Indian Economy-News & Updates

[ramu]

Quite impressive numbers but a little more was expected. After all yeh dil mange more :o)

 

[Ecstacy]

People with Indian roots are fast climbing up the global corporate ladder, the latest being Pune-born, Delhi-educated, IIM-Ahmedabad alumnus Ajay Banga.

Banga, MasterCard’s president and chief operating officer, has been named its president and chief executive officer effective July 1.

He will take over from current CEO Robert Selander in July, ten months after being hired from Citigroup as a potential successor.

Here we take a look at some other Indians who are currently heading and running multinational companies:

---------- Post added at 04:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:30 PM ----------

Indra Nooyi is chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo, which has the world’s largest portfolio of billion-dollar food and beverage brands, including 19 different product lines that each generate more than $1 billion in annual retail sales. With nearly $60 billion in revenue, PepsiCo employs 285,000 people worldwide.

Ms Nooyi was named president and CEO on October 1, 2006 and assumed the role of chairman on May 2, 2007. She has directed the company’s global strategy for more than a decade and led its restructuring, including the divestiture of its restaurants into the successful YUM! Brands, Inc, the acquisition of Tropicana and the merger with Quaker Oats that brought the vital Quaker and Gatorade businesses to PepsiCo and the merger with PepsiCo’s anchor bottlers.

Prior to becoming CEO, Ms Nooyi served as president and CFO beginning in 2001, when she was also named to PepsiCo’s Board of Directors. Before joining PepsiCo in 1994, Ms Nooyi spent four years as senior V-P of strategy and strategic marketing for Asea Brown Boveri, a Zurich- based industrials company. Between 1986 and 1990, Ms Nooyi worked for Motorola.

Prior to Motorola, she spent six years directing international corporate strategy projects at The Boston Consulting Group. Ms Nooyi began her career in India, where she held product manager positions at Johnson & Johnson and at Mettur Beardsell Ltd, a textile firm. In addition to being a member of the PepsiCo Board of Directors, Ms Nooyi serves as a member of the boards of The Consumer Goods Forum, Catalyst and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. She is also a Successor Fellow of Yale Corporation.

---------- Post added at 04:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:31 PM ----------

Vikram Pandit is the chief executive officer of Citi. Before being named CEO on December 11, 2007, Mr Pandit was chairman and CEO of Citi's Institutional Clients Group, which includes Markets & Banking and Citi Alternative Investments.

Formerly the chairman and CEO of Citi Alternative Investments, Mr Pandit was a founding member and chairman of the members committee of Old Lane, LP which was acquired by Citi in 2007.

Previously, Mr Pandit was President and Chief Operating Officer of Morgan Stanley’s institutional securities and investment banking business and was a member of the firm’s Management Committee.

Mr Pandit serves on the boards of Columbia University, Columbia Business School and the Indian School of Business. He is a former board member of NASDAQ, Trinity School, the New York City Investment Fund, and the American India Foundation.

Mr Pandit earned a PhD in Finance from Columbia University in 1986. He also received an MS degree in 1977 and a BS degree in electrical engineering in 1976 from Columbia.

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Deven Sharma is president of Standard & Poor’s, a division of the McGraw-Hill Companies, and the world’s foremost source of financial market intelligence, providing independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research and data.

Mr Sharma joined S&P in 2007 as executive vice president, Investment Service and Global Sales. Prior to joining S&P, he was executive vice president, Global Strategy at The McGraw-Hill Companies for five years.

Mr Sharma joined The McGraw-Hill Companies in January 2002 from Booz-Allen & Hamilton, a global management consulting company, where he was a partner. During his 14 years with that firm, he provided guidance to client companies on business strategy and globalization, as well as on branding and sales management.

Much of his experience includes work with global corporations in the US, Latin America, Europe and parts of Asia. Prior to Booz-Allen, he worked with manufacturing companies, Dresser Industries and Anderson Strathclyde.

