L&T secures Rs 1302 crore order from Petroleum Development Oman

Larsen and Toubro Limited, India has bagged another order from Petroleum Development Oman LLC valued around Rs 1302 Crore (USD 235 million). The new order involves EPC (Engineering, Procurement & Construction) of the Saih Rawl Depletion Compression phase 2 (SRDC2) project.

The order was won against stiff competition from nine international EPC bidders.

Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) is the leading exploration and production company in the Sultanate.

It accounts for more than 70% of the country's crude-oil production and nearly all of its natural-gas supply. Production from the Saih Rawl (SR) Gas Fields commenced ln 1999. However due to declining reservoir pressure in Saih Rawl Main (SRM) Field, the Saih Rawl Main wells Flowing Tubing Pressure will continuously decline until it reaches 35 bars in first quarter 2015.

In order to continue to produce on-spec gas through the CPP in first quarter 2015, second stage depletion compressors (SRDC2) are required to be installed upstream of the SRDC1. L & T has been chosen to execute this part of the project.

The SRDC2 involves installation of 76 MW of gas compression capacity with 4 trains, and modification of the condensate handling system at CPR. This will enable the Saih Rawl Main field to produce Maximum Annual Daily Load (MADL) of 30 MMSCMD gas.

LEET's EPC expertise in this refdion has been earlier roped in for executing around 150 MUSD, Lekhwair Gas Field Development Project for PDO.

Indian cloud market to grow 70pc in 2012, over 2011

New Delhi: After being on the fringes for quite some time, cloud computing is set for a major leap. In these tough times, companies have been proactively looking at various 'disruptive technologies' that will ensure that technology is elastic enough to meet the business growth needs. Cloud models and the flexibility they bring are featuring high here.

International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates the Indian Cloud market to be in the region of $535m in 2011, with a growth of more than 70 per cent expected for 2012 and almost 50 per cent growth forecasted for the next three years. It is a market that is fast maturing and seeing many new entrants with a broad range of investments/solutions taking key roles in the cloud ecosystem. Public cloud still lags way behind the private cloud adoption for a number of factors.

IDC has just released a cloud research report, titled 'India Cloud Market Overview-2011-16'. The research provides insights on how the cloud market landscape is evolving and how companies are taking advantage of the new mode of IT usage.

"We have definitely seen cloud cross the inflexion point in end 2011; use cases especially in IasS & SaaS areas provide testimony to that. With proper messaging from key vendors and due diligence of opportunities which exist in the cloud delivery models, the market will grow much faster in the coming years"" says Nirupam Chaudhuri, Research manager - Software & IT Services, IDC India, in a release.

"Alliance with key channels and enablement will further intensify the growth for major cloud providers and gradually we will see even core applications moving to cloud much faster. Users need to feel much more comfortable with fewer inhibitions like security and ownership concerns" added Nirupam.

Cloud providers also need to strengthen their capabilities to understand the business requirements of the organizations and come up with apt value propositions. "Organizations are more likely to work with firms that understand their business processes better and industry dynamics, and hence are better suited to overseeing the transition of the organization to a cloud environment without disruption of the business processes," says Sandeep Kumar Sharma, senior market analyst - IT services, IDC India.

It is also imperative for the cloud providers to act as partners for the organizations in assessing their cloud readiness, and accordingly recommending a cloud adoption roadmap. This is absolutely essential for a seamless integration of the IT infrastructure into the cloud environment. "Organizations, even the larger ones, are on an increasing level feeling the pinching need to assess their cloud readiness and maturity levels. This would provide a boost to cloud consulting services in the coming 12-24 months. A direct corollary is that vendors need to have robust cloud consulting capabilities in place for making a foray into this space," Sandeep added.

SEBI moots zero fee demat account for small investors

Mumbai: To reduce cost of maintaining securities in demat accounts for retail investors, SEBI has decided to introduce a “Basic Services Demat Account” (BSDA).

All depository participants have to make available a BSDA with limited services, said SEBI.

