First expansion since July; index rises the most since Feb
New Delhi: After contracting for three consecutive months, manufacturing activity saw an eight-month high expansion in November on rising domestic orders, according to the widely-tracked HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI).
The HSBC PMI for manufacturing stood at 51.3 points in November, up from 49.6 points in October this year. A reading below 50 indicates contraction, while one above it shows expansion.
The PMI number came a few days after official figures showed that the gross domestic product (GDP) growth remained at sub-five per cent for the fourth quarter in a row during Q2 of 2013-14, indicating an uptick in factory production which may raise economic expansion as well. This would give some respite to the government, which is hopeful of a recovery during the second half of the current financial year, after economic growth stood at just 4.6 per cent in the first half. A debate is currently on whether the economy would grow over five per cent in 2013-14 or below it. The government hoped the economy would indeed clock an above-five per cent growth, while independent economists remained doubtful.
The economy, saw some push as it grew 4.8 per cent in September quarter from 4.4 per cent in the July quarter, official data had shown on Friday.
“Manufacturing activity picked up led by a rise in new domestic orders, which helped pull up output growth,” said Leif Eskesen, chief economist for India & Asean at HSBC.
According to Markit Economics, the firm which compiles the data, rise in orders led the firms to increase their production levels for the first time since April.
A robust demand resulted in new order growth and, also the rise in new work intakes ended a five-month period of contraction. Exports rose at a marginal and slower rate, suggesting the domestic market was the main source of new order gains, the firm said.
The finding of Markit Economics is a bit contrasting to official numbers, as exports witnessed double digit growth for the fourth month in a row in October. It was rather domestic demand which is inhibiting growth, according to official data. Hit hard by continued high interest rates and inflation, the demand of the consumers in the economy, indicated by private final consumption expenditure, remained low as it grew 2.16 per cent in this period against 1.62 per cent in the previous quarter. Last year, this had risen by 2.54 per cent.
Consumer goods still was the best performer among other sub-sectors, according to PMI survey. On the other hand, official data showed that consumer goods production remained low, as it expanded just 0.6 per cent in October, largely because of contraction by 10.8 per cent in consumer durable segments.
The inflation eased in November. "Input and output price inflation eased, which, if sustained, could imply that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is getting closer to the end of its tightening cycle, although it may still need to notch rates up a bit further,” added Eskesen.
It is widely believed that RBI might not ease its monetary stance later this month after consumer price inflation rose to double digits in November after a gap of six months and wholesale price-based inflation rose to 7 per cent in the month from 6.46 per cent in October.
Success in my Habit
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Monday, December 2, 2013
BSNL launches internet ready 'BharatPhone' for Rs 1,799 and 2 other smartphones
New Delhi: State-run telecom services provider BSNL launched an internet ready phone for Rs 1,799 and a tablet and two smartphones costing between Rs 7,000 and Rs 8,000 in association with Pantel Technologies on Friday.
Termed as BharatPhone, the Rs 1,799 costing dual-SIM handset with a 3-inch display screen will be marketed as a internet-ready feature phone with the ability to access e-governance services like mobile banking, tele-medical care delivery and streaming data delivery. An 1800 mAh Lithium-Ion battery that delivers upto 8 hrs of talk time and 15 days standby time. The handset targeted at rural India will come bundled with 1200 minutes of free talk time split over 12 months.
BSNL CMD, R K Upadhyay said, "Products like the Penta Bharat Phone will now offer the Indian consumer the power of Internet access at an affordable price. Likewise, with the highly affordable 3G Penta Smart device, the PS650, BSNL can now look forward to offering its world-class 3G data services to a wide cross section of Indian society."
The 7-inch tablet costing Rs 6,999 will come with 3 GB of 3G data and 300 minutes of free talk time. The Android tablet offers multiple user-environment on a single tablet PC allowing each user to set his own screen interface and personalized applications.
