New Delhi: Mobile phone users will not have to pay roaming charges when traveling within India from next year, telecom ministerKapil Sibal said Monday, but telcos say abolishing these charges could lead to higher call rates.
The minister also said that the government was did not want to control or govern the internet and added that the Centre would enter into dialogue with all stakeholders to deal with malicious use of cyber space.
"Our (telecom) secretary has told you that it will be free from next year,"" Sibal said when asked to specify timeline for implementation for the 'one-nation-free roaming' that he had announced earlier this year.
ET reported Friday that India would do away with roaming charges in 2013. The Cabinet has already approved the new telecom policy whose guidelines include doing away with roaming charges.
Last week, telecom secretary R Chandrasekhar told ET that this consumer centric move would be implemented next year. ""Our first priority is the upcoming spectrum auctions. At the same time, we are working on the Unified Licence (UL) and we want to finalise this by December.
Once the UL regime is rolled out post December, concepts like 'One nation-free roaming' that is part of it will be introduced. This will happen sometime next year (2013). At this stage it will be impossible to specify the exact time frame,"" Chandrasekhar had said.
Roaming charges account for about 10% of the sector's revenues, and Director General of Cellular Operators Association of India, Rajan S Mathews said that telcos were likely to offset this loss by increasing call rates.
"It is a fact that STD and ISD calls cross subsidize local calls. This comes at a time when the industry has to pay thousands of crore for airwaves, higher diesel costs and as other new costs are imposed on the sector," Mathews said.
The COAI, which represents operators on the GSM platform such as Vodafone and Bharti Airtel, is also of the view that the government must sort out a slew of policy related issues, including migration to the unified licence, before abolishing roaming charges.
"Since it is a tariff related issue, sector regulator Trai must have a consultation process and issue its recommendations first," Mathews added.
On internet governance, Sibal said freedom of speech protected some aspects of online expression, but pointed out that free speech could not be extended to all online activities.
Success in my Habit
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Funding platform for start-ups to be launched in three cities
Bangalore: The Indian start-up scene is set to take a big step forward with the launch of the Global Superangels Forum’s (GSF) Accelerator programme across three cities — Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The programme is seen as the single-largest funding platform for Indian start-ups.
GSF Accelerator is the initiative of Rajesh Sawhney, founder of GSF, a network of 30 leading digital founders and investors. Earlier, as president of Reliance Entertainment, Sawhney had led Reliance Group’s foray into media & entertainment — the film eco-system, broadcasting and new media. He had founded leading web portal Indiatimes.com and pioneered mobile value-added services in India.
Sawhney said the programme would create a global springboard for the next generation of Indian start-ups, especially product-oriented technology ones in mobile, social, local and cloud areas. “There is no reason why Indian entrepreneurs cannot create the next Instagram, or the next Twitter, or the next Inmobi,” he said.
Key advisors to GSF include Naveen Tewari, chief executive and founder of Inmobi (a global mobile platform), Avnish Bajaj, founder of venture capital fund Matrix Partners, Saul Klein, partner at Index Ventures and co-founder of TAG and Seedcamp, and Dave McClure, founder of 500 Startups, an early stage investor in the Silicon Valley.
The programme would be held simultaneously in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore through October-November, with each city hosting four start-ups. Extensive coaching would be provided to the 12 GSF start-ups through seven weeks by a mentor pool of about 200 leading global co-founders and digital masterminds.
Sawhney says, “Twelve start-ups would receive initial funding from GSF this year. This is the single largest funding platform for Indian start-ups. GSF Superangels would provide additional funding to a few start-ups at the end of the programme. The 12 start-ups would also be showcased at the GSF 2012 (the second Global Superangels Forum) on Nov 26/27, in which 400 leading early stage investors from across the world would interact with officials from these start-ups.”
