Bangalore: GMR Energy Ltd (GEL), a subsidiary of GMR Infrastructure, has commissioned its 25-MW solar power plant at Patan district in Gujarat.
The 25-MW grid interactive solar power project has been executed through GMR Gujarat Solar Power, a subsidiary of GMR Energy. The project was awarded to the company in October 2010 under the Gujarat Solar Policy.
The company in a release said this plant adopts the crystalline photovoltaic technology and is situated in the solar park set up by the Gujarat Government at Charanka village in Patan district.
The power plant was commissioned on December 31, 2011 and is supplying power to Gujarat UrjaVikas Nigam on a 25-year power purchase agreement under the Gujarat State Solar Policy.
GMR Energy, after tasting success of this solar venture, has initiated plans to enhance its renewable energy portfolio by over 100 MW in the next two years.
GMR Energy is currently operating 808 MW. The company is currently executing power projects of about 7,500 MW capacity which includes 2,200 MW hydro capacity.
Success in my Habit
Monday, January 16, 2012
Prosegur gets FIPB nod to invest in Security and Intelligence Services (India)
New Delhi: The first strategic foreign investment in the country's cash management space has been sealed with the regulatory clearance for a joint venture between Spanish multinational Prosegur and Delhi-based Security and Intelligence Services (India).
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board, the nodal body that clears FDI into India, cleared the proposal last week allowing one of the world's largest private security companies to enter India. Prosegur will invest around 100 crore for a 49% stake in the newly-launched local entity, in which the Indian partner will hold 51%.
The joint venture will offer cash management solutions to Indian banks, financial institutions and organised retail firms.
"The idea is to build world-class cash processing infrastructure and technology for productivity enhancement and superior risk management," said Rituraj Sinha, chief operating officer at SIS. Prosegur will bring in expertise from its global portfolio which includes over 600 offices across the world.
Cash management support system is vital especially to banks as services such as secured transportation of cash and maintenance solutions for ATMs are often outsourced to third-party entities.
The joint venture in India will offer its services to banks, including SBI, HDFC, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank and ICICI. Over the next two years, the firm plans to invest over 80 crore, a part of which will be used to facilitate inorganic growth. "We will actively pursue acquisitions as we want to achieve a 30% market share in the cash management space by 2015," said Sinha.
India's security services sector has been witnessing hectic activity in the M&A space over the past few years. Some of the deals in the past include G4S's acquisition of DLF's security firm TerraForce and Goldman Sachs-owned International Service System buyout of Chennai-based SDP Cisco. Last year, Blackstone acquired the cash management arm of APS group - Securitrans India.
Founded by first-generation entrepreneur Ravindra Kishore Sinha in 1974, SIS' services include man guarding, electronic security, security training and consulting, among others.
The Foreign Investment Promotion Board, the nodal body that clears FDI into India, cleared the proposal last week allowing one of the world's largest private security companies to enter India. Prosegur will invest around 100 crore for a 49% stake in the newly-launched local entity, in which the Indian partner will hold 51%.
The joint venture will offer cash management solutions to Indian banks, financial institutions and organised retail firms.
"The idea is to build world-class cash processing infrastructure and technology for productivity enhancement and superior risk management," said Rituraj Sinha, chief operating officer at SIS. Prosegur will bring in expertise from its global portfolio which includes over 600 offices across the world.
Cash management support system is vital especially to banks as services such as secured transportation of cash and maintenance solutions for ATMs are often outsourced to third-party entities.
The joint venture in India will offer its services to banks, including SBI, HDFC, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank and ICICI. Over the next two years, the firm plans to invest over 80 crore, a part of which will be used to facilitate inorganic growth. "We will actively pursue acquisitions as we want to achieve a 30% market share in the cash management space by 2015," said Sinha.
India's security services sector has been witnessing hectic activity in the M&A space over the past few years. Some of the deals in the past include G4S's acquisition of DLF's security firm TerraForce and Goldman Sachs-owned International Service System buyout of Chennai-based SDP Cisco. Last year, Blackstone acquired the cash management arm of APS group - Securitrans India.
