Success in my Habit

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Number of PhDs awarded grew by 49 per cent over last three years

New Delhi: The Government of India has announced that the number of PhDs awarded registered an increase of 49.27 per cent over the last three years.

“As per the data provided by UGC, the number of research degrees awarded has increased from 10,781 in 2008-09 to 16,093 in 2011-12, thus registering a growth of 49.27 per cent over three years,” said Dr Shashi Tharoor, Minister of State for Human Resource Development (HRD), Government of India.

According to UNESCO’s Institute of Statistics, India’s contribution to the world’s research publications has increased from 26,000 in 2002 to 44,000 in 2007, highlighted Dr Tharoor.

Siemens India gets Rs 184.1 cr order from Gurgaon Metro

Mumbai/New Delhi: A consortium comprising Siemens, Siemens AG and Siemens, China, has bagged a turnkey project worth about 70 million euros from IL&FS Rail Ltd (a subsidiary of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd).

The order value is about Rs 574 crore at current exchange rate of Rs 81.77 a euro. Of the order, the share of Siemens Ltd is about 30 per cent or Rs 184.1 crore. The company did not provide the exact share of Siemens AG and Siemens, China citing currency fluctuations.

“The Gurgaon metro project is a first of its kind in India; the first phase is close to completion. We are confident that this project will become a benchmark in the public transportation sector,” said Sanjiv Rai, CEO of IL&FS Rail Ltd.

The project involves extension of the Gurgaon metro line with a new 7 km southern line. The line will add six stations in south-east Gurgaon.

For the new section of the Gurgaon line, Siemens is delivering seven aluminium-bodied metro trains. The trains are to run on standard-gauge track at a top speed of about 80 km/h. The modern signalling and train control system that will ensure required service interval of 120 seconds is achieved during rush-hour traffic. This short headway will enable the metro trains to transport more than 30,000 passengers per hour.

The new southern line of the metro rail link from Sikanderpur station to Sector 56, Gurgaon, will bring respite to the numerous people travelling to the various office complexes and residential areas in this area. Approximately 7,600 commuters per hour are expected to travel on this route in a single direction.

Siemens India gets Rs 184.1 cr order from Gurgaon Metro

Mumbai/New Delhi: A consortium comprising Siemens, Siemens AG and Siemens, China, has bagged a turnkey project worth about 70 million euros from IL&FS Rail Ltd (a subsidiary of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd).

The order value is about Rs 574 crore at current exchange rate of Rs 81.77 a euro. Of the order, the share of Siemens Ltd is about 30 per cent or Rs 184.1 crore. The company did not provide the exact share of Siemens AG and Siemens, China citing currency fluctuations.

“The Gurgaon metro project is a first of its kind in India; the first phase is close to completion. We are confident that this project will become a benchmark in the public transportation sector,” said Sanjiv Rai, CEO of IL&FS Rail Ltd.

The project involves extension of the Gurgaon metro line with a new 7 km southern line. The line will add six stations in south-east Gurgaon.

For the new section of the Gurgaon line, Siemens is delivering seven aluminium-bodied metro trains. The trains are to run on standard-gauge track at a top speed of about 80 km/h. The modern signalling and train control system that will ensure required service interval of 120 seconds is achieved during rush-hour traffic. This short headway will enable the metro trains to transport more than 30,000 passengers per hour.

The new southern line of the metro rail link from Sikanderpur station to Sector 56, Gurgaon, will bring respite to the numerous people travelling to the various office complexes and residential areas in this area. Approximately 7,600 commuters per hour are expected to travel on this route in a single direction.

Mumbai-based Prisma Global acquires German tech firm Prisma GmbH for Rs 27 crore

Bangalore: Information technology solutions company Prisma Global has acquired majority stake in German technology venture Prisma Gmbh for aboutRs 27 crore.

The Mumbai-based IT solutions company will now own the Intellectual Property (IP) of technologies developed by the German firm like image recognition and augmented reality product Snap2life, which links two-dimensional images like a newspaper advertisement with digital content through the mobile phone.

Shreeram Iyer, Chairman and Group CEO of Prisma Global, said the acquisition will help bring more innovative technology to India. "The core expertise of Prisma Gmbh along with some of the path breaking products will make us first among equals," he said.