Individuals opting for BSDA are eligible for one demat account across all depositories where they are the sole or the first holder.

The maximum value of securities in a BSDA should not exceed Rs 2 lakh and at any point of time. Annual maintenance charges would not be levied for value of securities held in a BSDA up to Rs 50,000. Anything above Rs 50,000 and up to Rs 2 lakh would attract annual maintenance charges of Rs 100.

All beneficial owners for BSDA, have to register their mobile number for availing themselves the SMS alert facility for debit transactions. They will be issued at least two delivery instruction slips (DIS) at the time of account opening.

The BSDA value would be determined everyday according to the daily closing price of securities or daily closing NAV.

If the value of the holding in the BSDA exceeds the prescribed criteria as on a particular date, charges applicable to a normal DP account would apply from that date.

Quarterly transaction statement would be sent to the beneficial owner only if the demat account holder has transacted. Similarly holding statements would be sent once in a year to beneficial owners according to their option — in physical or electronic format. While electronic statements would be free of charge, additional physical statements would cost investors Rs 25 each.

Accounts with zero balance and credit balance with nil transactions shall receive only one physical holding statement.

Transaction statements shall not be provided for accounts that becomes zero balance or remains zero balance during the year.

The circular comes into effect from October 1.

India set to become second largest steel producer

New Delhi: India is poised to become the world's second largest steel producer. However, this is subject to companies finding the right technology to produce special categories of steel. Currently, with 74 million tonnes annual production in 2011, India is the fourth largest producer. Per capita steel consumption went up to 59 kg in 2011-12, from 34 kg in 2004-05. With the modernisation programmes of various public and private companies, the country will soon rise to second place, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in his address to the steel industry, after giving away trophies for the best integrated steel plant here on Monday. However, he noted that despite impressive data, per capita steel production was much lower than the global average of 215 kg. Also, the country was one of the importers of special category of steel. The Prime Minister’s trophy was awarded to SAIL's Bhilai Steel Plant for 2009-10. Tata Steel got the trophy for 2008-09.

India, China plan to set up joint working group to boost trade

New Delhi: India and China are working to set up a joint working group aimed at giving a fillip to bilateral investment and also to address trade related matters.

The two countries also evinced interest in fostering favourable investment climate including greater market access and speedy visa facilitation.

Commerce and Industry Ministry Anand Sharma and his Chinese counterpart Chen Deming led their business teams at the ninth session of the India-China Joint Group on Economic Relations, Trade, Science and Technology.

Sharma, while briefing reporters, said, “The joint working group will be established soon and it will give its recommendations and assessments in 90 days...We have also agreed to work on a five-year plan on economic cooperation. These have been proposed by China and we have welcomed and endorsed it”.

While Sharma raised concerns over widening trade deficit in favour of China and restricted market access in areas such as IT, pharmaceutical and agricultural products, Chen raised issues pertaining to visas and the recent import duty hike on power equipment by India.

Sharma said, those projects which already have got approval for the 12{+t}{+h} Plan period will be continue to enjoy the exemption.

Sharma said the two sides had touched upon issues that were hampering trade and investments. India had asked leading Chinese companies to set up manufacturing bases in India.

“We have invited China to participate and support in the establishment of one or more of the National Investment and Manufacturing Zones,” the Minister said.

The Chinese Trade Minister said both India and China could help in a global economic recovery and it is important to strengthen ties between the two nations. He also expressed hope of achieving $100-billion trade target by 2013.

The total bilateral trade between India and China for 2011-12, stood at $75,457.42 million as compared with $59,000.36 million in 2010-11.

During 2011-12, the exports were $17,902.98 million while the imports stood at $57,554.44 million. The provisional trade deficit for 2011-12 was $39,651.46 million.

Smaller cities favoured for upcoming logistic hubs

An acre of land in Oragadam, near Chennai, today costs Rs 2.50 crore, while it used to be around Rs 80 lakh three years ago. With the auto sector turning Oragadam into its hub, not only has the price of land gone up in and around the area, but it has also opened enormous business opportunities for logistics and warehousing operations.

