Indian Economy - News & Updates - Archive

[Neo]

India to export 450,000 tonnes rice to BD ​

Thursday, March 06, 2008

MUMBAI: India allowed export of 450,000 tonnes of non-basmati rice to Bangladesh, waiving a ban on the export of the commodity, the director-general of foreign trade said in a statement late on Tuesday.

India currently prohibits export of any rice priced below $500 per tonne. The notification said state-run companies State Trading Corporation, MMTC Ltd, PEC Ltd, and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd will export 100,000 tonnes each.

The West Bengal Essential Commodities Supply Corporation Ltd will export 50,000 tonnes. The notification did not give any reason for allowing the exports, despite a ban. Bangladesh had urged the international community to provide rice to feed its calamity affected population.

India to export 450,000 tonnes rice to BD

 

[Neo]

India’s finance minister bullish on 2008/09 growth​

NEW DELHI: India’s finance minister said on Wednesday he expects the economy to grow by at least 8.8 percent in the next fiscal year while promising to revisit overseas borrowing rules for corporates later.

The economy is estimated to grow 8.7 percent in the financial year that ends in March, moderating from a blistering 9.6 percent in 2006-07, an 18-year high, as a stronger rupee and higher interest rates trim expansion.

“I don’t have any doubt in my mind that there will be an upturn in growth ... Demand will rise in 2008/09. I am bullish on growth and we hope to maintain 8.8 percent-plus growth,” Palaniappan Chidambaram told a meeting of leading businessmen.

He said higher public spending and more money in the hands of consumers from tax relief announced in last Friday’s budget for the next fiscal year would boost Asia’s third-largest economy, which is largely driven by domestic demand.

India tightened rules on foreign borrowing by local firms last year in a move aimed at checking surging capital flows that had pushed the rupee higher, hurting labour-intensive export sectors and complicating monetary policy.

Companies can now raise up to $500 million abroad without seeking approval from the central bank, but can only invest in India up to $20 million of the sum raised.

“We have not closed the external commercial borrowings window,” Chidambaram said.

“These restrictions are indeed intended to be only temporary. When things get better we shall certainly revisit these restrictions.”

The finance minister also expressed concern over a stagnating farm sector which he said was hurting overall growth.

The farm sector, which supports nearly 60 percent of India’s population and accounts for 17.5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, has been treading water in the past few years.

India’s food output has failed to keep pace with the demands of its 1.1 billion population, most of whom rely on the land for their livelihoods, widening an already yawning wealth gap between city and village.

A jump in global prices of farm commodities has made importing staples a costly and politically damaging exercise and contributed to a spike in local food prices.

India’s farm growth is expected to slump to 2.6 percent this financial year, as lower investment and stagnating yields cut output

Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan

 

[Neo]

India 07-08 cotton crop revised up, 24.4m bales ​

Friday, March 07, 2008

WASHINGTON: Indian cotton production should reach 24.4 million bales during the 2007/2008 marketing year, up from a previous estimate of 23.9 million bales, a US Agriculture Department attache report said on Wednesday.

Strong international cotton prices also pushed the export forecast for Indian cotton up to a record 5.9 million bales from an earlier prediction of 5.1 million bales for the 2007/2008 marketing year (MY).

The domestic consumption forecast for Indian cotton in 2007/2008 was lowered to 18.1 million bales from 19 million bales due to strong cotton prices and weaker cotton textile demand, the report said. Attache reports are not official USDA data.

Following are highlights of the report.

“The post-MY 2007/08 cotton production estimate is raised marginally higher to a record 24.4 million bales, which is 2.6 million bales higher than last year. This revision is based on strong market arrivals, which provides evidence to support a higher than anticipated crop estimate in the central and southern states. Market arrivals through February 23, 2008 reached 18.4 million bales (4.0 million tons) compared with 16.4 million bales (3.6 million tons) for the corresponding period last year. The Cotton Advisory Board is currently estimating the MY 2007/08 crop at 24.2 million bales, while estimates from various industry sources range 22 to 25 million bales (28.0 to 32.0 million Indian bales of 170 kg).

Exports revised higher on strong international prices: Post’s MY 2007/08 export forecast has been raised to 5.9 million bales due to strong international cotton prices, up one million bales from last year’s record level. Due to the record crop and weak domestic off take, Indian cotton continues to be very competitively priced vis-a-vis comparable cotton from other origins.

Market sources report that about 4.7 to 5.1 million bales have been contracted for exports for shipment through March 2008. Of this amount about 3.9 to 4.3 million bales have been shipped through the third week of February, mainly for China, Pakistan, Turkey, Bangladesh and South Asian countries. Industry sources report that cotton exporters, including international merchants, are currently holding about 1.1 to 1.2 million bales in stocks for future sales. Although the pace of exports has slowed down since February, export prospects during the remaining season will depend on international cotton prices.

