Mumbai: Sandhar Technologies Ltd, an affiliate of Rs 1,200 crore Sandhar Group, a diversified auto component major has acquired 100% stake in Bangalore based Mag Engineering Pvt. Ltd, one of the largest driver cabin manufacturer in the country.
The senior management of Sandhar Technologies were in Bangalore on Thursday to complete the acquisition process. ET learns the size of the acquisition is in the range of Rs 70-90 crore and Sandhar Technologies will fund this deal through debt and internal accruals.
People close to the development said, Maple Capital Advisors and Right Horizons were advisors to the transaction.
Mag specializes in supply of sheet metal components for construction and engineering industry.
When contacted Jayant Davar, vice chairman and managing director of Sandhar Group confirmed the acquisition but declined to give specific details of the deal.
Davar explaining the rationale of the acquisition said, "Mag is an established player in specialized fabrication business and this acquisition will help us consolidate our sheet metal, and fabrication businesses helping us expand further in niche products."
The acquisition will give Sandhar an opportunity to offer new products to its existing and new customers.
Founded in 1984, Mag Engineering has three manufacturing units in Bangalore which produces operator cabins, canopies, housings, panels, switchboards, control cabinets and all types of hi-precision sheet metal components. Its major customers are L&T Komatsu, Telcon, Caterpillar,Volvo Construction, Bharat Fritz Werner, Komatsu India, GE Healthcare, Faiveley Transport etc. It also exports to GE Medical and Caterpillar
"While Mag will continue to build stronger relationships with its own customers, the Sandhar umbrella will help it get scale, access to newer customers and corporate systems, leading to faster growth," added Davar.
Sandhar Group is an auto component major with diversified presence across 21 manufacturing units. It manufactures handles, latches, hinges, stamped & tubular components, plastic injected components, zinc & aluminum pressure die castings, moulds & dies and structural parts for Off Highway vehicles.
It also has a separate vertical which focuses on supplies of steel wheel rims & assemblies, handle bars, clutch and brake panels to the two wheeler manufacturers. Some of its major customers include auto majors like Hero MotoCorp, Honda Seil Cars, Tata Motors, TVS Motors, Ashok Leyland, GM, Mahindra Navister, Toyota, Volvo Eicher amongst others.
Success in my Habit
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Voice messages transforming face of rural India
Coimbatore: Mobile voice messages seem to be transforming the Indian rural landscape. Rural community groups now have a reason to believe that the green SIM Card conceptualised by IKSL is an effective communication tool.
Anbu, a fisherman in Vairavan Kuppam Village in Pulicat Area of Thiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu, for instance recalls the alerts (voice messages) he received about ‘Cyclone Lila’ in May 2011.
“I immediately passed on the news to other fishermen in the village. But for this advice, we would have left for fishing that fateful day. Two days later, a relative of mine called to say that those who ignored the caution and went fishing that day had a tough time returning to the shore.”
Another fisherman, Maniveeran of Nadukuppam village, said he had little idea about fishing zone and used to return with no catch on many days. “I enrolled to become a member of IKSL last February. Now, with the help of the messages on potential fishing zone, I come back with bountiful catches. I am more than able to make both ends meet.”
Yet another farmer, Govindaswamy of Thirukovilur in Villupuram district, explained how his futile attempts at controlling the Brown Plant Hopper (BPH) infestation on paddy crop bore no result, until he contacted the IKSL helpline. “I have since switched over to sugarcane. I no longer wait to listen to the agri-news bulletins aired every evening. IKSL’s messages are more focused and crop specific.”
IFFCO (Indian Farmers’ Fertiliser Co-operative Ltd) Kisan Sanchar Ltd (IKSL), which conceptualised the green SIM Card to empower farmers and the people living in rural India, works with allied groups to develop content and services for providing the information.
IKSL has tied-up with Airtel to provide this service.
Content managers, experts
According to Jinnah, State Manager, IKSL, there are 18 content managers supported by 59 experts, catering to the requirements of farmers. “A peer panel comprising eminent scientists monitor the overall activities,” he said.
IKSL operates across 18 States. These States have been divided into 53 agro-climatic zones. The subscriber receives five free voice messages every day, covering diverse areas from best farm practices to availability of fertiliser and pesticides, market price of agri-commodities, Government schemes and so on.
“The base of active users has since picked up from around 33000 in 2007-08 to around 14 lakhs as at end March 2012. Of these, 1.30 users are from Tamil Nadu,” Jinnah said.
