New Delhi: Essar Oil Limited (EOL) today announced that it has inked an agreement with Indraprastha Gas Limited (IGL) to put up the latter's CNG pumping facilities at EOL outlets in the NCR (National Capital Region).
EOL has been aggressively adding multi-fuel options for its customers and has tie-ups with GSPC (Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation), MGL ( Mahanagar Gas Limited), GAIL Gas, Sabarmati Gas, Adani Gas and Gujarat Gas Corporation for selling CNG sourced from these companies at its franchisee-owned and franchise-operated outlets.
For Auto LPG, EOL has a similar tie-up with and Aegis Logistics. The Company has CNG facilities at 12 of its retail outlets in Gujarat and plans to add another 30 such facilities across its network. EOL is also increasing non-fuel retailing activities at its retail outlets to provide an additional source of revenue for its franchisees.
EOL has forged alliances with non-fuel retailers in segments, like lubricants, food & beverages, agro products, telecom and banking & finance. S Thangapandian, CEO-Marketing, EOL, said: "We are India's only private sector oil retailer and have more than 1,400 operational outlets in our countrywide network.
Over the past few years, we have been working with our franchisees to ensure they have additional revenue sources from alternative fuels as well as non-fuel retail products. I am delighted that with this agreement with IGL, which is among the country's largest CNG retailers, customers driving into our petrol stations in the NCR can now look forward to multi-fuel options."
Success in my Habit
Monday, March 12, 2012
Assam gets $81m as first tranche of ADB loan
New Delhi: The Centre, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Assam government signed a $81 million loan agreement on Friday. This is the first tranche of $200-million financing facility for Assam's urban development programme to bring clean, piped water to residents of Guwahati and upgrade wastewater treatment and urban transport, a Finance Ministry release said.
The urban transport component includes development of a 10-km rapid transit corridor for buses in Guwahati.
Waste management
In Dibrugarh, solid waste management and drainage infrastructure will also be improved. Solid waste collection coverage will increase to more than 80 per cent of households and will include recycling.
Drainage will be improved by removing waste from waterways and by widening and rebuilding flood relief culverts, bridges and sluice gates.
The urban transport component includes development of a 10-km rapid transit corridor for buses in Guwahati.
Waste management
In Dibrugarh, solid waste management and drainage infrastructure will also be improved. Solid waste collection coverage will increase to more than 80 per cent of households and will include recycling.
Drainage will be improved by removing waste from waterways and by widening and rebuilding flood relief culverts, bridges and sluice gates.
Mercedes Benz launches city bus in India
Pune: After its entry into the long-distance inter-city bus segment, Mercedes Benz announced the launch of its city bus, targeted at the short distance intra-city travel. The 37-seater, low-entry bus is priced starting at Rs 9 million (90 lakhs) ex-factory Pune. The company had launched the intercity bus in 2008 and it sold 150 buses last year.
Hartmut Schick, Head of Daimler Buses, said the company's intercity buses were accepted well in the Indian market which gave the company confidence to enter the city bus market. ""India is seeing a rapid urbanisation, which is increasing the demand for mobility.
Demand of customers is shifting towards more comfortable and attractive means of transport. We will participate in the growth of the Indian market by expanding our bus business. By 2020, India will comprise 20% of the world's market and we will be ready for that,"" he said.
City transport corporations and the upcoming public private partnership projects are the prime customers for these buses. The 7200-cc, 252-hp buses are air-conditioned with automatic transmission, air suspension and disk brakes. The company had tested the bus in seven Indian cities over the last year.
Mercedes has brought its global body-building partner MCV to India to jointly build these buses. MCV will build the bodies of the bus over Mercedes Benz chassis at the new integrated body-building facility built at Rs 50 crore, next to the Mercedes Benz plant at Chakan near Pune.
Mercedes and MCV have made joint investments in the plant but are operating independently and not through a JV. Since 1995, MCV has built over 15000 buses for Mercedes Benz. The Jalandhar-based Sutlej Motors builds the bodies of the inter-city buses of Mercedes Benz for India and that arrangement will continue.
The company has appointed Markus Villinger as the new head of Daimler Buses India, from 1 April 2012. He will be based in Pune and report to the head of Daimler Buses, Mr Schick. Most parts of the bus are sourced locally, but the company aims to increase the local composition. ""Over the next six months we expect almost the entire bus to will be manufactured locally,"" Mr Schick said.
Hartmut Schick, Head of Daimler Buses, said the company's intercity buses were accepted well in the Indian market which gave the company confidence to enter the city bus market. ""India is seeing a rapid urbanisation, which is increasing the demand for mobility.
