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| Amtex to invest
Rs 100 cr in India, sets up 2 dev centres NEW DELHI, Nov 13: US-based IT consulting and services company, Amtex systems is aggressively expanding its presence in India with the setting up of two offshore development centres and plans to increase its India headcount by over four fold in .........more SC declines to interfere with Gujarat HC order on SEZ NEW DELHI, Nov 13: The Supreme Court today declined to interfere with a Gujarat High Court verdict on a petition filed a group of farmers challenging the acquisition of agricultural land for Reliance Infrastructure Ltd’s Jamnagar Special Economic Zone (SEZ). .......more DoT awaits commerce min’s view on export promotion council NEW DELHI, Nov 13: The Department of Telecom is awaiting Commerce Ministry’s response to set up an export promotion council aimed at facilitating export of telecom equipment ........more Indian riches lure Aussie businesses MELBOURNE, Nov 13: The growth of the Indian middle class is being received as a good news by the Australian businesses eyeing India as the land of ..more |
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Herbal care
natural soap launched CHENNAI,
Nov 13: Bangalore-based
Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd today launched
"herbal care natural soap" here. International conclave on traditional medicine on Nov 16-17 NEW DELHI, Nov 13: A two-day international conclave on traditional medicine is being organised by the Department of Ayush in collaboration with NISCAIR, CSIR from November 16. ...........more Flexibility in labour laws needed to ensure investment: Montek NEW DELHI, Nov 13: The Planning Commission today said there was a need to make labour laws flexible to attract greater investment and would create more jobs. .......more Oswal to expand retail ops; targets Rs 250 cr top-line by 2010 NEW DELHI, Nov 13: Cashing in on the retail boom in India, textile major Oswal group has embarked upon a major expansion plan for it’s retail venture, which will see the company invest Rs 60 crore to set up as many as 120 .............more |
Amtex to invest Rs 100 cr in India, sets up 2 dev centres NEW DELHI, Nov 13: US-based IT consulting and services company, Amtex systems is aggressively expanding its presence in India with the setting up of two offshore development centres and plans to increase its India headcount by over four fold in the next two years. The company had last year earmarked an investment of Rs 100 crore for the next three years for enhancing its foothold in the country. "The two Offshore Development Centres (ODC) at Delhi and Chennai will help us in providing end-to-end solutions to our global clients in a cost effective manner," Amtex system founder and CEO Sunny Pokala told . He said the centres would augment Amtex’s global business model of end-to-end it consulting and services offering and about 25 per cent from the total Rs 100 crore has already been invested in acquiring land and hiring people. "We will ramp up our Indian workforce to 1500 in the next two years from 350 currently," Pokala said. He said about 60 per cent of the work over the next two years would come from the Indian centres from only 15 per cent now. The company has three more development centres across the world apart from India. The 50 million dollar company is also expecting to double its revenues in the same period. Amtex also plans to foray into IT infrastructure, he said adding, "we will provide ready to operate units to the companies with hardware, software, skilled manpower and support services available on top of a plug-n-play facility," (PTI) |
SC declines to interfere with Gujarat HC order on SEZ NEW DELHI, Nov 13: The Supreme Court today declined to interfere with a Gujarat High Court verdict on a petition filed a group of farmers challenging the acquisition of agricultural land for Reliance Infrastructure Ltd’s Jamnagar Special Economic Zone (SEZ). However, a bench headed by Justice K G Balakrishnan gave liberty to the farmers to approach the Apex Court on the question of compensation for the land. With this order, the Apex Court disposed off the petition filed by farmers challenging the High Court order. The High Court had dismissed their plea against the decision allotting the land to the company in five villages of Jamnagar district. The farmers had alleged that of the 10,000 acres of land acquired by State Government for Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure Ltd’s proposed SEZ, 9,000 acres was farm land. The land is to be utilised by the company for developing an SEZ, which would also house its parent firm Reliance Industries Ltd’s proposed 27 million tonne mega refinery. (PTI) |
