Future Brands to enter sportswear, skincare,cosmetics segments...

Generators installed to fight problem of power cuts...

Gold precious, but silver shines more for investors....

Govt considers compensating NHAI for toll tax losses........

‘Fear Factor’, Akshay ‘machismo’ put ‘Colors’ at No 3 in wk 1

NEW DELHI, Aug 3: Riding on the "exciting thrill ride" provided by the adventure reality show ‘Fear Factor Khatron Ke Khiladi’ and "the rugged charm" exuded by Bollywood Khiladi Akshay Kumar as its host, the new general entertainment ‘Colors’ has debuted as the number three General entertainment channel in the opening week of its launch, channel sources said.

According to the TAM ratings for the week starting July 21, ‘Colors’, the GEC from the Viacom 18 stable, notched up viewership ratings of 81 GRPs in the very first week of its launch, making it a clear number three among the general entertainment channels behind only Star Plus and Zee TV with viewership ratings of 258 GRPs and 180 GRPs respectively and ahead of Sony Entertainment network and NDTV Imagine which notched viewership ratings of 72 GRPs and 71 GRPs respectively.

Channel sources said ‘Colors’ achieved a viewership level of 36.4 million viewers with just five-and-a-half days of programming.

"The numbers for ‘Colors’ are an all time high for any new GEC channel as these numbers are almost four times that of 9X’s and nearly 50 per cent more than NDTV Imagine’s opening numbers,"the sources said.

When compared to viewership ratings of 81 GRPs notched by ‘Colors’ in its opening week, 9X and NDTV Imagine had garnered ratings of 21 GRPs and 56 GRPs in the opening week of their launch.

Comparing the numbers on a like-to-like basis(July 21 1900 hrs to July 26), places ‘Colors’ as the clear number three above Sony, NDTV Imagine and the rest, the sources added.

The sources attribute the huge viewership levels for the channel in large part to the adventure reality show ‘Fear factor Khatron Ke Khiladi’ hosted by Bollywood ‘Khiladi’ Akshay Kumar.

The show, which marks the debut of Akshay on the small screen, close on the heels of his contemporaries like Shahrukh Khan in ‘Kya Aap Paanchvi Pass Se Tez Hain’ and Salman Khan on ‘Dus Ka Dum’, notched up average viewership ratings of 2 TVRs with the peak ratings being 2.3 TVRs during its opening week.

Being aired on the new GRC Mondays to Thursdays at 2200 hrs, ‘Fear Factor Khatron Ke Khiladi’ has Akshay Kumar, among the most dependable stars of the film industry today, display his daredevilry and penchant for adventure and thrill as the host of the new show, guiding 13 Bollywood beauties in performing some of the most breathtaking stunts ever performed.

Shot in the exotic locales of South Africa, Fear Factor Khatron Ke Khiladi shows beauties like Yaana Gupta, Aditi Govtrikar, Pooja Bedi, Sonali Kulkarni, Anita Hasnandani, Meghna Naidu, Tapur Chatterjee, Tupur Cahtterjee, Nethra Raghuraman, Anjana Sukhani, Dipannita Sharma, Vidya Malvade and Urvashi Sharma performing some death-defying stunts in the exotic locales of South Africa in pursuit of the battle of physical and mental strength to determine as to who among them will be the last one standing .

Witnessing beautiful women perform stunts that would seem near impossible for ordinary mortals takes the game to the highest level of physical and mental challenge, making the show more gritty and edgy than ever before.

Among the other shows on the channel, ‘Balika Vadhu’ averaged 0.9 TVR for the week with a peak rating of 1.2 TVR, ‘Jai Shri Krishna’ averaged 0.8 TVR with a Peak rating of 0.9 TVR.

Noting that the ratings and reach of the programmes has been increasing steadily ever since its launch on July 21 at 1900 hrs, channel sources said,"this indicates that viewers are continuously sampling the channel."

While ‘Fear Factor Khatron Ke Khiladi’ is the flagship show for the new channel, also included in the programme line-up is a fantasy drama Rahe Tera Ashirwaad, a sublime saga of deep devotion which witnesses an orphaned girl blessed by Jai Mata Vaishnodevi fighting forces of evil; Jai Shri Krishna, an epic show capturing Lord Krishna’s childhood glory; a gripping new drama Balika Vadhu a first ever on Indian television enlightening the social evil of child marriage, presenting the journey of a bride in Bandhan Saat Janamon Ka; a romantic tale of love that triumph against all odds in Jeevan Saathi and evoking patriotism in the period drama of Mohe Rang De.