Assuming no change in the current price parity between local and international cotton, India’s cotton exports are expected to reach 5.9 million bales, over 20 per cent higher than last year.

India 07-08 cotton crop revised up, 24.4m bales

 

[Neo]

Indian inflation hits 5pc ​

Saturday, March 08, 2008

NEW DELHI: Indian ianflation hit 5 percent in late February for the first time in nearly nine months, and analysts said building price pressures would stop the central bank from loosening policy even though growth is slowing.

The wholesale price index rose 5.02 percent in the 12 months to Feb 23, higher than the previous week’s 4.89 percent and well above a market forecast of 4.78 percent, data showed on Friday.

It was the first time since June 2, 2007, that inflation had reached 5 percent, the level the Reserve Bank of India wanted to contain it near in the 2007/08 fiscal year that ends this month,

“Inflation has risen above 5 percent much faster than we had expected,” said Sonal Varma, an economist at Lehman Brothers. “We expect inflation to remain high in 2008/09 and add to the rising policy dilemma of the RBI of slowing growth and rising inflation,” she said.

At the end of 2007, inflation was running at 3.8 percent. Record prices of crude oil and rising costs of food and other commodities are expected to push inflation higher in coming weeks. The rise in inflation comes as earlier rate rises start to hit consumer demand. India’s economy grew an annual 8.4 percent in the December, slowing from 8.9 percent the quarter before.

Indian inflation hits 5pc

 

[Bushroda]

Labour pact with India on the way
By SOMAN BABY
Gulf Daily News, Bahrain

BAHRAIN is to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with India on labour and manpower co-operation next month.

Labour Minister Dr Majeed Al Alawi has accepted an invitation from Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi to visit India to sign the MoU.

Dr Al Alawi met Indian Ambassador Balkrishna Shetty yesterday and confirmed his plans to visit India later next month.

"I shall make use of the opportunity to sign the MoU, which will help further strengthen the ties between Bahrain and India in labour and manpower areas," he said.

"However, I believe that the relations between the two countries go beyond just labour matters.

"Historically and culturally we are strong partners. Every effort should be made to take this relationship to new heights."

Dr Al Alawi met Mr Ravi in Abu Dhabi earlier this year during a meeting of labour exporting and receiving countries.

Mr Ravi then stressed the need for Bahrain to sign the MoU, as other Gulf countries including the UAE, Kuwait and Oman had already signed similar agreements.

Mr Shetty said the MoU would further protect the welfare of Indian workers in Bahrain.

"It also helps ensure the smooth flow of workers from India to Bahrain as per the requirements of the kingdom," he said.

"The MoU will cover a clause to ensure that the right person is recruited for the right job with proper salary.

"Workers thus recruited should add value to the labour market and the Bahraini economy. It also helps enhance productivity in all sectors."

Another highlight of the MoU will be provision for joint recruitment and training of workers by both countries, said Mr Shetty.

"The MoU will go a long way in reducing the number of exploitations of the workers by unscrupulous recruiting agents," he added.

"The MoU will also stress the need to protect female workers, especially housemaids, who are not covered under the labour laws of the Gulf countries."

Mr Shetty said the signing of such an MoU is significant at a time when both Bahrain and India are implementing major labour reforms.

"When Bahrain is implementing the reforms through the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA), India has initiated labour reforms as part of its e-Governance," he revealed.

"Plans are under way to issue smart cards to all workers leaving India for jobs abroad, starting on April 1.

"The cards which will have all details of the employees as well as their prospective employers will be distributed through the immigration offices in India."

The meeting was attended by Indian Embassy second secretary R Raghunathan and Labour Ministry international and public relations director Sabah Al Dossary.

 

[Bushroda]

The new Modern
Georgina Maddox
March 10, 2008 at 01:33:56

When we saw Atul Dodiya fetch Rs 1 crore shortly after a stalwart like Tyeb Mehta had just bagged his first crore at the Christie’s action in 2004, a few eyebrows were raised. A Contemporary drawing parallel with a Modern guru was contrary to the mantra that runs the auctions. However within four years, this became not just an exception but a rule where several zeroes have been added on to the price tag of artists who sell at Rs 1 or Rs 2 lakhs only three to four years ago. The current asking price for a Dodiya or Jitish Kallat is anything from Rs 28 lakh to Rs 1 crore, while even a newly introduced artist like Farhad Hussain commands Rs 10 lakh.

Picking up on the international trend that favours the Contemporaries, 140 works of Indian Contemporary artists have just returned from rave reviews in New York, and Dinesh and Minal Vazirani of Saffronart.com are proud. “Contemporary art is doing exceedingly well internationally. This is because it’s about the here and now, the genre cuts across geographical boundaries in a way that perhaps Modern art does not,” explains Dinesh, adding, “After China, India was the next Asian country to come into the spotlight.”

