Indian Economy - News & Updates - Archive

[Bushroda]

Brazil, India Aim To Boost Trade Fourfold By 2010
Ruth David, 06.06.07, 12:50 AM ET
FORBER, NY

It’s all about the money, honey. On a three-day visit to India, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and key officials here set a target of quadrupling bilateral trade by 2010 to $10 billion a year.

With the economies of both countries growing at a brisk pace, such goal-setting was to be expected on this visit, for which Lula was accompanied by a team of 100 officials. Media reports emanating from Brazil called the India trip the “most important visit” of the year for the Brazilian leader given their increasingly coordinated stands on global trade and environmental issues. This is his second visit to India in three years.

India-Brazil trade amounted to $2.4 billion in 2006. “[The $10 billion target] is perfectly feasible if we work to achieve the full potential of our two economies,” Lula told reporters in New Delhi. He also wants more Indian businesses, which are aggressively expanding abroad, to set up bases in Brazil. Officials said he met the heads of Indian firms keen on doing business in his country.

Bilateral trade and other ties have strengthened recently, helped by import tariff cuts on both sides. But commerce between the two last year still accounted for less than 1% of each country’s global trade.

Brazilian officials have expressed unhappiness in the past about India’s reluctance to open its market to farm imports, despite slow agricultural growth rates within the country.

Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said Brazil is attracting Indian investment interest in biotechnology, technology and pharmaceuticals, with companies like Tata Consultancy Services, Ranbaxy and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories making a push into the Brazilian market.

One of the highlights of the trip was the launch of a CEO forum to boost business between the two countries, with 15 top corporate honchos from each country. Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata will head the Indian side while Petrobras CEO José Sergio Gabrielli will lead the Brazilian contingent.

India and Brazil have also shown a united front on trade issues at the WTO. Both countries are pushing for permanent membership at the U.N. Security Council. Lula stressed how crucial the nations are in the new world economic order. “Big countries have to sit and bargain with us ... we do not need lessons, we can teach them,” he was quoted as saying.

Ahead of the Group of Eight leading powers’ meeting in Germany this week, the Brazilian and Indian leaders said they were united in their approach on the key issue of climate change. Developing nations argue that rich countries’ production patterns are the key contributors to global warming, and asking developing economies to cut emissions will hamper growth.

Lula held talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on strengthening ties in civilian nuclear energy and defense and reviving deadlocked talks on the Doha round of negotiations at the WTO, according to a joint statement from the Brazilian and Indian governments.

India wants Brazil’s support at the Nuclear Suppliers Group that regulates trade in nuclear fuels. The global group has to clear New Delhi’s proposed nuclear pact with Washington.

Both sides signed seven agreements in fields ranging from renewable energy to space cooperation. The key business deal announced during the visit was an agreement between India’s state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. and Petroleo Brasileiro (nyse: PBR - news - people ), or Petrobras, to swap interests in oil exploration blocks. This will mark Petrobas’ entry into the Indian market.

 

[Bushroda]

Alstom seeks role in rail network upgrade

NEW DELHI, JUN 6: French rail transport equipment firm Alstom on Wednesday sought participation in the modernisation and expansion plans of the Indian railways as a JV partner.
“We are committed to India and would like to participate in the modernisation and expansion plans of the Indian railways,” Alstom transport President Philippe Mellier said ahead of his meeting with railways minister Lalu Prasad.

Mellier, who had also high speed trains on his agendra, said Alstom had carried out and executed big rail infrastructure projects across the world. “We have developed solutions and have the experience and capabilities to manage such projects and minimal costs,” he said.

On the public-private partnership (PPP) funding method, he said, “we are open to it and possess enought experince to handle such projects.”

—PTI

 

[Bushroda]

Computer Engineering

Thats Great. You belong to the same discipline as I do.

