Ethiopia seeks inspiration from India’s fashion saga

GM looks to export from India, launch second mini-car

No worry of foodgrain shortage during 11th plan : Pawar

New immigration system curbs software export to UK: Nath

Vishal Retail to raise Rs 200 crore in 2-3 months

NEW DELHI, Mar 17: Vishal Retail, which runs a chain of speciality stores and hypermarkets in the country, today said it will raise around Rs 200 crore through preferential issue of shares in the next 2-3 months to fund the company's expansion plans.

"Right now we are considering preferential issue in next 2-3 months to raise Rs 200 crore to expand further," Vishal Retail Chairman and MD RC Agarwal told PTI.

He said the Rs 100 crore corpus raised through the initial public offering had already been utilised and more money was required to push the expansion plans further.

The Delhi-based company, which currently operates over 90 stores across the country, expects to clock a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore in the current fiscal.

Agarwal had said earlier that Vishal Retail has also chalked out plans to launch quick service restaurants for which it is in talks with real estate developers to lease space at prime locations, including Delhi Metro stations.

Besides, the focus on private labels in its stores, the company is also planning to set up a private equity fund.

"The private equity fund initiative is still at a nascent stage. Planning is on and we will announce the details once all the things are in place," Agarwal said.

Asked to comment on the reports about the company's plans to foray into the real estate sector, Agarwal said,"As of now there are no plans to enter the sector and the focus is clearly retail." (PTI)

Coke to pump in more investment to make India top 5 mkts: CEO

NEW DELHI, Mar 17: Betting big on India’s potential to emerge among its top five markets in the world, Cola giant Coca Cola today committed to more "incremental" investment on top of Rs 1,000 crore, it is pumping in next three years.

"We are bullish on India. It is a matter of stimulation... As the growth comes, you have to put in incremental investments," E Neville Isdell Chairman and CEO of US-based multinational Coke said.

"We are investing 250 million dollars (Rs 1,000 crore)... this will not be the last. More investments will come," Isdell, who is visiting India as part of pushing business in tandem with a pleasure trip, said.

Dubbing Coca Cola (India) as a "profitable" venture that is adding to the balance sheet of the global giant, the CEO said, "We have arrived in India. But we have not arrived to the level where we want to."

"It is a question of long-term commitment. India figures in the global growth strategy of Coke. We are going to make it among the top 10 countries for Coke and then later among the top five," he said, but did not give any time frame on whether the first milestone would be achieved in five years or less.

Pointing out that India is currently at number 17 in the list of countries where Coke is present, Isdell said the country had emerged among the best markets for the company during the year 2007.

Recounting the tough time Coke faced in India owing to the pesticide controversy, Isdell said the company had learnt its lesson from the fact that despite it not doing anything wrong, the perception was contrary.

"...It (pesticide) was not correct. But the perception took the form of reality and it was our credibility that took us out of it. We are doing well but we have to align with the society," he said.

Asked about the acceptability of Coke in India and if it was getting hurt by a spate of controversies ranging from pesticide to water depletion being caused by the cola giant, Coke’s worldwide CEO said, "We re-entered India in 1993 and had not become integral part of the society (at that time)."

Listing out various corporate social responsibilities activities initiated by it since then as part of making itself more acceptable in India, Isdell said that though Coke was water-neutral and ground water usage was "zero degree", the company was taking a series of measures including providing rain harvesting and other water-related facilities.

Having visited one such facility in Gujarat yesterday where Coca Cola (India) has created a big over-head water tank for the villagers, Isdell said the resistance that it faced was "nothing new" in India. The company had faced major problems in France and Japan in fifties and both the countries are now major markets for Coke.

Isdell, who is likely to meet Finance Minister P Chidambaram during his visit, said the company was not affected by the appreciation of rupee.

