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CII for an independent infrastructure regulator NEW DELHI, Oct 22: Industry body CII has sought establishment of an independent regulator for promoting private sector .........more India
to witness big NEW DELHI, Oct 22: India Inc will witness a big churn of CEOs in the next few years considering the amount of changes it has seen in the past five .......more Cosmetic surgery finds takers among career women NEW DELHI, Oct 22: Wrinkle removal and botox injections are not confined to the glamour world as middle class women are now willing to go under the........more Top
promoters richer MUMBAI, Oct 22: Diwali has truly proved to be a festival of wealth for the stock market with over Rs 12 trillion being added to .....more |
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IT majors on hiring NEW DELHI, Oct 22: There has been no let-up in the domestic software majors’ hiring spree, with more than 27,500 IT professionals..........more Railways
plans to phase NEW DELHI, Oct 22: The railways has prepared an ambitious plan to phase out around 10,000 air-conditioned coaches in keeping with the montreal ............more Copper production jumps 20.98% during April-Sept'06 NEW DELHI, Oct 22: The total production of copper cathode in the organised sector rose by 20.98 per cent during April-September this year at 2,89,754 tonnes as against 2,39,496 tonnes . ......more Goa
handicrafts to PANAJI, Oct 22: The Goa Handicrafts Rural and Small Scale Industries Corporation has gone hi-tech by embracing ...........more |
CII for an independent infrastructure regulator NEW DELHI, Oct 22: Industry body CII has sought establishment of an independent regulator for promoting private sector investments to enable a more efficient management of infrastructure assets in India, industry body Confederation of Indian Industry said. The chamber is releasing a report on regulation that calls for establishing an overarching regulatory framework for infrastructure and recommends principles that would enhance and ensure the effectiveness of regulatory mechanism for infrastructure, a CII release said. "Our expectation is that existing infrastructure regulatory bodies, and new ones being contemplated by the central and state governments, will seek to comply with these recommendations," National Council for Infrastructure Vinayak Chatterjee said. The recommendations, a part of the joint study titled ‘recommended framework to improve regulatory effectiveness in infrastructure sectors’ conducted jointly by CII and PPIAF (Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility), are in line with Planning Commission’s own white paper on infrastructure regulation in India. "For this (recommendations) to happen in a uniform way, we have recommended that the principles for regulatory effectiveness be enshrined in a national-level Infrastructure Regulatory Framework Act," Chatterjee added. The CII report said the regulator should be autonomous so as to effectively perform regulation with respect to entry, price and performance. CII has also said setting up a multi-disiplinary body in lines of a National Infrastructure Appellate Tribunal (NIAT) would be helpful to adjudicate upon appeals arising from sector regulators in a timely manner and also to oversee the working of regulators. It, however, said not all infrastructure sectors should have an economic regulator as market maturity and sector needs have a bearing on the way development takes place in India. (PTI) |
India to witness big CEO churn; 66 pc changes in last five yrs NEW DELHI, Oct 22: India Inc will witness a big churn of CEOs in the next few years considering the amount of changes it has seen in the past five years, global executive firm ema partner international has said. A study done by the firm stated that in the past five years 66 per cent of companies in India have changed their ceos, with MNCs having the highest percentage at 86 per cent. "We expect the attrition rate to go up, especially in certain sectors like financial services, ITES and BPO, which are in the process of maturing," EMA partner international managing partner K Sudarshan told PTI. He said even a mature sector like manufacturing will see changes as many of the stable CEOs, who had been at the helm for a long period, will be retiring in the next few years. "The manufacturing sector will have to look at younger people as replacements for the old guard who are set to retire in the near future," he said. According to the EMA study, 57 per cent of Indian business houses witnessed change in CEO in the past five years, while that of MNCs stood at 86 per cent. The IT/ITES sector saw the highest rate of change of CEO at 88 per cent followed by banking at 70 per cent, pharma (67 per cent) and FMCG (61 per cent). Sudarshan said even emerging sectors like retail could have an impact on the rate of change of CEOs as it would try to poach experienced people from sectors like FMCG and Telecom. The EMA study said CEO changes in India were primarily led by resignations (41 per cent) or retirement (24 per cent). "While the CEO resignations are mainly on account of better opportunities, many of the firms in India are not yet as forthcoming in disclosing the exact reasons as their western counterpart," Sudarshan said, adding that the trend was expected to change over the years with independent boards coming in. As far as replacement for ceos are concerned, in the manufacturing sector 82 per cent of the companies had internal replacements although IT/ITES sector relied on external appointment (73 per cent), the study said. Reasoning the factors behind the changes, Sudarshan said the job of a CEO is becoming more demanding and they have to prove themselves in a shorter span of time. "At the same time the ceos are also demanding a premium for their job, which the companies expect them to deliver. Performance in a short time is becoming key," he said. The EMA study covered 100 publicly traded and privately held companies in India with focus on manufacturing, pharma, banking, IT/ITES and FMCG sectors. (PTI) |
