Indian Economy-News & Updates

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US zooms in on Indian tech scene, urges firms to expand, create jobs
1 Jan 2010, 0334 hrs IST, Bloomberg

NEW DELHI | NEW YORK: Ohio governor Ted Strickland is quick to admit that he doesn’t “particularly enjoy heights.” So why would he climb into a Turn
cherrypicker to be lifted 40 feet in the air? To show off a 196,000-square-foot office park in the Cincinnati suburb of Milford to executives from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s biggest tech company.

To sweeten the deal, Mr Strickland threw in $19 million in tax credits and invited the TCS crew to a state dinner at the governor’s mansion. “The economy is difficult,” Mr Strickland says in the January 11 issue of Bloomberg BusinessWeek. “I will go wherever I can to find jobs.”

TCS said yes, and in November Mr Strickland showed up at the sprawling wooded campus for a ceremony to mark the hiring of the 300th employee at what has become the cornerstone for TCS’s North American efforts.

Tata has hired some 250 graduates of Ohio State University, the University of Cincinnati, and other nearby schools. Soon the facility may employ as many as 1,000 Americans doing back-office and technology outsourcing for US health-care companies and local governments.

Atlanta, Dallas

With the economy growing again but unemployment stuck at double-digit levels, states and municipalities across the US are scrambling to woo anyone with hiring plans — even if that means going hat in hand to the same bunch that have been responsible for hundreds of thousands of jobs going overseas.

Dallas, Atlanta, Minneapolis and Tallahassee have all been actively courting Indian tech outfits. Wipro Technologies in March inaugurated a centre in Atlanta, which now has 350 employees-nearly 300 of them Americans, including senior managers recruited from US tech rivals.

Infosys Technologies, meanwhile, is planning an operation in Dallas, to target some of the $52 billion the US government will spend on outsourcing work just in 2010.

For Indians, American facilities can mean more work on government and health-care projects — areas where laws prevent the transfer of data overseas. An on-the-ground strategy gives them access to local workers who can better understand cultural nuances.

And it lets them better compete against American rivals such as IBM and Accenture, which tend to win lucrative consulting contracts that hinge on solving complicated business problems on site, rather than simply writing computer code for cheap wages in India.

Public Relations?

“We need to become more efficient, more sophisticated,” says Sambuddha Deb, a Wipro vice-president who makes sure Wipro’s India-based and foreign employees work seamlessly together. “It’s not just about setting up software factories” in India.

Some critics say that the new centres are little more than political cover and that they do little to boost employment in the US.

Link : US zooms in on Indian tech scene, urges firms to expand, create jobs- Jobs-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

 

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India to press US on non-tariff trade barriers
1 Jan 2010, 0152 hrs IST, Amiti Sen, ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: India will hold a fresh round of discussions with the US in the New Year on protectionist measures being taken by Washington in the
backdrop of the global economic slowdown.

Measures such as the proposed withdrawal of tax breaks for companies that outsource to countries like India and various non-tariff barriers imposed on imports in the form of stringent quality standards will be in focus. The issues will be taken up by commerce minister Anand Sharma during his visit to the US in early 2010, a commerce department official has said.

“Although the US is one of our largest trading partners, our ties could deepen if the country eases some of the non-tariff protection it accords to its industry,” a commerce department official, who requested not to be named, told ET.

While some of the issues were touched upon during US trade representative Ron Kirk’s visit to New Delhi in October, India is expected to hold detailed discussions and look for solutions during Mr Sharma’s visit.

India’s merchandise exports to the US fell 19.48% from $21.9 billion during the period January-October 2008 to $17.67 billion in the corresponding period of 2009. The slowdown also had an impact on India’s imports from the country, although the fall in imports was much lower at 9.56 %, from $ 15.45 billion during January-October 2008 to $13.98 billion in the corresponding period of 2009.

Although US President Barack Obama’s proposal to curb tax breaks for companies outsourcing from the US will not directly impact trade in goods, India does not want the Bill to be passed as it would discourage US firms, that provide jobs in India, to continue their operations or set up new ones.

India has taken up the issue of tax breaks for outsourcing firms officially with the US. The minister’s visit would be used as an occasion to reiterate the point, the official said.

