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Govt may allow only steel cos to own mines
Steelmaking is in for a major boost as the government plans to make ‘value-addition’ mandatory for getting iron ore mines. Put simply, mines would be given to only those companies who commit production of steel.
The proposal is expected to be discussed by the group of ministers (GoM) that is evaluating the draft New Mineral Policy based on the recommendations of the Hoda Committee. This would then again go to the Cabinet for final approval, an official source said.
The proposal, which is expected to be put up by the steel minister before the GoM, would require an amendment to the Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act (MMDR), the source added.
The changes are proposed to be implemented with retrospective effect to deter litigation and eliminate chances of past claims over mines from affecting investment by steel companies. Under the new system, the first-come-first-serve principle for grant of mining rights would also be dispensed with and allocation of mines would be done through a process of competitive bidding.
If implemented, the move would mean that mining of iron ore in the country by standalone mining companies would come to a halt. The mining companies would be given ore resources only if they commit production of steel. Past claimants may be asked to produce steel or rescind their claim in return for a small compensation.
“It is essential that a legal regime is set up for utilisation of iron ore reserves. This would eliminate changes of litigation that has affected captive mining proposals of companies like POSCO which has committed billions of dollars worth of investment in the country,” said the official source. The New Mineral Policy is also likely to put in place a competitive bidding process for grant of mining rights to companies. The system is considered more transparent which would also allow state governments to realise better value for assets.
At present, a state government committee evaluates applications for mining rights and sends the selected proposal for final approval from the Centre. However, the system of first-come-first-serve often blocks reserves without it getting utilised. This is what happened in the case of POSCO. While Orissa government recommended three mines at Kandadhar, Thakurani and Melang Toli for the steel maker, past claims over the mines landed all the three applications into litigation.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
National platform for tax info exchange on cards
The government will soon unveil a national platform for information exchange between all tax departments — direct and indirect —at central as well as state levels. Work on project Mission Mode will start soon, adviser to finance minister Parthasarthy Shome said. The Centre will also help states in setting up Tinxys to facilitate information exchange on VAT, he said.
“The department of information technology will put in place Mission Mode which will facilitate exchange of information among states and Centre taxes,” Mr Shome said while speaking at an Assocham seminar on goods and service tax. He said this system could connect all tax departments at Centre, state and local government levels that would link income tax, VAT, property registration and other indirect tax departments.
This would help increase efficiency of revenue collection machinery and curb evasion, he said. He said the Centre will begin consultations with the states on the goods and service tax regime, which has to come into effect in 2010. Finance minister P Chidambaram has already written to the empowered committee of state finance ministers on GST consultations.
Mr Shome said various models were before the government, like going in for a constitutional amendment or not going for one, levying GST at federal level, levying it at state level or a having a dual structure.
Finance ministry has also decided to devise a practical mode of unified GST tax structure, based on prevalent GST model that exists in countries like Canada, Brazil and European Union to suit the Indian conditions. He said the Centre has decided to pass on total revenue collections from 33 services to states. States will be liable to bring 44 new services under the tax net.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
Govt lifts ban on SEZs but ruins big dreams
The government has overhauled its policy on special economic zones (SEZs), making large, multi-product SEZs virtually impossible to build.
The empowered group of ministers (eGOM) headed by foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee, which met in the political shadow of the Nandigram violence, on Thursday lifted the freeze on approving new SEZs but changed several parameters to make the policy more acceptable.
As per the new norms, the size of an SEZ cannot exceed 5,000 hectares (12,500 acres). Earlier, there was only a lower limit of 1,000 hectares for multi-product SEZs. Now, state governments can impose a lower ceiling, if they want to. More importantly, state governments can no longer acquire land for a special economic zone on behalf of private developers; nor can state governments form joint ventures with private developers if they do not already have land in possession to offer the project. States can acquire land to develop SEZs on their own, provided they stick to the new relief and rehabilitation package to be announced soon.
Also, at least 50% of the total area in an SEZ has to be earmarked for processing units. Earlier, the norm was 35% for multi-product SEZs and 50% for sector-specific SEZs. SEZs will also have tougher export obligations to meet—instead of being merely net foreign exchange earners, they will have to have export earnings at least equivalent to their purchases from the domestic tariff area.
While the ceiling of 5,000 hectares on SEZs will presently affect the plans of just a handful of SEZs, the biggest challenge for private developers lies in acquiring large tracts of land meeting all contiguity norms without government help. Developers of large projects were banking on state governments, who have the power to take over land for industrial projects, to acquire tricky bits of land.
Speaking to ET, senior commerce ministry officials said the Centre has decided to give states the authority to cut down on the size of the SEZs further in response to representations from a number of parties, including the Left, on the need to fix lower limits. “If states deem fit, they can even fix the ceiling at 1,000 hectares. The Centre doesn’t have any problems regarding that,” an official said.
With the Nandigram fiasco resulting in the loss of several lives and protests against forcible land acquisition gathering steam in Maharashtra, the eGoM decision to debar states from acquiring land for private players is clearly aimed at avoiding more violence.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
Reliance stranded in no-man's land
The Maharashtra government will take the issue of Reliance Industries (RIL)-promoted Maha Mumbai SEZ back to the Cabinet in the light of the Centre’s decision on Thursday. The empowered group of ministers (EGoM) on Thursday announced a slew of changes to the SEZ policy including capping the size at 5,000 hectares.
Maharashtra, incidentally, was to have the country’s biggest SEZ, Maha Mumbai SEZ, spread across 10,000 hectares. The EGoM on Thursday cleared the air on the issue and left it to the states to bring it further down if it deems fit. Chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh says his government will revisit the issue before taking a decision.
Speaking to ET from Jalgaon where he was campaigning for Erandol Lok Sabha by-election, Mr Deshmukh said the state’s earlier decision to allow the Maha Mumbai SEZ to go up to 10,000 hectares was taken by the state Cabinet. Now, since the Centre has reopened it and allowed us to bring it down, we will take it back to the Cabinet. “Let the Cabinet decide,” Mr Deshmukh said.
Mr Deshmukh, however, was pleased over the Centre’s decision to cap the size. “That has been our demand since Day One. It’s good that it has defined the maximum,” he said. Having been at the receiving end for his government’s seemingly pro-SEZ stance, Mr Deshmukh also welcomed the EGoM decision to keep state governments away from the land acquisition process.
He, however, was not clear which agency will demark or notify the land being made available for SEZs. Meanwhile, an action group against the SEZs has rejected the EGoM proposals. “This is not acceptable. We are against using agricultural land for the zones. We will continue to oppose them,” Ms Vaishali Patil, one of the leaders of the Action Committee Against Globalisation, said.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
Haryana project stuck with land in patches, without ally
Mukesh Ambani’s ambitious 25,000-acre multi-product SEZ project in Haryana now faces an uncertain future. Reliance Industries (RIL) — which had acquired almost 11,000 acres over the last few months — now runs the risk of facing fresh hurdles, both with regard to the role of its joint venture partner Haryana State Infrastructure & Industrial Development Corporation (HSIIDC) and its ability to meet contiguity norms.
While the EGoM on Thursday imposed a cap of 12,500 acres for a single applicant, it has also said that states will not be involved in land acquisition for SEZs. Joint ventures of private players with government agencies, where land is the basis of equity sharing, will not be allowed. Moreover, only such projects will get a go-ahead that have a contiguous land. RIL’s Jhajjar SEZ appears to be in trouble on all the four counts.
While the project size will now be halved — RIL will have to cut down its proposal to just 12,500 acres — it will no longer be able to rely on HSIIDC to buy the remaining land. As is the case, HSIIDC was planning to buy land from farmers that would enable RIL to meet the contiguity norm. RIL had floated a separate SPV in a joint venture with HSIIDC for the project, where HSIIDC was to contribute 25% land for a 10% sweat equity.
