Indian Economy-News & Updates

[prabhu]

Fuel-efficient Boeing 787 to join Air India fleet by year-end


NEW DELHIIANS) National carrier Air India will welcome passengers on its first state-of-the-art and fuel-efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliner when the aircraft joins its fleet by the year-end -- with warm and welcoming interiors coupled with comfortable seating and entertainment systems.

"The aircraft will have beautifully designed and decorated interiors with warm colours which will welcome our passengers," Air India general manager engineering and quality B.S. Baliga told IANS on board the 787 aircraft.

According to Baliga, the Air India's 787 will be equipped with best in-class seats for its 256 passengers.

"We have contracted the world's best seat manufacturers for our business and executive class seats, including Contour Aerospace Limited and Weber Aircraft," he said.

While Contour Aerospace Limited will equip the 18 business class seats, Weber would provide the remaining 238 seats for the executive class section.

Air India had booked 27 Boeing 787s in 2006 in a mega deal for 68 aircraft from Boeing. Of these, 50 were for its own fleet and 18 for its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express that flies on short-haul international routes.

The Indian flag carrier will only be the second airline in the world to get the 787 which is currently considered to be one of the most anticipated and state-of-the-art airplanes in the world.

The Boeing 787 aircraft is made of composite materials. Its newly-developed engine and advanced flight technologies make it highly fuel-efficient. The plane can fly up to 16,000 km non-stop.

Air India would be the first carrier in the world whose Boeing 787 aircraft will be fitted with a General Electric engine which saves up to 15 percent on fuel consumption.

The aircraft comes with a slew of advanced technologies which reduce noise and emission during all phases of flight, including take-off, cruise and landing.

The much talked aircraft is on its maiden visit to India, and landed in the national capital on Wednesday.

"This plane is made out of composite materials and has the most advanced aerodynamic design. Coupled with the latest avionics, it provides 20 percent savings on fuel costs and has low maintenance," Dinesh Keskar, president of Boeing India, told IANS in the aircraft's cockpit.

Air India is scheduled to get its first 787 Dreamliner by 2011-end. The Indian national carrier will conduct three trial runs in the next two days.

Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi, along with senior officials, is expected to inspect the aircraft on Thursday.

Fuel-efficient Boeing 787 to join Air India fleet by year-end - The Economic Times

 

[saurav]

Tatas to launch Rs 32,000 houses for rural market

HYDERABAD: After it's Rs 1-lakh wonder car 'Nano', Tata Group is all set to launch a house for nearly Rs 32,000 aimed at rural market by the end of next year.

"At present, the housing project is in the pilot stage in 30 locations spread across the country and we are in discussions with various agencies like Coir Board, Jute Board and also state governments," Sumitesh Das, head global research programme of Tata Steel, said.

The houses will be made in pre-fabricated, or 'prefab', format, under which the company will provide a kit consisting of roofs, doors, windows, etc, which can be erected or assembled.

"It is quick house built in seven days if you have a patch of land. Basic model of 20 sq metres, with flat roof will cost around 500 euros (around Rs 32,000).

Upgraded model with 30 sq metres, which is the Indira Awas Yojana model, will cost 700 euros," Das said on the sidelines of Conference on Best Practices of Intellectual Property Management.

"Similarly there are other models which may come with a solar panel on the roof of the house," Das added.

The 2001 census places the rural housing shortage figure in India at 1.48 crore and the situation may prove to be a big bonanza for the Tatas.

Giving details of the project, Das said by the end of this year, they will get feedback from all the stakeholders like manufacturers, suppliers and various Panchayats.

"In the first pilot project, we saw the interest of people in verandah which we have incorporated, though it was not there earlier. We thought if we incorporate verandah, the buying will be much higher. We need feedback from Panchayats, who are our final customers," he added.

He, however, refused to draw parallels between Nano car manufactured by Tata Motors and the 500-euro house by Tata Steel, saying that the market segments are different.

Replying to a question on the challenges that the project might face Das said, "The main challenge it may face is supply chain management due to shortage of production of panels".

"We are in touch with Coir Board and Jute Board also. The pilot is also to see the supply chain arrangements. If a coir manufacturer cannot meet the demands, then we will have to think of some other product to replace.

We have technology but we do not have entrepreneurs. That's what we are looking for, people who can invest and make products for us," Das said.

