New Delhi: Adani Power has synchronised the fifth unit of the Mundra power plant, taking its total generating capacity to 4,620 mega watt (MW), making it the world's largest single location coal-fired plant in the private sector and the fifth largest globally.
Adani ventured into power generation in 2009-10 and its current capacity is 15 per cent more than the ultra mega power projects (UMPPs) being executed by Reliance Power and Tata Power in states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Jharkhand.
"When we started executing the power plant, our name didn't figure in Planning Commission's 2007-2012 five year plan period and now we contribute 10% of the planned target," according to Ravi Sharma, CEO, power business, Adani Power.
The company has signed long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with Gujarat and Haryana for sale of 80 per cent of its capacity while the remaining 20 per cent the company intends to sell at merchant basis.
Adani Power intends to complete commissioning of 3,300 MW at Tiroda and another 1,320 MW at Kawai by March 31, 2013. The company intends to reach a capacity of 20,000 MW by 2020.
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Thursday, March 15, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Edserv aims to add 250 schools for its Vidhyadhana offering
TIRUCHIRAPALLI (TN): Chennai based e-learning company EdServ is targeting to add 250 schools over the next 12-18 months for its Vidhyadhana offering, a top official of the company said.
Under the Vidhyadhana offering - called 'iClass' School Management System - EdServ provides requisite hardware, presentation equipments, multimedia kit and content materials to enable teachers to inculcate the syllabi knowledge in an effective manner.
Additionally, the software enables parents to know the location of the school bus or the transport systems about which alerts are regularly fed into the email system or SMSes are sent.
Already 250 schools in Tamil Nadu amd Andhra Pradesh have successfully implemented Vidhyadhana's School ERP Solutions, S Giridharan, Chairman and CEO, EdServ told reporters here.
"We are targeting to extend services to another 250 schools that will take the total schools covered to over 500. These additional schools will not only be in Metro cities but also in a number of Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations in India," he said.
While a majority of Vidhyadhana's school ERP solutions will be targeted at Schools in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the company will also expand its footprint in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Delhi Capital area.
Under the Vidhyadhana offering - called 'iClass' School Management System - EdServ provides requisite hardware, presentation equipments, multimedia kit and content materials to enable teachers to inculcate the syllabi knowledge in an effective manner.
Additionally, the software enables parents to know the location of the school bus or the transport systems about which alerts are regularly fed into the email system or SMSes are sent.
Already 250 schools in Tamil Nadu amd Andhra Pradesh have successfully implemented Vidhyadhana's School ERP Solutions, S Giridharan, Chairman and CEO, EdServ told reporters here.
"We are targeting to extend services to another 250 schools that will take the total schools covered to over 500. These additional schools will not only be in Metro cities but also in a number of Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations in India," he said.
While a majority of Vidhyadhana's school ERP solutions will be targeted at Schools in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, the company will also expand its footprint in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Delhi Capital area.
Eurocopter to focus on new markets in India
HYDERABAD: Eurocopter, the global leader in helicopters, will focus on new markets in India in the emergency medical services, utility, law enforcement and search and rescue areas while maintaining its leadership position in the passenger, private, oil and gas and VIP markets, the company says.
Eurocopter India, a subsidiary of Eurocopter, will continue expansion of existing Indian markets with the largest range of helicopters.
Xavier Hay, chief executive officer, Eurocopter India, told reporters on the eve of India Aviation 2012, that the company would be working to develop new markets including emergency services like medical evacuation and fire fighting.
Eurocopter, which is the world leader in emergency medical services, has designed the EC135 and EC145 for Helicopter Medical Emergency Service (HEMS) and Disaster Management (DM) applications.
The firm has already started work with Indian companies, institutions, hospitals. He, however, wants India to relax regulations for this market to take off. Under the existing rules, an operator has to take flight permission 48 hours in advance.
It is also looking at freight, news gathering and construction in the utility market and police, customs, border patrol in law enforcement market and search and rescue market.
"There is huge potential for growth considering the fact that the civil helicopter fleets is just 260-strong against 6,857 in North America and 5,153 in Europe," said Hay.
Eurocopter currently has 29 customers in India operating 80 helicopters in the civilian market. Its market share in the civilian sector increased from 41 percent in 2010 to 65 percent in 2011
It delivered its 1,000th Dauphin helicopter to Pawan Hans Pvt Ltd in June 2011. Pawan Hans has 35 Dauphin in its fleet, making it the world's biggest civil operator of the Dauphin.
