New Delhi: Employers can now file provident fund returns online from anywhere, anytime.
With the formal launch of the e-challan-cum-return (ECR) system on Tuesday, employers need not visit EPFO offices to file various monthly and annual paper returns, the Union Labour Minister, Mr Mallikarjun Kharge, said.
Releasing a quarterly newsletter, Shram Sansar, here on the occasion of the International Labour Day, Mr Kharge said the ECR system would also enable the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) offices to do away with manually entering PF returns and update the information.
On the newsletter, Mr Kharge said it was aimed at providing awareness regarding good labour practices and initiatives taken by the Central as well as State Governments to all stakeholders on a regular basis.
The newsletter will be brought out by the V.V.Giri National Labour Institute, Noida, on behalf of the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
Success in my Habit
Friday, May 4, 2012
India to host regional investors meet on Afghanistan: Krishna
New Delhi: The Indian Government will soon host a meeting of regional investors on Afghanistan in New Delhi.
This was announced by the Foreign Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, after co-chairing the inaugural session of the India-Afghanistan Partnership Council. The Council meeting was also attended by the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Dr Zalmai Rassoul.
Mr Krishna said that the hosting of the meeting was a measure of India's ongoing commitment to the long-term prosperity of Afghanistan. Senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs said that the meeting will be attended by all stakeholders including Indian industry, apex chambers of commerce and industry.
“The meeting will be held before the Tokyo meeting on Afghanistan. The Delhi meeting will act as a sort of the bridge between the earlier Istanbul meeting on Afghanistan and the Tokyo meeting,” a senior official said.
Mr Krishna also announced that the Foreign Ministers of India and Afghanistan had directed the three working groups under the Partnership Council on trade and economic cooperation, capacity development and education and social, cultural, civil society and people-to-people contacts to meet at an early date. Addressing the media, Dr Rassoul said that India has been the largest development partner for Afghanistan in the region over the past decade.
“Among other areas India's support includes $2 billion development assistance in 2001 which has helped Afghanistan to build key roads, provide essential health care services and send kids to school. Afghanistan keenly looks to forward its partnership with India in the months and years to come,” the Minister said.
This was announced by the Foreign Minister, Mr S.M. Krishna, after co-chairing the inaugural session of the India-Afghanistan Partnership Council. The Council meeting was also attended by the Foreign Minister of Afghanistan, Dr Zalmai Rassoul.
Mr Krishna said that the hosting of the meeting was a measure of India's ongoing commitment to the long-term prosperity of Afghanistan. Senior officials of the Ministry of External Affairs said that the meeting will be attended by all stakeholders including Indian industry, apex chambers of commerce and industry.
“The meeting will be held before the Tokyo meeting on Afghanistan. The Delhi meeting will act as a sort of the bridge between the earlier Istanbul meeting on Afghanistan and the Tokyo meeting,” a senior official said.
Mr Krishna also announced that the Foreign Ministers of India and Afghanistan had directed the three working groups under the Partnership Council on trade and economic cooperation, capacity development and education and social, cultural, civil society and people-to-people contacts to meet at an early date. Addressing the media, Dr Rassoul said that India has been the largest development partner for Afghanistan in the region over the past decade.
“Among other areas India's support includes $2 billion development assistance in 2001 which has helped Afghanistan to build key roads, provide essential health care services and send kids to school. Afghanistan keenly looks to forward its partnership with India in the months and years to come,” the Minister said.
Wipro to buy analytics firm Promax for $36 mn
Bangalore: Information technology (IT) services provider Wipro on Monday announced it had signed an agreement to acquire Australian analytics company Promax Applications Group (PAG) for A$35 million (around $36.5 million or Rs 192 crore).
It expects the all-cash deal to be closed this quarter, though its “impact on its revenues during the quarter will be negligible”. The newly formed entity will be called Wipro Promax Analytics Solutions Pty Ltd.