Mr Sharma holds a bachelor’s degree from the Birla Institute of Technology in India, a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and a doctoral degree in Business Management from Ohio State University. He has authored several publications on competitive strategy, customer solutions, sales and marketing. He is a Board member of 800-Flowers Inc, CRISIL, the US-China Business Council and Asia Society Business Council.

---------- Post added at 04:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:33 PM ----------

Piyush Gupta was appointed CEO of DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank Ltd on November 9, 2009. Prior to joining DBS, Mr Gupta was Citigroup’s CEO for South East Asia Pacific, covering Australia, New Zealand, Guam and the ASEAN countries - Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and Brunei.

Mr Gupta began his career with Citibank in India in 1982 and over the years, has held various senior management roles across Citi’s corporate and consumer banking businesses, including Chief of Staff for Asia Pacific Corporate Bank, Head of Strategic Planning for Emerging Markets and Regional Director for Global Transaction Services for Asia Pacific.

He has also served as Citi’s Country Officer for Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore as well as the ASEAN Head of the Institutional Clients Group.

Mr Gupta has served as a member of the Indonesian Government’s Debt Restructuring Committee, Chairman of the Foreign Banks' Association in Indonesia and on the Board of Kuala Lumpur Business Roundtable, as well as on the Boards of AMCHAM Malaysia and Singapore.

He is a past Chairman of the Financial Services Committee of the US-ASEAN Business Council, and currently serves on the Group of Experts to the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum. Married with two children, Mr Gupta has a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Degree in Economics from St Stephen’s College, Delhi University, and an MBA from IIM, Ahmedabad.

---------- Post added at 04:34 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:33 PM ----------

Francisco D'Souza has over 20 years of experience in the information technology industry in both operational and advisory roles.

Prior to his current position, Francisco was Chief Operating Officer, with responsibility for Cognizant’s global delivery, marketing and sales, business development, and client services organizations. Previously, he led the company’s North American and European operations.

He joined Cognizant when it was founded in 1994. Earlier in his career, Francisco spent four years at various divisions of The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, holding key positions in marketing, strategic planning, and new business development in Germany, the US and India.

Francisco was named one of the nation’s best CEOs in Institutional Investor’s 2010 All-America Executive Team ranking. He received an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2007 Award in the information technology services category for New Jersey and was a finalist in 2004.

He also received the Entrepreneur of the Year award from the Economic Times of India in 2005. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Carnegie Mellon University and the Board of Trustees of The New York Hall of Science.

Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Francisco has traveled widely in countries ranging from Panama to Hong Kong, where he obtained his Bachelor's degree from the University of East Asia. He also received an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.

---------- Post added at 04:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:34 PM ----------

Surya N Mohapatra is Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Quest Diagnostics. Prior to joining the company in February 1999 as Sr V-P and Chief Operating Officer, he was Sr V-P of Picker International, a worldwide leader in advanced medical imaging technologies, where he served in various executive positions during his 18-year tenure.

Dr Mohapatra was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of the company in June 1999, Chief Executive Officer in May 2004, and Chairman of the Board in December 2004. Dr Mohapatra also is a director of ITT Corporation.

Dr Mohapatra is also a member of CECP, a dedicated network of business CEOs and chairpersons who inspire peer executives to show greater commitment to corporate community partnerships.

He also co-chairs the NJ American Cancer Society of CEOs Against Cancer, a statewide forum of CEOs who are committed to addressing the cancer issue in their workplace.

---------- Post added at 04:35 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:35 PM ----------

Dinesh C Paliwal is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Harman International Industries Inc.

Paliwal became chairman of the company in May 2008. He previously served as president, CEO and vice chairman since joining the company in 2007.

Washington, DC-based Harman International designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and ‘infotainment’ products for the automotive, consumer and professional markets. The company maintains a presence in the Americas, Europe and Asia and employs more than 12,000 people worldwide.

The Harman International family of brands spans some 15 names including AKG, Audioaccess, Becker, BSS, Crown, dbx, DigiTech, Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon, Mark Levinson, Revel, QNX, Soundcraft and Studer.

