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Infrastructure,
schools key for India growth - Montek
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India
can sustain average 8.5 percent annual
economic growth if it improves infrastructure
and education sectors, and expands
farm output faster, a senior government
official said on Wednesday. "I am
not saying 8.5 percent growth is a
foregone conclusion," Montek Singh
Ahluwalia, the deputy chairman of
India's Planning Commission, told
a conference organised by Fortune
magazine in the Indian capital. "It
depends on improving infrastructure
and the education sector. Also, if
we can do (better) on agriculture."
Courtesy:
http://in.reuters.com, October 31,
2007
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India's
next step should be to make Mumbai
an IFC: Paulson
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The
biggest opportunity for India lies
in Mumbai emerging as International
Financial Centre, said US secretary
of treasury Henry M Paulson at the
Fortune Global Forum. Speaking at
the two-day forum, Paulson was responding
to the session moderator, Thomas Friedman
(NYT columnist) on the question of
opportunities and challenges for India.
He said that India has made significant
progress in its markets - for instance,
equity and insurance markets - and
now it needs to build infrastructure,
create an investment climate and continue
to relax regulation restrictions.
"In India, sectors which have been
de-regulated like airlines, telecom
and software are doing very well."
Paulson's response has revived the
speculation made by the Percy Mistry-led
High Powered Expert Committee on Mumbai
as an IFC, submitted in April this
year. Speaking to The Indian Express,
a member of the HPEC agreed with Paulson
and added that the next sector, which
needs de-regulation, is the financial
sector. "The de-regulation of financial
sector and making Mumbai an international
financial centre will have massive
impact on being able to fund India's
infrastructure needs," he said. Chalking
out a time frame for such a possibility
in near future, he said, "if there
is political will, in one or two years,
Mumbai can become an IFC. A feasible
strategy can be worked out to put
into action 58 guidelines as envisaged
by the high powered committee's report."
Courtesy:
www.indianexpress.com, October 31,
2007
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Mukesh
Ambani becomes world's richest man
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Billionaire
Mukesh Ambani on Monday became the
richest person in the world, surpassing
American software czar Bill Gates,
Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim
Helu and famous investment guru Warren
Buffett, courtesy the bull run in
the stock market. Following a strong
share price rally on in his three
group companie, India's most valued
firm Reliance Industries, Reliance
Petroleum and Reliance Industrial
Infrastructure Ltd, the net worth
of Mukesh Ambani rose to $63.2 billion
(Rs 2,49,108 crore). In comparison,
the net worth of both Gates and Slim
is estimated to be slightly lower
at around $62.29 billion each, with
Slim leading among the two by a narrow
margin. Warren Buffett, earlier the
third richest in the world, also dropped
one position with a net worth of about
$56 billion.
Ambani's
wealth of about Rs 2,49,000 crore
includes about Rs 2,10,000 crore from
RIL (50.98 per cent stake), Rs 37,500
crore from RPL (37.5 per cent) and
Rs 2,100 crore from RIIL (46.23 per
cent). Slim's wealth has been calculated
on the basis of his stake in companies
like America Movil (30 per cent),
Carso Global (82 per cent), Grupo
Carso (75 per cent), Inbursa (67 per
cent), IDEAL (30 per cent) and Saks
Inc (10 per cent). According to information
available with the US and Mexican
stock exchanges where these companies
are listed, Slim currently holds shares
worth a total of $62.2993 billion,
with more than half coming from Latin
American mobile major America Movil.
Slim is closely followed by Gates
with a net worth of $62.29 billion
currently. Earlier last month, US
business magazine Forbes had named
Gates as the richest American with
a net worth of $59 billion, calculated
as on August 30. The magazine had
said that a movement of two dollars
in the share price for Microsoft,
the world's biggest software maker,
could "add or subtract a billion dollars"
from his wealth. Since August-end,
Microsoft's share price has risen
by $6.58 (based on yesterday's closing
on Nasdaq at $35.03), which results
into a gain of $3.29 billion in Gates'
wealth based on Forbes assumption.