HSIIDC’s role in the JV, therefore, may now be in question and the Centre may not allow such a collaboration as it is based on HSIIDC’s assurance to provide a part of the land. The EGoM has made an exception for such JVs only if the state government or the state agency are already in possession of the land.
This clearly is not the case in the Jhajjar SEZ. HSIIDC officials are tightlipped on the issue, only saying, “The affair is extremely confusing and a macro debate will have to be initiated to get clarity.” When contacted, an RIL spokesperson declined to comment on the development.
Although RIL has acquired large tracts of land, it has not been able to strike contiguity as the area includes several patches of land that are still owned by local land owners. It was hoped that HSIIDC as a government agency would be able to play a crucial role in acquiring the patches as state governments are empowered under Sections 4, 6 and 8 of the Land Acquisition Act to intervene and acquire land for public utility. However, under the new decision by the EGoM on Thursday, state governments or state agencies will not be allowed to acquire land.
As per RIL’s original MoU with the Haryana government, the company was supposed to buy 17,500 acres directly from farmers, and the state was to give the remaining 7,500 acres. Further, the state was to release its contribution only to help the company achieve contiguity, that too after the company had completed its share of the land acquisition.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
Processing area floor increase may sour realtors dream
The government on Thursday decided to raise the minimum processing area in a special economic zone (SEZ) to 50% from earlier 35%, a move which may throw cold water on plans of many real estate developers who were eyeing a piece of the SEZ pie. With a view to prevent SEZs turning into a real estate scam, the empowered group of ministers made 50% minimum processing area mandatory for both multi-product (from 35%) and sector specific SEZs (from 25%).
The government has to forego revenue from the zone, thus there should be greater production activity, an official said, adding more so since land acquisition has become such a big controversial issue. The companies such as DLF, Unitech, Reliance and Adani that had been planning large SEZs would now have to keep a larger part of the zone for production activity.
Processing area implies manufacturing facilities where the actual production or services activity for exports takes place. Now, since the processing area has been increased to 50%, the space available for social and business infrastructure supporting the zone like housing, hotels, malls, schools, hospitals, entertainment centres for the employees of the zone will be equal to production facilities.
Earlier, a developer could use 65% of the land for these facilities. For example, a developer who was setting up a multi-product SEZ of 1,000 hectares could use 650 hectares for any other activity while only 350 hectares would be used for the activity for which the zone had been set up.
Interestingly, the finance ministry has always been insisting a higher floor for processing area. Earlier, it had pitched for keeping the proportion at 75%, but the EGoM had in June decided to keep the floor at 35%.Now, the ministry it seems has been able to wield some influence in the backdrop of the dispute.
The minimum area requirement for a multiproduct SEZ is 1,000 hectares, sector-specific zone is 100 hectares and for IT, biotechnology and gems & jewellery, it is 10 hectares.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
Madura drops SF Jeans in portfolio rejig
AV Birla Group-led Madura Garments is withdrawing its denim brand SF Jeans from the market. The move came in a portfolio rejig unveiled on late Tuesday with the company deciding to stay focused on brands like Louis Philippe, Van Heusen , Allen Solly and Peter England that carries significant scaling up potential.
When contacted, AV Birla Nuvo director Vikram Rao confirmed the move. “We want to focus on brands and retail formats like Planet Fashion and Trouser Town that are being scaled up in a big way. The resources that backed SF Jeans till date will be realigned across other brands to develop a jeans proposition under each of them,” he added.
The company decision was internally communicated on Tuesday evening. Mr Rao said each of Madura’s big brands — Louis Philippe, Van Huesen, Allen Solly and Peter England — would cross Rs 200 crore at wholesale trade level in FY’08.
AVB has been talking about making Madura Garments into a Rs 100 crore company after it acquired the Rs 236-crore entity from Coats Plc in 1999.
Madura, a formidable player in the formal wear space, was already a late mover in the youth casual wear market when it launched SF Jeans four-five years back. The plan at that stage was to develop a homegrown aspirational jeans brand straddling the mid-priced to premium price bracket.
The launch supported by an edgy campaign was aimed at making Madura Garments a complete branded apparel company with presence in both formal and casual wear.
However, according to sources, SF Jeans made a sedate impact even in a growing domestic denim market and mopped up an annualised turnover of around Rs 20 crore. Further, it had to reckon with renewed energy of the global giants like Levi’s Lee and Wrangler as they turned on heat in a market growing at about 15-18% annually.
In context, it must be mentioned that VF Corp, which owns Lee and Wrangler, came in through an equity JV with Arvind Brands replacing a decade old licencing arrangement.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
Tanishq to begin with Chicago, NJ
Titan Industries is unveiling the blueprint of its international retail plans for jewellery brand Tanishq. India’s largest watch and jewellery company will open the first Tanishq stores at Chicago and New Jersey in US by January next year, and expand into a chain of 10 stores with initial investment of $6-7 million.
Tanishq will be targeting the mainstream US market, and the brand and product line would undergo necessary tweaking for the overseas foray. The company has recruited American designers with work experience in luxury brands to finalise the product line and new look for the stores, and is looking at high-end brands like Tiffany’s for competition.
“Our stores could either be franchisee outlets or company-owned. We are looking at these models currently. It is most likely that we will enter the market initially through direct supplies out of Bangalore,” Titan Industries MD Bhaskar Bhat told ET. US is the world’s biggest jewellery market by retail value estimated at $16 billion.
Titan is expected to firm up Tanishq’s expansion plans in the US market after stabilising the initial stores. It must be mentioned that domestic jewellery chains like Gitanjali Gems and Rajesh Exports have unveiled plans for acquisition-led growth in the US market.
“To make a mark in the crowded and competitive jewellery space in the US, we plan to have our stores in high-traffic malls. The shops are expected to be a little larger than typical American stores at around 2,000 square feet,” said Titan’s International business COO S Ravi Kant.
Tanishq’s foray into US marks a fresh leg in Titan’s international business, which currently revolves around watches in the middle east, south east Asia and Europe.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
India's high-tech world short of trained workers
At the heart of the sprawling corporate campus, in a hilltop building overlooking the immaculately shorn lawns, the sports fields and the hypermodern theater complex, young engineers crowd into a classroom. They are India's best and brightest, with stellar grades that launched them into a high-tech industry growing at more than 25 percent annually. And their topic of the day? Basic telephone skills. `Hello?', one young man says nervously, holding his hand to his ear like a phone. `Hello? I'd like to leave a message for Number 17. Can I do that?' Nearly two decades into India's phenomenal growth as an international center for high technology, the industry has a problem: It's running out of workers. There may be a lot of potential, Indian schools churn out 400,000 new engineers, the core of the high-tech industry every year but as few as 100,000 are actually ready to join the job world, experts say.
Instead, graduates are leaving universities that are mired in theory classes and sometimes so poorly funded, they don't have computer labs. Even students from the best colleges can be dulled by cram schools and left without the most basic communication skills, according to industry leaders. So the country's voracious high-tech companies, desperate for ever-increasing numbers of staffers to fill their ranks have to go hunting.
``The problem is not a shortage of people,'' said Mohandas Pai, human resources chief for Infosys Technologies, the software giant that built and runs the Mysore campus for its new employees. ``It's a shortage of trained people.'' From the outside, this nation of 1.03 billion, with its immense English-speaking population, may appear to have a bottomless supply of cheap workers with enough education to claim more outsourced Western jobs but things look far different in India, where technology companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars in a frantic attempt to ensure their profit-making machine keeps producing.
