612 million mobile subscribers in India by 2012

It would not be wrong to say that our work will be pending if we stop using our mobiles. The usage of mobile becomes part of our life and near future we may completely depend on mobiles for even simple tasks. The TOI has posted very interesting article - 'Every second Indian to have a mobile by 2012'.

The article reads “According to Business Monitor International, a renowned London-based research firm, 612 million mobile subscribers by 2012 will help India clock a mobile teledensity of roughly 51% by 2012. This scorching pace of growth is unlikely to falter unless the sector faces unforeseen policy disasters or if India's operators fail to roll out their networks. International Telecom Union's (ITU) projections are in the same range.”

India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and the world’s second largest mobile market. It is the versatile campaign of service providers that makes everyone interest in mobiles. There are many schemes in mobile service, easy to understand and follow. The rural India is no longer new to mobile services. It is clear that by 2012 or before that most of the Indian will have mobile to do something, isn’t that interesting. Moreover, this speculation is a gift for telecoms industries and service providers.

Wipro may buy German SAP service provider

Wipro may buy a German competitor that specialises in software developed by SAP AG. Wipro is the third-largest computer services provider in India. SAP AG is the world’s largest marker of business management programmes.

Indian IT sector seems to be in boom despite slowdown of US economy, as the companies have been in rush for big acquisitions. In recent, the second biggest computer services company, Infosys has offered to buy Axon Group Plc of UK. This would be the biggest deal in Indian IT sector if the deal could have finalized. However, now Wipro may buy the German company as earlier, it acquired US based Infocrossing Inc.

India clinches Asean FTA

It just like dream comes true for the Indian consumers of having duty free import goods from other countries. Indian has concluded negotiations with Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) over the much awaited Free Trade pact. Consistent efforts have been given to have free trade agreement with the ten member Asean countries. However, the process has been finalized, and the officially the pact will be singed at the India-Asean summit, is scheduled to be held in December in Singapore this year. The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to attend the summit. It is expected that the trade pact would add $12 billion by 2010 between participating nations.

Singur issue continues, hard reality for industrialists

It’s Tata and the Singure issue is being the hot topic for the industrilaists across the nation. Since August 24, hardly there is any development to the issue, the deadlock between TMC chief and West Bengal CM continues. According to media reports, still the workers at Singure are being targeted and manhandled and the NH 2 is blocked for long hours by protesters. One of the news channels had reflected the agony of the workers at Signure, those were planning to back to their places and did not want to continue there in havoc of the protesters. Any positive response from the protester, would a great respite to the CM of West Bengal as well as for industrialists of the nation including Tata.

Mukesh Ambani on Wednesday says ‘fear psychosis’ was created to slow down projects of national interest, according to media reports. This is the version of Mukesh Amabni over the Singur issue. Ambani's statement comes in the wake of Tata Motors Chairman Ratan Tata threatening to pull out the Rs 1,500-crore small car project from West Bengal after facing continued political opposition led by Trinamool Congress. The three apex chambers, CII, FICCI and Assocham, said West Bengal would be a big loser if the Tatas withdraw from the Singur project out of frustration.

Infosys decides to acquire Axon for $755 million

It’s Infosys again in news, Infosys has made the announcement for the acquisition UK-based Axon Group for $755 million in an all cash deal. This could be giant step by Infosys. This is going to be the ever biggest acquisition in Indian IT history. According to media reports, Infosys has paid a price which is a 33 per cent premium to the average price of Axon stock, listed on the London Stock Exchange, for the last six months. Axon’s earned a profit of $37.4 million for revenues for $378.3 million for the financial year ending December 2007. Compare that with the financial year ending March 2008 revenues of Infosys Rs 15648 crore and profit of Rs 4470 crore. Clearly is not the most profitable company that Infosys has sealed the deal for.

Will Tata’s Nano hit Indian roads?

The Singur issue alerts us towards the process of industrialization and truth about SEZs in India. The truth is that, the crisis for the land for the industrialization and the agitation again the project. The government of West Bengal and key persons seems very busy to derive a conclusion. But, the political vendetta over this is a wake calls for the reprisal our industrialization process.