 

[Ecstacy]

Shantanu Narayen is president and chief executive officer of Adobe, one of the world’s largest and most diversified software companies. In 2009, Narayen led the $1.8 billion acquisition of Omniture, Inc, expanding Adobe’s ability to help customers measure and optimize the value of online experiences, content and applications.

Prior to his appointment as CEO in December of 2007, Narayen was Adobe’s president and COO, responsible for the company’s day-to-day global operations, product research and development, marketing and corporate development. In 2005, he co-led the $3.4 billion acquisition of Macromedia, strengthening the company’s presence in key markets ranging from enterprises and vertical industries to mobile devices and multimedia publishing.

Previously, he held key product research and development positions within Adobe, including executive vice president of worldwide products, senior vice president of worldwide product development and vice president and general manager of the engineering technology group.

Before joining Adobe in 1998, Narayen was co-founder of Pictra, Inc., an early pioneer of digital photo sharing over the Internet. Prior to that, he served as director of desktop and collaboration products at Silicon Graphics, Inc. and held various senior management positions at Apple Computer, Inc.

Narayen holds five patents and is a frequent speaker at industry and academic events. He serves on the Board of Dell, Inc and the Advisory Board of the Haas School of Business, University of California at Berkeley, and is president of the board of the Adobe Foundation, which funds philanthropic initiatives around the world. Narayen holds a bachelor’s degree in electronics engineering from Osmania University, a master’s degree in computer science from Bowling Green State University and a master’s degree in business administration from the Haas School of Business.

-source The Ecnomic Times

 

[Justin Joseph]

India can be the world's food basket: Scott Price, CEO, Wal-Mart Asia

CHANDIGARH : Bharti Wal-Mart wants to source $1-billion worth of goods from India and help the country become a food exporter, says Scott Price, president and CEO of Wal-Mart Asia.As Wal-Mart pans out in the country through its cash-and-carry Best Price stores in tieup with the Bharti Group, it wants to develop India into a sourcing hub for agri-produce worldwide by helping reduce wastage and improve productivity, he told ET in an interview. Excerpts:

What are you India plans when you say you are here for the long term?

Scott Price: I would love for Bharti Wal-Mart to help develop a sophisticated retail market in India, which is crucial for food security and efficiency. Nearly 25-30% wastage occurs when agriculture products move from farm to wholesale. Reducing this will bring down the cost of food.

Modern trade can also help develop agriculture for export purposes. That is a huge opportunity for India to progress from feeding itself to help feed the world. We also help bring in technology. We have trained nearly 2,000 people in our training centre in Amritsar. More than 120 of them have become associates at Best Price. I see a huge opportunity for us to play a role of bringing the experience that we have and not just focus on the role of wholesaler retail.

Does that mean you are counting on the government allowing foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail?

Scott Price: We see a huge opportunity and long-term benefit from the Indian government to continue the dialogue to allow FDI. Our preference is a 100% open FDI. We’ve seen it in China, Japan and markets in South America.

But if there is a multi-step process to that, we understand. We see the relationship in the joint venture with Bharti today is being very productive. So, even with the frame up of FDI, we see long-term benefit from this relationship, particularly the experience that Bharti brings for us to understand how to operate in India.

But would you go alone if 100% FDI is allowed?

Scott Price: I see the Bharti Wal-Mart joint venture as very valuable and something that we would like to maintain in whatever structure for a long term. I think Bharti would bring a lot of value to this relationship.

Do you have plans to make India a global sourcing hub for Wal-Mart?

Scott Price: India already exports $125 million, mainly textiles. I would like to set a target of more than $1 billion of exports ourselves. Today our overall revenue is $400 billion globally, so a billion sourced by India for exports is not that big a number. I think a lot of product lines could be done from here.

If we can get the agriculture to global standards, I think India has a huge opportunity to become a food basket for the world — because of the temperate weather. Already we’re doing textiles, but India would follow a same economic curve that most developing economies do, which is more educated workforce and more sophisticated value-added manufacturing and assembly.

