India, France finalise civil nuclear cooperation pact

India achieved another landmark agreement on civil nuclear cooperation, this time with France on Tuesday. The atomic pact is one of the three agreements to be signed during Singh's two-day visit to Paris. The other two relates to social security matters which will benefit Indian and French nationals staying in each others countries on short duration up to five years. It is reported that the agreement would be singed on Tuesday after summit talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and French President Nicholas Sarkozy. Source

Business News Stories in Brief

ICICI Bank up 5.4% on RBI statement
The Reserve Bank of India has come out in support of ICICI Bank, saying the bank has sufficient liquidity, including in its current account with the central bank, to meet the requirements of its depositors.

TCS wins Wall Street Journal Global innovation technology award
Tata Consultancy Services, India’s biggest services and business solutions firm has announced that The Wall Street Journal, the world’s leading business publication, has selected TCS’ mKrishi service as the winner of its 2008 Technology Innovation Award in the wireless technology category.

Philips to enter baby-care segment
Consumer electronics and lifestyle products giant Philips is all set to kick off Avent brand of mother- and baby-care products in India.

Renold buys Indian chain business
British industrial chain maker Renold Plc has taken a 75 per cent stake in the industrial chain business of Indian-quoted group LG Balakrishnan & Bros (LGB). The terms of the deal remain undisclosed.

Reliance Money to enter investment banking business
The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group Reliance Money on Tuesday said it will foray into the investment banking sector and has obtained a merchant banking licence from market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India.

HPCL Partners With IBM To Deploy A Path-Breaking RFID Solution
IBM recently announced that it is implementing an innovative Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-based solution for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), a Fortune 500 company and a leading downstream petroleum organization (Refining and Marketing) in India.

Ashok Leyland signs JV with John Deere
Ashok Leyland, India's second largest commercial vehicle maker today signed a joint venture agreement with John Deere for manufacturing and marketing of construction equipment's. John Deere is one of the world's leading providers of products in the agriculture and construction sector.

ICICI cries foul, seeks probe into share price manipulation

The Managing Director and CEO of ICICI Bank K V Kamath the has demanded a probe by SEBI and the government to bring the conspirators to book. He reportedly termed the fall of ICICI share was due to market rumours. Stating that he had already asked SEBI for a probe and briefed the Finance Minister P Chidambaram about the bear hammering of ICICI stock, which yesterday came down to its two year's low of Rs 493 a share, Kamath exuded confidence that he would overcome the challenge and protect all the stakeholders at any cost. While, RBI said on Tuesday that ICICI Bank has sufficient liquidity to meet the needs of its depositors, and that the bank and its subsidiary banks abroad were well capitalised.
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179 dead in temple stampede in Jodhpur

179 people are dead, mostly men, and several injured in a stampede that took place at Chamunda Devi temple in Jodhpur. On account of Navaratri festivals thousands of devotees were gathered at the 15th century temple. In the wee hours of Tuesday the tragedy too place in which 179 people were died. It is feared that the toll may cross 200, according to media reports. However, it is one of the worse incidents in Rajasthan. Source

Seven Indian Companies in Fortune Global 500

Seven Indian companies are being listed in Global 500 list prepared by Fortune the US publication. Among the Indian companies in the list, Indian Oil tops which ranks 116 in the 500 lists and followed by Reliance Industries which ranks 206. Bharat Petroleum ranks 287, Hindustran Petroleum at 290, Tata Steel at 315 while Oil & Natural Gas and State Bank of India hold 335 and 380 rank respectively in the list of Fortune 500 companies for the year 2008. US topped in the list with the entry of 153 companies while 64 companies of Japan and 29 companies of China are respectively listed in this list. Here are the company profile of seven Indian Companies:

Indian Oil: Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IndianOil) is India's largest commercial enterprise, with a sales turnover of Rs. 2,47,479 crore (US $ 61.70 billion) and profits of Rs. 6,963 crore (US $ 1.74 billion) for the year 2007-08. IndianOil is also the highest ranked Indian company in the prestigious Fortune 'Global 500' listing, having moved up 19 places to the 116th position in 2008. It is also the 18th largest petroleum company in the world.

Reliance Industries: The Reliance Group, founded by Dhirubhai H. Ambani (1932-2002), is India's largest private sector enterprise, with businesses in the energy and materials value chain. Group's annual revenues are in excess of US$ 34 billion. The flagship company, Reliance Industries Limited, is a Fortune Global 500 company and is the largest private sector company in India.

Bharat Petroleum: Success in the corporate world emanates from the relentless pursuit of excellence. Our growth post nationalization in 1976 has been phenomenal. One of the single digit Indian representative in the Fortune 500 & Forbes 2000 listings, we are often referred to as an “MNC in PSU garb”. A pioneer in marketing initiatives employing “Best in Class” practices.

