Japanese consumer electronics giant Panasonic Corp will slash 40,000 jobs over the next two years in a bid to pare costs and keep up with ever-harsher competition from Asian rivals, a source said.
The company, which employs about 380,000 people, will incur more than 100 billion yen ($1.22 billion) in expenses this year related to the job cuts and a reorganisation of production facilities, the Nikkei newspaper reported earlier.
Once unrivalled, Japan's consumer electronic firms are facing increasing competition from Korean and Chinese producers in particular. Panasonic is seeking to shift its focus to environmental and energy-related businesses such as rechargeable batteries in order to duck competition fromSamsung Electronics, LG Electronics and others in consumer technology.
As part of that strategy, it announced last year it would make Panasonic Electric Works and Sanyo Electric Co wholly owned units last year, absorbing a combined 160,000 workers, the Nikkei reported.
Panasonic is now seeking to shed staff in overlapping businesses, particularly abroad, it added. The units make a wide range of products including rechargeable batteries, factory robots, electronic components, lighting and solar panels.
Panasonic announces its earnings for the year ended on March 31 at 0600 GMT on Thursday. President Fumio Ohtsubo will speak to the media about the company's future direction from 0810 GMT.
Success in my Habit
Friday, April 29, 2011
HP bags $2.5bn NASA contract
Technology company Hewlett-Packard says it has been awarded a multi-year contract worth up to $2.5 billion to provide technology services to NASA.
Hewlett-Packard Co said the contract has a four-year base period with two additional three-year option periods.
The deal is the latest sign of an economic recovery and a pickup in government spending.
HP says it will provide personal computing services so that NASA employees can collaborate more easily in a secure computing environment.
The company says it will provide computing services and devices to more than 60,000 users as part of the deal. It will modernize the space agency's computer systems used by employees.
Hewlett-Packard Co said the contract has a four-year base period with two additional three-year option periods.
The deal is the latest sign of an economic recovery and a pickup in government spending.
HP says it will provide personal computing services so that NASA employees can collaborate more easily in a secure computing environment.
The company says it will provide computing services and devices to more than 60,000 users as part of the deal. It will modernize the space agency's computer systems used by employees.
Infosys staff want founders to stay, want Nandan Nilekani back
A near majority, 50%, think that the company is losing ground to TCS , while 29% attribute poor performance to poor leadership.
Employees of Infosys, which is being criticised for giving CEO positions to founders rather than professionals, have voiced strong support for the practice, an exclusive opinion poll commissioned by ET has found.
The poll, conducted among 201 Infosys employees in Bangalore by market research firm AZ Research , has found that more than a simple majority of employees (61%) want founders to become CEOs and think that it is a perfect arrangement.
About 75% of those surveyed think that Nandan Nilekani, one of the founders and former CEO, who quit two years ago to join the government, should come back as the CEO. A big majority, (74%), feels that Narayana Murthy , the iconic chairman, who is set to step down from his executive role in August this year, should continue to play an active role and not retire from the company.
But the poll, which was conducted over Wednesday and Thursday, also found a strong level of concern over the company's financial performance and its ability to keep up with competition. A near majority, 50%, think that the company is losing ground to TCS. About 29% attribute the poor performance to poor leadership, while 43% blame lack of aggression.
Nearly four in ten employees admitted that Infosys lacked the imagination to fire up its numbers and that Infosys had lost some of its past glory under Kris Gopalakrishnan , the current CEO of Infosys who is widely believed to succeed as chairman or vice-chairman.
Support for Mohandas Pai , the former HR director, whose abrupt resignation earlier this month and caustic comments about founders rotating the CEO role among themselves triggered a controversy, is also quite high.
Employees of Infosys, which is being criticised for giving CEO positions to founders rather than professionals, have voiced strong support for the practice, an exclusive opinion poll commissioned by ET has found.
The poll, conducted among 201 Infosys employees in Bangalore by market research firm AZ Research , has found that more than a simple majority of employees (61%) want founders to become CEOs and think that it is a perfect arrangement.
About 75% of those surveyed think that Nandan Nilekani, one of the founders and former CEO, who quit two years ago to join the government, should come back as the CEO. A big majority, (74%), feels that Narayana Murthy , the iconic chairman, who is set to step down from his executive role in August this year, should continue to play an active role and not retire from the company.
But the poll, which was conducted over Wednesday and Thursday, also found a strong level of concern over the company's financial performance and its ability to keep up with competition. A near majority, 50%, think that the company is losing ground to TCS. About 29% attribute the poor performance to poor leadership, while 43% blame lack of aggression.