Promax derives its revenues by licensing software products and solutions in trade promotion planning, management and optimisation. Founded in 1989, the New South Wales-headquartered company employs 71 people across the globe. The company, which boasts of companies such as Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, Kraft, Kimberly Clark and Henkel as its customers, is estimated to close its accounting year ending July 30 with A$ $15-16 million in revenues.
Rishad Premji, chief strategy officer of Wipro’s IT services business, said the acquisition was in line with the company’s strategy to develop strong capabilities in emerging technology areas.
“Even though PAG is based out of Australia, some of its largest implementations were done in Europe and the US. It has over 45 clients across different verticals like food & beverage, pharma and consumer goods. Its profit margins are broadly in line with our IT services revenues,” said Premji.
Analytics & information management practice within Wipro’s IT services business employs 8,000 people. The practice contributed about $600 million to Wipro’s IT services business in 2011-12, and is growing upwards of 20 per cent annually.
“Analytics is a key growth driver of Wipro’s growth strategy. The acquisition of Promax Applications Group will strengthen Wipro’s positioning and capability in management, analytics & optimisation of trade promotions, and further extends our leadership in analytics and information management services,” said K R Sanjiv, senior V-P and global head, analytics and information management.
According to industry estimates, consumer-focused companies spend 12 to 25 per cent of their gross annual sales on trade promotions. Organisations are increasingly leveraging analytics to maximise return on investment in trade promotions.
Wipro, known for its ‘string of pearls’ acquisition strategy, has been focusing on buying assets with niche focus.
Last year, it had acquired SAIC’s global oil and gas technology services business for $150 million, in a move that expands it offerings beyond its core of financial services.
The deal brought into Wipro’s capabilities a pool of onshore domain experts — nearly 1,500 — with presence in major oil and gas markets in North America, Europe and West Asia.
Avendus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Wipro on this transaction.
Maruti Suzuki exports one millionth vehicle
Mumbai: Maruti Suzuki exported its one millionth vehicle here today. To be sold in Denmark the red colored A-star left the Mundra coast line along with 2,200 other vehicles for various international destinations including Switzerland, Malta, Sweden in Europe and Algeria, Egypt and Morocco in the non European destinations.
" Two years back, Europe was a strong destination for us. We have aligned our exports strategy in line with the changed scenario in exports market. The market for us has shifted significantly from Europe to non-European countries," said Shinzo Nakanishi, Managing Director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited.
While the A-star, marketed under 'Suzuki Alto' and 'Suzuki Celerio' badge in international markets was doing well, we also worked on identifying alternate non European markets. This strategy worked in our favour and helped us retain our export numbers after European nations withdrew the scrappage incentives, said Nakanishi.
In 2009-10, Maruti Suzuki's total exports were over 1.47 lakh units. Of which over 75 per cent were to Europe. By 2011-12 the share of non-EU export sales shot up sharply from 23 per cent to 66 per cent. In coming times, the Company plans to expand its presence in newer markets including the ASEAN region
Maersk Line ties up with Kottayam ICD for moving export boxes through Kochi port
Kochi: Maersk Line has tied up with Kottayam ICD (inland container depot) for transporting containers meant for exports through the Kochi port.
The ICD was operated by Kottayam Port and Container Terminal (KPCT), a multi modal and minor port using inland navigation connectivity to Kochi port. It is a PPP (public-private partnership) project, promoted by the South Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Kinfra at Nattakom. Mr Wilson Jacob, Managing Director, KPCT, told Business Line that Kottayam ICD has been updated in Maersk systems as its acceptance and bill of lading points and agreement came into effect from April 1.
With this approval, Maersk will now accept cargoes from all the loading ports around the world to Kottayam ICD.
Since the ICD name is updated in their system, he said they can do amendment of bills for the transhipment of cargo to Kottayam ICD.
