Cabinet reshuffle on the cards…SM Krishna steps down

The government is set to reshuffle the cabinet yet again, probably on Sunday (Oct 28). Ahead of the reshuffle, External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has resigned. Krishna was made the External Affairs Minister immediately after the elections in 2009 when UPA came back to power for the second time. A host of vacancies have been created by the exit of Trinamool Congress from UPA last month along with the resignations of DMK representatives in 2010 end. The big question now is whether Rahul Gandhi will take charge of any ministry. Reports indicate Rahul Gandhi may be inducted as either the Rural Development minister, a portfolio currently held by Jairam Ramesh or put in charge of Human Resources, headed by Kapil Sibal. Delay in making fresh appointments has led to many Cabinet ministers holding multiple portfolios. These include C.P. Joshi (Railways and Surface Transport), Kapil Sibal (HRD and Telecom and Information Technology), Vayalar Ravi (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Overseas Indian Affairs and Science and Technology), Anand Sharma (Commerce, Industry and Textiles) and M. Veerappa Moily (Corporate Affairs and Power). Jyotiraditya Scindia, who is minister of state (MoS), may be promoted to Cabinet rank or given independent charge, while MPs Meenakshi Natarajan and Pradeep Manjhi may join as MoS. Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand Pradeep Balmuchu may also get a key portfolio. Expectations are that the government is looking at adding younger MPs aligned to Rahul Gandhi as junior ministers.

RBI may restructure SLR to meet Basel-III norms: Reports

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that it may restructure the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) to compute liquidity under the Basel-III regulatory norms. The move is aimed at preventing a recurrence of 2008 like financial crisis, according to media reports. This may be an indication that RBI may ease the Basel-III norms on capital and liquidity, which the banking industry is opposed to citing a likely fall in profitability, the reports added. RBI deputy governor Anand Sinha said that the central bank is thinking how to design a scheme under which a part of the SLR is treated as Basel III liquidity requirement. Mr Sinha was speaking at a banking conference organised by CARE Ratings on 22nd October. Mr Sinha further said that restructuring liquidity coverage ratio will not make a huge change in the Indian context since domestic banks are mandated to hold 23% of their deposits in government bonds, which are not marketable, the reports further mentioned. CARE Research estimates domestic banks will be required to raise equity in the range of $40-$50bn over the next six years to meet BASEL-III guidelines. Banks ROE is projected to fall by 80-100bps for every 1% increase in core equity ratio, if other things remain constant. Given that most PSU banks core equity ratio is 6%-9%, CARE believes their ROE is expected to remain under pressure in the range of 100-200bps due to higher capital requirement. However, banks could increase/decrease their lending/ deposit rate by 15-25 bps, increase fee income or bring in cost efficiency to protect their ROE to fall from the current levels. Basel-III guidelines (implementing from 1st Jan, 2013) requires all unamortized pension liabilities to be fully written off from the books before 1st Jan, 2013. As a consequence, CARE said that PSU banks are required to write-off roughly Rs. 14,000 cr before 1st Jan, 2013, representing 4%-12% of net worth in FY12. Considering the fact that banks ROE would be severely impacted if unamortized liabilities would be charged to P&L account, CARE added that most banks would seek approval from RBI to directly write-off from reserves account as sought by SBI in FY11. In case, RBI does not approve to directly adjust the unamortized amount with B/S, then ROE of PSU banks will be severely impacted in FY13.

Time right to cut repo rate by 100bps: CII

Central Bank of India announces attractive home-loan offers

Western Union ICICI Bank prepaid card launches in India

Forbes billionaires – Mukesh Ambani remains on top

Forbes has unveiled its billionaire India rich list for 2012. RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani has for fifth time in a row topped it at $21bn. His wealth is down by $1.6bn as compared to the last year but still way ahead of steel baron Lakshmi Mittal who holds the number 2 spot at $16bn. Mittal is down by $3bn this year as per global business magazine Forbes' annual ranking of 100 wealthiest Indians. Anil Ambani who heads telecom to infrastructure conglomerate Reliance group, however couldn’t make it to the top 10 list and was ranked 11th at $6bn. Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of telecoms giant Bharti Airtel Ltd and Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group, also dropped out of Forbes' annual list of the 10 richest Indians. India’s top 100 super rich saw their wealth increase despite a slowdown in the country’s economy. Even as the net worth of top-ranked persons like Ambani and Mittal fell, the collective wealth of India's richest 100 rose by 3.7 per cent ($ 9 billion) to $ 250 billion in the past one year, Forbes said. The number of billionaires also rose to 61, from 57 last year. Sun Pharma group's Shanghvi entered the top-five for the first time. Following is the Forbes rankings for 2012.

Global consumer spending slowdown eases: PwC

Growth in global consumer spending is has been slowing – but the latest value of PwC’s new Global Consumer Index (GCI) suggests that the slowdown may have eased in October. This may lead to a gradual recovery in 2013. The Index is a leading indicator of trends in the global consumer cycle. It combines dozens of economic series into a single index, which historically has tracked global consumer spending closely. It is unique in that it provides an early warning indicator of trends at a global level, giving businesses and policy makers an indication of future consumer demand for goods and services and an early steer on short-term growth prospects.

The results of the index in two ways:

Growth: this is the current year-on-year growth rate of the index. This declined for five consecutive months over the summer, although the latest value shows it ticking up to 1.7% in October, from 1.5% in September. This is significantly below the long-run average value of 2.8%, and the recent figures are the lowest since the end of the financial crisis.

Momentum: this looks at what annual growth would be if the index were to grow at the rate of the last three months for a whole year. Following four consecutive and sharp monthly falls, this briefly turned negative in August. The latest value shows it recovering slightly to 1.0% in October from 0.2% in September. This is a relatively good story, as had the Momentum score stayed negative it may have implied a double dip in the consumer spending cycle.

Christine Cross, PwC Chief Retail and Consumer Advisor, says: "The effects of this continued slowdown will be felt across the retail and consumer supply chain. Manufacturers need to be cognisant of changes in both their domestic and export markets. As the GDP of both developed and developing economies reduces so will consumer propensity to spend on discretionary items in particular. Retailers may not only feel the impact of this on their domestic trade, but those with actual or planned exposure to sales in international markets may also see a slowdown. Advance warning of this protracted decline means cash and working capital management remain key for the rest of 2012 and Q1 2013." The report finds that there are many indicators in each country that may give insight into the consumer cycle, such as confidence surveys, commodity markets, equity indices and other financial market data. To make sense of it all, PwC has analysed and compiled key leading indicators of consumer spending into a single global index – the PwC Global Consumer Index, which will be updated each month, and included in the firm’s Global Economy Watch report...Read More

Growth in employment has been slow; unemployment rate remains elevated: Fed

London's Precarious Brilliance, Cyber-Attacks And The Real Wealth Of Nations

Source: Economist

Mumbai alone contributes 62% to NSE’s turnover

Mumbai’s contribution to the total turnover on cash segment of BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) stood at 50.19% in August 2012 against 37.4% in the fiscal 2011-12, 36.3% in FY10-11 and 36% in FY09-10, according to the SEBI (Security and Exchange Board of India) data on city-wise distribution of turnover on cash segments of BSE and NSE (National Stock Exchange). On NSE, Mumbai’s total turnover increased to 62% in August 2012 from 60.4% in FY11-12, 58.6% in FY10-11 and 57.5% in FY09-10, the SEBI data mentioned.  Except Mumbai and Hyderabad, the remaining 18 cities—for which SEBI data is available—have indicated a gradual decline in their contribution towards turnover since the start of FY12-13 against the last three financial years. Currently, Mumbai dominates the equity cash market segment as its total traded turnover on BSE and NSE has increased in FY12-13 as well as in the last three years. The contribution of four major cities—Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Delhi and Kolkata—to the total cash market turnover on NSE has more or less remained constant in the last three years and is now at 84%, the SEBI data pointed out.

City-wise turnover on cash segments of BSE & NSE 

Source: BSE & NSE; Percentage share in turnover

India top improver in Business Regulation: IFC, WB

A new IFC and World Bank report finds that India has improved the regulatory environment for local entrepreneurs more than any other economy in South Asia since 2005. In the past eight years India implemented a total of 17 institutional or regulatory reforms making it easier to do business. Released , Doing Business 2013: Smarter Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises assesses regulations affecting domestic firms in 185 economies and ranks the economies in 10 areas of business regulation, such as starting a business, trading across borders, and resolving insolvency. The report also records regulatory reforms in those areas in the year from June 2011 to June 2012. It finds that India is the first economy in the region to make dealing with construction permits easier for local firms since 2005. In the past year India established strict time limits for preconstruction approvals, reducing the time needed to process permit applications. "India stands out in the region as the economy that has improved its business regulations the most since 2005," said Augusto Lopez-Claros, Director, Global Indicators and Analysis, World Bank Group. "After establishing its first credit bureau in 2004, India focused mostly on simplifying and reducing the cost of regulatory processes in key areas such as starting a business, paying taxes, and trading across borders. These efforts notwithstanding, further progress is needed in coming years to release the vast potential of India’s private sector." Globally, Singapore tops the global ranking on the ease of doing business for the seventh consecutive year. Joining it on the list of the 10 economies with the most business-friendly regulation are Hong Kong SAR, China; New Zealand; the United States; Denmark; Norway; the United Kingdom; the Republic of Korea; Georgia; and Australia.

Private-Sector Retirement plans continue to play important role for retirees: study

The annual update of an ICI research study finds that, contrary to conventional wisdom, retirees across all income groups are collecting more in retirement income from employer-sponsored retirement plans than they were in the mid-1970s, when sweeping new retirement plan regulations were enacted. The study, A Look at Private-Sector Retirement Plan Income After ERISA, 2011, finds that in 2011, 33 percent of retirees received income—either directly or through a spouse from private-sector retirement plans, compared with 21 percent in 1975. The median income received by those with private-sector pension income was US$6,300 in 2011 compared with about US$4,700 in 1975 (in 2011 dollars). The research examines private-sector retirement income trends since 1974, just after the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) was enacted...Read More

CFO Optimism level improved significantly: D&B India CFO Survey

Dun & Bradstreet, the world’s leading provider of global business information, knowledge and insight conducted a pan India survey of Corporate CFOs in which they were asked about their confidence in the overall financial and macro-economic conditions for Q4 2012 (Oct-Dec of the calendar year 2012), as compared to the same quarter of the previous year. The survey reveals how optimistic the CFOs are with respect to the overall financial health of their respective companies, the business risk environment and the macroeconomic scenario in the country.

The survey revealed interesting facts about the CFOs’ perspective on the overall Business Climate:

• The optimism level for the overall macroeconomic condition for Q4 2012 stands at ~60, an 8.1 point increase from the previous quarter led by increase in the optimism level of CFOs in the industrial sector (Optimism level ranges from 0 to 100; 0 being pessimistic and 100 being optimistic)
• Around 56% of the surveyed CFOs revealed the macroeconomic scenario for Indian corporate to remain favourable during Q4 2012, an increase of 29% over Q3 2012.
• Around 50% of the surveyed CFOs consider operating margin of their company to improve during Q4 2012
• Of the surveyed CFOs, 39% expect cost of funds to decrease in Q4 2012 as against only 23% in Q3 2012 who expected this to happen in the immediate future. Further, 50% of the surveyed CFOs expect availability of funds to increase during Q4 2012, an increase of 15% over Q3 2012
• Around 70% of the surveyed CFOs wish to prioritize their focus on overall cost control. 47% of surveyed CFOs prefer to focus on overall cash flow management during the next six months
• Effective recovery system and increase in close monitoring of strategic accounts have emerged as the most preferred mode of risk management for CFOs during the next six months

Commenting on the findings of the survey, Mohan Ramaswamy, Chief Operating Officer of Dun & Bradstreet India said, The CFO survey conducted by D&B India reveals that the optimism level among the CFOs stands at a three quarter high. The recent reform announcements have lifted sentiment within the domestic industry and renewed interest of foreign institutional investors in the Indian market. However, CFOs still remain cautious with respect to the overall cost structure. Inflation is on the rise and the second round impact of the fuel price hike announced by the government during end of Q3 2012 is yet to materialize fully. Thus, controlling cost and proper cash flow management has probably emerged as key priorities for majority of the CFOs which would aid in protecting margins. Further, CFOs expect liquidity conditions to improve and the overall cost of funds to ease during the forthcoming quarter.

INDIA INC. REPORT CARD

ICICI Bank Q2 cons net profit at Rs23.90bn

ICICI Bank Ltd has posted a net profit of Rs. 23903.70 mn for the quarter ended September 30, 2012 as compared to Rs. 19916.80 mn for the quarter ended September 30, 2011. Total Income has increased from Rs. 161106.10 mn for the quarter ended September 30, 2011 to Rs. 186094.30 mn for the quarter ended September 30, 2012.

Operating review

The Bank has continued with its strategy of pursuing profitable growth.The Bank has grown its retail lending volumes, resulting in an improvement in retail loan portfolio growth. The Bank continued to leverage its strong corporate franchise, its international presence and its branch network in India. At September 30, 2012, the Bank had 2,772 branches, the largest branch network among private sector banks in the country. The Bank has also increased its ATM network to 10,006 ATMs at September 30, 2012 as compared to 6,913 at September 30, 2011.

Credit growth

Advances increased by 18% year-on-year to Rs275,076 crore (US$ 52.0billion) at September 30, 2012 from ` 233,952 crore (US$ 44.3 bn) atSeptember 30, 2011. The year-on-year growth in retail advances was 14.0% at September 30, 2012 compared to a year-on-year growth of 10.3% at June 30, 2012.

