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| Two-day Int'l conference on textile, clothing at Ludhiana COIMBATORE, Oct 2: A two-day International Conference on Textile and Clothing is being organised by CII at Ludhiana from November 18..........more 3.5 lakh
engineers lure NEW DELHI, Oct 2: Multinational companies (MNCs) from the US and other developed countries are looking at India to set up their globally-oriented research and development......more Hungary's
WJ Grain wins DHAKA, Oct 2: Hungary's WJ Grain has won a deal to deliver 100,000 tonnes of wheat to Bangladesh at $176.27 per tonne, traders said on Sunday..........more Lovable
Lingerie eyes MUMBAI, Oct 2: Premium lingerie maker Lovable Lingerie is eyeing to double turnover to Rs 100 crore over the next two years, bullish on the growth of the organised retail segment as well........more |
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Agri inputs marketing key to raising farm sector growth:FICCI NEW DELHI, Oct 2: Enhanced access of rural markets to agri inputs, innovations besides new delivery formats for farm credit, insurance and rural marketing through IT will......more Actros to
hit Indian roads MUMBAI, Oct 2: DaimlerChrysler India has said its premium heavy-duty 'Actros' range of trucks are all set to hit the Indian roads and the first delivery.....more FIIs
record net purchases MUMBAI, Oct 2: Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) recorded net purchases in equities at Rs 76 crore (USD 17.40 million) for the trading week-ended September 30 while mutual funds (MFs) were also net purchasers at Rs 564.95 crore..........more Mixed
trend prevail COIMBATORE, Oct 2: Tea prices witnessed a mixed trend at Coimbatore auction held last week, as dust ruled firm to dearer following better demand,.........more |
Two-day Int'l conference on textile, clothing at Ludhiana COIMBATORE, Oct 2: A two-day International Conference on Textile and Clothing is being organised by CII at Ludhiana from November 18. The conference "Texcon'05", is concurrent to the four-day 3rd International Exhibition on Textile Technology, 'Textech' which begins on November 18 at Punjab Agricultural University, that would showcase state-of-the-art textile technologies, machiner and equipment and to provide a platform to transact business globally. Texcon was aimed at exploring the global opportunities that have been brought to light in the free trade era and facilitating strategy development that could be adapted by Indian players to succeed in the emerging trade scenario, a CII release said here. The focus of Texcon would be on operational performance improvement including Information Technology interventions and marketing frame works for the industry, it said. Union Textiles Minister Shankersinh Vaghela would be the chief guest at the conference, where renowned speakers from India and abroad representing the textile industry would share their knowledge and experience, CII said. (PTI) |
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3.5 lakh
engineers lure MNCs to NEW DELHI, Oct 2: Multinational companies (MNCs) from the US and other developed countries are looking at India to set up their globally-oriented research and development units, attracted by availability of qualified scientists and engineers, a United Nations (UN) report has said. Be it Texas Instruments, Microsoft, STMicroelectronics, Daimler-Benz, Intel or Pfizer -- they are all attracted to set up their R and D base in India, mostly without local links to manufacturing activities. ''These TNCs (Trans-national Companies) are attracted for several reasons, the most important being the availabilityof qualified scientists and engineers,'' the World Investment Report 2005 of the UNCTAD has said. More than 3,40,000 students were admitted to bachelor degrees education in engineering in 2004 in India while the country annually produces about 1,20,000 chemists and chemical engineers. In a survey, the availability of personnel was ranked by TNCs as the most important reason for locating the R and D in India (4.12 out of five). For the multi-national firms in the technology industries, this factor was even more important. Conversely, for conventional industries, proximity to manufacturing and to the Indian market were more important reasons. Government incentives were relatively unimportant for both groups of companies. The use of English as the business language and medium of instruction for technical and managerial education in universities is an added benefit. ''It facilitates communication of technical specifications and requirements between TNC headquarters and their Indian R & D units.'' The cost of engineers and scientists also works as a pull factor for the big firms to source talent from the developing countries like India. A case study of the rise of chip design in Asia shows an interesting comparison between the wages of engineers in different coutries in Asia as compared to the US. The annual cost of employing a chip design engineer was 3,00,000 dollars in the US, 1,50,000 dollar in Canada, 75,000 dollar in Ireland but 30,000 dollar in India. The other attractive