``This is really the Achilles heel of the industry,'' said James Friedman, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group, a U.S.-based investment firm, who has studied the issue. ``When we first started covering the industry, in 2000, there were maybe 50,000 jobs and 500,000 applicants,'' he said. Now there are perhaps 180,000 annual openings, but only between 100,000 and 200,000 qualified candidates. For now, industry is keeping up, but only barely. A powerful trade group, the National Association of Software Services Companies, or NASSCOM, estimates a potential shortfall of 500,000 technology professionals by 2010. On the most basic level, it's a problem of success. The high-tech industry is expanding so fast that the population can't keep up with the demand for high-end workers. Tata Consultancy Services, for instance, India's largest software company, hires around 3,000 people a month. The consulting firm Accenture plans to hire 8,000 in the next six months and IBM says it will bring on more than 50,000 additional people in India by 2010.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Source: Agencies
DDA Struggling to Find Takers for Hotel Plots
The Capital seems to be jostling hard to sell its hotel plots before the Commonwealth Game begin as some famous New York and UK based hoteliers have queued up in Noida.
Of all the hotels lined up for the development, 14 five star and three star hotels are to come up in sectors along the Expressway. The Noida Development Authority has allotted plots to a number of international companies. Construction of these hotels is likely to make up for around 5,000 rooms.
M/s Crimson Hotels Limited, fast-growing hotel group in UK has bagged plot number H-7 in Sector 97, for the development of a five star hotel. Another plot on H-3 in Sector 96 has been purchased by New York based Hampshire Hotels and Resorts LLC.
The other hotel plots are believed to have gone in the bag of Indian companies from Delhi, Mumbai, Noida, and Gurgaon — ITC Limited, Swiss-Bel Hotel International Limited and Rendezvous Hotels International private limited are among them.
However, the DDA is still finding it difficult to earn the takers. The authority has succeeded in selling only two of the seven plots put for auction. The other reason being cited for the poor response to Delhi is the location of most of these plots — Dwarka and Rohini whereas South Delhi is known to be the prime choice of hoteliers.
The DDA is working on strategies to attract the attention of potential buyers. It had received an excellent response in 2006 when the authority put 16 sites for auction and 11 were sold.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Source: indianrealtynews.com
Office Absorption Continues Its Comeback in Bangalore
With Bangalore making rapid strides in IT/ITES sector, the office space absorption here has reached a new high of 14.2 million sq ft, which is believed to be the second highest in the world after Tokyo.
This is accountable for 53% growth over the past years. The office space absorption figure is known to stand at 9.28 million sq.ft thereby carving out a niche among the top four cities globally. With IT/ITes majors being bullish to set establishments in Bangalore, the city is likely to figure in the top cities globally in office space absorption in 2007, says the data showcased DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, an international real estate consultancy firm.
Bangalore’s CBD is fetching Rs 65 per sq ft per month, with a further rise to come up soon in very near future in the wake of new supply. The vacancy level in CBD is just 0.5% against 7% - 8% of other peripheral locations in the city. It is likely to remain unchanged due to the huge pipeline supply.
Indeed, NCR could not make it to win the race. The Capital has seen an overall absorption of 10.6 million sq ft of commercial Grade A office space in 2006, says the survey. Rentals in the city will continue to rise due to the MCD sealing of illegal commercial spaces. Another reason can be the steady demand by the upcoming companies in NCR.
According to the survey, the total office space absorption in Mumbai was estimated to be 6.4 million sq. ft. the demand for commercial spaces in Mumbai may continue to by expanding IT/ ITes, insurance and telecom sectors. The rentals in the most sought after locations in Mumbai such as Bandra, Worli, Lower Parel are almost 100-200% higher than the rentals in 2006. As such, the rentals in financial capital have not jumped very high.
Rentals across these cities have more or less remained stable and have not shown significant appreciation, said the report.
The office absorption in Chennai in the last quarter of 2006 stood at 5.2 million sq. ft., whereas the total absorption in other upcoming cities including Pune and Hyderabad stands at 4.6 million sq ft and 3.8 million sq ft, respectively.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Source: indianrealtynews.com
Indian Retailers Bullish on Acquiring Land for Mall Development
India is all set to upturn milestones in retail sector and promoters struggle to find more of available retail space. A number of established retailers are jostling hard to acquire large chunk of properties available in the outskirts of Kolkata as the city faces lack of retail space.
This has brought some prominent names before such as RPG Enterprises, a firm looking for land in Siliguri, Jalpaiguri, and Durgapur in West Bengal to establish Spencer’s stores in different formats.
The company is scouting for the properties ranging from 1500 sq. ft to 50,000 sq. ft for the development of five of Spencer’s formats – Daily, Super, Express, Fresh, and Hypermarkets. Interestingly, tier II towns and cities are also coming up with excellent business prospects and seem to adopt the mall culture soon.
Close by the heels is Pantaloon Retail (India), which is too searching for space in eastern India to develop Pantaloons and Big Bazaar stores in the cities like Guwahati and Agartala. The company will also set up stores in Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Ranchi of eastern India.
Pantaloons is also scouting for properties to set up stores this year in Kharagpur, Siliguri, Burdwan, Asansol, and Darjeeling. The company would also come up with three more shopping stores in Kolkata in 2007, in South City, Rajarhat and Howrah, of approximately 60,000 sq ft each.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Source: indianrealtynews.com
Banks raise home loan interest rates
Various banks including ICICI Bank, HDFC and PNB have increased their home loan rates. This follows the Reserve Bank of India's recent decision to hike the inter-bank short-term lending rate by 0.25% and the mandatory deposits banks are required to make with the RBI by 0.5%. The CRR increase will squeeze money out of the banking system by forcing banks to deposit an extra Rs 15,500 crore with RBI. Controlling inflation is the central bank’s top priority.
ICICI Bank raised home loan interest rates by 1%, its fifth increase since May last year, when home loans were going for only 8.5%. ICICI has also increased the broad floating reference rate that determines other consumer loans like car and personal loans to 12.75%. ICICI Bank's deputy managing director Chanda Kochar said, "The rate increase will definitely slow down disbursal of new loans, a trend already visible in the last six months."
India's largest mortgage firm Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) has raised its key lending rates by 75 basis points to 14.25 per cent.
Punjab National Bank has hiked the spread on loans to commercial real estate and large non-deposit taking NBFCs by 50 basis points to 4 per cent over the benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR).
The higher interest rates and EMIs are likely to hit the property market as potential buyers postpone their purchase decisions. Real estate industry observers also believe that prices could come down by 10%-15% as demand slows and speculative activity decreases due to the rate hike
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Source: inrnews.com
IT and ITeS Pushing up Commercial Real Estate in India
Commercial Real Estate in India is believed to be turning milestones into stepping stones. Thanks to the increasing interests of the IT and ITeS sector that continues to be the primary driving force in the cities such as Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi.
As per the data showcased by surveys, the sector accounted for 75% of the total office space absorption in Pune in the fourth quarter of 2006. The IT hub of the country, Bangalore continues to excel at the same pace with the support of knowledge based companies.
Interestingly, the other surveys which have released the city wise snapshots also gave the same results. Recently, Tie Leung put the 14.2 million office space absorption in Bangalore as the highest in the country. Currently, the IT/ITES companies are situated in the known IT corridor of the city extending from Whitefield to Electronic City. The real estate developments in India are to reach the best of its phase in the wake of upcoming infrastructure activities. The international airport scheduled to come up in Yelahanka in 2008 is such an example.
The report featuring the current scenario of real estate in India makes special mention of Hyderabad, which has emerged as one of the most sought after IT/ITes destinations in south India with Madhapur and Gachibowli micromarkets becoming a preferred destination in the city. Indeed, the area has 0.5 million sq. ft. Grade A office space absorption in this quarter. The total absorption in 2006 was around 3.8 million sq. ft.
Another upcoming IT/ITeS Destination, Shamshabad is expecting to have its international airport by March 2008. A hardware park spread over 5,000 acres promoted by the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Source: indianrealtynews.com
Costlier loans hit sale of flats
Rising interest rates are finally beginning to slow down the real estate business in Mumbai. There is no clear consensus on the extent of the impact, but developers have recorded a progressive drop of 20-25 % in the sales of residential apartments over the past two to three months.