 

[Bushroda]

Govt to sow more FDI in agri sector
AMITI SEN
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ THURSDAY, JUNE 07, 2007 01:02:24 AM]

NEW DELHI: The Centre is planning to further ease FDI norms for agro-processing and agri-infrastructure. It is considering steps like providing access to foreign funds through external commercial borrowings (ECBs), facilitating diversification and new projects by exempting the sector from the stringent Press Note 1 rules and expanding the list of farm activities where FDI is allowed directly.

These moves, besides boosting foreign investment in the farm sector, are also expected to give a leg up to the supply-side management in retail. At present, 100% FDI in agriculture is limited to activities like floriculture, horticulture, seed development, animal husbandry, pisciculture, aquaculture and cultivation of vegetables and mushrooms, under controlled conditions.

An official source told ET that the Centre was keen on taking steps to increase the investment flow in agro-processing and agri-infrastructure as India held a lot of unrealised potential in the sector.

“Inter-ministerial discussions are on to finalise a package to further boost investments in the sector. While all ministries and departments are unanimous on the need to increase investments, the finer points are being worked out,” the official said.

The rationale behind the government’s ECB move is to increase fund flow into the sector. This would allow investors to take advantage of the lower interest rates in international markets. “There are just 1,500 refrigerated trucks in the country while we require 15 lakh such trucks. There is a need to put in a lot of money in the sector, especially in agri-infrastructure,” the official said.

Incidentally, an estimated 30% of total fruits and vegetables production in India goes waste due to lack of storage and transportation facilities. And only less than 5% is processed.

Also, for wooing existing foreign investors into investing in more areas, the government may scrap Press Note 1 in agriculture in line with the IT sector and venture capital rules. Press Note 1 requires the foreign investor to take the Indian partner’s permission before setting up a company in the same line of business.

Similarly, the list of activities, which was opened up for foreign investment under controlled conditions last year, might also be expanded. “We have not yet decided on what might be added. The decision will be taken soon,” the official said. The review of FDI guidelines is expected to be announced in the month-end or early next month.

 

[Bushroda]

Bharat Petroleum Expects Profit to Triple by 2010
AGENCIES[ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 06, 2007 05:20:20 PM]

NEW DELHI: Bharat Petroleum Corp., India's third-biggest state-run refiner, expects net income to surge more than threefold by 2010 as a new refinery is completed and sales rise to a record.

The refiner is ``on track'' to meet its target of increasing profit at twice the pace of fuel sales by the year ending March 2010, Chairman Ashok Sinha said in an interview at the refiner's Mumbai headquarters yesterday. That indicates a profit of 62 billion rupees ($1.5 billion), based on Bloomberg's calculations from 18.05 billion rupees reported last month.

Bharat Petroleum will boost output to meet energy shortages in the world's second-fastest growing major economy. India's fuel imports rose 30 percent to 17 million metric tons in the year ended March 31 and a shortage of natural gas has shut about 5,000 megawatts of gas-fired power generation capacity.

"I don't have to go looking for a market. I'm just meeting customer demand,'' Sinha said. "We're on track to meet the target'' for profit growth.

Earnings will be boosted by a 25 percent increase in refining capacity and a fivefold jump in natural gas sales, he said.

'Outperform'

Credit Suisse's research analysts Sanjay Mookim and Prashant Gokhale today initiated coverage of Bharat Petroleum by rating the share ``outperform'' and recommended that clients buy the stock. A note to clients set a 436-rupee price target for Bharat Petroleum over 12 months.

Bharat Petroleum's shares fell 7.95 rupees, or 2.3 percent, to 342 rupees on the Bombay Stock Exchange at 1:04 p.m. local time today. The stock has gained 1.8 percent this year, lagging behind a 5 percent rise in the Sensitive Index.

The company's expansion plan began in 2005 when Bharat Petroleum set a target of increasing profit fourfold and doubling fuel sales by 2010, Sinha said.

"We need to grow because the economy is growing and so is energy demand,'' Sinha said. "We want Bharat Petroleum to get into new businesses and grow. In every sphere of the energy business there is demand, there are growth prospects.''

