Kochi: Kumarakom, the famed backwater tourism hotspot in Kerala, is fast moving forward to become an international Model Responsible Tourism (MRT) destination.
The Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS) is providing equal importance to social, economic and environmental aspects at the four centres selected in the State for conversion into MRT destinations. Various local agencies such as panchayats, local community, tourism industry, NGOs will be actively involved in formulating strategies to promote RT initiatives in select areas.
S. Harikishore, Director of Kerala Tourism, said that the main strategy is to create a sustainable tourism destination with the support of tourism stakeholders. Each stakeholder will be given the responsibility in making tourism sustainable on the economic, socio-cultural and environmental fronts, he said. Four destinations in the State were identified for implementing the RT initiative. Wayanad, Thekkady and Kovalam are the other three. It was decided to elevate at least one destination into the level of international model and Kumarakom was chosen. The approval from the State Tourism Department has been received in this regard, he said.
The project has so far succeeded in creating visible benefit to the local community on economic and environmental fronts. However, efforts will be needed to promote local production, micro enterprises and value-added products that could be linked with the tourism industry so that the community can derive economic benefit out of it.
A production system was designed and implemented at Kumarakom, which will ensure regular supply of products needed by the hotels.
Success in my Habit
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
India has €2-b market potential for high-voltage transmission lines: Alstom
Birmingham: India has a market potential of €2 billion for setting up high-voltage transmission lines by 2018, France-based Alstom believes. “The HVDC (high-voltage direct current) market is estimated at €50 billion in the next 10 years, and Alstom targets a 20 per cent market share,” the company said.
The multinational conglomerate, which is into power generation and transport, said the Americas, China, India and Europe had the greatest potential in this area.
The biggest challenge for India is to ensure efficient transfer of power over long distances, while maintaining the national electricity grid without any disturbance.
As of now, most of the electricity in India is generated in alternating current (AC) form. However, there are technical and commercial problems in ferrying AC over long distances. This is why AC is converted to direct current (DC) in converter stations and transmitted through the high-voltage network). The power is again converted to AC before supplying to consumers.
“It (HVDC) has a cost, but it stabilises the network and helps in preventing black-outs like India suffered last year,” Patrick Plas, Senior Vice-President (Power Electronics and Automation) at Alstom, told Business Line. At present, the French company is engaged in setting up HVDC projects for the 800 KV-3,000 MW transmission lines between Champa and Kurukshetra.
“We have started discussions for phase-II of this project,” said Plas.
India is the second country after China to develop and implement 800 KV DC projects. Alstom said it provides innovative HVDC technologies to meet the needs of mature and emerging markets. It has set up HVDC projects of nearly 30,000 MW across Sweden, India, Brazil and Germany, among others.
HVDC has emerged as the key technology for inter-connecting regions and countries for electricity transfer, as it helps transmit more power with less infrastructure.
The network also helps synchronise electricity generated from different sources. For example, renewable sources, such as wind or solar, generate power at a voltage different from conventional sources.
It is this varying voltage that creates disturbances in transmission networks. HVDC also helps connect power plants to distant load dispatch centres and facilitates development of energy highways to transfer large amounts of power over long distances.
“HVDC improves quality, stability and reliability of electricity,” said Claes Scheibe, Vice-President (Power Electronics Applications) at Alstom.
The global energy demand is estimated to grow over 30 per cent between now and 2035. As a result, grids need to adapt and integrate renewable energy sources in a sustainable way.
The multinational conglomerate, which is into power generation and transport, said the Americas, China, India and Europe had the greatest potential in this area.
The biggest challenge for India is to ensure efficient transfer of power over long distances, while maintaining the national electricity grid without any disturbance.
As of now, most of the electricity in India is generated in alternating current (AC) form. However, there are technical and commercial problems in ferrying AC over long distances. This is why AC is converted to direct current (DC) in converter stations and transmitted through the high-voltage network). The power is again converted to AC before supplying to consumers.
“It (HVDC) has a cost, but it stabilises the network and helps in preventing black-outs like India suffered last year,” Patrick Plas, Senior Vice-President (Power Electronics and Automation) at Alstom, told Business Line. At present, the French company is engaged in setting up HVDC projects for the 800 KV-3,000 MW transmission lines between Champa and Kurukshetra.
