Hyderabad: American Oncology Institute (AOI, the US) and Cyberabad Citizens Health Services, have invested Rs 220 crore ($40 million) to set up a cancer institute with 350 beds here. After two subsequent phases, it would have 1,000 beds with a total investment of Rs 1,000 crore.
“The incidence of cancer is going up in India because of industrialisation and changes in lifestyle. About 25 lakh people are afflicted with cancer and this number is underreported. Every year, about 10 lakh new cases are being reported,” said Joseph A. Nicholas, President and Chief Executive Officer of CTSE, and member on the AOI Board.
AOI is the first overseas cancer centre of the Pittsburgh (US)-based Cancer Treatment Services International (CTSI).
“We will have 350 beds in the first phase by the year end. We will develop a hub-spoke model of medical services in India. Our next centre will be in Vijayawada, in association with Nagarjuna Hospital,” R. P. Raju, Executive Vice-Chairman of the Citizens Hospital and Executive Director of CTSI (India), said.
Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, the CTSI officials said the Hyderabad campus will have multi-specialty facilities apart from cancer specialties. “We will bring in standardised protocols and advanced equipment for diagnosis and treatment from the US,” Raju said.
Success in my Habit
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Ramco Systems forays into Australia
Chennai: Ramco Systems has forayed into the Australian market by setting up a subsidiary to drive business. The Chennai-based enterprise software company has set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in Australia under the name Ramco Systems Australia Pty Ltd.
Currently, Ramco has 17 offices spread across India, the US, Canada, Europe, West Asia, South Africa and APAC, according to a company press release.
Virender Aggarwal, CEO, Ramco Systems, said the company has a good presence and has been looking at expanding into new markets to help the company become a global brand.
Australian companies have been early adopters of SaaS and Cloud technologies. “We believe, Ramco ERP on cloud, a comprehensive ERP offering available on cloud and accessible on iPAD, will find ready acceptance among Australian enterprises,” he said.
Ramco will be marketing its offerings through key partners which will drive business in the region to gain a strong foothold.
Currently, Ramco has 17 offices spread across India, the US, Canada, Europe, West Asia, South Africa and APAC, according to a company press release.
Virender Aggarwal, CEO, Ramco Systems, said the company has a good presence and has been looking at expanding into new markets to help the company become a global brand.
Australian companies have been early adopters of SaaS and Cloud technologies. “We believe, Ramco ERP on cloud, a comprehensive ERP offering available on cloud and accessible on iPAD, will find ready acceptance among Australian enterprises,” he said.
Ramco will be marketing its offerings through key partners which will drive business in the region to gain a strong foothold.
Dahej SEZ makes it to world's top 50 free zones
Ahmedabad: The multi-product Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Dahej has made it to the world's top-50 'free zones'. The ranking has been granted following a survey of over 600 free zones in 120 countries by the prestigious FDI Magazine.
Gujarat's minister of state for industries Saurabh Patel has said that Dahej SEZ stood 26th among the top-50 and is the only SEZ from India to have figured in the list from 24 countries for the year 2012-13. The selection was made by the jury on various parameters. He said that Dahej SEZ has achieved this for the second consecutive year. Earlier, it had figured in FDI Magazine's top-25 free zones. The Da-hej SEZ has been jointly developed by Gujarat Industrial Develop-ment Corporation (GIDC) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.
It is spread over 1,732 hectares and plots have been allotted to 68 units who have invested Rs.35,000-crore. About 26,500 people have been employed at the SEZ. The commercial units have exported goods worth Rs 865 crores. Dahej SEZ Ltd (DSL) is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and is promoted jointly by Gujarat Industrial Develop-ment Corporation (GIDC) and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation ltd. (ONGC) for development of Special Economic Zone (SEZ). DSL is developing a multi-product SEZ at Dahej in Vagra Taluka of Bharuch district in Gujarat, India.
