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| Avon cycles in expansion mode plans electric cycles NEW DELHI, Nov 4: With an eye on the European market, Ludhiana-based Avon Cycles Ltd plans to expand capacity by .......more IT
revolution to target BANGALORE, Nov 4: Union Minister of State for Communications, Information and Technology’s Thirunavukkarasar......more Vajpayee
offers help NEW DELHI, Nov 4: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today invited global carpet industry leaders to set up the......more ICRA
reaffirms rating NEW DELHI, Oct 4: Credit rating agency ICRA has reaffirmed the A1" (a one plus) rating assigned to Rs 100 million.......more |
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RBI predicts GDP growth rate of over 7 pc MUMBAI, Nov 4: India could achieve a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of over 7 per cent in the current fiscal.........more Hungary
wants more NEW DELHI, Nov 4: To derisk its exports, Hungary is looking at countries like India and has expressed its intention to......more Instanex
Skindia MUMBAI, Nov 4: The Instanex Skindia Depository Receipts (DR) index shot up sharply on Nov 3 by 4.55 per cent to....more Need for
‘do-not-call’ DENVER, Nov 4: The US federal trade commission has not shown there is a real need for a "do-not-call" registry that allows consumers to stop....more |
Avon cycles in expansion mode plans electric cycles NEW DELHI, Nov 4: With an eye on the European market, Ludhiana-based Avon Cycles Ltd plans to expand capacity by half million to two million units next year for which the company will invest Rs ten crore. The country’s fourth-largest cycle maker, which had a Rs 250 crore turnover last year, expects a ten per cent growth this year. "We have been exporting cycle components to Europe and hope to export complete cycles in the next two years," Avon Cycles Ltd Executive Director Onkar Singh Pahwa told UNI. The company has been currently exporting cycles to the African markets and aims to increase its reach with thrust on newer regions. Avon cycles, whose product range currently stretches over 70 models, had exports of Rs 75 crore last fiscal and expects them to touch Rs 100 crore in FY04 on a total expected turnover of Rs 300 crore. Mr Pahwa said with easy availability of finance and changing trends, there was a shift in the Indian consumer to move towards motorised vehicles rather than sticking to the conventional cycles which needed to be peddeled. "Even as the Indian two-wheeler market has been expanding rapidly over the years, the cycle industry has seen a clear shift in terms of consumer prefrences. "Against earlier times when people used cycle as a mode of transport, today it has become more of a toy for children or rather an exercise tool for the elite," Mr Pahwa said. Mr Pahwa said against ten per cent share which the children’s segment enjoyed in overall cycle sales, today it had increased to as much as 50 per cent. He said there was a need for a major government initiative to revive the sagging demand of cycles. "The Government should ensure that riding cycles is safe and should facilitate construction of separate tracks for cyclists. "We have made several representations in this regard, both as a company as well as the industry but with little success so far," he said. The company’s sales in India have traditionally been focussed more in the northern region and it aims to increase its reach. Mr Pahwa said the company was also mulling introducing electric cycles in the Indian market, currently offered by market leader Hero Cycles. "The market for electric cycles IC currently miniscule and there is hardly any margin in sale without a mass market. "Thus, we are looking at E-cycles which can be made available for less than Rs 10,000 and make deep inroads into the Indian cycle market," he said. He said the company was currently holding talks with foreign manufacturers’ for help to manufacture E-cycles. Avon cycles, established half a century ago, has around 1,500 authorised dealers across India apart from 12,000 sub-dealers. (UNI) |
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IT revolution to target new verticals: Minister BANGALORE, Nov 4: Union Minister of State for Communications, Information and Technology’s Thirunavukkarasar today hoped that the ongoing it revolution will target new verticals like security, utilities, health care and retailing while moving up the value chain by offering new value-added services such as system integration and it outsourcing. Participating in a seminar on E-governance organised as part of the six-day international exposition it.Com here, he said while the entire corporate world was tightening its belts, global majors were under pressure to move offshore to cheaper locations. There was no multi-national company that could ignore India and all of them have either software development centre or research and development facility. All roads led to India and every week, ten companies were set up in the country, five of them in Bangalore, the IT hub of the country, he observed. Giving statistics of progress made in the IT sector, he said while the software industry grew by 26 per cent in the last one year, the business process outsourcing segment had alone grown by 65 per cent despite rigid prospective legislations by many foreign countries. India had exported Rs 52,000 crore worth software, of which Karnataka’s contribution was over Rs 14,000 crore. Stressing the need to take advantage of it to make the quality of life better, the