Clears key hurdle as Isro's slingshot sets off its 300-day voyage to the red planet
Chennai: India's vision to join the league of global space agencies on Mars exploration turned brighter on Sunday, with a major milestone - the slingshot of the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) to the solar orbit - being completed.
The spacecraft would reach the Mars orbit on September 24, 2014, after a 10-month journey around the sun and travelling 440 million km.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) conducted the critical manoeuvre to place the Mars orbiter in the trajectory concerned almost an hour past midnight on November 30. The slingshot required precise calculations to eliminate the risk of missing the new orbit.
With this, India has become the first Asian nation, and the fourth globally, to leap into interplanetary space. Only about half the 50-odd spacecraft sent by other countries to Mars have been able to complete the journey so far. Most countries failed at the point of moving away from the Earth's orbit. The spacecraft of the previous one, China's Mars probe in November 2011, had disintegrated before leaving the Earth's orbit.
Minutes after the trans-Mars injection (code name for the slingshot operation), Isro Chairman K Radhakrishnan told Business Standard: "The injection operation was performed successfully at 1.19 am and everything is fine."
Soon, Isro wrote to its followers on its Facebook page: "While Mangalyaan takes 1.2 billion dreams to Mars, we wish you sweet dreams!"
The orbiter was given an incremental velocity of 648 metres a second for the crucial manoeuvre on its 680-million-km voyage to the Mars. The slingshot was to give the spacecraft a specific velocity, so that it could be closer to the Mars (about 500 km, plus or minus 50 km) in September 2014, said Radhakrishnan.
The success of the spacecraft, scheduled to orbit the Mars in September 2014, would put India in the elite club of the US, Europe, and Russia, the probes of which have so far been successful in orbiting the Mars or landing on it.
"Of the three important events, two have been completed successfully," Radhakrishnan said. The first was the launch of the orbiter (November 5) and the second injecting it in the trans-Mars orbit (December 1). The third important event would be placing MOM in the Mars' orbit in September 2014. "If we are able to reduce the velocity precisely at that particular point of time, we would get into the orbit and, finally, the instruments would be operated," he said.
The challenge before Sunday's operation was placing the craft in the precise orbit. "To get thrown out of the Earth's orbit, towards the Mars, with the right velocity, in the right direction and at the right time - that's MOM's escape challenge," said Isro.
There would be three or more mid-course corrections, based on the orbit determination, added Radhakrishnan.
NAIL-BITING MOMENTS
Nov 30
11.50 pm: MOM's on-board computer takes over operations
Dec 1
12.30 am: Forward rotation to put spacecraft in the right direction for the slingshot successful
12.49 am: The 440-N liquid engine begins 23-minute firing for trans-Mars injection
1.00 am: Isro says performance normal
1.02 am: Last perigee achieved
1.19 am: Isro says trans-Mars injection completed
Success in my Habit
Monday, December 2, 2013
Petroleum Minister Dr Moily dedicates to nation India’s first state-of-the-art styrene butadiene rubber plant at Panipat
New Delhi: Dr M Veerappa Moily dedicated to nation India’s first State-of-the-art Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) Plant at Panipat, Harayana today in the presence of Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas & Textiles Smt. Panabakka Lakshmi and other dignitaries.
Dr Moily described this is as a milestone achievement by Indian Oil Corporation, India’s largest company to visualise and implement such a project which will provide us the product E-SBR for which we were looking at other countries. This will result in substantial amount of savings of foreign exchange. He congratulated and thanked Marubeni and TSRC for coming to India and joining hands with IndianOil in setting up of this state-of-the-art SBR Plant in Panipat. SBR is suitable to produce various products like tyres, conveyor belts, hose, shoe soles, industrial goods, etc with superior processing properties like flexing resistance, tear and cracking resistance, improved abrasive resistance, etc.
The project is considered as a path breaking venture of national importance as there is no operating capacity in the country and the entire domestic demand is met through imports. IndianOil Corporation Limited, M/s.TSRC Corporation, Taiwan and M/s.Marubeni Corporation, Japan are Joint Venture Partners in this prestigious project implemented under the banner of Indian Synthetic Rubber Ltd (ISRL). It is based on Butadiene available from IndianOil’s Panipat Naphtha Cracker Complex.