In fact, this auction, kicking off on March 13, could not have been timed better. Three other auctions are slotted for March—Sotheby’s, Christies and Osian’s—and their bastion is Modern art. Saffron seems to be the best place to look for the Contemporaries.

The upward curve is reflected not just at the auction houses but three mega shows dedicated to Contemporaries that are slotted to premier in Manchester, New York and China. Art aficionado Frank Cohen is showcasing Passage to India, a group exhibition from his private collection featuring biggies like Dodiya, Subodh Gupta, Bharati Kher and Sudarshan Shetty to name a few. Charles Saatchi is hosting an exhibition titled, The Empire Strikes Back that features the above mentioned artists as well as others like Chitra Ganesh and Shez Dawood. Swiss collector Uli Sigg, one of the biggest in the business, is taking his collection to China.

While works by artists like Shilpa Gupta, Riyas Komu, Kallat, Rashid Rana and T V Santosh reflect the explosion of mass media and the opening up of the Indian economy, Dodiya, Navjot and Surendran Nair mark the transition period between Modern and Contemporary concerns. Their works address the anxiety that arises from a loss of the local and indigenous to the global.

Shireen Gandhy, whose Chemould Art Gallery was one of the first spaces to host shows by the likes of Kher and Dodiya when they were just starting out, says the reason is innovation. “Contemporary artists have caught the interest of collectors nationally and globally because they are willing to reinvent themselves the way the Moderns cannot,” says Gandhy.

In the end though, as collector and emerging artist Cyrus Oshidar puts it, it is about being in the right place at the right time and “branding” oneself as avant-garde.

 

[Bushroda]

Exports growth to continue in ’09
Press Trust of India

NEW DELHI, March 9: Notwithstanding an economic slowdown in the USA, India is likely to maintain 20 per cent growth in exports in the financial year 2008-09 but the basket may undergo a change, a finance ministry official said.

“USA is one of the major destinations for India. We said that in the coming year, it may not be as good as it was earlier. But that does not mean that we are not performing well. We are having 20 per cent plus growth and possibly we can continue with 20 per cent plus,” Mr HAC Prasad, senior economic advisor in the finance ministry, said.

In the US market, many of India's export items, particularly textiles, handicraft, have fallen. Same is the case with EU, but for Asian nations and other economies, Indian exports have not fallen to that extent, he said.

India has set export target of $160 billion for the current fiscal, up by 28 per cent over $125 billion in the previous year. Exports have already been pegged at $124 billion till January and are likely to be close to $160 billion in the full financial year, with March usually expected to record higher figures, Mr Prasad said.

“Another two months are left and we have to attain $160 billion, which I think we may attain. We might be short by a few billion (dollars),” Mr Prasad, one of the key team members who authored the external sector part of the Economic Survey 2007-08, said.

He said that Economic Survey has pointed towards the areas of weakness for the coming year. “We have to work on the higher base of exports. On this base, we have to have higher exports. There is a recession in the world economy, including USA”.

A slowdown in the USA affected the textile sector first, and then spilled over to other sectors, hampering India's exports to the USA, European Union and other countries.

While some sectors like textiles and handicraft have not performed well, others have done well. As such, total exports would be high in 2008-09. But there would be a compositional change in exports, Mr Prasad said.

The Economic Survey has said that the outlook for exports in 2008-09 may not be as bright as in the past few years, forecasting lower world GDP, world imports and exchange rate developments.

“What we have implied (in Economic Survey) is that exports may not do well in case of some items like textiles and handicraft,” Mr Prasad said.

 

[Bushroda]

In Booming India Retirement Homes Spread
By SAM DOLNICK
Associated Press

PUNE, India (AP) — She grew up listening to her grandparents' stories over dinner, three generations gathered in the house they shared, like nearly every Indian family she knew.

But now that Uma Paranjpe is a grandmother, she finds herself living alone in a small apartment, her children abroad, her grandchildren far from her cooking and her stories.

And she's thrilled.

"Grandparents also want their own independence," said the 62-year-old widow, who lives in a bustling retirement community in this southwestern Indian city. "We want freedom. We would like to travel, to pursue our hobbies."

A cultural revolution is under way in India, led by an unlikely gray-haired vanguard that is dramatically changing what it means to be old here, and what it means to be a family. In a country where family is society's strongest cultural anchor, the thought of the elderly living alone has long been anathema, but many old people today are embracing the notion.

With the economy booming, children are moving away for jobs, leaving elderly parents on their own. While some lament the breakdown in family as a sign of cultural decline, others — especially the well-off — are happy to devote their old age to themselves instead of their grandchildren.

The new retirement communities are so far available only for the rich. There's nothing between the high end faux Florida facilities and bleak government-run homes for those with nowhere else to go.

Roughly a dozen development companies across the country offer sparkling facilities complete with badminton courts, lap pools and game rooms to the wealthiest sliver of the country's 80 million people over 60.