The voice messages are available in 18 languages. The subscriber can choose the language and community (such as sugar, goat rearing, poultry, paddy, banana etc) for getting related information, he said.
Anbu, a fisherman in Vairavan Kuppam Village in Pulicat Area of Thiruvallur district in Tamil Nadu, for instance recalls the alerts (voice messages) he received about ‘Cyclone Lila’ in May 2011.
“I immediately passed on the news to other fishermen in the village. But for this advice, we would have left for fishing that fateful day. Two days later, a relative of mine called to say that those who ignored the caution and went fishing that day had a tough time returning to the shore.”
Another fisherman, Maniveeran of Nadukuppam village, said he had little idea about fishing zone and used to return with no catch on many days. “I enrolled to become a member of IKSL last February. Now, with the help of the messages on potential fishing zone, I come back with bountiful catches. I am more than able to make both ends meet.”
Yet another farmer, Govindaswamy of Thirukovilur in Villupuram district, explained how his futile attempts at controlling the Brown Plant Hopper (BPH) infestation on paddy crop bore no result, until he contacted the IKSL helpline. “I have since switched over to sugarcane. I no longer wait to listen to the agri-news bulletins aired every evening. IKSL’s messages are more focused and crop specific.”
IFFCO (Indian Farmers’ Fertiliser Co-operative Ltd) Kisan Sanchar Ltd (IKSL), which conceptualised the green SIM Card to empower farmers and the people living in rural India, works with allied groups to develop content and services for providing the information.
IKSL has tied-up with Airtel to provide this service.
Content managers, experts
According to Jinnah, State Manager, IKSL, there are 18 content managers supported by 59 experts, catering to the requirements of farmers. “A peer panel comprising eminent scientists monitor the overall activities,” he said.
IKSL operates across 18 States. These States have been divided into 53 agro-climatic zones. The subscriber receives five free voice messages every day, covering diverse areas from best farm practices to availability of fertiliser and pesticides, market price of agri-commodities, Government schemes and so on.
“The base of active users has since picked up from around 33000 in 2007-08 to around 14 lakhs as at end March 2012. Of these, 1.30 users are from Tamil Nadu,” Jinnah said.
The voice messages are available in 18 languages. The subscriber can choose the language and community (such as sugar, goat rearing, poultry, paddy, banana etc) for getting related information, he said.
Local outsourcing on rise in US; Indian IT cos taking advantage of the trend: Forrester report
Domestic outsourcing or outsourcing locally such as from US to the US is on the rise, according to a recent research report by Forrester analyst Stephanie Moore, who listed five reasons why the trend is accelerating.
"First, clients, who today depend on software to differentiate and grow their businesses, require contextually sophisticated developers who can communicate synchronously, interpret their fuzzy and constantly changing requirements, and build software solutions to meet those requirements. Second, clients require agility and also lightning-fast time-to-market," Ms Moore said in the report.
The report lists oversubscription to India, the top offshore location, resulting in inflated prices, high attrition and declining quality as the third reason. Tighter enforcement of visa regulation and unemployment in the US were the fourth and fifth reasons for the rise in domestic outsourcing, according to the report.
The report quoted a Forrester client using domestic outsourcing as saying productivity and time-to-market was greater with its domestic outsourcer, and although the labour rate was double, the number of people and amount of time needed was lesser.
"Companies that look at their total cost as opposed to their unit costs may realize that domestic outsourcing can be less expensive than offshore outsourcing - especially for application development work," Ms Moore wrote. Productivity gains, lower on-site labour costs, lower client travel and oversight costs, lower staff costs and lower retained staff costs were among the benefits the report listed for outsourcing domestically.
"On-site staff members from offshore vendors are more expensive (averaging from $68 to $100 per hour) than staff in a domestic outsourcing center (averaging from $40 to $60 per hour)," Ms Moore wrote.
In an exclusive e-mail to ET, Ms Moore said there were no legitimate growth numbers yet on the growth of domestic outsourcing because they had not estimated the market size yet but that Forrester would be doing on this soon. "However, it is safe to say that the so-called domestic outsourcing market will grow at least 100% in 2013 over 2012," she said in the e-mail.
Visa rejection was a common client complaint, she added, "One client told me that their visa rejection rates have gone from 20% to 80% during 2012. Another client told me that she has to hire local contractors for onsite staff sometimes because her Tier One Indian vendor cannot get enough visas approved quickly enough."