Deposit growth

At September 30, 2012, savings account deposits increased by 15% yearon- year to Rs 80,618 crore (US$ 15.3 billion). Current account deposits were Rs33,800 crore (US$ 6.4 billion) at September 30, 2012. The CASA ratio was at 40.7% at September 30, 2012. The average CASA ratio was at 37.5% for Q2-2013...Read More

Dabur, HUL, Thinksoft Global, HCC, PNB, Akzo Nobel India, Idea Cellular, DHFL, Oberoi Realty, HDFC, Cairn India, Polaris Financial, BASF India, Tata Coffee, Lupin, Bank of Maharashtra, Arvind, Sterlite Industries, Hero MotoCorp, Rolta India, United Phosphorus, Yes Bank, Goa Carbon, Kolte-Patil Developers, L&T, Nucleus Software, Indiabulls Financial, Ruchi Soya, BOB, Bajaj Auto, Federal Bank, Bajaj Electricals, OBC, Ipca Laboratories, Adani Enterprises, Kotak Mahindra Bank, JP Power, SKF India

PM launches Aadhaar Enabled Service Delivery in Dudu, Rajasthan

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will launch Aadhaar Enabled Service Delivery on October 20 in Dudu, Rajasthan, marking the 2nd anniversary of Aadhaar. The Aadhaar Enabled Service Delivery application utilizes an Aadhaar number’s property of uniqueness and linkage with various government schemes/ services database to correctly identify beneficiaries. There are many benefits associated with such integration for various stakeholders, ranging from better compliance management to reduced leakages and increased efficiency and accountability in service delivery. The 21st crore Aadhaar letter will also be handed over to a resident, on the occasion. The Government is rolling out Aadhaar Enabled Service Delivery initiatives in 51 districts across the country. Aadhaar-enabled applications will be used for making pension payments, MNREGA payments, PDS distribution, scholarship payments, etc. The launch of Aadhaar Enabled Service Delivery will be in the presence of Smt. Sonia Gandhi, UPA Chairperson; Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot; Finance Minister P.Chidambaram; Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia; Minister of State for Planning, Science & Technology, Earth Sciences Dr. Ashwani Kumar and Minister of State for Communications & Information Technology Sachin Pilot. On the occasion of the launch, ongoing Aadhaar Enabled Service Delivery pilots of PDS in Kakinada, East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh; Social Security payment in Aurangabad, Maharashtra; LPG cylinders delivery in Mysore, Karnataka; MNREGS payment in Ramgarh, Jharkhand and Old Age Pension payments in West Tripura district of Tripura will be telecast live. The Prime Minister will also be presenting the Aadhaar Governance Awards and the Aadhaar Excellence Awards...Read More

FM calls for penetration of Non Life Insurance

The Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said that the major challenges before the Non Life Insurance sector is how to increase its reach to the maximum number of people along with growth of investment in this sector. He asked the participating CEOs of both Public Sector and Private Sector Non Life Insurance companies to express their concerns about various factors hindering growth of this sector as well as give suggestions to overcome the same. There is significant room for growth as the penetration in non life insurance sector (premium to GDP) is only 0.71 % in 2011 which is far below the international bench marks and much geography in the country are still untapped. The Union Finance Minister, P. Chindambram was addressing a meeting of CMDs, CEOs and MDs of both the public and private sector Non Life Insurance Companies here . Along with the Finance Minister, P. Chidambram, the Minister of State for Finance, Namo Narain Meena, Secretary, Financial Services D.K. Mittal, Additional Secretary, Financial Services Sunil Soni, Members of IRDA, M. Ram Prasad and R.K. Nair, Secretary General, General Insurance Council R. Chandra Sekaran, CMDs of public sector Non-Life Insurance Companies and MDs and CEOs of private sector Non Life Insurance Companies were also present among others during the aforesaid meeting...Read More

Indian companies beat economic slowdown with focused regional strategies: Deloitte

India’s highest growth companies are powering through the global financial uncertainty, with the leaders actually increasing their revenue growth rate, says Deloitte. Announcing the 50 fastest-growing Indian companies for 2012 in the Technology, Media & Telecommunication (TMT) industry vertical, Deloitte says that in this year’s Technology Fast 50 (Tech Fast) rankings, the top five companies showed a remarkable improvement in the average three-year revenue growth of 1947%, compared to 910% last year, the highest average three-year revenue growth in all the previous editions of the Fast 50 India program since 2005. The Deloitte Tech Fast 50 India Program conducted by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Private Limited (DTTIPL), now in its eight year, ranks the fastest growing technology companies in India based on percentage revenue growth over the last three financial years. The average percentage growth for all the top 50 companies this year showed a tremendous improvement over last year’s total, at 432%, up from 236% in 2011 – testament to the strength and depth of India’s growth economy. All the top 50 winners of this year recorded a three year revenue growth in excess of 100% – a phenomenon noted in five of the eight editions of the Fast 50 India program. The overall winner in this year’s ranking is Online Recharge Services Private Limited realizing a remarkable 5227% three year revenue growth. The second, Amagi Media Labs Private Limited achieved 1497%, whilst the third placed Prizm Payment Services Private Limited, grew by 1190%...Read More

Every Budget is becoming an IT Budget: Gartner

Twelve years ago technology spending outside of IT was 20% of total technology spending; it will become almost 90% by the end of the decade, according to Gartner, Inc. Much of this change is being driven by the digitization of companies’ revenue and their services. The Nexus of Forces is leading this transformation. The Nexus is the convergence and mutual reinforcement of social, mobile, cloud and information patterns that drive new business scenarios. Gartner analysts examined the impact of the Nexus of Forces during the opening keynote at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo, which is taking place here through Thursday. Organizations are digitizing segments of business, such as moving marketing spend from analog to digital, or digitizing the research and development budget. Secondly, organizations are digitizing how they service their clients, in order to drive higher client retention. Thirdly, they are turning digitization into new revenue streams. Gartner analysts said this is resulting in every budget becoming an IT budget. To address these changes, organizations will create the role of a Chief Digital Officer as part of the business unit leadership, which will become a new seat at the executive table. Gartner predicts that by 2015, 25% of organizations will have a Chief Digital Officer. Willis said the forces of cloud, social, mobile and information are reconfiguring how people work and live. It’s a world in which business and personal lives are intertwined. A world with fewer commands and control restrictions that stifle productivity and innovation...Read More

Gold reserves rise 7.2% in Apr-Oct in FY13 

India - China to achieve trade target of US$100bn by 2015

Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in association with the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India and the Embassy of India, Beijing is organizing the "India Show" concurrently with the 6th China International Auto Parts Expo from 26-28 October, 2012 in Beijing. Dr S Jaishankar, Indian Ambassador to China addressing the inauguration of the "India Show" during the China International Auto Parts Expo (CIAPE) in Beijng today, said that economic cooperation between India and China in the last decade has been a remarkable story. From very modest beginnings, China has become India’s largest trade partner and India is China’s seventh largest export destination. Trade last year was US$74bn and steadily growing. While this is heartening, it has posed its own challenges in terms of a deficit last year of US$27bn, which is difficult to sustain or to defend. Market access for Indian companies is a major concern and that is precisely why it is important that so many of them are here. He said that the Sino-Indian economic relations are now maturing, moving from trade to investments. A number of Chinese auto manufacturers are contemplating projects in India. Their success in such a competitive market depends on strong relationships with suppliers of components. Impressive though its growth is, India-China economic relations is an under-leveraged one. We offer each other so many opportunities for mutual development. Creating an enabling environment to take advantage of them is our endeavor, he said. S Gopalakrishan, President Designate, CII observed that in 2011, bilateral trade between China and India reached US$73.9bn and both the countries have sustained the world's highest annual GDP growth in the past 10 years - 9 percent for China, about 7 percent for India. As per the figures released by China’s Ministry of Commerce, cumulative Chinese investments into India till December, 2011 is US$575.7mn and Indian investments into China stood at US$441.7mn. Indian manufacturing and IT companies are making serious moves in China, demonstrating their capabilities in high-tech engineering, software development, banking and forex trading platforms. India's IT companies started their businesses in China by serving large multinational clients in the country. Similarly the Indian manufacturing companies have been setting up their factories in China, in their aspiration to be global players in their respective sectors.

Cabinet clears stake sale in NMDC

Cabinet has approved a proposal to sell 10% stake in NMDC Ltd. The cabinet approved a proposal on Thursday to sell a 10 percent stake in the state-run NMDC Ltd via a share sale, Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel told reporters. A couple of days ago, Union Minister of Steel, Beni Prasad Verma had expressed satisfaction over the performance of NMDC, a Navratna PSU under Ministry of Steel in the first quarter of 2011-12. He advised NMDC to increase its pace of project completion and finish them as per schedule.

Steel Minister reviews Performance of NMDC

Tata Steel appoints D. K. Mehrotra as additional director on Board

Vedanta Aluminium plans to restart Lanjigarh refinery: reports

Coal production records 9% Increase : Sriprakash Jaisawal

Coal production in the country has registered record increase during the last two quarters. Coal off-take has also recorded significant growth during this period while coal supply to Power Sector during April to Oct 2012 has increased by 12%. With these efforts the Coal India would be able to achieve highest ever production target during this year. This was stated by Minister of Coal , Shri Sriprakash Jaisawal while addressing a press conference on the issues in coal sector.  He said that the Government has identified 54 coal blocks with total Geographical reserves of about 18.22 Billion Tonnes for taking up bidding of coal blocks. He said The Government has taken several other steps to ensure increased availability of coal in the country.

Full text of Minister’s opening remarks during the press conference is as follows

GVK plans to reduce stake in Australian coal mine to 51%: reports

Sanjiv Goenka in race to acquire Firstsource Solutions: reports

RIL to merge Reliance Jamnagar Infra with self

Reliance Industries Ltd has announced that the Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad has sanctioned the Scheme of Amalgamation of Reliance Jamnagar Infrastructure Limited ("RJIL" or "the Transferor Company") with Reliance Industries Limited ("RIL" or the "Company’) ("Scheme"). The High Court Order has been filed with the respective offices of the Registrar of Companies and the Scheme has become effective on October 22, 2012 with appointed date being April 01, 2011

Petrol prices to go up by 30 paise per litre

Petrol price may go up by 30 paise per litre and diesel by 18 paise as government decides to hike petrol pump dealers’ commission, according to reports

Oil Ministry approves RIL's KG-D6 output : reports

ONGC plans to hire RIL's ununtilised production facilities: reports

Food Prices to pinch during Festive Season: ASSOCHAM

The prices of eight essential commodities like condiments & spices, pulses, wheat, sugar, edible oil, tea, coffee and milk have risen by 18% on an average from September 2011 to September 2012 while per capita income of an average Indian went up by 10%, an analysis carried out by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). "Aam Adami" is likely to suffer more on account of further price increase in the upcoming festive season due to erratic rainfall and thin stocks coupled with high demand, says the ASSOCHAM paper on "Food inflation likely to rise in festive seasons". While prices of spices, pulses, wheat, sugar have become dearer by 30%, 29%, 19% and 18% respectively, other essentials like edible oil, tea, coffee and milk saw upward moment in the range of 11%, 10%, 9% and 7% respectively. The per capita income of an average Indian estimated about Rs. 42,141/- per annum in FY 2011 went up by about Rs. 4,404/- in 2012, amounting to Rs. 46,345/- per annum. The ASSOCHAM adds that the rise in essential commodities prices and per capita income was utterly disproportionate. The prices of spices edged much higher from period in September 2011 and have witnessed extremely higher volatility in their prices which went up to the extent of over 42% between September 2012 to October 2012. The per capita consumption of spices in India is said to be on the rise following a change in the food habits of the people. Winter, which is the season of weddings in North India along with Christmas and New Year, may also lead to an upsurge in demand for the spice, adds the ASSOCHAM analysis. The good demand due to upcoming festivals such as Dussehra and Diwali, Inflation has taken several essentials like spices, edible oil and milk out of the common man's reach, said Mr. D.S. Rawat, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM. Commodities like various types of edible oil have become dearer by 25% to 65%. In addition, prices of milk, ghee, onion, maida, wheat and other items have risen by a minimum of 10% to a maximum of 60%. During September 2011 and September 2012, Milk prices increased by 26%. The demand for milk is increasing much faster than production and consumption of milk and milk products has significantly gone up in the country. Apart from the fast increasing appetite of Indians for dairy products, increased cattle feed costs and shortfall in milk procurement during the winter season are the major factors behind the increase in milk prices...Read More

Rural Innovators awarded by FM P. Chidambaram at Nabard Awards

Rising affordability increases rural protein demand: CRISIL Research

Rising incomes in rural India are fuelling greater spends on protein products such as milk, eggs and meat in the hinterland. Overall spending by Indians on protein foods doubled to Rs 2 trillion in 2009-10 from 2004-05. Twothirds of this spending came from rural households. But while more rural Indians are getting protein in their diets, the concern is that supply shortages are driving up prices and impacting overall food inflation, according to CRISIL Research, India’s largest independent research house.  CRISIL estimates that in 2009-10, around 11- 16 per cent, 15-21%and 18-25%of the demand for direct consumption of milk, eggs, and meat respectively was unmet due to the shortfall in supply. The supply shortfall has led to prices of protein-food contributing nearly 50%to overall food inflation in India. Unless this shortfall is addressed, protein affordability in rural areas could be adversely impacted if wages undergo a correction from their current highgrowth trajectory. Driven by rising incomes and population growth, nearly 17 million more rural households bought milk and milk products in 2009-10 as compared to 2004-05, taking the proportion of rural households purchasing milk and milk products to 80%in 2009-10, almost 5 percentage points higher than 2004-05. Similarly, the proportion of rural households purchasing egg, fish and meat increased to 62%from 58%over the same period. However, rural per capita consumption of milk, eggs and proteins continues to remain lower than its urban counterpart, reflecting a potential for significant further growth in rural demand for proteins. Rural per capita (annual) consumption of milk in 2009-10 was 49.4 litres versus 64.3 litres in urban areas. The same holds true for meat and eggs where per capita rural consumption stood at 5.7 kg and 20.8 eggs in 2009-10 as against per capita urban consumption of 6.7 kg and 32.1 eggs.

Principles for responsible investment in agriculture to be developed

A two-year consultation process to develop principles for responsible investment in agriculture that respect rights, livelihoods and resources was approved by the 39th Session of the Committee on World Security (CFS), which ended on Saturday at FAO headquarters. Consultations will be carried out at global and regional levels under the auspices of CFS, the foremost inclusive platform for everyone to agree on policies that ensure food security and nutrition for all. The intergovernmental body is open to effective and meaningful participation by UN bodies, civil society, the private sector, agricultural research institutions, financial institutions and philanthropic foundations. The principles should be seen as complementary to the "Voluntary guidelines on the responsible governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests in the context of national food security" endorsed by CFS in May this year after inclusive and participatory negotiations. They will build on existing frameworks and guidelines, and not duplicate work by others. FAO estimates that the investments required in developing countries to support the required expansion in agricultural output to meet projected demand in 2050 amount to an average net annual investment of $83 billion. This total includes investment needs in primary agriculture and necessary downstream services such as storage and processing facilities. This represents an increase of about 50 percent a year over current levels. The principles will address all types of investment in agricultural value chains and food systems including smallholder producers, research, extension services and technology transfer. They will include foreign and domestic, public and private small, medium and large-scale investments.  To be effective, the principles should address the concerns of both host countries and investors. Policy and regulatory frameworks need to ensure that development benefits are maximized...Read More

Fixed income investment top choice among salaried class: PHD Chamber

The occupation wise investment pattern across rural, urban and metropolitan India suggests that the investment preferences are inclined towards fixed incomes amongst salaried people.  However, top preference of the professionals, business class and agriculturists is real estate investments the Retail Investors’ Survey, conducted by PHD Research Bureau of PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry. The preference pattern of professional, businessmen and agriculturists is all inclined towards real estate at 37%, 34% and 29%, respectively. The top preference of the salaried class is inclined on Fixed Deposit at 30%. The investment flow has been highest in the traditional modes of investment such as in real estate market and fixed deposits. This suggests that investors prefer to invest in less risky and relatively less volatile markets.  At all India level, people across diverse segments and occupations (on an average) have expressed interest in physical assets, which have overshot their inclination towards the financial counterparts. It is evident from the fact that around 30% investments were in real estates, 25% in gold & silver, 21% in fixed deposits, 7% in equity linked insurance schemes, 6% in mutual funds 5% in others investment tools and 5% in stock market. The investment pattern has shown that Indians have a higher propensity to save in terms of physical assets due to the more attractive returns, compared to the financial modes, comprising 56% and 44% respectively. However, increased financial savings can act as a major driver of growth, as it is the financial investments which can help the funding of infrastructure development...Read More