Hidustan Petroleum: HPCL is a Fortune 500 company, with an annual turnover of over Rs 1,03,837 Crores ($ 25,142 Millions) during FY 2007-08, 16% Refining & Marketing share in India and a strong market infrastructure. Corresponding figures for FY 2006-07 are: Rs 91,448 crores ($20,892 Million).

Tata Steel: Established in 1907, Tata Steel is the world's 6th largest steel company with an existing annual crude steel capacity of 30 million tonnes. Asia's first integrated steel plant and India's largest integrated private sector steel company is now the world's second most geographically diversified steel producer, with operations in 26 countries and commercial presence in over 50 countries.

Oil & Natural Gas: ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited) is India's leading oil & gas exploration company. ONGC has produced more than 600 million metric tonnes of crude oil and supplied more than 200 billion cubic meters of gas since its inception. Today, ONGC is India's highest profit making corporate.

State Bank of India: State Bank of India (SBI) is India's largest commercial bank. SBI has a vast domestic network of over 9000 branches (approximately 14% of all bank branches) and commands one-fifth of deposits and loans of all scheduled commercial banks in India.

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Indra Nooyi most powerful women in US business: Fortune

India-born chief executive of Pepsico Indra Nooyi has been named as the most powerful women in 11th annual list of 50 most powerful women in business list prepared by the US publication Fortune. Nooyi is followed by food maker Kraft Foods’ chief executive and chairman Irene Rosenfeld and leading grain processor Archer Daniels Midland’s chief executive Pat Woertz, at the second and third positions, respectively. Other names in the top ten include Xerox’s CEO Anne Mulcahy (4th), Well Point’s CEO Angela Braly (5th), Avon Products’ CEO Andrea Jung (6th), President of Procter & Gambles’ Global Business Units Susan Arnold (7th), Harpo’s chairman Oprah Winfrey (8th), Sara Lee’s chairman and CEO Brenda Barnes (9th) and Xerox’s President Ursula Burns (10th). Source

Rupees hit 47-level against US dollar

Rupee today breached the 47-level against the dollar for the first time in more than two years. In hectic trade at the Inter-bank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the local currency resumed lower at 46.88/90 a dollar from its last weekend's close of 46.54/55 a dollar and tumbled to the 47-level against dollar. The rupee had last seen the 47-level on July 19, 2006. However, it has both good and bad impact on the economy. Source

Business News in Brief

Acer India Appoints Savex as National Distributor
Acer India has appointed Savex Computers as a new national distributor for its monitor business. As per the latest IDC report, Acer has recorded a market share of 20.1% (Q2 2008) in the widescreen LCD monitor segment in India. With this tie-up, Acer plans to scale its operations to the next level for its growing monitor business.

RBI to cut rates by middle of 2009: Deutsche Bank
Sanjeev Sanyal, Regional Economist, Deutsche Bank, said that presently, the rupee is under a lot of pressure and that it will stabilise in the medium-term. He added that there will be a shift in priorities in the next six months as inflation and growth will come off.

India's tech growth likely to be slower than expected: Nasscom
Indian software and services growth could be slower than expected in 2008/09 as a global financial crisis crimps demand for such services, the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) said

Areva T&D and GE announce strategic alliance
Areva T&D India and GE Consumer and Industrial India today announced a strategic alliance to focus on turnkey electrical solutions. An official statement said that the alliance would focus on turnkey electrical solutions in the power generation, metals, mining, minerals and materials handling markets.

Mint website now on your mobile handset
Livemint.com, the online edition of Mint, which is a business newspaper published by HT Media Ltd. in exclusive partnership with The Wall Street Journal, is now also available on mobile phones.

SBI hikes deposit rate by 1 per cent for 1,000 days maturity

State Bank of India on Monday raised fixed deposit rate by 100 basis points to 10.50 per cent for 1,000 days maturity. Deposit rates in between 2-3 year maturity have been revised to 12.50 per cent from 9.5 per cent, SBI said in a regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, according to media reports. For the same maturity senior citizens would get 0.5 per cent additional interest, it said. Rate for other maturities have been kept unchanged at the previous level. This will attract more depositors as they would get more interest on the fixed deposits. Source

Convergys appoints Hanumant Talwar as VP of Operations in India

Convergys Corporation, a global leader in relationship management, has appointed Hanumant Talwar as Vice President and Head of India Operations for Convergys' Customer Management business. Talwar will look after operation of eight contact centers and around customer management staff of ten thousand in India. He worked for the companies like - Hirco Developments, the Zenta Group, GE Capital International Services, ExlService.com, American Express and other companies. [Source]

