Bangalore: Mu Sigma, an analytics and decision support service provider, on Wednesday closed a $108-million investment round led by General Atlantic. This is said to be the biggest private-equity investment in the emerging market for analytics services.
Sequoia Capital, which invested $25 million in Mu Sigma in April, also participated in the latest round, the company said in a statement.
Founded in April 2004, Mu Sigma's main delivery centre is in Bangalore. The company specialises in providing analytics to companies across multiple businesses like marketing, supply chain and risk analytics. It boasts of over 50 Fortune 500 clients, including Microsoft and Dell.
“We are excited to partner with the clear market leader in the emerging field of analytics and decision sciences for large global enterprises. The Big Data phenomenon is creating huge challenges for corporations as they look to harness information to accelerate and improve decision making, and Mu Sigma is an excellent antidote,” said Bill Ford, CEO, General Aatlantic in a statement. Ford will join Mu Sigma board as a part of this funding.
According to Mu Sigma, a part of the funding would be used to purchase shares held by the existing shareholders, all of who would continue to have stakes in the company. “The company is profitable and will use the new money for growth by acquiring new clients and developing more services. With General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital as investors, we now have a world-class private-equity firm and venture capital firm,” said Mu Sigma’s founder & chief executive officer Dhiraj Rajaram, a former consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton.
The company claims its revenues from 2008 to 2010 grew by close to nine times (886 per cent), which earned itself a place in Inc 500 list of America’s fastest-growing private companies. The company employs 1,500 people across its facilities in Bangalore and the US.
Shailendra Singh, managing director, Sequoia Capital, said, “Mu Sigma has world-class analytics capabilities, a unique operating model that continues to create tremendous client impact for dozens of Fortune 500 companies. We are delighted to back the company in its mission.”
General Atlantic has been an active investor in business services companies globally with portfolio such as TASC, QTS, TriNet, Genpact and ServiceSource.
In addition to business services, GA focuses on providing growth equity to businesses in the sectors such as healthcare, energy and resources, financial services, internet and technology.
Success in my Habit
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Real estate houses most PE investments in 2011, attracts $1,700 million
Ahmedabad: Real estate emerged as the popular parking place for private equity funds who invested $1,700 million in the sector during 2011. Power sector that topped the PE charts during the first six months of the year finished third with $892-million investments behind automotive sector that could attract $1006 million private equity funding.
Overall PE investments during the year rose to $7.7 billion through 347 deals, up from $6.2 billion and 253 deals in 2010. However, the country's total investment in the private sector was a tad lower than last year.
In 2011, PE players signed 29 deals in real estate at a time when the sector found it tough to receive bank funding, a report by consulting firm Grant Thornton says. "Banks have become too cautious to lend to the sector and PE players found a new opportunity. They expect high returns within a year or so," says Raja Lahiri, partner, transaction advisory services, Grant Thornton India. Of the 100 transactions handled by the firm, more than half are into real estate.
Private equity in real estate projects will fetch considerable returns by next year-end or early 2013, says Vikram Hosangady, partner, KPMG. "Limited partners (who write cheque for funds) expect 15-25% returns from real estate deals. Foreign investors are optimistic about India. All they want is prompt action and friendly policies," he says.
Automotive, power & energy, banking & financial services and IT & ITes received PE investments of $1006 mn, $892 mn, $816 mn and $783 mn respectively. The sectors were ahead of telecom, metals & mining, pharma & healthcare, hospitality who saw a declining interest from private equity firms.
Bain Capital and Govt of Singapore clinched the top deal of the year of $849 million when they together took 30% stake in Hero Investment.
Macquarie SBI Infrastructure Investments, Blackstone and a consortium of Standard Chartered PE (Mauritius), JM Financial and NYLIM Jacob Ballas have invested $200 mn each in separate deals. "Though the outbound deals have seen lesser activity due to weak global conditions, PE firms continue to attract better deals," adds Lahiri.