Another analyst, who requested anonymity, tole ET that while it was true that rural outsourcing rates in US were less expensive and around $ 40, these vendors lacked the same quality and training that Indian offshoring vendors could provide, and they were usually small centres employing few hundreds of people.
""I don't expect offshoring to come down,"" the analyst said. However, many companies in the US had outsourced much more than they originally intended or anticipated and this was creating demand for newer kinds of jobs for IT within US, he added. He cited the recent General Motors decision to outsource less as an example. General Electric and other US firms were also taking advantage of tax and other benefits given by certain states for creating employment. Most often, the benefits are also a matter of negotiation, he said.
Indian vendors were also taking advantage of the trend to hire more in the US, he said. "Domestic outsourcing should complement, not replace offshore outsourcing. But, it will certainly impact the number of people that clients require to be onsite with them from offshore," Ms Moore agreed, in her e-mail to ET.
"In the near term, the small domestic outsourcing provider will gain since they are the most focused on this market and will not be cannibalizing any offshore revenues. This reminds me of the pureplay Indian vendors in the 1990s -- they were best at delivering and capitalizing on the offshore outsourcing market because vendors like IBM and Accenture did not believe in the model yet," she said.
"First, clients, who today depend on software to differentiate and grow their businesses, require contextually sophisticated developers who can communicate synchronously, interpret their fuzzy and constantly changing requirements, and build software solutions to meet those requirements. Second, clients require agility and also lightning-fast time-to-market," Ms Moore said in the report.
The report lists oversubscription to India, the top offshore location, resulting in inflated prices, high attrition and declining quality as the third reason. Tighter enforcement of visa regulation and unemployment in the US were the fourth and fifth reasons for the rise in domestic outsourcing, according to the report.
The report quoted a Forrester client using domestic outsourcing as saying productivity and time-to-market was greater with its domestic outsourcer, and although the labour rate was double, the number of people and amount of time needed was lesser.
"Companies that look at their total cost as opposed to their unit costs may realize that domestic outsourcing can be less expensive than offshore outsourcing - especially for application development work," Ms Moore wrote. Productivity gains, lower on-site labour costs, lower client travel and oversight costs, lower staff costs and lower retained staff costs were among the benefits the report listed for outsourcing domestically.
"On-site staff members from offshore vendors are more expensive (averaging from $68 to $100 per hour) than staff in a domestic outsourcing center (averaging from $40 to $60 per hour)," Ms Moore wrote.
In an exclusive e-mail to ET, Ms Moore said there were no legitimate growth numbers yet on the growth of domestic outsourcing because they had not estimated the market size yet but that Forrester would be doing on this soon. "However, it is safe to say that the so-called domestic outsourcing market will grow at least 100% in 2013 over 2012," she said in the e-mail.
Visa rejection was a common client complaint, she added, "One client told me that their visa rejection rates have gone from 20% to 80% during 2012. Another client told me that she has to hire local contractors for onsite staff sometimes because her Tier One Indian vendor cannot get enough visas approved quickly enough."
Another analyst, who requested anonymity, tole ET that while it was true that rural outsourcing rates in US were less expensive and around $ 40, these vendors lacked the same quality and training that Indian offshoring vendors could provide, and they were usually small centres employing few hundreds of people.
""I don't expect offshoring to come down,"" the analyst said. However, many companies in the US had outsourced much more than they originally intended or anticipated and this was creating demand for newer kinds of jobs for IT within US, he added. He cited the recent General Motors decision to outsource less as an example. General Electric and other US firms were also taking advantage of tax and other benefits given by certain states for creating employment. Most often, the benefits are also a matter of negotiation, he said.
Indian vendors were also taking advantage of the trend to hire more in the US, he said. "Domestic outsourcing should complement, not replace offshore outsourcing. But, it will certainly impact the number of people that clients require to be onsite with them from offshore," Ms Moore agreed, in her e-mail to ET.
"In the near term, the small domestic outsourcing provider will gain since they are the most focused on this market and will not be cannibalizing any offshore revenues. This reminds me of the pureplay Indian vendors in the 1990s -- they were best at delivering and capitalizing on the offshore outsourcing market because vendors like IBM and Accenture did not believe in the model yet," she said.
MCX exchange gets nod to launch currency options
Mumbai: The MCX Stock Exchange (MCX-SX) has been granted permission to launch currency options on its platform by SEBI and the RBI.