During 2011, Eurocopter India delivered nine helicopters of the 14 registered last year. Of these, five were twin-engined and the remaining four single-engined.
Eurocopter India, a subsidiary of Eurocopter, will continue expansion of existing Indian markets with the largest range of helicopters.
Xavier Hay, chief executive officer, Eurocopter India, told reporters on the eve of India Aviation 2012, that the company would be working to develop new markets including emergency services like medical evacuation and fire fighting.
Eurocopter, which is the world leader in emergency medical services, has designed the EC135 and EC145 for Helicopter Medical Emergency Service (HEMS) and Disaster Management (DM) applications.
The firm has already started work with Indian companies, institutions, hospitals. He, however, wants India to relax regulations for this market to take off. Under the existing rules, an operator has to take flight permission 48 hours in advance.
It is also looking at freight, news gathering and construction in the utility market and police, customs, border patrol in law enforcement market and search and rescue market.
"There is huge potential for growth considering the fact that the civil helicopter fleets is just 260-strong against 6,857 in North America and 5,153 in Europe," said Hay.
Eurocopter currently has 29 customers in India operating 80 helicopters in the civilian market. Its market share in the civilian sector increased from 41 percent in 2010 to 65 percent in 2011
It delivered its 1,000th Dauphin helicopter to Pawan Hans Pvt Ltd in June 2011. Pawan Hans has 35 Dauphin in its fleet, making it the world's biggest civil operator of the Dauphin.
During 2011, Eurocopter India delivered nine helicopters of the 14 registered last year. Of these, five were twin-engined and the remaining four single-engined.
Rail Budget 2012: Core sectors like power, steel & petroleum under pressure as Railways hike freights
New Delhi/Ahmedabad: Abrupt freight charge hike has put industries plying on Indian Railways in quandary. Key sectors like power, steel, petroleum, and cement producers are anticipating increase in their distribution costs that will burden the end users.
Power tariff will go up and oil marketing companies are also expected to witness further increase in the under recovery amidst rising crude prices.
Budget at ET: Budget 2012 | Union Budget | Railway Budget 2012 | Budget News
Railway Board chairman Vinay Mittal estimated additional revenues of Rs 15000-20000 crore by next fiscal. Railway Board's member (traffic) KK Srivastava said, "Our operation costs have gone up on account of price rise of oil, power and coal among other inputs.
Hence, we are compelled to introduce minor change in freight to offset our rising costs." He added that Indian Railways would not loose any customers on account of higher freight.
According to estimates, transportation cost accounts for close to 28% in cost of coal and 20% in petroleum products.
Experts fear that price hikes after the Union budget in various products is inevitable as infrastructure, agriculture & commodities are adversely affected areas since cost of transport is on rise.
"In India, railway freights are one of the highest in world. Due to inability to raise passenger fares, Indian Railways has been increasingly getting dependent upon freight to stay afloat.
As of now, about 70% of the railway revenues are coming from freight only," said Ernst & Young ED and Leader PPP Abhaya Agarwal said. According to Agarwal, the average realisation to railways in per net tonne per kilometer terms have grown at the compounded annual rate of 2.5% over the past 10 years.
An IOC official stated that under recovery for the company would go up unless the government allows it to increase petroleum prices.
Commodities like coal, iron ore, cement, food grains, fertilizers, petroleum oil and lubricants account for 80% revenues for Indian Railways that is expected to garner close to one lakh crore rupees from cargo movements this fiscal.
Coal accounts for highest traffic in Indian Railways' basket as 1,05,000 mw of country's total 1,86,654 mw of electricity generation capacity is dependent on coal. It was expected to transport 400 million tonne of coal in current fiscal.
According to top executives of power arms of Essar and Adani groups, 20% higher costs of coal transportation will be passed on to the electricity distribution companies as per the power purchase agreement.
A top official of one of the state power utilities said, "Railway tariff hike has come at a time when we are struggling with coal price hike and seeking electricity tariff hike. We will factor the same while presenting our case for tariff hike before the state electricity regulatory commission. The distribution companies will pass on the burden to the end users."
The steel makers estimate additional burden of $ 30 per tonne in exports and iron ore in domestic market will increase by Rs 1,800 per tonne on account of freight tariff hike. "It is not an industry friendly development.
Steel industry is already is witnessing slow growth in demands and margins are under pressure. Steel makers will not be able to absorb this cost and it will be uncompetitive if the cheaper imports flood the Indian market," said a top official of a large steel company.
