Bangalore: Jakson Power Solutions has bagged two new orders for installing solar rooftop systems at Bangalore and Pune.
According to Sundeep Gupta, Joint Managing Director, Jakson Power Solutions, “the first order is to set up the 80 KWp solar rooftop unit with a facility of battery back-up at Karnataka State Disaster Management centre, Bangalore.”
The Bangalore project is slated to be completed by July. The project will provide round-the-clock, uninterrupted power to the disaster management centre.
Gupta said the second order is from Ascot Infrastructure, Mumbai, to set up a 77.14 KWp, grid connect solar PV system without battery backup at a 4-star Hotel site near Pune, Maharashtra. This project will be commissioned by August 2013.
Success in my Habit
Monday, June 3, 2013
Spencer's Retail to invest Rs 600 crore in new stores
Chennai: Spencer’s Retail, an RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company, is chalking an aggressive growth strategy, with a focus on hyper-format stores. It plans to invest about Rs 600 crore in setting up new stores. The company also plans to come out with branded and co-branded products in the food and beverage segment.
Speaking to Business Standard, Shashwat Goenka, sector head, Spencer’s Retail, said the company would set up 80 hyper stores in the next 48 months. As of now, the company has 132 stores, including 26 hyper stores, 14 super market and 92 daily (convenient) stores.
Goenka, here to inaugurate the city’s first hyper store at Velacherry, said the new stores would predominantly be located in tier-I and tier-II cities. The company would focus on the North (Uttar Pradesh & the Delhi-National Capital Region), the East (West Bengal and Chhattisgarh) and the South (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka).
“We will open 12 stores this year and 15 next year; the rest would come up in the following two years,” Goenka said. The company has already signed property agreements for 68 stores. The investment would primarily be funded through internal accruals.
The Rs 1,400-crore company would turn earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation-positive by the third quarter this financial year and full-year cash profit would be seen in 2014-15, Goenka said. The company expects by the end of this financial year its turnover would stand at Rs 1,800 crore. Owing to the planned new stores, the revenue is expected to touch Rs 2,800 crore in 2014-15, said Mohit Kampani, chief executive, Spencer’s Retail.
In 2011-12, the company reported 15 per cent growth; in 2012-13, growth stood at 16 per cent. Kampani said in 2011-12, the industry grew 12-14 per cent, while last financial year saw single-digit growth. Hyper stores, which contributed 58 per cent to the turnover in 2012-13, are expected to contribute 70 per cent this financial year and 85 per cent in 2014-15.
Spencer’s Retail is also reworking its store format. “We made a mistake of having too many formats in many areas. Basically, retail is a local business, not national,” Kampani said. Since the company faced hurdles, in terms of cost structure in its convenient store model, it has decided to go slow on expanding the format. In the last three years, the company shut 64 such stores. However it had been decided the two major issues — cost structure and assortments — would be addressed, Kampani said, adding, “We may go for a franchisee model. Currently, we are studying various options.”
The company is also streamlining its distribution system and putting in place a new network strategy.
Goenka said the company would increase the share of unique commodities in the food and beverage segment from about five per cent to 30 per cent. These products might be company-made, produced along with another manufacturer, or sourced from other companies. Spencer’s is also set to introduce its own wine, bottled in Argentina. It is working with Ambika Appalam to introduce the latter’s products, as well as various types of ready-to-eat food in north India.
On foreign direct investment, Goenka said the company was exploring various possibilities. “Our first intention is to make the business profitable. We also have plans to come out with an initial public offering, before which we may look for private placement by roping in a strategic partner,” he said.
Speaking to Business Standard, Shashwat Goenka, sector head, Spencer’s Retail, said the company would set up 80 hyper stores in the next 48 months. As of now, the company has 132 stores, including 26 hyper stores, 14 super market and 92 daily (convenient) stores.
Goenka, here to inaugurate the city’s first hyper store at Velacherry, said the new stores would predominantly be located in tier-I and tier-II cities. The company would focus on the North (Uttar Pradesh & the Delhi-National Capital Region), the East (West Bengal and Chhattisgarh) and the South (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka).