India, France likely to sing civilian nuclear cooperation

India and France are likely to sign civilian nuclear deal in the month of October this year. The Prime Minister Manmohan Sing made a statement over this during his visit to France from US, according to media reports. He is on two days visit to Franace and his visit to US was successful as the Indo-US deal got nod of approval from the US Congress and it would be voted in the Senate probably in the next week. France is the biggest player in the field of nuclear energy and a treaty with France would be another historic event for India in the field of its nuclear deals. Regarding the deal with France, a joint statement from the both the countries was declared in January, when the French president visited India. [Source]

Google phone to hit Indian Market in December

Much awaited Google Android-power phone designed by HTC would hit Indian market by the end of December this year. According to media reports, the Taiwan-based cellphone major, presently is in talks with leading service provider in India, informs one the business daily. There is an exclusive partnership of the company with service provider Airtel to sell phones and it further announced that it has no hassles in selling the phone through independent retail channels. However, the business model is still under deliberation.

Recently, the G1 phone was unveiled by TMobile in US. The phone is reportedly costs around Rs. 20,000 in India. Some of the great features of the phone are – touchscreen, Google’s new operating system, Android, attractive multimedia features similar that of iPhone and RIM Blackberry, trackball for navigation, high-speed Internet browsing, WiFi, email, instant messaging and SMS text. This gadget is targeted to youth and high speed Internet users. The growing mobile market and users in India would be a great destination for the Google phone despite reports of low response to Apple’s iPhone.

House of Representatives passes Indo-US nuke deal

The US House of Representatives has passed the Indo-US nuclear deal. The bill got the approval of 298 representatives, while 117 voted against it. The bill is passed in the House of Representatives with two third of majority votes on Saturday. It can be termed as the best success so far in the development of Indo-US nuclear deal. However, back home the left parties are reportedly dismisses the US nod to nuclear deal. The results were up after Prime Minsiter Manmohan Singh’s departure for France from US. The approval from the Senate is awaited. It is expected that the Senate would vote the nuclear dean probably in next week, according to media reports. This is just like win-win situation for India and an historic achievement ever to be remembered. The Prime Minsiter of India said that the nuclear deal is in the interest of the world.
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Blast hits Delhi, 3 killed, several injured

One more blast rocks Delhi after just two weeks of serial blasts in the capital. In the serial blasts 24 people were killed. In the recent blast three killed and 14 other injured, according to media reports. The blast took place at around 2:15 pm in the market in Mehrauli, close to the historic Qutub Minar, media report says. Two persons on a motorcycle dropped a tiffin box in the market resulting in the explosion. Injured were rushed to AIIMS and high alert sounded across the capital. [Source]

Ratan Tata wants to talk on Singur issue: CM Buddhadeb

According latest media reports, the Chief Minister of West Bengal said that Ratan Tata has replied to his letter and wants to talk to him on Singur issue. While in the race of the world’s smallest car project, the Karnataka government was first. Earlier it was also reported that the Singur issue was over and Tatas were vacating the project site after their staff were reportedly beaten up. A deadlock was created when the state government disagreed with opposition Trinamool Congress on land allotment to the Tatas. However, the small car Nano may be, but the controversy over the project is major one.

Indo-US Nuclear Deal: wait and watch

The wait for the Congressional nod to the Indo-US nuclear deal appears to be getting longer as the House of Representatives put off a recorded vote on a legislation on the subject after wrapping up a debate, shortly after a lawmaker in the Senate put a "hold" on consideration of the bill.

The duo, India and US reach the deal in 2006 and the approval from the Congress is awaited. However, the deal was cleared by the Parliament in July. Certainly, the meeting of Indian Prime Minister with US President would a crucial factor to decide the fate of the deal. Significantly, the deal is the core aspect for India as it allows allow India to purchase nuclear materials and technology to meet its soaring energy needs.

U.S. companies will lose billions of dollars worth of business with India if Congress can't make up its mind on it. If Congress is unwilling to permit trade in nuclear technology with India, other countries, including France, stand ready to jump into the vid, according to media report. Some of the highlights of the deal are: the agreement not to hinder or interfere with India's nuclear programme for military purposes; US will help India negotiate with the IAEA for an India-specific fuel supply agreement; Washington will support New Delhi develop strategic reserves of nuclear fuel to guard against future disruption of supply; both the countries agree to facilitate nuclear trade between themselves in the interest of respective industries and consumers. Check out more highlights of the deal here.

News Stories

Emerging markets face capital flight risk: Morgan Stanley
The bank industry panic that has devastated developed economies could cause capital inflows into emerging markets to fall by a quarter, increasing the risk of a global recession and even a currency crisis, Morgan Stanley strategists said on Friday.

Large retailers to ‘triple market share in India’ by 2015
India’s largely “mom and pop” retail market will be transformed during the next seven years by the creation of an organised sector with 300m customers, McKinsey, the management consultant, predicted on Thursday.