Founded by first-generation entrepreneur Ravindra Kishore Sinha in 1974, SIS' services include man guarding, electronic security, security training and consulting, among others.
India-Sri Lanka trade set to touch $4 b
Hyderabad: Indo-Sri Lanka bi-lateral trade is likely to cross $4 billion in 2011, up from $ 3 billion in 2010, according to Mr Rishad Bathiudeen, Minister of Industry and Commerce, Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka.
Addressing a networking session on the last day of the three-day CII Partnership Summit 2012 on Friday, he said there were lot of opportunities for the two countries to partner for economic growth.
“The Indo-Lanka Free Trade agreement had helped Sri Lanka to diversify its portfolio of exports to India,” he pointed out.
He said Sri Lanka has come out with a string of incentives to overseas investors in strategic sector such as a 25-year tax holiday. He pointed out that this incentive was extended to NTPC, which is setting up a 500 mw power unit in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's import-export ratio is at present at 8:1. “But there is lot of untapped potential to reduce this mismatch,” the Minister said.
He wanted Indian importers to consider Sri Lanka before negotiating with other countries.
Mr T.T. Ashok, Chairman, CII Southern Region, said there were opportunities for India in the Sri Lankan hospitality sector. Sri Lanka has estimated that there will be 2.5 million overseas visitors in the next two years, he pointed out.
In an earlier session on ‘Unified Earth Theory,' Mr Suresh P. Prabhu, Chairperson, Council on Energy, Environment and Water, wanted academicians and business houses to explore the interrelations between the climate crisis and poverty. “We should come out with integrated solutions common to both,” he said.
Addressing a networking session on the last day of the three-day CII Partnership Summit 2012 on Friday, he said there were lot of opportunities for the two countries to partner for economic growth.
“The Indo-Lanka Free Trade agreement had helped Sri Lanka to diversify its portfolio of exports to India,” he pointed out.
He said Sri Lanka has come out with a string of incentives to overseas investors in strategic sector such as a 25-year tax holiday. He pointed out that this incentive was extended to NTPC, which is setting up a 500 mw power unit in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka's import-export ratio is at present at 8:1. “But there is lot of untapped potential to reduce this mismatch,” the Minister said.
He wanted Indian importers to consider Sri Lanka before negotiating with other countries.
Mr T.T. Ashok, Chairman, CII Southern Region, said there were opportunities for India in the Sri Lankan hospitality sector. Sri Lanka has estimated that there will be 2.5 million overseas visitors in the next two years, he pointed out.
In an earlier session on ‘Unified Earth Theory,' Mr Suresh P. Prabhu, Chairperson, Council on Energy, Environment and Water, wanted academicians and business houses to explore the interrelations between the climate crisis and poverty. “We should come out with integrated solutions common to both,” he said.
Telcos asked to ensure that towers are run on hybrid power
New Delhi: All telecom companies have been mandated to ensure that that at least 50% of all rural towers and 20% of the urban towers are powered by hybrid power by 2015. Further 75% of rural towers and 33% of urban towers are to be powered by hybrid power by 2020.
These directions have been issued after the government has accepted sector regulator Trai's recommendations on 'green telephony'.
The new rules also mandate that all telecom products, equipments and services in the telecom network should be certified "Green Passport [GP]" by the year 2015. The telecoms department's technical arm - Telecommunication Engineering Centre - will certify telecom products, equipments and services on the basis of Energy Consumption Rating ratings, the regulator said.
Besides, all service providers should declare to the regulator the carbon footprint of their network operations. This declaration should be done twice in a year.
Service providers should adopt a voluntary code of practice encompassing energy efficient network planning, infra-sharing, deployment of energy efficient technologies and adoption of renewable energy technology (RET) to reduce carbon footprints, the regulator said in a statement.
