NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 18:
Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Steel Authority of India and ONGC are among 26 companies shortlisted for national awards for excellence in corporate governance by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).
However, before finalising the awards, the ICAI has sought the Central Provident Fund Commissioner’s help to “confirm the credentials” of these short-listed companies and ensure that there are no complaints or prosecutions pending against them.
In a letter to the CPFC, posted on EFO’s website, Sutanu Sinha, Officiating Secretary and & Chief Executive, ICAI, has sought the information before November 20, so that it could be placed before the jury, headed by Justice M N Venkatachaliah, former Chief Justice of India.
The other companies in the short-list include Canara Bank, Bharat Petroleum, Central Depository Services, Dabur India, GMR Infrastructure, M&M, Housing Development Finance Corp, Rashtriya Ispat
Success in my Habit
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
TUV Rheinland commissions testing facility near Chennai
CHENNAI, NOV 18:
Germany-based TUV Rheinland has commissioned its solar photovoltaic modules testing facility at Sriperumbudur near here.
TUV Rheinland is a service provider in the technical, inspection and certification industry.
The 5,000 sq. ft. facility established under the project ‘PV Klima’ has been undertaken by TUV Rheinland in collaboration with the German Government to study the climatic factors that have an impact on energy yield of solar photovoltaic modules, the company said in a statement.
TUV Rheinland has also proposed to set up such facilities in Italy, the United States and Saudi Arabia.
“Sriperumbudur will be the latest testing facility under PV Klima to take comparable measurements of energy yields and develop methodologies to forecast and increase the energy yields of solar photovoltaic modules,” TUV Rheinland India Vice-President, Business Stream Products, Kalyan Varma, said.
The features of various solar photovoltaic technologies would be analysed with regard to climate effects, seasonal effects, low-light behaviour and temperature behaviour, he added.
Germany-based TUV Rheinland has commissioned its solar photovoltaic modules testing facility at Sriperumbudur near here.
TUV Rheinland is a service provider in the technical, inspection and certification industry.
The 5,000 sq. ft. facility established under the project ‘PV Klima’ has been undertaken by TUV Rheinland in collaboration with the German Government to study the climatic factors that have an impact on energy yield of solar photovoltaic modules, the company said in a statement.
TUV Rheinland has also proposed to set up such facilities in Italy, the United States and Saudi Arabia.
“Sriperumbudur will be the latest testing facility under PV Klima to take comparable measurements of energy yields and develop methodologies to forecast and increase the energy yields of solar photovoltaic modules,” TUV Rheinland India Vice-President, Business Stream Products, Kalyan Varma, said.
The features of various solar photovoltaic technologies would be analysed with regard to climate effects, seasonal effects, low-light behaviour and temperature behaviour, he added.
Aurobindo Vice-Chairman attacked by miscreant; escapes unhurt
HYDERABAD, NOV 19:
Aurobindo Pharma Ltd' s Director and Vice-Chairman, K Nityananda Reddy, escaped unhurt in an attempt on his life on Wednesday morning.
A 30-year-old miscreant, armed with an AK-47 gun, confronted Reddy when he boarded his car after his morning walk at the KBR Park here.
Since Reddy was alert, he pushed him back after which he opened the fire. However, Reddy escaped and the miscreant ran away leaving the weapon.
The police is investigating into the incident and the motive of the attack and the identity of the attacker are yet to be established.
The KBR Park in the posh Jubilee Hills here is a favourite spot for morning walk for the city elite and industrialists.
When contacted, one of the directors of the company told BusinessLine that Reddy was completely safe.
In 2012, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had also included Reddy as one of the accused in its chargesheet in the illegal assets case of YSR Congress Party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.
Aurobindo Pharma scrip lost 1.03 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange and was trading at Rs. 1,130.50.
The company posted a 58 per cent increase in net profit at Rs. 372 crore in the second quarter ended September 30, 2014 on a 50 per cent growth in revenue at Rs. 2,881 crore compared to the year-ago period.
Aurobindo Pharma Ltd' s Director and Vice-Chairman, K Nityananda Reddy, escaped unhurt in an attempt on his life on Wednesday morning.
A 30-year-old miscreant, armed with an AK-47 gun, confronted Reddy when he boarded his car after his morning walk at the KBR Park here.
Since Reddy was alert, he pushed him back after which he opened the fire. However, Reddy escaped and the miscreant ran away leaving the weapon.
The police is investigating into the incident and the motive of the attack and the identity of the attacker are yet to be established.
The KBR Park in the posh Jubilee Hills here is a favourite spot for morning walk for the city elite and industrialists.
When contacted, one of the directors of the company told BusinessLine that Reddy was completely safe.
In 2012, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had also included Reddy as one of the accused in its chargesheet in the illegal assets case of YSR Congress Party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy.
Aurobindo Pharma scrip lost 1.03 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange and was trading at Rs. 1,130.50.
The company posted a 58 per cent increase in net profit at Rs. 372 crore in the second quarter ended September 30, 2014 on a 50 per cent growth in revenue at Rs. 2,881 crore compared to the year-ago period.
Shale Oil: All you wanted to know about
November 10, 2014:
In an unexpected stroke of good luck for you, me and the country, the price of crude oil has fallen from $115 a barrel in June all the way down to $84. This has meant cheaper petrol and diesel, and a lower subsidy bill for the Government. One big factor responsible for this price fall is the unexpected increase in oil produced from shale in the US.
What is it?
Shale oil is essentially crude oil but an unconventional one at that. While the conventional fuel is usually found in porous rocks such as sandstone, shale oil is trapped in shale rock formations that are not easily permeable and hence is tougher to tap. So though its existence has been known for long, shale oil wasn’t being extracted in large quantities.
But technological advancements — horizontal drilling and fracturing (fracking) — introduced and honed since the early part of the century have enabled shale oil exploration and production on an industrial scale.
Most of the action in shale oil so far has been in the US where explorers have struck copious quantities of the black gold. It has not been smooth sailing though. Environmentalists and local communities have been up in arms against the pollution caused to land and water bodies by the chemicals used in the fracking process.
Nevertheless, shale oil produced in the country has grown by leaps and bounds over the years. So the dependence of the US — the largest oil consumer in the world — on imported crude oil has fallen sharply. And this has added to the weakness of global crude oil price in recent months.
Conventional crude oil producers such as Saudi Arabia have been cutting prices to maintain their market share and to drive some of the high cost shale oil producers out of action.
But whether this will have the desired effect remains to be seen — technological improvements are expected to push down the cost of shale oil production.
Also, while Saudi Arabia might have the financial muscle to sustain low prices for quite some time, other conventional producers such as Venezuela and Nigeria may likely find it difficult to hold out.
Why is it important?
Shale oil has the potential to be a massive game-changer in global energy supply and pricing — with enormous geopolitical implications. It’s not just the US; countries such as Russia, China and Argentina are also believed to have vast stores of shale oil. India too is taking baby steps to find and explore its shale assets potential.
Progress in other nations has been quite slow so far. But there’s no saying when the inflection point will be reached. If production continues to expand, countries such as the US could start exporting oil in a few years.
Why should I care?
For starters, more shale oil means lower petrol and diesel prices. So you spend less on travel.
Cheaper crude oil also reduces India’s current account deficit and subsidy bill and will also give a boost to the country’s GDP — that means more and better-paying jobs, and more profitable businesses. But shale oil production in India in the future could also mean more environmental challenges. So the right trade-off needs to be made.
In an unexpected stroke of good luck for you, me and the country, the price of crude oil has fallen from $115 a barrel in June all the way down to $84. This has meant cheaper petrol and diesel, and a lower subsidy bill for the Government. One big factor responsible for this price fall is the unexpected increase in oil produced from shale in the US.
What is it?
Shale oil is essentially crude oil but an unconventional one at that. While the conventional fuel is usually found in porous rocks such as sandstone, shale oil is trapped in shale rock formations that are not easily permeable and hence is tougher to tap. So though its existence has been known for long, shale oil wasn’t being extracted in large quantities.
But technological advancements — horizontal drilling and fracturing (fracking) — introduced and honed since the early part of the century have enabled shale oil exploration and production on an industrial scale.
Most of the action in shale oil so far has been in the US where explorers have struck copious quantities of the black gold. It has not been smooth sailing though. Environmentalists and local communities have been up in arms against the pollution caused to land and water bodies by the chemicals used in the fracking process.
Nevertheless, shale oil produced in the country has grown by leaps and bounds over the years. So the dependence of the US — the largest oil consumer in the world — on imported crude oil has fallen sharply. And this has added to the weakness of global crude oil price in recent months.
Conventional crude oil producers such as Saudi Arabia have been cutting prices to maintain their market share and to drive some of the high cost shale oil producers out of action.
But whether this will have the desired effect remains to be seen — technological improvements are expected to push down the cost of shale oil production.
Also, while Saudi Arabia might have the financial muscle to sustain low prices for quite some time, other conventional producers such as Venezuela and Nigeria may likely find it difficult to hold out.
Why is it important?
Shale oil has the potential to be a massive game-changer in global energy supply and pricing — with enormous geopolitical implications. It’s not just the US; countries such as Russia, China and Argentina are also believed to have vast stores of shale oil. India too is taking baby steps to find and explore its shale assets potential.
Progress in other nations has been quite slow so far. But there’s no saying when the inflection point will be reached. If production continues to expand, countries such as the US could start exporting oil in a few years.
Why should I care?
For starters, more shale oil means lower petrol and diesel prices. So you spend less on travel.
Cheaper crude oil also reduces India’s current account deficit and subsidy bill and will also give a boost to the country’s GDP — that means more and better-paying jobs, and more profitable businesses. But shale oil production in India in the future could also mean more environmental challenges. So the right trade-off needs to be made.
No official notice yet on alignment change, says L&T Metro Hyderabad
HYDERABAD, NOVEMBER 18:
L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited has informed that they have not received any official communication with regard to change in alignment suggested by the Telangana Government.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event hosted on infrastructure at Fapcci, VB Gadgil, Chief Executive of L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited, said so far they have not received any letter from the State Government on the alignment change.
This statement is significant in the backdrop of an announcement made by the Telangana Government that L&T has agreed to alignment change. A statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office on Saturday after a meeting with AM Naik, Chairman, L&T, Shankar Raman, CFO, L&T and VBGadgil, with the State Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, mentioned the Government’s keenness to bring about changes in the alignment and also the Government’s resolve to increase the length of the metro project from the present proposed 72-km stretch across three corridors to 200 km.
Responding to queries, Gadgil said, “It is not impossible to make changes and everything would depend upon the technical feasibility. In any case, if there are changes that need to be taken up, the State would have to bear additional costs involved on the changes in alignment.”
According to sources, a meeting of the Prime Minister’s Monitoring Group, which closely tracks the progress of large projects, is slated for November 30.
L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited has informed that they have not received any official communication with regard to change in alignment suggested by the Telangana Government.
Speaking on the sidelines of an event hosted on infrastructure at Fapcci, VB Gadgil, Chief Executive of L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Limited, said so far they have not received any letter from the State Government on the alignment change.
This statement is significant in the backdrop of an announcement made by the Telangana Government that L&T has agreed to alignment change. A statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office on Saturday after a meeting with AM Naik, Chairman, L&T, Shankar Raman, CFO, L&T and VBGadgil, with the State Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, mentioned the Government’s keenness to bring about changes in the alignment and also the Government’s resolve to increase the length of the metro project from the present proposed 72-km stretch across three corridors to 200 km.
Responding to queries, Gadgil said, “It is not impossible to make changes and everything would depend upon the technical feasibility. In any case, if there are changes that need to be taken up, the State would have to bear additional costs involved on the changes in alignment.”
According to sources, a meeting of the Prime Minister’s Monitoring Group, which closely tracks the progress of large projects, is slated for November 30.
RBI chief Rajan wants focus on sustainable growth
PORT LOUIS: India will focus on sustainable economic growth and developed economies should do the same, Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan said on Tuesday.
The RBI is under corporate and government pressure to bring down interest rates and boost economic growth.
"We have to make sure that across the world we focus on sensible, sustainable sources of growth," Rajan told reporters in Mauritius on Tuesday.
The RBI is under corporate and government pressure to bring down interest rates and boost economic growth.
"We have to make sure that across the world we focus on sensible, sustainable sources of growth," Rajan told reporters in Mauritius on Tuesday.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Microsoft to set up 3 data centres in India by 2015
"When we think about the cloud opportunity in India itself, it is going to be a $2 trillion opportunity," chief executive Satya Nadella said in Delhi on Tuesday, adding that the move will help Indian companies, government and entrepreneurs. Without disclosing the investment involved in setting up the data centres, Nadella said they will have "sizeable" capacity.
The announcement is significant given that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has been vocal about bringing local data centres to India to maintain data sovereignty. Besides, a large number of Indian enterprises have increasingly voiced concerns about hosting their data on the public cloud because none of the major players such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft or Google have cloud data centres in India.
"I think in two or three years, when the servers come to India, the public cloud market will become more interesting because now there are some territorial issues in holding the data in the country," Jagdish Belwal, CIO at Tata Motors, which currently uses Amazon Web Services, told ET in a recent interview.
Competition in the cloud market is increasing, with players such as IBM spending millions of rupees advertising its Softlayer cloud and Oracle making a push in the Indian market with the announcement of several new cloud offerings for different industries. Microsoft's move to set up a local data centre will give the company "more muscle" to compete in the cloud services market and "Office 365 could see higher adoption", according to Vishal Tripathi, principal research analyst at Gartner.
Minda Corp. acquires majority stake in its Japanese subsidiary
It did not disclose the amount it paid to acquire the stake.
Noida-based Minda is a supplier of electronic and mechanical security systems for two-wheeler, three-wheeler and off road vehicles to original equipment manufacturer and exports about 20% of its products to the US, the UK, Europe, South East Asia and ASEAN countries.
Minda Corp. has 12 joint venture companies, of which Minda Furukawa Electric develops and produces the entire range of wiring harnesses for four-wheelers and components related to wiring harness.
Minda Corp. gained 1.9% to end at Rs.540, while the CNX Nifty rose 0.07% to close at 7,964.80 points.
Core sector growth at 5.8% in August
New Delhi: Driven by good expansion in steel, coal, cement and electricity generation, the output of eight crucial core sector industries rose 5.8 per cent in August from 2.7 per cent in July, official data showed on Tuesday.
The eight industries had risen 4.7 per cent in August, 2013-14.
For the first five months of 2014-15, the eight grew 4.4 per cent, marginally higher than the 4.2 per cent in the corresponding period of the earlier year.
This might boost industrial growth data for August, which had dipped to 0.5 per cent in July. The eight industries constitute 38 per cent of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Earlier, there was apprehension over IIP growth in August after a mere 2.35 per cent rise in merchandise export for the month. The August core sector data had allayed this fear about industrial growth in the month, said ICRA senior economist Aditi Nayar.
However, there is no one-to-one correspondence between core sector data and the IIP numbers. For instance, core sector output rose 7.3 per cent in June from 2.3 per cent in May but the IIP rise declined to 3.9 per cent from the earlier five per cent.
Crude oil, natural gas and refinery products saw production contracting in August. In July, five industries had seen a decline. Steel, which saw production falling 3.4 per cent in July, rose 9.1 per cent in August. Electricity generation rose 12.6 per cent in August after doing so by 11.2 per cent in July. In the first five months of the current financial year, electricity generation has grown by double digits in four months. The exception was May, when it expanded 6.3 per cent.