The minister will also discuss various non-tariff barriers, such as product characteristic requirements, marking requirements and labelling requirements, imposed on imports which make the process of selling goods to the US extremely tough.

Many sectors such as agriculture, textiles, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, seafood and automobiles have been complaining about the barriers being faced by them in the US.

Link : India to press US on non-tariff trade barriers- Foreign Trade-Economy-News-The Economic Times

 

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Mega road projects may be open only to big boys
1 Jan 2010, 0142 hrs IST, Nirbhay Kumar, ET Bureau


NEW DELHI: The government has decided to invite bids from only cash-rich players for big road projects—each costing over $1 billion—as it looks to
expedite the completion of a major infrastructure bottleneck in India’s progress.

The road transport and highways ministry’s proposal to tighten technical and financial eligibility rules means only companies with a net worth three times a project’s estimated costs can bid. The new rules will also limit the number of joint venture partners for projects, known as ultra mega roads in government parlance, that run up to 500-600 km.

“The number of joint venture partners bidding for those projects would not be more than two,” road transport and highways minister Kamal Nath told ET.

The government has set an ambitious target of building 7,000 km of highways annually for the next five years at an unprecedented pace of 20 km a day. It expects to fund 60% of these projects through private-public partnerships (PPP) on a build, operate, transfer (BOT) basis.

But progress has been little with highways still in short supply — India’s poor roads have for long been a grouse for CEOs, foreign and domestic. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the country’s apex highway development agency, is mostly unable to award projects as land acquisition continues to be a dogged obstacle.

And small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs), up against other problems like cost run-up that beset highway development in India, often default on projects.

The government thinks that large developers like Reliance Infra, Gammon, L&T and GMR with their financial muscle will be able to deal with matters like the unforeseen, huge investments that are part and parcel of these projects than small companies.
Link : Mega road projects may be open only to big boys- Infrastructure-Economy-News-The Economic Times

 

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BRIC: The world's biggest emerging economies
1 Jan 2010, 0222 hrs IST, REUTERS

LONDON: The world’s four biggest emerging economies are grabbing growing volumes of global capital flows, with firms and fund managers increasingly
viewing BRIC consumer demand as a high-return, relatively safe investment bet.

Brazil, Russia, India and China, with 40% of the world’s population, account for about 20% of its gross domestic product, a share Goldman Sachs said will rise to equal that of the G7 industrialised countries as early as 2032.

There was a sign this year of the shape of things to come as China overtook the US as the world’s biggest car market. And as incomes of 2.5 billion people steadily rise, companies profits as well as stock markets will feel the effect.

No surprise that cash — direct investment and portfolio capital — is increasingly gravitating to these giants. Fund tracker EPFR Global said BRIC-geared equity funds absorbed almost $20 billion in January to November 2009. This is double 2007 levels and equivalent to 40% of what was taken by emerging stock funds, some of which also went to the BRICs.

“The trend of BRIC outperformance has been very powerful and should continue as growth is concentrated in these markets,” said Martial Godet, who helps manage 37 billion euros in emerging stocks at BNP Paribas Asset Management in Paris. “We are betting on the largest, highest-growth markets with the biggest populations and good liquidity levels.”

To capitalise on BRIC consumer demand, Goldman Sachs suggests investing in a basket of 50 developed market stocks positioned to benefit from the BRICs theme, and one of 50 BRICs companies that are likely to emerge as global market winners. Already, BRICs are outgunning broader emerging stocks — the MSCI BRIC index is up 90% in 2009 versus 70% for MSCI EM, with only China lagging.

An investment in Brazilian stocks in 2000 would have quadrupled by now while cash put in emerging stocks would merely have doubled. And a buyer of world stocks would have lost money. As monetary policies start to tighten next year, investors on average expect BRIC stocks to rise 20-25% in 2010 after the near triple-digit returns of 2009.

But in future the BRICs as the most liquid emerging markets will gain most from higher allocations to emerging markets. Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neill, who first came up with the BRIC concept, projects the BRICs to comprise almost half global stock markets by 2050 from less than 10% now. He says it is inevitable more cash will move to the BRIC markets.

“If you think of a GDP-weighted benchmark, it would be considerably higher than the current MSCI-type ones,” O’Neill said, referring to indices that use GDP to weight countries.