“We will open 12 stores this year and 15 next year; the rest would come up in the following two years,” Goenka said. The company has already signed property agreements for 68 stores. The investment would primarily be funded through internal accruals.
The Rs 1,400-crore company would turn earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation-positive by the third quarter this financial year and full-year cash profit would be seen in 2014-15, Goenka said. The company expects by the end of this financial year its turnover would stand at Rs 1,800 crore. Owing to the planned new stores, the revenue is expected to touch Rs 2,800 crore in 2014-15, said Mohit Kampani, chief executive, Spencer’s Retail.
In 2011-12, the company reported 15 per cent growth; in 2012-13, growth stood at 16 per cent. Kampani said in 2011-12, the industry grew 12-14 per cent, while last financial year saw single-digit growth. Hyper stores, which contributed 58 per cent to the turnover in 2012-13, are expected to contribute 70 per cent this financial year and 85 per cent in 2014-15.
Spencer’s Retail is also reworking its store format. “We made a mistake of having too many formats in many areas. Basically, retail is a local business, not national,” Kampani said. Since the company faced hurdles, in terms of cost structure in its convenient store model, it has decided to go slow on expanding the format. In the last three years, the company shut 64 such stores. However it had been decided the two major issues — cost structure and assortments — would be addressed, Kampani said, adding, “We may go for a franchisee model. Currently, we are studying various options.”
The company is also streamlining its distribution system and putting in place a new network strategy.
Goenka said the company would increase the share of unique commodities in the food and beverage segment from about five per cent to 30 per cent. These products might be company-made, produced along with another manufacturer, or sourced from other companies. Spencer’s is also set to introduce its own wine, bottled in Argentina. It is working with Ambika Appalam to introduce the latter’s products, as well as various types of ready-to-eat food in north India.
On foreign direct investment, Goenka said the company was exploring various possibilities. “Our first intention is to make the business profitable. We also have plans to come out with an initial public offering, before which we may look for private placement by roping in a strategic partner,” he said.
Freight corridor to get Japanese boost with L&T-Sojitz contract
New Delhi: With the award of a Rs 6,700-crore contract for the western arm of the Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) to a consortium of Larsen & Toubro and Japan's Sojitz scheduled in a week, India's railway infrastructure would see another major Japanese imprint. India has received the highest Japanese official development assistance. Also, Indian companies have received the second-highest assistance from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), after Chinese companies.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was the first major Indian project that saw Japanese funding. Now, the Indian Railway-owned Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCC) is set for a long-term engagement with Japan. DFCC was awaiting a clearance for the award of the 640-km Rewari-Palanpur civil contract to the consortium after a two-way contest with Ircon-Mitsui, said a government official. "Right now, DFC is one of the biggest projects Japan is focusing on. Once this is completed, everything else will take off," Tamaki Tsukada, minister (economic), Embassy of Japan, told Business Standard.
The ¥677-billion funding for the western corridor is the first loan to an Indian project under the special terms of economic partnership (STEP), which requires 30 per cent sourcing from Japan and the lead partner in all contracts to be Japanese, said R K Gupta, managing director, DFCC. In return, Japan has extended the loan at a concessional rate of 0.2 per cent to DFCC for 40 years, which includes a 10-year-monatorium on the loan repayment. (JAPANESE AID TO INDIA)
To meet the 30 per cent sourcing norm, DFCC had to purchase 200 locomotives and head-hardened rails from Japan, along with signaling and electrical equipment. This led to fears the STEP model would raise the project cost for the western corridor. "We struggled to resolve the issue and got more competition among Japanese companies through two road shows there," said Gupta. He added finally, the bids for the World Bank-funded eastern corridor became the benchmark for the western corridor.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Japanese government arm for providing technical and financial aid to developing countries, is also DMRC's lending agency. Loans to DMRC fall under official development assistance and have been given at interest rates of 1.2-2.4 per cent; these have a repayment period of 30 years. As much as 60 per cent of the funding for phase-I and 50 per cent for phase-II came from JICA. For the three phases of the Delhi Metro, JICA provided soft loans of ¥502.6 million.