India and Switzerland discuss Bilateral cooperation in Transport Sector

The visiting Head of the Department (Federal Councillor) for Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications, Ms. Doris Leuthard of Switzerland (Swiss Confederation) called on the Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Railways, Government of India, Dr. C. P. Joshi, here . The two sides were accompanied by their respective delegations. Welcoming the Swiss Federal Councillor and her delegation, Dr. C.P.Joshi said that given the prevailing tough global economic environment, it’s heartening that the economic and commercial relations between the two nations have acquired momentum. Our bilateral trade has been heading upwards for the last five years and stands at over US $ 4.5bn. Still, there are potentials and effort should be made to optimise them, he added. Referring to the Indian’s Road Sector, Dr. Joshi said that India has the world’s second longest road network of over 4.236 million kilometres of which 76,818 kilometres is National Highways. The Government of India has embarked upon a massive programme of upgrading its National Highways. Our National Highway building programme envisages investment of about US $ 70bn over the next five years. He pointed out that there is great opportunity and immense potential in developing sustainable transport infrastructure. The Minister of Road Transport & Highways and Railways explained that varied geographical features and climatic conditions of India require different technology for constructing highways and expressways. India intends to take up mega projects of longer length. Work of about 400-500 kilometres is estimated to cost about US $ onebn each. Dr. Joshi emphasised that India seeks increased participation of Swiss contractors/concessionaires in its endeavour to have a world-class infrastructure.   Referring to the existing contribution of Swiss companies in India’s road sector, Dr. Joshi said that the Swiss consultancy company, M/s. Renardet SA, is working satisfactorily as Supervision Consultant in joint venture with Indian Consultants for total 12 road packages out of which 7 road packages have been completed and rest are under implementation...Read More

Railway revenue up 25.92% during October

The total approximate earnings of Indian Railways on originating basis during the period from 1st to 10th October 2012 were Rs. 3131.75 crore compared to Rs. 2487.17 crore during the same period last year, registering an increase of 25.92%. The total goods earnings have gone up from Rs. 1625.05 crore during the period from 1st to 10th October 2011 to Rs. 2179.45 crore during 1st to 10th October 2012, showing an increase of 34.12%. The total passenger revenue earnings during the period 1st to 10th October 2012 were Rs 839.10 crore compared to Rs. 758.08 crore during the same period last year, showing an increase of 10.69%. The revenue earnings from other coaching amounted to Rs. 83.80 crore during this period compared to Rs. 74.26 crore during the same period last year, showing an increase of 12.85%. The total approximate numbers of passengers booked during the period 1st to 10th October 2012 were 251.67mn compared to 230.89mn during the same period last year, showing an increase of 9.00%. In the suburban and non-suburban sectors, the numbers of passengers booked during 1st to 10th October, 2012 were 141.25mn and 110.42mn compared to 122.09mn and 108.80mn during the same period last year, registering an increase of 15.69% and 1.49% respectively.

Moody's affirms Indian Railway Finance Corporation's Baa3 ratings and stable outlook

Elecon Engineering bags order worth Rs171.3mn from NMDC

Elecon Engineering Company Limited, one of the India’s largest Material Handling Equipments and Transmission Products manufactures, announced that their MHE Division has procured two prestigious orders one of Rs. 171.3mn from NMDC Limited for Supply, Erection and Commissioning of two numbers Lump Ore Stackers including initial spares one each for their Bacheli Complex & Kirandul Complex Projects and second of Rs. 71.9mn from TECPRO SYSTEMS LIMITED for Wagon Trippler along with Side Arm Charger and Mandatory Spares for Harihar Project. Prayasvin Patel, Chairman and Managing Director, Elecon Engineering said, "We are pleased to have procured prestigious orders worth Rs. 17.13 crores and Rs.7.19 crores and look forward to a long—term mutually beneficial association both with NMDC Limited & TECPRO SYSTEM LIMITED. This win is a big achievement for all of us at Elecon as we continue to maintain a healthy order book month on month.

HCC bags contract worth Rs3.73bn

MMRDA offers additional built-up area in ‘E’ Block of BKC

Execution concerns persist for construction companies amid weak macro-environment : ICRA

The construction industry continues to face multiple challenges - capex deferrals by the private sector due to dwindling business confidence and stalemate in policy and decision-making has resulted in muted new order inflows; execution of existing order-book has slowed down due to delays in land acquisition, obtaining clearances and policy-level uncertainties that continue to plague key infrastructure sectors such as power, airports and ports; rising input and labour costs coupled with sluggish pace of execution has resulted in lower fixed cost absorption and weakened operating profit margins. Further delays in realizing receivables and in work certification coupled with the need to extend greater support to sub-contractors has elongated the working capital cycle and weakened cash-flows from core construction business. This, coupled with the need to support the asset-ownership business has resulted in an increase in debt levels and dented net profit margins through increased interest costs. Execution concerns have intensified as reflected in the elevated quantum of stalled projects and declining y-o-y growth rate of projects under implementation. This has moderated the y-o-y revenue growth rates of construction companies. Following the recent exposés by the CAG the risk of protracted delays in government decision-making cannot be ruled out. In this environment management commentary remains mostly cautious with regards to order inflows, revenue growth and future profitability. Rohit Inamdar, Senior Vice President and Co-Head, Corporate Ratings, commented "Recognizing the need to kick-start investments in infrastructure the government has setup FY 13 targets for various subsectors such as roads, ports, power, railways and civil aviation – while this could increase pace of tendering, progress on actual execution would require the government to address the various issues that are currently hampering execution such as delays in land acquisition and in obtaining clearances and approvals...Read More

Gartner Identifies Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2013

Gartner, Inc. highlighted the top 10 technologies and trends that will be strategic for most organizations in 2013. Gartner defines a strategic technology as one with the potential for significant impact on the enterprise in the next three years. Factors that denote significant impact include a high potential for disruption to IT or the business, the need for a major dollar investment, or the risk of being late to adopt. A strategic technology may be an existing technology that has matured and/or become suitable for a wider range of uses. It may also be an emerging technology that offers an opportunity for strategic business advantage for early adopters or with potential for significant market disruption in the next five years. These technologies impact the organization's long-term plans, programs and initiatives. "We have identified the top 10 technologies that will be strategic for most organizations, and that IT leaders should factor into their strategic planning processes over the next two years," said David Cearley, vice president and Gartner fellow. "This does not necessarily mean enterprises should adopt and invest in all of the listed technologies; however companies need to be making deliberate decisions about how they fit with their expected needs in the near future." Mr. Cearley said that these technologies are emerging amidst a nexus of converging forces - social, mobile, cloud and information. Although these forces are innovative and disruptive on their own, together they are revolutionizing business and society, disrupting old business models and creating new leaders. As such, the Nexus of Forces is the basis of the technology platform of the future....Read More

Gartner reveals top predictions for IT Organizations and users for 2013 and beyond

Verizon releases series of industry of cybercrime

Verizon released a series of industry of cybercrime, based on the "Verizon 2012 and 2011 Data Breach Investigations Reports."The snapshots, aimed at helping organizations better understand the anatomy of a data breach and how to best provide protection, offer anin-depth view of the financial services, health care, retail, and hospitality sectors. In addition, a fifth snapshot examines intellectual property theft, which has become increasingly difficult to protect against across a range of industries. "Understanding what happens when a data breach occurs is critical to proactive prevention," said Wade Baker, Verizon managing principal, RISK team. "Through our more targeted analysis, we are hoping to provide answers to businesses around the globe that want to protect not only their data but their reputation."

Key Findings Across Industries

The new data provide the following key findings:

Financial and Insurance

• The financial services industry faces some unique challenges with regard to information protection. The industry’s status as a high-value target means it attracts significantly more directed and tenacious criminal attention.
• Overall breaches in this sector were primarily about the money, whether targeting it directly (by accessing internal accounts and applications) or indirectly (through downstream fraud). Many of the attacks are targeted against ATMs, Web applications and employees.
• Areas for improved security include better protection of ATMs, careful monitoring of login credentials, secure application development, and training and awareness among employees.

Health Care

• Most of the breaches within the healthcare sector fell into the small to medium business category (one to 100 employees), and outpatient care facilities such as medical and dental offices comprised the bulk of these.
• Attacks were almost entirely the work of financially motivated organized criminal groups, which typically attack smaller, low-risk targets to obtain personal and payment data for various fraud schemes.
• Most attacks involved hacking and malware and often focused on point of sale (POS) systems. However, the healthcare industry also needs to protect medical devices and electronic health records.
• The majority of breaches can be prevented with some small and relatively easy steps, including change in administrative passwords on all POS systems; implementing a firewall; avoiding using POS systems to browse the Web; and making certain the POS is a PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliant application...Read More

Infosys completes acquisition of Lodestone Holding

Infosys, a global leader in consulting and technology, has announced it has completed the acquisition of Lodestone Holding AG, a leading management consultancy based in Switzerland. The acquisition is in accordance with the terms set out in the agreement announced on September 10. The deal strengthens the management consulting capabilities of Infosys around the world, adding more than 750 experienced consultants and 200 clients in wide-ranging areas such as manufacturing and the automotive and life sciences industries. "Our clients are looking for help driving the transformations that will allow them to be successful in a challenging and dynamic market," said Mr. S.D. Shibulal, CEO & Managing Director, Infosys. "Combining our global scale with Lodestone’s consulting heritage creates a world-class team that can bring clients a broad spectrum of capabilities across consulting, systems integration, and outsourcing."

Rain CII Carbon to acquire RUTGERS N.V

Rain CII Carbon LLC, a wholly owned step-down subsidiary of Rain Commodities Limited, has agreed to acquire RÜTGERS N.V. (RÜTGERS), a Belgium headquartered coal tar pitch (CTP) manufacturer, from private equity firm Triton Partners (Triton). Rain CII has executed share purchase agreement with Triton to acquire 100% of stake in RÜTGERS for gross enterprise value of €613 million. Rain has agreed to pay cash consideration of €371 million, with effective date of January 1, 2012. Further, Rain CII agreed to pay an aggregate additional consideration not exceeding €27 million during the financial years 2014 and 2015, upon achieving certain milestones. RÜTGERS has gross financial debt of €242 million as on December 31, 2011. The transaction is expected to close in the 1st Quarter 2013; subject to the regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Rain CII is planning to fund the transaction through a combination of internal cash accruals and issue proceeds of €533 million of long-term bonds. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is acting as financial advisor and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP is acting as legal advisor to Rain CII. Goldman Sachs AG is acting as financial advisor and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP is acting as legal advisor to RÜTGERS. Rain Commodities Limited along with its subsidiaries engaged in the businesses of production and sale of calcined petroleum coke (CPC), cement, co-generation of energy (steam and/or electricity) through waste-heat recovery and trading of fuel-grade green petroleum coke. Rain Group is one of the leading producers of CPC, with nine production sites worldwide. Rain Group is also operating two integrated cement plants in the state of Andhra Pradesh and one fly ash handling and cement packing facility in the state of Karnataka.

Mahindra Satyam appoints Rebecca ‘Becky’ Blalock as Strategic Advisor

Mahindra Satyam, a leading global consulting and IT services provider, announced that it has appointed Rebecca ‘Becky’ Blalock as Strategic Advisor for its Energy & Utilities (E&U) business. She will be supporting the organization’s North American region for business expansion and strengthening client relationships. Becky will be at the forefront strategizing and giving business direction with a focus on leading edge technologies that drive modernization and operational efficiencies across the value chain. Her experience will also facilitate expansion plans in the market as the organization explores opportunities to offer a wider service suite for its E&U vertical. Commenting on Becky’s appointment, CP Gurnani, CEO, Mahindra Satyam said "We look forward to benefiting from her experience and leadership in the utility and information technology industries. Becky is uniquely qualified to help us continue to excel in fostering innovation and delivering service excellence to our customers." Commenting on her new role, Becky shared, "I am proud to advise Mahindra group which is one of the largest and most successful global IT companies. It will be my objective to ensure our customers experience the business benefits that Mahindra's technology and processes can deliver across the Energy and Utilities sector."...Read More

Persistent Systems hires Sridhar Jagannathan as CIO

Persistent Systems, the global leader in software product and technology services, announced that Dr. Sridhar Jagannathan has joined as the Chief Innovation Officer. A recognized industry veteran, technology strategist, entrepreneur and innovator, Sridhar will be responsible for driving innovations in products, solutions and services. Sridhar will be based in Santa Clara, CA and will report to Hari Haran, President of Persistent Systems, Inc. Prior to Persistent Systems he served as a Vice President, CTO Office at Intuit Inc., where he was responsible for leading Intuit's technology strategy, global engineering and technology M&A diligence. Dr. Sridhar Jagannathan joins Persistent Systems from Intuit, where he was Vice President of Technology Strategy and Partnerships, responsible for defining and executing Intuit's technology strategy, partnerships and M&A. Prior to this, Sridhar was the Managing Director for Symantec's India Development Center for consumer products. Earlier, Sridhar was Vice President of Technology for Softbank Emerging Markets, a $200M fund focused on early stage investments in emerging markets. Sridhar also served as Technical Director for Internet and eCommerce at Oracle Corporation. Sridhar is the author of 'The Cyber Mafia' (Amazon, 2012) and 'Internet Commerce Metrics and Models' (Prentice Hall, 2001). He has taught courses at Stanford University, U.C. Berkeley and IIT, Madras and has a doctorate in engineering from University of California, Berkeley, a master's degree (Sloan Fellow) from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and B.Tech (Hons) from IIT, Kharagpur. Sridhar is a Charter Member of TiE Silicon Valley.

Persistent Systems’ eMee Helps TCabs launches exclusive cab miles program,

J V Ramamurthy takes over as new President and Amar Babu appointes as VP of MAIT

Genpact named as leader in IDC MarketScape: PSMA

Genpact Limited a global leader in business process management and technology services, has been identified as a "leader" in leading analyst firm IDC’s report, "IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Pharmaceutical Social Media Analytics 2012 Vendor Assessment," Document #HI236520, August 2012, authored by Eric Newmark. In response to an increasing number of client inquiries on social media analytics, IDC Health Insights conducted in-depth research over a six-month period to collect and evaluate social media analytics software and service offerings available to pharmaceutical companies. This IDC MarketScape provides a comprehensive evaluation of the leading software and service vendors that provide social media analytics capabilities to the pharmaceutical industry. IDC included Genpact in the Leaders category based on the evaluation criteria of a vendor's current capabilities and services according to its strategy for the chosen market. IDC also analyzed how well a vendor's future strategy aligns with what customers will require in three to five years based on high-level strategic decisions and underlying assumptions about offerings, customer segments, business, and go-to-market plans.

Genpact signs agreement with Diageo

BVR Reddy nominated as Chairman of Board of IIT Hyderabad

Pranab Mukherjee, the Honorable President of India nominated Dr. BVR Mohan Reddy as Chairman of the Board of Governors, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) - Hyderabad. Dr. Mohan Reddy is the Founder and Chairman of Infotech Enterprises Limited, a leading global engineering services company. IIT Hyderabad is an institute of national importance, primarily focused on research in engineering and science. The institute has been setup with a vision to instill a culture of inventions and innovations. It aims to advance knowledge and scholarship to students in science, technology and liberal arts and equip them to handle the challenges of the nation and the world in 21st century. The board comprises of several industry leaders and educationists and is responsible for administering the activities of the institution. Dr. Mohan Reddy is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and is a recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award in recognition of his outstanding entrepreneurial and managerial skills in the field of engineering design and geospatial data and technology services. It is the highest award given by the institute to its alumni.