Cosmetic surgery finds takers among career women NEW DELHI, Oct 22: Wrinkle removal and botox injections are not confined to the glamour world as middle class women are now willing to go under the surgeon’s knife to gain confidence and in some cases, to brighten their career prospects. "The trend is changing. Now cosmetic surgery is not restricted to the film and glamour industry. Middle class women, including housewives and receptionists, are ready to go in for a makeover. The focus on appearance has become a major motive behind this move," says Narendra Pandya, a senior cosmetic surgeon who is India’s only certified doctor on the American Board of Plastic Surgery. "If you are handsome or beautiful, one doesn’t have to look for a job. The job will come to you. The middle class understands the importance of appearance and we see more and more young girls who want to change the way they look," Pandya told PTI. While breast enlargement and nose jobs continue to be the commonest procedures, new trends like dimples on the cheek, fillers for the face and mesotherpy to stimulate the skin are getting more popular. According to R K Khazanchi, a surgeon in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, the change in people’s perception is due to increased awareness. "I have seen people who are ambitious and want to do well going in for cosmetic surgery. The surgery helps them gain confidence and also improves their self-esteem," Khazanchi said. Cosmetic surgeons say while most of their clients are women, men have also started showing an interest in procedures offered by them. "The trend has started to change. Men are also becoming conscious of their appearance," said singh. "Glamour is not restricted to film or fashion industry. A person working in the it industry is also conscious of his or her appearance." It is not only the well-heeled who go in for tummy tucks or breast lifts — even college students are following the latest trends in cosmetic industry. "If it makes them feel better and more beautiful, then why not? After all everyone wants to become an Aishwarya Rai and what’s wrong with that?" Singh says. (PTI) |
Top promoters richer by over Rs 2 trillion since last Diwali MUMBAI, Oct 22: Diwali has truly proved to be a festival of wealth for the stock market with over Rs 12 trillion being added to the investors’ kitty since last year’s celebrations, although it is the country’s richie-rich club that cornered a major part of this bounty. The total investor wealth in the country’s 10 biggest corporate entities soared by about Rs 3.5 lakh crore during the Samvat year 2062 ended this Diwali, out of which a major bounty of over Rs 2.2 lakh crore was cornered by their promoters. This cash-rich club of promoters include the likes of Mukesh Ambani, Azim Premji, Tatas, Anil Ambani, Sunil Mittal and the fattest of them - the Government - who has turned out to be the biggest gainer over the past one year. While the Government alone has gained almost Rs 73,000 crore through its holding in the country’s 10 most valued companies, the rest of the promoters have managed to reap a collective bounty of about 1.5 lakh crore. The Government’s stake in energy giant ONGC has appreciated by more than Rs 23,000 crore since last year’s Diwali, while two other PSU majors NTPC and BHEL have added over Rs 21,000 crore each to it’s kitty in the past one year. Another PSU major Indian Oil Corp (IOC) added more than Rs 7,000 crore to the Government’s wealth. Despite being in the top 10 market-cap league, private sector banking major ICICI bank and tobacco giant ITC have not been considered in this analysis as the two companies do not have any promoters. Instead, IOC and electical equipment major BHEL, the next two most valued firms, were included in the calculation of promoters’ wealth. Among the private sector companies, Reliance Industries, Reliance Communications and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) added more than Rs 30,000 crore each to promoters’ wealth over the past one year. Reliance Comm has added over Rs 36,000 crore to the wealth of its promoters Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, while Reliance Industries made its promoters, including Mukesh Ambani, richer by about Rs 34,000 crore. As Reliance Communications was not a listed entity last Diwali, the latest figures have been compared to the promoters’ wealth in March when the company first entered the capital market as a separate entity. The country’s largest software exporter TCS has made its promoters richer by about Rs 32,000 crore. Another IT giant Wipro added around Rs 22,000 crore to its promoter Azim Premji’s net worth, while cellular major Bharti Airtel has made its Indian promoters, including telecom czar Sunil Mittal, richer by about Rs 15,000 crore in the past one year. IT giant Infosys, which although lags in the league of companies boosting net worth of their promoters, still managed to add more than Rs 8,500 crore to the promoters’ stake. The total investor wealth, measured in terms of the market capitalisation of the Bombay Stock Exchange, soared to over Rs 33 lakh crore this Diwali, from about Rs 20.66 crore a year ago, while collective net worth of promoters in the 10 most valued firms increased to about Rs 6.60 lakh crore from about Rs 4.37 lakh crore a year ago. (PTI) |