It has also asked service providers to evolve a 'Carbon Credit Policy' in line with carbon credit norms with the ultimate objective of achieving a maximum of 50% over the carbon footprint levels of the Base Year (2011) in rural areas and 66% in urban areas by the year 2020.
Operatores should aim at Carbon emission reduction targets for the mobile network at 5% by the year 2012-2013, 8% by the year 2014-2015, 12% by the year 2016-2017 and 17% by the year 2018-2019, the new norms on green telephony add.
These directions have been issued after the government has accepted sector regulator Trai's recommendations on 'green telephony'.
The new rules also mandate that all telecom products, equipments and services in the telecom network should be certified "Green Passport [GP]" by the year 2015. The telecoms department's technical arm - Telecommunication Engineering Centre - will certify telecom products, equipments and services on the basis of Energy Consumption Rating ratings, the regulator said.
Besides, all service providers should declare to the regulator the carbon footprint of their network operations. This declaration should be done twice in a year.
Service providers should adopt a voluntary code of practice encompassing energy efficient network planning, infra-sharing, deployment of energy efficient technologies and adoption of renewable energy technology (RET) to reduce carbon footprints, the regulator said in a statement.
It has also asked service providers to evolve a 'Carbon Credit Policy' in line with carbon credit norms with the ultimate objective of achieving a maximum of 50% over the carbon footprint levels of the Base Year (2011) in rural areas and 66% in urban areas by the year 2020.
Operatores should aim at Carbon emission reduction targets for the mobile network at 5% by the year 2012-2013, 8% by the year 2014-2015, 12% by the year 2016-2017 and 17% by the year 2018-2019, the new norms on green telephony add.
IBM developing storage device of just 12 atoms
Researchers at IBM have stored and retrieved digital 1s and 0s from an array of just 12 atoms, pushing the boundaries of the magnetic storage of information to the edge of what is possible.
The findings, being reported Thursday in the journal Science, could help lead to a new class of nanomaterials for a generation of memory chips and disk drives that will not only have greater capabilities than the current silicon-based computers but will also consume significantly less power. And it may offer a new direction for research in quantum computing.
"Magnetic materials are extremely useful and strategically important to many major economies, but there aren't that many of them," said Shan X Wang, director of the Center for Magnetic Nanotechnology at Stanford University. "To make a brand new material is very intriguing and scientifically very important."
Until now, the most advanced magnetic storage systems have needed about 1 million atoms to store a digital 1 or 0. The new achievement is the product of a heated international race between two elite physics laboratories to explore the properties of magnetic materials at a far smaller scale.
Last May, a group at the Institute of Applied Physics at the University of Hamburg in Germany reported on the ability to perform computer logic operations on an atomic level.
The group at IBM's Almaden Research Center here, led by Andreas Heinrich, has now created the smallest possible unit of magnetic storage by painstakingly arranging two rows of six iron atoms on a surface of copper nitrite atoms. The cluster of atoms is described as anti-ferromagnetic - a rare quality in which each atom in the array has an opposed magnetic orientation. (In common ferromagnetic materials like iron, nickel and cobalt, the atoms are magnetically aligned.)
Under the laboratory's founder, Don Eigler, IBM has explored the science of nanomaterials far smaller than the silicon chips used in today's semiconductors. Eigler recently retired from the company but is a co-author of the Science paper.
The researchers now use a scanning tunneling microscope, which looks like a giant washing machine festooned with aluminum foil, not only to capture images of atoms but to reposition individual atoms - much the way a billiard ball might be moved by a pool cue with a sticky tip.
Although the research took place at temperatures near absolute zero, the scientists wrote that the same experiment could be done at room temperature with as few as 150 atoms.
As part of its demonstration of the anti-ferromagnetic storage effect, the researchers created a computer byte, or character, out of an individually placed array of 96 atoms. They then used the array to encode the IBM motto "Think" by repeatedly programming the memory block to store representations of its five letters.
The findings, being reported Thursday in the journal Science, could help lead to a new class of nanomaterials for a generation of memory chips and disk drives that will not only have greater capabilities than the current silicon-based computers but will also consume significantly less power. And it may offer a new direction for research in quantum computing.