Everest Group PEAK Matrix ranks TCS as a Leader in Banking BPO

Tata Consultancy Services, a leading IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, announced that it has been designated as a Leader in Banking BPO in the Everest Group report, A PEAK into the Leaders, Major Contenders and Emerging Players of the Banking BPO Markets. Among the attributes that earned TCS the prominent position are its scale, the number of Large Banks in its client base, robust technology capabilities and global delivery footprint. In this report, Everest Group analyzed the position of 12 service providers on the Everest Group Performance | Experience | Ability | Knowledge (PEAK) Matrix for Banking BPO. These service providers are divided into three categories based on performance: Leaders, Major Contenders, and Emerging Players. The PEAK Matrix is a framework to assess the absolute matrix success and overall capability of service providers. year. With a wealth of experience partnering the world's leading banks and financial institutions, TCS's domain expertise spans span the entire banking lifecycle and includes originations, transaction processing, default management, and risk and predictive analytics. TCS' FORE transformation methodology, its BaNCS suite of platform solutions and its Global Network Delivery Model GNDM means that TCS is a strategic & proactive growth enabler for its banking customers.

SWAFE bpm brings down system failure rate by 50-70%

Datamatics recognized among top league by DQ Top 20

Datamatics Global Services (DGSL), the global Information Technology (IT) and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) solutions provider announced that it has been recognized as the 6th highest growing company by DQ Top 20; Dataquest’s annual survey which entails a comprehensive report and ranking of the IT giants of India Inc. As per this ranking, Datamatics is 1st amongst the listed software companies in India. On the basis of top line growth the company has been ranked 30th among software companies in the listed space. Datamatics has witnessed 88% growth and ranked above its peers like Google India, D-Link and Zensar Technologies, among others. The company has undergone an expansion spree since 2010.  While as a part of inorganic expansion, the company acquired US based company CIGNEX as well as Vista Infosystems in India; it also expanded its delivery centres to three more locations – Nashik and Puducherry in India as well as Bosnia. This led to improved revenues and better margins due to better integration.The DataQuest survey further observed that with diversification of portfolios, expansion of business and strengthening of existing structures, the IT industry is surely on a much firmer footing . These developments, in a way are indicating at emerging signs of maturity, the survey reported. Another significant change is the steady rise in the importance of the domestic sector, the survey observed. A number of top IT service companies for whom exports were the mainstay have now got serious on the domestic front. With numerous e-governance projects and other tech oriented welfare initiatives in the pipeline, many are looking at tapping the government sector also in a big way, it said. DataQuest a pioneer and leader of IT media in India, the magazine has consistently kept track of new developments in the IT industry and the corresponding information needs of the corporate user. The DQ Top 20 issues, based on a nationwide survey across more than 1000 Infotech companies in India, are an invaluable reference source for everyone in the IT industry.

Datamatics ranked 6th in ‘Highest Growth Companies’ segment 2012 survey

Investors will shun 'investor unfriendly' Mumbai and flock to Gujarat : CREDAI

Raising alarm over Mumbai and Maharashtra becoming increasingly "investor unfriendly", developers apex body CREDAI has said the State government’s policies will end up being its gift to Gujarat’s upcoming Gift City. CREDAI national president Lalit Kumar Jain, who is also a leading developer in Mumbai and Pune, criticised the series of policies by the State government culminating in the recent proposal to hike land lease rates and said these do not encourage investors at all. "Gone are the days when investors from within the State and outside would plan increased involvement here. Now for quite some time, investors are looking outside Maharashtra," he said. Quoting a latest report by Cushman & Wakefield, Jain pointed out that among the ten cities that the real estate consultancy has surveyed, Ahmedabad emerged top, inviting a whopping 39% of investments made across these cities. As per the report, Ahmedabad saw about Rs 71,270 crore investments in various sectors including real estate and infrastructure. Cushman & Wakefield said in its just released report on ‘Top 10 Emerging Business Destinations in India’ that in the last two years the volume of investment by various companies in these 10 cities - Ahmedabad, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Kochi, Indore, Nagpur, Vadodara and Visakhapatnam - had increased by over seven times. Real estate is the prime necessity of any businessman – be it to run a consultancy or set up plants – and if the cost of running business becomes prohibitive, one looks for alternatives.  Feedback with CREDAI from across the developer community is that things are not that good here in Mumbai. After a gap of over two years it is only now that the buildings plans are being approved selectively. We face red-tapism everywhere and despite even the government and officials admitting the need for a single window system of approvals, it is yet to be implemented. Narendra Modi’s government is developing Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT) as a Global Finance Hub near Ahmadabad. GIFT city aspires to cater to India’s large financial services potential by offering global firms a world-class infrastructure and facilities. It aims to attract the top talent in the country by providing the finest quality of life all with integrated townships, IFSC and multi specialty special economic zone (SEZ). Jain said even Punjab and Bihar are becoming investor friendly and States like Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand are planning single-window clearances.

Nissan Motor India announces price increase on selected models

Nissan Motor India announced a price increase on selected models to offset rising input costs and an unprecedented increase in logistics and transportation costs due to soaring fuel prices. While the recently launched Nissan Evalia multi utility vehicle will not be affected, Nissan will raise the purchase price of the premium hatchback Micra and midsize Sunny sedan with effect from November 1st 2012. Commenting on the price increase, Nitish Tipnis, Director - Sales & Marketing, Hover Automotive India said, "The prices are being revised to partially offset appreciation in input and transportation costs.  While all leading automobile companies raised prices earlier this year, we at Nissan absorbed rising input costs and held back the price hike. Although we have now reached the stage where we have to make an adjustment, I can assure all customers that both Micra and Sunny will continue to represent outstanding value within the market." Nissan in India offers innovative and exciting products across hatchback, sports, SUV and sedan segments. It has three locally produced car models Micra, Sunny and the newly launched Evalia. Nissan’s year -on-year sales in India more than doubled to 33,000 units in FY2011 and it plans to continue the twofold increase in sales in the current financial year, to achieve its target of 100,000 units by 2013. To support the sales growth, Nissan is aggressively expanding its dealer network from 75 dealers at present to 95 dealers by end of the current financial year.

Beijing hosts ‘India Show’ to showcase developments in Indian Auto Industry

Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Embassy of India, Beijing is organizing the "India Show" concurrently with 6th China International Auto parts Expo from 26-28 October, 2012 in Beijing. The event is supported by the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), Auto Component Manufacturers’ Association (ACMA) of India, China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export for Machinery and Electronic Products (CCCME), Trade Development Bureau of Ministry of Commerce of the People`s Republic of China and Genertec. "India Show" in Beijing assumes greater significance in the context of enhanced economic and strategic cooperation between the two nations. The Show would set the tone for strengthening the bilateral economic and trade cooperation between the two countries. The event is organized during this year which has been announced as the "Year of India-China Friendship and Cooperation", pledging to push the Sino-Indian strategic cooperative partnership to a new level.  As part of India Show, CII will be leading a high-powered 19 member CEOs/ Business delegation led by Mr S Gopalakrishnan, President Designate CII & Executive Co-Chairman Infosys Technologies Ltd from 25-26 October 2012. During their visit, the delegation will call on senior Chinese Government leaders and discuss on new areas for collaboration for enhancing trade and investment between the two countries...Read More

Toyota launches Toyota Green Journey Challenge

Audi organized Women’s Power Drive, in New Delhi

Harley-Davidson opens new dealership in Kochi

Harley-Davidson India announced the opening of a new dealership in Kochi strengthening the brand’s presence in southern India as part of its strategic dealership expansion across the country. "At Harley-Davidson, we are proud to lead the way in developing a strong leisure motorcycling culture across the country. The passion, enthusiasm and respect the Harley-Davidson brand has received from customers and enthusiasts continues to inspire our growth plans. The Kochi dealership marks the launch of our ninth dealership in India and the fourth in the southern region, and we are excited to welcome new enthusiasts across Kerala to join our growing family of owners. With Mitesh Patel at the helm of Spice Coast Harley-Davidson, we look forward to building on the storied motorcycling culture in the southern hills of Kerala." said Anoop Prakash, Managing Director, Harley-Davidson India. ‘Spice Coast Harley-Davidson,’ is situated at Vytilla Aroor Bypass Road, Maradu, and is owned by Mitesh Patel. Mitesh, the principal owner of Spice Coast Harley-Davidson, is an automobile enthusiast and an experienced dealer operator. His passion for the brand and its unique motorcycle riding culture will ensure that a true Harley- Davidson experience is delivered to enthusiasts in the coastal city...Read More

Thomas Cook India appoints Abraham Alapatt as Head-Marketing

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd, India’s largest integrated travel and travel related financial services company, announced the appointment of Abraham Alapatt as Head- Marketing w.e.f. October 15, 2012.  Abraham is a marketing & brand professional with over 17 years of full-time professional experience at senior strategic levels across the varied domains of brand building-advertising, corporate communication, PR & media relations, internal communication, customer service and Internet-technology.  During this period, he has worked with promoters and as a member of senior management teams in key marketing, client management and business development roles at leading advertising agencies like Ogilvy & Mather, an international internet solution provider start-up, Reliance Mutual Fund – India’s leading asset management company and Development Credit Bank.  His last assignment (prior to joining Thomas Cook India) was with Future Generali India (both life and general insurance businesses) as part of their original start up team. At Future Generali, Abraham led the Brand, Corporate Communication, Customer Service and Rewards & Recognition teams. Abraham’s strengths are in the areas of marketing, brand strategy formulation, implementation and management; integrated brand and corporate communication; advertising; PR-media relations; market research, customer service and customer-centric marketing from ideation to process engineering. Abraham is also a part-time writer and columnist and his articles, opinions and interviews feature in various Brand & Marketing forums, portals and publications such as Campaign India, agencyfaqs, exchange4media, mxmindia, Brand Equity, 4Ps etc. He was also a speaker at the World Brand Congress, Mumbai in 2010 and the Great Indian Marketing Summit in 2012. Abraham was also one of only eight "Futurist CMO" Hall of Fame inductees from across India for 2011-12. Abraham is a Bachelor in Commerce from Loyola College, Chennai and a Post Graduate Diploma Holder (MBA) in Marketing & International Marketing from the School of Communication & Management Studies, Cochin. At Thomas Cook, Abraham’s mandate as Head of Marketing, is to lead the Group’s brand building efforts as well as support and grow individual lines of business in line with existing and emerging opportunities.

Preferred Hotel Group brings year-to-date growth to 65 new member hotels

Dia Mirza honoured to promote Japan Tourism in India

Mumbai gets its first Ginger Hotel

Ginger Hotel, the chain of Smart Basics hotels from Roots Corporation Limited, launched its very first hotel inMumbai, located on Mahakali Caves Road, Andheri. Raymond Bickson, MD and CEO, Indian Hotels Company Limited inaugurated the 116-room hotel that will cater predominantly to business travellers in the country’s financial hub.  The 116-room hotel in Mumbai has individually air-conditioned rooms equipped with electronic locks, a work area, and a 26-inch LCD television with satellite channels, direct-dial telephone including STD facility, mini-fridge and tea/coffee maker. Located within close proximity of the domestic and international airports, the export zone SEEPZ and the industrial hub MIDC, the Ginger Hotel in Andheri is well connected to the Western and Central suburbs of Mumbai. Ginger Hotels, with a presence of twenty six hotels across the country with Mumbai being the most recent one, has business travellers as their main focus. Ginger Hotels is built around the unique concept of Smart Basics that provides intelligent, thought-out facilities to meet the key needs of travellers, at affordable prices. Smart Basics signifies simplicity, convenience, informality, style, warmth, modernity and affordability, along with warmth and modernity in its approach to product design.

Expedia announces plans to set up global technology centre in India

The Expedia Group announced plans to set up a global technology centre in India as part of its enhanced investment in India. The Expedia group's Indian subsidiary companies also moved to a brand new office premise, spread over 42,000 sq feet in Gurgaon. The facility will primarily house employees working on sales and marketing, research and development, and travel supply support services activities in support of Expedia Group's Expedia-brand, Expedia.co.in, Hotels.com-brand, and Egencia (corporate travel) businesses. The Gurgaon set-up represents one of the Expedia Group's largest facilities outside of Expedia, Inc.'s Bellevue, Washington corporate headquarters. The new office is the largest facility for the group in Asia Pacific and the fifth largest globally. Expedia Online Travel Services India Private Limited (Expedia India), the Indian subsidiary of Expedia Inc., also plans to hire 300 people locally by end of 2012 as it strengthens its workforce in the region. As the R&D hub for the region, the new development centre in India will create travel applications for local as well as the global markets. India will be the only other location besides Bellevue, where the Expedia Group will work on solutions across all brands and platforms.  The Gurgaon location will house a balanced mix of teams across operations, search and supply functions along with core common infrastructure teams and data centres. The new office offers a vibrant and engaging work space with travel themed common areas. At present, the Expedia Group has R&D presence globally in 11 centers in Bellevue, London, Springfield, San Francisco, Geneva, Paris, Prague, Montreal, and now Gurgaon.

World Polio Day: Threat of Polio virus rebound still looms over India

To commemorate World Polio Day on 24 October, Rotary International has cautioned against any complacency in efforts towards keeping India free from virus spread. India recorded its last polio case in January 2011 and was officially removed from the list of polio-endemic nations a year later. In the South-east Asia region, India is midway to being certified a polio-free region in 2014, contingent upon the fact that no polio cases are reported till 2014. Considering that India has officially eradicated polio, donor and campaign fatigue are natural outcomes that may induce a sense of complacency in activists and officials. But any attempt to drop or dilute preventive measures and safeguards due to financial constraints or other challenges could allow the virus to rebound by ‘importation’ through an endemic nation. Given this danger, the national immunization campaigns need to be sustained until global eradication is a reality. That is the best way to safeguard the wellbeing of susceptible children against the crippling effects of polio. A US$700-million funding gap threatens to undermine all of the progress achieved against the disease in last two and half decades since 1988. In response to the crisis, Rotary recently announced a funding commitment of $75 million for polio eradication over the next three years during a special United Nations General Assembly session on polio. To date, Rotary members have contributed nearly $1.2 billion to the effort. Also on this World Polio Day, Rotary International invites one and all to get online and participate in the World’s Biggest Commercial, promoting the global effort to eradicate this crippling childhood disease. The innovative, interactive campaign gives everyone a chance to join Bill Gates, Amitabh Bachchan, A. R. Rahman, Jackie Chan, and other world figures and celebrities already participating in Rotary’s "This Close" campaign in raising awareness and support for polio eradication. Participants can upload photos of themselves to Rotary’s polio eradication website, endpolionow.org, to be edited into the constantly expanding promotional spot. Participants will receive an email with a direct link to their image and comment within the commercial.