minister said the concepts of E-Governance, E-learning, E-commerce and E-communication should percolate to the bottom most sections of the society. All State Governments too had realised that it and it enabled services had to be used to improve the quality of governance. By effective E-governance, one could stimulate and develop a vibrant economy and improve all Government services, he opined. Mr Thirunavukkarasar said the need of the hour was to ensure an enlightened society with minimum it awareness through E-governance. Effective E-governance, in full flow, could usher in various benefits like improvement in customer access, customer satisfaction, reduce unwanted burdens and costs. He said the IT department had set up a centre for E-governance at New Delhi to ensure its implementation in a scientific manner. The objective was to showcase existing tools and applications in E-governance and also serve as a forum of Government officials, legislators, industry and other key players to come together, discuss, learn and explore important issues, he added. He congratulated Karnataka for emerging as the number one state in the country, according to E-readiness assessment report, for its preparedness in the ground work done to be fit to implement E-governance. Karnataka Home Minister Mallikarjun Kharge, in his address, highlighted several E-governance measures initiated by the state. Total computerisation of land records through a scheme called ‘Bhoomi’ linking up 225 treasuries through ‘Khajane’ and efforts to ensure zero piracy territory were some of the measures in that direction, he added. Karnataka Government Additional Chief Secretary K K Mishra, also present, said the transparency act was introduced to ensure transparency in administration. There was also a move to consider introducing "flexi timings" for Government employees, he added. (UNI) |
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Vajpayee offers help to global handmade carpets industry NEW DELHI, Nov 4: Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today invited global carpet industry leaders to set up the secretariat of the world forum for handmade carpets in India, offering infrastructure and training facilities to boost the international carpet trade. "We are prepared to work out methods for establishment of raw materials bank to enable easy access to quality raw material and eco-friendly colours. This would help in ensuring product quality and boosting global demand for handmade carpets," he said while inaugurating the first world conference on handmade carpets here. "India is committed to provide training, design, technology inputs and such other infrastructure support as are required for the handmade carpet industry to contribute to growth in world trade," Mr Vajpayee added. The Prime Minister said global cooperation would be beneficial in human resource development. Traditionally, weaving and handicrafts have been passed on in most countries from generation to generation. "However, these skills can be made far more productive with investment in human capital. General education, training in appropriate, modern technologies and use of new materials and knowledge of modern business can significantly contribute to the growth of the industry and earninings of crafts people," he said. Pointing out that the Indian Institute of Textiles and Carpet Technology was set up at Bhadoi in Uttar Pradesh, he said: "New Zealand has come forward to join us in this endeavour by introducing a distance learning programme for skill up-gradation. India is ready to offer this platform to any country and to the industry on a mutually agreed upon framework of cooperation." Mr Vajpayee said the Centre has taken initiatives to boost carpet weaving in Jammu and Kashmir through a package for integrated development and export promotion. "The handmade carpet industry has huge employment potential and to get the maximum out of it we will have to attract new private sector investment." Mr Vajpayee said in view of the challenges being faced by the handmade carpet weaving industry, this conference should provide a good platform to deliberate on them and to chart a future course of action. The Prime Minister also stressed the need for sustained research and development efforts will and intensified use of it to boost the industry. Mr Vajpayee said greater attention should be paid towards education and training as the younger generation in families of craftspeople was drifting away from the traditional occupation. "This trend can be reversed if the policy makers, industry, administrator and craftspeople’s own guilds can make handicrafts and handmade carpet weaving financially attractive, professionally satisfying, intellectually stimulating and socially prestigious," he said. Throughout history, the cultural and artistic traditions of nations have influenced each other. "The carpets made in Kashmir, which are famous all over the world, display a strong influence of the persian tradition. "In contemporary times too, all stakeholders should work in a spirit of international cooperation. The more sustained is the cooperation, the greater is the benefit for all," he added. The Prime Minister said the tradition of creative continuity was most strikingly seen in hand woven carpets. "The carpet weaver is not merely a worker, but a worker artist one who writes poetry with every knots that he ties, one who paints a painting with every yarn of wool and silk," he added. Textile Minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain said the handicrafts sector has always been an important segment of the Indian economy. "It provides employment to more than six million artisans and weavers and contributes about 2,250 million dollar foreign exchange earnings through exports. Mr Hussain said the total export of handmade carpets from India accounts for 533 million dollar. India’s share in total world trade on hande-made carpets accounts for 18 per cent approximately. It ranks third in terms of value and number one in terms of volume. He said the Indian carpet industry is labour intensive, decentralised and rural-based. It is known for its old traditional persian design carpets. India’s 400-year-old association with carpets have led to a fusion of Indian motifs, texture and colour to give it a distinct Indian look. The Textile Minister said the objective of this conference was to deliberate upon and offer solutions to arrest the declining trend in the export of handmade carpets and promote its international trade. Mr Hussain requested Indian as well as foreign representatives to delibrate in detail and enter into meaningful dialogue on preservation and promotion of heritage carpets recognised as novelty, innovation in design, colour and textures, application of new technologies for improving quality and productivity and global efforts for enhanced marketing initiatives. He called upon the participants to address the social issues of environment, women empowerment and better living standards for the weavers community. The minister pointed out that India had recently taken an initiative with assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) towards design innovation and introduction of new technology amongst weavers to improve quality of carpets and productivity. Mr Hussain suggested that all stakeholders should join hands to institutionalise this platform for discussion, which can analyse the issues confronting the industry and take remedial measures for the benefit of all producing and importing countries. He assured that the textile ministry will extend all support to such initiatives at national level and will pursue it at both bilateral and multilateral fora. Participants from 15 countries are attending the Conference. (UNI) |
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ICRA reaffirms rating for debt
issue of NEW DELHI, Oct 4: Credit rating agency ICRA has reaffirmed the A1" (a one plus) rating assigned to Rs 100 million commercial paper programme of Reebok India Company (RIC), indicating highest safety in the short term. The rating is also valid if RIC substitutes the aforesaid CP programme with a short-term debt programme. The reaffirmation of the rating takes into account RIC’s established brand image in the steadily growing but competitive Indian footwear and branded apparel market, strong distribution network, profitable operations and strong coverage indicators. The rating also draws comfort from the financial and technical support available to RIC from Reebok International Ltd (RIL), which holds 93 per cent of its equity capital. RIC has a presence in the footwear and apparel segments through its sports and fitness reebok brand, premium rockport brand and greg Norman golfcollection. Reebok, RIC’s mainstay brand, has a strong market presence in both sports footwear and apparel, a segment that has witnessed a steady growth in the past 3-4 years. Reebok has capitalised on this market growth by substantially increasing its distribution reach in the past two years, resulting in a healthy growth in its apparel and footwear sales. ICRA expects RIC’s sales growth in future to be driven by an expansion of the market size and increased penetration of its existing brands. In 2002, Reebok International identified India as a leading supplier of Greg Norman collections for worldwide sourcing, which has resulted in additional income stream through commission on exports for RIC. (UNI) |
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RBI predicts GDP growth rate of over 7 pc MUMBAI, Nov 4: India could achieve a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of over 7 per cent in the current fiscal year ending March 2004, provided the current tempo of export growth continues with signs of economic recovery in major world markets, according to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor, Dr Y Venugopal Reddy. In an interview with news agencies here, Dr Reddy today said, the growth would largely be driven by the double digit export growth, over 7 per cent growth in agriculture, 6 per cent growth in industrial production and over 7 per cent growth in services sector. If there is no downslide in exports, we could exceed the growth rate over 7 per cent’’, he observed. However, Dr Reddy put a cautionary word by saying that the growth projection could be restricted to the lower end of 6.5 per cent if there is a setback in global recovery for any sudden development which in turn might impact our exports. India’s exports during the first half of the current fiscal year increased by 10 per cent in the US dollar terms as compared to 18 per cent in the same period of the previous year. During the same period, imports rose faster by 21.4 per cent as against an increase of 9.2 per cent in the same period of last year. . Elaborating on the "comfortable factors" of the economy such as the good monsoon, low inflationary pressure and reasonable interest rate levels, Dr Reddy said, there was a need to make periodic assessment to bring certain balancing factors between the return to the investors and savers and determining the cost of funds. Though the credit pick-up by the industrial sector has been sluggish for most of the year, there were signs of increasing credit demand from August, signalling a resurgence of manufacturing activities , he said. There was a discernible increase in credit to tea, jute, textiles, gems and jewellery, computer software and infrastructure. On the other hand, decline in credit was observed in coal, petroleum, iron and steel, mining, rubber and rubber products, automobiles and food processing. In this context, he said that the banks need to sharpen their risk assessment techniques so as to guard against any adverse impact on credit quality keeping in view the intense competition in the sector. (UNI) |
