Success in my Habit
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Delhi metro has carried over 1.25 bn commuters
NEW DELHI: Since it began its operation in 2002, the Delhi Metro has so far carried more than 1.25 billion commuters in the national capital, which is more than the country's total population.
Till yesterday, the Delhi Metro, whose network now expands across the National Capital Region, carried over 1.27 billion people.
"It is a unique achievement for any urban mass transport system," a DMRC spokesman said.
As per the 'Census of India and Preparation of the National Population Register' report, India's projected population in 2011 will be about 1.20 billion.
Currently, in Delhi Metro, over a hundred trains are making more than 2,000 trips a day on a 125-kilometre long Metro network carrying over 1.15 million commuters everyday.
After the completion of phase 2, when the Delhi Metro network will extend to almost 190 kilometres, more than two million commuters are expected to travel by the modern transport system everyday.
Till yesterday, the Delhi Metro, whose network now expands across the National Capital Region, carried over 1.27 billion people.
"It is a unique achievement for any urban mass transport system," a DMRC spokesman said.
As per the 'Census of India and Preparation of the National Population Register' report, India's projected population in 2011 will be about 1.20 billion.
Currently, in Delhi Metro, over a hundred trains are making more than 2,000 trips a day on a 125-kilometre long Metro network carrying over 1.15 million commuters everyday.
After the completion of phase 2, when the Delhi Metro network will extend to almost 190 kilometres, more than two million commuters are expected to travel by the modern transport system everyday.
Railways shortlists 8 bidders for Kanchrapara coach factory
KOLKATA: The Railways has decided to invite financial bids for the proposed Rs 500-crore coach factory in Kanchrapara by November. Eight global majors, including two in consortium with Indian partners, have been shortlisted by the railways for setting up the factory.
“We will invite financial bids from the shortlisted bidders in November,” a railway official said.
The eight shortlisted bidders include leading global players in rail transportation like Bombardier Transportation India, Alstom India, Siemens of Germany and Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) of Spain and Hyundai-Rotem, which is part of Korea’s Hyundai group. Hyundai Rotem has worked in the Delhi Metro.
CAF has been part of top international projects like Heathrow Express and the Hong Kong’s Airport Express. The other bidders include Stadler Rail of Switzerland with Titagarh Wagons, Jindal Rail India with Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries with Texmaco. The project is close to railway minister Mamata Banejee’s heart.
The project will come up as part of a JV, in which the Railways will hold 26% equity. The majority 74% will be held by the potential JV partner. The Railways had announced plans to manufacture some 500 EMU/MEMU coaches in the factory.
Established in 1863, the Kanchrapara workshop was set up by the then Assam Bengal Railway. It is one of the oldest such facilities in existence under the Indian Railways and had served the defence department in aircraft maintenance and in production of armoured cars and grenade shells during the Second World War.
“We will invite financial bids from the shortlisted bidders in November,” a railway official said.
The eight shortlisted bidders include leading global players in rail transportation like Bombardier Transportation India, Alstom India, Siemens of Germany and Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF) of Spain and Hyundai-Rotem, which is part of Korea’s Hyundai group. Hyundai Rotem has worked in the Delhi Metro.
CAF has been part of top international projects like Heathrow Express and the Hong Kong’s Airport Express. The other bidders include Stadler Rail of Switzerland with Titagarh Wagons, Jindal Rail India with Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries with Texmaco. The project is close to railway minister Mamata Banejee’s heart.
The project will come up as part of a JV, in which the Railways will hold 26% equity. The majority 74% will be held by the potential JV partner. The Railways had announced plans to manufacture some 500 EMU/MEMU coaches in the factory.
Established in 1863, the Kanchrapara workshop was set up by the then Assam Bengal Railway. It is one of the oldest such facilities in existence under the Indian Railways and had served the defence department in aircraft maintenance and in production of armoured cars and grenade shells during the Second World War.
Liberty footwear enters telecom; to offer WiMax services
NEW DELHI: Eyeing business potential in the fast growing telecom sector, footwear major Liberty group has tied up with Israel-based Runcom Technologies to offer WiMax mobile broadband and communication services.