The year saw $50.9 billion invested through various forms of private investments like mergers & acquisitions, PE deals and qualified institutional placement (QIP). The invested amount in 2011 was however, lower than $62.2 billion investments in 2010 and so were the number of deals that fell to 961 deals from 971 deals last year.
Overall PE investments during the year rose to $7.7 billion through 347 deals, up from $6.2 billion and 253 deals in 2010. However, the country's total investment in the private sector was a tad lower than last year.
In 2011, PE players signed 29 deals in real estate at a time when the sector found it tough to receive bank funding, a report by consulting firm Grant Thornton says. "Banks have become too cautious to lend to the sector and PE players found a new opportunity. They expect high returns within a year or so," says Raja Lahiri, partner, transaction advisory services, Grant Thornton India. Of the 100 transactions handled by the firm, more than half are into real estate.
Private equity in real estate projects will fetch considerable returns by next year-end or early 2013, says Vikram Hosangady, partner, KPMG. "Limited partners (who write cheque for funds) expect 15-25% returns from real estate deals. Foreign investors are optimistic about India. All they want is prompt action and friendly policies," he says.
Automotive, power & energy, banking & financial services and IT & ITes received PE investments of $1006 mn, $892 mn, $816 mn and $783 mn respectively. The sectors were ahead of telecom, metals & mining, pharma & healthcare, hospitality who saw a declining interest from private equity firms.
Bain Capital and Govt of Singapore clinched the top deal of the year of $849 million when they together took 30% stake in Hero Investment.
Macquarie SBI Infrastructure Investments, Blackstone and a consortium of Standard Chartered PE (Mauritius), JM Financial and NYLIM Jacob Ballas have invested $200 mn each in separate deals. "Though the outbound deals have seen lesser activity due to weak global conditions, PE firms continue to attract better deals," adds Lahiri.
The year saw $50.9 billion invested through various forms of private investments like mergers & acquisitions, PE deals and qualified institutional placement (QIP). The invested amount in 2011 was however, lower than $62.2 billion investments in 2010 and so were the number of deals that fell to 961 deals from 971 deals last year.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Four SEZs to receive new investments of Rs 140 cr
Ahmedabad: Ten companies will start their units in four SEZs of the state following a nod by the zonal director of SEZs. Together, these companies will invest Rs 140 crore in the first phase in technology, textile and pharma sectors.
The SEZs that will receive the new clients are Aqualine SEZ (Gandhinagar), GIDC Electronics Park (Gandhinagar), GIDC Apparel Park (Ahmedabad) and JB Pharma SEZ in Bharuch.
The Aqualine SEZ for Information Technology (IT) and IT enabled Services (ITeS), had received applications from Ahmedabad-based Third Eye Enterprise, Gandhingar-based Roving Radiology, Mumbai-based Annet Technologies, Ahmedabad-based Infosense Services, Ahmedabad-based Raegan International and Ahmedabad-based Plenar solutions.
Third Eye will set up an online and offline Software Development Services centre, while Annet and Plenear Soutions will set up an IT-ITeS centre. Similarly, Infosense will start a Web Services and Project Management Centre; Raegan International will set up a BPO-KPO centre, while Roving Technologies will set up a Knowledge Process Outsourcing centre for Tele-Radiology. Togather, these companies will invest Rs 8 crore initially and employ around 400 persons.
Ghaziabad-based Compark E-Services Private Limited will invest close to Rs 60 lakh and employ around 150 people at Gandhinagar-based GIDC Electronics Park, a SEZ for IT-ITeS sector.
Ahmedabad-based GIDC Apparel Park will see investments from Ahmedabad-based Mahavir Tex Fab, who will manufacture shirts, trousers and other textile products. Ahmedabad-based Utkarsh Exim Private Limited will manufacture aprons and gloves for medical use in the SEZ. Together, the companies will invest Rs 1 crore initially and employ close to 300 people.
Pune-based Biodeal Laboratories Private Limited has received a nod to set up facilty for making nasal spray, drops, inhalers, dry powders and tablets at J B Pharma SEZ in Bharuch district. The company will pump in over Rs 130 crore and is expected to employ close to 700 persons at the SEZ.