feature for the TNCs to base R and D units in India is the existence of internationally reputed institutes such as the Indian Institute of Technology, Indian Institute of Science, Indian Institute of Chemical Technologies and the Centre for Research. Many of the global R and D units collaborate with these institutes. The other phenomenon is formation of R and D alliances or sub-contractual relationships between the Indian firms and the global majors. ''Indian software companies like TCS, Wipro and Infosys, for example, have alliances with Ericsson, Nokia and IBM. Similarly, Indian pharmaceutical companies, such as Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Ranbaxy, have R and D alliances with Novo Nordisk, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline,'' the report said. (UNI) |
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Hungary's WJ Grain wins Bangladesh wheat deal DHAKA, Oct 2: Hungary's WJ Grain has won a deal to deliver 100,000 tonnes of wheat to Bangladesh at $176.27 per tonne, traders said on Sunday. They said an offer of $174.38 a tonne from Dhaka-based Bulk Trade International was the lowest among nine bidders but Bangladesh's Food and Disaster Management Ministry ruled it out of order. The wheat will be shipped to Chittagong port by the end of October, with the cost of the cargo, insurance and freight including stevedoring on the seller's account. Bangladesh imported 2.29 million tonnes of food grain in 2003/2004, including about 800,000 tonnes of rice and the rest in wheat. (AGENCIES) |
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Lovable Lingerie eyes Rs 100 cr turnover in next two years MUMBAI, Oct 2: Premium lingerie maker Lovable Lingerie is eyeing to double turnover to Rs 100 crore over the next two years, bullish on the growth of the organised retail segment as well as jump in export volumes. The company, which claims a third of the Rs 150 crore premium lingerie market, is gearing up to double production capacity and is setting up a new facility at Bangalore with investments of about Rs 18 crore. "Of the Rs 150 crore premuim lingerie market in the country, we have a sizeable share with sales of Rs 50 crore while the rest consists of imported brands. We want to increase our share further for which we will double production capacity from five million units in next two years," Director of Lovable Lingerie Vinay Reddy told PTI here. The Bangalore-based company is a 100 per cent subsidiary of VIP undergarments, owned by the Maxell group having a turnover in excess of Rs 350 crore. Lovable Lingerie currently has four factories at Bangalore producing five million pieces per annum. Reddy said new investments would be met through internal accurals as well as debt. "The group has enough financial resources for brand-building and capital expenditure. Moreover, we are a zero debt company. This gives us enough confidence to go for our growth plans," Reddy said. The new lingerie plant of Lovable would be largely export oriented. "It will be completed in two phases and we expect the first phase to be completed within the next 10 months," he said. (PTI) |
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Agri inputs marketing key to
raising NEW DELHI, Oct 2: Enhanced access of rural markets to agri inputs, innovations besides new delivery formats for farm credit, insurance and rural marketing through IT will be among the issues that will be discussed at the Rural Marketing Summit to be organised by FICCI here on October 7 and 8. The summit assumes significance in the light of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's concern at the slow pace of farm sector's growth and his assertion that rural credit delivery and marketing of agri inputs must be strengthened to bring the growth rate in agriculture close to 4 per cent. This order of growth is considered imperative if the economy is to clock the GDP growth of over 8 per cent on a sustained basis. The FICCI Rural Marketing Summit will be inaugurated by Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar and will be addressed by top executives from the public and private sector in the field of agri inputs, strategic planning, advertising and marketing consultants, officials from the financial sector, and professionals from academic institutions and business schools. According to FICCI President Onkar S Kanwar, the exploration of strategies and mechanisms that would guarantee efficient delivery mechanisms and ensure quality agriculture inputs to service farmers has assumed top priority. ''The need of the hour is to apply the right inputs at right time and in right quantity,'' he said and expressed confidence that this summit would develop a win-win situation for both farmers and corporates. With Indian farming on the threshold of major change in cropping pattern, use of technology and farming practices, rural markets are becoming increasingly important for corporates in agri-inputs like seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, farm tools and implements, irrigation equipments, tractors and pre-harvest machinery. The advent of contract farming and farm-firm linkages have further increased the scope of spreading use of better agricultural inputs in rural areas. The summit would also explore new and innovative channels to expand rural markets and enable corporates to create and harness opportunities in rural India. It aims to discuss accurate forecasting of input demand, strategies for expanding reach in rural areas and overcoming the challenge of marketing to small farmers scattered over half a million villages. (UNI) |