The Liberty group has formed a Joint Venture -- Sunfest Runcom Technologies -- with Runcom Technologies Limited of Israel, and has started negotiations with potential operators, which bagged Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum in the auction held in June.
The JV would be offering end-to-end solutions for mobile broadband using WiMax technology that would progress to Long Term Evolution (LTE or 4G).
"The JV has set up a plant in Bawal in Haryana to manufacture Base Stations, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) both indoor and outdoor and USB Tongs for Broadband Wireless Access and Mobile and Fixed 4G networks (WiMAX-LTE)," Adesh Gupta, CEO and Founder of Liberty group, said.
This will include 2000 Base Stations per month and 10,000 CPE/USB Tongs per month, he added.
Five leading firms, including Reliance Industries, Qualcomm, Aircel and Bharti Airtel are likely to venture into mobile broadband segment and may opt for WiMax technology.
RIL is the only firm, which has pan-India licence for BWA while others had bagged spectrum for limited number of circles.
India has a tele-density of over 50 per cent, but broadband penetration is still poor. The target for this year is to achieve 20 million broadband connections and 40 million internet connections, as per the broadband policy of 2004.
Asked about the business model of the JV firm, Vidhi Gupta, Managment Executive with Liberty group, said, "We would be offering end-to-end solutions for WiMax deployment and would focus on three main areas -- manufacturing, EPC Contracts and System Integration and managed services."
On joining hands with the Israeli firm, she said, Rumcom Technologies has pioneered OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) and NLOS (Non Line Of Sight) technology, which has been adapted by WiMax forum besides other leading operators for offering mobile broadband using WiMax technology.
The company (Runcom) is engaged in developing, manufacturing and marketing superior technological standards and silicon products, fixed and mobile terminals, base stations, ASN gateways, Network Operating Centres and Value Added Services, Vidhi Gupta said.
Currently the JV has lined up an investment of Rs 30 crore to set up the manufacturing facility, Adesh Gupta said, adding that more money would be pumped in as and when the business grows.
The Liberty group has formed a Joint Venture -- Sunfest Runcom Technologies -- with Runcom Technologies Limited of Israel, and has started negotiations with potential operators, which bagged Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) spectrum in the auction held in June.
The JV would be offering end-to-end solutions for mobile broadband using WiMax technology that would progress to Long Term Evolution (LTE or 4G).
"The JV has set up a plant in Bawal in Haryana to manufacture Base Stations, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) both indoor and outdoor and USB Tongs for Broadband Wireless Access and Mobile and Fixed 4G networks (WiMAX-LTE)," Adesh Gupta, CEO and Founder of Liberty group, said.
This will include 2000 Base Stations per month and 10,000 CPE/USB Tongs per month, he added.
Five leading firms, including Reliance Industries, Qualcomm, Aircel and Bharti Airtel are likely to venture into mobile broadband segment and may opt for WiMax technology.
RIL is the only firm, which has pan-India licence for BWA while others had bagged spectrum for limited number of circles.
India has a tele-density of over 50 per cent, but broadband penetration is still poor. The target for this year is to achieve 20 million broadband connections and 40 million internet connections, as per the broadband policy of 2004.
Asked about the business model of the JV firm, Vidhi Gupta, Managment Executive with Liberty group, said, "We would be offering end-to-end solutions for WiMax deployment and would focus on three main areas -- manufacturing, EPC Contracts and System Integration and managed services."
On joining hands with the Israeli firm, she said, Rumcom Technologies has pioneered OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access) and NLOS (Non Line Of Sight) technology, which has been adapted by WiMax forum besides other leading operators for offering mobile broadband using WiMax technology.
The company (Runcom) is engaged in developing, manufacturing and marketing superior technological standards and silicon products, fixed and mobile terminals, base stations, ASN gateways, Network Operating Centres and Value Added Services, Vidhi Gupta said.
Currently the JV has lined up an investment of Rs 30 crore to set up the manufacturing facility, Adesh Gupta said, adding that more money would be pumped in as and when the business grows.