India's economic growth will boost the nation's energy demand by at least 6 percent annually in the next five years, helping the company justify its biggest-ever expansion plan, Sinha said. India's economy expanded at 9.4 percent last year, the fastest pace in almost 20 years, and more than the government's initial estimate of 9.2 percent.

Fuel Output

Bharat Petroleum plans to cut at least 10 billion rupees of costs a year by improving ``supply-side management,'' he said, without elaborating.

The company expects to start oil and gas production by 2010. Sinha said. Bharat Petroleum owns stakes in 15 oil and gas areas. ``We hope to make a strike,'' he said. ``That will help in boosting our revenue.''

The refiner plans to boost fuel sales by about 10 percent this year, a similar increase compared with last year's growth. It will expand fuel retail outlets by 500 from 7,800 to meet demand. India's fuel sales may grow by about 7 million tons every year for the next five years, said Sinha.

The nation's fuel sales rose to 111.7 million metric tons in the year ended March 31 from 106.7 million tons a year ago, led by the highest growth in sales of diesel in 10 years and gasoline in four years, according to data released by the oil ministry on April 13. Sales of diesel, which make up 40 percent of the total, rose 7 percent to 42.9 million tons.

The company will spend 30 billion rupees this year. The funds will help Bharat Petroleum upgrade existing plants in Mumbai, and Kochi in the south and build a new refinery in central India.

The company's total outstanding debt as of March 31 was 85 billion rupees and may increase by about 20 billion rupees this year, partly boosted by borrowings required to fund the projects. As of March 31, the company's debt was equal to its equity, Sinha said.

 

[Bushroda]

India tops global consumer index
Daily Times, Pakistan

HONG KONG: Consumers in India are the most upbeat in the world while consumer confidence in Hong Kong is at an all-time high, bucking a dip in global sentiment from six months ago, a survey by The Nielsen Company showed on Wednesday. Scandinavians were also bullish, while Japanese, South Koreans and Hungarians were among the most pessimistic consumers, according to the survey, which gauges consumers’ outlook for the next 12 months.

Forty percent of consumers globally considered the next 12 months a good time to buy things, but in India, Hong Kong and Scandinavia that figure rose to more than 60 percent. Consumer sentiment in the United States, the world’s biggest economy, dipped two points from a previous survey taken in November to 106. However, that was still better than most countries and on a par with China, whose score was unchanged.

The Nielsen Company’s Global Consumer Confidence Index scored an average reading of 97 points, down slightly from 99 in the November survey. Readings are based on a series of questions to consumers, with a maximum possible score of 200 points.

The survey, conducted in the last two weeks of April, polled more than 26,000 Internet users in 47 markets worldwide.

India came first with 135, followed by Norway on 132 and Denmark on 127, although all three scores were down 1-2 points from six months ago.

Hong Kong ranked fifth with Vietnam on 118, just behind New Zealand on 120, but Hong Kong’s score surged 7 points from six months ago to a record high and marked the biggest jump in confidence of all 47 markets. Sweden’s score rose 6 points to 107.

Hong Kong consumers have been buoyed by rising wages, a strong stock market and a drop in unemployment to an 8-year low of 4.3 percent.

Neighbours South Korea in contrast came bottom of the ranking, scoring just 50 and down six points from the previous survey. Confidence in Japan also dropped, by 3 points to 68, despite signs of an improving economy.

Taiwan’s reading fell five points to 75.

Hungary and Portugal were close to bottom with scores of 66 and 51, respectively. Hungary’s reading fell 9 points from six months ago while Portugal’s slumped by 14 points.

Thailand suffered the biggest drop in consumer confidence, by 15 points from six months ago to 92. reuters

 

[Bushroda]

South Asia and the Asian resurgence
ASIAN TRIBUNE, Thu, 2007-06-07 02:18
By Eduardo Faleiro

The Asian resurgence is one of the most significant developments of our time. The rise of Asia began with the extraordinary economic progress of Japan in the 1950s and 60s; was followed by the remarkable advance of the Asian Tigers (Hongkong, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore) and other countries of South East Asia; and now, the impressive growth of China and India.