"The 20% freight hike announced by Railways is unreasonable especially in context to the cement industry as this is a logistic driven and freight sensitive core sector industry.
This hike will lead to increased input and transportation cost and will adversely affect the already squeezed margins of the cement manufacturers who are currently under pressure of oversupply condition due to capacity additions," said Sanghi Cement wholetime director Alok Sanghi.
Commenting on the development, Rs 10,000 crore Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited (Amul) MD RS Sodhi said, "One third of our produces is transported through Railways.
Entire East and North East India is catered through Indian Railways. We agree with Railways for an appropriate tariff hike since it has remained in control for past few years. However, dramatic freight hike is not reasonable as end user will suffer the most." Sodhi claimed its cost of railway transportation would increase by over 30% effectively.
Power tariff will go up and oil marketing companies are also expected to witness further increase in the under recovery amidst rising crude prices.
Budget at ET: Budget 2012 | Union Budget | Railway Budget 2012 | Budget News
Railway Board chairman Vinay Mittal estimated additional revenues of Rs 15000-20000 crore by next fiscal. Railway Board's member (traffic) KK Srivastava said, "Our operation costs have gone up on account of price rise of oil, power and coal among other inputs.
Hence, we are compelled to introduce minor change in freight to offset our rising costs." He added that Indian Railways would not loose any customers on account of higher freight.
According to estimates, transportation cost accounts for close to 28% in cost of coal and 20% in petroleum products.
Experts fear that price hikes after the Union budget in various products is inevitable as infrastructure, agriculture & commodities are adversely affected areas since cost of transport is on rise.
"In India, railway freights are one of the highest in world. Due to inability to raise passenger fares, Indian Railways has been increasingly getting dependent upon freight to stay afloat.
As of now, about 70% of the railway revenues are coming from freight only," said Ernst & Young ED and Leader PPP Abhaya Agarwal said. According to Agarwal, the average realisation to railways in per net tonne per kilometer terms have grown at the compounded annual rate of 2.5% over the past 10 years.
An IOC official stated that under recovery for the company would go up unless the government allows it to increase petroleum prices.
Commodities like coal, iron ore, cement, food grains, fertilizers, petroleum oil and lubricants account for 80% revenues for Indian Railways that is expected to garner close to one lakh crore rupees from cargo movements this fiscal.
Coal accounts for highest traffic in Indian Railways' basket as 1,05,000 mw of country's total 1,86,654 mw of electricity generation capacity is dependent on coal. It was expected to transport 400 million tonne of coal in current fiscal.
According to top executives of power arms of Essar and Adani groups, 20% higher costs of coal transportation will be passed on to the electricity distribution companies as per the power purchase agreement.
A top official of one of the state power utilities said, "Railway tariff hike has come at a time when we are struggling with coal price hike and seeking electricity tariff hike. We will factor the same while presenting our case for tariff hike before the state electricity regulatory commission. The distribution companies will pass on the burden to the end users."
The steel makers estimate additional burden of $ 30 per tonne in exports and iron ore in domestic market will increase by Rs 1,800 per tonne on account of freight tariff hike. "It is not an industry friendly development.
Steel industry is already is witnessing slow growth in demands and margins are under pressure. Steel makers will not be able to absorb this cost and it will be uncompetitive if the cheaper imports flood the Indian market," said a top official of a large steel company.
"The 20% freight hike announced by Railways is unreasonable especially in context to the cement industry as this is a logistic driven and freight sensitive core sector industry.
This hike will lead to increased input and transportation cost and will adversely affect the already squeezed margins of the cement manufacturers who are currently under pressure of oversupply condition due to capacity additions," said Sanghi Cement wholetime director Alok Sanghi.
Commenting on the development, Rs 10,000 crore Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited (Amul) MD RS Sodhi said, "One third of our produces is transported through Railways.
Entire East and North East India is catered through Indian Railways. We agree with Railways for an appropriate tariff hike since it has remained in control for past few years. However, dramatic freight hike is not reasonable as end user will suffer the most." Sodhi claimed its cost of railway transportation would increase by over 30% effectively.
Trai comes out with 7 methodologies to fix base price for 2G spectrum auctions
NEW DELHI: The base price for the upcoming second generation bandwidth sale following the cancellation of 122 mobile licences by the Supreme Court last month can be anywhere between Rs 620.48 crore to Rs 4,571.85 crore for a single MHz or unit of spectrum, the country's telecoms regulator has said.