“For some asset managers, especially the sovereign wealth funds, this is what they are moving towards.”
Fund managers say cash will go where growth is — or where the value is. With China and India posting the highest growth in the world, and Russia trading at a 40% discount to emerging markets, the bloc should remain an investment magnet.

Link : BRIC: The world's biggest emerging economies- International Business-News-The Economic Times

 

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BSNL may have to shelve $1-bn IT outsourcing deal
1 Jan 2010, 0124 hrs IST, Joji Thomas Philip, ET Bureau


NEW DELHI: The decision of state-owned BSNL’s board on Wednesday to put its tender for 93 million GSM lines ‘on hold’ will result in the telco’s
$1-billion IT outsourcing contract also being put ‘on hold,' an executive with the PSU told ET. This is because, the $1-billion IT contract is linked to the 93 million GSM lines taking off, this executive added.

The delay will impact IT firm HCL Infosystems, which will be supported by HP and Convergys for the contract and is assured of 50% of BSNL’s Rs 2,000-crore IT deal, as it was the lowest bidder for all the four zones. The project was split into four zones to allow companies to bid separately for each zone.

Other IT majors that will be impacted include TCS which can bag the remaining 50% of the contract and the Mahindra Satyam/Spanco combine which stand a chance to win part of the deal.

As first reported by ET, the BSNL board on Wednesday decided to put the world’s largest ever telecoms equipment contract worth about $10 billion on hold after the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) launched a fresh probe into the telco as the anti-corruption body’s guidelines forbid post-tender negotiations with successful bidders.

Sweden’s Ericsson had emerged as the lowest bidder in the North and South East zones while China’s Huawei was selected for the South and West Zones. The DoT too had earlier asked BSNL not to renegotiate the price with lowest bidder Ericsson since the move would violate CVC guidelines.

But, BSNL executives point out that the telco had entered into post-tender negotiations with Ericsson since this could result in a 20-25% reduction in the price.

BSNL’s IT outsourcing deal stipulates that a company can be awarded only a maximum of two contracts which implies that a single firm cannot provide IT services in more than two regions. This implies, HCL infosystems, for whom HP which will supply hardware and systems and Convergys will provide billing solutions, and has been selected as the lowest bidder or L1 in all the four zones, will have to opt out of two regions.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is the second lowest bidder in three zones - North, South and West, while the Eastern region Mahindra Satyam/Spanco combine was chosen as L2 (refer table). This implies, the Mahindra Satyam/Spanco combine stands a chance only if HCL opts out of the East Zone.

On the other hand, TCS, which is assured of the contract in at least one zone, can double its deal size if HCL does not opt out of the East Zone.

Controversies around its tenders have resulted in BSNL not being able to place any significant orders for equipment over the last three years during which the mobile market in India recorded the highest growth globally.

This has also resulted in BSNL, which was challenging Bharti Airtel for the top spot in the mobile space in 2006 now being pushed to the fifth spot after Airtel, Reliance Communications, Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular. Besides, Tata Teleservices is also poised to overtake BSNL in mobile customers within the next couple of months.

Link : BSNL may have to shelve $1-bn IT outsourcing deal- ITeS-Infotech-The Economic Times

 

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Information technology: The wonder decade
31 Dec 2009, 0453 hrs IST, ET Bureau

What started as an industry riding the demand from global customers seeking to make their IT and business systems Y2K compliant is today almost a
$60-billion industry, contributing nearly 4% to India’s GDP.

1999 - The biggest inflection point was the role Indian companies played in combating the so-called millennium bug. TCS, Wipro and others become trusted partners for companies worldwide seeking to achieve Y2K compliance

Infosys achieves $100 million in revenues, lists on Nasdaq. India’s outsourcing industry grows to $4 billion 2000-2001 - Indian IT industry moves from Y2K to complex e-business projects

Dewang Mehta, who helped Indian IT industry grow in its early years, dies. Kiran Karnik takes over as Nasscom head

US increases H1B visa limit to 1,95,000, the highest ever

Wipro lists on NYSE

2002-2003 - NR Narayana Murthy steps down from Infosys and Nandan Nilekani takes over