According to Mr Jacob, the tie up will be a major boost to Kottayam ICD as well as the Exim trade in the central Travancore region. He pointed out that KPCT is now handling various type of cargo comprising rubber and rubber products, automobile spare parts, ready-made garments for exports through the Kochi port. Currently, these cargoes are moved to Kochi by road. The cargo movement through inland waterways would commence shortly once the dredging works in the Kodimatha area of Vembanad Lake by the state Irrigation Department is complete. The company has already procured a barge with a 300-tonne capacity which can carry 10 teus. Once all these facilities are put in place, he expressed the hope that Kottayam port will emerge as a major hub port for exim trade in central Travancore.
It also has a total warehouse area of 40,000 sq ft, customs facilities, weigh bridge, container yard on a 10 acre land, EDI facility, reach stackers. He said that the ICD and the minor port has been set up by KPCT with the overall objective of providing infrastructure facilities for the Customs cleared stuffed export containers from Kottayam, Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts to Kochi Port.
The project will be of real utility to those in the central part of the state once the proposal of the Shipping Ministry to connect the Vembanad Lake-Kottayam waterways to National Waterways No-3 materialises.
The total logistic cost can be reduced considerably by moving the cargo to Kochi Port through inland waterways from the central part of the state, which is mostly depending on road movement, he said.
HP's beta cloud service to begin in May; Zenith launches TigerCloud
Hyderabad: IT cloud cast gets wider with HP, Zenith Infotech and Essar group announcing their big plans for cloud on Monday.
HP has said its beta version of its first public cloud services will be made available for Indian enterprises on May 10. These services will be offered through a pay-as-you-go model for customers. Within minutes, they can get access to both on-demand services and customised services to handle specific jobs.
Developers are looking for simple methods to accelerate their codes, while enterprises seek smooth flow of work in their IT environment. They are looking for ways to reduce investments on IT infrastructure, Mr Santanu Ghose, Country Head (Converged Infrastructure Services) of HP India.
Another US-based firm Zenith Infotech too came out with its big cloud plans for India. It announced launch of TigerCloud, particularly targeted small and medium businesses. This private cloud is a combination of server, storage and network virtualisation technology. “This allows customers to build their own private clouds at costs lower than public clouds,” Mr Akash Saraf, Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Infotech, said. Built on a latest Intel processor family, TigerCloud is a three-in-one product, combining private cloud, business continuity and back,” he said.
He claimed that TigerCloud will cost 70 per cent less than similar converged infrastructure products from major multinational companies. He said his company invested over Rs 200 crore on research and development to develop its private cloud products.
Essar on Azure
Signalling an increasing shift to cloud services in India, Essar group has embraced Windows Azure, Microsoft's cloud services platform, to deliver some of its applications.
The $17-billion business conglomerate with varied interests, Essar said this was as part of its effort to offer its customers Web-based applications with high performance and scalability while maintaining low infrastructure and management costs.
“Microsoft Services approached Essar with a cost-effective solution in Windows Azure that allowed the company to obtain the benefits of both public and private cloud computing while also reducing the level of IT maintenance required to manage the applications on-premises,” Mr Jayantha Prabhu, Chief Technology Officer of Essar, said.
HP has said its beta version of its first public cloud services will be made available for Indian enterprises on May 10. These services will be offered through a pay-as-you-go model for customers. Within minutes, they can get access to both on-demand services and customised services to handle specific jobs.
Developers are looking for simple methods to accelerate their codes, while enterprises seek smooth flow of work in their IT environment. They are looking for ways to reduce investments on IT infrastructure, Mr Santanu Ghose, Country Head (Converged Infrastructure Services) of HP India.
Another US-based firm Zenith Infotech too came out with its big cloud plans for India. It announced launch of TigerCloud, particularly targeted small and medium businesses. This private cloud is a combination of server, storage and network virtualisation technology. “This allows customers to build their own private clouds at costs lower than public clouds,” Mr Akash Saraf, Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Infotech, said. Built on a latest Intel processor family, TigerCloud is a three-in-one product, combining private cloud, business continuity and back,” he said.
