Essar Projects bags a Rs 286 crores contract from Gujarat Water Infrastructure Limited

NEW DELHI: Essar Projects, India's second largest EPC company and part of the Essar Group, was awarded Rs 286 crores Contract from Gujarat Water Infrastructure Limited to Engineer, Procure, Construct & Commission (EPCC) a water pipeline system.

This is part of the ambitious Bulk Water Transmission System Project being implemented by the Gujarat Government. The project is scheduled for completion in 12 months.

It is one of the eight packages of Sardar Sarovar Narmada Canal-based drinking water supply project, which aims at supplying water to all the rural and urban areas of the seven districts of Saurashtra, Kachchh region and parts of Ahemdabad, Sabarakantha, Mehsana districts of North Gujarat and Panchmahals.

"Essar Projects has been successfully bidding and winning new business in the open market. This award from GWIL is a testimony to our competitive capabilities in the EPC space in India," said Mr MS Ambegaonkar, Director Business Development, Essar Projects.

Essar Projects is increasingly expanding its global footprint. Currently the company is bidding as well as executing multi-million dollar contracts in SE Asia, Australasia, Middle East & Africa.

The company's revenue for FY2011 was US$ 1.7 billion and Order Book stood in excess of US$ 6 billion.

Only 53% of Indian businesses aware of new international accounting standards

NEW DELHI: Only 53 per cent of Indian businesses are aware of the impending global changes in the existing accounting standards that will impact the way they recognise and report revenue, according to a survey.

Besides, of the 2,800 businesses surveyed by Grant Thornton, nearly 60 per cent believed that existing accounting standards, which are almost two decades old, need to be improved or replaced.

The new accounting standard IFRS is scheduled to be implemented next year. Areas that may be affected because of the new rules include multiple element arrangements, sales incentives, contingent pricing arrangements and contracts with a significant financing element.

Sai Venkateshwaran, Partner and IFRS Practice Leader of Grant Thornton India, said: "The proposals will change the amount or timing or revenue in some cases, although the impact will differ for companies applying IFRS, US GAAP and Indian GAAP."

He added, "The changes could be more significant for Indian companies considering that they are moving from a state where there is diversity in practice due to the limited guidance available under Indian GAAP."

Meanwhile, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) are developing a joint proposal for converged revenue recognition standard.

The IASB and FASB's joint latest proposal was published in November, 2011, following a previous Exposure Draft in June 2010 and a Preliminary Views document in 2008.

However, more than three quarters (78 per cent) of the survey respondents believe that the latest joint proposals would lead to increased costs and 57 per cent said it would lead to more complexity.

Support for change was lowest in the US, the UK, and South Africa, while support was greatest in India, the ASEAN countries and Latin America.

Ed Nusbaum, CEO of Grant Thornton International said: "Revenue is a key performance measure for every business and a single, global accounting standard in this area is critical.

"The US literature suffers from the opposite problem of excessive guidance - much of which is specific to particular industries. The regional variations in attitude to the Boards' proposals are no doubt affected by these different starting points."

HR industry grows at 21% over 4 years: Executive Recruiters Association and E&Y report

BANGALORE: The human resource industry in India has grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 21% over the past four years and is pegged to be around Rs 22,800 crore, according to a report by Executive Recruiters Association and Ernst & Young. As the industry gets more organised, new players, emerging sectors and multinationals are dropping anchor, and a changing mindset in traditional companies makes space for HR firms rather than referrals for hiring, it adds.

The 'Human Resource Industry Solutions Report 2012' indicates a maturing industry which is moving from being fragmented to getting more organised. The industry has players that are segregated into recruitment , temporary staffing and executive search. HR consultants' image has moved many notches up from being a vendor to that of a partner who plays a key role in the company's growth trajectory , says the report.

While the permanent recruitment in India is estimated at Rs 3,000 crore, the search industry is pegged to have a market size of Rs 600 crore to Rs 700 crore. The search sector gets its boost from foreign players entering Indian markets and expanding into different geographies and industries. Companies that deal with the automobile, luxury , agricultural and food business that have entered India in the past few years have used search firms to expand further.