"We have given nod to 10 companies to set up units in SEZs. We expect that they will soon start their operations," said Pravir Kumar, zonal development commissioner for SEZ.
The SEZs that will receive the new clients are Aqualine SEZ (Gandhinagar), GIDC Electronics Park (Gandhinagar), GIDC Apparel Park (Ahmedabad) and JB Pharma SEZ in Bharuch.
The Aqualine SEZ for Information Technology (IT) and IT enabled Services (ITeS), had received applications from Ahmedabad-based Third Eye Enterprise, Gandhingar-based Roving Radiology, Mumbai-based Annet Technologies, Ahmedabad-based Infosense Services, Ahmedabad-based Raegan International and Ahmedabad-based Plenar solutions.
Third Eye will set up an online and offline Software Development Services centre, while Annet and Plenear Soutions will set up an IT-ITeS centre. Similarly, Infosense will start a Web Services and Project Management Centre; Raegan International will set up a BPO-KPO centre, while Roving Technologies will set up a Knowledge Process Outsourcing centre for Tele-Radiology. Togather, these companies will invest Rs 8 crore initially and employ around 400 persons.
Ghaziabad-based Compark E-Services Private Limited will invest close to Rs 60 lakh and employ around 150 people at Gandhinagar-based GIDC Electronics Park, a SEZ for IT-ITeS sector.
Ahmedabad-based GIDC Apparel Park will see investments from Ahmedabad-based Mahavir Tex Fab, who will manufacture shirts, trousers and other textile products. Ahmedabad-based Utkarsh Exim Private Limited will manufacture aprons and gloves for medical use in the SEZ. Together, the companies will invest Rs 1 crore initially and employ close to 300 people.
Pune-based Biodeal Laboratories Private Limited has received a nod to set up facilty for making nasal spray, drops, inhalers, dry powders and tablets at J B Pharma SEZ in Bharuch district. The company will pump in over Rs 130 crore and is expected to employ close to 700 persons at the SEZ.
"We have given nod to 10 companies to set up units in SEZs. We expect that they will soon start their operations," said Pravir Kumar, zonal development commissioner for SEZ.
Indian internet industry sees 300m users by 2015
The internet in India has taken more than 15 years to cross the 100-million user mark. Now, it's at the cusp of a giant leap. A rash of reports - from industry associations like Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) to global consultancies like Boston Consulting Group (BCG) - is heralding the dawn of the internet economy and a user base of 300 million in the next three years.
Consider this: In 2011 alone, investors poured $350 million into 57 internet startups - that's more than the collective dotcom investment of the past four years, according to VCCEdge, an Indian online deal platform.
Some $3 billion worth of e-commerce was transacted in 2011, says IAMAI. And, according to Helion Venture Partners, $20 billion worth of e-commerce will be done in five to seven years, with 12-15% of shopping going online in this period. Till date, however, the Indian Railways website for booking tickets is easily the most successful e-commerce model. Launched in 2002, irctc.co.in sold just 27 tickets online on its first day. Today, it sells 4 lakh. According to Verisign, an internet registry, about 2.6 million dotcom and 'dotin' companies are registered out of India. I
In 2012, the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI), which manages the dotin registry and routes internet traffic in India, will launch 'dotbharat' domain names. Says Dr Govind, CEO, NIXI, "With a 100-million-plus user base, we anticipate rapid growth now." NIXI also plans to help get a web presence for 250,000 panchayats to ease delivery of citizen services from tax payments to registering births. Then there are social networking sites like Facebook andLinkedIn, which see India as their next growth frontier.
Each boasts 40 million and 12 million users, respectively, in India. And internet advertising, at $300 million, has already overtaken advertising on radio. The year ahead will see a rapid increase in user numbers-which stand at just 11 milllion now- but via mobile internet rather than fixed internet. That's due to a convergence of factors: cheaper mobile devices, 3G networks, greater adoption of dongles (a hardware that makes software run when plugged in) and Wi-Fi at homes. Telcos also see cyberspace as their next growth engine.