Production of coal, a vital raw material for electricity generation, increased 13.4 per cent in August, more than double the 6.2 per cent in July and the highest growth in it during the first five months of 2014-15. However, the recent Supreme Court decision on coal block allotments, cancelling all but four of the 218 made since 1990, makes it unclear if this can be sustained, said Nayar.
Cement posted 10.3 per cent growth in August, though lower than the 16.5 per cent in May. The fact that August also showed a monsoon revival showed that construction activity, either for infrastructure or for personal dwellings, is on the upswing.
The economy rose at a two-year high of 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of this financial year (April-June), after two years of below-five per cent growth. The Reserve Bank of India has retained its earlier economic growth target of 5.5 per cent for 2014-15, projecting growth in the second and third quarter to be moderating, before rebounding in the fourth one.
The eight industries had risen 4.7 per cent in August, 2013-14.
For the first five months of 2014-15, the eight grew 4.4 per cent, marginally higher than the 4.2 per cent in the corresponding period of the earlier year.
This might boost industrial growth data for August, which had dipped to 0.5 per cent in July. The eight industries constitute 38 per cent of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Earlier, there was apprehension over IIP growth in August after a mere 2.35 per cent rise in merchandise export for the month. The August core sector data had allayed this fear about industrial growth in the month, said ICRA senior economist Aditi Nayar.
However, there is no one-to-one correspondence between core sector data and the IIP numbers. For instance, core sector output rose 7.3 per cent in June from 2.3 per cent in May but the IIP rise declined to 3.9 per cent from the earlier five per cent.
Crude oil, natural gas and refinery products saw production contracting in August. In July, five industries had seen a decline. Steel, which saw production falling 3.4 per cent in July, rose 9.1 per cent in August. Electricity generation rose 12.6 per cent in August after doing so by 11.2 per cent in July. In the first five months of the current financial year, electricity generation has grown by double digits in four months. The exception was May, when it expanded 6.3 per cent.
Production of coal, a vital raw material for electricity generation, increased 13.4 per cent in August, more than double the 6.2 per cent in July and the highest growth in it during the first five months of 2014-15. However, the recent Supreme Court decision on coal block allotments, cancelling all but four of the 218 made since 1990, makes it unclear if this can be sustained, said Nayar.
Cement posted 10.3 per cent growth in August, though lower than the 16.5 per cent in May. The fact that August also showed a monsoon revival showed that construction activity, either for infrastructure or for personal dwellings, is on the upswing.
The economy rose at a two-year high of 5.7 per cent in the first quarter of this financial year (April-June), after two years of below-five per cent growth. The Reserve Bank of India has retained its earlier economic growth target of 5.5 per cent for 2014-15, projecting growth in the second and third quarter to be moderating, before rebounding in the fourth one.
Indian markets outperform global peers in H1 of FY15
New Delhi: Indian markets rose 19 per cent in the first half of this financial year, the best performance by any market during this period, globally. The rise was primarily due to strong flows from foreign institutional investors (FIIs), amid hopes the new government at the Centre would announce key policy reforms to help kick-start economic growth.
As of September 26, FIIs had invested Rs 61,024 crore this financial year, while mutual funds had put in Rs 15,298 crore during the same period, according to Securities and Exchange Board of India data. The market rally saw the BSE Sensex and the National Stock Exchange Nifty hit their record highs of 27,355 and 8,180, respectively, after the results of the general election. “Since the formation of the government, the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) has made all the right noises, through the Union Budget and a series of announcements. These have had a positive impact on the sentiment and the investment climate. The equity market has also given a thumbs-up to most initiatives,” said a recent note by ICICI Securities.
The rally in the mid- and small-cap stocks outpaced the rise in the benchmarks, with the CNX mid-cap and the CNX small-cap indices gaining 32 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively, during this period.
The road ahead
While most analysts agree the rally has more steam left, they expect the markets to consolidate before resuming their rally. Amid this backdrop, they suggest investors should brace for volatility. On the domestic front, analysts are also keeping a tab on the government’s reform agenda, which is expected to play out after the outcome of the state Assembly polls.
Vaibhav Sanghavi, director (equities), Ambit Investment Advisors, feels in the immediate term, the markets will react to corporate results, to be announced in October. He adds through the next six months, the Union Budget will also be a key determinant of how the markets fare.
“At the same time, there are a lot of events stacked up at the global level, including tapering of the US Fed Reserve’s bond-buying programme, economic data from Europe and China and geopolitical events. Beyond October, investors should brace for volatility, which is likely on account of global factors, rather than domestic,” he says.
On FII flows, analysts suggest long-only funds will continue to pour in. However, hot money flows are likely to be impacted due to realignment of carry trades. A stronger dollar could see some flight of capital to the US, they add.
Lalit Nambiar, fund manager, UTI Mutual Fund, says: “The strengthening of the dollar will impact global markets, including India. Besides state election results, US news flow is the most critical thing to influence market direction for India. One must realise an improvement in domestic earnings is yet to show; the markets have moved up largely on hope…The next few months might not be as easy as the recent past, in terms of FII flows to Indian markets.”
“One needs to be selective and patient while investing at current levels, as there could be some correction before the markets start to rise again. This will probably be relatively healthy for Indian markets, compared to a continuous run-up, which suddenly loses steam,” he added
Sanghavi of Ambit feels India is the best bet among emerging markets. Though he doesn’t expect the markets to correct more than 5-10 per cent through the next six months, he doesn’t feel the markets will gain more than 10-15 per cent from current levels.
On the domestic front, analysts are also keeping a tab on the government's reform agenda, which is expected to play out post the outcome of the State polls. Though they believe that the groundwork for certain essential reforms (GST, fuel price rationalisation, direct benefit schemes, government approvals) has largely been done, it is a question of implementation now.
As of September 26, FIIs had invested Rs 61,024 crore this financial year, while mutual funds had put in Rs 15,298 crore during the same period, according to Securities and Exchange Board of India data. The market rally saw the BSE Sensex and the National Stock Exchange Nifty hit their record highs of 27,355 and 8,180, respectively, after the results of the general election. “Since the formation of the government, the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) has made all the right noises, through the Union Budget and a series of announcements. These have had a positive impact on the sentiment and the investment climate. The equity market has also given a thumbs-up to most initiatives,” said a recent note by ICICI Securities.
The rally in the mid- and small-cap stocks outpaced the rise in the benchmarks, with the CNX mid-cap and the CNX small-cap indices gaining 32 per cent and 34 per cent, respectively, during this period.
The road ahead
While most analysts agree the rally has more steam left, they expect the markets to consolidate before resuming their rally. Amid this backdrop, they suggest investors should brace for volatility. On the domestic front, analysts are also keeping a tab on the government’s reform agenda, which is expected to play out after the outcome of the state Assembly polls.
Vaibhav Sanghavi, director (equities), Ambit Investment Advisors, feels in the immediate term, the markets will react to corporate results, to be announced in October. He adds through the next six months, the Union Budget will also be a key determinant of how the markets fare.
“At the same time, there are a lot of events stacked up at the global level, including tapering of the US Fed Reserve’s bond-buying programme, economic data from Europe and China and geopolitical events. Beyond October, investors should brace for volatility, which is likely on account of global factors, rather than domestic,” he says.
On FII flows, analysts suggest long-only funds will continue to pour in. However, hot money flows are likely to be impacted due to realignment of carry trades. A stronger dollar could see some flight of capital to the US, they add.
Lalit Nambiar, fund manager, UTI Mutual Fund, says: “The strengthening of the dollar will impact global markets, including India. Besides state election results, US news flow is the most critical thing to influence market direction for India. One must realise an improvement in domestic earnings is yet to show; the markets have moved up largely on hope…The next few months might not be as easy as the recent past, in terms of FII flows to Indian markets.”
“One needs to be selective and patient while investing at current levels, as there could be some correction before the markets start to rise again. This will probably be relatively healthy for Indian markets, compared to a continuous run-up, which suddenly loses steam,” he added
Sanghavi of Ambit feels India is the best bet among emerging markets. Though he doesn’t expect the markets to correct more than 5-10 per cent through the next six months, he doesn’t feel the markets will gain more than 10-15 per cent from current levels.
On the domestic front, analysts are also keeping a tab on the government's reform agenda, which is expected to play out post the outcome of the State polls. Though they believe that the groundwork for certain essential reforms (GST, fuel price rationalisation, direct benefit schemes, government approvals) has largely been done, it is a question of implementation now.
Joint statement during the visit of Prime Minister to USA
The two leaders extolled the broad strategic and globalpartnership between the United States and India, which will continue to generategreater prosperity and security for their citizens and the world. Prime Minister Modi emphasized the priority India accords to its partnership with the United States, a principal partner in the realization of India’s rise as a responsible, influential world power. Given the shared values, people-to-people ties, and pluralistic traditions, President Obama recognized that India’s rise as a friend and partner is in the United States’ interest. Theyendorsed the first "Vision Statement for the Strategic Partnership” as a guide to strengthen and deepen cooperation in every sector for the benefit of global stability and people’s livelihoods over the next ten years. They committed to a new mantra for the relationship, "ChaleinSaathSaath: Forward Together We Go.”
The two leadersrecognized that the bilateral relationshipenjoys strong support in both countries, which has allowed the strategic partnership to flourish even as the governments change.Welcoming the wide range of collaborative activities undertaken to improve their citizens’ lives, both leaders agreed to revitalize the existing partnership and find new areas for collaboration and mutual benefit.
Economic Growth
Noting that two-way trade has increased fivefold since 2001 to nearly$100 billion, President Obama and Prime Minister Modicommitted to facilitate the actions necessary to increase tradeanother fivefold.President Obama and Prime Minister Modi recognizedthat U.S. and Indian businesses have a critical role to play in sustainable, inclusive, and job-led growth and development.
In order to raise investment by institutional investors and corporate entities, the leaders pledged to establish an Indo-U.S. Investment Initiative led by the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Treasury, with special focus on capital market development and financing of infrastructure. They pledged to establish an Infrastructure Collaboration Platform convened by the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Commerce to enhance participation of U.S. companies in infrastructure projects in India.
In this context, the U.S.government welcomes India's offer for U.S. industry to be the lead partner in developing smart cities in Ajmer (Rajasthan), Vishakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) and Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh).The Prime Minister will welcome two trade missions in 2015 focused on meeting India’s infrastructure needs with U.S. technology and services.
They also committed to a new partnership to advance the Prime Minister's goal of improved access to clean water and sanitation for all. USAID, through the Urban India Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Alliance, will serve as knowledge partner to help leverage private and civil society innovation, expertise, and technology, such as with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to support the Prime Minister's 500 Cities National Urban Development Mission and Clean India Campaign.
The President welcomed the Prime Minister’s ambitious plan to extend basicfinancialservices to all its citizens, giving them powerful tools to manage their finances and more fully participate in India's growing economy.The President and Prime Minister underlinedthe important contribution that U.S. locomotive technology, equipment to monitor rail system assets, and U.S. best practices can play in modernizing India’s vast railway network, including accessing programs of U.S. Trade and Development Agency in this work.
The leaders discussed their concerns about the current impasse in the World Trade Organization and its effect on the multilateral trading system, and directed their officials to consult urgentlyalong with other WTO members on the next steps. Theleaders committed to work through the Trade Policy Forum to promote a business environment attractive for companies to invest and manufacture in India and in the United States. Agreeing on the need to foster innovation in a manner that promotes economic growth and job creation, the leaders committed to establish an annual high-level Intellectual Property (IP) Working Group with appropriate decision-making and technical-level meetings as part of the Trade Policy Forum. They recognized in particular the contribution of the Indian and U.S. Information Technology (IT) industry and the IT-enabled service industry in strengthening India-U.S. trade and investment relations.
The two leaders committed to hold public-private discussions in early 2015 under the Commercial Dialogue on new areas of cooperation, including innovation in advanced manufacturing. In order to share best practices in manufacturingand work toward greater harmonization of standards, the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Manufacturing Extension Partnership program will start a dialogue with Indian counterparts. The two countriesplan to work expeditiously through several joint initiatives to facilitate greater confidence in cross-border trade and investment.
The President also offered to support the Prime Minister to achieve his goal of preparing young Indians for 21st century jobs through new partnerships to share expertise and global standards for skills development in India, including by reinvigorating the Higher Education Dialogue.
The leaders look forward to the annual U.S.-India Economic and Financial Partnership in early 2015.They also welcomed the expansion of the partnership in oversight of financial institutions, including between Reserve Bank of India and the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Office of the Comptroller of Currency.They also agreed to reinvigorate the India-U.S. CEO Forum, and welcomed India's offer to host the Forum for the second time in early 2015.
Energy and Climate Change
The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to implement fully the U.S.-India civil nuclear cooperation agreement. They established a Contact Group on advancing the implementation of civil nuclear energy cooperation in order to realize early their shared goal of delivering electricity from U.S.-built nuclear power plants in India. They looked forward to advancing the dialogue to discuss all implementation issues, including but not limited to administrative issues, liability,technical issues, and licensing to facilitate the establishment of nuclear parks, including power plants with Westinghouse and GE-Hitachi technology.
Recognizing the critical importance of increasing energy access, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and improving resilience in the face of climate change, President Obama and Prime Minister Modi agreed to a new and enhanced strategic partnership on energy security, clean energy, and climate change. They agreed to strengthen and expand the highly successful U.S.-India Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE) through a series of priority initiatives, including anew Energy Smart Cities Partnership to promote efficient urban energy infrastructure; a new program to scale-up renewable energy integration into India’s power grid; cooperation to support India’s efforts to upgrade its alternative energy institutes and to develop new innovation centers; an expansion of the Promoting Energy Access through Clean Energy (PEACE) program to unlock additional private sector investment and accelerate the deployment of cost-effective, super-efficient appliances; and the formation ofa new Clean Energy Finance Forum to promoteinvestment and trade in clean energy projects.
Both leadersare committed to working towards a successful outcome in Paris in 2015 of the conference of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), including the creation of a new global agreement on climate change.
The leaders recalled previous bilateral and multilateral statementson the phase-down of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). They recognized the need to use the institutions and expertise of the Montreal Protocol to reduce consumption and production of HFCs, while continuing to report and account for the quantities reduced under the UNFCCC. They pledged to urgently arrange a meeting of their bilateral task force on HFCs prior to the next meeting of the Montreal Protocol to discuss issues such as safety, cost, and commercial access to new or alternative technologies to replace HFCs. The two sides would thereafter cooperate on next steps to tackle the challenge posed by HFCs to global warming.
They launched a new U.S.-India Partnership for Climate Resilience to advance capacity for climate adaptation planning, and a new program of work on air quality aimed at delivering benefits for climate change and human health.
They also launched a new U.S.-India Climate Fellowship Program to build long-term capacity to address climate change-related issues in both countries. The President and Prime Minister instructed their senior officials to work through the U.S.-India Energy Dialogue, U.S.-India Joint Working Group on Combating Climate Change, and other relevant fora to advance these and other initiatives.
The leaders welcomed the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Export-Import Bank and the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency, which would make up to $1 billion in financing available to bolster India’s efforts to transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient energy economy, while boosting U.S. renewableenergy exports to India. The two leaders reiterated the importance of conserving India's precious biodiversity and agreed to explore opportunities for collaboration on national parks and wildlife conservation.