Do the experiences in Wal-Mart operations in China or Japan applicable to India? Or is it the other way round?

Scott Price: It’s actually vice versa. The direct farm concept came out of China where it was established. In China, we started in the outskirts of Beijing and moved to tier II and III cities. They looked at how we are doing it in India to understand how to grow in tier II and tier III cities since we have adopted the reverse approach here.

India can be the world's food basket: Scott Price, CEO, Wal-Mart Asia-Interviews-Opinion-The Economic Times

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Indian CEOs enjoy highest approval, says survey

LOS ANGELES: Executives in India have the highest faith in their CEOs and general corporate leadership, says a survey of 13 major nations.

Executives in China, Brazil and Russia also have much more faith in their CEOs and general corporate leadership than their counterparts in the US, Canada and Britain, says the survey released Tuesday.

The survey, 'Confidence in Leadership Index', was done by the Los Angeles-based Korn/Ferry International, a global provider of talent management solutions.

The survey showed wide differences in how executives feel about the direction under CEOs.

On a scale from -100 (getting worse) to +100 (getting better), executives in India, China, Brazil and Russia expressed strongest support for their corporate bosses, posting scores of 52, 53, 44 and 26 respectively against a global mean of 22.

On the other hand, with their mean scores of -1, -4 and -5, executives in Canada, the US and Britain showed their lack of confidence in their corporate bosses.

Interestingly, Indian executives ranked the credibility of their CEOs at 81 and the credibility of their corporate leadership in general at 78 - the highest among 13 countries.

The global mean for CEO credibility was 69 and for corporate leadership in general it was 70.

The confidence in CEOs and corporate leadership globally increased during the past year, hinting that economic recovery is under way after the global meltdown.

"Increased confidence at the CEO level is a powerful indicator of business recovery," said Ana Dutra, CEO, Korn/Ferry Leadership and Talent Consulting.

"Leaders at the top of the house set the tone for their organisations, and steadily increasing support indicates that CEOs' actions are instilling confidence in their employees, peers and directors," Dutra said in a statement.

The Direction of Leadership index rose 3.7 points to 26.3 in the first quarter of 2010, indicating that confidence in CEOs globally is back after the economic meltdown.

Indian CEOs enjoy highest approval, says survey-Corporate Trends-News By Company-News-The Economic Times

 

[ramu]

Infosys bags three-year Microsoft outsourcing deal

IT major Infosys today said it has signed an agreement with Microsoft to manage internal IT services of the software giant globally.

As part of this three-year agreement, Infosys would streamline implementation processes, simplify support and service and, at the same time, would lower enterprise costs by using latest Microsoft solutions such as Windows 7, the Bangalore-headquartered company said in a statement.

"Infosys would deliver this engagement on an outcome- based pricing model, enabling Microsoft to associate and manage IT costs directly to business variables and demand," Infosys' vice-president and head of Manufacturing for North America Sanjay Jalona said.

Infosys would provide Microsoft with IT help desk, desk-side services and infrastructure and application support from multiple global centres. It would manage Microsoft's internal IT services for applications, devices and databases in 450 locations across 104 countries.

"Infosys will establish a dedicated Service Excellence Office to help Microsoft implement ISO 20000 and ITSM Processes," the statement added.

"This agreement provides Infosys with an unique opportunity to partner with Microsoft IT and gain deep and early expertise in the implementation and management of the latest Microsoft technologies, and thus enhancing Infosys' capabilities to help other customers leverage Microsoft's innovation and adopt these technologies," it said.

Infosys has partnered with Unisys to provide global desk-side support and service desk.

Infosys bags three-year Microsoft outsourcing deal

 

[Justin Joseph]

India to have strategic oil reserve by October 2011

NEW DELHI: India will complete building its first strategic crude oil storage by October 2011 in an effort to insulate itself from supply disruptions.

India, which is 75 per cent import dependent to meet its crude oil needs, is building under-ground storages at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Mangalore and Padur in Karnataka to store about 5.33 million tons of crude oil. This is enough to meet nation's oil requirement of 13-14 days.