"Magnetic materials are extremely useful and strategically important to many major economies, but there aren't that many of them," said Shan X Wang, director of the Center for Magnetic Nanotechnology at Stanford University. "To make a brand new material is very intriguing and scientifically very important."
Until now, the most advanced magnetic storage systems have needed about 1 million atoms to store a digital 1 or 0. The new achievement is the product of a heated international race between two elite physics laboratories to explore the properties of magnetic materials at a far smaller scale.
Last May, a group at the Institute of Applied Physics at the University of Hamburg in Germany reported on the ability to perform computer logic operations on an atomic level.
The group at IBM's Almaden Research Center here, led by Andreas Heinrich, has now created the smallest possible unit of magnetic storage by painstakingly arranging two rows of six iron atoms on a surface of copper nitrite atoms. The cluster of atoms is described as anti-ferromagnetic - a rare quality in which each atom in the array has an opposed magnetic orientation. (In common ferromagnetic materials like iron, nickel and cobalt, the atoms are magnetically aligned.)
Under the laboratory's founder, Don Eigler, IBM has explored the science of nanomaterials far smaller than the silicon chips used in today's semiconductors. Eigler recently retired from the company but is a co-author of the Science paper.
The researchers now use a scanning tunneling microscope, which looks like a giant washing machine festooned with aluminum foil, not only to capture images of atoms but to reposition individual atoms - much the way a billiard ball might be moved by a pool cue with a sticky tip.
Although the research took place at temperatures near absolute zero, the scientists wrote that the same experiment could be done at room temperature with as few as 150 atoms.
As part of its demonstration of the anti-ferromagnetic storage effect, the researchers created a computer byte, or character, out of an individually placed array of 96 atoms. They then used the array to encode the IBM motto "Think" by repeatedly programming the memory block to store representations of its five letters.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Vizag Steel board approves Rs 5,000-cr investment
Visakhapatnam: Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (Visakhapatnam Steel Plant) on Thursday announced that Rs 5,000-crore worth of new units would come up in the plant here as a part of its expansion project.
The board gave its approval for the setting up of a seamless tube mill at an estimated cost of Rs 2,300 crore and installation of a new coke oven battery at an estimated cost of Rs 2,620 crore. The expansion project would increase the capacity to 6.3 mtpa (at a total cost of Rs 12,300 crore) from the present 3 million tonnes a year. The expansion project is nearing completion, according to a company release.
To enhance its product mix , the steel plant will set up the seamless tube mill of 4 lakh tonne a year capacity.
The plant will produce seamless tubes of 5.5” to 18” with a provision to produce even less than 5.5” tubes in the existing layout of the plant. The unique feature of the proposed plant is that it has the option to produce above 18” tubes by creating additional facilities in future.
Currently, only up to 14” tubes are being produced in the private sector. Once RINL completes its plan to produce 18” and above seamless tubes, it will become the only steel plant in the country to produce such high diameter tubes, according to Mr A. P. Choudhary, the CMD. The new mill will be completed in 30 months from the date of order placement.
Export opportunity
The proposed mill will cater to the needs of oil exploration & refining, natural gas, petro-chemicals, power sector, fertilisers as well as engineering industries. RINL may export the seamless tubes to Malaysia, Singapore, and S. Korea. The tube mill will be set up either through a joint venture or on its own.
Coke oven battery
In its journey to becoming a 20 mtpa plant by 2020, RINL will build a new coke oven batter (COB-5) along with a by-product plant and its associated facilities to meet its metallurgical coke needs. M.N Dastur & Co, the consultant, has prepared the project report.
The eco-friendly coke oven battery's height would be 7 metres , with 67 ovens each and a top charging battery. For the first time, the steel plant is installing a ‘Claus' plant for recovery of ‘elemental sulphur', which will help in maintaining the sulphur content in the effluents much below the stipulated norms.