Defense and Homeland Security Cooperation
The Prime Minister and the President stated their intention to expand defense cooperation to bolster national, regional, and global security. The two leaders reaffirmed that India and the United States would build an enduring partnership in which both sides treat each other at the same level as their closest partners, including defense technology transfers, trade, research, co-production, and co-development.
To facilitate deeper defense cooperation, they welcomed the decision to renew for ten more years the 2005 Framework for the U.S.-India Defense Relationshipand directed their defense teams to develop plans for more ambitious programs and activities. The two leaders also agreed to reinvigorate the Political-Military Dialogue and expand its role to serve as a wider dialogue on export licensing, defense cooperation and strategic cooperation.
The leaders welcomed the first meeting under the framework of the Defense Trade and Technology Initiative in September 2014 and endorsed its decision to establish a Task Force to expeditiously evaluate and decide on unique projects and technologies which would have a transformative impact on bilateral defense relations and enhance India's defense industry and military capabilities.
The President and Prime Minister welcomed cooperation in the area of military education and training, and endorsed plans for the United States to cooperate with India's planned National Defence University. They also decided to expand military-to-military partnerships including expert exchanges, dialogues, and joint training and exercises. They also committed to enhancing exchanges of civilian and military intelligence and consultation.
The leaders agreed to intensify cooperation in maritime security to ensure freedom of navigation and unimpeded movement of lawful shipping and commercial activity, in accordance with accepted principles of international law. To achieve this objective, the two sides considered enhancing technology partnerships for India's Navy including assessing possible areas of technology cooperation. They also agreed to upgrade their existing bilateral exercise MALABAR.
The leaders reaffirmed their deep concern over the continued threat posed by terrorism, most recently highlighted by the dangers presented by the ISIL, and underlined the need for continued comprehensive global efforts to combat and defeat terrorism.The leaders stressed the need for joint and concerted efforts, including the dismantling of safe havens for terrorist and criminal networks, to disrupt all financial and tactical support for networks such as Al Qaeda,Lashkar-e Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, the D-Company, and the Haqqanis. They reiterated their call for Pakistan to bring the perpetrators of the November 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai to justice.
They pledged to enhance criminal law enforcement, security, and military information exchanges, and strengthen cooperation on extradition and mutual legal assistance. Through operational cooperation through their law enforcementagencies, they aimed to prevent the spread of counterfeit currency and inhibit the use of cyberspace by terrorists, criminals, and those who use the internet for unlawful purposes, and to facilitate investigation of criminal and terrorist activities. The leaders also committed to identify modalities to exchange terrorist watch lists. President Obama pledgedto help India counter the threat of improvised explosive devices with information and technology. The leaders committed to pursue provision of U.S.-made mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles to India.
The President and Prime Minister looked forward to easing travel between their two countries, as India introduces visa-on-arrival for U.S. citizens in 2015 and works toward meeting the requirements to make the United States’ Global Entry Program available to Indian citizens.
High Technology, Space and Health Cooperation
Fundamental science and high technology cooperation has been a critical pillar of the strategic partnership, the two leaders confirmed, and they looked forward to renewing the Science and Technology Agreement in order to expand joint activities in innovative technology. The Prime Minister welcomed the United States as a partner country, for the first time, at India’s annual Technology Summit in November 2014.In addition, they committed to convene the ninth High Technology Cooperation Group (HTCG). They planto launch new partnerships to source and scale innovation for the benefit of citizens in both countries and to harness innovation to solve global development challenges.
The President welcomed India’s contribution and cooperation on high-energy physics and accelerator research and development with the U.S. Department of Energy. The President thanked the Prime Minister for his offer to have U.S. institutionspartner with a newIndian Institute of Technology.
The leaders committed to partner on the Digital India initiative, with the goal of enhancing digital infrastructure, deploying e-governance and e-services, promoting industry collaboration, and digitally empowering India’s citizens.The President welcomed India's proposal to establish the Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN, or Knowledge) under which India would invite and host upto 1,000 American academics each year to teach in centrally-recognized Indian Universities, at their convenience.
The two leaders exchanged congratulations onthe successful entry into orbit of their respective Mars missions, which occurred two days apart. They welcomed the establishment and planned first meetingof the NASA-ISROMars Joint Working Group under the U.S.-India Civil Space Joint Working Group. The leaders also look forward to the successful conclusion of a new agreement to support the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission, to be launched in 2021.
The United and India also intend to start a new dialogue on maintaining long-term security and sustainability of the outer space environment, including space situational awareness and collision avoidance in outer space.
The President and Prime Minister recognized the extensive ongoing cooperation in the health sector which they will put to use in preventing the spread of the Ebola virus. The President welcomed India’scontribution to the UN Fund and donation of protective gear to the effort against Ebola, and thanked the Prime Minister for encouraging Indian-owned businesses in West Africa to contribute to the fight against Ebola. The Prime Minister also offered to deploy Indian expertise in the fight against Ebola, including by investing its resources in producing modelling of the spread of the disease, jointly producing rapid deployable diagnostics, and considering joint training of response personnel.The United States stands ready to amplify India's efforts to achieve a further reduction in preventable child and maternal deaths, including replicating India's successful approaches in other countries.
The leaders agreed to launch a new phase of the India-U.S. Vaccine Action Program to develop affordable vaccines for dengue, malaria, and tuberculosis, and the establishment of an adjuvant development center. They also agreed in principle to initiate cooperative activities to increase capacity in cancer research and patient care delivery, including by developing collaborative programs for and with India's upcoming AIIMS-National Cancer Institute. The President welcomed India’s offer to take a leading role in the Global Health Security Agenda.
Global Issues and Regional Consultations
Highlighting their shared democratic values, the President and Prime Minister recognized the critical role that women play in India and the United States, as shown by India’s "BetiBachao, BetiPadhao” ("Save Daughters, CelebrateDaughters, Educate Daughters”)initiative. They looked forward to holding a Women Empowerment Dialogue in order to exchange best practices to enhance the role of women in their countries, and they asserted zero tolerance for violence against women.
As a critical step in strengthening global nonproliferation and export control regimes, the President and Prime Minister committed to continue work towards India’s phased entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australia Group. The President affirmed that India meets MTCR requirements and is ready for membership in the NSG. He supported India’s early application and eventual membership in all four regimes.
As active participants in the Nuclear Security Summit process, the United States and India welcomed progress toward reducing the risk of terrorists acquiring nuclear weapons or related materials, and noted their shared commitment to improving nuclear security nationally and globally. They reviewed their bilateral dialogue on nuclear security and endorsed working through India’s Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership to reinforce safe and secure use of nuclear energy worldwide. They also pledged to strengthen their efforts to forge a partnership to lead global efforts for non-proliferation of WMDs, to reduce the salience of nuclear weapons in international affairs, and to promote universal, verifiable, and non-discriminatory global nuclear disarmament.
Noting India’s "ActEast” policy and the United States’ rebalance to Asia, the leaders committed to work more closely with other Asia Pacific countries through consultations, dialogues, and joint exercises. They underlined the importance of their trilateral dialogue with Japan and decided to explore holding this dialogue among their Foreign Ministers.
The President and Prime Minister emphasized the need to accelerate infrastructure connectivity and economic development corridors for regional economic integration linking South, Southeast, and Central Asia. The President reiterated that the United States, through its New Silk Road and
India-Pacific Economic Corridor, is promoting the linkage of India to its neighbors and the wider region to enable a freer flow of commerce and energy.
The President and Prime Minister noted the success of their countries’ collaboration on agricultural innovation in three African countries.They announced a new agreement to expand joint development initiatives in third countries in a range of sectors, including agricultural productivity, clean energy, health, women’s empowerment, and disaster preparedness. They also look forward to continuing the productive cooperation in Afghanistan on promoting women’s economic empowerment.
The Prime Minister and the President reaffirmed their shared interest in preserving regional peace and stability, which are critical to the Asia Pacific region's continued prosperity. The leaders expressed concern about rising tensions over maritime territorial disputes, and affirmed the importance of safeguarding maritime security and ensuring freedom of navigation and over flight throughout the region, especially in the South China Sea. The Prime Minister and President called on all parties to avoid the use, or threat of use, of force in advancing their claims. The two leaders urged the concerned parties to pursue resolution of their territorial and maritime disputes through all peaceful means,in accordance with universally recognized principles of international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
India and the United States pledged to consult closely on global crises, especially unfolding events in Syria and Iraq. The two leaders committed to exchange information about nationals returning from these conflict zones, and to seek cooperation in protecting and responding to the needs of civilians stranded in the middle of these conflicts.
Recognizing the importance of their respective strategic partnerships with Afghanistan, the leaders asserted the importance of a sustainable, inclusive, sovereign, and democraticpolitical order in Afghanistan, and committed to continue close consultations and cooperation in support of Afghanistan’s future.
They stressed the need for diplomacy to resolve the serious concerns of the international community regarding Iran’s nuclear program, and called on Iran to comply with its UN Security Council-imposed obligations and to cooperate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The two leaders expressed concerns over the continued development by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, including its uranium enrichment activities. They urged DPRK to take concrete actions toward denuclearization and other goals, as well as to comply fully with all its international obligations, including all relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and to fulfill its commitments under the 2005 Joint Statement of the Six-Party Talks.
The President expressed appreciation for the contributions of Indian peacekeepers to global peace and stability for the past 60 years, and welcomed the partnership with India to train third country peacekeepers at India’s training center in New Delhi. The President reaffirmed his support for a reformed UN Security Council with India as a permanent member, and both leaderscommitted to ensuring that the Security Council continues to play an effective role in maintaining international peace and security as envisioned in the United Nations Charter.
The President also affirmed his commitment to enhancing India's voice and vote in international financial institutions, and ensuring that resources are made available and are used creatively through multilateral development banks for infrastructure financing.
The President thanked the Prime Minister for the gracious invitation to return to the great nation of India. In conclusion, the two leaders affirmed their long-term vision for a resilient and ambitious partnership through the first "Vision Statement for the Strategic Partnership,” which they will hold up as the guiding framework for their governments and people.
Tata Power signs deal with Honeywell to build defence navigator in India
Mumbai: Honeywell Aerospace on Monday said it has signed a licensing agreement with Tata Power Co. Ltd's strategic engineering division (SED), enabling it to produce Honeywell's Tactical Advanced Land Inertial Navigator, or "TALIN", in India. It did not disclose the financial details.
This Honeywell-patented technology enables vehicles and artillery to navigate precisely, even where global positioning system (GPS) satellite guidance is not available, to increase troop safety and maximize mission success.
Aligning with the Indian government's objective of organically growing its defence industry and the call for Make in India, Honeywell will licence the design, hardware and expertise to assemble, test and, in the future, build the production kits for TALIN to Tata Power SED, Honeywell said in a statement.
TALIN is a highly accurate, shock-stabilized position and pointing inertial navigation system designed for use on a wide range of military and commercial platforms. It provides users with extremely precise attitude and position awareness with or without the use of GPS.
"Our strategic agreement with Honeywell supports Tata Power SED's commitment to the Make in India initiative-a priority for India's new government," said Rahul Chaudhry, chief executive officer at Tata Power SED.
"We are proud to have completed this technology-sharing arrangement, which will offer the Indian armed forces a state-of-the-art inertial navigation technology, made in India and with local product support. This agreement sets the standard for locally produced defense technologies to sustain India's military growth and mission success over the coming years," he said.
The initial efforts will begin in 2015 for TALIN 2000, with production and manufacturing of the system components expected by 2016. At this time, the agreement will also be extended to cover Honeywell's TALIN 3000, 4000 and 5000 products, which offer varying capabilities to suit a wide range of operational requirements, the company said in a statement.
"TALIN represents the latest in GPS-free navigation and positioning technology, designed to improve asset safety and ultimately mission success," said Arijit Ghosh, president-India, Honeywell Aerospace.
At 1.07pm, Honeywell Automation India Ltd rose 7.5% to Rs.5,637.50, while Tata Power was trading at Rs.83.70, down 0.7% from its previous close. India's benchmark stock index Sensex gained 0.16% to 26,668.92 points.
This Honeywell-patented technology enables vehicles and artillery to navigate precisely, even where global positioning system (GPS) satellite guidance is not available, to increase troop safety and maximize mission success.
Aligning with the Indian government's objective of organically growing its defence industry and the call for Make in India, Honeywell will licence the design, hardware and expertise to assemble, test and, in the future, build the production kits for TALIN to Tata Power SED, Honeywell said in a statement.
TALIN is a highly accurate, shock-stabilized position and pointing inertial navigation system designed for use on a wide range of military and commercial platforms. It provides users with extremely precise attitude and position awareness with or without the use of GPS.
"Our strategic agreement with Honeywell supports Tata Power SED's commitment to the Make in India initiative-a priority for India's new government," said Rahul Chaudhry, chief executive officer at Tata Power SED.
"We are proud to have completed this technology-sharing arrangement, which will offer the Indian armed forces a state-of-the-art inertial navigation technology, made in India and with local product support. This agreement sets the standard for locally produced defense technologies to sustain India's military growth and mission success over the coming years," he said.
The initial efforts will begin in 2015 for TALIN 2000, with production and manufacturing of the system components expected by 2016. At this time, the agreement will also be extended to cover Honeywell's TALIN 3000, 4000 and 5000 products, which offer varying capabilities to suit a wide range of operational requirements, the company said in a statement.
"TALIN represents the latest in GPS-free navigation and positioning technology, designed to improve asset safety and ultimately mission success," said Arijit Ghosh, president-India, Honeywell Aerospace.
At 1.07pm, Honeywell Automation India Ltd rose 7.5% to Rs.5,637.50, while Tata Power was trading at Rs.83.70, down 0.7% from its previous close. India's benchmark stock index Sensex gained 0.16% to 26,668.92 points.
Strides Arcolab to buy Shasun Pharma in all-stock deal
Bengaluru: Strides Arcolab, a Bangalore-based mid-size publicly-held pharmaceutical company, will acquire Chennai-based Shasun Phamaceutical in an all-stock transaction. The combined entity will have revenues of Rs 2,500 crore.
As part of this acquisition, shareholders of Shasun will get five equity shares of Strides in lieu of 16 Shasun shares. Based on the exchange ratio, Shasun shareholders will own 26 per cent of the combined entity. After the approval of the merger, the current promoters of Shasun will be categorised as promoters of the combined entity, along with the existing promoters of Strides.
This combination will create a vertically-integrated pharma company with presence in front-ended regulated markets finished dosages, emerging markets branded generics, institutional business, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and contract research and manufacturing services (Crams). A key rationale for this acquisition is to leverage on Shasun's footprint in the API manufacturing capacities.
According to a joint statement, this combination enhances finished dosages portfolio in niche and complex domains with a pipeline of 100 products and accelerates product filings with a combined research and development strength of 400 personnel. "It will also result in de-risking of operations with the combined entity having 12 manufacturing facilities including three USFDA (US Food and Drug Administration)-approved finished dosage manufacturing facilities, two USFDA-approved API manufacturing facilities, one USFDA-approved Crams facility and six manufacturing facilities catering to the emerging markets," the statement added.
Commenting on the merger, Arun Kumar, founder and group chief executive officer of Strides, said: "Since the divestment of our injectables business, which resulted in significant value creation for our shareholders, Strides has re-focused on its oral finished formulation business. Today's proposed combination with Shasun accelerates that step with use of our combined infrastructure."
While Strides Arcolab stock gained a good 9 per cent to close at Rs 699.65 per share on NSE, Shasun stocked dropped by 0.33% and closed at Rs 196.15 per share on Monday.
