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| E-governance spend to touch Rs 10,000 cr by 2009 NEW DELHI, Oct 15: India will spend Rs 10,000 crore on e-governance by 2009, according to Skoch Consultancy Services, which is conducting India’s first ever-national e-governance census to .........more IITs
number three in LONDON, Oct 15: The prestigious India Institutes of Technology (IITs) have retained their number three rank among the world’s 100 best technology universities.......more India to
participate in NEW DELHI, Oct 15: India will participate in the seventh Hong Kong International stationery fair and will showcase a wide range of stationery items aimed at children ........more Area under
Bt MUMBAI, Oct 15: The area under cultivation of Bt Cotton Bollgard variety in India has almost trebled to 8.6 million acres this year ....more |
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Plustek Inc launches network camera in India NEW DELHI, Oct 15: Plustek Inc, leading imaging solutions provider, has announced the launch of its network camera, which enables users to watch their premises, from anywhere and at anytime........more Commodity
exchanges NEW DELHI, Oct 15: The investors' confidence in commodity trading is increasing with as many as 34 per cent of traders doing business in both the markets ..........more Woolmark
showcases NEW DELHI, Oct 15: In a bid to showcase the latest development in the Merino wool for the coming winter season, the Melbourne......more Dalmia
Cement to set up NEW DELHI, Oct 15: Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd (DCBL) will set up a green-field cement plant of up to 4 million tonnes (MT) per annum capacity in Andhra ...........more |
E-governance spend to touch Rs 10,000 cr by 2009 NEW DELHI, Oct 15: India will spend Rs 10,000 crore on e-governance by 2009, according to Skoch Consultancy Services, which is conducting India’s first ever-national e-governance census to be rolled out early next year. The expected expenditure during the current year on e-governance stands at Rs 4,000 crore, a growth of 30 per cent from Rs 3,014 crore during 2005, the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) think tank says. India’s e-governance market is estimated to jump 35 per cent during the next year which comes to Rs 5,400 crore. According to Skoch, driving this growth will be projects like Common Services Centres of Department of Information Technology that attempt at reaching Government services all over the country. Skoch will cover projects from all the states to map the spread and impact of e-governance on the lives of common citizen. The census will cover quantitative data in terms of applications being used in every State and Central Government Departments and also their usage in terms of transactions handled or hits. These findings will further be clubbed with e-governance report card that assesses some of these projects on various qualitative parameters like ease of use, reduction in corruption, affordability of service and efficiency of staff, amongst others. "India spends close to Rs 1,00,000 crore per annum on the social sector. A significant drive would be towards projects that attempt at better targeting this spending while plugging leakages," it says. Other projects of national importance that can change things for village India include re-alignment of Department of Posts to provide banking and financial services upto the last mile, it adds. "Computerisation of Public Distribution System (PDS) to the block level would be another driver." Major IT induction plans are underway at both Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC). While the state-owned system integrator National Informatics Centre (NIC) has remained a majority player in the e-governance implementation space, private players like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) have carved nearly 12 per cent market share for themselves followed by others. Skoch, with a presence in 11 countries, is a strategy and management consultancy company working towards ICT led improvement of citizen delivery systems and for competitive advantage across segments like governance, banking, financial services, health, education and infrastructure. (UNI) |
IITs number three in the world LONDON, Oct 15: The prestigious India Institutes of Technology (IITs) have retained their number three rank among the world’s 100 best technology universities, where the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) also find a place. The IITs, which were on number three slot last year also, came next to MIT, Boston, and California University, Berkeley, both in the US, according to a survey conducted by the times higher education supplement. It placed Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) at number 68, sandwiched between Hong Kong University and Eindhoven in the Netherlands. The new technology survey showed academic opinion about the top places for science and engineering and puts IIT ahead of Imperial College, London, which comes in at number four. However, in last week’s rankings by thes on overall global excellence, IIT had slid to number 57, seven places lower than in 2005. According to a spokesman of the times higher education supplement, the latest technology table emerged following an assessment of 3,703 academics, who had been asked to rate universities in their area of specialization. (PTI) |