The COB-5 is coming up as a standalone battery, comprising a by-product plant, coke dry quenching, coal and coke handling plant, and phenolic effluent treatment plant.
Mr Choudhary said that out of Rs 2,620 crore set aside for the COB 5, around Rs 500 crore would be spent on the environment management system.
The board gave its approval for the setting up of a seamless tube mill at an estimated cost of Rs 2,300 crore and installation of a new coke oven battery at an estimated cost of Rs 2,620 crore. The expansion project would increase the capacity to 6.3 mtpa (at a total cost of Rs 12,300 crore) from the present 3 million tonnes a year. The expansion project is nearing completion, according to a company release.
To enhance its product mix , the steel plant will set up the seamless tube mill of 4 lakh tonne a year capacity.
The plant will produce seamless tubes of 5.5” to 18” with a provision to produce even less than 5.5” tubes in the existing layout of the plant. The unique feature of the proposed plant is that it has the option to produce above 18” tubes by creating additional facilities in future.
Currently, only up to 14” tubes are being produced in the private sector. Once RINL completes its plan to produce 18” and above seamless tubes, it will become the only steel plant in the country to produce such high diameter tubes, according to Mr A. P. Choudhary, the CMD. The new mill will be completed in 30 months from the date of order placement.
Export opportunity
The proposed mill will cater to the needs of oil exploration & refining, natural gas, petro-chemicals, power sector, fertilisers as well as engineering industries. RINL may export the seamless tubes to Malaysia, Singapore, and S. Korea. The tube mill will be set up either through a joint venture or on its own.
Coke oven battery
In its journey to becoming a 20 mtpa plant by 2020, RINL will build a new coke oven batter (COB-5) along with a by-product plant and its associated facilities to meet its metallurgical coke needs. M.N Dastur & Co, the consultant, has prepared the project report.
The eco-friendly coke oven battery's height would be 7 metres , with 67 ovens each and a top charging battery. For the first time, the steel plant is installing a ‘Claus' plant for recovery of ‘elemental sulphur', which will help in maintaining the sulphur content in the effluents much below the stipulated norms.
The COB-5 is coming up as a standalone battery, comprising a by-product plant, coke dry quenching, coal and coke handling plant, and phenolic effluent treatment plant.
Mr Choudhary said that out of Rs 2,620 crore set aside for the COB 5, around Rs 500 crore would be spent on the environment management system.
Infosys, HDFC Bank in HBR's elite growth list
Mumbai: Two Indian companies, Infosys and HDFC Bank, along with the US-based company of Indian-origin Cognizant, figure in an elite group of 10 companies identified by Harvard Business Review (HBR) as the companies that have consistently performed better than others around the world over a ten-year period.
Calling this elite group of 10 companies as the 'Growth Outliers' among nearly 4,800 listed companies with market capitalization of at least $1 billion, HBR said some of the things these corporates do "don't match up well with some conventional ideas about growth". In an article titled 'How the Growth Outliers Do It' in HBR's latest issue, its author Rita Gunther McGrath searched for listed companies that have grown by at least 5% each year over a 10-year period ending 2009. The results showed that only 10 companies - three from US, two each from India and Spain, and one each from Japan, China and Slovenia - grew their net profit by at least 5% during the 10-year period. And only five grew both revenues and net profit every year.
"Data suggest a need to rethink our assumptions about corporate performance. Steady, consistent growth is difficult to achieve even at modest rates, never mind the double digits that corporate leaders are fond of promising," McGrath, a professor at Columbia Business School, wrote in article.
The findings of McGrath's analysis challenge some of the conventional beliefs. It was found that a company's growth rate is not determined by the industry it is in, that the larger a company gets, sustaining growth does not get harder, that consistently higher growth rates need not happen only in fast-growing markets or single geographic regions, or that growth does not necessarily slow down as companies age.