Global leaders seek PM's expertise to salvage financial crisis
With the world gripped in financial crisis, the expertise of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a highly acclaimed economist, was much in demand as he met various leaders, including US President George Bush. Every leader the Prime Minister met sought his opinion on how to deal with the financial meltdown, officials said.

WB govt confirms: Singur project is over

Finally the game is over; Nano, small car project will be out of Singur. West Bengal government has finally confirmed Tata’s Nano project will be out of Singur. However, official declaration is not made till the report is filed. Speculations became ripe after it was reported that the Tatas have begun moving equipment from the plant in Singur in West Bengal to an unspecified facility following a deadlock in talks between state authorities and the protesters. Tatas have begun moving equipment from Singur plant. It was expected that Nano would hit the road in October this year but Tata suspended work at the plant in Singur due to violent protests and reported attacks.

Convergys bags $54 mn renewal deal from healthcare client

Convergys Corp has bagged a renewal for another 30 months on its existing contract with a leading health care provider. Convergys will continue and expand the customer service it currently provides to the client’s extensive network of health care professionals. Convergys estimates the value of the contract to be about $54 million. Convergys is a leader in the healthcare industry, serving nine of Fortune’s top 10 healthcare providers. The company provides comprehensive outsourced business and consumer support functions, as well as services for in-house contact center operations. It employs 75,000 people in 85 customer contact centers across the globe. [Source]

Special Economic Zone: a hard reality

Special Economic Zone a dream concept in India and we have been expecting that this concept would boost employment, export and push the economy. All these expectations will end when we come across anti-SEZs protests and bloody battle. The recent, Singur row arises and the impact is huge o the investment scenario and more on life of the people associated with the project. These incidents are the live examples of Special Economic Zone realities in India. However, industrialists are still interested go ahead with their on-going investment projects despite such incidents in India. But the reality of SEZs and land acquisition row would be a big blow for the country in the view of investments and industrial promotional activities.

A Special Economic Zone (SEZ) is an especially demarcated area of land, owned and operated by a private company, which is deemed to be foreign territory for the purpose of trade, duties and tariffs. SEZs will enjoy exemptions from customs duties, income tax, sales tax, service tax. After the passing of the SEZ Act by the Parliament in June 2005, the law came into effect in February 2006, though some states, like Gujarat, had passed provincial SEZ legislation in 2004 itself.

According to a report, there are less than 400 SEZs around the world. In India the government is planning that many in one country alone. In a comparison with China over the SEZ strategies, as per this reference, there are 400 to 500 SEZ in India while China has only seven in number. The SEZ process was started in 1980 in China while 1991 in India. The result of the SEZ in China was very successful while, it is unsuccessful in India. The land acquisition battle and unrest are some the big reasons behind. Anti-SEZs protests are seen everywhere in India, some of the case came to limelight are Kashipur, Gopalpur and Kalinganagar in Orissa and Singur and Nandigram in West Bengal. However, the reality is the protest and attack on innocent people over the anti-SEZs could not be justified. It seems that the objective of achieving economic prosperity through SEZs is losing its ground day by day in India.

Major Business News

India approves 18 special economic zone proposals
India on Monday approved 18 special economic zones including by group firms of Bharat Forge and JSW Steel, the federal commerce ministry said.

RIL begins KG-D6 block production: Experts react
This production from the KG-D6 block will start with an initial flow rate of 5,000 barrels per day, going up to 5, 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent. This would happen by March 2010.

Trinamool gives 7-day ultimatum, threatens fresh stir
Trinamool Congress on Sunday served a week's ultimatum to West Bengal government to accept its demands for returning land of "unwilling" farmers at Tata Motors' car plant site at Singur or face fresh agitation.

Dolphin Offshore bags USD 16 mn contracts
Dolphin Offshore Enterprises today said it has bagged two orders totaling USD 16 million (Rs 72.65 crore) for chartering of vessels.

EU reopens WTO complaint against India over drink duties
The European Union on Monday said it was reopening a challenge at the WTO against India over import duties imposed by New Delhi on alcoholic drinks, lifting an earlier suspension of the complaint.

'Biocon is world's 7th biggest BT company'
Biocon Ltd has been ranked as the seventh largest employer amongst the top global biotechnology companies by global BT magazine Med Ad News.

Indo-Pak Agree on LoC Trade

India and Pakistan agree on the modalities of cross-LoC trade. The declaration has not been made by the political leaders of the duo nations till the report is filed. It is expected that trade would be started after the Eid. The list of items for cross LoC trade was exchanged during a meeting in Islamabad on July 18 this year. India has been keen on launching the cross-LoC trade since the proposal was first mooted in 2005 but the two countries have failed to reach a consensus on issues like items to be traded. In fact, India had invited business delegation from Muzaffarabad to visit Srinagar and Jammu from Monday but without any response from the other side, according to media reports.