Fortis Healthcare aims at pan-Asia presence
SINGAPORE: No matter how healthy or rich Asian economies are, one thing is certain: Asians will never stop getting sick. That helps explain why Malvinder Singh left his home in New Delhi this year to move to Singapore. He first made a fortune in 2008 selling the generic-drug giant that his family built, Ranbaxy Laboratories.
Now, Singh, 37, is trying to expand Fortis Healthcare, another of the family companies, from a string of hospitals around the Indian subcontinent into a pan-Asian healthcare network.
“There is a huge opportunity for growth in Asia for healthcare,” Singh said in a recent interview. “There are multiple markets which need investment that we would want to be a part of.”
Fortis experienced a major setback in July when its bid to acquire Parkway Holdings, a regional hospital operator based in Singapore, lost out to a higher bid from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund. But Singh, who has a master’s degree in business administration from Duke in North Carolina, said he was undeterred. Having spent almost $1 billion in the past two years buying up assets in healthcare and other sectors around the world, he said he was already scouting for
new targets.
The attraction is clear: With a population of more than 1.1 billion, most with no access to formal healthcare, India represents one of the fastest-growing healthcare markets. And the country’s relatively low costs are increasingly attracting medical tourism patients from abroad.
But Singh is after much more: not only a slice of China’s 1.3 billion people and Indonesia’s 227 million, but also the emerging class of affluent Asian medical tourists, many of whom flock to Singapore for quality private care. By building a regional network of hospitals, moreover, he hopes to bring better care to the poorest parts of India.
“The challenge for the country and for us as healthcare providers is to see how to create a model where you’re able to create infrastructure and investment in healthcare and bring it closer to the people, so it’s more accessible,” said Singh, the Fortis chairman.
Many in India still wonder why Singh and his younger brother, Shivinder, decided to walk away from their pharmaceutical company, which has deep ties in their family.
Along with another Indian drug company, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Ranbaxy became known globally for overturning big drug companies’ patents in court fights and then churning out lower-cost versions of their best-selling products.
By the middle of the decade, though, competition from cheap generics was proving as tough on generic-drug makers as it was on big pharmaceutical companies. In 2005, Ranbaxy’s profit fell by two-thirds and its share price by nearly a half.So in 2008, the Singhs sought a solution by marrying Ranbaxy to the Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo. For Daiichi Sankyo, Ranbaxy offered low-cost manufacturing and access to 60 new markets, including crucial emerging markets like India, to offset falling sales at home. “We had what they wanted,” Mr Singh said.
Selling their stake in the company to the Japanese earned the Singhs $2.3 billion, vaulting them to No. 13 on Forbes magazine’s ranking of the richest Indians. Malvinder Singh retained his position as head of the company. In September 2008, however, the Food and Drug Administration in the United States banned 30 Ranbaxy drugs made at two of the company’s Indian plants, citing manufacturing problems uncovered that year. Ranbaxy’s stock dropped by two-thirds, and in May 2009, the company replaced Singh as chief executive and paid him a severance of `4.8 crore, or $9.6 million. Singh declined to discuss the FDA case or his departure from Ranbaxy.
Singh turned to another family company, Fortis Healthcare. Founded in 1996 , Fortis has grown from a single hospital in northwest India into a network of 48 hospitals and clinics. Last year, the Indian healthcare market was estimated at $38 billion, and given the country’s fast-growing, increasingly affluent population, more and more Indians are suffering from lifestyle diseases common to developed countries.
India already has the largest number of diabetics in the world after China, for example, yet Indians, on average, spend only $55 a year on health care. “There’s a huge gap in India,” Singh said. “The healthcare market in India is very fragmented. The corporatisation of healthcare is still emerging.”
To achieve the advantages of size, Fortis embarked on an acquisition spree, acquiring three hospital chains in India from 2005 to 2009. The company now has 10 more hospitals under construction.
In March, Fortis leaped overseas, buying 24% of Parkway from the private equity firm TPG for $685.3 million. With hospitals in Malaysia, China and India, Parkway gave Fortis a foothold across Asia. The chain is also popular with medical tourists; a third of its patients in Singapore come from abroad, mainly from Indonesia.