"I don't think my son or my daughter will look after me — and I'm damn happy about it," said Minoo Shroff, 72, who lives in a housing complex for seniors in Pune, a pleasant city popular with retirees because it's more temperate than much of the rest of India. "I'm independent, they're independent."

Seniors in India traditionally occupy a role somewhere between family pillar and dependent hanger-on, with more than 71 percent of the elderly living with their children or grandchildren, according to the 2001 national census.

Grandparents can be revered keepers of family lore or ghostly presences cooking nearly forgotten recipes. But from teeming cities to sleepy villages, caring for one's parents is to most Indians a duty as important as caring for one's children, and home after home across the country is crowded with the same mix of generations.

The arrangement is one borne out of custom and financial necessity — the Indian government provides no Social Security type benefits and less than 10 percent of the population receives even a small pension.

Experts say the new prosperity flooding into India is weakening the "joint family" system, where the next generation lived with the last, because the pace of life is speeding up and getting Westernized.

"The younger generation is very busy. They don't have time to spend with older people," said Harvinder Bakshi of HelpAge India, an activist group for the elderly. "The joint family system is disintegrating."

Newspapers frequently carry lurid stories of children abandoning their parents to the street, and activists have called on the government to open more affordable old-age homes.

Bakshi says his group, a major one, gets a half-dozen calls a month about abandoned seniors.

Even the expensive retirement homes can't make up for the joy of growing old among family.

"I miss that bonding, that security, that comfort, the love, the shelter. We don't feel that here," said Madhukar Gokarn, 73. She and her husband live in an exclusive retirement community called Golden Nest in Pune, but her afternoon walks on the building's roof are small consolation for what she has lost. "Who wouldn't want to be with their own children as long as possible?"

Shashank Paranjape, the real-estate developer generally credited with introducing retirement homes to India, opened his first project, Athashri, in 2003 in Pune as a complex explicitly modeled on Western retirement homes. With roughly 1,000 residents in four branches, Athashri is a thriving community that looks as though it were plucked straight from Florida, right down to the early-bird specials — spicy lentils and rice.

Paranjape plans retirement homes in five more Indian cities, but he and other developers face major hurdles.

To most Indians, communities exclusively of old people seem as impractical as neighborhoods of children would be. Also, the buy-in prices of $75,000 to $125,000 rule out the vast majority of the population, although with the economy growing every year, developers are betting the market will increase.

The communities buzz with card games, book clubs and music lessons — activities all but unthinkable in generations past, when old age was spent helping with grandkids and household chores.

"My mother used to love the violin, but she never had time to play," said Pushpa Salem, 67, who has become an avid butterfly collector since moving to Athashri nearly five years ago. "She would have loved it here."

"When we stay with our children we feel very old," she said. "Here, we feel young."

 

[Bushroda]

Tata Communications Expands Global VPN Services to China Through Partnership with China Entercom
Michael Schwartz
News, Markets, VPN Integration, China
Mar 09, 2008 at 11:44AM

Tata Communications leading provider of a new world of communications, announced today the expansion of its Global VPN service to China through an NNI (Network to Network Interface) agreement with China Enterprise Netcom Corporation Limited (China Entercom/CEC), a value-added telecommunication services and integrated IT solutions provider and subsidiary of CITIC (China International Trust and Investment Corporation).

Through this NNI, Tata Communications and China Entercom have interconnected their respective MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) infrastructures, allowing Tata Communications' multi-national corporation (MNC) customers VPN connectivity reach beyond the existing 120 cities in India and 19 major business centers across North America, Asia, and Europe to now also include 347 cities throughout China. Additionally customers can connect with dual PoP locations in tier-one cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

"Tata Communications' agreement with China Entercom allows us to serve our many global and India MNC customers who require a single scalable and reliable global VPN with deep reach into both India and China, and broad reach around the world," said Vinod Kumar, President, Global Data & Mobility Services, Tata Communications. "China and India are the engines driving the globalizing information economy, and, it is critical for MNC's to establish reliable infrastructure in these markets. Tata Communications' unmatched depth and reach throughout India coupled with our new, extended reach into China allows us to support the needs of our customers seeking to achieve seamless coverage in these markets and to major cities throughout the world."

Mr. Kumar added, "Carrier partnerships are critical to provide the deep global reach our customers' networks require. Our agreement with China Entercom is part of a larger MPLS expansion plan that will include other NNI agreements, as well as the expansion of Tata Communications' international on-net in key strategic regions and emerging markets that are of high value to our customers, including the Middle East, South Africa, Philippines, and Malaysia."

Zhu Jian Hua, President and CEO, China Entercom commented, "We are pleased to partner with Tata Communications to provide customers with high quality IP VPN solutions throughout China. The seamless integration of Tata Communications' high performance IP network with China Entercom's extensive IPVPN coverage in greater China will provide superior connectivity in the Asia region and to the world."

