NEW DELHI:Steel MinisterBeni Prasad Verma today exuded confidence that India will become the world's second largest producer of the alloy by 2013, with an installed annual production capacity of 120 MT.
"Currently, India has the fourth largest steel sector in the world, both in terms of capacity and production. By 2013, India will be the second largest steel producer in the world. It is estimated that India will have a production capacity of 120 MT," Verma said at an Assocham event here.
India's production capacity currently stands at around 80 MT and the minister said the capacity was expected to rise to over 150 MT by 2020. The steel-making capacity of the country was just 51 MT in 2006.
Meanwhile, Steel SecretaryP K Mishra said by the end of the current financial year, the steel manufacturing capacity of the country might reach around 90 MT.
"This is likely to cross 110 MT by next financial year when the brownfield capacity addition projects of SAIL,JSW Steel andTata Steel get commissioned," Mishra said.
The secretary said that growth in steel demand averaged 10 per cent over the last seven years and there was a likelihood that the trend would continue at least for the next decade.
"There are expectations that steel demand in the country may exceed 10 per cent at times, during the next 10-15 years horizon. In such a scenario, our steel production capacity should reach 150 MT by 2018," he said.
Mishra hoped that the country would be able to meet steel demand through domestic production at least for the next five years.
Success in my Habit
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Four construction PSUs likely to be merged
NEW DELHI: Four major construction PSUs, of which two are sick, may be merged to achieve greater synergy between companies like NBCC and HSCL.
The companies which are being considered for merger are National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC),Hindustan Prefab Ltd (HPL),National Project Construction Corporation Ltd (NPCC) and Hindustan Steelworks Construction Ltd (HSCL).
The Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) has constituted a task force to examine different options, which may include project-based consortium for business bids, sources said.
However, there is an opposition to the proposal in two of the cases-NPCC and HPL, they said.
Two sick units--NPCC and HSCL--have been put on the revival package.
NBCC and HPL have positive balance sheets with net worth of Rs 637 crore and Rs 10.09 crore, respectively.
NBCC, which achieved a profit of Rs 118 crore on a turnover of Rs 3,115 crore in 2010-11, would like to go in for a joint venture route with other PSUs like HPL and HSCL, instead of outright merger.
The proposal for merger was discussed at the meeting of theBRPSE in June where the reconstruction board felt that "all these companies in one way or other are engaged in construction activities and possess synergies.
A combined entity by way of merger may create a giant company and are capable of becoming a navratna firm".
However, in case of NPCC, the administrative ministry of water resources said though the proposal of merger is to be examined, it would not like it as the ministry wanted the NPCC to regain the original stature in civil construction.
Also, it would lead to personnel adjustment problems, sources said.
Besides, HPL informed the board about its plan to start prefab steel and concrete through a joint venture withSAIL. Therefore, it showed unwillingness for merger, they added.
During 2009-10, NPCC net worth stood negative at Rs 118.75 crore as on March 31, 2010 due to accumulated losses of Rs 795.48 crore. It registered a profit of Rs 31.29 crore on the turnover of Rs 1,003 crore in 2009-10.
HPL turnover was Rs 162.42 crore and profit after tax stood at Rs 2.47 crore, while HSCL turnover was Rs 800 crore and net loss was Rs 59.5 crore, in 2009-10.
The companies which are being considered for merger are National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC),Hindustan Prefab Ltd (HPL),National Project Construction Corporation Ltd (NPCC) and Hindustan Steelworks Construction Ltd (HSCL).
The Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) has constituted a task force to examine different options, which may include project-based consortium for business bids, sources said.
However, there is an opposition to the proposal in two of the cases-NPCC and HPL, they said.
Two sick units--NPCC and HSCL--have been put on the revival package.
NBCC and HPL have positive balance sheets with net worth of Rs 637 crore and Rs 10.09 crore, respectively.
NBCC, which achieved a profit of Rs 118 crore on a turnover of Rs 3,115 crore in 2010-11, would like to go in for a joint venture route with other PSUs like HPL and HSCL, instead of outright merger.
The proposal for merger was discussed at the meeting of theBRPSE in June where the reconstruction board felt that "all these companies in one way or other are engaged in construction activities and possess synergies.
A combined entity by way of merger may create a giant company and are capable of becoming a navratna firm".