The findings also challenge the hugely popular idea that companies started by entrepreneurs would have an edge. "Although two of our outliers (Infosys and FactSet) were indeed start ups,...others (Indra Sistemas, ACS, Atmos, Krka) were the product of mergers and consolidations, and still others (Cognizant, HDFC Bank, Yahoo Japan) were spun out of or funded by existing organizations," the HBR noted.
Some common traits among these growth outliers were identified by McGrath and her colleagues during their research. According to them, these companies share certain common characteristics and their leadership, strategy and values are very stable. Some of those common characters are these companies are rapid adaptors, they make small bets early and diversify their portfolios, they are active acquirers.
Calling this elite group of 10 companies as the 'Growth Outliers' among nearly 4,800 listed companies with market capitalization of at least $1 billion, HBR said some of the things these corporates do "don't match up well with some conventional ideas about growth". In an article titled 'How the Growth Outliers Do It' in HBR's latest issue, its author Rita Gunther McGrath searched for listed companies that have grown by at least 5% each year over a 10-year period ending 2009. The results showed that only 10 companies - three from US, two each from India and Spain, and one each from Japan, China and Slovenia - grew their net profit by at least 5% during the 10-year period. And only five grew both revenues and net profit every year.
"Data suggest a need to rethink our assumptions about corporate performance. Steady, consistent growth is difficult to achieve even at modest rates, never mind the double digits that corporate leaders are fond of promising," McGrath, a professor at Columbia Business School, wrote in article.
The findings of McGrath's analysis challenge some of the conventional beliefs. It was found that a company's growth rate is not determined by the industry it is in, that the larger a company gets, sustaining growth does not get harder, that consistently higher growth rates need not happen only in fast-growing markets or single geographic regions, or that growth does not necessarily slow down as companies age.
The findings also challenge the hugely popular idea that companies started by entrepreneurs would have an edge. "Although two of our outliers (Infosys and FactSet) were indeed start ups,...others (Indra Sistemas, ACS, Atmos, Krka) were the product of mergers and consolidations, and still others (Cognizant, HDFC Bank, Yahoo Japan) were spun out of or funded by existing organizations," the HBR noted.
Some common traits among these growth outliers were identified by McGrath and her colleagues during their research. According to them, these companies share certain common characteristics and their leadership, strategy and values are very stable. Some of those common characters are these companies are rapid adaptors, they make small bets early and diversify their portfolios, they are active acquirers.
Partnership Summit 2012: AP signs MoUs worth Rs 1 lakh cr
Hyderabad: It was a day of MoUs in Hyderabad on Thursday, involving almost Rs 1,00,000 crore worth proposed investments in Andhra Pradesh over the next five years.
The inaugural day of the three-day CII Partnership Summit 2012 saw a flurry of MoUs being signed across sectors such as power, refinery, gas, mining and education.
With more agreements being lined up for Friday, the State Government expects the summit to end with investment proposals worth over a staggering Rs 5,00,00 crore involving top private and public sector companies.
One of the biggest proposals came from GMR Group, which expressed interest in investing Rs 33,000 crore for setting up a 15 million tonne refinery-cum-petrochemicals complex and a multi-product SEZ in the Vizag-Kakinada region.
This comes in the wake of ONGC withdrawing from the Kakinada greenfield refinery-cum-petrochemicals project, with the GMR Group proposing to pick up the divested stake.
BR Shetty Group has expressed interest to invest another Rs 30,000 crore to put up a refinery project at the PCPIR region in Visakhapatnam.
The Yash Birla group concluded a MoU involving an investment of Rs 13,000 crore to set up a sports city (Rs 2,000 crore) and an Ayurveda complex (Rs 750 crore), Rs 10,000 crore poly silicon plant, within the next 18 months.
Power sector
The power sector will form the bulk of the MoUs that are to be signed during the summit. While GVK Power has committed an investment of Rs 10,000 crore to set up up a 2,400 MW thermal power unit fired by coal from Australia, State-owned NTPC and AP Genco have expressed interest to set up a 400 mw and 9,760 mw stations respectively. Similarly, AP Power Development, a subsidiary of AP Genco, will set up another 2,200 mw plant and Singareni Colleries Co Ltd is planning a 1,200 mw coal-based unit in Adilabad district.