It is clear that there good agriculture production in West Bengal and that is not enough for the development. The state needs to go miles in industrialization and industrial growth. According to media reports, the Tata group threatens to leave West Bengal. This is the big challenge for the state to maintain its stature for welcome future investments, which are not essential for the state economy. On the other hand, states like Maharashtra, Punjab and Orissa have welcomed the Nano project. If the project would shift from West Bengal to other state, then it would a serious concern for the West Bengal. It is expected that a solution to the issue soon would be derived in either way and the cheapest car would hit Indian roads in near future.

Three India-origin people among Singapore's richest list

The India-origin people are listed in the list of Singapore’s 40 richest people. The list was compiled by American business magazine Forbes. India origin Kartar Singh Thakral, who chairs the Indian garment maker Givo, is ranked at the 30th position, while Mustaq Ahmad of the 24-hour Mustafa Centre is at 38th spot. Sunny George Verghese of cashew and cocoa trader Olam International at 39th rank is also among the three India origin people. Ng Teng Fong & Family has topped the list of 40, Khoo Family at in second position, Wee Cho Yaw & Family at third rank, Zhong Sheng Jian and Kuok Khoon Hong and forth and fifth positions respectively.

Apple's third generation iPhone launches in India

The much awaited iPhone 3G (third generation) was launched across India by telecom majors Bharati Airtel and Vodafone. The iPhone is priced at Rs 31,000 for 8GB and Rs 36,100 for 16GB of memory space. Vodafone was selling its phones at 11 stores across Delhi, while Bharti was selling it only at the Shahara Mall. The phones were sold at Hyderabad and Bangalore besides the four metropolitan cities and will be later introduced in 65 cities.

Inflation surges to 12.63 per cent; Sensex plunges by 435 pts

Rising prices of food items like fruits, vegetables and milk pushed up inflation to 12.63 per cent for the week ended August 9 from 12.44 per cent a week ago. Items that pushed up the wholesale prices-based inflation by 0.19 per cent include tea, pulses, cotton yarn and cement. "Annual inflation of 30 essential commodities, however, continues to be range bound 5.7 per cent to 6.7 per cent in 19 weeks of the current fiscal," said a Finance Ministry statement.

After posting a modest gain yesterday, the markets nosedived today with the benchmark Sensex dipping by over 430 points on heavy selling in interest-sensitive banking and reatly stocks. The 30-share Sensex on the Bombay Stock Exchange settled the day at 14,243.73, a loss of 434.50 points, or 2.96 per cent, from its previous close. The National Stock Exchange index Nifty also lost 131.90 points, or 2.99 per cent, to close at 4,283.85.

9-10 pc growth achievable: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

The Deputy Chairman of Planning commission of India Motek Singh Ahluwalia hopes that India can 9-10 per cent growth rate in this current fiscal. According to media reports, he said the problem of inflation was short term and would moderate in due course, as the government has taken several monetary and administrative measures to rein in inflation."Inflation will moderate. Let's have patience," Ahluwalia said, according to media reports.

The government of India and the Reserve Bank of India have been trying to calm the inflation rate, but major strategies were not effective. On the contrary, waiving farmers credit, approval of sixth pay commission's recommendations such news stories are hardly do any help to check the inflation rather escalating it. These are extra burden on the economy, and the deficit has be to met. Experts believe that the RBI may further rise interest rate besides it rose the CRR and interest rate in order to check the inflation through monetary measures. If the version of expert would be true, then in near future there would be great change in the money market. The banking transactions and lending rates could make some difference to your daily transactions. In fact, the deputy chairman is probably right, now people need to have patience to see the any slide in the inflationary figures. However, some of apex international monetary institutions were reportedly indicated toward persisting of inflationary rate in India for next couple of months.