However, in case of NPCC, the administrative ministry of water resources said though the proposal of merger is to be examined, it would not like it as the ministry wanted the NPCC to regain the original stature in civil construction.
Also, it would lead to personnel adjustment problems, sources said.
Besides, HPL informed the board about its plan to start prefab steel and concrete through a joint venture withSAIL. Therefore, it showed unwillingness for merger, they added.
During 2009-10, NPCC net worth stood negative at Rs 118.75 crore as on March 31, 2010 due to accumulated losses of Rs 795.48 crore. It registered a profit of Rs 31.29 crore on the turnover of Rs 1,003 crore in 2009-10.
HPL turnover was Rs 162.42 crore and profit after tax stood at Rs 2.47 crore, while HSCL turnover was Rs 800 crore and net loss was Rs 59.5 crore, in 2009-10.
NTPC may start work in Bangladesh within 6 months
NEW DELHI: State-runNTPC on Tuesday said it could start work at its proposed 1,320 MW thermal project inBangladesh in the next six months.
"We might start work on the project inKhulna (Bangladesh) in the next 6 months," CMD NTPC Arup Roy Chodhury told reporters here.
The project entails an investment of about Rs 8,OOO crore.
"We might start work on the project inKhulna (Bangladesh) in the next 6 months," CMD NTPC Arup Roy Chodhury told reporters here.
The project entails an investment of about Rs 8,OOO crore.
CAG says in process of finalising report on KG-D6 gas fields
NEW DELHI: Government auditorCAG today said it is in the process of finalising its report on Reliance Industries'sKG-D6 gas fields. Refuting allegation by theReliance Industries that it was not given enough time to respond to the audit observations, Comptroller and Auditor General of India Vinod Rai said, "We have given Reliance enough time to respond... it (the CAG report) is in the process of being final".
Rai was responding to a query on Reliance Industries' statement that the time CAG allocated to the company was "far too inadequate" to answer issues raised in the audit.
On July 12, CAG held the Exit Conference with private firms and the oil ministry prior to finalising its audit report on Reliance's KG-D6 gas field, Cairn's Rajasthan oil block and BG's Panna-Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields.
The conference was held as a prelude to finalising its report on KG-D6 fields and taking comments from the companies on its June 7 draft report.
CAG has stated that the oil ministry and its technical arm DGH favoured private firms like Reliance andCairn India by allowing them to retain entire exploration acreage, turning a blind eye to increase in capital expenditure and giving additional area in violation of Production Sharing Contract (PSC).
In the draft report, the CAG said rules were bent, enabling Reliance to retain the entire 7,645-square kilometre KG-D6 block in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, off the East Coast.
Also, the development plan Reliance submitted for Dhirubhai-1 and 3, two of the 18 gas discoveries in the KG-D6 block, was not in compliance with the PSC and the ministry and the DGH turned a blind eye to the company raising capital expenditure without having begun work on the previous plan.
Reliance had in May, 2004, proposed an investment of $ 2.4 billion for producing 40 million standard cubic metres per day of gas from the D1 and D3 fields.
Later, in October, 2006, it moved an addendum to this saying $ 5.2 billion would be required in Phase-1 to produce 80 mmscmd of gas and another $ 3.3 billion to sustain the peak output for a longer duration.
Rai was responding to a query on Reliance Industries' statement that the time CAG allocated to the company was "far too inadequate" to answer issues raised in the audit.
On July 12, CAG held the Exit Conference with private firms and the oil ministry prior to finalising its audit report on Reliance's KG-D6 gas field, Cairn's Rajasthan oil block and BG's Panna-Mukta and Tapti oil and gas fields.
The conference was held as a prelude to finalising its report on KG-D6 fields and taking comments from the companies on its June 7 draft report.
CAG has stated that the oil ministry and its technical arm DGH favoured private firms like Reliance andCairn India by allowing them to retain entire exploration acreage, turning a blind eye to increase in capital expenditure and giving additional area in violation of Production Sharing Contract (PSC).
In the draft report, the CAG said rules were bent, enabling Reliance to retain the entire 7,645-square kilometre KG-D6 block in the Krishna-Godavari Basin, off the East Coast.
Also, the development plan Reliance submitted for Dhirubhai-1 and 3, two of the 18 gas discoveries in the KG-D6 block, was not in compliance with the PSC and the ministry and the DGH turned a blind eye to the company raising capital expenditure without having begun work on the previous plan.