This approval will allow MCX-SX to expand its offerings in the currency derivatives segment by introducing currency options in the dollar-rupee currency pair, said a release from the exchange on Sunday.
The exchange held a mock-trading session on Saturday. It is yet to announce when it will rollout live trading of currency options.
“Options have the comparative advantage of maintaining a certain degree of flexibility in hedging. Introduction of this product completes the spectrum of hedging instruments available on the MCX-SX currency segment and adds further efficiency to risk mitigation mechanism in USD-INR,” said Joseph Massey, MD and CEO, MCX-SX.
This makes MCX-SX, the third exchange to offer trading in this segment after the NSE and the USE (2010). “With the introduction of one more player, there will definitely be better competition. It is good for the industry and will have a positive impact on costs also. At present, the rupee is very volatile so it looks like it’s a good time to launch another currency options platform,” said Naveen Mathur, Director, Angel Broking.
At the beginning of the calendar, the NSE had a turnover of Rs 98,530 crore and the USE Rs 273.63 crore in the currency options segment.
Currency options grants the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell currency at a specified exchange rate during a specified period of time.
At present, MCX-SX offers trading only in the currency futures segment. Last month, MCX-SX received permission from SEBI to launch its equity trading platform.
On its currency futures segment, contracts are traded in dollar-rupee, euro-rupee, yen-rupee, and pound- rupee.
In FY 2011-12, the exchange had a market share of 43.7 per cent in currency futures. The average daily turnover has increased to Rs 13,530.47 crore (July 2012) from Rs 324.78 crore in its first month of operation.
The exchange is used by SMEs, treasury of large corporates (importers and exporters), banks, institutions and individuals involved in forex transactions.
This approval will allow MCX-SX to expand its offerings in the currency derivatives segment by introducing currency options in the dollar-rupee currency pair, said a release from the exchange on Sunday.
The exchange held a mock-trading session on Saturday. It is yet to announce when it will rollout live trading of currency options.
“Options have the comparative advantage of maintaining a certain degree of flexibility in hedging. Introduction of this product completes the spectrum of hedging instruments available on the MCX-SX currency segment and adds further efficiency to risk mitigation mechanism in USD-INR,” said Joseph Massey, MD and CEO, MCX-SX.
This makes MCX-SX, the third exchange to offer trading in this segment after the NSE and the USE (2010). “With the introduction of one more player, there will definitely be better competition. It is good for the industry and will have a positive impact on costs also. At present, the rupee is very volatile so it looks like it’s a good time to launch another currency options platform,” said Naveen Mathur, Director, Angel Broking.
At the beginning of the calendar, the NSE had a turnover of Rs 98,530 crore and the USE Rs 273.63 crore in the currency options segment.
Currency options grants the holder the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell currency at a specified exchange rate during a specified period of time.
At present, MCX-SX offers trading only in the currency futures segment. Last month, MCX-SX received permission from SEBI to launch its equity trading platform.
On its currency futures segment, contracts are traded in dollar-rupee, euro-rupee, yen-rupee, and pound- rupee.
In FY 2011-12, the exchange had a market share of 43.7 per cent in currency futures. The average daily turnover has increased to Rs 13,530.47 crore (July 2012) from Rs 324.78 crore in its first month of operation.
The exchange is used by SMEs, treasury of large corporates (importers and exporters), banks, institutions and individuals involved in forex transactions.
IT spending in Indian manufacturing to double by 2016: IDC Manufacturing Insights
Chennai: As costs increase, and competition intensifies, manufacturers are updating and automating their business processes. IDC Manufacturing Insight predicts the India manufacturing IT spending to grow to $8.78 billion by 2016, which will be double the manufacturing IT spending of 2011. This represents a cumulative average growth rate of 14.5% between 2012 and 2016. The sector with the highest IT spends in the Indian manufacturing sector in 2012 is automotive, which is followed by chemicals and consumer products.
The report covered 13 industry sectors within 14 countries across the Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) region.
"With increasing costs and uncertainty in the world economy, manufacturers across the region are increasingly focusing their efforts on productivity and efficiency in 2012,"said Dr. Christopher Holmes, head - international, IDC Manufacturing Insights.
"There is increased interest in looking beyond ERP, as companies seek to leverage technology to deliver value to the enterprise. We are also seeing increased interest in newer technologies such as business intelligence and mobile within manufacturing enterprises, as companies seek to leverage these for enhanced productivity."