Prisma GmbH has around 30 years of experience in image recognition, augmented reality and other mobile solutions. Its chief executive officer Volker Brendal, a former IBM executive, will remain at the helm of the German entity for the next five years, the company said.

Prisma Global, which counts companies like BayerBSE 0.43 %, P&G, Air India and Total among its clients, is targeting revenue of Rs 42 crore by end of calendar year 2013.

Seventeen New Airports Proposed

Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Shri K.C. Venugopal informed Rajya Sabha today that seventeen new airports have been proposed for construction during the 12th Five Year Plan. The list of the new airports is as follows:

Sl.No. Location State
1. Mopa Goa
2. Gulbarga Karnataka
3. Bijapur
4. Hassan
5. Shimoga
6. Aranmula (Pathanamthitta) Kerala
7. Kannur
8. Sindhudurg Maharashtra
9. Navi Mumbai
10. Shirdi
11. Dabra Madhya Pradesh
12. Karaikal Pudducherry
13. Kushinagar Uttar Pradesh
14. Andal-Faridpur West Bengal
15. Itanagar Arunachal Pradesh
16. Kishangarh (Ajmer) Rajasthan
17. Deoghar Jharkhand

India Inc raised $1.9 bn via external borrowing in June

Companies raised $1 bn via the automatic route, another $946 mn through approval route that requires case-by-case approval from RBI
Mumbai: Indian companies raised $1.9 billion through external commercial borrowing (ECB) and foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCB) in June to fund modernisation, foreign acquisition, importing of capital goods and refinancing of old loans, compared to $1.99 billion in June 2012.

According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data, companies raised $1 billion via the automatic route and another $946 million through the approval route that requires case-by-case approval from RBI.

Under the approval route, Reliance Industries Ltd raised $487 million for importing capital goods.

Under the automatic route, Gujarat’s Pipav Port raised $152 million. Other major companies which raised money abroad include Essar Oil ($100 million for modernisation) and Renault Nissan Automotive ($101 million for importing capital goods). There was a single FCCB issuance during the month. Fortis Healthcare raised $50 million for investment abroad.

Central Government approves twelve (12) proposals of foreign direct investment amounting to about Rs 343.99 crore

Based on the recommendations of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in its meeting held on July 5, 2013, the Central Government has approved twelve (12) Proposals of Foreign Direct Investment amounting to Rs. 343.39 crore approximately.

Details of the proposals considered in the aforesaid Meeting of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) are as follows:

Following twelve (12) proposals have been approved:
Sl. No. Name of the applicant Particulars of the proposal FDI/NRI inflows (Rs. In crore)
1 M/s Total Prosthetics & Onthotics India Pvt. Ltd. Haryana An Indian company to acquire a foreign company through issue of equity shares to the shareholders of the foreign company by way of swap of shares. 25.13
2 M/s Verdant Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad Post facto approval for foreign direct investment received from two NRIs in a pharma company. 3.16 (already brought in)
3 M/s Curadev Pharma Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi An Indian pharma company to accept foreign investment from a Domestic Venture Capital Fund registered with SEBI. 25.00
4 M/s Invida India Pvt. Ltd. Infusion of foreign holding into its existing pharma WoS, for further downstream investment, in another pharma company. 35.74
5 M/s Dia Vikas Capital Pvt. Ltd., Gurgaon An Indian NBFC company, supporting Micro Finance Institutions to convert itself into a core investing company and to get additional FDI; and post facto approval for not meeting the minimum capitalization requirement for a brief period in the past. 93.06
6 M/s BNP Paribas A foreign owned NBFC has sought amendment of the previous FIPB condition of registration requirement as a Core Investment Company as it is not accessing public funds and also applied for a downstream investment. Nil
7 M/s Indocon Agro and Allied Activities Private Limited, Mumbai An Indian company engaged in the procurement of milk, proposes to make a preferential issue by way of partly paid shares to another Indian Company owned and controlled by a non resident entity. Nil
8 M/s Gilbarco Veeder-Root India Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai Group restructuring involving placing 2 Indian subsidiaries of the foreign parent company into a two step structure by way of a swap of shares. Nil
9 M/s Imperial Cancer Hospital and Research Ltd., Bangalore Post-facto approval for issuance of shares against value of import of second hand machinery. 1.26 (already brought in)
10 M/s Elpro International Ltd. Deletion of a condition imposed by FIPB, which is not relevant to the post-facto proposal obtained earlier. Nil
11 M/s Life Positive Private Limited, New Delhi A foreign NRI promoter of a magazine publishing company proposes to acquire shares from resident shareholders. 0.04
12 M/s Sutures (I) Pvt. Ltd. A Brownfield pharma company having 35.28% foreign equity proposes to increase the same by another 26% by way of acquisition/fresh subscription. 160.00
The following four (4 ) proposals have been deferred:
Sl. No Name of the applicant Particulars of the proposal
1 M/s Camson Bio Technologies Ltd., Karnataka Issue of warrants to a foreign collaborator to carry on the business of agricultural biotechnology.
2 M/s Astonfield Renewables Pvt. Ltd. A consultancy company is seeking post facto approval for downstream investments for which approval was required at the material time.
3 M/s Cardolite Specialty Chemicals India Pvt. Ltd., Chennai Conversion of Private Limited Company with 100% FDI under the automatic route into an LLP.
4 M/s INX Music Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai An Indian company having indirect foreign investment proposes to undertake the additional activity of broadcasting of a non-news and current affairs channel.
The following three (3) proposals have been rejected:
Sl. No Name of the applicant Particulars of the proposal
1 M/s Next Orbit Ventures Fund, Mumbai An Indian Trust has sought approval to get foreign investment in their Venture Capital Fund.
2 M/s Porocel International LLC, USA A USA based company proposes to change the purpose of funds, provided to an Indian company, from advances against future production to foreign direct investment.
3 M/s Rosoboronterra India Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi Issuance of shares a foreign investor against lump sum fees payable as per a JV technical knowhow agreement.
The following two (2) proposals have been advised to access automatic route:
Sl. No Name of the applicant Particulars of the proposal FDI/NRI inflows ((Rs. in crore)
1 M/s Ferring Therapeutics Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai An Indian pharma company proposes to source investment from its 100% foreign owned Indian parent company and ECB from its ultimate parent foreign company to establish a new manufacturing facility. 26.00
2 M/s Soothe Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi A start up Indian pharma company to issue share against the foreign investment already received and seeks approval for further induction of FDI. 0.26
The following one (01) proposal has been withdrawn from the Agenda:
Sl. No Name of the applicant
1 M/s Lotus Surgical Specialities Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai
The following one (01) proposal has been withdrawn by the applicant:
Sl. No Name of the applicant
1 M/s Empays Payment System India Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai
In respect of the following one (01) proposal, the applicant may given a clarification:
Sl. No Name of the applicant Particulars of the proposal
1 M/s HT Burda Media Ltd., (HBML), New Delhi Resident to Non-Resident transfer between existing shareholders of an Indian commercial printing company.
In respect of the following two (2) proposals decision will be kept in abeyance till DIPP finalizes policy on FDI in brown field pharma projects involving transfer of control:
Sl. No Name of the applicant Particulars of the proposal FDI/NRI inflows ((Rs. in crore)
1 M/s Symbiotec Pharmalab Limited, Madhya Pradesh An existing pharma sector company to transfer and issue equity shares to a foreign company. 330.00
2 M/s Mylan Inc., USA A major US pharma group having Indian subsidiaries to acquire another Indian pharma company engaged in manufacture of generic pharma products. 5168.00
Decision in the following six (6) proposals have been kept in abeyance:
Sl. No Name of the applicant Particulars of the proposal
1 Castleton Investment Ltd., Mauritius; M/s GlaxoSmithKline Pte Ltd., Singapore NR to NR transfer of shares between the foreign promoter group companies of an Indian pharma company.
2 M/s Eurecat India Catalyst Services Pvt. Ltd., Gujarat Capitalisation of payments made by foreign collaborator for securing lease of plot of land for its subsidiary in India in a company engaged in the business of catalysts used in oil and petrochemical plants.
3 M/s Migatronic India Private Limited, Chennai Post-Facto approval for setting up a WoS foreign owned welding equipment company.
4 M/s Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai A WoS foreign owned Asset Management Company to act as an investment manager to various AIFs and to contribute the mandatory amounts specified under the SEBI (AIF) Regulations.
5 M/s Equitas Holdings Pvt. Ltd. Increase in FDI percentage in an investing company by way of transfer of shares from Resident to Non-resident shareholders.
6 M/s IL&FS Securities Services Ltd. Merger of two Indian companies with the approval of Hon’ble High Court Mumbai. The companies have some FDI and amongst the activities are those not included in the FDI policy.

