Success in my Habit

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Tata partners with Tel Aviv University to fund innovations

Mumbai: Tata Industries and Ramot at Tel Aviv University (TAU), the university's tech transfer company, have entered into a strategic memorandum of understanding (MoU) to fund and generate leading-edge 'commercialisation ready' technologies. This MoU will fund technologies in fields like engineering and exact sciences, environment and clean technology, pharmaceuticals and health care.

Under the MoU, Tata Industries, through its wholly owned overseas subsidiary, will be the lead investor in Ramot’s $20-million (approximately Rs 108.4 crore) Technology Innovation Momentum Fund, which will invest in promising technologies.

Technologies with commercial potential would be selected by committees comprising global domain experts and Tata representatives, who will drive the process to translate such innovations into licensing opportunities for Industry.

KRS Jamwal, executive director of Tata Industries said, “Tata has taken the decision to partner with Ramot and TAU with a desire to enhance capabilities of Tata companies and leverage technology as a differentiator for our businesses.”

An extensive due diligence process was conducted by chief technology officers from major Tata companies, prior to this MoU and we were encouraged by the technological leadership, the passion and the commitment demonstrated by TAU. During this process, the Tata team was exposed to more than 70 promising innovations and had the opportunity to interact with leading scientists at TAU."

Shlomo Nimrodi, the CEO of Ramot said being a lead investor, Tata would be able to see a pipeline of technologies. Nimrodi added they will have an option to commercialise certain promising opportunities from TAU.

MoU with Mauritius to Strengthen Textiles Sector

New Delhi: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on February 7, 2012 between the Ministry of Textiles of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Consumer Protection of the Republic of Mauritius for collaboration in the field of textiles and clothing. The MoU seeks to enhance the trade & economic relations by expanding business and cooperation in the sphere of textiles and clothing including sericulture and silk and fashion industries between India and Mauritius. Under the MoU, a Joint committee on Textile & Clothing (T&C) sector was constituted between both the countries. The Joint Committee has held 2 rounds of meetings on July 23, 2012 in New Delhi and January 28, 2013 in Port Louis, Mauritius. The Joint Committee has successfully developed the following five MoUs between Institutions of both countries for deepening textiles sector collaboration:-

(i) MoU between Apparel Exports Promotion Council (AEPC) and Enterprise Mauritius (EM): For development of the Driving Industry in Sustainable Human Advancement (DISHA) programme in Mauritius. The MoU envisages AEPC enabling Enterprise Mauritius in partnership with the Mauritius in partnership with the Mauritius Standard Bureau and other stakeholders to develop the compliance code, the Toolkit and Guidance Document as well as training schedules.

(ii) MoU between Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA) and Mauritius Standard Bureau (MSB): To establish cooperation in the field of standardization, quality assurance and conformity assessment activities, accreditation of laboratories and proficiency in testing as well as capacity building and information exchange.

(iii) MoU between Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA) and National Productivity and Competitiveness Council (NPCC): To establish cooperation in the field of productivity and quality improvement.

(iv) MoU between Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) and Mauritius Export Association (MEXA): To establish cooperation in the field of fashion and design promotion, education and training through effective knowledge network of Textiles Professionals and Industry representatives of India and Mauritius.

(v) MoU between Institute of Apparel Management (IAM) and Fashion and Design Institute of Mauritius (FDI): To establish cooperation in the field of design and delivery of training programmes in the fields of textiles technology and fashion technology as well as academic interaction.

This information was given by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Textiles, Smt. Panabaaka Lakshmi in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

Two FDI Proposals Amounting to RS. 89.33 Crore Approved by the Government

New Delhi: Further to para 8 of the Press Release dated March 25, 2013, wherein it was stated that decision of the 6 (Six) proposals will be communicated separately, the Central Government has approved two (2)Proposals of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) amounting to Rs. 89.33 crore approximately.

In addition, one proposal viz., M/s Yes Bank Limited, Mumbai amounting to Rs. 2650.00 crore, has been recommended for consideration of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).