Tatas to launch Rs 32,000 houses for rural market - The Times of India

 

[John Doe]

What our gold can buy: ( Includes most of our neighbours and then some....)
India’s $600 Billion Hidden Treasure - India Real Time - WSJ

India’s $600 Billion Hidden Treasure

By Shefali Anand

While the recently discovered treasure in a Kerala temple has grabbed the world’s attention, India’s real treasure is hidden elsewhere.


Noah Seelam/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images
India’s private gold holdings are worth approximately $743 billion.
It’s in steel cupboards and in bank vaults across the country, where India’s housewives and other private owners have stashed their jewelry and gold savings. India’s private gold holdings probably total 15,000 tons, according to an estimate by Citigroup analysts in May. Some jewelers like T.K. Chandiran of Coimbatore thinks this number is too conservative, and the real amount is more like 30,000 tons, counting other hidden temple treasures.

These private stores are in addition to the 560 tons of gold kept as reserves with the Reserve Bank of India, which are worth around $26 billion.

If we stick with the conservative 15,000-ton estimate, at the current gold price of $1,549 per ounce, India’s private gold holdings are worth approximately $743 billion.

But this is not all in the purest form of gold, so let’s knock 20% off this amount to reflect what this gold could be worth now. That would be a cool $600 billion. The Kerala temple treasure, by the way, is only an estimated $22 billion, although there could be more riches in a still sealed vault that the Supreme Court is scheduled to hold a hearing on today.

So what would happen if all of India’s private gold could be released into the system? Here are some options:


Win India’s neighbors over…

By buying them. The $600 billion could be used to buy Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar and Bhutan, whose Gross Domestic Product add up to just $390 billion, according to the CIA World Factbook.

That still leaves $210 billion. That’s nearly enough to cover Malaysia, with a GDP of around $240 billion.

Of course, the one neighbor we can’t touch is China with its nearly $6 trillion GDP. India’s GDP, in comparison, is just $1.5 trillion.


Heal the world.

Benevolent housewives would also have the power to help some foreign countries which have been struggling in recent years.

They should probably start with Greece. Normally, we wouldn’t care much about this country, but their precarious financial situation has caused much anxiety throughout the world in recent months, and some economists fear Europe’s sovereign debt troubles could rebound on the U.S., which in turn could hurt India. Greece has become the go-to excuse for market analysts every time stocks fall somewhere in the world, including India.

The housewives could end its problems once and for all by paying off Greece’s entire national debt – long and short-term – of around $474 billion.

That still leaves us with $126 billion.

It would be nice to also help our “strategic partners” the United States of America, which has been in deep financial trouble in recent years.

But like many things in America, their financial problems are super-sized.

Their budgeted fiscal deficit for 2012 is around $1.1 trillion, and their national debt at $14 trillion is enormous.

The best we can do is to help wipe out their trade deficit which stood at $44 billion in April.

But since we wouldn’t want our other powerful friend, Russia, to feel slighted, we can pay them the $36 billion we promised for creating next generation stealth fighter aircraft.


Building Blocks.

On a more serious note, India’s gold treasures could be used in several ways to help develop the country.

Food, education, housing – all of these need urgent investment, so our gold buyers can take their pick.

One of the options could be to use the money to build roads, power plants and other much-needed infrastructure in India. The Planning Commission says India needs to invest $1 trillion between April 2012 through March 2017 to develop infrastructure needed to keep India’s economy growing at 9% or ideally higher.

Gold owners can fund half of this.

The remaining $100 billion can be used to hire more doctors in hospitals and add more beds in them. That level of investment could help bring India’s healthcare standards to “50-75 percent of the present levels of other developing countries,” says a report by the World Health Organization.


Quench Oil Thirst.

The gold hoards can also pay for all of India’s oil imports for the next six years. India imports two-thirds of its oil requirements. Last year India’s oil import bill came to around $106 billion, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma told reporters in June.

Once oil is taken care of, it will automatically help turn the fate of several key economic issues for us – the trade deficit will turn into a trade surplus, and the fiscal deficit will come under control, and importantly also help bring down persistent inflation.