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Actros to hit Indian roads by year-end: Huber MUMBAI, Oct 2: DaimlerChrysler India has said its premium heavy-duty 'Actros' range of trucks are all set to hit the Indian roads and the first delivery will be made by the end of this calender year. "The first delivery of Actros to customers will be made by the end of this year and we hope to continue further from there," DaimlerChrysler India chief Hans Michael Huber told PTI here. Homologation process for the vehicles, which will be coming in through the completely-built unit (CBU) route, is nearly over and the company is in the process of finalising other details, including client servicing. Asked whether he saw a market for the high-cost vehicles in the price-sensitive Indian market, Huber said he was confident that low running cost and high efficiency of the Actros trucks would attract customers. "The operating costs of the vehicle is less compared to what other vehicles offer and this will gradually bring customers to our fold," he said. Huber said healthy economic growth in India coupled with massive infrastructure-building projects made the company hopeful of cornering a share of heavy commercial vehicles. The company is likely to come out with two models - the 33-tonner and the 40-tonner in India. It proposes to set up workshops near mining areas, where it hopes to sell its vehicles. 'Actros' will be in direct competition with Swedish auto firm Volvo which is also selling premium trucks in India. (PTI) |
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FIIs record net purchases in equities at Rs 76 cr MUMBAI, Oct 2: Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) recorded net purchases in equities at Rs 76 crore (USD 17.40 million) for the trading week-ended September 30 while mutual funds (MFs) were also net purchasers at Rs 564.95 crore. The foreign funds were net sellers in the debt market at Rs 117.60 crore (USD 27 million) for the period under review, according to the data available with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) here. The mutual funds were net purcshasers in the debt market at Rs 1126.90 crore. The foreign funds recorded highest net inflows of the trading week in equities at Rs 199.30 crore (USD 45.70 mn) on September 27 followed by Rs 133.40 crore (USD 30.60 mn) on September 30. FIIs were net sellers in the debt market at Rs 97.30 crore (USD 22.30 mn) on September 27. MFs recorded highest net purchases in the equity market on September 27 when they picked up equity worth Rs 231.37 crore. The highest purchases by MFs in debt market were on September 27 at Rs 736.65 crore. The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), during the week under review, saw the sensex gaining 411.89 points to close at 8634.48 points. (PTI) |
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Mixed trend prevail at tea auction COIMBATORE, Oct 2: Tea prices witnessed a mixed trend at Coimbatore auction held last week, as dust ruled firm to dearer following better demand, while that of leaf quoted lower, despite good demand, trade sources said today. Though there was good demand for orthodox leaf, prices quoted lower upto Rs two for best sorts, while remainder ruled steady, whereas prices of liquoring and cheaper kinds of CTC maintained irregular around last level, following less demand. In the dust category, both orthodox and CTC ruled firm to dearer upto Rs two and exporters and internal buyers were active in orthodox dust segment, the sources said. Good orthodox leaf brokens quoted at Rs 60 to Rs 78 and medium at Rs 40 to Rs 50, while best/good CTC brokenrs ruled at Rs 40 to Rs 44, while medium ctc brokens and fannings quoted at Rs 27 to Rs 37 per kg. Best CTC dust quoted at Rs 60 to Rs 70, good at Rs 40 to Rs 55, medium Rs 28 to Rs 35, while medium orthodox dust ruled at Rs 32 to Rs 36 per kg, they said. Of the total offering of about 4.79 lakh kgs, dust accounted for about 2.60 lakh kgs, the sources added. (PTI) |