A company like Uninor, majority owned by Norway's Telenor, will be forced to pay between Rs 3847 to Rs 28,345 crore, depending on the final methodology adopted by Trai, as the reserve price to get 6.2 MHz or units of second generation airwaves. The final price will be higher and be determined through auctions. Mobile phone companies whose licences had been cancelled by the apex court had paid Rs 1658 crore for 6.2 MHz of airwaves on a pan-India basis in 2008.
Industry experts agree that 6.2 units of second-generation bandwidth is the minimum requirement to offer pan-India mobile services during the first five years of operations.
The apex court had directed the government to auction the airwaves and licences within four months after seeking recommendations from Trai.
The regulator has shortlisted seven models to fix the base price and has sought the industry's reaction to each of these methodologies before it finalises the reserve bid amount for the airwaves sale.
This will be a blow to several companies, including Uninor, Etisalat DB and S Tel amongst others, who had demanded that the base price for the auctions be fixed at Rs 1658 crore for 6.2 MHz of airwaves for 20-year period on a pan-India basis.
Many of these companies had demanded that the reserve price be such that 'it enables a successful bidder to have an economically viable and bankable business plan within a reasonable period of time'. They had also contended that even at a level of Rs 1,658 crore entry fee paid by new operators, these telcos had not been able to breakeven and further added that the experience of 3G auctions at Rs 16,750 crore for a pan India (5 MHz) spectrum had also not been encouraging so far.
But Trai in its consultation process has clarified that it had already recommended 'in May 2010 that the price of Rs. 1658 crore was no longer relevant'.
The base price will be the lowest if Trai were to take the price discovered in 2001 - Rs 1658 crore - and index this for or both inflation and cost of money against a prime lending rate of say 12%. This works to Rs 620.48 crore per MHz or Rs 3847 crore for 6.2 MHz of airwaves on a pan-India basis.
For the industry, the next best methodology will be to index the base price to the broadband wireless auctions in 2010, when 20 units of pan-India airwaves fetched Rs 12,848 crore.
A company like Uninor, majority owned by Norway's Telenor, will be forced to pay between Rs 3847 to Rs 28,345 crore, depending on the final methodology adopted by Trai, as the reserve price to get 6.2 MHz or units of second generation airwaves. The final price will be higher and be determined through auctions. Mobile phone companies whose licences had been cancelled by the apex court had paid Rs 1658 crore for 6.2 MHz of airwaves on a pan-India basis in 2008.
Industry experts agree that 6.2 units of second-generation bandwidth is the minimum requirement to offer pan-India mobile services during the first five years of operations.
The apex court had directed the government to auction the airwaves and licences within four months after seeking recommendations from Trai.
The regulator has shortlisted seven models to fix the base price and has sought the industry's reaction to each of these methodologies before it finalises the reserve bid amount for the airwaves sale.
This will be a blow to several companies, including Uninor, Etisalat DB and S Tel amongst others, who had demanded that the base price for the auctions be fixed at Rs 1658 crore for 6.2 MHz of airwaves for 20-year period on a pan-India basis.
Many of these companies had demanded that the reserve price be such that 'it enables a successful bidder to have an economically viable and bankable business plan within a reasonable period of time'. They had also contended that even at a level of Rs 1,658 crore entry fee paid by new operators, these telcos had not been able to breakeven and further added that the experience of 3G auctions at Rs 16,750 crore for a pan India (5 MHz) spectrum had also not been encouraging so far.
But Trai in its consultation process has clarified that it had already recommended 'in May 2010 that the price of Rs. 1658 crore was no longer relevant'.
The base price will be the lowest if Trai were to take the price discovered in 2001 - Rs 1658 crore - and index this for or both inflation and cost of money against a prime lending rate of say 12%. This works to Rs 620.48 crore per MHz or Rs 3847 crore for 6.2 MHz of airwaves on a pan-India basis.
For the industry, the next best methodology will be to index the base price to the broadband wireless auctions in 2010, when 20 units of pan-India airwaves fetched Rs 12,848 crore.
Nokia to shut mobile money service Nokia Money
NEW DELHI/PUNE: Finnish handset maker Nokia is axing its financial services in India, and has quashed plans of extending this facility to other markets, as the handset maker sharpens its focus on devices and location-based services.
Nokia said its 100,000-plus customers in India who use this facility will be given 'ample time' to exhaust their accounts, shut out or shift to other players that offer similar facilities.
The Nokia Money platform allowed users with or without bank accounts to pay bills and retailers, send money through their mobile phones.