Some analysts expressed doubt about whether Fortis could benefit from an international network. Unlike the managers and engineers who follow manufacturing investments overseas, doctors and nurses often cannot work in countries where they are not licensed. Losing out on its bid to take over the rest of Parkway, therefore, was a blow to Fortis’ strategy.
As a result, Singh said, Fortis is now considering moving into hospital management as an alternative. “An acquisition to get kick-started might be the way to start,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s the only way.”
)
Now, Singh, 37, is trying to expand Fortis Healthcare, another of the family companies, from a string of hospitals around the Indian subcontinent into a pan-Asian healthcare network.
“There is a huge opportunity for growth in Asia for healthcare,” Singh said in a recent interview. “There are multiple markets which need investment that we would want to be a part of.”
Fortis experienced a major setback in July when its bid to acquire Parkway Holdings, a regional hospital operator based in Singapore, lost out to a higher bid from Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund. But Singh, who has a master’s degree in business administration from Duke in North Carolina, said he was undeterred. Having spent almost $1 billion in the past two years buying up assets in healthcare and other sectors around the world, he said he was already scouting for
new targets.
The attraction is clear: With a population of more than 1.1 billion, most with no access to formal healthcare, India represents one of the fastest-growing healthcare markets. And the country’s relatively low costs are increasingly attracting medical tourism patients from abroad.
But Singh is after much more: not only a slice of China’s 1.3 billion people and Indonesia’s 227 million, but also the emerging class of affluent Asian medical tourists, many of whom flock to Singapore for quality private care. By building a regional network of hospitals, moreover, he hopes to bring better care to the poorest parts of India.
“The challenge for the country and for us as healthcare providers is to see how to create a model where you’re able to create infrastructure and investment in healthcare and bring it closer to the people, so it’s more accessible,” said Singh, the Fortis chairman.
Many in India still wonder why Singh and his younger brother, Shivinder, decided to walk away from their pharmaceutical company, which has deep ties in their family.
Along with another Indian drug company, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Ranbaxy became known globally for overturning big drug companies’ patents in court fights and then churning out lower-cost versions of their best-selling products.
By the middle of the decade, though, competition from cheap generics was proving as tough on generic-drug makers as it was on big pharmaceutical companies. In 2005, Ranbaxy’s profit fell by two-thirds and its share price by nearly a half.So in 2008, the Singhs sought a solution by marrying Ranbaxy to the Japanese drugmaker Daiichi Sankyo. For Daiichi Sankyo, Ranbaxy offered low-cost manufacturing and access to 60 new markets, including crucial emerging markets like India, to offset falling sales at home. “We had what they wanted,” Mr Singh said.
Selling their stake in the company to the Japanese earned the Singhs $2.3 billion, vaulting them to No. 13 on Forbes magazine’s ranking of the richest Indians. Malvinder Singh retained his position as head of the company. In September 2008, however, the Food and Drug Administration in the United States banned 30 Ranbaxy drugs made at two of the company’s Indian plants, citing manufacturing problems uncovered that year. Ranbaxy’s stock dropped by two-thirds, and in May 2009, the company replaced Singh as chief executive and paid him a severance of `4.8 crore, or $9.6 million. Singh declined to discuss the FDA case or his departure from Ranbaxy.
Singh turned to another family company, Fortis Healthcare. Founded in 1996 , Fortis has grown from a single hospital in northwest India into a network of 48 hospitals and clinics. Last year, the Indian healthcare market was estimated at $38 billion, and given the country’s fast-growing, increasingly affluent population, more and more Indians are suffering from lifestyle diseases common to developed countries.
India already has the largest number of diabetics in the world after China, for example, yet Indians, on average, spend only $55 a year on health care. “There’s a huge gap in India,” Singh said. “The healthcare market in India is very fragmented. The corporatisation of healthcare is still emerging.”
To achieve the advantages of size, Fortis embarked on an acquisition spree, acquiring three hospital chains in India from 2005 to 2009. The company now has 10 more hospitals under construction.