"The Indian economic, social and cultural landscape is in the middle of unprecedented change. The need for solutions for complex problems of growth, innovation, and professionalisation is driving the opportunity for the HR solutions industry in a way that has never been seen before," says Amit Zutshi, Partner in Ernst & Young's Transaction Advisory Services practice. Temporary hiring has a 73% market share while permanent staffing has 13% of the pie, says the report.

The temporary recruitment industry is expected to be at around Rs 17,200 crore in which professional staffing accounts for Rs 5,300 crore and general staffing is at Rs 11,900 crore. Firms that are into professional staffing have a margin as high as 30% to 35%. Temporary staffing globally is at $140 billion but on the domestic front, with more companies leasing out job requirements, 2.5% to 3% of the workforce is expected to be on contracts in India in the near future.

World Economic Forum Davos 2012: HCL Technologies to create 10,000 jobs in US & Europe over 5 years

DAVOS: In one of the biggest announcements related to job creation here at the World Economic Forum, Indian IT major HCL Technologies on Thursday said the company will create 10,000 local jobs in Europe and the US over the next five years.

Terming it a socially responsible business model for growth, HCL Tech Vice Chairman and CEO Vineet Nayar said the company would create these jobs for fresh engineers through partnerships with educational institutes, local governments, local communities, customers and others in these regions.

The announcement came a day after German Chancellor Angela Merkel said here at the WEF Annual Meeting 2012 that Europe would work toward becoming a benchmark investment destination on the global arena, but she would want foreign companies coming there to create jobs as well.

"In the context of a rapidly changing world, the expectation from businesses is evolving to balance pursuits of profit with social and individual imperatives in order to create a sustainable growth model," Nayar said.

"HCL is now taking those efforts to the next level by positively impacting the communities through local job creation and development of an ecosystem to support and encourage innovation. This initiative inverts some fundamental operational assumptions of the industry. HCL operates in by changing the prevalent dynamics around cost, skill base and innovation," he added.

"As our unique 'Employees First' culture has continued to grow and evolve, we've seen more and more HCL employees expressing the desire to see a truly socially responsible business model," he noted.

Nayar said HCL is taking various initiatives led by its investments in building Global Centres of Excellence, running dedicated recruitment and training programmes for college graduates and providing platforms for developing IT skill pool in local communities through collaboration with anchor customers and universities.

"In the months ahead, HCL will be working with 12 universities to offer a six-month elective course, as well as workshops on technology and management, and encouraging innovation through contests," he said.

"HCL's technology partners will also join hands in this initiative to provide training in upcoming technologies so that the talent deficit in these areas gets addressed. The company is working closely with government agencies to enlist their support in developing these ecosystems," he added.

The company said that a pilot programme started on these lines across five HCL centres in the US and EU has already shown early signs of success.

HCL group is a USD 6 billion, leading global technology and IT enterprise comprising two companies listed in India, HCL Technologies and HCL Infosystems.

Stronger Rupee brings relief to Paint companies

KOLKATA: The strengthening of the rupee has brought some respite to paint manufacturers. The price of titanium dioxide, one of the key ingredients of paint, is expected to come down which will bring some relief to paint companies. In December 2011, most of the paint companies had taken a price hike between 2%-4 %.

The size of the Indian paint industry is around Rs 23,000 crore. Of this, decorative paint constitutes Rs 17,000 crore while the industrial paint constitutes Rs 7,000 crore. On an average , raw materials constitute 56% of the total expenditure in paint companies. Titanium dioxide is one of the major raw materials and fluctuations in its prices have a direct impact on the cost of production.

Talking to ET, Ramanath V Akula, president (decorative) at Nippon Paint (India), said: "The strengthening of the rupee has to some extent brought some relief but the impact will not much at this level. If rupee comes down to Rs 45-46 level against dollar, we will have considerable benefit. The currency has depreciated by 15% in the October-December 2011 period , which has significantly affected the third quarter performance of the companies."