The handset maker will stay invested in Obopay, the company that provides the technology platform for this facility, but will withdraw from directly offering mobile wallet service to consumers, as part of a planned exit from the mobile financial services, a non-core business, the handset maker said.
Nokia had used Obopay's technology to launch this service in 2010 and had reportedly invested around $70 million in the company. "The mobile handset market needs financial services and now there are off-the-shelf services available in the market. We will continue to support them as a handset maker. We have led the creation of mobile money industry in India. We are getting out as a first party provider, but we will continue to support mobile money as feature," Nokia Mobile Payments general manager Gary Singh told ET.
Nokia will support separation of the 100-strong team, including management staff, and will absorb some employees. "All our staff have been incubators of the mobile money service in India. Financial services market is growing in India, and so their experience will be valuable for other companies. We will absorb as many as possible in the parent company, and also assist others to find employment with our partners and other players in mobile money," Singh added.
Nokia will provide complete support to all customers till they exhaust their balance on the mobile wallet and will not levy any transaction charges. The handset maker will also reimburse the registration fee of 30 to each customer. Customers of Nokia Money will start receiving updates from March 15 on how should they proceed with their accounts.
Union Bank Money and Yes Bank Money will continue to operate as such and Nokia will help the banks make the service self-supporting. RBI rules do not allow transfer of accounts, but Nokia will support customers and assist them in getting enrolled with other mobile money providers should they wish to continue using mobile money service.
"Our services will continue to operate while we work with our banking, market and technology partners as well as our employees, agents and others to plan future options in accordance with all customer and regulatory requirements," Nokia said in a statement on Monday.
The move comes at a time when the government is considering completely opening up the financial payments services sector to foreign investors. The Reserve Bank of India has conditionally allowed a finance ministry's proposal to allow 100% foreign direct investment through the automatic route in mobile wallet or e-wallet services.
There is a growing interest in the sector with at least three new mobile payment services introduced by Airtel, HDFC, MasterCard and Visa over the last month. Nokia will also extend its global bridge programme designed to help employees to pursue higher education or invest in viable business plan of employees. It had conducted a similar exercise when it outsourced the maintenance and future development Symbian mobile platform to Accenture.
Mobile money in its simplest form is using the mobile phone for making payments and transfers, instead of paying by cash. It is safer than cash as it cannot be stolen, and even if the phone is lost, the stored value remains at the backend with the bank.
While it became a success in countries such as Kenya and the Philippines, it has yet to take off in India. Nokia Money had aimed to convert the handset maker's retail outlets into cash points and the company planned to use its extensive infrastructure in India to reach out to the unbanked population.
Nokia said its 100,000-plus customers in India who use this facility will be given 'ample time' to exhaust their accounts, shut out or shift to other players that offer similar facilities.
The Nokia Money platform allowed users with or without bank accounts to pay bills and retailers, send money through their mobile phones.
The handset maker will stay invested in Obopay, the company that provides the technology platform for this facility, but will withdraw from directly offering mobile wallet service to consumers, as part of a planned exit from the mobile financial services, a non-core business, the handset maker said.
Nokia had used Obopay's technology to launch this service in 2010 and had reportedly invested around $70 million in the company. "The mobile handset market needs financial services and now there are off-the-shelf services available in the market. We will continue to support them as a handset maker. We have led the creation of mobile money industry in India. We are getting out as a first party provider, but we will continue to support mobile money as feature," Nokia Mobile Payments general manager Gary Singh told ET.
Nokia will support separation of the 100-strong team, including management staff, and will absorb some employees. "All our staff have been incubators of the mobile money service in India. Financial services market is growing in India, and so their experience will be valuable for other companies. We will absorb as many as possible in the parent company, and also assist others to find employment with our partners and other players in mobile money," Singh added.
Nokia will provide complete support to all customers till they exhaust their balance on the mobile wallet and will not levy any transaction charges. The handset maker will also reimburse the registration fee of 30 to each customer. Customers of Nokia Money will start receiving updates from March 15 on how should they proceed with their accounts.
Union Bank Money and Yes Bank Money will continue to operate as such and Nokia will help the banks make the service self-supporting. RBI rules do not allow transfer of accounts, but Nokia will support customers and assist them in getting enrolled with other mobile money providers should they wish to continue using mobile money service.
"Our services will continue to operate while we work with our banking, market and technology partners as well as our employees, agents and others to plan future options in accordance with all customer and regulatory requirements," Nokia said in a statement on Monday.
