Honda inaugurates second unit

New Delhi: Japanese auto major Honda Motor Company (HMC) today inaugurated its second manufacturing facility for passenger vehicles at Tapukara (Alwar, Rajasthan) doubling annual capacity to 240,000 units per annum.

The unit, developed at an investment of Rs 3,520 crore, will initially produce 60,000 cars per annum on a single-shift basis. A second shift would be commissioned based on market demand.

Hironori Kanayama, president and chief executive officer, Honda Cars India (HCI) said, “With the inauguration of this second plant, we have doubled our production capacity in India. This plant is significant as it will help us realise the target of selling 300,000 units in the country by 2016-17.”

The company would utilise the 450-acre facility to produce entry-level sedan Amaze and would later decide on producing any other models, depending on market demand. "We will produce both petrol and diesel variants of Amaze here.

The production ratio of petrol and diesel variants would depend upon the market demand," informed Kanayama, adding that the production of compact sedan would also continue at its Greater Noida facility.

In order to reduce waiting period of the Amaze, Honda Cars had commenced a third shift at its Greater Noida facility in November last year. The waiting period on the car has since come down to around three weeks.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje inaugurated the unit in Tapukara today, which currently employs around 3200 workers.

Driven by demand for the Amaze and newly launched flagship sedan City, Honda has bucked industry trend to post a growth of around 78 per cent and sold over 100,000 units till January this financial year. The company had sold 73,000 units in 2012-13.

To continue the growth momentum, the company has plans to launch two more models in the coming year. Kanayama said: "We will launch Mobilio (multi purpose vehicle) by the second quarter of next fiscal and Jazz before the end of the next financial year."

Honda Motor Company Managing Officer Yoshiyuki Matsumoto said the company has an annual target of 1.2 millio vehicles in the Asia Oceania region by March 2017. "Honda Cars India, which is part of the region, will contribute 25 per cent of the region's sales by 2017, by selling 300,000 cars per annum," he added.

The Tapukara unit, which started producing engine components in the first phase way back in 2008, will play a substantial role in HCIL’s long term growth, Matsumoto said.

He added that over the next few years the plant would become a major hub for exporting both diesel and petrol engine components and other parts to Honda facilities in Southeast Asia. "HCIL’s targeted export turnover for 2013-14 is about Rs 350 crore. This will grow significantly as HCIL expands its exports," he added.

PE investments in realty sector rise 13% at Rs. 7,000 crore in 2013

Hyderabad: Private equity investments in the country’s real estate sector during 2013 registered a 13-per cent increase Rs. 7,000 crore ($1.2 billion), over the Rs. 6,200 crore ($1.1 billion) done in 2012, according to a report by global real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield.

The increase was primarily due to rising investments in residential assets and other sectors such as retail and hospitality.

While the number of deals increased to 40 in 2013 compared to 34 in 2012, the average deal size declined marginally, and was approximately Rs. 175 crore.

Overall, PE investments across sectors have increased by 11 per cent, from $9.49 billion in 2012 to $10.5 billion in 2013.

Raising capital
Given the difficult economic conditions, developers are finding it difficult to raise capital through traditional sources and are opting for alternative means , the report states.

Sanjay Dutt, Executive Managing Director (South Asia), Cushman & Wakefield said: “A number of large global investors, including a number of sovereign funds, have taken the first move by partnering with successful local investors and developers for investing in the Indian real estate market. This is expected to result in high transaction activity, especially in income yielding commercial office assets during 2014.”

The total Foreign Direct Investment inflow in construction development for the third quarter of 2013 was Rs. 3,200 crore, which is the highest quarterly investment since Q3 of 2009.

FDI inflow for the first three quarters of 2013 in construction development was Rs. 5,500 crore, a 25 per cent increase from the same period in 2012.

Bangalore continued to witness the highest level of transaction activity in 2013 with overall investments of approximately Rs. 2,200 crore, though it declined by 33 per cent from 2012.

Both Pune and NCR witnessed an increase in transaction volume in 2013.

Mumbai witnessed a decline of approximately 15 per cent in investments for 2013 to Rs. 1,100 crore. However, investment activity in the city is expected to increase with a few large deals in office assets being currently in the pipeline.

Gartner: Government IT spend in India to reach $6.4 billion in 2014

Mumbai: Governments in India will spend $6.4 billion on IT products and services in 2014, an increase of 4.3 per cent over 2013, according to a study by Gartner.

This forecast includes spending by Government (Government is composed of State and regional governments and Central government agencies.) on internal IT (including personnel), hardware, software, external IT services and telecommunications.

“IT services, which include consulting, implementation, IT outsourcing and business process outsourcing, will be the largest overall spending category throughout the forecast period within the Government sector,” said Anurag Gupta, research director at Gartner.

“IT services are expected to grow 3.8 per cent in 2013 to reach $1.46 billion in 2014, up from $1.37 billion in 2013 — with the business process outsourcing segment growing 16.3 per cent in 2014,” Gupta added.

Internal services (referring to salaries and benefits paid to the information services staff) will achieve a growth rate of 9.4 per cent in 2014.

The information services staff includes all company employees that plan, develop, implement and maintain information systems. Software will achieve the highest growth rate within spending categories with 10.3 per cent in 2014 to reach $758 million in 2014, up from $687 million in 2013, led by growth in vertical specific software (software applications that are unique to a vertical industry).

Information and communication technology service providers will benefit by eGovernment projects and citizen participation aided by expansion of affordable broadband connectivity and mobile solutions, it said.

India breaks into top 10 in 2013 Gunn Report

Mumbai: With an estimated market size of $5 billion, India's the 14th largest advertising market in the world. And in the latest edition of the Gunn Report, it's finally broken into the Top 10 list of countries that have won the most advertising awards. That's up from the 13th spot last year.

The Gunn Report and Showreel of the Year is an annual publication, authored by Donald Gunn and Emma Wilkie, which ranks ad agencies across the world by their wins at the top creative awards shows. The report was first published in 1999 and the rankings are used by network agencies and marketers.

The report also names McCann World-Group India (Mumbai) as the most awarded Indian agency, a position the agency held in 2007. Taproot India (Mumbai), which topped the India chart in 2012 has slipped to the number 2 spot. In joint third position are JWT India (Mumbai) and Leo Burnett India (Mumbai & Delhi). The surprise this year is Ogilvy & Mather - from dominating the Gunn Report between 2008 and 2012, it's at the 5th spot this year. And Creativeland Asia, which shone in the 2011 and 2012 editions, failed to make it in the 2013 rankings.

"When I joined advertising, India was like an isolated island. But now the global advertising fraternity can relate to us with strong brand building and some great creative work," says Prasoon Joshi, Executive Chairman, McCann World-Group India. While mails and messages written to Colvyn Harris of JWT and Agnello Dias of Taproot did not get a response, Joshi admits such recognition helps an agency attract and nurture great talent. "Different award shows honor different kind of craft. But the Gunn Report gives the holistic picture about an agency," he says.

India, Canada sign audio-visual co-production pact

New Delhi: The Indian and Canadian Governments on Monday signed an audio-visual co-production deal. The deal was signed by Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Bimal Julka and the Canadian High Commissioner Stewart Beck.

In a statement, the I and B Ministry said the agreement would benefit producers from both the countries in pooling their creative, artistic, technical, financial and marketing resources for co-productions and lead to exchange of art and culture among the two countries.

The agreement is also expected to boost the utilisation of Indian locales for shooting and increase the visibility and prospects of India as a preferred film shooting destination and will lead to the inflow of foreign exchange into the country. “The agreement will also lead to the transparent funding of film production and boost export of Indian films into the Canadian market,” it added.

Similar agreements have been signed with Italy, the UK, Ireland, Germany, Brazil, France, New Zealand, Poland and Spain.

Under this agreement, films qualify as a national production in each of the partner nations and offer benefits such as government financial assistance, tax concessions and inclusion in domestic television broadcast quotas.

Honda plans India R&D unit with investment of Rs 500 crore to develop affordable cars

New Delhi: Japanese carmaker Honda Motors is planning to set up a subsidiary in India that would work towards developing cars for the local market and increasing the use of locally-made components in its existing vehicles to make them more affordable.

The facility, Honda Genbetsu India (HGID), would focus on research and development and is likely to come up at the company's existing manufacturing plant at Greater Noida, sources with knowledge of the matter said.

It already has local R&D operations, which would likely be separated into the new unit, they said. The unit will likely come at an initial investment of around Rs 500 crore. According to sources in the automotive industry, this facility will extend support for Honda's localisation strategy for its running models as well as provide designing support for some upcoming India-specific models in the near-term.