Besides a stake in Microsoft, Gates'
wealth also includes the commission
and license fees earned by him and
gains through his shares in an investment
holding company that invests across
the market. Gates is followed by Buffett
at the fourth place in the league
of the world's richest with a net
worth of $55.9 billion through his
holding in his investment vehicle
Berkshire Hathaway and in other companies.
At the end of August, Buffett's wealth
stood at $52 billion, as per the Forbes
magazine. Berkshire Hathaway's share
price has gained by about 7.5 per
cent since then. Earlier on September
26, Ambani had overtaken steel czar
Lakshmi Mittal to become the richest
Indian in the world. Mittal currently
ranks as the fifth richest in the
world with a net worth of $50.9 billion
through his 44.79 per cent stake in
world's biggest steel maker ArcelorMittal.
While most of Mittal's wealth comes
from his steel empire, though he has
also spread his wings into businesses
like oil and real estate, those of
Ambani and Gates are mostly through
petrochemicals and software respectively.
However, Buffett and Slim are making
money from investments across a host
of sectors.
Courtesy:
www.economictimes.indiatimes.com,
October 30, 2007
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India
on the right track: Paulson
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US
Treasury Secretary Henry M Paulson,
focusing attention on the Indian economy
than his own concerns over sub-prime
loans and a possible looming recession
on his home turf, doled out advice
to India that it must speed up liberalization,
while the Sensex cruised to a new
high in a signal of India turning
the hottest growth story. Touching
Mumbai on a day when the country's
leading benchmark stock index touched
new highs, he made a strong case for
turning the city into an international
financial centre, while sounding concerns
over China keeping its currency artificially
weak. "Issues related to developing
Mumbai as an IFC are an important
element of that (policy) agenda,"
Paulson said in his address to the
Indo-US CEO Forum. Commenting on the
regulatory steps taken by India to
adjust the pace of capital outflows
and inflows Paulson said, "administrative
restrictions of capital flows are
blunt investments and can have unintended
consequences." Instead, India should
continue to liberalize such restrictions
and take steps to broaden and deepen
the domestic financial sector, which
will help mitigate the risks posed
by greater capital flows, he said.
Speaking at the conference, Finance
Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said
India introduced the curbs because
of concern about investment from unregistered
entities, especially unregulated ones.
"So long as funds come in after registrations,
they are welcome to do so," Chidambaram
said. Paulson said the report of the
high-powered committee on Mumbai as
an IFC is "bold, thorough and ambitious
and it demonstrates the right path.
This will enable India to invest in
the world and the world to invest
in India," he said. "The US private
sector stands ready to share their
experiences in dealing with the development
of domestic bond markets and other
elements that create the backbone
of a financial centre." Paulson also
had few other suggestions such as
reducing the statutory requirements
for financial institutions, reducing
the requirements for banks to provide
priority sector lending and removing
various restrictions and caps on foreign
investment. Paulson also said China
needed to move more quickly towards
a market-determined currency. He said
India was mostly on the right path
to modernise its financial sector,
with a flexible currency, but China,
with its tightly controlled yuan exchange
rate, was increasingly the focus of
protectionist sentiment around the
world. "Very often around the world,
if someone doesn't like globalization,
the face they put on it is the face
of China," he said.
Courtesy
www.hindustantimes.com, October 29,
2007
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Mukesh
Ambani Group m-cap crosses Rs 5 tn
mark
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Mukesh
Ambani on Monday become the first
Indian to head a group of companies
with a combined market value of over
Rs five trillion, while his group's
flagship Reliance Industries became
the country's first firm crossing
the capitalisation of Rs 4 trillion.