In March, Fortis leaped overseas, buying 24% of Parkway from the private equity firm TPG for $685.3 million. With hospitals in Malaysia, China and India, Parkway gave Fortis a foothold across Asia. The chain is also popular with medical tourists; a third of its patients in Singapore come from abroad, mainly from Indonesia.
Some analysts expressed doubt about whether Fortis could benefit from an international network. Unlike the managers and engineers who follow manufacturing investments overseas, doctors and nurses often cannot work in countries where they are not licensed. Losing out on its bid to take over the rest of Parkway, therefore, was a blow to Fortis’ strategy.
As a result, Singh said, Fortis is now considering moving into hospital management as an alternative. “An acquisition to get kick-started might be the way to start,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean it’s the only way.”
)
Corus to sell Teesside steel unit to Thai co for $500 m
MUMBAI: After months of negotiations, Corus has finally agreed to sell the mothballed steel unit at Teesside in the UK to Thailand’s Sahaviriya Steel Industries for about $500 million, bringing to an end year-long efforts by Tata Steel that were occasionally marred by interference from British political parties and trade unions.
Corus, the international subsidiary of Tata Steel, will sell its steelmaking assets and power generation facilities to revive the Teesside unit after a key client walked away from a contract in 2009 making operations at the unit unviable.
Tata Steel later said the loss from the reneged contracts amounted to about $233 million, about 80% of Teesside’s business. It also put at risk over 1,000 jobs and sparked off strong political and labour opposition.
“The deal is expected to create significant number of new jobs at the plant in addition to Teesside’s existing workforce of over 700 people,” Corus said in a statement.
Although three buyers had expressed interest in the Teesside unit in the past year, Tata Steel’s talks with Sahaviriya Steel Industries strengthened after the Thai steelmaker showed interest in the Corus technology for construction-grade steel. SSI doesn’t have the technology.
Sahaviriya Steel Industries is one of the biggest steel producers in Thailand. President of the company, Win Viriyaprapaikit, said: “We have great respect for the tradition of steelmaking at Teesside and for the highly skilled Teesside workforce, having previously purchased slab from Teesside Cast Products.”
In May last year, Tata Steel gave a financial assistance of about £425 million in phases, with about £200 million to pay off debts and for improving the balance sheet.
According to people familiar with the development, Sahaviriya Steel Industries is exploring options of relocating vital plant and machinery from Teesside to Thailand. The company would then be able to export to markets closer home and also cater to customers within Thailand, the people added.
The plan to ship the machinery is also in line with a recent proposal to develop an offshore wind farm business on the site at Teesside. Earlier, there were unconfirmed reports that Tata Motors, another group company, would set up a car making unit at the Teesside site.
Corus, the international subsidiary of Tata Steel, will sell its steelmaking assets and power generation facilities to revive the Teesside unit after a key client walked away from a contract in 2009 making operations at the unit unviable.
Tata Steel later said the loss from the reneged contracts amounted to about $233 million, about 80% of Teesside’s business. It also put at risk over 1,000 jobs and sparked off strong political and labour opposition.
“The deal is expected to create significant number of new jobs at the plant in addition to Teesside’s existing workforce of over 700 people,” Corus said in a statement.
Although three buyers had expressed interest in the Teesside unit in the past year, Tata Steel’s talks with Sahaviriya Steel Industries strengthened after the Thai steelmaker showed interest in the Corus technology for construction-grade steel. SSI doesn’t have the technology.
Sahaviriya Steel Industries is one of the biggest steel producers in Thailand. President of the company, Win Viriyaprapaikit, said: “We have great respect for the tradition of steelmaking at Teesside and for the highly skilled Teesside workforce, having previously purchased slab from Teesside Cast Products.”
In May last year, Tata Steel gave a financial assistance of about £425 million in phases, with about £200 million to pay off debts and for improving the balance sheet.
According to people familiar with the development, Sahaviriya Steel Industries is exploring options of relocating vital plant and machinery from Teesside to Thailand. The company would then be able to export to markets closer home and also cater to customers within Thailand, the people added.