After developing a phenomenally fuelefficient diesel engine and lining up some interesting products like the Mobilio multipurpose vehicle and the Jazz premium hatchback for India, Honda is enthusiastic about its prospects in the Indian auto market. "After the success of its India-specific Amaze sedan, Honda is revitalising its plans for this market.

It plans to develop smaller cars focusing on the Indian market where HGID would play a critical role," said a source. Honda sales have zoomed after the launch of its diesel cars, especially the Amaze.

It became the fourth largest carmaker in India in January, overtaking Tata Motors and Toyota Kirloskar Motors. It sold 15,714 cars in January, nearly three times compared with a year earlier.

Honda Cars India already operates another local entity, Honda Motor India, which takes care of its components and motor parts business. The new R&D unit would be the third business closely associated with its car manufacturing operations.

Responding to a query from ET, Honda Car India said it is committed to the Indian market and will expand the focus of its R&D operations towards more India-oriented products in coming years.

Frankfurt School ties up with Avanse to offer student loans

New Delhi: Germany-based Frankfurt School of Finance and Management has joined hands with education finance company Avanse Education Loans. This association will help Indian students to pursue education in the Frankfurt School by getting financial access to their choice of courses. The company will provide 100 per cent funding for students. The cost of education at Frankfurt ranges from Rs. 30 lakh (€31,500) to Rs. 72 Lakh (€44,550) in addition to living expenditure of around €35,000.

Avanse will provide loans for various courses at the Frankfurt School including courses such as Master of International Business, Master in Quantitative Finance, Master of Finance in India & Frankfurt, Master in Management, MBA in International Healthcare Management, Bachelors in Business Administration, and Bachelors in International Business Administration. Ranked 27th in the Financial Times Global Ranking , the Frankfurt school has 86 regional education centres throughout Germany. In India, Avanse is associated with over 400 educational institutions and consultants offering academic programmes in arts, sciences, engineering, management, medicine, music and more.

Google's Trekker brings monuments home

Ever struck by the sheer amazement of the idea of taking a tour in and around the Taj Mahal and admiring its grandiose structure sitting in your living room sipping a cup of coffee? Now, Google, in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India has turned this exciting thought into a reality. For the first time, Google has brought for history and culture lovers 360-degree online imagery of iconic Indian heritage sites through the Google Trekker technology. Now, one can virtually visit famous monuments from the comfort of their own homes without having to go all the distance.

The opportunity to visit these archeological sites is available through the updated version of Google Maps through Street View and the Google Cultural Institute, which also provides information about the monuments while giving one a close tour. It also uses 3D modelling, and other Google technologies such as YouTube to help explore and appreciate these sites via videos, photos and in-depth information. This virtual walkthrough through the Street View option is seamless and as good as being there itself.

"When we launched this initiative five months ago, even we at Google were not sure if we could bring the Taj online. Today, I can say, it is a unique product. Google's mission is to make information accessible. Google is committed to helping preserve and showcase cultural heritage across the world," said Rajan Anandan, vice-president and managing director, Google India.

The 360-degree panoramic imagery is currently available for 30 historical sites, including the Taj, Humayun's Tomb, Qutb Minar, Red Fort, Jantar Mantar, Fatehpur Sikri, Itimad-ud-Daula, Agra Fort, Krishnagiri Fort, Rajagiri Fort, Muvar Koil & Aivar Koil, Muchu Kundesvara Temple, Perumal & ShivaTemple, Rock Cut Jain Temple, Thirumayam Fort, St George Fort, Chandragiri Fort, Amaravati Buddhist stupas and remains, Nagarjuna Konda Buddhist Stupas, Guntupalli Caves, Kanheri Caves, Lenyadri Caves, Shanirwada Fort, Aga Khan Palace, Raigad Fort, Hirakota Old Fort, Pandulena Caves, Bibi ka Makbara, Shahi Quila and Hoshang Shah's Tomb. Google is in the process to launch 70 more soon.

Google creates a dynamic, immersive online experience of historical exploration in an engaging and simple manner. The 3D imagery is sharp and the Trekker has captured the details up close, making the exploring experience as realistic as it can get. The tour is not just limited to the monument, one can also go around the streets nearby and take the sensation of walking around the site. One needs an internet connection with a decent speed for a smooth tour. Searching for the desired monument is easy.

One can view the monuments from every direction, distance and angle. The only limitation is the lack of any audio accompaniment with this visual treat, as the complete appreciation of any archeological site is possible only when some explanation is offered for what one sees. So, the guide only gives a limited tour. And the online experience can never match up to the real experience of standing at the great creations of the past. Yet, what it offers is definitely a technological marvel.

Trekker technology is already available for hundreds of world heritage sites.

Anandan said, "India is unique in terms of the sheer wealth of heritage and iconic historical monuments, and it has been our privilege to work with the ASI in collecting new 360-degree photos of 30 Indian heritage sites. We hope the imagery, which would reach almost one-third of the world's population, will help make India's heritage and culture more accessible to people at home and abroad."

4.14 m more rural mobile subscribers added in Jan

Mumbai: The country’s GSM operators added 4.14 million rural subscribers in January, a 1.5 per cent increase from the previous month, taking the total to 285.35 million.

Vodafone India added the maximum rural subscribers of 1.31 million taking its total to 87.43 million during the month under review, according to data released by GSM operators’ body — Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI).

Bharti Airteladded 1.25 million users during the month. The New Delhi-based company, however, maintained its leadership position with a total of 91.40 million users. Idea Cellular, the Aditya Birla group company, added 0.87 million users, taking the total to 71.25 million, while Aircel added 0.40 million, increasing the total to 24.64 million in January.

Telewings (formerly Uninor) added 0.31 million subscribers, taking its total rural user base to 10.63 million as of January 31.

TN, Uttar Pradesh
The maximum rural subscriber additions of 574,412 came in from Tamil Nadu circle, while Uttar Pradesh (East) had the maximum rural user base of 29.42 million, according to COAI.

European Investment Bank (EIB) and IREDA sign Euro 200 million Agreement

New Delhi: ‘ The European Investment Bank (EIB) has sanctioned a Line of Credit (LoC) of Euro 200 million to M/s Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) to be utilized for financing Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency projects in India. The total loan period is 20 years. The LoC is secured by a sovereign guarantee from Government of India.

Agreement for availing the LoC of Euro 200 million from EIB, was signed by Shri Debashish Majumdar, Chairman and Managing Director, IREDA and Mrs. Magdalena Alvarez Arza, Vice President, EIB in New Delhi today in the presence of Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy.

Speaking on this occasion, Mrs. Magdalena Alvarez Arza, Vice President, EIB said that European Investment Bank started funding Indian project in 1993 and in this period of two decades, India has now become the second largest recipient of EIB fund.

Dr. Satish B Agnihotri, Secretary, MNRE said that this LOC of Euro 200 million will facilitate in IREDA’s financing of existing and new projects of renewable energy.

To tackle the twin problems of widening power deficits and mounting carbon emissions, the Indian Government has set ambitious goals to increasingly displace fossil fuels with renewable sources. The agreement signed today supports the Government of India’s focus on a low carbon growth strategy for power generation in India. Developing renewable energy sources not only helps address environmental concerns, but also improves energy security and spurs regional economic development.

IREDA is the dedicated financing arm of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and has been spearheading the growth of renewable energy in the country. It has cumulatively financed over 2000 projects corresponding to a financial value of about Rs.22,500 crores. IREDA has been raising resources from various bilateral / multilateral agencies as also from domestic sources through both taxable and tax-free bonds.

Mumbai builder Lodha Group buys second building on Carey Street in London for Rs 1,000 crore

Mumbai: Mumbai builder Lodha Group has bought a second building in London for over 90 million pounds, or around Rs 1,000 crore, in the space of three months. In November, the group had acquired MacDonald House in central London which housed the Canadian consulate in UK, for over 306 million pounds or Rs 3,120 crore.

The property spread over 1.15 acre on Carey Street is close to London School of Economics and is located in mid-town between city and West-End area of central London. Lodha has already paid around 10% of consideration as initial amount and the balance is expected to be paid in tranches with final payment by May end. Although the new property is a grade A office building with seven floors along with two basements, the group is planning to redevelop this into residential apartments.

The seller, West End of London Property Unit Trust, has already applied with the authorities there for conversion of the commercial property into a residential one. With residential redevelopment approval, Lodha can build apartments with total saleable area of around two lakh sq ft on the plot. Lodha Group confirmed the transaction in an email response to ET's query.