Tsukada said Japan was also focusing on three other projects-- the seawater desalination project at Dahej, Gujarat, the model solar project in Neemrana, Rajasthan, and a gas-fired independent power producer project in Maharashtra.
Though the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, in which Japan is a partner, faced hurdles related to land acquisition, regulatory issues and restrictions on captive power generation, Hiroshi Watanabe, president and chief executive of JBIC, said India ranked second, in terms of countries in which Japanese investors were interested, after China. "This is a very good indication. The government is committed to promoting industrial corridors in India, while Japanese companies are looking at another corridor between Chennai and Bangalore," he said.
JBIC's loans to India stand at $1.6 billion. So far, it has lent towards the creation of manufacturing capacity in the country. The power, steel, electricity and automobile sectors have received loans from JBIC.
Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) was the first major Indian project that saw Japanese funding. Now, the Indian Railway-owned Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCC) is set for a long-term engagement with Japan. DFCC was awaiting a clearance for the award of the 640-km Rewari-Palanpur civil contract to the consortium after a two-way contest with Ircon-Mitsui, said a government official. "Right now, DFC is one of the biggest projects Japan is focusing on. Once this is completed, everything else will take off," Tamaki Tsukada, minister (economic), Embassy of Japan, told Business Standard.
The ¥677-billion funding for the western corridor is the first loan to an Indian project under the special terms of economic partnership (STEP), which requires 30 per cent sourcing from Japan and the lead partner in all contracts to be Japanese, said R K Gupta, managing director, DFCC. In return, Japan has extended the loan at a concessional rate of 0.2 per cent to DFCC for 40 years, which includes a 10-year-monatorium on the loan repayment. (JAPANESE AID TO INDIA)
To meet the 30 per cent sourcing norm, DFCC had to purchase 200 locomotives and head-hardened rails from Japan, along with signaling and electrical equipment. This led to fears the STEP model would raise the project cost for the western corridor. "We struggled to resolve the issue and got more competition among Japanese companies through two road shows there," said Gupta. He added finally, the bids for the World Bank-funded eastern corridor became the benchmark for the western corridor.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Japanese government arm for providing technical and financial aid to developing countries, is also DMRC's lending agency. Loans to DMRC fall under official development assistance and have been given at interest rates of 1.2-2.4 per cent; these have a repayment period of 30 years. As much as 60 per cent of the funding for phase-I and 50 per cent for phase-II came from JICA. For the three phases of the Delhi Metro, JICA provided soft loans of ¥502.6 million.
Tsukada said Japan was also focusing on three other projects-- the seawater desalination project at Dahej, Gujarat, the model solar project in Neemrana, Rajasthan, and a gas-fired independent power producer project in Maharashtra.
Though the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, in which Japan is a partner, faced hurdles related to land acquisition, regulatory issues and restrictions on captive power generation, Hiroshi Watanabe, president and chief executive of JBIC, said India ranked second, in terms of countries in which Japanese investors were interested, after China. "This is a very good indication. The government is committed to promoting industrial corridors in India, while Japanese companies are looking at another corridor between Chennai and Bangalore," he said.
JBIC's loans to India stand at $1.6 billion. So far, it has lent towards the creation of manufacturing capacity in the country. The power, steel, electricity and automobile sectors have received loans from JBIC.
TVS logistics acquires US-based Wainwright Industries
Chennai: TVS Logistics on Thursday said that it has acquired 100% stake in US-based unlisted supply chain firm Wainwright Industries. The acquisition was done to build capabilities like cross docking . R Dinesh, managing director of TVS Logistics said that this marked the end of phase one of acquisition process. "We believe these services would be in demand in India soon as volumes increase," he said.
Dinesh said that revenues of Wainwright were Rs 125 crore and TVS would pay Rs 25 crore initially for the deal and while the remaining would be paid after two years, subject to performance of the unit. The second payment tranche could range between Rs 25 to Rs 50 crore depending on performance milestone achieved by the unit.