The report covered 13 industry sectors within 14 countries across the Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) region.
"With increasing costs and uncertainty in the world economy, manufacturers across the region are increasingly focusing their efforts on productivity and efficiency in 2012,"said Dr. Christopher Holmes, head - international, IDC Manufacturing Insights.
"There is increased interest in looking beyond ERP, as companies seek to leverage technology to deliver value to the enterprise. We are also seeing increased interest in newer technologies such as business intelligence and mobile within manufacturing enterprises, as companies seek to leverage these for enhanced productivity."
Friday, August 3, 2012
Hero MotoCorp invests $20 m in Erik Buell of US for R&D
New Delhi: In what is likely to be Hero MotoCorp’s first investment in an overseas company, the two-wheeler maker is believed to have invested $20 million (about Rs 110 crore) into US-based Erik Buell Racing (EBR).
With the fresh funds, EBR is expected to bolster Hero’s R&D efforts in modifying existing products and work on new bike design and development. This is critical for Hero to maintain its leadership in the local market and expand globally - the technology support from erstwhile partner Honda ends in June 2014.
According to industry sources, the investment will also help EBR expand its Milwaukee production capacity and hire more people in its own R&D team.
Hero had entered into a strategic agreement with EBR this February, and had also announced sponsorship of two EBR-powered teams in a US superbike racing championship.
“An investment in EBR was expected as Hero is set to receive a lot of technological support for more powerful bikes. Till now, they’ve only sponsored the EBR racing team, which helping them by spreading the brand awareness overseas.
“The question is if Hero has picked up a minority stake in return of the investment,” an analyst with a leading brokerage said.
When asked about the developments, Hero MotoCorp did not reply to e-mailed queries.
The investment in EBR is believed to be a part of the Rs 2,575-crore funding plan announced by the company in June. While a chunk of the funds (Rs 2,000 crore) are to go into the two new plants being set up in Gujarat and Rajasthan and expansion of the three existing facilities, the rest is expected to go into R&D efforts, including a new 250-acre facility for the purpose at Jaipur.
The company has already hired 300 engineers, including expats, to boost its own R&D. Apart from EBR, it has also tied up with Austrian auto engineering firm AVL for engine development.
“In our efforts to spruce up our R&D and to build the capability for the kind of aggressive product launch plans and international expansion that we have in mind, we are looking at both organic and inorganic sources of technology capability growth,” Anil Dua, Hero’s Senior Vice-President, Marketing and Sales, had said in a investor call recently.
After separating ties with Honda in March last year, Hero for the first time started its own R&D spends. Currently, it stands at up to 0.35 per cent of the top line, but as work on its self-developed models speed up, it is expected to go to one per cent of the net turnover.
With the fresh funds, EBR is expected to bolster Hero’s R&D efforts in modifying existing products and work on new bike design and development. This is critical for Hero to maintain its leadership in the local market and expand globally - the technology support from erstwhile partner Honda ends in June 2014.
According to industry sources, the investment will also help EBR expand its Milwaukee production capacity and hire more people in its own R&D team.
Hero had entered into a strategic agreement with EBR this February, and had also announced sponsorship of two EBR-powered teams in a US superbike racing championship.
“An investment in EBR was expected as Hero is set to receive a lot of technological support for more powerful bikes. Till now, they’ve only sponsored the EBR racing team, which helping them by spreading the brand awareness overseas.
“The question is if Hero has picked up a minority stake in return of the investment,” an analyst with a leading brokerage said.
When asked about the developments, Hero MotoCorp did not reply to e-mailed queries.
The investment in EBR is believed to be a part of the Rs 2,575-crore funding plan announced by the company in June. While a chunk of the funds (Rs 2,000 crore) are to go into the two new plants being set up in Gujarat and Rajasthan and expansion of the three existing facilities, the rest is expected to go into R&D efforts, including a new 250-acre facility for the purpose at Jaipur.
The company has already hired 300 engineers, including expats, to boost its own R&D. Apart from EBR, it has also tied up with Austrian auto engineering firm AVL for engine development.
“In our efforts to spruce up our R&D and to build the capability for the kind of aggressive product launch plans and international expansion that we have in mind, we are looking at both organic and inorganic sources of technology capability growth,” Anil Dua, Hero’s Senior Vice-President, Marketing and Sales, had said in a investor call recently.