As part of this acquisition, shareholders of Shasun will get five equity shares of Strides in lieu of 16 Shasun shares. Based on the exchange ratio, Shasun shareholders will own 26 per cent of the combined entity. After the approval of the merger, the current promoters of Shasun will be categorised as promoters of the combined entity, along with the existing promoters of Strides.
This combination will create a vertically-integrated pharma company with presence in front-ended regulated markets finished dosages, emerging markets branded generics, institutional business, active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and contract research and manufacturing services (Crams). A key rationale for this acquisition is to leverage on Shasun's footprint in the API manufacturing capacities.
According to a joint statement, this combination enhances finished dosages portfolio in niche and complex domains with a pipeline of 100 products and accelerates product filings with a combined research and development strength of 400 personnel. "It will also result in de-risking of operations with the combined entity having 12 manufacturing facilities including three USFDA (US Food and Drug Administration)-approved finished dosage manufacturing facilities, two USFDA-approved API manufacturing facilities, one USFDA-approved Crams facility and six manufacturing facilities catering to the emerging markets," the statement added.
Commenting on the merger, Arun Kumar, founder and group chief executive officer of Strides, said: "Since the divestment of our injectables business, which resulted in significant value creation for our shareholders, Strides has re-focused on its oral finished formulation business. Today's proposed combination with Shasun accelerates that step with use of our combined infrastructure."
While Strides Arcolab stock gained a good 9 per cent to close at Rs 699.65 per share on NSE, Shasun stocked dropped by 0.33% and closed at Rs 196.15 per share on Monday.
General Motors India begins vehicle exports to Chile
Chennai: General Motors India has commenced vehicle exports to Chile. The first 140 left hand drive Chevrolet Beat cars were shipped from Mumbai on September 25. They are expected to reach Chile in the next few weeks.
"The first shipment of Chevrolet Beats demonstrates our commitment to make our India-built products available in global markets," said GM India president and managing director Arvind Saxena. "We will continue to ship models to Chile on a monthly basis."
The Beat is produced at GM India's state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Talegaon, Maharashtra. Available with gasoline and diesel engines, the Beat is India's most fuel-efficient hatchback and GM India's best-selling model. The city car is also built and sold in many other markets around the world. Saxena said, "We expect to identify additional export markets going forward. This will help drive capacity utilization at our Talegaon plant," he said.
GM CEO Mary Barra recently visited India and participated in the rollout of the first Beat for export on September 10. The Talegaon manufacturing facility has an annual production capacity of 170,000 vehicles and 160,000 engines.
"The first shipment of Chevrolet Beats demonstrates our commitment to make our India-built products available in global markets," said GM India president and managing director Arvind Saxena. "We will continue to ship models to Chile on a monthly basis."
The Beat is produced at GM India's state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Talegaon, Maharashtra. Available with gasoline and diesel engines, the Beat is India's most fuel-efficient hatchback and GM India's best-selling model. The city car is also built and sold in many other markets around the world. Saxena said, "We expect to identify additional export markets going forward. This will help drive capacity utilization at our Talegaon plant," he said.
GM CEO Mary Barra recently visited India and participated in the rollout of the first Beat for export on September 10. The Talegaon manufacturing facility has an annual production capacity of 170,000 vehicles and 160,000 engines.
Google India signs pact with Andhra Pradesh govt to enable Digital AP vision
Mumbai: Google India and the Andhra Pradesh government will launch a number of initiatives aimed at bridging the state's digital divide and enabling skill development, according to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two on Monday.
The measures are part of chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's Digital AP vision.
Google India will work with the state government to get women and small and medium businesses online and help them benefit from the Internet economy; help the state government make its websites mobile-ready and accessible in the local language; promote Internet safety among children and government officials; and improve and get more local language content online.
"We want to become the first state to embrace the prime minister's vision of Digital India and set an example for other states to follow. We are happy to announce a number of initiatives along with Google, that will serve as the foundation in achieving the Digital AP vision. I will be personally involved in ensuring the roll out of these initiatives and monitor the impact," said Naidu.
"Creating awareness about the benefits of Internet and promoting its adoption amongst women, small medium businesses and children can deliver a huge economic impact for the state. Improving accessibility to government websites and scaling the local language web can open up a whole new opportunity for local entrepreneurs and make the Internet more meaningful to non-English speaking users," said Rajan Anandan, vice-president and managing director, Google India.
On 5 September, Naidu told the Press Trust of India: "Our Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi has an ambition to make the country a Digital India. Now I am thinking to transform Andhra Pradesh into Digital AP prior to other states."
The measures are part of chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu's Digital AP vision.
Google India will work with the state government to get women and small and medium businesses online and help them benefit from the Internet economy; help the state government make its websites mobile-ready and accessible in the local language; promote Internet safety among children and government officials; and improve and get more local language content online.
"We want to become the first state to embrace the prime minister's vision of Digital India and set an example for other states to follow. We are happy to announce a number of initiatives along with Google, that will serve as the foundation in achieving the Digital AP vision. I will be personally involved in ensuring the roll out of these initiatives and monitor the impact," said Naidu.
"Creating awareness about the benefits of Internet and promoting its adoption amongst women, small medium businesses and children can deliver a huge economic impact for the state. Improving accessibility to government websites and scaling the local language web can open up a whole new opportunity for local entrepreneurs and make the Internet more meaningful to non-English speaking users," said Rajan Anandan, vice-president and managing director, Google India.
On 5 September, Naidu told the Press Trust of India: "Our Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi has an ambition to make the country a Digital India. Now I am thinking to transform Andhra Pradesh into Digital AP prior to other states."
Indians to see 10.8% pay rise in 2015: Survey
Mumbai: Indian employees are expected to see a salary hike of 10.8 per cent in 2015, said a survey by Towers Watson. According to the the Towers Watson 2014-15 Asia-Pacific Salary Budget Planning Report, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam are set to lead the way with over 11 per cent overall salary increases while India is placed at the fourth position.
Salaries across Asia Pacific are set to rise by an average 7 per cent in 2015 as per which included 2,900 sets of responses received from over 300 different companies across a range of industry sectors and job grades from 20 countries. However, a corresponding rise in inflation in the region implies that pay increases in 'real terms' will be eroded in the coming year.
Interestingly, China rose to the top with a real salary increase of 5.2 per cent after allowing for inflation, trailed by Pakistan (4.5 per cent), Bangladesh (4.3 per cent), Vietnam (4.1 per cent) and Sri Lanka (3.8 per cent). India dropped down by two places to sixth position with a corresponding real increase of 3.5 per cent.
The survey said that in what is a clear indication of a positive economic sentiment, all 20 surveyed countries will witness an increase in 'regular salary reviews' in 2015 with a noteworthy reduction in the number of companies that opted for a 'salary freeze' or 'postponement' in the previous year.
"We foresee an increased economic growth in Asia Pacific in 2015 in light of a declining unemployment rate and rising GDP in the region. This, in turn, will lead to inflationary pressures that affect real salary increases. Indians will only see an effective salary increase that is one-third of the overall salary increase due to such pressures," said Sambhav Rakyan, Data Services practice leader, Asia Pacific at Towers Watson.
Across the region, the survey said that employees will have pay raises equal to or higher than last year in percentage terms, with the exception of Taiwan, where the rate of increase will drop from 2.8 per cent to 1.7 per cent after inflation.
The Towers Watson survey illustrates the challenge faced by businesses in the region as they seek to balance the effect of growing inflationary pressures and managing costs, while continuing to offer salaries sufficient to attract and retain skilled staff. "Our research demonstrates that salary continues to be the number one factor for attracting and retaining talent. As a result, a majority of employers across Asia Pacific plan to allocate a larger portion of salary budget increase to high performers," added Mr. Rakyan.
Analysing the findings by employee groups in India reveals that all employees - from production workers to executive directors - are set to have higher pay raises than last year.
The pharmaceutical sector across the region, including in India, will continue to have amongst the highest salary increases. It said that Vietnam (12 per cent), India (11.5 per cent) and China (8.9 per cent) will see the highest pay increases in this sector.
The financial services sector in India has traditionally seen higher comparative pay increases, but at a modest 10 per cent, the projected salary increase for 2015 is the same as the previous year and not as high as other sectors.
"Compensation at financial institutions has become a major concern for governments and the general public as a consequence of the recent global financial crises," said Rakyan, adding that discussions have been raised to regulate bankers' compensation, especially for those whose daily job tasks include risk taking that can have a significant financial impact on the bank.
Interestingly, Indian employees at both ends of the hierarchy - top management and blue collar staff - are likely to see the highest comparative pay increase in 2015.
In 8 out of the 10 sectors surveyed, the pay raises for Executive Directors and Senior Management in India are expected to be higher than or equal to 2014 with the Professional Services sector particularly standing out at 4.5 percent.
Salaries across Asia Pacific are set to rise by an average 7 per cent in 2015 as per which included 2,900 sets of responses received from over 300 different companies across a range of industry sectors and job grades from 20 countries. However, a corresponding rise in inflation in the region implies that pay increases in 'real terms' will be eroded in the coming year.
Interestingly, China rose to the top with a real salary increase of 5.2 per cent after allowing for inflation, trailed by Pakistan (4.5 per cent), Bangladesh (4.3 per cent), Vietnam (4.1 per cent) and Sri Lanka (3.8 per cent). India dropped down by two places to sixth position with a corresponding real increase of 3.5 per cent.
The survey said that in what is a clear indication of a positive economic sentiment, all 20 surveyed countries will witness an increase in 'regular salary reviews' in 2015 with a noteworthy reduction in the number of companies that opted for a 'salary freeze' or 'postponement' in the previous year.
"We foresee an increased economic growth in Asia Pacific in 2015 in light of a declining unemployment rate and rising GDP in the region. This, in turn, will lead to inflationary pressures that affect real salary increases. Indians will only see an effective salary increase that is one-third of the overall salary increase due to such pressures," said Sambhav Rakyan, Data Services practice leader, Asia Pacific at Towers Watson.
Across the region, the survey said that employees will have pay raises equal to or higher than last year in percentage terms, with the exception of Taiwan, where the rate of increase will drop from 2.8 per cent to 1.7 per cent after inflation.
The Towers Watson survey illustrates the challenge faced by businesses in the region as they seek to balance the effect of growing inflationary pressures and managing costs, while continuing to offer salaries sufficient to attract and retain skilled staff. "Our research demonstrates that salary continues to be the number one factor for attracting and retaining talent. As a result, a majority of employers across Asia Pacific plan to allocate a larger portion of salary budget increase to high performers," added Mr. Rakyan.
Analysing the findings by employee groups in India reveals that all employees - from production workers to executive directors - are set to have higher pay raises than last year.
The pharmaceutical sector across the region, including in India, will continue to have amongst the highest salary increases. It said that Vietnam (12 per cent), India (11.5 per cent) and China (8.9 per cent) will see the highest pay increases in this sector.
The financial services sector in India has traditionally seen higher comparative pay increases, but at a modest 10 per cent, the projected salary increase for 2015 is the same as the previous year and not as high as other sectors.
"Compensation at financial institutions has become a major concern for governments and the general public as a consequence of the recent global financial crises," said Rakyan, adding that discussions have been raised to regulate bankers' compensation, especially for those whose daily job tasks include risk taking that can have a significant financial impact on the bank.
Interestingly, Indian employees at both ends of the hierarchy - top management and blue collar staff - are likely to see the highest comparative pay increase in 2015.
In 8 out of the 10 sectors surveyed, the pay raises for Executive Directors and Senior Management in India are expected to be higher than or equal to 2014 with the Professional Services sector particularly standing out at 4.5 percent.
Monday, July 14, 2014
Blaupunkt eyeing 25% growth in India biz this year
Kochi: Blaupunkt, the world leader in car infotainment and sound, is eyeing a 25 per cent growth in its India business this year thanks to signs of revival in the auto sector.
Last year, the company had garnered a sales revenue of Rs 125 crore through its OEM and after-sales market despite the slowdown affecting OEM sales considerably. However, the company managed the situation by focussing on after-sales service, Lars Placke, CEO and Managing Director, Blaupunkt, told Business Line on the sidelines of a function.
Placke was here to inaugurate the company’s first brand shop in India at Kochi which offers the entire product portfolio.
After drop in sales in 2012-13, he said the auto sector has started picking up this year with a visible improvement in OEM sales which is expected to continue.
Today, the company is infotainment partner of choice to leading passenger car OEs, including VW, Audi, Hyundai, and Suzuki, as well as a number of commercial vehicle providers.
Referring to brand shops, he said it would not only provide a platform for Blaupunkt to display its entire range but be the part of the company’s retail expansion strategy to scale up distribution and reach across the country.
The brand shop enables Blaupunkt to get closer to the customer and the company is aiming to launch 20 more stores in main cities in the next two years. These shops would play the role of a support centre for dealers to get more information on the products rather than offering them a competition, he added.
The company, he said, is developing next generation connected car infotainment platforms that enable multimedia, navigation, smartphone integration, 3G/WiFi connectivity, android applications, CAN base vehicle diagnostics, telematics and driver assistance.
Asked why the company has chosen Kerala to set up its first brand shop, Pankaj Jagwani, Director, Blaupunkt India, said that the State is an important market in retail perspective as the customers are more familiar with high-end products, may be because of their connections with Gulf nations.
Last year, the company had garnered a sales revenue of Rs 125 crore through its OEM and after-sales market despite the slowdown affecting OEM sales considerably. However, the company managed the situation by focussing on after-sales service, Lars Placke, CEO and Managing Director, Blaupunkt, told Business Line on the sidelines of a function.
Placke was here to inaugurate the company’s first brand shop in India at Kochi which offers the entire product portfolio.
After drop in sales in 2012-13, he said the auto sector has started picking up this year with a visible improvement in OEM sales which is expected to continue.
Today, the company is infotainment partner of choice to leading passenger car OEs, including VW, Audi, Hyundai, and Suzuki, as well as a number of commercial vehicle providers.
Referring to brand shops, he said it would not only provide a platform for Blaupunkt to display its entire range but be the part of the company’s retail expansion strategy to scale up distribution and reach across the country.
The brand shop enables Blaupunkt to get closer to the customer and the company is aiming to launch 20 more stores in main cities in the next two years. These shops would play the role of a support centre for dealers to get more information on the products rather than offering them a competition, he added.
The company, he said, is developing next generation connected car infotainment platforms that enable multimedia, navigation, smartphone integration, 3G/WiFi connectivity, android applications, CAN base vehicle diagnostics, telematics and driver assistance.
Asked why the company has chosen Kerala to set up its first brand shop, Pankaj Jagwani, Director, Blaupunkt India, said that the State is an important market in retail perspective as the customers are more familiar with high-end products, may be because of their connections with Gulf nations.
HLL Lifecare ties up with Tata Memorial Centre
Thiruvananthapuram: HLL Lifecare, a Central public sector undertaking based here, has teamed up with Tata Memorial Centre for constructing a modern women and children cancer hospital at Parel in Mumbai.
The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding whereby they assigned the project management consultancy to the infrastructure development division of HLL Lifecare.
Hadron beam facility
The construction of the Rs 350-crore hospital is expected to be completed within 30 months.
The project will include a hadron beam facility, which an official spokesman said is the first of its kind in India and only the 12th in the world, that offers advanced and precise proton therapy for cancer patients.
Hadrons help irradiate cancerous tumours with lesser damage to surrounding healthy tissues than X-rays are thought to cause in conventional radiation therapy.