Nearly four in ten employees admitted that Infosys lacked the imagination to fire up its numbers and that Infosys had lost some of its past glory under Kris Gopalakrishnan , the current CEO of Infosys who is widely believed to succeed as chairman or vice-chairman.
Support for Mohandas Pai , the former HR director, whose abrupt resignation earlier this month and caustic comments about founders rotating the CEO role among themselves triggered a controversy, is also quite high.
Mahindra Satyam to hire 18,000 employees in FY 2012
IT firm Mahindra Satyam said it plans to hire about 18,000 people during this fiscal.
'We have plans of hiring about 18,000 people this year (FY'12). Over 5,000 are from campuses and the rest are from lateral hiring or recruitment of experienced hands,' Mahindra Satyam Head Recruitment and Media Sridhar Maturi told PTI.
At the end of the third quarter (October-December period), Mahindra Satyam's headcount stood at 28,832, an increase of 764 personnel from 28,068 employees on September 30, 2010.
Maturi further added, 'The campus hiring will be predominantly in India and the lateral hiring is from across the world.'
The company has its development and delivery centres in the US, Canada, Brazil, the UK, Hungary,Egypt, UAE, India, China, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia by which the company serves numerous clients, including several Fortune 500 companies.
Mahindra Satyam, formerly Satyam Computer Services , in September last year had announced its first audited financial results for 2009-10 after its founder B Ramalinga Raju admitted to multi-crore accounting fraud in January 2009.
'We have plans of hiring about 18,000 people this year (FY'12). Over 5,000 are from campuses and the rest are from lateral hiring or recruitment of experienced hands,' Mahindra Satyam Head Recruitment and Media Sridhar Maturi told PTI.
At the end of the third quarter (October-December period), Mahindra Satyam's headcount stood at 28,832, an increase of 764 personnel from 28,068 employees on September 30, 2010.
Maturi further added, 'The campus hiring will be predominantly in India and the lateral hiring is from across the world.'
The company has its development and delivery centres in the US, Canada, Brazil, the UK, Hungary,Egypt, UAE, India, China, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia by which the company serves numerous clients, including several Fortune 500 companies.
Mahindra Satyam, formerly Satyam Computer Services , in September last year had announced its first audited financial results for 2009-10 after its founder B Ramalinga Raju admitted to multi-crore accounting fraud in January 2009.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
TCS Q4 net profit surges 31% on higher IT spends
Mumbai, Apr 21: An increase in IT-spends by clients across key business segments, coupled with favourable currency movements, has propelled Tata Consultancy Services to report a 31.1 per cent surge in net profit for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010.
Net profits for the quarter under review stood at Rs 2,623 crore, as against Rs 2,001 crore recorded in the same quarter a year ago. Revenues grew by 31.3 per cent to cross the Rs 10,000-crore mark for the first time (in a quarter) at Rs 10,157 crore. Revenues in the corresponding period last year stood at Rs 7,738 crore.
“TCS has developed a reputation for superior execution and that is why it is seeing traction with customers. The company has managed to drive processes that insulate the quality of services rendered to clients from vagaries such as attrition, technology changes etc,” said Mr Vikash Jain, Partner of outsourcing advisory firm Everest Group.
The country's largest software exporter added 39 new customers in the quarter gone by. In the last two quarters, TCS has been successful in pushing customers to increase the pricing of both new and existing IT contracts, said Mr N. Chandrasekaran, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
The deal closures have come across verticals of financial services, retail, hi-tech amongst others. A good chunk of the IT spends, both from new and existing customers, is coming from the ‘discretionary' budgets of clients, said Mr Chandrasekaran.
(Discretionary spending is done by the CIO, or IT decision maker, at his discretion – and this falls outside the annual IT budget.)
In constant currency terms, the US market grew by 31.3 per cent for TCS. Its bread-and-butter financial services business growth was in line with the company growth rate.
TCS' numbers were aided by the Indian rupee which had depreciated against the US dollar and other global currencies in the fourth quarter. The forex environment had a positive impact of Rs 120 crore on TCS' topline, said Mr S. Mahalingam, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer.
All these factors helped the company maintain its operating profit margins at 28.3 per cent. Since the company has announced plans to give wage hikes to all its staffers, analysts feel TCS' margins will come under pressure in the current quarter.
However, Mr Mahalingam is confident that the current margin levels could be maintained over a ‘period of time'. Volume growth, at 2.9 per cent, was lower compared to the last few quarters.