The Chief Minister, Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy, who signed the MoUs on behalf of the government, said committed improved infrastructure and a “hassle-free environment is conducive to attracting investments.”
The inaugural day of the three-day CII Partnership Summit 2012 saw a flurry of MoUs being signed across sectors such as power, refinery, gas, mining and education.
With more agreements being lined up for Friday, the State Government expects the summit to end with investment proposals worth over a staggering Rs 5,00,00 crore involving top private and public sector companies.
One of the biggest proposals came from GMR Group, which expressed interest in investing Rs 33,000 crore for setting up a 15 million tonne refinery-cum-petrochemicals complex and a multi-product SEZ in the Vizag-Kakinada region.
This comes in the wake of ONGC withdrawing from the Kakinada greenfield refinery-cum-petrochemicals project, with the GMR Group proposing to pick up the divested stake.
BR Shetty Group has expressed interest to invest another Rs 30,000 crore to put up a refinery project at the PCPIR region in Visakhapatnam.
The Yash Birla group concluded a MoU involving an investment of Rs 13,000 crore to set up a sports city (Rs 2,000 crore) and an Ayurveda complex (Rs 750 crore), Rs 10,000 crore poly silicon plant, within the next 18 months.
Power sector
The power sector will form the bulk of the MoUs that are to be signed during the summit. While GVK Power has committed an investment of Rs 10,000 crore to set up up a 2,400 MW thermal power unit fired by coal from Australia, State-owned NTPC and AP Genco have expressed interest to set up a 400 mw and 9,760 mw stations respectively. Similarly, AP Power Development, a subsidiary of AP Genco, will set up another 2,200 mw plant and Singareni Colleries Co Ltd is planning a 1,200 mw coal-based unit in Adilabad district.
The Chief Minister, Mr Kiran Kumar Reddy, who signed the MoUs on behalf of the government, said committed improved infrastructure and a “hassle-free environment is conducive to attracting investments.”
Japan keen to invest in road transport, maritime sectors
New Delhi: After investing in the railways and metro rail transportation in India, Japan is looking to step up its investments in the roads and maritime sectors.
A Japanese delegation led by Mr Takeshi Maeda, Japanese Minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, today met its Indian counterparts in highways and shipping.
Japan has part-funded the dedicated rail freight corridor and the Delhi Metro Rail system. It is also keen on funding the proposed high-speed train projects.
The Japanese team was particularly keen on port connectivity, draft, new berths, terminals and other facilities at the Ennore and Chennai ports. Japanese firm Nissan has an interest in exporting cars from Ennore port.
“In a meeting with the Shipping Minister, Mr G.K. Vasan, bilateral issues concerning the port and shipping sectors and other issues of mutual interest such as ship-breaking, ship-building, connectivity projects to ports and exchange programmes were taken up,” an official release said. In the highways sector, Japan wants to invest in road transport management systems and intelligent transport systems. This would include offering services in the area of electronic toll management, amongst others.
Dr C.P. Joshi, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, said the Ministry is in the process of finalising a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC). “The proposed MOC will enable the Ministry of Road Transport to exchange technical knowledge and expertise in the road transportation sector, including capacity building and advanced technology for roads, road transport management systems and intelligent transport systems,” an official release said.
A Japanese delegation led by Mr Takeshi Maeda, Japanese Minister for Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, today met its Indian counterparts in highways and shipping.
Japan has part-funded the dedicated rail freight corridor and the Delhi Metro Rail system. It is also keen on funding the proposed high-speed train projects.
The Japanese team was particularly keen on port connectivity, draft, new berths, terminals and other facilities at the Ennore and Chennai ports. Japanese firm Nissan has an interest in exporting cars from Ennore port.