Tata Communications is the leading service provider, offering a Global VPN on-net solution with four classes of service options which provides a deep and broad reach across India as well as to major cities across the world. This partnership with CEC will offer customers additional reach into and across China allowing international and Indian MNCs to be seamlessly served with a single VPN that covers India, China, and major metropolitan areas worldwide. The service is available with both managed and unmanaged options, supported by 24/7 end-to-end network management, and tied to a stringent and unified Service Level Agreement (SLA).

David Kennedy, Senior Analyst, Ovum, states, "With an estimated annual communications spend of $25B, the Asia Pacific Region, including China and India, is the fastest growing economic zone in the world and MNCs are investing heavily in its markets. Revenue from IP-based communications is growing at double-digit rates, and both domestic businesses and MNCs are benefiting from this growth and require sophisticated telecommunications to support their businesses. Network coverage is the first filter that prospective customers apply to suppliers...and coverage in these growing markets is currently the main point of differentiation between networks."

Tata Communications' global IP network touts 570Gbps of high speed OC48/192 MPLS Backbone Capacity and 500G of customer connectivity throughout North America, Europe and Asia. It reaches over land, sea and sky, in 5 continents and over 195 countries, carrying more then 300 petabits of traffic globally per month.

 

[Bushroda]

India likely to maintain close to 20% exports growth in '09
9 Mar, 2008, 1232 hrs IST, PTI

NEW DELHI: An economic slowdown in the US notwithstanding, India is likely to maintain the 20 per cent growth in exports in 2008-09 but the basket may undergo a change, said a Finance Ministry official.

"US is one of the major destinations for India. We said that in the coming year, it may not be as good as it was earlier. But that does not mean we are not performing well. We are having 20 per cent plus growth and possibly we can continue with 20 per cent plus," H A C Prasad, Senior Economic Advisor in the Finance Ministry, told PTI.

In the US market, many of India's export items, particularly textiles, handicraft, have fallen. Same is the case with EU, but Asian nations and other economies, Indian exports have not fallen to that extent, he said.

India has set export target of 160 billion dollars for the current fiscal, up 28 per cent over 125 billion dollars in the previous year. Exports have already grown to 124 billion dollars till January and are likely to be close to 160 billion dollars in the full fiscal, with March usually expected to record higher figures, Prasad said.

"Another two months are left and we have to attain 160 billion dollars, which I think we may attain. Almost near to that. May be short by a few billion (dollars)," Prasad, one of the key team members who authored the External Sector part of the Economic Survey 2007-08, said.

Prasad said Economic Survey has pointed towards the areas of weakness for the coming year. "We have to work on the higher base of exports. On this base, we have to have higher exports. There is a recession in the world economy, including US".

A slowdown in the US affected the textile sector first, and then spilled over to other sectors, hampering India's exports to the US, European Union and elsewhere.

 

[Bushroda]

India's Movie Mecca Goes Global
Riding a Boom, Bollywood Evolves Into a Magnet for Investment and Talent

By Emily Wax
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, March 9, 2008;

Students at the Actor Prepares school in Mumbai prepare to film a music video. The school is one of many in the city that are training young Indian actors for a maturing film industry, but it also attracts foreign students. (By Emily Wax -- The Washington Post)

MUMBAI -- When Amit Shah, a budding young actor born in Chicago, auditioned for a role in the upcoming Hollywood comedy "Fraternity House," the directors picked him to play an Indian exchange student. He was told to wear glasses and sport a thick Indian accent like Apu, the convenience store owner in television's "The Simpsons."

The 27-year-old of Asian Indian origin did his best. But he quickly realized that if he was going to be pigeonholed as the token Indian immigrant, he had better visit the country of his parents' birth and attend one of the growing number of acting schools in Mumbai, a sprawling metropolis of 17 million.

But once here, he wanted to stay. Mumbai, the Big Apple and Tinseltown rolled into one city, is experiencing an economic boom that is fueling its fast-evolving film industry, the world's largest, with twice the movie output of Hollywood.

"Initially, I came here to learn the culture. I never had any intentions of staying. I don't even speak Hindi," Shah said at the Actor Prepares school, surrounded by others of Indian descent from the United States, Britain and Canada. "But Bollywood has so much opportunity these days. I have just fallen in love with the Indian film industry."

More than ever before, Bollywood is being flooded with cash from Indian investors who see the country's film industry as a money machine. The rise of the multiplex theater has led to a wider variety of films, with more socially relevant scripts that discard the overused Bollywood formula: a rambling, four-hour hodgepodge of twins separated at birth, rare blood diseases, wet sari scenes and lots and lots of singing and dancing in alpine meadows. More linear and socially conscious storylines are becoming popular, as are shorter movies.

"The new trend in Bollywood is the death of the cliche," said Anupam Kher, an award-winning Bollywood actor who has been in more than 300 films. Three years ago, Kher opened Actor Prepares, one of many acting schools trying to improve the skills of young Indian actors. He also has announced plans to open a school in London that will teach foreigners, as well as those of Indian descent, thick Hindi dialects, yoga and the infamous Bollywood style of dancing (think petting a dog with one hand and screwing in a little bulb with the other, as described in the film "Bride and Prejudice").