India Flood News

Indian floods still strand 220,000
Monsoon flooding has killed at least 16 people and left more than 220,000 marooned in villages in eastern India as incessant rains caused a river to breach its banks in several places, an official said.

Flood woes continue in Orissa
More than 20 lakh people across 17 districts of Orissa were affected by severe floods in the Mahanadi River system on Saturday. At least 16 persons were killed while lakhs of villagers were marooned by sea of floodwaters. Deaths were reported from Jajpur, Angul, Cuttack, Bhadrak, Jagatsinghpur and Bolangir districts.

After Orissa, North India gets hit
As 17 districts of Orissa went under water on Saturday, heavy rains and inclement weather played havoc in different parts of north India, claiming more than 100 lives and posing a threat to standing crops.

Indian Floods Maroon 1 Million as River Rises, Press Trust Says
Parts of India's eastern state of Orissa was flooded by the rising Mahanadi river, marooning more than a million people, Press Trust of India reported, citing Manmohan Samal, the disaster management minister.

India floods, rain kill at least 32
Thousands of people were evacuated and at least 16 swept away in eastern Orissa state after four rivers burst their banks and inundated scores of villages, officials said Saturday.

Business Stories

General Motors draws out cash
General Motors said that it intended to draw down the remaining 3.5 billion dollars of its 4.5-billion-dollar secured revolving credit facility to maintain what the auto giant described as "high level of financial flexibility" at a time when the financial markets are uncertain.

People in Nepal still blame India for their economic woes
A day after Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal returned from a four-day tour of India, people here are divided on whether such foreign trips are good, or bad for the country. But many of them are unanimous in identifying the source for most of their problems— India.

End of capitalism? US enters unchartered waters
As Wall Street tottered on the brink of collapse and the US government unveiled one the largest market interventions in its history, stakeholders from every side weighed in with incredibly stark views of the country's economic future.

SEZ firms have to pay tax on domestic services: FM

The finance minister said that Indian companies with units in special economic zones (SEZ) will have to pay tax on services they offer to domestic clients. India offers tax exemptions to firms based in SEZs as part of efforts to boost exports and attract investment. Some of the firms have been misusing the facility to offer services from their SEZ units to domestic clients. The finance ministry said in a statement companies and developers of SEZ would have to pay tax on services such as supply of manpower, technical testing and analysis to their domestic clients.

US sub-prime crisis to hit IIMs Pre-placements

The placements at the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) will be affected as the global banking giants have been affected by US sub-prime crisis. American’s forth largest investment bank Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy protection and Merrill Lunch being brought over by the Bank of America. These two factors have caused down trading of stock markets including India. Apart from the stock market, this will have impact on the placements at IIMs.

These financial giant have so far been the biggest recruiters from the IIMs especially from the institutes at Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta. Last year, IIM Bangalore had received around 20 job offers from the banks. IIM Calcutta has recorded 54 offers so far from these banking banks. Last year, IIM Calcutta received 90 pre-placement offers. However, the market will adjust to the new realities, but the worse part of the crisis is having its negative impact on the placements at IIMs.

No fuel price cut as of now: Deora

Despite fall in rupees against dollar, the government has declined the possibilities of cut in the fuel prices in India. According to media reports, the government says no to cut till global oil prices dips to USD 67 a barrel. However, it is reported that the fall in rupee against the dollar had negated the 38 per cent drop in crude prices.

The Petroleum Minister Murli Deora denied of any cut in the fuel prices on Tuesday. Due to the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers, the oil prices on Tuesday dropped more than USD three in Asian trade. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, plunged USD 3.95 to USD 91.76 a barrel. The Indian rupee lost 48 paise to slip to a two-year low of 46.53 against the greenback in early trade on Tuesday, as demand for the US dollar surged.

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ICICI Bank has Rs 375-cr exposure in Lehman Brothers; Sensex down 234 points

There is big impact of the credit crisis in US on Indian stock market. The 158- year old Lehman Brother’s move to file for bankruptcy on Monday had wiped off more than Rs. 2,000 crore from the market valuation of those Indian companies in which the US financial major has made equity investment. On Tuesday, the stock markets pared their early losses and ends with 234 points down.

In a significant development, the ICICI Bank today said its London subsidiary has 57 million Euro (about Rs 375 crore) exposure in the Lehman Brothers which has filed for bankruptcy protection. "ICICI Bank UK Plc holds 57 million euro of senior bonds of Lehman Brothers Inc...potential losses are not material," the bank said in a statement. ICICI Bank shares plunged by 5.82 per cent to Rs 591.35 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

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Rupee falls to 2-yr low of 46 vs the dollar; Sensex ends with down 470 points

The Indian rupee, after falling to a two-year low of 46 in early trade today gained its lost ground and was quoted at 45.85/86 against the greenback in late morning deals owing to weak dollar overseas and a sharp fall in local stocks, according to media reports.