Dr. Reddy announces intended offer for OctoPlus N.V

Dr. Reddy's, together with its subsidiaries, announces the intended public offer to acquire the issued and outstanding shares of OctoPlus N.V. (Euronext Amsterdam: OCTO) ("OctoPlus"), a service based specialty pharmaceutical company, for an offer price of € 27.39 million (cum dividend) in cash, representing 100% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares. The offer price represents a premium of 30% over the closing price of OctoPlus as of the EoD October 19, 2012. Dr. Reddy's currently holds an irrevocable commitment from shareholders representing over 50% of OctoPlus's issued and outstanding shares. Further, the Executive Board and the Supervisory Board of OctoPlus have unanimously recommended the Offer to the remaining shareholders. This deal will help expand the expertise and scientific capabilities of Dr. Reddy's. G V Prasad, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Dr. Reddy's said, "As we globalize our R & D efforts, we are looking forward to build a research base in Leiden (Netherlands). The acquisition helps us ramp up our technology capabilities in drug delivery." Assuming that the requisite numbers of shares are tendered by the balance share holders, the transaction is likely to be concluded by the end of the current fiscal year.

1 in 3 females and 1 in 8 males suffers from osteoporosis in India : IOF

Approximately 26 million Indians are estimated to have osteoporosis with the numbers projected to reach 36 million by 2013.

• At least one in three women and one in five men over the age of 50 will suffer a fragility fracture secondary to osteoporosis- most commonly at the spine, hip, wrist and ankle
• 2/3rd of spinal fractures do not come to medical attention
• Clinical vertebral osteoporotic fractures associated with 8-fold increase in mortality
• 45% drop out rate from effective surgery only due to fear of surgery

World Osteoporosis Day is observed annually on 20 October by the International Osteoporosis Foundation. This year's World Osteoporosis Day campaign theme is Osteoporosis prevention - 3 Steps to Unbreakable Bones, reminds everyone to take three essential steps towards osteoporosis prevention:

• Do daily weight-bearing and muscle strengthening exercise
• Ensure you are getting enough vitamin D
• Eat a balanced diet with plenty of calcium-rich foods.

IOF has launched a year-long campaign dedicated to raising global awareness of the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and metabolic bone disease. Organized by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF) every year, World Osteoporosis Day involves campaigns by national osteoporosis patient societies from around the world with activities in over 90 countries including India for public education. Osteoporosis is defined as reduction in the strength of bone leading to an increased risk of fractures... In the back, osteoporosis leads to weakening of the vertebral bone. Unable to sustain body weight, the vertebra collapses and fractures even with relatively trivial falls at home, with activities such as bending forwards or lifting a bucket of water or even a bout of coughing and sneezing.  The problem is that the fracture is not always diagnosed—instead, the problem is often just thought of as general back pain which is common with aging. Approximately 2/3 of all vertebral fractures are not diagnosed and therefore not treated.  Worldwide each year 1.4 million patients suffer from spinal fractures due to osteoporosis. Unfortunately, 2/3 of these fractures go undiagnosed and untreated due in part to lack of awareness about osteoporosis and available treatment options. The consequences of untreated fractures can be devastating. When a patient suffers from one vertebral compression fracture, the risk of suffering from second fracture increases five-fold5. Left unattended, many fractures can result in an exaggerated rounded curvature of the spine, called kyphosis. This condition is painful and debilitating — making walking, eating, sleeping, and even breathing painful and difficult. Long-term, this condition could be disabling.

Fidelity India plans to acquire 40% stake in Trivitron Healthcare: reports

Godrej Properties launches new phase at Godrej Platinum

Godrej Properties Ltd, the real estate development arm of the Godrej Group,announced the launch of the third tower in its premium residential project, Godrej Platinum, in Vikhroli, Mumbai. This tower, having 28 habitable floors, will offer 2, 3, and 4 BHK apartments that range in size from 843 sq. ft of carpet area to 1,762 sq. ft. of carpet area. Godrej Platinum is strategically located in the upcoming area of Vikhroli offering excellent connectivity to all parts of Mumbai. It is in close proximity to current and future airport developments, the commercial hub of BKC and residential clusters of Andheri and Powai. It offers ready access to the Eastern Express Highway, the Vikhroli railway station and bus depot. The project offers a fully equipped state-of-the-art clubhouse which includes a swimming pool, an aerobics studio, a gymnasium and a library. Other facilities include a tennis court, an indoor games area, and a kid’s play area. Godrej Platinum is one of the first residential projects in the country to receive IGBC - Platinum precertification, which is the highest available certification for green homes. Some of the sustainability features include well-planned building orientation to reduce heat gain effect, the usage of low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) paints, water-efficient fixtures and landscaping with facilities for rainwater harvesting, electric charging points for 10% of parking spaces, double glazed windows for thermal and sound insulation, solar water heating system, and a sewage treatment plant. Due to its features the energy demand of this residential building will reduce, thereby offering economic benefits to users. Godrej Properties has partnered its sister company, Godrej & Boyce, for this exciting project. Godrej Properties is the development manager and Godrej & Boyce is the landowner and developer of this project.

Keshavnagar...Pune's new property boom area: JLL

In terms of residential property value, Keshavnagar in Pune’s Mundhwa area benefits from its advantageous proximity to Koregaon Park, of which Mundhwa is now considered an extension. It is one the increasingly rare locations where purchasing a budget home in a strategic location in Pune is still possible. Currently, Keshavnagar is primarily a destination for mid-income and upper middle class home buyers, with a variety of new residential projects and resale options available to choose from. Keshavnagar first started coming into the Pune real estate limelight in the late ’90s. Due to the fact that it still a Gram Panchayat area and therefore outside the official municipal limits, property prices have remained rational up to now and the area still offers a lot of ambient greenery. Keshavnagar is expected to come under the municipal corporation in another 1.5-2 years, which would mean a boost in the currently somewhat under-developed infrastructure there. The area is located between Manjiri on the East and Ghorpadi on the West, is close to Pune Camp and only about nine kilometers from the railway station. The airport is readily accessible, as are major malls such as Amanora Town Centre on Hadapsar-Kharadi Bypass and Phoenix Market City and InOrbit on Nagar Road. More importantly from a residential real estate viewpoint, it is an ideal home base for Infotech employees from the Magarpatta, Kharadi and Kalyaninagar IT hubs, which are within quick driving distance. Land availability for new constructions is still fairly good, portending a lot of future development potential. The combination of these factors clearly places Keshavnagar on the map of Pune property investment hot-spots. Residential property rates at Keshavnagar currently range from Rs. 3900-4500/sq.ft.

Parag Majmudar elected as first member of NAREDCO from Eastern India

Execution concerns persist for construction companies amid weak macro-environment : ICRA

Kotak named "Best Investment Manager in India" in Euromoney Real Estate Survey 2012

Real estate developers plans to sell smaller offices to professionals: reports

DB Realty arm plans to sell 49% stake in Delhi Airport hotel: reports

Akshaya launches ‘ABOV’ the tallest residential tower in Tamil Nadu

Akshaya Pvt Ltd, India’s most awarded real estate developer, announced the launch of its 150th project on the occasion of their 18th anniversary, ABOV - the tallest residential tower in Tamilnadu. Located in a sprawling 1.66 acres, Abov can claim to several first’s to its credit – the tallest residential building in Tamil Nadu (132 Meters or 433 feet or 38 floors), IGBC Pre-certified platinum building, CRISIL 5 Star Rated,the first building to house one house per floor, the only building to have 31 homes with 32 swimming pools. This world-class tower will also set record for being the only residential tower in Tamil Nadu housing 1 house per floor with 6700 sq. ft single plate homes and a deck of 360’ view & sea view. Abov will be the 28th Tallest Tower* in India. (*sourceOur Building &Construction magazine)

Highlights at the launch event were:

Display of 5 meter (15 feet) high life size replica, Tallest Residential Tower of Tamilnadu Virtual Reality: First of its kind, Akshaya showcased their Tallest Residential Tower of Tamil Nadu in 3D interior architectural renderings which would be controlled by body gesture motionto showcase the realistic presentation. The renderings & visualizations brought alive the designs to virtual 3D life, allowing the audience to appreciate the glory of the residential tower. Microsoft Surface Table: The viewers sat comfortably, flipping through project and enjoyed the walkthrough’s of the stunning building...Read More

Sunteck Realty launches Sunteck City

Sunteck Realty Ltd. has announced the launch of their luxury residential project SunteckCity. SunteckCity' is an integrated development project strategically located in Goregaon West, Mumbai. The project is spread over an expanse of more than 20-acres of land. The launch of SunteckCity marks the commencement of Phase-1 of the entire project. SunteckCity promises a luxurious ecosystem that resonates with your very soul. A destination inspired by global ethos. A home ground for the like-minded. This undulating expanse with a dash of the Disney magic exudes nothing else but bespoke elitism. With its central location, Sunteck City offers luxuriously appointed residences , and an opportunity to elevate to an inspired lifestyle that breathes a new life of sophistication and quiet elegance in your home. Speaking about Sunteck City and the Disney inspired rooms, Kamal Khetan Chairman and Managing Director Sunteck Realty said "Sunteck City is a lifestyle city within the city. In an endeavor to add value to the lives of our consumers by offering world class services, we always look at forging partnerships that are best suited for the said project I am confident that Sunteck City is going to be a trend setter and pave the way for a better lifestyle." At Sunteck City there is something special in store for all Disney Fans as this luxurious residential project will also offer Disney inspired interiors and exteriors...Read More

DoT seeks approval to give financial aid to BSNL, MTNL: reports

The Department of Telecom has floated proposal to give financial aid to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, to fund their one-time spectrum fee, according to reports. Reports stated that DoT has argued that support should be given to the two telecom PSUs, given their current financial position and their strategic importance.DoT will discuss with the Finance Minister to arrive at a final package for the two PSUs over the next 3 months, says report.

Bharti Airtel becomes 4th largest mobile operator in the world

TRAI allows service providers to offer combo vouchers

ON Semiconductor introduces low power auto focus control IC for Smartphone Camera Modules

SSTL not to participate in the 2G spectrum auction

EGoM postpones decision on spectrum re-farming: reports

LIC to issue 44 lakh policies in East Central Zone: Reports

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) said that it plans to issue 44 lakh new insurance policies in Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha in the current fiscal, according to media reports. The state-run insurance giant said that it already has about 2 crore policies in Bihar and Jharkhand and about 2.8 crore policies in Odisha. LIC chairman DK Mehrotra said that the Vision 2020 of LIC is to have ‘a policy in every pocket’. The insurer is determined to make every Indian feel financially secure with adequate insurance cover, in terms of life, health insurance and annuity, the reports added. LIC plans to launch two products on conventional platform, one on unit-linked investment plan (ULIP) platform and a few products online, the reports concluded.

Magma HDI General to launch 25 products

Reliance Life Insurance introduces Life Plaza

Foreign insurance brokers to enter in India: Reports

United India Insurance appoints Milind Kharat as CMD

Max Bupa strengthens management team

Reliance Capital set to enter banking: Reports

Financial services unit of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Capital said that is fully-prepared to enter banking business. The asset management company (AMC) has been working on this for about one and half years, according to media reports. The government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have been working to grant new bank licences. The government has also recently indicated that a framework could be put in place soon for allowing new companies in the banking business. The RBI issued draft guidelines in August last year to grant new bank licences, and in July 2012 it released the suggestions received by it, the reports added. Reliance Capital said that India has around 200 million bank accounts, while there are about 600 million mobile customers. Hence, there is a big gap and there is a need to take banking to a larger number of people. Besides Reliance Capital, a number of other private players are planning to enter banking business.

Old-age pension to be given after verifying documents

Rajat Gupta sentenced to 2 years in prison for insider trading

On Wednesday, former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta was sentenced to two years in prison by a Manhattan court. Mr Gupta was ordered two year imprisonment for leaking the Goldman Sachs’s boardroom secrets to Raj Rajaratnam, the hedge fund manager at the centre of the US government's crackdown on insider trading. Mr Gupta was also fined $5 million, the media reports said. Mr Gupta is the most prominent figure to face prison in the government’s sweeping crackdown on insider trading. While his prosecutors had sought the maximum prison term of 10 years for Mr Gupta, the 63-year-old corporate honcho had pleaded probation, or community service, including working with needy children in New York or Rwanda, the reports added. Mr Gupta, who was convicted for securities fraud and conspiracy in June, is set to report to prison on January 8. Indian-born Gupta also once sat on the boards of Procter & Gamble Co and American Airlines. He also had advised philanthropies such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Seeking forgiveness from all: Rajat Gupta

President Barroso’s statement after EU Council summit

President Barroso stressed that the Compact for Growth and Jobs agreed in June must not stay only on paper. When asking our citizens to make major sacrifices, we need to provide them with hope, a realistic prospect of growth and assurance for the most vulnerable, he said. "The reality is that the crisis is still with us … I am painfully aware of the difficult situation in which many European citizens find themselves, and this is precisely the reason why we have asked heads of state and government to immediately implement the Compact for Growth and Jobs," said President Barroso at the final press conference of the October European Council. While some progress has been made, it is not yet enough: "The reality is that this Growth Compact, an important investment package worth €120 billion, has not yet been fully implemented." The President then gave concrete examples of areas where the implementation must be sped up in such as tax on savings, energy taxation, public procurement reform or boost for venture capital. (Read more in his report to the heads of state and government. He stressed that the financial sector must also make a fair contribution to the recovery: "Next week the Commission will take the first step towards launching enhanced cooperation on a Financial Transactions Tax and we will present an action plan on tax fraud and tax evasion before the end of the year."...Read More

EU - Priorities for growth and job creation

European Council conclusions – 18 and 19 October 2012

FAO mourns ‘tireless advocate for world's hungry'

"we have lost a tireless advocate for the world's hungry," said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva, paying tribute to former US Senator George McGovern, who died at a hospice near his home in the US state of South Dakota. He was 90. "His work drafting legislation in his own country to meet the nutritional needs of vulnerable women, infants and children and as a vigorous champion of school lunch programmes, both in the US and around the world, has helped give millions of the world's poorest children the nutritional foundation needed to succeed in school and life," Graziano da Silva said.  "He will be sorely missed by the FAO community and by our partners in the fight against hunger." McGovern was appointed the first director of the US Food for Peace Programme by President John F. Kennedy in 1960 and was instrumental in the foundation of the World Food Programme in 1963. He served in the US Senate from 1963 to 1981 and ran for US president in 1972.  From 1998 to 2001, McGovern served as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture. In 2000, in partnership with former Senator Bob Dole, he created the George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program, which commits an annual amount from the US federal budget to provide nutritious meals to poor students around the world. McGovern and Dole were honoured in 2008 with the World Food Prize for, according to the prize organizers, "their inspired, collaborative leadership that has encouraged a global commitment to school feeding and enhanced school attendance and nutrition for millions of the world's poorest children, especially girls"...Read More

ESSEC Business School launches General Management Program in Mauritius and Southeast Africa

Google is world’s most InDemand Employer brand: LinkedIn

LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network with more than 175 million members, recently revealed that Google is the world’s most InDemand Employer brand, followed by Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Unilever rounding out the top five. In India, Accenture tops the list of the most sought-after companies among professionals on LinkedIn followed by Hewlett Packard, Oracle, IBM and Microsoft. The InDemand Employer rankings were powered by Talent Brand Index, a new, free service for LinkedIn’s Talent Solutions customers that allows them to measure and benchmark the strength of their employer brand and offers new insights into how they can improve their ability to attract top talent. Irfan Abdulla, Director Talent Solutions, LinkedIn India said, "Talent remains the one distinctive asset that companies must build and nurture to retain their competitive edge. LinkedIn’s Talent Brand Index addresses this critical need and helps companies devise campaigns that help them become an employer of choice to the potential talent pool. The three companies of Indian origin that feature in the top 10 list of most InDemand employers - Bharti Airtel Ltd., Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services are testimony to the increased importance of developing and maintaining employer brand by Indian corporates."