"We used to have very few trained actors. We were a young country. Entertainment was the last thing on our agenda," Kher said between takes on a film set. But now, "the Indian economy is booming, and Bollywood is booming right along with it. There is a huge middle class who have traveled and watched foreign movies on cable or at an upscale multiplex. The consumer has awakened, and the quality is soaring."

The result has been two unlikely Bollywood hits: "Taare Zameen Par," the story of a boy's struggle with dyslexia, and "Chak De! India," about a women's hockey team that overcomes sexism and ethnic adversity.

The potential for profit has attracted Hollywood executives and foreign investors. Last month, financier George Soros paid $100 million for a stake in Reliance Entertainment, an Indian film production house. Last year, Sony Pictures Entertainment cut a multimillion-dollar investment deal with Indian entertainment conglomerate Eros International, which last year released "Saawariya," the first big-budget Hindi movie financed by Hollywood.

The Walt Disney Co. recently increased its stake in India's UTV Software Communications, maker of last year's hit "The Namesake."

Later this year, Johnny Depp is expected to star in the movie "Shantaram," directed by Mira Nair of "The Namesake" fame. Depp's presence in an Indian movie is widely perceived as a sign that Bollywood has gone global, and his expected visit to Mumbai in coming weeks has been a top story in newspapers.

"It's just a fantastic moment to be in movies here, and the content is changing profoundly," said Ashim Ahluwalia, director of a new critically acclaimed documentary called "John & Jane," which depicts the surreal world of Indians who work in Mumbai call centers under American identities. "I'm not sure that was true even five or six years ago."

Bollywood actors can learn the skills needed today at Kher's acting school, which is almost like walking onto the set of the 1980s American TV show "Fame." Young Indian actresses sport leg warmers and practice their lines while stretching, while handsome boys walk around in sunglasses, tank tops and jeans.

"Learning good acting is hard work. We are focusing hard on teaching realism now. It's a big change," said Yashraj Jadhav, dean of Actor Prepares, who said he loves teaching method acting and noted that the days are gone when Bollywood filmed movies without scripts.

Still, the school includes the classic Bollywood staples: singing, dancing and fighting. "We sing and dance in our daily lives, in our festivals and in our weddings. We will never completely lose our song and dance," Jadhav said, "even if our golden age is coming."

 

[Bushroda]

Global luxury brands eyes Indian flavour
9 Mar, 2008, 0039 hrs IST,Neha Dewan, TNN

NEW DELHI: The fascination with Brand India continues. This time it’s the leading international luxury brands such as, Pal Zileri, Lladro, Alberta Ferretti, Jean Paul Gaultier, Salvatore Ferragamo and Zegna that are making use of age-old mystical Indian elements to add glitter to their latest collections of haute couture.

These big names in fashion have come up with stunning designs that feature stylish inspirations from India. What’s more inspiring is that these elements are creating a furore not just here but across the seven seas!

While French fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier’s last haute couture line drew inspiration from the princes of Rajasthan, the design patterns on Hermes scarves also show off a visible Indian influence. Spanish luxury porcelain brand, Lladro, recently introduced its Spirit of India collection and Italian menswear luxury brand Pal Zileri created sherwanis and a bandhgala Guru to appeal to its clientele.

Similarly, Italian fashion designer Alberta Ferretti has touched base with India by using tiny, dark patterns, mirror embroidery and built-in jewellery in her apparel and accessory designs. On the other hand, Italian luxury fashion maker Salvatore Ferragamo can design customised footwear using traditional jewellery elements!

Most of these brands are not aiming only at the domestic market as their target clientele. Their approach is more wide-ranging, often one that takes the global market into its strategy. “We are targeting the global market at large, in an attempt to meet our customer’s expectations to fulfil both their intellectual and cultural passions.

Interestingly, figurines are not just restricted to Indian markets but are released world over. The response has been tremendous,” says Sachin Jain, senior brand manager, Lladro India. The brand’s recent ‘Spirit of India’ collection captures the luxurious attributes of Indian art and reflects the beauty of India’s most revered Gods and Goddesses like Goddess Lakshmi, Radha Krishna, and Lord Ganesha.

Iconic fashion designer Alberta Ferretti confesses to the strong influence that Indian fashion has in the West. “Fashion in India is a continuous source of impulses for my job too! That’s hardly surprising considering that India has already become one of the largest and progressive Asian nations known.”

Adarsh Amin, general manager, Pal Zileri India & new business development feels that there is an emerging demand for Indian cuts and designs not only among the Indian customers but also from other parts of the globe. “India is a prestige market for us. The India inspired collection is integral to the Pal Zileri international collection as foreign trends are also influenced by the Indian fashion industry.