The Twenty First century will reportedly be the Asian century just as the Twentieth was the American century and the Nineteenth the European century. By 2050, China is expected to be the largest economy in the world and India the second largest. By that time Asia might hold seven of the ten leading national economies. The Asian Development Bank projects Asia as a region that will achieve an average growth rate of 7% this year compared to the global economic growth forecast of 3.3%.

Samuel Huntington in his seminal work “The Clash of Civilizations and the remaking of the World Order” perceives the ascendancy of Asia in contrast to the decline of the West and attributes the latter to low economic growth, stagnating population, declining savings rates, huge Government deficits and in many Western countries including the United States, social aspects such as low work ethics, family decay, drugs and crime. At present however, the West is overwhelmingly dominant. Western economies are still growing and the West is still the leader in the field of science and technology.

Neither the rise of Asia nor the decline of the West are irreversible. President George Bush in his State of the Union Address last year remarked “in a dynamic world economy we are seeing new competitors like China and India… America should not fear our economic future because we intend to shape it”

In the Huntington thesis, Western strategy to maintain and strengthen its global supremacy is focused on Euro-American unity, it exploits differences among non Western nations and attempts to develop common interests with what it calls “swing civilizations” which are “major actors in world affairs likely to have ambivalent and fluctuating relations with the West and its challengers” such as Japan, Russia and India. Western supremacy is sought to be safeguarded through a three pronged strategy: (i) a globalised economy which the West dominates; (ii) non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and W.M.Ds which should be exclusively controlled by Western powers; and (iii) protection of the cultural and ethnic integrity of the Euro-American societies by drastically restricting the number of immigrants and refugees from non European countries.

Western strategy to sustain it pre-eminent position also involves defining its interests as the interests of the “world community”, an euphemism which is meant to give global legitimacy to actions reflecting the interests of the United States and other Western Powers. Hence, democracy is promoted but not if it brings Islamic fundamentalists to power; non proliferation is preached to Iran and North Korea but not to Israel; human rights are an issue with China but not with Saudi Arabia.

South Asia witnesses increasing economic progress with India leading. The challenge faced by this region is to sustain a high rate of growth whilst making economic development more inclusive to achieve a faster reduction in poverty, illiteracy and deprivation. Regional cooperation is a pivotal element for prosperity in South Asia.

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was created in 1985 to promote economic development and social progress in South Asia through regional cooperation. A Summit meeting of SAARC was held in New Delhi last month. The most significant outcome was the signing of the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). Effective implementation of SAFTA is likely to accomplish the full economic and strategic potential of South Asia. The establishment of the South Asian University is another concrete achievement of the Summit. The main campus of the University will be located in India whilst the Faculties will be spread through all the member countries.

At the Summit, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced duty free access into India of goods from the least developed countries (LDCS) of SAARC- Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives and Afghanistan. He also announced a liberalized visa regime for students, teachers, journalists and persons from the region seeking medical treatment in India.

India holds the chairmanship of SAARC until the Summit next year. Regional cooperation need not be hindered by bilateral controversies and contentions. The Government of India should now endeavour to turn SAARC into an effective instrument of regional synergy and cooperation within the year.

 

[Bushroda]

Online Travel, Managed Travel Boom in India
The Transnational, NY
by Corrie Dosh

06 June 2007 Miami - India is rapidly becoming a power market for online travel management as new suppliers push distribution and transactions directly online. Vendors and agencies tasked with transitioning legacy systems into Web-based platforms are losing ground to more nimble market entrants, according to one Internet commerce consultant, who also said traditional travel management companies are opting out of competition for the domestic market.