Demand of customers is shifting towards more comfortable and attractive means of transport. We will participate in the growth of the Indian market by expanding our bus business. By 2020, India will comprise 20% of the world's market and we will be ready for that,"" he said.
City transport corporations and the upcoming public private partnership projects are the prime customers for these buses. The 7200-cc, 252-hp buses are air-conditioned with automatic transmission, air suspension and disk brakes. The company had tested the bus in seven Indian cities over the last year.
Mercedes has brought its global body-building partner MCV to India to jointly build these buses. MCV will build the bodies of the bus over Mercedes Benz chassis at the new integrated body-building facility built at Rs 50 crore, next to the Mercedes Benz plant at Chakan near Pune.
Mercedes and MCV have made joint investments in the plant but are operating independently and not through a JV. Since 1995, MCV has built over 15000 buses for Mercedes Benz. The Jalandhar-based Sutlej Motors builds the bodies of the inter-city buses of Mercedes Benz for India and that arrangement will continue.
The company has appointed Markus Villinger as the new head of Daimler Buses India, from 1 April 2012. He will be based in Pune and report to the head of Daimler Buses, Mr Schick. Most parts of the bus are sourced locally, but the company aims to increase the local composition. ""Over the next six months we expect almost the entire bus to will be manufactured locally,"" Mr Schick said.
Railway revenue earnings up by 10.17 per cent during April 2011 - February 2012
New Delhi: Indian Railways have generated approximate earnings of Rs. 92,985 crore from April 2011 to February, 2012 vis-a-vis Rs. 84,402 crore during the same period last financial year, registering an increase of 10.17 per cent.
The total goods earnings have gone up from Rs. 56,394 crore during 1 st April 2010 - 28 th February 2011 to Rs. 62171 crore during 1 st April 2011 - 29 th February 2012 , showing an increase of 10.24 per cent.
The total passenger revenue earnings during the first eleven months of the financial year 2011-12 were Rs. 25,858 crore compared to Rs. 23,600 crore during the same period last fiscal, registering an increase of 9.57 per cent.
The revenue earnings from other coaching amounted to Rs. 2,580 crore during April 2011- February 2012 compared to Rs. 2,295 crore during the same period last financial year, showing an increase of 12.45 per cent.
The total approximate number of passengers booked during April 2011-February 2012 was 7,587 million compared to 7,211 million during the same period last financial year, showing an increase of 5.21 per cent.
In the suburban and non-suburban sectors, the number of passengers booked during April 2011-February 2012 was 4,008 million and 3,580 million compared to 3,865 million and 2,997 million during the same period last financial year, showing an increase of 3.70 per cent and 6.96 per cent respectively.
The total goods earnings have gone up from Rs. 56,394 crore during 1 st April 2010 - 28 th February 2011 to Rs. 62171 crore during 1 st April 2011 - 29 th February 2012 , showing an increase of 10.24 per cent.
The total passenger revenue earnings during the first eleven months of the financial year 2011-12 were Rs. 25,858 crore compared to Rs. 23,600 crore during the same period last fiscal, registering an increase of 9.57 per cent.
The revenue earnings from other coaching amounted to Rs. 2,580 crore during April 2011- February 2012 compared to Rs. 2,295 crore during the same period last financial year, showing an increase of 12.45 per cent.
The total approximate number of passengers booked during April 2011-February 2012 was 7,587 million compared to 7,211 million during the same period last financial year, showing an increase of 5.21 per cent.
In the suburban and non-suburban sectors, the number of passengers booked during April 2011-February 2012 was 4,008 million and 3,580 million compared to 3,865 million and 2,997 million during the same period last financial year, showing an increase of 3.70 per cent and 6.96 per cent respectively.
Amrit Jal Ventures commissions solar unit in Kadiri
Hyderabad: Amrit Jal Ventures has announces the commissioning of a 1 MW grid-connected solar photovoltaic power plant at Kadiri in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh.
Commissioned on Wednesday, this project is part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission and has been developed by SunVolt Energy Pvt Ltd.
According to a statement, the design and engineering works of the plant have been done by AIC Projects, Germany. The plant uses power conditioning units manufactured by SMA AG, Germany, and amorphous silicon thin film solar photovoltaic modules.
With this plant, Amrit Jal and SunVolt Energy mark their entry into the country's fast burgeoning solar market.
Commissioned on Wednesday, this project is part of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission and has been developed by SunVolt Energy Pvt Ltd.