Completed at an estimated cost of Rs.958 crore, the project is designed to produce 120 KTA of high quality styrene Butadiene Rubber which is currently imported for manufacture of automotive tyres and other applications. Commissioning of this prestigious project would significantly contribute to foreign exchange savings and also generation of employment opportunities in the state of Haryana.
Dr Moily also expressed satisfaction that IndianOil has made full use of the liberalisation and globalisation by expanding its wings and has emerged as the largest commercial organisation of the country. IndianOil has moved forward in its Hydrocarbon value chain by entering the Petrochemical Industry and in a few years only it has become a key player in Petrochemical Industry. ISRL is a part of the integrating petrochemical value chain and enhancing value of IndianOil’s Naptha Cracker at Panipat.
In the current scenario, Synthetic rubber consumption has increased due to the rapid industrialization of the Indian economy. The tyre sector is the largest end-use sector for synthetic rubber in India. Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) which accounts for 40% of the total synthetic rubber demand is consumed mostly in the tyre sector. As the tyre production in India is increasing at a fast pace, the synthetic rubber consumption has also simultaneously increased. This manufacturing unit of SBR was planned in the backdrop of this increasing demand for synthetic rubber and to reduce India’s import dependency.
Hailing the growth of oil sector, he recalled that, India has been one of the first countries to set up Oil Refinery as early as 1901, however, further capacity addition only started after independence. For years, the sector faced many challenges like Capacity Addition, Augmenting Supply Sources, crude handling, logistics, process flexibility, Energy Efficiency, Value Addition and Product Quality Improvement. Industry in the past has added significant capacity through innovative low cost augmentation to mitigate the fund constraint. Till the end of 20th Century, country remained deficit in refining. With delicensing of Refining Sector, the country’s refining capacity has leapfrogged from a modest 62 MMTPA in 1998 to about 215 MMTPA at present, comprising of 22 refineries - 17 under Public Sector, 2 under Joint Sector and 3 under private sector. With grass-root refineries at Paradip (15 MMTPA) and NOCL (6.0) and expansion of some of the existing refineries, the total refining capacity is expected to touch around 271.2 MMTPA by the end of the ensuing 12th plan. Further, during 13th Plan, it is expected to go upto 332.9 MMTPA at the end of 13th Plan.
The Minister informed that India is already on the POL export map. The country exported 63.4 MMT during 2012-13 (prov.), registering a growth 5%.over 2011-12. India’s refining sector is also set for major capacity expansion and debottlenecking of its existing refineries. The product yields are also being realigned to meet ever increasing environmental norms for auto/industrial fuels and projected demand for various distillates and also to improve the GRMs. During 2012-13, Indian ports handled import-export cargos of about 79.3 MMT of product and 200.74 MMT of crude oil. These volumes are expected to increase considerably in future owing to improved yields from Indian refineries, new capacity additions & aligned with product demand patterns. The actual consumption of Petroleum Products during 2012-13 was 155 MMTPA. The domestic demand of Petroleum Products is projected to increase to about 187 MMTPA by 2016-17.
In upstream sector, Dr Moily underlined that his task is clearly cut out and since day one stating, “I have started working towards strengthening the E&P sector, removing bottlenecks, improving investor sentiment and bringing in necessary reforms so that we gradually move towards self reliance.”
He stressed that it is not an easy task and said, “people have disbelief and apprehensions about my vision of achieving import independence by the year 2030, but I have full faith that this can be achieved. I often say and I will repeat again, first we should mine our mind, petroleum mining will automatically follow. I refuse to believe that India does not have enough resources, we may not be endowed like middle east countries, but I am fairly confident that if we can nurture and nourish our E&P sector properly, we can very well take care of at least our own requirement.”
Smt P Lakshmi also hailed Indian Oil and other partners in completing this project of national importance.
Dr Moily described this is as a milestone achievement by Indian Oil Corporation, India’s largest company to visualise and implement such a project which will provide us the product E-SBR for which we were looking at other countries. This will result in substantial amount of savings of foreign exchange. He congratulated and thanked Marubeni and TSRC for coming to India and joining hands with IndianOil in setting up of this state-of-the-art SBR Plant in Panipat. SBR is suitable to produce various products like tyres, conveyor belts, hose, shoe soles, industrial goods, etc with superior processing properties like flexing resistance, tear and cracking resistance, improved abrasive resistance, etc.