Market penetration of online travel booking in India is expected to reach 10 percent by the end of 2008, according to a PhoCusWright report released in September 2006. Multinational and local travel management companies of all kinds are looking to capitalize on the growing market. The corporate air market in India is expected to grow by 14 percent annually, from $2.17 billion in 2006 to $3.2 billion by 2009, according to a Carlson Wagonlit Travel forecast (citing International Air Transport Association data) presented last month at an Association of Corporate Travel Executives conference.

Backed by millions in venture capital, so-called online travel agencies are at the forefront of the boom, said PhoCusWright senior analyst Ram Badrinathan. In 2005 and 2006, at least eight OTA start-ups or subsidiaries launched services in India. Their share of the travel market is expected to more than triple--from 7 percent in 2006 to 25 percent by 2008, according to PhoCusWright. Traditional travel agencies are expected to lose ground, with their share of the market dropping from 32 percent in 2006 to just 10 percent in 2008.

"The traditional agencies were focused on the outbound market and domestic, but now they have completely given over the domestic market to the online travel agencies," Badrinathan said.

The expectation of a rapid transition toward online booking technology is fueling the growth of OTAs. Social and economic forces are enabling suppliers to leapfrog development of their distribution channels directly into an online environment, Badrinathan said.

In 2006, the Indian government liberalized the air industry and a crop of new-entrant carriers appeared, Badrinathan added. These new carriers looked directly to online distribution and fulfillment. Many of the new carriers operate solely on Web-based platforms, he noted.

"Simultaneously, the online travel agencies also entered the market," Badrinathan said. "There was this whole boom that happened in the past one or two years that we're still in the process of. There's been a quantum leap in how Indians book travel."

However, there are still a few obstacles to overcome before buyers can fully book travel online in India, said Guga Saravanan, head of account management in India for Carlson Wagonlit Travel, during the ACTE conference. Electronic ticketing is not yet a norm. By the end of 2008, all airlines servicing the market are expected to offer e-ticketing, he said.

Internet connections are still more expensive than phone connections and the economy is still very much cash-based, but a rapidly growing middle-class consumer market is expected to push use of credit cards.

Badrinathan said another obstacle holding back online travel booking is the low cost of labor. The rise of online travel booking in the West was partly caused by corporations demanding automated tools to replace tasks previously accomplished by administrative assistants. With assistants paid an average of $150 to $200 a month in India, the cost savings through an online booking tool are not quite as impressive.

However, many companies in India face staff attrition rates of 30 percent a year due to low wages, Saravanan said, and agencies face high turnover in their staffs, as well. In that sense, the movement toward online booking tools may help agencies offer more consistent service, rather than spending time training new call center staffers.

Service expectations are extremely high in India, Saravanan added. While a TMC is expected to handle visa applications, medical insurance, foreign exchange and other high-touch services, there is still a heavy focus on transaction costs.

OTAs may not be known for high-touch customer service, but the convenient nature of online transactions appeals to Indian consumers, Badrinathan said.

"You have to look at what service means in India. The very fact that you can book online and not get stuck in a traffic jam is service," he noted. "So actually, the online travel agencies can offer good service compared to the traditional agencies."

 

[Bushroda]

University of Minnesota to create India Center
The center, approved by Pawlenty, would culture economic and research connections.
By Marni Ginther

Though existing programs at the University have been promoting connections to India, a new center will soon tie those efforts together.

Last Wednesday, Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed the omnibus higher education bill that includes a $150,000 appropriation for the University to create an India Center.

Like the University's China Center, the new center would promote exchanges and collaboration with the economically growing country in areas ranging from education to business.

How the new center will meet those objectives, where it will be housed and who decides are still unknown. The bill says the Board of Regents "may establish an advisory council to facilitate the mission and objectives of the India Center," but no such council has been appointed.

"How the University will move ahead with this center is still under discussion," Senior Vice President of the

Academic Health Center Frank Cerra wrote in an e-mail. "The legislative session has just ended and we need to assess the best location and process for the center to succeed."