"Lodha plans to focus on London as one of our two main markets and we will continue to look for opportunities that come up in this market. We will serve London in the same manner that we serve Mumbai-—with world class product intended to serve all key market segments," a spokeswoman said. A person close to the transaction said that Lodha will use its internalaccruals and it is not planning to raise any debt to finance the transaction. In November, the developer bought the Canadian high commission's building spread over 0.67 acre, a stone's throw from Buckingham Palace.

This property is also expected to be converted into super luxury residences with total saleable area of 1.6 million sq ft. Lodha has already paid the initial amount to the Canadian government and rest of the money is expected to be paid by March end. Lodha Group, which is building World One, the tallest residential tower in India, had announced earlier that MacDonald House buy will also be funded through internal accruals.

The group has already set up a separate subsidiary to undertake and execute the proposed super luxury project and its other future plans in the UK. The developer recently hired Tyler Goodwin, former managing director of JP Morgan, as its new UK business chief executive officer.

Tyler had joined the company in January. In December 2012, Lodha Group acquired Washington House, the US Consulate property on Altamount Road in south Mumbai, for Rs 341.82 crore. The developer has already announced plans to build a 30-storey tower with sea-view apartments on this plot. Recently, Lodha Group also repaid debt worth Rs 825 crore it had raised through issuance of non-convertible debentures in early 2012.

IIT-Madras alumni network to raise Rs 100 cr

The network formally launched an innovation fund of $600,000 last year, one-fifth of which has been invested in seven-to-eight start-up firms as seed funding
Chennai: The alumni network of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is planning to raise Rs 100 crore this year for various purposes, including funding innovations and start-ups of IITians. It is evaluating a business plan to set up a development office in the US for the proposed fund raising.

The network formally launched an innovation fund of $600,000 last year, one-fifth of which has been invested in seven-to-eight start-up firms as seed funding. This year, the fund is expected to have about $1 million to expend.

"We are planning to raise Rs 100 crore this year - Rs 70 crore from the US and the rest from India. Part of this would go to the innovation fund, while the rest would go to various other projects including research, entrepreneurship development, sustainability initiatives etc," said R Nagarajan, dean of international and alumni relations and professor, department of chemical engineering.

IIT-Madras alumni network, which has about 40,000 members, is looking at raising funds from various sources including big companies, foundations, high networth individuals, among others, to reach the target.

The institute also has an Alumni Entrepreneurship Forum, which allocates funds and acts as a mentor to the start-ups of the students and young alumni members. IIT-Madras also has platforms such as Centre for Innovation to support prototype development and Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship to support social entrepreneurship.

Nagarajan said the institute's incubation centre currently has about 20 start-ups. The centre is the single window for the students as well as alumni to get support for their business idea. Two months ago, the centre was allowed to take an equity between two and five per cent in start-ups. The equity holding of the centre would depend on the role it has taken in developing the business, he added.

Even if one out of many start-ups becomes a success, that would bring in value to the share-holding of the centre, Nagarajan pointed out.

Going forward, the fund would look to invest Rs 10-50 lakh in a venture depending on the potential, viability and profitability of the model.

The network has been raising funds under the name of IIT-Madras. So far, money from the US has been raised by the IIT-Madras Alumni Association of North America and sent to the alumni network's office in IIT-Madras. The money has not been raised as returnable investment, but as donation. Now, the alumni network is looking at raising money from non-alumni as well. This will also be by way of donation, where the investors will get tax benefits in return, Nagarajan said.

While the innovation fund was formally launched only last year, the pooling of money had started as early as three years ago.

Adani Ports bags Ennore container terminal project

Chennai: The LoA is effective February 14. The next step is finalising various parameters, including the formation of a special purpose vehicle and financial closure of the project, said a Port official. Usually, a Letter of Intent is issued before the award letter. However, with the general election roadmap set to be announced soon, it was decided to issue the LoA directly, the official said.

Adani Ports emerged as the highest bidder by offering a revenue share of 37 per cent, beating Dubai-based DP World, which offered 27 per cent.

First in East
For the Gujarat-based $9-billion Adani group, it will be the first container terminal project in an eastern port.

It was short-listed for the mega container terminal at the Chennai port, but offered low revenue share, which was rejected by the port.

While Adani will invest Rs. 1,270 crore to build the terminal, Ennore Port will invest around Rs. 200 crore on deepening the berth and providing rail connectivity.

Finnish workwear firm to sew up Indian talent

Mumbai: For Juha Laurio, his company’s growth plans for India are only one part of the story. The other lies in tapping the country’s intellectual capital.

The President and CEO of Lindstrom, which specialises in supplying work-wear to companies, is upbeat about its next round of expansion.

The move will see the company setting up service centres in Assam and Gujarat, taking its total to nine. The other units are located in Delhi, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Punjab.

“This expansion is part of our efforts to cover all regions. It will bring Lindstrom close to its customer base, which includes industries such as electronics, engineering, automotive and pharmaceuticals,” Laurio told Business Line over the telephone from the company’s corporate headquarters in Helsinki, Finland.

Uniform appeal
The 166-year-old Finnish company, which has been in India since 2007, designs, supplies and delivers cleaned garments to its customers for a rental fee.

Mending, washing and maintenance of the uniforms is done by the Lindstrom’s service centres. The customer uses one set while the company maintains the other.

According to Laurio, there are many reasons for customers based in India to opt for Lindstrom uniforms, especially with the increased focus on hygiene and safety. It is only natural that companies with global ambitions will also come in for closer audit scrutiny (pharmaceuticals is a case in point), which makes parameters such as hygiene/safety in worker uniforms particularly important.

Yet, it is the human capital in India that excites the CEO of Lindstrom as this can be leveraged across its operations globally. The company is now undertaking campus recruitments from B-schools in India. The candidates will form part of its management training programmes in Finland and parts of Europe.

Human capital
“This is the first part of a journey, to identify future global managers and directors with roots in India. You just need to look at the recent cases of Indians who are heading top MNCs,” Laurio says.

The country, he says, offers skilled, intelligent and young people who are “eager and hungry to learn” and have “a burning ambition” to succeed. This opens tremendous opportunities, with Indians playing a big role in Lindstrom’s global ambitions.

India and Argentina to Strengthen Cooperation in the Field of Renewable Energy

New Delhi: India and Argentina have agreed to enhance cooperation in the field of renewable energy. In a meeting with a delegation led by Dr. Antonio Bonfatti, Governor of Santa Fe. Rosario Province, Argentina Dr. Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy conveyed the willingness of the Government of India to enhance bilateral ties and economic cooperation with Argentina especially in the field of renewable energy. Collaboration in sectors of bio-diesel and possibilities of future commerce and business in bio-fuel were also discussed. Dr. Antonio Bonfatti agreed that the two countries should use their full potential to enhance cooperation and bilateral ties.

Hon’ble Minister informed the visiting dignitaries about the National Policy on Bio-fuels which was announced in December, 2009 and endeavors to bring about development and utilization of indigenous feedstock for production of biofuels. He highlighted the Indian approach to biofuels which is based solely on non-food feedstock to be raised on degraded or wastelands that are not suited to agriculture, or through use of wastes and residues, thus avoiding a possible conflict of fuel and food security. Dr. Abdullah also informed the visiting delegation that the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme is currently being implemented by the Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) with the overall aim of achieving on EBP of 5%.

On this occasion Dr. Abdullah also spoke about the energy situation in India and the rapid growth of the renewable energy sector in India. He spoke of India’s plans to add over 30 GW of renewable energy to its energy mix in the next 5 years. He dwelt on the success of the wind programme as well as the significant cost reductions in solar energy through the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). He also highlighted India’s conducive and investor friendly policy framework for promoting renewable energy in a big way. He offered all possible assistance from India to the development of the renewable energy capacity of Argentinian officials and regulators.

Aegis to hire 9,000 next fiscal

Mumbai: Aegis, part of the $39-billion Essar Group, will hire up to 9,000 people in fiscal 2015 to cater to increasing demand for back-office services from developed markets and India.
Of this, about 4,500 employees would be added to its operations in India, Mumbai: while the remaining would be deployed at Aegis’ centres globally, Sandip Sen, Global CEO of Aegis, told Business Line . Currently, the company has centres in 13 countries.

“The demand pipeline is looking good across geographies. Thanks to our size, we have a seat at the table when it comes to most outsourcing conversations,” Sen said on the sidelines of the Nasscom summit.