"The storage at Visakhapatnam will be mechanically completed by October 2011," said Rajan K Pillai, chief executive officer of India Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd - the state-owned firm building the strategic stockpile.

Visakhapatnam will have capacity to store 1.33 million tons of crude oil in underground rock caverns.

"Huge underground cavities, almost ten storey tall and approximately 3.3 km long are to be built (in Visakhapatnam)," he said.

A similar facility in Mangalore will have a capacity of 1.55 million tons and would be mechanically completed by November 2012. A 2.5 million tons storage at Padur, near Mangalore, would be completed by December 2012.

India will join nations like the US, Japan and China who have strategic reserves. These nations use the stockpiles not only as insurance against supply disruptions but also to buy and store oil when prices are low and release them to refiners when there is a spike in global rates.

However, the storage India is building is very small compared to the 90-day strategic stockpile in the US. New Delhi was considering to raise the storage capacity to 15 million tons to cover for 45 days requirement but no decision has been taken as yet.

The over 5 million tons strategic storage facility, Pillai said, was being built at an estimated cost of Rs 2,397 crore (at 2005 prices). "There is likely to be a price escalation because these cost estimates are based on 2005 prices. We think the cost may cross Rs 3,000 crore," he said.

ISPRL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oil Industry Development Board (OIDB) - a government body that lends money to energy projects.

Pillai said the cost of building the strategic stockpile is being provided by OIDB as equity to ISPRL.

"The three storages will be able to meet nation's oil requirement of 13-14 days (in case of emergency)," he said.

The cost estimate does not include the cost of purchasing 5.3 million tons of crude oil. "The crude procurement and how it will be managed will be the responsibility of the Government. Our job is to build the storage," he said.

Like the US, the government may buy crude oil when rates are low for stockpiling. It may release it to refiners during times of spike in global crude rates like those witnessed in July 2008 when prices touched an all-time high of USD 147.

India to have strategic oil reserve by October 2011-Oil & Gas-Energy-News By Industry-News-The Economic Times

 

[yashchauhan]

INdia produced 14 million vehicles last year including 2.35 million cars!


Automobile Production Trends


follow this link...Production Trend :: SIAM

 

[DMLA]

Here is some update on Indian Grand Prix

(CNN) -- Bernie Ecclestone has confirmed that the 2011 Formula One world championship will have a record 20 races with the introduction of a grand prix near Delhi, India, in October.

Talking to reporters in Shanghai, ahead of this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix, F1 supremo Ecclestone revealed that no races would be dropped from the calendar, despite uncertainty surrounding the Turkish Grand Prix.

"We will definitely be in India next year," said Ecclestone. "We are not dropping anything -- it's 20 races -- getting ready for 25!.
Ecclestone is eager to take the sport to all corners of the globe, with a lot of interest in India surrounding Karun Chandhok, who drives for F1 newcomers Hispania Racing.

However, the 79-year-old also believes local organizers should be doing more to promote races, with attendances at this weekend's Shanghai race expected to be poor.

"It is a shame because the whole venue is super, everything is good. They are not promoting it properly -- it is as simple as that," Ecclestone added.

"The people that run the place ought to do a bit more. If you were in Shanghai you wouldn't even know there is a race here."

Chandok in Australian GP:



Force India VJM03 - first indian owned F1 team:



location:

plan:

And here is an interesting article from WSJ:

Later this month the Formula One circus will roll into China's financial capital for the seventh annual Shanghai Grand Prix. It will be one of six races to be held in the Asian time zone this season. The world's most expensive sport is looking for growth outside its traditional center in Europe, and Asia is the key new market. Whether Asia will live up to the dreams of the F1 bosses is another matter.

F1 has a long history in some parts of Asia. Japan's Suzuka circuit dates to the early 1960s, and the Japanese fan base rivals that of many countries in Europe. Japanese drivers and constructors (F1-speak for carmakers) are well established. Malaysia lacks that tradition, but it still hosted the first F1 race in Asia outside of Japan in 1999. For years Malaysians have been race hosts and team sponsors and there was even a Malaysian driver for a season.