According to a statement, the design and engineering works of the plant have been done by AIC Projects, Germany. The plant uses power conditioning units manufactured by SMA AG, Germany, and amorphous silicon thin film solar photovoltaic modules.
With this plant, Amrit Jal and SunVolt Energy mark their entry into the country's fast burgeoning solar market.
IIM Kozhikode announces a year-long empowerment programme for high potential women
Kolkata: IIM Kozhikode has announced a year-long empowerment programme for high potential women who would assume leadership roles in different sectors in the future.
As part of this initiative, IIMK in collaboration with the Malabar Gold Group is planning a series of leadership workshops targeting the best secondary/ higher secondary teachers of the country in multiple sectors. Hundred teachers will be offered scholarships to participate in this programme.
"This is IIMK's modest contribution for making the better half of India take their rightful place in the growth and progress of the country," said IIMK director Prof. Debashis Chatterjee in a statement.
The institute, on its part, has been increasingly giving emphasis to diversifying the concept of inclusive growth on a much larger and global scale. In the first PGP batch at IIMK (Class of 1999), the number of women was only 1 in a total batch strength of 42. At present, the Class of 2013 has 36% women, which is a national record for any comparable B-School. The objective behind this has been to achieve enhanced diversity including gender diversity to the student profiles.
"Women make better managers. Women in our country have learnt to be more competent in a diverse set of skills and attitudes - things that are required of managers of this country. We acknowledge skills such as networking, social intelligence, empathy and environmental sensitivity that women bring to the repertoire of management skill sets," said Prof. Chatterjee.
As part of this initiative, IIMK in collaboration with the Malabar Gold Group is planning a series of leadership workshops targeting the best secondary/ higher secondary teachers of the country in multiple sectors. Hundred teachers will be offered scholarships to participate in this programme.
"This is IIMK's modest contribution for making the better half of India take their rightful place in the growth and progress of the country," said IIMK director Prof. Debashis Chatterjee in a statement.
The institute, on its part, has been increasingly giving emphasis to diversifying the concept of inclusive growth on a much larger and global scale. In the first PGP batch at IIMK (Class of 1999), the number of women was only 1 in a total batch strength of 42. At present, the Class of 2013 has 36% women, which is a national record for any comparable B-School. The objective behind this has been to achieve enhanced diversity including gender diversity to the student profiles.
"Women make better managers. Women in our country have learnt to be more competent in a diverse set of skills and attitudes - things that are required of managers of this country. We acknowledge skills such as networking, social intelligence, empathy and environmental sensitivity that women bring to the repertoire of management skill sets," said Prof. Chatterjee.
Nokia begins creating music with Peninsula Studios
New Delhi: Finnish handset maker Nokia has begun creating music content in partnership with Peninsula Studios as it launched Nokia Music Theatre in India where the duo discover and bring local artists to perform together and record a music album.
Under the concept, Peninsula Studios and Nokia India selected 17 artists from Rajasthan and recorded their original songs in a music album. Universal Music has launched the album Asha on Tuesday.
Peninsula Studios curated music, facilitated content creation and mentored talent and will continue to do so going forward. Nokia Music Theatre provided artistes with the opportunity to interact with other artistes and the unique experience of recording in a studio in front of a live audience.
The music album will be available at music stores across the country and on Nokia handsets for free download from the Nokia Music Store.
Nokia India's marketing director Viral Oza said that the handset maker was extending its credentials of music offering with this initiative. "Nokia has one of the largest repositories of legal and digital Indian music (through Nokia Music Store) and has built a strong music connect with Indians," he said.
Nokia was one of the first cell phone makers in India to offer low-cost handsets with pre-loaded music and later on offering music exclusively on handsets before release of a movie's compact disc. Oza added that the company had now moved to offering DRM free Nokia Music Unlimited service, which was available on the high-end phones on to the Asha series. The legal music service for the masses allows users to download and share free music from millions of songs from Nokia Music Store.
"Nokia Music Unlimited has been launched on limited devices in Asha series and the S 40 series. To songs are getting downloaded every second. To put it in context, it's nearly the same volume as the number of ring-tones downloaded by users from all operators combined, in a month," Oza claimed.
Nokia Music Unlimited will be rolled out in other handset series over the next few months while Nokia Music Theatre will scan talent in Uttar Pradesh beginning autumn 2012, he added.
Under the concept, Peninsula Studios and Nokia India selected 17 artists from Rajasthan and recorded their original songs in a music album. Universal Music has launched the album Asha on Tuesday.
Peninsula Studios curated music, facilitated content creation and mentored talent and will continue to do so going forward. Nokia Music Theatre provided artistes with the opportunity to interact with other artistes and the unique experience of recording in a studio in front of a live audience.