Like the smartphones, the tablet will have pre-loaded anti-malware pre-loaded and will be available on HomeShop18, the online retail partner
The smartphone range starts from Rs 6,999 with PS501 that comes with 15 GB cloud storage and 4GB of internal storage, 5 megapixel panoramic rear camera, GPS and gesture motion texting.
The second smartphone PS650 costs Rs 7,999 comes with a 6.5 inch screen with a 2500 mAh battery supporting 100 hrs standby time and hosts of applications that ru on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean software. Features like gesture typing; speech to text, quick navigation screen, voice based search and Google Now, will be available on this handset.
Termed as BharatPhone, the Rs 1,799 costing dual-SIM handset with a 3-inch display screen will be marketed as a internet-ready feature phone with the ability to access e-governance services like mobile banking, tele-medical care delivery and streaming data delivery. An 1800 mAh Lithium-Ion battery that delivers upto 8 hrs of talk time and 15 days standby time. The handset targeted at rural India will come bundled with 1200 minutes of free talk time split over 12 months.
BSNL CMD, R K Upadhyay said, "Products like the Penta Bharat Phone will now offer the Indian consumer the power of Internet access at an affordable price. Likewise, with the highly affordable 3G Penta Smart device, the PS650, BSNL can now look forward to offering its world-class 3G data services to a wide cross section of Indian society."
The 7-inch tablet costing Rs 6,999 will come with 3 GB of 3G data and 300 minutes of free talk time. The Android tablet offers multiple user-environment on a single tablet PC allowing each user to set his own screen interface and personalized applications.
Like the smartphones, the tablet will have pre-loaded anti-malware pre-loaded and will be available on HomeShop18, the online retail partner
The smartphone range starts from Rs 6,999 with PS501 that comes with 15 GB cloud storage and 4GB of internal storage, 5 megapixel panoramic rear camera, GPS and gesture motion texting.
The second smartphone PS650 costs Rs 7,999 comes with a 6.5 inch screen with a 2500 mAh battery supporting 100 hrs standby time and hosts of applications that ru on Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean software. Features like gesture typing; speech to text, quick navigation screen, voice based search and Google Now, will be available on this handset.
BHEL commissions first supercritical thermal unit
New Delhi: Heavy machinery major Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has commissioned first supercritical power generation unit at Barh, near Patna in Bihar. The project belongs to NTPC.
“The set attained full load of 660 MW on November 30,” a statement issued by BHEL said.
The supercritical steam parameters for this project, namely, efficiency and heat rate are better than those of comparable supercritical projects at present under installation by others, the company added.
BHEL had bagged its maiden order for 660 MW sets with supercritical parameters from NTPC through international competitive bidding for this 1,320 MW project.
The scope of work in the contract envisaged design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of two sets of 660 MW each, along with associated auxiliaries.
“The set attained full load of 660 MW on November 30,” a statement issued by BHEL said.
The supercritical steam parameters for this project, namely, efficiency and heat rate are better than those of comparable supercritical projects at present under installation by others, the company added.
BHEL had bagged its maiden order for 660 MW sets with supercritical parameters from NTPC through international competitive bidding for this 1,320 MW project.
The scope of work in the contract envisaged design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of two sets of 660 MW each, along with associated auxiliaries.
Saudi firm Sabic opens Rs 624-cr technology centre in Bangalore
Bengaluru: Sabic, a Saudi Arabian company that manufactures fertilisers, polymers and raw materials used in polyester fibres, has opened a technology centre in Bangalore.
The Riyadh-headquartered company has invested $100 million (Rs 624 crore) in the centre and plans to double its headcount in the next few years. The Bangalore development centre currently has around 300 researchers, engineers and other staff. Sabic plans to invest $500 million over five years in India and its China centre, which it plans to open in December.
Chemicals biz
Addressing newspersons, Mohamed Al-Mady, the company’s Vice-Chairman and CEO, said that the centrewould carry out research in next-generation materials across sectors, including construction, clean energy, electrics and electronics, medical devices and transportation.
Sabic’s push into India is in line with its plans to become a global leader in the chemicals business by 2025, a vision outlined by Prince Saud bin Abdullah, its Chairman. The company plans to tap countries such as India to develop technology, applications and solutions to meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated marketplace and also address sustainability related issues.