“If builders were selling 100 flats a month earlier, the figure has now come down to about 80 on an average,’’ a property consultant told TOI. According to some, those who were planning to buy high-end properties seem to have deferred their decision. “But soon, with EMIs increasing, the middleand lower-level segments too will be affected,’’ said J S Augustine, corporate advisor, Acme Group.
The downward trend began in January when banks began hiking their interest rates, and since then, bookings have continued to drop with every rate hike announced . Most buyers are putting off their decisions in the hope that rates will decline, say, after six months.
But some builders say the drop could also be partly attributed to the fact that this is traditionally a slack season. Mulund-based builder Dharmash Jain said, “Traditionally, sales are sluggish in the February-March period because of the school and college examinations. April will be the month to watch out for when sales generally pick up.’’
But there is a fear that persistent rate hikes have already reduced options for middle-class buyers looking for a house in Mumbai or its outskirts. With every percentage point increase, equated monthly instalments are bound to rise and thus reduce the ability of a potential loan-seeker to repay a huge loan.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
New national policy on urban housing on the anvil
The Government is finalizing new National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy to tackle housing shortage in the country. Addressing a two-day National Conference on ‘Affordable Housing for All’here today,the Minister of State (Independent Charge) Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Kumari Selja said that the new Policy is based on the feedback from the sectoral developments since 1998. She said that promotion of sustainable cities through adequate provisions of housing and related infrastructure is the need of the hour.
Expressing concern over the wide gape in urban housing and infrastructure, the Minister said that over Rs. 4,00,000 crore are needed for housing alone and a large amount is needed for infrastructure also.
She said that arrangements of this magnitude of funds were not possible within budgetary allocation of Central and State Governments.
Kumari Selja said that the proposed policy recognizes the key role which all actors; public, private and the cooperative sectors need to play in meeting the housing shortage. It envisages a facilitative role for the state and a direct and proactive role for the other players. The Minister said that there was a shortage of about 24.71 lakh houses at the beginning of 11th Plan and the gap is expected to increase to 26 million at the end of 11th Plan. Underlining the importance of real sector in the housing sector, she said there is a great significance of real estate in the housing development and development of the economy. The Indian economy has shown impressive growth rate of GDP over 9%, the real sector in the country is also booming. The rapid urbanization will continue to fuel the real estate boom in India, she added.
The function is being organized by National Real Estate Development Council and aims to bring all stakeholders on one platform and share and deliberate upon the issues, concerns and opportunities in housing sector, to reduce the widening gap between housing demand and supply in the country and make housing affordable for all, especially the low income and economically weaker sector in the society.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Source: inrnews.com
Freeze on SEZs lifted - ceiling on size fixed at 5000 hectares
The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGOM) on Special Economic Zones (SEZs) met here today and discussed various issues relating to SEZs. It decided, inter-alia, to lift the current freeze on SEZs, with tighter rules and prescribed a ceiling on the size of SEZs, which has now been fixed at an upper limit of 5000 hectares.
Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, also indicated that a comprehensive rehabilitation policy was being finalised and that it would include employment to at least 1 person from each displaced family.
The Minister announced that the following decisions were taken at the EGOM meeting:
Regarding the decisions on processing area, minimum size requirement etc., Shri Kamal Nath told newsmen after the meeting that “the decisions will be applicable to all SEZs, including those which have already been notified”.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Source: inrnews.com
Foreign Hotel Chains To Pursue investment Plans In India
Starwood Hotels & Resorts, a leading hotel and leisure company, is looking forward to expand its operations in India. The move will bring significant changes in the hotel industry.
The group has been operating in the country for the last 36 years through its brands – Sheraton and Le-Meridien, for a fee.
Since 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is allowed in the hotel industry, the Starwood group can scout from a plethora of investment opportunities available in the country.
Even though the rules are highly relaxed, the business has merely attracted $500 million in investments. However, the situation seems to be improving now. The group is looking forward to invest in India properties and holding talks with the owners of its existing properties. It may also partner with others to bring other brands in the country, says Thomas J Monahan, senior V-P at Starwood Hotels.
He, however, denied telling the amount allocated for the investment purpose. Close on heels of Starwood are other players as well.
Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms, has also shown large interests in making investments in building rooms.
IHG, which owns Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Candlewood Suites as brands, holds a stake in the 59-room Intercontinental Hotel, situated at Marine Drive in Mumbai.
Foreign hotel chains are quite interested to invest handsome money to partner with different property developers. Since, India has emerged as a common hunting ground for all the hotel chains; they do not want to loose any prospect in terms of location and positioning.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Source: indianrealtynews.com
Indore realty firm to raise $150 million
The London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) has now started attracting the real estate companies of tier-II cities also. Indore-based Entertainment World Development Private Ltd (EWDPL) is all set to raise US $150 million through the initial public offering (IPO) on the AIM.
With this, the company will join the list of giants like Unitech, Hiranandani and the Raheja Group who are also seeking place in London listing.
The firm has appointed JP Morgan as the investment banker for the issue. The company has plans to develop malls, residential development and mixed construction and is executing nearly a dozen malls in the Central India.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Source: inrnews.com
TRAI to hold meeting on implementing CAS
The broadcast regulator, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), will hold a meeting with the stakeholders on Wednesday to discuss how to roll-out Controlled Access System in the metros.
"The meeting will be held tomorrow with the major Multi-System Operators (MSOs) and government officials of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata to discuss feasibility to how to go forward in non-CAS areas," a TRAI official said.
CAS has been implemented in Chennai since 2003.
"Keeping in view the confusion among the MSOs and consumers in the first phase on installation of Set Top Box (STB) to watch satellite channels through CAS in specified areas, they will be asked about their preparedness this time to implement it," said the official.
During the meeting, TRAI will also see how many STBs had been installed on ground and also try and understand the problems consumers as well MSOs were facing because of the new system implemented four months ago.
CAS, which is a digital content delivery model, rolled out in specified areas of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata from December 31, 2006, following orders from the Delhi High Court.
In Delhi, against an estimated four to five lakh TV sets in the notified area, MSOs have been able to penetrate 70 per cent of households, a Delhi Government official said.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Source: PTI via economictimes.com
Govt to give 90 FM radio licences soon
About 90 FM radio licences will soon be up for grabs. The information and broadcasting ministry could issue these new licences after reviewing the operations of the 250 radio stations which are expected to go on air by the end of this year. The licences are mainly in the C & D class cities, for which the government did not receive bids.
The process should take shape by the end of the year. Speaking to ET, SK Arora, secretary, I&B ministry said, "We are evaluating, how many stations are actually emerging operationally successful, and how many of them in the smaller cities are commercially viable."
Considering that most of the licenses that would be given out would be in the tier 3 and 4 cities, players would have to give a sound strategy of commercial viability of the operations, he added. The tendering process should begin by June - July.
The liberalisation of radio began in the second phase of bidding for private FM radio stations last year, which witnessed the government selling about 250 radio stations across 91 cities, collecting revenue of Rs 1,100 crore.
The process also saw aggressive bidding by almost all players after the government decided to go in for a revenue-share regime as against the licence fee structure of the first phase, which took place five years ago.
Players such as the Times Group, Sun Group, Music Broadcast and Radio Mid-Day have expanded their network and new players such as the Anil Ambani-controlled Adlabs Films and HT Music and Entertainment have entered the FM space. Even foreign companies started picking up stakes in Indian entities after the government recently allowed 20% foreign direct investment in the radio space.