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Bharti, Tatas fixed line numbers to change to 4, 6 series NEW DELHI, Oct 2: Bharti and Tata fixed line numbers, which start with the digit 5, will soon change to 4 and 6 respectively by the year-end. Bharti and Tata group are to be allocated separate levels for operation of their basic services under the USAL licence. Level 4 has been allocated to Bharti and Level 6 to the Tata group, according to a directive by department of telecom. The existing numbers of Bharti and Tata group of companies on Level 5 (the reason why their numbers start with the digit 5) will be changed to Level 4 and 6 respectively, it said. The original deadline of this shift was October 15 and this is likely to be extended by another three months to December end. BSNL has Level 2, Reliance Infocomm Level 3, Bharti will be level 4 and Tatas will be at '6'. Small and regional players like HFCL, Shyam Telecom will be given Level 5. Bharti's fixed line numbers are currently on 50-54 series, which was alloted to them three years ago, while the Tatas were given 55-59 series. Tatas have 3.5 million subscribers and Bharti has over one million subscribers in fixed line. The numbering change would have to accompany changes in the points of interconnection. Besides, informing customers would be a gigantic task if the subscriber base is high. Operators have to inform their customer about this in a big way and may have to give outgoing calls free during the transition period. (PTI) |
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GDP likley to grow by 7.3 pc in FY06; Oil to impact inflation NEW DELHI, Oct 2: Buoyed by industrial, services and agriculture performance, economy is likely to grow by 7.3 per cent in 2005-06 while high crude oil prices may put pressure on inflation rate. "The economy would clock an impressive 7.3 per cent GDP growth for 2005-06, at the back of strong prospects of kharif production and reasonably buoyant industrial and services sector performance," Confederation of Indian Industry said in its state of economy report. CII expects agriculture to grow at 3.2 per cent in this fiscal compared to 1.1 per cent recorded in 2004-05. Increase in area under sowing and improved South West monsoon have also aided the recovery in the progress of kharif sowing, leading to an improved kharif prospects for 2005-06. Industry's performance was better than expected with Index of Industrial Production growing by 9.3 per cent in April-July this fiscal. "A strong growth in non-food credit, growth in capital goods production and imports are perhaps the factor supporting sustained growth for the industrial sector," CII said. However, the report cautions about emerging constraints reflected by slower production in core sectors. Sectors that are pulling down the growth rate are crude petroleum, petroleum products and finished steel. The chamber expects inflation to be on the higher side of its 5-5.5 per cent projections due to rising crude oil prices. The report says it is important to depoliticize the issue of hydrocarbon pricing by actually dismantling administered price mechanism combined with a policy to make kerosene available at affordable prices. (PTI) KVIC to help rural women market produce NEW DELHI, Oct 2: Over 11 lakh women in rural India will now get expert advice in selling their produce, with the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) formulating marketing strategies for them. In a step that will benefit the women who are members of Self-Help Groups (SHGs), the Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD) has signed an agreement with KVIC to jointly initiate micro-enterprise activities and evolve marketing strategies. Under the agreement signed recently, KVIC will provide consultancy services, process project proposals to generate employment in rural areas and promote skill development of women, officials said. The MoU is aimed at helping women who are benefitting under the Department's 'Swa-Shakti Project' and 'Swayamsidha' across the country market their on-farm and off-farm produce. They said the KVIC-DWCD partnership would give women access to markets at the state and regional levels. The women will also have the support services of the Commission in packaging, quality control and brand name to market their produce, they said. (PTI) LG lines up Rs 60 cr spend on festive season promotion NEW DELHI, Oct 2: Looking to cash in on the forthcoming festive season, LG Electronics today said it would spend Rs 60 crore for promoting its consumer durables and home appliances during the festive season, and add Rs 1,600 crore to its targeted overall turnover of Rs 8,000 crore in 2005. "The company is expecting to achieve around 35 per cent value growth in the electronics category, 45 per cent value growth in appliances and 80 per cent growth in the IT category by the end of the festive season," Vice President (marketing) Girish Bapat said. The promo 'Mangal hi Mangal', which promises assured gifts in every purchase of LG products, would be launched next week and would continue for a month. He said the company would bring in new technology and feature rich models to tap the fast growing GSM market. The super premium offerings from LG will entail a Hi-tech product portfolio of flagship products from key categories like High Definition X-Canvas Plasma TV, front loading washing machines, ACs, refrigerators, new gen Karaoke systems, X-Note laptops and other internet-enabled products. "India has always been a priority market for LGE and our endeavour at LGEIL is to raise the Indian durable Industry to international standards," Managing Director M R Kim said. At present super premium products account for a minimal 5-7 per cent share in the consumer durable industry. (PTI) |
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