RIL's share price soared above 5 per
cent to close at Rs 2,827, taking
its market capitalisation to Rs 4,11,041.95
crore (nearly $104.22 billion). The
stock had on October 18 already crossed
the Rs 4 trillion mark in intra-day
trade but today is the first day it
has closed above the mark. Combining
the market cap of all three listed
Mukesh Ambani group firm's, RIL, Reliance
Petroleum and Reliance Industrial
Infrastructure, the group's valuation
crossed Rs 5,00,000-crore level for
the first time, based on the closing
prices of firms' scrip. Reliance Petroleum
is just a notch away from attaining
the Rs 1,00,000 crore market cap.
RPL scrip gained 9.80 per cent to
end at Rs 221.90, touching a market
capitalisation of Rs 99,855 crore.
Besides, Reliance Industrial Infrastructure
scrip has been on a gaining spree
and had continously breached its upper
circuit limit everyday of this month
barring a few occasions. Today also
the scrip struck its upper circuit
limit with a gain of five per cent
to settle at Rs 3,028.55 with a market
cap of Rs 4,573 crore. Shares of companies
promoted by younger brother Anil also
gained today. Reliance Communication
increased 1.45 per cent at Rs 775.65,
while Reliance Natural Resources surged
over 10 per cent at Rs 109.90. Reliance
Energy ended up three per cent at
Rs 1,721.85 and Reliance Capital rose
1.85 per cent at Rs 1,854.20.
Five
richest people in the world with their
net worth
1.
Mukesh Ambani ($63.2 billion)
2. Carlos Slim Helu ($62.2993 billion)
3. William (Bill) Gates ($62.29 billion)
4. Warren Buffett ($55.9 billion)
5. Lakshmi Mittal ($50.9 billion)
Courtesy:
wwww.economictimes.indiatimes.com,
October 29, 2007
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Russia,
China acknowledge India's growth status
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Russia
and China on Wednesday acknowledged
India's growing status in international
affairs, but stopped short of explicitly
backing New Delhi's claim to a permanent
seat in the revamped UN Security Council.
"The Foreign Ministers of China and
Russia re-iterated that their countries
attach importance to the status of
India in international affairs, and
understand and support India's aspirations
to play a greater role in the United
Nations," a joint communique issued
at the end of the third standalone
meeting of the Foreign Ministers of
India, China and Russia, said. India
is seeking a full-fledged permanent
membership in the revamped United
Nations Security Council. While many
countries have expressed support for
India's bid, Beijing is yet to fully
back New Delhi. Meanwhile, at the
tri-lateral meeting between External
Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee,
Chinese Foreign Minister, Yang Jiechi,
and Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei
Lavrov, here on Wednesday, they underlined
that the UN is the most representative
and authoritative international organisation.
"In order to deal with various problems
and challenges facing the international
community more effectively, it is
important to strengthen the role of
the United Nations, improve its efficiency
and conduct a comprehensive reform
of the United Nations," the communique
adopted by the three ministers said.
Courtesy:
www.hindu.com, October 25, 2007
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Honouring
excellence in corporate India
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It's
a pink-letter day for India Inc. A
day when the captains of industry
will celebrate and honour the best
of the best, set new standards, and
share their dreams. Yes, we are talking
about the The Economic Times Awards
for Corporate Excellence 2007, to
be held on Saturday, October 27, at
the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre at the
NCPA in Mumbai. The awards are also
perhaps a reflection of the journey
of the country - 60 years of excellence:
the economy's on a roll: the sensex
is headed in one direction - the peaks;
the Men In Blue have just won a World
Cup, and more Indians are making it
to the Richie Rich list than ever
before. The ET Awards strives to honour
the men and women who are providing
not just leadership to India Inc,
but are in fact perfect role models
for generations to come. As always,
the line-up at this year's ceremony
is quite stunning. His Holiness Sri
Sri Ravi Shankar will inaugurate the
function by lighting the ceremonial
lamp. Prof Sunil Khilnani, the author
of The Idea of India , will provide
a socio-political perspective on 'Independence
& After: The Road to Globalisation'.