The plan to ship the machinery is also in line with a recent proposal to develop an offshore wind farm business on the site at Teesside. Earlier, there were unconfirmed reports that Tata Motors, another group company, would set up a car making unit at the Teesside site.
Shale gas exploration acreages to be available from next year
MUMBAI: The Directorate General of Hydrocarbon (DGH) today said that shale gas exploration acreages in the country will be available from next year.
At present, the Ministry of Petroleum is working on a shale gas regime to find out the most suitable one for the country.
"We are expecting that by next year shale gas exploration acreages will be given. Currently, we are also working to find out a better shale gas regime. This shale gas regime will be a win-win situation for all," DGH's Director General Sunil Kumar Srivastava told reporters here.
Areas such as Cambay basin, Krishna-Godavari basin and Assam-Arakan basin are considered as most prospective areas for shale gas exploration, he said.
However, Srivastava said that given the variability of shale across India, a rapid pace of source development would probably come only after successful explorations in the initial basins.
The government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US on shale gas, where the US Geological Survey (USGS) is likely to do a resource assessment of certain shale basins in India, he said.
Besides, the Government plans to move to the open acreage licensing policy (OALP) regime by 2012, he said adding the OALP will make India a favourable destination globally for exploration and production of crude and natural gas.
This will enable upstream companies to bid for any oil and gas block without waiting for the announcement of bidding under new exploration licensing policy (NELP) regime.
Commenting on ninth round of new exploration licensing policy (NELP), Srivastava said, "NELP-IX will be formally launched in September, followed by road show."
The production from Reliance Industries' KG Basin block is on track and producing as much as they committed, he said.
At present, the Ministry of Petroleum is working on a shale gas regime to find out the most suitable one for the country.
"We are expecting that by next year shale gas exploration acreages will be given. Currently, we are also working to find out a better shale gas regime. This shale gas regime will be a win-win situation for all," DGH's Director General Sunil Kumar Srivastava told reporters here.
Areas such as Cambay basin, Krishna-Godavari basin and Assam-Arakan basin are considered as most prospective areas for shale gas exploration, he said.
However, Srivastava said that given the variability of shale across India, a rapid pace of source development would probably come only after successful explorations in the initial basins.
The government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the US on shale gas, where the US Geological Survey (USGS) is likely to do a resource assessment of certain shale basins in India, he said.
Besides, the Government plans to move to the open acreage licensing policy (OALP) regime by 2012, he said adding the OALP will make India a favourable destination globally for exploration and production of crude and natural gas.
This will enable upstream companies to bid for any oil and gas block without waiting for the announcement of bidding under new exploration licensing policy (NELP) regime.
Commenting on ninth round of new exploration licensing policy (NELP), Srivastava said, "NELP-IX will be formally launched in September, followed by road show."
The production from Reliance Industries' KG Basin block is on track and producing as much as they committed, he said.
Sunil Mittal, GM Rao may find berth in new RBI board
MUMBAI: RBI’s central board is set to see a total revamp with a host of members completing their four-year term. Industrialist Sunil Mittal of the Bharti group and GM Rao of GMR are likely to be the new faces in the reconstituted board. According to sources, the two businessmen have been sounded out for their consent for being considered for nomination.
The government had last reconstituted the central bank’s board in June 2006. At that time, Wipro chairman Azim Premji, Aditya Birla Group of Companies chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, Ambuja Cement chairman Suresh Kumar Neotia and Sanjay Labroo of Asahi Glass were inducted as members in place of Ratan Tata, NR Narayana Murthy and KP Singh, who had retired.
Besides the industrialists, there will be other retirements as well although it is not clear whether any member will be reappointed. In 2006, Chartered Accountant YH Malegam, Supreme Court Advocate HP Ranina and Ashok S Ganguly, member, Investment Commission and Knowledge Commission, were reappointed.
Sources said there is a likelihood that the entire board may change, in which case the central bank will lose some long-standing experts like Mr Malegam, who have outlasted several governors and has been the most active member on the board of the central bank.