DoT awaits commerce min’s view on export promotion council NEW DELHI, Nov 13: The Department of Telecom is awaiting Commerce Ministry’s response to set up an export promotion council aimed at facilitating export of telecom equipment and services exclusively. It (the export promotion council) will be focused only in the telecom services and equipment exports, which need to be marketed differently than IT and electronics equipment. There should not be any perceived clash of interests with any other umbrella agency in this regard, DoT officials said. Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC), an autonomous organisation under the Department of Information Technology currently is acting as the nodal agency to promote trade of information technology and electronics between India and the rest of the world. Approval apart, Commerce Ministry is even yet to officially communicate its stand on the issue. Its clarity on this issue will be required as all export promotion councils are to be recognised by the Commerce Ministry. Once approved, it is proposed to be internally under the Aegis of Telecom Equipment Manufacturers Association (TEMA). Commerce Ministry will be the nodal ministry for this. TEMA covers more than 90 per cent of telecom equipment manufacturers as well as components and cables manufacturers. It is affiliated to leading international Telecom Industry Associations. It works closely with the Government, and industry associations, namely, CII, FICCI, ASSOCHAM, PHD on telecom equipment policies and issues. DoT officials said any delay on part of the Commerce Ministry to approve the proposal will have an adverse impact on marketing the Telecom Equipment Industry globally as the telecom-specific SEZs have opened up new windows. There are four Special Economic Zones (SEZs) for telecom equipment manufacturing — Nokia, Motorola, Flextronics and Foxcom. At present, the size of the domestic telecom equipment industry is Rs 15,000 crore. Total exports of telecom equipment and services are to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore. (PTI) |
Indian riches lure Aussie businesses MELBOURNE, Nov 13: The growth of the Indian middle class is being received as a good news by the Australian businesses eyeing India as the land of immense opportunities. A number of State Governments in Australia are busy crunching numbers to secure even bigger slices of the sumptuous Indian pie for their businesses. Queensland, Victoria, western Australia and south Australia have sent various trade delegations to the south Asian country to market their wares. The Australian manufacturers are also positioning themselves to cater to the demands of Indian middleclass, which is also stated to be showing signs of increased sophistication. Queensland is reported to be benefiting big time from the burgeoning Indian middle class as not only the north-eastern state is exporting shiploads of resources and commodities to India, its manufacturing sector is also making mega dollars. Thirty-seven businesses based in Queensland have, according to an Austrade report by New Delhi-based senior Commissioner mike Moignard, struck deals worth 280 million Australian dollars in the sixth largest Australian export market. The Australian Government and business circles are overtly impressed by balance of trade being in Australia’s favour. The total number of Australian exports to India crossed 7 billion Australian dollars mark last Australian financial year and is being described by mike as "just the tip of the iceberg". According to the Austrade report excerpts published in various Australian newspapers today, India’s middle class and their 241 million Australian dollars purchasing power was offering exciting new opportunities for Australian businesses. "India’s dramatic resurgence is driven by its sustained economic growth," Mr Moignard has been quoted as saying by Rupert Murdoch-owned newspapers. "The economy is growing at 8 per Indian market," he further says. Mike Moignard is also impressed by the Indian culture of Consumerism which is gripping the subcontinent as the organised retail sector is expected to grow to more than 25 billion australian dollars by 2010. The significant growth area of infrastructure has also not gone unnoticed by the Australian bureaucrat as, according to Austrade estimates, India’s investment in this sector is expected to surpass 265 billion Australian dollars in the next five years. Australian companies dealing in aviation, education, IT, food and beverage, mining and tourism sectors have been also been hinted to look at the opportunities thrown up by the developing middle class in India. Event organisation has also been underlined by the Australian trade agency as another lucrative sector. "The 2010 Common Wealth Games to be held in New Delhi has opened up great opportunities for our exporters," Mr Mike Moignard says in the report. (UNI) |
Herbal care natural soap launched CHENNAI, Nov 13: Bangalore-based Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Ltd today launched "herbal care natural soap" here. With this launch, the makers of the famous Mysore Sandal Soap marked their foray into the herbal segment, catering to the growing market and awareness among consumers towards herbal and health care products, company managing director H V Paraswanath said at the product launch function here. The new herbal care soap is made with a blend of 19 natural essential oils, having aromatic and therapeutic properties. The product is priced at Rs 12 for a 100 gm pack, he said. The company is also relaunching Mysore Sandal Talc in 300 gms, 100 gm and 50 gm packs in a new user friendly design, he added. (PTI) |