Hindustan Lifecare is proud to be associated with Tata Memorial Centre, a spokesman quoted M Ayyappan, Chairman and Managing Director, as saying.
Primary care
Commissioned in 1941, Tata Memorial Centre is among India’s most comprehensive centres for treatment, education, research and prevention of cancer.
It attracts around 43,000 new patients every year from all parts of India and neighbouring countries. Nearly 60 per cent of them receive primary care at the hospital; more than 70 per cent are treated almost free.
At least 1,000 patients report as out patients every day, the spokesman said.
As for HLL Lifecare, its infrastructure development and facility management division provides services in design, engineering, execution and management of healthcare facilities.
Among its clients are the central and various state governments, the National Rural Health Mission, the Employees State Insurance Corporation; Jipmer, Puducherry; medical colleges at Bangalore, Salem and Madurai; and the Kerala University of Health Sciences.
The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding whereby they assigned the project management consultancy to the infrastructure development division of HLL Lifecare.
Hadron beam facility
The construction of the Rs 350-crore hospital is expected to be completed within 30 months.
The project will include a hadron beam facility, which an official spokesman said is the first of its kind in India and only the 12th in the world, that offers advanced and precise proton therapy for cancer patients.
Hadrons help irradiate cancerous tumours with lesser damage to surrounding healthy tissues than X-rays are thought to cause in conventional radiation therapy.
Hindustan Lifecare is proud to be associated with Tata Memorial Centre, a spokesman quoted M Ayyappan, Chairman and Managing Director, as saying.
Primary care
Commissioned in 1941, Tata Memorial Centre is among India’s most comprehensive centres for treatment, education, research and prevention of cancer.
It attracts around 43,000 new patients every year from all parts of India and neighbouring countries. Nearly 60 per cent of them receive primary care at the hospital; more than 70 per cent are treated almost free.
At least 1,000 patients report as out patients every day, the spokesman said.
As for HLL Lifecare, its infrastructure development and facility management division provides services in design, engineering, execution and management of healthcare facilities.
Among its clients are the central and various state governments, the National Rural Health Mission, the Employees State Insurance Corporation; Jipmer, Puducherry; medical colleges at Bangalore, Salem and Madurai; and the Kerala University of Health Sciences.
Keys Hotels to unlock 100 properties in India by 2018
Keys Hotels, a mid-market brand of New York-based proprietary fund, Berggruen Holdings, is aggressively stepping up expansion in the country with plans to have 100 hotels by 2018, up from 36 now, as part of its growth strategy in Asia's third largest economy.
A few days back, it took over the management of Ras Resorts in Silvassa, adding 85 more rooms to its inventory of 1,500 rooms. Keys, in which its MD & CEO Sanjay Sethi too owns a significant equity stake, has been active in India since 2007.
The young hospitality company will use a mix of business models, including the management format, to ramp up the number of properties to 100 in the next five years.
A few days back, it took over the management of Ras Resorts in Silvassa, adding 85 more rooms to its inventory of 1,500 rooms. Keys, in which its MD & CEO Sanjay Sethi too owns a significant equity stake, has been active in India since 2007.
The young hospitality company will use a mix of business models, including the management format, to ramp up the number of properties to 100 in the next five years.
M&A activity in India up 47% to US$ 17.1 billion in 2014
New Delhi: India targeted mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity registered a growth of 47.4 per cent in H1 2014 to touch US$ 17.1 billion, as compared to US$ 11.6 billion in H1 2013, according to a report by Mergermarket.
In the first quarter from January-March 2014, there were M&A transactions worth US$ 3.7 billion only while the next quarter from April-June 2014 saw deals worth US$ 13.4 billion, which accounted for 78 per cent of the total first-half deal value.
The second quarter this year was the most active quarter since the second quarter of 2012. Moreover, there was also an influx of large cap deals compared to the first quarter of this year. Diageo and Vodafone Group provided the largest deals, which resulted in impressive second quarter for inbound activities valued at around US$ 6.3 billion.
The most active sectors in the first two quarters of 2014 were the pharma, medical and biotech sectors, as they accounted for 27 per cent of market share from deals worth US$ 4.6 billion.
In spite of the fact that the industrials and chemicals sector led the industry chart in terms of number of deals, 27 in number, the deal value summed up to just around US$ 0.6 billion, which was down by 61.4 per cent over the corresponding period in the previous year.
The highlight of the first half of this year’s deals was the US$ 3.97-billion Sun Pharma-Ranbaxy deal followed by the Diageo deal where it acquired 26 per cent stake in United Spirits for US$ 3.14 billion and the Vodafone Group’s deal where it acquired 10.97 per cent stake in Vodafone India from Piramal Enterprises for a sum of US$ 1.47 billion.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) acquiring Dhamra Port in Odisha from Tata Steel and L&T Infrastructure Development Projects (L&T IDPL) and Reliance Industries-Network 18 Media deals were some other major deals as mentioned in the report.
The report also mentioned that Citi topped the financial advisor league table by advising on five deals worth around US$ 8.2 billion, while the top position for the number of deals was clinched by EY which was a part of 13 transactions totaling around US$ 5.2 billion.
In the first quarter from January-March 2014, there were M&A transactions worth US$ 3.7 billion only while the next quarter from April-June 2014 saw deals worth US$ 13.4 billion, which accounted for 78 per cent of the total first-half deal value.
The second quarter this year was the most active quarter since the second quarter of 2012. Moreover, there was also an influx of large cap deals compared to the first quarter of this year. Diageo and Vodafone Group provided the largest deals, which resulted in impressive second quarter for inbound activities valued at around US$ 6.3 billion.
The most active sectors in the first two quarters of 2014 were the pharma, medical and biotech sectors, as they accounted for 27 per cent of market share from deals worth US$ 4.6 billion.
In spite of the fact that the industrials and chemicals sector led the industry chart in terms of number of deals, 27 in number, the deal value summed up to just around US$ 0.6 billion, which was down by 61.4 per cent over the corresponding period in the previous year.
The highlight of the first half of this year’s deals was the US$ 3.97-billion Sun Pharma-Ranbaxy deal followed by the Diageo deal where it acquired 26 per cent stake in United Spirits for US$ 3.14 billion and the Vodafone Group’s deal where it acquired 10.97 per cent stake in Vodafone India from Piramal Enterprises for a sum of US$ 1.47 billion.
Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) acquiring Dhamra Port in Odisha from Tata Steel and L&T Infrastructure Development Projects (L&T IDPL) and Reliance Industries-Network 18 Media deals were some other major deals as mentioned in the report.
The report also mentioned that Citi topped the financial advisor league table by advising on five deals worth around US$ 8.2 billion, while the top position for the number of deals was clinched by EY which was a part of 13 transactions totaling around US$ 5.2 billion.
Industrial growth at 19-month high
New Delhi: Industrial production was at a 19-month high, growing 4.7 per cent in May on improved performances across sectors, including the manufacturing, mining and power sectors.
A low base also helped push up the growth figures as industrial production in May 2013 had contracted by 2.5 per cent.
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for the April-May period grew 4 per cent over the comparable period last year, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office on Friday.
In April-May 2013 the IIP had contracted by 0.5 per cent. Basic goods, capital goods and consumer goods also posted growth under the use-based classification of industrial performance.
“The rise in industrial production for the second month in a row provides a glimmer of hope that the economy could be bottoming out and recovery could be on the anvil,” CII Director-General Chandrajit Banerjee said.
A low base also helped push up the growth figures as industrial production in May 2013 had contracted by 2.5 per cent.
The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) for the April-May period grew 4 per cent over the comparable period last year, according to data released by the Central Statistics Office on Friday.
In April-May 2013 the IIP had contracted by 0.5 per cent. Basic goods, capital goods and consumer goods also posted growth under the use-based classification of industrial performance.
“The rise in industrial production for the second month in a row provides a glimmer of hope that the economy could be bottoming out and recovery could be on the anvil,” CII Director-General Chandrajit Banerjee said.
Essar Global arm inks pact with Teleperformance
Mumbai: AGC Holdings Ltd, a wholly-owned portfolio company of Essar Global Fund Ltd, has signed an agreement with Teleperformance to sell its outsourcing company Aegis US for $610 million. The company will sell Aegis’s presence in the US, the Philippines and Costa Rica.
It will continue to retain the remainder of the BPO business globally across India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Australia, South Africa, Peru, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and UK (other than in the US, the Philippines and Costa Rica).
“This transaction fits the strategic objectives of Essar Fund in the rapidly growing high quality assets and delivering value creation, in this case through a sale to a high quality strategic player in Teleperformance. This transaction will also yield many synergies and benefits for Aegis’ employees and esteemed customers,” said Uday Gujadhur, Board Member, Essar Capital, fund manager for Essar Global Fund.
The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2014, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition.
Post the transaction, Aegis would have operations in 37 locations across 9 countries with more than 37,000 employees.
Aegis US has revenues of about $400 million and has more than 19,000 full-time employees across 16 centres in three countries. It serves premium clients in the US market in various key growing industries such as healthcare, financial services, travel and hospitality.
It will continue to retain the remainder of the BPO business globally across India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Australia, South Africa, Peru, Argentina, Saudi Arabia and UK (other than in the US, the Philippines and Costa Rica).
“This transaction fits the strategic objectives of Essar Fund in the rapidly growing high quality assets and delivering value creation, in this case through a sale to a high quality strategic player in Teleperformance. This transaction will also yield many synergies and benefits for Aegis’ employees and esteemed customers,” said Uday Gujadhur, Board Member, Essar Capital, fund manager for Essar Global Fund.
The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2014, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition.
Post the transaction, Aegis would have operations in 37 locations across 9 countries with more than 37,000 employees.
Aegis US has revenues of about $400 million and has more than 19,000 full-time employees across 16 centres in three countries. It serves premium clients in the US market in various key growing industries such as healthcare, financial services, travel and hospitality.
MSMEs allocated Rs. 10,000-crore VC fund
New Delhi: Referring to Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME) as the ‘backbone’ of the economy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said his Government proposes to set up a Rs. 10,000-crore venture capital fund intended to be a catalyst to attract private capital. The fund will “provide equity, quasi-equity, soft loans and other risk capital for start-up companies,” he said.
Heeding the long-standing demand of the sector, Jaitley also announced that the definition of MSME would be reviewed to provide for a higher capital ceiling. At present, the ceiling for manufacturing is Rs. 25 lakh for micro enterprises, Rs. 5 crore for small units and Rs. 10 crore for medium enterprises. He said a committee which would include members of the Finance Ministry, the MSME Ministry and the Reserve Bank would be set up to examine the sector’s financial difficulties and will submit its report in three months.
“The revision of the MSME definition for high capital ceiling will enable them to get greater credit from the market, in turn helping them grow and expand,” said R Narayan, Founder and CEO, Power2SME, a B2B buying platform for such enterprises.
The Budget also proposed to offer easier exit norms. “An entrepreneur-friendly legal bankruptcy framework will also be developed for SMES to enable easy exit,” he said. A Rs. 200-crore fund was also announced to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and the agro industry, and also a country-wide district-level Incubation Accelerator Programme to support new entrepreneurial ideas. The Budget also proposed to allocate Rs. 200 crore for setting up six more mega textile clusters in Bareilly, Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Surat, Kutch (Gujarat), Bhagalpur (Bihar), Mysore (Karnataka) and one in Tamil Nadu.
Further, Rs. 50 crore has been provided for a Trade Facilitation Centre and a Crafts Museum in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) to promote handloom products. The city is known for its handwoven Banarasi silk sarees, mostly made by Muslimweavers who are now struggling to survive after the entry of cheap Chinese imitations.
Heeding the long-standing demand of the sector, Jaitley also announced that the definition of MSME would be reviewed to provide for a higher capital ceiling. At present, the ceiling for manufacturing is Rs. 25 lakh for micro enterprises, Rs. 5 crore for small units and Rs. 10 crore for medium enterprises. He said a committee which would include members of the Finance Ministry, the MSME Ministry and the Reserve Bank would be set up to examine the sector’s financial difficulties and will submit its report in three months.
“The revision of the MSME definition for high capital ceiling will enable them to get greater credit from the market, in turn helping them grow and expand,” said R Narayan, Founder and CEO, Power2SME, a B2B buying platform for such enterprises.
The Budget also proposed to offer easier exit norms. “An entrepreneur-friendly legal bankruptcy framework will also be developed for SMES to enable easy exit,” he said. A Rs. 200-crore fund was also announced to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and the agro industry, and also a country-wide district-level Incubation Accelerator Programme to support new entrepreneurial ideas. The Budget also proposed to allocate Rs. 200 crore for setting up six more mega textile clusters in Bareilly, Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Surat, Kutch (Gujarat), Bhagalpur (Bihar), Mysore (Karnataka) and one in Tamil Nadu.
Further, Rs. 50 crore has been provided for a Trade Facilitation Centre and a Crafts Museum in Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) to promote handloom products. The city is known for its handwoven Banarasi silk sarees, mostly made by Muslimweavers who are now struggling to survive after the entry of cheap Chinese imitations.
Budget 2014: FM Arun Jaitley proposes 16 new port projects
Mumbai: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, in its first budget after BJP's victory in May, said India will get 16 new port projects this year, with a focus on their connectivity to the hinterland.
India currently has 13 major ports. Jaitley also reiterated previous government's plan to spend Rs 11,635 crore to develop the phase one of the outer harbour project in VO Chidambaranar Port Trust at Tuticorin.
The FM also said special economic zones will be developed along the existing major ports, Kandla in Gujarat and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai.
He said a comprehensive policy will also be announced to promote the struggling shipbuilding industry in India this financial year.
He said India will also develop an inland waterway system in river Ganga from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal, which will be build over the next 6 years at an estimated cost of Rs 4,200 crore.
India currently has 13 major ports. Jaitley also reiterated previous government's plan to spend Rs 11,635 crore to develop the phase one of the outer harbour project in VO Chidambaranar Port Trust at Tuticorin.
The FM also said special economic zones will be developed along the existing major ports, Kandla in Gujarat and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai.
He said a comprehensive policy will also be announced to promote the struggling shipbuilding industry in India this financial year.
He said India will also develop an inland waterway system in river Ganga from Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh to Haldia in West Bengal, which will be build over the next 6 years at an estimated cost of Rs 4,200 crore.
FDI cap in insurance raised to 49%
New Delhi: The insurance sector finally had its moment in the sun after the Budget increased the FDI limit in insurance to 49 per cent. After the insurance sector opened up in 2000, both life and general insurance businesses have gone though a series of regulatory changes. Until recently, only few insurance players were profitable.
Also, the lack of valuation benchmarks in the listed space has kept investor interest tepid. But now, many players, both in the life and general insurance space, have turned around and are profitable.
Capital-intensive
With a possible recovery in the economy, and structural changes done with, insurance players are likely to get a leg-up.
The much-awaited increase in the FDI limit in insurance to 49 per cent will help the insurance industry in two ways. One, this help companies access capital more easily, which is huge positive, given that the insurance sector is capital intensive.
Two, this could act as a trigger for listing of insurance players, which will provide a better yardstick to value these companies.
For many conglomerates in the financial services space, their insurance subsidiaries are still undervalued, in spite of accounting for a substantial portion of their earnings.
Valuations
Companies such as Max India, Reliance Capital, Bajaj Finserv and Sundaram Finance will see substantial value unlocking.