IT majors on hiring spree;total headcount over 2 lakh NEW DELHI, Oct 22: There has been no let-up in the domestic software majors’ hiring spree, with more than 27,500 IT professionals joining the country’s five biggest firms during the past three months, while the momentum is only likely to gain further. The country’s top-five club of IT players — TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Satyam Computer and HCL Technologies added a total of 27,583 employees to their payrolls in the July-September quarter. The robust hiring momentum has virtually shrugged off the concerns related to soaring wages eating into the company’s profitability as all the five companies have reported impressive financial results for the quarter ended September 30, the experts feel. The collective employee strength of top four IT Companies — TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Satyam Computer at the end of the period was 2,37,016. The country’s second largest software exporter Infosys added 7741 employees during the June quarter, while industry leader TCS announced net addition of 6663 employees in the same period. Earlier, Infosys had announced it plans to hire 25,000 employees this year while TCS announced it would increase the headcount by 30,500 people. Another software major Wipro recruited 5328 employees during the July- September period this year, taking its total staff count to 61,179 employees. During the June quarter, about 2,000 employees joined Infosys on a single day, which underlines the company’s continued focus on investment in creating training and recruitment engine to meet its growth objectives. Infosys plans to add 10,000 employees in the last two quarters of the current fiscal. During the first quarter, IT had added 4,200 freshers, while the later additions stood at 2,140 employees, which excluded the job additions at the company’s BPO subsidiary progeon. Industry experts said the robust recruitment plans of the IT companies were also aimed at offsetting the impact of high attrition rates plaguing the market. Tcs has continued to maintain the lowest attrition rate in the industry at 10.6 per cent, including bpo (10.6 per cent in Q1). Out of the total job additions of 5328 people in IT services business in September quarter at Wipro, which has expressed its willingness for a more aggressive stance on acquisitions, 605 employees were from their completed acquisitions during the quarter. Hcl technologies 3826 employees for the September quarter and reported a 11.7 per cent increase in headcount in a single quarter. Satyam added 4025 associates in the quarter, taking the total employee strength to 31659. Total resources, including those of subsidiaries and joint ventures, increased to 34908. According to IT industry body NASSCOM, the technology services segment would hike employee count to 390,000 in 2006 and has a demand for 8,50,000 professionals and 1.4 million back office professionals by year 2010. In 2005, Infosys, Wipro, Satyam and TCS increased their headcount by 56,000 people and have continued with robust hiring momentum since then. (PTI) |
Railways plans to phase out 10,000 AC coaches NEW DELHI, Oct 22: The railways has prepared an ambitious plan to phase out around 10,000 air-conditioned coaches in keeping with the montreal protocol on environment to which India is a signatory. Railway Ministry sources told PTI that plans have been drawn up to phase out or modify 780 air-conditioned coaches that use R-12 refrigerant manufactured before 1994. After 1994, Indian Railways had switched over to manufacturing coaches with the environment friendly refrigerant R-22, they said. However, the ministry sources denied that Indian Railways has sought the help of the United Nations development fund for phasing out its fleet of 10,000 ac coaches. The railways has been using Chloro Fluoro Carbon (CFC)-based refrigerants for air-conditioning its coaches. With research proving CFCs to be ozone depleting, the montreal protocol had adopted the phasing out of all CFC-based substances across the world by 2010. However, the sources said the railways has sought more time to phase out its fleet, taking the plea that the life of the coaches is 30 years and all of them could not be discarded soon. The railways, as a key institutional user of CFC refrigerants, was given time till 2020 to either phase out or convert AC coaches to non-CFC based air conditioning. However, the Railway Ministry sources said out of 780 coaches, 300 would complete their service by 2010 