The music album will be available at music stores across the country and on Nokia handsets for free download from the Nokia Music Store.
Nokia India's marketing director Viral Oza said that the handset maker was extending its credentials of music offering with this initiative. "Nokia has one of the largest repositories of legal and digital Indian music (through Nokia Music Store) and has built a strong music connect with Indians," he said.
Nokia was one of the first cell phone makers in India to offer low-cost handsets with pre-loaded music and later on offering music exclusively on handsets before release of a movie's compact disc. Oza added that the company had now moved to offering DRM free Nokia Music Unlimited service, which was available on the high-end phones on to the Asha series. The legal music service for the masses allows users to download and share free music from millions of songs from Nokia Music Store.
"Nokia Music Unlimited has been launched on limited devices in Asha series and the S 40 series. To songs are getting downloaded every second. To put it in context, it's nearly the same volume as the number of ring-tones downloaded by users from all operators combined, in a month," Oza claimed.
Nokia Music Unlimited will be rolled out in other handset series over the next few months while Nokia Music Theatre will scan talent in Uttar Pradesh beginning autumn 2012, he added.
Mahindra Satyam buys global operations of vCustomer
Hyderabad: Mahindra Satyam has acquired the complete international operations of BPO firm vCustomer for $27 million. This acquisition expands Mahindra Satyam’s BPO operations into retail and consumer technology.
“This is the first 100 per cent acquisition by Mahindra Satyam since it became part of the Mahindra group,” Mr C. P. Gurnani, Chief Executive Officer of the Hyderabad-based firm, said.
“The combination of vCustomer’s expertise in the retail and consumer technology verticals with Mahindra Satyam’s domain expertise and customer base, will further strengthen our ability to address evolving market needs,” he said.
“This is a landmark moment in Mahindra Satyam’s resurgence and reflects our investment appetite to enhance domain depth and global scale across diverse verticals,” he said in a statement.
“This is the first 100 per cent acquisition by Mahindra Satyam since it became part of the Mahindra group,” Mr C. P. Gurnani, Chief Executive Officer of the Hyderabad-based firm, said.
“The combination of vCustomer’s expertise in the retail and consumer technology verticals with Mahindra Satyam’s domain expertise and customer base, will further strengthen our ability to address evolving market needs,” he said.
“This is a landmark moment in Mahindra Satyam’s resurgence and reflects our investment appetite to enhance domain depth and global scale across diverse verticals,” he said in a statement.
Ericsson plans to up investment in India, makes it a global hub
New Delhi: Ericsson, the world's largest mobile network equipment maker, has extended its market share in telecom infrastructure globally to about 38% in 2011 and plans to increase investments in India to support its global product supply chain, its CEO Hans Vestberg said in an interaction to Indian media last week on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona.
Vestberg said Ericsson had been successful in making China a global hub and wanted to replicate the same with its Indian operations.
"In China, we have established ourselves for supplying to the global chain. We want to do the same thing from India too. We have a big organisation in India and plan to add a lot more manpower. We will be investing more in manufacturing in India, which will become an export hub depending on market opportunities. We have to see how this plan work," Vestberg said without divulging additional details.
Ericsson has a production facility in Jaipur, but Vestberg said this was largely catered to the domestic market. "We can scale this up to a global supplies hub. With the right incentives, we are willing to do that," he added.
At the mobile event in Barcelona, Vestberg also unveiled new products and services, including tie-ups with Western Union for mobile money transfers. He also said that Africa's largest mobile phone company MTN would be the first operator to deploy its converged wallet platform, to provide integrated pre-paid charging and mobile financial services to its customers.
Ericsson's strategy is driven by changing consumer preferences and behaviour, as there will be 5 billion mobile broadband customers globally by 2016, from 1 billion today, while date traffic will see a ten-fold jump during this period, riding on the five-fold increase in smartphone users, Vestberg said.
According to the Ericsson CEO, the availability of a slew of value added services in real time was changing the way consumers used their mobile phones. Vestberg said the company's research showed that people used 76% of their time on smartphones for activities other than voice. Vestberg predicted rapid expansion in 4G networks to cater to increasing data requirement of customers and pointed out that 325 million people globally were already on LTE networks, of which 250 million were supported by Ericsson equipment.
Industry watchers say Ericsson's plans to expand its manufacturing facility in India and make the country a global hub may be aimed at adhering to new rules for network vendors that will be announced in the upcoming telecom policy.
Vestberg said Ericsson had been successful in making China a global hub and wanted to replicate the same with its Indian operations.