For fiscal 2012, TCS – which counts bellwethers like Citigroup, General Electric and British Airways as clients – is confident of maintaining the growth momentum.
“A poll that we conducted with our customers shows that their IT spend this year is going to be higher than last year. Moreover, we are chasing more deals this time than we were last year around the same time,” said Mr Chandrasekaran.
For the full year ended March 31, 2011, TCS' net profit grew by 29.9 per cent to Rs 9,068 crore (Rs 7,001crore) while revenues grew 24.3 per cent to Rs 37,325 crore (Rs 30,029 crore)
TCS will give a total dividend of Rs 14 per share, including a proposed final dividend of Rs 8.
The company scrip was down by over 2 per cent to close at Rs 1,191.65 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Net profits for the quarter under review stood at Rs 2,623 crore, as against Rs 2,001 crore recorded in the same quarter a year ago. Revenues grew by 31.3 per cent to cross the Rs 10,000-crore mark for the first time (in a quarter) at Rs 10,157 crore. Revenues in the corresponding period last year stood at Rs 7,738 crore.
“TCS has developed a reputation for superior execution and that is why it is seeing traction with customers. The company has managed to drive processes that insulate the quality of services rendered to clients from vagaries such as attrition, technology changes etc,” said Mr Vikash Jain, Partner of outsourcing advisory firm Everest Group.
The country's largest software exporter added 39 new customers in the quarter gone by. In the last two quarters, TCS has been successful in pushing customers to increase the pricing of both new and existing IT contracts, said Mr N. Chandrasekaran, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
The deal closures have come across verticals of financial services, retail, hi-tech amongst others. A good chunk of the IT spends, both from new and existing customers, is coming from the ‘discretionary' budgets of clients, said Mr Chandrasekaran.
(Discretionary spending is done by the CIO, or IT decision maker, at his discretion – and this falls outside the annual IT budget.)
In constant currency terms, the US market grew by 31.3 per cent for TCS. Its bread-and-butter financial services business growth was in line with the company growth rate.
TCS' numbers were aided by the Indian rupee which had depreciated against the US dollar and other global currencies in the fourth quarter. The forex environment had a positive impact of Rs 120 crore on TCS' topline, said Mr S. Mahalingam, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer.
All these factors helped the company maintain its operating profit margins at 28.3 per cent. Since the company has announced plans to give wage hikes to all its staffers, analysts feel TCS' margins will come under pressure in the current quarter.
However, Mr Mahalingam is confident that the current margin levels could be maintained over a ‘period of time'. Volume growth, at 2.9 per cent, was lower compared to the last few quarters.
For fiscal 2012, TCS – which counts bellwethers like Citigroup, General Electric and British Airways as clients – is confident of maintaining the growth momentum.
“A poll that we conducted with our customers shows that their IT spend this year is going to be higher than last year. Moreover, we are chasing more deals this time than we were last year around the same time,” said Mr Chandrasekaran.
For the full year ended March 31, 2011, TCS' net profit grew by 29.9 per cent to Rs 9,068 crore (Rs 7,001crore) while revenues grew 24.3 per cent to Rs 37,325 crore (Rs 30,029 crore)
TCS will give a total dividend of Rs 14 per share, including a proposed final dividend of Rs 8.
The company scrip was down by over 2 per cent to close at Rs 1,191.65 on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Reliance Industries' record profit challenges ONGC's top rank
NEW DELHI: Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries today came close to challenging PSU giant ONGC's position as the country's most profitable company, with a record net profit of Rs 20,211 crore for the fiscal 2010-11.
RIL's consolidated net profit for the fiscal ended March 31, 2011, grew by over 27 per cent to Rs 20,211 crore.
The company had recorded profit of Rs 15,898 crore in the previous fiscal 2009-10, making it second most profitable company after ONGC.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), the nation's largest oil and gas explorer, had recorded net profit of Rs 16,767.55 crore in 2009-10. The PSU major is yet to announce its figures for the fiscal 2010-11.
In the first nine months of 2010-11 fiscal, ONGC has reported a net profit of Rs 16,133.13 crore.
Analysts expect that the full-year profits of the two companies could be very close to each other and it would be interesting to see whose figures are higher, although not by any big margin.
They said that RIL's figures for the last quarter would have been much higher, but for a decline in the production from its main gas field KG-D6.
Commenting on the results, RIL Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani said: "Reliance had a record year with strong financial and operating performance. Global economic growth, emerging markets demand and tightness in the markets led to recovery in refining margins and record petrochemical earnings."