Harvard dons Tarun Khanna and Krishna
Palepu, who have won worldwide acclaim
as management gurus, will jointly
speak about the challenges that India
Inc faces as it moves towards an increasingly
global world. We'll also hear from
Dr RK Pachauri, head of IPCC, the
organisation that won the Nobel Peace
Prize this year reminding us that
we cannot forget our commitments to
society in our relentless march towards
economic progress. And last, but certainly
not the least, the Honourable Finance
Minister P Chidambaram, an ET Awards
winner himself, will give away the
awards as our Guest of Honour. The
cynosure of all eyes though will be
this year's winners, and more than
800 CEOs from all over India will
rise to celebrate and salute the best
of the best. The exclusive coverage
of the Awards night will be covered
in ET specials as well as the Corporate
Dossier. Times Now is the television
partner while Raymond is the presenting
sponsor of The Economic Times Awards
for Corporate Excellence.
Courtesy:
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, October
25, 2007
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India
now has 250 million phones
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The
total number of wireless subscribers
in the country -- including GSM, CDMA
and fixed mobile -- has reached 209.08
million and the tele-density stood
at 21.85 per cent as on September
30 this year. The total telephone
subscriber base stood at 248 million,
much ahead of the target month of
December. The wireless segment added
7.80 million subscribers in September,
compared with 8.31 million users accrued
during the comparable period of August.
During the July-September period,
Indian operators added 43.97 million
users, according to data released
by the Telecom Regulatory Authority
of India (Trai). Keeping the growth
projections on conservative scale,
the subscriber number has already
crossed 250 million. This means that
the 500 million target for 2010 can
be achieved, Trai said in a statement
here today. The total number of telephones
(wireless and wired) in the country
stood at 248.66 million, compared
with 241.02 million in August this
year. The overall tele-density reached
21.85 per cent in September, as against
21.20 per cent in August. In the wireline
segment, subscriber base addition
was lower at 39.58 million in September,
compared with 39.73 million during
the previous month. During the first
six months (April-September) of the
2007-08 fiscal, 42.80 million telephone
subscribers were added, as against
29.70 million recorded during the
corresponding period of the previous
year. The target of 15 per cent of
tele-density by 2010 as set by the
National Telecom Policy of 1999 was
achieved in September 2006, four years
ahead of the schedule. The total number
of broadband subscribers reached 2.67
million as on September, adding around
110,000 connections. The addition
during the first six months of the
current fiscal stood at 330,000 as
compared with 470,000 during the corresponding
period a year ago.
Courtesy:
www.rediff.com, October 23, 2007
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Andhra
bhoomi full of diamonds
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Andhra
Pradesh is turning out to be the diamond
mine of the country. The Geological
Survey of India has identified 110
kimberlite pipes (diamond-bearing
formations) in the state, the highest
in the country. These kimberlite pipes
were found in the most backward areas,
such as Anantapur, Mahbubnagar, Kurnool,
Kadapa, Chittoor and Nalgonda districts.
Kimberlites are the most important
sources of diamonds and are usually
found on the earth's crust as vertical
structures. State mines minister P.
Sabita Indra Reddy said the latest
findings were very encouraging. "Studies
in 1997 discovered only seven such
places in the state," she said. Ms
Reddy added that the government was
getting several proposals from foreign
companies for exploration.
The
Centre is giving maximum priority
to gold and diamond exploration as
the country is importing jewellery
worth Rs 1.25 lakh crores at present.
It has directed the state to complete
the first and second stages of exploration
in three years and then start mining
the diamonds. BHP Billiton, Phelps
Dodge, Rio Tinto, DeBeers and several
other companies have already taken
prospective licences for the 50,000
sq. km of formations. "Some companies
have already completed high-resolution
magnetic surveys using helicopters,"
said Mr V.D. Rajagopal, managing director
of AP Mineral Development Corporation.