He claimed that TigerCloud will cost 70 per cent less than similar converged infrastructure products from major multinational companies. He said his company invested over Rs 200 crore on research and development to develop its private cloud products.
Essar on Azure
Signalling an increasing shift to cloud services in India, Essar group has embraced Windows Azure, Microsoft's cloud services platform, to deliver some of its applications.
The $17-billion business conglomerate with varied interests, Essar said this was as part of its effort to offer its customers Web-based applications with high performance and scalability while maintaining low infrastructure and management costs.
“Microsoft Services approached Essar with a cost-effective solution in Windows Azure that allowed the company to obtain the benefits of both public and private cloud computing while also reducing the level of IT maintenance required to manage the applications on-premises,” Mr Jayantha Prabhu, Chief Technology Officer of Essar, said.
India focusses on Japanese pharma market
New Delhi: In order to harness the full potential of the Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with Japan, India is likely to press the former for further opening of the pharmaceutical sector. This would help the domestic industry to leverage Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and increase its share in the Japanese market.
The issue is expected to be discussed in the meeting to be held between Mr Anand Sharma, Commerce and Industry Minister and Yukio Edano, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry on May 1, 2012.
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Japan, which came into effect from August 1, 2011, is projected to boost bilateral trade to US$ 25 billion by 2014. Indian pharmaceutical industry would gain significantly from the pact as Japan, the world's second largest market, had agreed to cut duties on imports of Indian generic drugs.
As per the pact, the Government of Japan would accord no less favourable treatment to the applications of Indian companies than it accords to the like applications of its own persons for drug registration. This would greatly help Indian pharmaceutical companies. It was highlighted by the official that the demand of generic medicines in the Japanese market and the capability of India to meet this demand will prove as a favourable situation for both the countries.
Both the nations are also expected to emphasise on starting negotiations on nursing and healthcare professional service as soon as possible.
"At present India's share is less than 1 per cent of total Japanese pharmaceutical market. India will urge the Japanese side to remove all non-tariff barriers so that real benefits envisaged under the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) are materialised," according to a Ministry of Commerce official.
Besides, reviewing progress of the Delhi- Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), India's US$ 100 billion ambitious infrastructure project, Japan has further expressed its intention to invest US$ 4.5 billion (about Rs 23,400 crore) in the DMIC project.
The two-way trade between the countries has increased from US$ 13.82 billion in 2010-11 to US$ 18.31 billion in 2011-12. India's exports to Japan mainly include gems and jewellery, petroleum, transport equipment and machinery, while imports include chemicals and metals, electronic goods, iron and steel.
The issue is expected to be discussed in the meeting to be held between Mr Anand Sharma, Commerce and Industry Minister and Yukio Edano, Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry on May 1, 2012.
The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between India and Japan, which came into effect from August 1, 2011, is projected to boost bilateral trade to US$ 25 billion by 2014. Indian pharmaceutical industry would gain significantly from the pact as Japan, the world's second largest market, had agreed to cut duties on imports of Indian generic drugs.
As per the pact, the Government of Japan would accord no less favourable treatment to the applications of Indian companies than it accords to the like applications of its own persons for drug registration. This would greatly help Indian pharmaceutical companies. It was highlighted by the official that the demand of generic medicines in the Japanese market and the capability of India to meet this demand will prove as a favourable situation for both the countries.
Both the nations are also expected to emphasise on starting negotiations on nursing and healthcare professional service as soon as possible.
"At present India's share is less than 1 per cent of total Japanese pharmaceutical market. India will urge the Japanese side to remove all non-tariff barriers so that real benefits envisaged under the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) are materialised," according to a Ministry of Commerce official.
Besides, reviewing progress of the Delhi- Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), India's US$ 100 billion ambitious infrastructure project, Japan has further expressed its intention to invest US$ 4.5 billion (about Rs 23,400 crore) in the DMIC project.