Reliance had in May, 2004, proposed an investment of $ 2.4 billion for producing 40 million standard cubic metres per day of gas from the D1 and D3 fields.
Later, in October, 2006, it moved an addendum to this saying $ 5.2 billion would be required in Phase-1 to produce 80 mmscmd of gas and another $ 3.3 billion to sustain the peak output for a longer duration.
MRPL says confident about resolving Iran oil payment impasse
NEW DELHI: State-runMangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd said on Tuesday it was confident about resolvingoil payment issue with Iran soon.
"The effort in resolving payment issue with Iran is under progress. We are confident that an all-acceptable solution will be found shortly,"MRPL, which is Iran's top Indian client, said in a statement.
Since December, India and Iran have struggled to find ways for New Delhi to pay for imports of 400,000 barrels per day, 12 percent of its oil demand, after the Reserve Bank of India halted a clearing mechanism under U.S. pressure.
Top exporter Saudi Arabia has struck deals to sell 3 million barrels more oil to India in August, stepping into the vacuum created by regional rival Iran after it cut supply to New Delhi.
MRPL, which runs a 236,400 barrels per day (bpd) coastal refinery in southern India, buys about 150,000 bpd crude oil from Iran.
"The effort in resolving payment issue with Iran is under progress. We are confident that an all-acceptable solution will be found shortly,"MRPL, which is Iran's top Indian client, said in a statement.
Since December, India and Iran have struggled to find ways for New Delhi to pay for imports of 400,000 barrels per day, 12 percent of its oil demand, after the Reserve Bank of India halted a clearing mechanism under U.S. pressure.
Top exporter Saudi Arabia has struck deals to sell 3 million barrels more oil to India in August, stepping into the vacuum created by regional rival Iran after it cut supply to New Delhi.
MRPL, which runs a 236,400 barrels per day (bpd) coastal refinery in southern India, buys about 150,000 bpd crude oil from Iran.
Reliance Power, LandT, Adani Power, GMR Energy and 17 others bid for Rs 1,025-cr Tamil Nadu-Karnataka power link
NEW DELHI: Twenty-two domestic and foreign companies have bid for setting up a Rs 1,025-crore power transmission project connecting Tamil Nadu and Karnataka even as the central government tightened eligibility rules.
While Reliance Power, L&T, Lanco Infratech, Sterlite Energy, Adani Power,GMR Energy andTorrent Power are among the Indian bidders, the foreign companies included Spain's Elecnor, Isolux, Instalaciones Inabensa and Cobra Instalaciones.
Power Finance Corp is coordinating the bidding for the build-own-operate project, which involves laying two high capacity 250-km transmission lines to connect Nagapattinam with Madhugiri in Karnataka.
The government had revised the bidding norms for transmission projects three months ago. Now, a bidder should have experience in setting up any infrastructure project of the same cost as that of the transmission project. Earlier this requirement was one-fifth of the size of the transmission project.
The government has identified three more high-capacity transmission systems to be awarded to private companies. PFC and Rural Electrification Corp would conduct bidding for these projects. The two companies have so far awarded six such projects worth 10,860 crore for strengthening interconnection between the north and western regions.
Vedanta Group's Sterlite Transmission Projects has bagged contracts to build three large power transmission links.Reliance Power has bagged two such projects while a consortium of Simplex Infrastructure, Patel Engineering and BS Transcomm has been awarded the sixth contract. Power transmission is a monopoly of Power Grid Corp, which owns and operates about 45% of inter-state transmission system.
While Reliance Power, L&T, Lanco Infratech, Sterlite Energy, Adani Power,GMR Energy andTorrent Power are among the Indian bidders, the foreign companies included Spain's Elecnor, Isolux, Instalaciones Inabensa and Cobra Instalaciones.
Power Finance Corp is coordinating the bidding for the build-own-operate project, which involves laying two high capacity 250-km transmission lines to connect Nagapattinam with Madhugiri in Karnataka.
The government had revised the bidding norms for transmission projects three months ago. Now, a bidder should have experience in setting up any infrastructure project of the same cost as that of the transmission project. Earlier this requirement was one-fifth of the size of the transmission project.