"We are fully geared to participate in India's growth and continued global recovery in the coming years. Our committed investments in core business and new initiatives are expected to result in sustained earnings growth," he added.
In the league of five most profitable companies, ONGC and RIL are followed by Indian Oil (Rs 10,220 crore), Bharti Airtel (Rs 9,426 crore) and SBI (Rs 9,166 crore), based on their comparable latest available fiscal year results.
In terms of turnover, RIL is ranked second after Indian Oil and is followed by BPCL, HPCL, SBI and ONGC.
RIL's consolidated net profit for the fiscal ended March 31, 2011, grew by over 27 per cent to Rs 20,211 crore.
The company had recorded profit of Rs 15,898 crore in the previous fiscal 2009-10, making it second most profitable company after ONGC.
Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), the nation's largest oil and gas explorer, had recorded net profit of Rs 16,767.55 crore in 2009-10. The PSU major is yet to announce its figures for the fiscal 2010-11.
In the first nine months of 2010-11 fiscal, ONGC has reported a net profit of Rs 16,133.13 crore.
Analysts expect that the full-year profits of the two companies could be very close to each other and it would be interesting to see whose figures are higher, although not by any big margin.
They said that RIL's figures for the last quarter would have been much higher, but for a decline in the production from its main gas field KG-D6.
Commenting on the results, RIL Chairman and MD Mukesh Ambani said: "Reliance had a record year with strong financial and operating performance. Global economic growth, emerging markets demand and tightness in the markets led to recovery in refining margins and record petrochemical earnings."
"We are fully geared to participate in India's growth and continued global recovery in the coming years. Our committed investments in core business and new initiatives are expected to result in sustained earnings growth," he added.
In the league of five most profitable companies, ONGC and RIL are followed by Indian Oil (Rs 10,220 crore), Bharti Airtel (Rs 9,426 crore) and SBI (Rs 9,166 crore), based on their comparable latest available fiscal year results.
In terms of turnover, RIL is ranked second after Indian Oil and is followed by BPCL, HPCL, SBI and ONGC.
Refining margin, petrochem biz boost Reliance's Q4 net
Mumbai, Apr 21:
Improved gross refining margin – the highest in the last eight quarters – and increased profits from its petrochemical's business has led to a 14 per cent rise in Reliance Industries Ltd's (RIL) net profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.
Net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 stood at Rs 5,376 crore (Rs 4,710 crore).
RIL's turnover for the quarter grew by 25 per cent to Rs 75,238 crore, from Rs 60,267 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
“Global economic growth, emerging markets demand and tightness in the markets led to recovery in refining margins and record petrochemical earnings,” said Mr Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Ltd, in a statement from the company.
Exports during the fiscal 2011 grew by 33 per cent to Rs 1,46,667 crore (Rs 1,10,176 crore).
Refining segment
For the quarter, RIL's gross refining margin (GRM) stood at $9.2 per barrel as against $7.5 per barrel in the same quarter last year. Revenues in the refining and marketing segment for the fourth quarter stood at Rs 62,704 crore (Rs 51,250 crore), up 22 per cent.
Earnings before interest and tax from this segment grew 26 per cent to Rs 2,509 crore; EBIT for the fiscal grew 53 per cent to Rs 9,172 crore.
The company processed 16.7 million tonnes of crude oil reflecting a utilisation rate of more than 100 per cent.
GRM for the 2010-11 fiscal stood at $8.4/barrel as against $6.6/barrel in the previous year. The company processed 66.7 million tonnes of crude during the fiscal which it said is the highest in its history.
Oil and Gas E&P segment
The Oil and Gas (Exploration and Production) segment revenues dipped by 5 per cent during the quarter at Rs 4,104 crore (Rs 4,318 crore). For the full fiscal, segment revenues were up 36 per cent at Rs 17,250 crore.
Crude oil and gas production from KG-D6 in the fiscal stood at 8 million barrels and 720 billion cubic feet, a growth of 98 per cent and 42 per cent respectively. During the fiscal, RIL achieved sales of 20.2 billion cubic meters.
Crude oil produced from the block was sold to domestic refineries and achieved an average realisation of $85/barrel. RIL did not provide the quarterly gas production figures for KG-D6.
Petrochemicals
Fourth quarter revenue in the petrochemicals segment was up 18 per cent, at Rs 18,194 crore (Rs 15,448 crore). Full year revenue for the segment stood at Rs 63,155 crore (Rs 55,251 crore), a growth of 14 per cent.