The government has the powers to nominate 10 directors on the RBI board as per section 8(1)C of the RBI Act, 1934. According to the RBI Act, the central board shall include the governor and at the most four deputy governors, four directors nominated from RBI local boards, 10 directors nominated by the government and one bureaucrat also to be nominated by the government. Most of the industrialists and experts are nominated by the government under Section 8(1)C of the Act, which provides for the appointment of 10 nominees.
While the board does not have any role in monetary policy, it is the ultimate body that governs the working of RBI. The central bank’s HR policies and employee benefits are determined by the board.
The government had last reconstituted the central bank’s board in June 2006. At that time, Wipro chairman Azim Premji, Aditya Birla Group of Companies chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla, Ambuja Cement chairman Suresh Kumar Neotia and Sanjay Labroo of Asahi Glass were inducted as members in place of Ratan Tata, NR Narayana Murthy and KP Singh, who had retired.
Besides the industrialists, there will be other retirements as well although it is not clear whether any member will be reappointed. In 2006, Chartered Accountant YH Malegam, Supreme Court Advocate HP Ranina and Ashok S Ganguly, member, Investment Commission and Knowledge Commission, were reappointed.
Sources said there is a likelihood that the entire board may change, in which case the central bank will lose some long-standing experts like Mr Malegam, who have outlasted several governors and has been the most active member on the board of the central bank.
The government has the powers to nominate 10 directors on the RBI board as per section 8(1)C of the RBI Act, 1934. According to the RBI Act, the central board shall include the governor and at the most four deputy governors, four directors nominated from RBI local boards, 10 directors nominated by the government and one bureaucrat also to be nominated by the government. Most of the industrialists and experts are nominated by the government under Section 8(1)C of the Act, which provides for the appointment of 10 nominees.
While the board does not have any role in monetary policy, it is the ultimate body that governs the working of RBI. The central bank’s HR policies and employee benefits are determined by the board.
IDBI best public sector bank for SME financing: D&B
MUMBAI: IDBI Bank has received the best public sector bank award for financing small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from global business information provider Dun and Bradstreet.
"IDBI Bank has developed a special business model to serve the SMEs in the country that has enabled the bank to develop a quality SME portfolio through a dedicated streamlined credit decision process," said T. R. Bajalia, executive director and head (SME Group), IDBI Bank.
The award was presented to IDBI Bank at the "Dun & Bradstreet - Polaris Software Banking Awards 2010" here.
"The bank's focus is on service quality and consequently, utmost importance is being accorded to the building of an efficient SME sales network, effective client management mechanism besides borrower friendly, easy to understand and competitive products," he added.
IDBI Bank's operations during the quarter ended June 30, 2010, resulted in a net profit of Rs.251 crore.
D&B India developed a proprietary quantitative model based on various parameters for identifying the top banks across the spectrum. The model is based on the twin premise of recognising the size and growth of the banks.
For this purpose, D&B India identified a number of crucial parameters related to business, profitability, network, priority sector lending, asset quality, global business etc relevant to each award category.
The final ranking of the banks was arrived at using a composite score of these weighted parameters. The information has been collated from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) documents and annual reports of the banks.
"IDBI Bank has developed a special business model to serve the SMEs in the country that has enabled the bank to develop a quality SME portfolio through a dedicated streamlined credit decision process," said T. R. Bajalia, executive director and head (SME Group), IDBI Bank.
The award was presented to IDBI Bank at the "Dun & Bradstreet - Polaris Software Banking Awards 2010" here.
"The bank's focus is on service quality and consequently, utmost importance is being accorded to the building of an efficient SME sales network, effective client management mechanism besides borrower friendly, easy to understand and competitive products," he added.
IDBI Bank's operations during the quarter ended June 30, 2010, resulted in a net profit of Rs.251 crore.
D&B India developed a proprietary quantitative model based on various parameters for identifying the top banks across the spectrum. The model is based on the twin premise of recognising the size and growth of the banks.
For this purpose, D&B India identified a number of crucial parameters related to business, profitability, network, priority sector lending, asset quality, global business etc relevant to each award category.