Thirty leading founders are funding GSF Superangels and the GSF Accelerator. Leading Indian funds such as Kae Capital and Blume Venture have also partnered the GSF programme. Sawhney says, “GSF has tied up with 500 renowned start-ups by Dave McClure to provide access to its Silicon Valley networks. Similarly, European mentorship platform Seedcamp would provide access to GSF start-ups in Europe. GSF’s relationship with Singapore-based fund Ruvento would create cross-border fertilisation of businesses and capital between India, Singapore and Russia.”
Dave McClure says, “India is booming with innovation, and 500 Startups is excited to partner GSF Accelerator in one of the world’s most exciting entrepreneurial ecosystems. 500 Startups has already made several investments in India, and we plan more investments in the future.”
Seedcamp partner Reshma Sohoni says, “We started five years ago, with the objective of accelerating founders across Europe. We broadened this to include EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Asia) and beyond, and are now happy to put a strong stake in the ground in India with GSF.”
GSF Accelerator is the initiative of Rajesh Sawhney, founder of GSF, a network of 30 leading digital founders and investors. Earlier, as president of Reliance Entertainment, Sawhney had led Reliance Group’s foray into media & entertainment — the film eco-system, broadcasting and new media. He had founded leading web portal Indiatimes.com and pioneered mobile value-added services in India.
Sawhney said the programme would create a global springboard for the next generation of Indian start-ups, especially product-oriented technology ones in mobile, social, local and cloud areas. “There is no reason why Indian entrepreneurs cannot create the next Instagram, or the next Twitter, or the next Inmobi,” he said.
Key advisors to GSF include Naveen Tewari, chief executive and founder of Inmobi (a global mobile platform), Avnish Bajaj, founder of venture capital fund Matrix Partners, Saul Klein, partner at Index Ventures and co-founder of TAG and Seedcamp, and Dave McClure, founder of 500 Startups, an early stage investor in the Silicon Valley.
The programme would be held simultaneously in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore through October-November, with each city hosting four start-ups. Extensive coaching would be provided to the 12 GSF start-ups through seven weeks by a mentor pool of about 200 leading global co-founders and digital masterminds.
Sawhney says, “Twelve start-ups would receive initial funding from GSF this year. This is the single largest funding platform for Indian start-ups. GSF Superangels would provide additional funding to a few start-ups at the end of the programme. The 12 start-ups would also be showcased at the GSF 2012 (the second Global Superangels Forum) on Nov 26/27, in which 400 leading early stage investors from across the world would interact with officials from these start-ups.”
Thirty leading founders are funding GSF Superangels and the GSF Accelerator. Leading Indian funds such as Kae Capital and Blume Venture have also partnered the GSF programme. Sawhney says, “GSF has tied up with 500 renowned start-ups by Dave McClure to provide access to its Silicon Valley networks. Similarly, European mentorship platform Seedcamp would provide access to GSF start-ups in Europe. GSF’s relationship with Singapore-based fund Ruvento would create cross-border fertilisation of businesses and capital between India, Singapore and Russia.”
Dave McClure says, “India is booming with innovation, and 500 Startups is excited to partner GSF Accelerator in one of the world’s most exciting entrepreneurial ecosystems. 500 Startups has already made several investments in India, and we plan more investments in the future.”
Seedcamp partner Reshma Sohoni says, “We started five years ago, with the objective of accelerating founders across Europe. We broadened this to include EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Asia) and beyond, and are now happy to put a strong stake in the ground in India with GSF.”
BPCL plans Rs 45,000-cr investment for capacity expansion
Mumbai: Public sector Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd plans to invest about Rs 45,000 crore in the next four to five years to expand its refinery capacity and upstream operations.
Addressing the media after the company’s 59{+t}{+h} Annual General Meeting held in Mumbai on Friday, Chairman and Managing Director R.K. Singh said: “In the next four to five years, our company is going to change completely with BPCL emerging as a major player in the exploration and production field.”