Says K Srinivas, president, consumer business, Bharti Airtel, "The next phase of growth for telcos will be data-driven. The internet is getting into the daily fabric of life-everything from videos and banking to healthcare and education will be delivered online." The rapid growth masks some challenges: not all e-commerce plays will survive. Says Sanjeev Aggarwal, senior MD, Helion Advisors: "E-commerce has too many moving parts: logistics, merchandising, customer experience... There will be a shakeout. Companies have to be careful about burning cash in ads or engaging in irrational price wars to bag
Consider this: In 2011 alone, investors poured $350 million into 57 internet startups - that's more than the collective dotcom investment of the past four years, according to VCCEdge, an Indian online deal platform.
Some $3 billion worth of e-commerce was transacted in 2011, says IAMAI. And, according to Helion Venture Partners, $20 billion worth of e-commerce will be done in five to seven years, with 12-15% of shopping going online in this period. Till date, however, the Indian Railways website for booking tickets is easily the most successful e-commerce model. Launched in 2002, irctc.co.in sold just 27 tickets online on its first day. Today, it sells 4 lakh. According to Verisign, an internet registry, about 2.6 million dotcom and 'dotin' companies are registered out of India. I
In 2012, the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI), which manages the dotin registry and routes internet traffic in India, will launch 'dotbharat' domain names. Says Dr Govind, CEO, NIXI, "With a 100-million-plus user base, we anticipate rapid growth now." NIXI also plans to help get a web presence for 250,000 panchayats to ease delivery of citizen services from tax payments to registering births. Then there are social networking sites like Facebook andLinkedIn, which see India as their next growth frontier.
Each boasts 40 million and 12 million users, respectively, in India. And internet advertising, at $300 million, has already overtaken advertising on radio. The year ahead will see a rapid increase in user numbers-which stand at just 11 milllion now- but via mobile internet rather than fixed internet. That's due to a convergence of factors: cheaper mobile devices, 3G networks, greater adoption of dongles (a hardware that makes software run when plugged in) and Wi-Fi at homes. Telcos also see cyberspace as their next growth engine.
Says K Srinivas, president, consumer business, Bharti Airtel, "The next phase of growth for telcos will be data-driven. The internet is getting into the daily fabric of life-everything from videos and banking to healthcare and education will be delivered online." The rapid growth masks some challenges: not all e-commerce plays will survive. Says Sanjeev Aggarwal, senior MD, Helion Advisors: "E-commerce has too many moving parts: logistics, merchandising, customer experience... There will be a shakeout. Companies have to be careful about burning cash in ads or engaging in irrational price wars to bag
Staff Turnover Could Be IT's Biggest Issue for 2012
How long have you held your current position? If you answered less than two years, you are not alone. It seems that turnover could be IT's biggest challenge in the new year: keeping talented developers. Network World's Carolyn Marsan writes this week about the topic and it is well worth reading her story.
This isn't a completely new problem. In 1980, I took my second job, about two years after I started work at a consulting firm in Washington, DC. My father was not happy about the switch. He was working as an accountant for the same place (and ended up putting in 30 years by the time he eventually retired, yes complete with gold watch that I have somewhere). He thought it was too quick a transition. What would other employers think? Little did I know I was starting a trend in the tech field lo these many years ago
A CIO quoted in Marsan's article mentions how turnover is his biggest issue: 'knowledge keeps walking out the door.' I wondered if what he paid his developers was one of the reasons for the huge turnover. All of his six-person team has been with him for less than a year. But it turns out his particular issues aren't so simple.
Part of the problem is that loyalty is so over. Back in my dad's day, you wanted to amass a retirement portfolio, or get more vacation time, or other benefits of being with a firm for decades. Now, those seem old-fashioned, and there are fewer pension plans and more contract workers. Hypergrowth is what matters. Getting challenged, learning stuff. Layoffs can happen at a moment's notice, making more of a 'what's in it for me' attitude.