“We have started discussions for phase-II of this project,” said Plas.
India is the second country after China to develop and implement 800 KV DC projects. Alstom said it provides innovative HVDC technologies to meet the needs of mature and emerging markets. It has set up HVDC projects of nearly 30,000 MW across Sweden, India, Brazil and Germany, among others.
HVDC has emerged as the key technology for inter-connecting regions and countries for electricity transfer, as it helps transmit more power with less infrastructure.
The network also helps synchronise electricity generated from different sources. For example, renewable sources, such as wind or solar, generate power at a voltage different from conventional sources.
It is this varying voltage that creates disturbances in transmission networks. HVDC also helps connect power plants to distant load dispatch centres and facilitates development of energy highways to transfer large amounts of power over long distances.
“HVDC improves quality, stability and reliability of electricity,” said Claes Scheibe, Vice-President (Power Electronics Applications) at Alstom.
The global energy demand is estimated to grow over 30 per cent between now and 2035. As a result, grids need to adapt and integrate renewable energy sources in a sustainable way.
Tide Water sets up Netherlands arm
Kolkata: Tide Water Oil Co (India) Ltd, now the owner of global rights for the lube brand Veedol, has set up subsidiary in the Netherlands -- Veedol International BV – to re-launch the branded products in Europe. Tide Water, which earlier only had the rights to the iconic brand for India, acquired Veedol International Ltd, UK, from BP plc in October 2011 along with the brand rights, its logos and sub brands in 126 countries.
Rajendra Nath Ghosal, MD of Tide Water, told Business Line that the company was in the process of OEM approvals from leading European automobile makers, especially those from Germany. Until recently, the brand was popular with the European car manufacturers and was the preferred choice. It has also finalised a contract manufacturing arrangement with a leading Rotterdam-based lube blender.
“Arrangements have been finalised with a distribution and logistic company for Germany, Austria and Switzerland”, Ghosal said. Strategically, located in Amsterdam, Veedol International BV, will spearhead Tide Water’s northern European re-entry.
Rajendra Nath Ghosal, MD of Tide Water, told Business Line that the company was in the process of OEM approvals from leading European automobile makers, especially those from Germany. Until recently, the brand was popular with the European car manufacturers and was the preferred choice. It has also finalised a contract manufacturing arrangement with a leading Rotterdam-based lube blender.
“Arrangements have been finalised with a distribution and logistic company for Germany, Austria and Switzerland”, Ghosal said. Strategically, located in Amsterdam, Veedol International BV, will spearhead Tide Water’s northern European re-entry.
Prime office space segment grows 16% in first half of 2013
Supplies mostly came from large commercial and special economic zone developments in major citiesM
Mumbai: The prime office space segment across key cities — Mumbai, the National Capital Region (NCR), Pune and Bangalore — saw a fresh supply of 20 million sq ft in the first half of this year, growth of 16 per cent as compared to the last year.
An estimated 10.8 million sq ft of new supply was added in the second quarter, while 9.9 million sq ft was added in the first quarter of this year, according to the India Office Market View Q2 2013 by CBRE.
The supply primarily came from large commercial and special economic zone developments in major cities.
Seven million sq ft was absorbed in the second quarter against 6.6 million sq ft in the previous quarter. Downward pressure, however, continued to persist, as absorption was down six per cent when compared to the same period last year.
Anshuman Magazine, chairman and managing director of CBRE, South Asia, said, “Despite a large supply infusion into the market, the prevailing global economic outlook continues to play a big part in expansion plans for corporates across the board. Cost reduction continues to be a primary concern and the overall mood in the leasing market remains cautious. This sentiment would continue till the global as well as Indian economic situation improves.”
The first half of 2013 saw 14 million sq ft getting absorbed across major cities. The transaction activity in second quarter of 2013 was dominated by NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune, which represented 88 per cent of the total transacted space during the quarter, the report added. The report, however, presents a bleak picture for the future.
“The prospects for the economy do not appear very bright in the coming couple of quarters and rising fiscal deficit and currency devaluation are expected to dampen the overall investment sentiment,” it said.