Gujarat's minister of state for industries Saurabh Patel has said that Dahej SEZ stood 26th among the top-50 and is the only SEZ from India to have figured in the list from 24 countries for the year 2012-13. The selection was made by the jury on various parameters. He said that Dahej SEZ has achieved this for the second consecutive year. Earlier, it had figured in FDI Magazine's top-25 free zones. The Da-hej SEZ has been jointly developed by Gujarat Industrial Develop-ment Corporation (GIDC) and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation.
It is spread over 1,732 hectares and plots have been allotted to 68 units who have invested Rs.35,000-crore. About 26,500 people have been employed at the SEZ. The commercial units have exported goods worth Rs 865 crores. Dahej SEZ Ltd (DSL) is a company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and is promoted jointly by Gujarat Industrial Develop-ment Corporation (GIDC) and Oil & Natural Gas Corporation ltd. (ONGC) for development of Special Economic Zone (SEZ). DSL is developing a multi-product SEZ at Dahej in Vagra Taluka of Bharuch district in Gujarat, India.
$2-b fund proposed for electronics development
Bangalore: The Government has proposed to create an electronics development fund of $2 billion to promote innovation, intellectual property, research and development (R&D), nano electronics and help commercialise made-in-India products.
Announcing the plans for this proposed fund at the Freescale Technology Forum, Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, said this fund will be made available for companies in the Electronics Systems Design and Manufacturing clusters all across India.
As a part of this, the Government is planning to participate with private players and will contribute 25-75 per cent to co-fund manufacturing initiatives.
A policy will be announced shortly, said Kumar. Walden International, a venture capital fund, is in talks with the Government to be a part of this fund, said Kumar.
Five clusters
Already, five clusters have come up or have advanced much, in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana, Punjab and Bangalore.
In these clusters, the Government plans to set up an ecosystem that would involve skill development and the Government would give preference to products made out of these clusters, said Kumar.
Having missed the bus in manufacturing to China, the Government is increasingly looking to build the ecosystem that will help the growing domestic electronics demand in India, say industry watchers.
According to data, chip design and embedded software market in India is estimated to reach $55 billion in 2020, medical electronics equipment market is pegged at $5 billion.
Announcing the plans for this proposed fund at the Freescale Technology Forum, Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Electronics and Information Technology, said this fund will be made available for companies in the Electronics Systems Design and Manufacturing clusters all across India.
As a part of this, the Government is planning to participate with private players and will contribute 25-75 per cent to co-fund manufacturing initiatives.
A policy will be announced shortly, said Kumar. Walden International, a venture capital fund, is in talks with the Government to be a part of this fund, said Kumar.
Five clusters
Already, five clusters have come up or have advanced much, in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Haryana, Punjab and Bangalore.
In these clusters, the Government plans to set up an ecosystem that would involve skill development and the Government would give preference to products made out of these clusters, said Kumar.
Having missed the bus in manufacturing to China, the Government is increasingly looking to build the ecosystem that will help the growing domestic electronics demand in India, say industry watchers.
According to data, chip design and embedded software market in India is estimated to reach $55 billion in 2020, medical electronics equipment market is pegged at $5 billion.
Zambia keen on more investments by India
Kolkata: The Republic of Zambia plans to attract Indian investments in energy, agro processing, manufacturing, construction and tourism. Investments are also invited in developing its national parks.
Opportunities
“There are a lot of investment opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing, energy, agro processing industries and construction of bridges and roads,” Susan Sikaneta, High Commissioner of the Republic of Zambia, told reporters here on Thursday.
She was addressing an interactive session organised by city-based Indian Chamber of Commerce.
The bilateral trade between Zambia and India stood at $190 million in 2011.
“We would like to see the number go up by three times over the next few years,” Sikaneta said.
Infrastructure development
According to Sikaneta, the country has also been focusing on infrastructure development for tourism. She emphasised on developing places like South Luangwa National Park, Kafue National Park, Liuwa Plain National Park as tourist attractions.