The project is considered as a path breaking venture of national importance as there is no operating capacity in the country and the entire domestic demand is met through imports. IndianOil Corporation Limited, M/s.TSRC Corporation, Taiwan and M/s.Marubeni Corporation, Japan are Joint Venture Partners in this prestigious project implemented under the banner of Indian Synthetic Rubber Ltd (ISRL). It is based on Butadiene available from IndianOil’s Panipat Naphtha Cracker Complex.
Completed at an estimated cost of Rs.958 crore, the project is designed to produce 120 KTA of high quality styrene Butadiene Rubber which is currently imported for manufacture of automotive tyres and other applications. Commissioning of this prestigious project would significantly contribute to foreign exchange savings and also generation of employment opportunities in the state of Haryana.
Dr Moily also expressed satisfaction that IndianOil has made full use of the liberalisation and globalisation by expanding its wings and has emerged as the largest commercial organisation of the country. IndianOil has moved forward in its Hydrocarbon value chain by entering the Petrochemical Industry and in a few years only it has become a key player in Petrochemical Industry. ISRL is a part of the integrating petrochemical value chain and enhancing value of IndianOil’s Naptha Cracker at Panipat.
In the current scenario, Synthetic rubber consumption has increased due to the rapid industrialization of the Indian economy. The tyre sector is the largest end-use sector for synthetic rubber in India. Styrene Butadiene Rubber (SBR) which accounts for 40% of the total synthetic rubber demand is consumed mostly in the tyre sector. As the tyre production in India is increasing at a fast pace, the synthetic rubber consumption has also simultaneously increased. This manufacturing unit of SBR was planned in the backdrop of this increasing demand for synthetic rubber and to reduce India’s import dependency.
Hailing the growth of oil sector, he recalled that, India has been one of the first countries to set up Oil Refinery as early as 1901, however, further capacity addition only started after independence. For years, the sector faced many challenges like Capacity Addition, Augmenting Supply Sources, crude handling, logistics, process flexibility, Energy Efficiency, Value Addition and Product Quality Improvement. Industry in the past has added significant capacity through innovative low cost augmentation to mitigate the fund constraint. Till the end of 20th Century, country remained deficit in refining. With delicensing of Refining Sector, the country’s refining capacity has leapfrogged from a modest 62 MMTPA in 1998 to about 215 MMTPA at present, comprising of 22 refineries - 17 under Public Sector, 2 under Joint Sector and 3 under private sector. With grass-root refineries at Paradip (15 MMTPA) and NOCL (6.0) and expansion of some of the existing refineries, the total refining capacity is expected to touch around 271.2 MMTPA by the end of the ensuing 12th plan. Further, during 13th Plan, it is expected to go upto 332.9 MMTPA at the end of 13th Plan.
The Minister informed that India is already on the POL export map. The country exported 63.4 MMT during 2012-13 (prov.), registering a growth 5%.over 2011-12. India’s refining sector is also set for major capacity expansion and debottlenecking of its existing refineries. The product yields are also being realigned to meet ever increasing environmental norms for auto/industrial fuels and projected demand for various distillates and also to improve the GRMs. During 2012-13, Indian ports handled import-export cargos of about 79.3 MMT of product and 200.74 MMT of crude oil. These volumes are expected to increase considerably in future owing to improved yields from Indian refineries, new capacity additions & aligned with product demand patterns. The actual consumption of Petroleum Products during 2012-13 was 155 MMTPA. The domestic demand of Petroleum Products is projected to increase to about 187 MMTPA by 2016-17.
In upstream sector, Dr Moily underlined that his task is clearly cut out and since day one stating, “I have started working towards strengthening the E&P sector, removing bottlenecks, improving investor sentiment and bringing in necessary reforms so that we gradually move towards self reliance.”
He stressed that it is not an easy task and said, “people have disbelief and apprehensions about my vision of achieving import independence by the year 2030, but I have full faith that this can be achieved. I often say and I will repeat again, first we should mine our mind, petroleum mining will automatically follow. I refuse to believe that India does not have enough resources, we may not be endowed like middle east countries, but I am fairly confident that if we can nurture and nourish our E&P sector properly, we can very well take care of at least our own requirement.”