Globally, a few interesting insights came out about what makes a desirable and sought after employer:

• Tech is hot: Software was the most represented industry on the list, and Google topped several categories including our global rankings.
• A strong consumer brand helps, but isn’t essential: Consumer powerhouses like Coca-Cola and Nike ranked highly, but so did leading professional services firms like McKinsey & Company and B2B companies like GE.
• Bigger isn’t necessarily better: Big global brands are well represented, but 50% of the top 100 are under 7,000 employees.

The new service analyses interactions that take place every year between LinkedIn’s more than 175 million members and the companies on LinkedIn; pinpointing specific types of actions that tell us when professionals are interested in a company as a place to work — things like connecting to employees, viewing their profiles, visiting company pages, and following companies. Companies are then able to measure their ability to attract specific talent groups on LinkedIn, utilising the unique information to which LinkedIn has access. The InDemand Employer rankings reveal the most attractive and in-demand employers on LinkedIn, determined by the companies that LinkedIn members are most interested in, and provide new insights for professionals considering their next career step.

There are three easy steps for all companies on LinkedIn to take to build their talent brand:

• Encourage all current employees to create and complete their profiles so that they can easily be found
• Complete their Company Page so potential candidates can find out more information about the company and its culture
• Include a Company Follow button on the company website and in email signatures

Demech Esscano Power successfully adopted SolidWorks 3D design solutions

Demech Esscano Power Pvt Ltd, the leading manufacturer of industrial dampers successfully adopted SolidWorks 3D design solutions for driving new concepts to enhance performance of industrial dampers and reduce production costs allowing them an edge over the competition. The need to restrict gases and liquids makes industrial dampers a necessity in many factories and plants, including power plants, steel mills, cement plants, petrochemical facilities, and other process-related operations. By integrating SolidWorks design and simulation solutions, Demech Esscano Power Pvt Ltd. substantially reduced their production layout time while eliminating the need to develop prototype successfully producing dampers that are 99.95 to 100 percent efficient. The design platform offered by SolidWorks allowed Demech Esscano Power Pvt Ltd to respond to the demands for complex dampers with its ease of use and automated design. The company required a parametric 3D design solution to support design automation, checking, and validation needs.  Adopting SolidWorks 3D design solution enabled Demech Esscano Power Pvt Ltd to successfully accelerate the development of design and production layouts by increasing design automation and leveraging its design simulation technologies. According to Subhash Bidwai, General Manager, Demech chose SolidWorks as their design software because of lots of excellent features like: Ease of Use, Data Management, SolidWorks eDrawings communication facility, Data exchange capability, built in hardware library, Integrated design validation capability, and superior customer support & proven implementation records of Pelf Infotech, SolidWorks VAR.

Microsoft launches Windows 8 in India

Microsoft announced the availability of Windows 8 for its customers in India and around the world. Beginning Friday, October 26, consumers and businesses worldwide will be able to experience all that Windows 8 has to offer: a beautiful new UI, a wide range of apps with the grand opening of the Windows Store, available on a variety of Windows 8 certified PCs and tablets. Windows 8 PCs and tablets will be available in India from 14 OEM partners - Acer, Asus, Dell, Fujitsu, HCL, Hewlett Packard, Lenovo, RP Infosystems, Sai Info System, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba, Wipro and Zenith Computers on a variety of form factors - from tablets and hybrids to laptops and ultrabooks, on both touch and non-touch devices. In India, over 250 Windows 8 enabled devices, including 23 completely new SKUs of Windows 8 PCs are available across 100 cities and more than 2500 retail stores. Windows 8 comes with a new smooth and intuitive start screen and tiles that are brimming with content, and update in real time. Windows 8 is natively cloud-connected and users only need to sign in once with their Microsoft account, to ensure that all the things they care about most including mails, calendars, contact, pictures etc. are seamlessly synced across multiple devices. Further, Windows 8 comes with a reimagined browser, Internet Explorer 10 that is touch-ready and delivers a full screen browsing experience. Windows 8 will be available in two versions at retail, Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro. And for our business customers who have signed up for software assurance, Windows 8 Enterprise offers new possibilities in mobile productivity with features like Windows To Go, DirectAccess, and BranchCache, as well as enhanced end-to-end security with features including BitLocker and AppLocker. Launching at the same time is a new member of the Windows family designed for ARM-based tablets, Windows RT, which will be available pre-installed on new devices.

Microsoft offers peek at new windows, tablet:reports

ECS launches ‘Payment in Box’ for North America

ElectraCard Services (ECS), a leading electronic payments solution provider, announced the availability of a prepackaged, functionally rich, high performance payment switch. The integrated solution meets the needs of financial institutions, local Independent Service Organizations (ISO), retailers and merchant processors and enables them to more quickly adapt to innovation in their markets. ECS ‘Payment in a Box’ bundles HP Integrity NonStop servers and electraSWITCH iTx series to deliver high reliability, extreme scalability and superior price performance. The integrated solution is based on the newly introduced HP Integrity NonStop NS2100 server, allowing customers who require a mission-critical application environment to extend the reliability of NonStop fundamentals at a lower price point. This bundled solution comes complete with support, installation and training services. electra iTx series platform is a next generation transaction platform, built from the ground-up on open standards and industry best-practices to support the service oriented architectures (SOA) that are fast becoming the technology backbone of s leading organizations...Read More

UberGlobal powers up cloud offerings with Juniper Networks

RCBC implements Finacle core banking solution from Infosys

Michael Page International is now PageGroup

FedEx and OVF offers discounted absentee ballot delivery for 2012 presidential election

Networking Industry Visionary, David Meyer, Joins Brocade

Brocade announced the appointment of networking industry visionary David Meyer to the position of Service Provider business chief technology officer and chief scientist. A foremost authority on software-defined networking (SDN), Internet routing and OpenFlow technologies, Meyer will play an integral role in the shaping of Brocade’s cloud networking, advanced routing and application delivery strategy. Meyer will report to Ken Cheng, vice president and general manager of the Routing, Application Delivery and Software Networking Group. In this new role, Meyer will be responsible for working with tier-1 service providers, cloud hosting providers and Web 2.0 content providers worldwide. As an expert advisor, he will help customers develop cloud-optimized network architectures to support next-generation services and applications. In addition, he will actively engage in industry-wide discussions on seminal networking issues and evangelize Brocade’s unique solutions in the areas of Ethernet fabrics, advanced routing and SDN. With over three decades of networking industry experience, Meyer has long been an agent of change and an advocate of an evolutionary, rather than revolutionary, approach to IT transformation. A recognized thought-leader and a frequent speaker at industry events, Meyer is best known for his innovative work in defining the future direction of Internet technologies. Prior to joining Brocade, Meyer held various positions at Cisco Systems, most recently as a Distinguished Engineer focused on examining the growing role of OpenFlow and SDN within the enterprise and service provider markets. Meyer is an active participant and influential force within a number of industry associations, including the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the North American Network Operators’ Group (NANOG) and the Open Networking Foundation (ONF). Throughout his career, he has held a number of leadership positions within these groups and currently serves as the Chair of IETF’s Domain Name Server Operations and MBONE Deployment Working Group, as well as the Co-Chair of the Forwarding Abstractions Group at ONF. He is often credited as being a leading expert in networking technology who has made numerous contributions that have significantly shaped the evolution of the Internet.

BP to sell its TNK-BP shareholding to Rosneft

BP announced that it has signed heads of terms to sell its 50% share in TNK-BP to Rosneft, the major Russian integrated oil and gas company. Under the heads of terms Rosneft has agreed in principle to buy BP’s share in TNK-BP.

The proposed transaction consists of two tranches:

1. BP would sell its 50 per cent shareholding in TNK-BP to Rosneft for $17.1 billion in cash and Rosneft shares representing a 12.84 per cent stake in Rosneft;
2. BP intends to use $4.8 billion of the cash consideration to acquire a further 5.66 per cent stake in Rosneft from the Russian government. BP would acquire the Rosneft shares from the Russian Government at a price of $8 per share (representing a premium of 12 per cent to the Rosneft share closing price on the bid date: 18 October 2012).

Signing of the definitive agreements is conditional on the Russian government agreeing to the sale of the 5.66 per cent stake in Rosneft and it is intended that the TNK-BP sale and this further investment in Rosneft would complete on the same day. Therefore, on completion of the proposed transaction, BP would acquire a total 18.5 per cent stake in Rosneft and net $12.3 billion in cash. This would result in BP holding 19.75 per cent of Rosneft stock, when aggregated with BP’s 1.25 per cent current holding in Rosneft. At this level of ownership, BP expects to be able to account for its share of Rosneft’s earnings, production and reserves on an equity basis. In addition BP expects to have two seats on Rosneft’s nine person main board. In accordance with the heads of terms, BP and Rosneft have an exclusivity period of 90 days to negotiate fully-termed sale and purchase agreements. After signing definitive agreements, completion would be subject to certain customary closing conditions, including governmental, regulatory and anti-trust approvals, and is currently anticipated to occur during the first half of 2013. In addition, BP will agree not to dispose of any of the Rosneft shares acquired in the transaction for at least 360 days following the completion of the transaction. BP's chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said: "This is an important day for BP. Russia is vital to world energy security and will be increasingly significant in years to come. Russia has also been an important country for us over the past 20 years. Our involvement has moved with the times. TNK-BP has been a good investment and we are now laying a new foundation for our work in Russia. "Rosneft is set to be a major player in the global oil industry. This material holding in Rosneft will, we believe, give BP solid returns. We consider that this is a deal which will deliver both cash and long term value for BP and its shareholders. It provides us with a sustainable stake in Russia’s energy future and is consistent with our Group strategy.

Celgene Corporation receives USFDA nod for ABRAXANE

Celgene Corporation recently announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ABRAXANE (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) (albumin-bound) for the first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, in combination with carboplatin, in patients who are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation therapy. The ABRAXANE sNDA approval is based upon the results of CA-031, a phase III, multi-center, randomized open-label study where patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) received either ABRAXANE (100mg/m2) weekly plus carboplatin (AUC=6) every three weeks (n=521) or paclitaxel (200mg/m2) every three weeks plus carboplatin (AUC=6) (n=531). The study met its primary end-point demonstrating a statistically significantly higher overall response rate for patients in the ABRAXANE arm compared to those in the paclitaxel arm (33% vs 25%). In the phase III study, ABRAXANE demonstrated a higher overall response rate as compared to paclitaxel for squamous cell carcinoma (41% vs. 24%) and large cell carcinoma (33% vs. 15%). ABRAXANE achieved a similar overall response rate to paclitaxel in patients with carcinoma/adenocarcinoma (26% vs. 27%). The most common adverse reactions (=20%) of ABRAXANE in combination with carboplatin for NSCLC are anemia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, alopecia, peripheral neuropathy, nausea, and fatigue. Additional regulatory submissions have been filed in Japan, Australia and New Zealand with anticipated decisions in 2013. This approval marks the second indication for ABRAXANE in the United States. In the United States, ABRAXANE was first approved in 2005 for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer after failure of combination chemotherapy. ABRAXANE for Injectable Suspension (paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension) is indicated for the treatment of breast cancer after failure of combination chemotherapy for metastatic disease or relapse within 6 months of adjuvant chemotherapy. Prior therapy should have included an anthracycline unless clinically contraindicated. ABRAXANE is indicated for the first-line treatment of locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer, in combination with carboplatin, in patients who are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation therapy.

Student of the Year: Dent of the Year

IIFL Rating:

With Karan Johar, you are sure of nonsense in some form or the other. This warranty actually helps you make sense of his movies or least find innocence in his inanity. Maybe that’s the reason why ‘Student of the Year’ manages to entertain us despite all the mockery and tomfoolery that happens in the name of movie making.

Johar’s obsession with academic institutions is well known. In his latest, he again takes us round his trademark campus where students and teachers find time for everything else under the sun but for education. The last mentioned, most fittingly, is only academic.

Karan’s academy, supposedly the best since British days, has all the Johar USPs: Hot hunks, shapely damsels, colorful deans, picnics, weddings, carnivals, competitions …and of course the usual sprinkling of class divides and love triangles. And yet, students regularly pass out of this place to take on flourishing careers in investment banking, law and what not. I feel Kapil Sibbal should take a closer look at this institution and spare the IITs and IIMs for a while.

To his credit, Johar presents the debutante trio in leading roles with flair. Siddharth Malhotra (Abhimanyu) and Varun Dhawan (Rohan) perform competently while Alia Bhatt (Shanaya) is impressive despite the trivial role that has come her way. Together, they keep the audience involved which is undoubtedly a feat given the complete lack of a credible story.

Johar predictably struggles to create twists and turns in between the song-n-dance extravaganza, ultimately relying on senseless mix-ups, forced family conflicts and frantic humor to take the tale forward. If that’s not enough, he unabashedly borrows stale ideas from his past movies to fill glaring gaps and of course, you also find him playing the ancient Bollywood trump card of an ailing grand mom on her deathbed.

One feels sorry for Rishi Kapoor. As the father of India’s No 1 superstar, he needs to be a little choosier about his roles going forward. Else his comedy spree is bound to turn tragic at some point. After the flight of ‘Udaan’, Ronit Roy nosedives into inconsequence with a stupid trivial part. Farida Jalal is fast turning into the new Achala Sachdev of Hindi films.

Johar’s films regularly make a dent into our perception of cinema but we still prefer him to Sachin Kundalkar any day. Student of the Year is way better that the Aiyyaa nonsense that we are yet to recover from.

5 Weekly positional calls

The indices have been choppy in a narrow range for quite some time now. The results of course will continue to pour in and steer stock-specific movement. All said and done, the comforting factor is that the overall prospects for Indian equities have improved slightly. The recent initiatives taken by the government augur well for now as sentiment had earlier been hit by policy paralysis. Considerable challenges prevail on the macro front though with inflation refusing to cool materially.

A lot of attention will be paid to the political developments over the weekend. Expectations are that a cabinet reshuffle is on the cards which may bring in a whole set of young ministers. At the least the government seems intent on showing that is means action even if it may appear window dressing for the time being. Other events to keep on one’s radar include data on manufacturing PMI and Exports, besides monthly auto volumes.

The indices will look to break out of a range which they have occupied for around two weeks. Market participants will keenly await the RBI policy meet on October 30. How well the RBI and government coordinate on various issues will be something to watch closely.