Wainwright is a 65-year-old family owned business. Post acquisition, David Robbins, the promoter of the target unit, will continue to lead this unit and the existing management has also been retained. "We are the second generation and there's no third generation to manage it further. So we looked for deals which would ensure continuity. We split our manufacturing and logistics division and were sold, to an American firm and TVS respectively ," said Robbins.
This is the second acquisition by TVS logistics in USA after it acquired manufacturers equipment and supply company (MESCO) in 2011.
Dinesh said that revenues of Wainwright were Rs 125 crore and TVS would pay Rs 25 crore initially for the deal and while the remaining would be paid after two years, subject to performance of the unit. The second payment tranche could range between Rs 25 to Rs 50 crore depending on performance milestone achieved by the unit.
Wainwright is a 65-year-old family owned business. Post acquisition, David Robbins, the promoter of the target unit, will continue to lead this unit and the existing management has also been retained. "We are the second generation and there's no third generation to manage it further. So we looked for deals which would ensure continuity. We split our manufacturing and logistics division and were sold, to an American firm and TVS respectively ," said Robbins.
This is the second acquisition by TVS logistics in USA after it acquired manufacturers equipment and supply company (MESCO) in 2011.
7th Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Divas to be held at Sydney
New Delhi: The Union Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Shri Vayalar Ravi, announced that the 7th Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Divas to be held at Sydney, Australia from 10-12th November, 2013. He said that Sydney is the most important commercial city in Australia, and has a large Indian community. It is the best location on the Eastern sea board of Australia in terms of connectivity with New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The theme of this event is ‘Connecting for a Shared Future – The Indian Diaspora, India and The Pacific’. The session of the Regional PBD will include there on bilateral business opportunities, skill development and technology, education and culture. It will also provide a forum for sharing of Ideas and experiences among the Indian Diaspora in the region.
Shri Ravi also had a video conferencing with Mr. Barry O’Farrell, Premier of New South Wales. Mr. Barry expressed pleasure for holding the 7th Regional PBD at Sydney. He said it will strengthen the bilateral ties between Indian and Australia. It is expected that 1000 participants will attend this Regional PBD from Australia and neighboring countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong, Philippines and the Pacific Island.
The Regional PBD conventions are organized by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with the collaboration of the host Government, the Indian Mission, prominent Overseas Indians and Organizations catering to the needs of the Indian Diaspora. It is a flagship event of the Ministry, which provides a platform to persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), in the process of their engagement with the Government and people of India, for charting mutually beneficial partnerships. These conventions have also been useful for PIOs and NRIs to synergize and network among themselves.
Shri Ravi also had a video conferencing with Mr. Barry O’Farrell, Premier of New South Wales. Mr. Barry expressed pleasure for holding the 7th Regional PBD at Sydney. He said it will strengthen the bilateral ties between Indian and Australia. It is expected that 1000 participants will attend this Regional PBD from Australia and neighboring countries including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong, Philippines and the Pacific Island.
The Regional PBD conventions are organized by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with the collaboration of the host Government, the Indian Mission, prominent Overseas Indians and Organizations catering to the needs of the Indian Diaspora. It is a flagship event of the Ministry, which provides a platform to persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), in the process of their engagement with the Government and people of India, for charting mutually beneficial partnerships. These conventions have also been useful for PIOs and NRIs to synergize and network among themselves.
Mahindra Satyam, Dion Global launch solution for Australia, New Zealand
Hyderabad: Mahindra Satyam and Dion Global Solutions have launched a software solution in Australia and New Zealand targeting the financial institutions. The solutions would help these institutions meet US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) regulations.
Mahindra Satyam picked about 15 per cent stake in Dion last year. The solution, FATCA TRAC, developed by the two firms, complies with FATCA regulations, providing tools for programme management, client
classification and remediation, Rohit Gandhi, Senior Vice-President (Asia-Pac, India and West Asia and Africa) of Mahindra Satyam, said here in a release on Tuesday.