The other initiative from the I&B ministry is the launch of community radio in the country. Mr Arora said that the I&B ministry has issued close to 60 letter of intents for starting community radio stations. NGOs are also being issued these licenses which were earlier limited to just educational institutions.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Source:TNN via economictimes.com
ESPN & Nimbus face graded ad rates
India’s disastrous World Cup showing has begun spilling over to ESPN and Nimbus — both of whom have cricket broadcast rights for the next eight years between them. Advertisers have initiated discussions with the two broadcasters, seeking differential pricing and factoring in protection clauses for buying on tournaments, on grounds of inconsistent performances by the Indian cricket team.
That’s in complete departure from Sony Entertainment Television (SET), which sold airtime of over Rs 500 crore through bulk deals and combined Champions Trophy and World Cup. “It’s a case of once bitten, twice shy. Advertisers now want conditionality and protection, especially in case of big tournaments which involve several teams,” said Madison Communications CMD Sam Balsara.
“The general bearishness towards cricket is prodding advertisers to move towards rationalisation of contracts. We are definitely talking on those terms, but it’s at a very nascent stage.
In principle, every advertiser is looking at adding a safety clause, which includes differential rates. Besides, the mad rush over cricket has dissipated as advertisers are getting more cautious with their investments,” said Mindshare Fulcrum managing director R Gowthaman.
Broadcasters say the issue of differential pricing will come with its share of benefits and drawbacks. Said ESPN Star India MD RC Venkateish: “We don’t have a problem if advertisers want to negotiate rates and play it safe, so long as we get our revenues. If they are looking for downside protection, they will also have to pay a premium for the upside as well.”
While admitting that the Caribbean debacle has put off smaller advertisers and fringe buyers, Venkateish pointed out that ESPN hasn’t witnessed attrition of rates. “We’ve signed up four advertisers for the upcoming India-England series at the same rates we were negotiating before the World Cup began,” he said.
Nimbus maintains that differential pricing is barely of any consequence to the channel since it has rights for the home series’, and India’s winning or losing would not matter since the team would play all matches. Said Nimbus CMD Harish Thawani, “The issue is being over-hyped on the back of just one loss, and the intention is just to depress cricket prices.
From a domain point of view, cricket is still the best converter for intention to purchase, and is the only programme on air that has the highest break ratings.” Meanwhile, the incumbent ICC rights holder, SET India’s EVP (sales), Rohit Gupta said, “No broadcaster will agree to differential pricing to be included in contracts.
The broadcaster’s fortunes is not dependent on India’s performance and they have to factor in acquisitions costs. Unless the ICC is willing to give some rebate to broadcasters, such a concept is unworkable and any broadcaster who agrees to this, is asking for serious trouble.”
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Source:TNN via economictimes.com
Soon, CAS will be mandatory in all metros, satellite towns
All cable TV viewers in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata and the satellite towns of these metros will soon require a set-top box (STB) to watch their daily dose of entertainment. The satellite towns include New Bombay and Thane for Mumbai and Ghaziabad, Faridabad and Gurgaon for Delhi.
Cable operators and government officials on Thursday in a joint meeting agreed to mandatorily extend the Conditional Access Regime (CAS) to all areas of the three metros and adjoining areas including the satellite towns of these metros, sources said. The information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry will soon issue an formal notification in this regard, sources who attended the meet added.
This means that all cable TV viewers will soon have to shell out of minimum of Rs 2000 for a STB. The other option is to pay a higher sum for a DTH connection such as Dish TV and Tata-Sky. Currently, CAS is operational throughout Chennai and in select notified zones in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
During the meet, which was attended by more than 130 multi system operators(MSOs) and local cable operators (LCOs) from the three metros, in addition to Trai and I&B ministry officials, it was also recommended that the CAS regime rollout in the three metros and its satellite towns be completed within 6-9 months. MSOs and LCOs are also learnt to have said that they were ready to implement CAS in the new areas.
“This was a meeting to probe the issue. We will take a final decision after holding a couple of more meetings with MSOs, LCOs, broadcasters and consumer organisations. During the meet, stakeholders said they wanted CAS to be extended to the non-notified areas,” Trai chairman Nripendra Misra told ET.
MSOs are also learnt to have suggested that there should be a notification for these areas, which specifies the timeframe within which digital cable will completely replace analogue cable. During the meet, MSO alliance president Ashok Mansukhani said that any further delay in the CAS rollout would be a loss as other platforms like DTH and IPTV would lure away consumers at the expense of the local cable operator.
“The government should issue a notification in advance as it will help the consumer to be prepared for CAS and also enable STB manufacturers and MSOs to have the requisite hardware stocks in advance,” said Arvind Mohan, vice president of Wire and Wireless Ltd (formerly known as Siticable).
Cable Operators Federation of India (COFI) president Roop Sharma was of the view that 6-9 month period was the ideal time to extend CAS to all areas of the CAS-notified metros.
The decision for mandatory introduction of CAS has surprised many industry observers including broadcasters as they had expected Trai and all stakeholders to explore the possibility of voluntary implementation of CAS in other parts of the country.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Source:TNN via economictimes.com
Wienerberger plans first Indian factory
Wienerberger AG, the world's biggest brickmaker, plans to open its first factory in India next year as the country's economic expansion and population growth boosts construction of new homes.
The Vienna-based company aims to open as many as 10 Indian sites close to major cities or towns within five years, Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Reithofer said in an interview in London on March 28.
India's USD 12 billion real-estate industry is expanding by 30 per cent a year, according to Ernst & Young. By contrast, US realtors expect new home sales to fall 10 per cent this year.
Rising incomes and urbanization have fueled demand for housing in Indian cities such as New Delhi and Bangalore, where prices have tripled since 2004.
Brick use is more widespread than in other Asian countries because of India's colonial past, Reithofer said.
"India is the most interesting for me because it's a large population that's brick-minded," the 58-year-old CEO said.
"We have a lot of sites and ideas and we're investigating how we should do it."
Shares of Wienerberger, named after the Vienna hill where the company opened its first plant in 1819, have advanced 32 per cent in the past six months, giving a market value of 3.61 billion euros.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Source: PTI via economictimes.com
Mega IT deals to soon rock Indian market
After mega global IT outsourcing deals, it is now the turn of mega domestic IT outsourcing deals.
The billion dollar Bharti-IBM deal and $700 million Idea Cellular-IBM deal are only the beginning , as various IT outsourcing deals in the region of $250 million- $400 million are expected to unfold in the domestic market over the next two years, according to research firm Gartner.
The size of these outsourcing contracts puts them in the same league as the global mega deals bagged by Indian firms in the recent past. For instance, the first mega deal to be bagged by Indian players, the ABN Amro outsourcing deal, was $260 million for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and $140 million for Infosys Technologies. But while globally billion dollar deals are being broken up into smaller multi-vendor deals worth hundreds of million dollars , in India IT deals are rapidly scaling up to the same size in response to the demands of the market. These mega domestic outsourcing deals are expected to be lead by sectors like retail, manufacturing , financial services and government, apart from communications.
The retail sector, that is similar to telecom in terms of the complexity and robustness of its IT systems , is pegged to be the next big contender to outsource its IT needs, with deal sizes ranging between $300 million- $400 million.
“It is not the cost which is driving these companies to outsource , but the ability to scale up or down quickly, access to a ready pool of talent and the need to improve their competitiveness,” said Arup Roy, senior research analyst, IT services, Gartner India .
In retail, for example, the IT systems need to be able to scale up quickly and companies also need fairly sophisticated systems to track and maintain information such as customer habits and buying behaviour. Business intelligence was one of the components of the contract in the Idea-IBM IT deal.
So far, Indian IT players have been major losers in the domestic IT boom. However, according to Mr Roy, some of the Indian players stand a fair chance to compete with the multinationals in verticals such as pharma and government . In the government vertical , for instance, TCS is a strong player because of its acquisition of CMC. It is also better placed than most other Indian players to tap domestic opportunities. For the third quarter ended December 2006, its domestic revenues were at Rs 383 crore.