For instance, more than 75 per cent of Max India’s value (sum-of-the-parts) valuation comes from the life insurance business. For Bajaj Finserv, 44 per cent of its value comes from the life insurance business and 28 per cent form the general insurance business.
For Reliance Capital, 35 per cen
Also, the lack of valuation benchmarks in the listed space has kept investor interest tepid. But now, many players, both in the life and general insurance space, have turned around and are profitable.
Capital-intensive
With a possible recovery in the economy, and structural changes done with, insurance players are likely to get a leg-up.
The much-awaited increase in the FDI limit in insurance to 49 per cent will help the insurance industry in two ways. One, this help companies access capital more easily, which is huge positive, given that the insurance sector is capital intensive.
Two, this could act as a trigger for listing of insurance players, which will provide a better yardstick to value these companies.
For many conglomerates in the financial services space, their insurance subsidiaries are still undervalued, in spite of accounting for a substantial portion of their earnings.
Valuations
Companies such as Max India, Reliance Capital, Bajaj Finserv and Sundaram Finance will see substantial value unlocking.
For instance, more than 75 per cent of Max India’s value (sum-of-the-parts) valuation comes from the life insurance business. For Bajaj Finserv, 44 per cent of its value comes from the life insurance business and 28 per cent form the general insurance business.
For Reliance Capital, 35 per cen
Five new IITs and five new IIMS will be set up in the states
New Delhi: The Government has announced to set-up five more IITs in the Jammu & Kashmir, Chattisgrah, Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. Similarly, five new IIMs will be set-up in the States of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Odisha and Maharashtra. For this, a sum of Rs. 500 crore has been allocated in the Budget. Presenting his Maiden Budget in Parliament here today, the Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley said that the country needs a large number of Centres of higher learning which are world class and accordingly declare to set-up Jai Prakash Narayan National Centre for Excellence in humanities in Madhya Pradesh.
Shri Jaitley announced “Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya New Teachers Training Programme” to infuse new training tools and motivate teachers with an initial corpus of Rs.500 crore. He said that for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan a provision of Rs. 28, 635 crore has been made while for Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan Rs. 4,966 crores have been allocated. The Government will also strive to provide toilets and drinking water in all the girls school in first phase, the Minister added.
To take advantage of the reach of the IT, the Finance Minister allocated a sum of Rs. 100 crore for setting up virtual classrooms as Communication Linked Interface for Cultivating Knowledge (CLICK) and online courses.
Shri Jaitley announced “Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya New Teachers Training Programme” to infuse new training tools and motivate teachers with an initial corpus of Rs.500 crore. He said that for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan a provision of Rs. 28, 635 crore has been made while for Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan Rs. 4,966 crores have been allocated. The Government will also strive to provide toilets and drinking water in all the girls school in first phase, the Minister added.
To take advantage of the reach of the IT, the Finance Minister allocated a sum of Rs. 100 crore for setting up virtual classrooms as Communication Linked Interface for Cultivating Knowledge (CLICK) and online courses.
Saturday, July 12, 2014
Blackstone lines up Rs 1,000 crore for residential realty
Mumbai: Blackstone, one of the largest investors in commercial properties, is set to step up presence in the residential segment, said a top executive in the know. According to him, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the US private equity (PE) giant is gearing up to invest about Rs 1,000 crore in residential projects across Indian metros. The company is currently in advanced discussions with many developers, the executive revealed.
Recently, the New York- based fund invested Rs 175 crore in the Chennai project of Bangalore-based Ozone Group, its first investment in the residential sector.
Blackstone, which has invested about $1 billion in commercial properties in India, has so far stayed away from directly investing in residential properties. However, it had exposure to residential real estate by the virtue of taking over the $2.68-billion Asian Real Estate Opportunities Fund of Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BofA-ML) in 2010. The most high-profile one in BofA Merrill Lynch's India portfolio being its $377-million (Rs 1,800 crore) investment in DLF's housing projects. It picked up 49 per cent stake in seven mid-income housing projects of DLF, the country's largest property company, in Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Indore.
Its US peers such as Morgan Stanley, The Carlyle Group and others have entity-level stakes in some of the large realty companies. For instance, Morgan Stanley has entity-level stake in Mumbai-based Oberoi Realty. Carlyle has stake in the Jerry Rao-promoted Value & Budget Housing Corporation.
The timing of Blackstone's investment in residential properties bodes well for the investor, since residential enquiries have picked up in many markets such as the National Capital Region and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region after the new government came to power and buyer sentiments have revived, consultants said.
"This is just an opportunistic investment. We did not get good opportunities in the past. Internationally, we invest in all asset classes abroad," said another executive associated with the PE firm.
An email questionnaire to Blackstone did not elicit any response.
Blackstone is a careful player, says Ambar Maheshwari, managing director, corporate finance at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). "They (Blackstone) did not invest when the prices were very high, Then, slowdown happened and prices crashed. If they are looking at residential, I think they are very serious about it." He added Blackstone would look at India-dedicated funds given their portfolio of assets.
Recently, the New York- based fund invested Rs 175 crore in the Chennai project of Bangalore-based Ozone Group, its first investment in the residential sector.
Blackstone, which has invested about $1 billion in commercial properties in India, has so far stayed away from directly investing in residential properties. However, it had exposure to residential real estate by the virtue of taking over the $2.68-billion Asian Real Estate Opportunities Fund of Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BofA-ML) in 2010. The most high-profile one in BofA Merrill Lynch's India portfolio being its $377-million (Rs 1,800 crore) investment in DLF's housing projects. It picked up 49 per cent stake in seven mid-income housing projects of DLF, the country's largest property company, in Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi and Indore.
Its US peers such as Morgan Stanley, The Carlyle Group and others have entity-level stakes in some of the large realty companies. For instance, Morgan Stanley has entity-level stake in Mumbai-based Oberoi Realty. Carlyle has stake in the Jerry Rao-promoted Value & Budget Housing Corporation.
The timing of Blackstone's investment in residential properties bodes well for the investor, since residential enquiries have picked up in many markets such as the National Capital Region and the Mumbai Metropolitan Region after the new government came to power and buyer sentiments have revived, consultants said.
"This is just an opportunistic investment. We did not get good opportunities in the past. Internationally, we invest in all asset classes abroad," said another executive associated with the PE firm.
An email questionnaire to Blackstone did not elicit any response.
Blackstone is a careful player, says Ambar Maheshwari, managing director, corporate finance at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL). "They (Blackstone) did not invest when the prices were very high, Then, slowdown happened and prices crashed. If they are looking at residential, I think they are very serious about it." He added Blackstone would look at India-dedicated funds given their portfolio of assets.
India gets more back-packer tourists
New Delhi: India appears to be getting back packers but not high spending tourists, says the Economic Survey. “While foreign exchange earnings (FEE) in rupee terms are a reflection of the exchange rate movements, what is cause for concern is the steep deceleration in FEEs in dollar terms, while the deceleration in tourist arrivals was less. This indicates a higher inflow of back-packers vis-à-vis high-spending tourists,” says the Survey. Foreign tourist arrivals grew 5.9 per cent in 2013 over the previous fiscal, but forex earnings in dollar terms were up 2.2 per cent during the period.
Passenger car sales jump 15% in June
New Delhi: Improved sentiment and speculative purchases towards the second week of last month have fuelled the sales of passenger cars in India, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said on Wednesday.
Total passenger car sales grew 15 per cent to 1.60 lakh units in June this year compared with around 1.4 lakh units in June 2013, the SIAM report said.
“This was the highest-ever June sales and we hope the trend of double-digit growth going forward,” Vishnu Mathur, Director General, SIAM, told reporters here.
Excise duty cuts
He said because of the speculation that the Government might not continue with the excise duty cuts on cars in early June, companies saw increased footfalls at the showrooms, which turned into better sales too.
Total passenger vehicles sales also grew 11 per cent to 2.19 lakh units during last month against 1.97 lakh units in the corresponding month previous year.
2-wheelers, commercial vehicles
Total two-wheelers segment also grew 13 per cent to 12.61 lakh units from 11.16 lakh units in June 2013.
However, total commercial vehicle sales are still in negative (-9 per cent) zone year-on-year at 51,119 units during June against 56,194 units in June 2013.
Overall, the grand total of all vehicles sold during June grew 12 per cent to 15.78 lakh units against 14.07 lakh units in the corresponding month last year.
Total passenger car sales grew 15 per cent to 1.60 lakh units in June this year compared with around 1.4 lakh units in June 2013, the SIAM report said.
“This was the highest-ever June sales and we hope the trend of double-digit growth going forward,” Vishnu Mathur, Director General, SIAM, told reporters here.
Excise duty cuts
He said because of the speculation that the Government might not continue with the excise duty cuts on cars in early June, companies saw increased footfalls at the showrooms, which turned into better sales too.
Total passenger vehicles sales also grew 11 per cent to 2.19 lakh units during last month against 1.97 lakh units in the corresponding month previous year.
2-wheelers, commercial vehicles
Total two-wheelers segment also grew 13 per cent to 12.61 lakh units from 11.16 lakh units in June 2013.
However, total commercial vehicle sales are still in negative (-9 per cent) zone year-on-year at 51,119 units during June against 56,194 units in June 2013.
Overall, the grand total of all vehicles sold during June grew 12 per cent to 15.78 lakh units against 14.07 lakh units in the corresponding month last year.
Indo-Israel free trade pact likely by year-end
Hyderabad: The Indo-Israel Free Trade Agreement may be concluded by the year end, paving the way for deeper engagement between the two countries, according to a senior Israeli diplomat.
“It should have been signed by the end of last year, but it got delayed. I am expecting that it will be finalised by this year end,” Avi Friedman, Consul for Trade and Economic Affairs, Head of Trade Section, Consulate General of Israel, said.
This agreement could significantly increase bi-lateral trade, currently at $4.5 billion, excluding the defence sector, he told Business Line . Friedman identified the cyber sector as a new potential area for greater cooperation, especially in the context of preventing cyber attacks.
“India is a victim of cyber attacks in the power and oil and gas sectors. Even Israel is faced with cyber attacks (hacking of key installations),” he said.
A Frost and Sullivan report says the cyber defence market for oil and gas industries alone may reach $3.75 billion globally by 2021. Russian security firm Kaspersky pointed that India follows Russia in the number of cyber attacks faced, with UK, Ukraine and Vietnam being other victims.
“It should have been signed by the end of last year, but it got delayed. I am expecting that it will be finalised by this year end,” Avi Friedman, Consul for Trade and Economic Affairs, Head of Trade Section, Consulate General of Israel, said.
This agreement could significantly increase bi-lateral trade, currently at $4.5 billion, excluding the defence sector, he told Business Line . Friedman identified the cyber sector as a new potential area for greater cooperation, especially in the context of preventing cyber attacks.
“India is a victim of cyber attacks in the power and oil and gas sectors. Even Israel is faced with cyber attacks (hacking of key installations),” he said.
A Frost and Sullivan report says the cyber defence market for oil and gas industries alone may reach $3.75 billion globally by 2021. Russian security firm Kaspersky pointed that India follows Russia in the number of cyber attacks faced, with UK, Ukraine and Vietnam being other victims.
India has the Second Fastest Growing Services Sector with Compound Annual Growth Rate at 9 Per Cent
New Delhi: India has the second fastest growing services sector with its Compound Annual Growth Rate at 9.0 per cent, just below China’s 10.9 per cent, during 2001 to 2012. Also, India ranked 12th in terms of services Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2012 among the world’s top 15 countries in terms of GDP. While services share in World GDP was 65.9 per cent and in employment was only 44 per cent in 2012, in India, they were 56.9 per cent and 28.1 per cent respectively.
GDP
Services constitute a 57 per cent share in GDP at factor cost (at current prices) in 2013-14, an increase of 6 percentage points over 2000-01. Despite deceleration, services GDP growth at 6.8 per cent was above the 4.7 per cent overall GDP in 2013-14. The growth rate of the combined category of trade, hotels, restaurants, transport, storage, and communications decelerated to 3.0 per cent while financing, insurance, real estate, and business services grew robustly at 12.9 per cent.
FDI
In 2013-14, FDI inflows to the services sector (top five sectors including construction) declined sharply by 37.6 per cent to US$ 6.4 billion compared to an overall growth in FDI inflows at 6.1 per cent resulting in the share of the top five services in total FDI falling to nearly one-sixth.
Exports
India’s increase in share in world services exports from 0.6 per cent in 1990 to 3.3 per cent in 2013 was faster than in merchandise exports. Exports of software services, accounting for 46 per cent of India’s total services exports, decelerated to 5.4 per cent in 2013-14, travel, accounting for a nearly 12 per cent share, witnessed negative growth of 0.4 per cent.
GDP
Services constitute a 57 per cent share in GDP at factor cost (at current prices) in 2013-14, an increase of 6 percentage points over 2000-01. Despite deceleration, services GDP growth at 6.8 per cent was above the 4.7 per cent overall GDP in 2013-14. The growth rate of the combined category of trade, hotels, restaurants, transport, storage, and communications decelerated to 3.0 per cent while financing, insurance, real estate, and business services grew robustly at 12.9 per cent.
FDI
In 2013-14, FDI inflows to the services sector (top five sectors including construction) declined sharply by 37.6 per cent to US$ 6.4 billion compared to an overall growth in FDI inflows at 6.1 per cent resulting in the share of the top five services in total FDI falling to nearly one-sixth.
Exports
India’s increase in share in world services exports from 0.6 per cent in 1990 to 3.3 per cent in 2013 was faster than in merchandise exports. Exports of software services, accounting for 46 per cent of India’s total services exports, decelerated to 5.4 per cent in 2013-14, travel, accounting for a nearly 12 per cent share, witnessed negative growth of 0.4 per cent.
Argentina-based luxury brand La Martina opens store in Delhi
Mumbai: Argentina-based luxury brand La Martina, a polo lifestyle company known for its apparel, technical equipment and accessories, has started operations with its maiden store in Delhi.
The 1,800 sq ft standalone store was opened at luxury mall DLF Emporio.
Eliana Koulas, Director of Luxus Retail, the Indian franchisee for La Martina, said La Martina has a strong association with vacations and leisure.”
La Martina has also diversified the brand to add general fashion products for ladies, men and kids. The apparel and accessories are priced between Rs 8,900 and Rs 66,800.
La Martina has offices in North and South America, Switzerland and the UK.
The 1,800 sq ft standalone store was opened at luxury mall DLF Emporio.
Eliana Koulas, Director of Luxus Retail, the Indian franchisee for La Martina, said La Martina has a strong association with vacations and leisure.”
La Martina has also diversified the brand to add general fashion products for ladies, men and kids. The apparel and accessories are priced between Rs 8,900 and Rs 66,800.
La Martina has offices in North and South America, Switzerland and the UK.
Glenmark gets USFDA nod to launch anti-hypertension drug in US
Mumbai: Glenmark Generics Inc, USA, a subsidiary of Glenmark Generics, has been granted final abbreviated new drug approval (ANDA) from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) for Telmisartan tablets, indicated for the treatment of hypertension. Glenmark is to commence distribution of the product immediately.
Telmisartan tablets are Glenmark’s generic version of Boehringer Ingelheim’s Micardis. The approval is for the 20 mg, 40 mg and 80 mg tablets. For the 12-month period ended March 31, 2014, Telmisartan garnered annual sales of $250 million, according to IMS Health.
Glenmark’s current portfolio consists of 92 products authorised for distribution in the US market and 73 ANDAs pending approval with the USFDA. In addition to these internal filings, the company continues to identify and explore external development partnerships to supplement and accelerate the growth of the existing pipeline and portfolio.