The Zambian Government is also working on creating key policies to support infrastructure development at Kasaba Bay. The country has identified 20 investment sites in the Province, located in Northern Zambia.
“We need more and more investments in the cement industry as a lot of construction works are under way,” Sikaneta said.
FDI
Stating that the country would not restrict 100 per cent foreign direct investment, she said: “We will always encourage investors to have partnerships either with the Government or any Zambian company.”
A Zambian delegation including Sikaneta is likely to meet the West Bengal Commerce and Industries minister, Partha Chatterjee, on Friday.
Opportunities
“There are a lot of investment opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing, energy, agro processing industries and construction of bridges and roads,” Susan Sikaneta, High Commissioner of the Republic of Zambia, told reporters here on Thursday.
She was addressing an interactive session organised by city-based Indian Chamber of Commerce.
The bilateral trade between Zambia and India stood at $190 million in 2011.
“We would like to see the number go up by three times over the next few years,” Sikaneta said.
Infrastructure development
According to Sikaneta, the country has also been focusing on infrastructure development for tourism. She emphasised on developing places like South Luangwa National Park, Kafue National Park, Liuwa Plain National Park as tourist attractions.
The Zambian Government is also working on creating key policies to support infrastructure development at Kasaba Bay. The country has identified 20 investment sites in the Province, located in Northern Zambia.
“We need more and more investments in the cement industry as a lot of construction works are under way,” Sikaneta said.
FDI
Stating that the country would not restrict 100 per cent foreign direct investment, she said: “We will always encourage investors to have partnerships either with the Government or any Zambian company.”
A Zambian delegation including Sikaneta is likely to meet the West Bengal Commerce and Industries minister, Partha Chatterjee, on Friday.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
German firm launches products targeting Govt sector
Bangalore: German software major SAP has announced a slew of products for the Indian Government sector.
The company has launched its Hindi version of ERP solutions as a part of its localisation initiative. This ERP software will enable the Government to update and manage documents, help users transact various processes and generate reports to deliver better citizen services.
ERP in Hindi
Along with this solution, SAP has also launched its File Lifecycle Management solution to improve the file management processes for public sectors in English and Hindi. This solution digitises file management encompassing all stages of the conventional file management process including filing of documents, workflow management, document uploads, file movement, correspondence, administrative and access regulations, alerts and analytics. According to the company, the Lifecycle Management solution was developed by SAP Labs India.
SAP ERP in Hindi will target business areas such as taxation, accounting, employee data, provident fund, payroll, loans, claims and employee self-services.
This solution was also developed by SAP Labs India, along with government agencies, including the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), and language experts and covered 4.5 million coding lines, according to SAP officials. SAP is not the first to come out with a solution aimed at the Government sector. In May, EMC came out with an automated solution at the launch.
Market size
The company said the market size for workflow management solutions in the government sector is pegged at $104 million and growing at 25 per cent every year.
The company has launched its Hindi version of ERP solutions as a part of its localisation initiative. This ERP software will enable the Government to update and manage documents, help users transact various processes and generate reports to deliver better citizen services.
ERP in Hindi
Along with this solution, SAP has also launched its File Lifecycle Management solution to improve the file management processes for public sectors in English and Hindi. This solution digitises file management encompassing all stages of the conventional file management process including filing of documents, workflow management, document uploads, file movement, correspondence, administrative and access regulations, alerts and analytics. According to the company, the Lifecycle Management solution was developed by SAP Labs India.
SAP ERP in Hindi will target business areas such as taxation, accounting, employee data, provident fund, payroll, loans, claims and employee self-services.
This solution was also developed by SAP Labs India, along with government agencies, including the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC), and language experts and covered 4.5 million coding lines, according to SAP officials. SAP is not the first to come out with a solution aimed at the Government sector. In May, EMC came out with an automated solution at the launch.
Market size
The company said the market size for workflow management solutions in the government sector is pegged at $104 million and growing at 25 per cent every year.