“Performance of the segment reflects the strong demand across the petrochemical range during the quarter,” said the company in its statement.
The company announced a dividend of Rs 8 per fully paid up equity share of Rs 10 each, aggregating to Rs 2,772 crore. Its shares closed 1.39 per cent higher on BSE at Rs 1,039.95 on Thursday; the results were announced after the stock markets closed.
Improved gross refining margin – the highest in the last eight quarters – and increased profits from its petrochemical's business has led to a 14 per cent rise in Reliance Industries Ltd's (RIL) net profit for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.
Net profit for the quarter ended March 31, 2010 stood at Rs 5,376 crore (Rs 4,710 crore).
RIL's turnover for the quarter grew by 25 per cent to Rs 75,238 crore, from Rs 60,267 crore in the corresponding quarter last year.
“Global economic growth, emerging markets demand and tightness in the markets led to recovery in refining margins and record petrochemical earnings,” said Mr Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Ltd, in a statement from the company.
Exports during the fiscal 2011 grew by 33 per cent to Rs 1,46,667 crore (Rs 1,10,176 crore).
Refining segment
For the quarter, RIL's gross refining margin (GRM) stood at $9.2 per barrel as against $7.5 per barrel in the same quarter last year. Revenues in the refining and marketing segment for the fourth quarter stood at Rs 62,704 crore (Rs 51,250 crore), up 22 per cent.
Earnings before interest and tax from this segment grew 26 per cent to Rs 2,509 crore; EBIT for the fiscal grew 53 per cent to Rs 9,172 crore.
The company processed 16.7 million tonnes of crude oil reflecting a utilisation rate of more than 100 per cent.
GRM for the 2010-11 fiscal stood at $8.4/barrel as against $6.6/barrel in the previous year. The company processed 66.7 million tonnes of crude during the fiscal which it said is the highest in its history.
Oil and Gas E&P segment
The Oil and Gas (Exploration and Production) segment revenues dipped by 5 per cent during the quarter at Rs 4,104 crore (Rs 4,318 crore). For the full fiscal, segment revenues were up 36 per cent at Rs 17,250 crore.
Crude oil and gas production from KG-D6 in the fiscal stood at 8 million barrels and 720 billion cubic feet, a growth of 98 per cent and 42 per cent respectively. During the fiscal, RIL achieved sales of 20.2 billion cubic meters.
Crude oil produced from the block was sold to domestic refineries and achieved an average realisation of $85/barrel. RIL did not provide the quarterly gas production figures for KG-D6.
Petrochemicals
Fourth quarter revenue in the petrochemicals segment was up 18 per cent, at Rs 18,194 crore (Rs 15,448 crore). Full year revenue for the segment stood at Rs 63,155 crore (Rs 55,251 crore), a growth of 14 per cent.
“Performance of the segment reflects the strong demand across the petrochemical range during the quarter,” said the company in its statement.
The company announced a dividend of Rs 8 per fully paid up equity share of Rs 10 each, aggregating to Rs 2,772 crore. Its shares closed 1.39 per cent higher on BSE at Rs 1,039.95 on Thursday; the results were announced after the stock markets closed.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Renault-Nissan Chennai plant gets new chief
Mumbai, April 20: Renault-Nissan Automotive India (RNAIPL) announced on Wednesday the appointment of Mr Kou Kimura as the new CEO & Managing Director of its manufacturing facility at Oragadam, near Chennai. With effect from April 1, Mr Kimura will replace Mr Akira Sakurai as the head of the plant. Mr Kimura has been promoted from his previous position of SVP – Plant Operations of the Oragadam facility, which he held since 2008.
Mr Kimura is a Graduate in Mechanical Engineering from Touhoku University, Japan. He started his career in Nissan's Oppama Plant in Japan in 1977. Prior coming to India, Mr Kimura has held various positions in Nissan headquarters in Japan and in the UK. Mr Marc Nassif, MD & Country General Manager for Renault in India, continues in his role as Deputy CEO of RNAIPL.
Mr Kimura is a Graduate in Mechanical Engineering from Touhoku University, Japan. He started his career in Nissan's Oppama Plant in Japan in 1977. Prior coming to India, Mr Kimura has held various positions in Nissan headquarters in Japan and in the UK. Mr Marc Nassif, MD & Country General Manager for Renault in India, continues in his role as Deputy CEO of RNAIPL.