The company is riding high on its discovery in Mozambique and plans to monetise the gas finds by proposing to set up two LNG plant of 5 mtpa capacity each.
Also on the anvil is its Integrated Refinery Expansion Project that envisages increasing the Kochi refinery capacity from 9.5 mtpa to 15.5 mtpa and diversification into the petrochemical sector to manufacture niche products.
The entire outlay for this project has been pegged at Rs 20,000 crore.
Singh said: “We are also committed to spend Rs 10,000 crore towards the marketing of Mozambique gas in the next four to five years.
By 2017-18 we are hopeful of get getting gas, of which a part would be brought to India.”
The company chairman also expressed his confidence at being able to mobilise the resources for its ambitious plans.
“We do not believe we would have any problem in mobilising resources to meet our capex requirement as we are tying up with banks for our loan arrangements in the upstream sector through reserve base lending,” added Singh.
The company may also go in for a foreign borrowing to finance its petro chemical project in Kerala. With the Government reducing the withholding tax from 20 per cent to five per cent, “We need to study the fine print to know what would be the benefit”, said S. Varadarajan, Director Finance.
BPCL has tied up with LG Chemicals of South Korea for the petro chemical project.
The company’s board has approved a new R&D project to produce diesel from bio-mass jointly with Shell and another Hyderabad based company, Chairman said.
Addressing the media after the company’s 59{+t}{+h} Annual General Meeting held in Mumbai on Friday, Chairman and Managing Director R.K. Singh said: “In the next four to five years, our company is going to change completely with BPCL emerging as a major player in the exploration and production field.”
The company is riding high on its discovery in Mozambique and plans to monetise the gas finds by proposing to set up two LNG plant of 5 mtpa capacity each.
Also on the anvil is its Integrated Refinery Expansion Project that envisages increasing the Kochi refinery capacity from 9.5 mtpa to 15.5 mtpa and diversification into the petrochemical sector to manufacture niche products.
The entire outlay for this project has been pegged at Rs 20,000 crore.
Singh said: “We are also committed to spend Rs 10,000 crore towards the marketing of Mozambique gas in the next four to five years.
By 2017-18 we are hopeful of get getting gas, of which a part would be brought to India.”
The company chairman also expressed his confidence at being able to mobilise the resources for its ambitious plans.
“We do not believe we would have any problem in mobilising resources to meet our capex requirement as we are tying up with banks for our loan arrangements in the upstream sector through reserve base lending,” added Singh.
The company may also go in for a foreign borrowing to finance its petro chemical project in Kerala. With the Government reducing the withholding tax from 20 per cent to five per cent, “We need to study the fine print to know what would be the benefit”, said S. Varadarajan, Director Finance.
BPCL has tied up with LG Chemicals of South Korea for the petro chemical project.
The company’s board has approved a new R&D project to produce diesel from bio-mass jointly with Shell and another Hyderabad based company, Chairman said.
Wipro recognised as leader in Computer Services and Internet in Dow Jones Sustainability Index-2012
Bengaluru: Software services exporter Wipro has been recognized as leader in the 'Computer Services and Internet' sector in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) - 2012, for the third time in a row.
Wipro is one among the four companies worldwide and the only one from India in the Computer services and Internet sector of the DJSI World 2012.
"Sustainability is integral to all that Wipro does as an organization," said Anurag Behar, Wipro's chief sustainability officer. "We view frameworks like the DJSI as valuable platforms for benchmarking and holding ourselves up to scrutiny."
Some of Wipro's sustainability initiatives are in areas such as improving energy efficiency, reducing carbon footprint, as well extensive work in the education sector.
DJSI evaluated some 1544 companies out of which 340 made it to the final ranking. In the sector where Wipro emerged as the leader, four companies were selected from 32 nominations. Companies were assessed on various indicators including climate strategy, eco-efficiency, environmental reporting, labor and human rights, human capital development, talent attraction & retention, digital inclusion and corporate governance.