The one-time appropriation must be matched by an equal amount of nonstate money, according to the bill's text.

"Where and how we get the matching money is unknown," said Meredith McQuaid, interim director for the University Office of International Studies.

"I anticipate that wherever (the center) is housed, the first few months will be spent sort of mining opinions around here," she said. "What would people like to see? Where do we already have strengths in India? And then where do we go from there?"

McQuaid said she is scheduled to meet with State Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Eden Prairie, on July 3. By then, she hopes to have a better idea of where the matching money will come from.

Paulsen originally introduced the legislation as a separate bill in February.

"I came up with the idea last summer, when dealing with legislation on Chinese Mandarin language programs," Paulsen said. "I thought India should have a similar opportunity, in terms of its size and role in the global economy. It only makes sense for the 'U.' "

Three main goals are outlined in the bill. One is to foster an understanding of the history, culture and values of India. The second is to promote economic, governmental and academic pursuits involving India. The third is to facilitate collaborative exchanges and partnerships in research, education and business.

A lot of programs at the University are already doing this. The School of Public Health and the Medical School have had ongoing relationships with schools and health organizations in India for years, said William Toscano, professor of environmental health sciences in the School of Public Health.

The new center will be a great way to bring all those efforts together, said computer science professor Shashi Shekhar. He points to the success of the University's China Center.

"If you look at global trends, I think there are similar opportunities for Minnesota in building relationships with India," Shekhar said. "So it's probably time to have some entity come together centrally and coordinate (the University's existing efforts)."

 

[Bushroda]

Where India offers long-term benefits
ASSETZ NEWS, UK

Property in India is popular. With its booming economy, increasing tourism and ever-improving infrastructure, there is no lack of interest from investors. For this reason, the Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India and Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry have announced the dates of India Property 2007, a show held in Dubai and London to promote investment in the country.

The first question many will ask is where in India should people invest? No doubt the question will be asked in London when the show comes to Earls Court in late July. But to Investors Provident much depends on the markets the investors, particularly buy-to-let investors, are seeking to tap into.

Investment Provident spokesman Hetal Shah explains that, for example, Goa, a popular holiday destination and home for ex-pats, has "probably [been] done and done, especially the more popular tourist areas in the north of Goa."

He adds: "If you're looking at [Goa] as a holiday home, you can't really miss out, in the long-run. But if you're looking at it from an investment point of view, then there are a lot of other areas."

The long-run is a theme Mr Shah emphasises, explaining that first of all, an investor has to undertake the "tedious" process of circumnavigating India's property laws. Foreigners cannot own property themselves, so investors need to set up a company in India first, with any property bought registered under the company name.

However, he adds, once this is done the long-term prospects are good. The "other areas" he refers to are not the already popular, saturated and increasingly expensive holiday resorts, but the fast growing cities where new industries and high technology are bringing about rapid change: "Areas like, for example, Bangalore, Hyderabad, where you've got.the IT sectors, you can't go wrong with those. And definitely the metros: you've got Mumbai, Delhi."

He explains that these locations were costly, but adds: "You can't go wrong because it's like investing in London; you'll just never go wrong in the long-run."

Another clue to where to invest has emerged today, with the BBC reporting that the Indian government has agreed for 24 Special Economic Zones to be set up around the country. The scheme essentially copies what China has done; creating areas of tax-free investment where big companies will be encouraged to move in. These, therefore, should be the areas where the next wave of technology and industry come into the country.

These zones will not come into force just yet. MK Venu, national editor of the Economic Times, told the BBC that large areas of building land need to be acquired for the projects, which in turn means overcoming resistance from rural communities wedded to an agricultural lifestyle. But when this does happen, investors may do well to look to these areas for the big opportunities.

Thus the message is clear: India is a place for the patient and those looking for long-term returns rather than a quick buck. But of course if the country continues to see such rapid economic growth then a long-term investment means long-term success.