 

[SpArK]

India-EU trade deal to benefit textile, garment exporters

 

[Tangent]

Tatas to launch Rs 32,000 houses for rural market



Tatas to launch Rs 32,000 houses for rural market - The Times of India

TATA's are comming up with really good ideas for the society. "Swatch" water purifier being one of them. Hope they invest in solor electricity.

 

[Dance]

India’s Sensex Declines First Time in Four Weeks; TCS Rallies​

India’s benchmark stock index fell, halting three weeks of gains, as investors sold riskier assets amid concern a global slowdown will hurt corporate earnings.

Housing Development Finance Corp. (HDFC), the country’s biggest mortgage provider, slid for the third time this week. Asian equities dropped after Standard & Poor’s said it may cut the U.S.’s rating and the Federal Reserve ruled out immediate further bond purchases. The European Banking Authority will release results of the stress tests for 91 banks as part of an effort to reassure investors the region’s banks have sufficient capital. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS), the largest software exporter, rose 2 percent after net income climbed 28 percent, beating estimates, as clients outsourced more computer services.

“I don’t know how Monday morning will look like, the way things stand now, said Gajendra Nagpal, chief executive officer at Unicon Financial Intermediaries Pvt. in New Delhi. ‘‘News from Europe is not going to be very good. People would like to approach next week with as little position as possible.’’

The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index, or Sensex, lost 56.28, or 0.3 percent, to 18,561.92 at the 3:30 p.m. close in Mumbai. The gauge shed 1.6 percent this week, its first loss in four weeks. The S&P CNX Nifty Index declined 0.3 percent to 5,581.10 and its July futures settled at 5,591.25. The BSE 200 Index decreased 0.3 percent to 2,307.37.

Housing Development declined 1.4 percent to 693.8 rupees. Bajaj Auto Ltd. (BJAUT), the second-largest motorcycle maker, slid 0.6 percent to 1,422.2 rupees, extending yesterday’s 1.5 percent drop after posting a smaller-than-expected 21 percent gain in first-quarter profit as raw-material costs rose. Infosys Ltd., the second-largest software services provider, shed 0.3 percent to 2,731.35 rupees, falling 8.8 percent in six sessions.
Earnings Outlook

The three are among companies on the Sensex whose earnings have lagged behind estimates.

‘‘Corporate earnings are not going to be very good in the June quarter as commodities prices, interest rates and inflation were very high,’’ Unicon’s Nagpal said.

Oil & Natural Gas Corp., the largest state explorer, slid 1.6 percent to 278.9 rupees. Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. (RELI), the builder of a mass rapid transit system in Mumbai, fell 1.2 percent to 569.35 rupees.

Tata Motors Ltd. (TTMT), the biggest truckmaker and owner of Jaguar Land Rover, lost 3.3 percent to 1,033.05 rupees, making it the worst-performing auto company on the Sensex this year. Hero Honda Motors Ltd. (HH), the biggest motorcycle maker, lost 1.2 percent to 1,828.3 rupees. It has lost 3.9 percent this week.
Beating Estimate

Tata Consultancy jumped 2 percent to 1,146.05 rupees and its July futures settled 1,148.05 rupees. Net income jumped 28 percent to 23.8 billion rupees ($535 million) in the quarter ended June. A Bloomberg News survey of 21 analysts estimated a 23 percent jump in profit to 22.6 billion rupees.
The company said it continues to see strong demand for its computer services because global economic uncertainty prompts customers to adapt and outsource more work. It gets as much as 90 percent of its sales from Europe and the Americas.

‘‘The macro uncertainty is real and it’s not going to go away in the near future,” Chief Executive Officer N. Chandrasekaran said yesterday. “Everybody is getting adjusted to the operating environment but staying pretty much focused on what they have to do. That is driving opportunities.”
Wipro Ltd. (WPRO), the third-biggest software services provider, climbed 0.8 percent to 414.8 rupees, halting a four-day 4.6 percent slide.

The Sensex has declined 9.5 percent this year, the second- worst performer among key indexes in the world’s 10 biggest markets, amid rate increases. Companies on the measure are valued at 15 times estimated earnings, compared with 11 for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

Overseas investors bought a net 3.38 billion rupees ($76 million) of Indian stocks on July 14, raising total investment in equities this year to 91.5 billion rupees, according to data on the website of the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-15/nifty-futures-swing-between-gains-and-losses-on-u-s-concern-tata-profits.html

 

[rajusri]

^^^ It declined but will soon raise further.

