according to the survey. It says that
the Indian manufacturing industry is facing
a slowdown on the export front due to
high domestic demand. The latest survey
indicates that 14 sectors (against 19
last year) have shown growth rate of above
20 per cent in exports. It says that unequal
value added tax rates in different States,
high input prices, lengthy procedures
for obtaining export benefits and unrestricted
second-hand goods import are restricting
the potential growth in the domestic manufacturing
industry.
Courtesy:
The Hindu Business Line, December 15,
2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
'Medical
Tourism to Attract 1 Million Visitors
by 2010'
|
| |
|
The
Ministry of Tourism has taken several
steps to promote the country as a major
health destination to attract an additional
one million medical tourists by 2010,
the Minister of State for Tourism, Ms
Renuka Chowdhury, said here, on Wednesday.
Addressing a meeting of the Consultative
Committee on Tourism, Ms Chowdhury said
that these arrivals could bring in extra
foreign exchange worth Rs 5,000-10,000
crore. The Ministry was also working on
a campaign, soon to be launched in the
overseas market, to project India as an
attractive medical tourism destination,
the Minister said. Besides, the Government
has also set up several expert committees
to sort out issues regarding medical insurance
and further human resource development
in the medical tourism area, Ms Chowdhury
said. In addition, tour operators have
been advised to include Ayurveda health
destinations in their marketing ventures,
especially in view of increasing the popularity
of Ayurveda in the West, she added.
Courtesy:
The Hindu Business Line, December 15,
2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
Tata
Steel to Buy Thai Millennium For US$ 400
Million
|
| |
|
India's
largest private steel producer, Tata Steel
Ltd., has struck a deal to buy Thailand's
Millennium Steel PCL for about US$ 400
million, a source at the Indian company
told Reuters on Thursday. Tata Steel will
spell out details at a news conference
in Kolkata at 12:30 p.m. (0700 GMT), the
source who did not want to be identified
said. Tata Steel, which acquired Singapore's
NatSteel Ltd. last year giving it downstream
steel processing plants in China and Thailand,
had been searching for more assets in
Asia as part of its $23 billion expansion
programme over the next 12 to 15 years.
Millennium was formed in 2002 by the merger
of two steel units of Siam Cement, Thailand's
largest industrial conglomerate, and the
N.T.S. Steel Group. The company has a
capacity to make about 2 million tonnes
of wire rods a year, a newspaper had earlier
reported. In October Tridibesh Mukherjee,
deputy managing director of Tata Steel,
had said downstream assets would help
the company use semi-finished steel from
Tata's plants in India and convert it
into products such as steel sheet for
the auto sector or wire used in construction.
Tata Steel has announced plans to set
up two new plants in India and expand
its existing plants to take its steel
making capacity to about 34 million tonnes
over the next few years.
Courtesy:
Reuters.com: December 15, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
TCS
Has Highest Market Cap Among IT Companies
|
| |
|
In
the continuing race between IT leaders,
the balance has once again tilted in favour
of software major Tata Consultancy Services,
which managed to snatch the top slot in
terms of market capitalisation on Wednesday.
The Tata group's entity moved ahead with
a market capitalisation of US$ 17 billion
as compared to Infosys's US$ 17.1 billion.
The share price of TCS gained 1.21 per
cent to end at Rs 1,688 while Infosys
lost 2 per cent to close the day at Rs
2,885.80. TCS now occupies the fourth
position in terms of market capitalisation
after ONGC, Reliance Industries and NTPC
in that order. After crossing 9,300 levels
in morning deals, the benchmark index,
Sensex ended the day lower at 9,241 levels.
Leading the pack of losers at the Sensex
was Gujarat Ambuja Cements. The counter
slipped 3 per cent. Index heavyweights
-- ONGC, ACC, Reliance Industries, Satyam
and HLL also ended the day weak. While
the biggest gainers were HDFC Bank, Dr
Reddys Laboratories, Tata Steel and ICICI
Bank logged smart gains.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times: December 15, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
Wipro
Ranked as Top Offshore Vendor
|
| |
|
According
to a new survey, Wipro Technologies, the
global IT services division of Wipro Limited
has been ranked as a top offshore vendor
in the global delivery of infrastructure
management. The survey has been conducted
by Forrester Research, an independent
technology and market research company
that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking
advice about technology's impact on business
and consumers. Forrester evaluated Wipro's
current offering and strategy against
eight Indian vendors and five global vendors
providing global delivery infrastructure
management services and reported that
Wipro emerged as a 'strong performer'
and placed ahead of other Indian service
providers evaluated in the Forrester Wave.