 

[Bushroda]

Hydrogen vehicles in India likely by 2020
M Rajendran, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, June 04, 2007

The National Hydrogen Energy Board (NHEB) will draw up a plan for the introduction of hydrogen fueled vehicles in the country and also suggest steps to develop hydrogen energy infrastructure in the country, said Vilas Muttemwar, Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy. He was speaking at a conclave on National Hydrogen Energy Road Map: Opportunities for Public Private Partnership on Monday.

A National Hydrogen Road Map is being prepared by the Steering Group of the NHEB, headed by Ratan Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group. “Under this initiative about 1 million vehicles plying on Indian roads will use hydrogen as fuel. About 75 per cent of them are likely to be two and three wheelers, ” said Muttemwar.

Power plants with a generating capacity of 1000 megawatt (MW) of hydrogen power would be set up by 2020, he added.

Said Ratan Tata, who also attended the conclave: “Hydrogen fuel will become an alternative to fossil fuel on which we can build the national economy.” He however cautions: “Hydrogen based energy may remain elusive for some time because there are major challenges in generating, storing and delivering it. But I am confident that even if we do not, our future generations will definitely have clear fuel.”

In his inaugural address, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission said clean fuels like hydrogen would help to reduce carbon emission. “We should develop more such technologies and put more effort into such research,” he said.

Muttemwar said the target of meeting at least 10 per cent of the country's power needs from renewable power by 2012 was eminently achievable.

India has one of the largest programmes for developing renewable energy technologies in the world. The total power generating capacity in the country as of March 2007 was about 1,33,000 MW. Renewable power generating capacity is about 10,252 MW, or 7.75 per cent of this.

Renewable power technologies include Wind Power (7092 MW) Small Hydro Power (1976 MW), Bio Energy (1187 MW) and 155 MW of grid distributed renewable power.

 

[Bushroda]

‘Intelligent’ traffic control for Mumbai not far away
Spanish firm gets contract for system that will cut waiting time at signals by half; 50 south Mumbai junctions identified
Swapnil Rawal

Mumbai, June 6: A Spanish IT firm—Telvent GIT S.A—based in Madrid—working in collaboration with CMS Computers Ltd— has been chosen by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to design, construct and commission a traffic infrastructure management system for Mumbai. The project financed by the World Bank is estimated to cost around Rs 49 crore.

Expected to reduce travel time, cut down pollution levels and fuel consumption, the project involves

Telvent implementing its RealTime intelligent urban traffic management technological solution—ITACA—at

253 busy road junctions now controlled by traffic signals.

According to R Ramana, senior transport planner, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the implementation of the Area Traffic Control (ATC) system is under the Mumbai Urban Transport Project (MUTP). “The technology will be initially (Phase-I) implemented on 50 short-listed junctions in South Mumbai and later installed at other junctions,” he said.

Among the junctions identified are: Wilson College, Band Stand, Kemps Corner, Dahanukar (North) at its junction with Peddar Road, Mahalaxmi Temple, Haji Ali, Opera House, Churchgate junction, Air India junction, Mantralaya junction, Regal junction.

Once in operation, ATC is expected to cut down waiting time at traffic signals by almost half.

“We are very pleased that the city of Mumbai has chosen our leading edge technology to provide a solution to its traffic mobility and fluidity problems,” Manuel Sanchez Ortega, Telvent’s Chairman and CEO told Spanish wire services. “We expect that the new traffic management system will help the city offer a better service for its citizens and reduce gas emissions. It is also an important project for Telvent as it is our first transportation segment contract in India.”

According to Telvent, the technology to be used in the system will constantly acquire data on road status, including number of vehicles arriving at intersections by each access point. The acquired data will be used to constantly adjust traffic lights at each intersection in accordance with real-time demand and in coordination with neighbouring intersections. The idea is to achieve optimal coordination between intersections and reduce road traffic congestion.

 

[Contrarian]

Thats Great. You belong to the same discipline as I do.