Wipro also has an active domestic play through Wipro Infotech , which caters to the India and Asia-Pacific region. However , Infosys Technologies does not have any domestic revenue except for its Finnacle core banking solution. Indian IT spends are projected to grow at CAGR of 14.8% touching $36.6 billion in 2009, making it the fastest growing geography in the Asia-Pacific region. As in the other markets, BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) is the largest vertical in India.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
Semindia to launch low-cost media player
Semindia, the consortium behind India’s first fab facility, is drawing up plans to launch a low-cost media player through its design and product arm, SemIndia Systems. This will be the first consumer product to be launched by the firm after its acquisition of Exalted Networks in February this year.
“The focus of this venture is to design and develop products that are relevant to the Indian market. We ship about 2-3 million ADSL modems under our own brand and as an ODM (original device manufacturer). These products create demand for chips which will be serviced by our fab,” said SemIndia Systems MD BV Naidu.
While telecom will continue to be mainstay of the firm, given the sector’s exponential growth in the country, SemIndia will also venture into consumer and low-cost computation devices. “The price sensitivity of the Indian market will be taken into taken consideration while designing these products,” said Mr Naidu.
The media player is expected to be launched commercially before the end of year. It will be capable of playing both audio and video and interestingly, also have a memory card for downloads, in addition to the standard USB port that facilitates downloads from computers. The memory will be similar to a SIM card on a phone. More details, including on the pricing, are expected to be firmed up by next month.
The media player is likely to be manufactured through partners although the design and intellectual property will be owned by SemIndia. For its ADSL models, for instance, the company’s manufacturing partner is Flextronics. Flextronics is also an investor in SemIndia Inc, which is the holding company for all the ventures, including SemIndia Fab, the entity setting up the $3 billion fab in Hyderabad.
The telecom portfolio of products will also be boosted with GPON (gigabit-capable passive optical network) systems and Wi-max CPE (customer premises equipment) products.
“These products will create demand that will attract firms like Broadcom to India. The fab facility cannot be based on the current demand parameters because it will take 2-3 years to go on stream. With our fab, a hi-tech manufacturing cluster will come up in Hyderabad — the design cluster has already come up in Bangalore and the EMS cluster in Chennai,” said Mr Naidu.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
Whirlpool sees turnaround this year
Whirlpool is expecting a turnaround in the current financial year. The Indian subsidiary of the world’s largest appliance maker is entering new product categories and is taking steps to regain top position in its core product, the refrigerator.
Whirlpool India managing director Arvind Uppal said, “We have been making operating profits and hopefully this year we would end with a net profit. The bulk of the gains would come from improving our position in the refrigerator market while also increasing our sales in fast growing categories like airconditioners. We are looking at an overall growth of 20-25% in sales this year.”
Facing heavy price competition from other brands and rising commodity prices, the Indian subsidiary has been making losses for the last few years. The company on Tuesday announced entry into the fabric dryer market, targeting the higher income households.
As against a conventional washing machine which provides limited drying after a wash, a dryer is a specialised product. Whirlpool is also planning to enter other new categories this year including the premium end of built-in kitchen cooking hobs which is currently dominated by local brands.
The company also introduced its new range of frost-free refrigerators under the Mastermind sub-brand along with a new range for airconditioners. Whirlpool has earmarked a total budget of Rs 70 crore for marketing and advertising activities this year.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
United Spirits transfers stake in UB
United Spirits Ltd has transferred its entire stake in United Breweries Holdings to McDowell Holdings due to the restructuring of its investment business.
In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, United Breweries said that United Spirits (formerly McDowell & Company Ltd) has transferred its entire stake of over 52.60 lakh shares, representing 8.85 per cent to McDowell Holdings (formerly McDowell India Spirits Ltd) on March 27.
This transfer was consequent to the Karnataka and Bombay High Court order sanctioning the composite scheme of arrangement entailing the demerger of the investment business of Vijay Mallya-led United Spirits Ltd to McDowell Holdings Ltd.
Consequent to this transfer, McDowell Holdings would now have 8.85 per cent stake in United Breweries Holdings, representing over 52.60 lakh shares.
"The shares held by United Spirits Ltd in United Breweries Holdings stood transferred to and vested with McDowell Holdings Ltd with effect from Mar 27," United Breweries added.
The shares of United Breweries were trading at Rs 360.25, down 0.73 per cent on the BSE
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Source: PTI via economictimes.com
French co plans nuclear power projects in India
"France's Areva is in talks with Indian firms to set up nuclear power projects in India" Philippe Guillemot, chief executive officer of Areva T&D, a division of the company, said on Thursday.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Source: Reuters
OVL strikes oil in Egypt
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp, and its partner IPR Red Sea Inc have made a significant oil discovery in offshore Egypt.
The discovery was made in the first exploration well North Ramadan-1A in the North Ramadan block in Gulf of Suez, a company press release said here. Total potential resources in the block exceed 200 million barrels of oil, it said.
North Ramadan concession is 290 sq km in size and is surrounded by some of Egypt's most prolific producing oil fields in the Gulf of Suez.
OVL-IPR combine have committed to drill three exploratory wells and acquire 50 sq km of 3D data and reprocessing of existing date in the first exploration phase of three years.
The Indian firm holds 70 per cent interest in the block, while IPR has the remaining 30 per cent.
"North Ramadan-1A, the first commitment well for the North Ramadan concession, was drilled to total depth of 10,050 feet," the release said. Oil flowed at the rate of 2,979 barrels per day and 1.5 million standard cubic feet per day. The oil is sweet crude of 36.5 degree API.
"The consortium anticipates other leads in the concession to be prospective and will focus attention on proving up additional potential during the upcoming drilling campaign," it added.
OVL and IPR are in the first phase (three years) of exploration in North Ramadan and have two remaining exploratory wells and acquisition of 3D seismic. The budget for the first phase work programme of activities is about $ 45 million.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Source: PTI via economictimes.com
Andhra to be world capital of natural gas: Deora
Murli Deora, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, said on Thursday that Andhra Pradesh will become the world capital of natural gas because of the Krishna Godavari (KG) basin
He said that there is so much gas in the KG basin that in two to three years there will be no shortage of gas for the industries and power projects.
He was speaking after launching "5 percent ethanol bled petrol" programme and laying the foundation for the CNG mega station here on Thursday.
Earlier, during his meeting with chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy, Deora said that natural gas from the KG basin will be supplied by Reliance and other private developers from June 2008.
The chief minister wanted the petroleum ministry to ensure that no portion of the gas produced from the KG basin be allowed to be taken out of the Andhra Pradesh without first meeting the entire requirement of the state.
Deora announced that about 20 million domestic consumers of cooking gas will get piped supply in three years and that the LPG cylinders would be diverted to rural areas to further increase the supply there.
Rajasekhara Reddy and Deora flagged off the first tanker carrying the ethanol blended petrol marking the launch of the much awaited programme in the country aimed at bringing down the petroleum import bill.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Source: IANS via economictimes.com
Energy cos see benefits of IT, hike investments on IT tools
Power companies, such as NTPC and Reliance Energy, are fast catching on to the IT fad. Even as the average spend on IT by power companies in India is about 1.5% of revenue, there is a growing demand for IT tools for improving efficiency of production and distribution of power.
“India is going in for first-time IT investments in the energy space more in the last three years,” Gartner VP Kristian Steemstrup said. According to a Gartner report highlighting a similar global trend, the average spend on IT by energy companies is about 2.25% of revenue.
“Because of increased de-regulation and the separation of generation and distribution, there is a much recognised appreciation of the past under-investments that is now being corrected.” Frost and Sullivan VP ICT Practice Ashok Shende said. According to Frost and Sullivan, In 2006, the total IT spend in the energy space in India is around $80 million and is expected to grow by 22% over the next 5 years.