The companies had witnessed a 20-22 % growth in the first half. "But in the third quarter, demand slumped due to inflation and a high interest rate. A high input cost added to the woes which forced the companies to take a price hike. This had an impact on demand in the third quarter and it went down to 18%," said Akula, the president of Indian Paints Association.

Abhijit Roy, chief operating officer of Rs 2,500-crore Berger Paints, said that though the price of titanium dioxide had cooled off in November last, it started firming up from the middle of December. "The price of titanium dioxide is hovering around $3,600 per tonne, which is on the higher side.

Though we had expected that the strengthening of rupee would have some impact on input cost but a sudden price rise in titanium dioxide is likely to negate that. Even price of pthalic anhydride, which is also imported, is on the rise. If rupee strengthens further it will be good for us. Otherwise we will have to take a price hike in April depending on the impact of Union budget which will be tables in March.

Already our margins are under pressure." Roy said.Sandeep Sarda, executive director and CEO of Shalimar Paints feel that an appreciating rupee will definitely have a positive impact on the company's import bill. "If this trend continues, the fourth quarter will be a better one," Sarda said.

Bihar emerging as brewery hub

JAIPUR: Bihar is emerging as a brewery hub with major domestic and foreign firms setting up production units in the state due to availability of cheap labour and raw materials coupled with improved law and order and investment-friendly government policies.

"Big investments are coming up in this sector. In the coming years we will emerge as a big player in brewery business," said C.K. Mishra, principal secretary, department of industries, Bihar.

He said major domestic and foreign brewery firms are in the process to set up new production units in the state.

"Three major firms - United Breweries, Danish Brewery Company Carlsberg Group and Cobra Beer - are in the process to set up new units and will start production this year," Mishra told reporters. Mishra was in Jaipur to attend the three-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the annual congregation of the Indian diaspora.

Vijay Mallya-promoted United Breweries (UB), which controls nearly half of India's beer market, is setting up a new unit near Bihar capital Patna.

"Construction on the new unit has already started," said Mishra.

United Breweries is also setting up a production unit to make litchi-flavoured wine. The company has leased litchi gardens and is setting up processing units in Muzaffarpur district of Bihar.

Almost 70 per cent of litchis produced in India come from Muzaffarpur and neighbouring districts. Litchi is a sweet, pulpy and juicy fruit. The most popular variety of the fruit called "shahi litchi" is largely grown in the Muzaffarpur area.

The company plans to produce litchi-flavoured wine by mixing pulpy extracts of the fruit with various types of spirits.

Cobra Beer, a company run by London-based NRI Lord Karan Bilimoria, is in an advanced state of setting up a new unit and targets more than tripling its production capacity in the state by next year.

"We are upgrading and expanding our brewery in Bihar. We are increasing the capacity to four million cases by February from two million now. By the same time next year the capacity will more than triple to seven million cases," Bilimoria told IANS.

Danish brewing company Carlsberg Group also plans to set up a production unit in the state.

"Carlsberg is looking for land near Hajipur in Vaishali district," said Mishra, adding the government was helping the company in getting land and setting up the unit.

On proposed investments by these companies, Mishra said, "Normally Rs.300 crore to Rs.400 crore investments is required for setting up a brewery plant in the state. In each of these plants, the investment will be in this range."

Brewery companies are investing heavily in Bihar because of abundance of grains and cheap labour available in the state. Grains like barley and wheat, largely used in brewing beer, is produced in abundance in the state.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's effort to improve law and order in the state has sent a positive signal to investors.

Companies like Cobra Beer plan to make Bihar its production hub and supply the produce in other states.

Beer consumption in domestic markets in Bihar has increased sharply in the last few years. Beer consumption in the state has risen 10 times in the past seven years. As per industry estimates, annual consumption is 700,000 cases.

UB Group won't use alcohol assets for Kingfisher: CFO

MUMBAI: UB Group's overseas alcohol assets won't be used to raise funds for the Indian conglomerate's struggling Kingfisher Airlines Ltd subsidiary, a UB executive said on Monday, adding that the long-planned share listing was not imminent.

UB, whose interests span alcohol, airlines and sports teams, is under pressure to find a solution to Kingfisher's financial troubles as the carrier struggles to meet interest payments.