The overall mood in the leasing market is expected to remain cautious. While few large scale transactions for consolidation or relocation of offices might be reported, majority of the demand is expected to be for small and medium-sized office space only. And supply levels would continue to exert pressure on rental movement and market recovery in most micro-markets.
Mumbai: The prime office space segment across key cities — Mumbai, the National Capital Region (NCR), Pune and Bangalore — saw a fresh supply of 20 million sq ft in the first half of this year, growth of 16 per cent as compared to the last year.
An estimated 10.8 million sq ft of new supply was added in the second quarter, while 9.9 million sq ft was added in the first quarter of this year, according to the India Office Market View Q2 2013 by CBRE.
The supply primarily came from large commercial and special economic zone developments in major cities.
Seven million sq ft was absorbed in the second quarter against 6.6 million sq ft in the previous quarter. Downward pressure, however, continued to persist, as absorption was down six per cent when compared to the same period last year.
Anshuman Magazine, chairman and managing director of CBRE, South Asia, said, “Despite a large supply infusion into the market, the prevailing global economic outlook continues to play a big part in expansion plans for corporates across the board. Cost reduction continues to be a primary concern and the overall mood in the leasing market remains cautious. This sentiment would continue till the global as well as Indian economic situation improves.”
The first half of 2013 saw 14 million sq ft getting absorbed across major cities. The transaction activity in second quarter of 2013 was dominated by NCR, Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune, which represented 88 per cent of the total transacted space during the quarter, the report added. The report, however, presents a bleak picture for the future.
“The prospects for the economy do not appear very bright in the coming couple of quarters and rising fiscal deficit and currency devaluation are expected to dampen the overall investment sentiment,” it said.
The overall mood in the leasing market is expected to remain cautious. While few large scale transactions for consolidation or relocation of offices might be reported, majority of the demand is expected to be for small and medium-sized office space only. And supply levels would continue to exert pressure on rental movement and market recovery in most micro-markets.
PM Manmohan Singh-led panel plan to boost manufacturing
New Delhi: India will make small civilian passenger aircraft as part of measures approved by a panel led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to boost domestic manufacturing.
The plan includes increasing steel production capacity to 300 million tonnes, a 30% increase in textile exports, and domestic manufacturing capabilities in advanced materials, alloys and composites.
"If we have to grow at 8-9% in the future, this has to come through sustained growth in manufacturing, particularly labour-intensive manufacturing," the prime minister said at the meeting of the high-level committee on manufacturing. "Manufacturing and manufacturing alone can absorb all those who need better livelihood opportunities."
Nine central ministries took part in the deliberations. The additional 300 million tonnes of steel capacity will by the Central Public Sector Enterprises in collaboration with the states. India produced about 77 million tonnes of steel last year from 89 million tonnes capacity. Higher exports, apart from boosting domestic economy and generating employment, will also help trim the current account deficit which touched a record high 4.8% of GDP last fiscal.
Manufacturing growth slipped to 1% last financial year and shows no signs of pick up yet.
India has done well in automobiles, auto-components, pharmaceuticals, metals and cement, but has "not been able to leverage its strengths both in traditional industries and in emerging sectors to the extent we could have", the prime minister said, according to a statement issued by his office.
The prime minister flagged electronics and telecommunications where India does not have much manufacturing capabilities and whatever limited production was confined to lower end items.
"Our exports consist of raw materials and primary goods and our imports consist overwhelmingly of manufacturing.
We need to remedy this situation by removing the bottlenecks that hinder our progress in manufacturing and taking full advantage of our strengths," Singh said.
Steel ministry will come out with time-bound action plans in eight weeks to implement the decisions.
An inter-ministerial group under textiles secretary will prepare in four weeks a plan to boost textiles exports. Other groups will take forward decision on electric and hybrid transport, civilian aircraft production and advanced materials.
The plan includes increasing steel production capacity to 300 million tonnes, a 30% increase in textile exports, and domestic manufacturing capabilities in advanced materials, alloys and composites.
"If we have to grow at 8-9% in the future, this has to come through sustained growth in manufacturing, particularly labour-intensive manufacturing," the prime minister said at the meeting of the high-level committee on manufacturing. "Manufacturing and manufacturing alone can absorb all those who need better livelihood opportunities."