“In a meeting with the Shipping Minister, Mr G.K. Vasan, bilateral issues concerning the port and shipping sectors and other issues of mutual interest such as ship-breaking, ship-building, connectivity projects to ports and exchange programmes were taken up,” an official release said. In the highways sector, Japan wants to invest in road transport management systems and intelligent transport systems. This would include offering services in the area of electronic toll management, amongst others.
Dr C.P. Joshi, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, said the Ministry is in the process of finalising a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC). “The proposed MOC will enable the Ministry of Road Transport to exchange technical knowledge and expertise in the road transportation sector, including capacity building and advanced technology for roads, road transport management systems and intelligent transport systems,” an official release said.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Indian mobile ad network Vserv expanding into emerging markets
Bangalore: Mobile ad network, Vserv is planning to follow the InMobi path by targeting emerging markets for growth. The two-year-old start-up is set to establish an office in Singapore next month. With this, the Mumbai-based venture hopes to expand its reach in South East Asia.
"Developers from other countries use our product but that has been a result of online marketing. With offices in other markets we would like to expand our marketing reach," says Dippak Khurana, co-founder and CEO of Vserv. The venture's product, AppWrapper, adds advertisements to a developer's mobile application or apps and can be used on basic feature phones that have mobile internet browsing and on smartphones.
InMobi, which claims to have delivered mobile advertisements in 165 countries, had focused on countries like Indonesia, South Africa and Malaysia before entering the more developed US and Europe markets. InMobi, which is counted among the largest mobile ad networks in the world, raised $200 million from Japan's Softbank in September last year.
The rise in mobile penetration and mobile internet usage has spurred the growth of mobile advertising. Industry estimates put the total number of mobile phone subscriptions at over 5 billion and a Cisco study has estimated that 788 million people across the world will access internet solely through the mobile phone by 2015.
The surging numbers have a direct impact on mobile advertising and according to industry research firm Informa Telecoms & Media, mobile advertising revenue will cross $24 billion in 2015 and the largest contributor will be the Asia Pacific region.
Vserv's Khurana claims that over 10,000 apps run AppWrapper. "Only 30% of our product downloads happen in India. The rest comes from South East Asian countries like Indonesia and Vietnam, followed by Middle East and Africa," says Khurana, who hopes to have a physical presence in these markets by year-end.
Khurana hopes to replicate the learnings in India across emerging markets. "The Indian market is representative of the emerging markets, in terms of devices and usage, so what succeeds here can be replicated elsewhere," says Khurana, who is targeting to reach $100 million in revenues in three years.
"Developers from other countries use our product but that has been a result of online marketing. With offices in other markets we would like to expand our marketing reach," says Dippak Khurana, co-founder and CEO of Vserv. The venture's product, AppWrapper, adds advertisements to a developer's mobile application or apps and can be used on basic feature phones that have mobile internet browsing and on smartphones.
InMobi, which claims to have delivered mobile advertisements in 165 countries, had focused on countries like Indonesia, South Africa and Malaysia before entering the more developed US and Europe markets. InMobi, which is counted among the largest mobile ad networks in the world, raised $200 million from Japan's Softbank in September last year.
The rise in mobile penetration and mobile internet usage has spurred the growth of mobile advertising. Industry estimates put the total number of mobile phone subscriptions at over 5 billion and a Cisco study has estimated that 788 million people across the world will access internet solely through the mobile phone by 2015.
The surging numbers have a direct impact on mobile advertising and according to industry research firm Informa Telecoms & Media, mobile advertising revenue will cross $24 billion in 2015 and the largest contributor will be the Asia Pacific region.
Vserv's Khurana claims that over 10,000 apps run AppWrapper. "Only 30% of our product downloads happen in India. The rest comes from South East Asian countries like Indonesia and Vietnam, followed by Middle East and Africa," says Khurana, who hopes to have a physical presence in these markets by year-end.
Khurana hopes to replicate the learnings in India across emerging markets. "The Indian market is representative of the emerging markets, in terms of devices and usage, so what succeeds here can be replicated elsewhere," says Khurana, who is targeting to reach $100 million in revenues in three years.
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