Following two (2) proposals have been approved.
Sl. No. Name of the applicant Particulars of the proposal FDI/NRI inflows (Rs. in crore)
PHARMACEUTICALS
1 M/s Sunij Pharma Pvt. Ltd., Ahmedabd Induction of additional foreign equity in a pharmaceutical company. 0.46
ECONOMIC AFFAIRS (CM DIVISION)
2 M/s WCP Holdings III, Mauritius Acquisition of shares of an Indian stock exchange (NSE) from an existing financial institution shareholder. 88.87
The following two (2) proposals have been deferred:
Sl. No Name of the applicant Particulars of the proposal
1 M/s Brampton Pvt. Ltd. Clarification regarding limit on percentage of shareholding to be held either by Indian partner or foreign partner for forming the joint venture company.
2 M/s Scripbox.com India Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore Indian company acting as facilitator of investments into mutual funds (other financial Services not mentioned in the FDI policy) proposes to receive foreign investment.
The following one (1) proposal has been advised that FIPB approval is not required:
Sl. No Name of the applicant Particulars of the proposal
1 M/s Indian Energy Exchange Limited, Mumbai Post facto approval for the issue of compulsory convertible preference shares and equity shares to foreign investors. The company is engaged in the business of exchange of electricity.
The following one (1) proposal has been recommended for the consideration of CCEA, as the foreign equity inflow involved in the proposal is above Rs.1200.00 crore.
Sl. No. Name of the applicant Particulars of the proposal FDI/NRI inflows (Rs. in crore)
1 M/s Yes Bank Limited, Mumbai To increase foreign equity participation through a qualified institutional placement (QIP) of Equity shares to eligible NRs and/or issue of GDRs to FIIs. 2650.00

IIMK ties up with Plymouth varsity

Kochi: IIM-Kozhikode signed an MoU with Plymouth University of the UK on Monday.

IIMK Director Debashis Chatterjee and Troy Heffernan, the International Programmes Director of Plymouth University signed the MoU at IIMK Campus.

Nandakumar M.K, chairperson of International Exchange Programme at IIMK, and Syamantak Bhattacharya of Plymouth University were present during the event.

The MoU will facilitate exchange of students and faculty members. It also helps academics from both the institutions to collaborate in research projects.

IIMK plans to accelerate its international activity by establishing tie-ups with leading business schools all over the world. Currently, IIMK has exchange partnerships with 29 international business schools.

The student exchange programme at IIMK has shown a sharp growth this year. The institute witnessed 100 per cent increase in the number of students participating in the international exchange programme.

According to Nandakumar, students participating in the exchange programme will gain international exposure and will get an opportunity to understand the business practices in the host country. They will also develop a good understanding of the cross-cultural issues in management.

Tata Tech buys US-based Cambric for $32.5 million

Mumbai: In a bid to increase revenues from Europe, engineering services company Tata Technologies has acquired Cambric Corporation for $32.5 million (roughly Rs 175 crore).

The deal gives the company, which is a subsidiary of Tata Motors, access to three development centres in Romania, Tata Tech’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Patrick McGoldrick said at a news conference today.

Of the $32.5-million deal, $30 million will be the cash component and the remaining will be milestone-linked payouts, company officials indicated.

In addition, sources said, the company is to benefit from Cambric’s existing clientele in the construction and heavy equipment space, including marquee names such as Caterpillar and CNH. Cambric’s existing customers will also have the option of being serviced by the Tata group company centres in India.

The US-headquartered Cambric is a privately-held company and reported revenues of $25 million as on December 31, 2012. It provides system engineering and design capabilities in engine, power train, chassis and structures, electrical and hydraulic systems, to its customers. The company employs 450 engineers in the US and Romania.

Post the completion of the transaction, Cambric will become a unit of the Indian company, McGoldrick said. The transaction is expected to be concluded by May, he said, adding that he did not foresee any problems in integrating the two companies.

The $250-million Tata Tech renders services to clients across 25 countries. In the current fiscal, the company will spend $14 million in capital expenditure, President Global Services and Chief Operating Officer Samir Yajnik had said in an earlier interaction.

IPO Plans
In 2011, Tata Tech completed a round of equity funding for Rs 141.06 crore from two Tata Capital-managed companies. Though analysts see this a pre-cursor to an initial public officering, McGoldrick is elusive.