India to participate in stationery fair in Hong Kong NEW DELHI, Oct 15: India will participate in the seventh Hong Kong International stationery fair and will showcase a wide range of stationery items aimed at children and adults. The fair, being organised by Hong Kong Development Council and Messe Frankfurt aims to fit the sourcing needs of department stores, novelty item shops, stationery stores, toy shops and the like. Suppliers of stationery featuring cartoon characters and action figure from countries including India, Singapore, Taiwan, Korea and Hong Kong will be participating in the event. About 14,726 trade visitors from 120 different countries and regions visited the fair this year to source the right merchandise from the 261 exhibitors. Exhibitors from all over the world, from Asia to the US have already signed up for the 2007 edition of the event. The fair is set to be the most diverse show so far, reflecting the increasingly innnovative and varied stationery market. Many exhibitors are returning to the show with doublig their booth space to display their enormous range of children's stationery items such as gel pens, ball pens, colour sets, photo frames non-sharpening pencils and self-inking stamps s ›_vK£C_6{k+k collections carrying famous Disney licensed characters. The event is going to be held from January 8-11, 2007. (UNI) |
Area under Bt Cotton Bollgard variety cultivation trebles MUMBAI, Oct 15: The area under cultivation of Bt Cotton Bollgard variety in India has almost trebled to 8.6 million acres this year from 3.1 million acres in 2005, a growth that also helped multiply farmers' income too. Farmers' income increased to Rs 7,026.5 crores up from Rs 2,100 crores last year as a result of the acreage going up, Bipin Solanki, Deputy Managing Director of Mahyco Monsanto Bollgard (MMB), which markets the hybrid seeds in India, told PTI. "The BT cotton technology has helped the year-on-year growth to increase by three times, thereby increasing the total yield by 400 kg to a farmer and has covered 8.6 million Acres under cultivation this year. This in real terms has increased the per acre income by Rs 6,700 and generated an additional rural income of Rs 7,000 crore for farmers," said Solanki. This year, around 2.1 million farmers have used Bollgard and Bollgard II hybrids, as it is technically called, out of which one million farmers have used this technology for the first time throughout the country. Last year, the total production was 775 kg which has gone up to 2,150 kg this year, he added. "This technology helps the yield to resist the insect attack as it destroys the bollworms and as a result there is an increase in the yield," the company official said when asked about the debate on this technology. Out of the one billion area under Bt Cotton cultivation the world over, 22 million acres are in India of which 14 million acres are under hybrid cultivation. Of this, 8.6 million acres are under Bollgard cultivation. The Trait price for the seeds has come down from Rs 1,250 to Rs 880 this year. This trait price is the rate at which the company gives its technology to the seed company who factor it into their price. There are 55 Hybrid varieties in the market currently, which would be 100 by 2007 as the company plans to introduce more new varieties, said Solanki. MMB is a 50:50 Joint Venture between Maharashtra Hybrids Seeds Co Ltd (Mahyco) and Monsanto Holdings Private Ltd, where MMB has co-licensing agreements with a number of Indian cotton seed companies to bring Bollgard to Indian farmers. (PTI) |
Plustek Inc launches network camera in India NEW DELHI, Oct 15: Plustek Inc, leading imaging solutions provider, has announced the launch of its network camera, which enables users to watch their premises, from anywhere and at anytime, in India The ‘IPcam P1000A’ enables users on the move to watch live and recorded video feed on their mobile computers (laptops), PDAs and cellphones enabled with Internet connectivity. Besides, they can also broadcast live videos to viewers in real time over a LAN or the Internet. "Unlike the traditional CCTV cameras that involve high total cost of ownership (acquisition costs and recurring costs), elaborate wiring of the premises, setting up of control rooms and staffing, Plustek’s OptiCam P1000A is a great security and surveillance device that works over existing computer networks and can be readily connected to the Internet. Camera functions like brightness, image resolution and quality and sound level can be controlled by the user from anywhere," Plustek Inc Vice President Karen Ku said. The device can be programmed to start recording only when it detects any motion for a certain length before and after the motion. It can also be programmed to start and stop recording at a particular time and day of the week. It is also easy to set-up and can be placed almost anywhere. Each camera can be set up individually with a different name resolutions and image quality settings. With its own IP address and built-in web server, Plustek IPcam P1000A connects directly to the computer network and can be remotely accessed from any standard Internet browser. It features high image quality in three different resolutions (VGA 640x480, CIF 320x240, and QSIF 160x120) and can transfer up to 30 frames per second in CIF and QSIF mode. The IPcam P1000A is available in India through Plustek’s exclusive national distributor TelExcell Information Systems at a price of Rs 7,500 (excluding taxes) with a warranty of one year. (UNI) |
Commodity exchanges gaining