"In China, we have established ourselves for supplying to the global chain. We want to do the same thing from India too. We have a big organisation in India and plan to add a lot more manpower. We will be investing more in manufacturing in India, which will become an export hub depending on market opportunities. We have to see how this plan work," Vestberg said without divulging additional details.
Ericsson has a production facility in Jaipur, but Vestberg said this was largely catered to the domestic market. "We can scale this up to a global supplies hub. With the right incentives, we are willing to do that," he added.
At the mobile event in Barcelona, Vestberg also unveiled new products and services, including tie-ups with Western Union for mobile money transfers. He also said that Africa's largest mobile phone company MTN would be the first operator to deploy its converged wallet platform, to provide integrated pre-paid charging and mobile financial services to its customers.
Ericsson's strategy is driven by changing consumer preferences and behaviour, as there will be 5 billion mobile broadband customers globally by 2016, from 1 billion today, while date traffic will see a ten-fold jump during this period, riding on the five-fold increase in smartphone users, Vestberg said.
According to the Ericsson CEO, the availability of a slew of value added services in real time was changing the way consumers used their mobile phones. Vestberg said the company's research showed that people used 76% of their time on smartphones for activities other than voice. Vestberg predicted rapid expansion in 4G networks to cater to increasing data requirement of customers and pointed out that 325 million people globally were already on LTE networks, of which 250 million were supported by Ericsson equipment.
Industry watchers say Ericsson's plans to expand its manufacturing facility in India and make the country a global hub may be aimed at adhering to new rules for network vendors that will be announced in the upcoming telecom policy.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Exports during current fiscal will be around $300 b: Sharma
Mumbai: The country's exports during the current fiscal would be around $300 billion, an increase of 22 per cent from $ 245 billion achieved last year, said the Union Commerce Minister, Mr Anand Sharma, on Thursday.
He was interacting with the media after reviewing the progress of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project.
Mr Sharma said that growth in exports have been achieved in spite of very challenging circumstances and global contraction of demand. “The conscious strategy which we have adopted of accessing new markets have sustained our exports and would be able to withstand the increasing pressure on current and trade account,” he said.
He said that exports have to be sustained by a robust manufacturing sector. Therefore projects such as DMIC and National Manufacturing Zones needs to be given a boost. Today DMIC is one of the biggest infrastructure projects on the anvil, which will impact 43 per cent of the national population. In the long run, DMIC will attract an investment of about $100 billion.
Riding along with the industrial corridor would be the National Manufacturing Zones (NMZ), which would be full-fledged industrial townships focussed on manufacturing industries. Seven such zones are being planned along the DMIC, of which two would be in Maharashtra, Mr Sharma said.
Also addressing the media, the Maharashtra Chief Minister, Mr Prithviraj Chavan, said that in the first phase of the project, Dighi port industrial area in Raigad district spread over 2,500 km and Shendra Bidkin mega industrial area of 845 km in Aurangabad have been identified as NMZs. Both the regions would be developed with an investment of about Rs 8,766 crore, he said.
For proper implementation of the DMIC project in the State, a joint venture between the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Corporation and the Maharashtra Government will be set up, which will have an independent team for implementing the project, Mr Chavan said
He was interacting with the media after reviewing the progress of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project.
Mr Sharma said that growth in exports have been achieved in spite of very challenging circumstances and global contraction of demand. “The conscious strategy which we have adopted of accessing new markets have sustained our exports and would be able to withstand the increasing pressure on current and trade account,” he said.
He said that exports have to be sustained by a robust manufacturing sector. Therefore projects such as DMIC and National Manufacturing Zones needs to be given a boost. Today DMIC is one of the biggest infrastructure projects on the anvil, which will impact 43 per cent of the national population. In the long run, DMIC will attract an investment of about $100 billion.
Riding along with the industrial corridor would be the National Manufacturing Zones (NMZ), which would be full-fledged industrial townships focussed on manufacturing industries. Seven such zones are being planned along the DMIC, of which two would be in Maharashtra, Mr Sharma said.
Also addressing the media, the Maharashtra Chief Minister, Mr Prithviraj Chavan, said that in the first phase of the project, Dighi port industrial area in Raigad district spread over 2,500 km and Shendra Bidkin mega industrial area of 845 km in Aurangabad have been identified as NMZs. Both the regions would be developed with an investment of about Rs 8,766 crore, he said.
For proper implementation of the DMIC project in the State, a joint venture between the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Corporation and the Maharashtra Government will be set up, which will have an independent team for implementing the project, Mr Chavan said
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)