The government has identified three more high-capacity transmission systems to be awarded to private companies. PFC and Rural Electrification Corp would conduct bidding for these projects. The two companies have so far awarded six such projects worth 10,860 crore for strengthening interconnection between the north and western regions.
Vedanta Group's Sterlite Transmission Projects has bagged contracts to build three large power transmission links.Reliance Power has bagged two such projects while a consortium of Simplex Infrastructure, Patel Engineering and BS Transcomm has been awarded the sixth contract. Power transmission is a monopoly of Power Grid Corp, which owns and operates about 45% of inter-state transmission system.
Cairn Energy gets oil ministry letter on Vedanta deal
NEW DELHI: More than three weeks after theCabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gave conditional nod to the $9-billion Cairn-Vedanta deal, the oil ministry on Tuesday sent a formal letter to the companies informing of the decision.
"The letter was collected byCairn India representatives this afternoon," an oil ministry official said.
Cairn Energy, which is selling 40% out its 62.4% stake in its Indian unit to London-listed, India-focused mining groupVedanta Resources, was eagerly awaiting the formal letter so that it can quickly conclude the transaction.
"The letter was collected byCairn India representatives this afternoon," an oil ministry official said.
Cairn Energy, which is selling 40% out its 62.4% stake in its Indian unit to London-listed, India-focused mining groupVedanta Resources, was eagerly awaiting the formal letter so that it can quickly conclude the transaction.
Private firms overtake government enterprises in power production, adds about 84% of the target
NEW DELHI: Skewed procurement policies and poor project management have forced thePlanning Commission to slash the capacity addition target of public sectorpower producers. The commission has instead raised the bar for private generation companies, an indication of its growing expectations from the sector in servicing India's future energy needs.
Power projects run by the Central government added only half of the targeted generation capacity in 2010-11, while state government-funded projects fared even worse, meeting only 42% of the target.
Projects funded by the private sector, however, added 5,122 MW of more capacity, about 84% of the target set by the commission.
"Many issues have plagued the public enterprises in the power sector while the private sector has picked up," a Planning Commission official said. "This is apparent from the trends we are seeing, and therefore, targets for the next year have been fixed accordingly."
The commission has cut the 2011-12 target of central projects by 25% and that of state projects by 36%. But it has raised the capacity addition target of the private sector by 25% to 7,610 MW.
The commission had initially fixed the capacity addition target for the 11th Plan (2007-11) at 78,700 MW. But it later year scaled down the figure to 62,374 MW. During its mid-term appraisal last year, the commission had reduced the target for the 11th Plan even further to 34,462 MW.
"The two key reasons why public sector has slipped in the planned capacity addition are issues with procurement of equipment and poor project management," said Debashish Mishra, senior director withDeloitte India. "Most of the projects are stuck due to problems of coordination within different government agencies."
Sambitosh Mohapatra, executive director with PricewaterhouseCoopers, said public sector companies were suffering because of capacity constraints of equipment manufacturers likeBharat Heavy Electricals Limited.
"New power capacities cannot be created if equipment manufacturers who supply to the pubic sector are facing capacity constraints. They are unable to meet the requirements of public sector power companies," Mohapatra said.
As public sector companies battle issues of procurement, private sector firms have successfully established strategic partnerships with Chinese companies.
"Most of the big private companies like Reliance,Adani and Lanco procure from Chinese companies who are very efficient and deliver on time, and that benefits projects. This is not the case with public projects," Mishra added.
At present, Chinese companies are sitting roughly in excess of 25,000 MW of orders from private power companies in India.
The private sector's contribution to the power sector in the 11th Plan has been much more than what the commission had originally anticipated. The commission had envisaged the private sector to contribute only 19% of new capacities at the beginning of the Plan. But in 2010, it revised the figure to 30%.
It now expects the private sector to contribute most of the 60% of new capacities in the 12th Plan (2012- 17).
Power projects run by the Central government added only half of the targeted generation capacity in 2010-11, while state government-funded projects fared even worse, meeting only 42% of the target.
Projects funded by the private sector, however, added 5,122 MW of more capacity, about 84% of the target set by the commission.
"Many issues have plagued the public enterprises in the power sector while the private sector has picked up," a Planning Commission official said. "This is apparent from the trends we are seeing, and therefore, targets for the next year have been fixed accordingly."