The move comes at a time when the government is considering completely opening up the financial payments services sector to foreign investors. The Reserve Bank of India has conditionally allowed a finance ministry's proposal to allow 100% foreign direct investment through the automatic route in mobile wallet or e-wallet services.
There is a growing interest in the sector with at least three new mobile payment services introduced by Airtel, HDFC, MasterCard and Visa over the last month. Nokia will also extend its global bridge programme designed to help employees to pursue higher education or invest in viable business plan of employees. It had conducted a similar exercise when it outsourced the maintenance and future development Symbian mobile platform to Accenture.
Mobile money in its simplest form is using the mobile phone for making payments and transfers, instead of paying by cash. It is safer than cash as it cannot be stolen, and even if the phone is lost, the stored value remains at the backend with the bank.
While it became a success in countries such as Kenya and the Philippines, it has yet to take off in India. Nokia Money had aimed to convert the handset maker's retail outlets into cash points and the company planned to use its extensive infrastructure in India to reach out to the unbanked population.
Sistema expands mobile broadband to 4 more towns in Haryana
NEW DELHI: Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL) has launched its high-speed mobile broadband service MBlaze in four towns in Haryana as part of the expansion drive it has undertaken notwithstanding cancellation of its 21 licences.
With the roll-out of services in Hansi, Kaithal, Jind, and Bhiwani, MTS MBlaze now has footprint spanning 13 towns in the Haryana circle.
"This latest expansion is in sync with our endeavour to make MBlaze, our high speed mobile broadband service available to maximum number of customers in the shortest possible time," SSTL Chief Operating Officer (Delhi NCR and Haryana Circle) Shankar Bali said in a statement today.
MTS has tied up with Hewlett Packard (HP), wherein on purchase of an HP laptop, customers can get an MBlaze device for Rs 699. In addition, the customers can enjoy data usage of 3 GB at Rs 490 per month for lifetime.
SSTL, which operates under MTS brand, had last week announced expansion in eight towns, Khopoli, Lonavala, Baramati, Beed, Mahad, Ratnagiri, Satara and Karad, in the Maharashtra and Goa circles.
SSTL licences figure among the 122 2G licences cancelled by the Supreme Court in February. SSTL had, however, expressed its intention to stay in the country and bid for spectrum in the auction, to be held by the government, as directed by the apex court.
MTS in India has secured over 15 million wireless subscribers and under the MBlaze brand provides mobile broadband services to over 1.5 million customers in over 300 cities across the country, the statement said.
The company employs over 3,500 employees, operates through a universe of over 300,000 retailers and has made investments of over USD 3.1 billion, it added.
With the roll-out of services in Hansi, Kaithal, Jind, and Bhiwani, MTS MBlaze now has footprint spanning 13 towns in the Haryana circle.
"This latest expansion is in sync with our endeavour to make MBlaze, our high speed mobile broadband service available to maximum number of customers in the shortest possible time," SSTL Chief Operating Officer (Delhi NCR and Haryana Circle) Shankar Bali said in a statement today.
MTS has tied up with Hewlett Packard (HP), wherein on purchase of an HP laptop, customers can get an MBlaze device for Rs 699. In addition, the customers can enjoy data usage of 3 GB at Rs 490 per month for lifetime.
SSTL, which operates under MTS brand, had last week announced expansion in eight towns, Khopoli, Lonavala, Baramati, Beed, Mahad, Ratnagiri, Satara and Karad, in the Maharashtra and Goa circles.
SSTL licences figure among the 122 2G licences cancelled by the Supreme Court in February. SSTL had, however, expressed its intention to stay in the country and bid for spectrum in the auction, to be held by the government, as directed by the apex court.
MTS in India has secured over 15 million wireless subscribers and under the MBlaze brand provides mobile broadband services to over 1.5 million customers in over 300 cities across the country, the statement said.
The company employs over 3,500 employees, operates through a universe of over 300,000 retailers and has made investments of over USD 3.1 billion, it added.
Media & entertainment sector to grow at 15 per cent: FICCI-KPMG report
MUMBAI: India's media and entertainment (M&E) sector registered 12 per cent growth in 2011 to reach Rs 72,800 crore and it is expected to register a compounded aggregate growth rate (CAGR) of 15 per cent by 2016, according to the latest FICCI-KPMG report.
"The Media & Entertainment industry landscape is undergoing a significant shift," KPMG's Head of Media & Entertainment, Jehil Thakkar said.