Mahindra launches a new Reva plant
Bangalore: Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles, part of the $15.4 billion Mahindra Group, inaugurated a new manufacturing facility in Bommasandra on the outskirts of Bangalore on Wednesday. In May 2010, Mahindra had acquired a majority stake in Reva Electric Car Company, subsequent to which the company was renamed Mahindra Reva Electric Vehicles.
The new manufacturing facility has an installed capacity to produce 30,000 vehicles annually, and is expected to reach full production capacity over the next three years. The company said the facility, which is scheduled to begin production in September, will produce around 6,000 vehicles to begin with.
Till date the Reva brand has sold 4,500 cars. The new facility will see the production of Mahindra Reva's new two-door electric car that it had showcased in the beginning of the year at the auto expo in Delhi. The new car is yet to get a name and a price tag. The current Reva vehicles retail between Rs 4.2 lakh and Rs 5.2 lakh (on road prices Bangalore). The combined investment into the plant and the new product range is over Rs 100 crore, the company said.
"This plant was conceived even before we came on board," Anand Mahindra, CMD of Mahindra Group, said. "Mahindra has turned this plant into a reality, from our expertise of putting up plants in record time and making them cost effective. This is the greenest plant in the Mahindra group," he said. The new manufacturing facility has been awarded the platinum rating from the Indian Green Building Council, becoming the first automobile manufacturing facility in India to receive this certification.
Electric vehicles like Reva are high priced because of battery and other equipments that are imported from around the world. But Mahindra said, "Those costs are now being driven down. In the mean time we will focus on the cost per kilometre." The company says that its electric vehicle technology gives buyers a cost per kilometre of 50 paise to 60 paise, which is 10 times lower than conventional gasoline vehicles.
Mahindra said that the government must put in place a road map for electric vehicles and should emulate the policies seen in countries such as Norway. In the last quarter, 2.6% of cars sold in Norway were electric vehicles, a sector which 18 months ago had a 0.01% share of the country's automobile market. In 1999, China had 40,000 electric two wheelers; today that number has crossed 100 million.
Mahindra said he was also keen to approach enlightened state governments that have strong leaderships, who understand the perils of urbanization and the need to cope with them quickly. "We should treat them as different countries. We should approach these leaders and ask them to put in place a comprehensive policy that would ensure that a particular percentage of vehicles would use alternate fuels by a certain time."
Delhi gives a 15% subsidy for electric vehicles as well as reductions on VAT and road tax. Chhattisgarh and Gujarat have also reduced taxes on electric vehicles, while Karnataka gives a 5% reduction on VAT and has a lower road tax.
The new manufacturing facility has an installed capacity to produce 30,000 vehicles annually, and is expected to reach full production capacity over the next three years. The company said the facility, which is scheduled to begin production in September, will produce around 6,000 vehicles to begin with.
Till date the Reva brand has sold 4,500 cars. The new facility will see the production of Mahindra Reva's new two-door electric car that it had showcased in the beginning of the year at the auto expo in Delhi. The new car is yet to get a name and a price tag. The current Reva vehicles retail between Rs 4.2 lakh and Rs 5.2 lakh (on road prices Bangalore). The combined investment into the plant and the new product range is over Rs 100 crore, the company said.
"This plant was conceived even before we came on board," Anand Mahindra, CMD of Mahindra Group, said. "Mahindra has turned this plant into a reality, from our expertise of putting up plants in record time and making them cost effective. This is the greenest plant in the Mahindra group," he said. The new manufacturing facility has been awarded the platinum rating from the Indian Green Building Council, becoming the first automobile manufacturing facility in India to receive this certification.
Electric vehicles like Reva are high priced because of battery and other equipments that are imported from around the world. But Mahindra said, "Those costs are now being driven down. In the mean time we will focus on the cost per kilometre." The company says that its electric vehicle technology gives buyers a cost per kilometre of 50 paise to 60 paise, which is 10 times lower than conventional gasoline vehicles.