Nine central ministries took part in the deliberations. The additional 300 million tonnes of steel capacity will by the Central Public Sector Enterprises in collaboration with the states. India produced about 77 million tonnes of steel last year from 89 million tonnes capacity. Higher exports, apart from boosting domestic economy and generating employment, will also help trim the current account deficit which touched a record high 4.8% of GDP last fiscal.
Manufacturing growth slipped to 1% last financial year and shows no signs of pick up yet.
India has done well in automobiles, auto-components, pharmaceuticals, metals and cement, but has "not been able to leverage its strengths both in traditional industries and in emerging sectors to the extent we could have", the prime minister said, according to a statement issued by his office.
The prime minister flagged electronics and telecommunications where India does not have much manufacturing capabilities and whatever limited production was confined to lower end items.
"Our exports consist of raw materials and primary goods and our imports consist overwhelmingly of manufacturing.
We need to remedy this situation by removing the bottlenecks that hinder our progress in manufacturing and taking full advantage of our strengths," Singh said.
Steel ministry will come out with time-bound action plans in eight weeks to implement the decisions.
An inter-ministerial group under textiles secretary will prepare in four weeks a plan to boost textiles exports. Other groups will take forward decision on electric and hybrid transport, civilian aircraft production and advanced materials.
DLF sells 150-MW Kutch wind farm for Rs 325 cr
Coimbatore: As part of its efforts to exit from non-core business, DLF Ltd has completed the transfer of 150-MW capacity wind power project in Kutch, Gujarat, to BLP Vayu (Project 1) Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Bharat Light & Power Pvt Ltd, including related assets and liabilities along with relevant long-term loans on ‘as is where is basis’ by way of slump-sale for a lumpsum consideration of Rs 325.38 crore.
Maersk Line begins cashew express service to W. Africa
Kochi: Maersk Line (India & Sri Lanka cluster) has announced the commencement of its West Africa-India cashew express service.
The first vessel – New Yorker – will call at ICTT Vallarpadam on Tuesday for its seasonal cashew service. Franck Dedenis, MD, Maersk Line, said in a statement issued here that the service dedicated to cashew nuts imports is customised according to the trade demands. It has shorter transit time and top quality food containers.
Maersk Line also accepts cashew shipments for India from Banjul, Gambia via the Mediterranean Service.
The first vessel – New Yorker – will call at ICTT Vallarpadam on Tuesday for its seasonal cashew service. Franck Dedenis, MD, Maersk Line, said in a statement issued here that the service dedicated to cashew nuts imports is customised according to the trade demands. It has shorter transit time and top quality food containers.
Maersk Line also accepts cashew shipments for India from Banjul, Gambia via the Mediterranean Service.
Smartphone segment grows 167%
Samsung retains its top position; Indian players Micromax and Karbonn push away MNC players
Pune: Indian smartphone mobile segment is finally catching up with global peers. During January-April, 9.4 million smartphones were shipped into the country, a growth of 167.3 per cent on an annual basis, according to a survey. During the period, smartphones accounted for 12.8 per cent of the cell phone market in India.
The country saw 73.5 million mobile handset shipments for the January-April period, representing a growth of 11 per cent year-on-year, said CyberMedia Research’s India Monthly Mobile Handsets Market Review, April 2013.
While South Korea-based Samsung Electronics retained its top position in the smartphone segment, Indian players Micromax and Karbonn emerged as the number two and three players, displacing other international rivals like Nokia and Sony Corp.
“The India smartphones market saw the entry of two local vendors among the top three positions for the first time, displacing tier 1 international players. This shows that market dynamics have changed in the India smartphones segment. One of the key reasons for this is that a large number of featurephone users are migrating to entry-level smartphones,” said Tarun Pathak, analyst, CMR Telecoms Practice. “A significant proportion of these were already using the devices of local vendors and preferred to continue with a smartphone of the same brand. Thus, local vendors have been able to introduce their new smartphone offerings to this captive customer base.”