"Each of our businesses operates independently and no transfer of resources is envisaged from one operating entity to another," UB Group Chief Financial Officer Ravi Nedungadi told Reuters. "From the day we acquired Whyte & Mackay, we said we would consider listing it at some point. The point is not now."

UB, controlled by the flamboyant Indian businessman Vijay Mallaya, acquired Scottish whisky brand Whyte & Mackay (W&M) in 2007 for 595 million pounds ($909 million).

Kingfisher, hit by rising costs, fierce competition and a slowdown in the Indian economy, was forced to cancel flights late last year and is having trouble making interest payments and paying salaries to employees.

The airline owed 600 million rupees ($11.6 million) in service taxes as of last Tuesday. It also owes the government about 1.3 billion rupees of income tax deducted from employee salaries.

"Any plans we may have for W&M have nothing to do with Kingfisher Airlines," UB Group spokesman Prakash Mirpuri told Reuters. "However, there are no immediate plans in the offing."

Shares in United Breweries Ltd, the UB Group's flagship company, were up 5.3 percent at 468 rupees at 1230 (0630 GMT), having risen as much as 6 percent in early trading. The overall market was down 0.34 percent.

Shares in Kingfisher, which lost almost 70 percent of their value in 2011, were down 2.7 percent at 23.10 rupees.

No immediate plans to list Whyte & Mackay: UB Group

NEW DELHI: Vijay Mallya-led UB Group today said the company has no immediate plans to list its UK-based arm Whyte & Mackay although it had in the past stated such a step was a part of an overall future strategy.

"We have talked about listing W&M right from the time of acquisition. However, there are no immediate plans in the offing," a spokesperson of the UB Group told PTI.

United Spirits Ltd, a UB Group firm, had acquired Whyte & Mackay for 595 million pounds in 2007.

Reacting to reports of the group leveraging on the proceeds from a possible listing of W&M to bail out ailing group firm Kingfisher Airlines, the spokesperson said: "We would like to clarify that any plans we may have for Whyte & Mackay has nothing to do with Kingfisher Airlines."

The group, which has interests in diverse verticals including alcohol, airlines and sports teams, is under stress to find a solution for Kingfisher Airlines' financial troubles as the carrier struggles to meet interest payments.

In December 2011, the government had informed Parliament that Kingfisher Airlines has an outstanding loan of about Rs 6,419 crore, and the lenders include SBI, IDBI Bank, Punjab National Bank, Bank of India and Bank of Baroda.

Recently Mallya, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP, has held a series of meetings with top government functionaries, including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, to work out steps to keep the airline afloat.

Shares of United Spirits Ltd were trading at Rs 630.50 on the BSE in the late afternoon, up 5.03 per cent from its previous close.

Amul to hot up frozen yogurt market

VADODARA: Dairy major Amul is now eyeing the growing frozen yogurt market in the country. The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) that markets brand Amul has launched frozen yogurt - a first-of-its-kind product offering from Amul's basket. Frozen yogurt, a tangy combination of ice-cream with probiotic yogurt, is a globally established category.

Amul's move comes at a time when a string of frozen yogurt chains are entering the country riding on the healthier , guilt-free dessert plank creating a space within the traditional ice-cream market.

If US-based yogurt brand Red Mango has made a debut in the Indian market this month following the Canadian yogurt chain Kiwi Kiss, which had forayed in the Indian market last year, Singapore-headquartered yogurt brand Berrylite is firming up its plans to open outlets soon.

But home-grown Amul is set to give these brands a run for their money as it plans to launch the new product across 70,000 outlets across the country in the first week of February against nearly 40 outlets managed by the international brands. India's organized ice-cream market is estimated at Rs 1,200 crore and Amul currently commands 40% market share.

With the launch of this new product under the brand name - Amul Flaavyo - Amul wants to revolutionize the ice-cream market while becoming the "first mover" in this new category among Indian companies. "We are expecting that the frozen yogurt highway would account for 5% of total ice-cream sales," GCMMF's managing director R S Sodhi told reporters.