Post the dotcom bust, companies such as DSQ Software, Pentafour and Silverline perish

2004-2005 - TCS lists on BSE

Large customers start offshoring ERP-based projects. Infosys becomes a $1-billion company, Wipro too crosses $1 billion in revenues

GE sells 60% in GECIS — the back office pioneer — to private equity firms. The Indian BPO industry starts growing rapidly

IBM, Accenture and HP start developing their Indian offshore presence to make them their largest operations outside the US

2006-2007 - Indian IT becomes a $31-billion industry

Protectionism in top export markets forces Indian IT companies to start hiring locals

2008-2009 - Infosys’ revenues cross $4 billion. Nilekani joins the government as chairman of the Unique Identity Authority of India

HCL acquires UK’s Axon for £441.1 million, the biggest ever acquisition for Indian IT

Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju admits to over $1-billion fraud. Tech Mahindra acquires Satyam

TCS’ annual revenues cross $6 billion. N Chandrasekaran takes over from S Ramadorai as chief executive

ET Comment

The big bang

Newer rivals such as Salesforce.com, apart from new business models such as software-as-a-service will force Indian information technology companies to shift gears. While the past decade has been driven primarily by demand for lower-cost offshore services, the decade ahead will challenge the Indian outsourcing industry to think of the ‘next big disruption’.

Globalisation will be another big challenge, wherein the Indian IT industry will need to address political sentiments and protectionism by hiring more local professionals in the top export markets of US and Europe. Over the next 5-10 years, India’s top tech firms aim to have at least 20% of their workforce of non-Indian origin.

Link :Information technology: The wonder decade- Software-Infotech-The Economic Times

 

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Wipro tops list of H-1B visa professionals in 2009

Microsoft with 1,318 visas came next, with Intel (723) in third place, while Google with 211 in 25th place brought up the rear. IBM India (695), Infosys (440), Polaris Software Lab India (254) and Satyam (219) were the other major Indian visa getters.

At least 200 US and Asia-based technology, financial and consulting companies applied for H-1B visas in 2009. The major technology companies that did not rank in the Top 25, but did rank in the Top 50 include Yahoo, Amazon, Apple, Texas Instruments, Nvidia and IBM, according to e-week.com.
Some of the leading research universities in the United States also rank in the Top 50 -- University of Maryland, University of Michigan, Johns Hopkins, University of Illinois, University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Stanford, Harvard, University of Pittsburgh, Columbia and Baylor College of Medicine.

Here is a countdown of the top 25 companies with the specific number of H-1B visas they were granted by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in 2009:

1. Wipro: 1,964
2. Microsoft: 1,318
3. Intel: 723
4. IBM India: 695
5. Patni Americas: 609
6. Larsen & Toubro Infotech: 602
7. Ernst & Young: 481
8. Infosys: 440
9. UST Global: 344
10. Deloitte: 328
11. Qualcomm: 320
12. Cisco Systems: 308
13. Accenture: 287
14. KPMG: 287
15. Oracle: 272
16. Polaris Software
Lab India: 254
17. Rite Aid: 240
18. Goldman Sachs: 236
19. Deloitte & Touche: 235
20. Cognizant: 233
21. Mphasis: 229
22. Satyam: 219
23. Bloomberg: 217
24. Motorola: 213
25. Google: 211.
Wipro tops list of H-1B visa professionals in 2009- Visa Power-Travel-Services-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

 

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It's cheaper to own a pad in Burj Khalifa than in Central Delhi

BANGALORE: An apartment on the 100th floor of 'Burj Khalifa', the world's tallest building and one of the most-sought after addresses in the world today comes at a price of Rs 38,000 per sq ft.

But if you think that's a soaring price, consider this: desi realty rates beat that by a mile. The rates of apartments on Prithviraj Road and Aurangzeb Road in central Delhi are much higher. The per sq ft rate of apartments in Marble Arch and Tata Apartments on Prithviraj Road is around Rs 65,000 per sq ft. Similarly, Ansal apartments on Aurangzeb Road have a price of Rs 55,000 per sq ft, said senior broker Hemendra Sharma.

In Vasant Vihar and Chanakya Puri in South Delhi, apartments built on smaller plots of 400-800 sq metres are commanding prices of around Rs 45,000 per sq ft.