That’s also a reason why the Indian collection is very well received by the customers in other parts of the globe, including London as they love the imperial British look,” he says. That explains why the Italian menswear luxury brand has integrated elements inspired from Indian customs like Sherwanis in its Ceremonia Collection.

Bandh Gala as an important element of Zegna’s Ceremonial collection won a favourable response. Besides this, the lightness of fabric, their made-to-measure service and novelty in style and fabrics are other elements that show an inherent ability of the brand adapting to local needs perfectly. But its not just the local market that reaps the benefits, these Indian design elements hit off well globally too!

Explains Shantanu Mukerji, country head, Zegna India, “As India gains credence in the world economy, the designs and the inspiration for designs become all the more attractive. So as India becomes bigger, the interest in the economy will just become more and more visible.”

Luxury and India sure share a strong connection... the latest line-ups from luxury makers definitely bears testimony to that!

 

[Bushroda]

Bligh is courting Bollywood
News.com, Australia
March 09, 2008 12:00am

PREMIER Anna Bligh will meet moviemakers in India next month in a bid to boost the number of Bollywood films shot on the Gold Coast.

Ms Bligh, who on March 31 leaves on a 13-day trade mission to Japan, China and India, will hold talks at the Whistling Woods School of Film, Radio and Television in Mumbai.

The international film school was created by renowned Indian director and producer Subhash Ghai in 2006, with the aim of producing a new generation of Asian film and television leaders.

Queensland's incentive scheme under the Pacific Film and Television Commission to encourage international moviemakers to come here will be high on on Ms Bligh's agenda.

This follows claims that two Bollywood films were lost to the Coast last year because of problems associated with the scheme.

Gold Coast Tourism spokesman Ben Pole confirmed talks had been conducted on two Bollywood productions last year but would not reveal more details because it might impact on future negotiations with the Indian producer.

"Late last year we hosted an Indian producer out here on the Gold Coast who was interested in using this as a location for one if not two films," Mr Pole said.

"We received feedback earlier this year they weren't bringing the first film. It was a low-budget film and they couldn't get the finances right for the Gold Coast. They may shoot it in India."

There is still a slight chance the second film will be shot here and tourism leaders are hopeful of holding further talks with the movie's producers this year.

Coast tourism leaders are prepared to offer accommodation and transport concessions to overseas film crews because of the exposure and benefits to the local economy from the productions.

Mr Pole expects the Coast to get major international exposure when the $10 million Indian film Singh Is King is released in August.

"It's the biggest Indian film shot on the Gold Coast. They used Q1 and a number of places in Broadbeach," he said.

The Government is unlikely to change its incentive scheme in the short term but tourism leaders believe Ms Bligh's overseas visit will be the first step in improving relations.

 

[Bushroda]

Guess Who's Getting the Most Work Visas
Indian outsourcers top the list of companies bringing foreign workers to the U.S. on the H-1B program

by Moira Herbst
Businessweek
This Issue March 17, 2008

Some critics are pushing to tighten the criteria for these visas Andrew Popper

The controversy over visas for high-skilled workers from abroad looks like it's about to get even hotter.

The program for what are known as H-1B visas was originally set up to allow companies in the U.S. to import the best and brightest in technology, engineering, and other fields when such workers are in short supply in America. But data just released by the federal government show that offshore outsourcing firms, particularly from India, dominate the list of companies awarded H-1B visas in 2007. Indian outsourcers accounted for nearly 80% of the visa petitions approved last year for the top 10 participants in the program. The new data are sure to fuel criticism of the visa program from detractors such as Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.). "These numbers should send a red flag to every lawmaker that the H-1B visa program is not working as it was intended," said Grassley in an e-mail.

REVOLVING DOOR?

Infosys Technologies (INFY) and Wipro (WIT), both based in Bangalore, top the list of visa beneficiaries in 2007, with 4,559 and 2,567 approved visa petitions, respectively, according to data from the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services. Each visa allows the companies to bring one worker to the U.S., where they have substantial operations providing tech support and other services to corporations, complementing services provided from India. Overall, six of the top 10 visa recipients in 2007 are based in India; two others among the top 10, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) and UST Global, are headquartered in the U.S. but have most of their operations in India.

Microsoft (MSFT) and Intel (INTC) are the only two traditional U.S. tech companies among the top 10. Microsoft received 959 visa petition approvals, or one fifth as many as Infosys, while Intel got 369.

Critics such as Grassley and Durbin charge that the outsourcers are abusing the U.S. program. The work visas, they say, are supposed to be used to bolster the U.S. economy. The idea is that companies like Microsoft, Google (GOOG), or IBM (IBM) can use them to hire software programmers or computer scientists with rare skills, fostering innovation and improving competitiveness. Instead, critics say, companies such as Infosys and Wipro are undermining the American economy by wiping out jobs. The companies bring low-cost workers to the U.S., train them in the offices of U.S. clients, and then rotate them back home after a year or two so they can provide tech support and other services from abroad. "Valuable high-tech jobs are on a one-way superhighway overseas," said Durbin in an e-mail.