investor NEW DELHI, Oct 15: The investors' confidence in commodity trading is increasing with as many as 34 per cent of traders doing business in both the markets choosing commodity market over capital market, a survey said. The survey conducted by industry body Assocham, which interviewed around 240 market players engaged in parking investor surpluses in savings instruments, said as many as 24 per cent chose to invest in a range of Rs one lakh-five lakh in the commodities market. Only three per cent of the respondents opted for investing in futures commodities market at an amount less than Rs one lakh, Assocham said in a release. "15 per cent of respondents chose to invest in metals. This is because there is an increase in demand for metals as a result of the boom in the real estate markets of China and India. The economic growth of these two countries is likely to boost automobile consumption too, where metals play a crucial role due to demand being more and supply short," Assocham President Anil Agarwal said. Demand in developed nations, such as the US, Canada, Australia is also increasing, where several mines have been shut down due to pollution, he said. The chamber added that 14 per cent of the respondents were investing in agri products due to an uncertainty in the supply and demand for local and overseas consumption. The survey further said two per cent of the respondents preferred to invest in coffee to earn foreign currencies. (PTI) |
Woolmark showcases latest merino
wool NEW DELHI, Oct 15: In a bid to showcase the latest development in the Merino wool for the coming winter season, the Melbourne-based company Woolmark organised ''Wool 2007'' fashion event in the Australian High Commissioner's residence here. Australian High Commissioner in India John McCarthy A O and Ms Brenda McGahan, Executive Director of Woolmark present on the occasion emphasised the importance of India for Australian wool, which is the best in the world of apparel. India is the third largest importer of Australian wool. ''The theme of the show has to be internationalism and innovation which lead to globalisation. These components of the business are essential for our survival and prosperity,'' company's Regional Director of India/South East Asia Dr S K Chaudhuri said. Ms McGahan, who had specially flew in here for the show, stated that the Australian Merino wool is the best in the world and it gives the consumer the right value for the money they spend. Australian High Commissioner said ''Australian merino wool, known for its quality, is used by Indian industry in high-fashion woollen apparel and garments, and we can look forward to a continued growth in the wool trade with India in the years ahead.'' The show began with the fabric collection from two leading fabric manufacturers of Italy -- Vitale Barberis Canonico and Lanificio F Lli Cerruti SPA. Both the companies showcased their innovative collections of suits, jackets and trousers in pure wool and exotic blend while knitwear collection of Monte Carlo and Canterbury were presented by Oswal Woollen Mills. The show concluded with the collection of shawls and stoles made of pure wool, wool blends in vibrant colours and a mixture of traditional and modern patterns. Kalamkari Shawl was the unique presentation at the show. Cosmic Institute of Foreign Trade (CIFT) was also a partner of this event. (UNI) |
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Dalmia Cement to set up 4 MT plant in AP NEW DELHI, Oct 15: Dalmia Cement (Bharat) Ltd (DCBL) will set up a green-field cement plant of up to 4 million tonnes (MT) per annum capacity in Andhra Pradesh. For this purpose, DCBL is proposing to take over Eswar Cements Pvt Ltd with a view to expand its South Indian footprint. The company has posted a 486 per cent rise in its net profit at Rs 52 crore for the quarter ended September 2006, in comparison to Rs 8.88 crore during the corresponding period last year. The company's sales rose by 76 per cent at Rs 279.01 crore for the quarter against Rs 158.22 crore in Q2 FY06. The company's Sugar division has expanded crushing capacity by 15,000 tonnes a day, taking the total capacity to 22,500, and is on stream with the first plant expected to be commissioned by December 2006. Dalmia Cement is also at an advanced stage of acquiring stake in Orissa Cement Ltd and the same is expected to be concluded by February 2007. (UNI) |
Samsung targets 100 brand stores by year-end LUCKNOW, Oct 15: Digital technology major Samsung is aiming at upping the number of exclusive brand stores in the country to 100 from the present 80. Samsung India Deputy Managing Director Ravinder Zutshi said here the brand stores would showcase the complete range of products viz TVs, washing machines, refrigerators, MP3 and DVD players, ACs, mobile phones etc. ''In this era of cut-throat competition, only companies which focus on product range, technology and new initiative will survive and benefit the consumers,'' he maintained. ''East UP is one of the most lucrative markets for Samsung and accounts for nearly Rs 150 crore business,'' the official said. The company owns 15 exclusive stores in the region. Mr Zutshi was here to kickstart the four-day 100th Samsung's 'Dream Home Road Show' this year in the Uttar Pradesh capital, there the company also announced the all-India launch of its advanced 'Sonoma' series of LCD TVs in Lucknow. Commenting on the flat panel TV lineup (Plasma and LCD TVs), he claimed earlier there were apprehensions that this segment would continue to lag due to higher price tags. ''However, sales figures have proved the sceptics wrong about the potential in the segment,'' he added. Clocking sales volume of 30,000 LCDs last fiscal ending December 31, 2005, Samsung has set a target of selling 1.5 lakh LCD TVs in FY07. ''Apart from 1.5 lakh LCD units, we are also confident of vending about 50,000 plasma TVs. This jacks up the target to 2 lakh units in the flat TV lineup,'' Mr Zutshi informed. Currently, Samsung has a market share of over 45 per cent in LCD TVs and is the market leader in the segment. It is closely trailed by LG with about 37 per cent market pie. Available in 32 inch and 40 inch -- for Rs 74,000 and Rs 1.29 lakh respectively -- screen sizes, the slim and compact 'Sonoma' LCD range stands out, as much for its picture performance, high fidelity sound as its superier design. Samsung is eyeing a 50 per cent Indian market share of LCD TVs in the current fiscal. Mr Zutshi said the company was majorly focussing on smaller towns and cities. (UNI) |