"We are a local brand, not importer," he said but listed inflation, which is ruling over five per cent now as an area of concern but the government is addressing the issue. (PTI)

Govt says 76 unapproved foreign technical courses on offer

NEW DELHI, Mar 17: The Government today said 76 institutions are conducting unapproved foreign university courses in the field of technical education, according to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

Stating this, Minister of State for Human Resource Development D Purandeswari told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that while there were no authentic statistics available with regard to foreign educational institutions operating in the country, a list of unapproved institutions conducting such courses was available on the AICTE website, www.Aicte.Ernet.In <http://www.Aicte.Ernet.In>.

"Public notices have been issued by AICTE in all leading newspapers and displayed on the AICTE website cautioning the students,"she said.

(UNI)

Ethiopia seeks inspiration from India’s fashion saga

NEW DELHI, Mar 17: India’s Rs 270 crore and growing fashion design industry is now seen as a role model by countries like Ethiopia, which is nowhere on the global fashion radar and hence keen to emulate its growth and success.

A group of four designers from the Horn of Africa country, is currently in India as part of a collaborative effort by the Indian Embassy in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian government.

Known for its cotton that is said to be the best in the world, the African country does not have a fashion industry per se and designers who hail from the country are few and far between.

"It is only recently that we have started making a noise in our country about fashion," Hiruth Gougsa, who runs ‘Mela,’ a store in Addis Ababa, which specialises in jewellery, bags, home furnishings and other accesories said.

Gougsa is one of the four women chosen to attend a workshop conducted by the Pearl Academy of Fashion late last year, aimed at imparting basic knowhow on fashion, focussing on the intricacies of design, craft, forecasting trends, couture and techiques among others in the industry.

The workshop included a 15 day study tour where participants will visit India and gain first hand exposure of its fashion.

"The Indian ambassor in Ethopia offered us an opportunity to share India’s design experience with them and we accepted. We are currently in the process of designing a course curriculum in Ehiopia to be used in their fashion institutes and schools," says A K G Nair, who heads Pearl Academy of Fashion. (PTI)

GM looks to export from India, launch second mini-car

NEW DELHI, Mar 17: Leading car maker General Motors today said it will look to make India its small car hub and export cars from the country once home demand is met, even as it plans a second mini-car for the country.

"We are very competitive in India. Manufacturing competitiveness is very good and manufacturing quality is at par with the rest of the world. Supply base competitiveness is a problem and once addressed we are certainly looking at exports. However, we are focussed on the domestic market at present," said GM Group Vice President and President GM Asia Pacific David N Reilly.

The company, which has been under pressure in the US market, expects the emerging markets like India, Russia, China and Brazil to offset any softening in demand in the North American Markets.

The key to spurring demand in the Indian market, the company feels, is in the small car segment. In the country, GM operates the Chevrolet Spark which is the lowest price car in the company’s stable and along with Aveo U-VA account for a significant share of its sales. GM is now looking at a car cheaper than the Spark.

The car will not compete directly with Tata Motors Nano, but will be cheaper than GM’s current lowest priced car in India.

"Around the world and especially in India there is a space for another small car. We are working on it and will take around two years to take a call on it. It is highly likely that the car will be first launched in India and will be under the Chevrolet Brand," Mr Reilly said.

The company’s Bangalore R&D division is expected to play a significant role on the design of the small car.

The company also has ambitious plans for component sourcing which is at 300 million dollars at present and expect it to grow two-three times over the next three years.

Commercial production at the GM’s second plant in India at Talegaon in Maharashtra is likely to begin in August. The trial production will start this week.

GM has invested more than 300 million dollars in Talegaon facility which will have an initial capacity of 1.4 lakh units.

The facility will have the option to be scaled up to 3,00,000 units, which will be the Phase II of expansion, said GM India President and Managing Director Karl Slym.

The company also intends to assemble the Chevrolet Captiva in the country. Presently, the Captiva is sold in the country as a CBU.

"We are selling enough volumes of Captiva for a case to be made for assembling it here. We will do it either from the Halol or the Talegoan plant," Mr Slym said.

The company targets to sell 2,00,000 units in 2010 and expects that more than half of it will come from small cars. The company presently holds three per cent market share in the country.