 

[SpArK]

BusinessDay - Africa-India network to strengthen trade ties

 

[jha]

IIM-A to outline benefits of bullet train

AHMEDABAD: As the state government readies to install a Rs 56,000 crore Ahmedabad-Mumbai-Pune bullet train project, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has decided to conduct a research that will quantify the benefits of the service.

The research, which is going to be part of an ongoing research on 'Sustainable urban transport,' is being carried out by IIM-A faculty P R Shukla. It aims to estimate the actual economical, social and environmental benefits that could be reaped through the bullet trains in comparison to the airplanes.

Shukla said that the bullet train service will lead to conversion of air passengers into train passengers which will lead to reduction of carbon foot-prints by around nine times. "An Ahmedabad-Mumbai to and fro trip by air releases 156 kilograms of carbon per person. The same trip by a bullet train will release only 18 kilograms of carbon. The carbon foot print of the bullet trains will even reduce further as the electricity starts getting generated through more carbon free sources," he said.

Drawing a parallel between air travel and travel by bullet train, Shukla said, "While boarding a flight needs a long duration of check-in and check-out, which adds up to the total duration of travelling, this drawback will be eliminated in a bullet train, making it much more convenient and probably more effective than airplanes in terms of travel duration."

The bullet train service should be offered with a leapfrogging character by arranging many stops at strategic locations in between the two final destinations, opined Shukla. "This will enable people to travel quickly to several cities between Ahmedabad and Mumbai unlike that of an airplane. This feature clubbed with a more affordable fare will make bullet trains a comparatively more inclusive mode of transportation. Facilitating a quick and efficient transportation to a large number of people will lead to significant economic growth," he said, adding that even though the short term investment of the project is high, its long term benefits will be even higher.

IIM-A to outline benefits of bullet train - The Times of India

 

[Dance]

Ministers 'stole millions in Karnataka mining scam'​

Karnataka's Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa was involved in an illegal mining scam that cost the southern Indian state $400m (£250m), according to an anti-corruption ombudsman.

Retired judge Santosh Hegde said he had evidence of a "huge racket" involving members of the state's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

Members of the Congress and Janata Dal (Secular) parties are also accused.

Mr Yeddyurappa has previously called the allegations against him baseless.

The chief minister, who led the BJP to power for the first time in Karnataka in 2008, is holidaying in Mauritius and has not commented on the report.

His party leaders said they would react after it was submitted to the government. That is due to happen by Monday.

Opposition parties have called for Mr Yeddyurappa's resignation.

'Plunder'
Justice Hegde confirmed the report's contents after it was leaked.

He said he had "substantive" evidence that Mr Yeddyurappa had been involved in the alleged mining scam in mineral-rich Bellary district between March 2009 to May 2010.

"The report is based on corroborative evidence," said Justice Hegde, a former Supreme Court judge who has won acclaim for fighting corruption during his five-year term which ends on 4 August.

Justice Hegde has denied that the leak was from his office and alleges his phone was tapped.

Correspondents say illegal mining of iron ore has been rampant in Karnataka which produces about 45 million tonnes of iron ore a year and exports more than half of it to China.

"There has been a systematic plundering of ore with active support of politicians. Illegal mining has thrived only because of a lack of political will," a senior police officer associated with the investigation told the BBC.

The report accuses Mr Yeddyurappa of benefiting through overvalued land sales to mining companies and kickbacks routed through trusts his relatives have a stake in.

Last year he said that many ministers in previous governments had been involved in promoting illegal iron ore mining in Karnataka and he promised to expose them.

"I am not the one to keep quiet when baseless allegations are hurled against me," Mr Yeddyurappa said.

Correspondents say the contents of Justice Hegde's report are a serious setback for the BJP. Karnataka is the only southern state the party governs.

The BJP has been on the offensive against India's governing Congress party, which has been embroiled for months in a series of damaging corruption scandals.

BBC News - Ministers 'stole millions in Karnataka mining scam'

 

[Dance]

Struggling Indian economy hardens case to end policy tightening​

Reuters) - India is nearing the end of its credit tightening cycle, as 10 interest rate increases since March 2010 exact a toll on growth in a once-roaring economy, making Tuesday's expected rate rise potentially the last for the near future.