“Companies in the energy space are driven to increase spending in IT to improve operations,” said Sapient Corporation Energy and Utilities Practice director Rob Milstead.
Bulk of IT investments are happening in the space of grid maintenance and operations, energy data management and reconciliation and settlement. Even SAP that is among the global leaders of providing enterprise software solutions to power companies has observed an increased demand for its solutions in the recent past. ”Joining the corporates, there is now an increased demand of IT by PSUs in the energy space,” said Nitin Joshi, SAP’s industry head for utilites.
Tata Power that claims to be the first to apply SAP to its business processes plans to increase its spend on IT by over 250% in 2007 in line with its expansion plans. The others that have recently deployed SAP solutions are Reliance Energy, NTPC, Lanco Global and the Chattisgarh State Electricity Board (CSEB).
Reliance Energy, for instance, has used IT to create a business system that provides insights into losses and pilferage, a major revenue leakage area in the Indian power sector. It has also enabled its customers to pay through 7 different modes.
“We have used IT for billing, material management and e-bidding for purchase of power and have seen massive improvements,” CSEB IT in-charge Lakshminarayana Eranki said. CSEB has been gradually increasing its budget for IT spend since it adopted SAP software in 2004.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
NTPC to set up 6,000-MW nuclear plant
Power major NTPC plans to set up 6,000 MW of nuclear generation capacity over the next few years and is talking to equipment and fuel suppliers for the purpose. “We will have 2,000 MW of nuclear power generation by the middle of 12th Plan (2012-17). Simultaneously, we will start work on two power plants of 2,000 MW each,”
NTPC Chairman and Managing Director T Sankaralingam said. Sankaralingam said the company was talking to equipment and fuel suppliers for the proposed plants. NTPC has been in talks with international players such as GE Energy for setting up the new nuclear facilities and was also engaged in discussions with Thorium Power, a US-based manufacturer of nuclear fuel technology, to establish joint ventures in the country. NTPC is looking at four states, including Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, for setting up these nuclear plants.
“We are looking at these location as water should be available and the area should be unpopulated,” NTPC’s Director Technical R K Jain said. He said the company was waiting for Indo-US nuclear pact to finalise before they decided on the import of uranium. “We would wait for the 123 Agreement to be signed first and the nuclear suppliers to agree, before deciding on the countries we would like to import uranium from. There are 45 countries in the Nuclear Suppliers Group,” Jain said.
The company has already received government clearance to enter into nuclear power generation and has amended its articles of association to enter the segment. NTPC appointed former Atomic Energy Commission secretary S Rajgopal and former executive director of Nuclear Power Corporation of India V K Kaushik as consultants to expedite its move to produce nuclear power.
India currently has a nuclear capacity of about 3,300 MW, less than two per cent of the total installed capacity of 1,28,000 MW, and plans to ramp it to 20,000 MW by 2020. State-owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India is so far the monopoly in this sector.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
World's gas rich nations expected to form cartel
The world's largest natural gas producers are expected to announce the formation of a cartel at Doha, Qatar, next week but experts in the United States expect no "significant impact" on prices or production, a media repot said.
Fourteen gas-rich nations are attending the meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum in Doha, Forbes said. It said the natural gas exporters appear to be seeking only cooperation amongst themselves for now. But as was the case with OPEC when it formed in 1960, it is unclear exactly what "cooperation" will mean a decade or so down the road, when global energy markets surely will have changed.
No one is certain what the new organization will try to achieve, but experts in America say it will not be able to set prices like the oil cartel, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Among other reasons given by the experts are that the global market for natural gas is too fractured, there are too many substitutes for the fuel and two of the "loudest voices" in favour of the cartel, Iran and Venezuela, have little heft in the market.
Iran is a net importer of natural gas and Venezuela is likely to be one soon, too. Instead of forming a group to manipulate prices, Forbes says natural gas producers appear to be responding to the growing trade in liquefied natural gas or LNG (as opposed to gas that travels along a network of pipelines), and increasing competition in regional markets.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Source: PTI via economictimes.com
India to get oil contracts from Iraq
Despite whispers in some quarters that the Bush administration invaded Iraq to take control of its oil, the first contracts with major oil firms from Iraq's new government are likely to go not to US companies, but rather to firms from China, India, Vietnam, and Indonesia. "While Iraqi lawmakers struggle to pass an agreement on exactly who will award the contracts and how the revenue will be shared, experts say a draft version that passed the cabinet earlier this year will likely uphold agreements previously signed by those countries under Saddam Hussein's government," CNNMoney.Com has said in a report citing energy experts.
"The Chinese could announce something within the next few months" if all goes well with the oil law, James Placke, a senior associate at Cambridge Energy Research Associates who specializes in the Middle East has been cited in the report.
The Asian firms are advantaged and for several reasons: they are less constrained by Western sanctions during the Hussein regime, they've been operating in Iraq and know the country's oilfields, according to Falah Aljibury, an energy analyst who has advised several Iraqi oil ministers as well as other OPEC nations.
Aljibury said the first contracts likely awarded will be to the Chinese in the south central part of Iraq, the Vietnamese in the south, the Indians along the Kuwaiti border, and the Indonesians in the western desert;but that the contracts under consideration are small. According to Aljibury, the Chinese agreement is to produce about 70,000 barrels of oil a day, while the Vietnamese one is for about 60,000.
The report said it is hard to to put a dollar amount on what those contracts might be worth, as security costs, drilling conditions and the exact terms to be offered by Baghdad are unknown. But the barrel amount is tiny even by Iraq's depressed post-war production of around 2 million barrels a day.
And the country is thought to be able to ramp up production to over 3 million barrels a day with fairly little effort, providing the security situation improves. Rosy estimates even have Iraq producing 6 million barrels a day in the long term, which would make it the world's No. 4 producer behind Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United States, the report says adding Asian firms are also "well positioned" to grab further contracts. "They have no involvement with the secular or ethnic people," said Aljibury. "The conditions favour them."
Given its rapidly growing thirst for oil, combined with its feeling of isolation from world oil markets, China is sometimes viewed as more cavalier than Western oil firms when it comes to putting capital and people at risk. That could lead them to sign contracts in violent Iraq sooner than Western firms. "The Chinese seem to be willing to go places where other companies can't find workers to go," said Adam Sieminski, chief energy economist at Deutsche Bank.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Source: PTI via economictimes.com
Healthcare industry rides on retail wave
After clothes and food, big industrial players are perking up the retail health segment by providing round-the-clock healthcare, including counselling and out-patient services.
While Apollo Group took the plunge into retail health a year ago, Fortis HealthWorld, an arm of Fortis Group, recently launched 10 pharmacy outlets in the capital.
Says Shivender Mohan Singh, managing director of Fortis Health, "The idea of a health store is to be proximal to the customers and provide them choice and convenience. We want to offer a bouquet of health products and services."
Fortis plans to set up 1,000 such outlets across India by 2012 at an estimated cost of Rs 800 crore. Leading FMCG company Dabur India Limited is another big name to hit the sector, which the company believes is nascent and holds great potential.
"Organised retail, which currently accounts for only three per cent of the total retail market in India, has tremendous growth potential in the fast expanding Indian economy," says P D Narang, group director (corporate affairs).
According to Narang, Dabur's "in-depth understanding of the Indian consumer and capability to deliver goods at affordable prices" makes it "uniquely placed" to enter the retail sector.
Subhiksha Retail, one of the newest entrants in the field, is also ready to tap the huge market. "The market for pharma products in the country is huge. There are relatively few national players and Subhiksha is the only one with a pan- India presence with over 650 outlets across more than 30 cities," says Mohit Khattar, president (marketing) for Subhiksha. Apollo pharmacy was the first to enter the sector and boasts a pan-India presence.