GM’s Wooling Motors venture in China has been turning out 2,500 dollar mini-vans and other small commercial vehicles for several years now and Mr Reilly said study was on to see whether production and assembly could be done in India. (UNI)

No worry of foodgrain shortage during 11th plan : Pawar

NEW DELHI, Mar 17: The Government today asserted that the country would remain self-sufficient in foodgrains, except for pulses, during the Eleventh Plan Period.

Replying to questions on the subject in the Lok Sabha, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said the production of foodgrains during 2007-08 was estimated at 219.32 million tonnes and the availability of foodgrains for this period would be more than the demand by about five million tonnes.

He said the National Food Security Mission, which has been launched from Rabi season 2007-08, sought to add the production of rice by ten million tonnes, wheat by eight million tonnes and pulses by two million tonnes by the end of the eleventh plan (2011-12) through area increase and productivity enhancement in targeted districts.

Mr Pawar denied the allegation that the pace of implementation of important agricultural plan schemes, including the National Food Security Mission and "Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana," was slow.

Replying to another set of questions on corporatisation of retail fruit and vegetable markets, he said the Government had started the process of getting the Agricultural Produce Market Regulation Act amended by the State Governments to bring efficiency in the existing marketing system and allowing the private markets and development of alternative marketing channels such as direct marketing contract farming and e-trading.

Raising the issue, Congress member Aaron Rasheed asked the government to eliminate middlemen to ensure more profit to the farmers from the sale of their agricultural produce.

Mr Pawar said there were a number of intermediaries operating in the supply chain of agricultural produce to the retailers or processors or exporters, in the name of commission agents, traders, wholesalers, distributors, dealers who retained their share in the consumer spending before determining prices which were passed on to the farmers.

It had been observed that the number of intermediaries ranged from six to eight in case of most of the agricultural produces, the minister said, while pointing out that studies indicated that the share of producers in consumer spending varied from 56 per cent to 88 per cent in foodgrains and 79 to 95 per cent in pulses, 65 to 96 per cent in oilseeds and 33 to 75 per cent in case of fruit and vegetables.

Mr Pawar said his ministry had requested the State Government to set up Terminal Market Complexes with suitable backward and forward linkages under the National Horticulture Mission so that farmers get better farm returns through value addition and efficient marketing.

He said the Government had also permitted trading of agricutlural commodities in the futures market which was helping in stabilisation of prices in the market and facilitating better price discovery.

Mr Pawar said various commodity exchanges had also initiated setting up of electronic spot exchanges for e-trading of agricultural commodities.

(UNI)

New immigration system curbs software export to UK: Nath

LONDON, Mar 17: Britain’s new points-based immigration system may become a ‘retrograde step’ as it prevents India and other developing countries from exporting information technology systems and personnels to the country, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath has said.

"The new regime can make it harder for software and other IT executives to travel back and forth between India and the UK, imperiling their ability to fulfill service contracts," Nath told the Financial Times.

"We are not asking for more permanent immigration. We are talking about people coming in for a month or so to integrate software systems," he said.

He pointed out that Indian software companies that could send executives or technical experts into the UK for short periods would be unable to service warranties or sell new systems that would require on-the-spot maintenance in the future.

Noting that New Delhi was still studying the new system, Nath said the new system risked becoming a ‘retrograde step’.

Under the old immigration regime, there was special provision for the temporary movement of workers to fulfill commitments under international trade deals.

Such liberalisation is one of India’s key demands in international trade talks, such as the bilateral deal it is negotiating with the European Union.

The UK Home Office would create a special immigration category for temporary workers, details of which it would release shortly, the report added.

Nath said the new restrictions did not square with the UK’s claims to be in favour of promoting free trade in services.

"In the liberalisation of services, the temporary movement of people is an important thing," he said.

Total UK imports of computer and information services from India were 2.7 billion pounds in 2006.

Data obtained by the Association of Technology Staffing Companies, which represents British IT professionals, showed that 38,450 work permits for IT jobs were issued to non-EU residents in the UK last year - more than double the total five years ago - of which 82 per cent went to Indians.

Most of these were intra-company transfers of permanent employees recruited outside the EU. (PTI)