"Cable digitisation, the promise of wireless broadband, increasing DTH penetration, digitisation of film distribution, growing Internet use are all prompting strategic shifts in the way companies work. Traditional business models are evolving for the better as a host of new opportunities emerge," he added.
The growth trajectory is backed by strong consumption in Tier 2 and 3 cities, continued growth of regional media, and fast increasing new media business. Overall, the industry is expected to register a compounded aggregate growth rate (CAGR) of 15 per cent to touch Rs 1,457 billion by 2016, according to an official statement.
"The key highlights are rise in digital content consumption, launch of diverse content delivery platforms, strong consumption in Tier 2 and 3 cities, rising footprint of the players in the regional media, rapidly increasing new media business and regulatory shifts," FICCI Secretary General Rajiv Kumar said.
While television continues to be the dominant medium, sectors such as animation and visual effects, digital advertising, and gaming are fast increasing their share in the overall pie. Radio is expected to display a healthy growth rate after the advent of Phase 3 reforms, the statement said.
The report, which will be formally released at the inaugural session of FICCI FRAMES 2012 on March 14, also said that while witnessing a decline in growth rate, print will continue to be the second largest medium in the Indian media and entertainment industry.
"The Media & Entertainment industry landscape is undergoing a significant shift," KPMG's Head of Media & Entertainment, Jehil Thakkar said.
"Cable digitisation, the promise of wireless broadband, increasing DTH penetration, digitisation of film distribution, growing Internet use are all prompting strategic shifts in the way companies work. Traditional business models are evolving for the better as a host of new opportunities emerge," he added.
The growth trajectory is backed by strong consumption in Tier 2 and 3 cities, continued growth of regional media, and fast increasing new media business. Overall, the industry is expected to register a compounded aggregate growth rate (CAGR) of 15 per cent to touch Rs 1,457 billion by 2016, according to an official statement.
"The key highlights are rise in digital content consumption, launch of diverse content delivery platforms, strong consumption in Tier 2 and 3 cities, rising footprint of the players in the regional media, rapidly increasing new media business and regulatory shifts," FICCI Secretary General Rajiv Kumar said.
While television continues to be the dominant medium, sectors such as animation and visual effects, digital advertising, and gaming are fast increasing their share in the overall pie. Radio is expected to display a healthy growth rate after the advent of Phase 3 reforms, the statement said.
The report, which will be formally released at the inaugural session of FICCI FRAMES 2012 on March 14, also said that while witnessing a decline in growth rate, print will continue to be the second largest medium in the Indian media and entertainment industry.
Media, entertainment industry to touch Rs 1,457 billion by 2016, says FICCI-KPMG Report
NEW DELHI: The market size of Indian media and entertainment (M&E) industry is expected to touch Rs 1,457 billion by 2016 due to the increasing penetration in smaller cities and continued growth of regional media, a report said.
A FICCI-KPMG report said that while television continues to be the dominant medium, sectors such as animation, digital advertising and gaming are fast increasing their share in the overall pie.
Radio is expected to display a healthy growth rate after and will continue to be the second largest medium in the Indian M&E industry, it said.
"The growth trajectory is backed by strong consumption in Tier-II and -III cities, continued growth of regional media and fast increasing new media business. Overall the industry is expected to register a CAGR of 15 per cent to touch Rs 1,457 billion by 2016," the report said.
It said that advertising spends across all media accounted for about 41 per cent of the overall industry revenues, amounting to Rs 300 billion in 2011.
Digital technology continues to revolutionise media distribution and has enabled wider and cost effective reach across diverse and regional markets, it said.
"2011 was clearly the year where digital technologies began to deliver on their promise. Digital film distribution has helped wider film releases and helped control costs," FICCI Entertainment Committee Chairman Yash Chopra said.
"Cable digitisation, wireless broadband, increasing DTH penetration, growing internet use are all prompting strategic shifts in the way companies work," KPMG Head of Media and Entertainment Jehil Thakkar said.
The report said that there has been increased proliferation and consumption of digital media content - be it newspapers, digital film prints, and online video and music or entirely new categories such as social media.
It also said that smart phones, tablets, gaming devices all form the foundation of a new wave in media usage.
"This is gradually impacting the way content is being created and distributed as well," it added.
Further, the report said that companies are awaiting implementation of policies like copyright for radio and the roll out of 4G for the next growth wave.
"These shifts are expected to be game changers in terms of how business is being done currently and what could be the path going forward," it said.
However, it said that while India is still expected to grow at a healthy pace, growth is projected to be lower than earlier expectations.