"Now they are into field-level reconnaissance
studies. Two companies have even started
second-stage operations." The GSI
survey had identified Timma Samudram,
Bommaganapalli, Pillalapalli in Anantapur
district, Maddur-Narayanpet region
in Mahbubnagar district, Ramannapet
in Nalgonda, and Kadapa basin, including
parts of Chittoor, as diamond-rich
areas. The largest diamond in the
state was found in the Wajakarur kimberlite
fields in Anantapur district. World-renowned
diamonds, such as the Kohinoor, Great
Mogul, Orlov, Hope, Dariya-e-Noor
and Shahhad, had been found in the
Krishna river gravel deposits of Kollur,
Utsapalli, Paritala and Chandralapadu
regions. The latest survey suggested
that these deposits may contain more
diamonds. "Some mines abandoned 20
years ago are to be revived because
of the sharp increase in the prices
of both gold and diamonds," said Mr
Rajagopal. With foreign companies
coming in, the Centre is proposing
a major amendment to the national
mining policy allowing the transfer
of mining leases. The companies are
also demanding sanction of 5,000 sq.
km of land for conducting prospective
studies. Sources said the Centre has
already agreed to this.
Courtesy:
www.asianage.com, October 19, 2007
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China's
top communists to take notice of resurgent
India
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A
resurgent India will have a prominent
place in China's foreign policy calculus
when over 2,000 delegates to the 17th
National Congress of the ruling Communist
Party meet here from Monday to deliberate
on the nation's major policy initiatives
for the next five years, party sources
said. While China's foreign policy
is not expected to undergo major changes
at the 17th Party Congress, party
elders are likely to propose new steps
to ensure that the policies are in
line with the concept of "harmonious
world" enunciated by the top Chinese
leadership, including President and
Communist Party of China (CPC) General
Secretary, Hu Jintao, who is set to
be re-elected to the top Party post
till 2012. "There won't be any deviation
(from the past) I would say. But certainly
there would be some further development,"
Director General of the International
Department of the Central Committee
of the CPC, Ai Ping, said. "Last year,
Chinese leaders put forward the concept
of a 'harmonious world' and we are
making efforts in this aspect. First
we have to build Asia as a 'harmonious
region'. In this, China's relation
with India is very important," Ai
told reporters in an interview. While
the Congress is not expected to deal
with concrete policy to any particular
country, it will lay out the general
strategic ideas that would become
the guiding policies for the Party
and the government for the next five
years up to 2012. "In that sense,
it will affect China's relations with
India, in a positive way, I am sure,"
Ai said ahead of the National Congress
of the CPC, held once in five years.
Courtesy:
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, October
14, 2007
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India
to challenge China's forte as manufacturing
hub
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India,
popularly known as the world's back
office for IT and BPO services, is
all set to threaten China's position
as the world's backyard for manufacturing
in the next 3-5 years, says a new
report. "India could challenge the
position of China as the manufacturing
centre of the world in next three
to five years. Companies are planning
to offshore manufacturing activities
primarily to India that will surpass
its IT and BPO activities," global
consulting, technology and outsourcing
services major Capgemini said in its
latest report. At present, manufacturing
is the least offshored activity to
India, but the survey respondents
expected the country to become the
number one outsourced manufacturing
destination due to its competitive
cost advantages over China, Capgemini
added. "Current developments suggest
that some of the main manufacturing
locations in China are becoming too
expensive relative to other countries
in the region, which includes India,"
the report added. Emerging economies
like India and China have the largest
market share of offshoring activities.
India is diversifying from its stronghold
in the IT and BPO segment to the manufacturing
segment, which is currently dominated
by its neighbour. The report, however,
highlights that India has to make
significant investments for improving
its infrastructure to cater to the
increased demand of manufacturing
and supply chain operations. The Indian
government is eager to attract foreign
manufacturing activities, but it will
need to make significant investments
to harvest this potential, Capgemini
added.