"As many are becoming health conscious, the market for frozen yoghurt is going to grow. We estimate that it would expand the market by increasing customer base. Essentially it would not only convert non-consumers of icecream into eaters but also increase frequency of ice-cream consumption," Sodhi said.

The Amul frozen yoghurt is presently available at select Amul scooping parlours. Amul has a chain of 500 scooping parlours across the country. Initially, the dairy giant has introduced the product at its scooping parlours at Rs 35 per scoop (against Rs 100 per scoop charged by international brands).

"In February first week, we will launch consumer packs across the country while making Amul Flaavyo Frozen Yogurt available in smaller packs in two flavours - mango and strawberry," Sodhi said.

Branded pulses being launched by Adani Wilmar, Lakshmi Energy Foods

After Tata's it is now Adani Wilmar, Lakshmi Energy Foods which will be launching varieties of branded pulses/ dals on a pan India basis. Pulses are a rich source of protein and an integral part of an Indian meal. The sector is in the novice stage with a strong presence of regional players who are also on an expansion spree.

Pulsesconsumption in India is currently about 17.5 million tonne annually, of which, negligible quantity of pulsesare sold in branded form. Further,small quantity is sold by Kirana stores and modern trade as their in-store brands.

"We see big future in branding of all commodities . Just as we have witnessed consumption of edible oil in branded form, we anticipate a similar conversion from purchase of loose unbranded pulsesto branded form," said Adani Wilmar, MD, Pranav Adani.


The company will be launching the brand in north India,selling under the Jubilee brand name. Moong, Masoor, Arhar, Urad, Chana and Rajma pulses(including both whole and split variants) that cumulatively comprise over 80% of the market would be initially launched.

Eventually the company plan to extend the portfolio to include besan and other value added products. As per industry source Adani is planning to invest Rs 100 crore for the processing unit with a capacity to mill 600 tonnes per day at either Kolkata or Kanpur.

Similarly, leading basmati player from Punjab ,Lakshmi Overseas Industries Ltd will be investing Rs 50 crore to set up a pulse processing mill of 200 TPD at Khamanon near Ludhiana.

"India is the largest producer,consumer and importer of pulses. The regional players limit themselves to one or two types of pulsesin their portfolio leaving a huge scope for a national player to enter and revolutionize the way the industry works," said Lakshmi Overseas Industries Ltd, MD, Balbir Singh Uppal.

In December 2010, Tata Chemicals launched popular varieties of pulses- chana, toor, urad and moong (including whole green moong and green chilka) under the i-Shakti Dals.Working along with farmers the company targeted to increase production of pulsesin India and help bridge the existing gap between demand and supply of pulsesin the country.

"We are providing consumer un-polished pulseswith low moisture content ensuring speedy cooking and increased shelf life of 6 months," said Tata Chemicals, consumer products business, chief operating officer, Ashvini Hiran who added that the demand was good across tier 1 and tier 2 cities where sales were through modern trade channels and malls.

Established regional players charge Rs 6 to Rs 10 a kg as a premium. With no major value addition apart from cleaning and polishing (leather polishing or water based polishing) to bring the shine in the pulse, more investment is coming in the sector.

In northern India the major pulsesbrand were Rajdhani, Mangat Ram Dal Mills, in Eastern India Taj agro international, Daily were popular whereas Lakshmi, Angur and Rantio were popular varieties of Western India.

Nandi brand and Shree Gold brand of the Kaleesuwari Refinery Pvt Ltd were household name in South India. Central Indian pulse brand included Hasty Tasty, Swach and Mani.

Processing over 65 tpd pulses, Gujarat based Patel Chaturbhai Ranchhodbhai & Co, is the market leader in pigeon peas (tur dal/arhar dal) in the state selling under the brand name of Angur.

"We see an annual growth of 10% to 15% and are expanding our capacity," said the company's partner, Piyush Ratilal Patel.He added that the company was only focusing on selling pigeon peas and were not expanding the portfolio. The company is selling the branded pulse in retail outlets of Reliance, Big Bazaar, Star Bazaar, Dmart and others.