A FICCI-KPMG report said that while television continues to be the dominant medium, sectors such as animation, digital advertising and gaming are fast increasing their share in the overall pie.
Radio is expected to display a healthy growth rate after and will continue to be the second largest medium in the Indian M&E industry, it said.
"The growth trajectory is backed by strong consumption in Tier-II and -III cities, continued growth of regional media and fast increasing new media business. Overall the industry is expected to register a CAGR of 15 per cent to touch Rs 1,457 billion by 2016," the report said.
It said that advertising spends across all media accounted for about 41 per cent of the overall industry revenues, amounting to Rs 300 billion in 2011.
Digital technology continues to revolutionise media distribution and has enabled wider and cost effective reach across diverse and regional markets, it said.
"2011 was clearly the year where digital technologies began to deliver on their promise. Digital film distribution has helped wider film releases and helped control costs," FICCI Entertainment Committee Chairman Yash Chopra said.
"Cable digitisation, wireless broadband, increasing DTH penetration, growing internet use are all prompting strategic shifts in the way companies work," KPMG Head of Media and Entertainment Jehil Thakkar said.
The report said that there has been increased proliferation and consumption of digital media content - be it newspapers, digital film prints, and online video and music or entirely new categories such as social media.
It also said that smart phones, tablets, gaming devices all form the foundation of a new wave in media usage.
"This is gradually impacting the way content is being created and distributed as well," it added.
Further, the report said that companies are awaiting implementation of policies like copyright for radio and the roll out of 4G for the next growth wave.
"These shifts are expected to be game changers in terms of how business is being done currently and what could be the path going forward," it said.
However, it said that while India is still expected to grow at a healthy pace, growth is projected to be lower than earlier expectations.
Natco Pharma bags licence to sell Bayer's cancer drug Nexavar
NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | HYDERABAD: The government has allowed a local drugmaker to make and sell a patented cancer drug at a fraction of the price charged by Germany's Bayer AG, setting a precedent for more such efforts by Indian firms and heightening the global pharmaceutical industry's anxiety over the use of the controversial compulsory licensing provision.
The outgoing patent controller of India, PH Kurian, on Monday granted the country's first compulsory licence to Hyderabad-based Natco Pharma, permitting it to manufacture and market a generic version of Nexavar, a medicine used for treating liver and kidney cancer, in India for just 3% of the patented drug's price in return for paying 6% royalty on sales to Bayer.
While healthcare activists were quick to welcome the order and said it would discourage innovator companies from selling medicines at exorbitant prices, Bayer and OPPI, the body that represents foreign drug companies in India, expressed their disappointment at the development. "The solution to helping patients with innovative medicines does not lie in breaking patents," said OPPI Director-General Tapan Ray.
Bayer is expected to legally challenge the decision. "We will evaluate our options to further defend our intellectual property rights in India," a company spokesman said.
The order may encourage other Indian drugmakers to file for compulsory licences, setting the stage for a spate of regulatory disputes between Indian and foreign drug companies over pricing and patent issues.
"The patent controller has ruled that if a product is not manufactured in India after three years of receiving a patent, it will be a candidate for compulsory licensing. This can have huge consequences as most patented products sold in India are imported," said DG Shah, secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance. Since 2007, at least 18 patented HIV and cancer drugs have been launched in the country.
The outgoing patent controller of India, PH Kurian, on Monday granted the country's first compulsory licence to Hyderabad-based Natco Pharma, permitting it to manufacture and market a generic version of Nexavar, a medicine used for treating liver and kidney cancer, in India for just 3% of the patented drug's price in return for paying 6% royalty on sales to Bayer.
While healthcare activists were quick to welcome the order and said it would discourage innovator companies from selling medicines at exorbitant prices, Bayer and OPPI, the body that represents foreign drug companies in India, expressed their disappointment at the development. "The solution to helping patients with innovative medicines does not lie in breaking patents," said OPPI Director-General Tapan Ray.
Bayer is expected to legally challenge the decision. "We will evaluate our options to further defend our intellectual property rights in India," a company spokesman said.
The order may encourage other Indian drugmakers to file for compulsory licences, setting the stage for a spate of regulatory disputes between Indian and foreign drug companies over pricing and patent issues.
"The patent controller has ruled that if a product is not manufactured in India after three years of receiving a patent, it will be a candidate for compulsory licensing. This can have huge consequences as most patented products sold in India are imported," said DG Shah, secretary general of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance. Since 2007, at least 18 patented HIV and cancer drugs have been launched in the country.
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