Shares of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals were trading at Rs 595.60 per scrip in the mid-day trade, up 1.09 per cent from the previous close on the BSE.
Telmisartan tablets are Glenmark’s generic version of Boehringer Ingelheim’s Micardis. The approval is for the 20 mg, 40 mg and 80 mg tablets. For the 12-month period ended March 31, 2014, Telmisartan garnered annual sales of $250 million, according to IMS Health.
Glenmark’s current portfolio consists of 92 products authorised for distribution in the US market and 73 ANDAs pending approval with the USFDA. In addition to these internal filings, the company continues to identify and explore external development partnerships to supplement and accelerate the growth of the existing pipeline and portfolio.
Shares of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals were trading at Rs 595.60 per scrip in the mid-day trade, up 1.09 per cent from the previous close on the BSE.
Rail Budget 2014: 58 new trains to be introduced, 11 existing trains to be extended
New Delhi: Proposing to introduce new 58 new trains, Railway Minister DV Sadananda Gowda on Tuesday said that these will include five Jansadharan Trains, five Premium Trains, six AC express trains, 27 express trains, eight passenger trains, two MEMU services and five DEMU services this year.
Announcing this in Parliament while presenting the rail budget, Gowda also proposed to extend the run of 11 existing trains. Gowda said these services would be meeting the demand surges which manifest themselves on special occasions.
He said that special trains would continue to run to meet the holiday and festival rush including services for Melmaruvathur, Velankanni, Jhalawar etc. Here is the list of new trains that have been announced in the Railway Budget:
NEW TRAINS
Jansadharan Trains
Ahmedabad-Darbhanga Jansadharan Express via Surat
Jaynagar-Mumbai Jansadharan Express
Mumbai-Gorakhpur Jansadharan Express
Saharasa-Anand Vihar Jansadharan Express via Motihari
Saharasa-Amritsar Jansadharan Express
Premium Trains
Mumbai Central-New Delhi Premium AC Express
Shalimar-Chennai Premium AC Express
Secunderabad-- Hazrat Nizamuddin Premium AC Express
Jaipur-Madurai Premium Express
Kamakhya-Bengaluru Premium Express
AC Express Trains
Vijayawada-NewDelhiAPExpress(Daily)
LokmanyaTilak(T)-Lucknow(Weekly)
Nagpur-Pune(Weekly)
Nagpur-Amritsar(Weekly)
Naharlagun-NewDelhi(Weekly)
Nizamuddin-Pune(Weekly)
Express Trains
Ahmedabad-Patna Express(Weekly)via Varanasi
Ahmedabad- Chennai Express(Bi-weekly)via Vasai Road
Bengaluru -Mangalore Express(Daily)
Bengaluru -Shimoga Express(Bi-weekly)
Bandra(T)-Jaipur Express(Weekly)Via Nagda,Kota
Bidar-Mumbai Express(Weekly)
Chhapra-Lucknow Express (Tri- weekly)viaBallia,Ghazipur,Varanasi
Ferozpur-Chandigarh Express(6 days a week)
Guwahati-Naharlagun Intercity Express(Daily)
Guwahati-Murkongselek Intercity Express(Daily)
Gorakhpur-Anand Vihar Express(Weekly)
Hapa-Bilaspur Express(Weekly)via Nagpur
Hazur Saheb Nanded-Bikaner Express(Weekly)
Indore-Jammu Tawi Express(Weekly)
Kamakhya-Katra Express(Weekly)via Darbhanga
Kanpur-Jammu Tawi Express(Bi-weekly)
Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Azamgarh Express(Weekly)
Mumbai_Kazipeth Express(Weekly)via Balharshah
Mumbai-Palitana Express(Weekly)
New Delhi -Bhatinda Shatabdi Express(Bi-weekly)
New Delhi-Varanasi Express(Daily)
Paradeep-Howrah Express(Weekly)
Paradeep-Visakhapatnam Express(Weekly)
Rajkot-Rewa Express(Weekly)
Ramnagar-Agra Express(Weekly)
Tatanagar Baiyyappanahali (Bengaluru) Express(Weekly)
Visakhapatnam-Chennai Express(Weekly)
Passenger Trains
Bikaner-Rewari Passenger(Daily)
Dharwad-Dandeli Passenger(Daily)via Alnavar
Gorakhpur-Nautanwa Passenger(Daily)
Guwahati-Mendipathar Passenger(Daily)
Hatia-Rourkela Passenger
Byndoor-Kasaragod Passenger(Daily)
Rangapara North-Rangiya Passenger(Daily)
Yesvantpur-Tumkur Passenger(Daily)
MEMU services
Bengaluru -Ramanagaram 6 days a week(3Pairs)
Palwal-Delhi-Aligarh
DEMU services
Bengaluru -Neelmangala (Daily)
Chhapra-Manduadih (6days a week)via Ballia
Baramula-Banihal (Daily)
Sambalpur-Rourkela (6 days a week)
Yesvantpur -Hosur (6 days a week)
EXTENSION OF RUN OF EXISTING TRAINS
22409/22410 Anand Vihar Sasaram Garib Rath Express to Gaya
12455/12456 Delhi Sarai Rohilla Sriganganagar Express to Bikaner
15231/15232 Gondia Muzaffarpur Express to Barauni
12001/12002 New Delhi Bhopal Shatabdi Express to Habibganj
54602 Ludhiana-Hissar Passenger to Sadulpur
55007/55008 Sonpur-Kaptanganj Passenger to Gorakhpur
55072/55073 Gorakhpur-Thawe Passenger to Siwan
63237/63238Buxar-Mughalsarai MEMU to Varanasi
63208/63211 Jhajha-Patna MEMU to Jasidih
64221/64222 Lucknow Hardoi MEMU to Shahjahanpur
68002/68007 Howrah-Belda MEMU to Jaleswar
Announcing this in Parliament while presenting the rail budget, Gowda also proposed to extend the run of 11 existing trains. Gowda said these services would be meeting the demand surges which manifest themselves on special occasions.
He said that special trains would continue to run to meet the holiday and festival rush including services for Melmaruvathur, Velankanni, Jhalawar etc. Here is the list of new trains that have been announced in the Railway Budget:
NEW TRAINS
Jansadharan Trains
Ahmedabad-Darbhanga Jansadharan Express via Surat
Jaynagar-Mumbai Jansadharan Express
Mumbai-Gorakhpur Jansadharan Express
Saharasa-Anand Vihar Jansadharan Express via Motihari
Saharasa-Amritsar Jansadharan Express
Premium Trains
Mumbai Central-New Delhi Premium AC Express
Shalimar-Chennai Premium AC Express
Secunderabad-- Hazrat Nizamuddin Premium AC Express
Jaipur-Madurai Premium Express
Kamakhya-Bengaluru Premium Express
AC Express Trains
Vijayawada-NewDelhiAPExpress(Daily)
LokmanyaTilak(T)-Lucknow(Weekly)
Nagpur-Pune(Weekly)
Nagpur-Amritsar(Weekly)
Naharlagun-NewDelhi(Weekly)
Nizamuddin-Pune(Weekly)
Express Trains
Ahmedabad-Patna Express(Weekly)via Varanasi
Ahmedabad- Chennai Express(Bi-weekly)via Vasai Road
Bengaluru -Mangalore Express(Daily)
Bengaluru -Shimoga Express(Bi-weekly)
Bandra(T)-Jaipur Express(Weekly)Via Nagda,Kota
Bidar-Mumbai Express(Weekly)
Chhapra-Lucknow Express (Tri- weekly)viaBallia,Ghazipur,Varanasi
Ferozpur-Chandigarh Express(6 days a week)
Guwahati-Naharlagun Intercity Express(Daily)
Guwahati-Murkongselek Intercity Express(Daily)
Gorakhpur-Anand Vihar Express(Weekly)
Hapa-Bilaspur Express(Weekly)via Nagpur
Hazur Saheb Nanded-Bikaner Express(Weekly)
Indore-Jammu Tawi Express(Weekly)
Kamakhya-Katra Express(Weekly)via Darbhanga
Kanpur-Jammu Tawi Express(Bi-weekly)
Lokmanya Tilak(T)-Azamgarh Express(Weekly)
Mumbai_Kazipeth Express(Weekly)via Balharshah
Mumbai-Palitana Express(Weekly)
New Delhi -Bhatinda Shatabdi Express(Bi-weekly)
New Delhi-Varanasi Express(Daily)
Paradeep-Howrah Express(Weekly)
Paradeep-Visakhapatnam Express(Weekly)
Rajkot-Rewa Express(Weekly)
Ramnagar-Agra Express(Weekly)
Tatanagar Baiyyappanahali (Bengaluru) Express(Weekly)
Visakhapatnam-Chennai Express(Weekly)
Passenger Trains
Bikaner-Rewari Passenger(Daily)
Dharwad-Dandeli Passenger(Daily)via Alnavar
Gorakhpur-Nautanwa Passenger(Daily)
Guwahati-Mendipathar Passenger(Daily)
Hatia-Rourkela Passenger
Byndoor-Kasaragod Passenger(Daily)
Rangapara North-Rangiya Passenger(Daily)
Yesvantpur-Tumkur Passenger(Daily)
MEMU services
Bengaluru -Ramanagaram 6 days a week(3Pairs)
Palwal-Delhi-Aligarh
DEMU services
Bengaluru -Neelmangala (Daily)
Chhapra-Manduadih (6days a week)via Ballia
Baramula-Banihal (Daily)
Sambalpur-Rourkela (6 days a week)
Yesvantpur -Hosur (6 days a week)
EXTENSION OF RUN OF EXISTING TRAINS
22409/22410 Anand Vihar Sasaram Garib Rath Express to Gaya
12455/12456 Delhi Sarai Rohilla Sriganganagar Express to Bikaner
15231/15232 Gondia Muzaffarpur Express to Barauni
12001/12002 New Delhi Bhopal Shatabdi Express to Habibganj
54602 Ludhiana-Hissar Passenger to Sadulpur
55007/55008 Sonpur-Kaptanganj Passenger to Gorakhpur
55072/55073 Gorakhpur-Thawe Passenger to Siwan
63237/63238Buxar-Mughalsarai MEMU to Varanasi
63208/63211 Jhajha-Patna MEMU to Jasidih
64221/64222 Lucknow Hardoi MEMU to Shahjahanpur
68002/68007 Howrah-Belda MEMU to Jaleswar
Ministry lays special emphasis on education
Mumbai: The ministry of railways has taken some initiatives to help its staff continue their education and to encourage the spirit of innovation.
“The railways proposes to set up an Innovations Incubation Centre to harness the ideas generated from the staff and convert them into practical solutions to increase efficiency of the railways,” said minister Sadananda Gowda.
This is akin to the concept of incubation centres in engineering and management schools, where students’ business and project ideas are mentored by professors and visiting industry officials, to determine viability and ability to be transformed into a successful venture.
“The railways’ workforce, due to its sheer number, is a gold-mine of ideas. If there is a professional platform to analyse their ideas and convert them into solutions, it could lead to newer innovations in our railway systems. However, there should be a proper mix of internal and external mentors to harness their ideas,” said the head of the entrepreneurship and incubation cell at an Indian Institute of Technology. Further, Gowda said these innovations, which result in cost saving and revenue generation, will be rewarded.
As part of this exercise, it is also proposed to set up summer internships for the undergraduates of engineering and management studies. Students can intern at any of the various units of the railways - division, railway public-sector units and production units. The Indian Railways is one of the largest employers in India with more than 1.36 million employees selected through a competitive examination.
According to placement officials of business schools, it would be an enriching experience for students to intern with the Railways.
“Although we don’t know how many students would be given an opportunity to intern, this will be a hands-on experience in a very large enterprise and would reflect highly in the student's curriculum vitae in the future," said the chief placement officer of a Mumbai-based business school.
Some placement heads, however, added that students from the top three to five management schools, which are particularly focused on the job-role and pay package, may not be comfortable in a government functioning since it is not explicitly stated whether these students would be given a stipend. However, the dean of a private engineering institute in West Bengal said students in the instrumentation and mechanical fields would find these internships extremely useful from a practical knowledge perspective.
The minister has said that railways is also contemplating on setting up a Railway University for both technical and non-technical subjects. “Indian Railways will tie up with technical institutions for introducing railway-oriented subject for graduation and skill development,” he said. Officials close to the development said the university would provide degree programmes starting this year. Currently, there are several institutes floated by the railway ministry that provide diploma courses.
Staff at the ground level will be sent for short-duration courses of technical and non-technical nature, involving locally-available technical institutions. The exposure for specialised areas such as high-speed, heavy haul operations etc will be undertaken for all level of staff and officers at appropriate institutes in India and abroad.
The ministry has institutes like Indian Railways Institute of Electrical Engineering, Indian Railways Institute of Civil Engineering, and National Academy of Indian Railways for training its officials. The Institute of Rail Transport offers diploma programmes to railway and non-railway professionals in the areas of transport economics and management, logistics management, and rail transport and management.
“The railways proposes to set up an Innovations Incubation Centre to harness the ideas generated from the staff and convert them into practical solutions to increase efficiency of the railways,” said minister Sadananda Gowda.
This is akin to the concept of incubation centres in engineering and management schools, where students’ business and project ideas are mentored by professors and visiting industry officials, to determine viability and ability to be transformed into a successful venture.
“The railways’ workforce, due to its sheer number, is a gold-mine of ideas. If there is a professional platform to analyse their ideas and convert them into solutions, it could lead to newer innovations in our railway systems. However, there should be a proper mix of internal and external mentors to harness their ideas,” said the head of the entrepreneurship and incubation cell at an Indian Institute of Technology. Further, Gowda said these innovations, which result in cost saving and revenue generation, will be rewarded.
As part of this exercise, it is also proposed to set up summer internships for the undergraduates of engineering and management studies. Students can intern at any of the various units of the railways - division, railway public-sector units and production units. The Indian Railways is one of the largest employers in India with more than 1.36 million employees selected through a competitive examination.
According to placement officials of business schools, it would be an enriching experience for students to intern with the Railways.
“Although we don’t know how many students would be given an opportunity to intern, this will be a hands-on experience in a very large enterprise and would reflect highly in the student's curriculum vitae in the future," said the chief placement officer of a Mumbai-based business school.
Some placement heads, however, added that students from the top three to five management schools, which are particularly focused on the job-role and pay package, may not be comfortable in a government functioning since it is not explicitly stated whether these students would be given a stipend. However, the dean of a private engineering institute in West Bengal said students in the instrumentation and mechanical fields would find these internships extremely useful from a practical knowledge perspective.
The minister has said that railways is also contemplating on setting up a Railway University for both technical and non-technical subjects. “Indian Railways will tie up with technical institutions for introducing railway-oriented subject for graduation and skill development,” he said. Officials close to the development said the university would provide degree programmes starting this year. Currently, there are several institutes floated by the railway ministry that provide diploma courses.
Staff at the ground level will be sent for short-duration courses of technical and non-technical nature, involving locally-available technical institutions. The exposure for specialised areas such as high-speed, heavy haul operations etc will be undertaken for all level of staff and officers at appropriate institutes in India and abroad.
The ministry has institutes like Indian Railways Institute of Electrical Engineering, Indian Railways Institute of Civil Engineering, and National Academy of Indian Railways for training its officials. The Institute of Rail Transport offers diploma programmes to railway and non-railway professionals in the areas of transport economics and management, logistics management, and rail transport and management.