Wipro received high scores in the areas
of vision and productivity improvements,
offshore/nearshore staff and infrastructure
revenues. GK Prasanna, Senior Vice President
- Technology Infrastructure Services,
said, "Forrester's ranking of Wipro is
reflective of the significant investments
we have been making in providing our customers
with a state-of-the-art managed services
environment that includes advanced features
like 'password vault', 'sick-system only
access' and 'business impact reporting'
that enables our clients to see the live
business impact of IT services on a 24x7
basis. These features not only help us
to improve efficiencies and reliability
but also reduce total cost of ownership
for our customers." Wipro recently unveiled
its Next Generation 'Global Command Centre'
(GCC), the remote managed services hub
at Bangalore. Set up at a cumulative investment
of over $5 million in new generation technology
and tool sets, the GCC provides Wipro
customers a technology agnostic, secure
managed services environment.
Courtesy:
Hindustan Times, December 13, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
TCS
to Open GDC in Brazil for ABN Amro
|
| |
|
Country's
largest software exporter Tata Consultancy
Services will set up a global delivery
centre in Brazil by March next year to
execute part of an outsourcing deal worth
$200 million with ABN Amro. "We have just
set up a GDC at Luxemberg and will set
up another one in Sao Paulo, Brazil to
undertake part of the ABN Amro outsourcing
deal before March next year," CEO, TCS
S Ramadorai said. The company is also
executing work on the ABN Amro deal at
its Mumbai and Bangalore centres, he said.
In one of its biggest outsourcing deals
ever, the Dutch banking major ABN Amro
signed up three Indian technology companies,
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys
and Patni Computers along with US groups
IBM and Accenture for a 5-year deal to
manage and develop its systems. The deal
is reported to be priced at a significant
$2.2 billion (Euro 1.8 billion). TCS has
also embarked upon a massive hiring spree
where it plans to hire another 7000 professionals
in the next two quarter over the current
fiscal. A similar number of people were
hired by TCS in the past two quarters.
So in all there are plans to hire 13,500
people for its domestic centres in the
current fiscal. Other than this the company
is hiring 2000 professionals directly
for its overseas centres and will hire
3000 professionals from its various acquisitions
in the last few months. A total of 5000
professionals will be hired for overseas
operations this fiscal, he said.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, December 13, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
Satyam
Enters Into Alliance With Chinese Company
|
| |
|
MUMBAI:
Satyam Computer Services has entered into
a strategic partnership with eBaoTech,
China-based provider of new generation
insurance core software solutions. Through
this partnership, the companies will work
together to market each other's software
globally, the company informed the Bombay
Stock Exchange. Satyam Computer will tap
APAC and Europe to expand its business
opportunities, through the partnership,
and expects a significant growth.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, December 13, 2005
Back
to Index
|
| |
RIL
to Build India's Largest SEZ
|
| |
|
Industrial
mega corporation Reliance Industries Ltd
on Monday signed a deal to build what
will be India's largest private sector
infrastructure project. A memorandum of
understanding to build the new 25,000
Acre SEZ (special economic zone) was signed
here in the presence of Reliance chairman,
Mr Mukesh Ambani and chief minister Bhupinder
Singh Hooda. The RIL chairman is confident
that "the unprecedented and sheer scale
of the twenty-five-thousand acre Special
Economic Zone will have globally competitive
infrastructure and will lure the world's
biggest industries to Haryana." He said
the objective will be to compete with
other Asian industrial hubs including
Dubai, Singapore and Malaysia. The new
SEZ - to be built by Reliance in partnership
with the state-owned Haryana State Industrial
Development Corporation (HSIDC) - will
have a capital cost outlay of Rs 25,000
crores. Mr Ambani said his company was
prepared to raise this to Rs 40,000 crores,
if necessary. Though the site of the venture
has yet not been revealed, sources in
the Haryana government said the Reliance-Haryana
SEZ is expected to have a vantage location
close to Delhi. Mr Ambani said a 60-day
techno-economic study would be undertaken
jointly with HSIDC to finalise the location
of the venture. He, however, refused to
respond to queries on whether HSIDC's
own 3000 acre SEZ at Gadi Harsaru (near
Gurgaon) would sought to merged with his
project. Mr Hooda, who was present at
Monday's MoU signing in Chandigarh, said
the project would prove a major milestone
in India's industrial development and
would buffet his government's commitment
to make Haryana the number one state in
the country. He said the project, when
complete, was expected to generate 4 lakh
new jobs. Mr Ambani said, besides partnering
in building world-class infrastructure
| |