and be phased out in the normal course. The balance of 480 coaches will be converted by 2010 with environment friendly R-134a gas and work in this direction has already started, they said. Railway coach factories are manufacturing about 350 AC coaches a year to meet requirements for additional coaches and to replace the existing fleet. The rail coach factory at Kapurthala in Punjab and the integral coach factory at Perumbudur in Tamil Nadu are the main manufacturers of AC coaches. The two factories, according to sources, are making efforts to switch over to the environment friendly technology but have sought help from the Rail Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO). In order to overcome the phase-out rule, the AC coaches for the garib rath trains launched recently by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad have new designs and are equipped with environment friendly features. In his budget speech for 2006-07, Prasad had announced four garib rath trains, all AC with 24 coaches each. One of these has already been launched between Saharsa in Bihar and Amritsar in Punjab. The remaining three trians will be introduced before the end of this fiscal. (PTI) |
Copper production jumps 20.98% during April-Sept'06 NEW DELHI, Oct 22: The total production of copper cathode in the organised sector rose by 20.98 per cent during April-September this year at 2,89,754 tonnes as against 2,39,496 tonnes in the same period last year. Out of which, the public sector Hindustan Copper Ltd (HCL) contribued 16,552 tonnes, the private secor units Hindalco Industries Ltd (HINDALCO) produced 1,36,061 tonnes and Sterlite Industries Ltd produced 1,37,141 tonnes, according to official figures released here. The toal production of copper cathode during September 2006 stood at 51,182 tonnes out of which HCL produced 2,001 tonnes, HINDALCO 22,858 tonnes and SIL 26,323 tonnes. (UNI) |
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Goa handicrafts to promote sales through e-business route PANAJI, Oct 22: The Goa Handicrafts Rural and Small Scale Industries Corporation has gone hi-tech by embracing e-commerce now. Plans are on the anvil to promote the sale of their products through a website, which will be launched shortly. ''The website will display all the unique products of Goan artisans and enable e-business in which payment is made through credit cards.This will further popularise the Goan handicrafts,'' a corporation source said. In a bid to give a fillip to its turnover, the corporation has also planned to open more outlets in all metros by obtaining assistance from the Central and the State Governments. The board of directors of the corporation met here recently to approve the decision of opening 'new emporia' in New Delhi and Agra. Apart from this, the corporation had decided to organise two 'Aparant' exhibitions and one craft bazaar in December, February and March, to provide a platform for the artisans to display their skills and market their products. Also, during this festival season, the corporation had offered 5 to 10 per cent discounts on various handicrafts, besides, introducing rebates to corporate houses on certain festive occasions, sources added. (UNI) |
'Integrated approach needed to develop agriculture' NEW DELHI, Oct 22: India can achieve five per cent growth in agriculture if the Government bridges technology gap and addresses issues like stagnation of production and low public and private investment, a study by Yes bank has said. "There is a need for an integrated and holistic approach with regulatory reforms, infrastructure development, credit availability and business restructuring if we have to achieve five per cent growth in agriculture," said Kalyan Chakravarthy, Head of Food and Agriculture at Yes Bank. Chakravarthy, who was part of the FICCI-Yes Bank team that recently published a book on Indian agriculture, said the government focus should be more on some particular thrust areas as identified by the team. Horticulture, dryland agriculture, wasteland development, organic farming and infrastructure development are some of the thrust areas identified by the team, he said. Pointing out that the present marketing system of fresh produce in the country is not conducive for horticulture growth, Chakravorthy said it should be reformed. "There are so many constraints like lack of proper grading as per quality and absence of a price discovery mechanism," Chakravarthy said adding a lot needed to be a done to develop infrastructure in agriculture. "You cannot expect the farmers to come to a mandi if there is no proper road connectivity between the village and the mandi." Other infrastructure issues that needed immediate redressal are to increase the warehousing facilities and creating cold chain facilities across India, he said. (PTI) |