The Sensex opened with a significant negative gap of 335 points at 13,666 on the back of negative news flow from the overseas markets. The selling bias was so intense that the index collapsed to a low of 13,151 - down 850 points from the previous close. The Sensex finally ended with a loss of 470 points at 13,531.

3 Indians on Forbes 'Web Billionaires' list

Three Indians have been named among 34 innovators in Forbes magazine's ‘Web Billionaires’ list. Kavitark Ram Shriram of naukri.com, Party Gaming founder Anurag Dikshit and Sameer Gehlaut of Indiabull, were listed a the top web billionaires from Indian in list complied by Forbes.

The list is topped by the founders of Google, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, with a net worth of $18.7 billion and $18.6 billion respectively. The networth of Shriram's is $1.8 billion and Dikshit's $1.6 billion. While Sameer Gehlaut is the youngest self-made billionaire in India with a net worth of $1.2 billion.

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West Bengal assures Infosys of all cooperation

Infosys Technology, the software major has plans to invest Rs 500 crore at Kolkata campus and the project with generate employment for 5,000 professionals. The company is yet to get possession of 90 acres of land assured by the state government. The impact of the Singur seem to be there, as Infosys says to rethink concerning over the security of their employee. However, the state government of the West Bengal assures to extent the company of all possible cooperation.

The Singur issue and the land acquisition really in the state would made companies to rethink their agenda. West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Thursday said that Infosys had shown apprehension about investing in the state following recent incidents in Singur where Trinamool Congress has been agitating against acquisition of farmland by the state government for Tata Motors' Nano car plant.

Naresh Goyal is ‘Business Person of the Year’

The Chairman of Jet Aiways, Mr. Naresh Goyal has been honoured with the ‘Business Person of the Year’ award at the prestigious UK Trade and Investment India Business Awards 2008, at a ceremony in Mumbai on September 9, 2008. This distinction was conferred upon Mr. Goyal for his significant contribution to India-UK business relations and for making the UK a strategic and pivotal destination in Jet Airways’ aggressive international expansion plans.

Inflation further dips to 12.1 per cent

Inflation fell for the third week in succession to close at 12.1 per cent as on August 30 from 12.34 per cent recorded a week earlier as prices of most food articles moderated. According to a poll on Wednesday, India's annual inflation rate was expected to have eased for the third consecutive week, with respite provided by softening of global crude prices. The wholesale price index was forecast to have risen 11.96 per cent in the 12 months to August 30, lower than the previous week’s rise of 12.34 per cent, according to the median estimate of 13 economists.

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Rupees breaches 45 against US $, Stock market in sluggish session

Rupees today slipped to further corsssing the yesterday's value and touched to the mark of 45 against the dollar. The appreciation of dollar was seen today as the rupees plunged further low.Yesterday, the rupees depreciation against dollar was ended at 44.82. In the early of the day it was expected that the rupees would touch the mark of 45 and finally it breaches to 45. The RBI’s intervention into the market plays a vital role in determining the value of domestic currency. The pulling out of fund by the FII is said to be the major reason of decline in the value of domestic currency and appreciation of dollar.

The share trading across the day was in sluggish session. There were no major profits seen this day, almost all sector shares trading reported in sluggish session. However, some sectors were seen small margin of trade of profit. Overall, the day was not a great day for the investors as the market was dull despite fall in the price of crude in the international market.

Mittal urges Orissa, Jharkhand govts to expedite approvals

The steel tycoon, L N Mittal has urged the Orissa and Jharkhand governments to expedite approvals process for the projects in the state as the delay has reportedly led to 50 per cent cost overruns to the company, speaking to media persons. Meanwhile, he said inspite of the global slowdown, there is no dearth of demand for steel. Over ongoing controversy of Singur, Mittal said he would not review its projects and investment plans.

Rupees touches 21-month low, may cross 45

The rupees hit a 21-month low against the US dollar on 9 September, rupees ended at 44.823 as compared with 44.60 on previous day. Even the the rupees fell further low during the day and touched the mark of 44.93 on the same day. That value of rupee was last seen in December 12, 2006. The Reserve Bank of India reportedly expects that the rupees value would plunge further against US dollar. This would a win-win like situation for the Indian software and outsourcing companies in India. The impact of the rise in dollar value would have direct impact on the revenue of these sectors.

The impact of depreciation of the dollar was the prime concern for the Indian IT and outsourcing sector, while the slowdown and recession in the US economy could be the prime cause. However, the situation has been changed and the dollar value seems to touch around 45 rupees in near future. The appreciation of dollar and clear stand on the outsourcing issue by US leaders would excel the fate of Indian outsourcing companies. It's not only the rupees depreciating against dollar, but other currencies too. Now Indian IT and outsourcing companies to see the bright side of appreciation of dollar.