Emerging destination
The company would also be hiring in the Philippines and Malaysia. Sen sees Malaysia as an emerging alternative to Philippines, a country which has become a strong destination for voice-based business process outsourcing and management.

Most of the hiring at Aegis would be for new business and not to make up for attrition, Sen said.

The backfilling of positions is a continuous process at the 55,000 employee-strong BPO company, thanks to the over 40 per cent attrition rate. Sen says that attrition need not be a negative factor.

“Most BPO contracts are for three years and we generally do not get price escalations every year. However, my people costs keep going up with annual salary hikes. So we do not mind if some experience hands have to be replaced with entry level staffers as we are confident of our internal training abilities,” he said.

Amway to invest Rs. 150 cr more in TN plant

Chennai: Direct marketing consumer goods major Amway India has decided to increase its proposed investment in its Tamil Nadu facility, with more production lines to manufacture its complete range of nutrition and beauty products.

According to Anshu Budhraja, Chief Operating Officer, the company will invest Rs. 150 crore over and above the originally proposed Rs. 400 crore in the manufacturing facility that is coming up at Nilakottai near Madurai. It is expected to start commercial production by the end of 2014, and scale up to full capacity by October next year.

The company was allotted a 50-acre plot by the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu, and it initially submitted a proposal to set up nine production lines for nutrition, cosmetic and oral-care products. It now proposes to add three more lines. With the proposed addition, the plant will produce 34 nutrition and 77 beauty products with an annual installed capacity for over 2 billion tablets and soft-gel capsules; 7 million canisters of drink mixes, 25 million tubes, jars and bottles of personal care products, and 60 million tubes of Glister toothpaste.

Foreign facility
The facility, constructed by Shapoorji Pallonji Construction, will be Amway’s first owned facility in the country and second outside the US, the first being in China. The Rs. 2,200-crore FMCG player has more than 140 stock keeping units under five product categories — personal care, home care, nutrition and wellness, cosmetics and ‘great value’ products. It currently sources all of them from seven contract manufacturers.

Product sourcing
The new facility is meant only to cater to the domestic market and to get better control over manufacturing of healthcare products. “Amway will continue to source products from the existing contract manufacturers too,” said Budhraja.

OVL inks agreements to raise $2.5 bn

New Delhi: ONGC Videsh Limited (OVL), the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), has signed separate agreements with two consortiums of international banks to raise $ 2.5 billion by way of offshore borrowings. This has been done to finance its acquisition of 10 per cent participating interest in Rovuma Area I Block in Mozambique offshore, the company said in a statement.

The first facility for a five year term amounting to $1.775 billion was signed with consortium of international banks, including ANZ, Bank of Nova Scotia, BTMU, DBS, Mizuho, RBS, Societe Generale, SBI and SMBC.

SMBC took the leadership role in this facility with commitment of $ 700 million and acting as Facility and Escrow Agent. This is the single largest offshore 5-year loan facility arranged by an Indian company during the last three years.

The second facility is in the nature of a bridge finance of $ 725 million for a one year term with consortium of international banks including ANZ, BNP Paribas, BTMU, Citi, DBS, RBS and SBI. In this facility, Citi took the leadership with Facility and Escrow Agency roles.

Interim Railway Budget: High-speed corridor accelerates

New Delhi: High-speed trains in India could be a reality soon, with Indian Railways (IR) focusing on bringing new technology for modernisation of trains.

The first high-speed rail (300-350 km/hour) will likely connect Mumbai and Ahmedabad, the two financial hubs in western India. It is expected to cut travel time between the two cities from the current eight hours to two hours.

The railways is also focusing on achieving speeds of 160-200 km/hour on existing tracks.

A joint feasibility study for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed corridor, which started in December 2013, is set to be completed in 18 months, minister Mallikarjun Kharge said in his speech on Wednesday. The study is being financed by Indian Railways and Japan International Cooperation Agency. An agreement for the partnership was finalised between the two sides in May 2013.

Another business development study for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad corridor, undertaken by the French railways, will be completed by April 2014. After a report on the study is presented, IR will decide on the next course of action, as well as the modalities for implementation of the project, Kharge said.

The railways is also exploring low-cost options to increase the speed of trains on select existing routes such as Delhi-Agra and Delhi-Chandigarh, to 160-200 km/hour.

Earlier, the railways had said a High-Speed Rail Corporation (HSRC), a subsidiary of Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, was being set up to increase the speed of passenger trains up to 200 km/hour. The High-Speed Rail Authority will be set up soon. While the authority will frame policies, it will be up to HSRC to implement these. The Mumbai-Ahmedabad and Delhi-Amritsar routes are two of the seven corridors HSRC plans to take up on a priority basis.

For speeds of more than 200 km/hour, dedicated tracks and fencing are needed.

Kharge said implementation of the eastern and western dedicated freight corridor projects was recording good progress, with about 1,100 km of civil construction contracts being awarded. In 2014-15, an additional 1,000 km of civil construction contracts are expected to be awarded, besides the those for systems contracts.

Isro's Mars orbiter Mangalyaan completes 100 days in space

Bengaluru: Isro's Mars Orbiter spacecraft Mangalyaan successfully completed 100 days in space on Wednesday.

This is the first Indian-made object sent into deep space from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota on November 5 last year.

Since then, the spacecraft is continuously monitored by the ground station of Isro's Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC), located at Byalalu, near Bangalore.

"The health parameters of all the payloads are normal. Except for a 40-minute break in the Telemetry data received from the spacecraft to the ground station, data has been continuously available till today," said a release from Isro.

Presently, the spacecraft is at a radio distance of 16 million kilometres causing a one-way communication delay of approximately 55 seconds.

After travelling the remaining distance of about 490 million kilometres over the next 210 days, the spacecraft would be finally inserted into the Martian Orbit on September 24. To reach there, the spacecraft has to still travel 680 million km. As of now it has travelled 190 million kilometres.

Subsequent to six orbit raising manoeuvres around the Earth following the launch, the Trans Mars Injection (TMI) manoeuvre was done on December 1 giving necessary thrust to the spacecraft to escape from Earth and to initiate the journey towards Mars, in a helio-centric Orbit.

On December 11, the First Trajectory Correction Manoeuvre (TCM) was also conducted and the trajectory of the spacecraft, till today, is moving as expected. Three more TCM operations have been planned in April, August and September. On February 6, all the five payloads on Mars Orbiter spacecraft were switched on to check their health.

BSE launches institutional trading platform for SMEs

Mumbai: The Bombay Stock Exchange launched an institutional trading platform for small and medium enterprises today.

Ashish Kumar Chauhan, Managing Director & CEO, BSE, said that the new platform will help SMEs raise capital without going through the extensive IPO process and also enable easy exit options for angel investors and venture capitalists. BSE officials said that the listing process in the new platform will be done within one month as against the couple of months that a regular IPO route would take. Costs would be just a tenth of the IPO process, they said.

Rajeev Kumar Agarwal, Wholetime Member, SEBI, speaking at the launch said that SEBI had taken upon itself a role to enable the SME segment to raise cheap funds. Acknowledging that the Initial public offer process was a big burden involving regulatory costs, Agarwal said that SEBI wanted to ringfence the small investors while also ensuring that there is visibility for SMEs with no compromise on corporate governance and disclosures. He hoped that the new platform would serve as a training ground for the SME sector to come to the main platform after some time.

Chandrakant Salunkhe, President of the SME development chamber of India, assured the BSE that at least 50 companies would join the new platform within the next three months.

15 deals worth over Rs 12k cr in 40 days: Inbound M&As take wing in 2014

Mumbai: The year 2014 has started with a bang for inbound mergers & acquisitions, with India Inc seeing 15 such deals in 40 days. Besides the mounting interest from buyers in the Indian consumer growth story, other sectors such as health care, metals, real estate and telecom have led the way in asset sales this year.

The last of the deals happened just two days ago, with the US-based Sophos buying Cyberoam Technologies. US-based private equity major Carlyle was a common factor in both the first and so far the last M&A deals this year – the first was the largest ever inbound buyout in the Indian dairy space where the PE major sold its 20 per cent stake in Tirumala to Lactalis. In the other deal, Carlyle sold its 87 per cent stake to global strategic buyers.

Deals had dried up in recent times mainly because of valuation issues even as highly leveraged companies have been looking for buyers. Mahesh Singhi, managing director, Singhi Advisors, said companies had been facing growth bottlenecks and needed capital flows. Many of the recent sellouts had been to reduce debt and were prompted by lenders and investors.