"There are 450 Apollo pharmacies at present, 100 of which have been added in the past one year and 50 more will be added before the end of the financial year," the group's managing director Shobhana Kameneni was quoted as saying recently.
Aware of the intense competition, these groups have come out with tempting offers to lure end users. "We are the first to offer a 'one stop shop' providing a host of health products and value added services which include OPD department, pathology centres and free home delivery among other things. And these shops will function round-the-clock," says Fortis HealthWorld CEO Ashish Kirpal Pandit.
To provide a world-class retailing experience to consumers across India, Dabur, a household name for its Ayurvedic herbal products, is set to invest Rs 140 crore by 2010 in a chain of stores in the Health and Beauty (H&B) format.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
Source: PTI via economictimes.com
Ranbaxy to pick stake in Jupiter Bio
As part of its product portfolio expansion through partnerships and strategic investments, Ranbaxy Laboratories on Friday said it will pick up stake in Jupiter Bioscience, a maker of specialised organic compounds.
"This is an opportunity for us to expand product portfolio and we will go with the 14.9 per cent of enlarged capital of Jupiter Biocscience...subject to the completion of due diligence" Ranbaxy Laboratories CEO and MD Malvinder Singh told reporters here.
He, however, declined to comment on the valuation of the deal.
On Thursday, Jupiter Bioscience had informed bourses that it plans to allot preferential equity share warrants to Ranbaxy. The firm said it would seek the approval for the proposal from its Board of Directors on April 12.
The proposed warrant allotment is a part of the term sheet signed between the companies earlier, which includes forging a strategic business tie-up on peptide pharmaceuticals for the global market, Jupiter said.
Singh today said the products from the these partnerships involving Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and peptides would be huge upsides for the company going forward in 2008-13.
Jupiter Bioscience makes specialised organic compounds like peptides and has a wholly owned US subsidiary Jupiter Bioscience Inc to cater to markets of peptides and peptide components in the US, Europe, Canada and Japan.
Singh said his company was looking out for a similar opportunities in both India and abroad.
Ranbaxy has already picked up significant stake in another API manufacturer -- Krebs Biochemicals -- by acquiring 10.50 lakh shares on preferential basis.
Friday, April 6, 2007
Source: PTI via economictimes.com
Apollo, IBM form JV to wire doctors, hospitals
Apollo Hospitals Group has joined hands with IBM for setting up a healthcare superhighway that will connect physicians, hospitals and nursing homes across the world in a year. The group is also in talks with Microsoft for this project.
"The 50:50 joint venture between the companies will facilitate use of IT for improving healthcare offerings. Our aim is to touch all physicians and hospitals across the world so that they can share medical information and treatment expertise. It will help small hospitals to improve their offerings and learn from others while we get to expand our reach," said Pratap C Reddy, chairman of Apollo Group.
He said in the first phase, the project would connect 150 centres in four zones of the country. "Eventually, we will expand the project to connect with leading institutes in the world. Microsoft has also expressed interest to provide technology and we are evaluating the offer," he said.
The hospital group is also planning to launch a major telemedicine project in May. "It will connect 52 African countries and online healthcare services will be provided through it. Besides Apollo, nine other Indian hospitals including All India Institute of Medical Science and Narayana Hrudayalaya are part of this project," he said.
Talking about the company's acquisition plans in the UK, he said, the group is in talks with two hospital chains. "Due diligence is on and we expect to finalise the deal by this year-end," he said. Dr Reddy indicated that one of the firms the group is talking to is Abbey hospital chain.
"We are looking at synergies in terms of manpower, management expertise and technological advantages including IT and accordingly, we will select one venture," he said. However, he refused to share the deal size. "Several venture capitalists including Blackstone Group have come forward to finance the deal," he added.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
Now, finishing schools for wannabe IT pros
A finishing school conjures up the image of young girls of marriageable age or wannabe models.
Well, India too - in the last couple of years - has seen some finishing schools: only not for young girls but for wannabe cyber professionals.
Apart from these, we have some biggies doing it too. Wipro Technologies, which has set up a finishing school for rural youths in Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh on an experimental basis, plans to bring it to Maharashtra too.
Semiconductor design major Cadence Design Systems in partnership with Time to Market, Inc (TTM) - a provider of integrated chip design services and training - and University of California, Santa Cruz, has launched the Cadence-TTMUCSC Extension Finishing School Program (FSP) in India.
The FSP is an advanced learning programme in VLSI and electronic design for new graduates and industry professionals. “Building on the success of the Cadence University program, we are now taking our initiatives to the next level with the launch of the Finishing School Program. We are confident that the FSP will add value to the semiconductor industry as a whole by producing more design-aware engineers empowered with relevant skills,” says Himanshu Singh, executive director of India and SAARC, Cadence Design Systems.
The Karnataka government is also now stepping in to address the escalating problem of talent shortage. It is launching an `IT finishing school’ in Mysore. The institute, to be set up by Raman International Institute of Information Technology (RiiiT), is a private initiative supported by the government and will offer a one-year post-graduate diploma in information technology (software engineering).
The seven National Institutes of Technology (NITs) at Kozhikode, Durgapur, Jaipur, Kurukshetra, Surathkal, Tiruchirappalli and Warangal along with the IIT -Roorkee are now planning to organise finishing school courses between May and July 2007.
So, why are these schools suddenly springing up? While India produces nearly 4 lakh engineers a year, their competency has become an issue. A study commissioned by Nasscom, found only one in four engineering graduates to be employable.
The rest were deficient in the required technical skills, fluency in English, ability to work in a team or deliver basic oral presentations.
The Nasscom-McKinsey Report 2005 indicates that the Indian industry will have an estimated demand for 8.5 lakh IT professionals and 1.4 million ITES-BPO professionals by 2010, that’s a total of over 2.2 million people.
Sources claim that we could have a shortage of over 5 lakh people in that period. No wonder, companies are scrambling to find fresh engineering talent and to upgrade the schools that produce it.
Says SV Venkatesh, CEO, RiiiT: “The IT industry needs someone who has exposure to the corporate and they would prefer it if the person is immediately billable. Engineering students, especially from the tier II and tier III cities have high aspirations but they are missing certain components to make it into the IT industry.’’
Friday, April 6, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
Light for those tired of inflated electricity bills
Do you think your electricity bills are inflated? IT company KLG Systel will soon launch a web-based solution which will allow consumers to monitor the power consumption patterns of their appliances and even schedule them remotely. The solution, dubbed energy portal for now, will come bundled with client-side hardware and is expected to hit the market sometime in May.
“We are planning to launch a consumer facing energy solution aimed at optimising the power usage and minimising wastage. The solution will be able to trace the consumption of power by big-ticket electronic appliances, including air conditioners and geysers,” said KLG Systel CEO Mukesh Arora.
Mr Arora said the client-side hardware would run general packet radio service (GPRS) at the back-end. While the pricing for the solution is yet to be worked out, it could be structured in terms of a monthly subscription fee.
The company plans to outsource the hardware device from manufacturers in Delhi NCR and Chandigarh. “We are still in the process of getting the partner network in place to take the solution to the market. The initiative will be backed by support centres, data centre and call centre,” he said.
“While we see households opting for the solution, we also expect a strong demand from businesses for whom we are working out various funding mechanisms. The customers will also have an option to either buy the hardware equipment or rent it from us,” he said adding that the company may also rope in franchisees for offering customer support.
The solution will enable customers to view their energy consumption patterns for individual appliances or for the entire household. “Customers can choose to view the consumption pattern on a monthly or a daily basis from a website by using their login and password,” he said.
Saturday, April 7, 2007
Source: TNN via economictimes.com
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—About our writers: Usha Ganesh is a business writer with Chillibreeze
Vilasini Kumar is Chief Operations Officer and Business Development for Chillibreeze |
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