After separating ties with Honda in March last year, Hero for the first time started its own R&D spends. Currently, it stands at up to 0.35 per cent of the top line, but as work on its self-developed models speed up, it is expected to go to one per cent of the net turnover.
40% highway contracts under new EPC norms
New Delhi: The government is likely to award 4,000 km of highway projects under the new engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract this year. This will be part of the 9,500-km target set for the national highways by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Under the EPC model, the government funds the project completely and the contractor has to just construct the road. This move is expected to minimise the time and cost over-runs. This will also enable a faster roll-out of projects. Senior officials told Business Standard Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways C P Joshi, in a meeting of parliamentary consultative committee on Wednesday, had indicated the projects this year would largely be awarded on EPC basis. The cabinet committee on infrastructure is expected to approve the new EPC model this month after discussions with other ministries, an official said.
The new projects will primarily aim at double-laning of single-laned roads.
Officials close to the development said Joshi also explained that no National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) declared highway in the country would remain single-laned by the end of the 12th five-year Plan.
“Bringing these projects under the EPC will attract other construction companies, as now a lot of them are not attracted to other projects due to economic the slowdown,” an official said, adding that the minister also aims at completing double-laning of 20,000 km of roads under the EPC model. However, the time period for this target has not been set till now.
The EPC model actually means that the government funds the project completely and the contractor just has to construct the road. This move is expected to minimize the time and cost over-runs characteristics of the extant item rate contracts. This will also enable a faster roll-out of projects.
While the item rate contracts rely on specific designs provided by the government, the EPC contract only specifies the required design and performance standards and allows the contractor to bring in innovation to optimize efficiency.
Joshi informed the committee that the EPC contract provides performance based standards for the maintenance of the projects while specifying the dates on which different sections of land would be handed over to the contractor. It also addresses issues relating to suspension of contractors rights, change in law, insurance and indemnity.
Almost 7900 km of highways was awarded in the previous financial year. The PM, in June, scaled up the target for building national highways, from 8,800 km announced in this year’s Budget to 9,500 km for the current fiscal.
However, the award of projects in the first quarter has not been in line with the target as projects covering just 99 km were awarded by the NHAI against the target of 1,500 km.
Under the EPC model, the government funds the project completely and the contractor has to just construct the road. This move is expected to minimise the time and cost over-runs. This will also enable a faster roll-out of projects. Senior officials told Business Standard Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways C P Joshi, in a meeting of parliamentary consultative committee on Wednesday, had indicated the projects this year would largely be awarded on EPC basis. The cabinet committee on infrastructure is expected to approve the new EPC model this month after discussions with other ministries, an official said.
The new projects will primarily aim at double-laning of single-laned roads.
Officials close to the development said Joshi also explained that no National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) declared highway in the country would remain single-laned by the end of the 12th five-year Plan.
“Bringing these projects under the EPC will attract other construction companies, as now a lot of them are not attracted to other projects due to economic the slowdown,” an official said, adding that the minister also aims at completing double-laning of 20,000 km of roads under the EPC model. However, the time period for this target has not been set till now.
The EPC model actually means that the government funds the project completely and the contractor just has to construct the road. This move is expected to minimize the time and cost over-runs characteristics of the extant item rate contracts. This will also enable a faster roll-out of projects.
While the item rate contracts rely on specific designs provided by the government, the EPC contract only specifies the required design and performance standards and allows the contractor to bring in innovation to optimize efficiency.
Joshi informed the committee that the EPC contract provides performance based standards for the maintenance of the projects while specifying the dates on which different sections of land would be handed over to the contractor. It also addresses issues relating to suspension of contractors rights, change in law, insurance and indemnity.
Almost 7900 km of highways was awarded in the previous financial year. The PM, in June, scaled up the target for building national highways, from 8,800 km announced in this year’s Budget to 9,500 km for the current fiscal.
However, the award of projects in the first quarter has not been in line with the target as projects covering just 99 km were awarded by the NHAI against the target of 1,500 km.
Land transfer made easy for infrastructure projects
New Delhi: The Prime Minister has lifted curbs on transfer of government-owned land for infrastructure projects.
Last year, a ban had been imposed on transfer of government-owned land to any entity, except from one government department to another.
This was leading to long delays in awarding concessions for infrastructure projects, particularly public-private partnership (PPP) projects.
Now, all cases of land transfer from Ministries to statutory authorities or public sector undertakings will be allowed, subject to normal government rules.