In fact, there are not many luxury condominiums available in central and south Delhi. However, there are several bungalows on independent plots of around three acres with a permitted area of construction of 3500 sq ft to 10,000 sq ft. These plots are commanding a price of Rs 200 crore to Rs 500 crore. So the per sq ft cost of these bunglow comes to a whopping Rs 5 lakh per sq ft.

Condominiums in Mumbai are even costlier. The per sq ft rate in Mumbai's NCPA Apartments at Nariman Point is between Rs 90,000 and Rs 1 lakh! Till date, the highest per sq ft rate paid in Mumbai stands at Rs 97,842 for a four-bedroom apartment at NCPA Apartments in 2007. This is the highest rate paid for a residential unit in the history of Indian real estate. In July-August last year, an apartment in Maker Tower B, in Cuffe Parade, sold for around Rs 93,000 per sqft.

According to Gulam Zia, national director, research and advisory services of global property consultants Knight Frank, "In the posh upmarket localities of Delhi and Mumbai, where there is a scarcity of land, property prices have shot through the roof." Adds Zia, "Property prices in Mumbai's western and central suburbs of Worli, Lower Parel and Prabhadevi are upwards of Rs 40,000 per sq ft."

Real estate prices in India are inverse to the country's image of a developing nation. "Mumbai and Delhi command one of the highest per sq ft rates in the world," says Anshuman Magazine, CMD, CB Richard Ellis, South Asia, a leading global property consultancy firm.

In India while the land cost itself is high, the cost of quality is even higher. If one is paying Rs 38,000 per sq ft for an apartment in the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, which has amenities such as the Armani Hotel, discotheques, designer retail shops, for the same price or more in Mumbai or Delhi one will only be paying for the location and not for the construction or amenities. In terms of amenities and quality there is just no comparison, says Magazine. He adds, in the US when a buyer looks to buy a home, he or she first looks for the amenities on offer that would suit his or her lifestyle, whereas in India it's all about land and location for the buyer.

While Mumbai and New Delhi are in a zone by themselves as far as realty pricing is considered, other big cities like Chennai and Bangalore are yet to see such pricing, though the rates have dramatically shot up in the recent past.

The posh areas of Chennai -- Boat Club and Poes Gardens -- and Lavelle Road, Vittal Mallya Road and the by-lanes off MG Road in Bangalore, command per sq ft rates of around Rs 21,000.

 

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Wednesday, January 06, 2010, Ministry of Tourism

Mega tourist centers in the country

The Ministry of Tourism has identified 29 destinations/circuits on the basis of footfalls and future potential in consultation with the concerned State Governments so far for development through mega projects. They are:

S.

No.


State/UT





Destination/Circuit


Amount Sanctioned (Rs. in lakhs)

1.


Andhra Pradesh






1


Tirupati Heritage Circuit


4652.49

2


Kadapa Heritage Tourist Circuit


3692.89

3


Charminar area


994.75

2.


Bihar


4


Bodhgaya-Rajgir-Nalanda


1922.42

3.


Chhattisgarh


5


Jagdalpur-Tirathgarh-Chitrakote-Barsur-Dantewada-Tirathgarh


1133.82

4.


Delhi


6


Illumination of Monuments


2375.09

5.


Goa


7


Churches of Goa (Integrated Development of Infrastructure for heritage and Hinterland Tourism


4309.91

6.


Gujarat


8


Dwarka-Nageshwar-Bet Dwarka


798.90

7.


Haryana


9


Panipat-Kurukshetra-Pinjore (Haryana)


3175.25

10


Panchkula-Yamunanagar (Haryana)-Paonta Sahib (Himachal Pradesh)




8.


Himachal Pradesh


11


Eco and Adventure Circuit (Kullu-Katrain-Manali)




9.


J&K


12


Spiritual Destination of Leh-Ladakh




10.


Karnataka


13


Hampi


3283.58

11.


Kerala


14


Muzuris Heritage and Culture Circuit (Trissur and Ernakulam Districts)




12.


Madhya Pradesh


15


Spiritual and Wellness Destination of Chitrakoot


2401.98

13.