The CIO interviewed in Marsan's article spoke about a very different developer mindset for today's 20-something coders. 'There have been a number of cases where we have had a system that runs into issues, bugs, defects or a major change requirement. We thought it would be a challenge for a developer to own it. But their first reaction is to want to scrap it and start over.'
Another problem is that we expect instant gratification in our work lives. We can download what we need almost immediately from the Internet. If we don't get super-fast bandwidth and sub-second response times from our computer we get frustrated. If it takes more than a few minutes to understand something, we move on. I have noticed this in my own use of apps recently: I get very impatient when I can't understand something at first, and tend to drop products that have even a modest learning curve. (This is one of the reasons why Second Life went nowhere: it was a lot to learn at once.)
One often-heard demand is for better workplace flex times. Back when I was in my 20s, I worked day and night sometimes to get projects done. There was no such thing as 9-to-5, telecommuting, or flexible Fridays. Today's GenY wants it all.
IT has to do a better job explaining the business context of their code and be engaged in what the company is actually doing with their apps. Coding just for coding's sake is passé, as it should be. Granted, this was true back in my formative years, but it has gotten more important as IT has become more of a distributed operation, and coders are closer to their departments.
Certainly, it is a delicate balance to train and retain highly technical people. But it does seem as if these times have made it more of a challenge. What has been your experience?
This isn't a completely new problem. In 1980, I took my second job, about two years after I started work at a consulting firm in Washington, DC. My father was not happy about the switch. He was working as an accountant for the same place (and ended up putting in 30 years by the time he eventually retired, yes complete with gold watch that I have somewhere). He thought it was too quick a transition. What would other employers think? Little did I know I was starting a trend in the tech field lo these many years ago
A CIO quoted in Marsan's article mentions how turnover is his biggest issue: 'knowledge keeps walking out the door.' I wondered if what he paid his developers was one of the reasons for the huge turnover. All of his six-person team has been with him for less than a year. But it turns out his particular issues aren't so simple.
Part of the problem is that loyalty is so over. Back in my dad's day, you wanted to amass a retirement portfolio, or get more vacation time, or other benefits of being with a firm for decades. Now, those seem old-fashioned, and there are fewer pension plans and more contract workers. Hypergrowth is what matters. Getting challenged, learning stuff. Layoffs can happen at a moment's notice, making more of a 'what's in it for me' attitude.
The CIO interviewed in Marsan's article spoke about a very different developer mindset for today's 20-something coders. 'There have been a number of cases where we have had a system that runs into issues, bugs, defects or a major change requirement. We thought it would be a challenge for a developer to own it. But their first reaction is to want to scrap it and start over.'
Another problem is that we expect instant gratification in our work lives. We can download what we need almost immediately from the Internet. If we don't get super-fast bandwidth and sub-second response times from our computer we get frustrated. If it takes more than a few minutes to understand something, we move on. I have noticed this in my own use of apps recently: I get very impatient when I can't understand something at first, and tend to drop products that have even a modest learning curve. (This is one of the reasons why Second Life went nowhere: it was a lot to learn at once.)
One often-heard demand is for better workplace flex times. Back when I was in my 20s, I worked day and night sometimes to get projects done. There was no such thing as 9-to-5, telecommuting, or flexible Fridays. Today's GenY wants it all.
IT has to do a better job explaining the business context of their code and be engaged in what the company is actually doing with their apps. Coding just for coding's sake is passé, as it should be. Granted, this was true back in my formative years, but it has gotten more important as IT has become more of a distributed operation, and coders are closer to their departments.
Certainly, it is a delicate balance to train and retain highly technical people. But it does seem as if these times have made it more of a challenge. What has been your experience?
Friday, December 30, 2011
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Railways puts bullet train project on fast track
NEW DELHI: Railways' ambitious project of running bullet trains in six select corridors has been fast tracked as the state-run transporter is ready with the Cabinet note for setting up of a high speed rail authority.