Highly leveraged companies such as DLF, Lanco, GMR, etc, have thus been monetising some of their assets in the last couple of months. Early this month, mining and construction company Lanco Infratech, which has a total debt of Rs 7,700 crore, sold its 70-Mw hydel plant in Himachal Pradesh to Greenko for about 77 million euros (Rs 650 crore). It is also in talks for the sale of its 1,200-Mw Udupi Power Corp. The overall deal size of the 15 transactions works out to about Rs 12,151 crore (roughly $2 billion). According to a Grant Thornton report, India Inc had seen inbound deals worth $8.6 billion in 2013.

Besides debt-ridden companies, even some of the largest Indian conglomerates have concluded sales of their loss-making or non-core businesses in the last few weeks.

On January 31, Tata Power announced the sale of its stake in Indonesian coal asset, Arutmin, to the local Bakrie family for $500 million as part of cutting down its debt. The Aditya Birla Group sold its Canada-based business and technology outsourcing firm Aditya Birla Minacs Worldwide Ltd to a group of investors for $260 million, as part of its exit from the information technology business.

According to reports, Tata Communications is planning to sell its South African firm Neotel to a Vodafone arm.

Pramod Kumar, MD, Barclays Capital India, said, “Unrelated diversification or aggressive expansion undertaken by Indian companies in an environment where the growth outlook was much more robust that what has turned out to be in reality raised the question whether they should be in the business and own the asset or not.”

A lack of interest from investors such as private equity players has also cast a shadow over a few core industries in India, leaving the promoters with no option but to sell out or partner with global players, who can access cheap capital as well as advanced technologies and global markets.

“With the current slowdown, not only have profit margins come down, the working capital cycle has also increased substantially in many industries, bringing the overall return on capital employed much below their borrowing costs. Companies in infrastructure, metals, pharma API, build-operate-transfer projects, power equipment, etc have fallen off radar of financial investors,” Singhi added.

Most of the PE investments made five to six years ago are ripe for exits, causing strategic sellouts to foreign companies eager for a strong footprint in the Indian market.

Vikram Hosangady, national leader, private equity, KPMG India, said the exits in most situations were driven by the fact that the PE investor had spent three-five years and the portfolio company was ripe for exit. “It’s heartening to note there remains significant strategic interest among global companies in Indian assets. We’ll continue to see increased strategic interest but largely in defensive sectors such as consumer, pharma and health care.”

India remains one of the top destinations for foreign direct investment: Anand Sharma

New Delhi: The Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Shri Anand Sharma has asserted that India remains one of the top destinations for Foreign Direct Investment, despite the economic slowdown. Speaking at a Students’ Interactive Session at Sophia College in Mumbai today, Shri Sharma said India’s Foreign Direct Investment policy has been progressively liberalized to make the regime more investor friendly. He said in a recent review of the policy the government has amended the sectoral caps in some key areas to stimulate FDI inflow. Between 2009-13, India attracted FDI worth US $ 172.82 billion, despite growing competition from emerging economies like Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam etc.

Responding to a student’s question about India’s poor ranking on the ‘ease of doing business’ parameter, Shri Sharma admitted that red tape continued to be a cause of concern, but added that sincere efforts were being made to create a conducive business environment. He said, his Ministry has recently launched the e-Biz portal, which allows potential entrepreneurs to complete most of the formalities online, like submitting forms, making payments, among others. They can also track the status of their requests through the portal. Shri Sharma said that two of the key organizations crucial for clearance of projects – Ministry of Environment & Forests and Central Board of Customs & Excise are yet to come on board, but expressed confidence that he would convince them to join in soon.

The Minister also said the National Manufacturing Policy seeks to address the menace of red tape by introducing accountability to ensure timely clearance of proposals. Shri Sharma said India’s current economic growth is not commensurate with its potential and the country has capacity to grow faster. He said that India is looking to create as many as 100 million skilled jobs in the manufacturing sector by raising its share of GDP to 25 per cent from 16 per cent. “We have to create jobs through industrialization and boosting manufacturing. The dedicated Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor and the Chennai-Bangalore – Mumbai industrial corridor will create specialized manufacturing centres, with single window service to expand our industrial base,” he added.

The Commerce & Industry Minister also defended the FDI in retail policy of the government, stating that its benefits can be reaped by farmers as well as small and medium enterprises. “If a retail chain sources its farm products from hinterland or creates cold storage facility, it will be the farmer in the villages who will benefit directly” he added. He reiterated that entry of organized retailer will not put the corner grocery stores out of business.

Shri Sharma also said that India’s young population is an important asset. “By 2035, when the developed world will be saddled with ageing population, India, and not China, would be the country that would provide skilled manpower to the world” he added. Shri Sharma called upon the young students to cultivate a positive mindset and notice the developments that have taken place in India.

The Minister in his address also touched upon various global and domestic issues including the emergence of a multi-polar world, importance of preserving democratic tradition, protecting cultural unity of India and above all the importance of education in building a strong nation.

Noted industrialist Adi Godrej in his remarks called for early introduction of GST to rationalize tax regime and boost productivity.

More than 150 students of Sofia College for Women participated in the Minister’s Interactive Session, “Emerging India in a Globalized World: The Imperatives of Change”, organized by CII.

India and Netherlands sign MoU, agree to enhance cooperation in renewable energy

New Delhi: The Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, today gave the green light to intensifying cooperation between India and the Netherlands on renewable energy. The Minister presided over a ceremony where the Dutch Ambassador Alphonsus Stoelinga and the Secretary of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Dr. Satish Balram Agnihotri, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Under this agreement, an Indo Dutch Joint Working Group will be set up and the exchange of technical and institutional knowledge on clean energy will be facilitated.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Abdullah welcomed the decision of both the governments to enhance their cooperation in the Renewable Energy sector and hoped that the signing of the Memorandum would be a just the beginning of a symbiotic and mutually beneficial wave of cooperation in the clean energy sector. The Dutch Ambassador emphasized that both their countries have similar ambitions and face similar challenges in realizing clean energy options in the respective countries. He hoped that the MoU would encourage cooperation not only at the official and governmental levels but also between leading Indian and Dutch private companies and research institutions. A number of private companies including DSM, Thermax India and PwC were also present on the occasion.

Dr. Abdullah also spoke about the energy situation in India and the rapid growth of the renewable energy sector in India. He spoke of India’s plans to add over 30 GW of renewable energy to its energy mix in the next 5 years. He dwelt on the success of the wind programme as well as the significant cost reductions in solar energy through the JawaharlalNehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). He also highlighted India’s conducive and investor friendly policy framework for promoting renewable energy in a big way. Dr. Abdullah suggested that India and Netherlands had great potential for enhancing cooperation in promoting renewable energy and offered to provide all possible assistance for the purpose.

Pune's Guardian Corpn forays into media, entertainment biz

Pune: Guardian Corporation has made a foray into media and entertainment businesses with the establishment of Guardian Media and Entertainment.

The Pune-based group also has a presence in real estate, retail, lifestyle sport, and travel and tourism business segments.

“It’s been over two decades since India became a part of the global economy, but we still lack good entertainment destinations. We want to contribute in filling this gap by offering the design and development services for amusement parks, theme parks and museums,” Manish Sabade, Chairman, Guardian Corporation said.

Guardian has executed projects worth Rs20 crore in India and abroad, while those worth Rs150 crore are at various stages of development, he added. The projects operational include a 3-acre theme park at Sajjangad near Satara on the life of saint Ramdas Swami that gives an insight into his life through the use of multimedia, sound, light, and theatre.

The company has also created real-size replicas of some caves of Ajanta at nearby Fardapur village for tourists who are unable to see the Ajanta caves as only a few are allowed inside the caves after their declaration as a World Heritage Site.

It is now setting up a Dinosaur Park, India’s first giant screen theatre, and one of country’s largest indoor theme parks with over 23 attractions.

Ms. Margaret Hamburg, Commissioner, US FDA meets Union Health Minister Sh Ghulam Nabi Azad

New Delhi: The Union Minister for Health, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad met Ms. Margaret Hamburg, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs, USA, here today. A Statement of Intent on Cooperation in the Field of Medical Products was signed between the Food and Drugs Administration, USA and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India.

Speaking at the occasion, Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad said that India Pharma industry is growing at a fast pace in terms of volume. He stated that India exports medicines to about 210 countries and vaccines to about 150 countries in the world. These medicines while being affordable are as effective as drugs manufactured in the developing countries, he mentioned. He further said that being affordable should not mean that they are ‘cheap and spurious’. Efficacy of the Indian drugs should not be judged on the basis of their cost as the input cost in India is much less than that in the developing countries due to the less expensive human resources, the Health Minister stated. The Health Minister further stated that developing countries such as India who have a growing pharma industry should be allowed to grow.