The commission has cut the 2011-12 target of central projects by 25% and that of state projects by 36%. But it has raised the capacity addition target of the private sector by 25% to 7,610 MW.
The commission had initially fixed the capacity addition target for the 11th Plan (2007-11) at 78,700 MW. But it later year scaled down the figure to 62,374 MW. During its mid-term appraisal last year, the commission had reduced the target for the 11th Plan even further to 34,462 MW.
"The two key reasons why public sector has slipped in the planned capacity addition are issues with procurement of equipment and poor project management," said Debashish Mishra, senior director withDeloitte India. "Most of the projects are stuck due to problems of coordination within different government agencies."
Sambitosh Mohapatra, executive director with PricewaterhouseCoopers, said public sector companies were suffering because of capacity constraints of equipment manufacturers likeBharat Heavy Electricals Limited.
"New power capacities cannot be created if equipment manufacturers who supply to the pubic sector are facing capacity constraints. They are unable to meet the requirements of public sector power companies," Mohapatra said.
As public sector companies battle issues of procurement, private sector firms have successfully established strategic partnerships with Chinese companies.
"Most of the big private companies like Reliance,Adani and Lanco procure from Chinese companies who are very efficient and deliver on time, and that benefits projects. This is not the case with public projects," Mishra added.
At present, Chinese companies are sitting roughly in excess of 25,000 MW of orders from private power companies in India.
The private sector's contribution to the power sector in the 11th Plan has been much more than what the commission had originally anticipated. The commission had envisaged the private sector to contribute only 19% of new capacities at the beginning of the Plan. But in 2010, it revised the figure to 30%.
It now expects the private sector to contribute most of the 60% of new capacities in the 12th Plan (2012- 17).
Chief Ministers of 11 states to support an anti-tobacco campaign
PANAJI:Chief Ministers of 11 states in India have pledged their support toVoice of Tobacco Victims (VOTV), a national campaign against chewing tobacco in their states to root out the social evil, a nationalNGO said today.
General Secretary of National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE), Shekhar Salkar stated that chief ministers of Assam, Goa, Punjab, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Gujarat have pledged to do their best for oral cancer victims, doctors and tobacco control advocates of their states.
"The victims, along with oncologists met their respective chief ministers and urged them to protect the people of their states from the harmful effects of tobacco products by banning gutka, implementing stringent pictorial warnings on chewing tobacco products, putting an end to indirect advertising of chewing tobacco product, stopping sale of chewing tobacco products near educational institutions, increasing taxation on all tobacco products," Salkar stated.
"All the chief ministers assured the victims of their commitment by signing a pledge calling for a ban on gutka and khaini products," Salkar said.
"I will raise my voice against this issue and support all initiatives to rid India of this menace of gutka and khaini and help save millions of Indian lives," reads the pledge.
It is heartening that custodians of health of the state have pledged their support for tobacco control, said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, Associate Professor, Head and Neck Department Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.
"We salute all those CMs who have openly supported and urge those, whom we could not reach and those, who are still to decide about their stand on this issue, to support this initiative to get rid of this menace from India," he added.
VOTV is a national campaign to advocate against the chewing tobacco and other smokeless forms of tobacco. It has been conceptualised and initiated by the victims of oral cancer, who have come together to promote greater awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco use.
Numerous doctors and directors of regional cancer centres from across the country are supporting VOTV for the cause.
In March, directors of 17 regional cancer centres in India, including the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), had written letters to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ban gutka and other chewing tobacco products in India.
A recent report by experts of National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW) on the harmful effects of gutka informs that the number of oral cancer cases in India alone stands at 86 per cent of the oral cancer figures across the world.
India has the highest number of oral cancer patients in the world with 75, 000 to 80, 000 new cases of oral cancers a year. Shockingly, chewing tobacco and gutka contribute to 90 per cent of oral cancer cases in the country.
According to last year's Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS 2010), nearly 1/3 of Indian population is addicted to smokeless tobacco, including a large section of children and youth in India.
Depending upon the geographical areas, different names with different combinations of smokeless tobacco are marketed, such as mawa, khaini, gudakhu, panni etc. All these items essentially have tobacco.
"Despite the Supreme Court order banning gutka in plastic pouches, gutka, pan masala and other smokeless tobacco products are still widely sold in plastic pouches. The enforcement agencies need to take actions against the errants," Salkar said.