Maharashtra


16


Vidarbha Heritage Circuit


3738.19

17


Aurangabad




14.


Orissa


18


Bhubaneswar-Puri-Chilka


3022.80

15.


Puducherry


19


Puducherry




16.


Punjab


20


Amritsar


1585.53

17.


Rajasthan


21


Ajmer


1069.68

22


Desert Circuit (Jodhpur-Bikaner-Jaisalmer)




18.


Sikkim


23


Gangtok


2390.70

19.


Tamil Nadu


24


Mahabalipuram


1312.69

25


Pilgramage Circuit (Madurai-Rameshwaram-Kanyakumari) in Tamil Nadu




20.


Uttrakhand


26


Haridwar-Rishikesh


4452.22

21.


Uttar Pradesh


27




Agra-Revitalization of Taj (Uttar Pradesh)


1525.00

28


Varanasi


2202.30

22.


West Bengal


29


Ganga Heritage River Cruise Circuit


2042.35



The Ministry provides financial assistance to States/Union Territories for tourism projects on the basis of proposals received from them subject to availability of funds and inter-se priority. During the current financial year 106 projects including mega projects have been sanctioned in various States/Union Territories for Rs. 398.33 crore upto September, 2009.

 

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‘India can top China’s growth rate by 2014’

Financial Express Bureau,
Posted: Tuesday, Jan 05, 2010

New Delhi: The Indian economy could surpass China’s growth rate sooner than expected, most probably by 2014, chief economic advisor in the finance ministry Kaushik Basu said on Monday. He also saw the economy bouncing back to 9% growth next fiscal, while expansion this year would be 7.5% plus.

Basu said there was no case at the moment for monetary tightening—including hiking interest rates—and that the government was yet to decide on the timing of rolling back fiscal sops. “India crossing China’s growth rate in the next four to five years is not impossibility. It is within the realm of possibility,” Basu said at a seminar organised by Ficci.

India’s relatively large young population will help raise its savings rate to over 40% of GDP from 38%, thereby hastening growth, Basu said. “The high savings rate will trigger a period of sustained economic expansion. Savings rates (are) unlike stock market indices. Once you are there, you don’t fluctuate. (The savings rate) is likely to cross 40%,” he said.

Basu said the economy will grow at 7.5% plus in the current fiscal on the back of the stronger growth projected in the fourth quarter. The economy grew 7.9% in the July-September quarter, higher than 6.1% in the preceding quarter.

Making a case against raising interest rates, Basu said it is a very sector-specific inflation that is taking place, and it is expected to peter out in a few months. “There is no expectation of monetary tightening, nor do I believe is there a reason for it,” Basu said. Wholesale food prices increased 19.83% for the week ended December 19, the fastest pace in 11 years. On fiscal policy, he said, “When exactly the folding back of the stimulus package will come I don’t know, but the government is aware (that it has to exit). There is (also) a little bit of global coordination involved here.”
“India does stand out as an economy that has handled the crisis very well.”
‘India can top China’s growth by 2014’

 

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‘India can top China’s growth rate by 2014’

Financial Express Bureau,
Posted: Tuesday, Jan 05, 2010

New Delhi: The Indian economy could surpass China’s growth rate sooner than expected, most probably by 2014, chief economic advisor in the finance ministry Kaushik Basu said on Monday. He also saw the economy bouncing back to 9% growth next fiscal, while expansion this year would be 7.5% plus.

Basu said there was no case at the moment for monetary tightening—including hiking interest rates—and that the government was yet to decide on the timing of rolling back fiscal sops. “India crossing China’s growth rate in the next four to five years is not impossibility. It is within the realm of possibility,” Basu said at a seminar organised by Ficci.

India’s relatively large young population will help raise its savings rate to over 40% of GDP from 38%, thereby hastening growth, Basu said. “The high savings rate will trigger a period of sustained economic expansion. Savings rates (are) unlike stock market indices. Once you are there, you don’t fluctuate. (The savings rate) is likely to cross 40%,” he said.

Basu said the economy will grow at 7.5% plus in the current fiscal on the back of the stronger growth projected in the fourth quarter. The economy grew 7.9% in the July-September quarter, higher than 6.1% in the preceding quarter.