ADAG enters DTH, targets 1cr viewers

Eyeing a huge market of television households Reliance Big TV, a subsidiary of the Anil Ambani owned Reliance Communication entered the Direct to Home (DTH) segment on Monday. Mr Arun Kapoor, chief executive officer, Reliance Big TV reportedly said that they would provide service to 40 per cent of the 1.2 crore DTH households within a year.

Big TV is making a splash with 32 movie channels of which one third each will be in regional languages, Bollywood and Hollywood. Reliance will offer around 202 channels initially at the cost around of Rs 1, 490 with complementary subscription of three months. The service would be available at one lakh Reliance ADAG outlets across 6,500 towns.

Will economic slow down affect corporate salaries?

It's tough time for Indian companies, as there is recession of US economy and back home the nation is reeling under the pressure of inflation. Indian corporate sector has set itself to adjust the adverse effects of slow down of us economy and economical factors in India. According to a study, during the slow down of US economy the salary structure of Indian companies were not affected.

The year 2008 has seen a strong average salary increase of 14.8 per cent, according to Hewitt Associates study conducted to understand the impact of economic slowdown on compensation and salary trends. The global economic slowdown, US sub-prime crisis and rising inflation have prompted the companies to revise budget for 2009, during which the average salary is expected to dip at 13.9 per cent, the study said. Any such speculation was not become true. The bottom line is that even during the slow down of US economy, the corporate salries were unaffected.

Sensex sheds 102 points

The Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index (Sensex) shed nearly 102 points on Tuesday. Auto and metal counters remained under selling pressure amid weak trends in Asian and European bourses. The Sensex, which has lost 858 points in the last four sessions, lost another 101.93 points and closed at 14543.73 against 14645.66 on Monday. The index dipped to the day’s low of 14,368.72. The 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also declined by 24.80 points or 0.56 per cent to 4,368.25 from its last close.

Nokia intercepts iPhone with high-end handset

Apple’s 3-g iPhone would hit Indian market soon. Many mobile lovers have been in wait to own the iPhone in India. Nokia, the country's dominant handset player, is plotting to steal Apple's thunder. The company is set to launch its latest high-end phone-the N96-which calls a 'killer product' on Tuesday in India, three days before the much-awaited 3G-enabled iPhone's debut here. The N96 was tipped to be launched globally in October and this may perhaps be the handset maker's first global launch in India, according to media reports.

Industry experts say Nokia is rushing the N96 to India to counter the hype associated with the 3G iPhone, which will be offered by Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar. The product would be launched in Delhi only on Tuesday. Most of the mobile lover may try the latest product of Nokia, which cost around Rs 35,000. iPhone is likely to cost around Rs 31, 000 for 8 GB version and the 16 GB version would cost around Rs 35,000 to 37,000.

Banks to get Rs 25,000 cr for farm debt relief by 30th Sept

The government will provide first tranche of Rs 25,000 crore to banks by the September end for Rs 71,000 crore debt waiver and relief schemes implemented by them for more than 3.5 crore farmers, a senior finance ministry official said on Wednesday. "We will give first tranche of Rs 25,000 crore by September 30," the official said after Finance Minister P Chidambaram met heads of PSU banks in New Delhi.

Sensex closes below 15K level, realty, bank stocks take a hit
The benchmark Sensex on Bombay Stock Exchange on Thursday shed 369 points, the biggest fall in nearly three weeks, to close below the psychological 15,000 point level on sustained selling pressure, particularly in realty, bank and consumer goods counters. The 30-share BSE barometer, which fell 119 points in the previous day's trading, lost 368.94 points at 14,724.18 on Thursday. It dipped to day's low of 14,686.66 and saw a high of 15,033.28 points. The National Stock Exchange index Nifty also fell by 90.35 points at 4,430.70.

Cabinet approves sixth pay commission report

On Thursday, adopting the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations, the UPA government announced an average increase of 21 per cent in salaries of over 50 lakh government employees with effect from January 1, 2006. It is expected that people would get further some from the government. The approval is a big gift for the employees and a big reason to smile.