Smt P Lakshmi also hailed Indian Oil and other partners in completing this project of national importance.
ZTE targets $800-million India revenue next year
New Delhi: Chinese telecommunications equipment and network solutions provider ZTE said the company is targeting $800-million revenue next year in India.
This is double of what the company earned as on October this year. Globally, ZTE’s revenue was at $6.14 billion in the first half of 2013.
The company expects a significant portion of the revenue growth to come from its handset business.
ZTE had partnered with Pune-based Calyx to enter the handset market in India in May.
Since then, it has launched many smartphones and aims to sell two-million units by next year.
Expansion plans
As a part of its retail expansion plans, the company also inaugurated its new exclusive experience zone in Gurgaon and will invest $10 million in marketing and branding initiatives in India.
“While online purchasing is fast picking up in the country, there is still a large Indian audience which prefers to have a hands-on experience of the product before making any purchasing decision,” Xu Dejun, Chief Executive Officer, ZTE India, said.
The ZTE exclusive zone in Gurgaon will also showcase the company’s limited edition of smartphones, data cards and accessories, he said.
The company will set up more stores in other potential cities and continue to invest aggressively in its terminals business, he added.
Reinforcing its presence of over 13 years in the country, ZTE recently forayed into the open market with a large portfolio of smartphones and data cards.
Managed services
In addition, ZTE entered the managed services space with MTS after service contracts.
On the network side ZTE had bagged a deal to manage Airtel’s 4G network in Kolkata and Punjab.
This is double of what the company earned as on October this year. Globally, ZTE’s revenue was at $6.14 billion in the first half of 2013.
The company expects a significant portion of the revenue growth to come from its handset business.
ZTE had partnered with Pune-based Calyx to enter the handset market in India in May.
Since then, it has launched many smartphones and aims to sell two-million units by next year.
Expansion plans
As a part of its retail expansion plans, the company also inaugurated its new exclusive experience zone in Gurgaon and will invest $10 million in marketing and branding initiatives in India.
“While online purchasing is fast picking up in the country, there is still a large Indian audience which prefers to have a hands-on experience of the product before making any purchasing decision,” Xu Dejun, Chief Executive Officer, ZTE India, said.
The ZTE exclusive zone in Gurgaon will also showcase the company’s limited edition of smartphones, data cards and accessories, he said.
The company will set up more stores in other potential cities and continue to invest aggressively in its terminals business, he added.
Reinforcing its presence of over 13 years in the country, ZTE recently forayed into the open market with a large portfolio of smartphones and data cards.
Managed services
In addition, ZTE entered the managed services space with MTS after service contracts.
On the network side ZTE had bagged a deal to manage Airtel’s 4G network in Kolkata and Punjab.
Triumph rides into India with up to Rs 20-lakh bikes
Company aims to sell around 500 units within the first six months of the launch
New Delhi: British motorcycle brand Triumph on Thursday entered India with 10 models, priced between Rs 5.7 lakh and Rs 20 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), to challenge the dominance of Harley-Davidson here.
The US motorcycle maker, which has on offer 12 motorcycles between Rs 5.91 lakh and Rs 29 lakh, accounts for three of every four superbikes (with engine capacity above 550cc) sold in India. Triumph is expecting to close the year with sales of 50,000 bikes. Harley’s annual sales are 250,000 bikes.
Triumph, which has set up a wholly owned subsidiary in the country, will start delivering its bikes from January next year. Bookings are scheduled to begin in the second week of December.
Vimal Sumbly, managing director, Triumph Motorcycles India, said, “We are looking at selling 400-500 units in the next six months. In the next financial year (the company follows July-June financial year), we are eyeing sales of over 1,000 bikes.” The company plans to have nine dealerships by the end of March. “In the first phase, we will start sales through two dealerships in Hyderabad and Bangalore in December. Two more outlets in Delhi and Mumbai would be operational by the end of January. In the second phase of expansion, we will add dealerships in Kolkata, Chennai and Pune to have a total of nine sales points,” said Sumbly.
While six of the 10 models on offer in India will be assembled locally, the costlier ones — Thunderbird Storm, Rocket III Roadster, Tiger 800 XC and Tiger Explorer — will be imported as completely built units from the UK and Thailand.