Home-grown auto majors lead
India's NEW DELHI, Oct 15: Riding on the success of indigenous automobile makers Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Auto and TVS Motor Co, the Indian auto industry managed to clock an overall 24.19 per cent growth in exports during September. According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), of a combined total of 89,338 vehicles exported in September, Bajaj Auto accounted for 37,088 units, which was up 58.07 per cent as compared to the same month last year. Bajaj Auto, which has been giving tough competition to domestic two-wheeler market leader Hero Honda, has been successful in increasing its exports to countries in the South East Asia, Latin America and Africa. TVS Motor Co also continued its robust performance in the export market with a total of 10,339 units shipped overseas at a growth of 37.63 per cent over September, 2005. In the four-wheeler segment, Mahindra and Mahindra stole the show with a 95.73 per cent growth in exports mainly on the back of the success of its SUV Scorpio in markets like South Africa. The company exported a total of 1,055 units of vehicle during September. South Korean car maker Hyundai, which is by far the largest four-wheeler exporter from India, recorded a modest 7.47 per cent increase in its overseas shipment at 10,077 units. Its rival Maruti Udyog had a marginal decline by 2.5 per cent at 2,813 units. Ford India also managed a staggering 171.58 per cent jump in exports at 2,857 units. However, for Tata Motors, it was a forgettable month as far as exports were concerned, with the company managing only 3,921 units, down by 13.79 per cent as against the same month last year. (PTI) Gals SMS '6070' when in trouble!! NEW DELHI, Oct 15: A lot said but little done for the security of women in the national capital. But here comes some good news for the gals working in call centres. ValueFirst, a mobile virtual network operator for data services, will launch a paid service for women working in BPOs in a month's time. Also, the company has announced the launch of an SMS helpline 6070 for all working women in Gurgaon, to be followed by Delhi by the next month. Mr Nimesh Bhandari, Vice President, ValueFirst, says,''About 60 per cent of the employees in call centres are women and they work during the evening and night shifts.'' The SMS helpline will be operational within the next 15 days and will be free of cost. ''We have got the approval from the Delhi and Gurgaon police and plan to work in a phased manner beginning with Gurgaon,'' he says. However, he adds, the BPO-specific SMS helpline will have more features than the current one. ''We will launch it as and when the charges and other details are worked out.'' In case of an emergency, using this helpline, any employee can send in the SMS to 6070, which would be automatically forwarded to the Gurgaon police department. The user has to just type the three letter abbreviation of the city (SMS help GNG <txt>). Unlike other helplines, the message will also be forwarded to the user's employer and the application platform of ValueFirst. With the help of a mapping system the location of the sender will be identified and immediate action will be taken. National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson Girija Vyas announced the launch of the security helpline. (UNI) |
Flash Media ties up with
Shoppers MUMBAI, Oct 15: Flash Media has announced it's decision to tie-up with the premium retail giant Shoppers Stop for installing and managing IMEDIA (Dynamic Digital Signage) in all it's stores across the country. Flash Media's IMedia is a network of digital signage components like LCD/Plasma panels playing audio visual commercials. According to the agreement, Flash Media has installed over 350 wireless LCD/Plasma screens in the 19 stores of Shoppers stop across the country with an average of 20 screens in each store. The screens have been installed behind cash counters and major focal points in the store to ensure maximum consumer attention. Commenting on the tie-up with Shoppers Stop through a Press release, Abhishek Kandoi, Co-Founder & Director, Flash Media said, ''We completed our installations during end of August and the In Stores TV at Shoppers Stop has been up and running from then, we already have some premium brands associated with us''. Speaking about the large-scale acceptance of this medium, he said that dynamic Digital Signage has proved its mettle across the globe as the frequency building channel and mesmerizing audience through its ground breaking advancements. Media experts predict that this global trend would pick up in India soon. Govind Shrikhande , Customer Care Executive and Chief Executive Officer, Shopper's Stop Limited, said, ''Shoppers Stop houses more than 200 international and national brands. IMEDIA, thus is an excellent medium to communicate with the customer the ongoing promotions on brands and services available at the store. It is all about space value enhancement and connecting with the customer with regard to his choice of brand. It is a modern medium of advertising and brand promotion''. (UNI) |
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