Muthoot IPO fully subscribed
Mumbai, Apr 20: The initial public offer (IPO) of country’s largest gold financing company, Muthoot Finance, got over subscribed 7.09 times till 1500 hrs on the third day of issue on Wednesday.
The company’s IPO received bids worth 31.04 crore equity shares as against 4.3 crore shares on offer, as per a data available with the National Stock Exchange till 1500 hrs.
Muthoot Finance has entered the capital market with a price band of Rs 160—175 a share for the IPO of 5.15 crore equity shares.
At the lower end of the price band, the company will raise Rs 824 crore, while on the upper end it will mop up Rs 901.25 crore.
The bid, which opened for subscription on April 18 will close today for QIB bidders and tomorrow for retail and non-institutional investors.
The IPO proceeds will be utilised to augment the company’s capital base for meeting future capital needs, for funding of loans and for general corporate purposes.
ICICI Securities, Kotak Mahindra Capital Co are the book running lead managers to the issue, while HDFC Bank is the co-book running lead manager.
Kerala based Muthoot Finance is a non-deposit taking, non-banking finance company.
The company’s IPO received bids worth 31.04 crore equity shares as against 4.3 crore shares on offer, as per a data available with the National Stock Exchange till 1500 hrs.
Muthoot Finance has entered the capital market with a price band of Rs 160—175 a share for the IPO of 5.15 crore equity shares.
At the lower end of the price band, the company will raise Rs 824 crore, while on the upper end it will mop up Rs 901.25 crore.
The bid, which opened for subscription on April 18 will close today for QIB bidders and tomorrow for retail and non-institutional investors.
The IPO proceeds will be utilised to augment the company’s capital base for meeting future capital needs, for funding of loans and for general corporate purposes.
ICICI Securities, Kotak Mahindra Capital Co are the book running lead managers to the issue, while HDFC Bank is the co-book running lead manager.
Kerala based Muthoot Finance is a non-deposit taking, non-banking finance company.
Maruti trains 98,000 underprivileged people in 2 years
New Delhi, Apr 20: Maruti Suzuki India said on Wednesday that it has given training to 98,000 people from the underprivileged section of the society in the last two years.
Under its National Road Safety Mission, launched in December, 2008, the company has trained a total of 3.58 lakh people so far, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement.
“Of these, over 98,000 people are from the underprivileged section of society, who are keen to take driving as a profession,” it added.
The company had set a target to train at least five lakh drivers over a three year period under the mission, out of which over one lakh would be from economically weaker section.
MSI currently operates 4 Institute of Driving Training & Research (IDTR) and 166 Maruti Driving Schools in the country.
The company’s training initiatives have benefited about 7 lakh people so far. To promote safe driving, the company today announced a driving competition in the 18—30 years of age group.
The contest — Young Driver 2011 — will be held at 63 Maruti Driving Schools across 34 cities in the country, the statement said.
“Though we are trying to educate different sections of the society through programmes and infrastructure like IDTRs and Maruti Driving Schools, we believe that the young population of the country holds the key to road safety promotion.
“Therefore, Maruti Suzuki has chosen the youth of India to be its brand ambassadors for this cause,” MSI Chief General Manager (Marketing), Mr Shashank Srivastava, said.
The preliminary rounds of the competition will be held at different regional centres. The final is scheduled in IDTR, Delhi, and the winner will be gifted MSI’s small car A—Star.
Under its National Road Safety Mission, launched in December, 2008, the company has trained a total of 3.58 lakh people so far, Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) said in a statement.
“Of these, over 98,000 people are from the underprivileged section of society, who are keen to take driving as a profession,” it added.
The company had set a target to train at least five lakh drivers over a three year period under the mission, out of which over one lakh would be from economically weaker section.
MSI currently operates 4 Institute of Driving Training & Research (IDTR) and 166 Maruti Driving Schools in the country.
The company’s training initiatives have benefited about 7 lakh people so far. To promote safe driving, the company today announced a driving competition in the 18—30 years of age group.
The contest — Young Driver 2011 — will be held at 63 Maruti Driving Schools across 34 cities in the country, the statement said.
“Though we are trying to educate different sections of the society through programmes and infrastructure like IDTRs and Maruti Driving Schools, we believe that the young population of the country holds the key to road safety promotion.
“Therefore, Maruti Suzuki has chosen the youth of India to be its brand ambassadors for this cause,” MSI Chief General Manager (Marketing), Mr Shashank Srivastava, said.
The preliminary rounds of the competition will be held at different regional centres. The final is scheduled in IDTR, Delhi, and the winner will be gifted MSI’s small car A—Star.
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