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Hungary wants more trade with India NEW DELHI, Nov 4: To derisk its exports, Hungary is looking at countries like India and has expressed its intention to participate in Government contracts and forge alliances with private companies here. Hungary’s 60 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) comes from exports and most of these exports find their way to European union countries. "We want to end our dependence on one region and are exploring business opportunities with countries like India and China," Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Medgyessy said at a meeting organised by FICCI and CII. Mr Mmedgyessy offered India cooperation in irrigation, agriculture, seed development, defence technology, information technology and electronics. He also suggested joint cooperation between India and Hungarian entities for exploring opportunities in third countries. "Power plant equipment, where both countries have enough expertise, could be one such area," Mr Medgyessy said. Indian Minister of Commerce Vidyasagar rao said double taxation avoidance and investment protection agreements signed between two countries would trade. "At one point of time, India was Hungary’s biggest trading partner in Asia. At its peak, bilateral trade was in excess of 400 million dollars and now it is just above 100 million dollars. We need to improve it and new agreements signed between two countries will contribute to that," Mr Rao said. Inviting Indian companies to invest in his country, Mr Medgyessy said Hungary would become a member of European Union in 2004 and companies operating there would have access to more than 400 million-strong market in Europe. By 2008 Hungary will join Eurozone, Hungaian Prime Minister said pointing to long-term opportunities in Hungary and health of its economy. Today, CII and confederation of Hungarian employeers and industrialists launched India-Hungary CEO forum. CII will also reopen its office in Budapest and hold made in India show in Hungarian capital nest year. (UNI) |
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Instanex Skindia DR, P/E premium indices in limelight MUMBAI, Nov 4: The Instanex Skindia Depository Receipts (DR) index shot up sharply on Nov 3 by 4.55 per cent to 912.56 points from the previous day’s close at 872.86 points. According to the daily update provided by city-based Instanex Capital Consultants Pvt Ltd through a release, Instanex Skindia DR Index P/E also rose by 4.53 per cent to 17.98 points from 17.20 points. Similarly, the Instanex Skindia DR Index premium hiked sharply by 7.14 per cent to 23.71 per cent from 22.13 per cent during the same period, the release stated. Out of 15 ADRs and GDRs, there were 13 (12) gainers and two losers, while non of the scrip (only one scrip) were unchanged. Satyam Computer (ADR), Wipro (ADR) and Dr Reddy’s lab (ADR) were the top gainers, Ranbaxy Labs (GDR), ITC (GDR) and HDFC bank (ADR) were the major losers, the release added. (UNI) |
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Need for ‘do-not-call’ list unproven-telemarketers DENVER, Nov 4: The US federal trade commission has not shown there is a real need for a "do-not-call" registry that allows consumers to stop telephone solicitations, a telemarketer said in a Court filing on Monday. Mainstream marketing services INC, a telemarketing group, also said the registry is unfair because telemarketers must pay for access to the registry. A substantial portion of the money raised will be used for general federal trade commission agency functions and a technical system to address "fraud-related" complaints. While it is appropriate to collect a fee limited to the expenses of administering the list, the filing in the US appeals Court in Denver said, the US Supreme Court has held that such fees "must be narrowly tailored to match actual administrative costs." On Oct. 7, a three-judge panel of the appeals Court allowed the "do-not-call" registry to go into effect while it decides whether telemarketers’ free-speech rights are being violated by the list. Oral arguments will be held on the issue on Nov 10. Some 51 million consumers have signed up for the popular list. But mainstream marketing said that while the Government does have an interest in residential privacy it cannot prove this by "merely naming an activity that may impinge upon privacy." The FTC said last month in its Court filing that the list had to be created because of the "striking increase in the number of unwanted telemarketing calls and the corresponding increase in consumer frustration generated by those calls.". The US appeals Court in Denver had stayed a lower Court Judge’s ruling that had found the registry unconstitutional. "This case is a cautionary tale about what happens when federal agencies allow perceived political imperatives to override legal and constitutional concerns," mainstream marketing said in its 50-page filing. Also on Monday, the Federal Communications Commission, another federal regulator, said it planned to fine long-distance provider at T corp. 780,000 for violating the do-not-call rules, or 10,000 for each of 78 apparent violations. At T said it believed it could persuade the FCC that it had committed no violations. (AGENCIES) |