Wipro is one among the four companies worldwide and the only one from India in the Computer services and Internet sector of the DJSI World 2012.
"Sustainability is integral to all that Wipro does as an organization," said Anurag Behar, Wipro's chief sustainability officer. "We view frameworks like the DJSI as valuable platforms for benchmarking and holding ourselves up to scrutiny."
Some of Wipro's sustainability initiatives are in areas such as improving energy efficiency, reducing carbon footprint, as well extensive work in the education sector.
DJSI evaluated some 1544 companies out of which 340 made it to the final ranking. In the sector where Wipro emerged as the leader, four companies were selected from 32 nominations. Companies were assessed on various indicators including climate strategy, eco-efficiency, environmental reporting, labor and human rights, human capital development, talent attraction & retention, digital inclusion and corporate governance.
Government cuts tax to make foreign debt attractive
New Delhi: In a move to lower the cost of borrowings for Indian companies and spur investment, the government on Friday cut the tax it levies on the interest paid on foreign loans to 5% from 20% earlier. Although the move had been announced in the Budget, it came at a time when the government is unleashing a series of measures to get the economy back on track.
So far, if a company was borrowing overseas at 5%, the cost went up to 6% due to the 20% levy. But with the reduced rate of tax, the cost of the same loan would be 5.25%, excluding other costs such as those to hedge interest rate and currency risks.
"This lower rate of taxation will apply to interest paid to a non-resident by an Indian company for money borrowed in foreign currency from a source outside India, either under a loan agreement or by way of long-term infrastructure bonds," the finance ministry said in a statement. As a result, the rate of withholding tax, or the income to withhold or deduct tax from the payment made by a company and transfer the amount to the government, has also been lowered to 5%.
Simultaneously, finance minister P Chidambaram announced that companies that meet specified criteria will now get automatic approval instead of a case-by-case approach. There was almost an immediate cheer from the industry. "The reduction in withholding tax from 20% to 5% will enable corporates to access funds at a cheaper cost. Also, the automatic approval provision makes the process less time-consuming," said Sunil Agarwal, head of Deutsche Bank's institutional client group.
"Reduction in the applicable tax rate and withholding tax will reinforce the overall positivity from the reform measures announced recently. In a global scenario of competing capital destinations, this maintains attractiveness of Indian risk, while giving some advantage to the borrowers. Hopefully, this will provide some more push to investment activity in the country," added Saket Misra, MD (strategic equity solutions) at RBS.
The announcement comes at a time when the government is trying to create conditions - by improving the fiscal situation - to prod RBI into cutting policy rates in its October monetary policy review.
So far, if a company was borrowing overseas at 5%, the cost went up to 6% due to the 20% levy. But with the reduced rate of tax, the cost of the same loan would be 5.25%, excluding other costs such as those to hedge interest rate and currency risks.
"This lower rate of taxation will apply to interest paid to a non-resident by an Indian company for money borrowed in foreign currency from a source outside India, either under a loan agreement or by way of long-term infrastructure bonds," the finance ministry said in a statement. As a result, the rate of withholding tax, or the income to withhold or deduct tax from the payment made by a company and transfer the amount to the government, has also been lowered to 5%.
Simultaneously, finance minister P Chidambaram announced that companies that meet specified criteria will now get automatic approval instead of a case-by-case approach. There was almost an immediate cheer from the industry. "The reduction in withholding tax from 20% to 5% will enable corporates to access funds at a cheaper cost. Also, the automatic approval provision makes the process less time-consuming," said Sunil Agarwal, head of Deutsche Bank's institutional client group.
"Reduction in the applicable tax rate and withholding tax will reinforce the overall positivity from the reform measures announced recently. In a global scenario of competing capital destinations, this maintains attractiveness of Indian risk, while giving some advantage to the borrowers. Hopefully, this will provide some more push to investment activity in the country," added Saket Misra, MD (strategic equity solutions) at RBS.