Once the Goods and Service Tax (GST) is implemented there will be a great demand for logistic and warehouse operations, said V.N. Sridharan, Chief Executive Officer, Shri Kailash Logistics, which has a large logistics park in Oragadam. He said goods worth Rs 5,000 crore are manufactured in the zone every month.

The latest findings of C.B. Richard Ellis (CBRE), an international real estate consulting firm, validates Sridharan’s views on the demand for logistics space not only in Oragadam but across the country.

Tier-II catches up
The report India Logistics Market View says that India witnessed increased market activity in the first half of 2012.

Demand for logistic and warehousing spaces was not only limited to leading cities, such as Delhi-NCR, Mumbai and Bangalore, but was spread across tier II cities.

E-tailers are investing heavily in strategically-located assets and are taking up quality warehousing space.

However, availability of large land parcels at low cost, connectivity to multiple markets across states and industrial clusters, has led to the emergence of some tier II and III cities as favoured destinations for the development of logistics parks and warehouses.

Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and Managing Director of CBRE South Asia Pvt Ltd, said, “The rising level of activity in logistics and warehousing space across metros as well as tier II cities is testimony to the growing confidence of domestic and international retailers in India. Factors such as enhanced connectivity, various reforms and completion of major infrastructure projects are expected to further augment the logistics sector.”

Expansion spree
FMCG majors, white goods and consumer electronics firms are on an expansion spree and are increasing their footprint in India. Built-to-suit options have been the preferred mode of expansion for most occupiers, with large transactions of warehousing space of 10,000 –15,000 sq ft being reported in the first half of 2012, he said.

Tax reforms, such as the GST, will replace a host of indirect taxes, Central Excise, Service Tax, and various State-level duties with a single levy. This is expected to bring significant reorganisation into the warehousing industry and network planning by organisations, says the report.

Over the last few months, growth in domestic consumption, coupled with better efficiency in containerised transportation, has led to an increase in demand for high-quality warehouses. A popular trend across key micro markets has been consolidation of multiple facilities in the same region into a single warehouse. Rental values are expected to remain stable in the next two quarters across most micro-markets in the region, says the report.

FIPB gives nod to eight pharma FDI proposals

New Delhi: India's foreign investment approval authority has cleared eight pending proposals of foreign drug companies to buy stakes in local companies which have been pending for several months due to lack of clarity on the new FDI norms for pharmaceuticals sector.

The eight proposals that the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) cleared at its meeting on Friday include those of Pfizer Limited, B Braun, Sutures India and Ordain Health Care Global, two government officials who attended the meeting told ET.

Sutures India's plans to raise Rs 199 crore by selling 40% stake to Mauritius-based Ambrose Pvt Ltd and Spain's Chemo Group's proposal to buy a 100% stake in Ordain Healthcare Global for Rs 58 crore have been stuck since March.

Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI), the lobby body of foreign pharma companies in India, has welcomed the move.

"This is a one small step for encouraging FDI in India," said OPPI president Ranjit Shahani, adding that similar delays should not be repeated for future investments. The FIPB, however, deferred two fresh proposals of Advanced Enzyme Technologies and UK-based Dashtag. But this was because the health ministry did not get their applications and were not related to the new guidelines, one of the officials said.

Foreign investment in pharmaceuticals came to a standstill last year delaying expansion plans of foreign drug makers after the government decided to impose conditions holding up Rs 3,000-crore worth of FDI proposals.

The restrictions were raised after health ministry, some parliamentarians, NGOs and section of the industry expressed fears that the spate of buyouts by multinationals in recent years would threaten availability of low-cost medicines for Indians and increase dependence on costly imported drugs. Only few FDI proposals in the sector, mainly financial investments have been approved since then.

In last four years, MNCs have bought out several Indian firms which include Daiichi Sankyo's purchase of Ranbaxy and Abbott's buyout of domestic formulation business of Piramal Healthcare.