India, UK to set up Financial Partnership in three months
New Delhi: India and the UK have agreed to launch a UK-India Financial Partnership that will aim to promote closer ties between Mumbai and London as financial centres.
The strategic partnership — to be supported by both the Governments and the respective financial services industries — will be set up over the next three months, according to a joint statement issued by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.
This followed the seventh round of UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue held here on Tuesday.
In the first year, the deal will cover the following work-streams: collaboration to develop the Indian corporate bond market; mutual sharing of expertise on banking regulation and capitalisation; enhancing financial training and qualification; financial inclusion; (v) and developing a programme around the opportunities to improve cross-border provision of financial and insurance services.
The strategic partnership — to be supported by both the Governments and the respective financial services industries — will be set up over the next three months, according to a joint statement issued by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne.
This followed the seventh round of UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue held here on Tuesday.
In the first year, the deal will cover the following work-streams: collaboration to develop the Indian corporate bond market; mutual sharing of expertise on banking regulation and capitalisation; enhancing financial training and qualification; financial inclusion; (v) and developing a programme around the opportunities to improve cross-border provision of financial and insurance services.
Friday, July 4, 2014
Venture capital investments surge; reflects optimism about India's entrepreneurial ecosystem
Mumbai: Venture capital (VC) investments surged during the first half of 2014, reflecting optimism about India's entrepreneurial ecosystem and the potential of the country's market.
According to data from audit and advisory firm E&Y, investments in early-stage companies and startups rose nearly 40% to 121 deals with the transaction value jumping 66% to $605 million (Rs 3,630 crore), compared with the same period in 2013.
Venture capital investments are at their highest level for the first half since 2010, when $663 million (Rs 3,978 crore) was invested across 51 deals.
"The 15 years I have been involved in India, this is the most healthy venture ecosystem I have ever seen," said Avnish Bajaj of Matrix Partners India, who founded e-commerce venture Baazee in 2000 before becoming a VC in 2006.
He said that factors like a deep consumer market, hungry entrepreneurs and different business models are providing an interesting market for risk capital firms. VC investments in 2014 so far are close to overtaking the entire amount deployed in 2013, when $630 million (Rs 3,780 crore) was ploughed in across 179 deals.
VC investments had reached a high in 2011 when $1.3 billion (Rs 7,800 crore) was invested in 159 deals
According to data from audit and advisory firm E&Y, investments in early-stage companies and startups rose nearly 40% to 121 deals with the transaction value jumping 66% to $605 million (Rs 3,630 crore), compared with the same period in 2013.
Venture capital investments are at their highest level for the first half since 2010, when $663 million (Rs 3,978 crore) was invested across 51 deals.
"The 15 years I have been involved in India, this is the most healthy venture ecosystem I have ever seen," said Avnish Bajaj of Matrix Partners India, who founded e-commerce venture Baazee in 2000 before becoming a VC in 2006.
He said that factors like a deep consumer market, hungry entrepreneurs and different business models are providing an interesting market for risk capital firms. VC investments in 2014 so far are close to overtaking the entire amount deployed in 2013, when $630 million (Rs 3,780 crore) was ploughed in across 179 deals.
VC investments had reached a high in 2011 when $1.3 billion (Rs 7,800 crore) was invested in 159 deals
PMI points to boost in manufacturing
New Delhi: Manufacturing activity rose a four-month high in June, albeit the pick-up was too gradual, shows a widely-tracked HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).
The index rose 51.5 points in June from 51.4 points in the previous month. A reading above 50 denotes expansion while one below 50 implies contraction.
PMI has been slowly picking up pace since April. However, it was nowhere close to 52.5 points in February.
The slow pace suits the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as otherwise higher growth would push up inflation, said Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian Economic Research at HSBC.
“The muted pace will suit the RBI: since input and output prices are rising as well, faster growth would only stoke inflation and require tightening,” he said.
Even then, inflation of final products rose to an eight-month high. Also, higher prices paid for metals, plastics, textiles, food and energy led to a further increase in average purchase prices, said Markit Economics, a financial information firm which compiles the PMI data.
Input cost and output price inflation accelerated over the month, although in both cases the rates of increase were below their respective long-run averages, it said.
Markit Economics said greater domestic and foreign demand led companies to increase production levels further.
Buying activity expanded at a faster rate, while employment continued to rise.
The financial information firm said operating conditions improved for the eighth month in succession, although modestly.
Output expanded at the fastest pace since February, with survey respondents indicating that growth reflected the signing of new contracts.
All three broad areas of the manufacturing sector registered higher production volumes, led by consumer goods producers.
The sharpest rise was noted at consumer goods firms, a finding which contradicts the latest official index of industrial production (IIP). Both consumer durables and fast moving consumer goods fell in May IIP.
The June data highlighted a marked and accelerated expansion of new export orders received by Indian manufacturers. Officially, exports grew by double digits in May. If PMI is any indicator, exports may continue their upsurge in June as well.
The index rose 51.5 points in June from 51.4 points in the previous month. A reading above 50 denotes expansion while one below 50 implies contraction.
PMI has been slowly picking up pace since April. However, it was nowhere close to 52.5 points in February.
The slow pace suits the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as otherwise higher growth would push up inflation, said Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian Economic Research at HSBC.
“The muted pace will suit the RBI: since input and output prices are rising as well, faster growth would only stoke inflation and require tightening,” he said.
Even then, inflation of final products rose to an eight-month high. Also, higher prices paid for metals, plastics, textiles, food and energy led to a further increase in average purchase prices, said Markit Economics, a financial information firm which compiles the PMI data.
Input cost and output price inflation accelerated over the month, although in both cases the rates of increase were below their respective long-run averages, it said.
Markit Economics said greater domestic and foreign demand led companies to increase production levels further.
Buying activity expanded at a faster rate, while employment continued to rise.
The financial information firm said operating conditions improved for the eighth month in succession, although modestly.
Output expanded at the fastest pace since February, with survey respondents indicating that growth reflected the signing of new contracts.
All three broad areas of the manufacturing sector registered higher production volumes, led by consumer goods producers.
The sharpest rise was noted at consumer goods firms, a finding which contradicts the latest official index of industrial production (IIP). Both consumer durables and fast moving consumer goods fell in May IIP.
The June data highlighted a marked and accelerated expansion of new export orders received by Indian manufacturers. Officially, exports grew by double digits in May. If PMI is any indicator, exports may continue their upsurge in June as well.
France extends €1b for sustainable development projects in India
New Delhi: France plans to extend a €1-billion credit line to India for funding sustainable infrastructure and urban development. This was announced by Laurent Fabius, France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Development, on Tuesday.
The credit line, which is to be available over three years, will be given through the French Development Agency (AFD).
Curbing temperature rise
France is to host the next edition of the World Climate Conference in Paris in 2015. Fabius urged nations to come together and agree on limiting global warming to an average global temperature increase of below two degrees Celsius when they meet in Paris for the conference.
Globally, the attempt is to curb the rise in temperature to under two degrees to reduce the impact of climate change. Studies predict that a global rise in temperature by two degree celsius could lead to a 20 per cent dip in water availability, severely impacting food production and causing other disasters.
Fabius also charted five areas of cooperation between France and India — on carbon-free energy (off-shore wind energy, ocean thermal energy); on civilian nuclear energy; water-management in the context of various projects on rivers in India; urban development; and space and earth observation.
A six-member French delegation led by Fabius met Prakash Javadekar, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forests and Climate Change on Tuesday.
Javadekar suggested that part of the Green Climate Fund could be used to buy technology IPRs, which would help developing countries transition to climate-resilient development, an official release said.
He said the Government’s focus on poverty eradication and providing energy access to all would ensure sustainable, balanced development.
The credit line, which is to be available over three years, will be given through the French Development Agency (AFD).
Curbing temperature rise
France is to host the next edition of the World Climate Conference in Paris in 2015. Fabius urged nations to come together and agree on limiting global warming to an average global temperature increase of below two degrees Celsius when they meet in Paris for the conference.
Globally, the attempt is to curb the rise in temperature to under two degrees to reduce the impact of climate change. Studies predict that a global rise in temperature by two degree celsius could lead to a 20 per cent dip in water availability, severely impacting food production and causing other disasters.
Fabius also charted five areas of cooperation between France and India — on carbon-free energy (off-shore wind energy, ocean thermal energy); on civilian nuclear energy; water-management in the context of various projects on rivers in India; urban development; and space and earth observation.
A six-member French delegation led by Fabius met Prakash Javadekar, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Environment, Forests and Climate Change on Tuesday.
Javadekar suggested that part of the Green Climate Fund could be used to buy technology IPRs, which would help developing countries transition to climate-resilient development, an official release said.
He said the Government’s focus on poverty eradication and providing energy access to all would ensure sustainable, balanced development.
India, Singapore want economic partnership deal fast-tracked
New Delhi: India and Singapore have asked their negotiators working on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to show adequate flexibility to move ahead and have the review completed at the earliest.
This was agreed to at a meeting that the Singapore’s visiting Foreign and Law MinisterK Shanmugam, had with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here on Tuesday.
“The focus of the discussion was largely economic. Singapore is the source of the largest foreign direct investment into India,” the spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs said.
Infra projects
The two leaders also had “prolonged and detailed” discussions on the possibility of Singaporean companies participating in infrastructure projects based in the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, the Chennai-Mumbai corridor, in the North East and on the Buddhist circuit.
“The focus was principally on Singapore investments in urban development projects and efficient delivery of urban services,” the spokesman said.
India and Singapore will also exchange state visits as part of the year long 50th anniversary celebrations of establishment of diplomatic relations between them.
Iraq situation
Meanwhile, the Government has purchased tickets for 233 Indians wanting to fly out of Iraq, the spokesman said.
“The most significant numbers are from North India because their tickets are booked for Delhi. After that the largest number is to Hyderabad.
There are a limited number to Kerala and Tamil Nadu but these are in single digits,” the spokesman added.
While about a 1,000 Indians have confirmed to the mobile teams established by the Indian Embassy in Baghdad that they would like to return an almost equal number have indicated that they will remain there, the spokesman said adding that not all Indians have been contacted.
This was agreed to at a meeting that the Singapore’s visiting Foreign and Law MinisterK Shanmugam, had with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj here on Tuesday.
“The focus of the discussion was largely economic. Singapore is the source of the largest foreign direct investment into India,” the spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs said.
Infra projects
The two leaders also had “prolonged and detailed” discussions on the possibility of Singaporean companies participating in infrastructure projects based in the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor, the Chennai-Mumbai corridor, in the North East and on the Buddhist circuit.
“The focus was principally on Singapore investments in urban development projects and efficient delivery of urban services,” the spokesman said.
India and Singapore will also exchange state visits as part of the year long 50th anniversary celebrations of establishment of diplomatic relations between them.
Iraq situation
Meanwhile, the Government has purchased tickets for 233 Indians wanting to fly out of Iraq, the spokesman said.
“The most significant numbers are from North India because their tickets are booked for Delhi. After that the largest number is to Hyderabad.
There are a limited number to Kerala and Tamil Nadu but these are in single digits,” the spokesman added.
While about a 1,000 Indians have confirmed to the mobile teams established by the Indian Embassy in Baghdad that they would like to return an almost equal number have indicated that they will remain there, the spokesman said adding that not all Indians have been contacted.
‘India became an investment destination under Modi’
New Delhi: India has ‘suddenly’ become a promising investment destination for foreign companies looking to do business here, after the new government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over, according to Nitin Nohria, dean of Harvard Business School (HBS).
He was speaking to reporters after delivering leadership lessons to top bureaucrats from power, coal and renewable energy ministries. India-born Nohria imparted lessons on leadership qualities to senior bureaucrats of the rank of joint secretary and above in an interactive session organised by energy minister Piyush Goyal.
“The first Indian dean of HBS flew in to Delhi to give us a sense of what leadership is all about,” said Goyal said after the session. Goyal himself is pursuing an HBS programme, Owner/ President Management, according to his website.
The interactive session lasted for about one-and-a-half hour. Nohria said the country is going through a historic transition in leadership.
“These transitions are important events. We cannot imagine economic development without power and coal. Better leadership inspires others,” he said.
On being asked what he thinks about the business sentiment in India, Nohria said the country has an “amazing moment of opportunity in terms of international business sentiment.”
According to him, people are happy with the clear mandate of the new government. Nohria pointed out that China and Japan have become less attractive for foreign investors - another factor that makes India a promising investment destination.
“But, people will wait for six months to see if the initial excitement translates into direct action. It is guarded optimism,” he said.
The interactive session followed last month’s lecture by author Chetan Bhagat, organised by the ministry for “employees with permanent job with no motivation” with the objective of improving productivity and bringing out new ideas to streamline government processes.
He was speaking to reporters after delivering leadership lessons to top bureaucrats from power, coal and renewable energy ministries. India-born Nohria imparted lessons on leadership qualities to senior bureaucrats of the rank of joint secretary and above in an interactive session organised by energy minister Piyush Goyal.
“The first Indian dean of HBS flew in to Delhi to give us a sense of what leadership is all about,” said Goyal said after the session. Goyal himself is pursuing an HBS programme, Owner/ President Management, according to his website.
The interactive session lasted for about one-and-a-half hour. Nohria said the country is going through a historic transition in leadership.
“These transitions are important events. We cannot imagine economic development without power and coal. Better leadership inspires others,” he said.
On being asked what he thinks about the business sentiment in India, Nohria said the country has an “amazing moment of opportunity in terms of international business sentiment.”
According to him, people are happy with the clear mandate of the new government. Nohria pointed out that China and Japan have become less attractive for foreign investors - another factor that makes India a promising investment destination.
“But, people will wait for six months to see if the initial excitement translates into direct action. It is guarded optimism,” he said.
The interactive session followed last month’s lecture by author Chetan Bhagat, organised by the ministry for “employees with permanent job with no motivation” with the objective of improving productivity and bringing out new ideas to streamline government processes.
EPFO launches online registration facility for employers
New Delhi: Employers will now be able to register online with the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and get the PF code within one day. Labour Minister Narendra Singh Tomar launched the online registration system on Monday.
"Earlier, it used to take 20-25 days to get the registration done, but through this service, a firm can now be registered in just a day's time," said Tomar.
Companies can register online through a link on the EPFO website, and the PF code will be given upon verification of their permanent account number. Applicants can also track the status of their application through the website.
"Emphasising employment generation as the prime priority for the ministry, Tomar said the government is committed to create employment opportunities by developing labour intensive industries and imparting skill development training to the youth," said a press release by the labour ministry.
The employers associations were also given a presentation on the upcoming website for single-window compliance of labour laws. The ministry is planning to launch the pilot project in October to facilitate single-window compliance of labour laws, including online registration by employers, returns, inspections and redressal of grievances.
"Earlier, it used to take 20-25 days to get the registration done, but through this service, a firm can now be registered in just a day's time," said Tomar.
Companies can register online through a link on the EPFO website, and the PF code will be given upon verification of their permanent account number. Applicants can also track the status of their application through the website.
"Emphasising employment generation as the prime priority for the ministry, Tomar said the government is committed to create employment opportunities by developing labour intensive industries and imparting skill development training to the youth," said a press release by the labour ministry.
The employers associations were also given a presentation on the upcoming website for single-window compliance of labour laws. The ministry is planning to launch the pilot project in October to facilitate single-window compliance of labour laws, including online registration by employers, returns, inspections and redressal of grievances.
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