Thats awsome!
Are u studying or are u emplyoyed?
And where did you do your CS Engg. from?

 

[Neo]

Thursday, June 07, 2007

India’s IT industry despairs over surging rupee

BANGALORE: India’s IT industry expressed serious concern Wednesday over the impact of the rupee’s surge on export-dependent software exporters, already struggling with high costs.

Any hope for the industry lies in the US economy performing better than expected and the US tweaking interest rates to prop up the dollar, said Kiran Karnik, president of the National Association of Software and Service Companies, or NASSCOM.

“We have had an eight or nine percent increase in the rupee in just the last three-to-four months,” Karnik, whose organisation represents the IT industry, told reporters in Bangalore.

“This is something about which the entire industry is greatly concerned about.”

The US accounts for two-thirds of Indian software sales, and any rise in the rupee trims profit margins of companies such as Tata Consultancy and Infosys Technologies that are at the vanguard of the 48 billion dollar industry.

NASSCOM has estimated India’s software exports at 31 billion dollars in the year ended March.

Net foreign-exchange earnings make up 51 percent of sales at Tata Consultancy, 56 percent at Infosys and 35 percent at Wipro.

IT companies, while billing in dollars, are not import-intensive, unlike jewellery makers who buy raw material such as gems and uncut diamonds from abroad to polish and fashion into ornaments.

“All our expenditure is in rupees so we take a huge hit,” said Karnik.

India’s IT companies are already reeling under wages that are rising an average 15 percent a year in the face of a shortage of skilled engineers, while competition is increasing from emerging rivals in countries such as China.

Wages typically account for half the costs of IT companies, but there are warnings that more rises will blunt India’s competitive edge.

“We have been so far able to manage them,” Karnik said. “But if wage costs increase and on top of that there is dollar depreciation, we are going to have a problem.”

The advance of the rupee to decade highs, making the currency one of the biggest gainers this year and propelling India to a trillion dollar economy, has not been foreeseen by either economists or exporters who bill in dollars.

The rise has been fuelled by inflows from investors eager to pump money into an economy that expanded a record 9.4 in the last financial year.

Foreign direct investment nearly tripled in the year to March to 16 billion dollars from 5.5 billion a year earlier.

“The rupee appreciation is sharp and here to stay,” investment bank Credit Suisse said in a report. “The impact is material for many and can no longer be ignored as cyclical.”

The report said it could appreciate “by a further one to two percent in the following months.”

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has eased off from selling rupees as it seeks to wrestle down inflation.

Letting the rupee rise has made imports less expensive, cushioning the impact of strong fuel prices for India, which relies heavily on imported oil priced in dollars.

The rupee has also risen too high, too fast and “there is bound to be a correction,” Karnik said.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\06\07\story_7-6-2007_pg5_26

 

[Neo]

China, India talk on regional trade pact
7 Jun, 2007

BEIJING: China and India are confident that their joint feasibility research on a regional trade agreement will be completed on schedule, according to China's commerce ministry.

During discussions earlier this week, both sides "fully" exchanged views and reached a consensus on goods and services trade, investment, facilitation of trade and investment and economic cooperation, said a ministry statement, without elaborating.

Both sides agreed to meet again in August in New Delhi and wrap up the joint research by October as the leaders of both countries required, it said.

Chinese Vice-Minister of Commerce Yi Xiaozhun said that if China and India could agree on a trade arrangement, the vast east and south Asian markets would receive a significant boost while Asian economic integration would be facilitated.

The first four months have seen foreign trade between the two surging by 56.8 per cent over the same period last year, the highest of all the major trade partners of China, to $11.4 billion.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh initiated the joint feasibility research in April 2005. New Delhi and Beijing have each held such consultations twice.

Pakistan, another rapidly developing South Asian country whose economy is enjoying an annual growth of between six and eight per cent, arrived at a free trade agreement with China on in November 2006.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...egional_trade_pact/rssarticleshow/2106164.cms