The Indian centre will mainly service Sabic’s global clientele, but officials said that they would also look at servicing Indian clientele out of the Bangalore centre.
Talent pool
Janardhanan Ramanujalu, Vice-President, South Asia & Australia, said that as more scientists and researchers are returning to India, the company has access to the right talent pool.
The Riyadh-headquartered company has invested $100 million (Rs 624 crore) in the centre and plans to double its headcount in the next few years. The Bangalore development centre currently has around 300 researchers, engineers and other staff. Sabic plans to invest $500 million over five years in India and its China centre, which it plans to open in December.
Chemicals biz
Addressing newspersons, Mohamed Al-Mady, the company’s Vice-Chairman and CEO, said that the centrewould carry out research in next-generation materials across sectors, including construction, clean energy, electrics and electronics, medical devices and transportation.
Sabic’s push into India is in line with its plans to become a global leader in the chemicals business by 2025, a vision outlined by Prince Saud bin Abdullah, its Chairman. The company plans to tap countries such as India to develop technology, applications and solutions to meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated marketplace and also address sustainability related issues.
The Indian centre will mainly service Sabic’s global clientele, but officials said that they would also look at servicing Indian clientele out of the Bangalore centre.
Talent pool
Janardhanan Ramanujalu, Vice-President, South Asia & Australia, said that as more scientists and researchers are returning to India, the company has access to the right talent pool.
Saudi firm Sabic opens Rs 624-cr technology centre in Bangalore
Bengaluru: Sabic, a Saudi Arabian company that manufactures fertilisers, polymers and raw materials used in polyester fibres, has opened a technology centre in Bangalore.
The Riyadh-headquartered company has invested $100 million (Rs 624 crore) in the centre and plans to double its headcount in the next few years. The Bangalore development centre currently has around 300 researchers, engineers and other staff. Sabic plans to invest $500 million over five years in India and its China centre, which it plans to open in December.
Chemicals biz
Addressing newspersons, Mohamed Al-Mady, the company’s Vice-Chairman and CEO, said that the centrewould carry out research in next-generation materials across sectors, including construction, clean energy, electrics and electronics, medical devices and transportation.
Sabic’s push into India is in line with its plans to become a global leader in the chemicals business by 2025, a vision outlined by Prince Saud bin Abdullah, its Chairman. The company plans to tap countries such as India to develop technology, applications and solutions to meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated marketplace and also address sustainability related issues.
The Indian centre will mainly service Sabic’s global clientele, but officials said that they would also look at servicing Indian clientele out of the Bangalore centre.
Talent pool
Janardhanan Ramanujalu, Vice-President, South Asia & Australia, said that as more scientists and researchers are returning to India, the company has access to the right talent pool.
The Riyadh-headquartered company has invested $100 million (Rs 624 crore) in the centre and plans to double its headcount in the next few years. The Bangalore development centre currently has around 300 researchers, engineers and other staff. Sabic plans to invest $500 million over five years in India and its China centre, which it plans to open in December.
Chemicals biz
Addressing newspersons, Mohamed Al-Mady, the company’s Vice-Chairman and CEO, said that the centrewould carry out research in next-generation materials across sectors, including construction, clean energy, electrics and electronics, medical devices and transportation.
Sabic’s push into India is in line with its plans to become a global leader in the chemicals business by 2025, a vision outlined by Prince Saud bin Abdullah, its Chairman. The company plans to tap countries such as India to develop technology, applications and solutions to meet the needs of an increasingly sophisticated marketplace and also address sustainability related issues.
The Indian centre will mainly service Sabic’s global clientele, but officials said that they would also look at servicing Indian clientele out of the Bangalore centre.
Talent pool
Janardhanan Ramanujalu, Vice-President, South Asia & Australia, said that as more scientists and researchers are returning to India, the company has access to the right talent pool.
Mars orbiter exits Earth's orbit
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
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
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.
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