International conclave on traditional medicine on Nov 16-17 NEW DELHI, Nov 13: A two-day international conclave on traditional medicine is being organised by the Department of Ayush in collaboration with NISCAIR, CSIR from November 16. The conclave will focus on the key issues of standardization, quality control and development of a regulatory approach for traditional medicine on the one hand and issues relating to market authorization and IPR protection of traditional medicine on the other. About 100 delegates from SAARC, Aptmnet, Bimstec, IBSA forum member countries and representatives of WHO, Wipo, Apctt and experts on various aspects of traditional medicine and IPR protection would participate in the conclave. The conclave would give a further boost to traditional medicine by involving participants from bio-diversity rich countries, which are the cradle of traditional medicine. The recommendations of the conclave are likely to be submitted to the Inter Governmental Committee on intellectual property and genetic resources, traditional knowledge and folklore to be held at geneva as well as the International Regulatory Cooperation in Herbal Medicines (IRCH) set up recently under the Aegis of the WHO. Minister of Health and Family Welfare Anbumani Ramadoss will inaugurate the conclave while Dr Nityanand, former Director, Central Drugs Research Institute, Lucknow will deliver the keynote address. (UNI) |
Flexibility in labour laws needed to ensure investment: Montek NEW DELHI, Nov 13: The Planning Commission today said there was a need to make labour laws flexible to attract greater investment and would create more jobs. "We need to understand that hire and fire is not on the Government’s agenda but labour flexibility is needed to ensure employment. We do believe that we need more flexibility in labour laws," Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said while addressing the employment summit organised by the CII here. Advocating for flexibility in employment, Ahluwalia said, investments were likely to move more where labour laws were flexible. He, however, cautioned that the country cannot follow degrees of flexibility, which was not in vogue with the rest of the world. Emphasising on elasticity of employment, Ahluwalia said there was an express need to shift excess labour from agriculture to non-agriculture sector, besides increasing the share of labour in the organised sector. He said skilled labour would increasingly be required by the organised sector and pointed out that the Prime Minister has has asked the plan panel to final. Ahluwalia also said the Government was not doing enough to monitor the role of private educational institutions, who charge reasonable amount of fees from students. Planning Commission member Bhalchandra Mungekar said it was difficult to achieve inclusive growth than the economic growth and argued that in an economy characterised by economic rigidities and uneven development it is not possible to generate employment. Mungekar said the 11th plan target was to ensure inclusive growth. He said economic growth and employment benefitted those in upper class rather than those who were poor and underprivileged. The Commission argued that the benefits of industrialisation was confined to only few pockets and the need was to ensure an overall inclusive growth. (PTI) |
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Oswal to expand retail ops; targets Rs 250 cr top-line by 2010 NEW DELHI, Nov 13: Cashing in on the retail boom in India, textile major Oswal group has embarked upon a major expansion plan for it’s retail venture, which will see the company invest Rs 60 crore to set up as many as 120 new stores across the country. The company offers lingeries apart from Unisex clothing through its two retail formats — straps for women’s innerware and AOS for apparel — and anticipates a top-line of Rs 250 crore by 2010. "We would expand both our retail brands and plan to open as many as 18 new stores for AOS and more than 100 new stores for straps in the next four years. We are anticipating the company’s retail turnover to cross Rs 250 crore by 2010," Oswal retail managing director Adish Oswal told . He said the company would expand both the formats in a phased manner and would initially consolidate in north india before entering other parts of the country. In the first phase of expansion, Oswal retail would open eight new straps stores and 12 new AOS stores by march next year. "We have received trade enquiries from east and south India, where we have a very small presence as of now, we would soon expand to these territories and would be present across the country by 2010," Oswal said. The company does not follow a franchise model for its straps stores but has both completely owned and franchised AOS stores. "It’s easier for us to maintain the quality in AOS stores as we supply the complete range of products being sold but not for straps as its USP is shopping experience and we can never be sure whether the franchise would be able to maintain it," Oswal said. Oswal said the company is looking to actively promote both its retail formats through a mix of media and would spend Rs 3.5 crore for various promotional activities in the next 12 months. "We want to establish both the formats as soon as possible and would actively invest in both above the line and below the line marketing initiatives," he added. The company would fund its expansion through internal accruals but has no immediate plans to divest stake for raising money. "We have no immediate plans to divest stake in the company but are not ruling out the option of private placement to fund future expansion plans," Oswal said. (PTI) |