Mahindra said that the government must put in place a road map for electric vehicles and should emulate the policies seen in countries such as Norway. In the last quarter, 2.6% of cars sold in Norway were electric vehicles, a sector which 18 months ago had a 0.01% share of the country's automobile market. In 1999, China had 40,000 electric two wheelers; today that number has crossed 100 million.
Mahindra said he was also keen to approach enlightened state governments that have strong leaderships, who understand the perils of urbanization and the need to cope with them quickly. "We should treat them as different countries. We should approach these leaders and ask them to put in place a comprehensive policy that would ensure that a particular percentage of vehicles would use alternate fuels by a certain time."
Delhi gives a 15% subsidy for electric vehicles as well as reductions on VAT and road tax. Chhattisgarh and Gujarat have also reduced taxes on electric vehicles, while Karnataka gives a 5% reduction on VAT and has a lower road tax.
StanChart PE invests Rs 250 cr in Inox India
Mumbai: Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE) has invested Rs 250 crore in Inox India Ltd (INOXCVA).
INOXCVA is a global manufacturer of cryogenic (low temperature) storage and transportation equipment. The company plans to use this money to fund its organic expansion plans and potential acquisitions.
“Over the next few years, we aim to have a significant presence in all major global markets including Europe. Our partnership with Standard Chartered will help us in leveraging the bank’s extensive reach and access its global oil and gas relationships,” said Siddharth Jain, Sponsor, INOX India Ltd.
Standard Chartered Private Equity has investments in GMR Airports, Redington, Varun Beverages, Greenko, Privi Organics, Bush Foods, Innoventive Industries, Karaikal Port and Craftsman Automation.
INOXCVA is a global manufacturer of cryogenic (low temperature) storage and transportation equipment. The company plans to use this money to fund its organic expansion plans and potential acquisitions.
“Over the next few years, we aim to have a significant presence in all major global markets including Europe. Our partnership with Standard Chartered will help us in leveraging the bank’s extensive reach and access its global oil and gas relationships,” said Siddharth Jain, Sponsor, INOX India Ltd.
Standard Chartered Private Equity has investments in GMR Airports, Redington, Varun Beverages, Greenko, Privi Organics, Bush Foods, Innoventive Industries, Karaikal Port and Craftsman Automation.
Overseas borrowing norms eased
New Delhi: The government and RBI on Wednesday further eased overseas borrowing norms for Indian companies by allowing those in the infrastructure and manufacturing space to refinance a higher level of their rupee loans using external loans.
While the government had earlier decided to allow these companies to borrow up to 50% of the forex earnings of the last three years, the cap has now been hiked to 75%. In addition, special purpose vehicles of these companies set up over a year ago will also be eligible to tap this route to raise resources at a lower cost.
The rule relaxation is in line with the finance ministry's thrust to prop up manufacturing activity and boost infrastructure construction.
To lower the cost of funds for the small scale sector too, Sidbi has been allowed to raise ECB (external commercial borrowings) that can be then lent to the segment that accounts for a large chunk of manufacturing as well as exports.
Similarly, National Housing Bank and housing finance companies have been allowed to use the ECB route to raise funds for low-cost housing projects.
While these steps were announced after a meeting of the high-level committee on ECBs, which met here, a move has also been initiated to get foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to invest up to $5 billion in rupee bonds, which will be within the overall corporate bond limit of $45 billion.
In a statement, the finance ministry further said refinancing of buyer's credit for import of capital goods in the infrastructure sector will be placed under automatic route. In addition, the high-level committee decided to increase the maturity period of buyer's credit to maximum of five years, giving companies more time to repay.
ECBs are considered attractive as cost of raising the loan is lower than that of domestic borrowings. Besides, they provide an additional avenue to access large amounts of funds from international financial markets.