Sahara Q Shop plans 100 stores in NCR

New Delhi: Sahara Q Shop has launched operations in Delhi and NCR for 100 exclusive neighbourhood convenience stores. The company said it plans to open 400 such stores by March 2014 in the region. Currently, there are 901 Sahara Q Shop Stores operating in 12 States. By the end of the current financial year the company has plans to have 10,000 such stores across India. About 2,000 of these will be opened in metros. Romie Dutt, Executive Director, Sahara Q Shop, said, “We have received overwhelming response from markets where Sahara Q Shop has launched its operational model for franchisee/exclusive retailers… Delhi and NCR region is an important market for us, we have further plans to expand the retail network.”

Sanofi India to use renewable energy for its Ankleshwar manufacturing site

Kolkata: Sanofi India announced that it has signed an agreement with India's largest wind turbine manufacturer, Suzlon EnergyBSE -2.20 % (SEL), for a 2.1 MW (megawatt) offsite windmill installation, to generate renewable power for captive consumption at its Ankleshwar manufacturing site.

Sanofi is one of few healthcare companies in the country exploring the use of renewable energy sources for its manufacturing operations. In 2012, Sanofi's Goa manufacturing site started using biomass from agro waste to generate energy. In addition to creating employment for local villagers, the biomass project helped reduce the site's steam cost as well as its dependence on fossil fuel.

"As a global healthcare leader, Sanofi believes that reducing our carbon footprint and using energy responsibly are part of our mission to help protect life on this planet. We strongly support the use of renewable energies, and hence initiated a study in 2012 to better understand the local renewable energy market in India to identify available opportunities", said Shailesh Ayyangar, managing director - India and vice-president South Asia in a statement.

The manufacturing site at Ankleshwar - one of Sanofi's three good manufacturing practices compliant state-of-the-art manufacturing sites in India - produces solid dose formulations and active pharma ingredient. Between its two facilities at Goa and Ankleshwar, Sanofi has the capacity to manufacture 8.5 billion tablets annually.

"We look forward to building a successful wind power project with Sanofi", said Tulsi Tanti, Chairman, Suzlon Group.

Coal dispatches to power sector increase by ten percent

New Delhi: During 2012-13, as against supply target of 342.31 Million Tonnes, dispatches to power utility sector from Coal India Limited (CIL) was at 343.79 Million Tonnes, a growth of more than 10% over the previous year. This information was given by the Minister of State for Coal, Shri Pratik Prakash Bapu Patil in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

Shri Patil said that CIL has guaranteed to supply 90% of Annual Contract Quantity (ACQ) for Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) commissioned prior to 31.03.2009 and 80% of ACQ for TPPs commissioned after 31.3.2009. The supply of 343.79 Millon Tonnes to power utilities in the country in 2012-13 has been 91.5% of commitment under Fuel Supply Agreement (FSA)/ Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of 375.82 Million Tonnes. In current year ,up to Jun’13, coal supply to power utility sector has been 86.39 MT which is 87.8% of commitment under FSA/MOU of 96.41 MT.

Minister said further, coal stock with power stations has gone up from 14.14 MT equivalent to 11 days’ requirement as on 01.04.2012 to 19.75 MT equivalent to 14 days’ requirement as on 01.04.2013 and further to 22.02 MT equivalent to 18 days’ requirement as on 29.07.2013. Presently, as on 29.07.2013, 65 TPPs are carrying coal stock equivalent to more than 15 days’ requirement and as a result, quite a few power stations have started regulating coal supplies to avoid further build up of stock at their end.

Regarding monitoring mechanism ,Shri Patil said that coal supplies to Power Utility sector is monitored regularly by an inter-Ministerial Sub-Group comprising representatives of Ministry of Power, Ministry of Coal and Ministry of Railways constituted by the Infrastructure Review Committee of Cabinet Secretariat. This Sub-Group suggests various decisions to ensure uninterrupted coal supplies to power utilities and for meeting any contingent situations relating to Power sector including critical coal stock position.