The India Infoline Weekly Wrap keeps you abreast of the markets and arms you for the markets in the coming week. To access the India Infoline Weekly Wrap, just Click Here 

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India Infoline Research

Major Indices	26-Oct-12	19-Oct-12	% Change
BSE Sensex	18,625	18,682	0.3
NSE Nifty	5,664	5,684	0.4
Dow Jones*	13,104	13,344	1.8
Nasdaq *	2,986	3,006	0.6
Hang Seng	21,810	21,552	1.2
Nikkei	9,380	9,003	4.2
Shanghai Comp	2,262	2,128	6.3
Bovespa (Brazil)*	54,156	58,922	8.1
* Close as on last Thursday

Major Indices	26-Oct-12	19-Oct-12	% Change
Rupee to Dollar	55.6	55.4	0.4
Rupee to Euro	68.5	68.3	0.4

Major Indices	26-Oct-12	19-Oct-12	% Change
Gold std. (Rs/10gm)	-	31,213	-
Silver (Rs/kg)	-	59,412	-
Crude Oil ($ per barrel)	85.5	90.9	5.9

Leader Speak

Vineet Nayar, Vice Chairman and CEO, HCL Technologies Ltd
Yash Ved of IIFL provides you the media interaction where Vineet Nayar says "We see significant opportunity because of contract renewal in America and Europe."...More

Rostow Ravanan, Co-founder and Chief Financial Officer, Mindtree
Speaking with Yash Ved of IIFL, Rostow Ravanan says "We have lowered revenue growth guidance to below 11% for the current financial year, from 11%-14% sales outlook."...More

Arun Balakrishnan, CEO, BerkshireInsurance.com India
Speaking with Anil Mascarenhas and Yash Ved of IIFL, Arun Balakrishnan says "Little knowledge can be dangerous and unfortunately what insurance buyers are doing is that they are comparing just the premium."...More

The myth of affordable energy: Ed Dolan
"The US economy is still 15 percent less energy efficient than the average for high-income OECD countries, giving it plenty of room to improve. Switzerland is almost twice as energy-efficient as the US, and the UK is 68 percent more efficient,"...More

Dr Som Majumdar, Director, International Business, KadenBoriss Lawyers
Dr Som Majumdar tells Dolly Mirchandani of IIFL that, "Unless sold, service does not come up to the fore. Again, unless service is given to the satisfaction of customers, ‘sell’ may not be effected next time."...More

RK Jain, Group President - (Corporate Finance and Strategies) Uflex Ltd
In an interaction with Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, RK Jain says, "Uflex is the only integrated unit of its kind in the world with flexible packaging at its core and focused on innovation."...More

RC Baid, Chairman & Chief Mentor, Siddhi Vinayak Logistics Ltd
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, RC Baid says, "Implementation of GST will give more teeth to the road transport industry and will give it a new platform to further develop logistics concepts."...More

Mr. Rajesh Aggarwal, Managing Director, Insecticides India Ltd
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Rajesh Aggarwal says, "Statistically organic farming is giving below average results and also the quality for crop suffers. We would invest about Rs1bn in the next 2-3 years and as far as funding plan is concerned we are open and have not zeroed on any one."...More

Shyam Sunder B K, Chief Designer, Industrial Design – Tata Elxsi, India
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Shyam Sunder says, "Consumers have evolved from simply buying things off the shelf to studying the physical attributes or attractiveness of the container vis-à-vis understanding how a particular product can add value to their purchase."...More

Dr. Ganesh Natarajan, Vice Chairman and CEO, Zensar Technologies
Speaking with Yash Ved of IIFL, Dr. Ganesh Natarajan says "The Company is looking for acquisitions in Europe with a deal size of approximately USUS$20-25mn."...More

Sanjay Monga, Country Manager – India, Asian Panaria
Replying to Yash Ved of IIFL, Sanjay Monga says "Bellissimo plans to invest Rs. 1bn over the next 3-5 years in manufacturing as well as setting up a nation-wide distribution network for luxury tiles."...More

Suman Bose, Managing Director & CEO, Siemens Industry Software
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Suman Bose says, "The ‘Curiosity’ landing on Mars was one of the toughest engineering challenges ever attempted, and we are proud to be associated with this project."...More

Mr. Devendra Shah, Chairman & Managing Director, Parag Milk Foods
In an exclusive interaction with Hemant P. Maradia of IIFL, Mr. Devendra Shah says: "We hold 1% market share in dairy products but we have a higher market share in value-added milk products."...More

Rajiv Sawhney, CEO & MD, Mahindra Holidays & Resorts India Ltd
Speaking with Yash Ved of IIFL, Rajiv Sawhney says "The growing leisure travel market is seeing newer demands and trends, more discerning consumers insisting on quality, value and differentiated experiences."...More

Dhaval Ajmera, Director, Ajmera Realty & Infra India Ltd
Replying to Yash Ved of IIFL, Dhaval Ajmera says "We are planning to invest Rs10bn in the real estate and power sectors in the next five years even as it is looking at exciting, some of its non- core assets including cement business and a land parcel in Bahrain."...More

Saleem Mohammed, PhD, CEO and Co-founder, XCODE Life Sciences
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Saleem Mohammed says, "Understanding how your personal genetic code influences and affects your health and well being is critical for better health."...More

H.E. Elizabeth Thabethe, Deputy Minister for Trade and Commerce, Republic of South Africa
Speaking with Yash Ved of IIFL, H.E. Elizabeth Thabethe says, "Our primary motive behind India visit is to observe and understand Indian practices in enterprise development, SME support and industrial expansion."...More

Mr. Pratip Chaudhuri, Chairman, State Bank of India
Yash Ved of IIFL brings you SBI’s latest media interaction, where Mr. Chaudhuri said "The objective of the lending rate cut is to improve demand for assets which in our view could have a positive cascading effect on related industries."...More

Harshil Mehta, Chief Executive Officer, Aadhar Housing Finance
Speaking exclusively to Hemant P. Maradia of IIFL, Mr. Harshil Mehta says, "On a quarter-on-quarter basis, our loan book has been growing at the rate of 15% to 30%."...More

Mr. Pankaj Seth, Managing Director, Orbit Exports Ltd.
Speaking with Yash Ved of IIFL, Mr. Pankaj Seth says, "Our plans include expanding into the fabrics business. We are also planning to acquire brands overseas."...More

Prashant Saha, Managing Director, CIMGLOBAL
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Prashant Saha says, "CIMGLOBAL realizes that India is certainly short of quality convention/expo venues, resulting in its failure in attracting large conventions and expo businesses to India."...More

Prasad Shejale, Co-founder & CEO (India), Logicserve Group
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Prasad Shejale says, "Our USP lies in our strong technology background along with success stories in the UK and European market."...More

N. Chandramouli, CEO, Comniscient Group
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, N. Chandramouli says, "Mahatma Gandhi summarized this Brand tenet succinctly in his statement "Be the change you want to see." In communication terms this can be restated as "Be as you want to be seen."...More

Mr. Mushtaq Ahmad, Chairman & CEO of Jammu & Kashmir Bank
Speaking exclusively to Hemant P. Maradia of IIFL, Mr. Mushtaq Ahmad says, "The Bank targets a credit growth of over 25% and deposit growth of over 17-18% for FY13."...More

VA George, President & CEO, Thejo Engineering
Replying to Yash Ved of IIFL, V. A. George says "The domestic market has shown commendable growth with many projects coming up in mining, steel, power and ports sector."...More

Ninad Karpe, MD & CEO, Aptech Ltd
Ninad Kapre replies to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL and says, "Every testing requirement is an opportunity. However, reach, infrastructure, connectivity and computer literacy can be some challenges."...More

Sajjan Jindal, Chairman and Managing Director, JSW Steel
Yash Ved of IIFL gives you highlights from a media interaction where SAJJAN JINDAL says "The merger completes the integration and aims to capture full value of the combination."...More

Mr. Beas Dev Ralhan, Chief Executive Officer, Next Education
Speaking exclusively to Hemant P. Maradia of IIFL, Mr. Beas Dev Ralhan says, "The company did Rs. 1bn in revenues last year and will do close to Rs. 2bn this year."...More

Deepinder Goyal, Founder & CEO, Zomato
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Deepinder Goyal says, "Over 4 million Zomato users come to the website every month to search places for dining out, home delivery, catching up or nightlife."...More

Anand Nichani, Director, Polyflex
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Anand Nichani says, "According to recent studies branded mattress market is approx USUS$200mn out of which luxury is about 2-3 %. We have a mattress for every possible sleeping need."...More

Antony Jacob, CEO, Apollo Munich Health Insurance Company Limited
Replying to Yash Ved of IIFL, Antony Jacob says "The Indian health insurance market is one of the fastest growing portfolios among the non-life insurance category, but still is significantly under-penetrated in comparison with other countries."...More

Mr. Prashanth Prakash, Partner, Accel Partners
In an exclusive interview with Hemant P. Maradia of IIFL, Mr. Prashanth Prakash says, "We continue to believe that there are great opportunities in a broad range of Internet led technologies businesses from Online Media to Saas."...More

Mr. Mahesh R. Shetty, CMD, MT Educare Ltd.
Speaking with Hemant P. Maradia of IIFL, Mr. Shetty says, "Spend on the Education sector is increasing. Almost a third of the income of middle-class families is going into Education."...More

Mr. Rajesh R. Gandhi, Managing Director, Vadilal Industries Ltd.
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Rajesh Gandhi says, "With the unorganized market covering a large chunk (60%) of the Indian ice cream market and already crowded organized sector, all the big and small brands have to provide myriad choices to consumers."...More

Mr. Gaurav Modwel, CEO, Wadhawan Holdings Pvt. Ltd.
In an exclusive interview with Hemant P. Maradia of IIFL, Mr. Gaurav Modwel says, "We are expecting to turn profitable around the third year of the Sri Lanka Premier League (SLPL)."...More

Ashok Chhajer, Chairman, Arihant Superstructures Ltd.
Replying to Yash Ved of IIFL, Ashok Chhajer says, "We expect the turnover and PAT to increase at a CAGR of 50% and 60%, respectively for the next 6-7 years."...More

Mr. Rahul Bajaj, Chairman, Bajaj Auto Ltd.
Yash Ved of IIFL gives you highlights from CII marketing summit, where Mr. Rahul Bajaj said, "Bajaj Auto has been a value for money brand"...More

Nikhil Kumar, Joint Managing Director, TD Power Systems Limited
"While we remain confident about the longer term prospects for our business, near-term visibility remains uncertain," said Nikhil Kumar during conference call...More

Austin Coutinho, Author, The Games
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Austin Coutinho says, "In cricket there is a lot of commitment from all concerned - administrators, players, coaches etc. Sponsors are ready to put in money because of the commitment. Other sports are far behind in this aspect."...More

Mohit Modi, Director - Equity Research, CRISIL Limited
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Mohit Modi says, "Retail investors should look at three things before investing in stocks – fundamentals of the company, valuation levels and their risk appetite. Investments in equity markets depend on one’s risk appetite."...More

Chanda Kochhar, Managing Director and CEO, ICICI Bank
Recognized as one of the most powerful women in the world, the 50-year-old banker, wife and mother-of-two weighs in on whether women really can "have it all" and explains why she leaves her womanhood at the office door...More

David Gerald, Founder, President & CEO, Securities Investors Association (Singapore)
In an exclusive interaction with Dolly Mirchandani of IIFL, David Gerald stresses, "Investor associations—like ours—play an important role in educating investors. But you cannot be the only organisation working for investor improvement; there has to be corporations, stock exchange and regulators who should also educate investors at a national level."...More

Hari Prakash Pandey, VP-Finance, Housing Development & Infrastructure Limited
"We are expecting better demand for the residential segment over the next three to six months despite slack macro economic conditions." said Hari Prakash Pandey...More

Manju Yagnik, Vice-Chairperson, Nahar Group
Replying to Yash Ved of IIFL, Manju Yagnik says "The ever increasing demand for all realty segments in the country, which is outstripping its supply, signals a rosy outlook for the country’s real estate sector."...More

Uma Shashikant, Managing Director, CIEL
Reaching investors in a country geographically large and diverse like India requires serious investment of capital, expertise and time. Uma Shashikant tells Dolly Mirchandani of IIFL that "We need a national policy and an implementation program. CIEL is keen to drive such an initiative and will happily bring in content expertise and drive the program."...More

Karan Kapur, Executive Director, Travel Food Services
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Karan Kapur says, "We currently run over 100 locations in the travel sector and work with some of the best national and international brands and are open to financial partners should any significant synergy opportunities exist."...More

Raymond Bickson, MD & CEO, Indian Hotels Company Limited
Yash Ved of IIFL gives you highlights from a media interaction where Raymond Bickson says "We are planning 16 new hotels and 2000 rooms for FY13."...More

Mr. Rajiv Sabharwal, Executive Director, ICICI Bank
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Mr. Rajiv Sabharwal says, "New avenues of business generation, as shopping and other merchant payment solutions options, do show early potential to bring a sea-change in banking business."...More

Suresh K, Chief Financial Officer, Brigade Enterprises Ltd
Speaking with Yash Ved of IIFL, Suresh K says "The prices in Bangalore are not high as compared to other cities. We expect prices to be stable in the Bangalore market"...More

Shashank Joshi, Managing Director, Money-On-Mobile (MOM)
Replying to Divya Kurup of IIFL, Shashank Joshi says, "MOM has successfully got 500,000 subscribers on board and touches a daily transaction volume of Rs. 20 million."...More

Kunal Premnarayen, Group CEO, ICS Group
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Kunal Premnarayen says, "Over the last decade ICS, in conjunction with its various international partners, has launched complementing businesses in the real estate and financial sector."...More

Paresh Sukthankar, Executive Director, HDFC Bank
Yash Ved of IIFL provides the highlights of a media interaction where Paresh Sukthankar says "We continue to invest in technologies, in terms of new channels including social Media"...More

Lata Gwalani, Author, INCOGNITO
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Lata Gwalani says, "Unrequited love, emptiness, lack of meaning in life…all these form the basis of my book."...More

A. R. Ramakrishnan, Managing Director and Director, Essar Shipping Limited
"The outlook for the shipping industry is that pressure will continue for several months" said A. R. Ramakrishnan...More

Suhale Kapoor, Executive Vice President and Co-founder, AbsolutData
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Suhale Kapoor says, "The need for using Analytics varies in developed and emerging economies….in emerging economies marketers use analytics for foundational marketing techniques like targeting the right customer and customer segmentation."...More

P Ravindra Pai, Managing Director, Century Real Estate
Replying to Yash Ved of IIFL, P Ravindra Pai says "Our residential portfolio by the end of this financial year will be totaling 4 million sq ft."...More

Jayont R. Sharma, Founder Chairman and CEO, Milestone Interactive Group
Replying to Anil Mascarenhas of IIFL, Jayont Sharma says, "Introduction of 3G and telco’s focus on Value Added Services are expected to lead to exponential growth for mobile gaming in India."...More

Sanjay Baweja, Chief Financial Officer, Tata Communications
Replying to Hemant Maradia and Yash Ved of IIFL, "We are planning to expand into newer markets such as the Middle East, Vietnam, South East Asia, Africa and Latin America."...More

Nupur Mitra, Chairperson & Managing Director, Dena Bank
Yash Ved of IIFL provides the highlights of a media interaction where Nupur Mitra says "MSME has been identified as one of the growth engines for increasing credit portfolio of the Bank"...More

Vikaas Sachdeva, CEO, Edelweiss Asset Management Ltd
Replying to Dolly Mirchandani of IIFL, Vikaas Sachdeva says, "At Edelweiss, the core quant philosophy is to build adaptive strategies that beat the market consistently with diversified portfolios."...More 

Complete Q&A with Mario Draghi, President, European Central Bank
ECB President Mario Draghi said on Thursday said, "Whatever it takes" means two things: it means the list of measures, all the measures that are required, and it means that their size ought to be adequate to reach their objectives...More

Vimal Kedia, Managing Director, Manjushree Technopack Limited
Speaking with Yash Ved of IIFL, Vimal Kedia says, "The current capacity of Manjushree Technopack stands at 50,000 MTPA and is expected to grow to 1,00,000 MTPA by 2015,with the commissioning of new plants in Bangalore."...More

Ramesh Ramanathan, Managing Director, Sterling Holiday Resorts (India) Ltd
Replying to Yash Ved of IIFL, Ramesh Ramanathan says, "We intend to build on the momentum gained in FY12 by continuing the process of rebuilding the Company through additional investments in our product, service, people and technology as this will be key to consolidating and accelerating Sterling’s resurgence."...More

Mr. Anant Bajaj, Joint MD, Bajaj Electricals Ltd.
Speaking with Hemant P. Maradia of IIFL, Mr. Anant Bajaj says, "We are hopeful of staging a comeback in the Engineering & Projects segment in the second half of FY13."...More

BVR Mohan Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, Infotech Enterprises
"We have seen volume growth and stable margins inspite of adverse macro-economic challenges", said BVR Mohan Reddy during conference Call...More

Sanjay Chamria, VC & MD, Magma Fincorp Ltd
Replying to Dolly Mirchandani of IIFL, Sanjay Chamria says, "Growth in the retail volume of car, commercial vehicles and construction equipment shall be in the range of 6%-10% for FY13"...More

R. Shankar Raman, Whole-time Director & CFO, Larsen & Toubro Limited
Yash Ved of IIFL provides the highlights of a media interaction where R. Shankar Raman said, "Next few months could witness renewed focus on economic reforms for improving the investment climate in the country."...More

Mr. Himanshu Kapania, Managing Director, Idea Cellular Limited
Idea Cellular Limited is an Aditya Birla Group Company, India’s first truly multinational corporation. The group operates in 33 countries, and is anchored by more than 132,000 employees belonging to 42 nationalities...More

Read More Leader Speak...