Growth rates are still expected to be around 8 percent, which means India is not heading for a sharp slowdown even if the road ahead is filled with speed-bumps and the country's economic engines are not firing on all pistons.

However, recent industrial output and manufacturing data was the worst in nine months, car sales are skidding and loan demand is slowing, even as the RBI readies yet another increase in interest rates.

India's dream of annual growth of 10 percent appears increasingly distant.

The rate increases have been needed to fight persistent inflation, which is running about 9 percent and some economists predict a return to double-digits.

"We haven't seen, or are at the very early stage of seeing the lagged effects of all the interest rate hikes," said Credit Suisse economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde in Singapore.

"That's only just started, and I think that's going to deal a much heavier blow to growth as we go forward," said Prior-Wandesforde, whose forecasts for Indian growth of 7.5 percent this fiscal year and next are among the lowest.

QUITE A DROP

A Reuters poll of more than 20 economists forecast growth in the fiscal year that ends in March 2012 will be 7.9 percent, quite a drop from last year's 8.5 percent. But the crowd is sanguine about prospects for the year that ends in March 2013, forecasting a growth rate of 8.4 percent.

This year, sluggish investment due to rising rates and government paralysis in the wake of corruption scandals has slowed the building of additional capacity, which in turn has added to inflationary pressures on the supply side of the manufacturing sector.

All in all, the onus of arresting double-digit price rises has been left entirely to the Reserve Bank of India, which has managed to rein in credit growth and the stock of cash in the banking system but with unintended consequences.

Car sales in India, which jumped 30 percent in the year through March, grew by just 1.6 percent in June, their slowest in two years, as higher interest rates and more expensive diesel and petrol deterred buyers.

Loan growth has cooled to below 21 percent on an annual basis after reaching 25 percent at the end of 2010, with further slowdown expected as credit becomes more costly. Manufacturing surveys indicate further slackening in demand and therefore production.

Even at an 8 percent pace, India will be the second fastest economy in Asia, but it needs to grow quickly in order to raise living standards and create jobs for a surging working age population.

There is no sign at all of a possible plunge in growth to a "hard landing", which is technically difficult to define but conceptually would mean India couldn't generate the number of new jobs needed for its young population or the revenue gains the government requires to contain its fiscal deficit.

VICIOUS CYCLE

That would spawn a vicious cycle of more government borrowing and higher yields, possibly monetary easing and therefore inflation.

India is cushioned from a precipitous fall in growth by an absence of major asset bubbles. Mumbai stocks are among the world's worst performers in 2011, down about 10 percent this year, and property prices have been sluggish for months.

Also, demand is expected to remain robust, thanks to rising rural incomes that are less sensitive to interest rates.

Some analysts have worried China could have a hard landing. But its data showing annual growth of 9.5 percent in the second quarter, compared to 9.7 percent the previous quarter, have doused fears.

For India, there are different views about what would constitute a hard landing.

At the upper end, HDFC Bank Chief Economist Abheek Barua characterises it as growth below 7.5 percent for a fiscal year. Other economists see hard landing as growth below 7 percent or around 6 percent.

For Credit Suisse, it would mean consecutive quarters of growth of 5 percent or below, an outcome that would be disastrous for the government.

With New Delhi only recently showing fiscal discipline with last month's long-delayed 9 percent increase in diesel prices, and capacity bottlenecks slow to clear as big projects and reforms stall, fighting inflation has been left to the central bank.

"Unfortunately what has happened in India is that fiscal policy is almost oblivious to inflation," said Samiran Chakraborty, chief economist at Standard Chartered in Mumbai.

"All the burden has come to rest on interest rate policy, which is a pretty blunt instrument," he said.

The wholesale price index (WPI) rose 9.44 percent in June after the diesel increase began to take effect.

Amid expectations that inflation will stay high the rest of 2011, the central bank has little choice but to raise rates again at its July 26 review.

All 23 analysts polled by Reuters expect the key policy rate to be raised 25 basis points that day to 7.75 percent. Eleven expect that following Tuesday's meeting, there will be one more 25 basis point rise in 2011, but nine see the Reserve Bank of India keeping rates unchanged after July 26.

HITTING BOTTOM?

Despite the series of policy rate increases, real interest rates in India are near zero, with the one-year deposit rate at around 9 percent -- roughly in line with inflation -- compared with the RBI’s benchmark repo rate of 7.5 percent, a level economists expect to top out at 8 percent.