Faisal Kawoosa, lead analyst, CMR Telecoms, added the featurephones market in India had matured, whereas the smartphones category was showing promising growth. “This is attracting relatively new entrants such as Micromax and Karbonn to start offering smartphones, particularly for entry level users who would like to migrate to a more sophisticated mobile experience.”
The survey also stated the Indian players could well continue to maintain their market share during year.
“It is expected to sustain, till such time as one of the tier I international players like Nokia, BlackBerry, HTC or Sony Mobiles launch a sustained marketing and promotion drive to regain share or introduce a new, potentially disruptive mobile device technology,” Pathak added
Pune: Indian smartphone mobile segment is finally catching up with global peers. During January-April, 9.4 million smartphones were shipped into the country, a growth of 167.3 per cent on an annual basis, according to a survey. During the period, smartphones accounted for 12.8 per cent of the cell phone market in India.
The country saw 73.5 million mobile handset shipments for the January-April period, representing a growth of 11 per cent year-on-year, said CyberMedia Research’s India Monthly Mobile Handsets Market Review, April 2013.
While South Korea-based Samsung Electronics retained its top position in the smartphone segment, Indian players Micromax and Karbonn emerged as the number two and three players, displacing other international rivals like Nokia and Sony Corp.
“The India smartphones market saw the entry of two local vendors among the top three positions for the first time, displacing tier 1 international players. This shows that market dynamics have changed in the India smartphones segment. One of the key reasons for this is that a large number of featurephone users are migrating to entry-level smartphones,” said Tarun Pathak, analyst, CMR Telecoms Practice. “A significant proportion of these were already using the devices of local vendors and preferred to continue with a smartphone of the same brand. Thus, local vendors have been able to introduce their new smartphone offerings to this captive customer base.”
Faisal Kawoosa, lead analyst, CMR Telecoms, added the featurephones market in India had matured, whereas the smartphones category was showing promising growth. “This is attracting relatively new entrants such as Micromax and Karbonn to start offering smartphones, particularly for entry level users who would like to migrate to a more sophisticated mobile experience.”
The survey also stated the Indian players could well continue to maintain their market share during year.
“It is expected to sustain, till such time as one of the tier I international players like Nokia, BlackBerry, HTC or Sony Mobiles launch a sustained marketing and promotion drive to regain share or introduce a new, potentially disruptive mobile device technology,” Pathak added
World Bank to help set up tool rooms for SMEs
The manufacturing sector has been facing tough competition in the national and international markets, as most MSMEs cannot afford captive tool rooms
To improve the competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the manufacturing sector, the World Bank has joined hands with the ministry of MSME to make quality tools and testing facilities available to these enterprises at reasonable cost, by setting up tool rooms in the public sector.
This has been stated by the Federation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (FISME) on its website, quoting a notification issued by R K Rai, director, tool rooms.
The proposed project will increase the competitiveness of MSMEs and conduct training programmes to improve the skill set of the labour force in key high-value engineering sectors, including electronic systems design and manufacturing, plastics, automotive and aerospace industries.
At the institutional level, the network of hi-tech tool rooms and existing training capacity is insufficient to meet the growing demand in high-value engineering design, and needs a focused effort in order to address declining competitiveness, according to the notification.
The manufacturing sector has been facing tough competition in the national and international markets, as most MSMEs cannot afford captive tool rooms. Tool rooms are playing a useful role, and more are needed in the country, said FISME.
The cost of each tool room is estimated at $20 million. Thus an outlay of $300 million in external finance may be required for setting up the 15 tool rooms planned during the Twelfth Plan (2012-17), in addition to funds already being provided by the MSME ministry and the state government concerned.
To foster the growth of the MSME sector, the Union government has set up 10 state-of-the-art tool rooms. These promote precision and quality in the development and manufacture of sophisticated moulds, dyes, tools and equipment.
At present, the development commissioner for MSME operates 10 tool rooms and eight technology development centres. Several of these have been set up through collaborations with German and Danish agencies and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Unido). These technology centres have been providing technical and vocational training to more than 100,000 trainees annually.
The project also envisages the scaling up of the tool rooms' training activities, possibly through a change in their organisational set-up, to help improve coordination between research and industry (public and private, domestic and international), and developing linkages with ITIs and polytechnics.