Railways' top brass are also in intense negotiations with the visiting Japanese delegation, seeking their cooperation for introduction of a high speed train that can run at 300km per hour.
The authority will be empowered to decide on whether a particular corridor project will be implemented on PPP or non-PPP mode based on pre-feasibility study. Sources said that the authority will have the power to decide on ownership and management of each high-speed corridor. Besides, it will take a final call on project packaging, such as operator, fixed infrastructure and rolling stock.
Railways has selected six corridors for conducting feasibility study for running high speed trains. The transporter has completed the pre-feasibility study for the 650 km Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed corridor. It has selected a Japanese consortium to explore the feasibility of running a bullet train on the proposed Hyderabad-Vijayawada-Chennai high speed corridor.
The consultants for the pre-feasibility study of Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna and Howrah-Haldia corridors have been appointed and they are expected to submit reports soon, said an official.
Tenders for the study of Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram corridor are under finalization. The state governments are ready to meet 50% cost of the consultancy. While Japan has shown interest in India's high speed train, it is funding 80% of the cost of construction of the 1,499 km-long Western Dedicated Freight Corridor.
Railways believes that Japan, which runs the high speed train Shinkansen, can show India the way as both nations face a similar situation as far as population density and station-to-station distances are concerned.
It is being estimated that dedicated high speed corridor will cost about Rs 100 crore per km.
Railways' top brass are also in intense negotiations with the visiting Japanese delegation, seeking their cooperation for introduction of a high speed train that can run at 300km per hour.
The authority will be empowered to decide on whether a particular corridor project will be implemented on PPP or non-PPP mode based on pre-feasibility study. Sources said that the authority will have the power to decide on ownership and management of each high-speed corridor. Besides, it will take a final call on project packaging, such as operator, fixed infrastructure and rolling stock.
Railways has selected six corridors for conducting feasibility study for running high speed trains. The transporter has completed the pre-feasibility study for the 650 km Pune-Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed corridor. It has selected a Japanese consortium to explore the feasibility of running a bullet train on the proposed Hyderabad-Vijayawada-Chennai high speed corridor.
The consultants for the pre-feasibility study of Delhi-Agra-Lucknow-Varanasi-Patna and Howrah-Haldia corridors have been appointed and they are expected to submit reports soon, said an official.
Tenders for the study of Chennai-Bangalore-Coimbatore-Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram corridor are under finalization. The state governments are ready to meet 50% cost of the consultancy. While Japan has shown interest in India's high speed train, it is funding 80% of the cost of construction of the 1,499 km-long Western Dedicated Freight Corridor.
Railways believes that Japan, which runs the high speed train Shinkansen, can show India the way as both nations face a similar situation as far as population density and station-to-station distances are concerned.
It is being estimated that dedicated high speed corridor will cost about Rs 100 crore per km.
Madras High Court issues notice to mobile companies on charging extra for SMS
MADURAI: The Madras High Court today issued notices to 10 mobile companies on a petition seeking to bar them from charging extra for SMSes during festivals and other important days.
The high court bench issued notices while admitting a petition by a lawyer, seeking a direction to the companies and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) not to hike the tariff for this period.
Petitioner Arunachalam also sought an interim stay on undue and sudden hike on SMS charges during important festivals and special occasions like New year's eve on December 31 and January 1.
He contended that mobile companies offered attractive packages while enrolling customers, including 200 Free SMS for Rs one a day, 50 paise per SMS but later announce they would maintain special SMS tariffs on December 31.
This forces users to restrict SMS and curtail private space and free communication on important festival days. TRAI was also not taking steps to control it, he alleged.
Arunachalam said mobile operators, regardless of tariff plans would charge Rs 1.50 per SMS on Dec 31, "which is unfair." Last year SMS revenue of the companies was Rs 100 crore, he claimed.
The petitioner said users were being charged extra at a time when they want to use their mobiles the most, "fully violating natural justice and rights given in the Constitution."