Inflation remains unaltered at 5.16 pc NEW DELHI, Oct 22: The annual rate of inflation for the week ended Ocober 7, remained unchanged as that of the previous week at 5.16 per cent, owing to higher prices of power and and a decline in the prices of food articles besides some manufactured products. The inflation rate calculated on a point-to-point basis, stood at 4.88 per cent during the corresponding week of the previous year, according to official figures released here today. Vowing to bring down inflation the Finance Minister P Chidambaram last week said if supply side constraints persist then inflation will hover bewteen four to five per cent. But medium term moderation will set in after the supply side constraints cease, such as those pertaining to fresh stocks of wheat and sugar. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) for all commodities for the week ended October 7, 2006, rose marginally to 207.9 from 207.8 for the previous week. The index for the Primary Articles group declined by 0.2 per cent to 211.9 from 212.4 for the previous week. The index for Food Articles group declined marginally to 215.6 from 215.7 for the previous week due to lower prices of fish-marine (6 per cent), mutton (4 per cent), bajra (3 per cent) and ragi and maize (1 per cent each). However, the prices of poultry chicken (3 per cent), moong, jowar, arhar and gram (2 per cent each) and fish-inland and barley (1 per cent each) moved up. The index for Non-Food Articles group declined by 0.9 per cent to 185.6 from 187.2 for the previous week due to lower prices of logs and timber (12 per cent), sunflower (9 per cent), rape and mustard seed (2 per cent each) and raw silk and soyabean (1 per cent each). However, the prices of groundnut seed (2 per cent) and gingelly seed, copra and castor seed (1 per cent each) moved up. The index for the Fuel, Power, Light and Lubricants group rose by 0.2 per cent to 329.5 from 328.9 for the previous week due to higher prices of electricity (1 per cent). However, the prices of furnance oil declined by 1 per cent. The index for Manufactured Products group rose by 0.1 per cent to 179.4 from 179.2 for the previous week. The index for Food Products group declined by 0.2 per cent to 182.5 from 182.8 for the previous week due to lower prices of oil cakes (4 per cent) and gur and hydrogenated vanaspati (1 per cent each). However, the prices of sooji (rawa) and bran (all kinds) (5 per cent each), maida (4 per cent), coconut oil, salt and atta (3 per cent each), imported edible oil (2 per cent) and sunflower oil, groundnut oil, unrefined oil and gingelly oil (1 per cent each) moved up. The index for Beverages Tobacco and Tobacco Products group rose by 2.0 per cent to 239.9 from 235.3 for the previous week due to higher prices of Indian made foreign spirit (12 per cent). The index for Textiles group rose by 0.1 per cent to 134.0 from 133.9 for the previous week due to higher prices of tyre cord fabric (4 per cent). The index for Chemicals and Chemical Products group declined by 0.1 per cent to 193.0 from 193.1 for the previous week due to lower prices liquid nitrogen (8 per cent). The index for Non-Metallic Mineral products group rose by 0.6 per cent to 191.0 from 189.8 for the previous week due to higher prices of building bricks and cement (1 per cent each). The index for Basic Metal Alloys and Metal Products group rose by 0.1 per cent to 236.1 from 235.9 for the previous week due to higher prices of nickel alloy (10 per cent), ms bars and rounds (2 per cent) and other iron steel, lead ingots, zinc and zinc ingots (1 per cent each). However, the prices of foundary pig iron (1 per cent) declined. The index for Machinery and Machine Tools group rose by 0.3 per cent to 154.7 from 154.2 for the previous week due to higher prices of switch gears (12 per cent). The index for Transport Equipment and Parts group rose by 0.4 per cent to 163.5 from 162.9 for the previous week due to higher prices of other automobile spare parts (8 per cent). (UNI) ONGC discovers huge oil resources in Mizoram AIZAWL, Oct 22: Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga said that the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has identified a huge oil while conducting a survey in a 5000 sq km area in Hortoki. ''We have requested the ONGC to carry out exploration in the state, which would contribute to the development of the state,'' the Chief Minister said. He said, ''Hnahthial area also has a huge oil reserve and a global tender has been floated for exploration works. Twenty percent of the profit would go to state's revenue provided Mizoram is a share holder.'' Besides, the Ministry of Petroleum has already directed the Directorate General of Hydro carbon (DGH) to explore the natural gas to start a mega project in the state. Following the initial survey, earlier by the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), the DGH has conducted various survey in the region to identify oil reserves and look for commercialisation. (UNI) |
MNES is now Min of New and Renewable Energy NEW DELHI, Oct 22: The Government has re-christened the Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources as Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. "The new name gives a more positive outlook to the Ministry as compared to the earlier name," a petroleum and natural gas ministry official said. A Cabinet Secretary notification has been issued to change the name of the Ministry, the official said. The industry had been demanding a change in name for the Ministry of non-conventional energy sources for a long time on the ground that the earlier name gave out a negative message. Industry chamber ASSOCHAM had also made a representation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard. (PTI) |
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