Courtesy:
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, October
14, 2007
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India's
growth has been impressive: IMF
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Terming
the Indian growth pattern as "impressive",
the IMF has said it does not foresee
overheating of its economy as long
as the current monetary policy is
in place and its "independence is
strengthened". "India's growth has
been impressive - 9.7 per cent in
2006, 8.9 per cent in 2007 and we
are viewing at 8.4 per cent in 2008.
That is really an impressive growth
pattern," IMF Managing Director Rodrigo
de Rato said addressing a press conference
here ahead of the annual meetings
of the International Monetary Fund
and the Word Bank. Asked whether he
saw any chance of the Indian economy
"overheating", de Rato said "We don't
see that if monetary policy continues
to behave as is behaving right now
and independence is strengthened in
monetary policy". "With inflation
coming up a bit in 2007, we think
the monetary responses by the Reserve
Bank of India have been appropriate.
The credibility of the monetary policy
in India has become better and stronger
and the steps of the liberalisation
of the financial markets of India
are probably the steps in the right
direction," the top IMF official said.
The priorities for India down the
road should be in keeping up with
the drive towards further liberalisation
like bridging major gaps in infrastructure,
addressing the labour shortages in
the skilled sector and opening up
to foreign investment, he said. De
Rato noted that there has been flexible
movement of Indian currency which
is "good" for the country, adding
that the confidence of investors in
India is increasing.
Courtesy:
www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, October
16, 2007
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'India
will continue on high growth rate
path'
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The
Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh,
has expressed confidence that India
can continue to sustain a growth rate
of between nine and ten per cent which
offers limitless opportunities to
overseas communities to contribute
their mite towards it. "India has
entered an exciting new phase. It
is a vibrant and self-confident nation.
I invite you all to contribute your
spirit, endeavour and enterprise in
the service of your homeland," he
told the Indian community at a reception
hosted in his honour here late last
night. Singh is the first Prime Minister
to make a bilateral visit to Nigeria
after the trip made by the late Jawaharlal
Nehru in 1962. Indian business and
industry are the second largest employer
in Nigeria. He said that India and
Nigeria shared many commonalities
and historical experiences and common
developmental challenges have brought
the two countries close. "We share
common hopes and aspirations. India
is the largest democracy in the world
and Nigeria is the largest democracy
in Africa. We are both multi-ethnic,
multi-religious and multi-lingual
countries governed by systems of plural
democracy," he said. Singh said that
India's partnership with Nigeria and
with Africa is important for his country.
"We now seek to build on the goodwill
that exists between us to shape a
strong contemporary partnership that
is multi-faceted and mutually beneficial."
Singh said that he looked forward
to holding extensive discussions Nigerian
President Yar'Adua and his colleagues
and to addressing the National Assembly,
which he said was a unique honour.
Courtesy:
www.saharasamay.com, October 15, 2007
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The
stock market barometer Sensex on Monday
crossed and closed above the psychologically
satisfying 19,000-point mark, adding
1,000 points in a record four sessions,
on aggressive buying by funds in front
line stocks. The Sensex, which snapped
its upward march on Friday after Finance
Minister P. Chidambaram expressed
concerns about the rise in stock prices,
resumed the rally on Monday and mopped
up nearly 639.63 points to settle
at 19,058.69. It touched an intra-day
high of 19,095.75 points. The rise
has inflated the notional wealth of
investors by Rs 2,11,700 crores to
over Rs 58 trillions. The 30 Sensex
scrips contributed for Rs 96,000 crores
to this wealth addition measured in
terms of gain in market capitalisation
in a single day. The current rally
was mainly supported by metal sector,
whose index rose the most at 1358.74
points to touch 16,200.18, a hefty
rise never seen before. Capital goods
index was the second best performer
with a gain of 505.01 points at 17,119.70.