The channel has also lined up a show on the lines of the popular chat show Koffee with Karan, which will have the most talked about celebrities as they let their hair down and be at their candid best in Sajid Khan_s first ever talk show- Sajid’s Superstars.

Colors has partnered with the country’s leading production houses to offer the very best in Hindi entertainment to its viewers. The channel’s production partners include Endemol India (for Fear Factor Khatron Ke Khiladi), Meenakshi Sagar Productions (for Jai Shri Krishna), Shakuntalam Telefilms (for Bandhan Saath Janmon Ka), Playtime Creations (for Jeevan Saathi), Sphere Origins (for Balika Vadhu- Kacchi Umar Ke Pakke Rishtey), JayPranlal Mehta (for Rahe Tera Aashirwad), Wizcraft Television (for Sajid’s Superstars) and Deepti Bhatnagar Productions (for Mohe Rang De).

One of the highlights of most of the shows on the channel is the fact that the music boasts of title tracks composed and sung by Bollywood’s most renowned names- Alka Yagnik, Anand Raj Anand, Neeraj Shridhar, Suresh Wadekar, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Shreya Goshal amongst many more.

For movie buffs, Colors has acquired some of India’s latest blockbuster Hindi movies like Singh Is King, Bhootnath, Heyy Baby, Om Shanti Om, One Two Three, Dus Kahaniyan,Sunday amongst many others that will further strengthen its offering to its viewers.

(UNI)

Dabur to invest Rs 250 cr on expansion, may hike prices

NEW DELHI, Aug 3: FMCG major Dabur India said it will invest over Rs 250 crore in the next one year to set up a greenfield facility for manufacturing a range of consumer goods and upgrade its existing facilities.

Dabur also has plans to hike prices of its consumer and healthcare products, keeping in mind the intense inflationary pressure.

"We are planning to set up a new manufacturing facility in India entailing a capital expenditure of about Rs 150 crore, which would be made in the next fiscal. Besides, we will be undertaking another Rs 100 crore of capital expenditure this fiscal at our existing facilities," Dabur India Chief Executive officer Sunil Duggal told analysts.

He, however, did not divulge details about the greenfield facility planned by the company.

Sources said Dabur could be looking to set up the new facility in one of the hill states, where it can expect tax breaks. This unit is expected to manufacture a range of new personal care products.

Dabur is expected to hike prices in the core FMCG business under its consumer care division by 7 per cent and in the consumer health division by 8-9 per cent to tide over the inflationary trend, Duggal said.

"There would, however, be no hike in price of our food products," he said.

Duggal said the company is also expanding its product portfolio with plans afoot to launch an ayurvedic skin care range.

Dabur India had forayed into the skin care market last year with the launch of rose-based skin care products under the ‘Gulabari’ brand name.

"The brand Gulabari posted a 175 per cent growth in the first quarter of the 2008-09 fiscal," Duggal said.

Dabur plans to open 5-6 new stores over the next few months across the country, Duggal said referring to the company’s retail venture.

"We feel there will be a downward trend in rentals soon and we do not want to lock ourselves in at high rentals. So, we have pre-booked properties for later and expect the stores to break even operationally from day one," he said.

Dabur has also trimmed the size of its new stores from the earlier average size of 1,200-1,500 sq ft to 700-1,000 sq ft, Duggal added. (PTI)

Ferns ‘N’ Petals to raise Rs 250 cr through IPO

NEW DELHI, Aug 3: Florist chain Ferns ‘N’ Petals is planning to tap the capital market through an initial public offering in 2010 to raise around Rs 250 crore, which could see promoters diluting about 30 per cent stake.

The company will be utilising proceeds from the public issue to fund its expansion in overseas markets, including the US and the UK besides enhancing its delivery services and making it more technologically savvy.

"The IPO would come up by September-October in 2010," Ferns n Petals Managing Director Vikaas Gutgutia said.

He said the company aimed to raise around Rs 250 crore through the maiden public issues.

Asked about the details, he said: "It is at a very primitive stage but I hope to raise around Rs 250 crore and we may dilute 30 per cent stake. We are still in talks with investors and other firms."

Gutgutia said the company planned to enhance its presence in the overseas markets.

"We are foraying into the UK and other European markets. We will also focus in South East Asian countries in the next two years," he added.

The company also has plans to add another 120 outlets across the country in the next two years. It currently has 80 outlets, out of which 20 are company-owned.