The Minister highlighted that India has taken several measures to strengthen the regulatory mechanisms in terms of capacity building, strengthening laboratories and bringing enhanced transparency through its laws and legislations. He stated that stringent punishment up to life imprisonment is prescribed for those involved in manufacturing or selling of spurious drugs. Special courts have been set up for speedy trails of those involved in such crimes. Moreover, 16 out of 28 states in country have special courts for speedy trials, he said. The Indian government has also framed rules for compensation due to death in clinical trials, he said.

He said that the Statement of Intent between the two countries will go a long way in enhanced cooperation between the two countries in framing and strengthening frameworks for transparency and capacity building through seminars, workshops etc.

Ms. Margaret Hamburg, M.D., Commissioner of Food and Drugs, USA congratulated India for its success in polio eradication. She commended India’s leadership and powerful presence in the Pharma industry. She said that India is the second largest exporter of drugs to USA, and has a significant contribution in medical equipments and devices. But there is huge expectation and dependence of public on the regulator to ensure the quality of what the people consume through drugs and food, and also whether there are barriers being created to new opportunities, Ms. Hamburg stated. While she stated that quality regulation can go a long way in strengthening the robustness of the clinical industries, she also noted that India has made very serious commitment to strengthen regulatory framework to enhance transparency. India and USA need to be effective partners and work on transparency, she further added, as there are common goals and aspirations and both are world leaders in the field of medicines. There should be common set of standards so that people have quality, safe and efficacious drugs, she noted. She said that the Statement of Intent will enhance the transparency in the field of medicine.

The focus of the Statement of Intent between the two countries, signed today is

Sharing of information relevant to lack of compliance with accepted current good manufacturing practices, good clinical practices, or good laboratory practices, as appropriate, by manufactures and sponsors of medical products and manufacturers of cosmetics, in one another’s country, or any other information as mutually decided upon.
Engaging collaboratively as observers in medical and cosmetic product and inspections conducted by the other country as per specific terms to be agreed and as time and resources allow.
Informing the respective regulatory authorities before undertaking inspections, so that host-country inspectors may join inspections as observers.
Collaborating in relevant scientific meetings, symposia, seminars, and other appropriate venues that may be organized either in the United States of America or the Republic of India.
Facilitating each other’s holding (in persons or by teleconference) periodic discussions, possibly once every three (3) months, to report and assess progress on current collaborations and implementation of this Statement of Intent, to address concerns and resolve issues leading to strengthening and improving the bilateral relationship, and to identify new areas for collaboration.
Facilitating information-sharing between the two countries as appropriate and allowable by law, in support of public health and product safety, quality, and effectiveness, as appropriate.
Present at the occasion were Shri Keshav Desiraju, Secretary Health and Family Welfare, Shri C.K. Mishra, Additional Secretary, Dr G N Singh, DCGI and Ms Nancy Powell, US Ambassador to India and other higher officials from India and USA.

Govt allots 1,972 acres of salt pans for industrial parks

Chennai: The Centre’s Salt Commissionerate, Government of India, has allotted 1,972 acres of salt pans to various public sector companies in Tamil Nadu to put up industrial parks.

The NTPC Tamil Nadu Energy Company Ltd (NTECL), a joint venture between NTPC Ltd and Tamil Nadu Electricity Board has been allotted 1,000 acres, Ennore Port Ltd (764 acres), HPCL (108 acres) and BPCL (100 acres), said EM Sudharsana Natchiappan, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry.

For instance, the allotted salt lands will be used to develop the Chennai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor, he said addressing the ‘India Salt Conclave 2014’, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with Salt Commissionerate and Indian Salt Manufacturers Association.

Modernisation
The Minister urged the industry to modernise salt production to global standards. The industry should think of value addition , creation of supply chain and warehouses, and facilities in the port for scientific storage of salt for exports, he said.

Natchiappan also urged the industry to harness solar power. “We can seek support from public sector banks and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy,” he said.

Shubra Singh, Joint Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, said the Centre plans to introduce an insurance scheme for the welfare of around one lakh salt workers to offer standard health facilities.

Indian salt industry produced about 25 million tonnes (mt) of salt. Of this 6 mt was edible salt, 12 mt for industrial purpose and 5 mt was for export.

Out of the 6 lakh acres of salt land, only 60,000 acres or 10 per cent belongs to the Salt Commissionerate in six States, including Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. With nearly 90 per cent of salt production being done by the private sector, they have a greater responsibility to modernise and do value-addition, she said.

MA Ansari, Salt Commissioner, said there was urgent need to improve the quality of salt to the international standards and improve the productivity per acre of land as land is limited. Nearly 95 per cent of the salt industry was in the small-scale industry.

PV Rajendran, Chairman, Joint Action committee, Salt Manufacturers Association, said salt producing regions such as Vedaranyam in Tamil Nadu lacked basic infrastructure facilities, including logistics support for the transportation of salt.

India, China may soon start producing films jointly

New Delhi: he co-production agreement was first discussed between the two countries during a visit by a Chinese delegation led by Cai Fuchao, the Chinese Minister of State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television in June last year.

India has signed co-production treaties with several countries so far, including France, Germany, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Italy, New Zealand, Poland and Spain, among others.

Negotiations are on with Australia and Canada. Japan, Turkey, Korea and Belarus have also shown interest in entering into co-production deals with India.

Talks with stakeholders
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry Secretary Bimal Julka is currently attending the Berlin Film Festival and is leading a delegation to promote India as a viable filming destination. The Ministry in a statement said Julka has had discussions with stakeholders representing various countries.

He said India’s co-production agreements were unique as they offered multiple benefits to foreign film producers and helped them harness the strengths India’s technically qualified manpower.

The Ministry has been working on a single-window clearance mechanism for prospective international film producers looking for permission to shoot in the country.

It has also released an India Film Guide at the festival, giving an overview about India’s film’s policies and is an effort to brand the identity of the Indian film industry and commemorate the celebration of 100 years of Indian cinema.

Volkswagen to set up Rs 1,500-cr plant in India

Greater Noida: To boost sales in India, German auto maker Volkswagen is planning to expand production capacity and introduce a slew of new models. The group, which had put on hold investments and new product launches due to uncertain economic conditions in the Indian market, said it was looking at investing Rs 1,500 crore over the next five years to set up a diesel engine manufacturing facility.

Mahesh Kodumudi, president and managing director of Volkswagen India and head of Volkswagen Group Sales India, said, “We have not launched a new product lately but that should not be construed as our lack of interest in the Indian market. We were consolidating our operations and are now ready for our next phase of expansion. We will be investing around Rs 1,500 crore roughly over the next five-six years.”

The resources would partially be utilised to set up a diesel engine manufacturing unit. The company is examining possibilities to set up the facility, a final decision on which would be taken over the next few months.

Expansion
Besides, the engine manufacturing unit, the company is looking at expanding capacity to 200,000 units at its Chakan facility from 130,000 units currently.

“Our target to gain eight-10 per cent share in the passenger vehicle market may get delayed because of the uncertain political and economic conditions. But we do intend to be a volume player. We have to play in the compact SUV segment, sub-four-metre sedan segment, multi-purpose vehicle category and if possible go down to a segment where small car UP can compete. We are studying various options for product interventions,” added Kodumudi. The first of the new set of products from Volkswagen is expected to hit the market by 2016.

The engine plant in India will help the carmaker reduce costs and expand sales volumes by competing more aggressively with established players such as Maruti Suzuki and Hyundai. The petrol and diesel engines of VW are mostly imported from group facilities from South Africa, Czech Republic and Germany.

The company has to pay import (basic customs) duties on fully-assembled engines. Since the orders have to be made much beforehand (lead time for production and shipping), it additionally reduces flexibility in manufacturing.

Cost savings are important for being price competitive in the mass segment. The group's volume models made at Chakan include the Volkswagen Polo and Vento, Skoda Fabia and Rapid.

Kodumodi said, “One of the factors that delayed the launch of small car UP in India is -- we have to get the price-cost equation right. We were consolidating operations and adding depth to localisation programmes to be more competitive.”

Apart from Volkswagen, two wheeler maker Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India announced plans to invest Rs 1,100 crore to set up a new plant in Gujarat in its fourth facility in the state.

The new units will become operational in the second half of 2015. Besides, Japanese automobile maker Isuzu Motors also announced an investment of Rs 3,000 crore.