Land alienation
Also, land alienation will be allowed for parcels on lease, rent or licence to a concessionaire appraised through the PPP Approval Committee route and approved by the Finance Minister or by the Ministers concerned or by the Cabinet, depending on the value of the project.
Transfers will also be allowed for development of railway land by the Rail Land Development Authority.
This would be according to the provisions of the Railways Amendment Act, 2005 and in accordance with the prevalent policies and guidelines of the Railway Ministry and the Government.
Last year, a ban had been imposed on transfer of government-owned land to any entity, except from one government department to another.
This was leading to long delays in awarding concessions for infrastructure projects, particularly public-private partnership (PPP) projects.
Now, all cases of land transfer from Ministries to statutory authorities or public sector undertakings will be allowed, subject to normal government rules.
Land alienation
Also, land alienation will be allowed for parcels on lease, rent or licence to a concessionaire appraised through the PPP Approval Committee route and approved by the Finance Minister or by the Ministers concerned or by the Cabinet, depending on the value of the project.
Transfers will also be allowed for development of railway land by the Rail Land Development Authority.
This would be according to the provisions of the Railways Amendment Act, 2005 and in accordance with the prevalent policies and guidelines of the Railway Ministry and the Government.
Indian hotel industry optimistic about economy
Mumbai: India was ranked fifth in the world for hotels with the best business outlook, while Greece ranked last, according to a survey carried out by online travel site, TripAdvisor.
Nikhil Ganju, country manager, TripAdvisor India said, "Most survey results for India cue a positive industry sentiment. In fact we designed an industry scale based on survey response on economic and business outlook of properties, which indicate better than average business health for India, which ranks second in APAC region and fifth in the world." He added that another highlight of the survey reveals that though Indian hoteliers recognize the importance of social and mobile marketing. ``They are slow at adopting their use to connect with current and potential customers, compared to global numbers."
According to the report, 50% of Asia-Pacific respondents reported optimism about the economy for the remainder of the year believing the economy would improve. It added that hoteliers in Asia Pacific, North America and Latin America were twice as likely to report being profitable in the last six months than hoteliers in the EMEA(Europe Middle East and Africa) region who are the least optimistic about the future. The report said that India showed unbridled optimism with the highest proportion of businesses in APAC that expect the economy to improve in the next 6 months. Sixty-six percent respondents support the claim that the economy will improve a little /lot in the second half of 2012, the survey said. The positive business outlook also seems to be evident from the staffing plans in second half of 2012, as India ranks highest globally among all countries surveyed, for staff turnover based on increased staff levels. While most respondents in APAC reported that there would be no change in their staffing levels in the next 6 months, respondents in India were more likely to increase their staff (39%), followed by Thailand (31%) and Indonesia (30%).
The TripAdvisor Industry Index collected more than 25,000 responses from hoteliers around the globe. It is the world's largest hotel survey, said a release issued by TripAdvisor. The Asia Pacific region accounted for slightly over a fifth of the entire sample and India formed the largest segment of this region with just over 1,500 respondents, making it the largest hotel survey in India as well, it added.
Nikhil Ganju, country manager, TripAdvisor India said, "Most survey results for India cue a positive industry sentiment. In fact we designed an industry scale based on survey response on economic and business outlook of properties, which indicate better than average business health for India, which ranks second in APAC region and fifth in the world." He added that another highlight of the survey reveals that though Indian hoteliers recognize the importance of social and mobile marketing. ``They are slow at adopting their use to connect with current and potential customers, compared to global numbers."
According to the report, 50% of Asia-Pacific respondents reported optimism about the economy for the remainder of the year believing the economy would improve. It added that hoteliers in Asia Pacific, North America and Latin America were twice as likely to report being profitable in the last six months than hoteliers in the EMEA(Europe Middle East and Africa) region who are the least optimistic about the future. The report said that India showed unbridled optimism with the highest proportion of businesses in APAC that expect the economy to improve in the next 6 months. Sixty-six percent respondents support the claim that the economy will improve a little /lot in the second half of 2012, the survey said. The positive business outlook also seems to be evident from the staffing plans in second half of 2012, as India ranks highest globally among all countries surveyed, for staff turnover based on increased staff levels. While most respondents in APAC reported that there would be no change in their staffing levels in the next 6 months, respondents in India were more likely to increase their staff (39%), followed by Thailand (31%) and Indonesia (30%).