Mahindra Satyam picked about 15 per cent stake in Dion last year. The solution, FATCA TRAC, developed by the two firms, complies with FATCA regulations, providing tools for programme management, client
classification and remediation, Rohit Gandhi, Senior Vice-President (Asia-Pac, India and West Asia and Africa) of Mahindra Satyam, said here in a release on Tuesday.
Honda opens third 2-wheeler plant in India
Narasapur: Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India (HMSI), India’s second-largest two-wheeler company, plans to expand its installed annual capacity 15 per cent to 4.6 million units by March 2014.
On Tuesday, the company inaugurated a plant at the industrial area here, 58 km from Bangalore, it’s third plant in the country, after those in Manesar in Haryana and Tapukara in Rajasthan.
The three plants have a combined capacity of four million units a year.
The Narasapura plant would initially produce 1.2 million units a year. By March 2014, additional capacity of 600,000 units would be added, through a third assembly line, said Keira Muramatsu, president & chief executive. The Narasapura plant would see a total investment of Rs 1,350 crore, including the funds for expansion.
The company has acquired 23 acres from the Karnataka government for creating additional facilities such as a safety riding track. By the end of this financial year, the plant, spread over 96 acres, would provide employment to 4,500 people, said Yadvinder Singh Guleria, vice-president (sales and marketing). The company would produce the Dream Yuga motorcycle at the plant from June. Two months later, it would start manufacturing Activa scooters on the second assembly line, he added.
Accordingly, the company would reduce the Activa’s waiting period from the current 15 days.
“At present, 100,000 customers are waiting for delivery of the Activa in cities such as Bangalore, Kochi, Trivandrum, Chennai, Hyderabad and Vizag,” he said.“Seeing the current trend of demand for scooters and motorcycles, we have decided to expand the capacity by 6,00,000 vehicles by the end of this financial year to raise the total capacity to 1.8 million units in Narasapura.
On Tuesday, the company inaugurated a plant at the industrial area here, 58 km from Bangalore, it’s third plant in the country, after those in Manesar in Haryana and Tapukara in Rajasthan.
The three plants have a combined capacity of four million units a year.
The Narasapura plant would initially produce 1.2 million units a year. By March 2014, additional capacity of 600,000 units would be added, through a third assembly line, said Keira Muramatsu, president & chief executive. The Narasapura plant would see a total investment of Rs 1,350 crore, including the funds for expansion.
The company has acquired 23 acres from the Karnataka government for creating additional facilities such as a safety riding track. By the end of this financial year, the plant, spread over 96 acres, would provide employment to 4,500 people, said Yadvinder Singh Guleria, vice-president (sales and marketing). The company would produce the Dream Yuga motorcycle at the plant from June. Two months later, it would start manufacturing Activa scooters on the second assembly line, he added.
Accordingly, the company would reduce the Activa’s waiting period from the current 15 days.
“At present, 100,000 customers are waiting for delivery of the Activa in cities such as Bangalore, Kochi, Trivandrum, Chennai, Hyderabad and Vizag,” he said.“Seeing the current trend of demand for scooters and motorcycles, we have decided to expand the capacity by 6,00,000 vehicles by the end of this financial year to raise the total capacity to 1.8 million units in Narasapura.
Tandem Capital launches India fund
Bangalore: Silicon Valley-based Tandem Capital, an accelerator founded in 2007 for startups in the mobile space, is launching an India-focused fund that plans to invest in 20 startups in the country over the next one year.
The California-based accelerator has roped in Manipal Education and Medical Group CEO Ranjan Pai and the company's chief advisor T V Mohandas Pai as partners who will co-invest in the fund, which will be Tandem's third. Sunil Bhargava, co-founder, and Rohit Bhagat, partner in Tandem, who met TOI in Bangalore, said they would not be able to disclose the fund size immediately. They said they would add more partners in India soon.
With India on the cusp of a mobile revolution, the opportunities to develop consumer-focused mobile technologies are seen to be huge. "For millions of Indian consumers who missed the PC revolution, the explosion of smartphones gives access to computers in their pockets," said Bhargava. India is the second-largest mobile phone market with a total of 861 million mobile connections as of February, as per data from telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( Trai).