There is a prospect that a government on the back foot over its handling of corruption, inflation, and now security after the July 13 bomb attacks in Mumbai, may push through measures to stimulate investment that would drive growth and address supply shortages.

In this optimistic view, Indian growth is bottoming, and long-delayed projects such as POSCO's $12 billion steel plant are poised to move forward, providing a shot of investment-driven stimulus.

The recent reassignment of Jairam Ramesh, who as head of the environment ministry held up approvals of billions of dollars in infrastructure projects, to the rural development ministry, was seen as a pro-investment move.

New Delhi is also believed to be moving closer to enabling foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, a politically difficult step aimed at improving supply chains and curbing inflation in a country where 30 percent of produce rots before it gets to market.

"I think the government has finally woken up to the fact that things are looking fairly difficult, at least on the industrial economic front," said HDFC Bank's Barua.

Struggling Indian economy hardens case to end policy tightening | Reuters

 

[IndoCarib]

Indian diaspora tops remittance list

Indian diaspora tops remittance list - The Times of India

MUMBAI: Just how much do the 27 million global desis, scattered across 190 countries around the world, contribute to the Indian economy? World Bank figures show a dramatic increase of almost 162% in the remittance that India receives from overseas Indians over the last eight years. While India received nearly $21 billion from overseas Indians in 2003, the figure jumped to $55 billion in 2010.

"India received the highest remittance in 2010 compared with any other country in the world," said Dr Alwyn Didar Singh, secretary, ministry of overseas affairs during a discussion on the Indian diaspora organised by the global think tank Gateway House. World Bank data also points to the fact that India receives the highest remittance, followed by China ($51 billion) and Mexico ($22.6 billion), Philippines ($21.3 billion) and France ($15.9 billion).

Though there was a slight dip in remittance from 2008 to 2009, it bounced back in 2010 to a level higher than in 2008. Kerala and Punjab are currently among the states which receive the highest remittance from overseas residents. Didar Singh believes the increase in remittances has much to do with a great degree of faith in the Indian banking system, coupled with a lack of faith in US banks. "Remittance may be in a number of forms, such as domestic consumption, property, health and education. This is real money that is very much a part of the local economy, and is not money that is simply parked in a bank," he adds.

According to S Parasuraman, director of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, money is increasingly being remitted to India from educated Indians who have temporarily moved out of the country for work. "Those who earlier left the country for the US often settled down there for good and did not send money back home," said Parasuraman. "Earlier, the money coming back to India was largely from poor people who migrated to Gulf countries, and sent a large portion of their income back home," he added.

He says there is a great need to protect the rights of these migrants and introduce schemes to support them when they return home. It isn't just the money that's returning to India. India also has the highest number of returning migrants, says Didar Singh. While six to eight lakh Indians leave the country each year, a significant number of overseas Indians (over one lakh) return to the country yearly.

Adil Zainulbhai, McKinsey's managing director, India, is one such return migrant. He was part of the Indian diaspora in the US for 24 years before returning in 2004. "If you're one of those people who gets irritated with little things, don't come back to India. You can't take a walk on the streets without watching your step or you could fall, and then there's a great deal of pollution all around you. It's awful if you let this gets the better of you. But one reason for staying on in the country despite these irritants is the larger goal, that of building the Indian economy and the excitement of being present at the creation," he said speaking at the Gateway House forum.

 

[Night_Raven]

Chennai-based firm in tie-up with Blackberry

TIRUCHIRAPPALLI: Eyeing leadership status in mobile education, Chennai based Education Support Services Company EdServ has tied-up with Blackberry to provide online education content on the smartphones.

EdServ's wide range of Educational content on its flagship education portal www.lampsglow.com will go in as 'HumThum Apps' into Blackberry Apps Store of Blackberry Smart Phones worldwide, S Giridharan, Chairman and CEO, EdServ, said.

"Through this tie up with Blackberry, we will provide the entire online education content that includes Tuition, Academics, Skill Development, and Test Prep Services on the Blackberry Smart Phone," he told PTI here.

EdServ was targeting a customer base of one crore and revenues of Rs 200 crore through the mobile learning services within the next three years and is eyeing leadership status in mobile education, he said.