New Delhi: British motorcycle brand Triumph on Thursday entered India with 10 models, priced between Rs 5.7 lakh and Rs 20 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), to challenge the dominance of Harley-Davidson here.
The US motorcycle maker, which has on offer 12 motorcycles between Rs 5.91 lakh and Rs 29 lakh, accounts for three of every four superbikes (with engine capacity above 550cc) sold in India. Triumph is expecting to close the year with sales of 50,000 bikes. Harley’s annual sales are 250,000 bikes.
Triumph, which has set up a wholly owned subsidiary in the country, will start delivering its bikes from January next year. Bookings are scheduled to begin in the second week of December.
Vimal Sumbly, managing director, Triumph Motorcycles India, said, “We are looking at selling 400-500 units in the next six months. In the next financial year (the company follows July-June financial year), we are eyeing sales of over 1,000 bikes.” The company plans to have nine dealerships by the end of March. “In the first phase, we will start sales through two dealerships in Hyderabad and Bangalore in December. Two more outlets in Delhi and Mumbai would be operational by the end of January. In the second phase of expansion, we will add dealerships in Kolkata, Chennai and Pune to have a total of nine sales points,” said Sumbly.
While six of the 10 models on offer in India will be assembled locally, the costlier ones — Thunderbird Storm, Rocket III Roadster, Tiger 800 XC and Tiger Explorer — will be imported as completely built units from the UK and Thailand.
Cadila Pharma working on super-bug NDM-1; soon to commercialize India's first VLP vaccine
AHMEDABAD: Ahmedabad-based Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd, a privately owned drug company by Modi family, will commercialise India's first virus like particle (VLP) based technology seasonal flu vaccine within next 18 months. The company is also working on antibiotic resistance breaker (ARBs) technology to solve the problem rising from the super-bug - New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase-1 (NDM-1).
Rajiv Modi, Chairman and managing director of Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd said "The VLP technology flu vaccine would be commericialised within next 12 to 18 months". In 2009, Cadila Pharmaceutical acquired 12.5 million shares of Nasdaq-listed Novavax for an aggregated amount of $11 million then.
Same year, Novavax and Cadila Pharma created a joint venture called CPL Biologicals Pvt Ltd, to develop and manufacture vaccines using VLP technology. Traditionally, in India and throughout the world, conventional egg-based technology is used to produce vaccine. However, egg-based technology is time consuming and it requires huge capital investment for creating its infrastructure, thus making egg-based vaccines are costly.
While, the new technology VLP are cheaper and is faster in producing a vaccine for a new flu. Usually, this technology has a huge potential for vaccine making for flue virus which mutates quickly.
According to Mr Modi, the company has already applied to Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for getting the approval for VLP-based seasonal flu vaccines. The company is also working on developing another three VLP-based vaccines for Rabies vaccine, Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Hepatitis E Virus (HEV).
The company is also working on antibiotic resistance breakers (ARBs) technology after a recent collaboration with UK-based Helperby Therapeutics. "If everything goes well, we would be able to commercialize the ARBs within another three years." said Mr Modi.
ARBs is a technology which can be combined with other antibiotics to treat those diseases where bacteria have developed capacity to withstand even higher dosages of antibiotic drugs, thus making those bacteria a drug resistant bacteria.
There are 20 classes of antibiotic drugs out of which Cadila Pharmaceuticals is working on five classes including on a antibiotic class that faces difficulties from - New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase-1 (NDM-1). The super-bug NDM-1 is an enzyme that makes bacteria resistant to a broad range of antibiotics.
The super-bug have been found in drinking water around New Delhi and in patients in over 35 countries, many of them medical tourist who traveled to India for medical care then returned home to Western countries. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the first reports of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis or XDR TB began surfacing in 2006.
Rajiv Modi, Chairman and managing director of Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd said "The VLP technology flu vaccine would be commericialised within next 12 to 18 months". In 2009, Cadila Pharmaceutical acquired 12.5 million shares of Nasdaq-listed Novavax for an aggregated amount of $11 million then.