The announcement comes at a time when the government is trying to create conditions - by improving the fiscal situation - to prod RBI into cutting policy rates in its October monetary policy review.
India South Africa to meet USD 15 Billion Trade Target this Year Ahead of 2014 Timeline
Commerce, Industry and Textiles Minister Anand Sharma visited South Africa on 21-22 September 2012 for bilateral meetings with his counterpart. During his visit, he also called on President Jacob Zuma and discussed global and regional developments and areas of bilateral cooperation. President Zuma conveyed his deep respect for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as well as Congress President Smt. Sonia Gandhi and mentioned that there was a meeting of mind between the two countries and they had common approach on issues of global importance. He mentioned that South Africa will be hosting the next BRICS Summit next year. Minister Sharma informed him that India was preparing to host the IBSA Summit in June next year. Minister Sharma emphasized the need for early conclusion of the India-SACU Preferential Trade Agreement as it would complete IBSA-SACU-Mercosur trilateral.
Earlier in the day, Minister Sharma met Rob Davies, South African Trade Minister. Both Ministers expressed satisfaction at the fact that the bilateral trade had crossed US$14 billion last year and that we would be able to meet the target of US$ 15 billion this year itself, well ahead of the 2014 timeline. They also took stock of the ongoing India-SACU negotiations on Preferential Trade Agreement. Both Ministers noted the growing private investments on both sides. Indian companies had already invested over US$ 8 billion in South Africa.
Earlier in the day, Minister Sharma met Rob Davies, South African Trade Minister. Both Ministers expressed satisfaction at the fact that the bilateral trade had crossed US$14 billion last year and that we would be able to meet the target of US$ 15 billion this year itself, well ahead of the 2014 timeline. They also took stock of the ongoing India-SACU negotiations on Preferential Trade Agreement. Both Ministers noted the growing private investments on both sides. Indian companies had already invested over US$ 8 billion in South Africa.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Mahindra Insurance Brokers ties up with LeapFrog
Bharat Doshi, executive director & group chief financial officer of Mahindra & Mahindra and chairman of Mahindra Finance, said despite substantial growth in rural areas, markets in rural India were still under-served. “Considering our large network and LeapFrog Investments’ experience in regions like Africa and Asia, we believe we would be able to have a different approach to serve that market,” he said.
“The goal of the new partnership would be to introduce new suites of products for people who don’t have any access to insurance services. The first product in the offing would be health insurance. A pilot study has already been initiated by the two parties for health insurance,” said Andrew Kuper, president and founder of LeapFrog.
Through this initiative, MIBL aims to be India’s leading insurance broker by 2015. Doshi said the partnership was a step towards MIBL’s expansion in the insurance sector. Ramesh G Iyer, managing director, Mahindra Fina-nce, said as a non-banking financial company, MIBL already knew the cash flow of its customers. Now, it would focus on increasing its presence using customer insights.
“Now, our focus, through MIBL, would be on offering additional rural and livelihood products at affordable prices. The key is to make people understand insurance is a security product, not an investment product,” Iyer said.
This is LeapFrog’s second investment in the Indian market in a year. In September 2011, it had invested Rs 67 crore in Shriram Credit. As an impact investment fund, LeapFrog targets both robust financial returns and significant social impact. Currently, about eight million people across six countries in Africa and Asia have access to LeapFrog products.
Italy's Maschio Gaspardo Group enters India
The company has invested Rs 200 crore in this facility and will invest additional Rs 100 crore in the next five years.
At the beginning the Pune plant will manufacture at the beginning rotary tillers, mulchers and seeders for the domestic market.
The annual capacity of this plant is 20,000 units. Initially, it will manufacture over 500 machines per month. Maschio Gaspardo group specializes in the production of agricultural machinery for tillage, sowing, seeding, landscaping, forage-making, sprayers and crop care. It has also set up an R & D centre in India. Over 60 per cent localization has been achieved in this plant and remaining will be imported from Italy and China. The Pune plant will currently employ 120 people and will be increased to 250.