The two-way trade between the countries has increased from US$ 13.82 billion in 2010-11 to US$ 18.31 billion in 2011-12. India's exports to Japan mainly include gems and jewellery, petroleum, transport equipment and machinery, while imports include chemicals and metals, electronic goods, iron and steel.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Bhatinda refinery capacity can be doubled: Mittal
Bhatinda: Mr L.N. Mittal, Chairman and CEO, ArcelorMittal, said that the capacity of Bhatinda refinery could be raised to 18 million tonne per annum (mtpa) in future.
The 9 mtpa Guru Gobind Singh Refinery at Phulkori, Bhatinda, has been built by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation-Mittal Energy joint venture, HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd.
The $4-billion refinery was dedicated to the nation on Saturday by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.
This established Mr L.N. Mittal as one of the players in the country’s refining segment. With the full commissioning of the refinery, the country’s refining capacity has gone up to 213 mtpa. Bhatinda is the 24th refinery in the country.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr Mittal said, this refinery will not only increase energy security but also establish Punjab as a petrochem hub.
He said a decision on initial public offering will be taken by the joint venture board. "It will eventually happen."
The Government had approved the joint venture in July 2007, and work on construction of the refinery started in early 2008. It started refining crude oil in August 2011 and recently achieved commissioning of the entire project.
The refinery’s first liquid sales happened in December 2011 with dispatch of kerosene and the first solid sales in February 2012 with sale of petroleum coke. The company has 80 per cent offtake agreement with HPCL.
Both the joint venture partners hold 49 per cent each in the company. The rest is held by Indian financial institutions.
HMEL has the capability to cater to Punjab's entire fuel needs and meet the demands of North India. Actual sales will, however, evolve through the sponsor and marketer HPCL. HMEL can also explore the possibility of exports to Pakistan due to its strategic location.
Engineers India Ltd was the project management consultant. It was financed by a consortium of Indian banks led by State Bank of India.
The 9 mtpa Guru Gobind Singh Refinery at Phulkori, Bhatinda, has been built by Hindustan Petroleum Corporation-Mittal Energy joint venture, HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd.
The $4-billion refinery was dedicated to the nation on Saturday by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh.
This established Mr L.N. Mittal as one of the players in the country’s refining segment. With the full commissioning of the refinery, the country’s refining capacity has gone up to 213 mtpa. Bhatinda is the 24th refinery in the country.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr Mittal said, this refinery will not only increase energy security but also establish Punjab as a petrochem hub.
He said a decision on initial public offering will be taken by the joint venture board. "It will eventually happen."
The Government had approved the joint venture in July 2007, and work on construction of the refinery started in early 2008. It started refining crude oil in August 2011 and recently achieved commissioning of the entire project.
The refinery’s first liquid sales happened in December 2011 with dispatch of kerosene and the first solid sales in February 2012 with sale of petroleum coke. The company has 80 per cent offtake agreement with HPCL.
Both the joint venture partners hold 49 per cent each in the company. The rest is held by Indian financial institutions.
HMEL has the capability to cater to Punjab's entire fuel needs and meet the demands of North India. Actual sales will, however, evolve through the sponsor and marketer HPCL. HMEL can also explore the possibility of exports to Pakistan due to its strategic location.
Engineers India Ltd was the project management consultant. It was financed by a consortium of Indian banks led by State Bank of India.
India accounts for half of global IT-BPO outsourcing
New Delhi: India is the global leader in the outsourcing industry with half of the world's back office being located here. Indian outsourcing revenue at $59 billion for 2011, accounts for 51% of the global offshore market share, says a report from Tholons Research, a Bangalore based advisory firm.
The report further notes that over the past decade, developing economies such as India and the Philippines have propelled themselves to become leaders in the global outsourcing industry - making them the top two countries in terms of global offshore revenue share and employment. The total direct employment by Indian IT-BPO sector (as of 2011) was 1.98 million and indirect employment was 7.5 million.