Making a case against raising interest rates, Basu said it is a very sector-specific inflation that is taking place, and it is expected to peter out in a few months. “There is no expectation of monetary tightening, nor do I believe is there a reason for it,” Basu said. Wholesale food prices increased 19.83% for the week ended December 19, the fastest pace in 11 years. On fiscal policy, he said, “When exactly the folding back of the stimulus package will come I don’t know, but the government is aware (that it has to exit). There is (also) a little bit of global coordination involved here.”
“India does stand out as an economy that has handled the crisis very well.”
‘India can top China’s growth by 2014’

good news (speculation)
but we won't be able to beat it's economy.

I wish our INR's value goes up..........

 

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German luxury car maker BMW on Tuesday launched BMW Gran Turismo, BMW X6M and BMW 760Li in India, according to PTI.

The agency also said the automaker plans to ramp up capacity of its manufacturing plant at Chennai.

"BMW Group will further increase its commitments in India by bringing in more investments in the country through further capital investment in the BMW plant in Chennai and BMW Financial Services India," BMW India President Peter Kronschnabl said.

He added that MMW X1 would be launched in late 2010 at the Chennai facility.

Full story Link : BMW launches three luxury brands in India | Top Russian news and analysis online | 'RIA Novosti' newswire

 

[Veer]

India extends $425 mn credit for railways in Sri Lanka
Thursday, 7th January 2010

"Indian government has conveyed to the government of Sri Lanka its decision to extend a Line of Credit of $425 million to Sri Lanka for three projects," an Indian High Commission release said here. This includes assistance for laying of railway line by the Indian Railway Construction Company (IRCON). The assistance is for Track laying by IRCON International. On the Omanthai-Pallai sector of the Northern railway line; IRCON is involved in construction of Railway Projects in India and abroad.

Besides, the line of credit would also cover track laying by IRCON (I) Ltd. On the Madhu-Tallaimannar sector; and supply of rolling stock by Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES ) for Northern Sri Lanka.

The state owned RITES is multi-disciplinary consultancy organisation in the fields of transport, infrastructure and related technologies.

The decision to extend the line of credit is part of India's continued commitment to reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts in northern Sri Lanka, the release said. The Indian High Commission release said this reflects the close and cordial bilateral relations shared by the two countries.

Last month, Indian government conveyed its decision to the government of Sri Lanka to offer a supplementary line of credit of $67.4 million for the rehabilitation of the Southern Colombo-Matara Railway Line.

The line of credit for the Colombo-Matara Railway line had been requested by the government of Sri Lanka to finance the second phase of work related to rehabilitation of the southern railway line.

India had earlier provided a line of credit of $100 million to finance the first phase of rehabilitation work on the Southern Railway Line.

Two Indian companies – RITES and IRCON – had signed contracts in this regard in 2008 and work on implementing the first phase of this project is underway.

The total rehabilitation package includes supply of 20 Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) sets (each set consists of engine and rail bogies) and reconstruction of the railway line from Colombo to Matara.

It also involves construction of maintenance sheds for the DMUs and training of Sri Lankan engineers in India in handling and maintenance of the new units.
India extends $425 mn credit for railways in North Lanka

India take cares and help its friends. Pakistan should learn it and we will also help them.

 

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IT firms seek a share of $3-b city council projects from UK


8 Jan 2010, 0135 hrs IST, Pankaj Mishra, ET Bureau

BANGALORE: Almost three months after Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) won a 15-year technology services contract worth nearly $250 million from the Cardiff City Council, UK’s Lancashire, along with a dozen other borough councils, is seeking suppliers for shared services projects worth almost $3 billion.

As UK’s city councils, including Cardiff and Lancashire, seek to modernise their citizen services and gain efficiency, India’s top tech firms such as TCS, Wipro, Infosys and Patni apart from multinational rivals IBM and HP-EDS are competing for their share of this lucrative opportunity.

“UK is where the action is now. Unfortunately, we can’t talk about these public sector contracts openly, but the size and scope of these contracts are attracting all of us,” said a senior executive at one of the Indian tech firms exploring new business from UK’s city councils. Indeed, at a time when private sector customers are taking more time to flesh out contracts, and are even breaking down large deals into smaller transactions, UK’s mega public sector outsourcing contracts are witnessing intense bidding. A local outsourcing consultant, who advises government buyers on procurement of services, told ET, on conditions of anonymity, that TCS, which is already building an HR and payroll shared services centre for Cardiff, has opened the doors for other rivals from India.