Industry Newsletters

Agriculture Newsletter - October 15 to October 19, 2012

Automobile Newsletter - October 15 to October 19, 2012

Aviation Newsletter - October 15 to October 19, 2012

Banking Newsletter - October 15 to October 19, 2012

Consumer Goods Newsletter - October 15 to October 19, 2012

Economy Round Up - October 15 to October 19, 2012

FLAME Newsletter - October 24, 2012

Hotel & Tourism Newsletter - October 15 to October 19, 2012

Infrastructure Newsletter - October 15 to October 19, 2012

Insurance Newsletter - October 15 to October 19, 2012

IT Newsletter - October 15 to October 19, 2012

Metal & Mining Newsletter - October 15 to October 19, 2012

Merger & Acquisition Round Up - October 15 to October 19, 2012

Mutual Fund Newsletter - October 15 to October 19, 2012

Oil & Gas Round Up - October 15 to October 19, 2012

Pharmaceuticals Newsletter - October 15 to October 19, 2012

Real Estate Round Up - October 15 to October 19, 2012

Retail Newsletter - October 15 to October 19, 2012

Telecom Newsletter - October 15 to October 19, 2012

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Remember, if you don’t pay premium every year for five years, there will be a discontinuance charge. Discontinuance charge will not apply to single premium policies...More

What is IRR & how to calculate it?
The internal rate of return is usually used to calculate the profitability of investments made in a financial product or projects...More

Lost share certificate: Steps you should take for issue of duplicate certificates
Read on to know what you need to do to prevent yourself from a financial loss in case you have lost or misplaced your physical share certificate...More

Compounding vs annualised yield
Financial terms are usually difficult for lay investors to understand. It is important for investors to understand these some of these basic terms before investing, Sanjay Matai elaborates...More

What is stamp duty & why to pay it?
Possession is the physical transfer of the property is not sufficient. You also need to have legal ownership. At the time of registration, you will also have to pay a stamp duty which is a government tax levied on property transactions...More

What is a rider?
Riders cover risks that are beyond the scope of the main life policy, resulting in a more comprehensive protection...More

Group personal accident insurance policy
The key benefit of GPA insurance policy is that it provides compensation in the event of death or disability of an insured employee directly due to accident...More

Group term insurance plan
Group term plan provides the employees of a company / firm with a life insurance plan so that their families’ needs are looked after in case an employee dies in an unfortunate event...More

Financial planning for the youth of India
Make sure you start your life after studies on the right financial foot by treating your financial future seriously while you’re still in college, Madhu Sinha explains...More

Hospital Cash vs health insurance policies
While buying daily hospitalisation cash plan, you need to keep an eye on sub-limits, particularly the ones specifying the maximum number of days spent for hospitalisation in a year...More

Terms commonly used in health insurance plan
It serves as a dictionary to help you understand common terms used in health insurance....More

Basic things to check before opening bank savings account
Savings bank account is safe and highly liquid. Besides, we also earn nominal interest on the money saved in our account...More

Beware of the insurance terminology
The wording of insurance contracts is normally difficult for a lay person to understand. Insurers need to make contracts and communication easier for policyholders, Sanjay Matai explains...More

Partners can get depreciation benefits against income
Partners of firms can consider claiming depreciation on assets—in their personal name and used for the firm’s business—against the remuneration and interest income from their firms, Arvind Rao explains...More

Preparing for financial issues after death of spouse
It is important for the individual handling this entire job to not let emotions influence any decision making and a qualified professional can be of immense help in this context, Arvind Rao points out...More

Which one to choose: Growth or dividend option?
In case of growth and dividend payout, number of units remains the same. If your goal is to build wealth to meet your long-term financial goals, then growth option would be the right choice...More

Consumer price index - Measurement rate of inflation
CPI shows increase of prices over a period for certain items of consumption of goods & services. GR Thengdi highlights the factors that are responsible for inflation & effect of inflation on expenditure & saving in next 10 years...More

Know more about health insurance
With medical costs growing at over 10% for four years in a row, the burden of healthcare has become increasingly heavy on the middle class...More

Payment Gateway Systems - Alternative to MasterCard & Visa
Various countries have started opting for alternative payment gateway systems to MasterCard and Visa to save on foreign exchange and transaction costs. In this article Navneet Saxena discusses two of them...More

Myths about financial planning
Financial planning is a strategic and systematic exercise to achieve one’s financial goals, Varun Jani says...More

Simple strategies for investing success
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Importance of life insurance for NRIs
It is also imperative to provide for long term security and achieve financial goals for you and your dependents...More

MWP Act: Make sure your dependents get insurance policy proceeds
To cover your life insurance policy under MWP Act is very simple and inexpensive procedure...More

Check your EPF balance online with e-passbook
E-passbook allows EPF members to download their e-passbook multiple times in a month...More

Stamp duty on transfer of shares
Transfer of shares implies transfer of ownership of shares. In this article, GS Rao points out the provisions of Stamp Act as well as Companies Act...More

What you should know before you sign on for a health insurance policy
Health insurance plays a pivotal role in combating the battle of finances, in case of unforeseen events...More

Are you ‘minding’ your ‘gap’?
Buying life insurance young always makes sense. They not only get it at a cheaper premium but will also imbibe the habit of thrift or regular forced saving, which is so essential for building a good financial plan, Vijay Sinha highlights...More

Common health insurance mistakes
When you are buying a health insurance policy, evaluate what you need and how much risk you can afford to take so that you will not be over/under insured...More

Smoking and term insurance
If your insurer labels you as a smoker, it places you in the smoker risk category. This means your premium will be higher than it is for nonsmokers...More 

Financial advisors: Scripting the future of wealth creation for Indians
Why financial advisors are best suited to guide Indians in their wealth creation journey in a professional manner, Vikaas Sachdeva explains...More

A few steps to ensure that your insurance claim is not rejected
Check all the details on the proposal form thoroughly before you affix your signature on the form, S Mahesh emphasises...More 

Understanding the Budget process
Budget documents are not just numbers. Scrutinising them, one can understand the intention of the government, its priorities, policies and allocation of financial resources, among different regions & industries—which create a sea change in the lives of the people affected by it, Rajkumar Adukia stresses...More

Life insurance during retirement
If an individual wishes to bequeath a part of his estate to any of his loved one’s and wants to ensure the same, then life insurance is a great tool for estate planning, Arvind Rao elaborates...More

Estate planning through living trust
Estate planning is not just writing of Will and getting it probated. We also need to know what is estate planning, why it is important to them and what are options available, Pankaj Kumar Gera highlights...More

How to decide how much health insurance you need
Taking a health insurance policy when younger, simply means, that you get a better deal while paying a lower premium, as you would usually have fewer pre-existing diseases, Suresh Sugathan stresses...More

How to prepare for early retirement
A proper financial plan, regular investment and a constant review of our investments is crucial to achieve our desired financial goal, Varun Jani points out...More 

Asset allocation benefits
A multi manager helps you invest in funds across asset classes from various fund houses and helps you construct a portfolio of schemes, Arvind Bansal elaborates...More

Asymmetry in life insurance selling
The agent is mostly driven by the thought that disclosures of facts of the proposer’s illness in the proposal form could result in declinature of the proposal by the insurer resulting in ‘loss of his commission’. Little does he realise that by doing so, he is failing to cover the ‘risk’ under the life insurance policy for which he gets the commission, CL Baradhwaj points out...More

Ignorance of law: Can it be an excuse?
You are not permitted to plead ignorance as a defense to escape the rigors of law. If it is so, it is very easy for any person can put forward ignorance as a defense though he was aware of the law and its consequences, Sivadas Chettoor explains...More

Options strategy: Get insurance for your portfolio!
For financial planners, options could be a great tool to tide over turbulence in markets when things are uncertain, Vatsal Ramaiya says...More

How to optimise asset allocation?
Many models & techniques can be used to arrive at making tactical adjustment in clients’ asset allocation decisions, Gurpreet Singh points out...More

Merits of global investing
An investment universe that is not restricted to a single country provides investors additional diversification and has the potential to mitigate country-specific risks, Harshendu Bindal explains...More

Is your insurer listening to you?
The Consumer Affairs Department of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has introduced the Integrated Grievance Management System (IGMS) which is an online system for registration and tracking of grievances...More

Underinsurance of properties, a fallacy in saving premium
People take insurance to cover their loss but their dream shatters when they receive much less in claims than their expectations, Dr Som Majumdar explains...More

Debunking 5 life insurance misconceptions
Insurance has numerous benefits that could help you secure your family’s future. Don’t let common misconceptions keep you away from enjoying these benefits, Viswanarayan K stresses...More

Current trends of the general insurance market
Despite there being over 30 players, the market is still under penetrated. In the general insurance sector, the penetration level is just about 0.65%, Dr Amarnath Ananthanarayanan points out...More

Should you opt for mutual funds with free insurance cover?
If the scheme performs well and helps an investors reach his financial goal and the fund house is giving him free insurance till he continues his SIPs, there's no harm in buying insurance-wrapped funds. But there is an exit load on premature withdrawals...More

Jubilant….Dunkin’ building a doughnut culture in India
Among those who attempted to woo the Indians with gastronomical delights has been Domino’s Pizza, brought to India by Jubilant Foodworks (JUBI IN)...More

Health insurance for your parents
Senior citizen health insurance plans are comparatively expensive, but they provide numerous benefits to the senior citizens...More

14th Mumbai Film Festival: Closing ceremony and Awards Function
The evening saw a grand award function hosted at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) that witnessed the honouring of thespian Waheeda Rehman with the Lifetime Achievement Award for an Indian Personality, followed by the conferring of awards to the winners of other competition segments at the festival...More

Arttd’inox unveils beautiful range of high set this Diwali
The tea set rolls into the classic of a silver tea service with a contemporary touch. The three piece stainless steel set comprises of the tea pot serving six cups, creamer and a sugar pot...More

Pantel unveils 3D enabled Tablet PC Penta T-Pad WS702C with 1GB RAM
The new advanced performance Tablet PC, Penta T-Pad WS702C is a high resolution 1024*600, 7" capacitive multi touch screen device with 8GB internal storage memory, 1GB DDR3 RAM, and a power packed 1.2GHz Cortex A8 processor...More

Polycom unveils a next-generation business media phone
With the new Polycom VVX 600 solutions, workers have a flexible and intuitive phone that integrates seamlessly with popular UC&C productivity applications and Bluetooth headsets for hands-free privacy...More

Bajaj Discover presents Dr Batra’s Positive Health Awards
It marked the 7th year of this initiative. Rajiv Bajaj and Maneka Gandhi were the other dignitaries present at the event...More

Karbonn Mobiles & MTS together launches CDMA mobile devices
The tie-up involves creating co-branded handsets wherein, Karbonn Mobiles will provide hardware logistics support and MTS India will provide the network backup...More

Sharmila Tagore honoured in Edinburgh
The honour comes just months after the University’s Institute for Creative Industries opened The Scottish Centre for Tagore Studies (ScoTs), the first centre of its kind in the UK...More

Transcend unveils Classic, High Speed, Capless JetFlash T3G
JetFlash T3G is particularly novel with its gold design and feather-like weight. It is ultra slim and as thin as a quarter...More

2012 Airtel Indian Grand Prix: Buddh International Circuit hosts Round 17
There were a surprising amount of fans during the weekend, and the track itself really is cool...More

Telit unveils LTE Module Expanding Automotive Product Line with 4G
The product delivers 100Mbps-down and 50Mbps-up data rates on LTE networks and is fully fallback compatible with DC-HSPA+ delivering up to 42Mbs-down and 5.76Mbps-up where available. Quad-band GSM/GPRS and EDGE performance ensure the module connects even in remote areas devoid of 3G or 4G coverage...More

Malwa Mirage offers new Woodanization of Tiles
Once again Malwa Group has created a clutter breaking product which is closer to the needs and requirements of the consumer’s of 's day and age ‘The Wooden Tiles’...More

GE Lighting increases its LED product portfolio
This complements GE’s recent launches of LED Down lights and LED 2x2 Recessed Troffers for Retail and Commercial office applications...More

Pepe Jeans London launches Red Bull Racing Merchandise Collection
This limited edition, exclusive collection is available only at select Pepe Jeans stores. Creating a new gateway between the fashion and the Formula 1 world...More

Samsung unveils rose-gold colored 75ES9000 LED Smart TV
Angry Birds will be available via free download on Samsung's ES7500, ES8000 LED, ES9000 LED TVs and E8000 Plasma TVs. The ES9000 is available at select Samsung authorized stores across the country at a price of Rs. 750,000/-...More

Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris visited Godrej Natures Basket
The Gods of food, Gary and George indulged the audience in a food fiesta sharing their own food experiences and some coveted insights into the world of food during the workshop at the Warden Road outlet of the popular world food chain Godrej Natures Basket...More

LG launches LG Optimus Vu Smartphone in India
With a 5 inch 4:3 aspect ratio display and a powerful 1.5 GHz Nvidia Tegra 3 Quad Core processor, the Optimus Vu blurs the line between tablets and Smartphones (It’s a Phablet) for a whole new and unique smart device experience...More

NITCO brings TruLife Tiles collection
TruLife brings you near-to-life image reproduction which gives your private spaces the perfect makeover through vibrant images, razor sharp detailing and the finest resolution that a human eye can perceive...More

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