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China Central Bank reiterates stable yuan policy TAIPEI, Nov 4: China will maintain its policy of keeping the yuan stable as many other reforms must be undertaken before full currency flotation, a senior official at the Chinese central bank said on Tuesday. "It is too early to judge whether the renminbi is undervalued or overvalued. It would not be wise to make adjustments based on this," Liu Tinghuan, Deputy Governor of the people’s bank of China, told a conference in Taipei on Tuesday. The yuan, or renminbi, is pegged at around 8.28 to the US Dollar. Manufacturers in the United States have accused China of pumping up its exports by keeping the yuan unfairly weak, leading to job losses in US factories. China has so far resisted calls for a revaluation of the yuan but has pledged to ease capital curbs further to take the pressure off. "Before full currency floatation, many other reforms must be completed. These reforms are difficult and are unlikely to be finished in the short term," Liu said, without elaborating. "A stable renminbi, maintained on a reasonable and balanced basis, benefits both China and other Asian countries," he added. Liu is in Taipei to attend an annual seminar on banking in Taiwan and China. (AGENCIES) |
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RBI fixes reference rate higher at 45.36 MUMBAI, Nov 4: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today fixed the reference rate for US dollar at Rs 45.36, three paise higher than Monday’s fix of 45.33. (UNI) |
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Toshiba selects seagate drives for DVD recorder MUMBAI, Nov 4: Consumer Electronics giant Toshiba has selected seagate Consumer Electronics (CE) hard drives for its new HDD DVD recorder, RD-xs31 - the industry’s first DVD multi-drive video recorder, seagate technology (nyse:stx) announced today. Seagate’s hard drive provides the RD-xs31 with up to 104 hours of recording time for TV shows. It also provides the cache storage that allows programs to be archived to DVD-ram, DVD-RW and DVD-R formats. "Leveraging seagate’s proven storage technology, the innovative RD-xs31 from Toshiba continues to redefine the world of home entertainment," said Hiroyuki Tokoro, technology executive, digital media network of Toshiba. "Seagate has worked closely with Toshiba’s product design team to deliver top dubbing performance for the highest quality recording -and meeting Toshiba’s requirements of high throughput for maximum-speed HDD-to-DVD dubbing. We continue to look to seagate disc drive technology leadership in consumer electronics to help bring our storage-driven products to a new level." "Toshiba’s new product is the result of a successful technology and engineering partnership between seagate and Toshiba," said Tom Kobayashi, Seagate vice president and regional director, Japan Sales and Representative Director, Nippon Seagate, INC. (UNI) Igate chief delivery officer to
concentrate NEW DELHI, Nov 4: Mr Mohan Sekhar, responsible for delivery operations for approximately 47 per cent of infosys technologies who joined Mr Phaneesh Murthy-run Igate global yesterday, plans to concentrate on improving margins to help his new employer grow. Mr Sekhar will be Chief delivery officer IT services at Igate global, a global provider of it and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services. Talking to UNI, he said, "my most important job at Igate will be to see that margins go up." "It will be done through moving more work off-shore, getting more projects and better utilisation of existing assets," he said. Former head of it delivery operations for north America at Infosys, Mr Sekhar said he would also be concentrating on attracting ‘good talent’. For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2003, Igate reported net loss of 0.5 million dollar as compared to last year’s net income of 8.1 million dollar in the same period, which included a 4.3 million dollar one-time gain. Its revenues in first nine months of 2003 were 213.9 million dollar compared with revenues of 223.1 million dollar for the same period a year ago. The loss in first three quarters of 03 were due to acquitions like an it development centre in China, it T’s call center and infras- tructure management services businesses in India and Quintant. Once that stabilise, Igate could use Mr Sekhar’s experience in delivery to increase margins and profits. Mr Sekhar said he left Infosys because he wanted to do something different. "I wanted to do something different so I got in touch with Phaneesh Murthy. Igate is a much smaller company and I can make a difference here." "Infosys has more than 20,000 employees and I found Igate more challenging," he said. Refusing to discuss reasons for resignations of some highest ranking officials from Infosys he said, "when you are a company as big as Infosys many people leave you and join you. This happens all the time not much should be read into it." (UNI) |
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