The 1,000 point rally from 18,000
to 19,000 came in a quick four sessions
and within days of Finance Minister
P Chidambaram expressing surprise
and concern over the stocks' surge,
which he attributed to speculators,
while hoping that things would cool
down soon. The record breaking rise
betters the previous best six session
1,000 point rally from 16,000-17,000.
The next milestone to 18,000 came
in eight trading sessions. The second
wide-based National Stock Exchange
index Nifty also rose to a record
high by gaining 242.15 points to settle
at 5670.40. It set an intra-day high
of 5682.65 points.
Courtesy:
www.saharasamay.com, October 15, 2007
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RCom
Brings $100 Laptop to India
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The
Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group
(ADAG) has collaborated with One Laptop
per Child (OLPC) foundation to bring
the latter's much-hyped $100 laptop
to India to promote e-learning among
poor children. Under this initiative,
Reliance Communications (RCom) will
provide Internet connectivity, network
backbone, logistics, and support to
the OLPC initiative. The initiative
aims at covering over 25,000 towns,
and 6,00,000 villages in the country
by 2008. The larger OLPC project has
already provided laptops to 5 million
school children across the world,
and aims to cover 150 million by 2008.
Based on the Linux OS, the OLPC (XO)
laptop has replaceable keyboards,
which can be changed for use with
35 global languages. While announcing
the collaboration, Tina Anil Ambani,
said, "Children are the future of
the nation, and shaping the future
of millions of school children through
new age learning systems is of prime
importance in today's digital era."
OLPC has launched its first pilot
in the country at a school in a tribal
village at Khairat, near Karjat in
Maharashtra, where school children
have been provided with laptops, and
training for teachers to incorporate
new ways of imparting education. Carla
Gomez Monroy, learning consultant
of OLPC, and a part of the pilot,
said, "Children lack opportunity,
and not capability. Children at Khairat
school, who have never even seen a
laptop before, are showing easiness
and receptiveness while learning on
laptops. It has also resulted in reduction
in the number of children absentees."
Sumit Chowdhury, chief information
officer of RCom, said, "School children
will be able to access their educational
modules in local languages, collaborate
with each other, connect to the Internet,
and play games as well." The laptops
are connected via network to the school
server. All laptops are on the network,
so school children can interact with
each other, and share the learning
experience. However, once out of the
school network, these laptops are
rendered absolutely useless. They
would work only till such a time the
battery lasts. "Keeping in mind that
the laptops will be handled by school
children, they have been built drop-proof,
45-degrees shock-proof, water proof,
and have a longer battery life as
compared to regular laptops," added
Chowdhury. RCom and OLPC are in talks
with government agencies, NGOs, content
developers, translators, teachers,
and project managers to create successful
ecosystems to further the OLPC program
in India.
Courtesy:
www.techtree.com, October 12, 2007
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Booming
economy, tourism make Indian hotels
among world's costliest
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Exorbitant
rates at branded hotels has led to
mushrooming of unregulated & unorganised
sector; this segment is booming in
B'lore, Delhi, Pune. The long wait
of tourists and business travellers
expecting some softening of hotel
room rates and hoping to find accommodation
more easily in the country's top cities,
is far from over. With supply lagging
behind demand, room rentals and occupancy
levels continue to rise across the
country. According to the latest figures
from hospitality research and consultancy
firm HVS Hospitality Services, the
average room rate across all star-category
hotels in the country rose by 30 per
cent over the previous year, touching
Rs 7,075 in 2006-07. Average occupancy
for all star-category hotels was 72
per cent in 2006-07, up 0.7 per cent
over the previous year. The growth
in room rates and occupancy is driven
by high demand from both business
and leisure travellers. While demand
has grown rapidly, supply has not
been able to keep pace. Hotel rooms
in India's leading cities today are
among the most expensive in the world.
The all-India average occupancy level
touching 72 per cent is significant.
Said Thadani: "When the average touches
the 70-72 per cent mark, it indicates
substantial unaccommodated demand."