Among important days on which extra tariff was collected was Pongal, Christmas, New year, Valentines day, Independence day and Diwali, he said.
The bench after hearing him, ordered notices to the TRAI chairperson and Zonal/Regional Managers of 10 companies-- Bharti Airtel ltd, Aircel Ltd, Vodafone, Reliance, Idea Cellular, Unitech, Tata Docomo, MTS mobile, BSNL mobile and Videocon and posted the case for further hearing on January 21 2012.
The high court bench issued notices while admitting a petition by a lawyer, seeking a direction to the companies and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) not to hike the tariff for this period.
Petitioner Arunachalam also sought an interim stay on undue and sudden hike on SMS charges during important festivals and special occasions like New year's eve on December 31 and January 1.
He contended that mobile companies offered attractive packages while enrolling customers, including 200 Free SMS for Rs one a day, 50 paise per SMS but later announce they would maintain special SMS tariffs on December 31.
This forces users to restrict SMS and curtail private space and free communication on important festival days. TRAI was also not taking steps to control it, he alleged.
Arunachalam said mobile operators, regardless of tariff plans would charge Rs 1.50 per SMS on Dec 31, "which is unfair." Last year SMS revenue of the companies was Rs 100 crore, he claimed.
The petitioner said users were being charged extra at a time when they want to use their mobiles the most, "fully violating natural justice and rights given in the Constitution."
Among important days on which extra tariff was collected was Pongal, Christmas, New year, Valentines day, Independence day and Diwali, he said.
The bench after hearing him, ordered notices to the TRAI chairperson and Zonal/Regional Managers of 10 companies-- Bharti Airtel ltd, Aircel Ltd, Vodafone, Reliance, Idea Cellular, Unitech, Tata Docomo, MTS mobile, BSNL mobile and Videocon and posted the case for further hearing on January 21 2012.
Investment in telecom sector up by nearly Rs 50K cr in FY11
NEW DELHI: Despite several controversies like 2G spectrum scam, the telecom sector witnessed over 17 per cent increase in investment in 2010-11 over the previous financial year, says annual report of telecom regulator Trai.
The capital employed in the telecom sector increased to Rs 3,37,683 crore in 2010-11 from Rs 2,86,837 crore in 2009-10, according to Trai's annual report 2010-11.
The growth in subscriber base resulted in an increase in the gross revenue of telecom services as reported by the service providers for the year to Rs 1,71,719 crore during the year, a growth of 8.69 per cent from Rs 1,57,985 crore in the previous year.
Continuing its impressive growth in the subscriber base, the use base stood at 842.32 million, a 30.36 per cent growth from 621.28 million in the previous financial year.
The overall teledensity in the country registered an increase from 52.74 at the end of March 2010 to 70.89 at the end of March 2011.
The revenue contribution from the public sector telecom companies in 2010-11 was 20.37 per cent (previous year 24.82 per cent) and from private sector firms was 79.63 per cent (previous year 75.18 per cent).
However, capital employed of public sector companies decreased by 7.35 per cent in 2010-11.
The capital employed in the telecom sector increased to Rs 3,37,683 crore in 2010-11 from Rs 2,86,837 crore in 2009-10, according to Trai's annual report 2010-11.
The growth in subscriber base resulted in an increase in the gross revenue of telecom services as reported by the service providers for the year to Rs 1,71,719 crore during the year, a growth of 8.69 per cent from Rs 1,57,985 crore in the previous year.
Continuing its impressive growth in the subscriber base, the use base stood at 842.32 million, a 30.36 per cent growth from 621.28 million in the previous financial year.
The overall teledensity in the country registered an increase from 52.74 at the end of March 2010 to 70.89 at the end of March 2011.
The revenue contribution from the public sector telecom companies in 2010-11 was 20.37 per cent (previous year 24.82 per cent) and from private sector firms was 79.63 per cent (previous year 75.18 per cent).
However, capital employed of public sector companies decreased by 7.35 per cent in 2010-11.
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