A clash is likely in the coming months. Durbin and Grassley are pushing for more restrictions in the program, even as tech companies are advocating for a sharp increase in the number of visas handed out each year. The senators want to tighten the program's criteria, by requiring participating companies to try to hire American workers first and to pledge that visa workers will not displace American workers. U.S. tech companies, meanwhile, want Congress to increase the visa cap from 65,000 a year to at least 115,000.

The offshore outsourcers deny they're abusing the program. The visa program is open to any company with U.S. operations, no matter where its headquarters. More important, the outsourcers say they're helping U.S. companies stay competitive, allowing them to reduce costs and concentrate on their core competencies. "The Indian IT industry has helped improve the competitiveness of our customers in the U.S.," said Som Mittal, president of Nasscom, the trade group that represents the Indian companies. He added that Nasscom's members are "strong upholders" of regulations in client countries.

Infosys and Wipro declined to respond to criticisms they are misusing the program. In the past, they've said the jobs they fill in the U.S. are higher skilled than those in India, involving sales and custom software development. Infosys has about 9,000 workers in the U.S., including 7,500 on H-1B visas. (It has 88,000 workers worldwide.)

GROWING DIFFERENCES

Tech companies say more visas are necessary so the U.S. can attract top talent. Bill Gates is scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill on Mar. 12 about how to keep the country competitive. He is expected to repeat the points he made a year ago in Congress, when he argued for more H-1Bs and green cards. "It makes no sense," he said, "to tell well-trained, highly skilled individuals—many of whom are educated at our top colleges and universities—that the U.S. does not welcome or value them."

Differences are growing between the U.S. tech companies and the outsourcing outfits. U.S. companies often try to keep visa workers in the country and help them become American citizens, while the outsourcers typically employ visa workers in the U.S. on a temporary basis. Some American tech companies say they may support reforms in the visa program to crack down on any abuse. "If Congress decides the visas are being used in ways that don't benefit the economy, there should be additional enforcement provisions or measures," said Jack Krumholtz, Microsoft's chief lobbyist.

Many U.S. workers oppose any expansion of the program. They say H-1Bs let companies hire cheap workers from abroad, rather than Americans. They say the timing for expansion couldn't be worse, with the economy faltering. "Foreign workers are coming into the U.S., even though Americans need jobs," says Kim Berry, president of the worker advocacy group Programmers Guild. "It turns the intent of the H-1B program upside down."

 

[Bushroda]

India’s TCS Introduces Hybrid SaaS Model
A winning balance of in-house, outsourced and services-based resources

by Ann All
IT Business Edge, KY
March 7, 2008 at 11:13 am

Back in January, I blogged about the impact that software-as-a-service could have on outsourcing. Some folks, including Gartner, contend that SaaS gives companies “a viable alternative” to relationships with traditional outsourcing providers.

Indeed, Indian blogger Sramana Mitra wrote about an Indian company whose 150 employees were laid off after it was purchased by a Silicon Valley company that provided the same lead generation and marketing research services via a SaaS model.

Similarly, THINKStrategies’ Jeff Kaplan notes that SaaS could boost the efficiency of outsourcing providers by reducing their reliance on manual labor.

So it’s less than a huge surprise that Tata Consultancy Services, India’s largest — and one of its smartest — service providers, is introducing a hybrid SaaS/services model that it calls IT-as-a-service.

The product, which combines hardware, software and underlying network infrastructure, is aimed at local SMBs, an “underserved” market segment that could be worth up to $9 billion a year, reports The Economic Times.

TCS has been tweaking the business model for about a year and expects to move it to other geographies should it prove successful in India. It hopes to find new clients in industries not typically targeted by services providers, such as real estate. Says the company’s COO:

The business won’t be people-intensive because the solutions and process are standardized. This will break the linearity of revenues… The opportunity size is very large but the problem is it is very fragmented. In the first year, our focus will be to get the right customers and the delivery model. We will go to other countries but not in a hurry.​

TCS has already signed 10 clients for ITaaS, which is expected to go live in April, according to the article. It will form partnerships with other vendors for hardware, connectivity and other areas outside of its core expertise.

TCS is rolling out the new business unit just as it begins to feel some clear financial repercussions from the slowing U.S. economy. Two of its 10 largest clents,i both Wall Street banks, canceled projects that had been slated to begin this quarter, reports Times Online. The article also quotes Infosys’ CEO as saying some of its U.S. and European bank clients are freezing budgets and/or looking to move work to lower-cost countries.

Though TCS did not say how much the canceled projects would affect its bottom line, the company’s 10 largest clients account for nearly a third of its revenues and more than half of its earnings result from its contracts with U.S. companies.