Tandem, started by Bhargava and Doug Renert, both technology entrepreneurs, utilizes what it calls `muscle capital' to take forward the ventures it supports. Tandem's partners work closely with startup founders to get a minimum viable product to market quickly, providing hands-on support in areas such as strategy, product design, technology, user acquisition, recruitment and channel development.
Bhargava has twenty years of deep technology experience and worked in Xerox PARC, HP, Oracle, Webvan and Business Signatures. Renert has a similar tech experience in building and helping startups at Oracle, DLA and Tello.
The mobile accelerator invests in about 12 companies every year. Its partners do not mentor more than three companies at any point. The accelerator has invested in Pune-based Quadnode and Bangalore-based gaming portal Bash Gaming.
Tandem invests about $200,000 in each mobile startup and works closely with the team for an initial 6-month period. However, it could support a venture beyond the seed stage to series A and B rounds. "In India, we may have to handhold companies for a longer period," said Bhagat, who previously worked as the chairman of investment management company BlackRock's Asia Pacific region.
The California-based accelerator has roped in Manipal Education and Medical Group CEO Ranjan Pai and the company's chief advisor T V Mohandas Pai as partners who will co-invest in the fund, which will be Tandem's third. Sunil Bhargava, co-founder, and Rohit Bhagat, partner in Tandem, who met TOI in Bangalore, said they would not be able to disclose the fund size immediately. They said they would add more partners in India soon.
With India on the cusp of a mobile revolution, the opportunities to develop consumer-focused mobile technologies are seen to be huge. "For millions of Indian consumers who missed the PC revolution, the explosion of smartphones gives access to computers in their pockets," said Bhargava. India is the second-largest mobile phone market with a total of 861 million mobile connections as of February, as per data from telecom regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( Trai).
Tandem, started by Bhargava and Doug Renert, both technology entrepreneurs, utilizes what it calls `muscle capital' to take forward the ventures it supports. Tandem's partners work closely with startup founders to get a minimum viable product to market quickly, providing hands-on support in areas such as strategy, product design, technology, user acquisition, recruitment and channel development.
Bhargava has twenty years of deep technology experience and worked in Xerox PARC, HP, Oracle, Webvan and Business Signatures. Renert has a similar tech experience in building and helping startups at Oracle, DLA and Tello.
The mobile accelerator invests in about 12 companies every year. Its partners do not mentor more than three companies at any point. The accelerator has invested in Pune-based Quadnode and Bangalore-based gaming portal Bash Gaming.
Tandem invests about $200,000 in each mobile startup and works closely with the team for an initial 6-month period. However, it could support a venture beyond the seed stage to series A and B rounds. "In India, we may have to handhold companies for a longer period," said Bhagat, who previously worked as the chairman of investment management company BlackRock's Asia Pacific region.
Teledensity rises from 7.04 pc to 73.07 pc in last nine years average call rates drop to 47 paisa from Rs 2.89
New Delhi: The Indian telecom sector has registered a phenomenal growth during the past few years and has become second largest telephone network in the world, only after China. A series of reform measures by the Government, the wireless technology and active participation by private sector played an important role in the exponential growth of telecom sector in the country. National Telecom Policy-2012 (NTP-2012) was announced with the primary objective of maximizing public good by making available affordable, reliable and secure telecommunication and broadband services across the entire country.
With the implementation of NTP 2012, the number of telephonic connections rose exponentially. The number of telephone connection was 893.14 million as on January 2013 with the rural telephone connections having increased by nearly 10 million in the last year. The overall teledensity stood at 73.07 per cent as on January 2013 with the rural teledensity crossing 40 per cent. This is in sharp contrast with the overall teledensity of 7.04 per cent and rural teledensity of merely 1.7 per cent in March 2004.
As far as mobile penetration is concerned, the preference for use of wireless telephony continues. The share of wireless telephones increased from 96.62% as on March 31, 2012 to 96.74% by the end of June 2012 and thereafter slightly declined to 96.56% by the end of December 2012. On the other hand, the share of landline telephones slightly increased from 3.38% to 3.44% during the period from April to December 2012.