“Listing is a decision for the board to take. All throughout, we have been financing growth through cash generation. If the board and our shareholders decide we should be listed, my job is to make that happen,” said McGoldrick.

Petronet signs deal with US firm for LNG imports

New Delhi: Petronet LNG has announced an agreement with Houston-based United LNG to import 4 million tonnes of gas a year for 20 years. “If everything goes well, the first cargo should come in 2018,” said R.K. Garg, Director (Finance) of the country’s biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importer.

The gas would be imported from Main Pass Energy Hub in the Gulf of Mexico. The $14-billion LNG project is jointly developed by United LNG and Freeport McMoRan Energy, which is yet to be commissioned.

Approvals
One of the conditions associated with the deal is the approval of the US Department of Energy (DoE) to export gas to countries, as the US does not have a free trade agreement (FTA) with India.

“In January, the Main Pass facility received approval from DoE to export gas to nations having an FTA with the US. Approval for sale to non-FTA nations is still pending,” said Deepak Pareek, analyst at Prabhudas Lilladher.

Garg said the project with which Petronet signed the agreement is in queue to seek an approval for exporting to India.

Buying Equity
According to industry watchers, Petronet is also keen to pick up equity stake in United LNG’s liquefaction facilities.

“We keep on discussing such proposals. Nothing has been finalised on this yet,” Garg said.

Main Pass Energy Hub is expected to begin construction of its first vessel this year. First LNG export from the said facility would commence in 2017. The project has taken an approval to export up to 24 million tonnes of gas every year.

Gas Price
Petronet did not comment on the expected gas price to be sourced from the project. Industry watchers are expecting the price to be similar to GAIL’s agreement with Cheniere.

Under the agreement, GAIL will pay for gas on a Henry Hub (which decides futures gas price at the New York Mercantile Exchange) basis. The landed price in India will be higher.

Infy, HCL Tech, Wipro among the greenest in BRICS

New Delhi: Sixty-one per cent of the companies in the five BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - do not publicly disclose their carbon emission details, according to a survey by Environmental Investment Organisation (EIO), a UK-based climate change and finance think tank.

In the EIO survey, three Indian companies - Infosys (fourth), HCL Technologies (fifth) and Wipro (sixth) - have emerged among the top 10 companies with least emissions. This is part of a ranking of the 300 largest companies in the BRICS region, taking into account greenhouse gas emissions and transparency factors.

Brazil's alternative energy company, Cemig, tops the list of Environmental Tracking (ET) BRICS 300 Carbon Ranking, followed by Vodacom Group of South Africa and Lenova of China. The other firms among the top 10 list are Brazil's BMF Bovespa (seventh), China's Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (eighth), Brazil's Natura (ninth) and Chinese firm Hopewell Holdings.

The new study also shows that large quantities of emissions are not being accounted for. Public disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions among the leading BRICS companies is highly inconsistent, with less than 20 per cent of entities correctly adopting the basic principles of greenhouse gas emissions reporting, the study points out.

The other key finding is that no company in the BRICS 300 Ranking fully reports emissions across its entire value chain. Scope 3 (value chain) emissions include greenhouse gas emissions from sources not owned or directly controlled by the company, but over which it has influence. It includes categories such as business travel, transportation and distribution, and investments.

Among the 300 companies, Asian Paints has ended up last with no public data and with a high emission intensity, according to EIO. The other Indian companies that constitute the bottom 10 list are Jaiprakash Associates (293rd) and Grasim Industries (298th).

"This ought to be a wakeup call for companies. Since the majority of total corporate emissions often come from Scope 3 sources, large quantities of emissions are not being accounted for. Not only could this be a source of unmeasured risk for companies, but it also means we are not getting the full picture in terms of corporate emissions. This is precisely why the Carbon Rankings are designed to encourage Scope 3 disclosure," says Sam Gill, chief executive officer at the Environmental Investment Organisation.

These rankings are compiled from publicly available emissions data taken from company sustainability reports, annual reports, and websites.