The final ranking of the banks was arrived at using a composite score of these weighted parameters. The information has been collated from Reserve Bank of India (RBI) documents and annual reports of the banks.
Apollo Tyres to invest rs 1100 crore this year in its plants
KOCHI: Tyre major Apollo Tyres ltd, will be investing rs 1100 crore this year in its 9 plants in India and abroad and was looking at Asia for expansion, a top official of the company said.
'We will be looking at several countries for expansion.. we are looking at Asia, where we see lot of growth potential', Apollo Chairman, Onkar S Kanwar, told reporters here. Without naming the country, he said depending on raw material availablity and expansion of market, a decision would be taken.
During the current fiscal the total capacity of the Indian plants will touch 1450 tonnes, while 200 tonnes each would be added to the South African and European plants.
With regard to its investments this year, Kanwar said rs 900 crore investments would be made in Apollo's five plants in India.
The company would be investing rs 300 crore in its Green field Chennai plant this year, to make it the most efficient, modern and productive tyre plant across Asia. The plant is already producing truck-bus radial and passenger car tyres and four months ago since production commenced, dispatch of consignments to OEMs has also started, he said.
At the Chennai plant, where the total investment till the end of this year would be rs 2300 crore, only Diploma Engineers had been employed as the IT driven machinery requires technical know how and advanced skills. By the end of this year, the plant will produce 16,000 passenger car and 6000 truck-bus radial tyres every day, he said.
Apollo will be investing rs 200 crore in its Baroda plant and also has plans to invest rs 200 crore in Peramabra unit in kerala, which is under lock out since the past two months. It will be investing 30 million dollars at its South Africa plant and 6 million euros for Europe plant, he said.
Describing the Perambra plant as his 'personal baby' kanwar said it pains to see that the unit has been closed since the last two months due to labour problems causing a production loss of 300 tonnes of tyres a day. So far the loss to the company is to the tune of rs 300 crore. The daily loss works out to rs 5 crore, he said. There is heavy absenteeism and the company should be allowed to take secondary labourers, he said. Competition was harsh and there was hardly any margins.
He said workers should resume jobs, 'We want to be fair, but firm', he said adding among all its indian plants, Perambra plant was low on productivity
'We will be looking at several countries for expansion.. we are looking at Asia, where we see lot of growth potential', Apollo Chairman, Onkar S Kanwar, told reporters here. Without naming the country, he said depending on raw material availablity and expansion of market, a decision would be taken.
During the current fiscal the total capacity of the Indian plants will touch 1450 tonnes, while 200 tonnes each would be added to the South African and European plants.
With regard to its investments this year, Kanwar said rs 900 crore investments would be made in Apollo's five plants in India.
The company would be investing rs 300 crore in its Green field Chennai plant this year, to make it the most efficient, modern and productive tyre plant across Asia. The plant is already producing truck-bus radial and passenger car tyres and four months ago since production commenced, dispatch of consignments to OEMs has also started, he said.
At the Chennai plant, where the total investment till the end of this year would be rs 2300 crore, only Diploma Engineers had been employed as the IT driven machinery requires technical know how and advanced skills. By the end of this year, the plant will produce 16,000 passenger car and 6000 truck-bus radial tyres every day, he said.
Apollo will be investing rs 200 crore in its Baroda plant and also has plans to invest rs 200 crore in Peramabra unit in kerala, which is under lock out since the past two months. It will be investing 30 million dollars at its South Africa plant and 6 million euros for Europe plant, he said.
Describing the Perambra plant as his 'personal baby' kanwar said it pains to see that the unit has been closed since the last two months due to labour problems causing a production loss of 300 tonnes of tyres a day. So far the loss to the company is to the tune of rs 300 crore. The daily loss works out to rs 5 crore, he said. There is heavy absenteeism and the company should be allowed to take secondary labourers, he said. Competition was harsh and there was hardly any margins.
He said workers should resume jobs, 'We want to be fair, but firm', he said adding among all its indian plants, Perambra plant was low on productivity
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