The company plans to set up a manufacturing facility, spanning over 107 acres, in Chennai. The proposed plant is expected to be operational by early 2016 and will create 2,000-3,000 direct jobs.

Thomas Cook, Sterling merge to create India's biggest holiday firm

Mumbai: Thomas Cook (India), a travel and holiday services company backed by billionaire investor Prem Watsa and vacation-ownership major Sterling Holiday Resorts (India) on Saturday announced a part-cash part-equity merger deal to create India's largest holiday company.

"The merger aims at building a holiday behemoth which will take holidays to a larger population," said Ramesh Ramanathan, MD, Sterling Holidays.

ET reported on February 4 that Thomas Cook was in advanced talks to take over Sterling. The merger deal, which values Chennai-based Sterling at Rs 870 crore, will be completed through a multi-stage process. Under the merger terms, for every 100 shares that they hold in Sterling, shareholders of Sterling will receive 120 shares of Thomas Cook.

The merger process will start with Thomas Cook India Ltd (TCIL) making a preferential allotment to Sterling for Rs 187 crore. TCIL will, then, buy shares from other shareholders, including Bay Capital and ace investors Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, Radhakrishna Damani, for Rs 176 crore. The company will, then, make a mandatory open offer for Rs 230 crore. Sterling will be merged into a wholly-owned arm of Thomas Cook.

The total value of the merged entity will be equivalent to Rs 3000 crore. "Sterling will have an independent management team led by Mr Ramanathan. We will operate at arm's length, but we will certainly explore synergies which can bring in savings," said Madhavan Menon, MD, Thomas Cook.

"We anticipate M&As in travel and interest would be in clean platforms with strong travel teams and also those having invested in technology to enhance client retention and service," said Ajoy Lodha, partner, investment bank, Singhi Advisors.

Everest Spices plans to set up processing units in Zanzibar

at an investment of about Rs. 100 crore, said Sanjeev Shah, Executive Director of the company.

He was addressing the media on the occasion of the visit of President of Zanzibar, AM Shein, to the company headquarters.

Zanzibar is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean and a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania.

Spices such as cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon produced on the islands are traded globally.

Exports
Using Zanzibar as a base, Everest will export its products to the African market.

Shah said his company has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Zanzibar Government for setting up the production units. It could take three years to get the production online, as the site and viability studies are still underway.

Products from the units would be made for African cuisine but some Indian spices such as chillies could also be added to the final product for enhanced flavour, he said.

Port
He said Zanzibar being close to Tanzanian ports will also help in reaching the market across the continent.

Shein said Zanzibar is making additional efforts to increase production of agriculture products such as rice and spices, which will help companies such as Everest.

Modern technology in agriculture is also a top priority for the Government and therefore talks are also underway with automobile companies such as Mahindra and Mahindra.

Using Zanzibar as a base, Everest will export its products to the African market

New Zealand announces new education initiatives

Mumbai: New Zealand has announced a string of new initiatives to further deepen its education relationship with India.

A joint call for research proposals for Indian and New Zealand academics has been made to increase research collaboration across a range of areas including food security and agriculture, community development and innovation, health, environment and sustainability, India-New Zealand trade relations, information security and urban planning and development.

Announced on the occasion of Waitangi Day, New Zealand’s national day, by Education New Zealand’s (ENZ) Regional Director South Asia Ziena Jalil, the programme acknowledges the multi-faceted education relationship between India and New Zealand.

In 2012, there were 11,349 Indian students studying in New Zealand, an increase of 194 per cent from 2007. Hindi is the fourth most widely spoken language in New Zealand.

“This call for proposals has been jointly facilitated by ENZ and India’s University Grants Commission (UGC) and would form part of the activity we undertake in India as part of the India New Zealand Education Council (INZEC) initiative which was announced by both our Prime Ministers,” Jalil said.

Stating that all New Zealand universities feature in the top 500 globally, she added that the call for research proposals is a deliberate attempt at sharing experiences with Indian partners.

Bilateral cooperation in food processing sector

New Delhi: Ministry of Food Processing Industries has entered into agreements with some developed countries viz. Germany & France for bilateral co-operation in the field of Food Processing which generally include processed food segments. Besides, the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation has entered into number of umbrella agreements with some developed countries like USA, France, Canada, the Netherlands, Argentina, Austria, Brazil for bilateral co-operation in the areas of agriculture and allied sectors which generally include agro and food processing, cold chain etc. Apart from this, MoUs have been entered into by the two institutions under the Ministry, namely National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship & Management (NIFTEM) and Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology (IICPT). These MoUs relate to collaboration in teaching and research in the food processing sector.

The salient features of these Agreements/ MoUs is to attract foreign investments for Infrastructure Development of Food Processing sector, such as, Mega Food Parks, Cold Chains, Abattoirs and Food Testing Laboratories etc. Also for developing institutional co-operation, increasing B2B interaction through participation in important food fairs, conferences/workshops/consultations etc. All stakeholders including the domestic food processing industry, the consumer, the exporters, the professionals and the academic and research institutions etc. are likely to be benefitted by these agreements/MoUs.

This information was given in Rajya Sabha today by Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Processing Industries, Dr. Charan Das Mahant in a written reply.

HCL to put Rs 1,000 cr into health care

New Delhi: The HCL group on Thursday announced that it would foray into the health care segment, the first diversification outside its core business of information technology. Through the next five years, the group plans to invest Rs 1,000 crore in the venture, to operate through a countrywide network of out-patient multi-speciality clinics called HCL Avitas.

HCL Healthcare, the group’s health care arm, is in talks with hospital chains to partner it in tertiary care.

Funded through HCL Corporation, the holding company of HCL Technologies and HCL Infosystems Ltd, the venture has started operations by acquiring two Bharat Family Clinic branches in the National Capital Region.

HCL Avitas clinics will offer value-added services such as personalised relationship managers and electronic medical records to patients. They will also provide in-house services such as diagnostics, pharmacies and radiology. The venture is primarily targeted at the urban middle-class population of corporate employees, small and medium enterprises and small businessmen.

HCL Healthcare Vice-Chairman Shikhar Malhotra told Business Standard collaboration with Johns Hopkins Medicine International in the US would help in implementing the concept in India. “Here, a patient beyond doctor’s care will be handled by a team of specialists, which will include a health care coordinator, essentially a relationship manager. This is a unique patient-centric approach.”

The company would initially focus on expanding these clinics, but in the long run, might also foray into secondary and tertiary care and build its own hospitals.

Initially, the group plans to expand its health care division in northern India. So far, the venture has 125 people on board, clinical and non-clinical staff. “We intend to provide a continuum of care to our patients. Right now, we will partner some of the best hospital networks in India. There is a referral mechanism going into these hospitals. Discussions are on around this,” Malhotra said.

While HCL founder-chairman Shiv Nadar is on the board of the health care company, his daughter, Roshni Nadar Malhotra, will not be involved with the new venture.

The company’s promoters are also involved in the education sector, through Shiv Nadar University and Shiv Nadar School. These are not-for-profit institutions run by the Shiv Nadar Foundation.

Of late, health care has attracted many corporate groups, including B K Modi’s Spice Global, who view this segment as a de-risking strategy. According to industry estimates, the domestic health care sector is poised to touch $100 billion by 2015 and $275.6 billion by 2020. In 2010, the sector was estimated at $40 billion.

In November 2013, Nadar had committed Rs 3,000 crore through the next five years to expand the Shiv Nadar Foundation’s education ventures, which are oversee

Infosys plans centre in Brazil

Bangalore: Infosys plans to open a new delivery centre in Brazil to increase their Latin American presence. This centre will come up in Araraquara and will be a 100-seater and will come up in 550 square metres. Further, it will employ 25 employees and provide SAP-related services to Citrusuco, a leading orange juice producer, amongst other clients, the company said in a statement. Brazil’s workforce, a growing domestic market and a positive environment fostered by the government make this country an attractive destination for us, according to Claudio Elsas, Country Head, Infosys Brazil.Our Bureau

Volvo, Eicher JV to invest over Rs 600-1,000 crore in India

New Delhi: At a time when truckmakers are cutting production and laying off people, VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV) - a joint venture company of Volvo and Eicher Motors - is investing over Rs 600-1,000 crore to add a second manufacturing line at its Bangalore plant, double the bus plant capacity in Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh.