To start with, the new plant will manufacture products for Mahindra & Mahindra and New Holland India. Plans are also underway to serve the needs of Maschio Gaspardo Group's other global customers, by providing local supply to their India and Asia Pacific facilities. It has already sold over 17 thousand units to Mahindra and Mahindra since 2010. Gaspardo had a partnership with M & M for its OEMs.
Commenting on this, Alessio Riulini, director, Maschio Gaspardo India, said, “The growing importance of Indian agricultural market gives this country a central position in Maschio Gaspardo Group’s global strategy. Pune is an ideal location for our new plant because the city provides a strong infrastructure and a rich talent pool of skilled workforce in the manufacturing sector. Our new plant represents a key milestone in Maschio Gaspardo Group’s long-term vision of investing in fast growing markets and aligning our manufacturing footprint with the needs of our global customer base.”
He added, “Indian market requirements are very limited as compare to USA or Europe as field sizes, conditions of soil, power of tractors are lesser than other markets. The new plant will aid Maschio Gaspardo Group to achieve its aim for 2012; to exceed 280 million USD turn over.”
Dr Reddy’s launches Amoxicillin tablets, capsules in US market
The product is a bio-equivalent generic version of Amoxil (Amoxicillin) tablets, capsules, and oral suspension.
Officially launched on September 17 in the US, Amoxicillin tablets (500 mg and 875 mg), capsules (250 mg and 500 mg), and oral suspension (125 mg/5 ml, 200 mg/5 ml, 250 mg/5 ml, and 400 mg/5 ml) are approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA).
In a press release, the Hyderabad-based pharma major said the Amoxil brand and generic tablets (875 mg) has US sales of approximately $22.2 million, capsules ($67.2 m), and oral suspension ($89.5 m), for the 12 months ended June 30, 2012 quoting IMS Health.
Dr. Reddy’s Amoxicillin tablets will be available in bottle counts of 20 and 100; Amoxicillin capsules in bottle counts of 100 and 500 and oral suspension in 200 mg/5 ml and 400 mg/5 ml, in three counts of 50 ml, 75 ml, and 100 ml.
Amoxicillin oral suspension in 125 mg/5 ml and 250 mg/5 ml will be available in bottle sizes of 80 ml, 100 ml, and 150 ml.
9 road projects of Rs 11,600 cr get nod
New Delhi: Government on Thursday approved nine road projects, which are estimated to cost around Rs 11,600 crore and to be executed by state governments on public private partnership (PPP) mode. These projects, which add up to 1,226 km, are at an advance stage of bidding in Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
The finance ministry provides 20% of the total project cost, and another 20% assistance comes from the highways ministry to make these ventures financially viable in the form of viability gap funding (VGF), which was devised by the Centre in 2005. The finance ministry has approved Rs 2,295 crore under VGF and Rs 500 crore will be disbursed this fiscal.
The approval was granted by the Empowered Committee headed by economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram. Sources said raising concern on poor bidding of highway projects, Planning Commission's deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has recently written to the highways ministry to hold talks with the contractors. Government has set an ambitious task of awarding 9,500 km highway during this fiscal. Construction is on track, but awarding has left a lot to be desired.
The finance ministry provides 20% of the total project cost, and another 20% assistance comes from the highways ministry to make these ventures financially viable in the form of viability gap funding (VGF), which was devised by the Centre in 2005. The finance ministry has approved Rs 2,295 crore under VGF and Rs 500 crore will be disbursed this fiscal.
The approval was granted by the Empowered Committee headed by economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram. Sources said raising concern on poor bidding of highway projects, Planning Commission's deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has recently written to the highways ministry to hold talks with the contractors. Government has set an ambitious task of awarding 9,500 km highway during this fiscal. Construction is on track, but awarding has left a lot to be desired.
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