India signs pact with China to boost handicraft exports

New Delhi: India and China have signed a memorandum of understanding for promotion of exports of Indian handicrafts.

A high-level delegation led by Zohra Chatterji, Secretary, Textiles, visited China for increasing handicraft trade and brand image promotion of Indian handicrafts and textiles in the Chinese market.

An MoU was signed between the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) to explore the possibilities of enhancing handicrafts from India to important markets of China.

The MoU will focus on promotion of exports of products such as ethnic and contemporary furniture, wooden handicrafts including furniture from Jodhpur and Saharanpur, imitation jewellery and fashion jewellery and art metalware from Moradabad.

India will also organise the first exclusive exhibition of Indian handicrafts in China.

Further exchange of techniques, craft exchange programmes and Reverse Buyer Seller Meets will also be organised by both the countries.

The delegation also held meetings with Shanghai Textile Association, Shanghai Textile Trade Association, Shanghai Import & Export Chamber and Shanghai Mart.

German envoy sees trade upside, boost to cooperation

Hyderabad: The India-Germany bilateral trade, now at about €18 billion is set for a big boost as the negotiations on the free trade agreement and investments reaches a very critical phase, according to Michael Steiner, German Ambassador to India.

He said that the cooperation in other broader areas such as energy, with accent on renewables, education and research, science and technological will bring people closer between the two countries.

Announcing the inaugural of a eight-day event of Germany in Hyderabad, he said this will serve as a platform to understand the broader areas of mutual cooperation between the two countries. He felt that the broader agreements once signed will also provide a platform to facilitate more opportunities to work together. While the event is targeted to focus on areas of potential interface such as education, research, he felt that there is need to understand both the countries and see how each could be beneficial to other.

He said higher education, research and language are the door opener for the globalised world.

Germany and India want to foster these areas to the benefit of both countries.

“In Berlin, on April 11, Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have paved the way for an ever-closer Indo-German academic and scientific partnership. In Hyderabad, the road shows, on bringing research institutes, put this partnership into practice,” he said.

The DWIH Session-Study & Research in Germany provides a platform for students and those seeking to pursue research an opportunity to understand the various opportunities where exchange programmes could take place. They have a chance to interact and learn about potential and possibilities. The event also hosting a session on Make it in Germany presenting opportunities for students and qualified professionals.

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Property prices in Delhi-NCR increase 20% over last year

New Delhi: Delhi and the adjoining National Capital Region (NCR) has seen a 20 per cent rise in property prices over the past year, the highest among all metropolitan regions in the country, according to a report.

The highest growth was seen in Sector 112 of Gurgaon, where capital values rose 72 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 over the same quarter in 2012, said the report by 99acres.com, which has taken into account seven major cities across India.

In Delhi, the localities to see the highest rise were Vasundara Enclave and Sector 13, Dwarka, with around 28 per cent and 25 per cent appreciation, respectively, in the first quarter of 2013 when compared to 2012.

The seven cities covered in the report are Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune.

After Delhi-NCR, Kolkata saw the highest appreciation in prices, at 17 per cent in the same period. The other metros seeing double-digit percentage growth in property prices were Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad, with 12-15 per cent more in the first quarter, compared to last year.

The report also said the Indian real estate market in 2013 continued to grow, despite subdued GDP growth trends and economic conditions. A drop in home loan rates and a dip in domestic inflationary numbers has infused a sense of buoyancy among buyers.

Housing rentals in the Delhi-NCR rose eight per cent in the first quarter. The highest appreciation during this period was seen in Sector 44, Noida, and Sector 54, Gurgaon, with 70 per cent increase in rentals.

The property market in Delhi-NCR has been upbeat for a while and is expected to see a similar trend on account of low supply and huge latent demand. However, a few localities in South Delhi such as Saket, Vasant Vihar and Greater Kailash saw a price correction of six to eight per cent.

Vineet Singh, business head at 99acres.com, said: “While in Delhi, the prices are averaging or growing slowly, the NCR area is witnessing a price appreciation owing to increased movement of people preferring improved connectivity and affordable housing. The areas closer to Delhi like Sector 44, Noida and Sector 112, Gurgaon, are seeing appreciation in both sale and rentals.”