Same year, Novavax and Cadila Pharma created a joint venture called CPL Biologicals Pvt Ltd, to develop and manufacture vaccines using VLP technology. Traditionally, in India and throughout the world, conventional egg-based technology is used to produce vaccine. However, egg-based technology is time consuming and it requires huge capital investment for creating its infrastructure, thus making egg-based vaccines are costly.
While, the new technology VLP are cheaper and is faster in producing a vaccine for a new flu. Usually, this technology has a huge potential for vaccine making for flue virus which mutates quickly.
According to Mr Modi, the company has already applied to Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for getting the approval for VLP-based seasonal flu vaccines. The company is also working on developing another three VLP-based vaccines for Rabies vaccine, Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and Hepatitis E Virus (HEV).
The company is also working on antibiotic resistance breakers (ARBs) technology after a recent collaboration with UK-based Helperby Therapeutics. "If everything goes well, we would be able to commercialize the ARBs within another three years." said Mr Modi.
ARBs is a technology which can be combined with other antibiotics to treat those diseases where bacteria have developed capacity to withstand even higher dosages of antibiotic drugs, thus making those bacteria a drug resistant bacteria.
There are 20 classes of antibiotic drugs out of which Cadila Pharmaceuticals is working on five classes including on a antibiotic class that faces difficulties from - New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase-1 (NDM-1). The super-bug NDM-1 is an enzyme that makes bacteria resistant to a broad range of antibiotics.
The super-bug have been found in drinking water around New Delhi and in patients in over 35 countries, many of them medical tourist who traveled to India for medical care then returned home to Western countries. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the first reports of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis or XDR TB began surfacing in 2006.
Japan's Air Water picks up 51% in Ellenbarrie
Kolkata: Japanese industrial gas maker Air Water Inc has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Kolkata-based Ellenbarrie Industrial Gases Ltd for around Rs 100 crore, or 1.8 billion yen.
The listed Indian company has a capacity of 235 tonnes per day (tpd) at its three plants for liquefied oxygen, nitrogen and argon gases. It also has a packaging, refilling and acetylene plant, a fleet of 80 tankers and a steel trading business.
Masato Machida, Corporate Director of Air Water and a Director of Eellenbarrie, said after the acquisition, the management of the Indian company would remain unchanged. Air Water will have three directors on the board, while original promoters, the Agarwala family that will hold a 23.9 per cent stake, will also have three board berths.
India plans
The Indian industrial gas space is dominated by multinationals such as Linde, Praxair, Air Product and Air Liquid. Machida told Business Line that apart from growth in industrial gas capacities in merchant plants, Ellenbarrie would look for opportunity in oxygen-related medical equipment, including piping and operation theatre gadgets.
He added the company’s steel trading would continue to get support from the new promoter. The future growth mode for the Rs 80-crore Ellenbarrie would also include captive plant for automobile clusters in Chennai and Gurgaon.
Ellenbarrie is setting up a 150-tpd air separation unit in Hyderabad at a cost of Rs 60 crore. The plant would be ready by April 2014. At present, the company operates one unit (135 tpd) in Vizag and another at Uluberia (100 tpd) near here.
Padam Agarwala, who would continue as the Managing Director in the new dispensation, said the company would firm up its growth plans in the next few quarters.
The listed Indian company has a capacity of 235 tonnes per day (tpd) at its three plants for liquefied oxygen, nitrogen and argon gases. It also has a packaging, refilling and acetylene plant, a fleet of 80 tankers and a steel trading business.
Masato Machida, Corporate Director of Air Water and a Director of Eellenbarrie, said after the acquisition, the management of the Indian company would remain unchanged. Air Water will have three directors on the board, while original promoters, the Agarwala family that will hold a 23.9 per cent stake, will also have three board berths.
India plans
The Indian industrial gas space is dominated by multinationals such as Linde, Praxair, Air Product and Air Liquid. Machida told Business Line that apart from growth in industrial gas capacities in merchant plants, Ellenbarrie would look for opportunity in oxygen-related medical equipment, including piping and operation theatre gadgets.
He added the company’s steel trading would continue to get support from the new promoter. The future growth mode for the Rs 80-crore Ellenbarrie would also include captive plant for automobile clusters in Chennai and Gurgaon.
Ellenbarrie is setting up a 150-tpd air separation unit in Hyderabad at a cost of Rs 60 crore. The plant would be ready by April 2014. At present, the company operates one unit (135 tpd) in Vizag and another at Uluberia (100 tpd) near here.