General Secretary of National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE), Shekhar Salkar stated that chief ministers of Assam, Goa, Punjab, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Gujarat have pledged to do their best for oral cancer victims, doctors and tobacco control advocates of their states.
"The victims, along with oncologists met their respective chief ministers and urged them to protect the people of their states from the harmful effects of tobacco products by banning gutka, implementing stringent pictorial warnings on chewing tobacco products, putting an end to indirect advertising of chewing tobacco product, stopping sale of chewing tobacco products near educational institutions, increasing taxation on all tobacco products," Salkar stated.
"All the chief ministers assured the victims of their commitment by signing a pledge calling for a ban on gutka and khaini products," Salkar said.
"I will raise my voice against this issue and support all initiatives to rid India of this menace of gutka and khaini and help save millions of Indian lives," reads the pledge.
It is heartening that custodians of health of the state have pledged their support for tobacco control, said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, Associate Professor, Head and Neck Department Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.
"We salute all those CMs who have openly supported and urge those, whom we could not reach and those, who are still to decide about their stand on this issue, to support this initiative to get rid of this menace from India," he added.
VOTV is a national campaign to advocate against the chewing tobacco and other smokeless forms of tobacco. It has been conceptualised and initiated by the victims of oral cancer, who have come together to promote greater awareness about the harmful effects of tobacco use.
Numerous doctors and directors of regional cancer centres from across the country are supporting VOTV for the cause.
In March, directors of 17 regional cancer centres in India, including the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), had written letters to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to ban gutka and other chewing tobacco products in India.
A recent report by experts of National Institute of Health and Family Welfare (NIHFW) on the harmful effects of gutka informs that the number of oral cancer cases in India alone stands at 86 per cent of the oral cancer figures across the world.
India has the highest number of oral cancer patients in the world with 75, 000 to 80, 000 new cases of oral cancers a year. Shockingly, chewing tobacco and gutka contribute to 90 per cent of oral cancer cases in the country.
According to last year's Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS 2010), nearly 1/3 of Indian population is addicted to smokeless tobacco, including a large section of children and youth in India.
Depending upon the geographical areas, different names with different combinations of smokeless tobacco are marketed, such as mawa, khaini, gudakhu, panni etc. All these items essentially have tobacco.
"Despite the Supreme Court order banning gutka in plastic pouches, gutka, pan masala and other smokeless tobacco products are still widely sold in plastic pouches. The enforcement agencies need to take actions against the errants," Salkar said.
Battery maker Eveready goes for image makeover
NEW DELHI: Battery maker Eveready on Monday said it is undertaking an image makeover to position itself as a youth oriented brand, while also introducing more products with advanced technology.
The company has also roped in London-based consultancy firmEvolve Creative as part of its initiative to give a fresh look to the brand.
"We keep innovating to make the brand more relevant. So bringing new models and giving a new look are some of the things we are doing right now," Eveready Senior General Manager (Flashlight Division)) Anil Bajaj told PTI.
Besides, the Kolkata based firm had also recently signed on Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar for the next two years to endorse its products.
"As a strategy we believe in giving a large burst in terms of marketing initiative after every two-three years rather than talking about the brand every year," Bajaj said.
As part of the image makeover exercise, the company said it has upgraded its torch and lamp portfolio by "launching new models and improved packaging".
The company is also bringing back its 'Give me Red' television commercial featuring the actor in a month's time.
Eveready sells around 1.2 billion units of batteries annually and over 2 million pieces of torches per annum.
The company has also roped in London-based consultancy firmEvolve Creative as part of its initiative to give a fresh look to the brand.
"We keep innovating to make the brand more relevant. So bringing new models and giving a new look are some of the things we are doing right now," Eveready Senior General Manager (Flashlight Division)) Anil Bajaj told PTI.
Besides, the Kolkata based firm had also recently signed on Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar for the next two years to endorse its products.
"As a strategy we believe in giving a large burst in terms of marketing initiative after every two-three years rather than talking about the brand every year," Bajaj said.
As part of the image makeover exercise, the company said it has upgraded its torch and lamp portfolio by "launching new models and improved packaging".
The company is also bringing back its 'Give me Red' television commercial featuring the actor in a month's time.
Eveready sells around 1.2 billion units of batteries annually and over 2 million pieces of torches per annum.
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