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'Budget
is a clear indication of early election'
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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
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RCom
acquires African firm for $5 mn: Report
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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
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Bhave
takes charge as SEBI Chairman
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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
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Coal
India plans global bids to develop,
operate mines
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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
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West
Bengal, fastest growing IT hub in
India
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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
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Walt
Disney investing Rs 805 cr in UTV
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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
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Slow
world economy won't hamper India's
growth
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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
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Madhya
Pradesh attracts investments worth
Rs 100 bn
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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
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Micro
Technologies marks foray in Sri Lanka
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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
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Power
Finance Corp to raise $4 bn to fund
projects
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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
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'India
to ensure greater private sector role
in defence'
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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
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Airtel
now has over 60 million subscribers
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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
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'India,
China may overwhelm US economy'
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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
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Airtel
now has over 60 million subscribers
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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
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NE
roses attract foreign buyers
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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
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IT
revenues grow@33%, to hit $64 bn
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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
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'India
fast emerging as prominent hub for
innovation R | |