The wage hike would increase the financial implication for the Centre by Rs 17,798 crore annually and the arrears with effect from January 2006 would cost Rs 29,373 crore, Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi told reporters after a Cabinet meeting. The government increased the minimum entry-level salary of a government employee to Rs 7,000 against Rs 6,660 recommended by the Commission headed by Justice B N Srikrishna who submitted the report in March this year.

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Major Business Stories in Brief

Tesco ties up with Tata, to invest $115 mn

UK's largest retailer Tesco Plc on Tuesday announced plans to enter the wholesale cash-and-carry business in India with an initial investment of up to 60 million pounds in the first two years. The company has also entered into an exclusive franchise agreement with Tata group's retail venture Trent, which will help in driving the latter's hypermarket format Star Bazaar. Tesco plans to develop new wholesale outlets, which will offer a range of food, grocery and non-food products to small retailers, restaurants, kirana stores and other businesses.

HSBC launches 'HSBC Direct' for SMEs

Foreign lender Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Co (HSBC) on Tuesday said that it has launched a new current account 'HSBC Direct', targeting small and medium enterprises. Promising a host of services for holders of the new account, the bank said it is optimistic of gaining more customer base in this segment.

Industrial growth in June slips to 5.4%

A slowdown in the manufacturing sector pulled down India's industrial growth in June to 5.4 per cent from 8.9 per cent a year ago, but consumer sector nursed its way back to health growing 10 per cent. Growth in manufacturing sector, which accounts for over two-third of the Index of Industrial Production, fell drastically to 5.9 per cent from 9.7 per cent a year ago. Manufacturing exhibited a similar trend in the first quarter as well, growing by a poor 5.6 per cent compared with 11.1 per cent last year.

Indian Software Product sector to excel: Nasscom Study

Here is the good news for the Indian software market, as Nasscom-Zinnov analysis reveals that the Indian software product sector is expected to register a 10-fold increase in revenues over the next seven years. Revenues may range between $9.5 billion and $12 billion by FY15. In the global arena, India is well know for its excellent software services. There are 371 software products in India and most most of the companies are going to have good days in near future, according to the study.

The top 10 companies still dominate the software product development market, accounting for 84 per cent of segment revenues from India. The study reveals that the size of the domestic software market in 2008 was $2.3 billion, of which, Indian software product companies cornered about $460 million and the global software product companies garnering $1.84 billion. Indian software product companies sold about $960 million worth of products out side India.

Rangarajan quits as EAC chief

The Economic Advisory Council (EAC) chairman Dr. C. Rangarajan has stepped down from the post on Friday. He is to be nominated to the Rajya Sabha, according to the media reports. Dr. Rangarajan is to be succeeded by EAC member Suresh Tendulkar. He is expected to take charge next week. According to meida reports, Dr. Rangarajan’s exit from the advisory council would have no impact on its report on the ‘Review of outlook of Indian Economy for 2008-09’, expected to be submitted next week. One of the country’s highly respected economists, he had earlier advised the government on various ticklish such as special economic zones (SEZs), oil prices, futures trading, farm commodity prices and listed measures that were required to check overheating of the economy last year. These issues apart, he also helped in tackling critical policy issues such as inflation, GDP growth, exchange rate management and funding of infrastructure projects through foreign exchange reserves.

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Sensex ends up 51pts; Sterlite, ONGC among gainers

The Sensex opened with a negative gap of 80 points at 15,037. Weakness in noon trades saw the index slip to a low of 14,888 - down 229 points from the previous close. However, Fresh buying at lower levels helped the index recoup losses and rebound into the positive zone. The index rallied to a high of 15,229 - up 341 points from the day's low. The Sensex finally ended with a gain of 51 points at 15,168. The market breadth was marginally negative - out of 2,799 stocks traded so far, 1,406 declined, 1,324 advanced and 69 were unchanged today. The NSE Nifty was up six points at 4,530. Sterlite and ONGC surged 4% each to Rs 639 and Rs 1,064, respectively.