"We are planning to open 20 outlets this year and for this we will be investing around Rs 1.5 crore. We plan to add another 100 outlets in the next two years," Gutgutia said.

Talking about the models of the outlets, Gutgutia said, "Most of our stores are of franchisee model. We plan to stick to that for the outlets we are opening up."

The company which has a turnover of Rs 100 crore aims to maintain its current growth of 35-40 per cent in another three-four years. (PTI)

Fortis plans medical institute in Punjab, to invest Rs 100 cr

NEW DELHI Aug 3: Medical service provider Fortis Health Care plans to set up an institute, which will also house a cancer research hospital, in Punjab at an initial investment of Rs 100 crore.

"We have submitted a detailed plan to Punjab Government to upgrade the healthcare services in the state which includes setting a medical education centre that would include nursing school, OPD centre and a large cancer hospital," Fortis Healthcare CEO Shivinder Singh said.

State officials said Fortis’ plans include setting up a chain of medical centre on a private-public-partnership model.

The total investments in the initial phase would be to the tune of Rs 100 crore, the officials said.

Fortis is looking at setting up a large hospital with capacity of 100-250 beds linked to the OPD services, the officials said, adding the firm was looking at replicating the model in other parts of the state.

A high rate of cancer in Punjab, particularly in Malwa region, and absence of proper treatment facilities force people to go to hospitals in neighbouring state of Rajasthan.

The hospital would also help in providing medical care to the patients coming from across the border, officials said.

According to the data available with the government a large number of patients from countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan come to India via Amritsar for treatment and there is a big demand for a quality private hospital in the region.

"We are seriously concerned about the welfare of the people. As a company in the business of health care, we consider it imperative to provide the best possible medical aid to the people," Singh said.

The company had earlier said it was targeting to own 40 hospitals by 2011 and it can be through acquisitions, setting up greenfield facility or through PPP model. (PTI)

Future Brands to enter sportswear, skincare,cosmetics segments...

NEW DELHI, Aug 3: Kishore Biyani-promoted Future Group company, Future Brands is expanding its basket with plans to foray into sportswear segment besides launching a range of skin care and cosmetic products this year.

The company, which will be strengthening its apparel segment by introducing a new denim brand in another three months, plans to invest up to Rs 50 crore for its various activities by the next year.

"We are focusing into the apparel segment. We are coming up with sportwears, casual wears and skincare products in the next three months," Future Brands Managing Director and CEO Santosh Desai said.

The new clothing lines will be launched in metro cities and other smaller towns.

"For the apparel segment we are targeting Class I and Class II cities and other smaller towns," he said, adding the firm is also relaunching its apparel brand ‘Bare’ very soon.

On the investment front, he said, "This year we plan to invest around Rs 35 crore, out of which Rs seven to eight crore will go into marketing. We will take it to Rs 50 crore by the next year."

Future Brands, which sells its products through the group’s big retail formats such as Big Bazaar and Pantaloons, is planning to increase its availability in other stores as well.

"We will be entering into general trading very soon. So our products will be available not only in Big Bazaar outlets but also in other stores including multiplexes and all," Desai said.

He said the firm is aiming a turnover of around Rs 1,600 crore by 2011. It has a turnover of around Rs 500 crore and is aiming to increase it to Rs 850 crore by the next year. (PTI)

Generators installed to fight problem of power cuts...

CHANDIGARH, Aug 3: When people in other parts of Punjab are reeling under power cuts ranging from 6-8 hours daily, their counterparts in Tarn Taran district of the state have a back up system which supplies electricity to them.

"Ten diesel-run generators of a capacity ranging from 25 KV to 40 KV have been installed at various places in the district by different people. Power lines, too, have been laid to the houses and shops so that people can avail of this facility, which comes at a price," says Jaspal Singh, who has taken a connection for his office on Jandiala road in the district.

The generator owners charge from Rs 400 to Rs 1,000 per month from people opting for the service in residential areas whereas shopkeepers have to shell out anywhere between Rs 1500-2000 per month in the commercial category, Jaspal said.

"It’s a good facility for us, but the flip side is that consumers, both in the commercial and non-commercial category, have to subscribe for full one year and make the payment for it in advance," Deepak, who owns a house in main bazaar, Tarn Taran, said.

Raj Sharma, who earlier used to run his own generator, says over 2,000 connections have been given in Tarn Taran town at present.