The TripAdvisor Industry Index collected more than 25,000 responses from hoteliers around the globe. It is the world's largest hotel survey, said a release issued by TripAdvisor. The Asia Pacific region accounted for slightly over a fifth of the entire sample and India formed the largest segment of this region with just over 1,500 respondents, making it the largest hotel survey in India as well, it added.
India invites Belgian firms to invest in manufacturing zones
New Delhi: India on Thursday sought the participation of Belgian companies in the proposed National Manufacturing and Investment Zones (NMIZs), especially in the fields of training and research.
On its part, Belgium has offered its expertise in water treatment, waste disposal and in the energy sector in NMIZs, an official statement said.
This development follows a bilateral meeting between the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and European Affairs Didier Reynders and the Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister Anand Sharma, here.
Last month, Sharma had, in a meeting with the British Foreign Secretary William Hague, in London, invited British participation in at least one NMIZ as a partner. The response was positive and Hague had asked his office to examine the opportunities in Indian NMIZs.
In February, India had invited Italy to be a partner in an NMIZ.
The zones will be set up under the National Manufacturing Policy, which aims to increase the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 per cent from the current 16 per cent and generate 100 million jobs by 2020.
The minimum land area of each zone – or greenfield integrated industrial townships with the modern infrastructure – is to be 5,000 hectares.
According to the norms, no cultivable, agricultural and forest land will be allowed to be acquired.
The first phase will be established along the proposed 1,500-km, $90-billion Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).
The DMIC project, spanning seven States (Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh), had recently won ‘global recognition’ when consultancy firm KPMG named it among the “100 most innovative and inspiring urban infrastructure projects in the world”.
The DMIC, coming up in partnership with the Japanese Government, has attracted interest from countries such as Singapore, the US and Korea.
Sharma had said in June that seven NMIZs had already been notified and another five would be notified by August-end.
In July, he had announced the ninth NMIZ, and a third for Maharashtra, in Nagpur, over an area of 6,280 hectares.
The other NMIZs are: Ahmedabad-Dholera (Gujarat - 900 sq km); Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Park city near Aurangabad, Maharashtra (84 sq km); Manesar-Bawal (Haryana - 380 sq km); Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana (Rajasthan - 150 sq km); Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow (Madhya Pradesh - 370 sq km); Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh - 250 sq km); Dighi Port Industrial Area (Maharashtra - 230 sq km) and Jodhpur-Pali.
On its part, Belgium has offered its expertise in water treatment, waste disposal and in the energy sector in NMIZs, an official statement said.
This development follows a bilateral meeting between the Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and European Affairs Didier Reynders and the Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister Anand Sharma, here.
Last month, Sharma had, in a meeting with the British Foreign Secretary William Hague, in London, invited British participation in at least one NMIZ as a partner. The response was positive and Hague had asked his office to examine the opportunities in Indian NMIZs.
In February, India had invited Italy to be a partner in an NMIZ.
The zones will be set up under the National Manufacturing Policy, which aims to increase the share of manufacturing in GDP to 25 per cent from the current 16 per cent and generate 100 million jobs by 2020.
The minimum land area of each zone – or greenfield integrated industrial townships with the modern infrastructure – is to be 5,000 hectares.
According to the norms, no cultivable, agricultural and forest land will be allowed to be acquired.
The first phase will be established along the proposed 1,500-km, $90-billion Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC).
The DMIC project, spanning seven States (Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh), had recently won ‘global recognition’ when consultancy firm KPMG named it among the “100 most innovative and inspiring urban infrastructure projects in the world”.
The DMIC, coming up in partnership with the Japanese Government, has attracted interest from countries such as Singapore, the US and Korea.
Sharma had said in June that seven NMIZs had already been notified and another five would be notified by August-end.
In July, he had announced the ninth NMIZ, and a third for Maharashtra, in Nagpur, over an area of 6,280 hectares.
The other NMIZs are: Ahmedabad-Dholera (Gujarat - 900 sq km); Shendra-Bidkin Industrial Park city near Aurangabad, Maharashtra (84 sq km); Manesar-Bawal (Haryana - 380 sq km); Khushkhera-Bhiwadi-Neemrana (Rajasthan - 150 sq km); Pithampur-Dhar-Mhow (Madhya Pradesh - 370 sq km); Dadri-Noida-Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh - 250 sq km); Dighi Port Industrial Area (Maharashtra - 230 sq km) and Jodhpur-Pali.
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