Padam Agarwala, who would continue as the Managing Director in the new dispensation, said the company would firm up its growth plans in the next few quarters.
RBI to relax investment limit of NBFCs in insurers
As per present norms, restriction of a group limit of the NBFC should not exceed 50% of the equity of the insurance JV company
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Thursday it would consider relaxation of the 50 per cent group limit for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) investing in insurance companies, on a case-to-case basis.
According to the present norms, in case more than one company (irrespective of doing financial activity or not) in the same group of the NBFC wishes to acquire stake in the insurance company, the contribution by all companies in the same group should not exceed 50 per cent equity investment in the insurance joint venture (JV) company.
RBI said that in the operation of of the insurance company, very often, Irda required an insurance company to expand its capital, taking into account the stipulations of the Insurance Act and the solvency requirements of the insurance company.
“The restriction of a group limit of the NBFC to 50 per cent of the equity of the insurance JV company prescribed in the above mentioned circular may act as a constraint for the insurance company in meeting the requirement of Irda,” said RBI in the notification.
Insurance company executives said that as currently companies do not fall in this category, this mandate might give relief to them in the future. “There could be a new partner entering and exiting the insurance space. The relaxation will be beneficial to the future players,” said an insurance official.
On a review, RBI said it has been decided that in cases where Irda issues calls for capital infusion into the insurance JV company, the bank may, on a case-to-case basis, consider need-based relaxation of the 50 per cent group limit specified in the earlier circular. The relaxation, if permitted, will be subject to compliance by the NBFC with all regulatory conditions specified in earlier circulars.
NBFCs who want to apply for such relaxation have to apply to the regional office of RBI under whose jurisdiction its registered office is situated, along with supporting documents.
Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said on Thursday it would consider relaxation of the 50 per cent group limit for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) investing in insurance companies, on a case-to-case basis.
According to the present norms, in case more than one company (irrespective of doing financial activity or not) in the same group of the NBFC wishes to acquire stake in the insurance company, the contribution by all companies in the same group should not exceed 50 per cent equity investment in the insurance joint venture (JV) company.
RBI said that in the operation of of the insurance company, very often, Irda required an insurance company to expand its capital, taking into account the stipulations of the Insurance Act and the solvency requirements of the insurance company.
“The restriction of a group limit of the NBFC to 50 per cent of the equity of the insurance JV company prescribed in the above mentioned circular may act as a constraint for the insurance company in meeting the requirement of Irda,” said RBI in the notification.
Insurance company executives said that as currently companies do not fall in this category, this mandate might give relief to them in the future. “There could be a new partner entering and exiting the insurance space. The relaxation will be beneficial to the future players,” said an insurance official.
On a review, RBI said it has been decided that in cases where Irda issues calls for capital infusion into the insurance JV company, the bank may, on a case-to-case basis, consider need-based relaxation of the 50 per cent group limit specified in the earlier circular. The relaxation, if permitted, will be subject to compliance by the NBFC with all regulatory conditions specified in earlier circulars.
NBFCs who want to apply for such relaxation have to apply to the regional office of RBI under whose jurisdiction its registered office is situated, along with supporting documents.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Adani Ports signs MoU with Belgian Port of Zeebrugge
Mumbai: Adani Ports & SEZ Ltd (APSEZ), India's largest private port developer, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Belgian Port of Zeebrugge on Wednesday, to get access to European markets.
"The MoU over a period of time will help in an enhanced movement of traffic to and from APSEZ into Europe and beyond," Adani Ports said in a statement.
Adani Ports will explore joint business opportunities between the two ports along with other forms of trade, shipping, railway infrastructure across India and Europe, the statement added.
Karan Adani, Executive Director, said Adani Ports was keen to jointly explore marketing initiatives and strategies to promote Indo-European trade relations across both the ports via shipping lines.
"The MoU over a period of time will help in an enhanced movement of traffic to and from APSEZ into Europe and beyond," Adani Ports said in a statement.
Adani Ports will explore joint business opportunities between the two ports along with other forms of trade, shipping, railway infrastructure across India and Europe, the statement added.