“Wipro is already doing some government projects that it can’t talk about. Infosys, Patni and several others are exploring almost all big opportunities,” he said.

Reduction in operating costs, lack of capital for new investments and lack of technology expertise are among top factors driving these city councils to explore outsourcing and shared services model.

A TCS spokesman declined to offer any comments because the company is currently in its financial silent period. However, unlike many private sector customer discussions “the government buyers are extremely sensitive about local job losses, and are insisting that at least 20-30% of work be done onshore for creating jobs,” he added. Local experts such as Bob McDowall, research director at TowerGroup, say these contracts are expected to have clauses for onshore job creation because of high unemployment and public sentiments. “I think in order to make the contracts politically palatable to the elected council members and the local voters such clauses would be desirable,” McDowall said.

By adopting a common and shared services model, these city councils will be able to save individual capital expenditure of acquiring new technology systems and outsourcing. Unlike a typical system integration contract, vendors will also need to share the initial cost of setting up shared services centres. These centres will offer services across financial management, payroll, pension management and customer services management.

Councils such as Cardiff plan to sell these services across the public sector. Lancashire, for instance, wants to develop a common platform for delivering services to almost a dozen of its borough councils. For India’s offshore outsourcing vendors, government projects such as Cardiff outsourcing offer an opportunity to prove their capabilities of managing complex systems and deliver cost effective services to different set of customers.

“Cardiff wants to use its new shared service delivery model for joint working between all the public bodies delivering services in the city. It also wants to sell these services across the public sector in south-east Wales,” Ovum analyst Peter Clarke said in his note recently. “The trick for TCS is to build a service that is so good and so cheap that other authorities will want to buy it despite the politics,” he added.

Meanwhile, these government projects also bring several unique challenges, including increased public scrutiny, potential cost overruns because of political pressures, delays and higher investment risks. “Outsourcing resulting in increased unemployment will be a political challenge for any government and may be reputationally damaging for any outsourcer in terms of pursuing other business in the UK and in the public sector,” McDowall added.

Source : IT firms seek a share of $3-b city council projects from UK- ITeS-Infotech-The Economic Times

 

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India will quickly return to 9-10 pc growth: PM


7 Jan 2010, 2255 hrs IST, PTI

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday told overseas Indians that India will quickly return to a sustained high growth path of 9-10 percent and sought new avenues of partnership with the diaspora.

He was speaking at the first meeting of the Prime Minister's Global Advisory Council of 16 eminent overseas Indians who between them represent different disciplines from across the world.

Manmohan Singh will formally inaugurate the the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) 2010, the annual conclave of the Indian diaspora, Friday.

"Prime Minister observed that he was confident that India would quickly return to sustained high growth path of 9-10 percent," a statement from the prime minister's office said.

The members of the advisory council told the prime minister that India and its overseas community can and should build "a strong, strategic and mutually beneficial partnership".

The prime minister stressed that he looked forward to sustained dialogue with the members of the council including through smaller steering groups focusing on specific areas, in opening new avenues of cooperation between the overseas Indian community and India.

The advisory council headed by Manmohan Singh comprises External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, T.K.A Nair and Overseas Indian Affairs Secretary A. Didar Singh.

Eminent Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) like Nobel Laureate Dr Amartya Sen, Prof Jagdish Bhagwati, Karan F. Bilimoria, Swadesh Chatterjee, Ela Gandhi, Rajat K. Gupta, Lord Khalid Hameed, Dr Renu Khator, Kishore Mahbubani, P.N.C Menon, L.N Mittal, Indra.K Nooyi, Vikram Pandit, C.K. Prahalad, Lord Bhiku Chotalal Parekh, Tan Sri Dato Ajit Singh, Neville Joseph Roach, Prof Srinivasa S.R. Varadhan, Yusuffal M.A. are also members of the council.

Source : India will quickly return to 9-10 pc growth: PM- Indicators-Economy-News-The Economic Times