Source: Business Standard

Overseas investors lose up to 50% in India funds

The speculation over the stock market is uncertain. An investor knows that the investment involves risk factor, in order to gain good study of market, trading factors are essentials. If the speculation proves correct then there will gain, but fails there may be loss instead. However, in the case of investment from offsore plays important role in determining the fate of stock boom and trading. This may not be effective everytime, sometimes the stock market reaction would prove worse for investors including offshore. What could more be expected from the stock market, when the economy is under inflationary pressure of around 12 per cent and the decline in the value of dollar against rupees. The curreny fluation is the bigest factor that has been affecting the trading and the international crude oil is among other major factors.

Unlike in the previous years, Indian equities have not paid off for overseas retail investors. The year so far has not been very good for India-dedicated offshore funds, as most of their investments have eroded by 40-50% over the past seven months, according to media reports. Offshore funds specialise in investing in foreign companies or corporations. These funds have non-residential investors (often high net worth investors and institutions) and are regulated by the provisions of the foreign countries where these are registered. As per international fund ratings major, Morningstar’s rating log, the average year-to-date return (as on July 31, this year) of India-dedicated equity funds is as low as -39% (when converted to US dollars). According to experts, a reason for this could well be the fact that offshore funds only invested in liquid large-cap stocks, a segment that led the market fall in the initial months.

iPhone in India on August 22

Apple's iPhone, the touch screen handset that acquired a cult status in the US and other western countries, will be available to Indian mobile users through private telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar from August 22, giving competitors like Nokia, Samsung and others a run for their money. IPhone is embedded with all 3G(third generation mobile telephony) features and is twice as fast as the existing mobile phones. The phone also has in built GPS system, that facilitates as navigation and positioning tool.

Market gains; a positive indication

The Sensex opened 42 points lower at 15,032, and soon touched a low of 14,993. The index went up by 287 points and touched 15,280. On Wednesday the market was on a positive track and gain on Thursday is also a good indication. The market breadth was marginally positive - out of 2,785 stocks traded, 1,412 moved up, 1,280 declined and 93 were unchanged today.The NSE Nifty moved up six points to end at 4,524.

Sensex crosses 15K level

The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex on Wednesday regained the 15,000-level after nearly six week by extending its gains by more than 110 points on strong global cues amid easing crude prices. The BSE barometer, which rose by 383 points on Tuesday. The key index touched the day's high of 15,422.82 and a low of 15,035.60. Of the 30 Sensex stocks, 20 of them closed higher. The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty moved between 4,615.90 and 4,503.90 before ending at 4,517.55, a rise of 14.70 points.

Govt approves Daiichi-Ranbaxy deal

India has approved Daiichi Sankyo's stake purchase in the country's top drug maker by sales, Ranbaxy Laboratories, Finance Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday. Japan's Daiichi has agreed to buy a 34.8 per cent stake in Ranbaxy and aims to take up to 20 per cent more from the open market in deals worth up to $4.6 billion. The Japanese drug maker will also make an open offer to buy up to 20 per cent of shares in another Indian firm, Zenotech Laboratories, which is 47 per cent owned by Ranbaxy.

India ranks 12th among world's top 15 automakers: UNIDO Report

According to the UNIDO International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics 2008, India ranks 12th in the list of world's top 15 automakers, which is led by Japan followed by the US and Germany. Other countries making it to list are Mexico, France, Korea, UK, Canada, Spain, Iran, Sweden, Brazil, Italy and Indonesia. Brazil holds the fifth position followed by Indonesia, Turkey, Argentina, Thailand, Singapore, China, China (Taiwan Province), Malaysia, UAE and Columbia.

India also figures among the world's top 15 producers of chemicals and chemical products, electrical machinery and apparatus, basic metals (iron and steel, non-ferrous metals), coke, refined petroleum products, nuclear fuel, non-metallic mineral products (glass and glass products, cement, lime and plaster, ceramic products), machinery and equipment, leather, leather products and footwear and textiles, the report said.

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