EdServ's 'HumThum app' has a PDF converter that will change the Blackberry smart phone to a mobile scanner or a photocopier. HumThum apps has a 'Talking Dictionary' that will provide pronunciation and meaning of any English word.

On overall growth projections for EdServ, he said the company expects to register a 50 per cent growth in revenues this year and is targeting to end the year with revenues of Rs 180 crore compared to Rs 122 crore it registered last year.

It expects to maintain profitability at 30 per cent of the top line and is targeting a PAT of Rs 55 crore this year.

EdServ expects 100 per cent growth on customer growth on its portal www.lampsglow.com this year, he said. The customer base was also expected to more than double this year from the existing customer base of 1.5 lakh, he said.

Answering a query about investment plan, Giridharan said the company was finalising plans to raise capital towards the current expansion and infrastructure development and mopping of funds could be through Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds and GDR to be rolled out by middle of August this year.

Chennai-based firm in tie-up with Blackberry - The Times of India

 

[lepziboy]

Sensex gains for fourth week in 5; RBI policy eyed
Updated on Saturday, July 23, 2011, 10:56

Mumbai: The BSE benchmark Sensex rose for the fourth week in five, gaining 1.6 percent on Friday, joining the global rally after European leaders agreed on a second round of aid to Greece, and investors awaited the central bank's policy review next week for more cues.

Financials rebounded and led the charge, with the banking sector index rising more than 2 percent after falling more than 2 percent over the last two sessions. The 30-share BSE index firmed 1.55 percent, or 286.11 points, to 18,722.30 points, taking gains for the week to 0.9 percent.

Twenty-seven of its components closed in the green.

"We are catching up with the rally in global stocks today," said Nitin Rakesh, head of Motilal Oswal's asset management business.

World stocks advanced after European leaders agreed to ease lending terms to Greece, Ireland and Portugal, while private investors would voluntarily swap their Greek bonds for longer maturities at lower interest rates to help Athens.

Rakesh said all eyes were set on the Indian central bank's policy review next week, and any indication that the interest rate cycle has peaked would be a major positive for the market.

"We have to look for signs if the interest rate cycle will turn. We need to watch if we are at the end of tightening cycle," he added.

Asia's third-largest economy is nearing the end of its credit tightening cycle, as 10 interest rate increases since March 2010 exact a toll on growth in a once-roaring economy, making Tuesday's expected rate rise potentially the last for the near future.

Foreign funds have been net sellers on two days this week, trimming their inflows to USD 2.7 billion over the past one month.

"Valuation compulsions may drive FIIs (foreign institutional investors) towards our market in the second half. But, macro headwinds need to clear off," Motilal Oswal's Rakesh said.

Leading lenders State Bank of India , ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank ended up between 1.1 percent and 2.6 percent.

Top iron ore exporter Sesa Goa closed 2.4 percent higher. It fell more than 4 percent in early trade after reporting on Thursday a 35 percent drop in quarterly profit due to suspension of exports from its mines in the southern state of Karnataka.

Outsourcing firms advanced on expectations the near-term outlook was better than that perceived earlier, dealers said. Top software exporter Tata Consultancy Services rose nearly 1 percent, while Infosys and Wipro advanced 2.2 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.

No 2 software services provider Infosys last week warned it could face slow client spending, while Tata Consultancy flagged concerns about economic uncertainty.

Wipro, India's No 3 software services exporter, on Wednesday forecast growth below market expectations.

Leading mobile operator Bharti Airtel rose 4.1 percent, taking gains for the year to 14.6 percent, as investors ranked it the most preferred stock in the sector, traders said.

The stock has significantly outperformed the broader index which is down 8.2 percent year-to-date.

The 50-share NSE index firmed 1.7 percent to 5,633.95 points.

More than one share advanced for every share that lost ground on NSE. The volume of exchange was 604 million shares, higher than the 90-day daily average volume of 576 million shares.

 

[ADAMANSKA]

Indian retailers celebrate 51% FDI recommendation by CoS

Indian retailers celebrate 51% FDI recommendation by CoS - CNBC-TV18 -


A great news indeed! I wish same could be done to the Insurance sector in India. There will be billions of dollar inflow if 51% FDI is allowed in insurance sector also. China has already done the same thing and has set licenses on city basis.