Tata ryerson opens service centre in Faridabad KOLKATA, Nov 13: Steel solutions service provider Tata Ryerson Limited today opened its new centre in Faridabad to cater to the needs of the booming automobile sector of the country. A company spokesman said the Faridabad service centre would meet the requirements of the automobile manufacturers in northern India, which contributes close to 45 per cent of the total volume of production in the country. The centre was opened by Tata Ryerson chairman J J Irani. A joint venture between Tata Steel and Ryerson Inc of USA, the company had already emerged as a leader in the areas of processing and distribution of flat products like cold rolled, hot rolled and coated steels. According to the spokesman, north India is an extremely important market for Tata Steel as the company would serve the auto and white goods industry through Tata Ryerson. Within a span of eight years of its inception, Tata Ryerson had crossed a turnover of Rs 750 crore with a compounded annual growth rate of 50 per cent. (PTI) |
ICICI Lombard tops in new biz in H1 of 2006-07 MUMBAI, Nov 13: ICICI Lombard has secured the top slot in new business collections among private general insurers in the first half of this fiscal, while Reliance general insurance clocked the highest growth, as per figures released by insurance regulator IRDA. In absolute terms, ICICI Lombard generated new business of rs 702 crore followed by Reliance General Insurance with absolute new business of Rs 302 crore, according to the Statistics of Insurance Regulatory Development Authority. The Anil-Ambani led insurance company witnessed a growth of about 397 per cent, followed by ICICI Lombard which registered a percentage change of 85 per cent over the corresponding period of 2005-06, IRDA figures show. IFFCO-Tokio, Bajaj Allianz and Tata Aig secured the next three positions with absolute new business collections of Rs 227 crore, Rs 218 crore and Rs 108 crore respectively. On an absolute term, ICICI Lombard and Reliance General together cornered Rs 1,000 crore of the Rs 1,650 crore new business generated by private insurers during the period. ICICI Lombard collected Rs 1,525 crore, while Reliance General collected Rs 377.54 crore premium in April-September 2006-07. Reliance General sold a total of 440,719 policies in the first half this year compared to 43,947 in the same period of 2005-06. Private sector general insurance companies managed to corner almost 71 per cent share in the Rs 2,314 crore new general insurance business generated during first half of 2006-07, as against 29 per cent by public sector firms. General insurance business increased by 22 per cent during the first half of the current fiscal to Rs 12,668 crore. Public sector companies still continue to enjoy a lion’s share of 65 per cent. (PTI) India 11th largest services exporter, 29th in goods: WTO NEW DELHI, Nov 13: India has jumped five places to become the world’s 11th biggest exporter of commercial services in 2005, and inched one step ahead to the 29th rank among the largest merchandise exporters, according to the latest statistics by World Trade Organisation. The country has also emerged as the world’s 13th largest importer of commercial services - up two positions from last year, and 17th largest importer of goods from 23rd a year ago, as per WTO’s international trade statistics for 2005. Fuelled by booming software and ITES exports, the country’s total exports of services grew by 41.6 per cent to 56.1 billion dollars as against 39.6 billion dollars. This has helped the country maintain a modest surplus in services trade as imports stand at a lower 52.2 billion dollars. But on the back of rising global crude oil prices, india’s total merchandise imports have swelled to 134.8 billion dollars from 97.3 billion dollars in 2004. Exports, meanwhile, have jumped 25.8 per cent in 2005 to 95.1 billion dollars compared to 75.6 billion dollars in the previous year. Overall, the country’s total imports - both goods and services - were much higher at 197 billion dollars in 2005 compared to 151.2 billion dollars of total exports that year. Although exports are witnessing a double-digit growth, india’s share in world trade still remains negligible. The country’s share in goods exports is just 0.9 per cent and in goods imports a mere 1.3 per cent. In services, the country has 2.3 per cent share in exports and 2.2 per cent in imports during 2005. (PTI) |
Zee to acquire 50 pc stake in Ten Sports NEW DELHI, Nov 13: Subash Chandra-promoted Zee group has signed an agreement with Dubai-based Taj Television Ltd to acquire 50 per cent stake in Ten Sports. The two parties have been negotiating the deal and the agreement was signed today. Nimbus had also shown interest in acquiring the stake in Ten Sports. (PTI)
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