Indian chefs welcome, not IT workers: UK panel

The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) of the Home Office has revised the list of occupations and skills, which are short in supply in UK. This list enables employer in UK to recruit skilled workers from India. According to the revised list, Indian chefs will be allowed to work in Britain’s multi-million pound Indian restaurant industry but Indian IT workers are no longer required. The revised list includes skilled chefs, secondary school teachers of Maths and Sciences, consultants and senior specialist nurses, some engineering occupations, including civil and chemical engineers.

It would be difficult for Indian IT workers to get job in UK market. It would not be wrong to say that UK is the dream destination for Indian IT workers those aim to settle abroad. But the recent revision of the list, is a big blow for the IT workers from India, those aim to apply for the work permit to the Home Office. Certainly, this will have impact on the immigration consultants in India, as the number of applications for UK Visa by IT aspirants would decrease significantly.

India ranks 31st and China ranks 24th in WEF's financial development index

India has been ranked at the 31st position in the World Economic Forum's first Financial Development Index. According to media reports, the list is topped by US and the UK due to the well performance of financial market and non-banking financial institutions.

According to the report, the financial markets have delivered solid results in India. China holds 24th position while Brazil and Russia stood at 40th and 36th positions respectively. The report also reads "India receives low marks related to the liberalisation of its domestic financial sector and capital account".

FM launches medical scheme for BPL families

Universal Arogya Medical Insurance Scheme is an insurance scheme of Below Poverty Line (BPL) families. On September 8th, Finance Minister P Chidambaram inaugurated the scheme. The United India insurance was launched this scheme. Under the scheme, an individual would be charged Rs 300 a year as premium and Rs 545 for a family not exceeding five members, and Rs 600 for a family not exceeding seven members.

The BPL families may be benefited due to this insurance scheme. But it is also very essential to look at the percentage of the people have accessible to medical facilities. In the rural areas, the medical facilities would be bare, under such circumstances the effectiveness of such scheme is under question mark.

SC grants bail to Ketan Parekh in Canfina MF scam

Supreme Court has granted bail to stockbroker Ketan Parekh in the Canfina Mutual Fund scam case. He had been held guilty in the case related to 1992 stocks scam, duping Canbank Financial Services of more than Rs 47 crores. A Special Court had sentenced Parekh to one-year rigorous imprisonment. Parekh had surrendered before a special court in August, four months after the court sentenced him and three others to a year in jail for Rs 47 crore Canfina scam.

Source

Services Sector Expected to Grow at 9.5% Plus: CII Study

Press Release

The Services sector is expected to grow at more than 9.5% during the current year, said CII in a press release issued here today. This was revealed by 66% of the Services Sector CEOs while responding to the CII Services Sector snap poll. The majority of the CEOs (58%) did not expect the services growth to decline during the current year. The major impediments to services growth as revealed by the CEOs were Global Economic Slowdown, Deceleration in the economy and shortage of talent and skills.

"The CII Snap Poll reveals robust services growth expectation during the current year and supports GDP growth expectation of 8% plus. Both investment and employment is expected to increase in the services sector despite pressure on profitability during the current year, said Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII."

The investment outlook for the current year was reported to be positive by the CII Snap Poll. The CEOs polled revealed that 97% of them would continue with their expansion plans in their own companies and also expected 90% of the firms in their area of business to continue to expand during the current year. Revealing the investment expansion for the entire services sector, 87% of the CEOS felt that expansion would continue during the current year.

Majority of the participating CEOs expected employment during the current year to increase. CII snap poll enumerated sector wise status of employment outlook for the current year and the responses are; 64% of the CEOs expected employment to increase in Financial Services, 66% of the CEOs expected employment to increase in IT, ITES and Telecom, 94%of the CEOs expected employment to increase in Health care sector, 88% of the CEOs expected employment to increase in Retail and 82% of the CEOs expected employment to increase in Tourism.

While the growth and investment outlook, as revealed by the snap poll, is healthy, the margins are expected to be under pressure. Of the CEOs polled, 86% of them revealed that profits would be under pressure. The main reasons for pressure on margins were revealed as (i) high interest rates, (ii) stiff domestic competition, (iii) increase in staff costs and (iv) stiff global competition.

Is Singur stir ended?

According to news channels, the Tata sources reportedly say - motherplant and ancillaries can't be separated. There are further some objection regarding the agreement. News channel sources say that no conclusion has been derived yet. The agreement process may continue further as Tata sources alleging of not consulting before finalising the agreement. The sources also say a that 997 acres critical for plant to be functional. It is expected that row may continue further.