View Full Image

DPA/ZUMApress.com

German river Adrian Sutil of Force India enters turn 2 during second practice session at Sepang circuit near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
.Lately, however, Asia has witnessed a new phenomenon: Hosting a Formula One race has become a status symbol to display growing economic clout. Many locations with no history of motorsport have spent hundreds of millions of dollars to build circuits and buy the rights to hold major races.

Consider Singapore, which in 2008 hosted its first F1 event. The city-state spent 150 million Singapore dollars ($107 million) for the right to host one of the 19 "grand prix" events of the racing year for five seasons, with the Singapore Tourist Board contributing 60% of the money and the rest coming from private enterprise. The result has been a popular night race under hundreds of floodlights through the city's business and historic district, bringing in tourist revenue for the city-state and Asian exposure to F1. Abu Dhabi topped that in 2009 with a race starting in daylight and ending in the moonlight.

But these successes haven't arisen from the growth of a local market for F1, so much as from Asia's ability to cater to fans back in Europe. The evening race times fit afternoon European television schedules for the established audience. Sparking greater Asian interest in F1 will be the key to transforming the region into a profit center for the sport rather than merely an exotic locale for the races Europeans watch on television.

In this regard, the race between China and India is the most interesting event. China has taken a "build it (with government money) and they will come" attitude. The state-of-the-art Shanghai circuit, which opened in 2004, cost $240 million and was built in only 18 months, probably a year faster than it would have taken in Europe. The first event there became the most anticipated race of the season. State support was instrumental: The Shanghai government paid all the bills for circuit construction, supporting infrastructure and the $50 million per year to host the race. The main sponsor was none other than the state-owned oil company, Sinopec.

Yet local interest has been limited. The racing circuit is an inconvenient 30-odd kilometers from the city center. The cheapest grandstand tickets cost more than $100 in a city where the average salary in 2008 was less than $500 per month. Race organizers had to bus in spectators from the ranks of employees at local state-owned companies to make sure the stands looked full on television—and what little initial excitement there was has only waned.

India's approach has predictably been more haphazard. The country has yet to host a race, although a Delhi event is expected in 2011. But that hasn't stopped Vijay Mallya, the Indian equivalent of Richard Branson, from jumping in. Mr. Mallya bought a 50% stake in the Spyker team for 88 million euros ($118 million) in late 2007 and immediately rebranded it as Force India. The team struggled in its first season but in August 2009 it took second place in Belgium and fourth place in Italy two weeks later. Force India has become a solid middle-tier team within two years and there's no reason to think it couldn't be a serious top-tier contender down the road.

F1 provides a global advertizing platform for the larger-than-life Mr. Mallya, chairman of the United Breweries Group and Kingfisher Airlines, and owner of the Bangalore Royal Challengers cricket team. His lavish lifestyle is a source of endless press fascination, which in turn reflects onto his F1 team. Although F1 interest in India is in its infancy, his involvement certainly has brought the sport more media attention. It hardly matters that he's probably losing money on the team (as, reportedly, do most owners, although the financial reports are always a closely guarded secret).

Mr. Mallya's F1 effort more closely resembles the successful formula in Europe—the collision of fast cars and big egos that gives fans excitement both on and off the track. China's mistake has been thinking a flashy track alone will do the trick. Because there are no Chinese personalities of Mr. Mallya's type in F1, the Shanghai race ends up being merely one weekend out of 19 in the racing calendar.

India is often thought to play runner-up to China when it comes to economic achievements. But at least in F1, China's trophy event may prove to be no match for India's podium finish.

Mr. Howie is co-author of "Privatizing China" (Wiley, 2003).

link: Business Asia: Formula One's Race for Asia - WSJ.com

enjoy......