Similarly for Philippines, where total outsourcing revenue was $11 billion in 2011, direct IT-BPO employment was 640,000 and indirect at 1.3 million. Philippines has gained a lot in recent years as lot of voice work (call center type of work) has shifted from India to Philippines.
The trend to outsource is likely to accelerate as companies seek third party firms in offshore locations to cut costs and improve performance in global large and small firms.
The figures from India's National Association of Software and Services Companies ( NASSCOM) show worldwide IT and BPO spending in 2011 reached about $574 billion and $158 billion, respectively. From a total of $732 billion only about 15% (or $110 billion) is currently outsourced by global firms to destinations like India, Philippines, China and Malaysia leaving lot of headroom for growth.
Given this potential, several developing economies - particularly in South East Asia as well as Latin America and Africa - have shown interest in actively pursuing the industry given the significant potential of its addressable market.
For instance the Malaysian government and its IT-BPO association-Outsource to Malaysia-have actively reinvented the country's marketing strategy to attract IT-BPO companies in the country when it established the Multi-media Super Corridor (MSC). Under this companies get a tax incentive for a period of 10 years, special telecom and electricity tariffs, R&D grants and so on. Time for India to scale up the game.
The report further notes that over the past decade, developing economies such as India and the Philippines have propelled themselves to become leaders in the global outsourcing industry - making them the top two countries in terms of global offshore revenue share and employment. The total direct employment by Indian IT-BPO sector (as of 2011) was 1.98 million and indirect employment was 7.5 million.
Similarly for Philippines, where total outsourcing revenue was $11 billion in 2011, direct IT-BPO employment was 640,000 and indirect at 1.3 million. Philippines has gained a lot in recent years as lot of voice work (call center type of work) has shifted from India to Philippines.
The trend to outsource is likely to accelerate as companies seek third party firms in offshore locations to cut costs and improve performance in global large and small firms.
The figures from India's National Association of Software and Services Companies ( NASSCOM) show worldwide IT and BPO spending in 2011 reached about $574 billion and $158 billion, respectively. From a total of $732 billion only about 15% (or $110 billion) is currently outsourced by global firms to destinations like India, Philippines, China and Malaysia leaving lot of headroom for growth.
Given this potential, several developing economies - particularly in South East Asia as well as Latin America and Africa - have shown interest in actively pursuing the industry given the significant potential of its addressable market.
For instance the Malaysian government and its IT-BPO association-Outsource to Malaysia-have actively reinvented the country's marketing strategy to attract IT-BPO companies in the country when it established the Multi-media Super Corridor (MSC). Under this companies get a tax incentive for a period of 10 years, special telecom and electricity tariffs, R&D grants and so on. Time for India to scale up the game.
Forex reserves up $1.4 billion
Mumbai: India's foreign exchange reserves increased $1.4 billion to $294 billion in the week ended April 20. The reserves have increased $205 million since the start of this financial year.
Data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday showed the rise was on the back of foreign currency assets that grew $1.4 billion to $260 billion as on April 20. Foreign currency assets have increased $149 million since the start of this financial year. RBI said the data includes the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies held in reserves, such as the euro, sterling and yen.
Gold remained unchanged at $27 billion in the week.
India’s special drawing rights were up $5.2 million to $4.4 billion while the position at International Monetary Fund was also up $3.4 million to $2.9 billion in the same period.
Data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday showed the rise was on the back of foreign currency assets that grew $1.4 billion to $260 billion as on April 20. Foreign currency assets have increased $149 million since the start of this financial year. RBI said the data includes the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies held in reserves, such as the euro, sterling and yen.
Gold remained unchanged at $27 billion in the week.
India’s special drawing rights were up $5.2 million to $4.4 billion while the position at International Monetary Fund was also up $3.4 million to $2.9 billion in the same period.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)