The wireless subscriber base increased from 33.6 million in March 2004 to 864.72 million as on December 2012. On the other hand, the average tariff for each outgoing call per minute for GSM services dropped from Rs. 2.89 in March 2004 to 47 paisa in December 2012.
With the implementation of NTP 2012, the number of telephonic connections rose exponentially. The number of telephone connection was 893.14 million as on January 2013 with the rural telephone connections having increased by nearly 10 million in the last year. The overall teledensity stood at 73.07 per cent as on January 2013 with the rural teledensity crossing 40 per cent. This is in sharp contrast with the overall teledensity of 7.04 per cent and rural teledensity of merely 1.7 per cent in March 2004.
As far as mobile penetration is concerned, the preference for use of wireless telephony continues. The share of wireless telephones increased from 96.62% as on March 31, 2012 to 96.74% by the end of June 2012 and thereafter slightly declined to 96.56% by the end of December 2012. On the other hand, the share of landline telephones slightly increased from 3.38% to 3.44% during the period from April to December 2012.
The wireless subscriber base increased from 33.6 million in March 2004 to 864.72 million as on December 2012. On the other hand, the average tariff for each outgoing call per minute for GSM services dropped from Rs. 2.89 in March 2004 to 47 paisa in December 2012.
Top five Indian IT services firms grew 13 per cent in 2012
Bangalore: Last year, the top five Indian information technology (IT) services providers - Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, HCL and Cognizant- together grew 13.3 per cent, accounting for revenues of $34.3 billion. During the same period, the overall IT services industry grew just two per cent, research and advisory firm Gartner said today.
However, the companies' growth was lower than 21.8 per cent, their combined growth in 2011.
The Gartner report includes the Nasdaq-listed Cognizant, as the company predominantly has an India-based delivery model and its management is largely India-based.
According to the report, though the growth of India-based providers had slowed for some years, the trend was more pronounced last year. However, "this growth rate is still quite high compared with IT services worldwide, or the growth of the top 10 global IT services providers", it said.
The top five Indian IT services companies improved their market share from 3.5 per cent in 2011 to 3.7 per cent in 2012, the report said. Cognizant, which overtook Infosys in terms of annual revenues in 2012, improved its global ranking from 28 in 2011 to 23 in 2012.
The difference between the revenues of TCS and 10th ranked Hitachi was about $1.5 billion, the report said. In 2012, TCS continued to hold on to its global ranking of 16.
"The top five Indian service providers have continuously chipped away market share from large multinational corporation providers. In the past five years, they have been winning large outsourcing deals (those with a total contract value of more than $100 million)," said Arup Roy, research director at Gartner. "Most of these firms have a large-deal pursuit sales team, which goes after deals of more than $35 million in contract value," he added.
However, the companies' growth was lower than 21.8 per cent, their combined growth in 2011.
The Gartner report includes the Nasdaq-listed Cognizant, as the company predominantly has an India-based delivery model and its management is largely India-based.
According to the report, though the growth of India-based providers had slowed for some years, the trend was more pronounced last year. However, "this growth rate is still quite high compared with IT services worldwide, or the growth of the top 10 global IT services providers", it said.
The top five Indian IT services companies improved their market share from 3.5 per cent in 2011 to 3.7 per cent in 2012, the report said. Cognizant, which overtook Infosys in terms of annual revenues in 2012, improved its global ranking from 28 in 2011 to 23 in 2012.
The difference between the revenues of TCS and 10th ranked Hitachi was about $1.5 billion, the report said. In 2012, TCS continued to hold on to its global ranking of 16.
"The top five Indian service providers have continuously chipped away market share from large multinational corporation providers. In the past five years, they have been winning large outsourcing deals (those with a total contract value of more than $100 million)," said Arup Roy, research director at Gartner. "Most of these firms have a large-deal pursuit sales team, which goes after deals of more than $35 million in contract value," he added.
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