While the government had earlier decided to allow these companies to borrow up to 50% of the forex earnings of the last three years, the cap has now been hiked to 75%. In addition, special purpose vehicles of these companies set up over a year ago will also be eligible to tap this route to raise resources at a lower cost.
The rule relaxation is in line with the finance ministry's thrust to prop up manufacturing activity and boost infrastructure construction.
To lower the cost of funds for the small scale sector too, Sidbi has been allowed to raise ECB (external commercial borrowings) that can be then lent to the segment that accounts for a large chunk of manufacturing as well as exports.
Similarly, National Housing Bank and housing finance companies have been allowed to use the ECB route to raise funds for low-cost housing projects.
While these steps were announced after a meeting of the high-level committee on ECBs, which met here, a move has also been initiated to get foreign institutional investors (FIIs) to invest up to $5 billion in rupee bonds, which will be within the overall corporate bond limit of $45 billion.
In a statement, the finance ministry further said refinancing of buyer's credit for import of capital goods in the infrastructure sector will be placed under automatic route. In addition, the high-level committee decided to increase the maturity period of buyer's credit to maximum of five years, giving companies more time to repay.
ECBs are considered attractive as cost of raising the loan is lower than that of domestic borrowings. Besides, they provide an additional avenue to access large amounts of funds from international financial markets.
India is world leader in concentrated solar heating, says Ministry
Chennai: With some 80 different applications of concentrated solar heating in practice in the country, India is the world leader in CSH, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has said.
When you speak of solar energy, you think mainly of solar panels and electricity flowing from them. Then you would think of appliances such as solar water heaters and solar lamps.
But the big use of solar energy lies in directly using the sun’s heat for use in industry. Lots of manufacturing units require just low-to-medium temperature heat, up to 250 degrees Celsius, mostly for drying stuff. Today, this heating is done by burning fuel oil, coal or biomass.
Here is where India scores, both in terms of potential and also applications developed, says the Ministry.
“India is leading the world with around 80 CSH applications,” it has said in a background note to UNDP-GEF sponsored project for nurturing CSH technologies in India.
Without going into details of the 80 applications, the Ministry has noted that the predominant use of concentrated solar heating is in “institutional cooking”.
In India, the current CSH market is about 2,000-3,000 square metres a year (of the concentrated area), says MNRE. The Global Environment Fund project will complement MNRE’s efforts of CSH technology, awareness, capacity, market and financial barriers and increase CSH sales to 15,000 square metres by 2016.
Direct emission reductions from the demonstration and replication projects during the 5-year project duration will be 39,200 tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent.
Over the economic lifetime of 20 years for the project supported CSH applications, cumulative direct emission reductions will be 315,000 tonnes of CO2, the Ministry says.
When you speak of solar energy, you think mainly of solar panels and electricity flowing from them. Then you would think of appliances such as solar water heaters and solar lamps.
But the big use of solar energy lies in directly using the sun’s heat for use in industry. Lots of manufacturing units require just low-to-medium temperature heat, up to 250 degrees Celsius, mostly for drying stuff. Today, this heating is done by burning fuel oil, coal or biomass.
Here is where India scores, both in terms of potential and also applications developed, says the Ministry.
“India is leading the world with around 80 CSH applications,” it has said in a background note to UNDP-GEF sponsored project for nurturing CSH technologies in India.
Without going into details of the 80 applications, the Ministry has noted that the predominant use of concentrated solar heating is in “institutional cooking”.
In India, the current CSH market is about 2,000-3,000 square metres a year (of the concentrated area), says MNRE. The Global Environment Fund project will complement MNRE’s efforts of CSH technology, awareness, capacity, market and financial barriers and increase CSH sales to 15,000 square metres by 2016.
Direct emission reductions from the demonstration and replication projects during the 5-year project duration will be 39,200 tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent.
Over the economic lifetime of 20 years for the project supported CSH applications, cumulative direct emission reductions will be 315,000 tonnes of CO2, the Ministry says.
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