Volvo Group will be investing in the expansion of capacity at its Bangalore plant for a second manufacturing

line, where the new Pro 8000 trucks will be manufactured. VECV, the JV company, will be investing another Rs 600 crore to bring the 'Pro' series into the market.
Vinod Aggarwal, CEO, VE Commercial Vehicles, told ET, "These two years have been the most difficult period and we have sustained these two years with glory. Even in this difficult period, we have executed our strategy on time and in the most efficient manner. The next one year is going to be exciting, as we would be launching a new range of trucks over the next 12-18 months (5-49 tonnes)."

Most part of the new Pro Series range starting with Pro 1000 light duty trucks will be launched this month, followed by the 3000 series medium-duty trucks in March, then 6000 and 8000 heavy-duty trucks in the second half of this year.

To make the most of the new range of trucks, in order to focus on sales, VECV is restructuring its sales and marketing functions, by creating separate verticals for light and medium-duty trucks, heavy-duty trucks and buses and the same will be replicated in the showrooms as well.

Declining to comment on the exact quantum of investment in the second manufacturing line in Bangalore, Philippe Divry, senior VP, Trucks Joint Venture India said, "It is part of our overall investment plan in Bangalore; we are still in the investment phase. The PRO 8000 series will be built there. The second line will be ready by the middle of year."

VECV posted 15.5% decline in volumes in 2013 better than the overall market decline of 24.7% in 2013 in the 5 tonne-49 tonne category. The overall market came down to 297,316 units from almost 4 lakh units sold in 2012. The likes of Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland announced VRS schemes in their plants while Volvo Eicher is likely to hire more people to meet the demand of its new products.

The company posted its highest ever market share of 13.8% in 2013. Eicher's light and medium-duty market share declined marginally to 30.4% in 2013 as compared to 31.4% in CY 2012. It marginally improved the market share to 4.4% in the heavy-duty truck space and increased market share in buses to 13.5% jumping 150 basis points.

The sales of the company have doubled since setting up a joint venture with Volvo. In an era of discount war when other truckmakers are bleeding, Eicher Motors had the highest margin by a truckmaker in India of 6-6.5% for the first nine months of 2013.

"We have a very strong game plan to reach 15% market share in medium- and heavy-duty trucks," said Siddhartha Lal, MD and CEO Eicher Motors.

Cabinet panel nod for Vodafone FDI, other proposals

New Delhi: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved several proposals on Thursday including the proposal of CGP India Investment to increase foreign equity in Vodafone India to 100 per cent from 64.38 per cent.

CGP India Investment is an indirect shareholder in Vodafone India and an indirect Mauritian subsidiary of Vodafone International Holdings BV.

The CCEA also approved the revised cost estimates for widening of NH-232 to two lane with paved shoulder from Tanda to Raebareli and from Raebareli to Banda in Uttar Pradesh to be executed by the National Highways Authority of India on Engineering Procurement and Construction mode.

The total expenditure on widening of roads will be Rs. 1,376.29 crore with a completion period of 30 months from the date of start of work. The CCEA also approved the proposal of the Ministry of Finance to amend the guidelines for appraisal of projects eligible for financing under the National Clean Energy Funds. It would enable financing of schemes or programmes of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy already approved if balances are available.

Another decision was of Health Ministry’s proposal for grant-in-aid scheme for Inter-Sectoral Convergence and Co-ordination for Promotion and Guidance on Health Research also got a nod which will be at an estimated cost of Rs. 1242 crore covering about 750 projects of different duration and cost.

It also gave a nod to the implementation of High Performance Computing system for improved weather, climate and ocean forecast at an estimated cost of Rs. 567.16 crore.

India can build a $100-b software product industry by 2025

Bangalore: The country has the potential to build a $100-billion software product industry by 2025, according to think tank Indian Software Product Industry Roundtable (iSPIRT).

According to IT industry body Nasscom, the current size of the software product industry is $2 billion. For the projected growth to be accomplished, “purposeful” action needs to be taken by the Government as well as the industry, iSPIRT said in a report.

Industry analysts, however, said the $1-billion target is “far fetched”.

Projections
The software products market in India, which includes accounting software and cloud computing-based telephony services, is expected to grow at 14 per cent this year, similar to the 12-14 per cent growth projected by Nasscom, said iSPIRT, which was formed last year after some 30 companies and individuals broke free from Nasscom to form a separate body for the software products companies.

Rely on stints
It added around 40 per cent of founders of Indian product companies came from multinationals, which shows the extent to which individuals rely on their stints in multinational firms.

iSPIRT members, including Sharad Sharma, former Yahoo! India R&D head, Vishnu Dusad, Managing Director of Nucleus Software, Bharat Goenka, Co-founder and Managing Director of Tally Solutions, are increasingly concerned that at a time when India is talking about sunrise sectors, no attention is being paid to the software product industry, which is a $1.2-trillion opportunity globally. “If you look at it logically, this has a higher chance of succeeding when you factor in leadership in software and aspiration among entrepreneurs,” said Sharma.

However, analysts remained doubtful. While the opportunity exists, there are caveats such as good broadband connection and ease of doing business, which are huge concern areas, according to Pradeep Mukherji, President and Managing Partner, Avasant APAC and Africa. Similarly, Sanchit Vir Gogia, an analyst at Greyhound Research, said the tax structure on software products is unclear and this affects the business model. Venture capital investments and access to capital markets are issues to be addressed, Gogia added.

Nalco commissions second wind power plant

Bhubaneswar: As part of its diversification plans, National Aluminium Company (Nalco), a navratna PSU under Union mines ministry has commissioned its second wind power plant at Ludarva in Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan.

The wind power project with a capacity of 47.6 Mw was commissioned on January 29.

The Rs 283-crore project has been executed through Gamesa Wind Turbines Ltd which involved erection of 56 wind turbines. In the first phase of commissioning, 36 turbines were erected. Now, in the second phase, the remaining 20 turbines have been successfully commissioned.

This is the second green initiative of Nalco towards promoting sustainable development by harnessing the unconventional and renewable energy sources, which would credit the company with incentives from the Government of India. Earlier, the company commissioned its first wind power plant of 50.4 Mw capacity at a cost of Rs 274 crore at Gandikota in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh in December 2012. Besides, the company is also planning to set up the third wind power plant in its own mined out area of Panchpatmali bauxite deposits in Koraput district.

Big boost to electronics sector in Karnataka

Bengaluru: The Union government on Thursday gave its in-principle approval for setting up of the first ESDM ( electronic system design and manufacturing) cluster development in Electronics City, Bangalore.

ESDM is the fastest growing segment of the ICT (information and communications technology) sector and is projected to be a $400 billion industry by the end of this decade. The state government, which has come out with its own Karnataka ESDM (K-ESDM ) policy, aims to capture 10% of the ESDM market in India over the next six years.

The ESDM project in Bangalore will come up on a 1.16-acre land at an investment of approximately Rs 85 crore. The state government's vision is to capture 20% of the country's total ESDM exports of $80 billion by 2020, generate 2.4 lakh new jobs, and file 5,000 patents in the same period. India is currently a big importer of electronics, and the Centre has been working towards developing a strong domestic design and manufacturing base.

"The objective of the K-ESDM policy is to make Karnataka the preferred investment destination for sectors like telecommunications, defence, automotive, and consumer products among others," said S R Patil, the state's IT & biotech minister. For companies to avail of the benefits under the policy, they would have to be registered as K-ESDM companies. So far eight companies have been registered , including Tejas Networks, Saankhya Labs, Signalchip Innovations, Cerium Systems , Bydesign, Sparr Electronics and Aristos Electronics. The state government has also finalized a list of nine engineering colleges in tier 2 and 3 cities that would house incubation centers to promote entrepreneurship.

The colleges include National Institute of Engineering, Mysore, and Siddaganga Institute of Technology, Tumkur. "The focus will be more on building an ecosystem fostering entrepreneurship rather than building physical space and purchasing expensive equipment," said Patil. He added that all incubation centres would be networked to allow students to exchange ideas and experiences.

Revision to the Karnataka Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1946: The state cabinet has approved the exemption of IT, ITeS, KPO, animation, gaming and other knowledge based sectors including startups from the applicability of the above labour law for a period of five years. However, clauses for the protection of women employees and prevention of sexual harassment at the work place will be integral parts of company policy.

Bengal gets Rs. 100 cr investments in food park

Kolkata: West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra on Friday said the State has fetched investments worth around Rs. 100 crore at a food park at Sankrail in Howrah district.

According to the minister, three new companies in the food processing sector have been allotted nearly 5 acres in the second phase at Sankrail food park.

“These three companies put together will invest nearly Rs. 100 crore and are expected to create 600 jobs,” Mitra told reporters at the State Secretariat.

The minister also added that 10 industries have been allotted land at the food park over the past 20 days.