Karan Adani, Executive Director, said Adani Ports was keen to jointly explore marketing initiatives and strategies to promote Indo-European trade relations across both the ports via shipping lines.
Hero Group to open university
New Delhi: The Hero Group on Wednesday announced the launch of BML Munjal University, a fully residential university, spread across 5 lakh sq ft on the Delhi-Jaipur Highway near Manesar.
“The university will be operational next year with the first session starting in July 2014,” said Chairman Hero Corporate Services Sunil Kant Munjal.
The university plans to focus on all disciplines except medicine. Akshay Munjal, Executive Director, BML Educorp Services, said: “The first year would open with three disciplines: MBA, BBA and B. Tech.” Alongside the academic departments, the Group plans to set up a research institute, the founding partner for which will be the Imperial College London. It will also mentor the business school being set up in the university.
“The university will be operational next year with the first session starting in July 2014,” said Chairman Hero Corporate Services Sunil Kant Munjal.
The university plans to focus on all disciplines except medicine. Akshay Munjal, Executive Director, BML Educorp Services, said: “The first year would open with three disciplines: MBA, BBA and B. Tech.” Alongside the academic departments, the Group plans to set up a research institute, the founding partner for which will be the Imperial College London. It will also mentor the business school being set up in the university.
Cadbury’s largest plant in Asia-Pacific to come up in AP
Hyderabad: Cadbury India on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding with the Andhra Pradesh Government that will see it set up its largest manufacturing plant in the Asia-Pacific region.
The proposed plant, which is to come up on a 134-acre site in SriCity, Chittoor, with an initial investment of Rs 1,000 crore, will be functional by mid-2015.
Part of the $35-billion Mondelez International Inc, Cadbury India plans to develop the project in four phases by 2020, eventually increasing its annual production capacity to 250,000 tonnes.
Manu Anand, President-India & South Asia, said the plant will be able to serve the southern region and possibly other markets as it gets implemented in phases.
India is rated among the top 10 markets in the company’s global business. The MoU was signed by Anand and K. Pradeep Chandra, Andhra Pradesh’s Industries Principal Secretary, in the presence of Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and others.
“The plant will employ about 1,600 people when fully developed and account for nearly 50 per cent of Cadbury’s overall capacity (it currently has six plants). Cadbury manufactures products under five broad categories: chocolates, powder beverages, gum, candy and biscuits,” said Anand.
Typically, some of the suppliers, too, set up plants where Cadbury locates its facilities, he added.
The Chief Minister said Chittoor being the home of dairy companies has capacity to supply Cadbury about 500,000 litres of milk per day, initially, and possibly 100,000 litres per day by phase two of the project. And the demand of about 200 tonnes of sugar per day could boost the prospects of sugar mills.
He said that in the three years since he took over as the Chief Minister, he had cleared proposals worth Rs 1.35 lakh crore, covering 75 factories, making AP a favoured destination for investments.
The proposed plant, which is to come up on a 134-acre site in SriCity, Chittoor, with an initial investment of Rs 1,000 crore, will be functional by mid-2015.
Part of the $35-billion Mondelez International Inc, Cadbury India plans to develop the project in four phases by 2020, eventually increasing its annual production capacity to 250,000 tonnes.
Manu Anand, President-India & South Asia, said the plant will be able to serve the southern region and possibly other markets as it gets implemented in phases.
India is rated among the top 10 markets in the company’s global business. The MoU was signed by Anand and K. Pradeep Chandra, Andhra Pradesh’s Industries Principal Secretary, in the presence of Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and others.
“The plant will employ about 1,600 people when fully developed and account for nearly 50 per cent of Cadbury’s overall capacity (it currently has six plants). Cadbury manufactures products under five broad categories: chocolates, powder beverages, gum, candy and biscuits,” said Anand.
Typically, some of the suppliers, too, set up plants where Cadbury locates its facilities, he added.
The Chief Minister said Chittoor being the home of dairy companies has capacity to supply Cadbury about 500,000 litres of milk per day, initially, and possibly 100,000 litres per day by phase two of the project. And the demand of about 200 tonnes of sugar per day could boost the prospects of sugar mills.
He said that in the three years since he took over as the Chief Minister, he had cleared proposals worth Rs 1.35 lakh crore, covering 75 factories, making AP a favoured destination for investments.
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