According to the fourth All India Census of MSMEs, the number of enterprises and employment opportunities in this sector has grown by more than 25 per cent in the period 2006-07 to 2011-12, compared to the period 2001-02 to 2006-07.
To improve the competitiveness of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the manufacturing sector, the World Bank has joined hands with the ministry of MSME to make quality tools and testing facilities available to these enterprises at reasonable cost, by setting up tool rooms in the public sector.
This has been stated by the Federation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (FISME) on its website, quoting a notification issued by R K Rai, director, tool rooms.
The proposed project will increase the competitiveness of MSMEs and conduct training programmes to improve the skill set of the labour force in key high-value engineering sectors, including electronic systems design and manufacturing, plastics, automotive and aerospace industries.
At the institutional level, the network of hi-tech tool rooms and existing training capacity is insufficient to meet the growing demand in high-value engineering design, and needs a focused effort in order to address declining competitiveness, according to the notification.
The manufacturing sector has been facing tough competition in the national and international markets, as most MSMEs cannot afford captive tool rooms. Tool rooms are playing a useful role, and more are needed in the country, said FISME.
The cost of each tool room is estimated at $20 million. Thus an outlay of $300 million in external finance may be required for setting up the 15 tool rooms planned during the Twelfth Plan (2012-17), in addition to funds already being provided by the MSME ministry and the state government concerned.
To foster the growth of the MSME sector, the Union government has set up 10 state-of-the-art tool rooms. These promote precision and quality in the development and manufacture of sophisticated moulds, dyes, tools and equipment.
At present, the development commissioner for MSME operates 10 tool rooms and eight technology development centres. Several of these have been set up through collaborations with German and Danish agencies and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Unido). These technology centres have been providing technical and vocational training to more than 100,000 trainees annually.
The project also envisages the scaling up of the tool rooms' training activities, possibly through a change in their organisational set-up, to help improve coordination between research and industry (public and private, domestic and international), and developing linkages with ITIs and polytechnics.
According to the fourth All India Census of MSMEs, the number of enterprises and employment opportunities in this sector has grown by more than 25 per cent in the period 2006-07 to 2011-12, compared to the period 2001-02 to 2006-07.
India signs taxation pact with Albania
New Delhi: The Government of India has signed double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital with Government of Albania, as per the Ministry of Finance in a statement. The agreement was signed by Dr Sudha Sharma, Chairperson, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Mr Fatos Kerciku, the Albanian Ambassdor.
The agreement aims to provide tax stability to the residents of India and Albania and will facilitate mutual economic cooperation between the two countries. It will also stimulate the flow of investment, technology and services between India and Albania.
DTAA incorporates provisions for effective exchange of information between tax authorities of the two countries in line with latest international standards, including exchange of banking information and supply of information without recourse to domestic interest, it added.
The DTAA provides that business profits will be taxable in the source state if the activities of an enterprise constitute a Permanent Establishment (PE) in the source state. The agreement also provides for fixed place PE, building site, construction & installation PE, service PE and agency PE, besides an Article on Assistance in Collection of Taxes. This article also includes provision for taking measure of conservancy, highlighted the statement.
Moreover, it incorporates anti-abuse (limitation of benefits) provisions to ensure that the benefits of the agreement are availed of by the genuine residents of the two countries, it added.
The agreement aims to provide tax stability to the residents of India and Albania and will facilitate mutual economic cooperation between the two countries. It will also stimulate the flow of investment, technology and services between India and Albania.
DTAA incorporates provisions for effective exchange of information between tax authorities of the two countries in line with latest international standards, including exchange of banking information and supply of information without recourse to domestic interest, it added.
The DTAA provides that business profits will be taxable in the source state if the activities of an enterprise constitute a Permanent Establishment (PE) in the source state. The agreement also provides for fixed place PE, building site, construction & installation PE, service PE and agency PE, besides an Article on Assistance in Collection of Taxes. This article also includes provision for taking measure of conservancy, highlighted the statement.
Moreover, it incorporates anti-abuse (limitation of benefits) provisions to ensure that the benefits of the agreement are availed of by the genuine residents of the two countries, it added.
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