 

[mrwarrior006]

^^^^^a little correction

KARAN CHANDOK is not he first india f1 driver

it is naryan karthikeyan

 

[DMLA]

^^^^^a little correction

KARAN CHANDOK is not he first india f1 driver

it is naryan karthikeyan

thnx... made the correction

 

[Cisco-GUY]

In 20 mins, get that Heathrow, Hong Kong ride - Delhi - City - The Times of India

NEW DELHI: In five months from now, Delhiites can bid adieu to unending jams on the way to the airport and harassment by cabbies.

They will reach the airport from Connaught Place (CP) in specially engineered super luxury Metro coaches, which promise a noise-free ride in a plush ambience, in all of 20 minutes.

The first lot of new trains arrived at Mundra port, Gujarat from Spain on Friday and are on their way to the Capital now. The special coaches have specially been designed for the showcase Airport Express Line, which is scheduled to open in September this year.

The new trains are very different from the existing ones running on the Delhi Metro network. These will have seating for all passengers and the seating is transverse — commuters will face the direction of movement of the train — for added comfort.

The interiors of the trains have been designed keeping commuter comfort in mind. The lighting is diffused, the seats upholstered, and each coach will have LCD screens for entertainment, which will double up as flight information boards for convenience of air travellers.

Even as the trains zip past the city at a speed of about 120 kmph (the designed speed is higher at 135 kmph), one will not feel any discomfort inside the coaches.

The trains are engineered to reach near-zero noise levels and all the components — flooring, insulated walls, windows — have in-built noise reduction features. The wheels too have added lubrication for less noise and better riding comfort. The train doors are plug-and-shut type, which shut after sliding out a bit and then move back into original position.

Those headed to the airport from town will have the choice of checking in their baggage at Metro stations which will double up as City Airport Terminals (CATs) for this line.

To secure the baggage, half a coach of every six-coach train will be reserved for baggage.

For commuters taking the Airport Express Link to reach the city, luggage racks have been provided in every coach where people can stack their baggage.

"The trains have been procured from City Airport Terminals, Spain, which is one of the leading manufacturers of high-speed Metros in the world. It has also supplied to Hong Kong Airport metro and London's Heathrow Express. The trains are being brought to Delhi by road and will be tested at the Dwarka depot," said KP Maheshwari, Director, Delhi Airport Metro Express (DAME) Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Reliance Infrastructure Limited, which will operate the Airport Line.

The line will operate on Automated Train Operation (ATO) technology which enables trains to accelerate, brake, adjust speed and stop at stations automatically, in accordance with a pre-set schedule.

The trains can operate without a driver. Every coach will be equipped with CCTV cameras for added security and will also have an event recorder, a kind of a black box, which records every movement of the train.

This device, which can withstand high levels of temperature and impact, will help investigations in case of an accident.

The 23-km Airport Express Line is the first Delhi Metro line to come up on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. As per the agreement between Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and Reliance Infrastructure Limited, the concessionaire of the project, DMRC will create all the civil structures — the viaduct, tunnels and station buildings, and hand it over to the latter.

The airport line will be developed and run by DAME Pvt Ltd for 30 years.

The good news is that the line will be operational before the Commonwealth Games. "The Airport Line will be better than anything that the city has seen till now. We are going to use the best technologies available around the world and are completing work on a warfooting to open the line by September this year," said Lalit Jalan, CEO and Wholetime Director, Reliance Infrastructure.

The construction of the civil structures is reportedly 90% complete and processes like signalling, electrification, track-laying is under way.

The line will provide a fast-link between New Delhi Railway Station and Dwarka via IGI, with a total of six stops on the way.

The fare will be kept at a maximum of Rs 150 to IGI and Rs 180 to Dwarka from New Delhi.

 

[Cisco-GUY]

Based on above report, below are the speculated coaches that delhi metro is getting

 

[Cisco-GUY]

 

[yashchauhan]

Construction workd at the central depot of the line...may 2009

YOUR FLIGHT TO IGI FROM SEPTEMBER

................A great project for India as a whole!

 

[Cisco-GUY]

Already posted

http://www.defence.pk/forums/economy-development/27787-indian-economy-news-updates-85.html

Mods please merge.