That's because of the cyclical nature
of demand in the hotel industry: demand
is higher during weekends, and again,
high during the peak season. Added
Thadani: "The high room rates also
mean that the correction in rentals,
when supply catches up, will be sharp."
According to an HVS report, Bangalore,
Pune and Hyderabad could see correction
in rental rates in the short term.
In other cities, it will be 3-4 years
before supply catches up and rentals
rationalise. The answer to escalating
rentals, of course, lies in developing
more rooms and at a faster pace. But
as Rajendra Thakre, MD of Singapore-based
Meuse Hotel and Hospitality, which
aims to invest $200 million in India
by March 2008 said: "The run up in
real estate prices has made it tough
to develop hotels here."
Courtesy:
www.indianexpress.com, October 10,
2007
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Indian
Infosys recruits in the UK
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As
the first Indian Indian IT firm to
actively recruit British graduates,
technology giant Infosys this week
started its second recruitment round.
Kings College London, University College
London and Warwick University are
just some of the places the firm is
looking to find potential staff. Although
Indian firms have been growing very
quickly, companies are struggling
to find skilled professionals at home
to keep their businesses growing so
now they are turning their focus overseas.
Marco Cullen is one of 25 British
students that Infosys has recruited,
as part of its hunt for global talent.
He had applied to a number of companies
- and was even given an offer at British
Telecom - but went with Infosys because
of the company's international exposure.
"You get that kind of global experience
that you wouldn't really get even
if you worked for a global company
back home," he says. "All of your
colleagues would be from your hometown
and your area. It's a completely different
job market here - and you get to see
how things work in a new environment."
Gruelling
schedule
For
Marco and his English friends, that
new environment means a four-month
paid course where they will learn
the basics of software programming.
On graduation, they will be paid about
£26,000 a year - a British salary
that Infosys is giving to its recruits
from the UK. Newly hired employees
in India are paid in accordance with
an Indian salary scale. Learning alongside
new Indian staff is a novel experience
for these British students. Most had
never heard of Infosys before they
applied for this job, and for many
it is their first visit to India.
But it is not just about travelling
to exotic locations. The students
face a gruelling training schedule
of a nine to five working day, plus
an exam at the end of each week -
which means many an evening will be
spent studying hard. Their lecturers
have studied all over the world -
but are mainly from the Indian sub-continent.
Cultural
divide
Meenakshi,
head of programming and testing courses
at Infosys, says that while there
are few differences between Indian
and British students, there are some
hurdles. "In terms of content there's
not much of a difference. But in terms
of clarity - yes, there is, " she
says. "I have to speak a lot more
slowly for the British students so
they can understand my accent - and
there are a few terms that an Indian
student would understand because he's
gone through our education system.
I need to explain these terms to British
students. "But on the whole - there
is no difference in teaching these
graduates. And every one is eager
to learn so there is a healthy sense
of competition in the class." The
students are expected to pass the
test they take at the end of each
week, and get only one shot at a retake.
But no one is complaining. For both
Indian and British recruits it is
an opportunity to work in one of the
world's fastest growing economies.
Wider
market
For
Infosys, it is a chance to build a
truly global workforce at a time when
talent at home is drying up. "We want
to hire young people who graduate
from all parts of the world," says
Mohandas Pai, director of human resources
and global recruitment. "We have businesses
in the UK and US and we want to expand
there, so it makes sense for us to
hire there to keep our global businesses
running," he says. "We bring these
foreign students to India so they
can learn the way we work and work
alongside the rest of us and learn
our culture. "Its good for our business
to hire from the local markets."
New
horizons
At
the end of the long working day, the
British batch of students head to
the campus club house to unwind. A
friendly table tennis match gives
the students a chance to mingle. David
Mort, 22, from Nottingham, says his
friends and family were surprised
he chose to work in India, but the
change is "fascinating". "It's a mix
here at this campus between work and
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