Punjab is facing an acute problem of power shortage forcing the State Electricity Board to impose cuts. (PTI)

Gold precious, but silver shines more for investors....

NEW DELHI, Aug 3: Silver has always been the second choice for consumers after the glitter of gold, but when it comes to investors the yellow metal is giving just about half the return compared to its whitish-grey cousin.

After outpacing gold’s return of just about 14 per cent with over 30 per cent appreciation in 2007, silver is still maintaining a significant lead this year.

The average return from investment in silver has grown by about 18 per cent since January this year, as against about 12 per cent for gold in the same period, the experts said.

"Buoyed by industrial demand, silver prices are rising significantly in line with gold. In fact, volatility in white metal have been much higher than gold this year both in global as well as domestic market," brokerage firm Karvy Comtrade’s Research Head Harish G said.

Spot silver prices in the country, which were ruling at Rs 19,000 per kg level in January, have touched up to 27,000 per kg level. In the same time, gold rallied from Rs 10,800 per 10 grams to over 13,700 per 10 grams in the recent months.

In the coming months also, the analysts expect silver to maintain a lead over gold in terms of return appreciation.

"The size and depth of the market is a prime force behind the rise of prices.

"Further, silver is presumed to be the cousin of copper and when the mining cost of base metals, especially copper goes northward, the cash cost on silver automatically pushes upwards. As a precious metal, factors contributing to gold keep this metal also afloat," said another brokerage firm Kotak Commodities Vice-President Si Kannan.

Silver metal is not only used for a currency hedge, but also in industrial and technology sectors.

The launch of silver exchange-traded fund (ETF) globally has further pumped up investment demand, which were absent in the past, further fueling the prices, Kannan noted.

Every time gold prices soar, silver prices soar about twice as high. Interestingly, silver returns since 2004 have outpaced gold over the last four years, experts said.

The returns from silver stood at 30.52 per cent in 2007, as compared with 14.18 per cent for gold.

Nevertheless, both gold and silver are expected to be more precious in the years ahead. The global uncertainty, the rising inflation, the falling dollar amid falling mine product coupled with ever increasing investment demand should keep the metal firmer in the years ahead, they added.

"Given the current market scenario when the real interest rates are negative, any investor should park at least 20-25 per cent of its fund in precious metals.

"Unlike in the past where the physical markets are the only place of purchase, investment in these metals are very easy now a days with the availability of ETFs, structured products on gold, the investment chunk is likely to rise multi-fold in the coming five years," Kannan said.

"I expect gold and silver to generate returns of approximately 30 and 40 per cent respectively by December 2008, after the current consolidation," he noted.

Currently, silver is ruling at Rs 24,450 per kg and gold at 12,607 per 10 grams in the domestic market.

With the silver demand accelerating with a pick up in economic activity, volatility in prices has paced up benefiting many investors. In the last four months, volatility in domestic silver prices stood at 26.68 per cent as against 19 per cent in gold. The volatility in global prices of silver were about 38.58 per cent, while in gold 24.60 per cent. (PTI)

Govt considers compensating NHAI for toll tax losses........

NEW DELHI, Aug 3: The Government is considering measures to compensate the NHAI for losses incurred from reduced toll charges as a result of package announced to assuage truckers who had gone on an indefinite nation-wide strike last month.

"The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has given us a draft of its proposal for the compensation. The draft would be discussed by a committee to be formed consisting of representatives of various Government bodies and All India Motor Transport Congress," a senior Transport Ministry official said.

The cost of construction of each kilometer of highway by NHAI is about Rs 6-7 crore and there are maintenance and repair costs over and above that. So a method to compensate the authority will be looked at, the official said.

The committee, as envisaged in the package announced by the government, would be formed in the next 8-10 days,he said.

It would consist of two officials of the Ministry of Roads and Highways and one representative from the Finance Ministry, apart from AIMTC representatives. It would also have officials from the National Council of Applied Economic Research and Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.

The Transport Ministry has already sent a note the AIMTC and Finance Ministry asking for their nominations for the committee.

Last month, transporters had gone on an indefinite strike demanding reduction of toll taxes on highways, among others.

As part of an agreement, Government had agreed to restore toll rates applicable prior to December 2007 and said there would not be any increase in toll for a period of one year on Government-funded 770 km national highway stretches.

This had affected NHAI’s revenue generation plans. Earlier NHAI Chairman N Gokulram said due to the freezing of hike in toll-tax, there would be some drop in revenue collection. (PTI)