Nano car plant protest suspended

The Singur row finally ended, this is big respite for the government of West Bengal. The talks between the government and protester ended in well. The protesters have called off their stir after the state government reportedly promised to return some seized land at the plant site. The cheapest car project, Nano, would start again and Indian would hope to see the car on road in near future. However, the firm said that it was still reviewing the deal and work at the site was still suspended.

Mamata Banerjee, the leader of the main opposition Trinamul Congress party leading the protests, described the agreement as a big victory, according to media reports. A committee will look detain into the lad return next week. The government agreed to return the maximum possible land within the plant site outside Calcutta to "unwilling farmers" who were against acquisition of their farms.

India stands second with 10 firms in Forbes Asia's Fabulous 50 list

Ten Indian companies are listed in the Forbes' 'Asian Fabulous 50'. India comes second with the listing of ten firms after 13 of China in the list. Taiwan-based computer maker Acer topped the list. Chinese steel maker Angang Steel, Asustek Computer of Tiwan and Indonesia’s Bank Rakyat Indonesia are listed at second, third and fourth respectively. Bharat Heavy Electricals, Bharti Airtel and Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries have made their way into the Forbes' list of 50 best listed companies in the Asia-Pacific region.

The position of Indian firms in the list as- HDFC Bank at 22nd , Infosys at 25th , ITC at 27th, Larsen & Toubro at 30th , Mahindra & Mahindra at 34th , Reliance Industries at 39th , Tata Steel at 44th and Wipro at 46th. The list was compiled by Forbes based on long-term profitability, sales and earnings growth, stock price appreciation and projected earnings of every companies.

Amartya Sen named on IMF committee on governance reform

Amartya Sen, well known economist and Nobel laureate Indian economists has been named on a committee of eminent persons formed by International Monetary Fund (IMF). The committee would advise the world body on governance reforms. The committee is chaired by South African Finance Minister Trevor Manuel.

Max India inks pact with UK firm for health insurance business

Max India, private insurance-provider, to set up a standalone health insurance company. The company inks pact with British United Provident Fund (Bupa), a UK based firm. Bupa will hold 26 per cent of stake in Max Bupa Health Insurance Ltd. The rest will be hold by Max. As per the FDI norms in India allows Bupa to hold only 26 per cent of the stake and any change would allow it to go for maximum holding, according to media reports. The joint venture targets one million customers initially and would plan to consider possibilities like individual, retail and group insurance.

6 Indians in Forbes' richest young Asians list

Six Indians are listed among 15 youngest Asian billionaires, compiled by business magazine Forbes. The list was topped by Yang Huiyan (China) with a net worth of $7.4 billion. She's now China's richest woman. Among the Indian representatives, Malvinder and Shivinder Singh command a net worth of $2.5 billion. Vikas Oberoi, is the second most richest young Indian with a net worth of $1.7 billion. Anurag Dikshit with net worth of $1.6 billion is the third richest Indian in the list. Girish Tanti, one of the founders of Suzlon Energy, has a personal wealth of $1.3 billion, which is the world's most valuable wind power company. Sameer Gehlaut with a net worth of $1.2 billion is India's youngest self-made billionaire.

RBI chief to assume charge at 3.15 p.m.

Duvvuri Subbaro was appointed as 22nd governor of Reserve Bank of India on September 1st by the Central Government. The news RBI chief will assure charge of the assigned responsibility from his predecessor, Yaga Venugopal Reddy at 3:15 p.m. today. An engineering graduate from the elite Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) – Kanpur, Subbarao topped the civil services examination in 1972 and was assigned the Andhra Pradesh cadre.

Govt plans to raise Rs 3,220 cr for PDS

The government is exploring the possibility of raising a fund up to Rs 3,220 crore required to implement the non-formal public distribution of food grain at the state level through a consortium of banks. The scheme would a burden for the central government. But there is urgent need to reform the PDS system. The distribution of food grain is the important task and will be respite for the weaker section of the society from high food prices. The approval from the cabinet is awaited, while the plan was forwarded to Planning Commission by the Committee of Secretaries last month. The money will enable state governments to intervene in the market by buying and distributing essential items to economically weaker families that are eligible for government assistance.

GM to launch electric car in India by 2009

General Motors announced that it will launch its new mini compact global car in 2010. GM also announced that it would launch GM's Chevy Volt - its first electric car, in the Indian market next year. The company will invest US $ 500 million further in next seven years in India. The company’s plant at Talegaon, Maharashtra has capacity to produce 1.4 lakh to 3 lakh vehicles. The plant in India is the biggest ray of hope for the company to make India an export hub for its products. Apart from the investment plan the company is also aiming to run Jetropha- a bio fuel care in India. According to media reports, the US major has 4 per cent market share and tries to achieve 10 per cent by 2010.