An inter-ministerial panel had finalised the new FDI guidelines for the pharmaceuticals industry in July paving the way for clearing the backlog. The panel suggested conditions such as commitment by the buyer to manufacture and make available essential drugs post acquisition for five years and also to increase R&D expenditure by 5% for diseases prevalent in India to allow foreign firms buy Indian companies. It left it to DIPP to decide if the riders be imposed only for acquisition of more than 49% or management control. The new guidelines are awaiting approval of PMO. But FIPB meeting that was held three days later decided to put off FDI proposals in pharma sector.

Indian app software market will cross $227 m this year: Gartner

Mumbai: The Indian application development software market is expected to cross $227 million in 2012, a 22.6 per cent rise over 2011.

Growth will be driven by evolving software delivery models, new development methodologies, emerging mobile application development and open source software, according to a study by research and analyst firm Gartner.

Emerging trends
“Application modernisation and increasing agility will continue to be a solid driver for app development spending, apart from other emerging dynamics of cloud, mobility and social computing,” said Asheesh Raina, principal research analyst at Gartner.

“These emerging trends are directing app demand towards newer architectures, programming languages, business model and user skills,” he added.

According to Gartner, cloud is changing the way applications are designed, tested and deployed, resulting in a significant shift in app priorities. About 90 per cent of large, mainstream enterprises and government agencies will use some aspect of cloud computing by 2015. Gartner predicts that mobile AD projects targeting smart phones and tablets will outnumber native personal computer projects by a ratio of 4:1 by 2015. Emerging mobile applications, systems and devices are transforming the app development space rapidly, and are one of the top three CIO priorities at the enterprise level.

The research also found that CIOs expect more than 20 per cent of their employees to use tablets instead of laptops by 2013, hastening the process of change as app tools and applications evolve to address the requirements of these new devices.

Open source software
Gartner expects open source software to continue to broaden its presence and create pressure on market leaders during the next 3-5 years. It predicts that at least 70 per cent of new enterprise Java applications will be deployed on an open source Java application server by 2017-end.

Swedish Energy Agency, CII, Cleantech Scandinavia ink cooperation pact

Hyderabad: The Swedish Energy Agency, the Confederation of Indian Industry and Cleantech Scandinavia have entered into a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the energy sector. The agreement was signed at the 11th Energy Efficiency Summit here today.

The MoU was inked by Karl Edberg, Counsellor-Environment, Climate Change and Energy, Embassy of Sweden; S. Raghupathy, Executive Director and Head of CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre; and Alexander Lindgren, Chairman of Cleantech Scandinavia.

The focus of the cooperation will be on technology exchange and facilitating the development of better energy management by engaging companies and research organisations.

Cleantech Scadinavia, the Sweden-based network for investors, Governmental organisations and professionals, contributes to business and development.

The cooperation is of significance in the backdrop of Indian industry seeking to improve energy efficiency by adopting new technologies and processes in their plants.

With the perform, achieve and trade (PAT) scheme in place adding to interest from companies, several global companies are keen to take part in the Indian power sector.

Swedish Energy Agency, CII, Cleantech Scandinavia ink cooperation pact

Hyderabad: The Swedish Energy Agency, the Confederation of Indian Industry and Cleantech Scandinavia have entered into a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the energy sector. The agreement was signed at the 11th Energy Efficiency Summit here today.

The MoU was inked by Karl Edberg, Counsellor-Environment, Climate Change and Energy, Embassy of Sweden; S. Raghupathy, Executive Director and Head of CII Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre; and Alexander Lindgren, Chairman of Cleantech Scandinavia.

The focus of the cooperation will be on technology exchange and facilitating the development of better energy management by engaging companies and research organisations.

Cleantech Scadinavia, the Sweden-based network for investors, Governmental organisations and professionals, contributes to business and development.

The cooperation is of significance in the backdrop of Indian industry seeking to improve energy efficiency by adopting new technologies and processes in their plants.

With the perform, achieve and trade (PAT) scheme in place adding to interest from companies, several global companies are keen to take part in the Indian power sector.